I posted on the City Paper's Noise blog about #Letspushthebutton, a new mixtape featuring Ogun, Los, Starrz and a ton of other Baltimore rappers.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Los, Noise, Ogun, StarrZ

It's been an annual tradition that at every December, I do a post here listing my favorite Baltimore hip hop albums and mixtapes of the year. But I never got around to it before the end of 2010, and here we are at the end of January and I feel bad about slacking and just want to get it out there, better late than never. I'll be posting each entry one at a time, and you can follow me on Twitter for updates when I add a new one:



1. Dirt Platoon - Deeper Than Dirt (Brake Fast Records)
So many underground rappers, especially in Baltimore, talk a good game about real hip hop, keeping it grimy, bringing the ‘90s back, all that shit, but when you really listen to their music they’re as eager to keep up with trends or be on some pop shit as anybody they’re complaining about. So that’s why it’s so refreshing to hear Dirt Platoon just not fuck around at all and make some nasty gritty old fashioned hip hop, but still have enough production values, attention to detail and content in their lyrics that it all holds together as a real dope album.
purchase Deeper Than Dirt on Band Camp
Dirt Platoon - "D.P. Shit" (mp3)



2. Los - Shooter (After Platinum/DJ Ill Will/DJ Rockstar)
As a pure MC Los is one of the rare people in Baltimore who I can sincerely say has inspired awe in me at times, just how fast his mind works and how the words pour out of him. I don’t love every creative decision he makes on this, really his first album-style project of all original production, but it’s a consistently engaging listen and probably the only record on this list I’ve seen on any year-end lists outside of Baltimore, even XXL’s, so I’m really happy that dude is kind of becoming a breakout star around here.
download Shooter on DatPiff
Los - "Freedom Of Speech" (mp3)



3. Rome Cee - Tunnel Vision (FreEP)
This may be billed as a “FreEP,” but at just under 40 minutes with barely a second wasted, it’s closer to what rap albums used to be like and probably should still aspire to. Rome Cee was easily the best new Baltimore MC (or new to me, anyway) to grab my attention in 2010 with such a concise, no-nonsense record.
download Tunnel Vision on Band Camp
Rome Cee f/ Kneel Knaris - "Rock My Style (mp3)



4. Backland - Block Work: None Better (DJ Jabril/Block Boy Music)
Backland’s been on the scene forever, and has always been one of the most talented rappers in Baltimore, but his projects have been fewer and further between since an accident and resulting health problems put him on the sidelines for a while. So every new mixtape is an event, especially this one, which he kept trickling out dope songs from throughout 2010 before finally dropping the whole thing on us.
download Block Work: None Better on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Backland - "Goin' In" (mp3)



5. Mickey Free - Last Of The Tight Wiggers
Sometimes white rappers give me some bullshit about how I'm biased against them, but really I just wish more of them were as dope as Mickey Free or were able to navigate their way through hip hop with the same kind of wit and creativity, letting race factor into his identity but not dictate it, playing with white rapper archetypes while transcending them. Last Of The Tight Wiggers is a fun, funny record with some great rapping and the kind of goofy-ass skits people don't make anymore.
purchase Last Of The Tight Wiggers on Band Camp
Mickey Free - "The Unnies" (mp3)



6. Mania Music Group - Welcome To The Audience (Mania Music Group)
I'm a big fan of Mania and have always enjoyed their plethora of free online releases, although no single one of them completely lived up to the crew's overall potential. And that extended to their first official retail album, but they got close enough with a nice collection of jams where all 4 of the group's MCs got a good solo showcase or a standout verse on a posse cut.
purchase Welcome To The Audience on Band Camp
Mania Music Group f/ Dappa!!! Dan Midas - "U Might Think" (mp3)



7. Mullyman - Harder Than Baltimore (Major League Unlimited)
Mully's second album was a total improvement over 2005's Mullymania and really found him tightening his circle up to 2 great producers that both cover a lot of territory, DJ Booman and MBAHlievable, and just focusing on collecting the best of his various singles and leaks over the past year or two plus some dope new songs.
download Harder Than Baltimore on DatPiff
Mullyman - "MULLY!" (mp3)



