Damn. This one hurts; it always hurts when someone I know passes, especially when the word comes out of nowhere, but damn, I really rocked with junclassic. I don't remember how we first linked up; back when we were really rocking over here, emails would just hit the inbox on the regular. Hell, I was getting mail sent to the crib. Thing is, jun still sent his albums. I have a few CDs sitting around somewhere; he was always working, and was always looking out.
Back in 2009, Kid Humallowed me to let a bunch of dope emcees rap over beats from his Fossil Fuels instrumental album; when I was reaching out to folks for the tracks that would become Offshore Drilling, I feel like jun was one of the first cats to submit tracks. Hell, he has two solo joints on the project, and he made sure to throw in "you gotta rock the dub, baby." I never asked; that's just how he was. Stand-up individual. Hard worker. Dope as fuck with the pen. Dare I say one of the more prolific artists I've ever come across.
jun is also all over The KhemLab, the spiritual sequel to Offshore Drilling if you will; one of my personal favorites is the J57-produced "Khemistry," which finds junclassic kicking the final verse. I always loved the last line of his verse: "keep ya shit tighter than African hair braiding." jun was always ready with a tight verse, a dope project, and his warm spirit, always down to rep for the culture.
Local legend Jay Kountree passed away early Tuesday morning; he was 38. Reports say he was killed during a situation involving a motor vehicle crash, which is fucking tragic. Not only was dude a phenomenal DJ—I'd seen a few sets in the city of Trenton where he'd be going ham with the '90s house—but he was just a good dude. Seeing him out meant a smiling face and someone around my age who was a father and would geek out on the same culture I'd geek out on.
What sucks is that Kountree, who was already a staple of the club scenes in Jersey and Philly, was making some dope material over the past year, dropping a four-track release WWJKD in January, followed up by a two-track remix EP, DEDICATED<3 in February.
There have been a number of tributes and thoughts about Kountree, especially throughout the Trenton and Philly scenes on Facebook. I could share a bunch of thoughts, but honestly, Trenton Social's Facebook post may sum things up:
"Kountree wasn’t just behind the decks," they said, "he was the energy, the heartbeat, the soundtrack of so many unforgettable nights here. Thank you for the years of music, laughter, and memories you gave everyone. Your presence filled this place with life, and your legacy will always echo through every beat that plays in this home you helped build. You will forever be missed, forever loved, and your music will forever live on."
Fifteen years ago, this very blog was moving in such a way that I had a lowkey digital distribution situation going on. There wasn't a lot that RTD dropped, but one of the absolute best projects was the homie Deal - The Villain's EPic, which dropped in Feb. 2010 and found DTV doing what he does best: bullying his beats with his bars. Dude's a mad scientist and someone I consider a homie, so when he said he was back at it with EPos all these years later? You gotta love it. Glad my brother continues to do the damn thing. Some fucking gems in here, too, and if you're smart, you'll cop because DTV has the instrumentals on DECK. Stream the full project below, and cop via Bandcamp.
Seeing that Joey is going on tour with Ab-Soul and Rapsody, it makes sense that tracks like "STILL" are hitting. Kinda wish Rapsody did more than the hook over this Statik Selektah-produced joint (although folks who want to hear more of what Rapsody should have checked out her latest, MadRaps, which is produced by Madlib). (Sample of that HERE!) "STILL" shows the mature side of Joey, the side that most folks wish they could see on an album project. Glad that Joey isn't just sitting on his work, though; he's putting out what he think works by any means necessary. Gotta support that, "DARK AURA," and more via Joey's site, all ahead of the release of Lonely At The Top, Joey's latest mixtape, which is out on August 29.
Joey Badass Dark Aura Tour Dates:
10/16 – Boston, MA 10/17 – Montreal, Quebec 10/20 – Toronto, Ontario 10/21 – Cleveland, OH 10/22 – Detroit, MI 10/23 – Chicago, IL 10/25 – Milwaukee, WI 10/26 – Minneapolis, MN 10/29 – Denver, CO 10/30 – Salt Lake City, UT 11/1 – Seattle, WA 11/2 – Portland, OR 11/4 – San Francisco, CA 11/6 – Los Angeles, CA 11/7 – Las Vegas, NV 11/8 – Anaheim, CA 11/9 – Phoenix, AZ 11/11 – Austin, TX 11/12 – Dallas, TX 11/13 – Houston, TX 11/15 – Atlanta, GA 11/16 – Nashville, TN 11/18 – Washington, DC 11/19 – Brooklyn, NY 11/21 – Philadelphia, PA
/inhale The other day, I got introduced to Phiik and Lungs via a post from the Passion of the Weiss label's Twitter account. I clicked because it said "Funcrusher 2024," and I'd recently given Company Flow's a listen and it's still independent as fox. I stayed because... what the fuck?!
