Sooo... Been a minute but I'm back to share a few of the tunes that have been my shit between posts. I've been primarily listening to a bunch of older material over new stuff but there are a couple of new releases that have still managed to pop up in rotation on my one ear working iPod classic in my work transit.


I'll kick it off with someone that's been doing his thing locally for a minute now and is still doing it well. Brissy staple Dwizofoz after holding the city and a lot of the country's best down with the Stand Up events (with Gil Goon and co-conspirators behind the scenes via 469 Mob/Wilful Damage) has dropped a hell of an album titled 'Bad Grammar' which features this gem repping the city we both love.



Dwizofoz 'Bad Grammar' is available through all the usual outlets, my personally suggested outlet however being Bandcamp. Hit up http://dwizofoz.bandcamp.com/ to get your hand on this Brissy goodness.


The bros A.B. Original (Trials & Briggs) have been killing it with their release 'Reclaim Australia' coming very shortly. They dropped an important and catchy track in the form of 'January 26' with a dope clip to compliment.


Pre-Order 'Reclaim Australia' now via http://www.goldenerarecords.com.au
Hit their facebook page also to keep in the loop with what the fellas are up to.


Some people are eternal Wu diehards (respect to the clan and the heads who support on that level) my vote for best crew of all-time is however D.I.T.C. (Diggin' in the Crates) who boasts legends in their lineup such as A.G., Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Big L (RIP) and Diamond D among others. This track from their latest limited release album is seriously my shit. Classic boom  bap.



The limited edition D.I.T.C. Studios release is available through D.I.T.C. Ent directly through http://ditcent.myshopify.com/ - Digital Download and CD available (my suggestion is the CD which comes with the instrumentals from the tracks too).


Gang Starr is another that has been in rotation for me, here's one of my favourites from the fellas to close out the post.


If you would like me to check out your release and give feedback/post about it then get at me through one of the below and I'll give you details to send through to.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/undadwella
Instagram: @undadwella
Shawn Lov is a bit slept on but has been dope for a long while and is one of those under-recognised and under-appreciated white figures in rap. A dude that clearly has participated for the love of the culture but has decided to call it a day with one final release and a bow.

Here's a preview from his up coming final outting "Escape From Never Never Land":




Be sure to check out his BandCamp page for more from his deep back catalogue and look out for this new release.
http://shawnlov.bandcamp.com/


... For those that managed to side-step the whole Afrika Bambaataa child abuse allegations scandal as it happened and haven't been watching the blow for blow from Star and through the other outlets OkayPlayer.com have put together a summary of events that outlines how shit has played out.

This whole thing is crazy, disheartening and mess, it will most likely be a polarising issue for a long time to come and possibly never have any real resolution at the end of the day. Bam has been stood down from being a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, the Supreme Council of the UZN has stood down with a new figurehead and council stepping in to lead in the next chapter and I dare say a whole lot of members have stepped out of the ranks over this. This kind of shit is pretty close to home on multiple levels and as a now former member I send respect to Randy Savage and the others for having the god-like/superhero-like strength to come forward and even talk on this shit. That of itself is a huge deal and I hope they are in a good place/find the healing they are seeking or whatever it is they need to continue on and finally have some form of release from this stuff. I also hope their strength inspires a lot of other silent sufferers to find their own voice and deal with their own feelings/find progress for others that have experienced similar horrific events.

Here's the link for those interested in having a read:
http://www.okayplayer.com/news/afrika-bambaata-child-abuse-scandal-universal-zulu-nation.html
... Aside from the lineup being fairly one dimensional for a tour called "This is Hip-Hop" and the lack of any elements other than rapping/MCing being represented (hey, I'm a Hip-Hop head not just a rap listener so I've got to keep it real), this show could still be worth checking out.

The draw-cards for me personally would be DJ Quik and Lady of Rage. I got to see Mobb Deep on their last tour and I enjoyed their show but could live with not catching them again. Honestly Bone doesn't do it for me any more and The Dogg Pound would either be awesome or lacklustre depending on energy given. If you get the chance check it out when it comes through.




... Sooo.. I've had the pleasure of moving house and have been MIA from posting for a lil' while. Between work, packing, moving, now settling in and getting the last of my lil' tribe's stuff over to the new house on top of finding and securing said house it's been 'fun'... I would happily never move house again in this lifetime. So, I think some serious plans need to be engaged to get things in order to allow the purchase of a house so that would be a realistic option. Haha.

