Fly Anakin Archives - RVA Mag

RVA Mag

Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

Menu

More Richmond Music Catalog 1980-2021 Part 6

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There’s so much. So much more than even I knew when we started this whole process. I keep sending myself emails in the middle of the night with one or two more bands to add. We’re looking at going at least nine installments for this series at this point. Luckily for you, we’re parceling them out at a rate of about one a week, so that you aren’t completely overwhelmed (and more importantly, neither am I). Indeed, this one right here took over a week to finish. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. Anyway, here’s our next batch of artists with names between E and J in the alphabet. Enjoy! –Marilyn Drew Necci

Enforced, “Malignance,” Kill Grid
2021 Century Media Records

When a raw, passionate band moves to a bigger label, I always get a bit nervous. So I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit of trepidation as I waited to hear which direction the band would go on their sophomore platter. Would the big label treatment result in a polished sheen, or would the band dare to dial the violence up a few notches?

According to Enforced, that’s not an either/or question, because sophomore album Kill Grid is simultaneously heavier and more polished than its predecessor. While comparisons to Power Trip and High Command are still valid, Enforced occasionally careens their hardcore thrash sound into the more extreme territory of the crossover spectrum, where outfits like Black Breath and Plague Years reside. Heavily influenced by the riffing and chaotic lead styles of Demolition Hammer, Slayer, and Sepultura, Enforced guitarists Will Wagstaff and Zach Monahan spend the vast majority of Kill Grid blowing my fucking mind with their powerful performances. Single “Malignance” demonstrates just about every tactic that the band employs in a four-and-a-half-minute package. The speed, the groove, the squeals, it’s all there, and when coupled with the monstrous hardcore shouts of vocalist Knox Colby, the results are positively lethal. –from Angry Metal Guy

The Ernies, “Here And Now,” Meson Rey
1999 Mojo Records

Mojo Records has a winner with the The Ernies (what a great name for a band!) and their release, “Meson Rey.” This band combines heavy metal, rap and jazz –  with the emphasis on the metal – for a highly unusual sound that is explosive and most infectious. 

It took me a few spins to get into the groove, but now I am really into this band. The music is energetic, loud and full of life. The words are deep and loaded with thoughtful messages throughout. The band is tight and likes to play and it shows in a big way. The saxophones of Hayes Smith give the band a strange, funky sound that is kind of cool. 

I can just bet these dudes put on one bitchin’ live show. Hey, guys, when you’re in L.A. give us a call! –from Rough Edge

Everyone Dies In The End, “Don’t Forget To Breathe,” The Space Between Spaces
2017 Stillwater Recordings

An instrumental quartet with song titles as long and complex as the songs they refer to, Everyone Dies In The End are the sort of band for which the classification “post-rock” was originally coined. Despite their use of the same instrumental configuration with which this band’s members have previously formed hardcore and metal bands, this band forgoes the verses and choruses that have been the essential basis for pop songwriting for half a century now. Instead, they spend extended periods of time constructing atmospheres through ambient effects and repeating rhythms that slowly pick up steam, like boulders rolling downhill. Eventually, of course, those boulders have to crash to earth, and these moments become the loud and powerful crescendos that dot the landscape of All Things Lead To This, the group’s 5-song debut album. –from RVA Magazine, March 14, 2014

The Exploder, “Ceremony For A Fat Lip,” This Sound Starts Right Now
1997 Reptilian Records

Nobody’s written anything worth a damn about this band anywhere on the internet, so here, let me tell you what’s up. The Exploder was what a few West End pop-punk kids — specifically Jesse Lyell and Dan Evans from Pre-Skool and Jedd Wilcox from The Nuns (no, not the famous Cali Nuns, the anonymous early-90s Richmond Nuns) — did once they got a little older and started stretching their creative boundaries a bit. There were a bunch of chaotic hardcore bands in Richmond at the time, playing the sort of music that would be called “screamo” a few years later (Four Hundred Years, Sleepytime Trio, etc), and The Exploder fit right in with that scene. Their live sets were intense freakouts, and they were lucky enough to capture both their energy and their songwriting talent on their lone LP, from which the above track is taken, as well as follow-up EP West End Kids Crusade, before they broke up right around the turn of the millennium. –MDN

Falls Under April, “44491,” Falls Under April
2001 Self-released

Another lesser-known Richmond band who, again, probably would have gotten tagged “screamo” a few years later. This quartet was from Powhatan County back when that was less the outer suburbs and more the straight-up country. My band played with them at a house show a high-schooler booked in their parents’ basement out in Woodlake or somewhere and I was blown away. I figured these random country high school kids had somehow gotten into some pretty heavy bands, but it turned out they’d never heard any of the bands I thought they sounded like. They just managed to make some really sincere, energetic music in isolation that turned out to be some of the best stuff happening in this city in the first few years of the 21st century. Members grew up and went on to bands like Race The Sun, Mouthbreather, and Sea Of Storms, but this track captures them in the first blush of youth. Perfect. –MDN

Fat Spirit (fka Heavy Midgets), “House Of Cats,” Super King
2013 Self-released

it’s a pretty amazing preview of the new Heavy Midgets LP, Super King, which the band just recently recorded and is set to come out… well, sometime soon. We’ll admit the sound isn’t perfect, but for a live recording it does a pretty great job of capturing every instrument working in tandem–and producing what just might be the best Heavy Midgets jam yet. With guitarist Charlanne McCarthy on lead vocals, the song has a pleasing melody that mixes well with guitarist Ian McQuary’s catchy lead lines. John Graham (bass) and Bren Hall (drums) are the motor that drives the song, which is uptempo without being frantic, and seems like it should definitely get kids dancing. –from RVA Magazine, November 6, 2013

Fatty Love, “Double A,” Fatty Love
1994 Tenderizer Records

Short-lived project band featuring John Partin and Chris Wade of Hose.Got.Cable teaming up with Mark Morton and John Campbell of Lamb Of God back when all of them were young Richmond musicians nobody had ever heard of yet. A heavy-rockin’ band that was here and gone so quickly that this EP is all they left behind. Still worth remembering, though –MDN

Field Day, “Barbie With Gun,” Christian Television
2010 Rorschach Records

Field Day’s debut 7″, Christian Television is a three-song spate of lurching but easy-going math rock not far from the likes of Ghosts and Vodka or a less tense June of 44. Though “The Fast” and “And Bi-Curious” (I get it!) are succinct spit-takes of restrained, head-swaying motion, four-minute-plus closer “Barbie with Gun” allows the band’s dynamic rhythms and changes to stretch with more space. The guitars play off each other well in this one, driving into long fits of Built to Spill-esque distortion and off-key pulls towards the bridge and finish. It’s familiar, but done well. –from PunkNews

Fight Cloud, “Pipe Dream,” We’ll Be Alright
2016 Self-released

Fight Cloud and Houdan The Mystic are preparing for a split release that will drop this fall. The new Fight Cloud song we have for you is not actually slated for inclusion on that split. However, the band has posted a demo recording of a song scheduled for the LP they’re planning to release at some point in the future. And my god, it’s so good we just couldn’t resist sharing it with you. The track is called “Pipe Dream,” it has some amazing dual-guitar melodic interplay as well as a talented vocal turn from singer Justin Stuit, and the band apparently recorded the whole thing live, which is amazing in light of how clear-sounding and tightly played it is. Listen to it below, and get ready around the 2:30 mark for the entire thing to lift off into the stratosphere.

If that’s just the demo version, I can’t imagine how good the final studio recording is going to be. –from RVA Magazine, August 14, 2014 [Note: the demo I wrote this about is no longer online, but the final released version above is equally great. –MDN]

F1NG3RS, “Outta There,” Outta There
2021 Self-released

F1NG3RS is a music producer known for his video game music remixes, mashups, pop culture remixes, parodies and video game inspired original music. F1NG3RS combines elements of retro video game textures, synthwave, funk, hip-hop and EDM into a fresh, but nostalgic sound. –From Bandcamp

Fixtures, “The New Swarm,” Rusted Screws & Machinery Of Man
2011 Self-released

The problem with the internet age is that sometimes smaller bands come and go, and later on, people who were involved decide they’re not really fans of what they used to do, and they go back to all the places it was located online and make it disappear. If you’re someone who thought what they were doing back then was awesome, you’re out of luck. Fortunately, I was able to find this three-song EP by Southside metalcore band Fixtures lurking on Soundcloud. Enjoy it now, on the off chance that it too disappears sometime in the near future. –MDN

Flashbulb Memory, “Not Some Phony Symphony,” Split LP with Joshua Fit For Battle
2000 Revolutionary Audio

Although they were a punk band more than anything, Richmond, Virginia’s FLASHBULB MEMORY seamlessly blended emo, rock, screamo and hardcore into a pretty danceable creation that is certainly worth checking out.

