Hazy Mornings - J. Glaze Compilation

Hazy Mornings - J Glaze Compilation

If your a fan of our music and you haven't heard of J. Glaze (http://www.myspace.com/jglaze) then your not really a fan of our music... Glaze has been our producer since we started rapping and has held us down on at least 75% of all the tracks you ever heard us on. He has been working at this production thing for 11 years now so you can imagine the gems he must have stored away for us on his FIRST album release ever.

Projectivity Highlights include Beautiful Life (with The Contrabands own live vocalist J Muse), I Don't Know Why (from our latest release Got THC?), and both Nice Place and On Again, two Michel Aubertin tracks (from his Projectivity released album "On Again").

Scott Harris, Jazzlyn Starr, AC, and JoyLuv are all House of Dreams regulars as well...

Honestly, Im feeling all the artists on this album... The diversity is incredible

Check out the album here and tracklist below http://tinyurl.com/yzfzoef

Tracklisting

1 Dad’s Theme J. Glaze
2 Beautiful Life (ft. J Muse) J. Glaze & J Muse
3 California’s Back (ft. Mac Reem) J. Glaze & Mac Reem
4 Alive (ft. Shyheim) J. Glaze & Shyheim
5 I Don’t Know Why (ft. The Higher Concept) J. Glaze & The Higher Concept
6 Tears (ft. Inspectah Deck, Fes Taylor, Lot-a-Nerve) Fes Taylor, Inspectah Deck, J. Glaze & Lot-a-Nerve
7 Dangerzone (ft. Katt Rockell) J. Glaze & Katt Rockell
8 Plant Up The Herb (ft. Gift Of Gab, Bigga Haitian) Bigga Haitian, Gift of Gab & J. Glaze
9 Do What We Do (ft. Jazzlyn Starr) J. Glaze & Jazzlynn Starr
10 Nice Place (ft. Michel Aubertin) J. Glaze & Michel Aubertin
11 Sleek J. Glaze 3:49
12 Keep It Real (ft. Soulja C) J. Glaze & Soulja C
13 She Poppin (ft. DirtyDan Da Dirtyguy) J. Glaze & DirtyDan Da Dirtyguy
14 On Again (ft. Michel Aubertin) J. Glaze & Michel Aubertin
15 Together We (ft. Jazzlyn Starr) J. Glaze & Jazzlyn Starr
16 Strange Behavior J. Glaze 4:26
17 Obsessed (ft. Tiffany Foster) J. Glaze & Tiffany Foster
18 Your Fault (ft. Scott Harris) J. Glaze & Scott Harris
19 Gangsta (ft. Math Hoffa) J. Glaze & Math Hoffa
20 Flipped (ft. JoyLuv) J. Glaze & JoyLuv
21 Goodbye (ft. AC, Jazzlyn Starr) AC, J. Glaze & Jazzlyn Starr

Review: K'Naan - Troubadour

K’naan makes it clear from the start of his new album Troubadour, he is not your average rap artist. Hailing from Somalia, K’naan has had a tough road to stardom, having to constantly adapt to his environment. Making it out of Somalia required some versatility, and K’naan shows it on this album. Every song has a different vibe to it and is great in it own special way. K’naans is a feel good album. A celebration of his journey, his survival, and his passion for music. Whether rapping in Swahili, English, or singing his heart out, K’naan has delivered a great album with the universal appeal reminiscent of Bob Marley. My favorite tracks are “I come prepared” featuring Damian Marley because Damian kills it on this track. “Fatima” is just one of those emotionally charged songs that always end up being my favorite track on the CD. I’m also pretty in love with “take a minute”, the song with the best lyrical content on this new artists first effort. This is one of those guys that I think a lot of people will have a hard time hating on. Check him out.

flow - 4

lyrical content - 4

production - 5

album-ness 4

Overall – 4.5

-IB

Review: K-Os - Yes!

I have literally been waiting 4 years for this album. Around a year ago I realized that we hadn't had anything new from k-os in a couple years and started to get antsy. Once I heard this album was dropping soon I found myself checking the mans myspace page daily. Finally the day came and I heard the album... my first listen through, I was treated to an unbelievable array of futuristic vibes mixed with K-os's uncanny flow and delivery unlike anything else I have ever heard from him. This album has a little more of an electronic vibe than any k-os release in the past. I wasn't sure how I felt about that at first but after a couple more listens, I realized that K-OS has reinvented himself once again, as he seems to on every album he drops. This collection of songs is incredible to say the least. I am listening to it in my car on repeat. My favorite tracks are "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" and the single off of the album, "4, 3, 2, 1", but every song is a different journey into the mind of a musical monster. Check this album out please.

