The first full-length from Mr. Lif & Akrobatik (The Perceptionists) in a dozen years reflects the struggles and near-death sagas that struck them. During that span, Lif miraculously survived his tour bus plummeting over a 38 foot cliff. Akrobatik weathered a sudden aortic rupture and emergency open-heart surgery. The impact of those experiences forced the former Def Jux duo to contemplate fate, luck, and their own place within a world spinning out of control. 

But their ability to survive has allowed them to thrive. They’ve harnessed a radiant hard-won optimism that refuses to flinch from the evils of existence. From the album’s first track, “Early Mourning,” Akrobatik asserts that courage comes from within, but reflects on the millions of young black men sent to premature graves. He considers whether gang affiliation is inherent in their souls, or more likely, whether things would be different if these neighborhoods were well lit and effectively policed. 

If turmoil and inequity currently wrack the globe at record levels, Lif’s verses seem more prophetic than ever. His verses offer searing indictments of corporate and political corruption: corporations oppressing local farms, governmental duplicity in dealing with big pharmaceutical companies, and the crooked brutality of cops who get away with shooting unarmed black men. 

On “Hose Down,” the pair brilliantly intersperse news reports from the MLK-led Birmingham protests of 1963 with the internecine problems of the present—where a traffic stop can still lead to a funeral. It’s as poignant of a polemic as you’ll find, but blended with a danceable Caribbean lilt. 

With the Perceptionists, the personal is political and vice-versa. Akrobatik rhymes about his “desire to breathe in the sun before my skin dries out” but still refuses to be “the coward in a pretend hide out.” On “Lemme Find Out,” they kick ingeniously sinister dystopian horror raps about our grotesque addiction to technology. There are love songs over beats that sound like they could’ve been on Madvillainy, stories of cypher demolitions of would-be challengers, and dirty ass rhymes over dirty ass drums—as The Perceptionists sagely insist, that’s all the world really wants. 

It’s music from deep in the trenches, songs that confront the blitzkrieg of bad news but offer light at the end of the bombardment. If you listen closely, you can intuit a profound story of friendship and camaraderie between Lif and Akrobatik—lifelong friends trading bars with the chemistry of Tip and Phife, Andre and Big Boi, Erick and Parrish. They’re mortal men who made mistakes, gained experience, and obtained wisdom. This is Resolution.

Resolution

Dirty Drumz

Blessing In Disguise

Sunrays (Intro)

Acclaimed west coast singer, songwriter, and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow announced today her new collection of astral instrumentals titled VWETO II. The new instrumental album is a mixture of dreamscape and fOnk. The title VWETO is from Ki-Kongo and mean “gravity” – a fitting word for beats this heavy, despite the tracks remaining liquid gold, shimmering and flowing freely. Each instrumental journeys through sonic realms that wash over the listener with ease, taking them out of body and into the spirit plane. Distinctly west coast, yet like nothing released before, VWETO II continues its exploration of the instrumental depths through a sonic blend of fOnk, Hip-hop, Noir-Jazz, Piano-Space, and Elektro-Soul. The new album drops June 21st on Mello Music Group.

VWETO II

When the fOnk Radiates

Pre-Order Album

Georgia Anne Muldrow - When The fOnk Radiates

from the new KOOL KEITH album "KEITH" https://smarturl.it/KeithKool
album produced by Psycho Les (The Beatnuts)
beat by Vijay Singh

Mello Music Group, 2019

KEITH

Foot Locker

Kool Keith -Foot Locka (feat. Paul Wall)

It cant all be all sudden death.
We’re so much different than the rest. 
Just clear that desktop start fresh. 
Just let your seat back take a breath. 
You’ll find it’s worth it cause life ain’t perfect.

Vocals: Quelle Chris
Produced: Chris Keys
co-produced: Quelle Chris
All Instruments: Chris Keys

Sudden Death

Video

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death

TRACKLISTING / LINER NOTES:
self-titledmag.com/psypiritual-the-lasso-feature-needle-exchange-mix/

NE307: Psypiritual & The Lasso

As God Intended

Hustle Don't Give

Apollo Brown & Che' Noir - Hustle Don't Give (feat. Black Thought)

From the upcoming album "Aphelion's Traveling Circus" https://smarturl.it/Aphelions

Namir Blade is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and artist from Nashville Tennessee. He started experimenting with sounds at the age of six and further developing and refining his talents from middle school well into high school while attending Nashville School of the Arts.
Over the years he has had projects and collaborations that extended to multiple genres from House to Hip-hop. He has worked with some of Nashville’s most renowned artists, and is widely known for his unique sound. His stylings are often self reflective, innovative, organic, and almost sporadic at times. It is as if he is giving the listener a window to look into the mind of a modern Afro-American. Surrealism, Afro-Futurism, Nerd culture, and Black culture bleeds through his sound as primary influencers so that anyone lending an ear is immediately ejected from their seat. In the past, Namir has worked closely with several multimedia art collectives, as well as SoundCloud-Golden age producer collectives, Natural Selection and Wizards Only.

All Songs Produced, Written, Performed, Recorded & Mixed by Namir Blade

"Holy Mountain” produced by DTL
Mastered by Joe Hutchinson
Cover Art by Omar Morales - 2017 The Force Media
Graphic Design by Austin Hart

Executive Produced by Namir Blade, L'Orange & Michael tolle

Special thanks to Mello, L’Orange, Jordan Webb, Js Kodiak, DTL, Earnest K, Classic Williams, Nic West, Otis the Lotus and Sir ILLington

Aphelion's Traveling Circus

Namir Blade - The Head

from the upcoming Homeboy Sandman album "Don't Feed The Monster" out Oct 16th on Mello Music Group.

Album produced by Quelle Chris

Don't Feed The Monster

Trauma

Homeboy Sandman - Trauma (prod. Quelle Chris)

Blakk Soul - Right Here

HipHop • Jazz • Space • Soul • Funk // Sounds Beautiful Like The Truth

Dirty Drumz

Mello Music Group

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