On the split 12″ with Joshua Fit For Battle, opener “Not Some Phony Symphony” begins like Wow, Owls!, Stop It!! and brings in a few other sounds that generally remind me of late 90s emo and dancier screamo. –from Open Mind/Saturated Brain

Flechette, “Ovidian Hurts,” Flechette
2011 Sound Era

…Sound Era, a new Richmond-based record label owned by members of local scene veterans Mouthbreather, have stepped up to fill this gap, putting out Flechette’s self-titled debut LP as their inaugural release. The 45 RPM 12″ slab of vinyl does count as a full-length release, though just barely–its 7 songs last just 24 minutes, and definitely leave the eager listener wanting more. However, what is here is more than worth the price of admission, with the aggressive post-hardcore stomp of the band’s riffing driven to higher levels of energy by obvious residual influences from the time the members have spent playing fast hardcore. Think Drive Like Jehu at their fastest, Sleepytime Trio at their most aggressive, or Quicksand with the energy of Gorilla Biscuits. There are also experimental touches, made most obvious by the between-song noise interludes contributed by Landis Wine of White Laces and John Hawkins of Roy G Biv. This album would have fit right in with the 90s-era chaotic hardcore scene that produced classic recordings by Unwound, Clikatat Ikatowi, and Swing Kids, but it’s just as welcome here today. In fact, it’s just another of the many examples that we are presented with on a daily basis of just how abundantly awesome the Richmond music scene is, and while it can be hard to keep up with everything going on in this town, this is not an album that you can afford to miss. –from RVA Magazine, June 29, 2011

Flight Club, “No Way (Get Real),” Kinda Funny
2017 Self-released

“True Rock. True with no E, Rock with no C – Tru Rok.” This is the sound of Richmond’s Flight Club.

“Tru rok, if I had to say it was one thing it would be Foo Fighters meets Four Year Strong- ‘Foo Year Strong’,” said guitarist Charlie Mahoney when describing the four-piece band’s music. “Cause it has that aggressive bouncy part of it from four years and where it gets a little bit heavier is the Foo Fighters, who’s just a rock and roll band.”

Although the band commented on how they identify as a “tru rok” band, the overall musical style, from the lyrical content to the guitar riffs that make you want to angry finger point and dance the night away, shows that they are a pop-punk band at heart. The bandmates themselves, however, disagree.

“I think honestly if you listen to the music, right now especially, we probably just get coined pop-punk, but we’re really trying to take that in a different direction,” said Mahoney. “Pop-punk is honestly one of my favorite genres, but even now I’m like, ‘okay, give me something new, we get {it}, you broke up in high school, dude. You’re an adult now, so we’re just trying to add a little bit of maturity to that.” –from RVA Magazine, January 26, 2018

Fly Anakin, “Sean Price,” Sean Price (single)
2021 Self-released

Over the summer, Richmond rapper and Mutant Academy leader Fly Anakin self-released the seven-song Pixote via Bandcamp, along with an announcement that he would no longer be using streaming services to share his music. Now, Fly Anakin has shared a brand-new track, “Sean Price,” which is produced by Evidence and is an ode to the late Brooklyn rapper. It’s also the first track from a new solo project from Fly Anakin that will drop next year.

“Sean Price inspired me to stand on what I believe in and say whatever I feel no matter what type of beat it is,” Fly Anakin said of Price, who passed away in 2015, and who was part of groups including Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik. “His influence put me in the driver’s seat, I grew wings and shit.” –from Stereogum

From Earth To Ashes, “Ache To Believe,” Dark City
2000 Self-released

The generation of hardcore kids who’d grown up in Richmond during the fertile time of the late 90s came of age around the turn of the millennium, which led to a whole bunch of post-hardcore bands coming out in those first few post-Y2K bands, from Richmond people who’d previously been playing music of the much more straight-up variety. From Earth To Ashes saw several veterans of Richmond’s late-90s hardcore scene, alumni of bands like Indypendant and Broken Chains Of Segregation, recruit Dan Evans of The Exploder to add a more melodic vocal touch to their still chugging but more complex tunes. They only released one EP before breaking up, and since my copy — which dates from very early in the CD-R era — has been unplayable for a solid decade, I’m very thankful that Richmond label Ovolr Records reissued this material last year, and we can all hear this stuff once again. –MDN

From Fragile Seeds, “Comfort,” Myth And Ceremony
2015 Self-released

This performance, filmed by Steven and Lily Photography on what appears to be a back porch somewhere in RVA, features From Fragile Seeds’ current four-piece lineup. However, drummer Chris Gregory doubles as a third guitarist–which is fitting, in light of the fact that Myth And Ceremony was recorded during a transitional period in which the band had only three members. Gregory, an accomplished guitarist in his own right, doubled on drums and guitar for the album, and it’s pretty amazing to watch him play his guitar both in conventional fashion and as a percussion instrument during this video.

Myth And Ceremony will be released in CD and digital formats on Tuesday, April 14. Singer/guitarist Andrew Inge, who also produced and engineered the album, described the seven songs on this full-length as “a bit more focused in style” than the band’s previous album. “[On] the last album, we seemed to have trouble deciding what we wanted to be,” he explained. “We’ve gone more in the “post-rock” direction, I guess you could say. I just think it’s a more grown-up and refined version of our old music.” Gregory agreed, saying, “It’s a little less aggressive overall, so therefore, a little more laid-back. At the same time it has a relatively uptempo feel, in a way, so it’s not extremely melancholy or anything.” –from RVA Magazine, March 31, 2015

.gif From God, “Possible Futures In The Minds Of Children,” Approximation of a Human
2019 Prosthetic Records

I’ve been seeing .gif From God play since their earliest basement blasts of metal noise hysteria and while they’ve been amazing from the jump, they only seem to get better as time goes on. Last year’s split EP with Vein saw them taking things to a higher level with longer, more complex songs, but they retained their edge. They’ve continued to incorporate the best elements of metalcore, screamo, spastic grind a la the Locust, and outright horrible noise into a potpourri of entertaining, energetic sounds that are always delivered with maximum hyperactive intensity. –from RVA Magazine, January 17, 2018

Government Warning, “Arrested,” Arrested EP
2007 Grave Mistake Records

Government Warning has always been a “grower” of a band for me. After my first spin of the No Moderation LP I wasn’t that impressed. It took a few months for me to really get into it, same with their first seven inch. With Arrested, there was no growing period necessary. It hooked me faster than Theo Fleury in a pharmacy.

The fact that the title track of the 7″ wasn’t written by Rikk Agnew is astonishing. How did four guys from Richmond manage to capture the exact essence of early `80s Orange County? This song has everything: the “OC” drum beat, the perfectly placed guitar solo, desperate lyrics, a great sing-along chorus, basically the total package. This shit would have fit in perfectly on any Adolescents, D.I., or early TSOL record. Part of me is really hoping they follow this direction more in the future. It is really that great of a song. Crazy Uncle Rikk would be damn proud.

