Category: Critical Breakdown

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Trev Rich: Pain (Single Review)

“This Whole Fucking Year, I’ve Been Suffering From Depression; A Lot Of First Impressions And A Lot Of Second Guessing”

 

 

Trev back – now more than ever – according to my recent interview with one of the hottest rappers coming out of Colorado right now. In an attempt to reinforce that statement, the Squizzy Gang artist dropped a second single from the third instalment of his highly praised “Heights” series. Produced by BrinkyBeats, “Pain” is a track in which Trev projected that his fans would love most due to its introspective, emotionally resonating nature which seen him suit Joe Budden’s MME group perfectly. As I’m sure is evident by now, after a plethora of positive reviews, I’m a big fan of the “Dreams” rapper but there is a reason I’ve never written a review for the first single – “Go Get It”. Trev Rich is an artist I have often applauded for his consistency in his entire catalogue. Even before “Heights”, Trev was making marvellous music in under the pseudonym of Rockie G5 in the “Gold Dreams” project. Unfortunately, “Go Get It” just wasn’t for me. I was reliant upon “Pride” to reinstore my faith for “Heights 3“, and thankfully I was not disappointed.

BrinkyBeats is becoming a producer that Trev Rich fans are fast becoming used to, he has created a vast array of amazing instrumentals for the rapper including “Numbers To Letters” and “L.A Interlude”. It appears that Brinky will be a regular name on the “Heights 3” project as he has a produced both singles from the highly anticipated mixtape – to be released on the 19th of November. The “Pain” beat is beautifully pieced together with a blend of delightful drum patterns, captivating piano chords and a sampled voice which isn’t dissimilar to the Ellie Goulding sample on Drizzy and Hov’s “Pound Cake”.

The brilliant production provides a phenomenal foundation fit for Trev’s fantastic ability to rip his heart out and lay it in a verse. The layout of the track seems scattered, and that might be the one downfall. I was convinced the sections in which T spits “You don’t wanna be sober, don’t want be hopeless, don’t wanna be lonely no more” was the hook, but turns out a segment saying “I smoke, I drink, I’m supposed to stop but I can’t” might be more appropriate for that title and the former is more of a bridge. Aside from that confusion, Trev’s lyrical contribution throughout the track isn’t far from flawless.

Trev’s built a name for himself for his frank honesty in his verses and is more aware than most artists as to why his fans love him so much. So when he spits “truth of the matter is the pain got us here” I’m curious as to whether this entire song is another about his career cleverly concealed as a love song – of sorts – similar to Eminem’s “25 To Life”. This could be backed up by the bars in which he essentially – arguably egotistically – crowns himself king of the city (Lets be honest, could anyone else claim the throne?) as he raps:

“City up for grabs, everybody wanna claim; like I didn’t have a six year reign.”

The problem with that perception of Trev’s wonderful words is that why would he be “addicted to anything that make the pain go away”? For the record, despite the mention of “you”, I understand that Trev is talking about himself. Is this a case of Trev wishing his career way? I doubt it. So maybe the song is purely a twisted love song, and the “Heights” artist wishes he could make the pain go away for his loved one rather than they turn to drugs and alcohol. But then, isn’t that the beauty of Trev’s music? It’s open to interpretation, and anyone can relate. TREV BACK!

What do you think? What is your interpretation of the meaning of the song? Do you like it? Are you excited for “Heights 3”? Let us know in the comments below!

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PC: True Love Ft. K-Flo (Single Review)

“Do you believe in True Love”?

 

This sultry slow tempo single, “True Love” by Colorado’s very own PC is sure to leave everyone wanting to hear more from his album Philosophy Class.  This sexy single features the melodic voice of K-Flo followed up by PC’s smooth flows.  This unique collaboration of Rap and R&B will leave people asking themselves, do they believe in true love?

 

PC can make his music relate to every day situations that people experience with life and love.  The most intriguing aspect to “True Love” is that PC slowed the track down and paid homage to the underground Hip-Hop style of chopped and screwed.  Once the beat dropped K-Flo comes back with intensity in her voice that makes people stop everything to just listen.

 

I am impressed with the direction PC is going as an artist.  Immediately after listening to this track I wanted to know more about him as an overall entertainer.  PC brings a refreshing sound to the Hip-Hop scene of Colorado.  MileHI Music looks forward to hearing more music from PC.

 

You can download PC’s latest project “Philosphy Class” HERE

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Kid Vegas: Fuego (Single Review)

“Taking Her Clothes Off While She Dancing On The Table; She Fuego!”

 

I have no idea what the hell “Fuego” is or what it means, but one thing for sure is it makes for a superb song which hypnotised my ear drums and left me desperate to replay due to its addictive instrumental and captivating chorus. Despite the fact I’ve been covering the MileHi states Hip Hop scene for over six month now, I have not heard a rapper as commercial from Colorado as the radio-ready Kid Vegas. Despite mainstream music currently connoting that the artists on the radio aren’t as talented as those underground, it is arguable that Kid Vegas is as talented as the top-tier emcees from Colorado. The only thing is he is talented at something, many Hip Hop heads ridiculously refuse to respect.

