DEF Magazine - Issue 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS Mag Intro

By Oliver Hogg PAGE 3

Pride Of Ankhlejohn

By Def Goldbloom PAGE 4-9

Idle Hands Album Review

By OG Nick Marsh

D E F

M A G

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PAGE 10

Behind The Cover Art Strips

By Chop the Head PAGE 11

Los Angeles Album Review

By Connor Dobson PAGE 18

Behind The Cover Art Carrot Season

By Chop the Head

Hip-Hop Breaking Into The Olympics

PAGE 19

By Nolan Kelly

By Def Goldbloom

PAGE 12-13

PAGE 20-23

The Black Madonna Piece Album Review

By Evan Baxter-Carr PAGE 14

Behind The Cover Art Something About Shirley

By Chop the Head PAGE 15

89’ the Brainchild Profile

By Def Goldbloom PAGE 16-17

Top 50 Albums Of The Decade Perserverance Album Review

By Adrian Richards PAGE 24

Behind The Cover Art The Four Knights Game

By Chop the Head PAGE 25

A Talk With 6 Wheelz

By Gavin Brown PAGE 26

Rest In Peace Ka

By Def Goldbloom PAGE 27

MAG INTRO

by Oliver Hogg M

ost discussions of hip-hop’s foundations break down to the four pillars: MCing, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti. But for all of the architectural metaphors being thrown around, there seems to be a lack of understanding of actual architecture. The pillars are not the foundation, the pillars are built atop the foundation. So, what’s the foundation?

Well, the only definitive answer we could get is from DJ Kool Herc’s mouth. Sadly, I don’t have his number, so we’ll have to conject on the matter ourselves. Or, we can just ask another hip-hop’s most important figures instead, probably better than just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

‘Herc, he was a revolutionary. He revolted. He did not want to play the disco music that we heard on the radio.’ – Kurtis Blow Before the pillars were built, there had to be a foundation – revolution. DJ Kool Herc was a sonic revolutionary, through and through. He did not care what was popular and what the white executives wanted, so he revolted. He provided a sound and culture for the voiceless, aimed to oppose the status quo. It was on that ethos, that foundation, that the pillars of hip-hop were built.

DOOM revolted and became the villain to the industry and mainstream.

But to hip-hop, he became a hero, a revolutionist, keeping the fire started

by Herc alive. DOOM ensured that hip-hop was alive and well throughout the 2000s with classic after classic, but with his output slowing down in the 2010s, and then his untimely death in 2020, questions of hip-hop’s death cropped up once again mirroring the end of the golden age with other early deaths. Simply put, did hip-hop die with DOOM? If you’ve been picking up what I’ve been putting down, I hope you gather that you can’t take hip-hop’s pulse by grabbing the invisible hand of the industry and radio. Hip-hop’s heart was, and always will be, in the underground. And the underground is more alive than ever. Engaging with a bit of synecdoche again, I think another artist currently running the underground, like DOOM, proves hip-hop is better than it has ever been in the very present. I’m obviously talking about the masked myth, Mach-Hommy.

Where to start with Mach-Hommy… Well, I don’t have an origin story for you to explain how Mach opposes the norm because of X, Y, and Billy-Z. But he

Mach-Hommy is a revolutionary artist in his own right, not just sonically or lyrically, but also in his approach to how you listen to his music. Large price tags, exclusive releases, no lyrics: Mach has separated himself from everyone else doing things the way that is expected of them, the sheep, following what the radio wants to a T. Mach is an ibex on a hilly slope, preaching revolution and freedom, both sonically and societally, or else it’s a matter of ‘koupe tèt boule kay’, as Dessalines would say. This is hip-hop.

I hope I’ve made it clear that Mach-Hommy and MF DOOM aren’t the only carriers of DJ Kool Herc’s will. There are literally hundreds of artists who embody the spirit of revolution that have been, and still are, putting out albums that are expressions of captivating individual’s freedom to express the world in their own words.

T h e i r sound cares not for the radio or what everyone else is listening to, keeping hip-hop alive and well to this very day. So, I invite you into issue no. 5 of DEF MAG to see what the underground has to offer, and to show you that hip-hop is aging like fine wine.

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Harkening back to the time when the golden age was on its way out, we can clearly point to one artist who is emblematic of the foundation concept of revolution in hip-hop. That man is the late, great, MF DOOM. But let’s take it even further back for a minute: before DOOM, there was Zev Love X, a member of the trio K.M.D. with his younger brother DJ Subroc. Signed to Elektra Records, K.M.D. dropped a sole Billboard charting album in ‘Mr. Hood’. However, following the tragic passing of Subroc, K.M.D. was dropped from Elektra, and their follow up album ‘Black Bastards’ was shelved. The industry turned its back on the man who would be DOOM. So, he turned his back on them, adopting the mask, and becoming the villain, MF DOOM.

‘Say it with my chest, three words, liberty or death!’

M A G

No. If you believe that the question of whether hip-hop is alive or dead is decided by who the most popular rappers are, then you are building your opinions on sand. You forgot the foundation! Herc didn’t care about what was popular when he defined the artform. Instead, he went against it. Hip-hop isn’t dead, you’re just listening in the wrong places. It was never about what was on the radio, it has always been about the underground.

Atop the Haitian Declaration of Independence signed the 1st of January 1804 is a phrase which may be familiar to attentive Mach-Hommy investors: ‘Liberté ou La Morte’. If you’ve not made the connection, I’m referring to the 2021 track, ‘SEPARATION OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS’.

D E F

This leads me, in a roundabout way, to my point: hip-hop is not dead, the revolution is still burning strong. What do people mean when they say ‘hip-hop is dead’? To me, it seems that the concern is that the largest rap stars of today do not match up to the rap stars of the 80s and 90s. Did hip-hop really die in 96/97 with the death of 2Pac and Biggie? Was Nas quite literally Nastradamus when he prophesied ‘Hip-Hop Is Dead’? Have both artists and fans just been chasing ghosts since the turn of the century?

doesn’t need one: one look at Mach tells you all you need to know about him as a revolutionary. Mach-Hommy’s public image is intrinsically linked to Haiti, with the Haitian flag on him everywhere he goes. Haitian history is intrinsically linked to revolution, the only revolution in human history known to lead to the founding of a state free from slavery and the tyranny of its former colonisers.

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Cover Story

T

here comes a point in every man’s life when he realizes that the only thing he can count on, is his pride.

It has been with him since his first memories were etched in his mind.

Guiding him, for better or for worse.

All of the accomplishments that he achieved, and even the ones he fell short of, were due to his pride. The relationships that he cherishes, and the ones that have been lost, were forged and fallen from his pride. His pride is who he is, and it always has been. When a man accepts this, it is one of the most formative moments of his adult life. The moment where he has to make a choice. Pride. Will he run from it, or will he embrace it? At this moment Ankhlejohn has chosen to do the ladder.

His latest record ‘Pride of a Man’ is an exploration of this. The album has Ankhlejohn diving deep into his psyche, guided by his pride, inspecting who he is and how he got here. With the most personal writing of his career as a rapper, Ankh swallows his pride to show a deeper, more introspective side of himself.

Ankhlejohn has a lot to be proud of.

After a decade of building a career and a brand, he has become known as one of the most reliable rappers in underground hip-hop. He arose from a city with no infrastructure for artists of his ilk to develop, so he had to build the system himself. Forging a sound of his own, and making DC a place where you can go to find a top tier MC.

This is more than just an album release cycle for him, it’s a moment where his life will forever change. The moment where he has embraced not only who he is, but also who he can be. I was able to speak to Ankh ahead of the album’s release about his pride, as a man. Check it out.

This is the biggest and best album in the already stacked catalog of Ankhlejohn. He took his time, sharpening his sword of a pen, raising the bar that he had already placed so high for himself.

He executive produced the record to be something that he will be proud of, getting some of the most talented hip-hop artists to ever live to show their pride as rappers and producers.

THE PRIDE OF ANKHLEJOHN

by Def Goldbloom

I know that you were originally teasing this project to come out last year. Was there any specific reason it was delayed?

Yeah, there was a reason actually.

The reason why it got pushed back so much, is because… I’m gonna be transparent. I’m gonna be honest because I feel like it’s a full circle moment right now. I was trying to shop it out because I’m super independent. You know, I’m not signed to anyone. But this was a project that I felt like I wanted to shop out to labels and get a real situation for. Whether that was like a full record deal, whether that was like a distribution deal, publishing deal, whatever the case may be, because I just knew the value of the project early on. I knew what direction I was going, and I knew that for one this will be my biggest project and two, how I curated it, it looks like it belonged on a label. Like something a machine will get behind. So, within that I was just trying to find a situation to kind of add on to the financial situation to market and all the behind the scenes things.

Like I knew the value of this project so I was just trying to put it in the

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I feel like especially in this rap space, everyone has their own agenda so it’s easy for people to lose who they are. That’s one of the reasons why so many people are able to connect with

One hundred. You already know. I was about to say that’s what I take “pride” in but you already know that hahaha.

right hands. Or quote unquote, the right hands.

And that really didn’t happen. It really didn’t go my way, so I’m releasing this project independently.

