George Watsky: giving all he can do once more?

George Watsky has had a couple of turbulent years behind him; gaining widespread popularity via Youtube in 2011 and attracting attention in a quite negative way last year, the young rapper is becoming more well-known every year. With increasing attention also comes the opportunity to go on worldwide tours, which the San Francisco native has been doing for quite some time. Last year the Diggers had the opportunity to see him in Amsterdam for his Cardboard Castles tour in Paradiso, where Watsky played an amazingly intimate concert for his audience, which is an experience we yearned to be a part of again. Luckily for us, 2014 brought a new album called All You Can Do and an accompanying tour; October first, it was time for us to see if George Watsky would do justice to the tour’s name and give us all he could do once more.

This year, the setting was slightly different. The venue had changed from Paradiso to the Melkweg, which was paired with a slight increase in the capacity. Fortunately this increase in capacity came with almost no reduction in intimacy, one of Watsky’s trademark features. Combine that with the fact that the Melkweg is one of our favorite venues anyway and you’ve already satisfied an important requirement for a good concert.

Anderson Paak, one of Watsky’s band members, opened the concert in a soulful way. Being quite a talented vocalist and drummer, and having a small band to support him, he took his audience on a journey that was eclectic in the fullest sense of the word. Alternating between his own songs and covers (including an awesome version of Seven Nation Army) that spanned multiple genres, all while interacting with the crowd, Paak did exactly what he was supposed to do: warm up the audience. Unfortunately the last song’s trap beat sounded too un-originally plastic to us and could surely have been left out, but that’s only a small blemish on an otherwise solid performance; Paak’s charisma, musical talent and seemingly casual, self-assured attitude made him a great opening act.

After a brief pause to get some beers, it was time for the Lafontaines, a five-membered band that came all the way from Glasgow to support Watsky. Entering the stage with a loud “What’s up Amsterdam?” and roaring guitars, the band caught the crowd’s attention and got them to jump to their heavy drumbeat immediately. Though the band could simply have been a less impressive crossbreed of the Beastie Boys and Linkin Park, they turned out to be unique soon enough, proving to be very well capable of blending hip hop and indie together into a whirlwind that was only interrupted to catch a breath in between songs. As Paak did, the band took their time to interact with the audience, crack a few jokes and make them bust some moves, which is again exactly what a supporting act should do. Some sweaty 50 minutes later they left the stage, leaving an amped up audience hungry for more.

Another short break gave the crew some time to clear out the stage for the man everybody came to see: George Watsky. Accompanied by his band Crème Fraîche, Watsky came out strong, capturing the audience with his presence from the second he started rapping. Old songs and new ones alike flowed from his mouth like verbal waterfalls in the impressively fast fashion that we’re used to hearing from him. And engaging his listeners from the beginning, Watsky did an even better job in terms of interaction than his supporting acts did, mostly because the audience was more familiar with his songs.
The concert had a nice flow to it. Riling up the crowd with songs like Whoa Whoa Whoa was nicely balanced by quieter songs like Cannonball which, by creating an intimate moment with Watsky as the focal point, was one of the show’s highlights in general. Other memorable moments include an amazing medley of Watsky’s older songs that provided plenty of opportunity to shout along with the lyrics and some of the moments that revolved around the individual band members. Being a true team player, Watsky made sure that the focus wasn’t only on him and gave his band members plenty of room to express themselves and play solos. This led to an amazing drum solo that lasted for a couple of minutes and an intimate song by Anderson Paak and the band’s bassist.
No matter how many songs were played, the audience was so captivated by the music that they did not seem to get tired. Unfortunately though, all good things have to come to an end eventually, as did the concert after almost 1.5 hours. After an encore that did justice to the entire evening, the people were left satisfied and were provided the opportunity to say hi to Watsky, shake hands and take pictures shortly afterwards.

Overall, we can conclude that the evening was not only a concert, but a true event in its own right. Not only Watsky provided a great show, but Anderson Paak and the Lafontaines surely contributed to the vibe of the night as well; as the evening’s name suggested, the artists surely made it seem like they did all they could indeed. We’d therefore recommend seeing any of the artists by themselves, but even more so when they’re performing in the same event. Unfortunately though, us Europeans seem to be in for quite of a wait until that’s going to happen again. However, if you’re a resident of North America, Australia or India, you’re in luck. If you want to be a part of the amazing experience that is a George Watsky concert, there are ample chances to do so. Tour dates can be found here, so be sure to get tickets for when the tour hits your home town. (San Franciscans, put November 28 in your agenda.) All we can do for now, is wait.