There was a period for awhile where I was burnt out on hardcore and almost gave up on it completely. Government Warning is one of the main reasons why I’m back in with more of a vengeance than ever before. Pick this record up now. –from PunkNews

Graven Image, “Wrong Way To Utopia,” Kicked Out Of The Scene
1984 Eskimo Records

Hardcore punk in the ’80’s was quite the thing to behold. Violent, dangerous, reckless and amazing all at the same time; this was the music of a generation’s revolt against the status quo. It spread virus-like all over the country and Virginia was no exception, spawning their own small scene of dedicated fans and bands willing to build on hardcore’s reputation. Graven Image, led by the charismatic Dwayne Curd was no exception. Touring and recording at a furious pace, the band made themselves one of the highlights of the Virginia hardcore scene. The band didn’t last very long but their reputation has lasted throughout the years by those who were there and who remembered. –from Perfect Sound Forever

Haircut, “Boys Club,” Shutting Down
2017 Feel It Records

Five tracks of furious hardcore punk on the debut EP from Richmond’s HAIRCUT. Originally formed in nearby Charlottesville, VA (and opening countless shows at the legendary Magnolia House), Haircut released a strong demo at the end of 2016 before landing just down I-64 in Richmond. The speed and precision displayed across “Shutting Down” is rarely captured so well on a band’s first record, but the execution on these five tracks (all of which burn through in 60-90 seconds) is hard to match. Just as essential to this release are Juliana’s tireless, outspoken lyrics (both in English + Spanish) and vocal delivery which echoes from a very candid perspective often missing in contemporary punk and hardcore. A standout EP devoid of any gimmickry or trend-worship. Simply pure, classic hardcore punk. –from Grave Mistake

Heartracer, “Darling,” Darling (single)
2020 Self-released

The band’s name, Heartracer, is for Chris’ lifelong condition, Tachycardia, which causes the heart to speed up and slow down at random. Just like his condition, ‘Darling’, as with their other songs, does a fair approximation, with the high emotional starts and crashing comedowns of steering through love. Low key electronica is quickly supplanted by jagged bass.  The perfect illustration of the fragility, yet hopefulness of many relationships, Chris’ vocals are nonetheless anything but shy, while he delivers his lyrics, often of a highly personal nature.

In the music video for ‘Darling’, we see the band in a space that is dimly lit only by magenta and blue bulbs. There appears to be neither walls nor ceiling, and the band, in blazers and sunglasses, are as lost in the track as the listeners, the clip. and the sound of the song itself, harking back to an earlier time, when the focus was on the band and the music, more than the video. –from Essentially Pop

Hewolf, “Iron Survivor Theme,” Iron Survivor 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2020 Self-released

“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!” Get ready to rumble, and get ready to listen to Hewolf’s latest album, Iron Survivor 2: The Motion Picture Soundtrack. This movie-less soundtrack needs no visuals to take you on an adventure through the wild world of underground, high-stakes Rock-Paper-Scissors Competitions. Through the eyes of lonely child Danny Laredo, we get to learn about love, lust, and what it really takes to win it all.

Iron Survivor 2 came out on October 30th, and has generated a buzz among Hewolf fans. The album features six tracks that walk listeners through the most poignant moments of the movie (which again, to be clear, doesn’t actually exist). Listen as Danny gains the confidence to compete, take on his most vicious opponents, and then vanquish them all. 

Though the plot puts young Danny in perilous and serious positions, the guys in Hewolf don’t let that get in their heads when writing out his story. Their comedic take on “cock-rock” and the theatrics of metal bring light to the soundtrack, and help entrench us in the fast paced world that Danny strives every day to bury his stake in.

“We’re serious about our instruments, but everything that follows after that is sarcasm,” said Throckmorton. “The three of us are dads so we’re responsible, we’re punctual, we make sure that we get the job done, but we’re also total goofballs.” –from RVA Magazine, January 12, 2021

Hoax Hunters, “Teenage Message,” Dormant
2018 Cherub Records

The lyrical topics on Dormant range from surrealist painting to connecting with people over art objects, and draws a line between his activism and art.

The band expertly mimics the sound of 80s and 90s noise rock and punk, sharing sonic similarities with indie bands like Sebadoh and Royal Trux, or more current bands like Estrogen Highs. The band uses lo-fi recording techniques to give the guitars a chainsaw-esque buzz that also brings the sound in line with early punk and hardcore acts. “Teenage Message”, the first song on the EP, features Ottawa, Ontario-based singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Catriona Sturton on harmonica. Sturton was formerly a member of Canadian power pop band Plumtree.

As DIY punk and indie subcultures sink further into media’s long tail, the tendency to create in a bubble has become commonplace; Hoax Hunter’s willingness to engage with political and cultural topics in a meaningful way while still retaining some artistic merit is atypical of Richmond’s DIY subcultures, and sets them apart from much of the local enclave. –from RVA Magazine, July 12, 2018

Hold Tight!, “Our Pets’ Heads Are Falling Off,” Can’t Take This Away
2010 Animal Style Records

Hold Tight! have helped lead a resurgence in Richmond’s basement pop-punk scene. They blend pop-hardcore influences like Kid Dynamite and Lifetime with an almost adolescent “let’s have fun and make as many friends as possible because that’s what this is all about” view of music, informed by a deep commitment to the stylings of bands like Blink-182 and Green Day. Fast, loud, and fun, this band is one of Richmond’s best. –from RVA Magazine, September 20, 2011

Hose.Got.Cable, “Chevy Chase Motherfucker,” Antidisestablishmentarianismesque
1994 Tenderizer Records

Sometimes lumped in as a proto-mathcore band, Hose.Got.Cable were responsible for bringing new types of rhythms into punk. On their retrospective disc, Discography 1992-1995, the group collects their first 7”, their Doubt 7”, their LP, and some tracks from compilations. Throughout the disc is a blatant disregard for standard song structure, which surely is as refreshing now as it was in the mid-`90s. Sometimes the band ends a song at a seemingly early juncture, leaving your ears about three seconds past the track change. And sometimes one wonders, why didn’t the band end a particular song 40 seconds or so earlier. But, this isn’t a bad thing. To the contrary, these strange configurations allow contemplations such as “why did they do that here” or “I think this song could have had three times as many sections!” These puzzles, which were definitely created from deft skill and a highly attuned ear, afford the discography multiple listens with each spin adding new questions.

Sure, these guys could make one heck of a racket. When they smash it up, boy, do they smash up! But then again, so can a thousands other bands. Where Hose.Got.Cable truly excels is their ability to back off at just the right time, and sometimes seemingly just the wrong time, and let smoother and gentler sounds take over. But these smooth passages are even more dangerous than their nasty ones, because it’s unclear just when they will strike back with a pummeling onslaught of highly technical, but sloppy, thrashing guitar and screaming. –from PunkNews

The Hot Seats, “Peaches,” Feel
2012 Self-released

Hot on the heels of their live album recorded at a coffee shop in Ashland Virginia last year here’s a new studio album from The Hot Seats. They unveiled several of the songs and tunes on the album when they played here in May and anyone who knows the band will know what to expect here. That’s not to say that they are repeating themselves or going through the motions. Rather it’s another opportunity to marvel at their musical dexterity and to revel in their essential mixture of reverence and goofiness. Driving string driven workouts such as No Plans and Here To Get My Baby Out of Jail swing like hell and allow for plenty of inspired fiddle, banjo and guitar licks while the instrumental interludes (Rattletrap, Mineola Rag, Beasties In The Sugar, Hell and Scissors) almost inspire one to start a barn dance in front of the old desk. While the sheer vim and vigour of this whirlwind of plucking and picking makes The Hot Seats a must see live attraction their more restrained jug band side excels on the recorded medium. The rather risqué Peaches (unofficially accorded the title of the top song of the Shetland Folk Festival they recently played) allows Josh Bearman to fully wallow in the potential lasciviousness of this entendre laden ditty while the band slink along with a devilish mischievousness. –from Blabber n’ Smoke

Houdan The Mystic, “Chasing The Strobe,” Archer’s Jamboree
2012 Self-released

Swirling eerie sevenths open, taking you somewhere into a vortex… deeper… deeper… then, BAM! You are smacked in the face with a spastic explosion of strings and beats, which quickly shapes itself into a thoughtful head-bobbin’ jam. This is the opening track of Houdan The Mystic’s first release, Archer’s Jamboree. The Richmond band, which contains two of the members of Night Idea, has been making waves around town since their formation. Their tasteful and extremely tight blend of experimental-technical-melodic rock, heartfelt lyrics, and large beards puts them into a category they can truly call their own.

