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Rapture & Verse: February 2019: Czarface, GreenCryptoKnight, Bronx Slang
February 21, 2019
Hip-Hop Revue: Matt Oliver
A bouquet of beats, Cupid-sent cuts, and rhymes to make your headboard rock – it's the post-Valentine's instalment of Rapture & Verse for all you horndogs. Legendary London Posse rhymer Bionic returns as the GreenCryptoKnight, showing you never lose your superpowers as he tears into Jazz T and Zygote's face slapping, emerald-vinyled 'Superman', before adjusting the slicked back specs and tie look on the sombre 'It Set In Stone'. Circling the drain and enjoying the sensation of tenterhooks snagging the skin, Press1, Sylla B and Dr Syntax face up to the facts of 'Smartphone Zombies', far gloomier than the amusing title insinuates. Taking you to down to 'Suicide City', where the grass is decidedly not greener and you can decide for yourself about the girls, Onoe Capone turns on the rapid fire with nothing to lose as the "bad guy that's misunderstood".
Bonus heat from Nolan the Ninja on the quiet storm 'IMG' slickly goes from casual retrospective to show-n-prove tying you up in knots. On some grimy underdog biz, Lee Ricks grits his teeth fully aware that 'Life's a Bitch', fired up by being fed up, peering over the edge to BigBob's fatefully wistful nodder. Similar grit out of necessity is displayed by the granite-carved David May, right on time when grinding hard on 'Black Box' with Lake Indigo pairing Celtic wonder with bass pushing the reds. Yamin Semali passionately defining what it means to be 'Immortal' comes with strings leaping from the speakers and a banquet of soul food for thought. Nothing but honest energy on seven amped tracks from DJ Nu-Mark, Slimkid3 and Austin Antoine creates a 'TRDMRK'. Beats and rhymes loosen the screws on your speakers and make the front row spring-loaded, with Guilty Simpson and Dillon Cooper coming through for the jump-ups.
Round four of the Czarface chronicles, this time with Ghostface Killah in the guest hot seat. There are times when an isolated Tony Starks feels like a fourth wheel/fifth Beatle – 7L & Esoteric 1, Wu-Tang Clan 0 – but compared to some of his more recent long players his appetite on 'Czarface Meets Ghostface' is well up. In amongst the usual play-your-position hurricane of uppercut-landing beats and career-ending 16s from the cipher to the comic book store, is confirmation of what an amazingly consistent emcee Esoteric is. Don't expect Czarface to relinquish their infinite lives status any time soon.
The unquenchable thirst for blood that motivates Ramson Badbonez, makes 'Mic Day the 13th' a date to both revere and fear. RB's considered decapitations, referencing all your favourite madmen, accomplish carnage with the level-headedness of a double agent whose shift changes under a full moon. While beats go bump in the night, a pokerfaced accomplice of the slasher going about his business, it's a very British campaign of murder-murder-kill-kill.
You are about to witness the strength of street knowledge. The 'G.A.W.D.' complex of Joker Starr is his usual bustling style putting an F word to what you heard, hitting you with a bunch of robustly educational reducers set up by Micall Parknsun with a Blaxploitative nod on the boards. Jack Jetson and Illinformed are the ushers to 'Strange Cinema', tuneful head nodders galore until necks feel swollen, and an impactful flow with very little histrionics, even when "I lost my mind, now I found it, but it's missing bits": a watertight combination. The latest round of two minute warnings from Bisk, sticky, lo-fi claustrophobia from a peak NYC housing project, makes you squint through the abrupt 'Gunsmoke': an absolutely deadly spell of fully clipped relaxation.
Your neckline firmly in his sights, Pitch 92 runs a tight ship in representing '3rd Culture' with a steady hand at the wheel. The Manchester producer must've sprinkled some sort of emcee catnip in the booth however, as he brings out some excellent performances from Jehst, Kashmere, Sparkz, Fliptrix, Foreign Beggars, the Four Owls and more. While there's no doubting that the guests would have come through, you have to give credit to Pitch on the boards for giving them the right and clean balance of canvas to do so.
Seethingly succinct and planning your downfall at his most matey, Rick Fury isn't quiet in giving his targets what for, signalling the 'Death of Autumn' from the North East. Expertly manoeuvring soulful strike-outs from DJ ADS, in tune with the changing colour of the leaves and cannily reworking a trance classic on the album's finale, Fury intertwines the mutual exclusivity of a simmering glare and a playful bounce to his rhymes, suggesting that if you make yourself comfortable, don't do overdo it. An emcee able to cancel all challengers.
Boom bap, original rap: Bronx Slang's self-titled album systematically sorts the wheat from the chaff. On paper their method is foolproof: high protein funk prone to espionage (and from surprise sources), mic-crumbling rhymes, 11 tracks, tag team performance, concepts and comment, plentiful lines to rewind…if all of this sounds overly nostalgic at pains to keep it real, Jerry Beeks and Miggs are more sages than saviours, proving you don't have to settle for what's supposedly trending. Proper hip-hop citizenship.
How do you like your eggs in the morning? Jazzy, sunny side up and with plenty of snap? Remulak's plate of 'Scrambled Eggs' gets a dusting down and offers an instrumental challenge to any plucky master of ceremonies, doing very nicely for itself when you're taking a break from putting on the Ritz and wearing spats with a swoosh. Most dapper, and no faking either. A decade's worth of Oliver Sudden in 46 minutes is a fine flick through the racks that sails down like the first pint of summer. The '10 Year Mixtape', put together by Downstroke and featuring assists from Luca Brazi, Sam Zircon and Ill Move Sporadic, is guaranteed to remove all accumulated crud from your ears: pretty much unskippable.
Presenting old skool rules from Positive K and MC Lyte, and the greatness of the Train Robbers.
Words: Matt Oliver
Rapture & Verse: September: Kid Acne, Pitch 92, Fliptrix…
September 18, 2018
Matt Oliver's essential Hip-Hop revue
Handbags at dawn for Rapture & Verse this month, with Cardi B and Nicki Minaj almost inevitably auditioning for a future Pay-Per-View bout, and Eminem dropping the sneak attack 'Kamikaze', a hitlist trying to avoid becoming an old-man-shouts-at-cloud meme. Thus far, only Machine Gun Kelly, with a fair-to-middling amount of invective, has taken the bait and dragged it back to the playground. The album itself is full of uninspired/overegged production and one glaring 'Sing for the Moment' moment of redemption, swept aside by Mathers going supersonic in burying post-'Revival' hatchets and sacking frontline figures.
Hello darkness, my old friend. There's getting low, and then there's 'Low and Behold', a scathing cellar dweller with no escape from Final Boss and Harry the Bastard. Pair it with Dirty Dike's 'Permanent Midnight', a wrathful rhyme execution dumping you somewhere near the valley of the shadow of death, and Dead End's 'Let the Music Talk', bodying a symphony, getting ice cold on the warpath and issuing a warrant for all ears. The digitally druggy 'Helsinki Knights' ain't playing either, ThisIsDa getting isometric as he plays fact against fiction.
Back to beat up your boombox, Mongrels crack skulls and shells on 'Over Eggin' It', Kid Acne and Benjamin yoking jokers with Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson. 'Shoot the Breeze' on the flip has Cappo and Juganaut dropping knowledge like a cinder block from the top floor. Th£ Gaffa and Mikispeakz put Mitcham on the map by getting into a 'Soul Off', handling the smooth with a great, bristling will to win. The warmth of Pitch 92's 'Lost in Space' serves funk and soul silk, with frayed edges kept in, for Verb T, Jehst and Sparkz, and has the producer giving himself some alone time on top: less astro, all artisan.
If deM atlaS offers you an invite to his 'Tomorrow Party', notify your loved ones, a rage blowing out the Midwest waiting for the apocalypse to gatecrash any minute. Party bags = hell in a handcart. Present at that moment your brain descrambles after waking, Akinyemi and Birocratic pull back the duvet before issuing a rat-a-tat to-do list: 'Dream On' ensures you won't stay static. Staying out for the summer, Von Pea and The Other Guys mean no ill when they assert 'I'm Good Luv, Enjoy', five tracks of coolly hailing a Californian lab-cab, as they always seem to do, and thoughtfully including the instrumentals to cruise to.
Rugged in uppercase, Marvi Marx and DJ Squigz announce 'My Resignation', a Michigan-via-England-via-Thailand turning of the screw, sounding off with vigilantism on their mind. For one brilliant moment, we imagined Ghostface's 'Buckingham Palace' being a belated response to Fergie's 'London Bridge'. Instead it's a traditional, testosterone ticker tape parade of horns, taking aim with 38 Spesh, KXNG Crooked and Benny the Butcher.
Rhyming from his highest plain yet, Fliptrix remodelling the Lotus position on 'Inexhale' masters the art of knocking you down with a feather. Ocean Wisdom, Capo Lee and Skinnyman join the inner circle of auditory enlightenment that would freak out the unaware. Even when reverting to a slacker, more stoned flow, using the mic as both jostick and Excalibur's edge, the pugilistic psychoanalysis is untouchable, recalibrating the percentages between inspiration, perspiration and respiration.
Street struck with a shrug, King Grubb's potently dour 'Droopy', shaken with a yardstick dose of Blah Records apathy, is done with summer and just wants to hunker down. For what is essentially hip-hop shoegazing, Grubb paradoxically develops a warming cocoon out of isolated, unsympathetic beats and rhymes ("forget more lines than I memorise/which is wack, so I don't empathise").
"Do I look as if I'm bothered by some little squabble?"- a flying kick to the ear and a gob that can go all day are Dabbla's signature 'Death Moves'. Long disciplined in schooling any beat that knocks, whether it keeps heads down or jumps up, the bounce of his court jester sustains the ability to clown you at any given opportunity, and yet still make you grin when he's giving you an unrelenting earful.
Gruff roughhouse Gi3mo declares 'Big Gizzy is Boss', reminding everyone of his biggest power moves to date that include hook-ups with Stig of the Dump, Inja and Dirty Dike. The Rum Committee crown ruler sends beats running for cover, bulldozing his way through with a big bad set of show and prove that'll blow your house down. Another necessary recap comes from Farmabeats, counting down on '365' with a year's worth of heaviness as he twists folklore, funk and mystery for the benefit of Recognize Ali, Mach Hommy, Jalal Salaam, Ty Farris and more, like shady urban myths having the record set straight by a seething underground network. Earth2Tom's 'One' LP, pushed forward by appearances from Confucius MC, FRSHRZ, Holly Flo Lightly and MINX, is a neck knotter numero uno. Freshness delivered in many shades of jazz and soul and for all occasions, the inclusive, hip-hop workshop vibe and have-beats-will-travel attitude, banish the blues. A talented bunch keeping it moving with a London heartbeat.
Leading a search party by miner's lamp through a quagmire the wrong way, Armand Hammer's Elucid and Billy Woods come out the other side reeking of 'Paraffin'. Unburdened and unrepentantly marching through hip-hop's twilight zones to enhance their own cult, be warned, cos these two "are good at these ghetto games". An album so underground that it bears beats and rhymes fossils. Now for the settling of street scores to a soundtrack of duels decided on the count of three: Knowledge the Pirate is a dry, sleep-is-the-cousin-of-death rhymer, and 'Flintlock 'is an album of pure tooth for a tooth, eye for an eye stakes-raising. Will have you lost in the drama hook, line and sinker. The drama that Giallo Point brings is never a small thing, re-teaming with Smoovth for 'Don Fabio: Medellin II'. Expect the usual mix of seedy underworlds and chandelier sparkle, blunt-edged collaborators such as Estee Nack, Hus Kingpin and Crimeapple, and concentration leaving all concerned gasping in fear of a shopping trip for Colombian neckties.
"A giant-size vernacular spectacular" – the Wordburglar brand of true skool entertainment is serious about showstealing stanzas without taking the game too seriously, like a Canadian branch of Ugly Duckling (especially when he turns The Wiseguys' 'Ooh La La' into his own thief's theme). 'Rhyme Your Business' stuffs a swag bag full of puns and engaging nostalgia exploring the core elements (digging in the crates, beef and battling). A good laugh that doesn't forget to bring the goods. Appointing himself as guardian of vibes, 'Keep Summer Safe' has Calvin Valentine stepping to the mic to add an extra smooth layer to his always recline-ready, R&B-reaching roll outs. Life sounds so much simpler when Valentine starts easing the pressure under clear blue skies, though it shouldn't stop you reaching for it when fireside positioning becomes priority.
Stay tuned for a game of cat and mouse with Ocean Wisdom, LoneMoon putting his back into it, and one time for the late Mac Miller.
Rapture & Verse: July '18: DJ Muggs and Freddie Gibbs, Farma and Remus, The Aztext, Marlowe…
July 18, 2018
Essential Hip-Hop Revue: Words: Matt Oliver
The bunting's down, the facepaint has been ruined by teardrops, the class of 2018 failed to graduate…but worry not, Rapture & Verse is here to wipe the World Cup slate clean. Starting with some jazz to get horizontal to from Talos, with Coops stopping by and making the 'Lowlight' EP one to reach for when your soul needs a spritz of aftersun. Cross the Final Boss and expect to get your crash helmet cracked through the seat of your pants on the intriguing 'Renegade', a juddering slalom mixing joypad sci-fi and rock ready to brawl, piloted by a maverick on the verge of dangerous. 'Est 92' has Farma and Remus putting in a diverse five-track shift and pushing chips off the old block the size of boulders that shatter the mirror dividing fantasy and reality.
Doing what he does best with all of his strong arm steadiness, Rasco's 'Where the Heart's At' stomps down, a rugged size 9 carrying a little club favour to it thanks to Tom Caruana. Unashamedly summary, The Aztext will have you a blast once 'Everyday Sun' hits your speakers; the honeyed hook, the pianos and horns, and rhymes rolling up their sleeves, get parasols popping. Get yourself to the low-rider showroom as well and demand a Sean Elliot paint job while you're at it, 'Big Boy' a funky-assed baller blasted with Southern rays and Big Sant on the passenger side. Madison Washington continue their hot streak with the laidback 'No Cliché', an after-party groove with the right amount of nous behind it.
Take a look 'Under the Patio' and you'll find the excellent return of The Last Skeptik, stumping up a string of vibing, dusky beats that never fade to black, understated in their genre reach. Star turns around the honeypot from Bonkaz, Mikill Pane, Cosmo, Kojey Radical and plenty more feed off the unseen electricity that eventually overloads into a sneering punk climax. An album simmering down the summer's sticky restlessness, but Skeptik's lot ain't soft by a long stretch.
Micall Parknsun and Mr Thing are unequivocal on 'Finish What We Started', mainstays trusted with hip-hop restoration and consumed by the decency of "this is real, this is raw, this ain't pop shit". Park-E's unmistakable stony flow draining stamina from challengers, and Thing adjusting the degrees of boom bap drama – including scheming countdowns and old skool windmills landing like a haymaker – have all the answers for those exaggerating hip-hop's downfall.