-The Biologist and the Chemist

The Roots

Today we are discussing a group that has gained some major attention over the last period. They went from being a well received hip hop group to being on international television every week night; I am talking about hiphop formation The Roots. A lot of you will probably know them for their current project, being the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late night show: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The Roots is probably one of the most recognizable hiphop bands, because of their sound and looks. Their music is best described as a combination of hiphop mixed with jazzy sounds and electric compounds. They manage to make relaxing music which just feels liquid. By using a full live band, live and in the studio they manage to separate themselves from the general hiphop crowd and ascend to something with more soul and feeling.

The Roots were founded in 1987 by frontman Tariq Trotter a.k.a. Black Thought and Ahmir Thompson a.k.a. Questlove, who is recognizable by his oldskool afro, often with the comb still in his ‘fro. In this period they added 3 more members (Malik B, Hub and Josh Abrams) and were called The Square Roots. Since they began recording they have produced 10 studio albums, 2 EPs and did project with various other artists, making it up to number 7 on the list of best hiphop groups of all time on about.com.
Both of the founding members started out playing on the streets, where Black Thought would spit rhymes of the drum beats of Questlove who drummed on buckets. While still being in highschool they attended the local talent show, which resulted in their first organized performance. Their first album Organix was released in 1993 which generated quite some attention and led to a record deal. One year later they released their second album on the DBC label.
Their public breakthrough was in 1999 though their fourth album called When Things Fall Apart, Which became platinum in 2013 and was nominated for Best Rap Album.

From making boom bap hiphop to really jazzy and electric music, they never lose their touch and keep making original music, being ahead of their time. You notice how their musicality plays out like a synergy, especially during the Jimmy Fallon shows, where they randomly start jamming to accompany what happens on stage, total improv, but flawless. Currently the band consists of 7 members, but the composition of the band has changed a lot over the years, adding different artists and instruments the their sound.

Their latest endeavour is playing live on international television. They joined Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Show in 2009 and moved up, together with Fallon, to the Tonight Show where the Roots serve a Jimmy Fallons house band. The band is not just a nice gimmick, but they really add to the show with their own personalities and of course their music. They accompany artists guesting on the show and provide some awesome transition music during fragments.
They almost got kicked off the show due to their personal choice of songs they always play when a guest appears on the show. They always use a known song and give it a twist to link it to the guest. When they had a political guest,  US Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, they played a snippet of a song called “Lying Bitch”. This almost led to their dismissal of the show and they now need to have approval from the network to use certain songs on the show instead of picking them on their own.

All in all The Roots is one of the greatest active hiphop formations in the world, and we at Digging For Gems always enjoy seeing them doing their thing on the Tonight Show and we hope to keep seeing and hearing more of them in the near future!

-The Biologist

Evil Brain Angel Heart

We at Digging For Gems care about what our followers have to say. And today we are answering a request for an article, by discussing one of the most distinguishable rappers out there: Tech N9ne. Being musical Diggers, we already know this hiphop phenomenon, but some of you readers out there might not, so we’re going to break it down for you.

To really understand where Tech N9ne gets his inspiration from and to understand the motives for what he does, we have to look back at the beginning. Aaron Dontez Yatez was born on November 7th 1971 in Kansas City. He was raised by his mother, a single mom suffering from epilepsy and the auto immune disease Lupus. He began rapping at a young age just to spell out his name, which later on evolved to some more serious rapping, inspired by what he and his loved ones had been through.

His real rap career begun when he was 20 years old, when he was a member of the rap group Black Mafia. After having a little taste of success he moved from label to label, but nothing really got done the way he wanted to. That’s when he founded the label Strange Music together with Travis O’guin. Nowadays Strange Music is one of those independent hiphop labels with great artists like Tech N9ne, Murs and Rittz.

The stage name Tech N9ne derived from the handheld machine gun, the TEC-9. This name was given to him by a fellow rapper due to the fact that his delivery was rapid and fast like a machine gun. Also the Tech part stands for Technique and the 9 is based on the biblical reference to the number of completion.

