FarFromTypical

Unlearning Vol. 1

Lost In Time (Park Jams)

As Chicago winds up another long, hot summer, plagued by violence and riddled with tragedy, Typical Cats lob in another time bomb, a Qwazaar solo slab entitled "Reflections from the Porch." Anchored by a Natural beat awash in harmonies, bittersweet guitar, and, as always, dust-covered knocking drums, "Reflections" is a two and a half minute masterwork, a miniature history, and a meditative moment from one of the premier MCs of his generation. Described by Hip Hop Renaissance man Kevin Beacham as "one of the best natural Rappers of this era," Qwa is in excellent form here, leaning back into the stories, sipping from a jarful of memory.

"I remember beating on the tables / no interest from the majors / high school talent shows / booed us off stages... / wardrobe busted up -- couldn't afford the labels / cheap-ass backpacks -- sneakers that'll match that." In 4 bars, Qwa time-travels us decades back, digging into pre-TC lore and further, inviting us to examine the soul topography of a quintessential survivor.

Reflections From The Porch

As summer approaches, Typical Cats return with another gem, a blistering slab of frosted lunacy entitled “Bitter Cold.”  One of a constellation of Qwel solo shots from TC’s latest (3, G4), “Bitter Cold” marries a sinister Natural beat that swings like a gypsy funeral with inspired verses from TC’s resident embedded journalist.  Qwel rasps like a man knocking at the lid of his coffin.  He examines the rampant nihilism of post-Keef Chicago while sparring pugilistic drums and a swirling zydeco sample. 

“It’s all love so they say / but it don’t cost and it don’t pay / somehow he lost his way up in this maze / and the world turned him cold…”  With another long hot summer looming over the city, TC aims for the antidote. 

The Bitter Cold

Any Day

Justice Coming

Quentin  Tarantino

Why's It So Grey Out?

Ratatatattle (feat. Blu, Lord Apex & Kota the Friend)

Cheat Codes

Belize (feat. MF DOOM)

Qweloquiallisms

A day's worth of work, from last night specifically (7 lowercase-titled tracks), and some previews to the ALBUM ALBUM(s) (ones I produced in capitalized letters).

MICCLO 13 

Cover Art: yambin0

Stop using AI and just pay an artist or be the artist you claim to be.

AI is good for problem solving, not self-expression. 

Peace, Love, Joy, & Fulfillment, mf.

MR. HANDS [prod. yambin0]

BABY

Still Good (ft Alex Wiley, Mick Jenkins, & Donnie Trumpet) [Prod. Rollie]

Overcast! (20 Year Anniversary Remaster)

1597

Glass

5 Wagon (feat. Action Bronson)

So(ul) Amazing (Steel Blazin')

Simply Amazin'

In the final years of the last millenium, two native New Yorkers added a page to Chicago's hip hop history with the advent of the WHPK Wednesday Night Rap Show. Although short-lived and never formally christened, the Show had heads from Roosevelt to the Hundreds stuck on 88.5 FM midweek. In the show's aftermath, from the ashes of countless vinyl crates and echoes of chaotic show-closing freestyle sessions, Typical Cats was born. 

Featuring MCs Qwazaar, Qwel and Denizen Kane, producer/dj Natural and media assassin Kid Knish, Typical dropped a self-titled full-length on Galapagos4 Records and began a relentless campaign to restore a fallen hip hop world to its former promise and glory. The talent assembled was unmistakable, the sound created was formidable. Firmly planted in tradition, unorthodox in invention and possessed of a strength only earned in the furnace of experience, their Sound is the Future that hip hop's Past would have had if its Present weren't held hostage by the uninspired and unrepentant. A flurry of solo projects later, Chicago's prodigal sons return. Hip hoppers rejoice. Suckers duck and cover. Typical Cats come to conquer. Battle champs, hotline legends, poetry circuit kings. 

Tuck Your Pride In 'Cause All Lyrics Connect At The Soul. And it's on and it's on and it's on. 

QWAZAAR - A native of Chicago's gritty Low End, Qwazaar strikes from hip hop's essence. Whether the subject matter is inner city or interplanetary, the flow remains untouchable - a percussive yet fluid attack that evokes South Side rain and helicopter blades in a single breath. The content is heavy- "After the dust settles, witness the blood puddles..." Lights out, kids. The Q-W-A is here. 

QWEL - You first seen his name dangling a quarter mile up on a suspension bridge from your scratch-bombed window on the Orange line. You first heard that distinctive melodic/abrasive storm of syllables on old Nacro and Scam Artist tapes with inserts printed at the Kinko's. Now the heat's been perfected-and this nasty North Side revelation music rebel is out to wake the sleepers. From Ted Turner's devil ass to the so-called competition-everyone and their mama gets dealt with when the kid laces up his boots. 

DENIZEN KANE - From the rum and coke rumble of Chicago's North Side flow spots to the celluloid veneer of Def Poetry Jam's main stage, Denizen Kane rips the party with a poet's heart and an outsider's eye. Journalistic, impressionistic, real-life and drastic, young Kane's late night Red Line revelations turn into heathen hymns on tape, capturing the moody face of the metropolis in color. How long can a lost one roam until he finds his way home? Listen to your city fall apart through the muddy mouth of an immigrant.

Qweloquiallisms

Typical Cats

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