Though it’s only ten songs long Rubber Souls features a variety of sounds that are almost exclusively the product of live instrumentation. On “More,” before Von Pea‘s previously mentioned memorable line, he tells the audience to make our kids learn an instrument so that Tanya Morgan can perform alongside musicians for the album’s 20 year anniversary. It’s a funny statement, and it shows how much the group values live instruments, but it’s a bit bizarre. Given the significance of live instrumentation throughout the album, they could tour with musicians now. In fact, it’s almost unfathomable to imagine them performing smooth songs like “For Real” or “Pick It Up” without musicians. On the former, the percussion and the bass are just as essential as the vocals, and the beat change toward the end of the song wouldn’t be nearly as potent in some random venue’s probably shitty speakers. The prominence of the instrumentals is just that pronounced, that necessary for the album’s soundscape.

The vocals are equally as engaging, but the appeal is more performative than lyrical. Donwill and Von Pea occasionally drop a nice one-liner (like Von Pea saying he has a metro card with $10,000 on “Worldmade”), but the focus seems to be more on being evocative than being impressive, which is paradoxically impressive. For instance, on the lighthearted “Never Too Much” which features Nitty Scott, MC, the lyrics are generally straightforward, but the earnestness of their flows and even just the humor of their deliveries sells the song without a barrage of #bars. Similarly, on “Eulogy” both artists mourn the passage of time and the erosion of relationships, but the power of the song is more tonal than lyrical. Both artists sound impassioned, rapping over the smooth organ like it’s a pulpit at a funeral. That isn’t to say that that Don and Von aren’t lyricists. In fact, they are phenomenal lyricists. They just simply have the acumen to know that words can only do so much. Only the best lyricists graduate to that level.

All in all, Rubber Souls is a solid project. 6th Sense has hinted that there “might” be some samples embedded within the tracks, but for our purposes, we’ll say that this album’s instrumentals are actually one-hundred precent instrumental. At a time when synthetic sounds are ubiquitous, it’s nice to hear an entire project of live instrumentation. Does this mean that Tanya Morgan is retro? Not necessarily. Not only has hip-hop almost always eschewed live instrumentation (sampling dominated hip-hop until fairly recently), but Tanya Morgan hasn’t always had a penchant for live instrumentation. In fact, earlier today they released a song that sampled a rant from a week ago. That’s definitely not retro. Most importantly, they don’t ever make any declarations defining what hip-hop is or isn’t because they don’t have time for marketing or complaining about the market*; they’re just trying to make good music. And they’re succeeding.

*When an artist, in any genre, attempts to define the essence of that genre by complaining about what’s real and what isn’t, the real complaint is about that artist’s sound no longer being commercially viable. #FactsOnly

The post Album Review: Tanya Morgan – Rubber Souls (prod. 6th Sense) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The only thing better than a Kanye West track is a track sampling a Kanye rant. Donwill and Von Pea of Tanya Morgan team up with NE$$ and Chill Moody to bring you “Kanye Rants”. Producer Parker chopped Kanye’s rant at Pusha T‘s listening session and turned it into an incredible chorus. Tanya Morgan‘s latest album Rubber Souls dropped today and is now available for download on iTunes. Get into the track below and return later today for our review of the album.

The post New Music: Donwill feat. Von Pea, NE$$ & Chill Moody – “Kanye Rants” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

On June 25th, UK based producer Metabeats will be releasing his upcoming album Caviar Crackle. The album, produced by Metabeats himself and co-produced by Ed Boogie, features appearances by a spectacular range of artists: Oddisee, Action Bronson, Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Chuuwee, Che Grand and Bay Area-based MC Quelle Chris who graces this track.  “SLSBS” (Sounds Like Some Bullshit) is the first leak from the upcoming project, and it’s a banger. Listen to the stream below, and make sure to cop the project when it drops.

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An album, LP, EP, mixtape? I think this remixed project in whatever format you wanna call it perfectly symbolizes Blu’s nature of releasing new music. You gotta love it. It sounds very rough around the edges, but if you love Blu, you know it’s worth the listen.

The project is a remix of last year’s No York and includes features by Knxwledge, Suzi Analogue, P.U.D.G.E., Hezekiah, God Lee Barnes (Blu), Thavius Beck, Von Pea, and Playa Haze.

The post New Album: Blu – “no york e more work (rmx z 1.3)” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.