And now that I’m saying that, and I figured that out, it actually feels good, bro. I was actually down on

M A G

It means a lot. You know, it’s like, not even like my most vulnerable, but it’s kind of something that I really stand on. Like something that I felt like I’d go through the motions with of my everyday life. Like having pride, you feel what I’m saying? Like being a man, a black man, having a certain pride about certain things, whether that’s good pride or bad pride. And also the ego plays into that as well too.

I feel like as a man, we all make our decisions off of that. Like in that whole morale standpoint, you feel me? The things that you take pride in, and I personally take pride in a lot. I think my pride is what led me here. It’s the reason why you even know who I am. Right? My pride is the reason why, maybe I’m also not as far as I can be, right? I’m probably kind of still chugging on that train a little bit because I got pride. You know, like there’s certain things that I can’t do and I wouldn’t do because my pride won’t let me. So I feel like our pride is the leading deciding factor to how we approach our morals and shit like that. So this project means everything to me.

Everything to me bro because, like fuck rap. I don’t give a fuck about the raps. I mean, I do care about the rap shit, you feel me? Pride is something that we all deal with as men and we’re going to be dealing with that to the day that we die. Right? Some people are able to put their pride aside. Some people, not so often. But that’s why that shit means a lot to me, bro. Because it’s that thing that sits on our shoulder that sometimes we can’t control.

your music, because of how authentic you are.

Like I can tell you always keep it a buck just by listening to your lyrics.

D E F

Peace Lordy! I want to start off with your latest record, ‘Pride of a Man’. This feels like the most important album of your career. It’s your longest, your most personal, and the biggest when it comes to who you collaborated with.

What does this album mean to you?

myself a lot because I didn’t have a situation for it.

You know, I felt like I was lacking. But now I’ve picked my head up and I said, “Wow, I’m actually able to do this independently.” And when I say independently, I literally mean independently, bro. I’m the executive producer. I recorded, mixed, and mastered every single track. The only thing I didn’t do is the cover, but guess who did the cover? Allceven (who designs DEF Magazine). But I thought of the idea. I named each track. I placed each track where they should go.

Everything is done with my bare hands. There was no one that sat down beside me and say, “Oh, I think this track should be here. I think this track should be called this.” I curated this thing from top to bottom man, literally. I got all the features. I waited, some features took a little bit. I had to wait, and while I was waiting on that label situation that I didn’t get, more opportunities started to come in.

So take me back to the start of Ankhlejohn, before you even thought of rapping as a job.

What was it that first got you rapping and writing rap?

BIG LORDY

D E F

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Can you talk more about being independent?

We all see underground artists release a lot of music and it looks like the talent always speaks for itself. But most fans don’t have any idea of how much goes on behind the scenes. You essentially have to be a businessman on top of being an artist.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned on the business side of things?

me wrong. The business is definitely important. But sometimes you got to inspire yourself and put the battery in your own back. I’m gonna tell you what it really is, I really love building a brand from the ground up. I love like the challenge of starting from zero, starting from zero monthly listeners, starting from zero followers. And it could be the same brand, like the same person just with a new name. So I’m just having fun bro, keeping myself young, keeping myself new, keeping myself fresh, but not going too far left that it was too difficult. People already know who Lordy is, I’ve been calling myself Lordy this entire time, but I just wanted to make something official. So I got two things going on right now got the Ankhlejohn thing. That’s the big brand.

That’s like Wu Tang Clan. And then you got Lordy, that’s like, the Killa Beez. You feel me.

Working hard builds character, but working smart is what gets you there. You have to work smart. It started off as like a work hard thing, you know, like, let’s see who can record the most, who could drop the most projects in a year. There was a time when it was like I was dropping projects, maybe four, five projects a year. That was I think, my work hard moment. Then we started to work a little bit smarter. When the money start coming in, dealing with vinyl and CDs, learning how to brand ourselves, and things of that nature.

We did that early on not even really thinking.

It wasn’t even focused, like, oh, let’s make it a brand. I just started to work smart. I started to see the value in what we was doing, and that became super, important to me. Also knowing that rap is fun, but this is still a job so you need to take the time out. Like I’m shipping out vinyl, and once you start to slack on that, it could fuck you up. Just like if you go to a nine to five job and you have a task and you don’t do it, it could fuck you up. Not waking up to print those labels and getting that vinyl off in time. You know, that fucked me up a lot. So I had to learn and learn and learn how to become a business and how to understand. Because I’m a consumer myself. So when I ordered something from Amazon, I get to tweaking if the package delivery takes too long. I start really tweaking, my patience is really bad. So I had to learn to understand that the people out there are just like me. If I take too long to ship a vinyl I know they tweaking. They spending their hard earned money so I apologize to everybody out there I did that too. I did that before and it fucked me over. So I had to understand that the business was real. And the moment that you slip up on it is the moment that you are hurting your business.

You mentioned branding. There are so many artists in this space making similar music so how important is branding? Take your name, you have most of your music under the name Ankhlejohn, but you also released the project ‘In Him We Trust’ last year under the name Lordy.

What was the reason for the name switch there?

I just be dancing around a little bit bro I’m like Michael Jackson. I be moonwalking spinning and doing all them crazy spins, 720 spins and all that shit with the glove and all that. You know, don’t get

I was young, not to put a number on it. But I was really young and there was just something that captivated me when I first heard it. I knew it was something that I wanted to do. I kind of just like started to create a unique character by myself.

Because like where I’m from, DC is not a hip-hop city. It’s a Go-Go city. We come from live bands and shit like that. So for me to become the type of artist that I am with the type of rap that I do is very, very rare. It’s very rare and I’m old enough now to understand that, to kind of step out of myself and look back at it. There’s nobody else that do it. Not saying that to like toot my own horn or try to sound cool. But you know other than like a Rahiem Supreme. Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to say that there hasn’t been other artists who have tapped into like the boom bap format, but in the way that we do it? Oh, no. I’m prob ably a one of one. I used to study a lot. I studied everything from the rappers that I listened to. I study the cadence. If I saw videos of them live performing, I studied the live performance. And just always took out the most unique the things that stuck out to me the most. I don’t really know where it comes from. There’s no one in my family that did it.

Nobody in my family was like a hip-hop head. You know? So it just found me. I didn’t find it, it found me.

I can tell that you choose the artists you work with very carefully. Almost like you’re picking the top-tier people from all around the country. You have Rome Streetz from New York, Navy Blue from California, Al.Divino from the Boston area. Do you purposely combine different regions to bounce off of your distinctly DC sound?

I look at it like, we all the Avengers. You know what I’m saying? You got your Spider-

Man from over here. You got your Iton Man from over here. You got the Hulk from over here. I mean everybody from different parts of the planet. We just come together on one accord and do our thing. So always I look at it from that standpoint, but it’s not like done on purpose. It’s just like, “you the nicest from where you at.” We all the nicest from where we’re from, bro. Like, I didn’t ask to meet them, they were just nice.

It’s like an AAU basketball team. All the best players on each high school come together on one team.

I’m just trying to be the LeBron of this shit. Because you got to give me my props, though. Because, they come from hip-hop cities. You understand what I’m saying? They have more of a reference point than I do. I had no reference point. No reference point.

Like there wasn’t nobody from my city, nobody that I could really point to. I mean, like other than Oddisee.

On an underground level, on some hip-hop shit you had Oddisee. I’m very different though. I’m very different than the artists like Diamond District. They legendary so I gotta give them props, but other than that there wasn’t like no real reference point. I don’t come from a rap city, I come from a Go-Go city. I’m from a place where it wasn’t even cool to be a rapper at one point. So my reference point, how I got here, I got here of the shrimp, off the mud. That’s why I’d have to be Iron Man hahaha.

I’m the glue because I’m good with both sides though. You got your Navy Blue side that’s more like the Earl Sweatshirt side, and you got the Griselda Rome Streetz side. I make music with both artists on each side. Like, you don’t have a Navy Blue and Rome

Streetz song, or a Navy Blue and Stove God Cooks song yet. That ain’t mesh yet. But I have it with both sides.

In hip-hop they say there’s four pillars, MCing, DJing, Graffiti, and breaking. Have any of the other four pillars besides MCing spoken to you throughout your life?

Nobody in my family was like a hip-hop head. You know?

So it just found me.

I didn’t find it, it found me.

D E F

Of course. I probably fell in love with rap first, but not too long after graffiti. Not even on no hiphop shit though, not even really paying attention that it was like an element of like hip-hop. Or maybe it was subconscious. Let me tell you this, right. I’m from DC, and I’m a real DC dude, but somehow when I was very young, I really fell in love with New York culture. Without me going, all of my favorite rappers were from New York. So the stories that I’m hearing are like New York based stories. So the music videos come on, I like their fashion, I like how Dipset dressed, how Juelz and Cam’ron dressed. I like how 50 and them dressed.I like Timberlands, I kind of caught on to that very quickly. And obviously New York is a heavily graffiti’d up city. So the architecture in New York as far as like the tall buildings, but it was the graffiti art. I loved the trains. It was just super fascinating to me. So, yeah, I kind of caught on to that and I started doing it a little bit like, in middle school, early high school. I wasn’t doing nothing super duper crazy. I wasn’t like going out, like bombing or nothing like that. But I was pretty swift with a tag and I had a cool little black book. I’d go out and fuck a couple of things up with a crazy drip marker and stuff like that. I had this one video game called “Marc Eckō’s Getting Up” that I used to play all the fucking time.

I love graffiti. Also, because of graffiti I tried to go to an art school. But all I knew was graffiti, I really wasn’t based in other forms of art like that.

