Joe Threat - Sinister Circus (Bandcamp)
This album comes from RVA emcee Joe Threat. I’ve heard about Threat for quite some time in RVA and have kept up with him and his website and see the random posts about hip hop and crazy stories he has for people, but this album really defined him in a way that I wasn’t expecting from him. The production is crazy, and Threat lyrically brings his A-game. As you press play, he starts the mixtape on a very somber note with tracks like “Conflict Within,” where he talks about the conflict he feels dealing with trying to be accepted. My face twisted as the drum pattern of “Drop The Beat” played through my headset. The 808s thumped on this hype party track, which is produced by Photosynthesizers' own Dr. Data. Throughout the mixtape, you hear production from Fan Ran and many other local producers, which in my eyes made this a classic, and could possibly catapult Threat's buzz in RVA. Look out for him all around the city as he continues his journey.
I bring you to the West Coast of the US with this album coming from Los Angeles emcee Quen. I have been following him for some time and keeping up with his cult following as he paves his way in the industry. I could tell as soon as I pressed play on IQ that I wasn’t going to hear the average hip hop project. He starts the album off with a quick accapella titled “IQ,” explaining a little about him and what you are about to hear. I will let you know now--his wordplay on this track is insane. As I went through the album, I found myself bopping to the crazy drum pattern and live instruments on “Take It Back,” which is my favorite song here and should be his next single. The music on IQ ranges from live acoustic sounds to almost a trance style of hip hop, or house. I can’t even begin to describe the feel of this album because he takes you into so many directions, even tapping into 808s with “Bet You Can’t,” sampling a line for the chorus from Nas’s infamous “Ether.” Overall this album is almost similar to the latest Kanye album. In my opinion, it’s probably the direction Mr. West should have gone if he wanted to experiment. Good job Quen, and I look forward to seeing more visuals from this project as well.