Derrick Jones, better known as OOH (or Yo Slick), passed away this week, and I had the difficult task of writing his obituary for the Baltimore City Paper. I had seen his group Brown F.I.S.H. several times over the last 12 years and interviewed him in 2011, but I didn't know him like countless other people around here did. He was an incredibly generous, kind, smart guy who made great music and did a lot of amazing things in education and youth outreach in Baltimore. Talking to his bandmate Jahiti and going to the vigil and seeing the outpouring of grief this week has really been moving and overwhelming, and I hope I did that justice with my article. He will be missed.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H.

I wrote a post on the City Paper Noise blog about the "Let The Light..." short music film by Yo Slick, aka OOH of Brown F.I.S.H.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., Noise, video

I posted about OOH from Brown F.I.S.H.'s new song under the alias YoSlick on the Baltimore City Paper's Noise blog.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., magazines/newspapers, Noise

This week the Baltimore City Paper publishes its annual Big Music Issue, and my story in it, Knights of the Round Robin, is about the 5th annual All Rap Round Robin that will be taking place on August 19th at Floristree. I attended the show the last two years and am really excited about the additions to this year's lineup, could be their best yet. For the story I spoke to Height, OOH, Jones, Mickey Free, The Plural MC, King Rhythm and members of Soul Cannon, Mania Music Group, Disturbed Individuals and AK Slaughter (and the concert will also feature PT Burnem, Rapdragons and Secret Weapon Dave).

(photo by Frank Hamilton)

Labels: AK Slaughter, Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., Height, Kane, magazines/newspapers, Mania Music Group, Mickey Free, P.T. Burnem, Rapdragons, Soul Cannon

I wrote a post on the City Paper's Noise blog about the exciting lineup that was just announced for the 5th Annual All Rap Round Robin happening in Baltimore in August.

Labels: AK Slaughter, Brown F.I.S.H., flyer, Height, Mania Music Group, Mickey Free, P.T. Burnem, Rapdragons, Soul Cannon

I wrote a post on he Noise blog about King of Pops, the new solo mixtape by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H., as a little follow-up to my feature on him that ran in the City Paper a few weeks ago.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., Noise

I wrote an article in the Baltimore City Paper this week about OOH from the group Brown F.I.S.H. and his upcoming solo record and the great work he's doing with Baltimore public schools and non-profits.

(photo by Rarah)

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., magazines/newspapers

I wrote a post on the Noise blog about "Hometown," the great new Dukeyman-produced single by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H., from his upcoming solo EP The Big 7.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., Dukeyman, Noise

Kane Mayfield f/ Jahiti - "F.I.S.H. Bowl (live at Mobtown Studios)" (mp3)
My friends at Mobtown Studios have been doing monthly 'microshows' for the past couple years where they have a local artist come into the studio and perform a special set for a small audience, and the studio records the performance and makes it available for free online. The latest one was the Kane Mayfield Microshow, for which the Mania Music Group rapper assembled a live band and did new arrangements of a whole bunch of his songs. The performance culminates in an epic rendition of Brown F.I.S.H.'s "F.I.S.H. Bowl" with Jahiti himself sitting in with the band, which I thought was really cool since last summer when I wrote an article for the City Paper about Baltimore summer jams, that was the song Kane picked to talk about.

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., Kane, Mania Music Group, Mobtown Studios, mp3

Skarr Akbar - Pursuit of Happyness 2: The Introduction of Stephen Tatum (Akbar Enterprize)

This is a classic example of why I get frustrated with the laziness of mixtape titles -- Skarr Akbar is one of the most tirelessly creative rappers and producer in Baltimore, but when it came to put a name on one of his best mixtape albums earlier this year, he just nicked the title from a random Will Smith movie. And since it turned out to be pretty popular, now he’s made a sequel, which means that one of Skarr’s most anticipated projects to date is dropping with a generic title like Pursuit of Happyness 2 that just makes it sound like a random workaday mixtape. Then you add the subtitle The Introduction of Stephen Tatum, which doesn't even make sense with a sequel, and man, that's just terrible. The music on the CD itself is good, I'm just saying, dude shouldn't have a song called "Amazing Imagination" and then come with such an unimaginative album title.

In any event, this is a solid follow-up to the first Pursuit of Happyness, lot of good original beats by Skarr and others, really some of his most emotional and honest music to date. I think dude is realizing that people respond to those times when he really vents about his personal life and kinda lets you into his head, so he's really letting it all out here. I like that some of the tracks are only 2-3 minutes long but still feel like complete songs, Skarr doesn't overdo it and make them any longer than they need to be, you get 15 songs in under an hour, which is pretty economical by rap standards. There are guest spots by Jahiti of Brown F.I.S.H., Smash and 100 Grandman, and you can download it at AllBmoreHipHop.com.

