Travis MCcoy

So we've all seen the video's or heard of Travis's new solo deal that's in the works. Personally, It's hard for me to be mad at it and also hard for me to be completely jumping for joy that one of my favorites is finally coming with his own joints. I am on the fence with this one. Gym Class Heroes has been one of my favorite bands since "...For the kids" and as they increased in popularity and into mainstream status with the"The Quilt" album the music started to sound a tad watered down.
Mr. Mccoy is a dope rapper I must say; clever with his lyrics and quick on his toes, and even though I always expected him to go solo and into his own groove, I didn't expect it to be in this way. Out of all labels, he signed with Nappy Boys with T-pain. All of the true Gym Class and Travis fans can only pray that we don't hear more of T-pains cliched synthesized voice over the tracks and hope that Travis doesn't sell out his originality that brought him to the top in the first place. I've waited awhile for this jump, but I expected him to go solo within the same label as Gym Class Heroes or to a less.... T-pain label. I mean, honestly, signing with T-Pain or Akon, for an artist like McCoy, is almost the definition of selling out. He's signing with Nappy Boys without even having nappy hair. I must say though, I really can't wait to see how this solo deal pans out. Hope to get my hands on the all of the mixtapes (and there better be a lot). Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for him, after all, he is one of my favorites. I just hope he brings us what he's good at and not let that overpowering T-pain label and sound take control of who his is and his craft. It's all bad if us innocent listeners have to go through another round of T-pains voice on yet another artists single. I'm not hating on T-pain, I'm just saying we all know you and lil Wayne rule the radio, we don't need you shouting Nappy Boys over every song you spit out of your label. We hear you're voice enough as it is. And to Travis Mccoy, do your thing, make that paper and hopefully we'll be seeing Schleprok Records in the near future.

So if you haven't noticed that little sidebar over that-a-way -------->
you haven't noticed my contact info. So sometimes people have questions, comments, requests, discussions, or they want music promoted or something like that. Send all of those fabulous things to

info.boogiemonsterz@gmail.com There will be no automated answers or run-around. We keep it real around this joint... and are pretty efficient about answering all emails quickly. Hit it up.

mixtapetorrent.com Has some of the most awesome findings as I mentioned in the last post. This is an album I came across a few days ago on their site. I don't know about the rest of you boogie monsterz but I've never heard of K.Sparks nor Mixtape Assassin, but being who I am and seeing an artist unknown to me, I began my download. Once again I am successful. K. Sparks is ill.... the end. His rhymes and lyrics in my opinion are off the chain. And I also expected, since this is an unknown artist, for the mixtape to sound pretty cheap and undeveloped but its real proffessional and the beats are on point. My favorite tracks on the album is the first "Dictionary" as well as "Hard Lemonade" and "Rewind". This is the type of album you wouldn't have to press the skip button to get to the next track. It's gauranteed to have you bobbin your head all the way through. K. Sparks' lyrics can be sometimes political and slightly emotional at times. The lyrics sometimes scratch the surface of what most people are feeling, and other times it expresses it deeply. On the other hand, his lyrics can be dope and completely fun. In "Dictionary" he says "I'm not a rapper. I just spit alot." May I tell you that grabbed my heart out of my chest? Lyrics such as that and "The only one iller than me is Magic Johnson." Someone please save me. It's always the little things right? The dude is raw. So by now you all should be heading off the mixtapetorrent.com to go pick up your free copy. Of Mixtape Assassin & K. Sparks album "Manic Mondays" vol. 1. Yeah, it's the one posted up there with the guy in the stunna shades next to what seems to be the Universal Studio's Globe. Sounds slightly odd, but hey... you can't go wrong. Thats a promise.

One of my good friends hit me up with a couple of sites that offers completely free underground hype and mixtapes I figured ya might wanna check out.

MIxtapeTorrent.com
DatPiff.com

the websites are updated daily and has everything from underground, undiscovered, and material from popular artists. check it out.

Handome boy modeling school

Here is Prince Paul and Dan "the Automator" Nakamura. Also known as Handsome Boy Modeling school. They have earned a piece of my heart ... in fact I'm getting a little choked up about it. Just kidding of course. But this is the type of music that is pretty hard to find, so of course it is my favorite. They are both producers, unique in style and sound. Prince Paul, most known for working with De La Soul and Nakamura for working in the underground scene... right up our ally right? And of course they get automatic Boogie points for rockin the old school nob moustaches, thick rimmed harry potter glasses, and slightly too tight suits.

