Raekwon returns with two records for your eardrums. Hear "The Biz" & "The Sky"
With Black Thought leading the charge in recent weeks, the 90's era of Hip Hop has bounced back into the public consciousness with a vengeance. The early and mid-90's is called the Golden Era for a reason and a handful of the time period's best emcees are still active and asserting their relevance. Raekwon belongs in that category, as the Chef has aged more than gracefully over the years. He released The Wild in 2017 to strong reviews, continued to tour and enters 2018 with two brand new freestyles in "The Biz" and "The Sky".
Rae kicks off "The Biz" with "Watch the God get ridiculous," and that is what he proceeds to do over a sample taken from "Nobody Beats The Biz". Rae has not been shy about rocking over older instrumentals going back to a couple years ago when was rapping over old soul tracks. Where "The Biz" is high energy, "The Sky" provides a little contrast and is more reflective and mellow in nature, appearing like a diary entry from The Chef.
Peep both below.
New Year, New Name, Same Kills. Watch Navarro's New Video For "Sin Sangre En Las Vinas"
"Son of a mother and a father who done did themselves, them dollars calling cause them pesos never added up well."
"Sin Sangre En Las Venas" is the newest single from longtime friend of the program, Navarro - who many rubyhornet readers will know very well as Scheme. For good measure, peep our video from 2010 of Scheme cooking up "Lose Your Soul" with Mikkey Halsted.
While the name has changed, the skills have not diminished in the slightest. Perhaps you could say the lyrical sword is as sharp as ever on "Sin Sangre En Las Venas", which translates to "No Blood In The Veins". As the title can suggest, this is not necessarily a happy track you dance to. It is a pointed narration of an immigrant's experience, and starts fitting with a news report about life in the barrio and songs of the street. Navarro picks up where the newscaster left off, giving the listener a visitor's pass.
The song begins in Spanish, with mentions of Cadillacs and Cervezas, before Navarro switches seamlessly to English for a proper introduction - "manifesting ghetto glory, tell'em this that boy, Scheme," he raps.
The single is the first from Modern Mexican Art: Radio Sonido, his first proper LP since he started the Beats and Bars program, where he mentors CPS students through the creation of new music and videos.
Frequent collaborator, Nascent is supplies the production and Gerardo Duran provides the visuals for "Sin Sangre En Las Vinas". There is something both triumph and haunting about the song and the story that Navarro tells. There is plenty of hope amongst the despair and struggle, and there plenty of quotables to keep the rewind button busy. Navarro saves one of his most potent bars for last, as he ends with "It's all power, I'm just trying to make it further, But Rahm could try to hide my murder."
Enjoy.