Yatez’s music is mostly based on personal experiences, emotions and criticism on society. Often you find biblical and religious references in his music due to his experiences with the search for a higher power and his struggle of good versus evil. Growing up without a father and his mother being ill left him in a search for God and thus expanding his knowledge of various religious elements. Together with his good friend Dennis he used to search abandoned buildings to look for ghosts and trying to capture them on tape. In 2003 Dennis was killed by the ex-husband of his girlfriend; for Yatez, the only way to deal with this was to vent his emotions though his music, and to further his search for higher powers.

Now that you know where this phenomenon came from, we can look at what he is currently doing. The first things you notice about Tech N9ne are his appearance, his beard, face paint, hairdo and explosive performance. Tech N9ne is the only rapper in the Forbes list for best paid rappers that wears face paint. When asked why he didn’t try to score a hit and take off his scary paint he replied that he wanted to stay true to himself and would never change his image or face paint for any amount of money. This way, he has managed to build himself an empire around him. Although he stays true to himself, he never wants to repeat the same subject matter for too long, so it doesn’t water down. Because of this versatile state of mind, his songs vary from party songs to brag and boast to emotional songs with social economic criticism on society. Being influenced and inspired by many genres varying from old school hiphop to metal he has worked together with Kendrik Lamar, Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit), Ross Robinson (Slipknot), T-Pain and Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) and many more artists are to follow.

So far Tech N9ne has released 14 studio albums and additional EPs, appeared in several movies and tv shows and has done collaborations with a long list of different artists. Right now he is working on an album called Special Effects which is due for 2015.
We at DFG will keep you posted on his new work, so make sure you follow us on Facebook and keep requesting and sending us music!

-The Biologist

 

The Golden Era in 10 songs

In its relatively short period of existence, hip hop has seen many different periods and styles; naming all of them would require lots of time, especially now that the genre has branched out across the world. However, there’s one period that’s most famous and undoubtedly among the most defining of all of them: the golden era. It started in the mid 80’s and spanned until the middle of the 90’s. Though the exact amount duration of the era depends on whom you ask, most people agree that it was a period that saw the birth of many popular acts and was characterized by experimenting and finding a characteristic style. In this article, we present you with 10 tracks from this period that you should have heard at least once in your life. So here we go, ten songs in chronological order, starting with:

10

Slick Rick, The Ruler’s Back. This track stems from Slick Rick’s solo debut, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, which came out in 1988. The album’s undoubtedly a hip hop classic and contains Children’s Story as the most well known track. The Ruler’s Back was produced by Run-D.M.C.’s Jam Master Jay and makes it clear that Rick the Ruler had arrived and was there to stay. A classic track by one of hip hop’s greatest storytellers.

9

De La Soul, The Magic Number. The second song on our list was released on De La Soul’s debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, which was also the album that more or less pioneered the use of skits in hip hop. People who grew up with ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ may recognize the chorus from this song as being inspired on by a lesson on how to use the multiples of three. While the number three is clearly the focus of the De La Soul version as well, the main though behind the song is a tad different: it explains why the trio is so magical.

8

Gang Starr, Premier & The Guru. No golden era song list can be complete without at least one song by Gang Starr. This iconic duo, composed of Guru and DJ Premier, is undoubtedly one of the most well-respected acts in 90’s hip hop. Premier & The Guru is the first track from the group’s debut album and outlines exactly who you’re listening to in a classic braggadocio way.

 7

Run-D.M.C., Ghostbusters. Run-D.M.C. was one of the great commercial successes from the golden era. The group is responsible for many hip hop classics, such as the cover of Aerosmith’s Walk This Way, My Adidas, You Be Illin and many more. For this list however, we decided to go for Ghostbusters, which was made for the release of the Ghostbusters II movie. Why, you ask us? Because it brings a smile to our faces every time we hear it.

 6

SNAP!, The Power. Anybody who was born in or before the 90’s has heard this song. It has been remixed many times and is sure to be played at your typical 90’s party. Influences from house music are present throughout the track and the iconic ‘I’ve got the power’ has turned into a popular cultural reference by now. Fun fact: in 2011, tremors were caused in a shopping mall in South Korea by around 20 people doing Tae Bo exercises to this song.

 5

EPMD, Rampage. Born as a collaboration between hip hop legends LL Cool J and EPMD, Rampage is a classic track that focuses mostly on lyrical skills. The use of a minimalistic break beat makes the song more interesting without distracting from the vocal display of power that’s going on. This classic track was later remixed by Pete Rock (who you’ll encounter next). And the careful observer may be able to recognize a young Jennifer Lopez in the video clip…

4

Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Mecca & the Soul Brother. 1991 saw the birth of yet another classic hip hop act: Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Mecca & the Soul Brother is the second track on the debut EP of the duo and became the title of the following album. Pete Rock & CL Smooth were often compared to Gang Starr, both because of their composition and Pete Rock’s skills on the turntables.

