OnlyDev “Badu Breakdown” VIDEO DEBUT

A stumble upon OnlyDev’s music has quickly turned into a solo discovery of underground talent. After the release of “GMN” this past June, “Badu Breakdown” off of his latest EP, “Se7en” has given me a new anthem. This is Dev’s first music video and it was definitely well executed. From the beginning of the video, I was intrigued by the shadow figures of the Black women. It foreshadowed the mood and tone of the single. Immediately after, I hear one of my favorite parts of the entire song which is the sample of Summer Walker’s “Stretch You Out” featuring A. Boogie. His beat selection is always on point, in my opinion. His cadence always aligns perfectly with the vibe of whatever beat he uses. The song is a serenade to his Black goddess, his “Badu”. The reference to the famed Erykah Badu alludes to his respect for her spirituality and divine essence. “She say she my new Badu, keepin’ it 3 stacks she probably is.” Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu reference, it’s giving power couple vibes. 

Throughout the video, there’s transitions between Dev spending quality time with his Badu and his friends. It personifies the idea that “even when there’s a room full of people, all I see is you.” I really loved that aspect, especially because the close ups of they’re eye contact show you that clearly it was vibe in the room. His four models that were featured in the video reminded me of the muses from Hercules. The entire video overwhelms you with Black beauty and creativity. “I’m just a libra, I bring balance, U bring the boat, I bring the paddle. We both stroke until we make it.” “My lil shawty do hoodoo, she like who do you think you is?” I have so many parts of this song that I admire but to sum I’ll say that once again, I am impressed. This is one of my favorite new love songs. Milwaukee has an amazing R&B scene, next time you think about checking it out, look up OnlyDev. 

“Badu Breakdown” should be on every Black girl’s playlist, this is a serenade to the girls! 

How y’all feel about it? 

/Pam from CW

Tori MF Zo- “Mercury III.” EP

Tori MF Zo is a digital artist with lyrical depth and lots to share. He recently dropped the first part to his 3 part “Mercury” series, Mercury III. He has been a student of Hip Hop’s greats for his entire life and in the past has heavily combined this admiration with his visual editing skills on his insta feed. Although not a stranger to dropping his own music, I think that Zo knows that this right here is some heat! “Where Did my Love Go?” This first track covers themes of detachment, instant gratification and adapting to a cold heart. Zo expresses his innate desire to be better and remain focused but with the reality of a heartless World, he must trade in some emotional value for meaningless moments in order to avoid getting caught slippin’. Nonetheless, he sees his method of coldness as more merciful than what it could be if he had completely abandoned his sense of self- “...Mistaking my kindness, awaken a tyrant. Lucky you met me in days of a simp, Let you had met me in days of a pimp, You would be taking my shit and be paying my rent…”

-oop, Yup that’s what he said.

The tough act only proves to be impenetrable for so long, though. “Weeping Warrior'' is the emotional counterpart to the first track, telling of how the turning of a cruel World will eventually weigh in on One’s sanity and their hope for a more ideal world. The final track, “The All,” is literally just that- “all” of Tori MF Zo’s feelings and thoughts crammed into a single attempt at explaining the World in one view. That view is that the World and the people in it are not one thing. The World starts off as fantasy for some and darkness for others; People are seen as collectively selfish but in all of our hearts we want to help others per the opening quote at the beginning of the song. The World can be small in one perspective and cosmic to those who believe that their words and ideals create the world around them. It is only as we get older that humanity’s true colors show themselves to us. Bravo Tori MF Zo! Tell me how YOU feel about “ Mercury III. ” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW

Isaiah M Brown- “Rose Colored” Music Video

Toxicity is personified in Isaiah M. Brown’s music video for his latest single ”Rose Colored.” Whew! Along with Art Direction from Shun Powell and effects by Michael Sapieja, this visual exposition of the ‘Rose Colored Glasses’ that we all have surely worn before (or someone has worn for us, mmmhmm) is shown through an interpretive dance by Madyun Wilson, who represents the meek, subjectivity of someone who can’t resist the lust of manipulation. Meanwhile, Brown sits back, embodying the ex-lover that he is singing about; Wilson dances and contorts himself back and forth in the grittiness of Jugo Fabrika for his lover’s enjoyment to only receive a seductive smirk and some lustful encouragement in return. Throughout this visual, both are seen being covered in some form of red and along with Brown’s lyrical context, the audience sees and hears of the different perspectives of the trap of domestic and emotional abuse in relationships. Tell me how YOU feel about “  Rose Colored  ” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW

2Hi and Eli $tones: Live at No Studios

Another Friday night at No Studios has been dedicated to two more promising artists.  A few minutes after my arrival, an anxious  Eli $tones, still fueling off of the momentum of $ticks and $tones, came to greet some folks, myself included, while we waited outside prior to his performance. Nic Stokes was the DJ for the night and the time to get the show started was approaching.The crowd capacity was underwhelming and this was a new venue for him, but $tones dared not to waste any of the time he was given. What can seemingly be a disappointment to most held no weight against the passion that he has for his music. 

