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"Top $ Raz – Golden (Produced by K.O.Beatz)"

Top $ Raz pops up often in the NYC hip hop underground circuit, on stages, as a featured appearance on the songs of others and throughout the internet, most recently in support of his latest full-length project Spilled Milk. Here, the Far Rockaway grinder drops “Golden,” the first leak from his upcoming LP The New Flesh. We’re a little overdue on bringing him to our e-pages, but with “Golden,” at least it was worth the wait.

“Golden” is produced by K.O.Beatz, who has produced gems for several independent NYC-area artists including several we have covered on BirthplaceMag.com such as Homeboy Sandman (“Strange Planet”) and Premonition (several tracks on the build). “Golden’s” hypnotically twinkling keys fill the air with a close-your-eyes and nod-your-head ambiance perfect for the heartfelt, introspective lyrics that Top & Raz drops. Nicely matching the subtle changes in the orchestration, Top $ Raz gives the listener an peek into Rasheem Johnson over a well-produced track that feels, despite it’s normal length, like it ends too early, enticing a rewind-and-come-again.

And again.

Top $ Raz’ The New Flesh is slated for a November 30th release. In the meantime, if you are not already familiar with Top $ Raz, we suggest you swing by www.topdollagotit.com to learn and listen more.
- Birthplacemagazine.com


"Album Review: "Spilled Milk" by Top $ Raz"

1. Spilled Milk w/ Additional Vocals by Mayo Bass
Feeling the mellow beat. The chorus is well written and sounds official with the background singer. “It’s all spilled milk, but you can’t let it stain”. The beat production is a tight fit for Raz, props to Thinker. This is real talk here and good topical cohesion to boot. Dope imagery. Nice outro by Mayo. I could nitpick and say the flow could have been more diverse, but I don’t feel this track really needed it. As an intro track, it definitely served its purpose.

2. No Tears
Starts up with another mellow beat that lets you vibe out. Flow is different on this one and works pretty well with the beat. I’m not feelin’ the delivery on the first verse that much though, sounds somewhat monotone. This chorus is alright. Second verse drops some eye-opening personal lines. Content was on-point. Not feeling this track as much as “Spilled Milk” though.

3. Get Up, Get Her
This beat is knockin’ a bit. “Underground like Broadway Junction”… I had to quote that; I’m in that station every damn week. Here’s a welcome change of pace, flow, and delivery. “Tryna get an advance”, nice. “Get it crackin’ like eggs”, a little too obvious but delivered well. The chorus is okay, but the delivery is somewhat quirky. Perhaps a hushed and “sexy”-like voice would have worked better for those “If you want that girl”/”They wanna front” etc. parts of it. “Get high like apostles”, forced. “Party like a rockstar, pissin’on a cop car”, haha! The third verse wasn’t impressive, but had a cool flow.

4. Dead!
I love this beat. Vivid imagery. Paints an accurate picture of how no one really gives a fuck about the dirt that goes on in the hood. “20 years later no killer is found”. Delivery fits the beat well, very smooth and calm. Nice vocal effects. *For more on this song, peep my review of the Fighting For Futures Mixtape (Feb. 2010).

5. Far Rock ’95 ft. Mike Love & Vithym
“Moving like Commander Cobra”, hehe, I like that reference. Really digging Top’s delivery and flow on this verse. 2nd MC – Interesting voice that stands out. “Ounce in a shoe”, haha, really?? Nice flow and delivery. 3rd MC – Flow is ok but somewhat erratic.

6. Cold Blooded ft. Imagine That
IT – Nice flow, could be tighter though. Delivery on point. “But hoping I could catch a little light”, decent. Raz has a good voice. Nice rhyme scheme. “Built my city on rock then rolled”, pretty tight flip on a common metaphor. Lyrics were mediocre.

7. Perfect Stranger
Calm but scheming beat, I likes. “Baker man/pies”, played. Interesting concept, but lyrics are rudimentary. “Elevator/stares” punch-line is tight but could have been written better. “Diamonds/full deck of cards”, not bad. Flow is elementary on this track as well. Hehe nice Cosby impression on the outro.