 3

Eric B and Rakim, Don’t Sweat the Technique. This track is the title song of the fourth and final album of another one of hip hop’s most well known and classic hip hop duos. It’s also almost as classic a break dance song as it gets, with the break beat in the background, enhanced by Eric B with catchy saxophone samples. On top of that, it’s another great braggadocio song that’s iconic for the period.

2

Wu-Tang Clan, Bring Da Ruckus. There aren’t many hip hop formations that have produced so many famous rappers as the Wu-Tang Clan. Bring Da Ruckus is the opening track of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 chambers), that helped the clan to conquer the underground. The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. And combining RZA’s producing skills and the lyrical fury of Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and the GZA, Bring Da Ruckus is a clear example of why this is the case.

1

Nas, N.Y. State of Mind. 1994 was the year that Nas’ debut album came out. N.Y. State of Mind is the second song from the album and was produced by the great DJ Premier. The song, which tells you about a gunfight, owes its name to the sampled Rakim lyrics in the chorus and received wide critical acclaim. To date, it’s still regarded as a classic, which is exemplified by its position on the Rolling Stone list of ‘The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time’.

 A list of ten songs is clearly too short to completely cover one of the most defining periods in the history of hip hop. However, we hope that we’ve been able to give you some examples of why this is widely regarded as an incredibly important era for the genre. If you agree with this, be sure to share your love! Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page with songs that you think we should feature or artists you’d like us to discuss. It would make this world a better place. After all, who doesn’t like spreading amazing music?

-The Chemist

Come back twice as hard!

Some bands experiment so much with their music that while they are doing that, they tend to lose their original fan base by changing their sound. A perfect example of a band whose musical fan base changed due to their artistic change-up is the metal hiphop combination Linkin Park. When they released their first studio album Hybrid Theory 14 years ago, their unique combination of raw metal music with hiphop was revolutionary, so much that they actually created a whole new genre.

Upon releasing their first couple of studio albums, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, they strongly emphasized their metal sound, which was mixed with hiphop. This sound was achieved by lead singer Chester Bennington singing perfectly in tune mixed with raw grunting and combined with the rapping skills of Mike Shinoda (now also known of Fort Minor). This was all done under guidance of drummer Rob Bourdon, bassist Phoenix, guitarist Brad Delson and Mr. Hahn on the turntables. These albums created a whole scene around the band and with it, a hardcore fan base which was encapsulated within the Linkin Park Underground (LPU) community.

Seven years after their first release, they released Minutes To Midnight, which was a shockingly new experience for the band’s fan base. They switched their style around and presented a less raw sound, with more singing and classic rock influences. As this was still a good album, it was received mixed among the fans, dividing the fan base into fans that like the “old Linkin Park” and the “new Linkin Park”. But with changing musical directions their fan base grew among people who loved their new style and weren’t fans of the first minute.

In 2010, they continued their experimental tour releasing A Thousand Suns and in 2012 Living Things. These albums abandoned everything they started with, except for the band members. They experimented with different instruments, styles and sound, making the divide between fans even bigger.

After some experimenting, the band finally found their way back to their roots, but with a twist. Linkin Park has just released their sixth and last studio album called The Hunting Party. On this album they reinterpreted their sound and came back to a new raw and unique sound; still incorporating rock and hiphop but more in a punk rock style then a metal style. With this album they managed to come really close to their original style but they evolved from there. This new raw and fast music with on-point singing, rap and raw screaming vocals closed the divide between fans and manages to bring back Linkin Park.

This album is by far the best album they have released in the past 10 years, and we are grateful that they closed the gap between fans and came back with a solid album that every Linkin Park fan, old or new, loves. So there you have it, The Hunting Party. Listen to it, headbang to it and get wildly enthusiastic like us on their latest masterpiece.

– The Biologist

Hup Holland Hup!

Today it is all about Holland! Because the Netherlands made it to the semi-finals of the football world cup, we have dedicated this article to Dutch glory! All the artists in this article are from Dutch soil and are a product of Dutch hard work and labor. We present you a list of 10 artist (in random order) with Dutch artists with whose work we think you should be familiar. So check it out!