Skarr Akbar - “Sumtymez” (mp3)
This is one of my favorite songs on the record, although it presents some disturbing evidence that Skarr might be catching the "what else" syndrome from Comp.

Labels: 100 Grandman, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Brown F.I.S.H., mixtape/album review, mp3, Skarr Akbar, Smash

This week is the Baltimore City Paper's annual 'Sizzlin' Summer' issue, and I wrote a fun piece that's kind of a playlist of local summer jams. I talked to folks like DJ Booman, E Major, Shaka Pitts, PenDragon, Kane Mayfield and members of Kadman, Jumpcuts, Rapdragons, the Art Department, the Cameron Blake Band and the Out Of Your Head Collective, and they picked songs by Wye Oak, LMS, Skarr Akbar, the Annexx Click, Junkers, the Get Em Mamis, Rhinovirus, Billie Holiday, Celebration, Sri Aurobindo and Brown F.I.S.H. We've even got a player on the CP site where you can stream some of the songs.

(illustration by Alex Fine)

Labels: Annexx Click, Baltimore City Paper, Brown F.I.S.H., DJ Booman, E Major, G.E.M./Tha Plague, Kane, PenDragon, Rapdragons, Shaka Pitts, Skarr Akbar

OOH f/ Jeneba Suma- "Pink Money" (mp3)
Here's the latest solo single by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H.

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., mp3

OOH - "Brotha On The Run" (mp3)
Here's a new Dukeyman-produced solo track by OOH from Brown F.I.S.H. that you might enjoy if you checked out the last one from OOH that I posted a couple months ago. Also, Brown F.I.S.H. is playing at the Windup Space this Saturday.

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., Dukeyman, mp3

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., flyer, Soul Cannon

OOH - "Let The Light..." (mp3)
OOH from Brown F.I.S.H. sent this song to me describing it as a "holiday single," but really that's a little deceptive. It's actually a funny, mean, ugly-ass rap song that happens to sample The Nutcracker and have some Christmas-related wordplay. All that means is that this will still sound just as good in January, though.

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., mp3

Labels: Brown F.I.S.H., flyer

And the hits just keep coming! Or really, songs that for the most part were hits in my mind only, or for a relatively small group of people. I surprised myself, though, when I looked at the whole 100 and realized that almost half the songs were things that had been played on 92Q at some point or another. Mostly club songs, but still, it's nice to think that many songs I've genuinely liked have impacted the station's airwaves, as much flak as people give the station about local artist airplay:

41. The Arabz - "Alright" (mp3) - January 15, 2006
42. C.R. - "Know You Better" (mp3) - June 16, 2006
43. K.W. Griff - "Tony Track" (mp3) - July 6, 2006
44. Golden Seal f/ Ooh of Brown F.I.S.H. - "Sistahs Pimpin'" (mp3) - July 13, 2006
45. Labtekwon - "Dr. Strangelove" (mp3) - July 20, 2006
46. Huli Shallone - "This My Hood" (mp3) - March 15, 2005
47. Davon f/ Tim Trees - "Be Ya Friend" (mp3) - July 27, 2005
48. B. Rich - "Whoa Now (Bmore Version)" (mp3) - July 25, 2006
49. Dirt Platoon - "Movin'" (mp3) - August 7, 2006
50. Mania Music Group - "Lunatic Fringe" (mp3) - November 13, 2008

Labels: B. Rich, Baltimore club, Brown F.I.S.H., Dirt Platoon, Golden Seal, Huli Shallone, KW Griff, Labtekwon, lists, Mania Music Group, mp3, Tim Trees

Wrapping up the first half now, we're really getting into back to back songs I straight up love. Once again, there's a totally unintentional theme with a lot of songs I posted in 2006 originally, which makes sense since that was probably the most exciting year for me personally, in the history of running this site:

51. UnReal f/ Sonny Brown - "Hell 2 Pay" (mp3) - September 9, 2006
52. Cutthroat - "If I Die" (mp3) - October 15, 2006
53. Tyree Colion - "My Projects" (mp3) - November 19th, 2006
54. Blaq Starr - "Stop" (mp3) - August 22, 2005
55. Brown F.I.S.H. - "45" (mp3) - December 22, 2006
56. 410 Pharaohs - "Watch Her Shake It (aka Hammer Dance)" (mp3) - July 29, 2006
57. ShellBe R.A.W. f/ XO - "Damn Shells" (mp3) - August 7, 2006
58. B.I.G. Status - "Line Up" (mp3) - January 10, 2006
59. Bossman - "Oh" (mp3) - June 9, 2005
60. Bigg Patch - "Supa Ugly" (mp3) - July 25, 2006

