Adam Botsford is a man better known around Minneapolis as Botzy, the fun-loving rapper whom also happens to be 1/6th of the local beloved band Culture Cry Wolf. He has made his presence known around the city both as a solo artist, and with the band. It seems to be that anything Botzy gets his hands on becomes infected with his artistry, which is nothing short of ingenious. He holds true to the lifestyle of a creative musician and embodies it in an appealing, friendly and honest way. Many times in the music industry artists tend to believe they’re larger than life, but I am confident Botzy will never be one of them. He’s humble, he’s original, he’s quick-witted and here’s what he had to say:
I know this isn’t a download or video or anything like that (that will come later tonight) but Prof and the dudes over at Stophouse just publicly announced their new webstore where you can purchase brand new Prof t-shirts, a brand new sweatshirt from Holly Hoodz, and his past CD’s. Don’t wait until everything is sold out, because you will be one sad gampo. No one likes a sad gampo.
With the easy accesibility to microphones, recording equipment and youtube, practically everyone is making some kind of music. This isn’t bound to the state of Minnesota, but recently it’s become a widely talked about topic here. It is tough to weed out the gems from the mediocre especially with new music being released daily. Here are a few albums that very talented artists whom call Minnesota have put out for free that you may have overlooked.
1. PROF – King Gampo
If you haven’t been living under a rock since early 2011, you’ve probably heard this album. But just in case you haven’t it features Rhymesayers staple Brother Ali, MTV’s Riff Raff and production from Ant of Atmosphere.
With a “Buy it now” price on his bandcamp you can feel free to pay as you like, or download it free. He recently did an interview with the City Pages Gimme Noise blog about the album. It features Crescent Moon, Sage Francis, Sadistik, Buck 65, Illogic, and more.
4. I Self Devine – LA State of Mind
Though the album is titled LA State of Mind, I Self Devine is a St. Paul, Minnesota native and one of the few well-known emcees from the east side of the river. This free ep was released for free courtesy of Rhymesayers in part as a promotional effort for his amazing album The Sound of Low Class Amerika.
5. KnoX – Martyr Music
KnoX is a humble dude, with a thoughtful process and his music reflects that. Martyr Music is the raw follow-up from his soul-driven KnoX Tale. It features Gene Poole, Mike the Martyr, and many more.
6. Freez & Mike Frey/Mike Frey – You Are Here/Burnt Out
These are two people who are extremely underrated in the music scene. I’m really not sure why because Mike Frey is a great producer with beats ranging from funky, low-rider types to beautiful symphony infused jazz and Freez has a way with words and honesty with a powerful tone. “You Are Here” features P.O.S., Mike Mictlan, Mavin MC, Big Zach, Unicus, Alicia Steele and Franz Diego. “Burnt Out” includes features from Greg Greese, Alicia Steele, Just Nine, and a couple more tracks with Freez.
7. Ecid – Swagger Wagon
Swagger Wagon courtesy of Fill in the Breaks and Ecid was one of my favorite releases from FITB in 2011. It features Awol One, Derril Pounds and Leif(Kolt).
8. Mike the Martyr & Aquafresh – In Search of the Wonderous Punch
This comes from Minneapolis based label Long D.O.E. producer/emcee Mike the Martyr and California emcee Aquafresh. This album was featured on the Source’s website, which says a lot about it from the get-go. With the production quality and lyrical play they bring it makes sense why they were an obvious choice for the handful of Minnesota based acts at Soundset this year. Download “In Search of the Wonderous Punch” here.
9. O-Lay & Diatonic – Meanwhile
O-Lay & Diatonic are a group I heard about not too long ago, thanks to JK Clothing. What I heard I really enjoyed, and kept listening then they released this and now have a solidified fan. You can expect a lot more from these two in years to come.
10. Homeless – Patience Makes Lighter
The first time I saw Homeless was back in 2010 when he opened for Prof at the Varsity Theater with Just Riley as the group Mnemosyne. I really enjoyed his openness, self-depreciation, and vocabulary. This is an older release but definitely recommended for one of those dark, artsy, rainy days.
11. Botzy/VA – My Friends and I/The Best Love is Free Vol. 3
Botzy, who is the front man/rapper for the Minneapolis group Culture Cry Wolf proves to be an impressive one man act on his solo album “My Friends and I”. Like many other artists on this list Botzy is honest and not afraid to share how he’s feeling. His album features Wesley Opus, 2% Muck, a track with Culture Cry Wolf and many more. The Best Love is Free is an annual event held every year at The Fineline Music Cafe to celebrate love, music, art and all of the wonderful things life has to offer. Every year they bring great live acts out to perform and they also as a bonus, put together a musical compilation of artists with passion. The latest years album features St. Paul Slim/Last Triumph, Astronautalis with Tegan Quin (From Tegan and Sarah), Mayda, Polica, Wize Guyz, Sean Anon, Soulcrate Music, Kristoff Krane, Prof, MaLLy, Culture Cry Wolf and many more.
12. Orikal Uno – +1
This is one of many of Orikals free releases on his bandcamp page, and it was hard to choose which to post. I highly suggest checking out more of his stuff if you enjoy these tracks. Orikal Uno’s +1 album features Sab the Artist (A.K.A. Musab), Mac Lethal, and Prof.
13. Tavonte Woods – Patiently Waitin’
At the young age of 17 Tavonte Woods embodies drive and motivation. He recently performed with KiD InK and is scheduled to perform with Kirko Bangz this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is Minnesota’s “Next Up”. Download “Patiently Waitin'” here.
14. Duenday – Duenday
Duenday represents the sunny-side of hip-hop, with funky beats that force you to tap your toes and nod your head or command you to get up and dance. Their self titled solo album is currently available for free via their bandcamp site and it features Sean Anon, Lipset, Unicus, Manny Phesto, and Big Zach.
There are plenty other great albums out there I myself may have overlooked, if you feel that’s the case leave a suggestion in the comment section.
Two of the best known, most respected labels in the metro area just released music videos. RSE dropped I Self Devine’s “Sweat Equity” off his new mixtape “L.A. State Of Mind” (which you can conveniently download here) and Stophouse dropped Prof’s “Gampo” off of his album “King Gampo” (which if you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t downloaded yet, you can download here)
What up y’all? Sorry it’s been a minute, this week has been insaaaane! But within this week of insanity I’ve had the pleasure of attending some fantastic shows! For anyone who knows anything about hip-hop in the Twin Cities area, I’m sure you heard Prof was here on Friday on the second stop of his “Look out tour” with Steddy P. The Crest, Mike The Martyr, and St. Paul Slim also showed up for some great sets. First time I have seen Steddy P or The Crest live. Soooo good. If you haven’t heard of Steddy P you can get a feel for him right here:
Like what you see? Download his mixtape “While you were sleeping” here
Prof also released some new songs just for the live crowd.. but I’ll share those with you guys when he drops his album 😉 (it’s coming soon don’t worry..) watch this Prof video for now to tide you over:
Big shout out to Stophouse for being such awesome guys! cough::MikeCambellandAndrewHunkle::cough
Along with the amazing Prof show, I got to attend a more intimate triple CD release party hosted by Urban Home Companion. All 3 awesome artists (Don Royal, K.Raydio, and Homeless Ryan K) dropped brand new projects and I’ve got the links for anyone who wants to take a listen!
K.Raydio’s second installment of “Significant (Other)” is amazing. Wasn’t sure she could top part one, but I was proved wrong.
Don Royal dug deep into his creative side for his new release “Ink Splattered Dreams”. You can tell he put lots of thought into this one.
uglegends 