1.
On number one we have the Dutch rap group Zwart Licht (Black Light). This Amsterdam based formation consists of producer Hayzee, and MCs Leeroy and Akwasi. With their unique and different approach they manage to elevate the Nederhop to a new level. This new level means transcending the genre and combining MCing with other styles, from spoken word to grime. With their remarkable vocal sound and complex beats they have created one of the most distinguishable Dutch hiphop formations.

2.
Number two is a real power woman! This Amsterdam born singer takes no message to the critique of not having the perfect body. She shows that you don’t have to be skinny to be pretty and awesome. With her power vocals, stunning appearance and old school jazz feeling she makes instant good music.

3.
Not only does Dutch soil produce significantly better singers but also producers and DJs. For example the Dutch production trio NOISIA. Just to give you an example of what the northern provinces of the Netherlands have to offer!

4.
Number four on our random list of Dutch delight is the Amsterdam born and raised singer and rapper Mr. Probz. With his monstrous hit Waves he conquered the national and international charts. But we at Digging For Gems like to avoid the mainstream, so instead of the regular song we present you an even better one, combined with the newly born hip hop superformation Great Minds. The men behind Great Minds are MCs Sticks (Opgezwolle), Djiggy Dje and Winne combined with the producing force Dr Moon. Altogether this combination of Great Minds and Mr. Probz blew our mind (yes we were there!) so let it blow yours!

4.5
Since we brought up the megaforce Great Minds we couldn’t bear it to write an article without showing you one of the most epic songs of contemporary Dutch hiphop.

5.
On number five we present you this young talent that got her breakthrough in the talent show The Voice (Dutch origin). She did an audition at the age of 17 and conquered everyone’s heart at the start of the first note she sang while doing a Britney Spears cover. And by the use of her incredible talent she won the fourth season of The Voice in 2013.

6.
This artists hardly needs any introduction, and if you do need some guidance on this musical mastermind from Utrecht you can click right here on the article we did about him. Here is Kytemans Sorry, one of the most emotionally triggering instrumental songs ever written.

7.
The lucky number seven on our list is the Dutch band BLØF from the south-west corner of our small and watery country. This band has been around for over 20 years and every self-respecting Dutchie can sing along with their biggest hits. They cover subjects like love, sorrow and also celebrating life.

8.
To show that we are able to bring forth music from all corners of the musical spectrum we have to include the Dutch rapper and poet Typhoon. With his complex layered lyrics with which he manages to transfer emotions he shows that the Dutch rap game has grown up and could use some more serious and poetic approach. And with his recent released new album Lobi Da Basi (Love is the boss) he shows his love for music and also his talent for singing. Check out this live performance of three of his new songs; goosebumps!

9.
Our semi-list-closer is an ode to the Dutch hiphop scene, some classic shit! Every Dutch person knows the Hiphop duo from the Far East, Zwolle: Opgezwolle. This duo consisting of Phreakyo Rico and Sticky Steez a.k.a. Rico and Sticks, accompanied by the masterpieces they call beats produces by the dj/producer Delic. Opgezwolle is one of those acts that is part of the Dutch music education, they brough real hiphop to live in the scene. With this song released 8 years ago we want to show you how far ahead of the game they were already in 2006.

10.
To close of our (of course incomplete) list of Dutch produce we give you the amazing singer Glennis Grace, who covered a song of another Dutch singer for a tv program. Little did they know it would turn out to be a gigantic hit, because she kills it. The first verse is nice and calm, with perfect pitch which tells you she is a fantastic singer. But what happens in the last bridge building up to the chorus keeps sending chills down our spine, that perfectly high pitched note is just pure perfection. (for those who don’t know where the epicness starts: 2:55, and 3:32)

We hope you all enjoyed some of the artists the small country, which is built half below sea level. Of course this is not all the Dutch have to offer, it is just a small bite of the deliciousness which is called the Dutch music industry.
We also wish the Dutch national team, “Oranje”, the best of luck in winning the world cup! Keep checking in on Digging For Gems to make sure you keep getting your fix of awesome artists and great music!

