Meat Cleavers & Shotguns

This is it, kids. End of the line.

Day 7 of the Doomtree Diatribe. I've covered the MC's and some of their best, if under-appreciated, releases. I've covered their devoted, multi-talented producers and beat makers. It's been fun rehashing their awesome body of work - I was introduced to their sound back in 2005 and they've accomplished tons and tons since then. They are the definition of hometown heroes, here in Minneapolis. They're a talented crew of devoted, boundary-pushing artists who grind away daily for the love of it, while inspiring the next generation to do something meaningful with their lives. To atone for the over-the-top sycophantic nature of that last sentence, let's take a step back and look at some tangential material, shall we? Just some details to round out the week, to ease off the medication, so to speak.

First up would be the excellent dance mix put out by waning member Marshall Larada, 'Break In Two'. Larada, known for his production and design skills, was at one time a formative and core member of the group, having taken a step back from heavy performance as of late. Released at shows and online, the album is, on the surface level, breakdancing music. Just a series of infinitely danceable beats designed to keep you going. Beneath that, though, is the reality - Larada designed an album of samples and beats from his childhood through modernity and it works as great party music. If you read yesterday's post on Paper Tiger's False Hopes, this plays the flip side to that expectation. You expect straight-up dance tracks, you get good times and mash ups and mixes galore. Pick it up and pop it in on a sunny Saturday while you cruise around the lakes this spring. 

Next up - the massive amounts of media the crew maintain on their site. Obviously in this digital age, the game has completely changed - MTV is almost entriely irrelevant to widestream publicity and radio is desperately trying to catch up to the shifting landscape. Doomtree's site has selected tracks to check out, as well as a collection of videos and shorts that are too numerous to list off here. Particular highlights, though, include their non-rap material. Turns out when some really smart musicians try their hand at humor it can really pay off. Check out their insane 'As Seen On TV', which sees the crew through the hyper-real filter of the TV junket. Others include the group of videos showing just how hard the crew is working. Check 'em out, they're good. On top of it, they have their bonafide videos available, as well. While they're all great, be sure to take a look at some of the best they've done, including clips for:

Half-cocked Concepts
Purexed
Optimist
Prizefight
Gameover
Dixon's Girl
Drumsticks
Traveling Dunk Tank
Burn It Down
One Dimensional Man 

One final note, probably most important of all. Sims is in the midst finishing a never ending tour in support of his phenomenal Bad Time Zoo and Dessa just announced her first headlining tour across the nation. If there is any chance that you could see either of these two when they come to your town, for the love of all that is good and sacred, go see them. They have phenomenal live energy and beats that make you move whether you want to or not. I did this week long series of posts because I wanted to do justice to their music and passion instead of a single blog post. Now I realize I could do this for every release they put out - they're that good. I'm sure other releases and events will warrant more posts, but in the meantime I got to evangelize about my favorite hip hop artists. Just glad to know other people appreciate them like I do.