Blaq Starr - The Raw Starr Mixtape Vol. 1 (JB Starr Productions)

Blaq Starr may have just dropped the King Of Roq mix CD with big DTLR distribution over the Summer, plus the nationally released Supastarr EP back in the Spring, but he's already got another CD out that's apparently newer than those, which I spotted a few copies of it at True Vine recently. This one is kind of on the same low key tip as last year's I'm Bangin', just a disc with no cover or tracklisting, less than 45 minutes long. But this one isn't a Baltimore club mix, it's basically all hip hop and downtempo stuff from Blaq Starr along with some of the rappers in his crew, including Rye Rye, Lithium and Hipno, who has a bunch of solo tracks at the end of the disc. So it's got some of the tracks in that vein from King Of Roq like "Swagga Back," as well as some different stuff like Blaq Starr doing a freestyle with a dancehall dude over Cham's "Ghetto Story." I wouldn't say it's really essential listening like his last few releases have been, but if you're a huge fan of Blaq Starr like I am, you might wanna cop it anyway. Check out the new Blaq Starr Music page on MySpace, and Blaq Starr will be performing at Sonar this Friday.

Blaq Starr f/ Prince The Fly Guy, Lithium, and Hipno - "Porno Starr" (mp3)
This reminds me of one of my favorite Blaq Starr productions, Cooli Hi's "Beat It Up," in that it has a slower, Southern hip hop tempo while still having that insistent Baltimore club pulse because of the "Dick Control" kick drum pattern underneath it. Prince is the kid who had that song "Crush Em All" that was real big in the clubs a while back. Hipno is from Chicago and raps in that real fast Midwest style, and I have to say, I'd rather hear a Twista-esque rapper over a real Baltimore club producer's beats than, say, the real Twista over Pharrell's fake Bmore beats.

Labels: Baltimore club, Blaq Starr, mixtape/album review, mp3