-IB

flow - 4

lyrical content - 3

production - 5

album-ness - 4

Overall – 4



all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Review: Asher Roth - Asleep in the Bread Aisle

There's no way to avoid him, especially as another upcoming white emcee. He has become the new spotlight chosen to represent the "white rapper". Among all the other ridiculous
acts out there calling themselves hip-hop, I'm not mad that he is our current representation. While his style and delivery isn't anything extraordinary, his music provides a fresh approach
to all the flashy sneaker rap that younger emcees are getting into. Since THC focuses on positivity and concepts, its easier for us to enjoy his music other than alot of other wanna-be rappers that just have nothing to say. There are plenty times when the rhymes seem amateur or simply dumbed down at best, but the production def carries the album through. His beats were def handpicked to create a very cohesive sound from beginning to end. My conclusion is this; all in all the album is worth the listen and can def stick around in rotation for a little. But I think his buzz and notoriety surpasses his talent, especially compared to other established independent white artists that I'm sure most real hip-hop heads know about. Unfortunately the machine that has supported Asher Roth has not even scratched the surface of talented underground artists that can do what he does. But I think he knows this and has a respect for the culture around him of other artists making this music. I'm glad he's out and hopefully his success will open the idustry's eyes to the mainstream potential of other already successful "underground" artists.

Choice songs include "Take Me As I Am" and "La Di Da" which has a dope video on MTVU.com in which our boy Future is rockin Cloudkicker at the very beginning.

FLOW - 4
Lyrical Content - 3.5
Production 4.5
Albumness - 4
OVERALL - 4

Brother Ali -

Something about Brother Ali has left a taste of the golden era in my ears. And I always enjoy it when i can taste things in my ears. Let me clarify; the simplicity in his production mixed with raw passion driven lyrics sounds like he could belnd right in the with EPMD and Rakim. Anyone that saw him on tour with a ten piece band along side ghostface and rakim knows his capabilities. His newest release, "The Truth Is Here" EP is a solid set of songs that might have been passed over for the final cut of "Undisputed Truth". I feel a few could have made it. Overall, Brother Ali continues to capture listeners covering everything from his daily habits on tour to Islam and more. If you haven't bothered tuning into the "Champion Sound" at this point in your hip-hop fandom, its about time you see what this Rhymesayer is all about.

FLOW - 4
Lyricial Content 4
Production - 4
Albumness - 3.5
OVERALL 4

Review: Nas - Untitled

In honor of The Higher Concepts opportunity to open up for Nas February 6th up in Lansing, Michigan I have decided to review Nas's newest album. On top of us opening up for this hip hop legend, I have honestly been listening to this album on repeat in my car since the day it was dropped. Now personally I have always appreciated Nas's albums. Illmatic, of course, is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time and throughout the years I have been impressed by many of his songs such as, I gave you power, where Nas raps from the perspective of a Gun and Rewind, where Nas tells a story in reverse, but I have never really fallen in love with another Nas album since Illmatic. So I was skeptical going into this newest album. For me, the newest effort from Nas was so relevant to what I have been learning about in my life that I instantly fell in love. Nas's head seems to be in the exact same place as all of the members of The Higher Concept. We are both on a quest for the truth about who really runs this world. What some may call conspiracy theories and others would call hidden truths, are explored throughout this entire album. Most songs deal with the issues of race and responsibility and others deal with this hidden ruling class that we are trying to search out. My favorite song is Louis Farrakhan in which Nas brings his choice to try to expose these hidden truths to light and discusses how probable it is that he might be killed for voicing these opinions. "No revolutionary gets old or so I'm told / you get left full of bullet holes when you tell the people go free / its just a matter of time until they try to take me" I fully recommend this album for anyone who like hip hop with a strong message and want to learn more about the uphill battle we face to get to the bottom of what is really going on in this world.


flow - 5

lyrical content - 5

production - 5

album-ness 5

Overall - 5


A PERFECT SCORE!!!



all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

He's back! The one and only "abstract poetic" has returned to bring the masses a long-awaited classic. For those that haven't listen to Tribe in a while, or for those that are sadly too young to remember the vibrant sounds of A Tribe Called Quest, now is your chance to get a good solid updated dose of the perfect funky rhythms and breaks mixed with that pure hiphop flow and lyricism. He really took it back with this one. Sounds like it could have all the original members of Tribe with him, some songs very reminiscent of the Mos Def, native toungue sound that Tribe is credited to giving influence. But don't let these praise make you think Q-Tip is stuck in the 90's trying to "keep it real" Far from it! His is new album, production especially, does an amazing job of blending today's sounds with what we all want to hear, which is just that classic feel-good atmosphere that the "golden era" hip-hop created for us. I'm glad he took us back while moving himself forwards. Welcome back Q-Tip, sorry if I've been sleeping on you, I encourage everyone else to wake up and go cop it.

