Black Beans Blogue

Jimmy Dade - “Vampin” (Dec 2012) I love anything...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:09:17 -0400

Jimmy Dade - “Vampin” (Dec 2012)

I love anything that is purely Miami like this track. It stays true to the stick-drilled type sound that has been popular for the past few years. But what’s cool is that by simply adding some claps throughout the verse/chorus it starts to sound fairly mainstream.

Siti Slicka - “Kidd Shit” (2012) Here’s a new...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:22:04 -0500

Siti Slicka - “Kidd Shit” (2012)

Here’s a new video for “Kidd Shit” from Siti Slicka’s 2012 mixtape Art of Swagg. The first verse on this one unfortunately sounds a lot like Weezy (back when Weezy was Weezy). But the second verse improves in originality and there’s a bit more edginess to the delivery. Siti Slicka seems to do a good job when intensity required which can be seen of the better videos from last year in “Overload.”

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The Kolyons - “I Am Paid” (Feat. Juvenile)...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:00:27 -0500

The Kolyons - “I Am Paid” (Feat. Juvenile) (2013)

This is from left field and I have no idea where the Juvenile connection comes from. Only thing I know about Kolyon is there was a cool song telling me to “Go’n Do Ur Kolyon,” which I really haven’t stopped doing.

Bari - “Guns -N- Butter” (Feat. Vandam Bodyslam...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:56:00 -0500

Bari - “Guns -N- Butter” (Feat. Vandam Bodyslam & Freddy P) (2013)

(The vid is probably NSFW or even this coffee shop I’m sitting in, has a couple of strip club scenes)

Vandam Bodyslam is solidifying himself as my favorite rapper out of South Florida just because he wears Florida Gator hats (and he’s apparently cool with star UF recruit Kelvin Taylor). Also, he can rap well.

Bari expresses some heartfelt stuff about ~the struggle~ and supporting his mom, which I hope we all can appreciate. But Vandam’s brief feature on the second verse stands out. His verse just seems effortless. Vandam’s on another level compared to almost every other street rapper out of South Florida. His voice has some combination of grimey and hoarseness that is pretty gripping. And to think he’s only talking about blunts, women and freeing his friends from incarceration.

Vurn - “Bang!” (2013) Here’s another new...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:14:00 -0500

Vurn - “Bang!” (2013)

Here’s another new albeit short track from Vurn to follow up the really cool sounding (and also short!) “Stacey Dash.”

Vurn lays a great hook on “Bang!” over a smooth beat by Mr. Manuvers. The sample in the beat creates a scene of bleakness that helps form the picture of tough circumstance Vurn tries to convey:

Still in debt ‘cause I’m bettin’ on the Dolphins.

Saw somebody get shot in the face. Don’t think about it often.

I stopped keeping up with backpacker rap a while ago because most of the material was fairly trite. Vurn has been a solid rapper for a while and fits this backpacker mold, but “Bang!” shows him finding a distinct flow that makes his style more appealing. This song works for me despite being very short for its content. Dope lines like this don’t hurt either:

They say we all just products of our environment.

No jobs, plenty work, we’re all firing.

Skreetz - “Faces” (feat. Y.D.) (2012) New video...

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:11:00 -0500

Skreetz - “Faces” (feat. Y.D.) (2012)

New video from the awesomely named Skreetz. I’m not sure how often a two piece and a biscuit from Popeyes has done many people in, but I’ll take their word for it.

Skreetz explains his trust issues in an very angry manner, which is pretty much the only way he knows how. Overtown native Y.D. provides a smooth flow in between Skreetz’s verses with almost uncomfortably inspirational lyrics.

Choo Choo - “Where I Live” (2012) Here, Choo Choo...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:24:00 -0500

Choo Choo - “Where I Live” (2012)

Here, Choo Choo takes us on a tour of north Broward county. Most Miami based rappers have more or less lost their sense of community in favor of generic and mainstream approaches to rap music (thanks, YMCMB and MMG influences). This is in contrast to Broward county, which continues to present music that is fun but still locally relevant like “Where I Live” and ”Shyt Just Got Real” from Ft. Lauderdale’s CoA Babii.

