Albums, Featured, Hip-Hop | Logic – Under Pressure [Album Reflections]
Posted by Grubeats on October 21, 2014
Where do I begin?
Exactly 1,163 days I received an email. That email just so happened to be my first official introduction to Maryland hip-hop artist, Logic. Described as a young, talented MC known for his lyrical prowess – I couldn’t have said it better myself – and fortunately for us, that’s still the same Logic we’re looking at today. Since that introduction, Logic has been my favorite artist, period. To call out a few – he’s genuine, personable, tenacious, confident, well spoken, and last but certainly not least, one BEAST of a rapper. Preaching “peace, love & positivity” since the very start, he’s one artist who has stayed true to his message, through and through. His story has undoubtably changed hundreds if not thousands of people’s lives for the better. The craziest part is, Under Pressure is still just the beginning.
When asked what “Under Pressure” means to him, Logic responded,
“For me, it’s the duality of who I am. Being Bobby and being Logic, being under pressure personally in all the things that I go through in my life. Just as a regular dude, ’cause outside of music, there’s people who look at me like I’m not shit. I’m just little Bobby, dealing with the pressures from my family, where I come from. All that. Also, being in the rap game and just being under pressure to sell whatever you gotta sell.” [via XXL]
He’s right though – he’s the debonair “Young Sinatra” on the street, then he steps into the booth and all previous conceptions vanish. He embodies some form of legendary lyrical machine. That to me is what separates Logic from much of his competition.
It’s clearly been a long time coming to deliver the album and as you’ll hear on “Growing Pains III”, he has recorded over 1,700 songs in the past 10 years, only 150+ of which have been released to date. Under Pressure is far from a grab bag of records. Carefully crafted, Logic and team have put countless hours into this album and I hope that after listening, you’ll recognize that. The 12 tracks (15 on the Deluxe version) collectively paint a bigger picture. As expected, the album is a very raw, personal look into Logic’s life, and more specifically his upbringing. From family struggles to personal and musical accomplishments, you’ll truly understand the person behind the mic after listening to this album.
As if I haven’t already giving you enough of a reason to go buy the album, legendary producer No I.D. blessed it with his executive production. I don’t mean to jump the gun, but typically anything he touches turns gold. Then platinum.
“Conversations with No I.D
Who made hits with Ye, got hits with Jay
Now he wanna fuck around and make hits with me
If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be
Can’t express what that meant for me, what it mean to me
Man, I swear the shit like a dream to me, what it seemed to be” – Till The End [Track 12]
Last but not least, I want to once again give a shout out to the whole team at Visionary Music Group. Logic’s in house producer, 6ix stepped up and destroyed the production on half of the album. The rest of the team is too humble to take credit, but I thank you all for the work you’ve put in. VMG is a blueprint for organic growth, keep at it boys (& girls?).
Without further adieu I suggest you GO GRAB BOTH DIGITAL VERSIONS on iTUNES and take a trip to your local record shop (or Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc.) and clear out the shelves (if you can beat Henry to it)!!! 100k the first week!
Hip-Hop, Rap | Ace Cosgrove – Long Kiss of Death (ft. Uno Hype)
Posted by admin on November 3, 2013
The DMV is next up. We’ve seen cities emerge this past year and show off their stars, but really and truly, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia is blossoming with so much talent that it is becoming impossible to ignore. At the forefront of the movement is the Hostile Youth clan.
Today I bring to you an offering from two of the Hostile Youth members, Ace Cosgrove and Uno Hype. The duo delivers a eerie track with a hint of jazz, perfect for your post-halloween festivities. The song clocks in at only 2 minutes, meaning there will hopefully be plenty more collaboration in the near future.
Hip-Hop | Tray Jack — Give It All
Posted by jeffwbaird on February 6, 2013
This is a triumphant new jam from 18-year-old Maryland artist Tray Jack, off his mixtape Time Travel which is currently drawing a significant amount of attention over at DatPiff. I admit that I usually exercise a little bit of profiling on young hip-hop artists, as they tend to submit songs with a rawer, less mature sound and structured rhymes. Tray Jack, however, really impressed me with this one. He has a unique and engaging flow, and over this high-quality, radio-relevant beat, shows some shades of a strong personality that emerges more throughout the project and will certainly develop as he progresses. Check out “Give It All” below and be sure to connect with the young emcee on Twitter here.
Free Download: Tray Jack — Give It All
Hip-Hop, Videos | C Dot Castro – Just For Now [Music Video]
Posted by Grubeats on August 18, 2012
[do action=”youtube” videoid=”iMl7QL0TRJU”/]
Castro has proven his worth over and over, slaying his last track “Worldwide”, which featured fellow #Rattpack -ers Logic and 6ix. Equipped with an artillery of automatic weapons, Castro can easily trigger his lyrical machine gun, but rather decides to keep it female friendly on this track and bring us a song about his temporary lady friend. With production from Official OB and camera work from GXL, the DMV is hard at work to put the #RattPack on the map. Although there has been no official announcement just yet, we predict © will be dropping his debut mixtape sometime this fall.
Progressive House | Laidback Luke, Arno Cost & Norman Doray – Trilogy (Remixes)
Posted by Middy on March 12, 2012
Laidback Luke, Cost & Norman Doray – Trilogy (Original Mix) was an outstanding track in its own right with each of the producers having an influence on the track and putting together a key vocal as part of the melody. The remixers all do what you would expect from them with Swanky Tunes bringing some high energy progressive house to the track, Sebjack pounding out some heavy electro house synths, GTA, sticking to the name of their “Big Room” remix and creating a fantastic big room house remix, and Sam O Neall & C6 providing an electro remix with a heavy guitar melody. The original mix still remains essential, but these remixes are nice additions to the collection. After the jump I added a banging original track from Bassment Bros, a Dj trio from the University of Maryland, that combines pulsing synth chords, an uplifting melody, and a pounding bass line with some female vocals. DO NOT miss that read on button.
Laidback Luke, Arno Cost & Norman Doray – Trilogy (Remixes) – Beatport Link
Hip-Hop | Logic – The Spotlight ft. Justice [Download]
Posted by Grubeats on February 26, 2012
As promised, here is the mp3 for Logic’s recent single, “The Spotlight”, which dropped early last week. After receiving more than 130,000 Youtube hits in just 5 days, Logic’s onslaught continues in full swing. You can read the full write-up HERE and I highly suggest watching the video below if you haven’t done so already.
Hip-Hop, Videos | Dunson – “Mayhem” Session (Video)
Posted by Jess on January 11, 2012
Following the wildly successful release of his “Lord Knows” freestyle, Dunson (formerly Kenton Dunson) decided to give us a preview of “Mayhem” off his upcoming March 2012 release. The video was filmed at his home studio in Maryland and provides an inside look at his creative process.
For those in the NYC area, don’t miss Dunson’s show at S.O.B.s on January 18th. The event will showcasing some of the hottest up and coming R&B acts as well as Dunson. For more information, check out the flier for the event after the jump.
READ ON >>