WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO B.A.E & LOVE TRIANGLES: RAP LOVE SONGS

It seems like this year will have some variety after all, that and a lot of lady snatching. Last week and a day ago Alpha Centauri and FTR respectively dropped love jams. Not quite love as both of them dwell on the forbidden nature of it all. So since some people had gotten used to turn up turn up jams with the incentive being their ability to make rumps move, here is we think you should have these heart moving jams

Side guy emotions explained

We are absolutely thrilled to find that the two songs essentially put into words, feelings behind two sides of the coin of guys dipping their fingers in somebody else's honey pot! Or hands in another brother’s cookie jar (whatever works). Alpha Centauri explores the  "I want to steal your girl", side of it. In his release statement he says

...This song is about a “situationship where a guy falls for another man’s girl. The girl seems interested and leads him to a point where he develops genuine feelings for her and is willing to fight to make her his girl. However, her previous relationship remains intact and since he is ready to put her first he wants to know if she is willing to put him “before anybody else"...

 Yeap, he is that punk all boyfriends dread. FTR's on the other hand is the punk people would kill (nudge nudge wink wink) because he is pretty much sleeping with someone’s woman. Top it all off, the girl likes it! The reason why we had such detail is that, THEY BROUGHT IT OUT WELL. Lots of rappers don’t go that descriptive anymore but it seems like all it took was being side guys to make it happen. Thank you!

The productions are on point!

Let’s start with Love Triangles this time. Noone doubts the productions of Blow Hard Records (eish the name though)... However the quality of productions can often be judged better when we strip down all those loud 808's, MMG type bass lines and just noise. They showed us that they are very capable of making a really dope love jam. We heard Alpha Centauri's previous album. He has the type of music which hinges on complex harmonies and pseudo futuristic patterns. Mastering and overall production of music aren’t things that are difficult for him and his team. This type of sound is his home ground so obviously no problems there.

Structure and stuff

The name of the song to begin with BAE (Before Anybody Else), sweet stuff innit! The two verses on this song of some-o-pure sob story tale (it’s a good one, the type rom coms are made of) are simple to follow, the second being the more “getting out of the friendzone” determination packed one. On Love Triangles, Its pretty intense too coz its FTR telling off the girl that he don’t want her no more (hit and run will ya?), Chorus, then Tru North crying for more, man! Dee girls aint loyal though! You know why we getting emotional, it’s because they wrote them well!

Samples and Features

Former Major playaz R & B specialist Chyllur drops a really cool mellowed down chorus for us and Surprise surprise, an unknown but really pleasure to hear girl rapping, Tru North does the second verse. Introduction into the game? We hope so!  Samples can be hard to deal with, where to use them, how to use them? On BAE, Alpha rides on the instrumental with them placed appropriately in the background. Using the right ones to go with his subject matter made something difficult look easy...

Bars, Lyrics…

“Who could plan to trip and fall and still know where to stand” Alpha Centauri

"to me you a scheming devious, minor/ messing with me major/ ..” see what FTR did there

“The grass is greener till you water your own/ so when u call me your queen I know your bed is my throne” Tru North (we heard the lyrics, he ain't call you no queen, he said you devious!!)

This and more is all why we think these songs are worth downloading and listening too! So get Alpha Centauri’s BAE over on this link and FTR featuring Chyllur and Tru Norths Love Triangle over here!

But all this might just be us saying things, heres where you can get more that we say

Or just follow us on twitter @pushzw or like our page on Facebook here

MIX-TAPE KING COURTNEY ANTIPAS DROPS EP :LWSOM Vol 2 REVIEW

We have always maintained that sometimes, the results of the Zim Hip Hop awards are far from pleasing; this isn’t any further from the truth with regards to Gospel hip hop categories. In the class Hip Hop Courtney Antipas formerly known as Illceey easily makes it to the top of our list. Actually, even when we take him out of the bracket of Gospel Hip Hop, Courtney Antipas easily surpasses a majority of Zim Rappers. (Tell em I said that!). Last week, Courtney dropped LIVE WISE STATE OF MIND Volume 2, here is our song by song review

Intro (reflection)

The moment we heard the jazzy, old soul kind of strings that Courtney chose to use (instead of some loud, bang clang, get our attention type intro), we immediately knew that it was no rookie material. The one minute forty second long intro seems to be a poetic recital, essentially an exposé on society’s hypocritical nature to choose the easy way out, i.e., lies, money, prosperity gospel etc. Ends with a bold affirmation of his resolve

Tha Blood

“All about the blood like we gang bangin”, like whaaaat? Did he just say that on a gospel song? Yep, that’s the type of chorus you can expect from Courtney.  It’s one thing to master the craft of creating punchlines, however, one needs to understand that it gets harder to craft them within the confines of Gospel rap without sounding Bible Bashy (annoyingly preachy with a hint of prejudicial judging). With Courtney Antipas though, the lines have detail that connect to the world outside the church but relating to the source of his content (bible), for an example, “the old rugged cross more than just a chain hangin” see that? Jesus pieces? Old rugged cross? Connect it makes sense right! The song follows a dancy type of new school trap type music. The bass isn’t too loud which might bum some out but it’s still good!