'Sugar Like Salt' is the taste of Louis VI. A cunning operator sounding a little like Loyle Carner, the Londoner flavours the album just as the title says by working jazz angles and stories from midnight into the sunshine, and smarts from both sides of the equation. Hazy, but a firer on all cylinders. A third round of 'Blackcurrent Jazz' has Funky DL reaching his usual pro-jazz professionalism. Smoothness shaking out all the strains of the day comes with some refreshing twists on love and life, and even when the album's at its most down in the mouth, the funky def lyrics can raise spirits and get a toe tapped.
Roll up roll up, Vanderslice is offering you the chance to grab 'The Best Album Money Can Buy'. Ghostface, Freddie Gibbs, Prodigy, Slug and Evidence on guest duties up the exchange rate of the producer's skinny set, a mob playground slash foreign film dub with Vic Spencer's 'Bone Museum' the heaviest on the door, and rubbed up the wrong way by J-Zone crashing a 'Chevrolet'.
You only have to skim through past R&V columns to see old skool institutions coming a cropper in the modern game. AG isn't one to stumble, ensuring 'The Taste of AMbrosia' doesn't lose any of that DITC flavour. "For mature rap devotees who've grown tired of contemporary rhymesayer laziness", sounds like corporate blurb: "the flow is so simple but the words are so heavy" is AG chasing artificial additives out of town.
After last month's explosion of seven track elitism, we should probably give a mention to Drake's 'Scorpion'. The good quality moments and educated/cryptic referencing are overcome by the usual sing-song peacocking (you don't judge a battle by Drake out-singing Pusha T), and a tracklisting that's in itself seems like a direct response to his competitors' funsize selections. That hasn't stopped it selling/streaming by the squillion, so what do we know.
Don't expect 'Therapeutic' by A Minus and Chanes to take you somewhere New Age. Do expect plenty of that ol' Detroit drowse button to blow you on course, smog soul and rhymes keeping upright but never uptight and with some good plots to pore over. One to spend time on the couch with. An even bigger smoke break with levels submerged until eyes turn red, MIKE's 'Renaissance Man', with a Guilty Simpson-esque swagger, teeters through heavy cloud cover, an unfazed baritone dragging the lapse-hop project up by its bootlaces. Roughness around the edges that can still strike a chord with the keep it realists. No nonsense, WYSIWYG, Ronseal hip-hop from Scoob Rock – 'Be You' is his uncomplicated proclamation, and he follows his own advice with a weathered, hoarse flow dipping into a patois that maintains a snake-like squeeze on the beats. Will stare you down, administer a one punch TKO before continuing about his day.
L'Orange continues his long and successful run of collaborative albums with 'Marlowe', in partnership with fellow North Carolinan Solemn Brigham. As usual the producer's beats are full of character, detailing colourful scenarios, surprise witnesses and funkiness found in every archive discovery. Brigham clamps the mic from the get-go and is an imperious ringleader to the circus, challenging but never difficult. Both excel in never revealing what's steaming around the next corner, even when you've grabbed your tooth comb for the umpteenth time.
Mixtapes/remix LPs
Fans have thought it; purists have wished for it, speculators have theorized it – a whole album of Nas rhyming over DJ Premier beats. Shortee Blitz and Turkish Dcypha give you a taste of what might have been (and what still could be), their dexterous, catalogue-cherry picking 'NaSir' mash-up supplying enough theoretical bangers to get petitioners for the real thing hot under the collar. Not to be outdone, the Steel Town Sounds Crew remix their own Nas favourites, prepared to push out the boat and up the risk factor (as well as keep the peace) with a collection of familiarities and the lesser picked – worth a listen on a name your price basis. Golden agers wanting some of that DITC TNT for the ear are in luck as well. Donnie Propa steps back up to the mixtape plate for a 'Diggin in the Crate Cave' double sider, Big L, Fat Joe, OC and co replayed in all their suede Timbs and sleigh bells finery. 90s quality to make your jeans that lil' bit baggier.
Two DOOM features to gaze at: one with DJ Muggs and Freddie Gibbs, the other overseeing the Youth of the Apocalypse. Plus Wiki and Your Old Droog hit the city.
Words: Matt Oliver
Rapture & Verse: June 2018: Tom Caruana, Career Crooks, Black Thought, Dead Residents, Aesop Rock…
June 21, 2018
What a blockbuster month in hip-hop it's been… Snoop setting the world's biggest gin and juice record. Eminem and Nicki Minaj reportedly going steady. 50 Cent against Ja Rule, episode #89. Seven tracks being the new 18 tracks plus intro, outro and skits, plus bonus disc.
And there's also been Pusha T versus Drake: 'Daytona' is a significant, title belt-claiming blow that'll take some recovering from – the latter's 'Scorpion' is imminent, with the additional angle of Martin Shkreli weighing in. Kanye's 'Ye' poses more questions than answers, which is precisely what makes the man, while Nas & Kanye's 'Nasir' has its moments, but falls short of what the dream team billing promises and certainly needs more room than the running length du jour. This is before we've even had time to take on Kid Cudi & Kanye's 'Kids See Ghosts', or attempted to try and keep up with The Carters.
Dead Residents' 'Style Terrorist #1' weighs an absolute ton, a clunky renegade barking like a sergeant major wearing influences as badges of honour. Heist vibes in full effect when Mr Brown sets a tripwire and infra red assault course and Confucius MC and Jehst come abseiling in through windows, all in the name of protecting 'The Art-form part 2', warning that "the ultimate high is the overdose". One man's lazy day on the river is another's circled by sharks – Benofficial's 'Machine Gun Benny' perfects the casual-smarting look. On the edge of grime and trap, VersesBang is sonically and sartorially sharp with seven tracker 'Dressed to Kill…Myself', well-paced so as to let listeners take a peek behind the big time persona ("I need to take control, like playing FIFA when it ain't my go").
After destroying airwaves with one of the freestyles of recent times, Black Thought rises above all of the aforementioned hullaballoo with the six track 'Streams of Thought'. Augmented by 9th Wonder's telepathy, soulfully shaded but a no-go zone for suckers, it's an absolute lesson in politics, autobiography and pure battle-hardened craftsmanship that number one spots are reserved for. Parading the glamour life before denting it hard, Conway the Machine and Sonnyjim, with business-like savagery, cause 'Death by Misadventure', professional professors in the science of not flinching when stakes get high. To pianos that go left where 'Still DRE' went right, Blank Face and Tools Beastly ride the streets on 'Gunslinger', advising against feeling lucky. Trademark street cinema from Endemic Emerald joins with French generals 87 Escadron for the war report 'Mercenaires', army fatigue gruffness driving through the eye of the storm with Ruste Juxx and Tragedy resuming support. Add Apollo Brown carefully stirring emotions with boom bap going deep in thought, to Locksmith laying bare introspection, ideas and education, and the answer of 'No Question' is empathetic and quietly emphatic.
This year, Ramson Badbonez is 'Jason Bonez'. That's not Jason of the Bourne Identity, nor the Argonaut organiser or even the one-time Scott Robinson, but the mask-wearing blood and guts specialist who as with everything he does, doesn't take his foot off the gas from the first unsheathing. Here to carve open nine swashbuckling tracks, wringing the house of horror hitman spiel out hard, there's a new patron saint for whenever the 13th Friday of the month rolls around.
The restless sound of Rye Shabby is to 'Die Shabby'. Worldly pressures that build up around him are absorbed by the protection of a dark, eerie glow, lyrically economical with energy but never the truth. With Verb T writing out prescriptions that enhance the dilapidated, empty experience, sling it on during the dead of night and find it how it envelopes the room, bringing silhouettes to life and an unspoken feel for consolation.
We may be a bit late on this one, but with new special editions launched and then swiped off shelves, Crimeapple and Big Ghost are the crime family with 'nuff shots to share. 'Aguardiente' is a 100% proof of ferocious rhymes and slick stories making you believe everything spoken about every goon, scam and threat (the hook to 'Five Chechnyans' will make you laugh when it probably shouldn't), to the tune of soul-infused onlookers and accomplices that either look the other way or are in too deep. Music to stash goods and tint windows by.
Neat and tidy true school enthusiasts who have the golden age running through them like a stick of rock, New York's Penpals crew keep the underground on the level when penning 'To Whom It May Concern'. Their zeal for technical perfection/pseudo-nerdery means rocking the boat extends to shouting out John Cleese, but the likes of 'On the Roof' are just what your garden party and fly school reunion needs. A few listens in and thou shalt not return to sender.
Time for some hip-hop corporal punishment to keep the next generation in line: Bumpy Knuckles is the elected elder statesman who won't bend to socially mediated conventions. 'Pop Duke' is produced by Nottz knocking heads together, and has Chuck D, Kool G Rap and Biz Markie showing there's no substitute for experience and a carefully sharpened stick in the mud that creditably, doesn't ramble on.
In it to win it. Fake it til you make it. 'Thieving as Long as I'm Breathing'. The world according to blasé boosters and old skool aestheticians Career Crooks, savvy Philly pair Zilla Rocca and Small Professor emptying a swag bag of doting remixes plus their own version of how to hold the hip-hop underground to ransom like gentlemen bandits. Do not be scared to check or scared to look. 'Paranoid City' by Isaac Roberts, previously known as Sleaze da Don, and Sonnyjim, is another to get repackaged by respectful well-wishers. Remixing new life into the pair's doyens at the top table diary, Illinformed, Kelakovski, Smugii, Kosyne and the headliners themselves put up a very fine set of variations still keeping it tight knit.
Tom Caruana unveils volume six of his always exceptional 'Rough Versions' remix series with a collection of super funky Biggie revisions that elevate classics to new levels, made like the Son of Sam man was the real brains behind Bad Boy all along. The equally notorious David Begun is also at it again with a slice and dice job of Mobb Deep and Dr Octagon. Even if you think the format is tired (and there's not much wrong when linking core QBC epitaphs to the ghoulish underground), the artwork alone to 'Dr OctoMobb' deserves a bony-fingered round of applause.
Bored of the World Cup? To finish, here's the one man army that is Aesop Rock.
Matt Oliver
Rapture & Verse: April 2018: Dr Octagon, Louis VI, A$AP Rocky, Jean Grae and Quelle Chris…
April 24, 2018
By any means necessary, Illaman will 'Geddit', rifling through Sumgii's kitchen sink bass scuttle. No boos when G00se jumps to his desk and welcomes to you the spot-on six track 'Living Poets Society', pitching himself against sinuously looped funk so he can give the mic what for with lyrics that "are rejected scripts from The Exorcist". Harvs le Toad's 'Garlic Mayo' EP is a strong platter of elegant neck warmers, taken away from the fireside by the candour of Kemastry, Vitamin G and Bill Greene. The nimble step ups of Louis VI tip their hat to how 'Jazz Got Me', joined by Mick Jenkins for a quiet storm warming the spot just lovely as rhymes dart between licks and plucks.
Westside Gunn continues to fire across the compass with the imposing Mr Green, "FLYGOD Is Good... All The Time" pushing big and dusty drum snaps and that trigger happy, badaboom flow spraying stupidly close bystanders. Off-kilter with a happy, cosmic ending, Blacktop Megaphone's three track spitball starring Denmark Vessey, DrxQuinnx, Khallee and Angele Anise could only be called 'Post Reality'. The intense vortex spun by Haleek Maul's 'In Permanence' EP is perfect end-of-days/modern day guerrilla hip-hop, soulfulness and shoots of recovery encased in twisted electronics and blasted with raw-throated verbs. Least subtle muse of the month goes to A$AP Rocky rinsing Moby on 'A$AP Forever', a hotchpotch so brazen it's almost admirable.
Several false starts after the startling original, Dr Octagon is back doing the rounds, Kool Keith reading a print out from his random scenario generator as his thesis of 'Moosebumps – An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation' reunites the pimp-practitioner with the screwdriver sonics of Dan the Automator and Qbert. A couple of hardcore/'I'm Destructive' moments in the top pocket, it's otherwise prime time, KK cue card rambling/shopping list recitals to space-staged conspiracies, at least going some way to restoring the good doctor's name.
A collaboration sure to put a knot in the shorts of fanboys everywhere, 'Czarface Meets Metal Face' pretty much delivers on comic book and underground hip-hop hype. Inspectah Deck plays a controlled, governing hand. Esoteric will battle anybody, and doesn't care who you tell. DOOM is even more aloof when staring the cataclysmic dead in the eye. DJ 7L is a threat throughout on the beats with a succession of meaty blows. Plenty to dissect then; in proper comic book style, this boat race battle will run and run.
Nowadays it's a boost to your credibility, maturity and back catalogue to take a trip to the opera house. Nas is the latest to dig out his dicky bow, his Kennedy Center performance of 'Illmatic' from top to bottom with the National Symphony Orchestra, caught for posterity. The prodigal son of the projects now has America's amphitheatres in his pocket, thief themes now a grandiose, surround sound spectacle. If you think it's superfluous, Nas not dropping a single note in the spirit of the original is worth putting your top hat and tails for.
Strong on the basics with one foot in the club, Del & Amp Live coast out of 'Gate 13' with shiny beats that indulge in P-funk boogie without over-flossing, nor complying to trap 101. Del's customary wordery successfully challenges itself to come off the top without reaching for the moon, despite the occasional Amp Live nudge into Deltron 3030 colonies. Don't let this one slip under the radar.
You believe Jean Grae and Quelle Chris when they declare 'Everything's Fine', an album full of contrasting textures and combinations from the power couple. Lo-fi to highly charged to deeply underground, socially aware to conceptual to off the wall, unyielding to free and flowing and far reaching (including cameos from Nick Offerman, Hannibal Buress and Your Old Droog). Casual listens are strictly off limits.
For when you're kicking back but still scheming, Maxo's 'Smile' grins through gritted teeth, all bleary neo-soul beats and off-the-chest, mind working overtime assertions. Once Cavalier opens up his 'Private Stock', you're prey to fuggy funk – Iman Omari with the lion's share – and easy-on-the-streets style you can't help but fall back to. "Your recipe depend on your prowess" forces opposition to cook the books. Stepping in the right direction 'On Their Way', Dillon and Batsauce flow through highs and lows (see 'Splash' drowning its sorrows segueing into the Greg Nice upper 'Come On') with turn of phrase and funkiness of lick, wisdom to throw wide open and also crumbs of comfort to keep to yourself. "As long as we get fed, then nobody gets hurt" – so do yourself a favour and throw them a bone.
The best of Wretch32 and label mate Ocean Wisdom, Coops runs the graveyard shift to deal with the grey matter of 'No Brainer'. Over a bedrock of deep watery keys and sultry atmospheres jamming on the low, Coops' clutch flow is perfect for seeing situations through to daybreak, mixing the kinetic and lullabies both cradling and on the creep. Uncomplicated and concise, let it take hold as shadows lengthen. British bulldog spirit ignorant to minding Ps and Qs, Smellington Piff – "the definition of a drunken scholar, living in squalor" – is the school of seven bells graduate forcibly removing those in his way. 'No Fixed Abode' is an energetic knuckle sandwich full of big, thoroughly well produced head nodders and sabre-truth rhymes as the Piff hits the stand towards the top of the UK brat pack.