E$:  …Well I just wanna start off by saying, I always get super nervous before any show, regardless if there's five people there or a hundred people there, it doesn't matter. I always get super nervous so not seeing people there at all- that already just messes with my anxiety. So that's one thing. But also tonight I had a 30 minute set… Local artists don't often get 30 minute sets. Cause you know, most of these hip hop shows are always showcases and they got plenty of artists on the bill, So we usually get like 10 minute sets. So to be at this show, knowing it's a little bit like- I wouldn't say dead, I would say intimate- knowing I had a 30 minute set, It was a little disappointing, but I mean, I do enjoy, still, that small intimate feeling. Cuz even though people aren't moving around and screaming in your face, screaming the words back, they're still listening. They're still engaged, you know, if I tell them to turn on the phone [light], they still do that. So yeah, That's always beautiful, and you know, these small shows going into big shows, I can also like at them like a rehearsal too. Like these are just reps, you know what I'm saying? So I guess it's a love/hate relationship, considering my anxiety, but nah, bro, I love doing shows in general. This is what I do music for is a show.

From having beginnings in a rap collective, The Cronies, from which 2Hi also came, to finally excelling as his own artist, Eli $tones has certainly made his way around and has a lot to give.The consistent need to climb on top of something and look you in the eye, even deliberately bringing a ladder to elevate and center himself amongst the crowd while dripped in Unfinished Legacy, and the projection of his truth into the mike with the hope of reaching the hearts of those listening is exactly why our artists deserve better when producing performative opportunities for them!

E$: … I'm here to save people from themselves and I’ll be caught dead before they catch me lacking…

CW: … How do you feel that your last album affected people? Have you gotten a lot of personal feedback on what your album may have done for some?

E$: Definitely. This is the one project that I shared with the people who I trust most- my mentors, my friends, my family and they really said like- of course I'm not gonna listen to this- ‘you don't have to drop anything else. You just need to push this album and this could get you to the next step. You just need to keep working.’ But this is, even to me, my favorite body of work. it's where I've been my most vulnerable. I've talked about things that I've never talked about before. I tried not to, you know, sugar coat certain subjects to make a hit. You know what I'm saying? So I've gotten a lot of good feedback, not just from my close friends, but from people all around the world from Morocco, people from Denmark to New Zealand. It's Super cool. 

 2Hi’s set followed soon after. As the room became more lively with peer artists in the audience like Tru West, Nile, and young producer ThatGuyEli ready to engage in the hype, 2Hi, just the same, has been thriving off of the fresh release of his album White Lighter Bad Luck, allowing nothing to stop him from being a rock star.

CW:  I haven't really seen many performances of yours in the last couple of years, so that was a really good reintroduction ‘cause I don't think I've- I've seen you perform, but I've seen you perform more so as a part of a collective.

2Hi: Yea that was a while ago. 

CW: Seeing you as 2Hi by yourself was really good. How do you feel about tonight’s set? 

2Hi: You know,  I always look at it as like, no matter the quantity of people that's there, I'm still gonna rock it out like it's an arena full of muhfuckas. I feel like this was exactly how I envisioned it, you know what I mean? ‘Cause it's manifestation. That's how I always walk into a situation like this, Like ‘alright, we finna rock this shit, cmon. no matter what,’ you know what I mean? So yeah, at the end of the night you gone remember something.

I asked him about the personal outcome of dropping an album during the pandemic and the disciplines that came of it.

2Hi: …It's disciplining me to actually whip myself into shape; being active and current on everything. Lately- it's funny ‘cause like the pandemic also taught me that I need more content. I need as much content as music that I have. So as long as I'm cranking out content and I'm rolling with a team, like literally my team is building right now.

CW: What do you mean by team? Like do you mean team like collective wise or do you mean your management, a stylist- a team like that more production wise?

2Hi: More production wise, yeah, it's funny, like I just asked my boy Lake- I was like, yo, can I add you to my bio under ‘Management?’ He been booking hella shows for me, like Lake is doing his thing. If anybody needs a show, please hit up Lake. He'll set you right… But literally the team is growing with videographers, photographers, DJs, engineers, and producers. I'm trying to get involved with the entire city and bring it back to home base. Everybody that i actually fuck with at the crib... making sure everybody eats..

