Every time I start to think I’m getting a solid understanding of the Richmond hip-hop scene, another crew comes along to prove to me how much more great local hip hop shit I still haven’t heard yet. No Name No Brain Productions and Mix Breed Entertainment have both jumped onto my radar in a big way over the last few months. I’m not sure if the two are officially affiliated, but I have certainly noticed that they’ve both been working with the same people a lot lately–and they’re getting a lot done, too.
Every time I start to think I’m getting a solid understanding of the Richmond hip-hop scene, another crew comes along to prove to me how much more great local hip hop shit I still haven’t heard yet. No Name No Brain Productions and Mix Breed Entertainment have both jumped onto my radar in a big way over the last few months. I’m not sure if the two are officially affiliated, but I have certainly noticed that they’ve both been working with the same people a lot lately–and they’re getting a lot done, too.
A couple of weeks ago, we brought you the No Name No Brain-directed video for “Choly Weed” by Avance, a local rapper whose latest mixtape was released by Mix Breed. Now we’ve got The Seven Hills Tape, a mixtape put together by Tom Hart of No Name No Brain and featuring multiple songs by Mix Breed, as well as individual tracks from Mix Breed Entertainment crew members Avance and Charles Diamond. In fact, there are a lot of great local hip-hop artists here, including Jo Casino, whose “Headed To Heaven” video was directed by No Name No Brain, and whose recent EP Gritty Gully was spotlighted in Sounds Of RVA’s On The Horizon column back in April when it came out.
I know less about guys like Kendall Elijah, Lexo The Pharaoh, and BLACK KRVY, but they all show real promise, from Elijah’s introspective and erudite raps to the blazed-out cloud rap sounds of BLACK KRVY, who is clearly the rapper on this tape most likely to get into some pimp/drug-dealer street-style storytelling. “DRIP$$$XXX$$$” is all you need to hear for proof of that. Meanwhile, an early favorite of mine is Jo Casino’s “Floating,” a track built around an airy harp sample that almost disappears underneath Casino’s high-powered flow, but maintains a pensive mood throughout, no matter how hard Casino goes on the vocal track. The melodic chorus is catchy as shit, too. And there plenty of other great tracks here, such as the paranoid psychedelic instrumental hip-hop of Nova The Pioneer’s “DTA,” or the screwed-&-chopped witch house style of BLACK KRVY’s Carl Sagan-sampling intro.
Really, which songs you’ll like best on this tape are going to depend on your personal tastes, but whether you’re more inclined towards trap shit, cloud rap, or complex lyricism, there’s something for everyone here. There’s plenty of evidence on The Seven Hills Tape to suggest that it’d be a good idea to keep an eye on No Name No Brain, Mix Breed, and the artists who are affiliated with them. If they stay on the grind, I can imagine we’ll be hearing all of their names a lot more often by the time 2012 comes to a close.
Stream The Seven Hills Tape below, or grab the whole thing as a free download right HERE.