FLOW - 4.5
Lyrical Content 4
Production 4
Albumness 4
Overall - 4



ALBUM REVIEW INTRODUCTION

all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Review: Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

OK. Deep breath, everyone. I am NOT going to hate on this album. Suprised? Let me explain.

I think that this album should not be classified as HIPHOP. I think it should be put alongside music like Chromeo, I would call it electrofunk or something of the sort. Once reclassified correctly, this album fits in nicely. Also, after his last album, GRADUATION, he had an unbelievable followup issue. So maybe, unconsciously, Kanye just decided to put out this type of album so completely make the followup issue moot. Or maybe I'm putting too much faith in Kanye's self-awareness...

Eitherway, this album can be played at a party or get together, and it will probably fit perfectly because of the beats. Furthermore, if you are a sad and lonely soul, this will also be great for you to listen to because the lyrics are all that classic Kanye melodrama.

Lov it or hate it, if things go according to how they have int he past, his next album will be great. So just wait, haters.

flow - 2 1/2 (because he doesn't actually RAP on the album much)
lyrical content - 3 1/2
production - 5
album-ness - 4 1/2
overall - just below 4

all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Classics Series: Common - Resurrection

First and foremost… this is my favorite album… my number 1… my golden moment in music history.

Common Sense – Resurrection

I think what grabbed me first about this album would be the most famous of underground hip hop songs, “I Used To Love H.E.R.”, the original anti-commercial rap record (also happens to be my favorite song EVER. The first time I heard this song I got chills.

The rest of the album in one word… FUN. You can tell common is truly in his element and having a great time making the music that he loves. The rhymes are spectacular for 1993 and the beats are timeless. I really have no bad things to say about the album. If you are only a recent fan of Common, you haven’t heard anything yet. This album is what hip hip should be, A good time. I could go on and on about this album but I’d rather let you all find it out for yourself. TRUST ME. You will enjoy it.

Review: Strange Kidz - Kidz Album

Well, first of all, I (and most probably you if you are reading this) am NOT this album's target audience. The Strange Kidz are looking to reach those youngings who are impressionable and new to the world. This will undoubtedly open them up to all sorts of creative thoughts and dance sessions. This is an updated version of my favorite music as i was a kid, Raffe (spelling?). With silly song topics, wildly tight transitions and perfectly placed vocals, I was pleasently suprised to find myself actually LISTENING to this album!

flow - as good as the bath water down the drain
lyrical content - as funny as Shrek
production - it makes me wanna DANCE!
album-ness - start it from the begining again, Mom!
overall - oshkosh begosh, of course!

CHECK OUT THE ALBUM HERE!


ALBUM REVIEW INTRODUCTION

all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Review: Murs - Murs for President

GO BUY THIS ALBUM!!! I don't care what kind of music you listen too, Murs has something for you on this album. For those that don't know him, Murs has been putting in work for well over a decade now, making his name known along with his group the Living Legends. Since his first real solo debut "The End of The Beginning" Murs has had a steadily growing fanbase from his strong message and straightforward flow. One his new album, which was put out by Warner Brothers, he called in Snoop Dogg, 9th Wonder, and Will I Am among others to provide an extremely quality album in all aspects. As his first major label release, he successfully made the transition from classic underground lyricist to a qualified radio-ready, but still authentic, songwriter. Having been a fan of his for close to 10 years and after enjoying his work more and more, I can only imagine the potential he has as a great message sender now backed by a mainstream audience. Go check for it, the single is "Lookin' Fly" and is a great intro for radio listeners to wooed, but does not compare to his in depth tracks suchs as "Science" or "Everything".

We've talked about being strict with this rating but I'm afraid I gotta do it. I have not heard an album like this in a very very long time. Here goes . . .
Flow: 5
Lyrical Content: 5
Production: 5
Albumness: 5
Overall: 5

A Perfect Score ladies and gentlemen!

-Tekst



all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Review: Skillz - Million Dollar Backpack

Skillz is a name everyone knows but nobody knows. The reason you know him is because he’s dope! The reason you don’t know him is because he has never put out a good album. His last 3 albums have just been collections of his older songs, which has been disappointing. I understand that he has new distribution each time so he wants his songs to get out to everyone, but I KNOW he’s got some tracks stacked up, right? He couldn’t have sold ALL his rhymes to Puffy. So I was far from holding my breath as I went to listen to his new album, “Million Dollar Backpack.” I was, however, proven wrong in this case (first time ever). Also, my boy from Syracuse, Leonard Stevens (E Flat) got one of his beats on the album. E Flat’s song, “My Phone” is a story about how Skillz has many famous women in his cell phone. The beat is great, in the classic, kickback style of E Flat. Leonard plays steel lap guitar like no one I’ve ever seen or heard, and you can hear it shine on this song.

