Young Neez - The Feature Presentation (iTunes)
This next mixtape comes from a RVA emcee who tells nothing but straight facts and has proved it through his buzz and street credibility. Young Neez is an artist who tells it how it’s supposed to be from the gritty side of RVA. It takes a real artist to do that, but another thing I like about his project, titled The Feature Presentation, is that it's brought together other local emcees such as DOE the Paperboy, Jay 30, Like A Rock, Coogi Keith, and many more. On the song “Straight Facts,” he shows why he has no reason to tell a lie to anyone. I reviewed the song's video a while ago, and he actually took a lie detector test in his video, which was cool. My favorite song on the tape is “If I Should Die," a song about having haters and people who envy you in the streets and staying prepared in case they cross the line. This mixtape is catchy and enjoyable for cruising around RVA and playing it with the windows down. The production for this project is a solid version of today's southern hip-hop sound. Overall I enjoyed the many features and can see Young Neez getting far in his goal to build a brand. Keep a lookout for this young talent.
Must Listen: Soul Train, Relate, Just Ridin
Trance Da Chancellor X Dilly - Foreal O'Neal (Bandcamp)
This mixtape comes from local RVA emcee Trance Da Chancellor, a new artist who shows potential on this mixtape to become a noticed emcee in RVA. His style links with the commercial appeal of today and he has the drive to deliver it. His mixtape, Foreal O'Neal, is just the ticket that may get him that look. The songs on this tape have many meanings--for instance, on “The Chosen Realistic,” he speaks about the difference between being real and lying. On “Tell (Interlude)," which was produced by Dilly and contains a graphic mood-setting sample from the cult movie Kids, he explains that beauty can be deceiving, but he's too smart to ever let girls lie to him. This mixtape was mostly produced by local emcee Jay “Dilly” Dallas, who I never knew made beats. This is a surprising revelation, and I would like to see more of his beatmaking, because he’s rather talented at it. This mixtape was short but got straight to the point of what Trance was trying to accomplish. Give this a listen and find out for yourself. Keep up with Trance Da Chancellor and his team at thalsd.com.
Must Listen: Kobe With The 8, Dope Game PSA, Strange Ways 13’