CW: … Alot of artists- not a lot of artists, but more artists are really realizing how important a team really is.  It's not just about you being passionate anymore, depending on how big you want to go, you know what I mean? It takes other people who have a passion for you, but in a different way. So especially speaking on, you know, being a part of a collective or, you know, being close to a lot of different artists, how does that affect your relationships with people?

2Hi: I would say at least the last three years I've been mainly just working in house with just maybe one or two people and now I'm finally opening up. So like, I guess what I'm trying to say is making friends in this industry is very important ‘cause that support system is like- literally I tell people, the people in my crowd y'all don't know it, but y'all have a cape on. You know what I mean? Y'all came to the rescue for me. Like y'all didn't have to come here. This is literally time that y'all are spending with me. And time is one of the most valuable things known to man, so for y'all to come out, show y'all love and appreciation, that is all I could ask. 

/Naomi-Re’a for CW

Ty Wilder- “44” EP

Something for the Old Heads and Old Souls who’ve been fiendin’ for some Soul!

 As the rose that is TRP continues to sprout beautifully from the northside of our beloved city, a new EP has dropped officially introducing its First Lady, Ty Wilder.  Having featured her vocals on the “Summerfest” Interlude from Lik and Big P’s collective album “Driveway Dreamers”, Ty had already given us a teaser of what was to come from her project “44” which dropped on the 8th of this month. This EP acts as an ode to her aunt and father. Both, who have passed away within the past 2 years, have had deep impacts on her life as expressed in her lyrics, nourishing her esteem and providing love where lack was felt. Tastefully so, the instrumentation was produced by Lik and Earfffmann and let me tell you, its light, feathery tenderness is completely complementary to the rich rumble of Ty’s buttery textured voice as she sings lovingly to her family.  Tell me how YOU feel about “ 44 ” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW

CJ Folds- “Can’t Get Over You” EP

CJ Folds returns 5 months post Album drop (Check out “Love at War: Mr. Lonely”,) with some more heat. Can't Get Over You continues the narrative of the lover boy turned ‘Mr. Lonely’ except this sideline story is of a lover whom he spends most of the time admiring from a distance. Deciphering whether or not this love is unrequited is up to the listener but with the first track “Scared to Love” CJ gives his first person view of a girl who grew comfortable with dishing out what she was given; Making no effort, not even with her appearance, to keep love close. While keeping her guard up into “Time Heals,” CJ Folds continues to encourage her to embrace him. “Someone Said” is where the tea gets hot because it could be either one of them speaking at this point! On one hand, CJ could have realized the painful truth of what is to come of pursuing a relationship with someone who was way too jaded to begin with, OOOORRR- he is just listening as his potential lover shares her reasons for viewing love the way that she does. Sounds Juicy!! Wrapping up this EP, “I Dont Wanna” with its repetitive, and at times, vague lyricism laid over guitar strings leaves room for the listener to focus on the optimism that the young artist, and his label mate Langston on the feature, has held onto throughout this project and leads us into “Butterflies,” a slow jam, R&B style song featuring another label mate Aremit that shows how real those butterflies still are whether struggling to get over your past or diving heart first into something new. 

Tell me how YOU feel about “ Can’t Get Over You ” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW

Elliott- “Abundance of the Heart” EP

How many people do you know can speak from the heart through one of the World’s most transparent art forms ever, without cussin’??? 414 artist Elliott can AND DID in his latest EP “Abundance of the Heart.” This 3 piece gives reverence to the Luke 6:45 Biblical scripture that aids the people of the world to be aware of what the heart carries. For Elliott, his self awareness is his freedom. He begins with some emotional honesty in “Who We Kidding?” He comes to terms with the reality of the relationship that he has with his lover and while coming to terms with what it actually is, out of his mouth he recognizes the maturity that a good relationship requires. ”The Lightning” sheds a bit more light (heehee) on Elliott’s Spiritual revelation and his battle with seemingly being chosen and kept for a bigger purpose. After having experienced many dangerous close calls brought on by poor social choices and even health scares, the young lyricist expresses his initial confusion about his life and gradually turns to accept the value of it with a sample of Nina Simone’s cover of “Strange Fruit” playing throughout the track. ”To and Through” perfectly wraps up this short winded glimpse into Elliot’s journey to maturity by plainly describing how mental strength can fuel the will for change in one’s life. Friends, habits, and lifestyle are bound to drastically change after discovering how the emotions, the spirit, and the mind are all a reflection of the contents of a person’s heart. Tell me how YOU feel about “ Abundance of the Heart ” Milwaukee.

