Mouse Powell

With the advent of certain technologies, hip hop has become at-home-accessible for millions of young rappers. With the deluge of music I hear at YabYum, I am often left questioning. What makes one stand out above the rest? What pushes a person to go beyond the conventional boundaries of hip hop and create something new? These Are The Good Times, the new album from Mouse Powell and The Ref seek answers to these questions.

Bill "Mouse" Powell arrived on the scene in 2011 dropping his album Where It's Cloudy with producer ILL AL. Since that time he's been on a few tours, hosted the Blunt Club, released MegaMouse (an album with Mega Ran), and has built quite the following of AZ hip hop heads. Likewise, Andrew “The Ref” Johnson released his debut album in 2011 followed by his sophomore release Practice just a few months prior to These Are The Good Times. The Ref has worked with Mouse since 2012 recording, mixing, and engineering nearly everything Powell's released. These Are The Good Times is a culmination for both artists, each one has grown musically in the process.

These Are The Good Times does not sound like your traditional rap record. Mouse has always favored an underground, kick-back party vibe in his music and this album is no exception. However, The Ref's production is atypical. Bands such as the Mercury Program and Quadron are sampled and combined with some of the Valley's best musicians playing actual instruments. Jason DeVore of Authority Zero, Sean Lee of the VeraGroove, Kristina Moore of Where are all the Buffalo?, Danny Torgerson of Captain Squeegee and Scott White of Drunken Immortals/Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra are just some of the many talented performers found on the record.

Album opener "Heaven" shows Mouse take a solid stand on what he expects with These Are The Good Times. "Two Weeks" allows the listener to glimpse, for even the briefest moment, the life of Mr. Powell behind the music. The boys then break it down on "Dancing In The Rain" which features both Andres Rodriguez of the VeraGroove & Carly Kastner.

Every time "Brass Monkey" begins, I forget its the seminal Beastie Boys track of the same name and instead get lost in this beautiful rendition with its funky guitar and swinging trumpet. "Tomorrow" features Kristina Moore as I've never heard her before. A lightly strummed beginning leads way to an orchestra atop chugging guitars, thunderous drums booming in the background. Kristina provides vocal "hooks" if you will for both this and the next song "DGTW," which due to its eclectic instrumentation and hard-hitting beat that eventually drops, is currently my favorite track on the album.

The final third of These Are The Good Times begins with "Good Times II" featuring Jason DeVore. Truly a unique track, with the beat provided by a hand-drum and acoustic guitar, you'll be surprised at how easy it is to sing and dance along to this one. When closer "What A Trip" comes in with it's bluesy keyboard progression and playing-in-the-rain-under-a-streetlamp trumpet, the listener is reminded of the seriousness at which Mouse Powell and The Ref approach their craft. "Since my first tour I don't think I've been home," Mouse declares.

Alas, not everything can go right with an album release every time. The first single from These Are The Good Times, "Cliff Clavin", had to be removed just 2 days after the album release due to copyright issue with "Lovers' Carvings" by Bibio, the track's sample. We had reviewed "Cliff Clavin" in our October 28th edition of 5 Albums to Get Excited About and are saddened by it's departure though the idea of a "Remix Contest" in order to bring the track back sounds like an excellent idea indeed.

If you're looking a for hip hop record that steps well outside the traditional modes of rap, look no further than These Are The Good Times. An incredible release show has been scheduled for December 7th at the Red Owl with Mouse Powell and the VeraGroove performing These Are The Good Times in its entirety. Add to that the likes of Playboy Manbaby opening the show and you've got yourself one helluva' evening! Click here to listen and get down with These Are The Good Times. - http://www.yabyumaz.com

With the advent of certain technologies, hip hop has become at-home-accessible for millions of young rappers. With the deluge of music I hear at YabYum, I am often left questioning. What makes one stand out above the rest? What pushes a person to go beyond the conventional boundaries of hip hop and create something new? These Are The Good Times, the new album from Mouse Powell and The Ref seek answers to these questions.

Bill "Mouse" Powell arrived on the scene in 2011 dropping his album Where It's Cloudy with producer ILL AL. Since that time he's been on a few tours, hosted the Blunt Club, released MegaMouse (an album with Mega Ran), and has built quite the following of AZ hip hop heads. Likewise, Andrew “The Ref” Johnson released his debut album in 2011 followed by his sophomore release Practice just a few months prior to These Are The Good Times. The Ref has worked with Mouse since 2012 recording, mixing, and engineering nearly everything Powell's released. These Are The Good Times is a culmination for both artists, each one has grown musically in the process.

These Are The Good Times does not sound like your traditional rap record. Mouse has always favored an underground, kick-back party vibe in his music and this album is no exception. However, The Ref's production is atypical. Bands such as the Mercury Program and Quadron are sampled and combined with some of the Valley's best musicians playing actual instruments. Jason DeVore of Authority Zero, Sean Lee of the VeraGroove, Kristina Moore of Where are all the Buffalo?, Danny Torgerson of Captain Squeegee and Scott White of Drunken Immortals/Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra are just some of the many talented performers found on the record.

