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Dead End Hip Hop

No Politics. No B.S.

Florida hip-hop

The Unknown: “Healthy” [Album Review]

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Florida’s The Unknown has been sneaking in the shadows for the majority of 2018. To this point he’s dropped a number of singles and videos to get a grasp of what’s to come. However now that we’re here and The Unknown’s debut album “Healthy” is here, we get to see the final puzzle, the bigger picture of what’s he offering in this 10 track project.

You know it’s projects like this that make me want to go back in time to when we didn’t need to drop a ton of singles and visuals before an album. “Healthy” when I first heard the title made me think this was going to be an uplifting project in an era of darkness. When the first track (the title track) comes on, The Unknown goes in on the instrumental, really waxing poetic proving his right to rap. As the track closes, The Unknown makes sure to enunciates the “HELL” in “Healthy” from that point on…..be prepared for a dark twisted ride.

I think the play of words on “Healthy” is genius because the rest of the album seems to be a journey in a breakdown. The Unknown brings us into his own world in every sense of the word. Next track “Story” is jarring and jaded, the production also provided from The Unknown brings you into the back and forth discussion going on in his head and it’s not always pretty.

Now when I say The Unknown transports you into his world, I don’t just mean in his mental state. The Unknown brings us a bevy of guest appearances on “Healthy”. The universe he’s set up here reminds me a bit of the Odd Future days. Here The Unknown provides the dark canvas or doubt, vices and regret. The guests don’t just roll through to rip a verse, they completely immerse themselves in the environment created adding their own story and experiences to the mix.

This project isn’t for everyone. The production is glitchy and jarring, to match the lyrics. The Unknown adds numerous vocal effects to demonstrate the battle within and the confusion that comes along with it. “Bad Everything” was the track that got me as our Florida hero takes the role of the voice that plays in our head but like the bad side of that. The side that tells us we’re worthless, that we’re wasting our time chasing our passions. I couldn’t help but let out an exhausted “Damn…” as I questioned my entire existence.

“Healthy” is an zany, trippy, out of this universe project. I immediately got vibes of Aesop Rock or Sadistik. As we enter the brash cold of winter, grab a blunt, grab a drink, throw this record on and let’s get “Healthy”.

You can stream “Healthy” HERE on your platform of choice.

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Latnie: “Nu Legend” [Music Video]

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Death comes for us all but, there is potential for new life. Latnie shows his audience that even through his demise, he can live forever. His up close, unfortunate encounter turns into an incident that spurs on his second chance. He partners with Ex3 Network to deliver his vision in the “Nu Legend” music video.

“I wanted to give my fans a visual that would help the lyrics resonate with them while also putting a creative twist on the hook. One may never physically live forever, but your message can give life for eternity.” – Latnie

You can stream the single if you mess with the video right HERE.

The Unknown: “Healthy” [Album Stream]

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A while ago I introduced you all to Florida hip-hop artist The Unknown with “Medicine” a trippy, dark video letting you into the journeys of his troubled mind. The left field, jarring sounds and visuals aren’t for the faint of here. I was curious as to what type of sound we’d get and The Unknown’s album “Healthy” is here.

10 tracks of about 40 minutes of content takes you on a trippy adventure with The Unknown dealing and coping with the trials of life all while trying to keep himself “Healthy”. As we enter the cold brutality of winter, The Unknown’s “Healthy” is perfectly fitting as we seek to cure ourselves before the year’s up. To prepare you for the album The Unknown has released a new visual for “Story”…it’s as glitchy and trippy as the rest of the project. Take a peep and let’s get “Healthy”.

You can check out “Healthy” on your platform of choice HERE.

Yungeen Ace: “F*ck That” [Music Video]

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Yungeen Ace, one of the most consistent new artists in the game, is back yet again with another new single and video emphatically titled

“Fuck That.” The song and video show a serious side of Ace where, just as the title says, he’s removing all negativity from his path to success. Giving us a different side of him musically, Ace’s auto-tuned vocals fit well with the thumping instrumental from Cam Beatz giving fans much to be satisfied with in the short listen.

Ace is currently working on his new album Life Of Betrayal and has some exciting collaborations in the works including NBA Youngboy and JayDaYoungan. Florida’s rap scene has been exponentially growing in the last few years and from the way his 2018 is panning out thus far, Ace is certainly meshing in quite well. His last four singles have amassed a total of 6 million views on YouTube with two of his videos reaching 2+ million (“All In”) and 1+ million (“Find Myself”) respectively.

Ace’s “Life Of Betrayal” album is coming soon.

A.L. Laureate: “Precautionary Measures” EP [Album Review]

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Miami’s A.L Laureate is far from new to emceeing in hip-hop, from his work with The Brainstormers, to one of my favorite projects in “Closed Eye Insomnia”. After a bit of a hiatus, A.L stormed the gates dropping a couple projects over the last couple years including the collaboration with Soulseeker as the group “Flesh Of The Mind”. Now though, A.L Laureate is back with his first solo project in six years called “Precautionary Measures”.

To me, A.L is a rare breed of emcee that doesn’t come along often, it’s one thing to personal and talk about how much the world sucks and life hurts, but A.L digs even deeper and that’s something he’s done his entire career. The intro featuring Praverb (RIP) is a grand way to start this EP off and truly celebrate the life of a great man.

After that though, A.L Laureate opens up his wounds and scars to the audience and what takes his vivid mental pictures to another level is the production. If you gave “Flesh Of The Mind” a listen you can hear some of the same sounds and vibes on “Precautionary Measures”. What I’m saying is listen to “Flesh Of The Mind” if you like the Soulseeker collab tracks on this.

Tracks like “Contradictions” featuring Japhia Life & Devize really have you looking inside yourself and examining your role in the problems you have. As someone who struggles with mental health issues & insomnia “Subconscious Dreaming” was another track that struck a major cord with me. You can feel the nightmares and mental effect these struggles have on our hero.

