Tag: hip-hop

Concert Review: Hardwork Movement

  By , , , ,

On Friday April 5th, Philly-based hip-hop group Hardwork Movement took the stage in Allison Community Room. Founded by two Dickinson alumni Dwight Dunston ’10 and Jeremy Keys ’11, this concert was a celebrated homecoming. With four rappers, a flutist, pianist, bassist, drummer, and trumpeter, the band’s energy immediately infected the crowd. Audience members leaned against the stage as Keys, Dunston, and the rest of the group bounced and danced through their set. Keys had a specialty for leaning up into the audience, zoning in on listener, and speaking his verses to an individual. When the music would build, the band would crouch with the tension. When the beat finally dropped, they’d all splash around the stage, infectiously dancing and singing. Dunston had multiple costume changes, sporting a denim onesie, socks and sandals, and of course Dickinson merchandise. The crowd’s favorite of course was when he grabbed our over-sized WDCV canvas poster and wrapped it around himself like a cape. Whoever sang the next verse had the honor of wrapping the sign around themselves, all the while grooving with the upbeat music. Throughout the one hour set, Hardwork Movement presented the crowd with their best songs, including freestyles in spoken verse and instrumentals. 

                 

When the set finally wrapped up, every audience member went home with an extra bump in their step. Hardwork Movement brought to Dickinson light and energy, passion and power. WDCV thanks the band for coming through, and the audience members who made it such a fun experience!

 

                      

Find Hardwork Movement on spotify!
 

Written by Julia Ormond ’19

Mac Miller: 1992-2018

  By ,

Rest in Peace

In his short 26 years of life, Mac Miller developed into the definition of a complete artist. He played five instruments, sang, rapped and produced music for over a decade since his start as a promising young teenager. Pittsburgh loved him and was loyal before his career really took off, spreading his relatable college rap to young kids all over. Growing up with him, his audience stuck close as they also went through hardships and felt similar pains. Mac’s life and journey were transparent and portrayed through his amazing musical growth. Separate from music, Mac had his own TV show and was always seen cracking jokes. Watch any of his interviews or even most recently, his NPR Tiny Desk, where he puts all of his energy into his appearances and still is able to be in high spirits.

Musically, most know Mac for his 5 studio albums, but he was very busy off of the record (no pun intended) that led to 12 other mixtapes, adding numerous classics to his repertoire. To analyze his growth over 26 short years, we’ll dive into his albums and more popular mixtapes:
 

K.I.D.S. – released August 13, 2010

Mac starts getting noticed with his fourth mixtape, Kickin’ Incredibly Dope S**t (K.I.D.S.) with lyrics about rollin’ around hometown Pittsburgh, smoking with his crew, and the new shoes he cops. The mixtape is full of classic beats on Nikes on my feet, Traffic in the Sky, Knock Knock and more. Everything is about the bars and even the corny ones show that Mac was incredibly skilled, yet still had a lot of room to grow.

 

Personal favorites: Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza, Nikes on My Feet, La La La,  Senior Skip Day

 

Best Day Ever – released March 11, 2011

A few months later, Mac was finally seeing the money he deserved. The mixtape is filled with the swagger he gained from being 19 and famous. Songs like Best Day Ever and Donald Trump, which gained popularity after his feud with the entrepreneur/politician, are filled with lines about optimism for his career and about his love for touring for the fans. Mac’s bars were steadily developing, but his mind was all understandably wrapped up in his recent fame.

 

Personal favorites: Get Up, Best Day Ever, Donald Trump,  Wear My Hat

 

Blue Slide Park – November 8, 2011

In Mac’s first somewhat introspective album, he deals with heartbreak, fake fans, and the issues of fame. The album pays respect to his roots, named after a park near his High School, but shows that Mac is indeed growing both his mic skills and his perspective. Songs like Diamonds & Gold and One Last Thing take us away from Mac’s previous happy-go-lucky mindset, now clear that the teenager was growing up.

 

Personal favorites: Blue Slide Park, Under the Weather, Diamonds & Gold, One Last Thing,  Of The Soul

 

Macadelic – March 23, 2012

Mac becomes less concerned about what type of music he is making and more what we wants to be saying on the tracks. By this time, he has gathered quite the following and has enough exposure to gather Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Lil Wayne and more to feature on the mixtape. Drugs are clearly an influence in his life, mentioned in a good and bad light throughout the tape, but also heard through the psychedelic-type beats. Mac is much more comfortable making what he wants to make, not what others want to hear and it works for him.

 

Personal favorites: Thoughts from a Balcony,  Angels (When She Shuts Her Eyes),  The Question,  F**k ‘Em All,  Vitamins,  Fight the Feeling
 

Watching Movies With the Sound Off – June 18, 2013

Mac completely sheds his frat-star skin with the most introspective album of his career at the time. WMWTSO was seen as a jumble of feelings put into songs – no real well defined flow, but a very transparent view into Mac’s life that included themes like drug addiction, mourning the death of one of his best friends and love. He self-produced a large part of the album as well, beginning to show that he was more than just a rapper. Good friends Schoolboy Q and Earl Sweatshirt, among others, stand behind him to tell his story.

