Mind Mechanics - Allied Forces EP

Memphis Reigns and hypoetical are back with their first collaborative release in 8 years. The Allied Forces EP is a 6 track album constructed with the help of French MC/Producer Piloophaz of the Skyzominus crew. Rhymes are both in French and English, so I have no clue what Philoophaz is saying (and to be honest, I don't think Memph Reigns does either haha). My favorite song is "Man Behind the Mirror."

Track Listing:
01 Man Behind the Mirror (Mind Mechanics)
02 Circle of Life (Memphis Reigns & Piloophaz)
03 Armageddon (hypoetical)
04 Clouds of Smoke (Mind Mechanics, Piloophaz, Smimooz & DJ Olegg)
05 Saoul Music (Piloophaz)
06 5 Minutes to Midnight (Mind Mechanics)


DOWNLOAD: Mind Mechanics - Allied Forces EP (2009)

MYSPACE: myspace.com/mmechanics

Taxi Taxi! EP

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, Taxi Taxi! consists of twin sisters Miriam and Johanna Berhan. I discovered Taxi Taxi! online a couple weeks ago and was immediately blown away by their music. I really love their catchy, yet simple, acoustic tunes that aren't overblown with production. What's more, these girls released their first EP (found below) when they were only 16! I ordered their latest album, "Still Standing At Your Backdoor," a couple weeks ago and it just arrived in the mail from overseas. Expect a review soon...but in the meantime, enjoy the self titled EP:


Track Listing:
01 All I Think Of
02 Belle
03 To Hide This Way
04 Water
05 Heart
06 Mary

DOWNLOAD: Taxi Taxi! EP (2007)

MYSPACE: myspace.com/taxitaximusic

Spoonfull & D-Mitch "Keep the Change"

I haven't been on here in awhile, but I wanted to post an update regarding our new record, "Keep the Change," which will be out on October 31st of this year. Spoon and I went in a new direction with this project - we recorded the entire album in his basement studio in Stafford, Virginia. I played guitar throughout the record and tracked most of the drums, Spoonfull did vocals and mixed the songs down, post-production was done by Dan Norsworthy of ABH, and Steven Birch mastered the tracks. I did all of the beats except for Brooklyn Heartbreak, which was produced by my cousin "Struksure." The record features Point Game and Aria Silence on Guilty Pleasure, Killing Iva on Hope Island, and my cousin Sarah on Brooklyn Heartbreak and Crosshairs. If anyone would like to download the record for free, the following link should take you to the files:

Spoonfull & D-Mitch "Keep the Change"

If you would like to stream the album or download individual mp3 files, head on over to Spoonfull's last.fm page:

Spoonfull's Last.fm Page

Pressed copies will be available starting on October 31st. If you would like a copy, send Spoon a message on myspace (myspace.com/spoonfullhiphop) or shoot an e-mail to either downwriterecords@yahoo.com or mcfromsc2003@aol.com

Son of Ran: Behind the Mic

I just watched this on Son of Ran's myspace page and thought I might share it on here. Part 1:

9five Eyewear Presents... The Son Of Ran (Part One) from 9five on Vimeo.

Skiggy Rapz: Bang to the Boogie EP

Skiggy Rapz recently released his Bang to the Boogie EP on Beats Broke Records (based here in the U.S.). Skiggy hails from the Netherlands and connects with the likes of Arts the Beatdoctor and Pete Philly & Perquisite - other upcoming Dutch artists beginning to infiltrate the States. I don't know what it is about the Netherlands, but the vast majority of what I hear from the region is hands-down amazing. I downloaded Bang to the Boogie off of itunes the day it came out (May 12th) and listened to the album roughly 10 times in a row. The record is put together extremely well - the beats, rhymes and vocals all flow perfectly. If I had to loosely compare his style with anyone else in the game, I'd have to say it reminds me a little of Sleep (of Oldominion). The album release is nicely timed for the spring season and will surely be in rotation throughout the summer. The beats and rhymes collectively fit perfectly with the nice weather - something you can chill out to at the beach with a couple of friends or drive around to with the windows down. Toss this EP in the deck when you're in a good mood and it's sure to uplift your spirits even more. The nice thing about Skiggy is that he's made the entire album available to stream for those wanting to give it a listen before purchase (found below). Do yourself a favor - next time the weather is beautiful outside and you've got some time to kill, grab a six pack and toss on Skiggy's new EP. This is by far the best album of 2009 to date.