It’s always great to hear music that both sounds like nothing ever created before, and avoids being bad. I like bands that accomplish this feat even more if they hail from my hometown. Archer’s Jamboree, which was recorded and mastered by friends for under $50, lands on the sonic spectrum somewhere between American Football and Tera Melos. Being a three piece, Houdan The Mystic relies heavily on the melodic bass and intricate guitar and drum work to fill out the sound.

The album manages to pull off a fun and oftentimes humorous vibe, while remaining equally mature and sincere. Tracks like “Chasing The Strobe” start with complicated, proggy jams, but smoothly work their way into catchy as hell loops, which can get stuck in your head for damn weeks–trust me. –from RVA Magazine, April 3, 2012

Illa Styles, “Long As The Villian Wins,” A Quarter Til A Mil
2019 Self-released

With a gritty sound and life instruction manual-style lyrics, A Quarter Til A Mil finds Illa Styles rapping over high-energy jazz and carefully-crafted production from Michael Millions, with skits and features as versatile and well-made as the album itself.

Styles isn’t new to the game. Much like a carpenter goes to trade school to learn their craft, he graduated from the school of hard knocks in order to create this new record. It’s a refreshing guide to navigating street life while maintaining personal growth, and even when it comes to the dirty details, Styles doesn’t shy away. If anything, it is through his transparency that he finds his power.

“I am not glorifying this,” Styles said. “I am just documenting things that went down during the course of my time here.” —from RVA Magazine, December 9, 2019

Immortal Avenger, “Sound The Alarm,” Sound The Alarm
2006 Self-released

Old School Metal from Richmond, Virginia’s very own Immortal Avenger! This 5-song EP is the bands` much anticipated follow up to “Valor and Justice”, and while that was a fine effort, “Sound The Alarm” is leagues above it in every respect! On this one, the band manages to retain the classic Metal sound that has always been their stock-in-trade; think early Lizzy Borden, Mercyful Fate, Maiden. In fact, this EP even has echos of “Wheels Of Steel”-era Saxon, particularly the vocals of Johnny Throckmorton. It all kicks off with the rousing title track, and a finer opening salvo could not have been chosen! [haven`t yet had the pleasure of seeing the lads live, but I hope they start off their shows with this song; if not, they SHOULD!]

The whole EP displays all of Immortal Avenger`s best qualities; killer riffs, melodic solos, clever time changes, tighter-than-a-ducks-ass rhythms and hummable choruses. Nope, it definitely does NOT get any better than this. –from West Side Dave

Jack Rose, “Cathedral Et Chartres,” Kensington Blues
2005 VHF Records

Kensington Blues is derivative and at the same time nearly brilliant. The styles Rose employs are diverse: twelve-string virtuoso shows, a slide guitar that alludes as much to the sitar as to the blues, solid traditional Takoma ragtime and folk. Out from latter comes a Fahey cover, “Sunflower River Blues”, which (not surprisingly) works as the soil from which the rest of the record grows. The original was predicated on Fahey’s impeccable timing; Rose’s take amplifies the feeling and melody, and then runs with it. Hence the stunning “Kensington Blues”, a song full of clarity and syncopation, elegant and well composed. Two others, “Rappahanock River Rag” and “Flirtin’ with the Undertaker”, are less weighty, more jaunty deliveries of Rose’s signature modern ragtime.

But Rose is more than a traditionalist, and the other tracks on Kensington Blues veer sharply into newer territory. “Cathedral et Chartres” uses twelve strings to abstract the melodic clarity so abundant elsewhere on the record, speeding it up and then sending it into a droning, buzzing finale. This idea is fully worked out in his closer, “Calais to Dover”, in which Rose transfigures the raga into a kind of Dream Music, deep listening project, vibrating his way past individual notes and sequences and arriving at something more akin to pure tone and texture. The minimalist affinity is no coincidence: Rose’s folk is not the least bit free, even as he explores freak sonic terrain, and control is his technique, no matter how many notes he stacks. —from Pitchfork

Jazz Poets Society, “Aboriginals,” Poets Lounge The Show
1998 5th Child Records

A phenomenal blend of jazz, spoken word, and hip-hop, Jazz Poets Society dazzled and titillated minds in a short time. Unfortunately the group is so underground that either you’ve heard of them or you never will. Personally, it was a good few years before I was able to finally safeguard a copy of their Poets Lounge; a CD so good and rare that you wish you could take over a radio station and play it for all to hear. Or, maybe invest one’s own funds to get it widely distributed and promoted like it should have been originally. Alas, those without it will be left to the same 5 songs on the radio and the most sincere sympathy of audibly weary everywhere. –from Amazon

Jeremy D. Simmons, “This Time,” Pie In The Sky
2015 Low Blow

Jeremy D. Simmons is one of the strongest musicians in town. On his debut solo album, he evokes a sonic piecemeal of sorts and the results are stellar. Pie In The Sky is the result of years crafting a musical identity beyond reimagining of influence. Simmons stands out as a unique voice in a city with a wealth of them. –from RVA Magazine, December 1, 2015

Jettison Charlie, “Hitchhiking To Budapest,” Hitchhiking To Budapest
1994 Turn Of the Century Records

Richmond’s Jettison Charlie comes up with some infectious bass grooves and serious slammin’ riffs on their latest release. The music stomps, makes me want to rev up a 78 Ford and tear up and down Franklin County runnin’ shine. However, Bob Massey’s voice sounds at times like he’s gargling with kerosene. Chris Adler lays down some really impressive thump on songs “Rusty Nails,” and the title track. Hitchhiking to Budapest has the power to make it all the way to Everest (or at least from Powhatan to 2nd & Grace). —from Throttle

Joe Threat, “Attic Addict,” Sinister Circus
2013 Self-released

I’ve heard about Threat for quite some time in RVA and have kept up with him and his website and see the random posts about hip hop and crazy stories he has for people, but this album really defined him in a way that I wasn’t expecting from him. The production is crazy, and Threat lyrically brings his A-game. As you press play, he starts the mixtape on a very somber note with tracks like “Conflict Within,” where he talks about the conflict he feels dealing with trying to be accepted. My face twisted as the drum pattern of “Drop The Beat” played through my headset. The 808s thumped on this hype party track, which is produced by Photosynthesizers’ own Dr. Data. Throughout the mixtape, you hear production from Fan Ran and many other local producers, which in my eyes made this a classic, and could possibly catapult Threat’s buzz in RVA. —from RVA Magazine, August 9, 2013

That’s it for this installment of the Richmond Music Catalog. Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 if you haven’t already. We’ll be back next week with Part 7. Stay tuned.

Monday Night Conversation

|

Topics: , , , , , , , ,

Richmond rapper Monday Night is making waves around the country, from writeups in Pitchfork to props from Earl Sweatshirt. He’s affiliated with local leading lights Scheme Team and Mutant Academy. So why aren’t we seeing his name at the top of the bill more often? Hip Hop Henry sat down with him to get the lowdown.

If you aren’t familiar with the East End’s own Monday Night, who is a member of Scheme Team along with Fly Anakin, Big Kahuna OG, 3way Slim & Gray Matter, it is absolutely time to tap in with one of the current frontrunners of the underground hip hop scene; not just in VA but the entire rap game. He’s received recognition from luminaries like The Alchemist, cooperated alongside Mutant Academy, and worked with Griselda. He even got a writeup in Pitchfork last year. This year, he followed up the three projects he released last year with a collab project with Russo Beats, Dance With The Goombas. And he’s always got new singles dropping — keep up with his Bandcamp for the latest.

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Monday Night about his music process, music output, trips to LA & NYC, and performing in his own city. Here’s our conversation.

HipHop Henry: It’s been a while since we last talked. Scheme Team is still going strong, the content has been steady. So let’s talk about the past year for you.

Monday Night: I’ve been doing the same thing, like me and Earl Mack was just talking about it, a rinse and repeat thing. Just switching it up. Different variations. Do the song, promote the song. You put it out. trying to go harder than people, putting more stuff out at a time. But for the most part, man, I just really been rapping, I’ve been honing my craft and trying to master what I do and try to find my specific sound, establish that and then go off and try to figure out other things to do. 

HH: You said since you started; how long has that been?  

