Tag: Lee Hawthorn

Posted on

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! 

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Trev Rich – Heights 2 Interview

With two days to go until Heights 2 drops, I grabbed Trev Rich for a second interview to grab his thoughts on how he’s handling the new found fame, whether he believes he takes the second installment of Heights to a new height and if we can expect an album any time soon. 

 

On “Dream Killers” you claim you have no time to answer questions, so thanks for finding the time for a Q&A with me. It’s been three month since our last interview…What’s new, how have you been?

Trev: I’ve been working probably the hardest I’ve ever worked to not only find new motivation but to be consistent enough to complete a quality project. That’s not the same as the last one! It got more personal.

I was a little irritated that days after our interview, someone from MMG retweeted one of your songs, did anything come out of that? How does it feel knowing your fan base and exposure is growing daily?

Trev: It feels good to know that I stayed true to myself and people appreciate and support that. Now I feel like I cant go wrong with just giving them me

One of your fans drew a picture of you, that has got to be an overwhelming feeling right? I tweeted to you at that time it was a sign of you making it. What were your thoughts when you seen the drawing?

Trev: Shock. Someone really took the time out of their day to do a chalk drawing of me. It was a humbling experience. Shout out Chase by the way.

Now that you’re undoubtedly a major figure in Colorado’s Hip Hop scene, where do you go to escape from the pressure of dropping such high quality mixtapes?

Trev: My room. [Laughs] Really that’s the only getaway I can find in it all. It’s an overwhelming lifestyle and it really can take control of you if you let it. I figure out what works for me and stick to it!

In the last interview, you claimed you were going to take it even higher with Heights 2, do you think that goal has been achieved?

Trev: Of course I do. I opened my my mind and gave you more of me. Heights was just a story of one day. 2 is more of a battle within myself. There’s really a thin line between insanity and genius and i wanted this project to be that thin line. You get rapper Trev, lover Trev, fed up Trev, spiritual Trev, everything. You see the balance of a career and a relationship. In most situations rappers would want to choose between love and a dream I’m not. Heights 2 was the process of trying to make everything work at the same time.  You’ll either love it or hate it. No in between in my opinion.

What is your personal favourite track of the mixtape?

Trev: Can’t choose. They’re all my children no favorites.

You’ll see in my review of Heights 2 that I loved the mixtape, but there was one thing which disappointed me. No MME features? Why?

Trev: Everybody is really busy doing their own thing. We all live in different states on different schedules. There are a few things in the works though. I feel like all the features on the project were actually perfect fits. I just didn’t want to throw songs together because of a name.

Despite his vocal absence on the tape, was Joe giving you much advice behind the scenes or is this a tape managed solely by you with no outside influence?

Trev: Nah this was just me and a close knit group of people in Denver with me. I didn’t want a lot of input i just wanted to do what i felt. They agreed.

Are we going to get a Trev Rich / Joe Budden collaboration any time soon?

Trev: You never know with Joe. Its a hit or miss. Maybe one day.

You’ve been getting a load of attention from plenty of blogs recently. Notably 2DopeBoyz, AllHipHop.com and of course MileHiMusic and TheRootMusic which I write for. How much do you value the blog sites supporting you? Is there any blog you aspire to feature on?

Trev: I love it! the blogs are definitely apart of this machine and we appreciate all of them that support the movement. No single one stands out. It all counts.

Two successful mixtapes, three including the Special Edition of Heights 1. Is it time for an album yet? 

Trev: That’s what New Forever is. Already working on it.

When can we expect New Forever?

Trev: September.

What else can we expect in the next six months from Trev Rich? Any tours or features we should particularly look out for?

Trev: All of that! But I promised the fans more visuals this time so I’m really gonna buckle down do a lot of artwork, videos, etc. It’s time for it.

Thank you for the interview, any last words?

Trev: Heights 2. 6/7 Thanks for your support. Shoutout to everybody rocking with me. Special shoutout to KMG STUDIOS! They did a lot for this project. It sounds amazing.

 

So its official! We have Trev Rich’s debut album, “New Forever”, coming in September. For now you can enjoy a stand out track from Heights 2 in “Red Cup Blues”. Heights 2 will be available Friday the 7th of June, follow @_TrevRich on Twitter for the link and my review of the tape will be available on www.therootmusic.blogspot.com soon too. 

 

Posted on

Tsu Surf Interview

Two months ago, New Jersey emcee Tsu Surf released his “A New Mood” mixtape and since I’ve been trying to capture the Mood Muzik artist for an interview. Not knowing much about the man himself despite his vivid depictions of his life in his music, I had to find out who the man behind the microphone was, and along the way earned myself a lesson in the difference between cities and states…

 

For those reading, who may not know who you are or listened to your music, give us a brief insight?

