Posts By Michael Russam
R.A. The Rugged Man – Legends Never Die
R.A. The Rugged Man – Legends Never Die Nature Sounds: 2013 Legends Never Die might only be R.A. The Rugged Man’s second studio album, (a follow-up to his 2004 debut Die, Rugged Man, Die), but heads know who he is.…
Snoop Lion – Reincarnated
Snoop Lion - Reincarnated RCA: 2013 Snoop Lion. We’ve known about Snoop Dogg’s transformation for some time now, but such is the affection held for him that, even after such a relatively long gestation period between announcement and release, there are…
TOKiMONSTA – Half Shadows
TOKiMONSTA – Half Shadows Ultra Records: 2013 She might still be known amongst many for her tenure on the Brainfeeder roster and association with the beat-scene of her native L.A., but TOKiMONSTA (born Jennifer Lee) has always stood apart. The appetites…
Ben Jamin – R a d i o W a v e s
Ben Jamin – R a d i o W a v e s YGB: 2013 After a steady dripping and dropping of tracks over the past number of months, Auckland, New Zealand based producer Ben Jamin’ has at long last…
Killah Priest – The Psychic World of Walter Reed
Killah Priest - The Psychic World of Walter Reed Proverbs Records: 2013 It says quite a bit about Killah Priest that he has managed to maintain any kind of stature at all despite being a part of that most notoriously uniform…
Yelawolf – Trunk Muzik Returns
Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik Returns Self-released: 2013 Yelawolf can be a hard dude to make your mind up about. His countrified outlaw persona can be grating and even play as a little gimmicky, but at the very least it seems to…
The Doppelgangaz – HARK
The Doppelgangaz – HARK Groggy Pack Ent.: 2013 If the recent new wave of New York hip-hop has taught us anything it is that the music still has a surprising amount of mileage to gain from looking to the past.…
T.I. – Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head
T.I. - Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head Atlantic: 2012 Though it might not necessarily appear so to the casual observed with “Live Your Life” still ringing in their ears, T.I.’s career has been a shade more interesting than that of many…
Trinidad Jame$ – Don’t Be S.A.F.E.
Trinidad Jame$ - Don’t Be S.A.F.E. Think It’s a Game Ent.: 2012 Hip-hop has always had room for exaggerated characters; it’s always, to some degree, been about persona, ego and braggadocio, the individualistic combination of which has been sending rappers into…
Nacho Picasso – Black Narcissus
Nacho Picasso – Black Narcissus Self-released: 2012 One of hip-hop’s greatest and most undervalued traits is its ability to be hyper-referential and unashamedly, wholeheartedly funny without losing any notions of the seriousness of the craft, without making the art itself anything like a…