MN: Probably since like… early 2018. Okay. So I ain’t been rapping long at all. Right. Like if you want to call it three and a half years long, then yeah, three and a half years. Probably like around the ending in 2017, going into 2018.

HH: So in three years you put out a lot of work. Let’s talk about the work ethic: Scheme Team, Mutant Academy…

MN: It’s because of them, for real man. I’m gonna be honest. Like if I never got around their energy, I don’t know if I’d have been going that hard. We’re putting stuff out and just being proactive, and like, going to the next thing, you know what I mean? Not harping on nothing. Just like, all right, [that’s] it. Move on to something else, doing something else.

HH: Right. So how do you feel about some people who think the music is being released too fast, and want time to digest and process what they hear?

MN: Well, I would say just self-awareness. It’s about knowing how many people listening to you. It’s cool to let it digest if you’ve got a million listeners, you know what I mean? You kinda gotta let them get it, and let them sit with it. But it’s like, if you’re not super lit, or if you’re not lit at all, I feel like you should be trying to beat it down people’s heads. I feel like you should be trying to beat people up there with [your music]. Some people’s audience are like, cult followings, and they don’t care that you released that much. They want you to release that much, because they’re gonna listen to all of it, right? They don’t give a fuck. But you should know what your fans want after years of doing it. You should kind of know what the fans want from you. And if you haven’t known, that means you ain’t paying attention enough. That’s how I feel.

HH: True.  Also this past year, with the pandemic and things getting crazy, you put out a couple of solid projects.

MN: I put out Holly Favored [with Foisey], S. Block Carter, Shark Report [with Big Kahuna OG], that’s three. Including all the singles — mad singles, too. I did mad shit during the pandemic, it was like a gift and a curse for everybody. It was a little bittersweet, you know, because you get to sit back for a second and really look at the shit. Instead of moving too fast. Everybody was moving mad fast before the pandemic happened, and then it slowed everybody down. And either you let that joint just eat you up, or you let it open your mind to other shit.

HH: Speaking of the single and things outside of the projects: “2nd Scheme,” the joint with Swarvy.

MN: That song was like a year and a half old; I did that song in LA. That was the first time we went to LA. We had a little tour, you remember all us out there? That’s how I got the joint. We pulled up to the studio, and we did one song in there. Kahuna and Slim left, and I was still there, because he had played another beat I wanted to get on. They weren’t fucking with it. So I was like, yeah. let me do this joint. He was with it. He let me get on that shit for free.

HH: Let’s talk about the LA trip. I know you went out there twice.

MN: One of the best trips I’ve ever took in my life. It was pre-pandemic, so niggas was outside. It wasn’t no restrictions, niggas still living life without thinking about everything about COVID. [At that time], I ain’t never been to Cali. The environment, the atmosphere, the energy is kind of addicting, you know? Just off that, and listening to Cali music while I was there — that shit hit way different. So all that was great. Then I did, like, five performances out there, getting paid for them. I ain’t never got paid for no shows till I went to LA to do shows. And some of these people didn’t even know me. Like, they giving me bread off the strength of I’m with Mutant Academy, you know what I mean? But I smoked them, though. I gained mad fans out there. Nobody really ever saw me do that good. Fly Anakin came to me after and was just like, “I’m proud of you.” And then he was like, “Cuz wanna talk to you.” It was Earl Sweatshirt. Earl came up to me, literally that man was like, “Bro! You killed that, bro.” I’m like, what is going on? 

HH: We’re talking about performances in LA last year, and also performances in New York over the summer. But when are getting Monday Night headlining in Richmond?

MN: It has happened, but that was when we had to put it together ourselves. It’s easier when somebody else sets it off. I’d be too cluttered to even think about carrying something out like that. I don’t think the moment is right just now for me to do it. And like, I don’t know, bro. I couldn’t tell you why. Strange Matter, I guess. I guess Strange Matter is the reason — that’s the only reason I can think of, you feel me? I ain’t never got hit up ever again after that for no show, ever, since then. I feel like somebody blackballed me after that.

I’m like, well it don’t matter. It don’t even matter. You know what I mean? Because I’m still doing shows, [but] its wack. You know what I mean? It’s a wack thing that I got to go to North Carolina to get paid, to do a show which has happened. I got to go to New York and have a 20 minute set. You know what I mean? And people receiving me out there, like, really? They’re coming up to me, fans and all that, all types. I performed in Texas, I performed in LA, DC. What the fuck? That’s all I’m saying, bro.

—

Since this interview took place, Monday Night has performed at Chilalay and The Spot. He’s still looking for a headlining show, however. If you’ve got one for him, get at him on Instagram @mondaynighthb. If nothing else, keep an eye on his Bandcamp for new joints — they’re coming.

Photos courtesy Monday Night

The Scheme Team: The Next Generation of Richmond Rappers

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Saturday, a showcase of several up-and-coming Richmond rappers comes to The Dark Room at the Hof, presented by The Cheats Movement.

The Richmond rap scene is alive and buzzing, and the next generation of RVA rappers is here to stake their claim. 

Many who follow the illustrious Richmond rap scene are familiar with longtime local stars like Nickelus F, Ohbliv, and Lil Ugly Mane, who have been around and stamped their footprint across the country. 3WaySlim, Big Kahuna OG, Monday Night, and Graymatter are some newer faces in the scene, and with a familial bond and their arsenal of beats and bars, they’re going to remind everyone why the Richmond rap scene isn’t to be slept on. 

The space at Holly Block, the studio where 3WaySlim, Big Kahuna OG, and Graymatter all record, is the epicenter of collaboration for the local rappers. Hanging out with the guys, we were graced with appearances from Monday Night, Fly Anakin, and Draco the Dog (who was featured on Big Kahuna OG & Graymatter’s 2017 album, Scooby Snax). Several dutches and Backwoods later, the hazy smoke gave life and inspiration to this new generation of Richmond heavy-hitters. 

3WaySlim, via Facebook

All of these rappers and producers are part of the Scheme Team, a heavily self-perpetuated group inspired by each other’s achievements, hard work ethic, and of course, style. Each rapper came into their own at different points, through different avenues of life; now they all collaborate together to release group mixtapes as well as solo projects. 

“I started in high school… the older cats would throw me in different ciphers and shit, and you had to have your talent tested,” 3WaySlim said. “Once I grew a name for myself, the older cats from around the city started to invest in me, as far as putting me in the studio.” 

While 3WaySlim started off jumping into ciphers (a freestyle or improvisation in which rappers jump in one after another), Monday Night credits the rest of the Scheme Team for pulling him into the game. 

“My inspiration is them. They’re working hard, I’m trying to take their work ethic and mimic it,” Monday Night said. “When people know you’re nice, people wanna work with you.” 

Being “nice” isn’t just generally being a nice person — it refers to the skill, the finesse, and the charisma one has when they rap. 

Big Kahuna OG has been releasing music since around 2013, and now works a lot with producer Graymatter, who has also produced for Monday Night, 3WaySlim, and Fly Anakin on several different projects. 

“Since I was in high school, I was recording shit with my brother and my close friends; that’s all we would do after school,” Big Kahuna OG said. “I really jumped into it when I moved back from Buffalo in 2015. I met Fly Anakin, and shit was way more poppin’ than when I left.” 

If there is one thing all the guys can agree on, it’s the culture and rap scene in Richmond. Diversity between style, sound, and even geography is enough to create different sects of the scene in Richmond. Richmond is a small city though, and while some artists and sounds don’t always mesh, there does tend to be overlap. 

“There’s a lot of hidden talent in Richmond… it’s kind of like a melting pot,” Big Kahuna OG said. “We’ve been doing it for a minute. I feel like I’ve worked with tons of people in Richmond.” 

According to Monday Night, while there are differences in the culture, sometimes they overlap. Their differences are mostly based on peers and stylistic choices, as well as collaboration with each other (or lack thereof). 

“There is a whole other side to the rap scene in Richmond… there is a trap scene, and we don’t really coexist too much,” Monday Night said. But, he adds, “Everybody respects work ethic. That’s the biggest thing in Richmond.” 

