Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Big Sean

Out of the 'current-crop' of rappers that have been the face of hip-hop in the past few years, Big Sean is one of the best in my eyes. His next album will be dropping next month, and whilst no official track list has been announced, he has released a couple of songs to tease us listeners into what he has got in store. Just yesterday he put the song "Fire", on SoundCloud. I was a fan of this song from my first listen - which is something rare for me, so I thought i'd blog it.

I am really looking forward to his new album, along with the new Pusha T album, "My Name Is My Name"- also scheduled to drop next month. According to the rumoured line up, Pusha is going to feature on Big Sean's album and vice-versa. So hopefully there will be more huge songs featuring their collaboration, such as "Mercy".

I have linked GOOD Music's "Mercy", a well known song featuring Big Sean, and his new song "Fire" below. Two songs which present Big Sean's lyrical versatility, on very different beats.
 

   

Monday, July 29, 2013

Legowelt

Dutch electronic producer Legowelt has produced an array of songs & remixes that i've really been feeling recently. I thought i'd share my thoughts on his work and mention a couple of song's that i've been listening to a lot, and why.

After stumbling across his SoundCloud and really liking what I heard, I carried out a bit of research on his past work, and listened to the various mixes he has done on his website. To my knowledge he's been producing for a fair amount of time as Legowelt, as well as under many aliases. I found he's been getting more exposure over here through mentions by UK DJs, as well as showing up for the Boiler Room & mixing for Rinse FM.

One of his stand out piece of work is the Memphis rap tapes series, which is complied from old rap tapes. These along with his futuristic techno house remixes & productions make him one of my favourite producers out there at the moment.

I have added two of my favourite songs from his board collection to this post below, "Azurian Sunset", and the remix of Chrissy Murderbot's "Friendship". Both have the same techno // house vibe, and feature silky and easy listening beats. As well as establishing an intense atmosphere. I for sure, still have a lot of listening to do to understand more about Legowelt, and look forward to doing so.
 



Sunday, July 28, 2013

Grand Theft Auto :: Soundtrack

One of my favourite gaming franchises of all time is Rockstar's 'Grand Theft Auto'. I pretty much grew up playing the titles Vice City // San Andreas & GTA IV, and now i'm eagerly awaiting the 5th release, GTA V, on the 17th September. Without talking too much about the overall games in this post, the way Rockstar complete these titles is flawless. It's refreshing to see their method of releasing a game like a film, and fully concentrating on all elements correctly. As a customer I appreciate & enjoy this approach, even if it means having to wait in the unknown for a long time for information.

However, for this post i'll focus on the game's soundtrack. This is one of the many aspects I am looking forward to experiencing in the next instalment in the series, and one I really enjoy from the others. The various radio stations featured are always carried out with either witty and/or over-the-top hosts. Perfectly fitting the songs with the generation the game is portraying. The stations usually cover a range of music from hip-hop, to rock, to classical. Enough to please the majority.

I thought i'd write a post discussing the artists // radio stations on Grand Theft Auto which I listened to the most when driving round the animated worlds. 'Beat 102.7' is the radio station of choice for me when playing GTA IV. This is tailored to a hip-hop audience, with artists such as Nas, Saigon and Busta Rhymes. I have previously mentioned my love for east coast hip-hop. I found a youtube video of the full 45+ minute 'Beat 102.7' station, which is played on the game as a loop. I have linked this below... I also enjoyed listening to 'The Vibe 98.8' on GTA IV. An R&B based station, which featured classic tunes from the likes of Minnie Riperton, Ginuwine and Marvin Gaye.

Additionally, on San Andreas my favourite was 'Radio Los Santos', a west coast hip-hop station. Classic tunes from N.W.A, Snoop Dogg & Ice Cube defined the areas that San Andreas was presenting. Hood rivalries didn't get much better with "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" playing in the car, haha. Whilst on Vice City, 'Flash.FM' was my favourite, a collection of pop songs which felt just right cruising the Miami world, with the comic host Toni providing over the top remarks to complete the atmosphere.

These are just my opinions on the soundtracks, and I'll probably write a review of what I thought of GTA V and it's soundtrack when it's released. Maybe in the mean time i'll do a post on my favourite game in the franchise, and why.


Saturday, July 27, 2013

R&B Classics

Most people who know me know that I love a bit of classic R&B, hip-hop soul, or whatever you call it - you know the genre. Through a deep sea of favourites, i'll try and pick a couple to kick off the R&B section on this blog. Through growing up in the late 90's mid 00's, I was led into these tunes as they got air time on the radio and on various music channels. Nowadays, the majority of house // electronic // hip-hop DJ's sample R&B tunes and either use them in a mix or to create their own edits & songs.

