Although Rawkus would partially dissolve in the ensuing years, it had a resurgence of sorts after signing then-burgeoning acts like the Procussions, Kidz In The Hall, Panacea, and Blue Scholars. The rebirth was short-lived, however, and the label fizzled following its IODA-backed “Rawkus 50″ project. Despite these issues and ill will from certain previously signed artists, Rawkus was still the home of a host of gifted artists and, most importantly, some of their best work.

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Hit the skip to stream the single.

Panacea was wise to release their newest album 12 Step Program on the fringe of summer. The newest album from the D.C. hip hop group certainly plays itself out proper for a June listening. The breezy, jazz-infused beats and mindful rhymes are an appropriate accompaniment for the warmer months of the year.

The carefree beats will probably by the first thing a listener notices on Step Program. The group’s producer, K-Murdock, supplies 50 minutes of unobtrusive boom-bap accented with jazz. Drums are accompanied by wistful horns, pianos, synths and wind instruments. Across the entire project, beats bloom zen and swell to a peaceful background. A touch of soul seeps in at times, such as stand-out “Immortal”. DJ scratches occasionally enter the mix to successfully augment the throw-back sounds. Once in a while, the music achieves a Native-Tongues’esque quality that pays homage to organic roots. Panacea doesn’t attempt to break new ground on production, but rather, does well to release a faithful collection of serene beats that somehow bang correct while still treading lightly. Save the baffling sample of an infant’s tears on “Incubator Purgatory”, there are no flagrant missteps in the production.

Emcee Raw Poetic provides the rhymes for K-Murdock’s beats on the album. Possessed with a flow that travels at one speed, he spits intelligent raps and informed experiences with little variety. Make no mistake the rhymes on this disc will be categorized as “grown-folks music.” A listener will hear no mention of crime, violence, misogyny or wonton capitalism. Rather, the lyrics revolve around the rapper’s humble encounters with the world. He spits often about the prominence of hip-hop in his life, the drudgery of the daily grind and the pulls of lassitude, conscious and mind-altering experiences.

Unfortunately, Raw Poetic’s phrasing is rarely profound and his flow’s one-dimensional nature keeps it from coming to the forefront of any song. Verses are dropped top speed with no emphasis on the more insightful elements contained. The album could probably benefit from a few guest-choruses, as Raw Poetic often delivers them with the same cadence and flow as his verses. He certainly has something worthy to say, but its unfortunate that the construction of the songs makes it far too easier to glaze over. Repeated listens make it easier to catch the subtle wisdoms, but its still a bit of a chore to pull out the lyrical highpoints from an album at no loss of them

Overall, Panacea gives fans a quality album. One wouldn’t regret popping the disc in the player, rolling down the windows and careening through the countryside. The effort however does not justify its existence above countless other summer-appropriate releases. The monotonous flows keep the album from capitalizing on its fresh production and promising lyrics, and yet, its still an appropriate background for a June afternoon.

3 out of 5 stars

3 out of 5

Download: Panacea – “Revolution World Crazy” feat. Green

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STEP 3:  Winner announced after Christmas!
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Stay tuned for tons of more giveaways as we lead up to the extra special Christmas treat! Happy Holidays!

As the production half of the exceptional duo Panacea (along with Philadelphia’s MC Raw Poetic), Washington Metropolitan-area producer K-Murdock has exhibited vast arrays of production styles over the past six years with the group. Their 2006 Rawkus debut LP, Ink Is My Drink, is regarded a classic amongst many Hip Hop listeners. Now the moonlighting DJ and producer embarks on a series of brave and interesting solo instrumental projects, starting with the atmospheric and sonically diverse offering Breaks, Rhythms & Loops – a collection of unreleased instrumentals.