The “Precautionary Measures” EP is a dark, grimy project that fits those late nights with a spliff and a glass of wine. For those nights when the weight of the world is on your shoulders and you can’t sleep. A.L Laureate is for you.

Durell On Being Busy Chasing Your Passion, His Introduction To Hip-Hop & What’s To Come

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We all talk about the grind in hip-hop, we have to work non-stop in order make in this right? One facet I feel some (including myself) forget is the effect chasing our passion has on others and more so how the wrong people can be a distraction to where we’re trying to go. Florida emcee Durell has truly captured this not only in his latest release “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy” but in the campaign push for this record. From his music video “Wrong Time” all the way to dark cover art accompanying the release. I had a chance to sit down with Durell and talk about his mindset going into this project.

Dead End Hip Hop: For those who don’t know, who is Durell?

Durell: A down to earth guy with a lot going on in my head who uses music to express himself and everything around him.

DEHH: How were you introduced to hip-hop, how did we go from Durell the listener, the fan to Durell the artist?

Durell: I remember a specific day in my childhood where I was over my Dad’s crib, since I went to visit him every other weekend. I remember the kids of the girl he dated at the time reciting lyrics to a song that I can’t quite remember but I just remember being the only one in the room at the time who didn’t know any of the words, the song, artist, nothing. Something about that struck a chord in me though, I remember saying to myself “that’s cool how they’re all in sync, happily reciting words that I’m sure none of us can even relate to!” It just did something for me. From then on I just loved hip-hop. I want to say my first CD ever was Lil Bow Wow’s “Beware of Dog” because my mom didn’t care about no hip-hop music, she’s into oldies and that’s what I heard most of the time growing up, so if it was going to come from her pockets it had to be something that wasn’t “offensive” or it had to be edited if it even looked bad for a kid to listen to. Got to love the internet though, because that’s where I was able to dive into hip-hop deeper without the need of consent.

DEHH: Tell me how the idea for “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy” came about

Durell: I was in a place in life where I felt like everything and everyone would get the best out of me but myself. I knew it for a while but ignored it because I knew pain was going to be on the other side of everything I had to do & things I had to leave behind in order to do so. I entertained certain friendships that weren’t growing at the rate I felt I was, so I couldn’t even relate much anymore, and that goes the same for some of the women I had ‘situationships’ with lol it just hit a point where I realized maybe what I want from life and what these people want from life are two different things. Which is fine, but just how I can’t understand much why you’re okay with not wanting anything from life, not even to do better for yourself, I also knew there’s a big possibility that I wouldn’t be understood for wanting what I wanted as well. So it’s me taking myself back and it’s basically like saying “Listen, I’m busy attaining to myself now.. if you’re cool with that, cool but unless you REALLY need me, I’m too busy.”

DEHH: Now listening to “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy” you have a couple interludes, at first I thought they were all going to be from the point of view of the woman from the first one. However you went the extra mile to kind of convey that sometimes even your own friends and homies don’t understand what you’re pursuing. Can you speak on that a bit?

Durell: Yeah, I’m pretty sure people around me knew it just they didn’t care for it as much as I did and that’s expected but that’s just what it is. Maybe there’s a lack of understanding on the end of what it really takes to chase something you’re very passionate about? I don’t know. Sometimes I feel people only love you in a box they threw you in, or in a way they’ve always known you to be, if that makes any sense. Certain people loved me when I played small but when I started to make personal changes to work toward this dream, I’d notice the changes in certain friends that took it personal. The old me wants to make it all right and sympathize but the person I’m becoming feels like “you’ve done that too many times before, it’s about you now.” I don’t know where I’m headed & what it’s leading me to but I just know there’s no looking back.

DEHH: Tell me about recording this project, there aren’t many guest appearances and on a project where you’re asking for patience while you work, what was making this project like? Did you just hole up in your crib until it was finished?

Durell: I’m never against working with other artist I just feel like the song has to FEEL right. I can’t be collabing just to say I collabed with you. I can love your music without wanting to make music with you.

I featured Rel B because I just feel we mesh well together on songs. I usually hear a beat and know exactly who I want on it before I even get it started sometimes. As far as the songs, all the songs were written at the crib, in the car driving places, everywhere but in the studio. Unless I’m sitting down to collab with someone, I like the comfort of being alone when I write.. I can’t deal with distractions. I try to come to the studio prepared and ready to just record if I work on any lyrics at the studio, they’re just tweaks. I’ve worked with my engineer for years now so it’s a pretty smooth process at this point. It’s like I handle my work at the crib, come ready and he takes care of the rest. I feel he just understands my vision without me even having to say much.

DEHH: What do you want people to leave “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy” with?

Durell: I want people to listen to it and understand if there’s something you want out here in life, to be patient, work toward it and be ready to make sacrifices with the expense of comfort. No I don’t have it all figured out so I try not to preach in my music but more so put a spotlight on my true feelings and thoughts around things while I’m going through them. So me just being honest with myself, hopefully it makes others comfortable to do the same within their own life/journey no matter what anyone else thinks.

DEHH: What’s something you learned about yourself during the process of creating “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy”?

Durell: Great question. When my comfort zone stopped feeling comfortable, I learned that I was more crippled by the fear of success than I was failure.

DEHH: Now I know the year just started, but what can we expect from you during the rest of 2018?

Durell: Well without saying too much, definitely more music, consistency, and I recently picked up production late last year which I’ve been really excited about because I wasn’t planning on it, it kind of just happened and now I am working on releasing a full-length album this year.

You can listen to Durell’s EP “Call Me Later, Way Too Busy” HERE. Make sure you follow him on Twitter HERE.