CCBeats

Lovin the West Coast vibes from this Tempe trio. First thing I look for, especially in hip-hop, is personality, flow & a good beat – and these guys got all that. However, I’m not really feelin the lyrics are worth listening to. It’s obviously not intended to be a lyrically heavy track, but they’re pretty standard, mainstream shit – which I expect more from someone with a spot on flow like this.
- zech.mn in Hip-Hop

By Ana Anguiano, College Times
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Earsweat Drops
Various Artists
Earsweat Records
Grade: B

If you’ve ever wondered what the Phoenix hip-hop scene had to offer, now’s your chance to fully immerse yourself. Earsweat Records has released a compilation album highlighting 14 of its artists.

Earsweat Drops is filled with MCs that are both talented and ingenious. Each track on the album brings a new whirlwind of fresh beats and a different personality. Each artist comes with his own story and leaves the listener wanting more.

That’s really the purpose of Earsweat Drops, to tease listeners and expose them to what the local scene has to offer. Because this album is so varied, it’s hard to single out just a few of the highlights. There is something for everyone.

Highlights include CCBeats’s “Hands Up” featuring LD and Ariano. The upbeat and light-hearted track gets you up and moving in no time.

Rashenal’s “Looking At You” and The Sh!t’s “Ass Dro Not” have incredibly fluid and entertaining samples that get lodged in your memory and will rattle in your brain all day.

The album concludes with a collaborative track, called “The Bass,” which ties up Earsweat Drops like a present on Christmas Day.

Luckily the best is yet to come. Every artist on the compilation album is currently working on a new release that will be put out by Earsweat Records in the future. Give it a spin, find what suits your fancy and support the local scene. You’ll be surprised by what you find. - College Times

Take a bunch of (very talented) mc’s and producers, combine them with great ideas and a creative work flow that equals that of pretty much every great artist in their prime and you get Ear Sweat.

Ear Sweat Drops is something of a rarity; it’s a compilation, of varied mc’s with varied styles that actually works on a whole. Unable to skip a track I was mesmerised by each beat, verse, flow and then some. The beats bang, the rhymes are original and each individual contribution to this project is a rigid testimonial to the fact that everything about hip hop can be and is still great.

The mc’s all follow suit, each one is a hard act to follow, yet they all seem to succeed in holding suit and everyone maintains that quality of sound. Clever rhymes, the head nods for the duration of each and every track.

From Optimals quick-fire multi syllabic rhymes to Lakais smart social every-day-able-to-relate-to observations to G-Owens fantastical daydream sing-rap head nod beautifulness. From the power of Charades brag-spit-im-the-illest type flows to Kye’s mind spinning imaginative concepts , on which the build-up to The Ogre is ingenious.
The music here operates on so many levels and that’s what it is, music, not just uninspired loops and drum machines. Not just another hip hop crew but rather a collective of great minds who know how to please the ears.

http://earsweat.bandcamp.com/ - EarSweat Records

If variety is indeed the spice of life, then my love of the compilation album is evidence I am living rather well. I have always had an affinity for a myriad of artists that can be found conveniently in one place and the myriad of styles from track to track provides the notion that I am getting more bang for my buck.

All of the aforementioned facets are in place on Drops, the new, 16-track album from the collective that is Earsweat Records. Set to drop on May 8, the Arizona record company has put forth their biggest and brightest on an album of Hip Hop that truly appeals to all. From track to track, what becomes apparent is that this isn’t everyday, cut from the mold Hip Hop. This album is rife with originality that strays from any “set rules” of how to make a good rap track. Think the outside of the box thinking and approaches taken by the likes of Tribe, Jurassic and the like.

DJ Cre One “Earsweat Drops Promo Mix” MP3:

SKOPE IT HERE! ( http://k004.kiwi6.com/hotlink/8nd9o91298/dj_cre_one_mp3_promo_es_drops.mp3 )

G Owens opens the album with “Aviator”—equal parts, Hip Hop and R&B over a clubby back beat. The trippy ethos of the track is bolstered by intermittent singing and rapping and reflects the many genres Owens is influenced by… think a mash-up of Maxwell meets Tribe Called Quest. Piano tinkling opens up “Sacrifice” by Social Studies. Live instrumentation adds an element of authenticity to the track as it moves through the verses of tandem rap lines. Idolize the MC lends the groovy “Earth to Smootha” with more backing piano. Clever lyrical matter and a smooth delivery cap this head bobber of a rap track. “Stress?” by Lakai reflects a vast imagination that mirrors his equally imaginative biography (Unicorn ponies?). Smart lyrics tinged with humor reflect the real life, hard times message that runs through the track. Galactic Basic (with a guest appearance from Optimal) lends “Empty Days”; rife with backing synth and a slight, simple backing beat allows the lyrical matter to shine at the foreground. Rap verses are spit at accelerated speeds and complement the down tempo track pace. Eerie synth opens Jay Speaks’ “Champion.” The track sounds raw and earthy with a gritty element in the background beat and chirps and chimes. Beat box makes an appearance at the track midpoint and while it bolsters the beat, it seems somewhat out of place or possibly an afterthought. Finally, what sounds like a full collaboration rounds out the album with “The Bass.” This track pulls out all the stops with samples, synth, a heavy back beat (live instrumentation in there maybe?)Again, it’s a head bobber track that illustrates the available talent at the Earsweat camp disposal. Arrangement certainly had the forethought to save the best for last.

Who knew there was so much a solid base of simply good Hip Hop in Arizona’s desert? I for one certainly didn’t but this album has been added to a steady rotation in my iPod. Solid talent, good arrangement and professional engineering make this another great compilation of witty and honest Hip Hop and if you can’t find tracks that speak to you here; I would argue if you were really a Hip Hop fan at all. Look for Drops on May 8th at earsweat.bandcamp.com or for more information on individual artists go to their website www.earsweat.com.

By: Christopher West @ cwestlaz@gmail.com
- Christoper West

When Verbal Kent first heard about how Sheriff Joe Arpaio paraded 200 shackled Hispanic inmates through the streets of downtown Phoenix last week, the enraged Chicago-based hip-hop artist took action immediately.

Kent phoned his friends in the Valley, the promoters behind the weekly GALLERY BLU re:DEF hip-hop night at the Stray Cat in Tempe. The guys, including P-Town's MC Rashenal (a.k.a. Josh Bolick), all began organizing a special event designed to raise awareness of Sheriff Joe's dastardly actions both past and present.

The result? Tonight's edition of GALLERY BLU re:DEF, which has been dubbed "Stop the Circus: Fight for Tolerance. Stop Arpaio."

"What Sheriff Joe did by parading Latinos around like that was an absolute travesty," says Rashenal. "It's inhuman and racially motivated. Verbal and I felt like we needed to do something to fight back."

Verbal, who's a member of racial equality group Campaign for a United America, is bringing in some heavy hitters to aid the cause, including alternative/underground hip-hop stars One Be Lo and Wordsworth. They'll be dissing Arpaio alongside local rappers G-Owens, Fiyah Station, and Nobuddie.

The event will be taped and later uploaded to the Internet in the hopes of raising awareness in both the local and national hip-hop community.

"We want to unite the hip-hop community against Sheriff Joe and present an organized front," Rashenal says.

True, dat.

"Stop the Circus" runs from 8:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. with no cover all night. The Stray Cat Bar & Grill is located at 2433 East University Drive in Tempe. Call 480-967-1040. - EarSweat Records