WWW.MIGHTYBURNERS.NET

I decided to make a few changes here at Mighty Burners. I'm currently switching the site from Blogger to Wordpress (which is proving to be a bit more time-consuming than I expected). You can keep up with my progress and check out new updates at the new address...

www.mightyburners.net

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LIVE45's | AWAR & Rob Viktum- All I Want

Sorry folks..I'm craaaazy late with this one. Here's some super heavy and super tight beats & rhymes from NYC emcee AWAR and Texas-based producer Rob Viktum. The single is called "All I Want" and it's a free single that the fellas recently put out for their fans to enjoy. Previous work from both of these cats has been featured on this site before. And if you're familiar with either, then you know that this is a dope collabo that seems like a no-brainer in retrospect. AWAR gives fans more of his trademark straight-no-chaser style that uses vivid lyrics and imagery to create a gritty and authentic "NY til I die" type of realism. While on the production side of things, Viktum digs deep into his stash and pulls out a real jewel of a track. Rob laces AWAR with a speaker rumbling beat that sounds like a mix of dramatic library-music funk and electrified 80's hard rock. Dope work from a dope pairing. I hope there's more in store from this "winning team" (...heh...you see what I did there?).

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NEW RELEASE | Dday One- Dialogue with Life

Two weeks ago I made sure that I did my part to help spread the word about the spiritually-minded goodness that's being created by producer Dday One when I did a write up for the single "Yesterday's Over". And in an effort to make sure that the sort of positive energy that this guy is putting out in the world is shared with as many people as possible, I now encourage you to check out his latest full-length project, Dialogue With Life. On this release Dday One sets thumping loops and rhythms against spacious downtempo backdrops, creating an album that is reflective and meditative without being overly-cerebral. One of the biggest draws of Dialogue With Life is the fact that its constantly changing it's approach- coming across as something explosive one second then changing into something serene the next. Standouts include the dream-like "Towards The Roar", the slightly haunting "Open Cage", the tense and stalking "Journey to the Center", and joyous uprocker "What We Do". 

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NEW RELEASE | J-Zen- The "O" Tape

Straight from the jazzy mind of producer/beatmaker J-Zen comes the low-end heavy beattape The "O" Tape. The sounds on this collection of instrumentals are deeply rooted in the tradition of chopping up samples and loops in order to make new, lo-fi hip hop joints for fans to bump. The project (which dropped early last month...sorry for the lateness peoples!) flows evenly throughout, and makes for a great soundtrack during a much needed cool-out session. Standouts include "Abuelo Jo", "Life..", "PBW (Parisian Break Winter)", and the hypnotic & soulful headnodder "Lyanes". 

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NEW RELEASE | DOC Mastermind- Uyuni pt 2

DOC Mastermind and the Expansion Collective recently released the second half of the Parisian producer's two-part, multi-label project entitled Uyuni. The project is a chill-wave lover's dream as DOC Mastermind continues to give listeners the same level of high grade laid-back future-funk that made the previous installment in the series, Uyuni, pt 1 such a dope album.  Stand outs include the 80's-soul-meets-LA-beat-scene re-edit gem "Aneeta" (which features producer Mecca:83 providing an assist behind the board), the G-funk tinted "Space Homeboy (Prequel Reboot)",  and the Moog-bass stomper "UDaBest". And if you haven't done so already, check out Uyuni, pt 1 and enjoy even more hi-tech funk from the one and only DOC Mastermind. 

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LIVE45's | Ida Divine- Pandora/GTFOH

Brand new music from singer/songwriter Ida Divine who recently posted 2 new cuts on her Soundcloud page. The first is a dope display of "Ms. Ida's" skills as an emcee entitled "Pandora". Divine drops a slick, one-take verse that clearly shows the art of emceeing isn't just something she dabbles in on occasion. The rhymes are sharp and on point as Divine flows like clear water over a jazzy D.I.T.C.-styled beat. This  is followed by a biting critique of today's music industry and mainstream radio called "GTFOH". If you know the acronym, then believe me when I tell you that it's everything that you might expect (and more) from such a pull-no-punches song title. At once brash and bittersweet, Ida doesn't bite her tongue when it comes to letting music execs, DJ's, artists, and even the fans know exactly how little regard she has for today's mainstream music scene. And while the track is overtly tongue-in-cheek, Divine still brings her signature A-game vocals to the acerbic track. Ida Divine is quickly becoming one of my favorite rising stars and I look forward to hearing more and more music from this forward-thinking artist.