ATL Swag Rap Mix (2012) There’s nothing better than the...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 20:00:32 -0400

ATL Swag Rap Mix (2012)

There’s nothing better than the hilarity of Travis Porter, energy of Roscoe Dash, motivation of Rich Kidz, and the misogynistic romance of Stuey Rock. I wasn’t able to find a mix with all these dudes on one thing so I just made my own.

Working title for this was ‘What Come On a Sausage Biscuit?’ and Other Questions of the Ballads of ATL’s Swag Rap Scene.” S/o David T. and Tyrone P. for suggest a handful of songs for this.

1 | Travis Porter - “Waffle House” (Feat. Waka Flocka)

2 | Travis Porter - “That’s Dem”

3 | Yung La - “We In This Thang”

4 | Juicy J - “Durr She Go” (Feat. Travis Porter)

5 | Future - “Shinin (Remix)” (feat. 2 Chainz, Stuey Rock, Yo Gotti & Gucci Mane)

6 | Stuey Rock - “Stuey Rock Feat. Future_So Good_Clean”

7 | Roscoe Dash - “I Be Shopping”

8 | Shawty Lo - “All The Way Up” (feat. Stuey Rock)

9 | Roscoe Dash - “Show Out”

10 | Rich Kidz - “Never Did”

11 | Tex James - “Smart Girl” (Feat. Stuey Rock)”

12 | Stuey Rock - “You The One”

13 | Waka Flocka Flame - “No Hands” (Feat. Roscoe Dash & Wale)

14 | Travis Porter - “Ayy Ladies” (feat. Tyga)

15 | Stuey Rock - “Leanin”

16 | Rich Kids - “Patna Dem” (Feat. Young Dro)

17 | T.I. - “Hot Wheels” (feat. Travis Porter & Young Dro)

18 | Travis Porter - “Broke Niggas Make Me Sick (Throw Up)”

19 | Travis Porter - “You Don’t Know”

20 | RIch Kidz - “Nun Else 2 Do (Prod By DJ Spinz)”

21 | Roscoe Dash - “All The Way Turnt Up (feat. Soulja Boy)”

22 | Travis Porter - “My Team Winnin’” (Feat. Wale)

23 | Mykko Montana - “Do It” (feat. K.Camp)

24 | Stuey Rock - “Track 5-Nympho Maniac Feat Rob Fetti(Prod. C-Note)

25 | Rich Kidz - “My Life Feat. Waka Flocka [Prod. By London]

26 | Marcus Manchild - “A Million” (feat. Travis Porter & Big K.R.I.T.)

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Legacy of C.o.A Babii - “Shyt Just Got Real”...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 01:12:31 -0400

Legacy of C.o.A Babii - “Shyt Just Got Real” (2012)

Legacy of C.o.A Babii Lauderdale’s Logo (I really hope he keeps this as his entire stage name), had a fun dance song hit with “Wig’n” in 2008. This was one of the few instances of Miami-Dade County neighbor Broward County setting trends in the region.

“Shyt Just Got Real” just hits hard with the chanting and singing in the hook. But I love this because it could signal a cool movement in Miami’s jook/dance raps. While the beat sounds like a lo-fi version of music from the last stage of your favorite RPG, there is a little bit more thematic depth than than the aforementioned “Wig’n” and tracks like Ball Greezy’s “Shone” and Grind Mode’s “I’m So High.”

#PopOff

Bizzle - “Naked Hustle” (2007) Miami rapper Bizzle...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:08:10 -0400

Bizzle - “Naked Hustle” (2007)

Miami rapper Bizzle was shot dead last night in front of a car wash in Liberty City. His kids were near by in a car (they were unharmed). Bizzle was well known for a handful of joints that were likely to be played at local strip clubs. But eventually tracks made their way throughout Florida thanks to accompanying dances like the wutang in the case of “Naked Hustle”. “Lip Biting Animal” and “Wet Wet” were right in the same vein of overt raunchiness that had come out of Miami in the previous decades prior to Bizzle.

