Smoke Screen

Ever wonder where all of the good old-school hip-hop went? Well, the first five tracks on Smoke Screen's debut, Self Educated Learning Process, could be what you've been looking for. "Go Now" and "Career Roulette" bring elements that hip-hop's been missing for a long time. Both feature basic looped beats and turntablist tricks. Once you get past those classic wonders, though, the album starts to lose focus. "Common Ground" sounds like what hip-hop has unfortunately become, leaning toward more of a mainstream hip-pop sound. The rest of the tracks follow suit. But if you want both new and old hip-hop in one place, Self Educated Learning Process is somewhere to find that. - Erika Schramm - Cleveland Scene Magazine

With one full-length CD ("The Self-Educated Learning Process") and two mixtapes ("Punch Drunk Melodies Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2") to its credit, local rap act Smoke Screen -- MCs Tommy "Street Chemist" Sheridan and Rodney "Mooke" Mynatt -- has high hopes that the Northeast Ohio hip-hop scene is about to take off. - The Plain Dealer

Their expanding popularity in part can be traced back to the Coventry-based sneaker and clothing boutique Heart & Sole, which has turned into an unofficial headquarters for the local hip-hop scene and where Smoke Screen held a breakout performance a few years back. (Their booming notoriety caught the attention of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which handpicked Smoke Screen to open for hipster faves Das Racist on July 13 as part of the Rock Hall's Summer in the City concert series.) - Scene Magazine