Best of The Month – April 2024

One of the most unconventional duos of the American Hip-Hop scene, the Gangrene, composed of the super producer and sometimes, on occasions like these, emcee, The Alchemist and the brother of the legendary Madlib, also a rapper and producer, Oh No, are back with a new project. In Head I Win, Tails You Lose the Californian duo takes us on their psychedelic journey, extravagant and as always light years ahead, thanks to the out of the ordinary visionary and stroboscopic productions, which accompany hallucinated and stoned rhymes. Gangrene’s music, on the other hand, is like the psilocybin of a hallucinogenic mushroom: if your body or your mental balance is not ready to take it in certain doses, you will suffer from its intoxicating effects and you will feel bad, rejecting it, on the contrary you it could open up enlightening and extremely entertaining visions.

The crew coming from the Bronxdale projects, HEIST Life (of which a few months ago we interviewed the perhaps most prominent member Sauce Heist) is probably the movement that represents the rawest, most authentic and grimey sound of the five boroughs streets. A clear confirmation of this is “Banned In 9 State”, the new project signed by Heist Life member, TY Da Dale and produced entirely by V-Don. The sounds concocted by the Harlem producer create the perfect atmosphere for Ty Da Dale‘s raw, dirty and real street rap, catapulting the listener into the streets of the Bronx, late at night, when, below the neon signs of the corners bodegas, clockers and dangerous individuals congregate on the streets.

Forgive the repetitiveness, but The Umbrella Collective is taking the American underground scene into a headlock worthy of Brock Lesnar’s ones. This month alone, it released 3 solo projects by its members, plus several collaborations on other artists albums. Reasonable Dirt by Pro Dillinger, among those released in April, is perhaps the most personal Umbrella Crew Project. Title and cover clearly refer to Jay-Z’s classic album, a term of comparison for those who come from the bottom, from the dirt and illegal life and would like to create an empire, telling their story in rhyme. A role model perhaps impossible to replicate at the levels of the Brooklyn mogul and might already quoted other times, but the unique tone of voice and honest lyrics of the Umbrella rapper from Rockland County (New York) immediately stand out from the crowd and give “Reasonable Dirt”, entirely produced by Sk6SeanKelly, that flavor of authenticity and realness that very few can boast.

From the gray streets and slums of London, it finally arrives on streaming platforms “I Heard You Paint Houses” the album by ROCXNOIR, an eclectic and ski-masked rapper in his fancy balaclava and Burberry trench coat, who mixes the elegance of style in his rhymes classic, the “Mathematics” of the five percenters and the arrogance of the gangster. I Heard You Paint Houses is a journey through the London docks that represents the connection of the British underground with the American classical Renaissance scene as indicated by the collaborations with Grea8Gawd (affiliated with Roc Marciano), Jay Nice & Rush, The Musalini and Lord Jamar .

A very young “student” of Raz Fresco and member of BKRSCLB, Toronto rapper GRITFALL releases a new project where he shows off his incredible creativity and his multiple skills. In fact, SENSORY OVERLOAD, completely self-produced by Gritfall himself, is a sensorial journey between jazz and soul samples, cut and combined in a very original way and soft flows that accompany you on the journey. The young challenger from Toronto in fact sprays his verses and his ideas like colors on a wall, spontaneously but dictated by instinct and natural artistic talent. This short project, with due proportions, reminded us in some way of what ATCQ did some time ago.

The Parisian Rapper of North African origin, RATU$, native of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, not far from the Saint-Denis area and member of the label founded by Deen Burbigo and Eff Gee, Saboteur Records, returns with a versatile project, third chapter of the TTMS saga, at the same time raw and rough like the streets of the French suburbs. Ratu$ adapts his flow of rhymes both to more contemporary french drill/trap sounds and more classic boom-bap beats, united in any case by the acrid and pungent flavor of the concrete and the rust of the Parisian blocks.

Even as regards Italy, in April 2024 there is room for the good old boom bap. Let’s talk about “Sedicinoni“, the new album by Jack the Smoker accompanied by Big Joe‘s productions. An album which, as mentioned, recalls the sounds of the roots of Italian rap which accompany the listener in an intimate narrative. We talk about the street, life, relationships, all without hiding the negative sides of all this. The rapper from Pioltello, in the Milanese suburbs, has decided to talk about himself in a new, very mature way, probably following the experience of fatherhood, an experience that pushes man to reflect on himself and his past. As if that wasn’t enough, the album is enriched by featuring not only Italian artists (among which the names of Salmo, Nerone, Ensi, Gemitaiz and Massimo Pericolo stand out) but also with an exceptional American collaborator: Conway the Machine. A raw, sincere and mature album that cannot fail to leave its mark.

In this Italian scene we feel the desperate lack of someone who will call “a spade a spade”. Too many exemplary masks and fakery. Who has never lacked honesty during his long militancy in the Italian underground hip-hop scene is Supremo 73 a.k.a. Gufo, member of the Gente De Borgata collective and graffiti writer of the historic super crew Rome Zoo. The rap of Supremo 73 as always is direct, truthful and without mincing words like a plate of Roman tripe in an Osteria in Trastevere. In Vox Populi there is not even a word in the wind, no talk for kids, but only raw truths about the world around us. One of the few true last remaining Italian OGs.

One of the most original projects of this April 2024 is undoubtedly the one of the Palermo rapper Louis Dee: “PALIFORNIA“. A work that goes beyond some plain rap. The sounds are light, intimate and profound, taking inspiration from the westcoast influences that have always inspired the Palermo rapper, mixed with jazz and soul elements, all elements which, thanks also to the masterful work of Big Joe, who revisited them in an absolutely contemporary key. They marry perfectly with the style of Louis Dee who tells us about Palermo today, from the personal point of view of an adult man, trapped between disillusionment and the dreams of a gone youth. Also the caliber of collaborations by Ensi, Nerone, Emis Killa and Jack the Smoker contributed to adding quality to the work of the rapper from Palermo. We are therefore talking about an album that differs from every kind of sound and mood that we are used to in Italy, and this is not a minus, but an element of value that makes the work perfect for those who need a breath of fresh air.