On “Dangerous” Bizzle does a good job of complementing fellow Miami standouts Ball Greezy and Ice Berg’s flows by crooning as if he is regretful and enthralled at the same time by being “too dangerous.” He was shot at the same car wash that a few scenes of the “Dangerous” video were filmed.

Laza Morgan - “Gimme Little” (2012) I wasn’t...

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:57:24 -0400

Laza Morgan - “Gimme Little” (2012)

I wasn’t expecting a track like this from my weekly roundup of new dance hall music. It’s a pleasant surprise because I’ve been listening to way too much Cameo and DeBarge lately, so this works for me.

Most of Laza’s other singles fits the formula for his biggest hit so far, ”This Girl” from the Step Up 3 soundtrack. “One by One” with Movado and “Ballerina” both have heavy elements of upbeat R&B with some rap and pop thrown in. I’m normally very skeptical of fusing Caribbean sounds with, well, anything really. But I’m not mad at the direction of Laza Morgan’s music. There’s a clear distinction that he’s a R&B artist essentially making pop music, but in songs like “Timber,” he executes the dance hall singjay style of combining rapping and singing pretty well.

I enjoy watching songs like “Hold Yuh” and “No Games” rise to the mainstream because they do so mysteriously since they were developed for the local dance hall scenes. From the riddims to the slang, nothing is obvious about these songs that says one would hear them in any of the major (and fickle) radio markets in the States. A refined version of Gyptian and Serani in the form of Laza Morgan breaking through is refreshing because it’s not rehashed dance hall turned into mindless pop.

Short Kidd - “The Mafia” (2012) (Two Short Kidd...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:17:15 -0400

Short Kidd - “The Mafia” (2012)

(Two Short Kidd posts within a few days of each other, I really should plan this stuff better). Vulcha 101 Freshman Year dropped this weekend and it completely surprised me. It has an array of good songs that kind of confirms my point from the last post on Short Kidd’s development. There’s auto-tune on “Tear It Down.” There are jook songs like “Sipping On One” & “Work It Out” with prominent contributors to the jook scene like Desloc and Krazy K. There are also fruity synth-driven puppy love songs that I don’t get but teenagers tend to like.

But most of all it is a diverse collection of songs that all kind of work in their own way considering they are from a young rapper who is developing his skills. Honestly, the tape isn’t well arranged; the puppy love track awkwardly follows the most hardcore song on the tape, “Twisting Up My Fingers”. But the fact that Short Kidd can offer a fresh take to the overused Lex Luger sound as he does on “Twisting Up My Fingers” is dope. It shows potential and all that but really it just boils down to being dope.

When you listen to “The Mafia” there are hints of creativity in the delivery and originality in themes. This all comes makes sense when one sees that Short Kidd produced (if we’re left to trust the credits on DatPiff mixtape downloads) the two weirdest sounding tracks on the mixtape “Ima Vulcha” and “Tote Dat Fye”. Both of those cause me the frantically spazz-out and be scared at the same time.

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Short Kidd - “I Remember” (2012) Not that I have the...

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:40:00 -0400

Short Kidd - “I Remember” (2012)

Not that I have the right to question anyone’s fashion sense, but Short Kidd is likely the only person to ever wear beanies and knit caps in Miami. He’s also still buttoning up a polo all the way to the top.

This is probably the most gripping video you’ll watch that was mostly shot on a Metro bus. Short Kidd’s nonchalant flow compliments the sparse sound of the beat on ”I Remember.”

Hustle all night, that’s why I never grew.

Now I’m meeting cousins that I never knew.

This song shows a lot of progress for Short Kidd. Crafting a rap ballad that chronicles your struggles is a big step from making strip club joints with YouTube madman Steven Jo. Last Year’s “I’m a Vulcha” was spastic and haunting anthem. But more than anything else it was original. It was in a completely different lane than other songs out of Miami.

Street music in Miami is normally limited to the mimicry of whatever is popular in the mainstream. But North Miami tends to be an isolated little part of Miami, mainly because of the large Haitian immigrant community in that area. The different experiences the youth face show up in their music. In addition to Short Kidd, Jimmy Dade and Vulcha Smooth both represent North Miami with original sounds.