M A G 7

You’ve made many albums with only one producer, but this new record has you executive producing and pulling in a bunch of different artists on the beats. What is the difference in putting those two types of projects together?

I know a lot of rappers might tell you, they like to sit down with one producer, but I like to make my own albums though. I like to curate. Certain producers are good for certain things and I like to embody that.

Don’t get me wrong, working with one producer has been efficient. It gets boring though. I ain’t gonna front. It get boring. I’m gonna do a couple of more producer albums, but it’s gonna be like shit I really, really, really, really, really want to do. But other than that I’m going to keep doing shit like ‘Pride of a Man’.

Just curating my own, it just feels better man. I just like, putting puzzles together.

I actually agree. I feel like in recent years hip-hop has shifted to more of a one producer one rapper model most of the time and while it’s given us a lot of great cohesive records, many of them are missing variety.

Exactly bro I just liked those better bro. I feel like it’s been forced now like like we gotta do one producer

projects now. Like that’s not really my thing, but it’s cool. I’m gonna do a couple more projects with one producer. I got a jawn with Cookin Soul, and I want to do one with Alchemist but other than that I don’t want to do any more of them.

I’m happy to hear that because when I listen to ‘Pride of a Man’ it is definitely your best project yet. By curating it entirely by yourself I think it unlocked your true form as an artist.

I’m gonna keep it 100, I’m so proud of myself bro. I’ve grown so much as an artist. Don’t get me wrong, I think I’ve always been nice. I think like in my earlier work, like it’s cool you know I had a direction, I had a vision, more of a gritty sound. Now if I listen back to it, it’s real harsh on the ears, I was real gritty with it. And I’m proud of that because that was my

foundation. But I feel like I sound so much more clear now. I’m just proud of myself bro, I’m growing as an MC and I’m going to continue to grow. I think the sonics of it sounds much better than my old albums.

I’ve definitely gotten better with my mixing. Even incorporating mastering at this point. I think this right here is going to be the foundation for everything else.

This is about to be the standard. Everything needs to be better than the last so imagine what the next shit will be. I got to top it. I’m glad you fuck with it.

I went back and listened to your whole catalog from the start this week and it was awesome being able to hear your growth from album to album. From the experience of each project, to the life changes in between them. How has being a father affected you as an artist?

with words and shit like that, but for the most part I try to be as direct as possible. The things that I rap about are the things that I like, the things that I do, the things that I’m around.

D E F

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I’ve heard you mention that you have thought about taking a break from rap to get more into cinematography. Can you tell me about that side passion of yours?

It changed everything. I think that was like the real starting point there. You understand what I’m saying.

Me telling myself that this shit is serious and it got to start making more sense. Me really solidifying myself as that role model. I have to set an example because he’s gonna get older and listen to the music.

So I have to be careful of the things that I’m saying, if I’m telling my story so he’ll be able to understand things a little bit more about who his father was. It makes you grow up. It makes you look at a lot of things differently. It makes you look at how childish the world is, how childish a lot of your friends are.

How it feels to not live for self so it puts a lot of things in perspective. And that obviously translates to the music, and you can hear it. I can’t hide it, it’s right there in my face. It’s gonna continue to shape me, and that’s the cool thing about it.

In listening to your work I can tell that so much in life inspires you, from the people you meet to your experiences. What art inspires you? Do you listen to a lot of music?

I do listen to music to inspire me. I listen to a lot of oldies but goodies and shit like that though. I just like the sound of love. The Isley Brothers and shit like that. I like to consider myself the fourth member, I call myself John Isley. That’s a whole new alias right there, that’s my next shit. I try to let that lead me in a way. I fell into the sample, I became the sample. I’m so in tune with the original samples of shit I don’t really give a fuck about the beat anymore. Other than that, it’s just life man. I never like rap from the perspective of a character or something like that.

My style ain’t one that just puts words together.

Not taking away from that style, because I love that style too. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve danced around

I’ve been picking up the camera since… Well, even before I picked up the camera, I fell in love with editing. I don’t know if it was inspired by movies per say, I think it just came in the early process of me becoming an artist.

Early on I figured it out.

I figured out that I could do what they do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an MC, I know how to rap.

I’m cool at rhyming, but I can graphic design, I can edit videos, I can shoot videos, I can produce. I can do what y’all do. I just know what I like and I know what looks cool. It probably started with music videos. I was really inspired early on visually

by A$AP Rocky when he first came out. On some random shit. I just really loved how raw and fly they was. I’m a huge fan of the movie ‘Belly.’ The acting was cool, but it was moreso how it was shot to me.

It was like a music video movie. And that’s what really set it off. From there I wanted to become a director. I wanted to shoot videos so I learned how to edit videos. This was around the time that A$AP Rocky era popped off, by that time I already had the vision. I already knew how to edit videos and what they were supposed to look like. I started working on this program called Sony Vegas Pro, and I got really really nice at that. Then from there I bought my first camera. I’m a real researcher bro, so my first camera was nice. I didn’t start off with no little rinky-dink bullshit camera. I bought a Panasonic GH4. This was when it first came out. It was doing slo-mo at 60 frames per second. The lens I had was the prime lens.

It was super, super, super crispy. And I was shooting and I got nice. I always would perfect the craft, and that is what prompted me to start Shaap Records.

I didn’t even want to start Shaap Records on some rap shit, I wanted to start it as a media company. My first videos with Shaap Records were like vlogs. I did a vlog for Rahiem Supreme, not even on some rap shit, but like lifestyle vlogs. And so I just fell in love with the cinematography. I just sold my camera a few months ago, but I’m real nice with that. That’s really my second love right there. I could quit rap right there and I could get into film.

You mentioned Shaap Records. Everybody hears you shout it out on your songs, but tell me about what that brand is about.

Shaap Records is not really a thing no more, it kind of

is but I transitioned the brand to my new one called Veblen Goods. So everything is distributed under Veblen Goods now. But Shaap Records, that was the baby right there, that’s what I started out with and that’s what most people know me from. Shaap Records is really something deeper than music for me. That’s a dedication to one of my homies who passed away. It was never really a super duper label, it was just me and Rahiem jacking that. We had DJ Mastamind on there, even Allceven had a little early on. I wanted to do that and I needed to do that because I needed people to know me and where I come from and the people I’m bringing up along with me. And I did bring them along with me. Y’all know Rahiem Supreme because of me, y’all know DJ Mastamind because of me. I brought them along the road because they nice at what they do, and they flourished. Now if you look at what they doing, they really contributing to the culture. Mastamind is really contributing to the culture. In different ways, obviously he came in with the beats and DJing but look at what he’s been doing with film! He’s been documenting the underground for a minute now and now he’s venturing off and documenting other things. You already seen what Rahiem been doing, and he’s going to continue to rise. But I needed everybody to know that we hold our own. I’m the Westside Gunn of my city. I was inspired by Westside Gunn, I like how he painted where he came from and did his own thing. While everybody is gravitating towards that wave, I wanted to come in and make my own wave. Our own style, our own cover art, our own logo and shit like that. The music might be similar but as far as the brand, we carved out our own thing.

I made the world know what Shaap Records is. My man who passed away, rest in peace Shef the Prince.

I know Shef is super proud of me because the whole world knows that word Shaap, I know he’s looking down and smiling on me because I took that thing worldwide. That was personal to me. I had to do that, but now that I did that, I can do other things.

I feel like throughout this whole interview, a running theme I’ve noticed is that no matter what choices were made throughout your career, you’ve always been able to be proud of what you do because you do it your way.

A lot of people be hating on me for that. Or they make it seem like I’m difficult to work with because I’m so hands on. I’m hands on because I’m a curator. I haven’t been in a position yet to have someone work for me so that I can sit back and relax. And I want to learn. Even if it doesn’t come out right the first time I want to learn. I want to learn how to record myself, I want to learn how to mix and master. I’m proud of myself for that. I’m glad that I learned those skills and built that skill set. I always preach that to all artists. You don’t need to wait for anybody else, you can do that shit yourself. That’s who Ankhlejohn is.

I’m hands on. I’m the experience. I want to get the experience and I want to give an experience.

Your new album is making waves now, but what is next for Ankhlejohn?

I really feel like this is a big new era here. We’ll see what this project do, open up some more doors and opportunities. I have a lot more to fulfill. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a lot but I ain’t done enough. I gotta tour, I really got to put my foot on the gas because there’s a lot of people that want to see me. I’ve done all this really from Washington DC. I’ve done shows up and down the East Coast and a couple shows in LA, but I have fans in all kinds of random places. Over seas and in America. There’s a lot of hands I haven’t touched yet, a lot of vinyl I haven’t signed yet. I owe them people. So what better way to introduce myself in the physical than with an album like this.

photos by Krown Aim

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Album Review

IDLE HANDS Album by Imp

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mp is a rapper/producer from Atlanta, GA, whom I’d been listening to for about 3 years prior to the release of this latest record. Although I was always a fan, Idle Hands in particular caught my attention due to the circumstances and context of its creation.

In October of 2023, Imp’s main collaborator and dear friend, Fendi Pendergrass, tragically passed away.