 

Personal favorites: I’m Not Real,  Objects in the Mirror,  Red Dot Music,  Remember,  Someone Like You,  Aquarium, I Am Who Am (Killin’ Time)

 

Faces – May 11, 2014

My favorite project of his, “Faces” is filled with Mac rapping, singing, producing and more. He goes out on a limb to really dig into his drug addiction and it comes out through some very profound, introspective bars as well as psychedelic beats. The mixtape is full of movie and jazz samples and flows from start to finish beautifully. Lyrically, Mac is on a whole different level than he was back with K.I.D.S. and now he can bask in the recognition.

 

Personal favorites:  Inside Outside,  Here We Go,  Friends,  It Just Doesn’t Matter,  Therapy,  Polo Jeans,  Diablo,  Insomniak,  Rain,  Apparition,  Thumbalina,  New Faces v2,  Grand Finale

 GO:OD AM – September 18, 2015

Mac’s awakening from his drug-induced slumber is shown on this album (as well as the cover) as he pushes away from depression into another burst of energy to make one of his most solid rap-heavy albums to date. He’s clean and focused on some of his most famous songs like 100 Grandkids and Weekend feature on the album. With “GO:OD AM,” Mac was a household name.

 

Personal favorites: Brand Name,  Rush Hour,  100 Grandkids,  Time Flies, Weekend,  Break The Law,  When in Rome,  Perfect Circle,  Cut The Check,  Ascension,  Jump

 

The Divine Feminine – September 16, 2016

Mac is in love and through his relationship with singer Ariana Grande, his patience with life and world view have definitely changed. After his wake up call on “GO:OD AM,” Mac is clean and falling head over heels in this album. It’s mature album where his singing and rapping flow together perfectly. Mac goes through the motions to talk about relationships, love and how women have changed his life, although not specifically attributing all of this life to his girlfriend at the time. Mac, now with a wide array of fans that also happen to be popular artists, was able to conjure up features from artists like Anderson. Paak, Kendrick Lamar, CeeLo Green, Ariana Grande and Ty Dolla $ign among others.

 

Personal favorites: Dang!;  Skin;  Cinderella;  We;  My Favorite Part;  God is Fair, Sexy Nasty

 

Swimming – August 3, 2018

 

Mac’s last album. Weeks after his split from Ariana Grande, Mac seemingly rewrote the entire album to incorporate messages about his own self-care, heard on the titled song, as well as psychological growth from dealing with the pain of his breakup. Mac also speaks on certain topics like his temper and a continual struggle of dealing with fame. The album is brought together by beautiful instrumentals that span into several genres as well as Mac’s confidence to continue to sing. His journey through life is thrust into his art and we see that not only from new developments on the album, but through the look back to 2009 – the start of him rapping under the name Mac Miller. It ain’t 2009 no more. Yeah I know what’s behind that door. Rest in peace.

 

Listen to the entire album on your preferred streaming service.

 

-Written by Myles Parker (’19)

Tune into my show, Double Decker, from 11-midnight every Wednesday on WDCV 88.3 FM. Click here to listen.
 

Biscuits & Gravy Y’all

  By

8781813

This week I tuned in to the awesomeness that is Biscuits & Gravy. They are a hip-hop / R&B duo with a very refreshing soul vibe that has a an old school grove. Their recent record is titled “Hello Weekend” and the title track of the same name is definitely worth checking out. The track 20 years even features a kicking guitar solo (yay!), displaying the groups diversity. Biscuits & Gravy kind of reminds me of late 80’s early 90’s hip-hop / R&B collaborations that really put mainstream rap in the spotlight. It sure is reassuring that the style of that era still lives, but with a new twist. From my first impressions the main difference is that Biscuits & Gravy goes through the process of arranging original audio tracks for their songs instead of sampling. This group is quite original and definitely worth a listen.

You can find the group at:

http://biscuitsandgravymusic.com/

The Two Rapstresses We Can’t Get Enough Of

  By

And coincidentally, they have similar(ish) names: Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks aka Yung Rapunzel

Iggy Azalea, real name Amethyst Amelia Kelly, is a native Australian only 22 years of age. Despite her youth, she has already gained an avid underground following with a free mixtape available for download as well as her EP Glory which is also available for free download. Iggy was recently signed to Grand Hustle Records, the record label founded by TI in Georgia. Her rise to fame has been mostly due to her videos going viral on Youtube, and her sound is as fun as it is fierce. Her main influence is Tupac Shakur.

See her video with TI for Murda Bizness here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzI9VQUHJkU

Follow her on twitter here! https://twitter.com/IGGYAZALEA

Meanwhile, Azalea Banks is an American rapper/singer/lyricist from Harlem, NY. She is currently signed to Interscope/Polydor records. She is a young up and coming artist as well–she is only 21 years old! From a young age, Azalea was interested in theater and performance, but she eventually left high school early in order to pursue a career as a rapper. Azealia has a mixtape titled Fantasea as well as an EP released on Polydor/Interscope titled 1991.