8. Greenspan - Got Green 2 (Federal Reserve/IllVibes-DMV.com/DJBooth.net)
Greenspan is one of the few rappers in Baltimore that seems to make every move carefully and thoughtfully, his rhymes are always well written, his tracks are always crisp, his live show is always entertaining, just an all-around solid artist.
download Got Green 2 on DJBooth.net
Greenspan - "Never Done" (mp3)



9. Skarr Akbar - The Pursuit Of Happyness (Akbar Enterprize)
Skarr Akbar is one of those artists that keeps dropping new mixtapes year in, year out, and always makes this list, usually somewhere lower, because honestly although he's a huge talent and every record has some dope songs, a lot of times they end up feeling like just another mixtape. But The Pursuit Of Happyness and to a lesser extent its sequel really broke that pattern and felt like cohesive album statements.
download The Pursuit Of Happyness on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Skarr Akbar - “Unbreakable” (mp3)



10. Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore (Ltd Comp)
I'm really kind of jealous of Rapdragons that they got the brilliant idea to build an entire rap album out of samples from Baltimore rock and indie bands and that they executed it so well.
download Featuring Baltimore on Ltd Comp
Rapdragons - “Come Harvest” (mp3)



11. The Boy Blesst - Show-N-Prove (Reign Music)
I was a huge fan of Blesst's 2009 album Charmicidal, and while this one doesn't have as many memorable songs to keep me coming back, it's still another solid record from one of Baltimore's most underrated rappers, who just has a completely unique voice, an interesting lyrical perspective and a great ear for beats.
download Show-N-Prove on AllBmoreHipHop.com
The Boy Blesst f/ Barnes - “Homeboy” (mp3)



12. Al Great - The Take
After a few freestyle-heavy mixtapes that didn't particularly grab me, Al Great came hard with a couple of records full of original production in 2010, The Heist and a few months later this great follow-up, The Take.
download The Take on DatPiff
Al Great f/ Jet Noise Cardi - “Blinders” (mp3)



13. Si-Notes - Cash On Delivery (Gritty Gang/ARS Productions)
There were other female MCs from Baltimore that made a lot more noise in 2010, but Si-Notes made a mixtape I can really bump front to back last year and they didn't, so I'm still pretty happy with having given her the Best of Baltimore award.
download Cash On Delivery on AllBmoreHipHop.com.
Si-Notes f/ Hunnit Proof - “C’mon Baby” (mp3)



14. Rickie Jacobs - Air Jacobs (BuckMarleyXXX.com/The Good Life Reviews)
After a couple years of enjoying the tracks I'd heard from Rickie Jacobs here and there, it was cool to finally hear a full-length project from him. His voice and his presence on the mic are still a little lacking, in my opinion, but I like where his head's at and what he's trying to say with his music.
download Air Jacobs on Tha Good Life
Rickie Jacobs - “The End” (mp3)



15. Spita - The Fire
This is one of those kinds of odd records that isn't on anybody else's radar that ended up in my e-mail inbox that I really dug, exists very far outside current trends while still being kind of contemporary and radio-friendly, unique voice and some great production.
purchase The Fire on iTunes
Spita - “Spita” (mp3)



16. Bossman - The Re-Up (1Up Entertainment)
Almost immediately after this album was released, Bossman began a campaign of desperate publicity stunts like "Fuck Radio" song and the one-sided Wale 'beef' that, to be honest, were just bizarre and sad to me, and really made me wonder if the dude has just lost his way completely and isn't worth paying any attention to anymore. But the best part of his uneven 2nd official album at least affirmed that he's still got some of that spark that made the Law & Order album so great way back in 2004.
purchase The Re-UP on Amazon MP3
Bossman - “Pain” (mp3)