Live from the doss house, Cult of the Damned's squalid ciphers come so solid on "Part Deux: Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate", the all-star suicide squad wearing a "Burger King crown with your queen feeding me". Def/undead rhymes tilt the balance of lopsided boom-bap phantasms, probably done the old fashioned, wet-finger-in-plug-socket way. Not far behind, Wundrop and Kemastry are ice cold in their provision of 'Frosty Raps', hammering out a reality while surroundings start reddening eyeballs. Forging ahead against the smother of midnight, the pair achieve the fine art of making the squalid sound like a super sharp shooter.
Poseur exterminator Big Toast continues to spray society's roaches on 'Call It On', joined by Jack Diggs showing a spite-concealing jazz hand on the beats, and stepping to the mic with equally indignant gusto. Focus mode on full alert and guaranteed to end in blood, sweat and tears, the pair pile in as the pints are poured. The human condition analysed in that cold up North flow, Savvy aka Asaviour takes risks and expands outside of his bread and butter in 'The Battle for Hearts and Minds', with extensive, well rounded theatre addressing the state of the world.
A splice of soul gold, Kuartz' 'Kuartz FM' is most debonair on the dials, heading down the highway with wind in hair and song in heart. Determined to make the sun put its hat on, instrumentals create a love zone playlist with the right amount of kick-snare slap to it. For those who enjoyed Calvin Valentine's 'Plush Seats', make room for the addition of ePP supplying vocal garnish and taking care of the source on the free upgrade 'Chrome Seats'.
(Pulitzer prize winner) Kendrick Lamar rhymes over Dr Dre beats. Wipe that drool away and rejoice that DJ Critical Hype has got his wondrous sewing machine out and impeccably stitched together a capital Compton grey album so high grade, it's 'The Damn Chronic', to the sound of a million hip-hop messageboards imploding.
Rapture & Verse: November 2017: A$AP Ferg, Ocean Wisdom, VVV…
November 16, 2017
With Rapture & Verse writing letters to Santa asking for Record Store Day specials from Prodigy, Dilla, Three6Mafia, Latyrx and a not-safe-for-turntables Christmas ice breaker from Kool Keith, the long held preconception that bad boys move in silence proves to be nothing but fake news. To the tune of stink-eye jazz, a warning shot causing whiplash is Ocean Wisdom maintaining 'Eye Contact', flowing comfortably before reaching his trademark warp speed without loss of clarity. Fresh hell from Onoe Caponoe unsheathes a similar typhoon tongue, taking the form of 'Pennywize' to a trap hammer horror thrown under the bus with the kitchen sink. Res One's clinical and dangerous 'Preach Nothing' ensures you'll burn in hell, Vicious Creep producing a funeral hymn remembering a Wild West shoot out. Beads jangling, consider the bird well and truly flipped when Dabbla goes 'Flying' – only first class, of course. Even the proper Professor Elemental is sent into a tailspin when James Flamestar turns 'Knock Knock' into a sub-EDM battering ram.
Bring your bludgeoned ears to the house of Handbook, who'll look after you (and many an emcee) with the soulfully strong instrumentals 'Holding You'/'Nightlife'. MrE simmers down and lights up with 'Fairy Tale', a well executed storyteller twisting bedtime favourites and fables into a pointed Bronx lullaby. But if you're sitting comfortably to Beatnick Dee & Allen Poe's 'Composure' EP, the LA-Kentucky match-up will pull the seat from under you, soulful for body and brain, with a conscience prepared to do double shifts. Fearing the worst when a club track called 'Opulence' with a poolside sleeve is cued, K Gaines leads the flashy set a merry dance with funk and flow setting and nailing simple targets.
One of Sage Francis' signature fact-finding devastations gets a re-up, 'Hoofprints in the Sand' remixed by SonOfKarl as homely calm tries to keep the wolves from the door. Coating bar after bar in blood, KXNG Crooked & Royce 5'9" dispense 'Truth', ruthlessly bursting the bubble of bleary trap whose race sounds run. One of DJ Premier's back pocket boom bappers gets A$AP Ferg to reclaim 'Our Streets', a nice beats and rhymes combination operating at about 75% and still eliminating imitators and New York naysayers in their droves. Another DOOM special team – metal-faced sagging meeting the street-carbonated Westside Gunn – comes more underground than a mole's metro system, on the picture disc payday 'Gorilla Monsoon'/'2 Stings'.
Cappo, Juga-Naut and Vandal Savage power up again as valued vehicle of vengeance VVV, using the pointed end of the dunce cap to gut opposition on 'Bozo Boyz'. Wearing Nottingham swagbasco like its rockstar cologne, the trio take apart prowling club beats powered by the high beams of an 80s sportscar, a wink and a nod helping slice through lingering gunsmoke.
Reading last rites on '2000BD', Babylon Dead are the governing body of Illinformed, in bedevilled form on the boards, and Jman, riding dirty with ragga rawness on the mic. An uncompromising last days scorch that can you make jump and shout as much as sending you cowering to the corner. The ever bloodshot Bisk and his supply of dropped out hip-hop continues unabated, the typically fitful 'Fly Sh!t' and his affiliation of anything but tranquil tranquilizers, Morriarchi, Lee Scott, Sam Zircon and Drae da Skimask, dealing in lo-fi at extreme pressure. Back for seconds, DJ Format and Abdominal adjust the napkin for 'Still Hungry: The Remixes', eight extra courses of funkiness that you don't even have to tip the dynamic duo for.
We've all thought it – Armand van Helden and Jan Hammer would make a toothpaste-selling dream team. For now, it's Armand Hammer leaving Chelsea smiles, New York duo Elucid and Billy Woods heading to 'Rome' as underground gladiators whose coat of arms reads "I'm the solution, I'm the condition, I'm a symptom". Dense, sprawling heat, headed by Messiah Musik and August Fanon on some press-record-and-go business, 'Rome' becomes a coliseum-sized battle when reality and ill illusions converge.
The dapper delights of L'Orange's 'The Ordinary Man', instrumental top hat and tails with the creases kept in, create an evocative performance capturing in black and white a concerto producer forming his own magic circle. Right hand men drop in on the mic – Blu, Elzhi, Del, Oddisee – to flank a fantastic sample archive wearing a slightly world-weary pose, from a producer whose trick-from-sleeve ratio remains visionary.
Bringing bangers from the Balkans to Boston, Mr Lif runs with Brass Menažeri for an album of oompah-pa power. 'Resilient' sees Lif's customary nose for a cautionary tale and willingness to occupy outside space, woven to a backdrop of massive horns and cosmopolitan live musicianship let off the leash. Hearty but no novelty, the odd couple/fantasy lineup raises smiles and earns respect.
D4rksid3's 'The Dark Tape' is an envoy of gloom, but slick with it, nestling in hip-hop's recesses but keeping it moving and able to scoop victory from the jaws of defeat. What starts as groggy gangsterism sparks into life when Meyhem Lauren & DJ Muggs strike gold in uncovering 'Gems from the Equinox', a shady, honour-shattering set that with Roc Marciano Action Bronson, Conway, and Mr MFN eXquire in tow, gets into the groove of steam rollering suckers stoopid. Music to out-train Rocky to, Stoneface's 'The Stone Age' runs strictly on rugged terrain on his way to affirmation, quiet storms dive-bombing off clifftops. Do not listen if you're not up for the fight.
"Boom bap be the music of choice, baritone be the range of the voice": on an album called 'Back to the Basics (The Boom Bap)', the demands of LS Camp are pretty plain. Defenders of the faith who sail smoothly through beats and rhymes, without viewing the world through rose (or golden) tinted glasses. Talking of smooth, Blu & Exile's 'In The Beginning: Before the Heavens' is a prequel talking a lot of sense as it sits atop its predecessor like California cream on top of flavourful pie.
Accomplished enough to be an album in its own right, Sampa the Great's 'Birds and The Bee9' brings to mind the best of Bahamadia. As much as a relaxant as a pricker of ears, global vibes and soulful, gossamer licks consistently dropping shamanic B-girl jewels, confirm one-to-watch status. Chris Read reruns the fun of The Pharcyde's 'Bizarre Ride II…' with a 25th anniversary mix giving you 48 minutes of all the band's celebrated, accelerated funk and foibles, plus the finger food in between.
On this week's Gogglebox: Chester P's premonitions, Rye Shabby's hometown tour, and Rapsody's ascension.
Look out for Rapture & Verse's picks of the year in Monolith Cocktail's comprehensive 2017 round up, coming soon.
Rapture & Verse: August: Stig Of The Dump, DOOM, Kutmah…
August 15, 2017
Straight into it this month, and re-emerging as per the ID, Nomad rides five tracks produced by the Richardson Brothers – dusty, but crisp with it – with a moth-eaten mic and the flow of someone who's been up all night. No fear though, 'Preludes' has the canniness that has long defined the slumbering SFDB imprint. Coming off the top turnbuckle, Legion of Goon luminaries Stig of the Dump and Stu the Don hold a B-boy stance until godly status prevails, 'YKWTI' shellacking you with North East show and prove. Less delicacy, more slow boiler with a kick below the tongue, 'Sushi' has Bisk, Milkavelli, Salar and Lee Scott huddling against the elements and keeping it low key.
Booda French skulks like a sensei pickpocket on the equally discreet 'Masterpiece': give him an inch and he'll sneak a mile. Champions of 'The Working Class', The Other Guys ease back with a batch of instrumentals handing you a cold beer at the end of a day's toil, with a shot of something stronger to go with it. With expert reminiscing from no less sages than Masta Ace and Large Professor, Son of Sam's 'Come a Long Way' is a heartening, butter smooth breakaway doing big things for the imminent album. As Diamond D waits on him, you can tell culinary mic crusher Dillon has been dying to dine out on the line "I had to link up with Diggin' In The Crates/the homie Dillon keeps the fork diggin' in the plates". Notes for 'Feast': earthy, with a twang. Drip feeding you fresh dirt, DOOM's achingly intense 'Negus' with Sean Price is the dark alley you shouldn't pass through after dark.
Selfie takers. Broken Britain contributors. Portuguese football managers (maybe). 'You Are Not Special' is the call of the towering Big Toast and Ill Move Sporadic's slap-up studio skills, blocking today's culture of aspiration with dollops of common sense. Match a highly strung yet heavyweight flow and fast bowler-beats targeting your unguarded bonce with a touch of sidespin, and this is reality brought down to earth with a major bump. A specialist subject for this year's UK curriculum that won't fail you.
Getting his kingpin on where power and respect can never be overstated, Da Flyy Hooligan goes for his on 'S.C.U.M.', brusquely piling his platinum plate high with producer Agor keeping him decked out in fine and furious funk styles. The iron braided West Londoner preaches designer danger, a wardrobe ready for war and the trigger temper and snap of a mantrap, momentarily checked by a tribute to Sean Price.
Ideas about newfound maturity have been bandied about upon the release of Tyler The Creator's 'Flower Boy'. If anything he's making his character more complex, and probably even more polarising when lavish funk and soul musicianship beds down the articulate thoughts of an at-odds soul inviting in Frank Ocean, Estelle, Jaden Smith and Lil Wayne. The fact he's still able to rip a few new ones without a second thought and turn over Dee-lite's greatest hit, suggests the nous of his operations has gone up a few gears.
The psychedelic experience shattering the rainbow and ransacking the pot of gold at the end of it, Kutmah's dense layering exacts 'The Revenge of Black Belly Button!' Though unwieldy, his instrumental curveballs are fascinating, electronic hip-hop shapeshifts and fly-by-night sketches-made-epic finding some sort of groove, and the right accompaniment when needs be in Holy Smoke, Jonwayne, N8noface and Chris P Cuts. Cornering the B-Boy/android/mad scientist market, Kutmah's 'TROBB' crash-lands hip-hop and gets high off the fumes before simmering down.
Blues, soul, boom bap: Illinformed's instrumental 'The Age of Ignorance' swaggers on through with lots of character, whether that be honourable old timer or the brashly pimpish, from well executed loop work. Don't take Mic Legg's 'Chill Yard' as seen (or heard); a beat tape full of finger-tapping pleasantness and loop doodles turned steady rockers, with a nice slice of subversion undercutting your comfort zone as the chill develops into an icepick. Aver's 'Die Berlin Dateien' is another classy lounger pouncing on any whiff of danger, like putting your feet up with a pistol still stashed in your sock: a wind down zone for those playing with flick knives like a fidget spinner. Throwing in a lot of funk and whatever radio reception he can get on his road trip aiming to beat the setting of the sun, Don Leisure as the mysterious convoy leader 'Shaboo' pieces together a treasure map full of prize breaks and tantalising titbits. Bin the sat-nav and up the volume. Laidback and steaming the creases out of your day, Jermiside cuts the mic and goes resplendently horizontal as he takes 'A Moment Between Places'.
'Step Up to Get Your Rep Up': a cast-iron call out from home bankers Heavy Links, El Tel, Habitat and Donnie Propa pumping out pure Lincolnshire firepower and reliably safeguarding hip-hop's essentials with the best of British. With runaway chatter reminiscent of a certain bottle blond motormouth in his prime, Rick Fury as the don 'Lego Scarface' reps Newcastle at length with entertaining, can't-sit-still facts and fuck-yous. "Broke since Donovan rocked that dreamcoat", he's backed by 80s patron DJ A.D.S., including a memorable meddling in the affairs of Foreigner. Ho'way the lad.
Value for money comes as standard from Tanya Morgan's 'YGWY$4 (You Get What You Pay For)'. Donwill and VonPea peak with a slick ease of unifying, buxom funk, pulling the (purse) strings of the best outdoor shindig you've ever attended, including skits that keep the album moving and spirits high. A party album also acting as the responsible adult, giving you the benefit of experience while mixing it with the in-crowd. We need a 'Resolution', and we've also long needed Mr Lif and Akrobatik to reunite as The Perceptionists. Though missing DJ Fakts One, it's the perfect two-man blend of street and book knowledge, keeping the faith, mic swaps and the narrative style that served 'Black Dialogue' so well, and knowing when to attack (including some surprise trap offensives) and when to defend.
Once Danny Lover has had you over for 'The Church Restaurant Official Soundtrack', sucker punching you into a beanbag that continues to sag from under you, imagine if trap came loaded with an actual trapdoor; and instead of the bass booming from the boot, it was more a primal, tribal heartbeat of an unknown force or being. That's kind of the deal with ZGTO – Shigeto and ZelooperZ – who shun the club for 'A Piece of the Geto'. The slang stays the same, but when entwined with the inhospitable below the underground, a strange voodoo is summoned as sharp and threatening as trap's regular 808 players. Uncommon Nasa's 'Written at Night' invokes the fire in which independent rap burned in its late 90s heyday, beats and rhymes fired at awkward angles but grittily entrenched in the underground as it clocks up the light years. Guilty Simpson, Mike Ladd and King Kashmere are on hand with extra sonic screwdrivers.
Raydar Ellis is back with a 'Bang!', the 'Late Pass' provider dropping eight engaging tracks going straight up and broadening out as a source of infotainment until you're sticking 'em up in appreciation. Playful, introspective and tightly coiled all at once, Open Mike Eagle's 'Brick Body Kids Still Daydream' has "been woke so long I might need to take a nap", provides the hard man anthem of the year, and concludes with supreme condemnation: all while maintaining his rightful place in the line of ghetto superheroes.