If you enjoy this track, you can stream the entire EP here:
Bang to the Boogie EP

Mars Ill - When Heaven Scrapes the Pavement

I've been listening to a lot of Mars Ill this week - Manchild is one of the best emcees in the game and his positive message is refreshing to say the least. I don't know why I've slept on this video for such a long time...check it out:

The Proov - Nebula

After listening to "Self Expression" by Cee Major, I've been on a mission to seek out more of his material. While conducting a recent search, I ran across "The Proov" - a 2 man group consisting of Cee Major & Gumshoe (also from the Netherlands). I have yet to get my hands on a full-length album, but when I do I'll be sure to toss it up here. In the meantime, check out this video:

Hip-Hop & Soul from the Netherlands

The Dutch have been pumping out some ill tracks recently - no joke. A few weeks back I was surfing around the forums on hiphopgame.com (by the way - if you're into underground/independent hip-hop go here: Underground Forum) when I noticed Pete Philly & Perquisite's latest album "Mystery Repeats." I really enjoyed the album, especially Perquisite's production, so I started searching around online for more music from the region. The following is a compilation of my favorite tracks discovered thus far:

(photo snagged from this dude's flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/se-bas-tiaan)

Track Listing:
01 Mystery Repeats by Pete Philly & Perquisite
02 Reminisce by Perquisite
03 Self Expression by Cee Major
04 Decreasing Daylight by Arts the Beatdoctor
05 Be Alright by Skiggy Rapz
06 Love Shit (Take it High) by PAX & PRY
07 Hide by Senna
08 Minding my Business by Musiex

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/228125885/Netherlands_Sampler.zip

Genelec & Memphis Reigns - Scorpion Circles

To those of you out there who don't have this album, I would highly advise downloading it ASAP. Scorpion Circles dropped in 2002 and is one of my favorite records of all time. For fans of dope, underground, old-skool hip-hop with that '90s feel and an original twist – you don't want to sleep on this classic:





Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5D0FB00Z

89.9 KUNM Radio Interview

Last Friday night Memphis Reigns and I were interviewed by Nick Fury on 89.9 KUNM (Albuquerque, New Mexico). Fury hosts a program every week called "Street Beat" where he spins dope underground hip-hop from all over the country. I uploaded the first part of the interview for those of you interested in checking it out.

89.9 KUNM Radio Interview

Skeleton Crew Diaries

What's up everyone? I decided to create this blog to better share my music, thoughts, etc. with those interested. I deleted my old myspace music page because it was becoming an unnecessary hassle to deal with (although I still run the Downwrite Records page with Spoonfull); therefore this will be my primary outlet for news/updates/and whatnot. To start things off, Memphis Reigns and I recently released an album titled "Skeleton Crew Diaries" on January 20th for FREE. This album was constructed over the last several months and features guest spots by Hypoetical and Brian Moon. Production was provided by me, Defre Baccara (of Skyzominus), Piloophaz (of Skyzominus), and Faks. Sabrina Yedigarian provided the artwork for the front and back covers. Please feel free to download the album and spread it around to as many people as possible. Memph and I have already started work on the next project, which we will hopefully be releasing late next fall/winter sometime. Feel free to contact by e-mail: downwriterecords@yahoo.com




Download: https://rcpt.yousendit.com/643794792/cd057cfaa141b4fdd0572b708db33ab7