|
May 26, 2017 in Music, New, Rain Drops by Max McHugh
Rare Treat – Mornin’ Dew (Exile Remix) ft. Choosey
May 15, 2017 in Music, Rain Drops by Mac Smiff
Weeb – House of Cheeks Party Recap
Portland rapper Weeb has been on the move lately, and his new video for House of Cheeks serves as evidence. Turning footage from a packed February house party into an engaging video for a catchy song, Weeb effectively kills two birds with one stone, promoting both the track and the next party. Smart.
Weeb‘s lyrical skill is becoming a well-known secret around town, and he shocked us earlier this month with a surprise appearance at TheTHESIS, whipping the crowd into a quick frenzy. Kick back and check out the flow for yourself, and let us know what you think! #OutHere
May 3, 2017 in Live Music, Music, Producers by Mac Smiff
The Thesis: Stewart Villain, Bravo Domo, Epp
Putting up three rappers and a special guest is fun and all but I want to be honest, I get tired of the template sometimes, and I know you do too. So here in May, for the monthly first Thursday hip-hop extravaganza we call TheTHESIS, we’ll be switching it up and doing something a little less pre-defined.
Producers Stewart Villain and Bravo Domo headline this month’s marquee event, brought to you by We Out Here Magazine, Vortex Magazine, the Portland Mercury, XRAY.FM, and a host of contributors. Much more than simple beatsmiths, these multi-faceted artists have a lot to share beyond rap tunes. Add TxE legend ePP to the lineup, as well as a few special guests, and we’ve got ourselves a party for sure.
May 2, 2017 in Music, New by Kyle Iverson
Chief – Fly Ft. Que
Chief has been fairly quiet as of late. However he decided to break that silence with the drop of his most recent single, “Fly“, which also introduces the newest member of the “STRAY” group, Que. The track is a rhythmic and uptempo banger that is sure to make any party or club get to jumpin’. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more of the up and coming Portland artist and his team. Press Play.
April 18, 2017 in Features, Music, New by Kyle Iverson
Bocha- Get By (Produced By Stewart Villain)
Springtime is just starting to bud in the beautiful city of Portland, and the east side native Bocha is taking full advantage of the changing of the seasons. His newest release is a melodic and bass heavy banger that just urges you to roll down the windows as though its 100 degrees out. The track is the first drop off of his and Stewart Villain’s upcoming “Lines” project. Also, be sure to check out “Garden Boys“, Bocha and Donte Thomas’ “joint” project dropping 4/20. Keep it lit Portland.
April 10, 2017 in Music, WOHM Premiere by Mac Smiff
Lang X Mic Capes – DOA II (Mixed By Drae Slapz)
A couple of weeks ago at Mic Check, Mic Capes (no relation) crashed the Rare Vibe set debuting a new slap with Lang that quickly won over the crowd. Already somewhat of an officially unofficial member of Portland’s rarest crew, Mic deepens his ties to the upstart rap crew with this bar-riddled vibe.
With a beat originally produced by ICDMAW for the intro to Lang’s 2015 project Sour Nothings, DOA II delivers as a chill head-knocker, relying heavily on dexterous wordplay to offset the lowkey guitar loops Lang is so fond of. Really a fun song with excellent replay value, We Out Here Magazine is proud to bring you the second installment of Mic Capes Monthlys, DOA II. Enjoy.
April 5, 2017 in Music by SamuelThe1st
abstrct – Progress EP
It’s safe to say, Adrian ‘abstrct’ Anaya is a diamond in the rough that Portland has yet to find. The Portland native has taken time out to re-establish his sound since his debut release, Patience, in 2014.
This year he brings us a 5 track EP. Anaya mentioned that he took a hiatus after the Patience EP because he “lost sight of original goal to turn my patience for making music into something progressive, something that captured the parallel emotions of my environment around me”. I don’t know if it was the plan or not, but Anaya has practiced patience in all the right places. I can feel his emotions through his voice, which is FULL of old soul/gospel R&B sounds.
With a rich vocal range and a robust vernacular, abstrct has a great start with more potential for growth. His skills with his voice have made him a notable name in the #4BarFriday community as well. After weeks of praise from participants, 4Bar pioneer Damian Lillard shared abstrct’s promo single, Pineapples (2nd song on Progress). The exposure sky-rocketed abstrct’s single on SoundCloud, exceeding more that 10,000 plays. My only critique on abstrct’s style is that he needs to loosen up his delivery when rapping, but I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Even though i genuinely enjoy this project, it needed some work to achieve the cohesive feel of an album. I think it needed a few more songs to tie the rest of the songs together. But check out ‘All About Yü’, that song is my shit!
Overall, I give this EP 3/5 “Out Here’s”.
Check out The Progress EP below and let abstrct know how his soulful EP made you feel. Enjoy.
March 23, 2017 in WOHM Premiere by Mac Smiff
Mic Capes – Chains [VIDEO]
When you have confidence in your product, you can keep drawing from it. That’s a rarely followed principle in the genre of hip-hop, where artists routinely (and perhaps constantly) look to drop new music before their existing work has been fully absorbed by their fans.
