I was browsing my boy Kevin Nottingham’s blog the other day (TDot stand up!) and he had a nice piece on Street Famous that got me educated on Seel Fresh and his new project. Here’s what Kevin had to say:

As a former graffiti artist, Seel Fresh, who hails from Chicago, regurgitates hip-hop in true form on his second LP, Street Famous. The album is a storybook of Seel Fresh’s life, acknowledging his past, present and future.

In a beat reminiscent of 80’s hip-hop and exclusive to Chi-town hip-hop, Seel Fresh starts his album by paying tribute to his graffiti past on the title track. He brings awareness to the fame he gained via his numerous tags throughout the streets of Chicago. Revealing this past makes way for “Rock That”, a personal ode to hip-hop. Using a call-and-response tactic in the song, Seel Fresh imitates the style and energy of Naughty By Nature’s “O.P.P.”, but nonetheless, maintains a smooth, clean and well-timed delivery. Fresh further pays homage to artists that have paved the way in hip-hop with “Problems”, which is a copy-cat sample beat of AZ’s same-titled song.

Over a classical piano instrumental produced by the Chicago underground production team Molemen, Seel’s story-telling nature is revealed on “Wrong Destination”. He delivers lyrical content that exposes the struggles and victories of trying to come up correct. The same simplistic piano melody is repeated on “Old Chicago”, Seel Fresh’s subdued and personal lyrical ode to his city. The emcee brings refreshing lyrical content on “I Think She Could Be”, another Chi-town infused beat, expressing ideas of love, but moreover, revealing the softer side of this album. In contrast, “Came a Long Way” could easily be mistaken for a beat off a Hova album because it is as hard-hitting and energized as a Just Blaze production.

“Paid Dues” and “Prosper (H.I.P.H.O.P)” are the most passionate songs about hip-hop on the album. Both exude the elements that hip-hop has grown from. With lyrical content and metaphorical subject matter that speaks of hip-hop’s historical side and culture; they reveal the persistenceSeel Fresh has had (and has) to make it big.

On the 14-track album, it’s overall a good look for Seel Fresh. The melodies of a few songs sound awfully similar and he could’ve done without; “Handling Biz”, “Gotta Get It” and ‘Know About Me”. While his delivery and breath control are, for the most part, on point, his rhyme schemes are often too simplistic and repetitive. Because the songs are rather short in length, Seel’s repetition leads to the feeling of one long song, as opposed to single, developed tracks. Despite the flaws, Street Famous contextualizes another element of hip-hop and it’s refreshing to see graffiti expressed throughout a full album. Seel Fresh has brought the passion of hip-hop culture in it’s entirety to Street Famous, no doubt.

Overall Score: 70/100

(Via KevinNottingham.com)

Tracklist after the jump. Buy the CD here.

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Dope album by Double A.B. Here’s a review from okayplayer.com:

After grinding as a battle rapper for years, New York emcee Double A.B. is putting less emphasis on scathing punchlines and drawing more from personal material. Diesel is a cohesive and vivid Gotham City auditory memoir where just the appearance of certain guest rappers—Cormega, Nature, Vast Aire, among others—invoke grit and restlessness.After grinding as a battle rapper for years, New York emcee Double A.B. is putting less emphasis on scathing punchlines and drawing more from personal material. Diesel is a cohesive and vivid Gotham City auditory memoir where just the appearance of certain guest rappers—Cormega, Nature, Vast Aire, among others—invoke grit and restlessness.
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Here you go, stop bitching already (you know who you are). Shouts to Sunz at MS.

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Here you go, stop bitching already (you know who you are). Shouts to Sunz at MS.

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With everyone making big noise about Tip’s latest release I thought we introduce you all to Tip’s unreleased album that was slated to come out between The Renaissance and Amplified, but never did due to his record labels disdain for the new direction he was taking his music in (some people compare it to Common’s Electric Circus). To basically say “fuck you” to the labels Tip leaked the album on the internet himself and here is the end result. A must have for an universal quester.

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Luda’s highly anticipated new album. From the looks of it it should be dope.

░       ARTiST…….: ludacris                                      ▀▀▀▓▓████
░       ALBUM……..: theater of the mind                           ▀ ▄  ▀▓▓█
░       GENRE……..: rap           TRACKS…: 14                     ▐▓▄ ▐▓▓
░▄▀     RELEASE DATE.: 11/19/2008    SiZE…..: 81,7 MB                ▓▓▓▌ █▓
▒▌▄▄    YEAR………: 2008          SOURCE…: cdda                 ▄▓▓▓▀  ▓█
▓▓▀     LABEL……..: Def Jam       QUALiTY..: lame3.97 V2     ▄▄▄▓▓▀▀     ▒▓
▓▌      PLAYTIME…..: 60:20 min                             ▄▓▓▓▀▀▄▄ ▀     ▒█
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