17. NOE - Gone Till Noevember (DJ 4Five / G14)
NOE has more of a 'biter' stigma than anyone else in Baltimore, but honestly at this point most of the comparisons to Jay-Z is purely from the voice he was born with and he's really got his own rhyme style and ear for beats that doesn't feel especially derivative of anyone in particular.
download Gone Till Noevember on AllBmoreHipHop.com
NOE f/ Jim Jones - "Tangerine Fisker" (mp3)



18. TestMe - In A Lane By Myself (Power Hitter Records)
TestMe is still copping Lil Wayne's rhyme style, delivery and vocal mannerisms so much that the title In A Lane By Myself is pretty inaccurate, but he's still one of the most talented biters in Baltimore and has gotten better and better at putting together consistent mixtapes.
download In A Lane By Myself on AllBmoreHipHop.com
TestMe - "No Hooks" (mp3)



19. Height With Friends - Bed Of Seeds (Friends Records)
Height is kind of the de facto ringleader of a weird, mostly white crew of rappers in Baltimore that gets overlooked or ignored in most conversations about Baltimore hip hop, and the Height With Friends records in particular go a little beyond hip hop with rock instrumentation and vocals that are sometimes more chanted than rapped. But they're in a great groove right now with the records they've been doing and really making a case for why their eccentric vision of rap is exciting and valid.
purchase Bed Of Seeds on Band Camp
Height With Friends - “Link Wray” (mp3)



20. Ogun - In My Spare Time (Architects Studio/Real On Purpose)
There's so much passion and honesty in Ogun's music at his very best that sometimes I just get a little disinterested when emphasizes swag more and kinda lets go of that earnestness that defined his early albums. And the fact that this mixtape is called In My Spare Time only kind of reminds me how much I'd rather him go hard on making the best possible album he can, but there's still some joints on here.
download In My Spare Time on AllBmoreHipHop.com
Ogun f/ Goon - “Why You Acting” (mp3)

Labels: Dirt Platoon, lists, Los, Mania Music Group, Mickey Free, mp3, Ogun, Rapdragons, Rome Cee, Skarr Akbar, The Boy Blesst

Ogun - In My Spare Time (Architects Studio/Real On Purpose)

Recently AllBmoreHipHop.com did kind of a clever promotion to hype up the release of this Ogun mixtape and Skarr Akbar’s The Pursuit Of Happyness 2, dropping them the same day, contrasting their very different images and personalities by casting Ogun as ‘the hero’ and Skarr as ‘the villain’ and asking fans to pick their favorite of the 2 releases. Obviously they’re friends and peers, and Skarr even did the artwork for this tape, but it’s kind of a friendly competition thing. I thought that was a real smart idea, although to be honest I’m not even sure which one I like more -- they’re solid releases from both artist but not the best I’ve heard from either.

Ogun’s been doing his thing for a long time but where Skarr’s kind of always been a ‘mixtape artist’ and has kind of stayed in a particular lane for a long time, Ogun started out his career making a couple of really cohesive albums with a specific viewpoint and persona, and in the last few years he’s turned more to mixtapes and has kind of toyed with his delivery and his subject matter more. I’m not totally in the camp that thinks Ogun’s old stuff was more ‘real’ or ‘conscious’ or that his new stuff is too commercial or anything, but sometimes it does feel like he’s reaching outside his comfort zone, and not necessarily in a good way. Like his flow on “Get It How You Live” is just too different, almost sounds like he’s doing an impression of Smash and it’s just awkward.

Ogun f/ Sonny Reddz - “Real Life” (mp3)
Dope introspective song produced by Traum that uses the same sample as one of my favorite introspective Jay-Z songs, “You Must Love Me.”

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Architects, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Skarr Akbar

Labels: Al Great, Club Reality, flyer, Ogun

Architects Recording Studio presents Street Radio 7 The Overdose Edition: Hosted By Comp (ARS Productions/Surface II Air Street Media)

I was late to posting about Street Radio 6 the other day, so I thought I'd just post about the next installment back to back. This one is the same format, with an artist hosting instead of a DJ, this time Comp, but for whatever reason I'm not feeling this one as much. Plenty of artists I like, just not into most of the songs they used. Street Radio 7 features music from Skarr Akbar, Bossman, 100 Grandman, The Boy Blest, Ogun, Barnes, and many others, and you can download it at allbmorehiphop.com

Tonio From Da Top f/ QG and Bar Cardy - "Twist Ya Fingers Up" (mp3)
A lot of Baltimore cats try to make anthemic crunk records like this, and they are rarely ever this effective, like if I heard this on the radio I'd be blasting this shit.