Lyrics - 4
Production – 4
Flow – 4.5
Albumness – 3.5
Overall - 4


-matty j

all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.

Review: GZA - Protools

"All I need is a beat with a continuous loop, and live vibe that'll hypnotize like a flute" If there is anyone that can create a great album with just that, its the Genius/GZA. His newest release Protools sounds like a classic, but I can't tell if its a classic from 1996 or from 2008, no matter classic none the less. As heard on his last release "Grand Masters" with DJ Muggs, GZA demonstrated his ability to keep things simple with production but still elevate the mental with his visual rhymes and stories. On Protools, the sound is nothing different. GZA captivates the listeners with his elaborate lines and minimal hooks. He keeps it real. As evidenced in all of GZA's catalog, he wont make songs about bullshit. And while many debate the purpose of "Paper Plates", GZA's shot at 50 Cent, I personally thought it to be extemely entertaining and necessary right now to show hip-hop is still alive and strong, and ready to fight back at a moments notice against the foolsih non-sense brought forth by today's Top 40 rappers.

Production - 4 1/2
Flow - 5
Content - 3
Album-ness - 4
Overall - 4

-Tekst

Review: Elzhi - The Preface

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, I bring you a CD in true Projectivity fashion. If you don’t know the name, learn it. Elzhi is the real deal. I had first heard Elzhi on some Slum Village shit back when I was in High School. Those were the days of blind ignorance, when any music with a hint of a commercial style or sound was immediately thrown out the window. I never gave Slum Village much of a chance until I heard Elzhi on the Little Brother CD and his verses were ridiculously on point. I wanted more… So you can imagine how excited I was for Elzhi’s newest release “The Preface”.

From the opening track to the final cut, Elzhi does not disappoint. His opening statement to the listeners, “Whats up with this rap game? Shit is all fucked up. I know you heard that bullshit on the radio, I’m tired of that shit.” And with that the lyrical gems start. At first I was worried that this would be an album with battle style rhymes, a great flow, and not much content, but this album has concept after concept and is one of the most original albums I have heard in some time.

On “Guessing Game”, Elzhi says the first syllable of a world and then gives his listeners time to fill in the blanks, “Colors” has Elzhi using as many colors as he can in each verse, the songs “D.E.M.O.N.S.” is a giant acronym, and “Talking In My Dreams” shows what goes on in Elzhi’s subconscience while he sleeps as the verses jump from dream to dream. These songs are only the tip of the iceberg.

The production is very consistent all the way through. Black Milk provides just the right bangers to laid back beat ratio and all of the beats fit into that classic sound. The Preface has rich content all the way from beginning to end and should not be missed. I honestly can’t pick a favorite song. I love any song that makes you have to play it back to fully understand what’s going and this album is filled with them.

-IB

Flow - 5

Lyrical Content - 4.5

Beats - 4

Album-ness - 4

Overall - 4.5

Review: Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt

Being from Syracuse, I have been following Gym Class Heroes since they dropped their first album, “For the Kids.” It’s not really fair to the band to compare the initial incarnation of the group to the new stuff, since money can pay for some great engineering. I loved the first album for its uniqueness, although I suppose I was partial to the hiphop band since The Roots are my favorite hands down. But it was a good album, and I also enjoyed watching the band evolve over the next two albums. Which brings us to this album. The production is amazing, the beats stand out on almost every song. I love good music regardless of genre, and more and more of GCH’s new shit is going towards a category of music I like to call “universal.” I put people like The Roots, Blackalicious and K-Os in this category. By “universal” I mean there’s a little it of something for everyone in their music. Travis is dope I don’t care who you are, so the lyrics are always on point and funny. IB said it best when he said that Travis is our age exactly so the things he talks about and the inside jokes he makes about growing up resonate with us especially well. His flow is always fresh and unique, a joy to listen to and he inspires me to flip up my flow when I’m writing my own stuff. My favorite cut is “Don’t Tell Me It’s Over.” Now this review is over.

-MATTY J

FLOW - 3 1/2

LYRICAL CONTENT - 3 1/2
PRODUCTION - 4
ALBUM-NESS - 3 1/2
OVERALL - 3 1/2


NOTE:
all of the ratings will be out of a 5 point system. obviously we won't be rating horrible albums, so all of the albums SHOULD be in the upper range, but who knows, one of us could be having a bad day when we do the review. BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

flow - is how the emcees ride the beat and what their cadence is. this may also include evaluation on the emcees' voice and tone.
lyrical content - is what the rappers are ACTUALLY SAYING. we know that nobody listens to anything but the beat nowadays, but bear with us.
production - is the quality of the beats and other musical content on the album. thank god for 9th!
album-ness - how all the songs are cohesively arranged on the album and the overall feel of the album.
overall - self-explanatory.