8. Be Gone ft. Kalil Kash
Kash – vocal production not on par with Raz’, sounds echoey. Overdose of adlibs, reminds me of the commentary track on DVDs. Tight delivery. “Barry Bonds” line was too simple. Feeling this chorus and the sax that plays during it.
Raz - “You’re not pussy, you’re a yeast infection”, nice. Digging Raz’ delivery on this track.
Kash – “Cream”/money, played. “Booted” line was played too. Definitely not the best I’ve heard from Kalil.
Raz – “You cannot reset or press pause”, played but flipped and delivered nicely.

9. Burning Bridge ft. Scienze
Ear-catching, playful beat. Nice start. I can relate to this, dope concept. The singing isn’t good but I really like the chorus.
Scienze – Tight flow and delivery. “Cause be/Cosby”, not bad. “Clear/Dare” rhyme scheme was sick. “Broken pod”, ok.
Raz – “Rewind”, decent line but the effect and delivery made it dope.

10. Wo(men)
A nice, different style of beat with a similar feel to some of the others. I’m a sucker for good piano melodies. Cool plant allegory. The metaphorical transition in the second half of the verse was a little vaguer. The chorus is powerful in terms of how the beat changes and how Raz’ lyrics and delivery fit on it. Vivid imagery. “When you get to heaven you’ll be a n***a too”, WOW.

11. Farewell
Another absorbing piano melody. Ok first verse. The chorus is bananas with the imagery and delivery. “Anyone of us could have been Sean Bell”, that is deep. ‘He didn’t realize we tied to the same rope”, nice. Beatles references.



Strengths
+ Raz has a great voice, especially for the type of topics he covers.
+ Delivery was on-point for the most part.
+ Song topics and concepts were relevant, personal, real, and unique. Although, some elements, such as lines about slinging crack, were over-abundant.
+ Great beat selection.
+ Well-constructed album that doesn’t just die off towards the end. It starts strong and ends strong with good content in the middle.

Weaknesses
- Flow was fairly simple and repetitive/recycled throughout the album.
- Some lyrics were too basic and not accentuated with enough poetic devices.


Compatibility Rating:
Underground: 40%
Mainstream: 60%


Favorite Song: Spilled Milk


Face Value: 8.4/10 - IndieFaceValue


"Album Review: "Spilled Milk" by Top $ Raz"

1. Spilled Milk w/ Additional Vocals by Mayo Bass
Feeling the mellow beat. The chorus is well written and sounds official with the background singer. “It’s all spilled milk, but you can’t let it stain”. The beat production is a tight fit for Raz, props to Thinker. This is real talk here and good topical cohesion to boot. Dope imagery. Nice outro by Mayo. I could nitpick and say the flow could have been more diverse, but I don’t feel this track really needed it. As an intro track, it definitely served its purpose.

2. No Tears
Starts up with another mellow beat that lets you vibe out. Flow is different on this one and works pretty well with the beat. I’m not feelin’ the delivery on the first verse that much though, sounds somewhat monotone. This chorus is alright. Second verse drops some eye-opening personal lines. Content was on-point. Not feeling this track as much as “Spilled Milk” though.

3. Get Up, Get Her
This beat is knockin’ a bit. “Underground like Broadway Junction”… I had to quote that; I’m in that station every damn week. Here’s a welcome change of pace, flow, and delivery. “Tryna get an advance”, nice. “Get it crackin’ like eggs”, a little too obvious but delivered well. The chorus is okay, but the delivery is somewhat quirky. Perhaps a hushed and “sexy”-like voice would have worked better for those “If you want that girl”/”They wanna front” etc. parts of it. “Get high like apostles”, forced. “Party like a rockstar, pissin’on a cop car”, haha! The third verse wasn’t impressive, but had a cool flow.

4. Dead!
I love this beat. Vivid imagery. Paints an accurate picture of how no one really gives a fuck about the dirt that goes on in the hood. “20 years later no killer is found”. Delivery fits the beat well, very smooth and calm. Nice vocal effects. *For more on this song, peep my review of the Fighting For Futures Mixtape (Feb. 2010).

5. Far Rock ’95 ft. Mike Love & Vithym
“Moving like Commander Cobra”, hehe, I like that reference. Really digging Top’s delivery and flow on this verse. 2nd MC – Interesting voice that stands out. “Ounce in a shoe”, haha, really?? Nice flow and delivery. 3rd MC – Flow is ok but somewhat erratic.