Labels: B.I.G. Status, Baltimore club, Bigg Patch, Blaq Starr, Brown F.I.S.H., Cutthroat, lists, mp3, Sonny Brown, Tyree Colion, UnReal

Labels: B.O.M.B., Black Hole Rock Club, Brown F.I.S.H., Comp, flyer, Heavy Gold, Hots, Huli Shallone, Ogun, Savage Da Beast, Skarr Akbar, Tha Profitt

Y'know, it's funny. I've been running this site for over 4 years now, and hearing more and more Baltimore rap every year that I do it, and yet every year I feel less and less qualified to let my opinion be the end-all-be-all that some people treat it as. There's simply too much music, too much variety coming out of this scene for any one person to really fairly judge, but if I'm gonna be the only person that attempts to hear all or most of it, I might as well throw in my two cents, even as I encourage any and all other critics and bloggers to cover this stuff from a different perspective. So I make no claims to objective truth with this list; this is totally my taste, my opinion. I tried to do a poll a couple years ago, but that didn't really pan out and I'm kind of soured on the idea now, but if anyone wants to post their top 10, top 5, whatever in the comments, or e-mail them to me, I'd love to post those if I get enough of a response.

The last two years I did top 50 lists, but this year I decided to scale down to 20, even though I heard more stuff, just because I really wanted to emphasize the cream of the crop, and also because a lot of cats put out boring garbage this year. That's not to insult everyone that isn't on this list, because there were definitely some good releases that didn't quite make the cut, and also some great singles and tracks that didn't really fit into the list anywhere, but I felt the need to be more selective this time. Government Names will return to daily posting sometime in January, probably not for another week or two.



1. 410 Pharaohs - 410 Funk (Strictly Rhythm/Ill Friction)
This list is not really about club music, but the Labtekwon/DJ Booman/Jimmy Jones club/rap masterpiece really deserves to be at the top of this list, as well as the City Paper top 10, anyway, because it is a historic moment for Baltimore hip hop in general.
410 Pharaohs - “Big Girls” (mp3)



2. Brown F.I.S.H. - Bootleg III: F.I.S.H. & Friends... The Mixtape
This isn't really an album or a mixtape, just an odds & sods collection of remixes and collaborations that the F.I.S.H. recorded in the past few years, but it's so full of great music that it's the equal of any album, in my opinion.
Brown F.I.S.H. f/ Jeneba Suma & Jahli of Golden Seal - “Cheatin' (It Ain't Cheatin' Unless U Caught)” (mp3)



3. various artists - Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks from The Wire (Nonesuch Records)
There's a couple club tracks on this, and a couple non-hip hop tracks, but this is still more than half local hip hop, and considering how much mileage Baltimore rappers have gotten from associating themselves with The Wire over the past few years, I thought it was pretty amazing that an official soundtrack of the show came out with songs by Ogun, Bossman, Mullyman, Tyree Colion and others. It was really one of the highlights of my year that I got thanked in the liner notes for this album, and had even a small role in it coming together.
The Get ‘em Mamis feat. L. Cash - “When You See Us” (mp3)



4. The Pornstars - Dirty Work (Pornstar Productions/Bird City Entertainment)
A couple MC/producers that are nicer on the tracks than on the mic, but got enough personality and humor that you aren’t sitting around wishing they just sold the beats to someone else. These dudes could be, like, Baltimore’s answer to the Beatnuts. I can bump this album all fucking day, front to back.
The Pornstars f/ Ckrisis & Mell - “Bird City” (mp3)



5. Bear - All We Got Is Us 2008 edition (For The People Entertainment)
For The People Entertainment has really been a unique and fertile label in the past couple years, and in my opinion this is their most complete and enjoyable release to date, although this year's Cutthroat album comes in a close 2nd.
Bear - “Live Through Time” (mp3)



6. E Major - Majority Rules (Under Sound Music)
Another one that I helped get into the City Paper top 10, so I won't say much more about than I already said there, but I feel like he really did everything right with this project, from the great release party show to the videos to making the whole thing available for free online, he really was smart about how he worked this project and got his buzz up.
E Major - “Don’t Worry” (mp3)