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NEW RELEASE | K.Raydio & O-D- One Drop

One of the leading voices in the independent soul scene, singer/songwriter K.Raydio teams up with hip-hop producer & arranger O-D to finally bring fans their instantly addictive collaborative album One Drop. Fans that are familiar with K.Raydio's sultry vocals from her previous releases will absolutely celebrate this album as the young songstress continues to deliver her trademark sweetly seductive notes throughout this LP (as showcased on the stylish and well received single "The Back Wall"). With that said, fans shouldn't expect to hear song after song of Raydio resting comfortably in a smooth, neo-soul lane. Producer and partner in crime O-D not only creates melodic, hip hop-soul soundbeds for his vocalist to shine on, he systematically pushes K.Raydio's sound into fierce and sneakingly bluesy realms as evidenced on the album's lead single "Underdog". K. also bears her claws and stalks her prey on a steamy production entitled "First Name", and showers some well deserved praise on the self-assured soul sisters with a sexy little number entitled "Miss Turner". While K.Raydio clearly draws power from a number of old-school singers and songwriters, her music is always clear and distinctly her own throughout One Drop. A large part of the group's dynamic sound is due to the fact that O-D makes post-hip-hop-generation soul music that is informed by R&B and rock music from the past - not just a mere imitation of it. Throughout the album O-D music feels fluid and responsive to what his muse is doing in the vocal booth - which, I feel, is an instant identifier of a true collaboration between a producer and an artist. With One Drop the dynamic duo from Minneapolis have put together a rousing and confident soul set that will undoubtedly go down as one of the best projects to come out this year.

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NEW RELEASE | Element Rhymes- No Fear

While still working on putting together his official debut (?) album, L.A. rhymesmith Element Rhymes has just released a hard hitting, street-level mixtape entitled No Fear for the people to get into. Rhymes flexes a commanding flow and aggressive mic presence on the project, showing the same sort of raw and undeniable promise displayed by other rising independent emcees such as Scheme Navarro and Lyriciss while still paving his own lane as an emcee. While the mixtape is meant to serve as an introduction and promotional joint, Element gives it his all on every track. Standouts include "5 am in Los Angeles", "Baby Love", "Battle Royale", "Pound Cake" and "Dead Presidents Again".  

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NEW RELEASE | Grafh- 88 Crack Era

A brand new mixtape from Queens emcee Grafh. While some of you may be thrown off by the title '88 Crack Era, I'm promise you that if you're a fan of Golden-era beats & rhymes than you're going dig this one. The project is a dope homage to late 80's/early 90's NYC/East Coast rap music, with live reworkings of classic tracks from Black Moon, Nas, Onyx, Ill Al Skratch, Special Ed, and more. I'm sure you've heard other cats spit over classic boom bap tracks, but Grafh definitely brings that authentic "I'm-on-my-New-York-shit" type energy from start to finish on this mixtape. Yes, there's references to hustlin' and dealing, but that's a big part of what molded the sound of that era in hip hop. And honestly, Grafh doesn't beat you in the head with it nearly as bad as some of these "cocaine trafficking rap stars" that claim to be moving product 24/7/365. Standouts include "Don't Front", "New York Shit", "She The Homie" and the lead single "Walk in New York". 

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VIDEO | Curci live @ The Aggie Theatre - October 16th, 2014

Back in July we* put you all up on an uprising emcee by the name of Curci after checking out his video "Killin' Em".  Since that time, the Colorado-based emcee and Conscious Minds crew representative has been doing his thing in support of his Forever Summer mixtape. A couple of weeks ago the 19 year old opened up for Rhymesayers rhyme-sayer (that's that music blogger witticism at work right there homie!) Grieves when his "A Different Kind of Wild" tour hit Fort Collins, CO. Check out some highlight footage from Curci's live show as he performed for a pack house at the Aggie Theatre. 
* ...by "we" I mean "I" as this whole blog is a one man show. But "we" just makes it sound a little more professional (insert Kanye shrug). 

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LIVE45's | Lew Sid- Play Out In The Rain

New music from a new name to the site! The track is called "Play Out In The Rain" and it's part of a series of releases from a up-and-coming emcee out of Virginia Beach by the name of Lew Sid. The track, which is partly a "reminisce about the good times" type joint and partly a "don't let this life beat you down" type of anthem, is a solid offering that really grew on me with repeated listenings. Tight production from producer Rich Kidd and rhymes with substance from Lew made this one stand out from some of the other submissions to the site. I haven't had a chance to check out more from Lew Sid yet, but this track has definitely caught my ear. If you dig what you're hearing, head over to LewSidRaps.com and check out the rest of the sinlges in the "The First & The Fifteenth" series.

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LIVE45's | D.A.C Beats- ¡Janet's Joint!

Outstanding remix/refix work from Brazilian production wunderkind D.A.C  Beats.  The standout Darker Than Wax affiliate adds just the right amount of spacey, new-school future-funk to the now-classic late 90's jam "I Get Lonely" as made famous by the one and only Janet Jackson. People have to stop sleeping on this cat! Heavy synths, lively percussion, and top tier editing pretty much guarantee that this one will be getting heavy rotation on mix shows like Soulection and Eavesdrop Radio.  Press play and enjoy.

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LIVE45's | Chandanie- Drop.It.

Here's something a little different from a singer/songwriter by the name of Chandanie Orgias. The track is a sweet little freestyle-type track that features the Institute of Flyer Learning vocalist dropping some deep "chopped & screwed"-esque vocals over the rare J-Dilla production "Flowers". I'm diggin' the track's dream-like quality and the fact that the music really seemed to mold Chandanie's approach and delivery. Too many times artists just seem to slap their music over Dilla's work without any sort of influence from the original work. Dope work from a young singer out of Brooklyn that you should definitely be keeping tabs on. Dig the sounds.

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