6. Cold Blooded ft. Imagine That
IT – Nice flow, could be tighter though. Delivery on point. “But hoping I could catch a little light”, decent. Raz has a good voice. Nice rhyme scheme. “Built my city on rock then rolled”, pretty tight flip on a common metaphor. Lyrics were mediocre.

7. Perfect Stranger
Calm but scheming beat, I likes. “Baker man/pies”, played. Interesting concept, but lyrics are rudimentary. “Elevator/stares” punch-line is tight but could have been written better. “Diamonds/full deck of cards”, not bad. Flow is elementary on this track as well. Hehe nice Cosby impression on the outro.

8. Be Gone ft. Kalil Kash
Kash – vocal production not on par with Raz’, sounds echoey. Overdose of adlibs, reminds me of the commentary track on DVDs. Tight delivery. “Barry Bonds” line was too simple. Feeling this chorus and the sax that plays during it.
Raz - “You’re not pussy, you’re a yeast infection”, nice. Digging Raz’ delivery on this track.
Kash – “Cream”/money, played. “Booted” line was played too. Definitely not the best I’ve heard from Kalil.
Raz – “You cannot reset or press pause”, played but flipped and delivered nicely.

9. Burning Bridge ft. Scienze
Ear-catching, playful beat. Nice start. I can relate to this, dope concept. The singing isn’t good but I really like the chorus.
Scienze – Tight flow and delivery. “Cause be/Cosby”, not bad. “Clear/Dare” rhyme scheme was sick. “Broken pod”, ok.
Raz – “Rewind”, decent line but the effect and delivery made it dope.

10. Wo(men)
A nice, different style of beat with a similar feel to some of the others. I’m a sucker for good piano melodies. Cool plant allegory. The metaphorical transition in the second half of the verse was a little vaguer. The chorus is powerful in terms of how the beat changes and how Raz’ lyrics and delivery fit on it. Vivid imagery. “When you get to heaven you’ll be a n***a too”, WOW.

11. Farewell
Another absorbing piano melody. Ok first verse. The chorus is bananas with the imagery and delivery. “Anyone of us could have been Sean Bell”, that is deep. ‘He didn’t realize we tied to the same rope”, nice. Beatles references.



Strengths
+ Raz has a great voice, especially for the type of topics he covers.
+ Delivery was on-point for the most part.
+ Song topics and concepts were relevant, personal, real, and unique. Although, some elements, such as lines about slinging crack, were over-abundant.
+ Great beat selection.
+ Well-constructed album that doesn’t just die off towards the end. It starts strong and ends strong with good content in the middle.

Weaknesses
- Flow was fairly simple and repetitive/recycled throughout the album.
- Some lyrics were too basic and not accentuated with enough poetic devices.


Compatibility Rating:
Underground: 40%
Mainstream: 60%


Favorite Song: Spilled Milk


Face Value: 8.4/10 - IndieFaceValue


"Top $ Raz Spilled Milk"

It's not every day that anyone on the RR staff will go out of their way to cover a self-distributed artist with nothing but a zip file and a MySpace page, but Top $ Raz had an "in" that most other aspiring artists don't - he knows Adam B. Our lead interview writer also does a monthly hip-hop podcast for the site called The Adam B Experience and Raz has been a regular feature on B's shows. I don't just post the shit people, I listen to it, and trust me you should too. Some of the rappers B features on the show are so obscure your average underground rapper stands six feet OVER their heads, but very rarely does he put someone on that makes me say "Why the hell did he play that shit?" B finds the artists that you don't know, that you SHOULD know, and puts them over by playing their shit. My only knock on ABX is that Adam plays the radio edited versions, but he has argued that anybody who feels a song should thus be inspired to go out and pay for the explicit joint.