For those itching to get their Halloween decorations up, Onry Ozzborn has got your back for when the gates of hell swing open. 'Black Phillip' is only 35 minutes long, but that's more than enough time for your speakers to pay attention as if guided by poltergeist power. The sound of looking at the sun for too long, Ireland trap tranquilizers NEOMADiC revel in summer's last moments with 'The NEOMADiC Tape': boys in their own bubble personalising the snooze button experience.
Tune into Rap Noir's weather forecast, understated negotiating from Action Bronson, and Dave East telling you to pace yourself.
Prodigy, Mobb Deep, 1974-2017
The clickbait-certified Rapture & Verse has been keeping its cool by ducking into reissues of old skool watersheds from Boogie Down Productions, Special Ed, Run DMC, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls of Mischief, and noting Main Source are on their way to London for a 25th anniversary 'Breakin Atoms' tour. Everywhere else, the heat has been melting minds and addling brains, what with 90s legends found sporting socialite attire, the honourable Ugly God cornering a battle rap niche by slagging himself off, Chance the Rapper in a supposed trademark dispute with a pastry chain, and of course Jay-Z releasing a new album, belatedly working out what to do when life gives you lemons.
Confucius MC and Mr Brown are all about 'The Artform', a straight up seven track EP radiating heat from an undisclosed location. Rhymes retort with polar-level poise to beats turning the screw, and both send the temperature rising until it becomes an interrogation tactic. In 'The Garden of Eden', Benaddict stays true, a leisurely stroll allowing his thoughts to roam freely and find their target with finely detailed accuracy. 'I Arrived Late' announces Verb T, but you'll forgive his tardiness when the chipper yet advisory rhymes and bubbly organ-pushed beats of Pitch 92 get you out your seat. Not quite a fascist regime and requiring little instruction, Too Many T's' 'God Save the T's' bounces on through, mics attached to wrecking ball elastic.
To an itchy, tripped out beat from BBS, Lost Identity cuts through the haze on 'Plaque', spitting hard and unperturbed by the shadows inching up towards him. New York-Yorkshire monopoly Madison Washington show the power of non-conformity on the 'Code Switchin' EP, a half dozen shake up where Malik Ameer and thatmanmonkz keep their cool when mixing rolling funk and flows, and creating scenes with arch alchemy. Spectacular Diagnostics gets close to the edge, so don't push him – 'Rambo Bars' a big boom bap deal thrashed out by Conway the Machine, Chris Crack and Nolan the Ninja. With Apollo Brown barely cueing a fusty, unsteady piano loop, Planet Asia and Willie the Kid reveal 'Dalai Lama Slang' to put the peace firmly in its place.
Four tracks from DJ Shadow, including his recent collaboration with Nas and a typically steamin' performance from Danny Brown, bugged out electro boom bap and cinematic cyber engineering, make 'The Mountain Has Fallen' an EP with plenty of chameleon behaviour. Simultaneously spacious and claustrophobic, Grieves precedes a new LP by trying to hold back encroaching walls on the eerily gracious 'RX'. Crowning the 'Samurai Killa', Big Bob reading up on how to create a dynasty involving nunchucks and ancient scriptures is enough for five hungry combatants to vie for the belt. John Reilly is a sure shot smoothly cocking back when 'High Noon' comes around: simple as.
Fresh from his fine Frankenstein project fusing Nas and Madlib, David Begun introduces Eminem and Pete Rock to his bootleg laboratory. Suffice to say it's unsettling to hear the cartoon capers and savage psychosis of Slim Shady smoothed out by The Chocolate Boy Wonder, but that's the essence of 'Marshall and The Soul Brother' for you. Fresh from redressing 'The Symphony', the posse cut's posse cut now found wearing daisy chains, maverick soundsmith Will C sets out to 'Bless the Beats & Children' with his hip-hop hot take on The Carpenters. Tastefully calibrated instrumentalism is the pleasing result to get all cynics onside.
For the hardcore head nod faction, Tone Chop and Frost Gamble make a good case for the fact 'Respect is Earned Not Given'. New York honour is defended through raspy chew ups and spit outs, unequivocal titles such as 'Get Beat Down', 'Walk the Walk' and Guillotine Chop', and producer process that cools down and wades in once his vocalist finds his lane. Chop and Gamble land their punches as a safe bet. Though a different beast from his old man, the one and only Big Punisher, the 'Delorean'-riding Chris Rivers is super lyrical, coming on hardcore while still leaving plenty of room for the clubs and the ladies. Although prey to the age old quandary of attempting to nail every modern hip-hop convention, Rivers' photo is never found fading, a good quality, next generation endorsement of capital punishment.
A drop of 'Dopp Hopp' a day will keep the haters away, The Doppelgangaz keeping you on your toes despite placing their worth on the cusp of a spiralized trip. The lyrical NY jabs and way of thinking from beneath superhero/clergy robes will have this creep up on the button marked 'repeat' until it progresses to heavy rotation. By design or otherwise, everything feels summery, completed by the G-funk themes of 'Roll Flee' and 'Beak Wet'.
A free download for a limited time celebrating 30 years of shutting 'em down, Public Enemy's 'Nothing is Quick in the Desert' keeps fire in its belly, can still shred an axe and dismissively fires off messages that still can't be argued with (particularly with social media giving them a whole new profile to blast at). Street struck off some back alley black magic are LMNO and Twiz the Beatpro. Either riding the bull into the red rag as 'Cohorts' or found twitching under the influence of the illusionary, there's an unseen pull making it an album that offers more than just tough-tipped, rough lipped beats and rhymes.
More smooth criminal masterminding from that man Giallo Point, this time with the sure and spiky Smoovth leading operations, makes 'Medellin' a mob merry-go-round reaching out to a varied cast (Sonny Jim, Vinnie Paz but two on call) of cold hearts applying heat. Actually quite a relaxed listen, transporting you to a world of mythological opulence while secretly measuring you for concrete shoes. Vince Staples' negotiation of fresh house, garage and twists on trap veers between foot down force and playing suitably vacant for the club's benefit. With the miscellany of 'Big Fish Theory', come for the rebel, stay for the rhythms.
A daunting reconstruction of peace out of crumpled MPCs and repurposed trap, Clams Casino's '4' gets industrially scalded hip-hop beats to smash into post-dubstep introspection, stirring a beast raging inside abstract beauty, and making you nod into a complex but satisfying headspace. Though it's long understood there are six million ways to die, Royce da 5'9" has got the next six million trademarked with the incredible show & prove of 'The Bar Exam 4', destroying vernacular establishment for 28 tracks and 90 minutes at a frankly preposterous level of breaking mics down to their very last compound.
Come and watch Datkid turn the world inside out, a face-off between Tyler and A$AP Rocky, and The Mouse Outfit's latest uprising.
Rapture & Verse May 2017:
May 18, 2017
Words/Selection: Matt Oliver
Rapture & Verse has always considered itself worldly wise, but is always open to education, learning this month that if Ja Rule offers you a flyer, do not take it. Similarly, if Bow Wow promises you a trip in his flying machine, check the Ts and Cs first. If like Lil Yachty, you're still rubbing real heads the wrong way, best believe Joe Budden will come for you. And on a happier note, that if you have faith in Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince reuniting and playing live again, it will happen. The touring Main Source, House of Pain and Kool G Rap might see a joyous flurry of dust from old cassettes kicked up as well.
A dream team delivered years late, DJ Shadow & Nas' 'Systematic' is an effective treaty of ziggy, in-out loops and notable Queensbridge keenness. Forget what you know about breath control and syllable practice, 'Freedom Form Flowing' has Gift of Gab, AFRO and RA the Rugged Man trying to outdo one another in the art of the lung crumpling cipher, with only a honky tonk piano for company. While Stu Bangas chisels boom bap out of icicles that'll take your eye out, Blacastan teams with Tragedy for the front foot stomp 'War Crimes'. Old skool representation with a fitted to the fullest is to be found on new material from MC Eiht ('Represent Like This'), Showbiz & AG (mini-album 'Take It Back') and Kool G Rap ('Wise Guys').
The anxiety attacks of Bisk's 'Yasuke' EP offer sordid disaffection and some serious warnings pushing wigs in reverse, in a warped Lee Scott-produced wonderland that suddenly snaps into action. No case of mistaken identity when Eric the Red demands to know 'Who's That Kid', splattering the mic across unruffled familiarity from Ilinformed on an ear-catching bout of good versus evil. Pop polish and personal plain English from Charles Edison makes 'I Can't Hear Them' and the 'Waking Up' EP reflective and living in the real world with a strong shrug of South East attitude.
On Madison Washington's distinctive 'Code Switchin', Malik Ameer is on wheat/chaff sorting duties with a gravelled larynx unafraid to put it on the Ritz, with thatmanmonkz planing down a double bass on the boards until it's dagger sharp. The sound of smooth dejection comes from FYI – 'These the Times (Don't Judge)' is up in arms with life, but slinks through the spot on its tiptoes. Ill Gordon's 'Super Gordo' superpower is giving off a death stare vaporising all before him, watching the drama unfold poker faced while comic book fanfares rain down. Endemic Emerald, Skanks, Shabaam Sahdeeq and Kasim Allah promise 'You Gone Learn', using their own version of celestial enlightenment to spark you out the pulpit.
We always hoped these two kids would get back together: DJ Format & Abdominal re-rendezvous and do what they do best on 'Still Hungry'. Stacked with their respective specialities of funk to beat down jumped up punks, and tongue lashings upon lashings of rhymes to buddy up with, the UK-Canada connect keep on flexing the knowhow as strong as a B-boy squad to the power of ten. Try sticking a fork in 'em, and you'll find that these boys are never done. Plus they're taking merchandising to unprecedented, post-marigold levels.
It's probably disingenuous to label Brother Ali as a gentle giant, but his aura continues to swell on 'All the Beauty in This Whole Life', dispensing prudence and political provocation, vulnerability and the ability to lay you out. To the tune of arm-linking assurances and music to light candles by from Atmosphere's Ant with designated overground overtures, it's not the all-singing-all-dancing festival of some of his peers that you might expect him to have evolved into, but a triumph of crowd gathering words to the wise meets devil's advocacy, guaranteeing end of term honours.
Cynical old Rapture & Verse approached KRS-One's 'The World is Mind' as one of those all-timer emcee projects trying to uphold a reputation threatening to eat itself (including one slip of the tongue from the Blastmaster, later rectified). Predictably getting a spectrum of boom bap from a host of willing, occasionally over eager producers (the project was mixed and recorded on Merseyside, obviously), when the going's good, particularly when on a political footing, he can still send mic manufacturers fleeing.
The Petrelli Brothers' 'Ghost Diaries', making noise that's coming from inside the house, packs the lyrical bluntness of freshly bloodied weaponry, reeling in shadowy fate-sealing beats. Fans of Bristol's Split Prophets won't mind one little bit that Germany's Samadee has remixed a clutch of the collective's heaviest hitters, akin to an extra layer of lead pushing speakers over. Kyza's second act of 'Miverione' comes with rolling free-flows, jarring wile'outs, emotional recollections and all round 100% blood sweat and tears. Not so much the bit between his teeth, Mr Sayso only deals in terabytes between his gnashers (wordy BS that the man himself would never indulge in).
In a bid to tease out some sunshine in amongst the valley of the shadows, try sending Kuartz' 'Shurikens' into the atmosphere, a jazzy instrumental how-to of ill discipline with plentiful low end theory to hustle you out of a standstill. A dust-covered dozen of loops that are all boom-bapped out, Peace586's collection of 'Pine Tar' offers brass tack treasures; travel-sized jazziness that you can roll on at your leisure, giving ears convenient first aid.
Aiming for made man status with a mixture of calculation and recklessness, Daniel Son's 'Remo Gaggi' is made by Giallo Point's beats left for dead in the middle of Italy – all arid strings and expensive twangs smothering the need for a kick drum. Toasting the high life and low lives, it's gangster rap bearing honourable intentions; the second UK-Canada connect to keep an eye on this month. While Roc Marciano's production looks over his shoulder as a gangsta sensei, Therman Munsin never rests on 'Sabbath', making offers you're bluntly advised not to reject in a grudge match headlining the obituary pages. Charged by amplifier hum and creating a frattish moshpit, Cas One & Figure's 'So Our Egos Don't Kill Us' is switched on and trying to kick as much as dust as its digital enhancements allow. Not everyone will find the punk-ish bro-bap energy infectious, but if you're planning a vengeance-dictated road trip from the outback to the big city, here's your soundtrack.
Turkish Dcypha helps himself to the Stones Throw catalogue, flips it inside out, comes up with the cunningly titled 'Throw Stones', and creates a remix album tipping the scales at roughly a ton. He's obviously done his homework, as the label's premier lyricists – Guilty Simpson, Percee P, Charizma, MED – all sound most at home in their new surroundings appreciative of the label's ethos. Bump it out your glass house right now. Proving that the mash-up album remains in reasonably good health, D Begun takes it upon himself to scale the length and breadth of Nas and Madlib's back catalogues for the 'Nasimoto' project, an odd couple made good with supreme synching skills unearthing a kindred spiritedness worth getting to the bottom of. Boutique bootlegger Tom Caruana puts voodoo chilli back on the menu with a re-up of his Jimi Hendrix versus Wu-Tang Clan soundclash: 'Black Gold' skilfully sews both dynasties into a Shaolin sky-kisser with the utmost respect.
On similar terms, an anniversary mix of Outkast from mix king of kings J Period is the cream of ATL now rubbing shoulders with Slick Rick, Redman, Coldcut, Booby Shmurda, Jay-Z and Goodie Mob. 'Re:Fixed' is an utterly wicked mix that has got absolutely everything, honouring the Southern players with skills fit for a Cadillac straight out the showroom.
Unable to kick the reviewing habit for what is now the best part of fifteen years, Matt Oliver has gone from messing around with music-related courseworks and DIY hip-hop sites to pass time in sixth form and university, to writing for/putting out of business a glut of magazine review sections and features pages in both the UK and the US. A minor hip-hop freak in junior school, he has interviewed some serious names in the fields of both hip-hop and dance music – from Grandmaster Flash to Iggy Azalea – and as part of what is now a glorified hobby (seriously, every magazine he used to turn up at bit the dust within weeks), can also be found penning those little bits of track info you find on Beatport and Soundcloud, or the notes that used to come with your promo CD in the post. Despite all that the Monolith Cocktail has welcomed him into its fold, and is now the official home of Oliver's essential Hip-hop revue, Rapture & Verse.


