P.A.T. Junior releases video for 'S.O.T.B'

In 2017 I'd wager to state that North Carolina's hip-hop scene is stronger than it's been in the past decade. It seems like stand-out emcees have been popping up left and right, each one inhabiting their own unique niche, putting a personalized spin on the genre. However, in recent years it's harder to find someone that's had as compelling an evolution as P.A.T. Junior. I remember years back at a beat show in Nice Price Books when Oak City Slums shouted out to P.A.T, he jumped on the mic and swiftly spat some aggressive, yet entrancing bars. Back then the emcee showed promise, but now he shows prowess, bobbing and weaving through the rhythmic swings of a beat like a boxer planning his next hook.

P.A.T's live shows are also quite the spectacle, boasting a live drummer and DJ, P.A.T's energy is infectious, it's raw and unfiltered but isn't weighed down by glitz and glamour. That's why tracks like 'S.O.T.B', P.A.T.'S latest single, work so damn well. The beat itself is simple, a choppy piano riff that's on a continuous loop and frequently chopped and screwed. Every now and then a bass line will swell, hi-hats will chirp and pitch-changed vocals will accentuate particular lines.

While the song is a few months old, an accompanying video directed by Corey Reid was recently released that helps breathe new life into the song. Throughout most of the video P.A.T is lurking in shadows, playing to the song's bleak, dark aesthetic and frankly just looking really fuckin' cool. "Strategy's important," P.A.T touts, "you gotta choose whether to Bruce Wayne or throw the mask on 'em". With the skill and determination that we've already seen from him this year it's pretty clear which option P.A.T. Junior has chosen.

You can check out the video for "S.O.T.B" below and be sure to check out P.A.T's upcoming show at The Pinhook opening for Hotline alongside the up-and-coming producer, Trandle. Purchase tickets for the event here.

Kooley High shares new song "Where I'm Going", announces 'Heights' EP

Kooley High will release 'Heights'
on Oct. 9 and will celebrate its
release on Oct. 16 at Kings Barcade

While historically North Carolina has been best known for our traditional roots and more recently our swiftly changing indie-rock scene, you'd have to be living under a rock to argue that the hip-hop scene isn't getting just as much notoriety. For every Love Language and Hiss Golden Messenger now lies a J. Cole or King Mez. The hip-hop spectrum almost perfectly mirrors that of the rock-leaning scene, a few nationally recognized acts help to shift the dynamic of the state's scene while a few headstrong acts push ever forward and leave expectations aside.

It'd be easy for acts to fall in line with the cultural trends we've seen that prove to be successful, but the acts in our scene that are gathering the most traction are those that blaze their own paths. That's why it's always exciting to hear what's to come from Kooley High. Kooley is a hip-hop collective that grew from the N.C. State cyphers and blossomed into one of the state's most established names. Former member Rapsody is swiftly becoming a household name thanks to features on tracks with Chance The Rapper and Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, but don't for a second think that the loss of a member is slowing Kooley down at all.

"Where I'm Going," the recently release single from their forthcoming EP, Heights, proves that Kooley's sights are set forward both as a career trajectory but also musically. "Where I'm Going" is a track that highlights all of the group's finest aspects, a smooth buttery production that blends boom-bap styles with heady, jazzy J-Dilla influence and lends way to Tab-One and Charlie Smarts' lyrical acrobatics.

The thematic points of the track highlight Kooley's confidence as well as their forward-thinking attitudes. Tab opens the track with an effortless verse filled with quick rhymes and clever similes, never stuck on one pattern for too long. Guest vocalist Add-2 adds some versatility to the vocal cadence found on the track, but the lyricism shines brightest with Tab and Charlie Smarts. Smarts' verse boasts intricately arranged internal rhyme schemes that prove to be difficult to unravel without repeated listens. Voices blend together for a memorable hook that excellent summarizes the song's theme and rides along with Sinopsis' dreamy yet rhythmic production. Kooley's vibes feel reminiscent of acts like A Tribe Called Quest, but don't rely on a nostalgic factor to get attention, rather they feel like a call-back to these early hip-hop pioneers and elegantly maneuver their way into a modern-day context. Heights is released on Oct. 9th  and the group will celebrate their EP release with a show at Kings Barcade on Oct. 16th. Check out the track below:

Shirlette Ammons premieres "Earth Intro" ft. Indigo Girls

Shirlette Ammons
Photo by Boris Niehaus

While you were probably out day-drinking and Hopscotching around last Friday, it's possible that you may have missed one of our state's most impressive emcees releasing one of her most progressive tracks to date. Last Friday Shirlette Ammons not-so-quietly released her new single, "Earth Intro" from her forthcoming sophomore album Language Barrier. "Earth Intro" debuted on arguably one of the largest Feminist media outlets, Bitch Media and marks a huge departure from Ammons' previous releases.