Forever Girl

This is a love song, straight up love song. The song features Prayer Soul who does an excellent job at singing the chorus and backing the whole thing up. The song is a sharp comparison to the love longs we have in rap music which mostly center on the sexual objectification of the women. This one pretty much places the wifey-material girl on a pedestal rather than the size if her bottom, the fairness of her skin or the fact that she can twerk.  Besides it being on the surface, the expression of love and praise to the ideal girl, it’s really Courtney Antipas talking about how men should treat women and vice versa i.e. “the best thing I ever did? Put a ring on her”, marriage, or “so when them other shawties step to me, I be like I got my girl with me” faithfulness.

NOMB (None Of My Business)

He has no kind words for floss or brag rap at all. This song will probably be a favourite for many, up tempo, loud and it packs a direct message at ignorant, materialistic rap music. The structuring of the lines have him switch styles and patterns in each verse. We liked how he would change pace depending on the variations of the instrumental.  It’s that song that you can do that Yeezy “N***as in Paris” dance. Basically the song says, “ stop talking about the stuff that you have because its none of my business” We had it on repeat. The song ends with an out of breath Courtney closing up a set explaining what’s really important.

Where I’m going

The sombre atmosphere created by this song is overwhelming.  The first verse is an honest admission of how any rap artist in Africa must feel. The truth behind the picture of how he feels in this song is so clearly explained that you understand the struggle of being an artist in a world that doesn't appreciate it. The subject matter isn’t new from Hip Hop. “Will I get Paid” by Dizzy Don, “Angels Say” by Tehn Diamond (sort of), “Munodei” by MMT all carry similar messages. However, the Courtney Antipas one targets the pain to a prayer, “all I know is I need you Lord to show me the right way”. The second verse is filled with sadder undercurrents, (some really tear jerking stuff). It’s the reality that in Zimbabwe, It’s still almost impossible to live on rap music and that really sucks. It’s a very open and transparent song/ prayer for direction, protection and strength.

Penga Tione

On a mostly dub-step beat, this is a, for-lack-of-a-better-phrase “Turn up” song, of course all in the context of the associated spiritual subject matter. It features J-Bars who delivers brilliantly on the song.  Probably targeting critics who downplay the radical methods of expression of praise to Christian deity, the song encourages living differently in the midst of being called crazy.

Overview

So why would we call him the King of Mixtapes? Check his repertoire! Courtney Antipas has been for years delivering fully packages mixtapes and EP’s that have seen him tour with some of the worlds and regions finest rappers! Your average MC hasn’t seen past your cities toll gate with his half- baked album.

To the EP itself, Live Wise State of Mind Vol 2, now takes the best EP this year (for us) joining the  Cutfface EP (Back 2 Basics) which dropped earlier this year. To begin with LWSOM Vol 2, has a bit of everything all in the context of the title. The two features don’t mess the project up, the production is good but what’s most impressive is the delivery on each song. Every song here besides the first and last one have very distinct and different messages. They were well addressed and articulated. While most Hip Hop artists may be able to write a song, some don’t know which beats to choose for that song, which tone to use on that song or who to feature on the song. Courtney Antipas has mastered that art well, changing the way he sounds with the song and not being monotonous as the EP goes.

It seems like he has a thing against prosperity gospel rappers though, if only it were possible to know who they were…

Any bad sides, well, its short, but it is an EP, we shall not complain. Get the LIVE WISE STATE OF

 MIND Volume 2 here or stream and download it from this link 

You think this is all nonsense, read more of beautiful nonsense from  PUSH OVER HERE or just follow us on twitter @PUSHZW

RUN 263 Returns + Karma's Run From Me [Watch Video]

 Everyone I’m sure remembers the year when the Run 263 looked to be the biggest Hip Hop Associated apparel on the market. If we could pick an MVP for the Hip Hp game that year it would have been the Quinton McVandal (QMCV) label Run 263. The only sad thing about that year is well, we’re sure our tees got lost in the mail…they will explain themselves.

These guys were surely part of the pioneering clothing lines to be associated with ZimHipHop, something that has become normal now in 2015. Needless to say, their disappearance from the game was note, the gap was there, And we hadn’t gotten our tees!!

In the wake of the sudden passing on of co-founder of QMCV apparel, Michael “MyKol Riley “ Mupeti, changes and developments had to be made to fill void left by the co-visionary and creative force of the company. Some of you may be aware that some time last year the industry lost the young but Talented Rapper cum graphic designer Mykol Riley (who had designed multiple award nominated artworks) to a car accident. Understandably, the QMCV team seemed to have been at a loss after this loss and had to hit the drawing board. It took quite a while but founder Panashe 'Arcane' Madziva has promised that those loyal to the brand that they will not disappointed.(Nigga, where our tees at though??!!)