-The Biologist

Hector Bizerk, a superior Scottish sound

What do you think of when you think of Scotland? Our guess would be that bagpipes, rain, kilts, Loch Ness and maybe even Groundskeeper Willie, the Scottish janitor from The Simpsons, come to mind. What about music? You may think of CHVRCHES, but without help from Wikipedia, that may be as far as you’ll get. Luckily, after reading this article you’ll be able to add another name to your list. And the fun doesn’t stop there, because this band is involved with music from a genre that’s probably the one you’re least likely to associate with Scotland: hip hop. So keep on reading and get ready to be introduced to Hector Bizerk.

The band from Glasgow was formed in 2010 by the band’s core members, rapper John Lowis (Louie) and multi-instrumentalist Audrey Tait. The two met at a summer music workshop that they were both leading. In their lunch breaks they played music together and discovered that going back to the hip hop basics creates a sound that works very well. Using only drums and rapping, the duo found their own minimalistic style and decided to start working together. The first song they wrote together was Burst Love, but many more were to follow.

In may 2011, their first, self titled EP was released on Bandcamp. The second one came shortly after, in October of the same year. All profits from selling music and merchandise was directly invested in further developing the band, which finally led to the release of Hector Bizerk’s first album, Drums. Rap. Yes. Their latest album called Nobody Seen Nothing came out this year. Over the past years, the duo has played on multiple festivals, where they were accompanied by bassist Frazer Sneddon and Jen Muir, who does vocals and plays the synthesizer. They collaborated more intensively when working on the newest album and are now official members of the band.

Starting with drums and voice as their only instruments, Hector Bizerk truly revisits hip hop’s basics. But this doesn’t mean that their songs are simple or boring. In fact, the contrary is true. Tait’s drum skills create different patterns within the songs and always manage to hold the listener’s attention. They are a solid foundation for Louie’s vocal contributions, that are phenomenal as well. His flow is as versatile as the drums require and always match the beat. From staccato to fluent rapping to whirlwind-style rapping that reminds of Watsky, Louie can do it all.

The addition of two new band members gave the music extra depth and versatility. While contributions from other instruments weren’t uncommon for Hector Bizerk’s earlier music, adding two extra people clearly gives the music an extra dimension. After all, who doesn’t like a solid bassline to groove to? And nice clear female vocals and synthesizer melodies can make any song better, so we’re surely not complaining about those. But the band never forgets its core; every track needs to be able to sound well with only the most basic of instruments, which makes the band a more than decent live experience that we’re dying to see in person.

So far, Hector Bizerk is still unsigned. However, this hasn’t stopped them from releasing two albums and gathering a fan base. It’s always hard to predict the future, but the least we can do is hope that we’ll hear more from this band, which has a distinct sound. Honestly though, we think that everything will work out just well and that Hector Bizerk will let a refreshing new wind blow throughout the hip hop scene. And we’d be excited to be there to see it happen!

-The Chemist

Dumbfoundead

“Not really a role model, I’m here to corrupt the youth”. These words were spoken by Jonathan Park a.k.a. Dumbfoundead. This America based rapper with Korean blood and Argentinian birth-roots is somebody you would classify as your classic pothead lowlife rapper initially. But if you look a bit further than his appearance, you will notice a very creative, down to earth and humble young individual.

We will start by looking at one of his greatest tracks so far. This track called Are we there yet is one of those songs that you can immediately immerse yourself in. It allows you to take a look in the artist’s mind and thoughts, though which he guides you with his steady flow and focused delivery, accompanied by on-point punctuation and pronunciation. The song is actually the story of his life, and tells about how he looks up to his mother and the sacrifices she made. Dumbfoundead’s parents, Korean immigrants living in Argentina, were smuggled across the border to Mexico and smuggled themselves over to the American border before they finally ended up in Los Angeles. This is where they started a new life, his mother, his sister and himself. Struggling to get around, his mother managed to stay on top and take care of her children and herself. But living in Koreatown and being on of the odd characters in his class, he was an easy target for bullying. Luckily he fouhd hip hop, in which he found some distraction and found his passion. And what started out with freestyling ended up to become a great musical career years later. This is quite amazing, bearing in mind that when he dropped out of high school, he and his younger sister rented an apartment and he had to hold down odd jobs to make ends meet.

In 2011 he released his first solo album called DFD (DumbFounDead) and a year later he released his second album: Take the Stares. Both albums focused heavily on his life and his way of living. No matter what life threw at him, he managed to turn it into his advantage or learn from it. While preaching to follow his own path, he does this with grace. He stays humble, lets you know he hasn’t made it yet and that he is still working hard to trying to take care of his loved ones. These are some of the characteristics that are key to himself and his music: humbleness and taking care of loved ones. Of course this is not the only subject he talks about; he also makes music about love, partying and having fun. So essentially he makes music about life in general, whether it is bad or good to him.