Album opener "Heaven" shows Mouse take a solid stand on what he expects with These Are The Good Times. "Two Weeks" allows the listener to glimpse, for even the briefest moment, the life of Mr. Powell behind the music. The boys then break it down on "Dancing In The Rain" which features both Andres Rodriguez of the VeraGroove & Carly Kastner.

Every time "Brass Monkey" begins, I forget its the seminal Beastie Boys track of the same name and instead get lost in this beautiful rendition with its funky guitar and swinging trumpet. "Tomorrow" features Kristina Moore as I've never heard her before. A lightly strummed beginning leads way to an orchestra atop chugging guitars, thunderous drums booming in the background. Kristina provides vocal "hooks" if you will for both this and the next song "DGTW," which due to its eclectic instrumentation and hard-hitting beat that eventually drops, is currently my favorite track on the album.

The final third of These Are The Good Times begins with "Good Times II" featuring Jason DeVore. Truly a unique track, with the beat provided by a hand-drum and acoustic guitar, you'll be surprised at how easy it is to sing and dance along to this one. When closer "What A Trip" comes in with it's bluesy keyboard progression and playing-in-the-rain-under-a-streetlamp trumpet, the listener is reminded of the seriousness at which Mouse Powell and The Ref approach their craft. "Since my first tour I don't think I've been home," Mouse declares.

Alas, not everything can go right with an album release every time. The first single from These Are The Good Times, "Cliff Clavin", had to be removed just 2 days after the album release due to copyright issue with "Lovers' Carvings" by Bibio, the track's sample. We had reviewed "Cliff Clavin" in our October 28th edition of 5 Albums to Get Excited About and are saddened by it's departure though the idea of a "Remix Contest" in order to bring the track back sounds like an excellent idea indeed.

If you're looking a for hip hop record that steps well outside the traditional modes of rap, look no further than These Are The Good Times. An incredible release show has been scheduled for December 7th at the Red Owl with Mouse Powell and the VeraGroove performing These Are The Good Times in its entirety. Add to that the likes of Playboy Manbaby opening the show and you've got yourself one helluva' evening! Click here to listen and get down with These Are The Good Times. - http://www.yabyumaz.com

A late-in-the-year contender, Mouse Powell's LP debut is confident, sly, and funky. - The Phoenix New Times

A late-in-the-year contender, Mouse Powell's LP debut is confident, sly, and funky. - The Phoenix New Times

MegaMouse hit streets in October and especially won us over with the throwback track, "Best Girl." - The Phoenix New Times

MegaMouse hit streets in October and especially won us over with the throwback track, "Best Girl." - The Phoenix New Times

Random and Mouse are hooking up to bring the Mega Mouse EP, and the three will be hitting the road for a west coast tour along with DJ DN3 starting at Club Red in Tempe on Wednesday, October 3. - The Phoenix New Times

Random and Mouse are hooking up to bring the Mega Mouse EP, and the three will be hitting the road for a west coast tour along with DJ DN3 starting at Club Red in Tempe on Wednesday, October 3. - The Phoenix New Times

Arizona’s very own Random(Megaran) and Might Mouse Powell are about to embark on a 12 city west coast tour starting tonight. This is an EP the two Arizona emcee’s put together to promote the tour. - fuckinghater.com

Arizona’s very own Random(Megaran) and Might Mouse Powell are about to embark on a 12 city west coast tour starting tonight. This is an EP the two Arizona emcee’s put together to promote the tour. - fuckinghater.com

This entire project is smooth from beginning to end. I recommend it for sure. Hit the jump to check out the visuals to his track The Walk Out. Arizona stand up!
- donutsandmilk.com

This entire project is smooth from beginning to end. I recommend it for sure. Hit the jump to check out the visuals to his track The Walk Out. Arizona stand up!
- donutsandmilk.com

The homie Mouse Powell releases another visual titled Ruby Slippers. Like his other videos, this shit is dope and well done. - Bombonem.com

The homie Mouse Powell releases another visual titled Ruby Slippers. Like his other videos, this shit is dope and well done. - Bombonem.com

Putting on for your city or state is nothing new, especially in Hip-Hop. Arizona though? Not often, if ever. - Bombonem.com

Putting on for your city or state is nothing new, especially in Hip-Hop. Arizona though? Not often, if ever. - Bombonem.com

Until Friday, August 23, $75 not only will net you a private preview of Mouse Powell's newest album, These Are the Good Times, but the Tempe-based rapper will come into your home and prepare you a bona fide home-cooked meal.