Labels: 100 Grandman, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Architects, Barnes, Bossman, Comp, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, The Boy Blesst, Tonio

Architects Recording Studio presents Street Radio 6: Hosted By Ogun (ARS Productions/Surface II Air Street Media)

Last year when ARS brought back the Street Radio series with Vol. 5, DJ Radio, who had done every previous installment, was still on board. But starting with this one earlier this year, they've switched up to a no DJ format with an artist hosting, with ARS's own Ogun as the first host. With my review of the last one I complained about the song selection, but this time around I feel like they really picked some joints, including some of my favorite songs I've posted here in the last year like OOH from Brown F.I.S.H.'s "Let The Light," Nummy's "One Night In Baltimore" with Smash, 100 Grandman, B. Rich and Comp and Ogun and DJ Excel's "Ever Since I Saw You." There's also music by Skarr Akbar, Tay-Eaz, EJ, Barnes, Tha Profitt, Savage Da Beast, and many others. Download Street Radio 6 at allbmorehiphop.com

Blue - "Elevator Man" (mp3)
This song's really catchy, unless they jacked the beat or the hook from something I don't recognize (it's one of the only tracks on the mixtape without a producer credit), I feel like this has single potential. I don't really know anything about Blue besides that he's in the Gritty Gang, but I definitely wanna hear more from him.

Labels: 100 Grandman, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Architects, B. Rich, Barnes, Comp, DJ Excel, EJ, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Smash

Si-Notes - Cash On Delivery (Gritty Gang/ARS Productions)

The past couple years I've been paying attention to Si-Notes as one of the newer female MCs in Baltimore to watch, good guest spots on NOE and Gritty Gang mixtapes and performances at Sonar and the Black Hole. But this is my first time finally hearing a full length solo project from her, and while as usual I'm tempted to complain about all the freestyles and relative lack of original production, but there's a good beat selection and she's definitely got some flows and some charisma. Architects and Ogun executive produced this and Skarr Akbar did the artwork. The song "Going Down" with Chyna Doll, Cash and Shy Lady Heroin that I posted a few months ago is on here, and there are also guest appearances by Caddy Da Don, Mykeey and others. You can download it on allbmorehiphop.com.

Si-Notes - "Throw Dat Money Up" (mp3)
This is cool, pretty anthemic track.

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Gritty Gang, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Shy Lady Heroin, Si-Notes

Next week the first Baltimore Independent Music & Arts Festival will be holding showcases all over the city from August 26th to 28th, and there's some good Baltimore club and hip hop artists among BiMA's announced performers: Comp, Ogun, Mullyman, DJ Booman, Soul Cannon, Mickey Free, Scottie B., Little Clayway, April Love, Checkwun, and Prenz Bilal, among others.

Labels: Bourbon St, Comp, DJ Booman, flyer, Little Clayway, Mickey Free, Mullyman, Ogun, Ottobar, Paradox, Red Maple, Scottie B., Soul Cannon

DJ Jabril featuring Smash - Melt Da Pyrex (Surface II Air Street Media/Street Congress Entertainment)

Despite the way the cover art kind of plays up his presence, this really isn't a Smash mixtape like you might think -- it's really more of a DJ Jabril various artists mixtape along the lines of his Stash Box series, with Smash doing intros and drops and appearing on just a few songs (like 5 out of almost 30). And that's fine by me, since Smash is the kind of artist I only feel like hearing in small doses, a quick freestyle or a guest verse, and a lot of the other stuff on here is pretty good, other than way too many beats from wack fucking Drake songs. It has the Bossman/Mullyman joint, and songs by Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Barnes, Tonio: From Da Top, Only, and a whole lot of other cats, good mix of artists. Incidentally, I've downloaded dozens of mixtapes from allbmorehiphop.com now and this is the first one that's actually all properly tagged (song titles, artist name, album title) when I load it into my iTunes, so congratulations to them on finally getting that together, hopefully they keep it up.