Female signers with a rapper featuring with a verse seemed to be a common trend. While although it's still a bit strange hearing Joe Budden, a now member of hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, rap a verse on a Christina Milian song, I still enjoy it. I know this was a method to bump up the earnings and hit a new audience, and i'm not complaining. To my knowledge it was pioneered by Biggie and Puffy during the throwback 'Ready to Die' promotions for a couple of the albums songs, and this method of production was triggered. Anyway, maybe I wouldn't have been into these tunes as much if a hip-hop influence wasn't present... I doubt it as I still love this sub-genre to this day, but it's obvious loads of people were.

But yeah, I know loads of classic R&B songs can be either solo male // female, a group and sometimes even the R&B artist features on a hip-hop song. But the rapper featuring is clearly a trend in 90's & 00's R&B. Anyway... to wrap up, below i've posted three classic R&B tunes all featuring a rapper, and neither are sitting dusty in my iTunes library.

They are, "Boy - Mariah Carey Featuring. Cam'ron", "Best of Me (Part 2) - MYA Featuring. Jay-Z" & "All I Have - Jennifer Lopez Featuring. LL Cool J".





Friday, July 26, 2013

PALACE Skateboards

So after blogging a bit about my various hip-hop tastes, I was thinking it would be good to share some of my favourite urban // skate companies. I'll briefly cover is PALACE first, a skate company which originated from London. I admire them for their collabs, energy and overall image. They recently hit the limelight through exposure in the community, and have continued to grow at a heavy rate.

In the future i'm gonna try and post some collabs and new releases from PALACE, as they are a company who either team up with classic British icons to produce some the rawest clothes // decks // accessories, or do so by themselves. The 'tri-ferg' logo below is pictured, in a 'VCR' style - this is something which they are known for. The promotions of their skaters and products through a vintage tape visual. 


But for now i'll concentrate on what excites me about the company, and what drew me too it. Just recently PALACE teamed up with Reebok to produce a collection of shoes. This is the company's first venture into footwear and from the look of it they've produced on a high level yet again. I have yet to get my hands on some of these, but no doubt i'll try and get some of the Reebok Workouts in black - as seen below from the PALACE x Reebok collection.

At the moment I own a fair amount of PALACE. I loved the Umbro collab they did some time back, and managed to pick up a couple of the football themed items. Keeping it tasteful, I don't own a ridiculous amount, so my collection doesn't stretch beyond a couple tee's & hoodies... Their range sells quick, but it's worth going out your way to get. They are, for sure, one of the freshest skate brands ever to come out the U.K.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

East Coast Hip-Hop

Continuing on from my 1st post, hip-hop will be featured a lot on this blog. I have grown up listening to hip-hop, mainly East-coast, but appreciated the majority. I thought i'd give a brief overview of what hip-hop means to me as a listener.

This sub-genre of hip-hop always seemed the realest & grittiest. Wu-Tang // Nas // Big L // Jay-Z // KRS-one & Gang Starr to name a few brought this genre firmly to the table. The 90s were the power behind this genre, all artists brought serious records to the table. Illmatic // 36 Chambers // Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, are albums which will go down in the history of music, and straight into my personal classics. Hot beats & rhymes mixed with the grit of living in the 5 boroughs, makes me wish I was experiencing it at that time.

A few months ago I got the chance to see DJ Premier play in Brighton, whilst he was visiting England. Gang Starr have always been idols in the industry, and particularly within this sub-genre. They epitomised the genre with slick beats from DJ Premier and soft rhymes by Guru. Preemo's production in my opinion is the best in 'real hip-hop' - just look at who he has produced for... To conclude this short post i'll link my favourite Gang Starr song.


BeatSpree :: New Blog

Hi all, my name's Matt. So this is a new blog in place to review, feature and comment on all things in the Hip-Hop // House // Garage // R'n'B // Grime culture. I'll also post random stuff that I like that's related to urban culture such as events. The main aim of the blog will cover reviews of old school classics - whether that be clothes, music, games, film... whatever...

Bit about me... Reside in the south-west England. I have travelled, lived abroad and graduated in International Business, so my opinions are very cultured. I also feel I have a good music knowledge, which is good considering this blog's core is centred around music haha.

Anyway, moving on, without this sounding like a dating website, I'll kick this blog off with one of my favourite Big L jams. Enjoy...