It understandably sent Imp spiraling, and in the following months of shock and grief, the majority of Idle Hands was created. The official Bandcamp blurb for the album feels more human and emotive than most artists’ albums, so I knew this was going to be a special project. The intro, An Explanation in Good Faith Before We Begin, features a clip of the legendary Charles Hamilton speaking about his struggles with mental health from a 2015 interview on Sway in the Morning. I went back and watched the whole interview after hearing this album, and it nearly brought me to tears at one point. As someone who has been admitted to a psychiatric ward three times in my life, I related to the content of the interview heavily. Hamilton’s descriptions of radical distrust and the sense that everyone was against him are used to frame the lyrical content of this record over a gorgeously jazzy instrumental. It eventually transitions into a major highlight called Petulant. The instrumental here is amazing, and frankly wouldn’t sound out of place alongside classic beats from undisputed greats such as Metal Fingers & Oh No. Needless to say, the song is extremely sad. Imp really doesn’t beat around the bush; the opening couplet alone references self harm and suicidal ideation.

Their gravely vocal delivery is something I’ve been ambivalent towards in the past, but it absolutely boosts my enjoyment of this album due to the subject matter explored in the lyrics. This is the best they’ve ever sounded in my opinion. The way they get more and more aggressive tonally as the track progresses really adds to the emotional impact. The lead single, Black Magick, features vocals from ariesfoolmoon and is produced by freespottie. It took me multiple listens to fully appreciate and digest the somewhat choppy, yet jazzy production, but now I love it. It’s a surprisingly catchy single. Track 6 is called *69, and it’s one of the most incredible songs of the decade.

Imp pulls the veil all the way back, spotlighting the abusive nature of their relationship with their father.

They reveal the kinds of things that I would hesitate to tell my therapist, and it’s unbelievably heavy.

“I’ve got your anger issues Major difference: instead of my hands talking, I learned to walk it away / Harboring the pain of trauma and disdain / You called me a carbon-copy like there’s honor to be claimed” The instrumental provided by Kaffo, the Sensei is phenomenal as well. It’s really a perfect song. I could say that about multiple tracks here, including Rhetorical Question, which is produced by Jarhead

the Nobody. This song has arguably the prettiest soundscape on the whole project.

It’s a very calm, relaxing, jazzy, and comforting drumless loop that honestly gives me holiday vibes. Imp uses this song to dig deeper into their own experiences with isolation and lack of trust for their friends.

I went through similar struggles during my most recent depressive episode, so this was a particularly timely track for me personally.

“Walking by packs of coyotes, trekking home in the nighttime Will my luck run out one day, I become prey for canines?

Some say I’m just moody, I digress like, ‘Okay, fine’ By daylight the blue’s back, in the mirror is the same guise Hedgehog dilemma, little cognition inside my shadow Drowning inside the liquor, all the progress is backwards My wallet’s on empty, rose sigils up on my wall Hopin’ one day it all makes sense before I’m finally gone What do you get when you mix a joke and a rhetorical question?”

The penultimate track is called Good Grief, and it actually features an instrumental from the late Fendi Pendergrass. As anyone probably could’ve guessed, this is the most heartbreaking, devastating song on the album. This is the track where Imp just goes all the way in about the painful emotions they’ve been feeling since the moment of Pendergrass’ passing.

“I’d be on the roof, you’d talk me off of it any day or night I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout Fendi Pendergrass The main I knew was Cassius John Franswah Jr.

Detest referral in the past tense And bad drivers neglecting to stop for man hit Until my transition, I keep you alive inside” Despite the intense emotional weight, it’s an incredibly beautiful song. The album ends with one final bang called Hammer in the Lake. The instrumental here is crafted by Solar Plexus Super Punch, quirkless, and Se’nam Palmer, and this is definitely the most grandiose track sonically. Towards the end of the track I actually got Flying Lotus vibes, so that should give you an idea of how rich and layered it is. This song also contains some of the most poetic lyricism on the project. It’s a perfect outro that wraps things up beautifully. Overall, this ended up being another amazing project in a year full of gems.

The consistently dark, yet jazzy production was the perfect backdrop for Imp to bare their soul. It makes for an emotionally intense listening experience, but one that is incredibly rewarding and well crafted.

by OG Nick Marsh

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TRIPS was one of the rare instances where an artist let me do a total rewrite of their original idea.

It means a lot as a collaborator when someone puts that much trust in you. Jay is a big MAD Magazine head, so he had sent me some vintage MAD as a reference and wanted himself as Alfred E. Neuman. On the album there’s only one track called MAD and the rest were all named after other comic strips, so I sat down and drew Jay as the main character in the style of all the comics he referenced.

Then I’m like, “let me do some whole other next shit.”

I started thinking about the Underground Comix that led to MAD, this movement that started in the 60’s of self-published counterculture comic books as a reaction to censorship of the medium. And I see this parallel to the current moment of underground rap, where thru widely available recording technology and the ability to self-publish music online artists are able to put out the exact expression they want without censorship or oversight based on sales rather than creativity. R. Crumb’s ZAP! Comix #1 is recognized as the flashpoint of that movement, so I flipped the style, layout, and color scheme, and put in references to MAD, bars on the album, and my fellow cartoonist FRKO RICO, who’s done some incredible covers for Jay NiCE and RU$H, among others.

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by Chop the Head

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BEHIND THE COVER ART

HIP-HOP BREAKING INTO THE OLYMPICS

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separate the movement from the music or from the time period during which it was all crystallized.

Breaking’s earnest beginnings made its Olympic debut that much sweeter for fans and artists alike.

When the event began, I still didn’t know what to expect. Footage I had seen of high level breaking competitions like Red Bull BC One seemed to have an element that was driven by hype- from the crowd, the MC’s, and from the contest’s production. I was curious to see how much of that raw authenticity would be preserved in the Olympic arena and in NBC’s broadcast.

The Olympic event’s MC’s, who could be heard in the background flavorfully facilitating the event and energizing the crowd, in addition to commentators David Shreidman, aka Kid David, and Ronnie Adaldonado, aka B-Boy Ronnie, who cover BC One, did help set a loose, exciting, yet professional tone.

Breaking legends like Kwikstep have been quoted saying they were hoping for more hip-hop representation in the set. He noted that though the giant boombox shaped scoreboard/backdrop was nice to see, he would have liked to see some graffiti, or the presence of an LL Cool J, or someone of his stature. I guess the attendance of Snoop Dogg, whose presence somehow gracefully permeated the entirety of the games, wasn’t enough for Kwikstep, but his gleeful demeanor at any event was always a delight to me.

by Nolan Kelly

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he Olympics always add a fun through line to the summer. I don’t always have the intention of watching any particular event, yet I always find myself surprised by how often I’m in front of the TV enjoying the games. Each sport captivates my attention in its own unique, refreshing way. While watching gymnastics, I can’t help but marvel at the feats the human body and those athletes are capable of achieving. When I stumble onto artistic swimming, I wonder how we as a species have come to be doing this, and I’m humbled by the depths of an unfamiliar world, rich with its own triumphs and trials that I’ll never get to experience. When I’m watching Danish beefsteak of a man Mikkel Hansen quietly become the Michael Jordan of handball over the last three Olympic Games, I want to get out and play it myself, because the game looks like endless fun. Yet it was breaking, complete with its electric energy and glorious quirks that made for my most fun watch as it made its Olympic debut at Paris in 2024.

It was a treat alone to see hip-hop represented and respected on such a massive stage. Born at the dawn of hip-hop in the Bronx, breaking became popular at parties that saw pioneering DJ’s like Kool Herc, Kool D, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa spinning breakbeats on the tables.

Breaking’s lineage can be traced back to dances like the Capoeira, but when you hear the energetic drums and see the dynamic footwork interwoven with acrobatic power moves, it’s as if you cannot

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Olympic athletes treat their sport with equal parts competitive ferocity and celebratory love for their competitors like these breakers did. Taunting an opponent was not uncommon to see, whether it was one athlete calling their opponent out for repeating a move, or an athlete using a dance move to mock a move their counterpart had done previously. The taunting seemed to remain jovial on the surface, but I could clearly see they felt that each moment was on the line, and pointing errors out to the judges could make or break their success. As corny as those taunts sometimes were, it added a social dynamic to the competition that was unique, and a more personal investment on the athletes’ part that lent itself to a more intense experience at home. This competitive edge even extended to the crowd.

When the USA’s B-Boy Victor faced off against Japan’s Hiro10, the latter had the crowd absolutely feral as he broke out some of the most athletic power moves I saw during the event, spinning together what felt like countless rotations in mind boggling air flares. When Victor won the battle, eliminating Hiro10, the crowd didn’t hesitate to boo the judges.

They were probably even more moved by Hiro10’s tears after he saw the results. As he hung his head, overcome with emotion, one MC swung his arm around Hiro10’s shoulder, and commanded the crowd to chant Hiro10’s name. Victor, who seems incredibly humble despite being one of the winningest B-Boys in history, even embraced his opponent to remind him of how special the moment was, exemplifying a ferocity-sportsmanship duality that is hard to find with such extremes in other sports.

This spirit of peace, love, and unity, as the commentators kept reminding us is what breaking

and hiphop are all about, was truly present throughout both days of the event. Most of the battles ended with the two breakers embracing each other, grinning from ear to ear. Many of these b-boys and b-girls have been competing with and against each other for years, and it was incredible to see that even through the most elite competitive arenas, they developed a community strong enough to allow for such selfless displays of respect and praise. Their gratitude for the chance to do what they love on such a massive stage was so tangible. Even through a TV screen, an ocean away from the event, this pervasive joy and celebratory spirit was infectious.