The project begins with “Grandpa”, a synth-heavy number that is enjoyably sparse and builds to mind bending funk towards the song’s seemingly abrupt end. Next up is “Digi-Funk”, and fans of A Tribe Called Quest will recognize the drums behind K-Murdock’s spirited keyboard work as being similar (if not an exact replica) to the beat the Native Tongue group used for its song “Push It Along”. K-Murdock creates a necessary tension as the song builds and while there isn’t much in the way of variety in sound, the song works to great effect. The somber “Katrina” follows, complete with K-Murdock inserting the sound of rain samples behind the moody affair. The energetic romps that precede this track propel this track forward for its sheer deviation in sound and direction. K-Murdock again shows expert ease in creating not only mood but also a tangible visual that fits that title of the song well. “Herbie” has the unfortunate distinction of following such an excellent track as this song’s stiff drum programming and overly loud highs are rote and uninspiring. All is forgiven with “Braz-ILL”, which has K-Murdock slowing the pace a bit. K-Murdock employs sped-up female vocal and guitar samples with precision. This track is an early, worthy highlight.

With excellent tracks throughout, the tail end of the project wraps up neatly with a trio of well-produced tracks. The album’s tenth track, “One Shine (Remix)”, displays more of K-Murdock’s uncanny, effortless keyboard ability. The backing drums add the necessary punch needed to keep the ears tuned in. “S.N.T.M.” is a contender for the best track on the album as K-Murdock wisely lets the song build into its jazzy, hypnotic groove and changing the sounds every so often. The LP ends with “Step 12”, a hard-hitting track with big drums and the vast contrast of K-Murdock’s keyboard display. The song takes a curious left turn toward the end but it works itself out by the track’s end. Over the course of the record, K-Murdock takes plenty of risks that mostly work. There are many empty spaces in many of the tracks but there is always the promise of something epic happening in every song – whether advisable or not. K-Murdock has done plenty on this LP to have his name mentioned amongst Hip Hop’s wide pool of instrumental Hip Hop producers.

There are always certain artists working in the underground, steadily releasing great music while upholding the principles of true hip-hop, who get slept on more than the average underground hip-hopper. Damu The Fudgemunk is one of those cats. From his days producing with Boston-bred emcee Insight, under the Y Society moniker, it has been obvious that Damu has an ear for catchy samples and an uncompromising love for that ’90s boom bap sound. He also worked the solo circuit, releasing a few free projects to keep his fans’ appetites satiated. He also toured up and down the East Coast to various big cities, performing street shows. He’s even lent some of his talents to the uber-consistent group Panacea. Therefore, after compiling such a fine resume, it is very nice to see Damu getting recognized by being included in the Kilawatt EP series.

The Kilawatt EP series is a set of EPs that will be released, with one producer handling the production duties for each volume. And Kilawatt: V1 belongs to Damu. This particular volume is centered around two main tracks, “Day By Day” and “Prosper”, both of which feature the lyrics of emcee Raw Poetic, of the aforementioned Panacea. For each track there also appears an instrumental version included. Slipped in between each track is a “Wonka Beat” – basically just something extra that Damu threw in as a testament to his production skills. So naturally, this EP is very condensed content-wise (which should not have been an issue anyway for any seven-track EP).

Damu’s love for the old school is evident as each track is laced with the crackling of dusty vinyl, which adds a nice textural element to otherwise standard beats. Damu is a master sampler, and chooses wisely between jazzy horns, soulful keys, and various vocal samples. Each track has a rich authentic vibe, with simple boom bap drum loops providing the framework.

On the two vocal tracks, Raw Poetic does what he really does best; he has a knack for easing into a track, sitting back on the beat and just letting it ride, never feeling the need to become the sole focus of the music. He raps about positive, admirable topics, such as ways in which he can go about his daily routine to ensure that he lives a healthy and fulfilling life. However, at times his simplicity on the mic and vocal ease are lost in the exquisite production, making his presence somewhat diminished.

Kilawatt: V1 is certainly nothing new and improved (although I suppose if all you’ve been listening to is the radio, then it may seem so), but instead it just adds depth to what is unfolding as a fantastic production career for Damu. It is certainly worthy of the spins and old school heads will find comfort in the fact that there is still music like this available.

August 25th is finally here. It’s the moment that we have all been waiting for! Today, we officially release Transmitting Live Volume One, a collection of 29 exclusive and unreleased tracks mixed by DJ Traumatix. This project spotlights some of the finest underground hip-hop acts from all over the globe that we have had the pleasure of working with.