Nummy f/ B. Rich, 100 Grandman, Smash and Comp - "One Night In Baltimore" (mp3)
No idea who Nummy is and LOL @ his name, but it was definitely clever of him to sample a line from "Whoa Now" and get B. Rich himself and a lot of other notable Baltimore MCs together to make it a posse cut, this is kind of a jam.

Labels: 100 Grandman, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, B. Rich, Barnes, Bossman, Comp, DJ Jabril, mixtape/album review, mp3, Mullyman, Ogun, Only, Skarr Akbar, Smash, Tonio

Labels: Bourbon St, flyer, Kartel, Ogun, Only, Skarr Akbar, Steez Promo, Tha Profitt

Labels: flyer, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, Sonar, Tayland Promotions

As I did for 2008 and 2007, it's time to look back at what the most frequently used tags were on the site last year. The four numbers represent 2009 posts / 2008 posts / 2007 posts/ total posts on the site:

1. flyer (189/306/361/1199)
2. mp3 (144/120/103/489)
3. Baltimore club (91/114/76/349)
4. mixtape/album review (90/79/80/330)
5. DJ Booman (39/45/38/134)
6. Skarr Akbar (37/26/35/144)
7. Sonar (34/44/39/142)
8. Baltimore City Paper (33/25/35/153)
9. Mullyman (32/26/35/149)
10. 5 Seasons (31/65/102/298)
11. Bossman (29/29/42/168)
12. DJ Class (27/1/0/28)
13. Ogun (26/39/40/146)
14. Shaka Pitts (25/8/0/33)
15. Mania Music Group (24/8/0/32)
16./17./18. (tie) Unruly Records (23/30/11/75) / Club Reality (23/0/0/23)
/ magazines/newspapers (23/41/29/142)
19. Comp (21/17/38/121)
20./21. (tie) 41YO (19/0/0/19) / Blaq Starr (19/28/21/87)
22. Wordsmith (18/6/0/24)
23./24./25. (tie) ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM (17/0/0/17) / Tayland Promotions (17/0/0/17) / Noise (17/18/18/53)

Edit: I managed to forget video (31/18/1/50), which would've been tied for 10th place on the list if I'd tabulated it correctly at the time.

That’s 7 rappers, 3 Baltimore club producers, 3 venues, 3 blogs/websites, 2 labels, and a lot of other categories. Congrats to everyone that made the list, everyone else: grind harder, or actually e-mail me every time you do a show or drop new music.

Labels: Blaq Starr, Bossman, Comp, DJ Booman, DJ Class, lists, Mania Music Group, Mullyman, Ogun, Shaka Pitts, Skarr Akbar, Unruly Records, Wordsmith

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, flyer, Huli Shallone, NOE, Ogun, Tha Profitt

Gritty Gang - Block Work featuring Gritty Gang (DJ Jabril)

Allbmorehiphop.com and DJ Jabril released the first mixtape in the Block Work series, with Barnes, a few months ago, and now the second volume is the third release from the supergroup Gritty Gang, who previously released mixtapes in 2006 and 2009. Ogun, as usual, is kind of the ringleader, and his DJ Excel-produced single "Ever Since I Saw You" is on here, but in general the focus is on expanding the Gritty Gang family, with some artists that were involved from the very beginning (Skarr Akbar, Rockwell, XO), some that first appeared on last year's mixtape (Sonny Reddz, Kuan, Talal, Barz), and some more that are new to the fold with this release (Blue, Maintain, Rico Hopes and others). I can't say I love every track on here, and some of the newer artists I don't really have a feel for yet or have much of an opinion on, but I like where they're going with this, kinda building two franchises at once with this tape. You can download it at allbmorehiphop.com/grittygang.

