Category: Critical Breakdown

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Jimmie Murphy: Clearing My Thoughts (Single Review)

“Imma Scream This Squizzy Shit Till I Finally Leave”

In the same week that his fellow Squizzy Gang member Trev Rich released “The Break” – Trev’s self-professed “Black Cloud” – Jimmie Murphy dropped “Clearing My Thoughts” and delivered a track which wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Mood God’ Joe Budden’s “Mood Muzik 4.5”. The track provokes emotion in every syllable that Jimmie spits as he portrays a love for his family that is hard to compare to any other artist than Trev and his “I Would Have Told Her” record. Usually I prefer B.More when he caresses the microphone with his vocal chords rather than emceeing, but this rap record is one of the greatest tracks I have ever heard from him and three of his tracks are already in my Top 25 most played on iTunes.

Jimmie begins clearing his thoughts by professing his love for his Squizzy Gang cohorts (“Imma scream this Squizzy shit ’til I finally leave”)  before taunting an unknown adressee about his girlfriend (“When your girl come around she can’t breathe”) but as the track progresses after an awkwardly delivered (“You don’t know what can come out of it”) Kevin Ware line, Jimmie captivated me with lyricism such as “When my family gotta eat, I’m ready to die” and a touching series of bars addressed to his Brother. The emotionally resonating lyricism is assisted with near-perfect delivery as B.More showcases how personal the track is to him with unparalleled passion. In a state in which Trev Rich is consistently applauded for his take on the Mood Muzik style of Hip Hop, Jimmie is under-appreciated and undervalued in his own efforts of emotional music. “Clearing My thoughts” is an absolute gem, and I’m sure all listeners of the song will wholeheartedly agree with me.

Follow Jimmie Murphy (Click Here), Myself (Click Here) or the MileHiMusic account (Click Here) on Twitter and let us know what you think of the track in the comments below. You can listen to and download “Clearing My Thoughts” via HulkShare (Click Here). Thank you for reading.

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AGE: Toe Tapping With Angels (Single Review)

“Do You Even Care About The Kids That Die From Hunger? The Numbers Growing Every Day Do You Even Wonder?”

Last month I was scouring my MileHiMusic email account for music submissions in the hope of finding a new artist I could take an interest in that wasn’t affiliated with Squizzy Gang. As much as I like Colorado’s hottest music group, I needed something else to write about. It disappointed me that some of the submissions I received were embarrassingly bad, others were okay but I wouldn’t have too much to write about and there were even a couple that had submitted and weren’t from the state of Colorado. Then I came across two songs which grabbed my attention and stood out above the rest, and I noticed they were both submissions from the same artist: AGE.

Listening to “Toe Tapping With Angels” and “Misunderstood I Might Be”, neither were flawless by any means, but not many tracks are. The factor which grabbed my attention was that AGE managed to sound alike to a plethora of artists I was already a fan of. The opening bar of “Toe Tapping With Angels” in which AGE announces “I’m not dancing with devils, I’m toe tapping with angels” sounds like KeL iLL infused with fellow www.rap-royalty.com member Nell assisted by the melancholic beat both of those artists excel under. From a lyrical standpoint, AGE is reminiscent of An0maly, a rapper I have been a fan of for many years, as the Colorado emcee opts for a multi-syllabic rhyme scheme without venturing into overly-complex lyricism in order to showcase a level of skill whilst remaining clear on what he is talking about, rather than opting for a polysemic, ambiguity laden approach which may have put listeners off. Thematically, AGE manages to maintain a style synonymous with Mood Muzik Entertainment as the track is darker than the “all black” dress code AGE describes in the opening verse.

A plethora of paranoid, conspiracy, thought provoking bars are awkwardly interrupted by the mention of “bitches”. There is absolutely no need to mention “bad bitch” in this song, and the fact that AGE deemed it necessary to do so, destroyed my love for the song. I was able to overlook the overly melancholic tone sometimes becoming monotonous up until the young rapper spat out “gold-digging bitches”. Those five syllables alone stopped “Toe Tapping With Angels” being an incredible song. There are other flaws in the track but none half as bad as the poor placement of misogynistic lyrics which are better suited to generic club-hop than a track which in preceding bars was questioning the listeners thoughts on social issues and exploiting societies apathy.