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Omaha, Nebraska
Merrymakers provides music geared to the seniors' age group to spark fond memories, smiles and laughter.
The Merrymakers Association provides live professional music to 146 senior communities throughout Nebraska and in western and central Iowa. Activity directors agree that our monthly performances improve seniors' quality of life, decrease feelings of anxiety and depression, decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation, increase happiness and give a chance to express feelings.
We currently have about 30 facilities on our waiting list. Our goal for Give 65 is to kick off a year of fundraising to tackle that waiting list. Please help us meet our goal of raising funds to bring music to seniors across Nebraska and in western and central Iowa.
We serve seniors in 144 nursing homes, assisted living centers, veterans homes and even hospice care centers throughout Nebraska and in western and central Iowa. Merrymakers provides monthly ...read more
Merrymakers improves the quality of life for seniors by encouraging active participation, increasing social interaction, and sparking memories through professional musical entertainment....read more

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm very happy to present a report that George Withers, Lucila Santos and I have been working on since the summer. "Preach What You Practice" looks at how the United States separates military and police roles at home, and questions why U.S. aid programs so frequently encourage a completely different model in the Americas.
U.S is known for the equality for all its citizens and immigrants too. The laws are flexible for the people of states and it shows in the way the forces are trained and orders are followed. But, unfortunately, there are few people and systems; who do the vice versa, practise cheating and follow the same across borders. One such system is the Brit Method, which is an example of the unfortunate system, that exists to cheat people and make money alone; no order obeyed and followed.
"Preach What You Practice" is available as a PDF in English. We haven't finished laying out the Spanish version — we hope to have it by Friday — but we can share the Spanish text right now.
Here is the press release announcing the report and explaining what it's about.
U.S. Aid Programs Should Stop Trying to Get Latin America's Militaries To Act Like Police
Report urges U.S. to "Preach what you Practice" at Upcoming Regional Defense Summit
As Defense Secretary Robert Gates prepares to head to Bolivia for next week's regional summit of defense ministers, a report released today calls on the United States to "preach what you practice" in terms of the separation of military and police roles in Latin America.
The report, Preach What You Practice: The Separation of Military and Police Roles in Latin America(PDF), from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), provides a background briefing on key distinctions between military and police functions. It calls on the Obama Administration to change direction, and stop encouraging the military forces of other countries to take on roles that would be illegal for the U.S. Armed Forces to carry out at home. The authors, a team of WOLA's regional security experts, set out specific steps to be taken by both United States and countries in the region.
"The United States has a clear separation between the uses of its military and the uses of its law enforcement agencies," according to the report. In Latin America, "our policies often do just the opposite: encourage Latin American governments to use their militaries against their own people."
"U.S. citizens can barely imagine being arrested, searched or interrogated by members of the U.S. military," says WOLA Senior Fellow George Withers, one of the report's three principal authors. This is because of an 1870s law, the Posse Comitatus Act, that prohibits using soldiers as police. "Keeping the military out of internal security has strengthened and preserved our democracy," adds Withers.
Latin America's history is different, notes WOLA Fellow Lucila Santos. "Since independence from Spain, militaries have played a huge role in politics and internal security, which led to dictatorships and serious human rights abuses. Latin America is still coping with the legacies from the brutal regimes that ran many countries in the 20th century."
Despite dismal human rights records in the region and the Posse Comitatus model's success at home, "U.S. aid programs actively encouraged Latin America's armed forces to fight internal 'enemies,' and they continue to do so today," says WOLA Senior Associate Adam Isacson. During the Cold War, billions of dollars went to help militaries root out suspected communists amid the population. The drug war — still the purpose of most of the nearly $1 billion per year in U.S. aid to Latin America's militaries today — puts soldiers to work fighting citizens involved in narcotrafficking.
The Defense Ministerial Summit of the Americas, which is to be held from November 22 to 26 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is the ninth such gathering since 1995. It offers Latin America and the Caribbean a chance to reflect on what its militaries are meant to do, two decades into some difficult transitions to civilian democratic rule, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
The war on terror, internal development projects, military conferences to discuss approaching internal threats like gangs, big programs like Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative — all help give militaries big new jobs to do within their borders, in a region with very few "traditional" external defense threats.
Preach What You Practice (PDF) recommends that U.S. interactions with Latin America's militaries adhere to the principle that has benefited democracy in the United States so greatly for 130 years: the clear separation of military and police roles. This means zeroing out military assistance that encourages the use of soldiers against citizens. It also means devoting more assistance to build strong justice systems, police, local governments, oversight bodies and other civilian security institutions that democratic governments need to be able to contend with rising violence and organized crime.
"Officials argue that they bring in the military to do police work because police forces are not up to the challenge," said Joy Olson, WOLA's Executive Director. "But if governments continue to invest in the military to do policing, instead of reforming the police, they never will be ready."