Cam Will “Not Playing Fair” 2 PACK PROJECT

“Not Playing Fair”  was a great and well-fitting title for this two-pack project because Cam Will is really not playing fair. His two newest singles featured in the pack are “Oh Well” and “Iykyk'' and both of these tracks are great. Starting off with “Oh Well”, I really feel like this is one of those songs that you listen to when you’re tryna get in the zone. The vibe gave me “BUCKS IN 6” on the day of game 6 vibes, like we didn’t come to just play, we came to win. 

The chorus is the part that encourages that energy, “Looking for me, I’m like oh well. Need me, I’m like oh well”. To me, I felt like he’s alluding to having tunnel vision, focusing on yourself and not being worried about catering to anybody else’s needs, especially the ones who’re not reciprocating. “Nobody rooting fa’ us except fa’ us. Nobody living fa’ us except fa’ us,” that’s one of my favorite lines simply because it’s just the truth. I think the beat is amazing, I love how he does something different with each song but they are all consistent in having versatility, it’s not something you can only listen to in one setting. You can go to the gym to it, you can just ride to it, you can party to it, all that. 

Ending with “Iykyk”, Cam gets a little personal. The beat comes in real eerie, it creeps up and at the perfect moment, drops with the beat and Cam kills the verse. When he says lines like “...they take my confidence as arrogance but sh-t I might too. Ain’t nobody ever took not one step in my shoes, so what I look like living off of what they think I should do,” and inserts of the audio of the church sermon, I can tell he really got into his bag with this one. Addressing other people’s opinions of him, reciprocating energy and protecting yourself from fake friends, and losing touch with God, he really took his time with this and I don’t know if it was intentional or not but he mad something truly relatable and authentic. 

His last verse on this song could be noted as one of my favorites too. “I think the man upstairs is picking favorites down here. So I won’t sit around just hoping that the greatness appears. I feel I’m blessed and I can’t waste chances I won’t get back. So my fault but He requested I get back to that.” And that line is why I love that he titled this “Iykyk” because I don’t even want to explain what that line means because if you know, you know! His choice of delivery is always on point, as well as his beat selection. 

Pay attention, we’re watching Cam Will in real time as he begins to really take this art form to new heights, skyrocketing him and Milwaukee music at the same time. Top shelf music Cam! Let me know what y’all think! 

Jensen Kirk “Visions” EP

Although he is not new to making music that sticks to the subconscious of many, like his single “California girl” from almost 15 years ago, Jensen Kirk refuses to remain unknown in the music game anymore. His latest EP drop “Visions” stamps his identity and is a new contribution to that good ol’ underground sound that us modern day hip-hop heads can’t get enough of; Radio couldn't justify it more. Throughout this project we hear themes of Spirituality, Respect, Manifestation, Hustle, and many other components necessary for bringing a ‘vision’ to life. 

With the initial release of the music video for his single “Baby Bleuk,” the Cali native shows off his confidence and takes his place in the game. In the world or in music, success is now his for the taking! “...Everything I do comes from above, got ties to the one eternal plug…-” Kirk is very expressive on social media about his spirituality and the power of speaking things into existence. Nothing keeps him from sharing that through his music, either. Even the Intro / title track contains bars that give notice to how much he doesn't shy away from sharing his beliefs, “ Men of action get favored, now that sounds like physics.” A few of the following tracks like “Lost in the Sauce” and “J’s Interlude” tell the listeners what it means to have priorities for the future whether it be personal riches, tending to the youth, or even combining these two ideas together, encouraging generational wealth. From this EP, it is made clear that Jensen Kirk has chosen to accept the responsibility to his audience that has been granted to him as a result of his own enlightenment. What better tool to use than the power of music. Tell me how YOU feel about “  Visions  ” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW

Taiyamo Denku and Urban Legend ft Tragedy Khadafi “Deathwish” SONG

The Underground is where gold is found! This is proven by the amount of reach that is granted to two Midwest MC’s to go bar-for-bar with a Hip-Hop vet.. Taiyamo Denku and Urban Legend, while still working off of the momentum of their collab Album “Artistic Display,” continue to keep the integrity of the OG sound and flow of rap with their newest single “Deathwish.”  Aaaaand, as a cool surprise, the name of Juice Crew member Tragedy Khadafi appears as the feature on this track!! It’s the ultimate salute for any rap artist... Each of them taking a verse for themselves, the three lyricists do cartwheels and loopty-loops over yet another beat from Bo Faat with slick metaphors and imagery, giving nothing average. Tragedy, who’s history can be traced back to nearly the first decade of Hip-Hop’s takeover, leads the track without letting up but is followed by the light of Denku and Urban that refuses to be dimmed in comparison. Tell me how YOU feel about “ “Deathwish” Milwaukee. /Naomi-Re’a for CW