Black Liquid’s Mixtape Double Feature: Tru Nyce & Cooley

by | Jul 18, 2014 | MUSIC

Tru Nyce – Life On Mars III: Tha Zone Age (Datpiff)
The hood. The south. Tha Zone Age. I don’t know why, but I like Tru Nyce. He’s not trying to do anything more than be himself.

Tru Nyce – Life On Mars III: Tha Zone Age (Datpiff)
The hood. The south. Tha Zone Age. I don’t know why, but I like Tru Nyce. He’s not trying to do anything more than be himself. The subject matter is motivation, women, his team, celebrating; all usual topics, even some storytelling. But you can hear his hunger throughout, and within every verse. There are some tracks I definitely could do without, like “Private Show,” but tracks like “Rize Up,” “King,” “Lost Gurl,” even the New Orleans bounce like “Know They Name,” show Tru Nyce at his best. I also found DJ Invasion’s weird flubber signiture sound thing to be kind of annoying, and in the way at times, but overall this is a solid release and I’d really like to see a cohesive, non-mixtape release from him in the future.

Cooley – 2000COOLEY EP (Bandcamp)
This shit bores me. I really want to like it, but I said it–I just can’t get into it. Now, I’m not being a hater, despite how harsh that statement may sound; I’m just being honest. So let’s divide the crowd real quick. Cooley is a Migos/Young Thug, rhyme-scheme-followed-by-adlib (“Lord”), Chief Keef high hat (tick tick tick tick 808) rapper kinda guy. If you like any of those names or production styles I mentioned, you will love this. If you like them for them, but don’t feel like hearing something similar, you will hate this. For me, its exhausting to listen to something so repetitive, derivative, and predictable. Octavion X represents well on “Boomshakalaka,” as does the Hippies And Goonz crowd on “Time,” where Cooley actually breaks out of his rhyme scheme cage and delivers, proving without a doubt that he is talented, and capable of so much more than he is showing us. I will listen to Cooley’s next release, and I respect this project for what it is, derivative or not. But the MC, the artist, in me wants to hear him, not them.

Marilyn Drew Necci

Marilyn Drew Necci

Former GayRVA editor-in-chief, RVA Magazine editor for print and web. Anxiety expert, proud trans woman, happily married.




more in music

In Plan 9 We Trust

This weekend, Plan 9 Music marks 45 years in Richmond with a party at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. Over the past four and a half decades, the Richmond institution weathered some of the most turbulent periods in music history. It closed stores, sold its warehouse and...

RVA Pro Wrestling is on a Tear Right Now

Last year, Dogwood Dell was packed out. The hillside was full, the crowd was loud and RVA Pro Wrestling put on one hell of a show. It wasn't just wrestling. It was entertainment built for a Richmond audience, mixing big personalities, over-the-top antics and...

Photos | The Strokes at Allianz Amphitheatre

The Strokes are the most important rock band of the 21st century. In 2001, they changed the dial from grunge to garage, and singlehandedly sent every record label on a scavenger hunt for their sauce. If you weren’t around back then you might think I’m exaggerating....

Good Day RVA is Back and Bringing Friends Along

For four nights this weekend, bands from different generations of Richmond's music scene are taking over Get Tight Lounge. Called Tonal Recall, the series is part reunion show, part showcase and part excuse for a bunch of old friends to get back in the same room. ...

Deau Eyes Returns With New Album ‘To Grow Instead’

Four years is an eternity in today’s music industry, especially when algorithms reward content, not creativity. When streaming services punish silence, at the expense of artistic evolution.  In this disconnect, some artists race against trends, abandoning the...

Before Anyone Was Watching

I went to Virginia MOCA expecting to hear Andy Howell talk about skateboarding. Instead, I left thinking about community and how people find each other. Howell's installation opens Seamless, the museum's new exhibition exploring the overlap between art and design. At...