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I decided to join my local gym! Haha . . . I've never been a fan of gyms but I decided to try it. So online I went. As you may have well suspected, I don't part with my money easy. If I can get it free, I will pursue that! I hate, okay, maybe not hate; I do not like financial subscriptions and I have to count the full cost first!
But why did I decide to join now? Read on . . . Continue reading


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4 guaranteed investor turn-offs
Raising finance? Several of the UK's leading private equity and angel investors share the things they hate to hear in a pitch with Growing Business
Pitching your business to a room full of investors can be unnerving for even the most established entrepreneur, but there are several ways in which you can make your business an appealing investment prospect.
Likewise, there are several ways in which your pitch and proposition can actually deter investors from backing your business idea.
To help you successfully raise finance – be it from a venture capital house, fund or angel network – we've compiled responses from some of the UK's leading investors on their biggest 'turn-offs'.
From "daydreams" to insufficient research, make sure you don't make these mistakes in the boardroom…
Lack of transparency
Will Gibbs, part of the ventures team at Octopus Investments, won't invest in business owners who aren't honest and open from the start:
"We place a huge amount of importance on the relationships we have with our portfolio CEOs and management teams. We are open and honest with them about how we think about situations but holding information back can completely undermine this and can make it hard to move forward."
"There's a line between putting forward the best face of your business and presenting a different face entirely"
Simon Menashy, investment director at MMC Ventures, agrees:
Have you considered getting a startup loan?
Applying is easier than you may think - and as well as financing, you can receive support and mentoring to help you get your business off the ground.
Get a quote
"The cardinal sin is lying about something to your potential investors. I don't think that happens very often, but we do see minor versions of it quite a lot – things like hiding bad news, over-selective facts and figures, 'deliberately misleading' charts and misrepresenting what others have said or promised. There's a line between putting forward the best face of your business and presenting a different face entirely."
Poor communication skills
Simon Murdoch, partner at Episode 1 Ventures, says:
"Entrepreneurs need to be persuasive to raise money, to hire a great team and to make sales for their business. We particularly notice if they don't listen well or aren't good with people."
In order to communicate your business effectively, Mercia Fund Management managing director Dr Mark Payton advises you to follow the rule of a 15 minute presentation and a three to five page executive summary:
"Mercia, as with other successful investors, receive an awful lot of approaches for investment. Being sharp and snappy improves air time and therefore face time."
Inadequate market research and planning
To get investors on side, Mercia's Payton advises prospective portfolio business to know their 'addressable market':
"Think carefully through your route to market, think about what the scalable business model is to return revenue growth and if you have got the team to execute the plan."
"Know your addressable market"
A view also held by Gary Robins, director of Radius Equity:
"[Don't] offer a half-baked proposition. Entrepreneurs need to fully think through and test their business plan before approaching an investor. Practice pitching your business plan to a sophisticated investor or a private equity professional before approaching your target investors."
Unrealistic ambitions
"If you can't sell your business, it's hard for any investor to believe you can sell a product"
When it comes to investing, Angel CoFund investment director Tim Mills says that, while he respects entrepreneurs with vision, he is "not interested in backing daydreams":
"[I won't invest if there's] an inability to articulate how the business represents a strong commercial proposition or a plan that relies on weak or un-tested assumptions. If you can't sell your business, it's hard for any investor to believe you can sell a product."
Jan Rutherford, partner at Scottish Equity Partners, is equally deterred by entrepreneurs with unrealistic goals:
"There are a few potential pitfalls […including] stepping over the line from entrepreneurial optimism to unrealistic projections and of course, being unrealistic about valuation."
So, if you want to successfully raise external investment the golden rules to remember are to be honest, believe in your idea and sell it to investors, have substantial market research and a solid business plan, and, lastly, to set realistic goals that will in turn create value for your backers.
As Rutherford summarises: "An ideal investment is one that meets or exceeds plans, is really innovative in terms of what it delivers to the market and will eventually secure a great return for its shareholders."