Overall, I would still recommend that Hip Hop fans gave “Toe Tapping With Angels” and other AGE tracks a listen. Chances are you will either love or hate the Colorado emcee just like the other artists I likened him too. Personally, I love him; there are some parts I hate about him too, but as he develops and matures, he can only get better. You can follow AGE on Twitter (Click Here) and watch his YouTube videos/Listen to singles (Click Here). Make sure you comment below and let me know what you think of this review or the “Toe Tapping With Angels” track itself. You can follow myself on Twitter (Click Here) and the MileHiMusic account (Click Here). Thank you for reading.

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Jimmie Murphy: Guilty Conscience (Single Review)

“Your Guilty Conscience Got You F***** Up”

Colorado’s hottest R&B artist, Jimmie Murphy, is back with another terrific track ahead of the impending release of the highly anticipated “Descendre 2“. “Guilty Conscience” features Murphy’s fellow Squizzy Gang artist Trev Rich, who recently released his own “Heights 2” mixtape, last week. Whenever these two collaborate, they never disappoint and “Guilty Conscience” is no exception.

Jimmie has proven he can rap in the pairs’ most recent collaboration prior to “Guilty Conscience” on Trev’s “Eat” from “Heights 2”, but I am pleased to hear his soulful vocal on this song because his singing is on another level to anything you can hear on the radio at the minute. Although the new Prince, an idol of Jimmie’s, track may get a couple of spins just to prove me wrong.

As Jimmie serenades the microphone about a lover who “thinks theres bitches in this studio” although she is “fucking with these other niggas thinking” Jimmie is “to blame”.  In the background there is a repetitive ad-lib of “Yeah Hoe” which is reminiscent of Justin Timberlakes “Cry Me A River”, albeit less discreet and much more aggressive. I’m not sure how much I like the ad-libbed “Yeah Hoe” because it feels out of place in contrast with Jimmie’s smooth vocal, but it adds an extra level of depth to the track, and there is no complaints about that.

I’m almost getting sick of singing Trev Rich’s praises but it seems like anything coming out of Colorado at the moment is courtesy of, or featuring Trev. It just goes to show how hot Trev is right now, and yet he still has time to collaborate with his fellow Squizzy Gang affiliates. Consistent as ever, Trev delivers another, in a long line of solid verses. Although it doesn’t sound as personal as some tracks from “Heights 2”, which may disappoint some fans, he makes up for that with wonderful word play and an unparalleled delivery.

Whilst these two aren’t quite the same style of Dr. Dre and Eminem who released a song of the same title, they are arguably of the same standard. They deserve that level of fanfare too. I don’t think this is Jimmie and Trev’s greatest collaboration to date, but it is well worth a listen. Make sure you follow Jimmie Murphy on Twitter(here) and await any news on the “Descendre 2” release, or download the original (here) in the mean time. Follow myself (here) for more of my views on music and links to my latest blog posts.  Please comment below any thoughts you have on the song, this post, or in anticipation of “Descendre 2”!

 

Listen to “Guilty Conscience” on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jimmiemurphy/guilty-conscience

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Adam Duncan: Same Wave (Single Review)

 

“Do It Big Like I’m Sean, Do It Big Like I’m L, Do It Big Like I’m Pun”

After the release of “Don’t Wanna Go Home” Volume 1,  Adam Duncan has released “Same Wave” which features as the closing track on the EP. The track features frequent collaborator and fellow Colorado native Trev Rich, who has recently released his own mixtape “Heights 2”. Prior to “Same Wave”‘s release I had only heard of Adam Duncan through his collaborations with Trev and consequently had no idea he could rap in addition to sing.

Duncan’s skills with rapping allow him to keep up with one of the hottest rappers out at the minute, although his accent may put some fans off, his lyricism and “hottest flow around” makes up for it. “I do it big like I’m Sean, do it big like I’m L, do it big like I’m Pun” Duncan spits after explaining how he’s blew his advance on “strippers and Louis Vuitton” in a style similar to those repeatedly played on major radio stations like 2Chains or Lil Wayne but the references to Hip Hop legends and a Yelawolf-esque rhyme scheme indicates a level of knowing intelligence above throw away club-hop artists.

