Though the video is nearing two months old, I've been watching/listening to it a ton lately, which makes it relevant in my mind. Plus: it's dope. It's another good looking vid from the filmmakers at Boom Tee Vee, and both the song ("Self Made") and visual accompaniment seem like a mission statement for local MC Mega. He tells us about his undying drive (or at least that of a "NASCAR participant") to get money, and takes us around his neighborhood (the Central District) with some of his guys. The beat, which the Youtube description credits White Hot for, fits nicely, and lines like "When bars I spit are that hard, ni**a, that's called imprisonment," make me wish I'd heard of this guy sooner. Get familiar.

Avatar Young Blaze The Humble Villain

The Humble Villain is a fresh load of songs from Seattle's foremost Russian-American rap spitter. Av's slowed down a bit from his days of releasing mixtapes (or street albums) quarterly, and it sounds like it's given him time to let his life catch up with him, and reflect on his course more objectively. THV is a more personal venture all around, where he rhymes about sipping lean and smoking potent Northwest herb as much as he does about love lost and the state of his personal affairs. He also explores in some depth his Kurt Cobain fascination, both paying homage and making direct, self-aware comparisons that only enrich the mixture. Over time, Av has added perspective to his raw talent, and the result has been better each time out. At this point, he's an extremely well-rounded MC, and is making the best music of his career. Sure, their are some yoinked beats and whatnot, so the album is free (here). I'd just like to start giving the guy money for his music at some point.

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Busdriver is the schizo-party IDM rap of LA's Regan Farquhar, an experimental lyricist who shoots off rapid fire lyrics like an avant-garde Gift of Gab or some long-lost member of the Bay Area's boldly innovative Anticon collective.

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Local independent rap label Members Only just released a pair of singles from their upcoming January 2012 releases. Here's what I thought:

membersonly206.bandcamp.com

"Turn It Up" is the new single from Hi-Life's sophomore full-length Langston Hugh Hefner: Love, Weed & Other Vices which will be out January 3rd. Producer Crispy provides a bassy, echoey, dark-alley funk backdrop, and resident Hi-Life MCs B-Flat and Khingz piece together a chorus-free conveyer-belt of rhymes along side guest rappers Helluvastate, A.K.A. Tay Sean and Thaddeus David. The mini-verses are slick, although, aside from a refrain of "Lose yourself in the beat; go crazy" toward the end of the three-minute vignette, there's not a whole lot to tie them to one another. It's more of a vocal exercise than a song, and perhaps better functions as an interlude-style track when heard within the context of the album than isolated as a single.

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Nicely frosted

Artist: Sta Hi Brothas
Album: Chrismas Trees
Label: self-released
Release: out now

In the spirit of their F#%K A Valentine EP, Sta Hi Brothas Vitamin D and Maine have crafted a phenomenal collection of tinsel-hating jams that amount to some of the hottest holiday-slandering rap music money can't buy (it's free).

Vita twists some wintery samples into cheer-destroying slappers like only he can, and he and tag-team MC Maine take turns laying into The Season. While there isn't a down moment on the release, a definite highlight comes in the delightfully vicious slew of verses at Mr. Claus' expense on "How To Rob Santa" courtesy of Vita, Maine and [HOW THE LIVING HELL HAD HE NOT LAID DOWN A CHRISTMAS VERSE BEFORE?!] Grynch. Peace to Chuck Brown, but this is officially the best Christmas album I've ever heard.

It's also pertinent to mention that I had a conversation with Vitamin D about the commercial nature of Easter last Spring, and, suffice to say, that bunny better watch his ass.

Artist: OC Notes
Album: Emerald City Sequence
Label: self-released
Release: out now

Emerald City Sequence is a twenty-five minute audio and visual remix of 1978's Afrocelebratory Wizard Of Oz spin The Wiz, that starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Richard Pryor, with a soundtrack that featured the likes of Quincy Jones, and of course Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Seattle's OC Notes provides the flowing soundtrack to the new creation, and, by the looks of it, the visual edits as well.

In case you forgot, Notes, A.K.A. Otis Calvin VIII, is a borderline genius and a studio wizard who pretty much takes life, in all its disjointed glory, filters it through his brain, and uploads it onto his Bandcamp page (and various other internet housings) for us to enjoy. Watch/listen to Emerald City Sequence here. You won't regret it.

thegoodsin.bandcamp.com

Seattle's The Good Sin is not only a blossoming lyricist, but also a good actor. See, for example, his last video for "Bad About You". His latest thespian venture (which you can find below), the Detooz Films video for "The Crown", finds TGS dozing off on his way to a California #Occupy rally, where he finds some good people "waking up" themselves. This is a good example, says this rap blogger, of an artist making better use of the medium than the simple self-glorification shots we encounter so often in the genre, and here's to seeing more like it.

The song, produced by 10.4 Rog is yet another smooth track from their collaborative free album Late, which I certainly recommend giving a listen to. On to the video...

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kungfoogripbbj.bandcamp.com

The first ever music video from Eastsiders Kung Foo Grip frames the track "Def Yoda Pt.3" with nighttime images shot by A.K. Romero. The song is from this summer's Capitalize EP, and the video is great, which not only bodes well for the group (who will be dropping another project on us shortly), but also continues to paint a promising picture for the next generation of locals in the hip hop scene.

KFG along with young Seattle-area rappers like Brothers From Another (who are playing a free show at Rock Paper Scissors a week from today), have been putting out promising material for a while now, and are already creating distinct sounds within their circle. Where BFA lives for summer vacation and slugging Rainier with their buds, KFG spitting with fury, and shooting freehand vids in darkened parking structures. Both environments have proven fertile for quality music to this point, and one can only assume there's more on the way.

See the video after the jump.

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candidt.bandcamp.com

Soul without the dookiebraid

Ah, the dookiebraid (not to be confused with the dookie rope), arguably the most soulful hairstyle/way of life to emerge from scalps across the nation during the '90s decade. Candidt, one of the Town's most soulful rap artists himself, has just re-released Dookiebraid Soul, a 1996 hip hop album that saw a young man take his first strides across beat, and do it well.

It's pretty amazing, actually, how little Candidt's voice has changed over the last fifteen years; he sounds as young and energetic now as he did on tracks like "Wanna Say No" or "Candidt" from this first offering. Much of the production is live--perhaps entirely sample-free--and has a distinct Westerly vibe (outside of the G-funk set, the keyboard loop was perhaps our biggest signature out here).

To Candidt for the rundown:

This is where it all began! Candidt's "Dookiebraid Soul" is a hood classic! Released in 1996, this album was indeed ahead of its time. With LIVE, yes LIVE production from MAS along with Daveey C. on the drums, K. Boogie & Candidt, Dookiebraid Soul was definitely a huge jump-off in its day. After years and years of requests the album is now available for nostalgia! Enjoy it, bump it, share it! GO!

This is a trend that should continue (re-surfacing old-school albums for the benefit of all, now that it's more feasible in the digital age) says this rap blogger, but for now, listen to Dookiebraid Soul for free here, then check out the man's classic rap-writing instructional (a personal favorite) after the jump...

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The amount of quality local rap music that has surfaced this week is pretty amazing. Mostly singles and teasers, but brilliant flashes nonetheless, and if these releases are a sign of things to come, then the Reverb Board Of Blaps And Raps would like to clearly voice its approval.

Here we go:

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