Q Gutta & Si-Notes - "Never" (mp3)
Big thanks to DJ Jabril for shouting out my name and plugging Gov't Names at the beginning of this track, which conveniently also happens to be one of my favorite songs on the mixtape.

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Block Work, DJ Excel, DJ Jabril, Gritty Gang, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Si-Notes, Skarr Akbar, XO

Labels: 100 Grandman, Club Reality, Comp, DJ Booman, flyer, Mullyman, Ogun, Pork Chop, Skarr Akbar, Smash

Labels: Baltimore club, Brakefast Records, flyer, Greenspan, Ogun, Scottie B.

Vision - Still (B.M.W.B.)

Vision is a real prolific MC that I've posted about a couple times on here before, and this is the album he dropped over the summer. Vision makes that kinda terse, no nonsense street music that I respect more than I enjoy, never switches his style up but hasn't really evolved or improved noticeably either. Now and then he does say something really honest or comes up with some really vivid imagery in his lyrics, though, I could see this record growing on me. Guest appearances on the album include Ogun, Speilberg and Mr. Slick. You can download Still at allbmorehiphop.com/vision.

Vision - "Change Nothin'" (mp3)
This is the single that Vision said he was shooting a video for, and I think it's a good choice, definitely the standout track on this album.

Labels: mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Vision

Ogun - "Ever Since I Saw You" (mp3)
Fresh off winning a Baltimore Crown Award, Ogun just released the first single from his upcoming album Count Me In. DJ Excel produced "Ever Since I Saw You," and it's kind of a revamp of a song of his own, "All Nite Long," which was one of my favorite Baltimore club tracks of last year. So it's cool to hear a new version of that beat with Ogun on a club track for pretty much the first time ever, as far as I know (not counting the song with Blaq Starr, which wasn't very club). Ogun's also opening for the Sugar Hill Gang on Wednesday.

(photo by by Tya Eyeni Anthony)

Labels: Baltimore club, DJ Excel, mp3, Ogun

Labels: A-Class, flyer, Ogun, Rams Head Live, Saleem

The Baltimore Scene held the Baltimore Crown Awards at 5 Seasons on Sunday, and I decided to stay home with my son that night, but I ended winning a "golden pen" award to match my "best blog/website" award from last year. So thanks to them and the voters, and congratulations to the other winners, full list below:

Hip Hop Artist of The Year: Mully Man
Poet of the Year: Taalam Acey
Vocalist of the Year: Chyna Doll
Band of the Year: Soul Cannon
Mixtape of the Year: Comp "The Man with the Hand 2"
Photographer of the Year: Kelly Connelly
Graphic Designer of the Year: Skarr Akbar
Blog/Website of The Year: www.allbmorehiphop.com
Studio of the Year: Architect Studios
Manager of the Year: EC (Frank Lewis)
Promoter of the Year: Tay Tay of Tayland Promotions
Under the Radar Awards: Tonio from da top
Most Likely to Succeed Award: Mully Man
Best New Artist: Black Sunn
Best Live Venue: Rams Head Live
Best Poetry Venue: The 5 Seasons/Warm Wednesdays
Best Hip Hop Venue: Club Reality

Golden Awards: Awarded to artists that take it beyond being artists and use their talent and energy to contribute to the scene/community

Golden Mic: Ogun
Golden Pen: Al shipley
Golden Stage: 5th L

Special Appreciation Award: Ahk of 88.9
Special Contribution Award: Lisa Stant

Baltimore Legend Awards
Inductees to The Baltimore Hall of Fame
(Joining: Fertile Ground, Labtekwon, Taalam Acey, D Chase, and Ogun)

Mr. Wilson (RIP), K Swift (RIP), Vicious V, Sonny Brown, Lo Key, Brown Fish, Comp, and Skarr Akbar.

Labels: 5 Seasons, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, announcements, Architects, Comp, Mullyman, Ogun, Rams Head Live, Skarr Akbar, Soul Cannon, Tayland Promotions, The Baltimore Scene, The Black Sunn, Tonio