Favorite time of the year

Is it the brilliant colors the trees begin to turn? The start of college football?  The beginning of the Peyton Manning era here in Colorado? The pumpkin carving and hunt for that perfect Halloween costume? While all of those are great things that are currently happening, those not what I have on mind.
 
It is the time where all these great artists are coming out with new albums and the tours that follow.  In the last few months and next few that follow, there are some new masterpieces in the works.
To start with, Rhymesayers have been busy lately.  I Self Divine dropped The Sound Of Low Class Amerika on 5/8/12.  Aesop Rock has his huge album Skelethon come out 7/10/12.  The most recent Rhymesayer artist to have an album come out is Brother Ali.

Brother Ali released Mourning in America, Dreaming in Color only a few weeks ago on 9/18/12.  With Ant, whose has produced all of Ali's previous records, busy with The Family Sign and touring with Atmosphere, Ali had to find a producer.  Ali teamed up with Jake One and formed a fresh new sound and a little bit of a new direction.  Ali has always had a political, and activist drivin focus on several songs of his albums, like Letter to the Government, Uncle Sam Goddamn, Tight Rope, and The Traveler.  MIADIC may be a little different, but it is exactly what it needed to be.  Brother Ali is on the top of his game and made an amazing, ground breaking piece of work.  Each song has a clear message that is well delivered and to the point.  Not many artists have to abilty or talent to make a record like this, but is one of them. 

Brother is currently on the road for his Mourning in America, Dreaming in Color tour.  With him are a pair of artists who both currently released albums on the same day as Ali.  Homeboy Sandman released First of a Living Breed and The Reminders just came out with Born Champions. 

The Rhymesayers are not done this year.  Later this month, P.O.S. will be releasing We Don't Even Live Here on 10/22/12.  From hearing Bumper,and Fuck Your Stuff, this going to be another smash hit.  Fellow Doomtree collective member Mike Mictlan also just released his newest album, Snaxxx.  Mike will be accompaning P.O.S. this fall when he heads out on tour promoting his new album. 

Still our tour for his latest album The Family Sign is Atmosphere.  With him on tour are I Self Divine and Carnage.  Carnage also had album released on 9/11/12,  Respect the Name. 

If these are albums are not enough for you, I have some more amazing records that have come out in the last couple of years.
Murs and Fashawn - This Generation
Grieves - Together/Apart
Doomtree - No Kings
Eligh and Amp Live -
Immortal Technique - The Martry
Lyrics Born - As You Were
Evidence - Cats and Dogs

Boulder Theater, Sep 20th 2012

It was sold out show at the Boulder Theater, in Boulder, Colorado, for  Carnage, I Self Divine, and Atmosphere.  With a line up like that it could only be one thing, and that's amazing, which it truly was!

Carnage opened up the show a little after 9pm. It was a little odd at first seeing him on the stage by himself with no d.j. or band.  I haven't had the best experiences with m.c.'s running their own show from a laptop.  But soon I was pleasantly surprised.  He began to beat box, making his own beats and sounds, recording them with his pedals, and then looping them over.  As he progressed he had several beats going at once and then would begin to rap over top of his own sounds.  It was truly remarkable to see this happen live.  It takes pure talent to be a one man band like he was.  A highlight of his set was his tribute section he performed.  He first started making the beat and rapping to "Paul Revere" by the Beastie Boys. He followed it up with "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by O.D.B.  Then it was "Star Destroyer", a tribute to his late friend Michael "Eyedea" Larsen. 

I had the pleasure of talking with Carnage a few times throughout the night. I'm impressed when an artist stands at his table all night selling merch and conversing with fans.  To me, that's what it's all about.  It shows he is a real person, with true character.  He introduced himself to me not as Carnage, but as his real name Terrell, which impressed me even more.  He was a pleasure to talk to.  He is a genuinely nice, humble guy, that is just doing what he loves to do.  I asked him if he always does his shows like that.  He said he has used d.j.'s and live bands in the past but he was getting such good feedback from his beatboxing portions of the show that he decided to trying it completely solo.  In my opinion he made the right choice.  In all of the shows I have been to I have never seen a set quite like his.  And it was awesome!

I got stuck in the back of the crowd when I Self Divine came on stage.  More and more people continued to flow into the sold out venue.  I Self Divine put on an energizing, crisp, and enthusiastic performance.  He had some good messages throughout the set, a little political undertone, that make me want to get his latest work to get a better listen.

Finally its the moment everyone has been waiting for!  The lights dim, the crowd erupts.  After a few moments here comes Ant, Nate (guitar), and Erick (keyboard).  "My Key" begins to play.  After a few more moments, here comes Slug in his black hoodie with his hood pulled over his hat.  After a great first song, they break out "Trying to find a balance".  The crowd was loud and on cue, belting out every word to the opening of the song.  His mic was fine, but the crowd was so into it you could barely hear the words from Slug over the audience. 

Overall, it was the best song list I've ever heard from Atmosphere.  They covered songs from Overcast all the way to The Family Sign.  Of course there are always a few of your favorites who wish they would have played, but was surprised with so many of the classics and personal favorites.  I love Lucy Ford, and God Loves Ugly, so it was great to hear some classics like "Gun and Cigarettes" and "God Loves Ugly".  Also enjoyed some of my favorites like "Waitress", "Tomorrow", "Became" and "Sunshine".  He eventually took off the hoodie and was wearing a new black Brother Ali shirt, which I'm sure most of us will be picking up in a few weeks! 

For the encore, Carnage came back out.  He laid down the beats for "1597" from Overcast.   I Self Divine then joined in and the three of them wowed the crowd with a freestyle session.  The freestyle is always a highlight at any hip hop show you attend, allowing the true skills to flow out. 

A highlight of the show for me was during a rendition of "Say Shh".  Slug did a little improvising.  "Doomtree lives here, we have 10,000 lakes", as Slug points to my black No Kings Doomtree hat I'm sporting.  Has Slug ever pointed at you and changed the lyrics to his song?  I thought it was cool, and is something I'll take with me for a while. 

It was my fifth time seeing Atmosphere live and was by far the best performance I have seen from them.  Overall, it ranks in my top five, maybe even top three shows I have ever seen!!  If you have never seen Atmosphere, it is a must see show.  Slug is a legend and always leaves it all out on the stage.  I'm fortunate to have made the sold out show that night in Boulder, Colorado!!   Peace!!