7. PenDragon - I Got Hits 4 Cheap: Draggy Baby Edition (Team Arson)
It's funny, Drag is one of these guys that gets on my nerves for calling himself the "king" of the city and this and that, but he also gets my respect for totally watching everyone's moves and sizing up the competition (he's always sending me links to other people's videos and music before know about them). And really between his production skills, and the heart and intelligence and humor that come across in his music, he has as much of a chance at making a run at the title as anyone these days, in my opinion. Not that I think there is a title, or that there should be.
PenDragon - “How Does It Feel” (mp3)



8. Ab Rock - The Mid Midlife Crisis (Rockmics Entertainment)
Maybe it's just because they did the release party together, and guested on each other's albums, but I really mentally group this along with the E Major record, and they're both really good examples of mature 'conscious' rap albums that are actually fun and laid back.
Ab Rock - “The Incredible” (mp3)



9. Tha Profitt - Concept Art (Profitt Productions)
Bmore's #1 white boy really went in on this one, coming up with creative concepts for every song and showing improvement as an MC.
Tha Profitt - “Fast & Furious” (mp3)



10. 80'z Boys - The 80'z Made Me
Most of the time when rappers boast about being born in the ‘80s, I feel almost like they’re making excuses for their music being inferior to the generations before them. But these guys pretty much just make dope music that doesn’t feel too tied to any particular age or era. I got this early in the year and I’m pretty sure it was released before 2008, but it’s still by far one of the best things I heard in Baltimore this year.
80’z Boys - “The 80'z Made Me” (mp3)



11. Skarr Akbar - The Epidemic (DNA/Akbar Enterprize/U-Turn Ent./Round Table Music Group)
Another year, another ton of new music from Skarr, but even as he was churning out radio singles and collaborations, he put out a 'street album' that ranked up there as one of his most consistent efforts to date.
Skarr Akbar - “If I Should Die” (mp3)



12. Profound - Carpe Diem (Real On Purpose Entertainment)
After years of dwelling in Ogun's shadow, Profound came out swinging this year and established himself as one of Baltimore's punchline masters.
Profound - “What You Gonna Do!?” (mp3)



13. Greenspan - Got Green? (Federal Reserve Music Group)
I knew this guy was a serious talent from the first couple times I saw him live, and I was not disappointed by his debut full-length release.
Greenspan - “Mt. Rockmore” (mp3)



14. D.O.G. - G Pack Music (7 Entertainment/Invisible Set Entertainment)
On the same tip as the 410 Pharaohs record, a really inspired union of rapping and Baltimore club, stretched out to album length. If he put this out right after "Ryda Gyrl" it could've been huge.
D.O.G. - “Louder” (mp3)



15. Soul Cannon - Kaboom (Soul Cannon/Morphius Records)
Soul Cannon might be kinda slept on in the hip hop scene, just because they're a band and mainly play rock clubs, but they really made one of the best conscious rap albums in the city this year.
Soul Cannon - “Get Serious” (mp3)



16. various artists - The Mania Music Group Sampler (Mania Music Group)
Mania Music Group put out a pretty ridiculous amount of free music this year, including solo EPs by each of its 3 solo artsts, and while they were all pretty good, this first sampler mixtape still really stands out to me as the best demonstration of the label's range and diversity of sounds.
Ron G. - “What Ya See” (mp3)



17. Wordsmith - The Revolution Begins With a Takeover Vol.1 (DJ Furious Styles/HipHopDX.com)
Wordsmith is another guy that's been so prolific this year that it's been really hard for me to keep up with his output so far, but this mixtape was the first time I really started to get a handle on how talented he is.
Wordsmith f/ Kontact - “Hard To Forget” (mp3)



18. B.O.M.B. - Testers EP (Money In Da Bank Entertainment)
B.O.M.B. had one of the best ideas this year: make a release as long as possible (9 songs) while still being able to call it an EP, so that he could sell basically an album-length release at half price. And really, there's something to be said for making a short release where every song counts, instead of just filling the CD to its maximum running time just because you can.
B.O.M.B. - “Over Here” (mp3)



19. EJ - The Westside Hustle (Carnigie Records/DJ Radio)
I'd been waiting to hear a mixtape from EJ since I first heard him like 3 years ago, and while I thought it could've been better overall, this still had some jams on it.
EJ - “Bitch Niggaz Pt. 1” (mp3)



20. Caddy Da Don - Fixed Fight 2.5: Exclusive Edition (Harup Entertainment)
Caddy definitely gets props for being one of the most notable newcomers of the past year or two.
Caddy Da Don - “What’s Funny” (mp3)

Labels: Ab Rock, B.O.M.B., Baltimore club, Bear, Brown F.I.S.H., D.O.G., DJ Booman, E Major, Labtekwon, lists, Mania Music Group, mp3, PenDragon, Skarr Akbar, The Wire