Beats and Rhymes

Slum Village

J.Soze

Jazze Pha is the future. Peep game.

One of the most highly anticipated groups in recent memory, Slum Village have hit you off with not one, but two different projects to sink your teeth into. The Dirty District mix CD (Sequence) contains a few SV cuts, plus tracks from homies Que D., Phat Kat, and others, while the Trinity album (Capitol/Priority) follows up where Fantastic left off with way more drippy beats and laid-back rhyming. I’ve never really been a fan, but this shit is definitely growing on me. I think they got me. Also on the “it’s about time” vibe, New York homegirl Jean Grae (formerly What What of Natural Resource) has finally dropped a full-length after countless guest spots and collabos. Attack of the Attacking Things (Third Earth Music) is a mindjob. Following last year’s opus Souldoubt, L.A. underground kingpin Awol One has again teamed up with producing partner Daddy Kev for the follow-up, Number Three on the Phone (Broken). More quirky production and Awolrus’ inimitable drunken ramblings, it’s not to be missed. Also peep his collection of collaborations and hard-to-find songs, Rebirth. Check AwolOne.com for info. Holding it down for too long now, and likely most known for his appearances alongside Kool Keith, Motion Man has teamed up again with the funky redneck, Kutmasta Kurt, for his solo album Clearing the Field (Threshold). An original-voiced and original-styled MC, this cat is so far ahead of the game he can’t even see us in his rearview mirror anymore. Step on the gas and try to catch up. Are Black Sheep coming back? www.CheeseSteakMedia.com. Also peep Cheese Steak’s other artists; they got something going on for real.
Gangster fans, look out for Kurupt’s younger brother Roscoe, whose new album, Young Roscoe Philaphornia (Priority), is one serious ride. Taking you from Philly to L.A., Roscoe’s skills are undeniable, and the kid is definitely gonna follow in his bro’s footsteps and cement himself a permanent spot in this biatch. From my man DJ in the Day By Day Ent. Camp, two new albums to peep: Count Bass D’s Dwight Spitz and MF Grimm’s The Downfall of Iblyss. Underground heads are no doubt familiar with both these cats from countless singles and guest appearances and underground albums. If not, these are two important cats you need to know about, so do some research. Phoenix Orion fans are about to have an exciting next couple of months. Superproductive this year, dude has, like, eight new albums ready to roll. First up, peep Neo Elo Alpha, (Sci Phi Records) with Elusive, DJ Prolifix, and Animal Azul. That’ll be followed up with a couple other things I won’t get into just yet. One of Phoenix’s producers, Syndikat, has also just wrapped up the Magabite (Atom Candy) album with P.E.A.C.E., which will probably be out by the time you read this. Look out for this camp. Big things. Some of you subterranean heads may remember a group called Supreme Being Unit from a few years back. The group is on temporary hiatus, but Mindbender has stepped up, following up his extremely limited EP with his debut solo album Fantasy Land Before Time. Lyrics are the name of his game, if you recognize, holler at him: mindbender777@hotmail.com. Following up their blow-up single/album It’s the L, look out for Lexicon’s killer “Makin’ Music” remix single featuring Apathy and Celph Titled, out on Spytech Records. From Minneapolis, I recently got to check out a cat named Muja Messiah. This cat is on fire. Be on the lookout, www.BlackCorners.com. Out in Oakland, perpetual unsigned and hella broke underdogs Mystik Journeymen are back with a new album, Magic, on their own Revenge Entertainment. Heating up NY’s underground, J.Soze is a female MC ripping it up on the four-song demo I got a hold of. With a straight-up battlecat style and hard lyrics, this girl is on some shit. Check her out at www.JSoze.com. FRITZ THECAT
Send me records, CDs, clothing (xl), shoes (size 10), pictures of your girl, and money. E-mail me for the address: fritz@viceland.com.

Fritz The Cat’s Top Eight (in no particular order):

1. Lexicon: “Makin’ Music” rmx. feat. Celph Titled & Apathy (Spytech) 2. Awol One & Daddy Kev: Number 3 on the Phone (Broken) 3. Phoenix Orion: Neo Elo Alpha (Sci Phi) 4. Roscoe: Philaphornia (Priority) 5. Slum Village: Trinity (Capitol/Priority) 6. Jean Grae: Attack of the Attacking Things (Third Earth) 7. Motion Man: Clearing the Field (Threshold) 8. Mystik Journeymen: Magic (Revenge) 9. J. Soze (Chaos Urban)