Vegas has a knack for creating club-hop tracks, and they’re enjoyable and entertaining from  remixing “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” to “Addicted 2 Tha Lif3” which samples “Walking On A Dream” – A track which is a spark of genius for a Hip Hop remix hook. Despite club-hop being synonymous with being monotonous, Vegas manages to keep me paying thorough attention by remaining versatile. One song the Denver rapper is sounding similar to Squizzy Gang’s L Keys, the next I’m noticing shades of Lil Wayne.  “Fuego” itself is pretty similar to Gabriel Alexander’s “Electric City” mixtape verses with an equally brilliant beat to Bbeck’s production.

Whatever “Fuego” is, I’m disappointed I haven’t been introduced to the song before. Denver’s clubs should be playing this Kid Vegas track. He may not be the best rapper, or the most intelligent lyricist, but Vegas is a very entertaining artist and one I will be eager to hear from again. You can listen to Kid Vegas via his SoundCloud (Click Here) and I highly recommend “Elope” if you’re not a big fan of Club-Hop. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Trev Rich: LA Interlude (Single Review)

“They Say We’re Hollywood Now, Because We’re Hollywood Bound, Only City Where The Stars Ain’t In The Sky, They’re On The Ground”

 

Trev Rich took the time out of his weekly commitment to Thursdays to bless another day with a release of a record. “LA Interlude” came out of nowhere on Sunday 11th of August, before it was even announced it was being released it felt like my timeline had links to the Soundcloud stream, and before it was even completely loaded it was gaining views according to Trev’s promoters tweet. I highly anticipated “LA Interlude” because in the past, Trev’s greatest songs have been interludes. “Dreams” from Joe Budden’s “A Loose Quarter” mixtape is undoubtedly the key component in why Trev Rich is as successful as he is right now, where as “The Way You Love” from “Heights” was a personal favourite for me. Seeing as the Denver rapper is known for his consistency – I write about it every time I review one of his singles or features – it was almost impossible that this song wasn’t going to impress my ears and engross a whole new generation of fans.

The beat, produced by Brinky Beats, is typically, majestically melancholic to add a disorientating juxtaposition to the love-song (And according to Jimmie Murphy Drake-esque) lyricism.  “How could I break a heart that simply just made mine beat” Trev spits, walking the thin line between aggression and romance with his emotive delivery before insisting that the anonymous addressee “will always be [His] LA”. The song is something new from Trev as far as I’m concerned. Neither “Heights” nor “Heights 2” featured an outright, unquestionable love song, and as much as I like it, it definitely feels as though this song was created to please the ladies of Trev’s constantly growing fanbase.

The track isn’t as career-changing as “Dreams” or as poetically quotable as “The Way You Love” but after only a handful of listens I prefer it over the latter. Maybe the Houdini metaphor is accurate, because magic could be behind Trev’s ability to be so consistently brilliant and he might just be the first to escape the box of Colorado Hip Hop if “New Forever” is as good as we’re all expecting. Listen to “LA Interlude” (Click Here) and let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Trev Rich: Breathe (Single Review)

“Moon Walking On The Sun, Getting Harassed By Billie Jean”

 

The latest installment of “#TrevThursdays” see’s the Colorado emcee deliver something his fans have eagerly been waiting for, for the past seven months. A video. The song which is given a visual accompaniment is a throw back to Trev before he became Trev Rich and before the “Dreams”, Joe Budden co-sign. Ten months ago, Trev released “Breathe” featuring FL of The Foodchain to his official SoundCloud, but the track could originally by found on the Rockie G5 “Gold Dreams” street album. The track evidences that even before he was signed to Mood Muzik Entertainment, Trev was tantalisingly talented behind the microphone.

My favourite lines of the track are the Michael Jackson reference, quoted above, and “Lebron gon’ get a ring before she does” and the bar which follows on “Never been the type to make that ass sign a prenup, but after seeing all the Kobe jokes she gotta ink up”. Trev has a particular skill when focusing metaphors and wordplay around Basketball, I wonder if a remix of Budden’s “NBA” track could be a future TrevThursday track? The featured FL manages to keep up with Trev,bar for bar but I’m not sure if any particular bar could be highlighted as a stand out because they’re all consistently great, at a push I would choose the “sow/seed/grow” wordplay, but everything which follows is equally as enjoyable.

The video, brought to us courtesy of Emergency Room Films, contains a mixture of both high and low key lighting, the quality appears to decrease in the darker scenes but the brighter the lighting, the better. The framing from directors, Nache Green and Vince Lance, is fantastic although I could question the use of social realism conventions in the video being acted rather unrealistically in the basketball scene. Is anyone that bad at sport they just let the other player past with barely moving? Aside from a few issues, I am very happy to see Trev delivering the visuals he promised in our last interview and hope to see more for tracks from “Heights 2”, particularly “Red Cup Blues”. You can watch the video for “Breathe” via Emergency Room Films official YouTube account (Click Here).

What do you think of “Breathe”? Are you happy to see Trev making videos? What track would you like to see Trev make a video for next? Comment below!