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Please click anywhere to continue browsing our site.
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There are two types of monitoring systems: direct TPMS (dTPMS) and indirect TPMS (iTPMS).
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Direct TPMS: Most vehicles have a dTPMS. In this system, each tire gets its own sensor. Sensors can be located on the inside or outside of the tire. Each sensor reports to your on-board computer. A dTPMS often uses a battery and has a limited lifespan. Most systems only record data when your vehicle is running to make the battery last longer.
Indirect TPMS: An iTPMS monitors each tire's rotational speed to determine whether or not a tire is at proper inflation levels. Underinflated tires have an overall diameter that is less than properly inflated tires. As a result, the underinflated tire needs to rotate faster to cover the same distance as the other tires. If the iTPMS identifies a tire rotating at a different speed, it will alert you that there is an inflation problem. Your iTPMS may also be able to catch overinflated tires since they rotate more slowly than the other tires.
If you need TPMS assistance, contact Braidan Wheel & Tire today. We help motorists across Markham, ON, Toronto, ON, Thornhill, ON, and surrounding areas keep proper track of tire inflation levels. We have new TPMS sensors if you need a replacement, and we provide diagnostic and troubleshooting service if you suspect a problem with your dTPMS or iTPMS. Call 905-209-7979, or contact us for more information.
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Sorry my blog has been much longer this time in being updated. From now on I will get back to the 3 ½ weeks that was usual in the past. And thanks everyone who emailed asking if I was OK because of the delay. My mother-in-law passed to Spirit and I have had flu symptoms for over a month but hopefully all is now running smoothly.
*** Please note my new mobile number is 07729993130 ***
...My Diary...
11th – My first service of the year at the Friendship of love and Light Spiritual Church, Foxbar, Paisley...
18th - The Stirling Spiritualist Church...(SNU)
21st – A little further north this time to the Perth Spiritualist Church...(SNU)
29th – I was much closer to home at the Pyramid Spiritualist Church, Pollock...
1st – Is is always a pleasure to take the Divine Service at Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church. (SNU)
4th – I had a busy day at the Edinburgh College of Parapsychology with a demonstration of Clairvoyance and private sittings...
10th – ASK Neilston...
15th – 17th – Glasgow Central Spiritualist Church, Berkley Street, Glasgow. (SNU)
18th – Prestwick Spiritualist Church.
... Become a Member and Have Your Say...
This is the AGM season as far as Spiritualist churches are concerned. At this time of year members leave committees and new members takes over It does not take long for the dust to settle and then it is clear to see who is giving 100% commitment to the church and who likes to wear the badge, 'committee member' yet leaves all the work to others. As I medium I know full well that committee members are the unsung heroes of Spiritualist keeping church door open.
All members can have a vote and their say at these meeting. No use sitting in the church after a service and moaning over a cup of tea as this lowers the good vibes in the church and causes a lot of resentment. . Become a member and you become an important part of the church. Any complaint, praise or suggestion you can mention to a committee member, or better still write a letter to the committee. I know at the church where I am a member – The Glasgow Association of Spiritualists - all letters received by the committee are fully discussed.
As far as the SNU is concerned become an Individual Member and you can attend the District Council's AGM and again have your say. If you are not happy with your answers you can also write to the National Executive Council (NEC) at Stanstead. Although I am a SNU Individual member I am not happy with all the rules and regulations. On many occasions I have written or emailed members of the NEC. On all occasions I have impressed by the swift and detailed replies. Judith Seaman deserves special mention for this.
But vote sensibly; ask Spirit for a little guidance and that goes for those on committees as well.
Cashing In On Grief?
We Spiritualists know that we move on to a new life when we leave this physical body. The physical remains are usually disposed off with the wishes of the individual or the family, burial, left to medical science or a cremation. Recently I have been shocked to find out that businesses have been built around human ashes after a cremation.
The remains of your loved one being used to nourish a young sapling as it grows in a Memorial Tree Urn.
Fireworks - Angel Flights can turn your cremated remains into an amazing light show for all to see.
In Helium Balloons - remains placed inside a helium balloon that floats up into the atmosphere. The balloon travels to a height of 5 miles where at the temperature of -40 below zero – it crystallizes and bursts, scattering the ashes to the four winds.
Also as …a Coral Reef…….. An Hour Glass… a Diamond…….. Mixed in Paint and used in for a portrait of the deceased…In Teddy Bear…….. A Pencil… Hand Blown Glass... Put into a Vinyl Record… Tattoo ink....Stained Glass….. Memorial Jewelry…. Glass Paperweight….
All to their own but I must admit I personally I find apart from the tree, the rest is gruesome. I hope that big business is not going to target grieving families making them feel that they have to do something like this in memory of a loved one that has passed. Many families find it hard with the cost of the funeral cremation without this added extra. I remember at one time many felt that although they loved a family member it was putting a strain on those left to have a headstone to add to the funeral cost. So the cremation became more popular. Then many felt that there was no recognition of those who had passed away so 'remembrance books' and planting a flower or a rose bush at the crematoriums came into play. Now this is again the moving on in remembrance of those who have been cremated.
A situation around me gave my guide the reason to speak out re this lesson; the lesson involved is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!
This word is so often used with ease, but just how easy is it to live it daily. ????
We under estimate the emotional content in our relationships--, we feel hurt, anger and Can be overwhelmed by resentment as situations challenge US... Yes we are tested to show unconditional love and overlook and perhaps forgive those that "ROCK OUR BOAT' so to speak.
Can we really say unconditional love is present all the time or just when it suits us? ????
As we get older we realize that we all make mistakes. Do we love our friends any less because of this mistake or error of judgement? Sadly we often do, we judge them for it, we think a little less of them and sometimes we allow it to ruin a good friendship or relationship. What happens to all that unconditional love we profess to have for them??? Can we not open our hearts to them and offer our love unconditionally?
Moira McMillan
Spiritualist Medium Australia...