A cool collab with Short Kidd & Desloc of Piccalo came out last month. Hopefully this is a sign that Short will continue to make songs but it probably just means he only records during the Summer breaks from school.

Dat Guy - “19 In My Nina” (2012) The one where...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:25:26 -0400

Dat Guy - “19 In My Nina” (2012)

The one where Atlanta swag-rap, autotuned vocals met a Big K.R.I.T.-esque beat and every hip Miami rapper discovered that the Miami Marine Stadium exists.

Davido - “OverSeas” (Feat. SinaRambo) (2012) Last...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:40:48 -0400

Davido - “OverSeas” (Feat. SinaRambo) (2012)

Last time we encountered Davido, he was spazzing intensely on “Dami Duro.” “OverSeas” uses the same sort of smooth, pop-sounding Caribbean-inspired rhythm and lots of energy. The track has a bit more romance than the swaggerificence of “Dami Duro”.

Normally when a young artist barely makes eye contact with the camera in a video it’s a sign of shyness or discomfort. But the instances of Davido’s utter disregard for the camera is probably just him in his own world jamming to the music. That passion tends to make his music even more fun.

The video was shot in Miami by directed by Miami native Antwan Smith and edited by JFrank.

Ball Greezy - “Toe Down” (2012) After a couple of...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 23:17:00 -0400

Ball Greezy - “Toe Down” (2012)

After a couple of attempts at being pretty mainstream. and consequently pretty boring, Ball Greezy comes back into form with “Toe Down.” This might seem like a weak attempt at a Future-like mumbled sing-rap style but the Haitian descendant very deliberately mimics an ambiguous West Indian accent to add to the ridiculousness of whatever is toe down.

He reminds me of that desperate friend who likes to make it seem like they can game any girl but since they talk about it so much you know better. It’s silly enough to be entertaining.

“Shone” was one of the biggest hits of the jook movement and got as much radio play as the other jook standout “I’m So High” by Grind Mode. What’s impressive is that he stole the spotlight on “Dangerous” from local favorite Ice Berg. When the beat breaks his knack for making catchy melodies is shown in how he self-loops parts of his bars. It’s a poorly mixed track that turns out being a jam partly because Ball Greezy.

(via iBlog126.com)

Christopher Martin - “Chill Spot” (2012) Just a feel...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:11:36 -0400

Christopher Martin - “Chill Spot” (2012)

Just a feel good song with a soulful vibe. Comfort music!

U.K.T. - “Hoodrich/Boomin” (2011) This is a U.K.T....

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:32:00 -0400

U.K.T. - “Hoodrich/Boomin” (2011)

This is a U.K.T. video from late last year that features cameos from Jimmy Dade, Young Breed, Florida Marlins caps, a guy biting a fold of hundred dollar bills, and kids bashfully throwing up sets.

Chadillac - “Stylin’ On Em” (2012) Chadillac...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:24:34 -0400

Chadillac - “Stylin’ On Em” (2012)

Chadillac released a pre-mixtape (not even sure what that is) The Caution Tape that featured a lot of rap verses and a lot of singing but rarely on the same song. It also didn’t have “Stylin’ On Em”, which is likely either a mistake or a hold-off for the upcoming Imaginary Friends.

Chadillac’s at his best when there is a clear delineation between flowing about the subtleties of family and friend relationships and singing to draw these emotions together. There’s no benefit for him to be another Drake, Kid Ink or Kirko Bangz and blend rapping and singing.

“Stylin’ On Em” works well for the Goulds native because that beat is dope but also because he can separate his two skills and have the most fun with both. Chad uses the same format on one of my favorite songs this year on “Eat The Cake“ with Overtown’s Y.D.

Siti Slicka - “Overload” (2012) Things every video...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 16:48:38 -0400

Siti Slicka - “Overload” (2012)

Things every video should have:

fat guy with no shirt but very thick steel chain on
Marlins jersey
sporadic zoom ins and zoom outs
random scene of something gettin smashed

The “overload” chant in the background made this song pretty cool before Siti Slicka even started rapping. I fear that I’m going to be chanting it in my head all week.

Hatin’ on a zoe. What the fuck you mean?

1804, we been doing our thing.

Rappers who know their history is always a plus.