Featuring Emily Saliers and Amy Ray of the Grammy Award-winning act the Indigo Girls, "Earth Intro" is a track that contains multitudes. Aesthetically it lands at a frenetic blend between indie rock, folk rock and hip-hop with echos of punk rock influences abound. There's sharply spat vocals meshed with whirring yet distorted fiddle lines, rich dynamic changes and both inward and outwardly facing lyrical content. The way vocals have a slight distortion to them allows them to dig deep into the instrumentation and serve as much textural purpose as it does to forward the song's themes.

Ammons told Bitch Media that the Indigo Girls' "gorgeous songwriting" and "fierce harmonies" help lend an "anthemic" feel to "Earth Intro", giving a brief peek into the contributions brought forth by Saliers and Ray. Both of the Indigo Girls have been active in the environmental, gender equality and gay rights movements, perfectly coinciding with Ammons' own contributions to the social spectrum. You may remember Ammons' collaboration with Caitlin Cary (formerly of Whiskeytown), "My Body Politic" from NC Music Love Army's 2014 release. While working with folk songwriters isn't entirely out of Ammons' musical spectrum, it's exciting to see her ever-expanding boundaries of hip-hop and continually defying expectations of the genre. Ammons also noted that Meshell Ndegeocello and Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso will be serving as collaborators on Language Barrier, which is set for an early 2016 release. Check out the track below:

Show Review: Denzel Curry & Deniro Farrar at The Cat's Cradle Backroom

Deniro Farrar at the Cat's Cradle Backroom

This was the second night in a row in which I was at the Cat's Cradle, however, this time I was going to the Backroom. When I first entered the venue, they were mixing LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean" with A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation". I knew the night was going to be very interesting after delving into their pre-show playlist.

Opening the show were Greensboro rappers, Big Whiskey and Pscril. Without a DJ to mix their music, BW was left to play their music off his laptop. Regardless of the DJ situation, BW and Pscril sufficiently warmed up the crowd with some of great tracks such as "Hideaway" featuring Chapel Hill rapper Skyblew, "The Man of my City" featuring Spanish Harlem rapper Dave East, and Pscril's self-produced track, "Keep Strivin'". They ended the night with an awesome track called "Scottie Pippen", which got the crowd jumping and moshing. You can check out both rappers catalog of banger tracks on Big Whiskey's YouTube channel and Pscril's SoundCloud page.

Unfortunately, the next act, Body Games, was unable to make it due to "logistics beyond [their] control." I had first seen this Carrboro group perform at Kennedy Theatre during the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh. At their show back in September, they were joined on stage by Charlotte rapper, Well$, who was the act that followed Big Whiskey and Pscril. I was not too familiar with his raps, but he drew a pretty good crowd for his set. Well$ did some acapella raps in the middle of his set, which is always impressive. At the end of his set, he told the crowd to come see him at the merch table by saying "Come talk to me, I swear I'm not awkward."

Well$ left the stage soon after I finished my second Pabst, and the atmosphere in the Cat's Cradle Backroom was getting quite 'turnt'. Flat brim hats, basketball jerseys, and saggy skinny jeans were abound in this young crowd. Lana Del Rey was playing in the background as I ascended the stairs to the upper level to get a better view of the primary acts. Gazing down at the sound guy, Deniro Farrar's manager Meko was using his phone to illuminate the setlist (SCORE!). DuRu Tha King was up next followed by JK the Reaper, and closing the night was Denzel Curry with a 40 minute set and Deniro Farrar with a 45 minute set. As I was leaning over the railing, I looked to my left and caught a glimpse of Deniro Farrar and his crew hanging out in the green room.

A few minutes later, DJ Trap hit the stage to warm up the crowd with some of his beats. He is Deniro Farrar's road DJ and enjoys playing some EDM-rap fusion. When he dropped tracks at Kennedy Theatre, they fell on deaf ears, as the crowd was fairly empty as most had been drawn to The War on Drugs show. However, he dropped several tracks that had a dubstep / brostep vibe that got the crowd jumping and moshing again.

DuRu Tha King came out to a warmed up crowd, and started dropping his own tracks. There were a few tracks that stood out above all else, one of which was "Smoked Out". You could smell a hint of ganja in the air. He ended his set with a track he played with Deniro Farrar at Hopscotch, "Social Status", however, this time it was sans-Farrar. Check out DuRu Tha King's 12-track mixtape Indoor Plus + on his DJ Booth page.

JK the Reaper, another Greensboro native, followed DuRu's set with his own DJ, Posh Shabbat (who also DJs for Denzel Curry). He had some serious sound issues, with some truly horrible reverb. One girl shouted "Don't let that get you down!" and others started a "JK" chant. The one line that stuck with me was "I feel like the rarest Yugioh card". The energy in the Backroom was palpable, as you see many locals dap each other and other friendly gestures. From atop by perch, I had a full view of all the different social groups and cliques in the venue, and overall, the crowd was VERY diverse. Before JK The Reaper's set ended, Denzel Curry came out on stage in his Xanax hoodie and started with one of his biggest tracks, "Parents".

