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Astonish – "The AstonishinglyODD Project"

Pizzo — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:43:24 +0000

After releasing 2008’s “From Now Until Forever”, Astonish returns with a vengeance. The “AstonishinglyOdd Project” is a powerful 15 song album which truly captures the range an artist like Astonish embodies. He took a couple years to hone his already trademark sound and elevated it to another plateau.

Astonish has found an incredible balance between melody and lyricism; never sacrificing one for the other. The “AstonishinglyOdd Project” is filled with life stories, punch lines, witty lyricism, and melodic hooks. Astonish demonstrates why he’s one of the best young lyricists in Hip-Hop today. From the very beginning of the album you feel his clear cut flow hitting every pocket of the track like a true professional. This album has something for everyone.

“Trees” finds Astonish explaining the ups and the downs of these past couple of years over Odd Couple production. He recounts on lost friendships, chasing the dreams, and the strength of his family; yet he manages to tie it all in together with an incredible hook that will not easily leave your mind after you listen to it. On “ Shine Like Dilla” (the first single from the album), Astonish brings forth lyricism and melody in a way only a few can do. Punch line after punch line, this song will captivate the Hip-Hop listener, and the hook will demonstrate the range in Astonish’s song writing abilities. From “Fill Up the Room” to “Living Comfortable”, Astonish does an impeccable job at creating music anyone can feel and enjoy.

Astonish may have taken a couple years off to create this project, but he’s back like he never missed a beat.

Astonish – “The AstonishinglyODD Project”

Vakill – "Armor Of God" (Video)

Pizzo — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:13:03 +0000

Title track to Vakil’s new LP, produced by Jake One. Available now via Molemen Records.

Vakill – "I Came 4 U" (prod. Panik) (Video)

Matt Johnson — Fri, 06 May 2011 04:06:49 +0000

Vakill’s debut video from the new LP, “Armor Of God”, “I Came 4 U” produced by Panik. The long awaited Armor of God album is set to be released on 6/14/11.

Armor of God features 16 tracks produced by Molemen’s own Panik & Memoriza, Jake One, Joe Blow & Bluntologist. Guest appearances by Crooked I of SlaughterHouse, Juice, Rhymefest, Nino Bless, Astonish & Mick Luter.

Vakill Announces “Armor of God” LP Release Date

Matt Johnson — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:16:44 +0000

Molemen Records announced the official release date for Vakill’s much anticipated album Armor of God available June 14th. Armor of God features 16 tracks produced by Panik & Memoriza, Jake One, Joe Blow & Bluntologist. Guest appearances by Crooked I of Slaughter House, Juice, Rhymefest, Nino Bless, Astonish & Mic Luter. Check the exclusive studio footage.

Vakill (Molemen) – “Armor Of God” Trailer (Video)

Pizzo — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:28:48 +0000

Vakill’s “Armor of God” album has been heavily anticipated since it’s initial announcement and leaked tracklisting. The finishing touches have been made and the album & videos are in the can. Heavy preparation has been made to make sure the album is an event for 2011. Confirmed appearances include JUICE, Rhymefest, Crooked I & Nino Bless plus production from Molemen and Jake One.

As a teaser for his upcoming “Armor of God” album, Vakill drops a freestyle trailer. A cappella is just the calm before the storm and a subtle warning of what’s to come. The crown don’t move.

Cap D & Panik – “Prime Suspect” (MP3)

Pizzo — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:58:21 +0000

All Natural / Molemen collboration, taken from Cap D’s PolyMath mixtape in stores Oct. 25th. Also be on the look out for Writer’s Block II in 2011.