On that sentimental note, as impressive as these athletes and artists were, I couldn’t help but wonder; is there anything more corny than a dance battle? I hate to say it, but a hip-hop dance battle in particular may be the most corny kind of dance battle. Hip-hop paradoxically wears its reserved, tough demeanor on its sleeve.

From the start, breaking was no exception. Afrika Bambaataa famously turned New York based gang, the Black Spades, away from the streets to a life of breaking, where rival gangs would battle it out on the dance floor. As beautiful as that is, I can’t help but chuckle at the irony of it. I wasn’t alive during the 70’s and 80’s, but if movies like The Warriors and Wild Style are to be taken as accurate representations of the gang and hip-hop scenes (Everything you see in movies is real right?), then it seems like gangs and breaking crews wore matching outfits and roller skated around. This seems too cute to happen in 2024, but I suppose films like those and the factual story of the Black Spades give each other some context. This is all to say that this juxtaposition of the theatrical with the raw style of an artform that came from the streets is still palpable, and it put a grin on my face throughout the entire event.

To think, I haven’t even touched on the breaking itself yet. As a layman, I found it interesting when the breaker I was certain would win a battle ultimately lost (Victor v.s. Hiro10 was one of these instances).

I knew the criteria that the judges scored on were creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality, but I think I was still blinded by some of the power moves, which are probably the moves the uninitiated think of when they think of breaking. They’re the moves that essentially see breakers whirling their bodies around on the floor. Head spins, air flares and windmills are some common ones. The commentators did a great job of pointing out subtleties the judges look for that the average viewer might not notice. Repeating certain moves, for instance, could really tarnish the judges’ evaluation. Though I did not have an eye trained

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As the DJ’s were presumably attempting to keep the spotlight on the athletes, they weren’t spinning constant crowd pleasers, but it was always fun hearing classics like Tribe’s “Scenario,” or instrumentals from more popular contemporary American hip-hop, like

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The other criteria I began to clock was musicality.

The DJ, spinning in and out of different tracks as they saw fit, was a bit of a wild card that the breakers had to work with. For this reason, when a breaker was able to anticipate an instrumental punctuation and meet it with a freeze (halting all movement to strike a still pose), it was all the more impressive, and would typically draw a big response from the crowd.

France’s B-Boy Dany Dann seemed particularly good at this, and he became my favorite to watch. His fun yet laid back charisma was palpable, and it lent itself so well to freezes and taunts that had the crowd, commentators, and myself laughing it up.

Despite this treasure trove of entertainment, online discourse and news outlet coverage after the event mainly focused on the confusing performance of the Australian B-Girl Raygun, whose skillset and borderline offensive choices on the floor were jarringly subpar. It’s a shame that this was some people’s biggest takeaway, but it definitely wasn’t mine.

It was too much fun for that to be the case. Breaking officially won’t be returning to the L.A. Olympics in 2028. This decision was made before the Paris games even began, but in retrospect, it colors each breaker’s efforts in an even more dramatic shade. I’m sure many of them, with the knowledge that they wouldn’t get the chance to break at the Olympics again, were trying their best to leave it all out there, and take it all in. It sure seemed like it from my end. Whether it ever returns to the games or not, I’m glad we got to see it live and direct from Paris, France.

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to spot technicality or lack-thereof, personality was one criteria I honed in on as the competition went on. If a breaker brought their own flavor to the floor and was able to seamlessly weave it into their moves, it was rewarded by the judges and the crowd. I was reminded of the song “Honest Expression” by hip-hop duo Binary Star. The beginning of the track features a sample of a Bruce Lee interview, where he explains, “Ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. It is easy for me to put on a show, and be cocky or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly; now that my friend is very hard to do.”

JID’s “NEVER.” During the B-Boy gold metal battle, it felt fitting when the DJ played Method Man’s “Judgement Day.” In the end, Japan’s B-Girl Ami took the gold, while Canada’s Phil Wizard beat Dany Dann in the B-Boy gold medal round.

Album Review

The Black Madonna Piece Album by Patty Honcho

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pontaneity is the essence of jazz music. Listening as the musicians improvise in unison, taking turns to deliver wild and animated solos, unpredictability is what makes the genre so special. Patty Honcho is the latest in a line of MCs to incorporate the magic of jazz into his sound. Having impulsively began work on his latest rap album at the start of 2024, Honcho allowed the music to guide him, improvising his creative process to deliver a project that not only samples jazz, but encapsulates its sense of freedom: The Black Madonna Piece.

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Proving his prowess as a lyricist, The Black Madonna Piece is jazz rap in its most aggressive form. The abrasive edge of Honcho’s style is evident from the opener, ‘Vatican Wifi’, where he rhymes over an eruption of despairing horns. Juggling subtle brags with crass insults and no shortage of wordplay, the MC mesmerises the listener with his effortless bars, drawing them into the jazz-infused soundscape.

The album heats up on ‘Let the Games Begin’, a masterful exercise in rhyme where Honcho hypes up his strengths and shoots down the competition in the same breath. Rapping over a hypnotic beat where a single horn plays on loop, the instrument mimics the blare of an alarm, feeding into the MC’s bars as he asserts himself as an inescapable threat.

“I roll my ambitions in a raw paper, that’s a twist of fate” As the LP progresses, the rapper dips his toes into the world of soul and psychedelia on ‘I Got a Lot to Say’, floating in an ocean of strings, synths, and thumping bass. After a dreamy hook, Honcho dives into his verses, accompanied by a fiery electric guitar that weaves around the rapper’s biting bars.

In stark contrast to the moody soul of the previous cut, ‘Goliath’ brings things back to the gritty heart of the East Coast. Trading rhymes with rapper Unruly while a shaky saxophone blares in the background, Honcho delivers a stunning performance in mic presence. The intensity of his delivery ebbs and flows with the movement of the beat, moulding his delivery to match the sax in the same vein as a jazz musician adapting to his bandmates. It’s in these subtle moments where Honcho channels his inner horn player, crafting his rhymes in the same way a saxophonist glides through a solo. Unruly keeps up the pace with a barrage of rhymes as he enters the track:

“I crack the armour of thieves that jack the art I bleed / All black, my arteries all facts, I come back to slaughter thee” Perhaps the greatest standout on The Black Madonna Piece is ‘Here It Goes & Here It Comes’. Honcho performs over a sombre piano beat from Happy Art,

all while saxophonist WEX! the Master jams in the background.

From the MC’s warm vocals to the enchanting sax solo on the back end, this song sees Honcho a b a n d o n the grit of his previous w o r k , embracing the beauty of jazz rap.

However, that sense of serenity quickly fades. A foreboding horn passage pulls the listener into the explosive second leg of the LP, kicked off by ‘Breeze’. Honcho and Backwood Sweetie share the mic over a nightmarish blend of jazz samples, injected with a hardcore flair thanks to the boom bap percussion pulsing through the song. ‘Lose It & Buy It Back’ strips away the rhythm in favour of an almost drumless instrumental, challenging Honcho to maintain his slick flow as layers of sax and bass spiral around his words. After the hypnotic soul of ‘Eyes’, The Black Madonna Piece reaches its apex.

Joined by underground titans KNOWITALL and BlaQ Chidori, ‘Cold Feeling’ is a triple threat masterclass in chemistry and rhyme. Produced by Wulverine, the beatmaker’s gritty twist on chipmunk soul acts as a battleground for the MCs to clash, taking turns to show off their lyrical greatness. Rather than sampling jazz to keep to the aesthetic, the structure of ‘Cold Feeling’ is what harkens back to the days of Coltrane and Davis, with the trio of rappers building on one another’s lyrical skills.

Keeping up the momentum, ‘Cathedral’ sees Honcho flow through a storm of heavy bass, spitting subliminal insults and braggadocious bars until he loses breath. What follows are a run of tunes where the MC abandons the despairing jazz aesthetic in favour of a lush, expansive world of soul. ‘Change’ is the first taste: a summery throwback to the sound of Little Brother where Honcho’s warm, whispery vocals cut through a network of finely-chopped soul samples.

After the colourful one-two punch of ‘Timing’ and ‘Jody & Yvette Pt. 2’, The Black Madonna Piece reaches its triumphant conclusion with ‘Sydney Sweeney’. In classic Patty Honcho fashion, the MC enchants the listener with his unending rhymes, rapping effortlessly over a cinematic crescendo of horns and electric guitar. The album closes with a bonus track – a remix of ‘Petey Wheatstraw’, acting as a musical victory lap for the rapper to recite one of the biggest tracks of his career.