None of this would have been possible without you, the readers. As such, it’s only right to give back and show thanks for the successful launching of our blog with this fantastic medley of hip-hop like this? And, best of all, this is just the beginning of many excellent, exclusive projects to come.

Download: Potholes In My Blog Presents… Transmitting Live Volume One Mixed by DJ Traumatix

Special shout goes to Theodor3 for whipping up the fresh artwork that you are feasting your eyes on at the moment. Hit the skip to check out the tracklisting…

Transmitting Live Volume One Tracklisting:
1- Objektiv One – Intro (Beyon3)
2- Muneshine - Heavy Hitters (feat. Fundament & D-Sisive)
3- Trek Life – As The World Turns (Unofficial) (prod. 9th Wonder)
4- DJ Traumatix – Jansport J Scratch
5- K-Murdock – Up-Rizing (feat. Real Reid & Damu The Fudgemunk)
6- Joe Kickass – Gratitude (prod. Arts the Beatdoctor)
7- The Tones & Nichelle Brown – Stay
8- King Magnetic & Elucid - Double Your Money (prod. Haj of Dumhi)
9- Debaser (Ethic & Sapient) – Shuddup
10- J Freedome & MidaZ – Return With a Mask On (prod. IMAKEMADBEATS)
11- Killing Skills – Van Dijck Brown
12- Dujeous – Open for Business (feat. Jigsaw the Puzzler) (prod. by Apex of Dujeous)
13- Jern Eye – What U Want (feat. The Regiment)
14- DJ Traumatix – Buff Fart Scratch
15- Buff1 – Good Gracious (prod. M-Phazes)
16- Keelay & Zaire – Pimp Dreams (feat. Slo Mo of Fortilive)
17- Kayo – Calling Me (feat. CooLEra & Kitda) (prod. Ritchcraft)
18- Descry – TV Customs (Swamburger & Alexandrah of Solillaquists Of Sound)
19- Blame One – Never Fit It
20- The Red Giants (Jermiside & Brickbeats) – Touchin’ You
21- Animate Objects – Look to the Sun (PV Wonder’s ‘Just Smile’ Remix) (feat. Charles Hammond Jr.)
22- TAIS – The Gold Rush (prod. Keelay & Zaire)
23- Jon Hope – Renaissance (prod. Taktix)
24- Panacea – Reasons (feat. Drew Thomas)
25- Dela - Oblighetto
26- Alternate Reality (Dumi RIGHT & Cadence) – Lovin’ That Heat
27- Big Tone - Liquor Store Counter
28- Sene – PaperPlanePushers (prod. Blu aka GODleeBarnes)
29- ESEMDEE – Hi-Tek FX Bachatiago Outro (feat. by DJ J.br0.5ki & DJ Ab-loon)

Just got word that K-Murdock is releasing the Limited Budget, Unlimited Quality album, free of charge! Crossrhodes, consisting of K-Murdock, Raheem Devaughn and Wes Felton, did a number of collaboration works way back in 2001 and 2002, prior to Raheem’s major label signing and rise to current fame. I had not even heard of these collaborations until the other day when I was chopping it up with Kyle about the music he had composed before his Panacea days. This definitely took me by surprise, but it is very nice to see something of this caliber being dug up and released for free. This might actually be one of my favorite releases we have given out on Potholes so far! And you can take my word for it, the music is flawless. The production is smooth as butter and the singing is just straight up soulful. Now from my understanding Kyle handled all of the production on this album, excluding track number 3, “Woke Up”, which was done by Dirty Ice. Give it a listen and let us know if you are feeling it as much as I am… Enjoy!

Download: Crossrhodes – Limited Budget, Unlimited Quality

Hit the skip for the tracklist… 

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Balance
3. Woke Up
4. Dreamin’
5. Dub Calls (Interlude)
6. Liquid Lady
7. Raheem Calls (Interlude)
8. Put in Work (feat. Cy Young)
9. Yourself
10. MAWSLOT’s Lament
11. Rekka Sto (Interlude)
12. Where is D. Chase?!? (Outro)