LISTEN: Cap D & Panik – “Prime Suspect” (MP3)

Cap D & Panik – “Prime Suspect” (MP3)

Molemen – Killing Fields

Andreas Hale — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 07:00:00 +0000

Chicago has become the quintessential breeding ground for Hip-Hop. It has taken every musical element from every coast and crafted its own niche in this culture. The Molemen (Panik and Memo) are a production team that can be considered as a part of the elder statesmen within this movement brewing. They embody the windy city and even though they haven’t gotten the recognition of a Kanye West or a Lupe Fiasco, The Molemen due command the respect of many in the industry. Because of that, The Killing Fields, is birthed. A compilation album comprised of Chi-town’s finest with a dash of out of towners brought together to prove a point. And that point is that The Molemen are better than your favorite set of producers. Can they prove it?

The Killing Fields packs the impact similar to your house being firebombed. It comes from everywhere and when life is breathed into it the production expands and engulfs you. Each production is created in a manner that remains true to The Molemen sound, but takes upon the characteristics of the artists onboard. “Street Conflict” bobs and weaves as Cormega, Hostyle and KL wrap their words around the daunting keys and slapping drums. Mega shines on his verse and almost begs of seeing a future of Molemen production. Slug and Murs layer “My Alien Girlfriend?” with their usual clever storytelling and imagery, but the production provided gives their lyrics even more life than some of the work on their previous endeavors.

There are some instances on the album where it just explodes with brilliance. Brother Ali’s “Life Sentence” is downright scary, as Ali swings with the impact of Tyson in his prime. It begins to make you wonder just how long before the industry takes notice. Saigon also brings ridiculous fire to the table with “2 Hour Banger” and gives a firm class in Shit Talking 101 as he closes the album out saying “I’m a real criminal, I’ll shoot any one of y’all rap niggas.” Tough talk that translates into a dope track. The album close out with one of Chicago’s very own superlyricists without a major deal, Vakill, on “V”. Once again, Vakill rapid fire flow is chock full of quotables and manifests himself into a lyrical beast that can’t go under the radar any longer.

With so much greatness, of course there are going to be songs that can’t keep up. Grafh’s “Blackhand Clap” feels just a little G-Unit-ish while Juice’s “The Come Up” comes up a tad lazy standing alongside the rest of the album. Nonetheless, The Killing Fields proves to be the exclamation point that is needed in the underground. It’s just a matter of time before everyone else takes notice.

Capital D And The Molemen – Writer's Block

D.T. Swinga — Mon, 01 Jan 2001 07:00:00 +0000

The first week of 2002′s August was a big one for new releases in indy hip-hop. Not only did DJ Jazzy Jeff come creeping out of the woodwork with the buzz-worthy The Magnificent, but also RJD2 followed up Dead Ringer with the awesome Soul Position EP with partner Blueprint, while Motion Man & Kutmasta Kurt had hopes of Clearing The Field with their release, if it wasn’t done first with the Def Jukie heavy Urban Renewal Program. One month later, looking at the sales figures, ironically, almost all of these releases outsold perhaps the best of the bunch, if not one that stands just as tall with these other heavy hitters, Capital D and The Molemen’s Writer’s Block (The Movie). On this release, Capital D, who is best known as one-half of Chi-Town’s All Natural, teams up with Windy City production team The Molemen, for possibly the sleeper hit of the year, if not perhaps the best project yet to come from either camp.

Previous projects from All Natural were fan favorites, but one common beef was that they were a bit too preachy, if not the fact they weren’t sewn together as well as other hip-hospital projects from artists like Common, The Roots, The, & De La Soul. What separates Writer’s Block from All Natural’s other projects is that Capital D is this time plays the observer, with a conceptual album of inter-related stories involving a series of characters from a Chicago city block (hence the name, Writer’s Block (The Movie)). For the most part, he strays away from being a prophet with a mic, only offering his advice to the characters in the story when asked for it, seldom getting caught-up in their surrounding drama. Over the span of 14 tracks, Capital D wonderfully illustrates the lives of characters that may or may not be based on real people or events, with such great detail that the listener is virtually sucked into his world for an hour. A taste of Chicago is experienced brilliantly as he pens tales of the everyday struggle that are equally poetic and illustrative.