The clip was from their 2022 Top Shelf Premium freestyle session, where they spit two tracks: "Played Myself Again Loop" from Lungs' 2021 tape The Birth of LoneSword and "Jim 'The Hammer" Shapiro" from their first Another Planet project, which both songs being beautiful examples of this
It took a bit for me to figure out what was going on. On first listen, I had to admit: it had been a while since I'd heard someone rap over something that haunting...without drums. And when you couple that with how densely-packed their verses are? They are definitely definitively juxin', but I had to do some investigating. On what planet does this just happen? Another Planet, apparently.
While I was diving deep into the drudges of the internet during the pandemic, these two dove deep into their bag. It's admirable, to be honest. With all of the responsibilities you can acquire, it can be hard to lock in on your square and birth flowers from the musique concrète. This was best found in Another Planet 4, which dropped in February 2023 and features frequent collaborators like Fatboi Sharif. Praise whoever decided to throw subtitles on the video for this project's lead single, "Don Quixote." It's really some "play twice before listening" shit; the perfect (drumless) loop, the dizzying barrage of bars barreling by you. Phiik's bars in particular make me want to write like I used to, write to abuse you, write like Dallas Penn (RIP) was standing behind me like, "now it's on you." Maybe that's why I'm here.
Look: it's been a minute since hip-hop shook me enough to open up the Blogger. (I almost hopped on here to dissect a horror movie on wax"meet the grahams," but I had work to do.) I'm still downloading promos, I'm still listening to all of the dnb, and I hope that Cash Cobain makes it a slizzy summer. Until then? It's running back Another Planet 4 ahead of the release of Carrot Season, which they previewed months back with the video for "Gazpacho." That says "Spring 2024," but it sounds like this shit is dropping SOON soon.
Go down the rabbit hole. Now. Do the thing you have been saying you were gonna do. Now. We don't know what's happening tomorrow/next week/next month/next year. Regret is ass, and in another election year, maybe Lungs and Phiik are what we need to help make sense of it all, one complex stanza of a rap verse at a time. /exhale
i kid; that depression been here and stays here. but it does help me remember that, sometimes, good stuff happens.
anyways, i got word the other day that Danny Brown was due to drop his next album, Quaranta, on Nov. 17 (digital) / Jan. 19 (physical), and i was ready. a few months ago i started making a Danny Brown playlist with my favorite songs from his career—didn't realize i was making it in anticipation for the album that The Alchemist produced. or that it would be a "spiritual book-end" to his 2011 opus XXX. yeah. it's that kind of party.
i wasn't sure who Julia Lang was before she showed up in the music video for Westside Gunn's song "Julia Lang". That's a flex for him. Gunn recently dropped that track and "TV BOY" the other day, both of which are said to be from his next mixtape, Sincerely Adolf (#HWH8). no word on that project's release date aside from "Coming Soon".
check out the full video for "Julia Lang," featuring Julia Lang (who i'm not sure is even a fan of the song), below.
i used to make compilations to celebrate this site's anniversaries. i don't know why; the one compilation that made mad noise—Offshore Drilling with Kid Hum—dropped in May of 2009, and I don't really remember why. people don't remember that stuff; these dates don't really matter. my wife did give me some props this morning though; 15 years of having anything is a huge accomplishment. i am busy today, but felt compelled to put some words on the site on this day.
it's interesting; i vaguely remember setting up a Blogspot page at the time; it was really to share this review of Green Lantern's Alive on Arrival mixtape. i must have dug it, because i then put up a playlist featuring 20 tunes: 10 dnb, 7 hip-hop/rap, and 3 of other genres (always doing the most). then i wrote a piece influenced by some shit the Green Lantern tape had me thinking about INRE Trenton. i just reread the piece and didn't like a large chunk of it. i wasn't hating on everything, but i would've written that way differently.
rockthedub.com made me the person i am today. i learned how to blog on here—mostly about music, but i've griped about daily life, reviewed shows like The Sopranos and LOST, and ran with the big dogs when it came to upfront content. that game was dope at times, and put me in a position to be where i've been since 2012. almost nine years of grinding and finding myself doing something that excites me. and growing as a writer (i hope). and a podcaster. and a sometimes talking head. whatever i'm doing, this very site was a testing ground for it. it was where i honed my skills while putting my appreciation on display.