Monday Night, via Bandcamp

The trap scene in Richmond features rappers like the group Divine Council, who had a viral hit with their 2016 single “P. Sherman,” as well as Hillboy, Wardboyz, and others. Those rappers are doing their own thing and have their own following — but that doesn’t mean there is any ill will. There aren’t any notable feuds or “beefs” within the community.

“The climate here is like, if you’re nice, you all pretty much know each other,” 3WaySlim said. 

While Richmond is a relatively up-and-coming rap scene compared to other staples like New York, Atlanta, or Chicago, the crew at Holly Block are a constant inspiration to each other. Working hard, proving themselves, and collaborating to create a style of music that meshes together perfectly is their focus. 

According to Graymatter, his biggest inspirations are local legends who have put Richmond on the map, and continue to push the envelope for style and creativity in the local rap scene. 

“Personally, once I was already making beats, Nickelus F and Ohbliv were huge inspirations for me,” Graymatter said. “They made it seem like it was possible to make some crazy shit people really fuck with and respect, and still be in Richmond.” 

“Other than the two [Nickelus F and Ohbliv], I’d say we inspire ourselves… and of course, we had industry artists,” 3WaySlim said. “But I remember running into Anakin a couple years ago. I thought I had the best bars, then I heard him spit some shit and I just took note of it.” 

According to Monday Night, he had a harder go at his introduction into the game. As 3WaySlim and Monday Night made it very clear, being “nice” builds bridges within the community and opens avenues. Monday Night attributes his work ethic to being the reason he’s in on the hype train. 

“When I first started, cuz [Fly Anakin] wouldn’t even get on a song with me because he didn’t think I took it seriously,” Monday Night said. 

“I had to see it physically before I made a move on it,” Fly Anakin confirmed. 

Everyone involved in the Scheme Team has been hard at work lately.

Monday Night’s album Rather Vindictive dropped earlier this summer, in July, on his Bandcamp page. Big Kahuna OG and Graymatter just dropped Strainman Chronicles this past week on the Scheme Team Bandcamp page. The album features Monday Night, 3WaySlim, Fly Anakin and other local Richmond rappers like Nickelus F and Henny L.O. 

3WaySlim has his album Golden Child set to drop later on in the summer, with various producers involved, including Graymatter. 

The Scheme Team will also be performing live in The Dark Room at The Hof on August 24 at 8pm, hosted by Nitty Blanco. The show, which is presented by The Cheats Movement, will feature 3WaySlim, Big Kahuna OG, Fly Anakin, Graymatter, Monday Night, and some special guests. The Hof holds just over 150 people, which is exactly what the Scheme Team is looking for. 

“We’re trying to have that shit sold out, like at least 120-150 tickets,” Big Kahuna OG said. 

The members of the Scheme Team each have different fan bases, so this show is going to be a great way for all the crowds to come together.

“We’re trying to have an intimate show so we can connect with our supporters, because they’re more than fans — the people that actually listen to the music and come out to the shows,” 3WaySlim said. “We’re all artists from different walks of life. We’re bringing different crowds together.” 

The Scheme Team is on the up and up in Richmond, rising and grinding every day to produce quality rap music with a retro, lo-fi, gritty Richmond style. Each and every one of them is dedicated to their passion. The bars, the hooks, the beats, and everything that comes with it defines Scheme Team and their rise in the rap game. 

Top Photo: Scheme Team All Stars, via Bandcamp

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Richmond Hip Hop Heats Up

|

Topics: , , , , , , ,

*This article originally appeared in RVA Mag #35, on the streets now at all your favorite spots.

The Richmond hip hop scene has been one of the nation’s best kept secrets for a while now — but between its growing online presence and impactful releases of the past year, the secret is out. From Face Melt Fridays (the always-steady showcase of up-and-coming talent) to the Cheats Movement’s packed showcase at the VMFA, local hip hop events are attracting attention from eyes plenty outside the 804.

Part of the reason for Richmond hip hop’s most successful year in a long time: Local artists aren’t waiting for people to come to them. AGM and Gritty City’s crews have both done national tours this year, and artists like Noah-O and Versace Chachi headed overseas.

In fact, the increase in activity has even led some former Richmond residents to move back. “I didn’t leave because I was tryna get hot. I left for school,” says Mutant Academy’s Henny LO. “I came back to get hot.”

Scene mainstay Ohbliv has had a particularly hot year. Always mentioned in circles throughout the beatmaker/production community, his profile was raised this year with Retrospective, a best-of collection released by Brooklyn’s Paxico Records and distributed by indie heavyweights Fat Beats. For Ohbliv, the proposal was a total surprise. “I wasn’t even expecting it,” he says when I visit him at his home on the Southside.

The project apparently had its genesis when Paxico heard that Chris Hund got a job at Fat Beats. “I had already been working with Fat Beats,” Ohbliv relates. He and Hund had also been talking for a while about an Ohbliv release on Paxico. “So [Chris] is like, ‘I’ve been going through your joints — yo, I think you should put out a greatest hits.’”

While Ohbliv never planned for a retrospective, he definitely sees a need. “The era’s changing, there’s a whole new generation of kids doing this shit now — they kind of need to know,” he says. “So, yeah, it just made sense to drop this now.”

Along with a retrospective album, Ohbliv was immortalized here in the city with a mural by Nils Westergard, which surprised a lot of people. Ohbliv gives the backstory of how it all came to be.

“Initially, we were going to do a video,” he says. “Then he was just like, ‘Yo, what do you think of getting your mural?’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ What am I gonna say?” He laughs.

He gives all the credit for the mural to Westergard. “It’s just a testament to his artistry,” says Ohbliv. “I just see myself as a subject for his artistry. And if my music or, you know, our music inspired that artistry, then I’m grateful for that.”

“Our music” is a reference to himself and Fly Anakin, the local rapper and Mutant Academy member who shares the mural with Ohbliv. The two collaborated this year for Fly Anakin’s debut solo album, Backyard Boogie, which was produced entirely by Ohbliv. I met up with Anakin and Henny LO, the creators of Mutant Academy, to get the whole story.

“It started with myself and Anakin, and then it just expanded,” Henny LO explains. “We’ve still got the same members for the most part, minus Koncept [Jack$on] — shout out to him — but initially it just started as just some shit that we just loved to do, and us wanting to really do it and be nice, for real. And the next thing you know, it caught on.”

Beginning with two high school friends, the Mutant Academy team has ballooned to members up and down the East Coast. It includes rappers, producers, and video directors, and they do virtually everything in-house.

“People don’t like that shit,” says Fly Anakin. “I be telling [people] no all the time and they hate it.” Henny LO quickly chimed in. “If we step outside, it’s because we really love you.”

“Exactly,” says Fly Anakin. “I’m a fan of some people, but it’s like people that aren’t on my radar. If I don’t know about you, if I didn’t seek you out, I’m not about to just go ahead and overly exert myself to people that I don’t know. [People] are strangers until they prove otherwise: It’s a reason why we move the way we move.”

The Mutant Academy team has gotten a lot of love from a variety of hip hop luminaries this year. Detroit production legend, DJ House Shoes, DJ’d for Fly Anakin on his trip to LA, with fellow mutants Big Kahuna OG & Gray Matter. But the year has had both ups and downs — what should have been an opening spot for Roc Marciano in Washington D.C. was cancelled when the promoter failed to pay Roc. They’ve learned from all of it.

“That trip just showed [people], like: We can do anything we want to do, easily,” says Fly Anakin, laughing. “We just gotta do the shit. That’s all it took. People showed extra love — that was the first time I ever seen people lined up to buy merch from me. It was a paid show, but I realized, having merch and shit… you can make any show a paid show at any time. I look at that way more seriously now.”

Mutant Academy has always taken their music seriously, paying close attention to the way they drop projects — from EPs to instrumental collections, to full-length albums. I mentioned their song lengths increasing over time, and they let me know it was all part of the plan.

“We’ve been training for years,” Henny LO says. “[We] learned how to write songs off of one minute beats — Dilla, [MF] Doom. [We] ain’t had no producer. It was just me and him.”