I can't fault Adam's logic on that point, but I'm not sure how that will apply in the case of Top $ Raz considering he's giving away "Spilled Milk" for free online. Well if Raz does decide to get this pressed up, it will automatically be worth picking up his LP from your local mom & pop hip-hop shop. The opening title track lets you know exactly where Raz is coming from. He may be broke as fuck and giving away his album for free just to get noticed, but he's sure as hell not crying about it. Raz is very matter of fact over Terrance Kelly's beat, with no bragging or BS - just real talk:

"Yeah uhh, I'm just tryin to survive
I'm from the hood lil' homey they expect me to ride
Devil gave me the finger, angel on my side
He told me to stand tall, I get in and do time
[...]
No funds, no retirement plans
And nowadays, Burger King won't hire the man
Remember the days my brother used to peddle the rock
I know he mad that he gotta check the felony box
P.O. on his back, make him run to the cops
So I can't be mad when he back on the block
Like no, no, I won't fold
Stay on my toes to reach all my goals
'Til I'm on top I rock on my own
And I'm runnin from my past, my path is unknown"

In the thank you that accompanies your download, Top $ Raz writes "Know that every song on this album came from a real place within myself. Nothing was forced." That applies to the beats as well as the rhymes, such as "DEAD!" produced by Imagine That. The song gets down for the crown over synths and ivories that bop along casually, allowing Raz to get his Twista along, adjusting his breath control and linking his syllables together to the tempo:

"I pray, you find your way through the bulllll-shit
Stuck in these prohhhh-jects
The prior-ex is calling me, I'm probably
out here serving fiends
I had a dream, a movie scene
Hereditary gangsta lean like
Fuck school, fuck rules, motherfucker just be foolish
It's cool, make moves, yes that's how we do this
See that right there now hold up just pauuuse
You can't run once you go through these doooors
Stunt yourselves with these gangsters and whores
and sooner-or-later you're stuck in the morgue
Good night lil' homey, switch up yo' head
Tryin to be hip but that gangster is dead!"

Each track finds Raz trying something new, never sticking to one particular swag, flow or subject matter. The Harold McCummings produced "Wo(men)" is a rap from the perspective of the FETUS, mad that mommy is drinking and smoking drugs. That's ill. Terrestrial Papo's "Get Up, Get Her" has Raz spitting like he's from the Dirty South, growling and snarling, "underground like Broadway Junction" while he "get it cracking like eggs [and] scramble these dummies." Yowza! The title for "Cold Blooded" may be misleading, because Imagine That's track is one of the hottest of the entire album, with classic hip-hop quotes scratched into the hook and a boom so bap you expect Pacewon or Nas to jump in at any second. Raz doesn't share much of his spotlight, but he does invite IT to join him for this one, while Mike Love and Vithym get down on "Far Rock '95." The only other cameos are Kalil Kash on "Be Gone" and Scienze on "Burning Bridge."

You wouldn't want Raz to give up much of the shine anyway, because he's easily one of the more interesting and provocative unsigned artists in hip-hop today. Raz doesn't just write from the perspective of having nothing and wanting it all, he imagines himself as the protagonist (or antagonist) in a variety of scenarios and tells stories. Don't listen to Top $ Raz if you want to hear 11 songs about flossing a big whip, selling coca and bagging the hottest bitch in the club - RapReviews.com


Discography

Spilled Milk
The New Flesh

Photos

Bio

Defining his style as Ready to Die-meets-Midnight Marauders, this Far Rockaway Queens emcee evidently has the hunger and knack for detail as the beloved Biggie Smalls did, tied in with the elegance, finesse, and melody of A Tribe Called Quest. Top $ Raz has never held back in attempting to be amongst the best of the best, and he certainly raps about what is real and sincere to him; absolutely no gimmicks. Top $ Raz (real name Rasheem Johnson) has been interested in hip hop since grade 2, and has been rapping publicly since he was 16, even putting out his first album out at that young age. Prior to his interest in being an emcee, Raz has always been interested in street stories and uses the microphone as a vehicle to tell others, quite vividly, how he sees the game of life.

Maturing both inside and outside of the booth since his last release, The Narrative, Top $ Raz has appeared on stage with other NY underground heavy weights like Homeboy Sandman and FinaL OutlaW. With his latest project, Spilled Milk, Raz has taken the next step on his journey to being a supreme emcee. Receiving favorable criticism from RapReviews.com, AboveGroundMagazine.com, and getting featured on respected websites like iHeartDilla.com, OnSmash.com, themadbloggers.com, FreeHipHopNow.com, YungDrew.com, and TheBreezyEffect.com, Top $ Raz is already further embarking on his path towards success with his next release "The New Flesh".