Mickey Factz

I can’t lie, when I first heard Mickey Factz, I thought he was a little whack.  But after a second listen, I’m convinced he is very far from that.

His last mix tape Heaven’s Fallout is great. He fuses alternative rock with with Hip Hop to elaborate on a new genre of rap that few are embarking on now.  Rappers like Kanye West, Charles Hamilton, and Kid Cudi have tapped into this style of rap, but Factz brings his own swag along the Hip Hop journey.

Factz ryhmes over classic tracks like the gieco caveman commercial and other alternative from Jamiroquai.  He even sings a little like most rapper are starting to do these days.  Never the less, Factz is a force to be reconded with

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Rockin N Rollin ft. The Cool Kids (ILLFONICS REMIX) – Mickey Factz (www.gfcny.com)

M.I.A.

B. Summers

Rapper, singer, and artist Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A. is making a lot of noise with her Euro, retro, techno style music. Her hit single Planes appeared on the soundtrack to the summer weed-head comedy, Pineapple Express , and was sampled for a Kanye, Jay-Z, Wayne , and T.I. collaboration.

Coming from Europe, with Sri Lankan descent, M.I.A. has strong views on politics and socialism.   These views can be seen portrayed in her music, clothing line and graphic art.   Her art reminds you of an old Nintendo game background.   She uses bright and flashy pixilated shapes, often crude looking tessellations with overlapping images. It all goes together with her Euro-retro style. I wouldn’t be surprised if she partnered up with some company to create an M.I.A. game; maybe Def-Jam or somebody.

M.I.A. has been on the map since 2004, and is reaping the benefits of her sophomore album Kala. I look forward to hearing and seeing what comes out of her 3rd album

www.miauk.com

Go-Go’s Influence on Hip Hop in the DMV

B. Summers

For the D.C., Maryland, Virginia, metropolitan area (DMV), good rappers are hardly a dime-a-dozen. This is not the result of a lack of talent in the metro area; instead, it is in my opinion, due to the DMV’s beloved Go-Go. Go-Go is a subculture of the Hip-hop culture. In fact, today’s Go-Go music consists of recycled raps and song lyrics over a live band’s beat tempo, which moderately resembles the original song.

The problem with the metro area’s unique musical genre is that the standards for membership in these bands aren’t very high. All you actually need to make a band, as far as vocalists and rappers go, is knowledge of popular song lyrics and maybe a trendy scratchy voice. For singers, you just have to attempt to hold a note.

Now the way the band sounds collectively doesn’t have a lot to do with the reason why the DMV doesn’t have a lot of rap stars, although, the individual sound of the aspiring rappers does. The standards are so low, that anybody and everybody who wants to rap does just that.

Recently, a few rising stars have shinned their way out of the category sub-par. Artists like R&B singer, Raheem DeVaughn, and rapper, Wale are now creating a new precedent for aspiring metro area artists. And don’t assume that these guys are getting their fame by “selling out” and loosing their DMV swag. They are actually using their love for Go-Go to gain exposure for themselves, as well as the metro area. With songs that either collaborate or point out the metro area trends like the Wale song Nike Boots , these artist bring a positive light to “The Area.”

They are proving that Go-Go is a gift and a curse. In my opinion, for every eight to 10 Go-Go bands, there is one good rapper and singer, and for maybe every 20 bands there is one great rapper and singer. But once in a lifetime there is a Wale, at least in my lifetime.

Hear it yourself

The Cool Kids

Photos www.myspace.com/gocoolkids

B.Summers

Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish make up The Cool Kids duo. The young Chicago based group have their debut album The Bake Sale, scheduled to release May, 20th 2008. While surfing the net, I stumbled across the group. I’ve been listening to them on imeem ever since.

The group reminds you of the Bay (Oakland) Area group, The Pack, with the cool geek boy swag of N.E.R.D, and while giving off this vibe, you can since a strong inspiration from Run DMC. They sport bright retro style clothes and rock fat gold chains all while ridding a Dyno bike with black mags. But that’s enough on their style.

The hot single Gold and a Pager records the ever so trendy screwed up effects, a hard beat, and a steady nostalgic melody that takes you back to playing Super Mario in your basement. The group isn’t all beats either. Chuck Inglish lays down the tracks and raps along side of his partner in rhyme, Mike Rocks making a very lyrical collaboration. Although the content of the lyrics consist of girls, bikes, afterschool activities, they are very captivating; in fact, I caught myself nodding my head to a couple of songs while writing this review. The Cool Kids are definitely going to be in the summer line up for 2008. Catch The Cool Kids on Imeem or MySpace at www.myspace.com/gocoolkids and the endless source for videos, YouTube.