The plan eventually led to Fly Anakin’s surprise solo debut, even though he’s not entirely sure he was ready. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna make EPs, because I’m not about to do an album right now.’ I told myself I wouldn’t drop an album until I felt like I was where I need to be,” Fly Anakin says. “In a sense, Backyard Boogie was premature. I shouldn’t have did that yet. But it happened, you know?”

I mention that their work has given them recognition in the “underground,” but before I even finish the sentence, Henny LO interjects. “Is that even a thing anymore?” Everyone laughs, but Fly Anakin gives a serious response.

“The reason I can accept it is because only a certain type person knows about us. It’s only a certain type of person that knows about the music that we enjoy, that we came up on,” he says.

“Not everybody’s that type of person.”

He recognizes that only the “underground” type of person knows Mutant Academy right now, but he doesn’t regard the label as a limit on their potential. “[We’re] only underground because we aren’t signed.”

Henny LO agrees. “I’m an artist. As an artist, I don’t give a fuck about no underground or mainstream.”

Mutant Academy isn’t leaving town to chase success, though. “I don’t feel like you should have to move away to get what you need to get out of this shit,” Fly Anakin says. “We was in Broad Rock and we started doing this shit, like some real Southside shit. We still in Southside. We ain’t leave.”

Mutant Academy are feeling positive about the future of RVA hip hop. So is Ohbliv. “Onward and upward. I mean, for real,” he says. “As everything gets fine-tuned and continues on the trajectory, there’s a lot of good stuff out there to keep you sharp, which is great.”

The talent has always been there, Ohbliv says, but the city’s finally ready to embrace it. “For a while, it was a lot of people playing around with it. There was a time when there was a lot of new rappers coming out locally,” he says. “I feel like now it’s kinda settled, the infrastructure has gotten a little better, elevating and giving platforms to the people that deserve it.”

His advice for the residents of Richmond, rappers or not, is entirely positive. “Just keep doing it. Keep doing your thing. That’s one thing that my mom used to always tell me,” he says.

“Whatever positive things you’re doing, just keep doing that, and more positive things will happen. That goes with anything — music, or whatever field or career you’re in. Recognize the positive things that enact, and accentuate those things.”

“I feel like if everybody did that in the city, it would just keep growing.”

Photos by Nils Westergard

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

The 40 Most Essential RVA Albums Of 2018 (Part 1)

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Richmond’s always been a great city for music, and that didn’t change one iota in 2018. If anything, it became a bit overwhelming — indeed, even the most comprehensively-minded local music nerd was likely to overlook a few things. While putting this list together, I found a few that I overlooked myself — and I’m sure you will as well.

This list features our best shot at the most essential and noteworthy albums that our city birthed this year, from any and all genres. Since so many different genres and scenes are thriving in this town, we had to include 40 just to feel like we weren’t leaving anything crucial out. And let’s be real — we probably still didn’t catch everything. The best advice we could possibly give you about following this town’s vibrant musical community is this: always dig deeper. Your new favorite record might be right around the corner.

These 40 albums are a good place to start. Today, we’re presenting the first 20 — in alphabetical order by artist name, so it doesn’t seem like we’re playing favorites. We’ll have the other 20 for you tomorrow. Happy listening!

Ant The Symbol – The Motions (Gritty City)
Over the past decade or so, Ant The Symbol has consistently remained one of the most talented producers in Richmond hip hop. His layered beats are jazzy, funky, and have a lot of emotion built into them, and it’s always interesting to see what rappers do with them. The Motions is full of classic grooves that both present a smorgasbord of Richmond MCs in the best possible light and make clear that, as always, Ant’s beats are the star of the show.

The Ar-Kaics – In This Time (Daptone)
This retro-garage heads return to the spotlight after a year or two of woodshedding with a new LP that is a must for the Nehru-jacketed 60s nerds who sleep with the Nuggets box sets under their pillow. That can’t be comfortable, so maybe this 21st century slab of meat-and-potatoes rock n’ roll can help y’all sleep better. Then again, these songs are so full of fun, snotty energy, there’s no way you’re gonna sleep at all with this record on the turntable. Just get up and dance.

Bad Magic – What’s Wrong With My Eyes (badmagic.bandcamp.com)
This union of three talented RVA music veterans (Julie Karr, Tim Falen, Jimmy Held) produces music that seems to split the difference between their various musical backgrounds (in everything from folk to grunge to post-hardcore) and bring us the best possible distillation of heartfelt, driving, melodic rock music. Vaguely psychedelic and obviously descended from punk rock in at least a spiritual fashion, this album gives us a glimpse at what ruled the university-station airwaves before Nirvana came along.

Saw Black – Water Tower (Crystal Pistol)
This supremely laid-back album comes to us from one of RVA’s foremost purveyors of country-Americana slackness, and has some downright beautiful moments that’ll shine bright for fans of artists like Sturgill Simpson or the Drive-By Truckers. You could probably also play it for your uncle who thinks music has sucked since Garth Brooks, or to expand the horizons of your little cousin who only knows about bro-country. But really, you should probably play it while you’re relaxing on the front porch on a Saturday afternoon with a cold beverage in your hand. That’s when it sounds best.

Scott Clark – ToNow (Clean Feed)
Drummer Scott Clark is a leader in the mostly-overlooked world of RVA jazz, and with his recent work, he’s made quite an impression beyond our city’s borders as well. Clark’s been tapping into his Native American heritage for his recent full-length works, and that continues with ToNow. This album is a contribution to the ongoing protest movement in Standing Rock, in the form of a musical clarion call, an ambient yet intense musical exploration featuring some of the leading lights in Richmond’s jazz scene. Immerse yourself.

Kenneka Cook – Moonchild (American Paradox)
2018 was Kenneka Cook’s year. This singer with the powerful, hypnotic voice put the entirety of Richmond under her spell, and Moonchild was the way she did it. The songs on this album move back and forth between soulful, jazzy R&B ensemble pieces featuring a bevy of talented local backing musicians and intriguing solo pieces constructed from electronic beats, synth hums, and massive stacks of multi-layered vocal loops, all constructed by Cook herself with electronic sequencing tools. It’s hard to say which of these two aspects of her music are more pleasing — in the end, it’s probably the combination of the two that gets best results.

Cruelsifix – Dark Snake (cruelsifix.bandcamp.com)
RVA metal is alive, well, and raging as ever. Cruelsifix finds some leading lights from the local scene coming together to fill their downtime with yet another rip-roaring contribution to the local metal landscape. They made their mark this year with a six-song debut EP that shows off their thrashing blackened death metal sound, and, with song titles like “Rabid Christ” and “Satan Earth Fuck,” makes clear that they aren’t just kidding around with the whole evil-as-hell-name move. Bang your head.

Lucy Dacus – Historian (Matador)
Certainly the RVA album of 2018 that got the most attention outside RVA, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus has gone from house show sensation to international bright young thing in the space of two years, and has given us all yet another reason to be proud of our hometown. Dacus’s gorgeous, heartfelt tunes — which pair her smooth, beautiful voice with powerful melodies driven by a surprisingly tough rhythm section — took a leap beyond her already-assured debut album on Historian. Kudos to her.

McKinley Dixon – The Importance Of Self Belief (Citrus City)
In a city with a variety of different hip hop movements taking place, McKinley Dixon exists in a class by himself. He simultaneously brings a multitude of talented friends of various musical backgrounds together to take his music to a higher plane, and remains committed to first principles: those being strong rhymes, powerful beats, and most importantly something real to say. Even as he’s telling hard truths about oppression and struggles, he’s also uplifting your spirit with positive messages — look no further than the title track.

Fly Anakin & Ohbliv – Backyard Boogie (Mutant Academy)
Fly Anakin has been on fire lately, working hard to get himself and his crew, Mutant Academy, established in RVA and beyond. You can hear how much energy he’s bringing to the struggle in the hyperkinetic rhymes he spits on this album, which zap your ears with their sharpness even as they leave Anakin himself gasping for breath. Celebrated production legend Ohbliv contributes all of the production here, bringing a unified feel and a deep mood to Backyard Boogie, and providing a much-needed contrast with Fly Anakin’s manic intensity.

