WingsOfAnAngel
Banned
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 3
Review: DJ Hoppa - To April From June
Written By: Wings Of An Angel
Nowadays, when Hip-Hop is slowly morphing into a boring MTV thang, it's getting harder and harder to spot the real gems. One of Hip-Hop's recently-released gemstones must be DJ Hoppa's 'To April From June'. Who is DJ Hoppa? Well, Hoppa is a 21 years old DJ and producer from Van Nuys, CA. He does production for various local MCs and DJs in a band called Odessa. His album, To April From June, has been released in May. It contains 18 tracks, and is over an hour in length. The first thing to notice when you get the album is the AMAZING front cover (http://www.youraveragecrew.com/Images/hoppa/hoppa copy.jpg).
The opening track is a short, 45 seconds intro. Afterwards, there's a short instrumental skit (Freestyle Ingredient), which has a quite astonishing piano line played in sync with some fresh drum patterns.
The third track, 'Something For Your Ass', features the great Cupid Lee; You get a mellow jazzy bass line, swinging R&B drums and some sweet, soulful, singing from Cupid Lee.
Track 4, 12-30-03, features 2Mex (Visionaries) & Life Rexall (ShapeShifters). 2Mex & Life Rexall do not disappoint and seem to be at home with Hoppa's laid-back bluesy beat.
Track 5, No Interlude, starts off with some nice human beat-boxing and scratches. Later On, there's also a subtle sax melody to fill in the gaps.
Track 6, The Chase Scene, features Champ (Move.Meant). The Instrumental is funky and sure to get your feet tapping, hands waving & ass wiggling. The MC is rock solid throughout the whole track, which makes this joint a party-oriented banger.
Track 7, All Night Long, Features Sirus MC & Akword. This Time, Hoppa's beat is a bit heavier than the previous ones. Both MCs perform very well, and the combination of the raw beat and the impressive rapping creates yet another party monster.
So far so good! Track 8, Day By Day, is an instrumental. And what an incredible piece it is! Beautiful, soft, drums, pleasing melodies, charming vocal samples and mysterious vinyl cuts weave into a thought provoking musical masterpiece.
Track 9, 'Excuses', features Cupid Lee & Iconoclast. This is the second soul cut thus far, and I have to say that it's not as good as the previous one...
The basic beat does not work that well with the vocals; Plus, Cupid Lee sounds somewhat hesitant and generally speaking, her act is just not satisfying enough. Iconoclast, on the other hand, is excellent! His outstanding flow hits you as if it was lightning on a gloomy day.
Track 10, Tomorrow's Sorrow, has Shogun on the Mic. First, we get a marvelous, sampled vocal intro. Then, the beat starts off; Melancholic jazz piano on top of a simple yet effective Boom Bap drum section. Shogun blends excellently, delivering his dejected lyrics.
When you think that it cannot get any better, you get June 6th (Track 11). June 6th features the remarkable Mercury Waters, and thanks to a superbly beautiful beat and splendid rhymes, it evolves into an extraordinary piece of music.
The amazing track 12, Life's Equation, features ATypical. The track starts with a beautiful vocal intro, and continues with a magnificent beat and majestic wisdom spat by ATypical. Listening to this track is sure to make you cry from both joy and sadness.
Only OJ Knows My Pain, track 13, features Sirus MC. It begins with a long vocal snippet, and moves on with a smooth beat and cynical lyrics. While it's not a masterpiece, it sure is good filler material.
Track 14, Go find an open mic, is a good freestyle session performed by Bias.
The Pleasure, track 15, finds Mercury Waters on the Mic again. This Time, we get a funk driven groove, with some party rhymes to create the ultimate pleasure. A very good joining which results in a head nodding song.
Track 16, Yesterday's Events, features Mine+Us. This is basically a conscious spoken-word piece.
Track 17, Non-Conformity, features Mine+Us once again. We get to the bottom of things immediately; a nice, simple, beat with matching rapping by the duo. It's not the best cut on the album, but it's solid enough.
The last track is the Outro. Hoppa's beat is so magical that at times it sounds as if it was out of this world. An exceptional ending to a wonderful album.
Ya'll should cop this album and support Hoppa and his crew - http://www.youraveragecrew.com (an online collective of musicians, DJs, MCs, and producers).
As Hoppa himself said: "I promise, you will not be disappointed! And if you are, fuck, I apologize".
Don't Sleep,
Wings Of An Angel
Written By: Wings Of An Angel
Nowadays, when Hip-Hop is slowly morphing into a boring MTV thang, it's getting harder and harder to spot the real gems. One of Hip-Hop's recently-released gemstones must be DJ Hoppa's 'To April From June'. Who is DJ Hoppa? Well, Hoppa is a 21 years old DJ and producer from Van Nuys, CA. He does production for various local MCs and DJs in a band called Odessa. His album, To April From June, has been released in May. It contains 18 tracks, and is over an hour in length. The first thing to notice when you get the album is the AMAZING front cover (http://www.youraveragecrew.com/Images/hoppa/hoppa copy.jpg).
The opening track is a short, 45 seconds intro. Afterwards, there's a short instrumental skit (Freestyle Ingredient), which has a quite astonishing piano line played in sync with some fresh drum patterns.
The third track, 'Something For Your Ass', features the great Cupid Lee; You get a mellow jazzy bass line, swinging R&B drums and some sweet, soulful, singing from Cupid Lee.
Track 4, 12-30-03, features 2Mex (Visionaries) & Life Rexall (ShapeShifters). 2Mex & Life Rexall do not disappoint and seem to be at home with Hoppa's laid-back bluesy beat.
Track 5, No Interlude, starts off with some nice human beat-boxing and scratches. Later On, there's also a subtle sax melody to fill in the gaps.
Track 6, The Chase Scene, features Champ (Move.Meant). The Instrumental is funky and sure to get your feet tapping, hands waving & ass wiggling. The MC is rock solid throughout the whole track, which makes this joint a party-oriented banger.
Track 7, All Night Long, Features Sirus MC & Akword. This Time, Hoppa's beat is a bit heavier than the previous ones. Both MCs perform very well, and the combination of the raw beat and the impressive rapping creates yet another party monster.
So far so good! Track 8, Day By Day, is an instrumental. And what an incredible piece it is! Beautiful, soft, drums, pleasing melodies, charming vocal samples and mysterious vinyl cuts weave into a thought provoking musical masterpiece.
Track 9, 'Excuses', features Cupid Lee & Iconoclast. This is the second soul cut thus far, and I have to say that it's not as good as the previous one...
The basic beat does not work that well with the vocals; Plus, Cupid Lee sounds somewhat hesitant and generally speaking, her act is just not satisfying enough. Iconoclast, on the other hand, is excellent! His outstanding flow hits you as if it was lightning on a gloomy day.
Track 10, Tomorrow's Sorrow, has Shogun on the Mic. First, we get a marvelous, sampled vocal intro. Then, the beat starts off; Melancholic jazz piano on top of a simple yet effective Boom Bap drum section. Shogun blends excellently, delivering his dejected lyrics.
When you think that it cannot get any better, you get June 6th (Track 11). June 6th features the remarkable Mercury Waters, and thanks to a superbly beautiful beat and splendid rhymes, it evolves into an extraordinary piece of music.
The amazing track 12, Life's Equation, features ATypical. The track starts with a beautiful vocal intro, and continues with a magnificent beat and majestic wisdom spat by ATypical. Listening to this track is sure to make you cry from both joy and sadness.
Only OJ Knows My Pain, track 13, features Sirus MC. It begins with a long vocal snippet, and moves on with a smooth beat and cynical lyrics. While it's not a masterpiece, it sure is good filler material.
Track 14, Go find an open mic, is a good freestyle session performed by Bias.
The Pleasure, track 15, finds Mercury Waters on the Mic again. This Time, we get a funk driven groove, with some party rhymes to create the ultimate pleasure. A very good joining which results in a head nodding song.
Track 16, Yesterday's Events, features Mine+Us. This is basically a conscious spoken-word piece.
Track 17, Non-Conformity, features Mine+Us once again. We get to the bottom of things immediately; a nice, simple, beat with matching rapping by the duo. It's not the best cut on the album, but it's solid enough.
The last track is the Outro. Hoppa's beat is so magical that at times it sounds as if it was out of this world. An exceptional ending to a wonderful album.
Ya'll should cop this album and support Hoppa and his crew - http://www.youraveragecrew.com (an online collective of musicians, DJs, MCs, and producers).
As Hoppa himself said: "I promise, you will not be disappointed! And if you are, fuck, I apologize".
Don't Sleep,
Wings Of An Angel
yours is going out asap!)