Im hoping you boogie monsters aren't just about underground rap but all music. If you are, then duuh its my mission to "put you on game". Handsome Boy Modeling School (sheesh that takes long to type) compiles trance sounds with Cat Power (whom I also love to death), Pharrell of N.E.R.D and others as well as hip hop urban sounds with old school vibes like Del the Funky Homosapien as well as collaborating with artists like Jack Johnson. If one where to put all of those artists together it just sounds a little off yet supremely dope right? Which is why I basically love them. My favorite is off the "White People" album entitled "I've been thinking" featuring Cat power with the trance-like presence of her voice.

Click below for Downloads ::

White People Album
So... How's your girl? album.

Single Whore

definition : a song that a music artist releases from their album that is played constantly on every radio station across the globe until a listener is ready to commit suicide.

And what an adorable sight it is, right? How bout a hell no.

So we've heard the single whores from various artists. They have been seen in "Umbrella" by Rhianna which she later collaborated with her sugar-honey lump (better known as Chris Brown) to form the remix "Cinderella". Now, if you are anything like myself, you were just about ready to jump a bridge at the mere thought of having an instant replay of the same "ella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey" for a whole second term. Just who elected that song into office again?! We all know we didnt like the first song when we first heard it... then it became the Umbrella-itis and got stuck in our heads which made us need listen to it over and over. Then when that plague was over... Cinderella-itis came into play. How cruel.

Another example of a Single Whore can be seen in "Buy U a Drank (shawty snappin')" and the most recent "Can't Believe It" and "Get Money" with Lil' Wayne ( all of which were my jamz...back when they were virgins)... T-pain, though original, can be called the king of the single whore movement. He recently pulled a Rhianna move and remixed "Can't Believe It" to a somehow more annoying version featuring Justin Timberlake. It simply makes my ears bleed.

It's horrible because sometimes, aside from "Umbrella" the dopest tracks reach so much radio play that we don't even like the song anymore. We usually need to break up with the song for awhile, date a couple others and perhaps in a few months or so later we will pick it up again. Prime example is "Live your Life" with T.I and Rhianna.... that song was my shiiit when it was performed at the 2008 VMA's then when it hit the airwaves and played every 15 minutes the whole vibe was ruined.

Single whores leave no room for new music, we see nowadays how T-pain and Lil' Wayne basically own every second of airtime lately, no matter how cliche they have become. Back in the day it was Ja Rule with his (Ja voice) "Where would I be without yooooooooou", then to Chamillionaire's "Riding Dirty" to MIMS "This is Why I'm Hot", to Usher's "Love In This Club" Some may even lead to clever and sometimes comedic covers that retires the original song and picks up the whoring like "White and Nerdy" and "This is Why I Rock".

Beware of the single whores though, because it's an easy way to trick a person into buying a completely wack album that holds that one fabulous song. Thats an advantage artists have.
But it can also lead to a whole movement like UNKs "Walk it out" or E-40's "Tell me when to Go" or Soulja Boi Tell 'Em (God bless his heart) with his "Crank dat Superman" that gave birth to everything from "Crank dat Batman" to "Crank dat Family Guy" and "Crank dat Spongebob".

Lesson that should be learned is.... play new music of different artists.. for our sanities. And make good music... stop trickin innocent civilians into buying garbage.

What better way to get refreshing new sounds than stumbling upon a free album? I recently came across this album "Oh MY" by Sean Fournier and took advantage of the free download. Naturally, most of us think if something is free it must not be such a good piece of work. Poor quality, annoying, boring. Because of this I wasn't particularly excited. Surprisingly I lucked out. Sean Fournier is another one of those overlooked artists sort of reminiscent of Jason Mraz if u must have a reference. He combines light sounds of the piano, acoustic, and creative jungle drum sounds into this album and the outcome is a relaxing, mellow collection of only about six or so songs. I became addicted to "Holding the hand of the Hurricane" which is the last track on his album. The lyrics and the deep raspy soul vocals of Fournier was completely mesmerizing. The beat of the Hurricane sounded as if it belonged in the Lion King -- and we all love the Lion King's jammin music... or is that just me? Back on topic, my next recommendation is "Goodbye". It's a melodic slightly somber song yet not depressing at all. Its about strength and overcoming negative thoughts. Overall "OH MY" is easy cool listening that I must admit I listen to every single day... if I don't my day will pretty much be horrid.
So my advice is no matter your music preferences, to take a "risk" and open your mind. After all, it is free. What do you have to lose? Matter of fact, I'll even give you the spot:

Sean Fournier - Oh My (free copy)

You have the choice of either having a free tangible copy or a free download. Quick easy and Free. Take advantage. Spread the word, tell your friends.

