| No one is as awesome as my brother Nico...so when I find out that someone did an article on him, of course I'm gonna put it up. Love you! (Peep the article here.) Nico B and the Record Playas (Boom Bap from Chicago): After Nico B, an emcee based out of Chicago, sent me an email with a couple of his tracks attached, I did a quick search on google while I was waiting for the songs to download to find out a little bit about him. The profile on his record label's website placed a strong emphasis on his Cuban background and the fact that he had been performing in Brazil, rapping in a bilingual mix of English and Portuguese. When I finally got a chance to listen to his music, I expected to hear something similar to Reggaeton or the type of Favela-inspired sound that M.I.A. cashed in on a couple of years ago. I must confess that I've never been a huge fan of either genre, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out that I was way off-base, as the songs were unquestionably hip hop in its traditional form. Contrary to my initial expectations, Nico B, hailing from the largely Hispanic suburb of Cicero, IL, seems to have been influenced much more by the neighboring city of Chicago and its brand of hip hop. The two songs that Nico sent me feature him rapping over beats that have a fair amount of boom bap to them, with some great production provided by the Record Playas. Give 'em a listen: Nico B featuring Seel Fresh - Up And Down Nico B - Break 'Em Off These two songs are off of Nico's upcoming third album La Kedzie, which will be released by Audio 8 Recordings this summer. For updates on the album, stop by Nico's MySpace page. To hear songs from the rest of his crew, check out the Record Playas page. |
| 3/19/2007 07:00:01 PM posted by Fresh | Full Article | Comments (2) |