Time and time again though, Mic Capes has proven himself different. Dropping the new video for Chains from his successful 2016 album Concrete Dreams is an exercise in patience, as Mic shows that reintroducing your audience to your existing work through new mediums is not a lost art after all.
That said, Mic’s launching a new series called Mic Capes Monthlys of which this is the first installment.
We Out Here Magazine is proud to premiere the latest from one of Portland’s all-time greats. Hope you enjoy as much as we do, and tune in for updates right here.
Produced by Bryce Lang
Shot and directed by Totem Ent.
February 14, 2017 in Music, New by SamuelThe1st
One Day, It’ll All Make Cents
Hip-Hop has been taking a lot of random left turns lately. I’ve learned recently that new sub-genres have integrated and they belong with the culture whether I like them or not. The newest trends in rap have been centered in trap and mumble rap, grading artists on their following and club potential, rather than musical genius. I’m not saying that the music I write about is the genius that I speak of, but I think this project brought me back to the type of music that I grew up listening to.
I don’t know why Duece decided to drop his newest EP, One Day It’ll All Make Cents, on Valentine’s Day, but the day has come. The seven song project is like having a Hip-Hop refreshment with the breeze of trap season in your face. The EP isn’t about happy vibes, but the nostalgia made me smile a few times.
I picked up Duece in Portland one night a while back. He played the EP for me in the car, but I didn’t really see it as an entire project at the time. After listening for the third time, I had a few questions for him.
Q1:
Was The Mowgli your favorite Disney character, or did you see The Jungle Book as a unique theme to create a play on words?
A:
The Jungle Book was not my favorite. My favorite Disney joint is probably Aladdin, then Lion King. Jungle Book is up there though.I chose Mowgli because he was an orphan raised by wolves. That was the closest thing to being raised in Oakland to me. It’s a rough area with few opportunities. It can turn you into an animal and do things you didn’t think you’d do.
My favorite track was Wedding Ring, until I sat down and listened to Rap Doe again. I like this track for a number of reasons. I was with Duece right after he signed to Front Page Music. We went to Fogo De Chao, and yes he really did “throw a hundred dollar tip like it was a ten dollar bill”.
Q2:
Anyone ever told you that you sound like Atlanta trap music? And by trap music, I mean that TI Trap Muzik type of shit!
A:
Yeah, I agree. I love TI and have been a fan since “I’m Serious”. I listen to a lot of ATL music. It sounds a little New York in the breaks and kind of Big Sean at the end to me, but I’ve been told that the track sounds like a lot of things. It’s an overall rap track.
Unwilling is the feature track on the Cents EP. You should’ve heard this track already so I’m not going to say much about it. All I can say is that I thought the song was average until I watched the video. The visuals really brought the idea together, allowing me to cherish the audio. I’ll let the video (dropped today) speak for itself though. Check it out.
Q3:
Singing is very uncomfortable for rappers. It feels like the cold water plunge. Did you feel vulnerable singing about personal stuff?
A:
Nah, I just wrote it how I felt it. I finished writing it in about 20 minutes after letting my young homie Joyntz hear the idea, he up next. Him and Lang gave me a few ideas, they both have writers credits on that song.
Q4:
Why should we prefer black and white, instead of silver screens?
A:
Because it’s tough enough trying to make it. Dealing with shady motives is something we all face, but shouldn’t have to. I wish I didn’t have to, I can’t imagine what Dame goes through. This song is a double on the concept of Hollywood. People call you Hollywood for trying to do good for your life. The other half is people not being for you but for themselves. They’re not black and white with their motives, they’re silver screens.
Q5:
Until It’s Over is a strong track to end on. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever heard a firm political stance from you on a song. Is this your Hip-Hop stamp on the end of the EP?
A:
I think so, same with Unwilling too. I just wanted to give all sides of me on this EP.
Overall, I think this was a decent EP. Each song seems like a separate tale, all of which painting the final picture of Brookfield Duece. The only track that I feel falls short is Pressure Makes Diamonds. I REALLY like the beat, but feel like the repetitive lyric structure took away from the instrumental and didn’t do it justice. My top three favorites, in order, are Rap Doe, Wedding Ring and Unwilling. Those songs hold the EP together, the remaining four tie it together.
I’m going to start rating the projects I post about with a 1-5 “Out Here” rating. I’m going this off by giving the Cents EP a score of 3.5 “Out Here’s” out of 5.
I enjoyed the EP because it took me back to a place that sparked my love for Hip-Hop. I also think it’s an accurate depiction of Duece. He has a skill with self reflecting and conveying it in a proper way. Listen to the EP for yourself and let him know what you think at BrookfieldDuece.Com.
January 26, 2017 in Music, New, Rain Drops by Kyle Iverson
Jazz Crimes – The Last Artful Dodgr (Prod. By Neill Von Tally)
We all know that the duo of Neill Von Tally and The Last Artful Dodgr is an artfully crafted pair that comprises of dope beats with an eclectic sound. Usually, the song is set in the present day and time. This time however, the two Portland artists take us back to a boozy, jazzy and somewhat prohibitionist nostalgia. Neill continues to show his variety with heavy bass drops and a blend of old and new while Dodgy continues to impress with her unique ability to bless your ears and ride the beat effortlessly. Be on the lookout for their joint album “Bone Music” dropping February 3rd. Press play.