See her video for Liquorice here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPaXn2XR-P8

And follow her on twitter here! https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS

Is Hip-Hop Dead? Tell Us Your Own Opinion

  By

Arguably rap or hip-hop took over the popular music scene during the late 90’s and for the greater part of the next decade. Now the spotlight has shifted to many subgenres of electronic music, such as dubstep and the numerous forms of electronic dance music. In some recent records, hip-hop artists have taken the initiative to add elements of electronic music to their songs. There has been some debate over whether hip-hop, in its truest forms is here to stay. Some people take the stance that music evolves over time. Others say that the fire of hip-hop really has been extinguished. Some say that there is still a lot of productivity from hip-hop artists and the public is waiting for some big records to come out in the near future. Take a look around on youtube or music forums and this debate is still going on. As we are all part of the music community, it would be insightful to start the conversation here on the front porch. Let your opinion be heard and drop a comment below!

Representing The Underrepresented: UGK

  By

The rap savvy may have discovered UGK, however they  remain a largely unknown group. The incarceration of Pimp C in 2002 led to Bun B forming a grass roots movement to free his counterpart in the rap duo. In doing so Bun B released the album Trill to support his partner. This brought Bun B attention on a national level and soon after attention to UGK’s 2007 album Underground Kingz (what UGK stands for). UGK’s recent recordings have surfaced in the main media, but most of their older recordings still remain in the underground scene.  This is their song “Underground” from the 1994 album  Super Tight.

 

** Warning, the content below is heavily explicit. If you are offended by this as a listener please choose a different selection from the Music tab.

 

Rock-Hop Weekend!!!

  By

***********WARNING: WDCV will not be accepting any more ticket reservations starting Friday at 4pm. OR if we get more than 250.**********

WDCV 88.3 FM is proud to announce its spring concerts to be held on Friday April 16th and Saturday April 17th, during what is to be known as Rock-Hop weekend! And we’re particularly excited to announce Wiz Khalifa as the headliner of Saturday night’s concert.

Both concerts will start at 8pm in the ATS auditorium on the Dickinson College Campus. Featuring 6 artists over the course of two nights, this promises to be one of the biggest events in WDCV’s history!

April 16th will be WDCV’s “rock” night, and features a mixture of up and coming local or indie bands.

The You Know Whos:  A band based in nearby Hummelstown will be the opening act, playing a blend of their own brand of folksy-blues music.

Fugitive Souls: An indie alternative group from Brooklyn, their first EP “Strangers” was released in August.  You can read up on them at http://fugitivesouls.com/

Drink Up Buttercup: Friday’s headliner. They hail from Philly and their first CD “Born and Thrown on a Hook” comes out March 23rd.  Listen to their music at http://drinkupbuttercup.com/

April 17th will be WDCV’S “Hip-Hop” night and includes some of our favorite underrepresented hip-hop artists. (PLEASE NOTE: Saturday will be free to Dickinson students and $10 for people without Dickinson IDs)

DelErium Tremens: Hailing from NYC, DelErium is an underground rapper whose energetic performance will start off the night.

L One Crackeriffic: L One Crackeriffic is an underground rapper from Long Island. Making a name for himself in the tri-state area, he recently released his first album, “Somebody Stole My Rhymebook” in July and is working on his second for 2011.

Wiz Khalifa: Saturday’s headliner is an aspiring young rapper from Pittsburgh. He has released several mixtapes since 2005 and has two more on the way for 2010.  His most recent album, “Deal or No Deal” was released in November of 2009. He has a raw rap style and a unique flow, making him different from most mainstream rappers today. He is a breath of fresh air for any hip hop fan.

The doors of ATS will open at 7pm and the concerts will start at 8pm. Friday’s concert is free to all. Saturday’s concert will be free to Dickinson students and $10 to the public. No food or drink will be allowed into ATS, and we ask you not to bring any bottles to the concert. If we make any plans for advance ticket sales, we’ll let you know.

We’ll see you there!

**********Wiz Khalifa Ticket Information (added 4.14.10)*************

To those of you who are unaware, WDCV 88.3 FM, Dickinson’s radio station, is hosting two concerts this weekend, April 16th and 17th. However, people have come to us with questions and misconceptions, and we wish to clarify some things, particularly regarding tickets for the Saturday night Wiz Khalifa concert.

Admission for both nights is FREE with your Dickinson College ID.

Tickets are also available for those without a Dickinson College ID. The price is $10 (CASH ONLY) and they are first come, first serve basis. Tickets can be reserved in advance  by emailing  wdcvfm@gmail.com. You may reserve multiple tickets. Reserve tickets can be picked up when the doors open at 7PM and must be retrieved before 7:30PM.

Because the Wiz Khalifa concert is free to Dickinson students, and because we have great interest from people outside the Dickinson community, we recommend coming to the concert as close to 7pm as possible. ATS has a limited capacity of 1000 people, and we will not be able to let more people in once that number is reached.

Doors open at 7PM and the concert begins at 8PM. If you plan on buying tickets please arrive early as we are expecting a large crowd for the event.

Thank you very much, and we hope to see as many of you as possible at the concert.