“Whack Twitter rappers in they mid-30s / He wrote two 15 bar verses, it was a mid 30” The Black Madonna Piece is a modern jewel in jazz rap. Rather than chopping up a few horns and leaving it there, Patty Honcho absorbs the essence of jazz into his performance. He flows with the freedom of a saxophonist lost in a solo, switching through moods, themes, and stories with the lyrical prowess to make it all sound seamless. Spontaneously moving from hard-hitting boom bap to Midwestern chipmunk soul, The Black Madonna Piece is a love letter to jazz, written through the language of hip-hop.

by Evan BaxterCarr

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atboi Sharif always has a vision. This is the third cover I worked on for him and I had told him I was getting tired of doing the busy, cartoony covers people mostly knew me for, I didn’t wanna get stuck in that lane. He most definitely understood that. He sent me the project and a reference image, a black and orange flyer of a distorted baby. All he told me to do was make it crazier and change it to a girl instead of a boy. When I was 15 and getting real serious about art, I was heavy into punk rock and did a lot of Xerox collage flyers and zines, so I took it back to my roots. Sharif and I overlap on a lot of hardcore punk and noise music which fit the abrasive exploratory sounds of Shirley. I printed out pictures of babies, old medical textbooks, mechanical diagrams and car parts, dropped acid and listened to the project twice followed by three Alice Coltrane albums while I worked. This is the result. It’s half collage and half hand-drawn. Before I do a cover, I look at an artist’s whole discography and try to set what I’m about to do apart as much as I can. Most artists don’t have a black and white cover, I think they can be very bold but most people make me color the shit anyway. Thank you Sharif for always looking to break new ground and keeping me pushing forward.

There’s a whole other version we just used for street promo flyers. Look for her on milk cartons in your local grocery store.

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by Chop the Head

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Artist on the Rise

89 the brainchild

by Def Goldbloom

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ew Jersey is a state rich with music and culture, you just need to know where to look. From the jumping nightlife that built Jersey club, to the rich history of hip-hop grown from the garden state that shines through the shadow of the Big Apple. The best artists who come out of Jersey always have a fresh style that is uniquely their own. There are many artists and DJs in the club scene who are able to capture the supreme nightlife culture of the state, and many great rappers who are able to represent the mindstate of the state’s inhabitants lyrically, but few who can do both. ‘89 the Brainchild is an artist who can capture every side of the state’s rich, musical energy, and he does it while not sounding like anyone else.

Born and raised in Rahway, you may know ‘89 as onefourth of the hosts of Strangers Live, one of the best radio shows out, highlighting the host’s eclectic taste in music. Along with his co-hosts, Fatboi Sharif, DJ Boogaveli, and Kohai, the Wonderguy, they have become some of the most reliable DJs and music curators on the internet. The show airs bi-weekly and is a must-listen for anyone who wants to stay tapped in.

That brings us to his latest record, ‘Night Lives’ which was released earlier this year on Fused Arrow Record.

This mixtape is the culmination of everything he has released until this point and is one of the most exciting records of the year. He’s kept his electro-punk aesthetics but with a more produced and refined sound.

This record is energetic, one-ofa-kind, and genuinely hilarious at times. This tape captures the energy of a New Jersey night so well. So much Jersey personality is packed into every track, and every track is the brainchild of ‘89.

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Later in 2021 he released the trilogy of projects titled ‘the WORST of my 20’s,’ which were compilations of the work that he had made up until this point. These tapes show his experimentation while finding his sound and really highlight his personality as an artist.

His skill set and personality go hand in hand because of how unique his voice and vision are for each song. Both as a lyricist and simply as a constructor of songs, it all just makes sense.

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This project was officially released in May of 2021, a year when he really started to show the world what he had been working on. That same year he began releasing the ‘Mini Tape’ series, a series of EPs with songs that he made during the ‘Patterns’ sessions. The electronic backdrop to his music is perfect for his rhyme style. His syncopated flows are able to ride on top of the drums like another piece of percussion.

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‘89 began the modern artistic run of his life in 2019 when he started working on the sessions for his first full-length record, ‘Patterns.’ He was going through a rough time in his life, so to combat the stresses of the world, he began journaling. A process that ended up morphing into over 100 songs worth of his thoughts over dance and electronic music that could help him get through the rough season. He has said, “Patterns’ is grooving thru difficulty nd not letting what you got goin on outside, f*ck up ur day or night out.” The tape is constant, with a relentless heartbeat giving new life each time you listen.

Album Review

Los Angeles Album by Blu & Evidence

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here is something special in the air when LA-native Blu decides to take on a collaborative effort with another producer. Whether it be his undeniable classic run with Exile, his venture with Madlib on ‘Bad Neighbour’, or the show of youthful arrogance displayed with Mainframe on ‘Johnson&Jonson’. This brings us to his latest effort, appropriately titled ‘Los Angeles’, with career veteran Evidence behind the boards.

At its core this album is a love letter to the west coast, dive a little deeper and it is a cold commentary on the pitfalls of the neighbourhoods that surrounded their childhood. While the city may be seen through rosetinted glasses, Blu still acknowledges how relentless and unforgiving the place can be.

the life of a city native with violent imagery from Blu that is impossible to ignore. I mean, even someone like me who lives a whole ocean or two away from LA can’t help but feel entangled when Blu is writing like this:

“L.A. is the land, where they kill a man / If the color of his bill is the opposite of the color that the village flags”

“Sun settin’ on the set, it’s so beautiful / You couldn’t imagine “In the city of angels, everybody someone blastin’, turnin’ your live a lie” paradise to a funeral” On the face of it, there is only so much one can say

Upon first listen, this album may surprise some people, myself included. This album is gritty and aggressive in its production, before taking a more on-brand soulful approach in the second half. This is a testament to Evidence’s crafty work, with Los Angeles feeling like a double album of sorts, but seamlessly tying together.

The versatility in sound-building from Evidence is what makes the album so rich in replay value, and the themes are sewn-up perfectly with anthemic rapping from Blu.

This is where Los Angeles takes a turn in soundscape, with the next pair of tracks setting up a beautiful end to this 40-minute escapade through the city.

“Hell” slows the tempo right down, with Blu explicitly describing the exploitative nature of the city. “Heaven” is a real heart-warming moment on the record, as Blu recounts a letter told from the perspective of his friend who sadly passed away. It’s masterfully executed, with this looped soul-sample that drives the track throughout and just compliments the story gracefully.

The following track, “Wish You Were Here” just adds another emotional sucker-punch to the narrative, as Blu, in simple terms, rattles off a list of things they’ve missed since they passed away. This demonstration of affection and pure-love casts a layer of hope alongside the dread of the city that Blu describes. Plus, we get the only rap performance from Evidence across the whole tracklist, and it is well worth the wait.

“If you ever in the area, bring a sweater ‘cause cops be bringin’ berettas / And hell rains, hell flames, fuck an umbrella / Shit get hot, unbutton that butter leather / and pass it ‘Fore you end up in the casket forever” The first full-length track, ‘The Land’, vividly depicts life in the city of angels and the cold blooded mentality that is birthed in the streets. The title track follows the same trajectory, with this album feeling like a documentary of sorts, as you see Los Angeles through Blu’s eyes. “Three Wheel Motion” is where the album reaches its maximum potential, and that is in huge part thanks to Evidence. He laced this with this psychedelic backdrop and woozy atmosphere and the pay-off is monumental. Production talents once again take to the forefront on “LA Tourists”, effortlessly switching from a piano-driven boom bap beat to a hallucinating instrumental carried by heavy-hitting drums and a stellar guest verse from frequent-collaborator MED. The album shows no signs of slowing down though, “LA Traffic” & “The Cold” once again convey a day in

From this point onwards the record chains together nicely, “Lights At Night” sees the reunion of Domo Genesis, Navy Blue & Evidence who previously shone together on 2022’s ‘Intros, Outros & Interludes”. In the album’s lead single, “Wild Wild West”, a jazzy loop rings in the background, and the hook is surprisingly catchy with the repeating phrases demonstrating the dangers of the city. Closing

things, we have “The LA”, which does a perfect job of wrapping things up.

about life in Los Angeles. However, Blu does an excellent job of finding a new way to explore the city as each track passes by, which in turn creates an urge to return to the album. It may not be as technically proficient as the behemoth Miles per-se, but Blu’s delivery is punchy, and powerful, no matter what the narrative is. I can’t wax lyrical about this album without mentioning Evidence though, who’s versatility allows Los Angeles to be so rich in sound. Anyone who dares to say hip-hop is dead, definitely aren’t looking in the right places.

by Connor Dobson

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always ask artists for reference points for style and concept. Lungs and Phiik, predictably, did not disappoint. They sent me hours of media.

An incredible documentary called the Gods of Times Square, narrated YouTube mythology about sentient vegetables at war with one another, Pajama Sam, the Redwall books, and medieval illuminated manuscripts of rabbits sword-fighting with knights.

I try to only work with artists I really listen to, I’m such a fan of Lungs and Phiik’s style that its always a very natural collaboration. Not much needs to be explained between us to arrive at something like this. The Olde York City/medieval direction they suggested got me thinking about my OG, Hieronymus Bosch. This is the Garden of Earthly Delights with Times Square built on top of it under all-out siege. You’ll find references to Bosch, Dalí, the Gods of Times Square, specific bars from the album, Lungs at work in Mansion Studios, and a dead police officer, which I put in as many album covers as I can.

The music itself is also very special, to me it’s one of those albums with undeniably old school DNA that couldn’t possibly have been made any earlier or by anyone else.

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by Chop the Head

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BEHIND THE COVER ART

The Top 50 Albums of the Decade (so far)

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by Def Goldbloom D on’t look now, but the 2020s are just about half over. The first couple years of the decade felt like they were swallowed into the void of a post-COVID world, but the music we’ve gotten has been incredible. In the 2020s we have seen the attempted rise of AI, a full on Kanye West presidential Campaign, the culmination of the Great Rap War of 2024, and the rise of many artists who are bound to lead hip-hop into the next half of the decade.

