Video: Open Mike Eagle “Your Backpack Past”
Mike Eagle’s album 4NML HSPTL has stayed in my listening rotation ever since it dropped. The great variety of moods and subject matter makes it an engaging front to back listen, but also provides at least a couple great candidates for any style of mixtape you’re trying to put together. “Your Backpack Past” sees Mike trading verses with Philly MC Has-Lo over an up-tempo Awkard composition. The duo’s tongue-in-cheek verses make fun of old rap heads that are content to jump on the latest trend and act like they were never fans of Gang Starr and Wu-Tang. Open Mike’s play on Frank Zappa’s chorus for ‘Dirty Love’ used for “Your Backpack Past” is brilliant, and a perfect example of why Open Mike Eagle is one of the most interesting rappers around. Check out the new video and pick up Mike’s album over at Circle into Square if you haven’t already.
Connect with Mike Eagle via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Video: TEEN “Electric”
Timing is a strange beast. As I was finishing up today’s post on TEEN’S Rumblette Mix Tape, somewhere in another part of the internet, Stereogum was releasing a video for the band’s new single “Electric.” The track is an early glimpse at their debut album In Limbo, due to drop on Carpark Records on August 28. The video, directed by Sam Fleischner, features the band in an homage to 60s-era psychedelic gogo-girls, popularly spoofed by Austin Powers’ “fembots.” Fleischner is the filmmaker behind Wah Do Dem, the award-winning, feature-length “slacker’s odyssey” starring Norah Jones. The video pairs well with TEEN’s hypnotic, hook-driven vocals on “Electric.” Even the video’s lighting mimics the prism-like design of In Limbo‘s cover art. Enjoy today’s TEEN two-fer, and grab a free download of the track below.
Connect with TEEN via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Rob Peoni
Video: Schoolboy Q “There He Go”
Rapper Schoolboy Q has been everywhere this year since releasing his accomplished sophomore album Habits & Contradictions back in January. The range of styles he displayed on the album made it my favorite Black Hippy release yet. “There He Go” was the song that immediately drew me in and has become probably my most played song of the year by any artist. Q’s charismatic flow and energetic, pitch-shifting delivery makes the simple instrumental sound majestic and turns the song into a sing-along anthem.
The song captures the feeling of indulging in newfound fame in a bottle, both on a personal level and on a larger scale. It’s the type of song that gives you the feeling that Q could have a long-term commercially viable career, and probably a big reason why Interscope felt comfortable including Q and the entire Black Hippy crew in their deal with Kendrick Lamar. This new video for “There He Go” was a needed opportunity for me to formally introduce Schoolboy Q to the Thought on Tracks audience, as he’ll be coming to Indy with A$VP Rocky and Danny Brown on October 9th at the Egyptian Room. Pick up Habits & Contradictions.
Connect with Schoolboy Q via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Thought on Tracks 