Sage Francis
Human the Death Dance
Epitaph (2007)
After 2005's A Healthy Distrust Sage Francis cemented himself as one of hip-hop's biggest heroes as well as one of it's most despised figures. Francis seemingly blurred the line between mainstream and the world of underground mix tapes, coming out as a possible savior of hip-hop, the opposite of rappers Nas blasted on Hip-Hop is Dead. While A Healthy Distrust showed Francis at his activist best, lambasting everything and everyone from fake thug rappers to a one party political system, Human the Death Dance is Francis' most personal album, letting listeners into his struggles and vices. "Growing Pains" opens and shows Francis as a teenager MC, rhyming over homemade beats, and not surprisingly he has thoroughly evolved. "Underground for Dummies" is next, and is an autobiography of Francis' life, winning rap battles at the age of thirteen and continuing his struggles in the music industry, with labels, his skin color, and managers. Francis manipulates the meaning of words and language, using whit, alliteration, and rhyme schemes as his wingmen to tell his story, as he raps, " I won the biggest battle in a Metallica shirt before the album dropped / A week later smashed the trophy at a show … Read more
Imani Coppola
The Black and White Album
Ipecac (2007)
The lights, the sounds, the excitement If you've ever been to New York City, you know what I'm talking about. … Read more
Four Year Strong
Rise or Die Trying
I Surrender (2007)
Do you love bubblegum pop-punk? Do you love sign-alongs? Do you love ridiculous breakdowns? Well, then Four Year Strong and … Read more
Ringfinger
Decimal
Little Black Cloud (2007)
The history behind Ringfinger's Decimal is rather interesting. Tracy Wilson, whom some of you may remember from Dahlia Seed, started … Read more
Attack in Black
Marriage
Dine Alone (2007)
There's no way around this but to say it straight: I heard the first track from Attack in Black's Marriage, … Read more