think of someone like ELUCID, for example. we did a lot during our time. and he's still that guy. his group, Armand Hammer (w/ billy woods) just put out Haram, a project they did with The Alchemist. i'd go in on it but a) i haven't had nearly enough time to decipher it, but more importantly, b) there are already dope pieces written to help you start to understand what J. Edward Keyes called "a Japanese puzzle box." it also features Curly Castro, which is dope!
if 15 years of keeping a blog have taught me anything, it's that things can change on a dime, so don't sweat the small stuff. the amount of times i got amped because i didn't get a shout out or some pinhead got an exclusive over me mean nothing because where even are...let me chill. i've got work to finish. thanks for rocking with me for however long you've been rocking.
what's your favorite rockthedub memory? artist you discovered here? is anyone even still around anymore? props to you if you are.
i figured i was beating this one around in my head enough, i needed to commit some words to a space about it. i didn't even realize fabric had a YouTube page until I got the link for Skream's set in the150-year-old Royal Albert Hall for their London Unlocked series. The beauty is immediately in the description:
"Skream takes dubstep to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, playing an exclusive set of brand new 140 productions with a firm nod to the genre’s formative years. Joining him is Crazy D one of the most important MCs in dupstep’s history."
as i was really getting deep into the dubstep scene, Skream was making moves to dip for a bit. around the time DoAndroidsDance? was a site, Skream was rolling into his disco/house phase, something i imagine he is still occupying while exploring how to incorporate the bass-heavy side of the 140 sound into it. some of that is in this set, IMO. early on there's some Autechre-leaning IDM-ish tribal dub rumble going on. this set gave me big Freeizm vibes, which makes me shout out Mediafire to keeping this Freeizm Album link alive like a decade later.
who knows what this means. i'd love to own some of these bits in some format, and Skream feels right at home alongside the mighty Crazy D. what i'm not certain about is what the market for this is. when outside opens up, i imagine Skream will be getting pulled for bigger chicken at non-140 shows. which is good! put food on your family. i'd just love another dirty Mediafire link. or better yet, a Bandcamp link with some of these bits. i'm no dj. i just want them. they are exquisite! so full of life and tech and bounce and BASS and vibes. it's a history lesson through Skream's influences, filtered into a sound all his own. something he couldn't have made back when he was in the thick of the dubstep scene. and we're all better for it.
just sort me the tunes some day.
UPDATE9:05AM EST, Thur, March 18, 2021: i had to run this log back and add more emphasis on what is going on here, and what feels like is being overlooked or understreamed. this bit coming in at the 34 minute mark?! burn the dancehall down, it's such a scorcher. this tune—which i'm calling "BREAKA BREAKA" for that "BREAKA BREAKA/CALL THE UNDATAKA" line—was so ill...TO SKREAM, WHO PRODUCED IT AND WAS DEBUTING IT IN ROYAL ALBERT HALL DURING THE COVID-19 QUARANTINE, SO REALLY ONLY HIMSELF, CRAZY D, AND THE PEOPLE WORKING TO PUT THE EVENT ON COULD HEAR IT...had to pull it back. shit, i've been pulling the whole mix back ever since i discovered it the other day. it's fueled my evenings, and made me run back the Skreamizm/Freeizm era—hence why i found that Freeizm Album link from earlier.
and we haven't even begun to speak on the fact that Dubstep Warzturned 15 back in January.
i'm not sure what the audience for dubstep is doing at this point. there's so much going on right now, and while 140 has continued to have supporters, this vibe right here hasn't been at the forefront. and this is a junglist telling you this, rofl. Skream and Crazy D—who i used to listen to weekly on Hatcha's Kiss show—killed this set. BOTY 2021, so far. there are a number of London Unlocked streams on the way, and names like Kode9, Dillinja & GQ(!!!!), and Fabio & Grooverider(!!!) were mentioned.
i haven't forgotten about you, true believer...i just haven't had the time. from the quiet death of a podcast that i spent most of 2020 cultivating to the quiet rebirth of another podcast i spent 2020 nurturing, to all of the insanity of what 2020 was, sometimes it was hard to find the time to really WRITE about stuff that doesn't keep the lights on. hell, i even started and stopped a whole different site that i'm itching to carve out more time for. this post isn't about any of that, though.
normal end-of-year traditions usually incorporate two things: DJ Cable's best-of hip-hop megamixes and Cousin Cole's New Year's Day mix. Cable's 2020 AD is actually going to be his final year-end hip-hop mix, which is sad but understandable; dropping 124-track mixes is fucking time consuming! You can download this mix and show him mad love for keeping it going.
Cousin Cole always comes correct with the New Year's Day selections. They are more chill, much more spiritual, and should help you enter the year on a cooler vibe than you went out. And with word of DOOMpassing away hitting on Dec. 31, 2020, maybe this is the energy we need to keep going.