One question: What is the Grammy's truley about? From the looks of today's music in comparison with the past it seems as if the Grammy's is based solely upon promotions, T.V ratings, and Publicity. Seems so often nowadays that popular artists are up for grammy's based solely upon how many albums they sold, how many music videos they have, and generally how much the people like them. Not on real talent. It seems to be that certain artists are up for grammy's to gain more viewers and up the ratings of the event.
Take new artist Jazmine Sullivan for example. Jazmine is a new artist signed with Missy Elliot with the single "Need U Bad" and "Bust your windows" from the album "Fearless". Now, I've always been the type to not fully give in to my first impressions until I "get to know" the artist (a.k.a listening to their full albums with no interruptions). Both of her singles were a disappointment. I found myself waiting for the Chorus and beat change of "Need U Bad" and changing the radio station or track on my Zune software after hearing the violins of "Bust your windows" for a couple of seconds. Still in support of a new artist, I got ahold of her album, still with the hope that her voice and style was as promising as I believed. Big no no.
Beautiful new vocal sounds mixed with annoying songs and lyrics just do not mix. Most of her tracks left me with the strange urging feeling like "oh lord if this song doesn't end soon!". Don't get me wrong, the girl is talented and yes there are a couple tracks off of her album such as "Call me Guilty" and "Need you Bad" (chorus only) that I'd play, otherwise the whole album hasn't earned a GIG on my Zune.
Yet and still, miss Sullivan has earned 5 grammy nods!! And it basically killed my life when she was compared to Lauryn Hill of all people. Beautiful, multi-talented, original Lauryn Hill who is basically a hip hop legend in my book. I then listened to both "Fearless" and "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" back to back and heard zero similarities. Jazmine does have a few things under her belt though: a nice raspy voice, Missy Elliot, publicity, and two singles that, in today's society, is very "catchy" and leaves them requesting them over and over at radio stations.
I must admit, I love Sullivans voice and the couple tracks I mentioned from Fearless still exemplify lots of promise she still may have, but for now I want to understand the criteria for the Grammy awards, and understand why most artists these days don't need to put in as much work as they did in the past to recieve this type of recognition. What ever happened to being the "full package"? Hell, with a good publicist, and a single with a catchy chorus or opener, I can be up for a Grammy the next time it rolls around. And... ahem.. maybe give me a T-pain synthesizer also because my singing voice is the number one synonym for death.

TOP ABLUM OF 2008!!

Abso-freaking-lutely my number one album of 2008! To be perfectly honest, I was slightly disappointed with Hip Hop this year. Then when I discovered Common was coming back I expected another plain old Common album. One that wouldn't dissappoint lyrically but.. after awile i'd get tired of it... But, to honor one of the truest in the game, I went and "copped" this new one.. and was BLOWN THE HE** AWAAAYYY.
Universal Mind Control (UMC) is by far the best Common album yet. Completely true to his own style yet he brought the dopeness of the Neptunes into his beats, Cee-lo of Gnarls Barkley, Kanye West and, of course, Pharrells vocals on lots of the tracks. He came unexpectedly creative and diverse on this. He incorporates electrical sounds and futuristic type beats and mixed it in with his own lyrical genius and currently has me "slappin" the entire album non-stop. You know when an album is good when you are ready to cry when u find out u listened to the whole thing and no more new songs are left. Ok, perhaps I'm the dramatic one, but when somethings good u dont want it to end. My Current Top tracks on UMC are "Sex 4 Sugar", "UMC", "Make My Day", and "Punch Drunk Love".... Welp I pretty much named half the album right? That alone explains it all. Go Get a few copies.. yes I did say a few. CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Peekin 4rm Below

So ... Black Milk. He is the epitome of what underground Hip Hop truley is. You say Hip Hop is dead.. it just means you just aren't looking hard enough. Everything about his music from his lyrics to his dope creative style in his beats and productions shows that Hip Hop is just a hidden masterpiece meant only for the people who are dedicated to the art. Underground is about staying true to your craft. Not saying "yo i got money now, i'll create a bullsh*t album every year now just to get more." Black Milk is the truth. If you are looking to sample or dig into some new sounds you may have been missing in the hip hop game check out his albums: "Sound of the City" "Popular Demand" and "Tronic". My favorite has to be his Tronic album. Everything in that album just slaps so hard it makes u feel like u just pissed off ya mama. Dopest tracks on the album is "Try" "Losing Out" and "Give the Drummer Some." If you like what you hear once you get ahold of his albums, also check out Elzhi. They both present the talent most mainstream hip hop artists lack.

DOWNLOADS =
Black Milk - Tronic