Mania Music Group - Welcome To The Audience (Mania Music Group)

I was thinking when I reviewed Mania's show at the Windup Space recently that I haven't really listened to this album much since the release date, when I finished writing my piece on it for Splice Today. So I had to really come back to it a few weeks later and see how it's aging for me. I'd say it's definitely missing some of the elements I loved on Mania's earlier mixtapes and EPs, all the weird genre exercises and more humorous moments may not have necessarily made for their best music, but it contributed to an overall loose, spontaneous feel that this album is missing a little bit. Plus the really good material makes the lesser songs pale in comparison; for instance Midas's "U Might Think" is such a revelation that it makes his more upbeat solo tracks feel kinda lightweight and less interesting. So at this point, I'm kinda more interested to see how these guys do with their solo albums, and wish there were more collabs on this. But this still has some pretty dope songs, easily one of the best Baltimore releases I've heard this year, guest appearances by Eze from Soul Cannon and Greenspan, and you can check it out on Band Camp.

Rapman Ron G - "Rock n Roll" (mp3)
This track is just crazy, Ron tends to come off kinda mellow and in control and do pretty chill midtempo songs, so it's great to hear him just rip into probably the hardest beat that Headphones and BeaLack have ever made, this is the kind of song that might win over some people that haven't really gotten into Mania yet.

Labels: Greenspan, Kane, Mania Music Group, Midas, Milly July, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ron G., Soul Cannon