At the rehearsal for the Al Kapone/Memphis Symphony concert at the New Daisy Theater in Memphis last Wednesday. The concert also featured a group of dancers from the U Dig Dance Academy, displaying a Memphis-based style of dance known as jooking.
hip-hop
T-Rock was the first and only Atlanta rapper to be signed to Memphis-based Hypnotized Minds Records, and while he left that camp, he has remained practically a rap institution in his hometown. Now T-Rock comes with possibly his most ambitious project to date, a massive double-album of 30 songs called “I Grind, I Hustle”. The two discs are remarkably dissimilar. Disc 1, entitled “I Grind”, is a heavily-produced, lush studio album with first-rate production. Standout songs are the single “Ewing”, the title track, the pleasant sample-driven “I Blaze” and the crunk, careless anthem “I Just Might” which features The Dayton Family. Other tracks on the disc feature Dirty from Montgomery, Alabama and Memphian Mr. Sche. Disc 2, “I Hustle” has the grittier, grimier atmosphere of an underground mixtape, with rough songs like “100 Goons”, “AK 47” and “Now They Love Me.” The seeming incongruity of the two discs simply shows the extreme versatility of T Rock, and the total album has something for everybody. While some will prefer the second disc, and others will love the first, I Grind I Hustle is a bold statement of arrival for one of the ATL’s most consistent independent rappers.
T-Rock was the first and only Atlanta rapper to be signed to Memphis-based Hypnotized Minds Records, and while he left that camp, he has remained practically a rap institution in his hometown. Now T-Rock comes with possibly his most ambitious project to date, a massive double-album of 30 songs called “I Grind, I Hustle”. The two discs are remarkably dissimilar. Disc 1, entitled “I Grind”, is a heavily-produced, lush studio album with first-rate production. Standout songs are the single “Ewing”, the title track, the pleasant sample-driven “I Blaze” and the crunk, careless anthem “I Just Might” which features The Dayton Family. Other tracks on the disc feature Dirty from Montgomery, Alabama and Memphian Mr. Sche. Disc 2, “I Hustle” has the grittier, grimier atmosphere of an underground mixtape, with rough songs like “100 Goons”, “AK 47” and “Now They Love Me.” The seeming incongruity of the two discs simply shows the extreme versatility of T Rock, and the total album has something for everybody. While some will prefer the second disc, and others will love the first, I Grind I Hustle is a bold statement of arrival for one of the ATL’s most consistent independent rappers.
T-Rock was the first and only Atlanta rapper to be signed to Memphis-based Hypnotized Minds Records, and while he left that camp, he has remained practically a rap institution in his hometown. Now T-Rock comes with possibly his most ambitious project to date, a massive double-album of 30 songs called “I Grind, I Hustle”. The two discs are remarkably dissimilar. Disc 1, entitled “I Grind”, is a heavily-produced, lush studio album with first-rate production. Standout songs are the single “Ewing”, the title track, the pleasant sample-driven “I Blaze” and the crunk, careless anthem “I Just Might” which features The Dayton Family. Other tracks on the disc feature Dirty from Montgomery, Alabama and Memphian Mr. Sche. Disc 2, “I Hustle” has the grittier, grimier atmosphere of an underground mixtape, with rough songs like “100 Goons”, “AK 47” and “Now They Love Me.” The seeming incongruity of the two discs simply shows the extreme versatility of T Rock, and the total album has something for everybody. While some will prefer the second disc, and others will love the first, I Grind I Hustle is a bold statement of arrival for one of the ATL’s most consistent independent rappers.
At a special event on Thursday October 27, legendary Memphis studio/label Ardent Records showed off both their new hip-hop recording artists, Russ P and Pat 24-7, as well as their newly-remodeled Studio C.
At a special event on Thursday October 27, legendary Memphis studio/label Ardent Records showed off both their new hip-hop recording artists, Russ P and Pat 24-7, as well as their newly-remodeled Studio C.
At a special event on Thursday October 27, legendary Memphis studio/label Ardent Records showed off both their new hip-hop recording artists, Russ P and Pat 24-7, as well as their newly-remodeled Studio C.
Not the artist Doom but the event Doom
Although the flyer I saw earlier today had “Doom” in big letters at the top of it, “Doom” is apparently the name of the hip-hop …
AnWhat Entertainment and @HollyHoodBayBay @ Grambling Homecoming 2011
The aftermath of the Grambling homecoming football game is always something of a custom car show, and this year was no exception. On the site of the old Martha Adams Hall, I ran into my homeboys from An What Entertainment in Shreveport, including DJ Hollyhood BayBay, who were sponsoring a party for a motorcycle club. Further down on RWE Jones Drive were the people from Louisiana Cash’s camp who were selling T-shirts that read “B_tch, I’m From Louisiana”. Getting out of the traffic nightmare and back towards Monroe proved to be difficult.Â
Pastor Troy was one of the founders of the crunk style of rap for which Atlanta is famous, and he continues the tradition with his most recent album King of All Kings. Featuring an all-star cast of producers including Memphis legend DJ Squeeky, the album exhibits Troy’s characteristic style in 18 tracks, ranging from the melodic “Backroads” that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Colt Ford album, to crunk anthems like “King of All Kings”, “Gangsta Revival” or “Niggaz Is Hungry”. There are songs for (or about) the ladies too, like “She Say She Never Knew” and “Georgia Peach”, and the seemingly-autobiographical “Lyin’ Bout Her Crib”, which follows a similar course to Notorious B.I.G.’s “I’ve Got A Story To Tell.” With King of All Kings, Pastor Troy has released an album of consistent quality that should please his fans, as well as fans of Southern rap everywhere.