I shouldn't complain too much tho, we got help from removalists who informed that the poor bastids out of the $70 an hour the company charges end up getting $20 an hour each. So, with a family of 6 our move (which didn't include every little thing - we're moving stuff ourselves in our car) took about 8 hours give or take a little, two removalists loaded the truck and unloaded the truck for three trips... for $20 an hour... Granted I was on that working club security but still, that's pretty screwed and makes me happy to be sitting in an air conditioned office doing non-physical labour for slightly more than that... We ended up giving them a reasonable bonus on the amount cause they were legends and it should've covered a meal and maybe a couple of beers after a long arse day for all in the equation...

... Anyway, this one isn't Hip-Hop related in the slightest, who said all my blogs had to be?...

On a side (and somewhat Hip-Hop related note) this Afrika Bam stuff has been interesting, if not somewhat unsettling to watch unfold. I'm really not in a position to state too much cause this stuff happened before my time breathing or when I was a few years old in an entirely different country, so yeah. Will be interesting to watch things unfold over the next while for Zulu and for Bam himself.

Hope you've been well, what've you been bumping? Feel free to hit me with some suggestions or even some of your own stuff to peep. Honest opinions given, I won't nut-hug or gas you tho so if you are already 100% convinced you're dope and can't improve then you should probably save ourselves some time and yourself some over emotional hater claiming... Haha.


As part of one of the dopest less typical West Coast sounding crews in Dilated Peoples, his brotherhood with Alchemist (Step Brothers) and with his ridiculously consistent solo work on both the boards and the mic Evidence is definitely evidence that real rap far from died out with the few departed legends.

While this is another example of an act that you should check out their whole catalogue, here are a few suggested vids to peep:





... If I was to believe memes then real rap would have died out with Biggie... I however know better than that as somewhat of a rap connoisour and appreciator of fine lyricism... Haha. Or, I just don't follow fucktards and can hold my own opinion...

Sooo... Just thought I'd post some artists that while a lot of my friends/acquaintances would be well versed on are a little less known by the broader rap market that gets their fix via 21 Pilots on Nova (of whom I heard last evening refer to Chingy as a "Hip-Hop legend"... The fuck out of here)...

I'll post a few of my favourite rappers that have been killing it for a minute in instalments kicking off with part 1.

First off let me kick this off with my favourite rapper breathing, Chino XL.

Hailing from New Jersey but now well and truly representing the West of the US Chino is one of the best to do it if you ask me. He's had the "oh shit" factor more than any rapper I've ever heard and while being discounted as being a punchline rapper actually has a lot of versatility and can go deeper than most letting listeners get a glimpse of the man behind the music.

Recommended listening:
(His whole catalogue really, but here's some starters)

Chino XL - "Kings" feat. Big Pun (tied my favourite rapper with Chi, or vice versa) & DJ Romes.




Chino XL - "Father's Day"



Chino XL - "Wordsmith"



Chino XL - "B-Boy/Gangsta"



I hadn't actually heard of Cookbook (yet had heard of LA Symphony) until not long ago when I stumbled across this looking up Evidence on Deezer. I'm glad I stumbled across this EP however as it is extremely solid, dope beats, solid rhymes, good real rap for those that like their music without auto-tune, trap, or shitty rhymes. I highly recommend checking it out.

Crazily enough in checking if the release is on bandcamp I discovered it is indeed, and it's up for free download. Jump on this, you won't be disappointed:
https://tinderboxhiphop.bandcamp.com/album/a-whole-new-cook

Be sure to drop a comment and let me know what you think when you check it out. Otherwise feel free to let me know what you've been listening to and what is worth checking out.

Here's the clip for the title track from the EP:



PS. While I do think this EP is very dope, I have checked out some of Cook's older stuff on his YouTube channel and found it a bit skippable. I'm going to check out the last 2 volumes in his EP series tho as if this one is an indication then he's still doing some very good music.

It's the most dorkerful time of the year... Ok, making up words and shit but happy Star Wars day!

With plenty of dork-filled goodness on the way with the next episode of the Wars itself and before that Rogue One on it's way it's a good time to be a Star Wars fan, even if we have to put up with the masters of licensing themselves completely abusing the intellectual property of one the greatest franchises in pop culture history... At least it's cool shit tho...

Here's a cool image I stole from FaceBook. Storm Venom steez... Shout to Carsie... Haha.


May the 4th be with you!...
... Memes make the world go round...



Aesop Rock (no, not A$AP Rocky) comes back with his ever energetic, poetic and just plain dope flow to bless us with his latest outting. Bumping this right now.

If I can be bothered might drop a review, if not go and have a listen anyway. Google will find you a multitude of purchasing options but I'm rather fond of the ol' Bandcamp as an option:

Here's the dope album artwork:



Coming from the We Good Entertainment (WGE) camp comes Gonz! new clip featuring the one and only Chris Rivers (pka Baby Pun, yes, Big Pun's son who is a beast of his own accord).

