Pens & Needles is the culmination of years of relentless and painstaking work from two of the DMV area’s finest artists, rapper (and sometimes-producer) Tef Wesley and producer Grussle. From personal struggles to witty wordplay, the album includes a little bit of everything you’d want from a rap record in 2016.
You may recall that the duo hopped on our radar last year with the release “Gametime,” a flat-out banger featuring scratches from DJ Rags. They then held our (and plenty of others’) attention with the searing “F.T.S.” Well, those tracks and eight others have found a proper home on Pens & Needles, a concise and meticulously crafted project that showcases the best of what Tef and Grussle bring to the table musically.
For Tef, that means stepping away from the boards to place all of his attention on his bars, which definitely shows on the aforementioned singles, standout joint “Timeless” (feat. Mina Leon), and introspective album closer “The Last Note.” It’s also worth noting that Leon, a D.C. native, is the only guest vocalist on here, which provides Tef with even more opportunity to command the mic. And he does exactly that, though his rhymes are made that much more potent through Grussle’s instrumentals that border on psychedelia but are steeped in boom-bap.
Interestingly enough, Pens & Needles originally had a more soul-heavy sound to it. But when Grussle’s laptop and MPC were stolen, so was the album, which was 75 percent completed. So, the two went right back into the studio, pulling all-nighters and working together to get the record done. And they did so on their own terms, with Pens & Needles being an independent release from the duo.
You can stream the album below, courtesy of RESPECT., and refer to the following buy-links if you’d like to support.
Buy/Stream-Links:
• iTunes: http://bit.ly/
• Amazon: http://bit.ly/
• Google Play: http://bit.ly/
• Spotify: http://bit.ly/
• Tidal: http://bit.ly/TidalPensNeedles
Tef Wesley Online:
• Website: www.tefwesley.com
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/TefWesley
• SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/TefWesley
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/TefWesley
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TefWesley
Grussle Online:
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/grussle
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/grussle_23
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