Labels: 5 Seasons, flyer, Symantyx, The Baltimore Scene

Brown F.I.S.H. - Bootleg III: F.I.S.H. & Friends... The Mixtape

Brown F.I.S.H. is a pretty important group in Baltimore hip hop that I feel like I've never really given enough coverage to on here, partly because a lot of their activity predates this site (I remember seeing them open for Black Sheep way back in '02). Plus, they're really deep into a whole different side of the scene (roots reggae and slam poetry and live R&B bands) that I'm not as into, although I totally respect what they do. In 2006, they did a special invite-only show called "F.I.S.H. & Friends" that was basically an unplugged performance with no sound system and a lot of special guests. I remember getting the invite but I wasn't able to go for some reason or another, and kept hearing how great it was afterwards. Now, there's a DVD full of footage of the event, which looks like it was a lot of fun, and this album/mixtape/compilation-type CD, which basically compiles a lot of remixes and collaborations the group recorded from 2004 to 2007, along with some performances from that show. There's just a lot of jams on this, including all-star remixes of "45" and Golden Seal's "Sistahs Pimpin'," and guest appearances by D.O.G., Symantyx, Greenspan, Heavy Gold, B-Fly, C Love, EJ, and Skarr Akbar.

Brown F.I.S.H. f/ Symantyx and Greenspan - "Cry Baby" (mp3)
Symantyx and Greenspan are two of the new Baltimore MCs who I've been the most impressed with in the past year or two, so I feel like Brown F.I.S.H. are really watching the scene and taking notes when they put both of them on a song like this. OOH has a line on here about how Brown F.I.S.H. was pissed when they didn't get a trading card back when City Paper did them, and I didn't really decide who got one or who didn't at the time, but I have to admit, that was definitely an oversight, Brown F.I.S.H. should've gotten one.

Labels: B-Fly, Brown F.I.S.H., C Love, D.O.G., EJ, Golden Seal, Greenspan, Heavy Gold, mixtape/album review, mp3, Skarr Akbar, Symantyx

Next Friday the 2nd annual Baltimore Crown event is taking place at the 5 Seasons, and there's a lot of performances scheduled as well as an MC battle, which will be judged by the crowd, and a producer battle, for which I've been asked to serve as one of the judges. This year there's also going to be awards voted on by the public for various categories, and info on voting is here (there's a "Best Blog and/or Website" category, hint hint).

Labels: 5 Seasons, A-Class, announcements, B-Fly, battle, Dirt Platoon, flyer, Kane, Minlus McCracken, Ogun, Sean Toure, Shaka Pitts, Sonny Brown, Symantyx, UnReal

Labels: 5 Seasons, battle, Deep Flow, flyer, Shaka Pitts, Symantyx