Jose and Mary

Aww shit, would you look at that — two installments of Party & Bullshit in one week! I must love you guys. Or I happen to have an inordinate amount of free time this week. Which I guess means I really do love you, if I'm spending my impromptu sorta-vacation rounding up the latest in Nashville hip-hop for ya. I mean, I've got half a series of Star Trek: The Next Generation left, and that shit ain't gonna watch it self. I also have half a bottle of Prichards' Lincoln County Lightning that's calling my name. But I'm here, 'cuz I love you. No, for reals, it's not just pillow talk. Plus, I didn't mention the new Yelawolf record Radioactive yesterday, and it's a record that needs to be talked about.

For starters, our buddies over at Concrete Magazine have a really extensive interview with Yela, plus video from the shoot for this month's cover and interviews with Rittz and Struggle. As always, this is some solid work from the Concrete crew. Next, there's the actual record, Radioactive, which is really fucking good. So good, in fact, that I actually enjoy the Kid Rock and Lil Jon features — yes, I'll be turning in my hipster-cred card later this afternoon — and I'll even admit enjoying them in a public forum. It's definitely Yela's most accessible work to date — radio-friendly and pop-leaning, but not in a way that screams “sellout.”

What we get on Radioactive is a really talented artist who's actually made the jump to a major label and used the demands of corporate music culture to create a rather stunning piece of art that should appeal to the underground as much as it appeals to the 106 & Park crowd. When Radioactive was pushed back from its original release date in September, I feared the worst. I figured the label was going to do something stupid — that's what majors are good at — and ruin yet another great underground rapper.

But Yela came out on top, turning in a record that easily straddles the worlds of above-ground and underground hip-hop, throwing bits of rock and pop into the mix without feeling forced or inappropriate. He reworks Billy Joel AND The Buggles for crying out loud! And it doesn't make me feel stabby! This is a first. But I think that Radioactive's strength comes from Yela ignoring the boundaries between pop and underground music typically imposed by, well, assholes like me. And honestly, I can't complain — I've been rooting for Yealwolf for a hot minute, and if he has to make an album that would (usually) offend my delicate sensibilities, so be it. Whatever the dude has to do to keep making records is cool by me, I'mma listen regardless.

Now, let's get on to some more partyin' and more bullshittin' ...

* Y'all have plans for tonight? You do now. You're going to the AyeVee Showcase at 12th & Porter. And don't pretend like you're going to get anything done at work tomorrow, 'cause you know you're not. If I may quote myself from this week's dead-tree edition:

The Radikalz are playing! This is HUGE! Sure, maybe there's only a handful of people who have even heard of them, but that's about to change. We caught The Radikalz — who wear matching varsity jackets and rap in unison, the way God intended hip-hop groups to perform — back in February, and it still ranks as one of the best sets we've seen all year. We've been waiting for them to resurface. They've been hiding out in the lab working on their album, which is pretty counter-intuitive in today's “throw all of your shit at all of the walls” promotional environment. And speaking of new records, Ducko Mcfli — one of the city's most sought-after producers and a veritable hit machine behind the boards — dropped his solo debut King Duck this past Tuesday, capping off a year of stellar productions and top notch tracks. Rounding out a rather a supreme bill are local college-rap newcomers The Flamingo's, Deacon and DJ Dali Drama.

I actually caught The Radikalz at 8 off 8th last week, and while they didn't wear the matching jackets (bummer), they did get all the way live on the microphone(s). Definitely worth leaving the house for. - nashville cream

While sitting in visual communication learning about magazine design, all I can think about is posting this on the internet. So with that said, here I am.

About a week before Halloween I got a call from my good friend Matic Lee. We hadn’t spoke in a while, so I answered the phone the way I answer for all of my favorite artists I haven’t talked to in a minute. “Please tell me that you have some new music for me?” Normally when I ask this question, I never get the response I want. But Matic, the production mastermind that he is responds with, “Bro, that’s exactly why I was calling you.” “I have both projects done, Illegal ATLien (Coming Soon) and Jose And Mary.”

That’s all I had to hear, thirty minutes later I was sitting in his house ready to hear some new music. The first project he played for me was, Jose And Mary. Now I got a super sneak peak of this project when we first met and have been bugging him to finish it ever since. I knew it was going to be good, but I was not prepared for what I was about to hear. The amount of styles on this album can’t even be counted on two hands and three feet. I don’t even know what you would call it. While I was listening to it the only thing that I could think of was Jazz, Funk, Dub-Step, Hip-Hop, and R&B all tripping ACID at Bonnaroo!

Jose And Mary features the amazing writer/vocalist/guitar player (The track Crazy was all originally composed, arranged and written by her) Anais. This is the talented young singer/song writers first project EVER, and she KILLS it, and is great on stage. Nashville STAND UP! There is a new female on the scene that does her own thing and doesn’t give a f*ck what you think. She’s smart too, so all you female writers read up because her vocabulary is vast.

I’m gonna get off her nuts for a minute and talk about my homie Matic Lee. I recently heard someone say that his “image didn’t match his music.” When it comes to talent like Matic’s. FUCK AN IMAGE!!! This dude understands music in ways that we will never understand it. He can see inside of it. He knows it, cause it is a part of him. If you do not hit Matic up to record or cop a beat you are losing. This dude has produced for MAJOR artists in the game. He is on his way up, and if you don’t show him love right now, when he does hit, you might not even be able to get a follow back on twitter. True story.

Basically all I’m trying to say in all of this is to download the album. You won’t regret it. Oh and fellas if you have a female any where around you for more than 20 mins in a day. This is a good one to keep on hand. Trust me.

I hope this review reaches you all in the best of health and happiness. Peace -Matt - boac