By being into the LA freestyle scene for so long, he has really made a name for himself. While doing this, he met a lot of contemporary local rappers with whom he did collaborations, like Wax, Watsky and Breezy lovejoy.

We at Digging For Gems really enjoy the style of this down-to-earth and humble rapper who still manages to make unique and inspired music. We advise you to look into his studio albums, his features and his freestyles which can be found all over the web. And if he drops some more stuff, we’ll be right onto it. Just as you are used to from us.

-The Biologist

Rough, rugged and raw: Run the Jewels

Sometimes underground hip hop may be hard to come by. But as most of you will know, the people who really dig for it will always find something. And recently we were lucky again, because we found some true jewels. It’s a duo that’s rougher than a piece of sandpaper, rawer than an uncooked steak and comes harder than a diamond. Plus, their name matches our blog perfectly, because they’re called Run the Jewels.

Run the Jewels is a duo formed by El-P and Killer Mike. They have both been active artists for quite a while and released various well-received albums by themselves. El-P usually produces for other artists (including Del Tha Funkee Homosapien), but has occasionally appeared with vocal contributions on hip hop tracks. Killer Mike on the other hand is a born MC who made one of his first appearances on Outkast’s Stankonia. Both of them received widespread recognition in 2012, when El-P’s album Cancer 4 Cure and Killer Mike’s record called R.A.P. Music came out.

This last album is where the collaboration started, because El-P produced it completely. Among critics the response was amazing and the album reached an average review score of 85/100 on Metacritic. It was included in various lists of the best albums of 2012, indicating its high quality. Shortly thereafter, Run the Jewels was formed and the duo started working on their first album. It came out during the summer of 2013 and was released as a free download on the Fool’s Gold record label. And like R.A.P. Music, critical reception was very good. Critics were ecstatic, using terms like “one of the best hip hop records of 2013”.

So let’s dig a bit deeper; what characterizes Run the Jewels? It’s probably the fact that El-P and Killer Mike are such good friends, but still have different yet complementary rapping styles. They share views on how to make tracks, making songs that hip hop lovers like them would love. All of their songs radiate this love for the art, which is emphasized once more by the fact that their first release was entirely free. Put shortly, the album is just to friends messing around and making music, with the exception that these friends are seasoned hip hop artists. Or, as Killer Mike put it: “This is hip-hop that’ll punch you in your fucking face, that’s the focus of this album.”

But just a love for the genre doesn’t make a good album. And this is where the years of experience come in handy. El-P made some of the dirtiest and rawest beats for the album, hinting to the golden era of hip hop, but always adding a contemporary touch. The basslines are heavy and the drum beats always have a thing about them that makes is impossible to not bang your head up and down. The lyrics are generally funny in an over-the-top parodic violent way, but are occasionally alternated with politically engaged lyrics. From criticizing the mainstream on Sea Legs to addressing social problems in A Christmas Fucking Miracle, some social engagement is never far away on the album.

2014 should be an even bigger year for the duo. They announced a second album that should release this year, for which some teasers have been released. On top of that, Killer Mike’s planning to have another solo album coming out by autumn 2014. So for as far as we know, it’s very likely that these two gentlemen will keep on “dancing on our windpipes” for a little longer. Will you hear them on the radio soon? Probably not. But will they be able to make an even bigger impact in the underground scene? Yes, most likely they will.

-The Chemist

Solar Energy!

Today, no long articles about background of underground artists and no deep meanings and searching for answers. Today is just about good music and getting that happy and energetic summer mood on; getting into the sunny zone, that happy zone. So just sit back, relax and enjoy some music that will get you to feel the right vibrations, because who wants to read with this type of weather? Just listen and get your summer mood on!

We will start out with some Hiphop:

Some electronic music, for all you trap-heads:

And some songs you might already know, because they have been out there for a long time, but we felt like you need these to make your good day an even better one!

And last but not least, we give you this message, by the Legend Bob Marley: Don’t worry, be happy!

We hope you have enjoyed these songs, and don’t be sad that we haven’t published a full article because what we have in store for you this Sunday will be more than enough to satisfy your thirst! So be on the lookout for more musical gems from Digging For Gems!

– The Biologist