“Same Wave” has an aggressive  rock vibe to it’s chorus as Adam’s vocals sound fit for an anthem found in early The Killers discography over a phenomenally produced instrumental which could have been created for One Republic’s “Dreaming Out Loud” album. I’m not saying Shawn Kang, as talented as he is, is on the same level as Timbaland, but he does show potential to be a great cross-over producer in the not-so-distant future. Off the back of his “Heights 2” release, Trev Rich continues to impress as arguably the most consistent emcee of all time. Not since “Stoners” from the original “Heights” mixtape have I not enjoyed a song Trev Rich has been on whether it is in collaborations with AP, Tsu Surf and Jimmie Murphy or in freestyles, remixes or solo marterial.

Overall “Same Wave” is a great track which represents Colorado better than most, but at the same time it is not the greatest Adam Duncan / Trev Rich collaboration. That isn’t to say this is a poor song by any means, but songs like “Young Forever” and “Red Cup Blues” are on another level. Both of these artists are inevitably going to go on to bigger and better things and I can’t see past them to be the first major, internationally recognised artists to come out of Colorado since One Republic or 3OH!3. Following this track and “Please Explain” featuring Rhias of Air Dubai, Adam Duncan has lead me to believe he has a must-listen EP in the form “Don’t Wanna Go Home” Vol. 1 and I eagerly await to see if an album is to follow.

Listen to “Same Wave” via SoundCloud  (Here) and follow Adam Duncan (@OfficialDuncan) on Twitter for more terrific tracks or download the “Don’t Wanna Go Home” EP (Here). Follow myself (@MrHawthorn) for more of my opinions on Hip Hop, links to my blog articles and other relevant tweets relating to the Hip Hop industry. Please leave comments on what you think of this review, have you downloaded “Don’t Wanna Go Home″? Does “Same Wave” sound like a great song for you? If you are reading this after listening to the track do you agree/disagree with me? Let me know!

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Trev Rich: I Would Have Told Her (Single Review)

“Most Important Of All, I Would Have Told Her, I Love Her”

Never has an artist ripped their heart out of their chest and packed into a song this good since Eminem released “Difficult” or Joe Budden released “Mood Muzik 4.5”. “I Would Have Told Her” epitomises what ‘mood music entertainment’ is all about as Trev Rich delivers an account of what he would have told his daughter if he had of know “the last time, was the last time” he would see her and it is genuinely touching how much love he has for his children. His love for his son and daughter aren’t clear just because of Trev’s emotionally resonating lyricism packed with a plethora of pathos but the tone in which Trev delivers each syllable. You would be forgiven if you expected Trev to be bitter, aggressive maybe even genocidal in his delivery of a song about not seeing his children, but Trev isn’t any of those. Frankly, Trev is heartbroken on this track.

Rather than focus his attention on his children’s mother, a typical approach by many Hip Hop artists to address the issue and threaten her with what usually ends up as nothing more than empty threats, Trev focuses the entire 128 seconds on his children. Trev acknowledges he has done wrong in the past and shows more than a fair share of remorse whilst sharing his story as he admits “I know I ain’t the best person, but that wouldn’t matter if she felt I was the best pops”. More importantly however, he explains how he wants to make amends with lines such as “I would have told her its okay to be weird, its okay to be smart” and “I would tell her every nigga that come in ain’t worth it, at the same time every nigga ain’t cheating” which may be an indication as to what has happened between Trev and his ex-partner.

Move over Joe, we have a new ‘mood God’ if “I Would Have Told Her” is any indication of what is to come from the future. “Most important of all, I would have told her, I love her” might be the most touching line in Hip Hop history. If “I Would Have Told Her” doesn’t pull at your tear ducts and heart strings then you musn’t have a heart. For my own personal taste nothing will ever top “Dear Ma” for me, but if I had a daughter, I can imagine I’d align with this track just as much. If you’re a parent, you might want to keep a tissue at the ready before pressing play on this song.

If you want to hear the song, you’re going to have to download the “Heights 2” mixtape when Trev Rich releases it on the 7th of June 2013. Follow @_TrevRich for a download link, the second that the mixtape is available. Follow myself (@MrHawthorn) for more of my opinions on Hip Hop, links to my blog articles and other relevant tweets relating to the Hip Hop industry. You can read my review of the entire “Heights 2” tracklist at www.therootmusic.blogspot.com. Please leave comments on what you think of this review, are you looking forward to the release of “Heights 2”? Does “I Would Have Told Her” sound like a great song for you? If you are reading this after listening to the track do you agree/disagree with me? Let me know!