While this idea sounds great on paper, it truly can only be executed successfully if the production is as top-notch as the stories told, and that’s where the Molemen come in. Among the three producers, they show heavy influence from some of hip-hop’s top beatmakers, and their appreciation for quality shows. On the intro, ‘Writer’s Block Part 2′, Capital D sets the stage for the entire album, introducing us to the cast of characters, with a nice beat by Panik that salutes RZA’s Only Built For Cuban Linx era. Following are both ‘Young Girl Lost’, a story about a mixed-up girl named Liza who took a few wrong turns, and ‘Paper Chase’, which chronicles the events of heist involving a few of the main characters, both propelled by dark, Alchemist-like backdrops. The classic influence of producers that shaped hip-hop music for an era is heard throughout the whole album, whether it’s of Diamond D (‘Currency Exchange’), The Beatnuts (‘DU’A (The Deen’s List)’), or simply coming up with indirect variations on lost production styles of yesteryear, as each ‘Crossfire’, ‘DU’A (Stevie Wonder)’, and ‘Cause and Effect’ illustrate. Even when Cap takes production chores himself, one can’t help but feel for the neighborhood’s surrogate mother, ‘Mrs. Manley’, as he pens a woeful rhyme in her memory, over somber, rainy pianos. While Cap draws the picture, The Molemen paint the colors, and the marriage of the two makes a happy baby, even if it’s nursing on tales of misery.

In the end, when it’s all put together, it’s pretty much a no-brainer, as Capital D & The Molemen’s Writer’s Block (The Movie) is without a doubt one of the strongest indy projects to drop this year, with even the bonus instrumental CD of the album being incredibly satisfying by itself. (Note: The ‘Writer’s Block’ instrumental disc is a HipHopSite exclusive, only available if you buy this album here. - editor). Whether you consider yourself a fan of these artists or not is irrelevant; definitely do not let this one pass you by, you won’t be disappointed.

Molemen – Ritual Of The …

Peter Agoston — Sat, 01 Jan 2000 07:00:00 +0000

?The Molemen ain’t new to this, without a doubt the production trio of PNS, His-Panik, and Memo have signified the underground esthetic as well as that Chicago grit many heads have come to love with a true-to-the-movement perseverance. It’s actually a little surprising that its taken this long for the fellas to come out with a collective album. Amassing tracks since before the independent game was even considered that, the Molemen have supplied a musical backdrop for an array of local affiliates (J.U.I.C.E., All Natural , Rubberoom) as well as colleagues from NYC (MF Doom) to Cali (Rasco).

Branching out to emcees of all forms has proven a trademark of the Molemen and a testament to their versatility and staying power in the game of Rap. Ritual Of The Molemen enlists a healthy line-up of different artists proving that regardless of delivery or style, if you can spit and do it well, then you can make a dope song (where else will Buck 65 and Grand Daddy I.U. appear on the same album?).

Gladly, 12″ classics like the memorable “How We Chill Pt. 2 (’96)” featuring a very hungry collab of Rhyme Fest and Juice as well as the overlooked banger, “Keep The Fame” with Vakill, Rhymefest and the ever unforgettable Percee-P, make for a pleasingly nostalgic listen. Stepping outside of the Windy City, collaborations with outta town artists prove diverse in the pairing yet without a doubt dope. Slug burns a mark both on his solo exploration “How I Won The War” and when joined by Aesop Rock and MF Doom on the fun in “Put Your Quarter Up”. Rasco returns with one of his more solid efforts of late on “No Guarantees”, a much needed banger from the vet. Even the Anticon affiliates, the Sebutones make for a memorable appearance on the somber “Game”.

While Ritual Of The Mole Men is not without its undesirable moments; a few dull appearances and a couple not-so-memorable beats hardly knock the 18 track debut off its feet. The Molemen make beats that stay dirty no matter how hard you dust and their emcees of choice follow suit, making Ritual.. a nighttime treat with Chicago bred aesthetics and musical stylings born in the sewers, before it was considered chic to deem oneself underground.