QMCV Apparel, after this rather lengthy hiatus, brought back their signature RUN 263 range in early January, in what promises to have set the tone for another great year for the brand. QMCV has shown us in the past that they have great work rate and their love for hip hop always makes sure that their influence on the industry doesn’t go unnoticed. This can easily be seen in the way they chose to return to the game.

In early January, QMCV Apparel teamed up Mix Masterz' artist Karma & Rebel TV to made a video for the somewhat controversial song Run From Me (Run Jozi Remix) which went online on the 3rd of February. This promises to be the first of many videos made by QMCV Apparel to both advertise their products and promote Zimbabwean Hip Hop on a mass scale through cutting edge visuals, which is something they see as lacking in the local hip hop community, as it (QMCV Apparel) is a hip hop based and inspired brand. With the promise of more RUN 263 merchandise and more designs in the works, this is looking to be a good year for the clothing company.

Karma as always kills it on the Run Jozi instrumental, we're quite sure heads are gonna turn on this one. the video itself was well done and we heard some news of some developments on that front, but that's a story for another day. watch the video below:

We know just like us you like the idea of wearing local…so let’s not just wear local, let’s wear Local Hip Hop.

For more information, visit the RUN 263/Quinton McVandal Apparel pages on Facebook & @qmcv_apparel on Twitter.

Don’t forget to Push.Ur.Sound.Hard [P.U.S.H]

VIDEOS: TAMBISA VS SKUBU :WE BREAK IT DOWN (watch vids here)

This year has started with a lot of videos dropping, and the videos haven’t disappointed as well. Last week or so, we had #Mushikashika dropping and a lot of people received it well. These past couple of days, there has been some buzz over two videos, the official Tkae Chidz, “Skubu”, video and even more recently, award winning song by Tricky J, “Tambisa”. So whats with us pitting them against each other? Firstly, they all are pretty much similar, they both sound like spin offs from Peekay and Baba Shupi’s Ma1, they are both clubby, dancy, rump shaking (just check the videos) and both have videos better than Ma1’s video. Suffice to say, even Skubu artist made a comment on the social contention on which video is better,

So, here's our comment

If an advanced video has visual images that demonstrate an excellent relevance to the music and/or lyrics, or tells a story which follows the music and also that the lip synching/singing throughout appropriate increments during the video is performed in a professional manner that demonstrates comprehension of the lyrics, then “Tambisa” takes it. I mean the song is called “Tambisa Dako” meaning “make your butt dance” then well.. we had a enough of that in the video. Skubu, an ode Harare night life with particular reference to the dopest spots in the city, yes, we did see the change in venues which was well thought out and everything but hey, Tambisa had a better performance of it all. You have to admit that the dancer on Skubu had a variety of dances though… great stuff.

Both videos had a strong link to the objective of their message and the interpretation of that message to the video. Draw there…

What of the concept and development? Well, we had a cheeky but funny take on housemaid and employee situation going on running parallel to the dancing and rapping on the Tambisa video, then on SKUBU, we had the really good dancer babe, going really personal with TK, running parallel to the clubs shots with a healthy number of cameos and appearances (know your celebs people!!). both healthy concepts but if you look at the “Zvirinani” video directed by Chris Shoca and compare it with the SKUBU one that he also directed, then you see the similarity and might get bummed by the lack of variety he shows as a director, the white background… Come on guys! Agaaain! The visual interpretation on Tambisa showed an outstanding skill, showing some imagination and creativity in content and production techniques. In terms of superiority over SKUBU in an attempt to create a product that shows originality, well, we have seen that type of video many times before so, they are at par.

Finally, the technical bit, creative use of Lighting, audio balance, camera work , shots and angles that could provide impact if the editing used enhanced message, the graphics/titles. You know! Both videos have an acceptable video quality, Its always good to see different squads endorsing each other, that’s rare in this world full of...erm what do the rappers call it? yes, Hate. it was nice seeing Team Bhoo merchandise in a song that’s not theirs, nice move guys. Skubu did try to show the club hopping that's in the hook and the Tambisa boys surely put in a lot of work. We didn’t quite like the @[place-twitterhandles-here] that was going on, on the Tambisa video but the props, the dancing, shots and set on this one outclassed the ones on Skubu. This didn’t make the Skubu video bad, NO, it just made them superior to Tkae Chidz and squad. Hell, someone take us to Tricky J, we wanna know where that alley type set is.

Final verdict, both videos were crazy amazing, it’s a good way to start the year. However, “Tambisa” by Tricky J had a better video, not necessarily a better song but a better video. Actually, we wonder what the crowds who booed Tricky J’s particularly the gentleman who gave this irritated look, “who is Tricky J any way” look when he announced Tambisa as the people’s choice award winning song would say now.  

Hey, that’s just our opinion, we are just gonna track the views while you...check the vids out here

 Besides...who says the guys from PushZw know what they're talking about? this year's videos are on fire..this is proof
 #Tambisa

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtU3MWq7Pc

#Skubu

Skubu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQqvN0pH_pA