Album Review: Jahpan – An Album Called Life (2010)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Potholes

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Joey Beats has been one of my favorite producers ever since I first heard his music many moons ago. Like many other local acts, I hit him up to take part in the Ocean State Sampler, which he obviously agreed to do. And lately he’s been hard at work with Blak, also known as Blak Lungz, on a follow-up to their debut EP, Strategery, which dropped in June 2007. Hell, they even shot a video for one of the tracks you can preview here, “I Want Free”, that features a cameo from yours truly. Yeah, yeah, I’m shameless. Anyway, be sure to check out these three streaming cuts from this duo’s upcoming full-length that should (hopefully) drop this year. *crosses fingers*. Looks like you can stream parts of the whole damn record at the Joey Beats and Blak site. YES.

Providence, R.I.-based producer Falside met up with Boston-based turntablist DJ Emoh Betta, of The Deck Demons, for an afternoon of Pad Thai, caffeine, and brainstorming. Meet’n Veggies is the result. It’s a free five-track EP that blends Falside’s boom-bap elements with DJ Emoh’s ridiculous skills on the decks. If this is anything like what I have heard from Fal in the past — yes, I haven’t had a chance to listen yet — this is sure to stay in the rotation for at least the next week or two. Enjoy.

Download: Falside vs. DJ Emoh Betta – Meet’n Veggies

It took me a few months to finally get this put together, but Potholes In My Blog is proud to present the Ocean State Sampler. I was inspired to do this after we dropped our first project, Transmitting Live Vol. 1, this summer. I just needed to do something to showcase the talent residing in Rhode Island, where I call home. And after a few delays and an amended track listing, it’s finally here. I am very excited to present new music from these artists, who range from Jon Hope to Dirty Hank to Joe Beats to Zumo Kollie.

Every track on this project is either unreleased or will appear on a future album dropping in the next few months. OK, to be fair, the Jahpan track can be grabbed off iTunes, but it’s only available at a few digital outlets. And when he hit me up a week ago to be included on this, I just had to include him. Nothing left to do now but download this 10-track sampler and let us know what you think. A huge thank you to every artist included on here and to Objektiv One who supplied the excellent artwork. And if you are an R.I. rapper or producer looking to collaborate on a sequel to this project, hit us via e-mail on the contact page. Hit the jump for the track listing and artwork.

Download: Ocean State Sampler [Mediafire]

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Double dose of downloads right here. Falside, who hails from the same tiny state I do (Rhode Island), hit me up with his instrumental EP Bugs In Ya’ Teef (B.I.Y.T.) yesterday and after one listen, I had to post it for you all to hear. He has worked with several notable underground emcees including Pace Won, Reef The Lost Cauze, Vast Aire, and C-Ray Walz. But this is a chance for Falside to strut his stuff on the instrumental tip.

That obviously isn’t all, though, as you can tell from the hilarious picture you see above. Falside also sent over the free digital single he crafted for fellow Rhody hip-hop artist Dirty Hank. He spits with a slightly drunk flow that’s just as infectious as the beat he’s spitting over. Look for more from both of those Rhode Islanders in the future!

Hit the jump for a video from Falside’s B.I.Y.T.

Download: Dirty Hank – “Wealthy Healthy” Digital Single

Download: Falside – Bugs In Ya’ Teef

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