WGE hail from New Jersey, USA are are doing some good tunes as evidenced by this new clip. Gonz! is someone to watch for with a touch of Pun to his style so it's extremely fitting that he would collab with Pun's son. The results are solid if you ask me.




Bonus WGE vid:
Tru-Werdz & Gonz! "Come and Diss Me".



You shouldn't need to be encouraged to go peep more Chris Rivers but just in case you do here's another couple of vids I highly recommend.



I've been feeling the itch to get my write on in a non-rhyming way for a little lately and as funds are reasonably tight for the time-being the option of launching/re-launching a site isn't so much available. This has prompted me to regain access and get rid of the dicky old description of this long-forgotten blog that I posted to once like 6 years ago. Haha. It's pretty funny how you change over time as the description that I had for myself on the blog definitely isn't something that I identify with any longer.

I'll be dribbling a little garbage here which will most likely only be read by the few with too much time on their hands that stumble across this humble little pit of drivel, probably talking about some of the projects I'm aiming on getting done, of which to be realistic, will probably not happen as I'm a dreamer or will happen on a much more convoluted timeline than intended (not unlike my mixtape which took probably 5 years to get done, changed name and I completely revised the tracklist of multiple times of which if I didn't apply a timeline might not have seen the light of day even now - along with more than a little help getting it recorded from my boy Roth-triple-E) and some general hip-hop stuff as I am indeed a lifer who will undoubtedly be a head until my untimely but probably entirely self-inflicted demise... hopefully as a very old man, but probably not...

Sooo... What have I been up to? I've been working my 9-5 (not necessarily between the hours of 9-5 but the job that pays the bills) to make ends meet, watching too much streaming video (have tried Netflix - US and AU -, Stan and Presto, plus YouTube still gets a fair bit of viewing for me), playing some Xbox One (if you're on there give me an add - UD Zulu61), been on FarceBook a lot less but still pop in for the amusing memes and to post a little about random things and most importantly being a father to my baby girl and the munchkins that make up the missus and my lil' tribe. Kids are amusing little creatures that teach you as much as you teach them.

Musically? I've been doing a little music as energy and motivation allows. I did actually put up a new track/extended verse "Hard Times" slightly earlier this year which is the first remotely official release since the mixtape (which features a pic of my lil' girl that still makes me tear up a lil'... shame). I've been re-recording some other old material (which is primarily a fair amount newer than the aforementioned 'single') as I'm really wanting to drop an EP in the shorter-term amongst other things. Have been toying with the idea of making the whole EP called "Hard Times" but don't actually want to have it all dark/emo like the single so not sure if I will end up going with that, definitely feeling the need to get some new music out tho. Considering dropping at least a 16 to the Fat Joe/Remy Ma track's "All the Way Up" beat as that has been regularly stuck in my head lately.


"Hard Times" single/cover image. Available on BandCamp.com for $1 or more. Funds will go towards further musical releases from your's truly.

I've also started a somewhat stagnant little grass roots Hip-Hop clothing (t-shirts and hoodies at this point) endeavour called Lifer. There's been 3 designs thus far and I've been keen for a fair while to do another set but being funded directly out of my family's budget there hasn't been the interest expressed to allow me to do so at the moment. It can be checked out at http://www.facebook.com/liferclothing

What have I been listening to? In transit I'm still rocking an iPod Classic 120GB (no newer MP3 players are large enough to bother updating) with 3935 songs on it that I set to shuffle usually. Artists featured on my iPod include Big Pun, Chino XL (still my two favourite rappers), Apathy, Celph Titled, Black Knights, Aesop Rock, Copywrite, Dilated Peoples, Evidence, The Dopplegangaz, Erick Sermon, Esoteric, Eternia, Fat Joe, Evidence, Fieu (what's that? an artist that's not rap?), The Four Owls (UK rap, see I am down with variety...), Game, High and Mighty, Gravediggaz, Gangstarr, Jah Tung, Jay-Z, JMT, Kendrick Lamar (tho he hasn't really grabbed me yet), LCN, Lazy Grey (hometown legend), L-Fresh the Lion, and a bunch of others, primarily underground rap. Always go back to my favourites on the reg and listen to myself from time to time... Haha.

I can really dribble on hey. I doubt anyone really wants to sit and read all of this so for now I'm going to end this post and will be back with smaller posts over time most likely. In the meantime, be sure to hit up the "Hard Times" track on BandCamp and if you dig it and want to support throw in a dollar or a few to help the cause of getting something official out from me. I'd be lying if I denied funds to really do something on any kind of professional level hadn't played part in the lack of music from me.

Until next time, stay safe.


About Me

My photo
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Father, hip-hop head, dork, Zulu 61 Ahki, intellectual (maybe, at times), procrastinator... oh, and now and then I rap...