Tsu Surf: Reality. I try to make sure that I speak on what I know. I try and give the fans the story through my eyes. Its like every rapper can talk about the glitz and glamour, but nobody talks about what they did to get there, or been through. Summed up in one word. REALITY.

You were recently cosigned by Joe Budden and featured on the “A Loose Quarter” mixtape. How did that come about?

Tsu Surf: I always laugh at that question. I can’t really tell [Laughs]. Joe’s like big bro, and after living with him and touring with him, you learn fast….. Joe’s weird [Laughs]. You never really know how his brain tic’s. He’s a thinker. I can’t put my finger on why or when he noticed. But one day I got a DM [Direct Message on Twitter] saying, “what is your number”. It’s history from there. Had a meeting, next day recorded “Through My Eyes”.

Do you think being from the same city played a part in the acknowledgement from Joe?

Tsu Surf: Well, Joe and I aren’t from the same city. I’m from Newark, New Jersey. Budden is from Jersey City, New Jersey. Not too far apart though. Us being from the same state had to take some credit in that. But even if so, there are a million rappers in New Jersey. I guess I was making enough noise to get noticed.

Although, I admit I haven’t watched any of your battles, it seems to be the general belief you were very talented at battling. Why did you decide to turn your attention to actually making more formal music?

Tsu Surf: Well, I can’t really say I “turned” my attention, because it was never off making music. I was just worldwide known for battling so I can’t blame most of the general population for knowing me as that. Battle rap is such a huge stage, it just helped me spring board to where I need to be as a artist. So now a days I bump into people that know me for strictly music like yourself, and never heard a battle. Then I could bump into a battle fan, that strictly loves the battling Surf and only heard a song or two.

Your recent mixtape is entitled “A New Mood”, what influenced the name? It wouldn’t be an awful assumption that the affiliation with Mood Music Entertainment was a factor?

Tsu Surf: Definitely not a awful assumption [Laughs]. Mood Muzik is the homies, more so family. Shout-out to Trev Rich, Budden and Emmany. It was more like a homage thing, and just letting the world and jersey know. Its a New Mood. I’m here!. So… literally. its a New Mood, and in a sense its me telling Yoda(Joe), I got this!

The opening track on “A New Mood” featured the title “Dreams Money Can Buy 2” most likely a reference to the original by Drake. Was it a conscious decision to draw comparisons between you and Drizzy?

Tsu Surf: Very Conscious [Laughs], I already made a DREAMS MONEY CAN BUY 1, I guess a remix to Drakes original on “Surfs up 1.5”, my previous mixtape, which you can also find on Datpiff. So we just made a twist on the beat and made a part 2.

You had quite a few features on the tape ranging from Joe, Ab-Soul and Trev Rich to Lu Jerz and Gabrielle Findley. For the next tape if you could collaborate with any artist in the world, who would it be and why?

Tsu Surf: Yeah i was shocked how the tape turned out a little [Laughs]. But maybe The Weeknd, I am a fan, that kid is dope. I’ve been talking to Wale, if we could get him on that “Red dresses 2” that’ll be so clutch. Uhm, Kiss. Def Jadakiss, that is one of my idols. And of course Mood Muzik!.

One thing lacking from your mixtape was a distinguishable “Club-Hop” track. Is it something you have no interest in creating or was it just not suitable for this tape?

Tsu Surf: I’d say more not suitable for the tape. I practically can create anything. I just wasn’t really in that mind state for this one.

Very few conscious Hip Hop artists manage to reach a high level of success, why do you think that is? Do you see it changing any time soon?

Tsu Surf: Do I see it changing? Yes. Hip Hop is getting back to the lyrical beginnings. With your Kendrick Lamar’s, Joey Bada$$’s, Ab-Souls, Your J.Cole’s. The fans are listening way more, and I think that snap-pop rap or whatever you call it might be on its way out [Laughs]. Now why we dont get the recognition….[Laughs] I’m just the artist! Beats me!

Any last words?

Tsu Surf: @Tsu_surf ….. Jersey!!!

 

So Surf believes Hip Hop is getting back to lyrical beginnings, dreams of collaborating with Jadakiss and gave me a geography lesson, but what do you think? Drop your comments below.

Make sure you download “A New Mood” (Click Here), and read the review I wrote (Click Here).

http://www.realtsusurf.com/