Loer Velocity's "Uninfatuated" EP

Loer Velocity's music is pretty cool. I've written about him before, but only briefly.

This is a belated Valentine's day project. Late or not, I'll take it. That's how (you, we, I) should show love for good music.

There are only a handful of tracks on the "Uninfatuated" EP. But that's a nice little set. It's a nice laid back project.

Here are my thoughts a three of the tracks from the EP:

First up for review is "Ball N Chain Dames". The music is floaty. Which is not a bad thing. It's a good vibe for the track. Loer compliments the music with a nice mellow flow. Oh and the hook moves at the same pace. The song is chill.

"Spread Luv" bring the tempo up just a bit. And like the previously mentioned track, this one has a smooth hook, "Luv is luv ..."

Lastly, there's the EP title track "Uninfatuated". Oh, so cool. He does his thing on this one too. His flow is consistent throughout the EP. But on this one, he has a woman singing the hook. That mixes things up just enough.

So I like this one. But there is a bit of a problem: I don't know where YOU can get it. I got a promo link from Spectre Music. I also got a link from Audible Treats. I'll have to look into this. Just hang in there.

Loer Velocity's on the Embedded label (the link goes to their site, but it has not been updated in a while). I can get down w/them any day. I am always on the lookout for new joints from them. You ought to do the same.

Get some more Loer Velocity via MySpace. But don't get too infatuated hip hoppers ... kfox

Rhyme Calisthenics @ Shadow Lounge

So I missed MURS in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Major scheduling issues. But good news for me since I learned that there would be a nice little hip hop show in Pittsburgh yesterday night. And at the infamous Shadow Lounge, no doubt.

I read about this in the City Paper. The show was billed as The Embedded Music Showcase. I was all geeked to see Loer Velocity, who I've raved about in the past. Others on the bill were Junk Science, Bisc1 and Iller Than Theirs. This was all in conjunction w/Rhyme Calisthenics. Cool, right? And all for the cool price of $7.

Well, seeing a hip hop show must not be meant to be for me. You know the show was scheduled to begin @ 9 p.m. and I had initially decided to be there promptly. Because there were so many folks on the bill, I thought that they would actually start on time. Then I decided against that move and milled around until about 10 p.m. I even called my mom when I arrived @ the venue. Though she sort of discouraged me from attending a hip hop show so late on a weeknight. I think she really wanted to come along ...

At any rate, the show had not started when I arrived. Which was cool because I could check out some reggae music next door. But the show soon got underway and it was nice. Gene Stovall performed first. I like Gene. He sings, beat boxes and rhymes over some beats; sometimes not w/beats. I first got wind of this guy from Paulie Rhyme of Finless Brown - though I think they are under a different name these days and out west too. But Paulie sent me some cds at one time and Stovall's was one of them. Very cool. Stovall's got a rendition of "The Humpty Dance" that is killer.

There was some other guys too: Stretch and Ground Flow. Nice.

So the bad news is that most of the Embedded Music crew got stuck in traffic behind some crazy accident and did not make the event. That would include Loer Velocity. My loss, huh? But Bisc1 and dj Snafu held it down. I was up and outta there @ about midnight. Which is just about my style.

Catch yourself a show hip hoppers and tell me all about it. kfox.

Little or no advice

...hey hip hoppers, it seems that you are on your own in terms of what music you might spend your hard earned bennies on. This day, I can only tell you what is available for purchase. I know that you are sad-faced and heavy hearted with that information, but I aim to boost you up in the near future.

Here is what I am diggin:

• Rhymefest "Blue Collar" - ChiTown is reppin
• Loer Velocity "Ready for a Renaissance" - this one is a must have!
• X:144 & SPS "m.e." - ooooh la la
• Dan the Automator "presents 2k7" - I love hoops!

Now, here is what is new to my four sets of eyes:

• Lady Sovereign "Public Warning" - foul mouth, but fun
• JRK "JRK" - crazy beats and rhymes
• Hi-Tek "Hi-Teknology2" - Ohio reppin
• Jazzy Jeff "Hip Hop Forever III" - everything that's old is new again
• Fat Jon & Styrofoam "The Same Channel" - Cincy meets Berlin
• The Green Brothers "Everybody's Green" - fun and funky
• K-Os "Atlantis - Hymns for Disco" - not all hip hop, but original and organic

I'm exhausted from what my students call "election day hangover", but from the looks of this list, it is indeed a hip hop hangover.

Lovin you, lovin you and lovin you some more ... kfox

What you don't know about ...

Here's a lil sumpthin about five indie hip hop groups that I think you will enjoy. Each of the artists does their own thing in a different way. But what rings true on each is the lyrics! Lyricism lives yall.

Loer Velocity - "Ready for a Renaissance"
Label - Embedded Music
--incredibly tight project

Zion I & Grouch - "Hereos in the City of Dope"
Label - Om Records
--love most of this; need an edit version for radio play

X:144 and SPS - "m.e."
Label - Nonsense Records
--stand out tracks: The Call Out, To Self, Last Voice

Now On - "Eye Level"
Label - A-Side Worldwide
--this one was ready for radio play and sounds nice all around

AG - "Get Dirty Radio"
Label - Look Records/Tha Ave Records
--heavy on the 'n' word; excellent production

That's it for now hip hoppers - hold it down and stay true, kfox