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MIXTAPE REVIEW: SinCity – Recession Proof

Apr 13, 2012 by strat - Comments Off on MIXTAPE REVIEW: SinCity – Recession Proof

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Reppin’ New England to the fullest is SinCity with the hot new mixtape Recession Proof. This review is going to be short and to the point. This tape is fire from intro to outro. Arson. City serves up a full menu of 20 tracks of classic, east coast flavoured raps over hard, street laced beats. Recession Proof takes me back to the mid 90s in terms of mixtape feel. With DJ. Motion doing the hosting, cutting and scratching I’m reminded of DJ Clue’s Springtime Stick Up classics. Standout tracks include “Rules”, “Straight Cash Freestyle and “Crazy G Mix”.

While listening to the tape I almost forgot I wasn’t listening to a full album. The feel is so refreshing in terms of what Hip Hop has been missing from the mainstream. Reminiscent of classic Mobb Deep and 50 Cent joints, if you’ve ever been a fan of classic, street heavy, East Coast boom bap music, you’re going to feel this one.

Now we turn to the lyrics, flows and wordplay, where City shows and proves. He dominates rap beats with lines like “put the pound to you and make it trend”, “Bruce Banner in the club, a new man” and “I’m just an artist but my shooters keep the  metal drawn”, City keeps those of us who are lyrically minded satisfied (Honorable mention: “I’m John Ritter 2 bitches 3s company”). Clearly SinCity is an MC and not just a rapper.

If I had to find any areas that I could complain about, it would have to come down to the mix quality of certain tracks (but since it’s a mixtape, dirty is actually kinda cool). The beats are mostly industry beats but City rips them like he owned them. Additionally, one or two of the featured artists don’t seem to be quite up to City’s level but at the same they’re not bad either. To any other indie artists reading this, those who usually buy beats online and put out your own EPs and mixtapes, I suggest you download it a take a listen. I’m sure it will inspire you to write some new fire of your own.

Now for the rating: 4.8 out of 5. Didn’t give it a 5 simply because of the minor issues I mentioned above. After such a strong mixtape, I’m anticipating a project from City over some smoking original rap beats (Album maybe? City if you read this let me know!). Only questions remain are: Can City bring an album which can grab today’s mainstream audience in this current industry climate? Does he even need to care about a mainstream audience? If you want to check the tape out for yourself, download it here.

MIXTAPE REVIEW: Wilson Wright “Victory Laps”

Mar 31, 2012 by strat - Comments Off on MIXTAPE REVIEW: Wilson Wright “Victory Laps”

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Once again from your ultimate source for indie hip hop culture, hot rap beats online and more, we bring you another mixtape review. Not only are we about providing hip hop instrumentals and rap beats for artists to buy online, we also continue to be an active member of the hip hop community and assist in giving artists the exposure they deserve.

Hot off the press and straight out of the DMV and Black Pilots League comes “Victory Laps” from Wilson Wright (@Wrighteouslife). This tape is 12 tracks of what I call easy listening hip hop. The beats are all original and this is highly commendable. Most of the beats are mid to slow tempo and have that really “chill” vibe. That being said, as a producer myself, my only constructive criticism would be that the beats are a sometimes a little too simple and the mixes lack that extra bump. That aside, the tape is still a very good listen.

Wright’s wordplay is sprinkled with gems such as “I create the greatest discs somewhat like Krillin’s hands” ( a reference to the classic anime Dragon Ball Z). The standout tracks on this tape, based on the impact of the beats and how they blend with the flows and the lyrics, are the title track “Victory Laps”, “The Arrival”, “Goodbye” (Ill soul sample!) and “CliffTops”. The latter almost has an old Outkast vibe, which is a serious compliment to Wright and his production partner @Official_BigCAT. 

All in all Wright’s laidback style and braggadocio wordplay are worth the listen and you can check it out here. Out of a possible 5 star rating, “Victory Laps” gets about a 3.8 mostly because the beats didn’t bump as hard as one would like and the track “Goodbye” which has arguably the best vibe on the tape, was too short. Give it a download for the simple reason that Wright is a true MC.

MIXTAPE REVIEW: Hooligan – Road to the Riches

Mar 26, 2012 by strat - Comments Off on MIXTAPE REVIEW: Hooligan – Road to the Riches

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Once again here at StratCarter.com, we aim to be way more than just a top spot to buy hot rap beats and hip hop instrumentals online. This is the first of what will be a regular mixtape review series. We aim to give indie artists as much extra exposure as possible, as well as reviewing tapes from more established artists.

First up is Hooligan with “Road to the Riches”. Hailing from Elizabeth, New Jersey and signed to Xzavier Entertainment, Hooligan delivers 9 bangers for your listening appetite. If you’re not familiar with his style, think a little bit of Nas, a little bit of Em and a lot of mature lyrics and hard-hitting flows. The stand out track in terms of what we believe could blow is “I Stand Alone” ft Rocq Dolo. The Evanescence-esque hook and bridge are infectious and thought-provoking. The heavy south-styled production, which sounds like something Just Blaze might do for Jeezy is pretty much billboard worthy. Other notable tracks are “Criticize” and “Insane”

The truth is the mixtape is a great listen from end to end with no filler. If we get really picky, it could be said that the tape is too short with only 9 tracks but that’s a matter of opinion. Also from a strict lyrical point of view, based on the potential we heard, it would have been nice to have some more intricate wordplay, punchlines, double entendre and metaphor. However something tells me Hooligan got some more of that saved up for the album coming soon.

I’d give it a straight up 4 out of 5 and I seriously recommend you download it here

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