OGs like Rakim and LL Cool J have made their grand return to show the new school what hip-hop is all about. Legends like Nas and Common have reinvigorated their careers, bringing their golden era skills to the modern age. Underground icons like Mach-Hommy and billy woods have solidified their legacies, setting the tone for the artistic ambition of the decade. And new artists like AJ Suede and Redveil have stamped their name on the game proving that hip-hop will be thriving for years to come.

DEF Magazine was started to highlight the amazing hip-hop that is happening right now. Made to cut through the noise of the mainstream and clout chasers. The “hip-hop media” that is out today barely

even covers hip-hop itself. Glorified pop culture accounts that don’t care about the culture. We are here to change that.

There have been so many incredible hip-hop albums this decade. It feels like the world stopped during COVID, but while everything else paused, hip-hop kicked it into high gear. Hundreds, probably even thousands of truly great hiphop records have been released through these first five years. It would be impossible for one person to sift through it all, so luckily for you, we here at DEF Magazine have done the work for you. We compiled a list of the 50 best records of the 2020s.

50. SECRETS

37. Marciology

by Al.Divino and Starker

by Roc Marciano

49. Lived and Born

36. Drill Music in Zion

by Sunmundi and klwn cat

by Lupe Fiasco

48. Alligator Bites Never 35. Michael Heal

by Killer Mike

by Doechii

47. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.

46. God Don’t Make Mistakes

by Conway the Machine

45. Beloved! Paradise!

Jazz!?

by McKinley Dixon

by Boldy James & The Alchemist

42. Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition

by Your Old Droog

41. Leather Blvd

by B. Cool-Aid

40. Beware of the Monkey

by MIKE

39. Dark Times

by Vince Staples

38. A Martyr’s Reward

by Ka

by Pink Siifu

32. Melt My Eyez See Your Future

by Denzel Curry

31. The Elephant Man’s Bones

by JID

22. Haram

by Armand Hammer

21. Kiss the Ring

by Rome Streetz

20. As Above So Below

by ANKHLEJOHN

19. Voir Dire

by Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist

18. Descendants of Cain

by Roc Marciano & The Alchemist

by Ka

30. A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism

17. Man Plays the Horn

by th1rt3en

29. Song of Sage: Post Panic!

by Navy Blue

28. Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B

by Westside Gunn

27. Half God

by Wiki

26. Scaring the Hoes

by JPEGMafia & Danny Brown

25. Donda

by Kanye West

by Cities Aviv

16. Richaxxhaitian

by Mach-Hommy

15. Call Me If You Get Lost

by Tyler, the Creator

14. FlySiifu’s

by Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin

13. Maps by billy woods

12. Alfredo

by Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

11. A Written Testimony

by Jay Electronica

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43. The Price of Tea in China

33. Gumbo’!

23. The Forever Story

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by MIKE, Wiki, and The Alchemist

by Larry June & The Alchemist

by Injury Reserve

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44. Faith is a Rock

34. The Great Escape

24. By the Time I Get to Phoenix

6. Aethiopes

by Armand Hammer

As the only rapper to appear in the top 10 twice, billy woods is untouchable. He is one of the most fascinating writers in music. Every bar, every syllable is layered with meaning, craving a deeper examination into its purpose. The concepts that most rappers are proud to have accumulated throughout an entire album, billy is able to weave into a throw away line between two gems of his genius. With each release from him it feels like he gets more and more left field, but somehow finds more of an audience every time. Every album from billy woods belongs on this list, but ‘Aethiopes’ is a worthy champion.

Billy woods and Elucid have pretty clearly been the duo of the decade to this point. Their high minded abstraction of the modern world has made them the critical kings of the underground. Through 50 years of hip-hop, it’s hard to find things that haven’t yet been done, but Armand Hammer has consistently found a way to do just that, raising the bar for themselves each and every year. ‘We Buy Diabetic Test Strips’ is an achievement of hip-hop expressionism, building on everything the duo has done before. As the only 2024 record in the top 10, this is our album of the year too.

Through the first half of this decade, MachHommy has gone from an almost mythical legend of obscurity to one of the most important artists in the modern underground hip-hop landscape.

‘Pray for Haiti’ is a big reason why that is. This was his grand return to Griselda, linking back up with the great Westside Gunn who executive produced this album that had years of build up to it. While many day-one Mach fans will always hold his earlier albums up on a pedestal, there is no denying that this is one of the biggest and best pieces of art that Mach has made for his investors.

It is truly one of the crowning achievements of an artist who has defined an era of the underground.

by billy woods

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10. We Buy Diabetic Test 8. Pray For Haiti Strips

by Mach-Hommy

9. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

7.Burning Desire

by Little Simz

When looking at the modern abstract hip-hop scene, you can see a clear before and after MIKE arrived. He and his cohorts out of sLUms have changed the game for the style and quality that we expect out of the underground. After releasing ‘Disco,’ ‘Beware of the Monkey,’ and ‘Faith is a Rock,’ in the previous couple of years, it is hard to believe that MIKE could continue getting better, but he did just that. ‘Burning Desire’ is the best record of an already incredible catalog. This album is his longest and most ambitious project yet with a varied sound that takes us through the many styles that MIKE has mastered in his young career. MIKE still has decades to go, but if this ends up being his best work, then he is already a legend.

We have a few writers from the UK, so it only makes sense that we have some representation from beyond the pond. If there is any international artist who deserves to be on this list, it is Little Simz. ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ was a breath of fresh air when it dropped in 2021, and it still feels fresh three years later. It simply feels like more care was put into this record than anything else. The album is beautifully produced with grand orchestral horns and angelic choirs leading us through Simz’s view of the world.

There are a number of young, rising artists in the game right now and Little Simz is one of the most talented in the world.

by MIKE

5. Pray For Paris

by Westside Gunn Over the past decade, we have seen the meteoric rise of Griselda Records. Led by Westside Gunn, this movement gave us so much great music, and it all culminated with ‘Pray for Paris.’ This album feels like the bridge between Griselda on the rise and Griselda at the top. The sound is glossy and laced with luxury like it is Gunn’s reward for moving the needle of hip-hop. His curation has become something of a cliche point to make, but it must be made when talking about this record.

He created it as if it were an art piece to be auctioned off someday at Christie’s. This album is timeless, something that should be seen and heard in art galleries for centuries to come.

4. Miles: From an Interlude Called Life

2. Reasonable Drought

by Blu & Exile

This album is for the purists. No frills, no features.

Just a man and some beats. Stove God Cooks has to be the newcomer of the decade. As soon as he started rapping on this record it was clear that he would be one of the most exciting MCs of his time.

He was honing his skills for many years behind the scenes, and I’m glad he waited because the project that we got is a classic. Roc Marciano put his foot into this production too. Many of the albums on this list are experimental, or thought provoking, or boundary pushing. Not this one… and it doesn’t need to be… because it is just the coolest shit out.

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In an era where albums have gotten shorter and shorter, with artists dumbing down their music for the TikTok generation, Blu & Exile bucked the trend, making the most lyrically dense album of the decade. Blu dives into the roots of his family heritage, his musical lineage, and the background of music itself in an incredible display of lyricism, proving that his ink is in fact worth an island. He is one of the last great American poets that we have, and this is his finest work. Exile takes hip-hop’s roots in jazz and chops it up in the most intricately beautiful way possible. Each track comes alive with ideas and samples that meld together to form a perfect fusion of hip-hop and jazz, two genres and cultures that have been linked together for miles before.

by Stove God Cooks

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1. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers 3. Manger on McNichols

by Boldy James & Sterling Toles Boldy James is a true contender for the MC of the decade, and this is his opus. He is one of the most consistent rappers of the last decade, but he was able to reach an even higher peak, finding a new level of greatness on top of Toles’s angelic, sample heavy production. Not one second of sound is wasted on this record. Both artists are so locked in, it is remarkable. As a storyteller, Boldy never spares a second to captivate the listener with his words, and the production is literally a decade in the making.

Boldly recorded his vocals in the late 2000’s and Sterling Toles has been working on perfecting the production of the album in the years since. It was worth the wait.

by Kendrick Lamar Hundreds of different albums made it onto our individual top 50 lists, but it’s no surprise that this album would be the one that appeared the most times. Kendrick is still king after all these years. This album has had a bit of a reevaluation this year with Kendrick reemerging as the top dawg of hip-hop, and I’m glad people are finally starting to see the vision.

‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ is the best album of the decade so far, and it gets better and better with every year that passes. This is an extremely vulnerable piece of art, so personal to Kendrick that it transcends his persona, able to connect to any listener who has personal demons to fight. As with all Kendrick albums, the concepts are so rich and ripe for evaluation. Whether you are an underground fan, an old head, or any type of rap fan, there is something in this album that you can appreciate.

Album Review

PERSEVERANCE Album by JUNECINEMA

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owadays in hip-hop, the question “Is Hip-Hop dead?” comes up often. Time & time again with the tired discourse between the “golden era” heads and the rising generation. With prolific artists such as MIKE, Mach-Hommy, MAVI and the like beginning to shine light on the underground realm, the answer should be apparent. Even more than ever with the latest entry into the New Yorkbased JUNECINEMA’s catalog, PERSEVERANCE. On their own, Charlotte’s JUNE! & Yonkers’ Jay Cinema have always proven they had what it took to push the needle with many efforts. It’s rather different once they combine forces, working through constant adversity to become a full fledged force to be reckoned with. The very thing being the root of what this album becomes.

Despite the odds they face, the duo push ahead with stride. “My temptations are fuckin’ scratching” chimes Long Island MC Johnny Storm on “DON’T FORGET II”. “But I’ma stay solid, do [the] shit the right way,” he continues as the melancholic instrumentation from pis.i comes in, conveying the message of staying on the right path despite the setbacks along the way. Their combined conviction takes more precedence throughout, a bolder hunger to win heard almost within each track.

While trial and tribulation is well known, their resolve refuses to let that define them.

Cinema was always an enticing performer with his charismatic energy bringing you down to earth. “A nigga on his straight and narrow; on this path, needs some arrows” he chuckles on “FADE AWAY”. The everyman realism within his words is what really makes him beloved. JUNE! on the other hand doesn’t waste time, coming straight at you.

They have a point to prove this time around. “Had to maintain shit, had bear pain quick” bellowing from “HOLD IT”. They both expand their energy into something true to the soul, sticking to the very essence that has worked well since their inception, fine-tuned over the years.

As before with past works, the duo brought forth efforts through collaboration. They take a chance on their own as JUNE! takes the role of executive producer, recruiting the underground’s finest for this piece. Previously working with Jay on “Alchemy”, Chow shines bright with his work throughout. Frequent I’ll Never Die collaborator pis.i doesn’t disappoint. The whole course reminds you of the mixtape era. The gallant horns from Kirti’s “FAITH”, the smooth cuts from producer Matt Swain on “DUMMY”, it goes on and on. The soundscape catches you off guard but that’s the thing, they’re doing the best they can with their grit.

They do take time to relax a bit. The space allows them grace while remembering how they got to this

point. JUNE!’s verses often reflect personal struggle and introspection, delivered with a gritty Southern drawl that adds a layer of authenticity & raw emotion.

C i n e m a complements this with his sharp, streetwise lyricism and swagger, that provides a contrast yet aligns with the central theme of perseverance.

The guests sprinkled throughout took heed of this, moving accordingly hand in hand, “PERSEVERANCE” is a compelling testament to JUNECINEMA’s artistry and thematic vision. While promising to be a powerful exploration of resilience and determination, the I’ll Never Die MCs moved to make something personal yet universal. The

strength within their chemistry works well to satiate their desire to rise above the odds, enriching the overall listening experience. From the title track intro all the way to Johnny Storm’s words heard on the finale “FLY”, the thread connecting everything together holds tight and steady. Furthermore, proof that real hip-hop will never truly die.

by Adrian Richards

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lot of the time, as soon as an artist tells me the title of the project I’ll start seeing the cover in my mind and the bulk of the work is just executing that idea.

Not always. This ANKHLEJOHN cover concept took me about 2 weeks of thinking and sketching to arrive at. I have this thing about not always going with the first thing I think of, because I think it’s the first thing anyone would think of, and we’re not with that over here. Plus this was an alternate cover just for the vinyl, someone had already done a hand holding the knight piece hovering over the chessboard for the original and gotten it out of the way for me. One day I happened to see some target paper with this grid on it that reminded me of a chessboard and it was a wrap. The drawing itself only took about a day to complete. Generally, I’m a maximalist, but this is one of my favorite covers I’ve done because of its simplicity. The back was done the same day, a black king taken out by the game.

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by Chop the Head

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BEHIND THE COVER ART

Born Special :

A Talk with 6 WHEELZ

by Gavin Brown

Your new children’s book I Was Made Special And You Are Too has just been released. Can you tell us about it and the ethos behind writing it?

I wrote the book loosely based on my own experience of dealing with bullying in elementary and middle school for being differently abled. I hope this book will curve bullying for every child: differently abled or not.

You are also a battle rapper, what have been the highlights from your battles and who have been your toughest opponents?

How has the book been received so far?

Are you always fully prepared for what is going to be thrown at you lyrically and has anyone gone too far with what they have said to you in a battle?

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My biggest moment was my live debut in AHAT Atlanta. The energy was electric and I love performing.

My toughest opponent is a guy I battle over Facebook named YBG Angel.

It has been received well, and I’m glad that the message is getting out there.

I’m always prepared. One person took it too far. We had beef for a while, but we’re cool now.

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Have you wanted to release a book like this for a while now?

EP’s next year called Gen and IUS. I’ll let you connect the dots.

Have you had any ideas about potential new books as well?

Who are your biggest inspirations as a rapper and a lyricist?

I’m actually rolling back from children’s book and writing a psychological thriller novella to be released later this year. I’m also planning on releasing another children’s book though called The Right Note, based on self esteem and being able to use your creativity to escape.

Slim Shady and Nas.

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Yeah, I had this idea for a while, I finally stopped putting it off. Remember that “Someday” isn’t a deadline.

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riumphing over adversity has been an important part of hip-hop since its inception with the entire culture born out of its surroundings to rise up and make things better, climbing above any negativity, doing what you do and doing it in your own inimitable style.

This is particularly apt for Macon, Georgia rapper/ producer and now author 6 Wheelz, who is living his dreams as a lyricist, beatsmith and writer, and despite having been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at three months old, has used this to turn adversity into triumph and risen up to give us his own take on various aspects of hip-hop culture.

The release of this years ‘Liftoff (Looppool)’ and ‘Born Alone, Die Alone,’ and other tracks prior such as the OutKast inspired ‘ATLien’s Saucer’ and ‘Shame On You’ showcase his skills as an artist who defiantly is unwilling to let his disability hold him down. His career as a battle rapper has thickened his skin and sharpened his pen, deepening his musical arsenal as well.

Not only this, but 6 Wheelz has added another string to his bow, as an author with his children’s book ‘I Was Made Special And You Are Too’ coming which adds something close to his heart and truly gleams with positivity.

I caught up with 6 Wheelz as he gave us the lowdown on his whole career and how he turns negativity into positivity, making some dope music, and demonstrating the true meaning of never giving up, being yourself and inspiring others in the process.

Going back, can you tell us a bit about our your journey so far and how you came to where you are now?

Well from the beginning, I was born with Cerebral Palsy. The doctors told my mom at two weeks I was going to be a vegetable. Glory to God I’m here in my right mind doing his work.

What obstacles have you had to overcome to make it this far?

Dealing with low self esteem that came with the bullying, thoughts of suicide and doubting myself cost me time You work as a producer too, can you tell us about that side of your work and the sounds you create?

As far as producing, I like to make my own Lofi and soul based soundscapes and sample myself. My work can be found at thegeniusiq.com Who are your biggest influences as a producer?

J Dilla hands down- he wasn’t from this planet! Also 9th Wonder.

What else are you working on at the moment that you can tell us about?

Besides the books, I’m planning on releasing two

What advice would you give to someone who has faced the same struggles you have coming up?

God is dope, learn yourself, love yourself, find your motivation and keep rolling.

What do you still want to achieve in both life and in your career?

Besides the books, I want to go on a world tour.

Whether as an MC/author or whatever, I’m going to see the world.

You can check out his music on Bandcamp and his book on Blurb.

REST IN PEACE KA

by Def Goldbloom

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Ka saw rap as more than music, it was a storytelling tradition, and he added to it with unmatched dedication and lyrical precision. He was both a craftsman and a philosopher, his words carefully chosen, his style distinct, his cadence purposeful.

Ka’s music was a slow, deliberate unveiling of truth, a peeling back of life’s layers to reveal the raw honesty of human experience.

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Ka would use history, drawing on ancient worlds and timeless figures—samurais, philosophers, warriors— to illuminate the struggles and complexities of modern life. In his music, samurais became symbols of discipline, honor, and resilience, ideals that Ka upheld and explored through his lyrics. By layering references to feudal Japan, biblical tales, or Greek mythology over narratives of urban life, Ka crafted a vision of the modern world as a battlefield where inner strength and wisdom are paramount. He transported listeners into a timeless realm, one where the lessons of the past inform the trials of the present, making his work feel like a sacred text on how to navigate life with integrity amidst struggle.

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Getting into Ka’s music felt like joining a secret society—a gathering of those with impeccable taste and an ear for something deeper. For many of us, he represented what we strive to achieve artistically. A man who creates with nothing more than the art in mind. He cut through the noise and distractions of modern life to create art that was timeless. Every word he laid down held weight. Every move he made was with intention, a quiet conviction.

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n hip-hop, we have to say goodbye to our heroes far too often, and it never gets easier.

Rap, at its heart, is such a personal medium.

We spend years living with the words of an artist, their work can feel like we have a window to their soul. Certain voices become so much more than sounds on a record—they become a part of our story. Icons of the underground become pillars in our lives, with their art being foundational pieces of how we build who we are. Kaseem “Ka” Ryan was a genius, one of our last true poets. Through his work he was able to create a world of introspection, honesty, and wisdom, becoming a pillar of perfection for many fans.

Losing Ka is a profound loss, a reminder of the irreplaceable role he played in making hip-hop feel eternal and meaningful.

But his legacy lives on, etched into the hearts of fans who found solace, wisdom, and beauty in his music. Ka will forever remain one of hip-hop’s greatest poets, a testament to the power of words and the magic created when sound meets soul. His voice, a quiet storm, will echo long after his passing, reminding us of the gift he shared with the world.

Rest in peace, Ka.

1972-2024