La'Dra CaMz
Milwaukee's rap scene has been in overdrive for the last couple of years, but we do our best to keep up with it. Once again we've rounded up our favorite singles, mixtapes, videos and odds and ends from the last few weeks.
Pizzle – Grand Design
After what feels like a hundred teaser tracks and singles, it’s finally here: Pizzle’s long awaited album Grand Design. I’ll write about it in more depth soon, but for now let’s just say it lives up to the expectations. Pizzle spits about as hard as any other rapper in the city, and he’s got one of the best ears in the city. Grand Design pairs him with heavy-hitting producers including Cardo, Yung Dev and Derelle Rideout, all of whom deliver standout tracks that play off of Pizzle’s natural pop instincts. The whole record plays like a hard-earned victory lap.
Klassik – 1-Takes/1-Offs
Like Pizzle, who he sometimes collaborations, Klassik is another guy who always has new music to plug. I don’t know how he it does it. A departure from his labored-over 2015 full-length Seasons, his latest is a somewhat experimental set called 1-Takes/1-Offs, which are just that—loose songs that he didn’t sweat the details over. It’s as unfocused as you’d expect from the premise, but I’m absolutely loving the whatever goes, “do want you want” feel of it. Klassik is such an accomplished musician that even the scraps of music he throws away are worth checking out.
La’Dra CaMz – “90’s Babies”
“I was born in the ’90s, so I guess I’m supposed to be grimy,” Milwaukee upstart La’Dra CaMz raps over a Pete Rock-style throwback piano beat on his debut single. It’s smart stuff, a thoughtful exploration of cultural and generational expectations, and a takedown of reductive stereotypes. La’Dra CaMz is only 19, and he’s got a stage name that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue so I’m afraid he might get lost in the crowd, but I can’t wait to hear more from him. This ’90s baby has some important shit to say.
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Renz Young – “Seen It Coming”
I write this all the time, but it bears repeating: There’s so much utterly fantastic rap coming out of Milwaukee that not all of it gets its due. Renz Young is one of those guys who hasn’t gotten the same level of local press as some of the other guys on this list, but damn if he doesn’t deserve it. His latest track, “Seen It Coming,” shows why. He raps with utter impatience, like he’s disgusted by the masses who can’t keep up with his train of thought—and given how fast he fires off those thoughts, that’s pretty much everybody. If this guy were to blow up (and that’s not at all that hard to imagine) it would take much of the local scene by surprise, but not Renz. “Told y’all I seen it coming,” he raps.
AUTOMatic Presents: 3099
AUTOMatic is one of those acts that sometimes gets pigeonholed as ’90s revivalists. I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of putting them in that box, sometimes, too. In truth, though, they’ve done some fantastic, forward-looking work that touches on imaginative funk and electronic sounds. The group’s latest side project is a solo effort from emcee A.P.R.I.M.E. called 3099 that runs even further with those non-’90s influences. It’s short, just six tracks, but they’re all beautifully written and produced, especially the pair featuring buttery choruses from rising local star Lex Allen. This is a record I’ll be returning to for months to come.
Reggie Bonds – “Locust St. Freestyle”
A couple of weeks ago Reggie Bonds blew some minds with a video of an eight-minute freestyle session at the V100 studios. Now he puts those same skills to use on a somewhat more official release, the Derelle Rideout-produced “Locust St. Freestyle.” Bonds is a multi-talented guy, but this is the style he does best: Fiery, disrespectful, fast-talking, shit-talking, couch-stomping battle rap. This guy’s gotta put out an album soon.
First Class – “Anarchy”
If there’s a downside to the local rap scene’s current renaissance, it’s that some of the local rap scene’s old click tendencies are starting to reemerge, as the scene creates its own cool kid’s table. I’m not sure where that leaves First Class, the duo of rappers Scottie and Skyy Phresh. I don’t often see them on bills with city’s bigger acts, and they haven’t attracted much in the way of local press or radioplay. But they’re damn good at what they do. “Anarchy” is contemporary in the best way possible, with a kinetic, EDM-inspired beat and a thunderous trap rumble. It’s not the kind of rap that plays well at local bills filled with MilwaukeeHome T-shirts and live painters, but it absolutely kills in the clubs. These guys are great at what they do.
King Bravo – “Try 2”
And we’ll end this roundup with another artist who couldn’t care less about the cool kid’s circle: King Bravo, a commanding, Biggie-esque presence who creates booming, deceptively smart club tracks inspired by the South. His latest is no exception, a LeanBeatz-produced trunk rattler about all the incredible shit King Bravo accomplishes without even fucking trying. It’s a long list, obviously.
