Lil Axion
Milwaukee's rap scene has been in overdrive for the last few years, but we do our best to keep up with it. Once again we've rounded up our favorite recent singles, mixtapes, videos and odds and ends for our periodic Milwaukee Hip-Hop Round-Up.
Von Alexander - ALEXANDER
More so than most of his peers in the more lyricism-driven circles of Milwaukee's hip-hop scene, Von Alexander is an album artist. He sounds great in small doses, but even better in extended exposures that invite you to fully explore his head space. And as solid as all of his projects have been, he's never sounded better than he does on his latest full-length ALEXANDER, which spotlights his ever-raspier flow and his ear for posh, soulful production. I'm always reluctant to compare rappers to J. Cole, because that's such a loaded reference, but Von shares Cole's understanding of how to carry a full-length on his own shoulders without relying on gimmicks or features. And, honestly, it's been a long time since Cole made a record that went down as easy as this one does. This is Von's most impressive project yet.
McGuire is God - The Grind Vol. 1
Some of my favorite rappers are the ones who get a little too worked up, guys like Meek Mill, who always raps like he's stuck in traffic, or Kanye West, who even at his most level-headed sounds like he's chewing out a cable company customer service rep who tried to overcharge him. Milwaukee rapper McGuire is God raps with that same intensity and indignation. He opens his debut project The Grind Vol. 1 with a track called "Passionate" that easily lives up to that title. His flow is raw, sometimes clumsy even, but always honest, and I'll never tire of hearing somebody put themselves out there like this.
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Gwapo Chapo ft. Jigg - "Blues Clues"
Lil Axion and Gwapo Chapo - "Close Dat Door"
Two new Gwapo Chapo videos in the same week? These are truly blessed times. Gwapo's infectious slur is one of my favorite sounds coming out of the entire city right now, and the rapper is a veritable fountain of GIF-able dance moves. He's paired on each of these tracks with a formidable collaborator: Jigg is one of the great bench players of the city's street rap scene, while Lil Axion is a rising star who continues to improve by the month. Axion sounds locked in as hell here, especially on his kinetic closing verse.
Solowke - "All Da Smoke"
Solowke, LBM OneWay, LBM Lil Joe and Lil Tre - "Federal Pt. 2"
Solowke is another Milwaukee street rapper who's having a huge year thanks to a series of singles, each colder than the last, including this summer's chilling "All Da Smoke." He specializes in all things grim, but he's not averse to the lighter, bouncier, Detroit-inspired sounds that are all the rage in Milwaukee right now, as he demonstrated on last month's posse cut "Federal Pt. 2." That track is my first introduction to LBM OneWay, who's got a great, rubbery flow and some serious chemistry with Solowke. The old-school back and forth between the two of them is a highlight.
LeanBeatz ft. Kane and Munch Lauren - "Tester"
Seven years after "Rack City," Tyga returned to the charts with "Taste," another song with a beat so sticky you can almost forgive the fact that it's a Tyga track. "Taste" sounds like the likely model for the latest single from Milwaukee producer/rapper LeanBeatz, "Tester," a thumpy, minimalist club jam with some stripped-down verses from Kane and Munch Lauren. Their voices sound great, but like "Taste" this track's all about that beat. It wouldn't shock me at all if this one became a staple at local clubs this fall.
BoodahDARR - "Transylvania"
Halloween's just a month away, and BoodahDARR's ready. And so is Cream City Motion's star producer Canis Major, who contributes an absolutely wild beat for BoodahDARR to hot-box his coffin to.
D. Bridge ft. Renz Young - "OK, Fasho"
D. Bridge caught some buzz five years ago when he put out "Origami," a track featuring a then-rising Chance The Rapper. In the years since he's fallen a bit under the radar, though it's not for lack of talent. He's one of those rappers who always sounds poised and polished, and I've always admired his restraint, both lyrically and professionally (instead of flooding the market with new material he's taken a quality-over-quantity approach). On this latest track he's joined by another consistently professional Milwaukee rapper, Renz Young, who also produces.
Joe Quinto - Cinemasonic
Here's something a little bit different. Joe Quinto is a rapper first and foremost, but musically he leans toward a live rock/soul/hip-hop hybrid, a sort of update of the individualistic alternative hip-hop that acts like Scapegoat Wax, Rehab and Bran Van 3000 used to specialize in. His short Cinemasonic EP features some very smooth tracks and a couple of nice features from Shle Berry and Genesis Renji, two Milwaukee rappers who are similarly unapologetic about carving out their own lanes.
Female Takeover Mixtape
We'll close this month's round-up with some cool news from Milwaukee rapper Kaylee Crossfire. For the last couple of years she has organized the annual Female Takeover Showcase with the goal of supporting women artists and encouraging them to work together in an industry that too often tries to pit them against each other. This week she announced a spinoff new initiative: A Female Takeover Mixtape, hosted by DJ Sushi Lor. She plans to release it in October following a release party/networking event at Eve's Lounge on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 5-9 p.m. You can watch an interview with some of the artists involved below.