Gumming – Human Values (gumming.bandcamp.com)
The name of this group always makes me think of nursing home residents mashing down soft foods without benefit of dentures, but if you turn your back, rest assured, Gumming will show you just how much bite they’ve got. Human Values is a wall of angry noise that splits the difference between experimental psychedelic weirdness and pure punk rage, like the Butthole Surfers if they were fronted by X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene. Oh values, up yours.

Cole Hicks – May Day (colehicksva.bandcamp.com)
No one really wants to talk about this, but the fact is that hip hop tends to be a very masculine genre. It’s rare to hear a female MC spitting rhymes at all, let alone one that can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the game. On May Day, Richmond’s Cole Hicks adds her name to that list, contributing one of the best albums to come out of the genre in RVA this year and landing a top spot in what was already a banner year for Richmond hip hop albums. The beats hit hard, her rhymes hit harder, and her lyrical flow is unmatched, so quit tripping and start bumping May Day now.

Andy Jenkins – Sweet Bunch (Spacebomb)
Kinda country, kinda indie, and very Southern — that’s local singer-songwriter Andy Jenkins in a nutshell. The latest overnight sensation from the world of Spacebomb Records, Jenkins’s debut full-length, Sweet Bunch, has a laid-back, smoothly rolling feel that’ll put you in the frame of mind to rock contentedly in a porch swing as the lazy river rolls by. Some moments hit upon a sort of pastoral Van Morrison-ish feel, while others bust out the sunbaked twang of the Bakersfield sound. All of it is easy to enjoy.

Large Margin – Large Margin (largemargin.bandcamp.com)
Anyone who caught Brief Lives when they were around is bound to have thought the same thing I did — “that guitarist really goes off!” Brief Lives is gone, but the guitarist in question, Chris Compton, has moved on to becoming the frontman for Large Margin, joining up with a variety of local post-hardcore luminaries to exhume the spirit of Fugazi’s classic early 90s work and infuse it with a massive amount of frantic energy and 21st century political fury. One listen to this LP and you’ll want to rock out as hard as Compton does onstage.

Lipid – Freak Beat (Vinyl Conflict)
The growth of out-and-proud LGBTQ hardcore punk in this town has been one of the best things about 2018, not just for “representation” but also because it’s brought us a lot of great music from voices we weren’t necessarily hearing before. Lipid is probably the closest to old-school punk of this new crop of RVA queer-power bands, with a sound that mixes the sarcastic punk snarls of the Dead Kennedys with the sort of burly stuff that was coming out of NYC a while back — think Crazy Spirit, or The Men before they became a dad-rock bar band.

Love Roses/The Donalds – split (Tired & Pissed)
These two local punk bands are mainstays of the Shockoe Bottom punk scene that orbits around Wonderland, McCormack’s, and other venues the downtown hipsters aren’t necessarily clued into. They’ve both got a ton of anger to work through, mostly at the pathetic state of the USA today, and they do so with rage, melody, and humor. The Donalds are more midtempo, Love Roses more melodic, but both bands are a ton of fun.

Manatree – Engines (manatree.bandcamp.com)
This band of teenagers has really matured on their latest album, which reflects the stripped-down sound Manatree’s increasingly taken on as the lineup shrinks. Frontman Jack Mayock’s considerable talent on guitar and keyboards gets a lot of room to show itself on Engines, as does the sort of growth he’s done as a vocalist since his high school days. Manatree’s math-rock roots are still clear on this album, but as a band, they’re getting weirder, more cerebral, and more fascinating. I guess this is growing up.

Michael Millions – Hard To Be King (Purple Republic)
Dropping back on January 2, this LP acted as the starting gunshot for an amazing year of RVA music. Michael Millions brought the realness from the opening moments of this one, working with some of the most talented hip hop producers in town to create the perfect instrumental tracks for his powerful lyrics and rock-solid flow. And Millions clearly had a lot to say, filling all of these tracks with powerful declarations of what it’s like to be a working class African-American man in the neighborhoods of Richmond that the Scott’s Addition hipsters don’t even know exist. You can’t afford not to listen to this one.

Nickelus F – Stuck (AGM)
From one AGM heavyweight to another. This year saw incredible statements of purpose and power from all of that formidable crew’s leading lights, and Nickelus F’s Stuck was the hardest-hitting of them all. It’s only fair, considering how long he’s been working to advance his sound; that said, we’re all reaping the benefits, because Stuck proves that after a decade and a half of steady grinding, Sweet Petey is better than ever. If you didn’t catch him on tour with Lil Ugly Mane, you need to at least grab this. It’ll twist your head around.

Ostraca – Enemy (Skeletal Lightning)
People are starting to notice Richmond’s thriving screamo scene; Noisey even wrote about it this summer. If you’re not hip, Ostraca is the first name you need to get familiar with. This scorching trio has been honing their sound for over a decade, arriving on their third album at the strongest and most assured collection of material they’ve brought into the world yet. From harsh screams over furious lightning-speed metallic rage to long, slowly-building post-rock epics, Enemy displays the full range of Ostraca’s considerable talents. Dig in, and remember — there’s plenty more where that came from.

That’s the first half of the list — tune in tomorrow for the rest!

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

The Best of Ohbliv

|

Topics: , , , , , ,

Ohbliv’s “Retrospective” is an authoritative collection of the Richmond beatmaker’s best instrumental tracks. The record was curated by Ohbliv and Paxico records owner/operator Chris Hund, who selected the standout songs from his monolithic discography.

Hund said that he was introduced to Ohbliv’s music years ago by Paxico co-runner Josh Hey.

“Something about his music seemed intensely personal and authentic, which is increasingly rare,” says Hund. “As a curator for Paxico I put out things I believe the world needs, and I have no doubt the world needs Ohbliv retrospective. No one can create a groove like Ohbliv, period. He’s on a spiritual level.”

Ohbliv has released countless beat tapes and records since he started putting out music in 2009, and has been influential both nationally and in Richmond’s emerging hip-hop scene. According to Ohbliv, he started making pause tapes when he was in high school in the late 90s using records from his father’s collection, mostly jazz, soul and R&B deep cuts.

“The records in his collection were ridiculous,” he said. “I basically built off of his collection.”

Ohbliv’s first proper release, “Rugged Tranquility,” set the tone for his future output, borrowing heavily from ’70s and ’80s soul, funk, and R&B artists like Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Junie Morrison to make hypnotic instrumental tracks.

Since then, he’s released over 20 tapes and records and has collaborated with a growing list of performers in the Richmond area including Nickelus F, Fly Anakin, Michael Millions, and Radio B. In 2018 alone he released two beat-tapes, “Ohblends II” and “Ohblends Vol. 3,” two collaborative albums, and a full-length remix record, “Southern Blend.”

Many Richmond hip-hop artists credit Ohbliv with bringing the community out of a period of stagnation in the late 2000s. Nickelus F, a veteran of the Richmond scene, collaborated with Ohbliv for the “Yellow Gold” mixtape in 2011, and “Yellow Gold 2“ in 2013.

“He’s an architect of an entire sound and wave,” said F. “At a time when everything sounded clean and digitized he had dirt under his nails digging through dusty crates of records, chopping by hand and making pause tapes. He Marty McFly’d the internet and came back to the future with the essence of true hip-hop.”

Ohbliv has also been involved with several projects with up-and-coming Richmond hip-hop crew Mutant Academy. Earlier this year, he produced the full-length record “Backyard Boogie” with Mutant Academy’s Fly Anakin, who has begun to receive national attention in recent years.

“He single-handedly changed underground hip-hop with that Southside groovy shit. He’s the reason a lot of us in this community are even known. Everybody and they mama made an Ohbliv type beat,” says Anakin.  

Although “Retrospective” is a best-of collection, Ohbliv has no plans to slow down his musical output. “I’m always recording,” he said. “I have three or four albums already done. It’s all about timing for me though as to when I’ll release them.”

The “Retrospective” anthology is a testimony to Ohbliv’s production capabilities, but also to the perfection of his process over the years.

“It’s the refinement of a style,” he said. “Same old process though: find a sample, chop it up, add some drums, flip it, mix it… Boom.”

Cover Photo by Marc Cheatham of The Cheats Movement. 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond