Tag: Dr. Dre

Mixtape: @Fiyahrama23 x @UnitedEmpire_JA Present: The New West Vol. 1

Posted on by swadedavillain

When you hear “West Side“, many would be quick to refer to California where Hip Hop greats like Dr. Dre and Tupac enjoyed the prime of their musical careers. Today, the West refers to the western part of Jamaica, home to the United Empire and with Texas based DJ Fiyahrama, they release the first in their “The New West” series. Consisting of 17 tracks, this showcases the musical efforts from Slim I.D., MoulaDiDon, Twig, Sauce, GMoney I.D., Kanabis, Tazz, Minx, Super Pugz, and JayDaFilly. The United Empire lets it be known that Hip Hop is not just an American thing or should only reside on the East side of Jamaica, they set up shop and want their turn of the spotlight. Not a bad compilation here as they do hold their own on the tracks. The only problem I had with this tape was the “Pull up” clip being used way too many times. Get this one on your playlists and hear what the West has to say. Check out the tape below and share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Interview: @KingBiggsSOL

Posted on by swadedavillain

I0qcBTmEKing Biggs a.k.a. Julian Morrison, was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica. He is the Co-Founder of the Jamaican Hip Hop Label/Collective, Sons Of Liberty. Considered the “Mutant” of S.O.L., Biggs has been responsible for a number of S.O.L. releases since its inception in 2006 whether through his productions, or his lyrics. With the release of his upcoming project, “XXII” drawing near, 13th Street Promotions took the time out to have a chat with King Biggs to learn about his sound, his “XXII” project, and some of his favourite creations.

Who is King Biggs?

King Biggs is an artiste that produces and composes music as well who specializes in Hip Hop, Dancehall and Reggae Fusion. I always seek to break down rules and barriers but in such a way that paying homage to original elements is included. I believe that art is more innovation over imitation than the inverse.

As a Producer and Rapper, you tend to have more options when creating, describe your sound?

I mostly create Hip Hop, Dancehall and Reggae Fusion even though I’m not limited to that. I call my sound “Rich Noise” and it’s all about taking the main/traditional elements of each genre and bending them into something interesting. I really like to be surprised when I listen to music, so I aim to provide that for my listeners in different ways. My sound could be Pharrell inspired in one beat, Kanye in another with a Lee Perry sample in the background. All in all I leave my mark on everything I do, so it’s not typical or monotonous to the audience. That’s just whack!

Who are your influences?

My influences mostly stem from Hip Hop in the 90’s/00’s, Dancehall from that same era, Oldies ballads and Disco music. This includes Dr Dre, Dave Kelly, Gavin Blair (Gavsborg) from Equiknoxx Music, Timbaland, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Quincy Jones and Lee “Scratch” Perry. A lot of music was around me when I was developing because there was the radio on RJR all day, the loud Encava buses that drove pass St Richard’s every day and the people who blared their stereo systems when picking up younger siblings or children at the schools I attended. A childhood friend, Belinda Cousins also taught me a lot about music and gave me access to the work that should shape my identity today.

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NEW VIDEO: Hop (@HopDaGreat682) – In Too Deep (Deep Cover Remake)

Posted on by swadedavillain

Today’s entry comes from Bronx based rapper Hop Da Great. Titled, “In Too Deep“, this is his remake of the 1992 classic “Deep Cover” by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. In the video we see Hop and his crew chase down a bootlegger for selling unauthorized copies of his mixtape, “The Unusual Gift“. Short but cool video, haven’t seen a bootlegger themed rap video in a while, and Hop did well over the Deep Cover beat as it is a classic. Check out the video below and share your thoughts in the comments section.

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