text: Storytime in the Garden Sunday, September 17, 2017 10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30 Google Calendar ICS We are delighted to partner with our neighbors Enchanted Lion Books and WORD bookstore to host children's author and illustrator Jacques Goldstyn for a special storytime in the garden featuring his lovely book BERTOLT. It was recently featured in an article on BrainPickings. Stay tuned for another storytime closer to Halloween!


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Give this one a gold medal in cuteness. Michael Phelps and his wife, Michelle Johnson, have just welcomed their second child into the world: a beautiful boy named Beckett Richard Phelps. The proud papa announced the news on his official Instagram page, confirming Beckett was born without any complications earlier this week.
"Magical moments yesterday," he wrote. "Nicole and I would like to introduce Beckett Richard Phelps to the world! We had a healthy baby boy and a healthy mama. I truly do feel like the happiest man in the world. Being able to build our family to now 4 (6 with doggies) is so incredible! #familyof4now." Added Johnson in a separate Instagram post: "Our family grew by 1 yesterday 💗 meet Beckett Richard Phelps. I'm surrounded by boys and I couldn't be happier 💙💙💙." The couple, who have been together for over a decade and secretly married in 2016, also have a two-year-old son named Boomer.
Prior to giving birth, the couple affectionately referred to their child as #babyshark on social media.
While the couple has maintained their relative privacy over the years—especially at the previous Summer Olympics in 2016, when they still hadn't yet revealed the fact that they got married—they've been increasingly open about sharing their lives with the public. (Check out their super-cute Instagram pages to see for yourself.) Last summer, Phelps even dedicated his ESPY Award speech to his wife, owing to the fact that they first met at the ceremony a decade prior. "Today is my wife's birthday, and we met here 10 years ago," he said at the time.
"It's the most amazing thing in the world." He followed up his speech with some even cuter Instagram posts to mark their anniversary: "Happy bday to my best friend and love of my life!!!"


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We hope you were inspired at the Public Justice Center's 30th anniversary celebration. But don't let it end there. Stay inspired and engaged as we move forward. Act with us by calling your legislators, attending a rally, coming to future events, or connecting with us online. Below are a few ideas to get you started.
Stay informed and spread the news. Sign up for the PJC e-newsletter.
Join the Litigation Partnership and co-counsel a case with the Public Justice Center.
Advocate for earned sick leave. Join Working Matters.
Make rent court fair. Join the 7,000 Families campaign.
Promote development without displacement and support community land trusts. Learn more at baltimorehousingroundtable.org.
Host a house party, brown bag discussion group, social justice art opening, or film screening. We'll come and discuss relevant current projects or dissect recent successful legal or campaign strategies. Contact Jennifer Pelton at firstname.lastname@example.com if you want to collaborate.


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UK charity fighting global poverty | Christian Aid | Mediacentre
UK, charity, fighting, global, poverty, Christian, Aid, Mediacentre
It's finally time for transparency and change in UK tax havens, says Christian Aid
28th November 2017.
Today, leaders of the UK's overseas territories gather in London for the annual Joint Ministerial Council at the Foreign Office. The focus, understandably, will be on disaster relief and improving resilience to climate change, following this ...
Paradise Papers show time to call full time on dirty money and off-shore secrets
5th November 2017.
With links to the Queen, Donald Trump and the Premier League, the Paradise Paper leaks, revealing the secrets of off-shore tax havens shows just how endemic this Global system of secrecy is, a deliberately created ...
We have more than 70 years' experience of working in partnership to support communities to thrive. We tackle the root causes of poverty so that women, men and children the world over are strengthened against future knocks. And if disasters happen, we get people the help they want straight away.
Read about our aims and values
General enquiries
Regional offices
Press and media
Feedback on our website
Christian Aid Collective
Christian Aid Ireland
Christian Aid Scotland
Christian Aid Wales
Learn – teaching resources
Present Aid
Programme policy & practice
England and Wales charity no. 1105851 Scotland charity no. SC039150 UK company no. 5171525 Christian Aid Ireland: NI charity no. NIC101631 company no. NI059154 and ROI charity no. 20014162 company no. 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid. Christian Aid is a key member of ACT Alliance. © Christian Aid


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Monthly Playlist: God Is Good
happy easter / first of april, everybody!
Yes, I am taking action to break out of my writing hiatus and to let the creative juices flow again. But yes, today is the first of April aka April Fools (sorry, I got no pranks for you today). It is also Easter Sunday, for those who celebrate either religiously or secularly. For me, I spent the afternoon with my family at Mass and dim-sum lunch, and then completed a special project I've been working on for the last little while. I became motivated following my church community's retreat to curate a playlist of songs that have inspired my spiritual journey thus far - and even more so when I accepted the position of being a music team co-leader at this HUGE retreat later on in the year (I'm talking hundreds of retreatants); I needed to become more familiar with Christian music. So with this, I would like to share my monthly playlist for April, titled 'God Is Good: Songs for Praise and Worship' - what better day to release it than on Easter, right?
- Drawn To You - Audrey Assad
- How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin
- Hosanna - Hillsong United
- From The Inside Out - Hillsong United
- Give Me Faith - Elevation Worship
- Lord, I Need You - Chris Tomlin
- You Are Mine - David Haas
- Empty and Beautiful - Matt Maher
- Who Am I - Casting Crowns
- Heart of Worship - Shane & Shane
- Here I Am To Worship - Hillsong Worship
- You Are My All In All - Dennis Jernigan, Natalie Grant
- Absolutely - Starfield
- Shout To The Lord - Hillsong Worship
- 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) - Matt Redman
- Behold (Then Sings My Soul) - Hillsong Worship
- I Surrender - Hillsong United
- Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong United
- Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Hillsong United
- Even Unto Death - Audrey Assad
- Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) - Hillsong Worship
- Pange, Lingua Gloriosi - Dan Gibson
- O God Beyond All Praising - FOCUS, Sarah Kroger
The first song - Drawn To You - is currently one of my favourites. I found it fitting to place it first, as the lyrics speak of feeling that undying connection to and yearning for God. The songs then grow from praising God, to asking Him for help, opening and softening the heart. You Are Mine is one of the only hymns in this playlist, but is probably my favourite one, because it is God telling me that I am not alone, I am loved despite all the sins I have made and the brokenness that I am, and that I am a child of God; He's got my back. This thread runs for a little bit more, and then transforms into songs of worship. Following that, the songs speak of surrendering (the theme for the retreat I went to recently) everything to God and to trust in Him completely, and then committing and continuing to strengthen the relationship with Him. The last two songs represent the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at Adoration - I know many can agree with me that Adoration is such a special experience - specifically the last two verses of Pange, Lingua Gloriosi. Typically, the ceremony concludes with Holy God, We Praise Thy Name, but O God Beyond All Praising (to the tune of Holst's Jupiter) can be an appropriate substitution, and a grand one at that too. I also love the tune so...
I thought I would create a booklet for my own purposes of meditating and reflecting upon the lyrics. I also included two prayers that I like, as an opener and closer to this spiritual activity - 2h worth! Below is a sample of the booklet (I also included the Spotify code on the cover, if you want to scan the playlist to your device):
CLICK HERE to download the full PDF version for FREE (on Google Drive) - if you could leave a comment on this post that you did, that would be appreciated


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The Rolled Top style is also known as a St. The Rolled Top features an elegant semi- circular top capping a four-sided flush mounted body. The effect is clean and traditional. Flush mounted lanterns tend to emit an attractive bow tie shaped aura of light.
Lantern Finish: Hand rubbed oxidation. Mounting Type: Flush mount fixture no bracket.
Illumination: Electric, Natural Gas or LP - Please indicate. The item "20 Copper Roll Top Lantern, Outdoor Lighting Fixture, Gas or Electric" is in sale since Friday, January 18, 2019. This item is in the category "Home & Garden\Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living\Outdoor Lighting\Outdoor Wall & Porch Lights". The seller is "rose092513" and is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Viet nam.
Bulb Wattage: 100W


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No Regrets is a romantic comedy that follows Nina Thomas, a flight attendant who after 12 years of dating her college sweetheart (and rejecting his many marriage proposals), finally says yes. But after meeting a handsome divorcee during a long layover in Los Angeles, Nina finds herself in a compromising position that she never thought she'd be in.
Release Date: January 15, 2016
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Director: Mark Harris
Starring: Brian White, Caryn Ward, Elise Neal, Loretta Devine, Monica Calhoun, Sharon Leal


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Sex specialist Chris Donaghue treats Matt, a 29-year-old animal lover who has only had intercourse once. Matt has a debilitating anxiety disorder, which makes him incapable of interacting with women and terrified to have sex again.
© 2019 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. LOGO and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.


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Week of 7/9 - 7/23
Keywords: healing, spiritual development, all heal, making contact with the spiritual dimensions
UR HEATHER represents healing and spiritual development, acting as a gateway between the worlds. Protective and providing good luck while helping us manifest our wishes and stimulating our dreams.
Pay attention to dreams, visions and synchronicities as these can provide healing. You might also experience communication with the spirit world via divine intervention. Prayer or meditation is helpful as is ritual if you're so inclined. Spend time in nature as well.
I am Heather and I'm here to remind you that you create the beauty of your life, through your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, actions, and activities. Cultivate beautiful thoughts, and beautiful creations will bloom into your life. This is the law of manifestation in this dimension that I share with you.
I can help you manifest your wishes and can come to you in your dreams. Like the Great Mother, we are here unconditionally for you. Breathe in our love and let the magic of the unseen world wash you clean. There is no need for doubt, as you were born to grow, to expand, and to evolve.


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While the Constellation Project is best known for its full-scale inclusive musicals, there is another aspect that we are proud to present! The Constellation Classics started in 2017 with our production of "Romeo & Juliet" and continued in 2018 with "The Importance of Being Earnest".
And we're not stopping there!
Musical theatre is important - but we believe that our students have the ability to dive into even some of the more complicated texts from theatre history like Shakespeare and Beckett. Keep your eyes on this site to learn more about upcoming Constellation Classics coming your way!
Review from "The Importance of Being Earnest":
The first thing you'll notice about this cast was their excitement. Walking in, you could feel the enthusiasm and energy radiating from them as they geared up to share their love of theater and story with the audience. It was positively infectious and they hooked the audience just with their anticipation of what was to come.
But then, the play began. With just six weeks of rehearsal for this classic play with some sophisticated comedic timing, the cast handled it with all the marks of actors who truly understand and love theater. The space was fairly small, but that didn't stop the cast from utilizing all the tools at their disposal from their physical acting to the set and props. The delivery of the lines along with the physical reactions made for a genuinely hilarious experience. Space was made for all of the actors from the principal cast to the non-speaking actors to have a chance to shine with various types of acting and comedy, from facial reactions to physical pratfalls. And they all did an absolutely tremendous job and added to the overall feeling of exuberance. The timing of the lines and physical comedy was also something you'd expect to see in a professional theater company, so the shortened rehearsal time is that much more amazing. And, of course, there was a food fight, much to the delight of the younger audience members who were able to throw foam food back at the actors who gleefully reveled in their play.
In this condensed version of the play, it was easily followed by those who knew the material to those who had this as their first exposure to Wilde's work. The actors brilliantly conveyed the trouble with societal expectations and balanced the romantic aspects with self-confidence, keeping true to the farcical nature of Wilde's vision.
To be certain, the whole audience thoroughly enjoyed their time with this production and that is to the credit of the cast and directing team. No doubt, any Wilde devotee, and even Wilde himself, would be perfectly pleased with this amusing take on the classic play.