- The Phoenix New Times

Until Friday, August 23, $75 not only will net you a private preview of Mouse Powell's newest album, These Are the Good Times, but the Tempe-based rapper will come into your home and prepare you a bona fide home-cooked meal.

- The Phoenix New Times

ILL AL and Brad B join Powell on a song from his 14-track album, Where Its Cloudy, a funky, slick and soulful debut released in late 2011. - The Phoenix New Times

ILL AL and Brad B join Powell on a song from his 14-track album, Where Its Cloudy, a funky, slick and soulful debut released in late 2011. - The Phoenix New Times

For Tempe-based rapper Bill “Mouse” Powell, representing his hometown is just part of the way he produces music.
- The State Press

For Tempe-based rapper Bill “Mouse” Powell, representing his hometown is just part of the way he produces music.
- The State Press

Tempe rapper and self-declared “hometown hero hopeful” Bill “Mouse” Powell dropped his year-long project “These Are The Good Times” on Tuesday.

The album’s 10 songs, which are available for free download, dip low in tempo and mood before
they dive through quicker, upbeat songs. “These Are The Good Times” is
an album to drink to, but it maintains Powell’s unavoidable down-to-earth manner.

“The music kind of sounds more patient than a normal hip-hop record,” said producer Andrew “The Ref” Johnson.

Powell, who grew up in Avondale, started rapping when he was 15 years old. Like Powell’s previous albums, “These Are The Good Times” strays away from mainstream hip-hop, instead incorporating a more soulful influence and laid-back atmosphere.

“It has that whole ‘get together’ vibe,” said Alan “ILL AL” Taylor, who joined Powell to produce the rapper’s previous album, “Where It’s Cloudy.”

“I think good hip-hop records do a good job of catching your attention when you want to listen,” he said.

Powell featured artists on keys, trumpet, percussion and guitar on nearly every song of the album, working with local influences to create a more powerful, mature sound. “These Are The Good Times” breaks the bounds of the traditional hip-hop formula, but the end product is far from unorthodox.

Johnson said the artists were free to experiment with a basic framework when they came to the studio to record.

“It was almost like when they came in, it was a blank canvas, but I got to pick the size,” Johnson said.

But the rapper agrees that the collaborations and aversion to too many samples benefited the album.

“Bringing in all the musicians and actually handcrafting everything ourselves really made it a little bit more of an involved task,” Powell said.

For Johnson, really taking control of this album with Powell’s leadership and collaboration was an experience that beats being confined to someone else’s writing.

“It feels better to release music that just originates from your brain instead of starting somewhere else,” Johnson said.

Of Powell’s approach to “These Are The Good Times,” Taylor said that Powell is just trying to find his own and “stake his flag,” by claiming some portion of the scene with his identity.

Here’s a go-to song list for several “These Are The Good Times,” must-listen tracks.

Track No. 1. “Heaven”: The Tempe-based rapper wastes no time establishing an honest dialogue with the listener on the album’s opening track. “Heaven” performs excellently as a lounge act, progressing through a slow, dreamy antithesis to today’s atypical raucous, in-your-face hip-hop. Danny Torgersen of Captain Squeegee drifts in on the trumpet, a testament to Powell’s devotion to collaborating with the best local artists on the album, complete with lyrics as raw as the melodies. (“You know that kid on your block who should’ve been an astronaut,
but’d rather spend his whole life on a beat?
/ Well that’s me / I’m going in.”)

Track No. 2. “Two Weeks”: Underground Arizona hip-hop education begins at this song. For what Powell lacks in experience and age, he makes up with vigor and clever composition, sampling “Sultans of El Sur” by The Mercury Program and featuring Sean Lee of The VeraGroove on keys. “Two Weeks” gets in your face, but not in the way mainstream rap does.

Track No. 4. “Brass Monkey”: An enthusiastic, melodic rendition of the Beastie Boys classic by the same name, “Brass Monkey” samples “Jeans” by Quadron. It’s a worthy listen for fans of Drunken Immortals and Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, for which percussionist Scott White plays.

Track No. 6. “Cliff Clavin”: The album’s ultimate drunken anthem arrives in the form of “Cliff Clavin,” an organic, uplifting track. Like his summer song, “Holding Home (The AZ Anthem),” the sound is nostalgic, fun and honest. (“Tell the people that ask why I dropped out of school that there’s kids out of state that wanna hear me rap.”)

Track No. 8. “Good Times II”: Featuring Jason DeVore of Authority Zero, Scott White on percussion and additional
guitar by Kris Hill of Drunken Immortals, “Good Times II” is the song a group of musically inclined friends would improvise on a drunken Saturday night in a backyard. The sound isn’t traditional hip-hop, but it’s natural and catchy.

Thanks to Powell’s backers on kickstarter.com, “These Are The Good Times” is available for free Tuesday.

Reach the reporter at aovnicek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @aovnicek - State Press