Soon after hitting the stage with his backwards Darth Vader mask, he took off his Xanax hoodie to reveal a Stankonia shirt (major props). Many times during his set, Denzel would climb up on the leftmost speaker and eat bars like a pill-head. Halfway through Denzel's set, he picked two guys from the front row and split the crowd in two. He then instructed that the two lucky guys were the 'leaders' of the left and rights sides of the crowd, respectively. Once the beat dropped, the crowd went WILD and started moshing! I took a video of it, but it did no justice to truly express the insanity that was unfolding a few feet below the balcony, as people were getting knocked around, hitting the floor, pushing and shoving. Denzel closed his set with his biggest hit, "Threats", which is one of his trappiest bangers. Trap arms and bow-flexing soon followed.

DJ Trap came back out a few minutes after Denzel Curry's set came to a close and started dropping more of his EDM/Rap fusion tracks. The 'VIP' balcony next to me emptied out, which signaled the start of Deniro Farrar's set. His crew came out on stage first, but were quickly followed by the Charlotte-native, Dante Farrar a.k.a Deniro Farrar. He brought the bangers out first, with tracks such as the Ryan Hemsworth produced track "Big Tookie" and "Kill Your Idols". Much like his set during Thursday's Hopscotch lineup, he performed an acapella version of "Days Go By". His next track, "Fears", uses a slowed down version of Schoolboy Q's "Man of the Year", which got the crowd absolutely HYPE. Deniro commanded the crowd to wave "left, right, left, right". Deniro started handing out water bottles to the front row and said "Gotta keep you kids hydrated". After finishing one of his more recent releases, "Rebirth", Denzel Curry ran back out on stage! Deniro and Denzel closed out the night with their collaborative tracks "Bow Down" and "Feel Like That". These two young rappers have just blown up in the past year and just finished up the last stop of their Bow Down Tour, so expect some new collaborative work from them sooner rather than later.

Show Preview: The “Bow Down” Tour feat. Denzel Curry & Deniro Farrar

Denzel Curry & Deniro Farrar

Many people may say hip-hop is dead, and that is true if you have been listening to anything on the radio. There's no depth in pop-rap, it's just a bunch of kids that want to drink Cristal or hang with Jay-Z. Who doesn't want to do that? However, there are many up-and-coming rappers that have been making a name for themselves with meaningful lyrics over some fire beats. Two rappers that have been essential in the resurrection of the rap-game are Denzel Curry and Deniro Farrar.

My first experience with Charlotte-local Deniro Farrar was at Kennedy Theatre at Hopscotch this year. His set was right before Lunice, so the atmosphere was already quite 'turnt'. We were warmed up with one of tonight's openers, Body Games, who had a special guest, join them on their visualizer, Jonah Hill. Another of tonight's openers, Well$, joined Body Games on stage for one song as well, something I'm sure we'll see some of tonight. The only set I was not excited about though was Deniro Farrar, however, my assumptions were shattered when he hit the stage. Although the crowd wasn't enormous, it felt like the room was packed wall to wall as he threw down several bangers. Deniro has also collaborated with several well-known producers including Ryan Hemsworth and Flosstradamus. He's released 5 studio albums over the course of the past four years, and even released an EP earlier this year, Rebirth. If you have been sleeping on Deniro, you need to wake up and check him out!

The other rapper on the 'Bow Down' Tour is Denzel Curry. The 19-year-old Floridian released his debut album, Nostalgic 64, over a year ago. He got his start by posting his first mixtape on SpaceGhostPurrp's Facebook page, and since then, his fanbase has grown exponentially. He collaborated with Deniro for the first time this year with their track "Bow Down". Soon after they announced the 'Bow Down' Tour which is making a stop at the Cat's Cradle Backroom tonight. The two rappers have a stacked opening line-up with several local acts including, JK The Reaper, Duru Tha King, Well$, Body Games [cancelled], and Big Whiskey.

The show starts at 8:00 and doors open at 7:00. Tickets are $15 in advance and at the door. Check out the video for Deniro Farrar and Denzel Curry's "Bow Down" below and purchase tickets here:

"David Thompson" by Kooley High

David Thompson by Kooley High was released on
Fat Beats on December 6, 2011

North Carolina hip-hop has flourished this year, with Carolina's own J. Cole finding his way to a #1 debut atop the Billboard charts it's been clear that the overwhelming amount of talent in this state is beginning to get the recognition it deserves.  J. Cole is just scraping the surface of this talent pool though, the state is filled with names like 9th Wonder, Phonte, The Beast, King Mez, and arguably one of the fastest rising in the state with Kooley High.  While Kooley has established a name for themselves with their debut full-length, Eastern Standard Time, they're flexing their skills on this new release, David Thompson.  While some of Kooley High has relocated to Brooklyn, it's very clear that their heart still remains in North Carolina and the hip-hop scene that they've flourished in.  Between the stellar production and effortless displays of clever lyricism, Kooley High has placed their feet firmly in the door of national recognition with David Thompson.  Kooley High is celebrating their album release at The Pour House in Raleigh on Saturday, December 10 with King Mez, Actual Proof, and Lazarus