in short
a fucking killer hip hop album plus you know anything involving Oddisee is the shit
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Straight Raw
Before Taxes is yUs answer to hip-hop fans cry for a return to real hip-hop. The artist describes hip-hops golden era of boom-bap greatness as being akin to ones personal finances... before taxes, that is. With watered-down commercial rap eating away at the cultural wallets of hip-hop fans worldwide, with his new album the DMV MC looks to take great strides at filling his listeners pockets with a rich cultural currency. The album is an exciting step forward for yU. After helping put the Washington DC/Maryland hip-hop scene back on the map with the seminal Diamond District album In The Ruff, the celebrated emcee has a lot to live up to. Before Taxes is different than In The Ruff in a lot of ways, says yU. Ive been told that the sound is more mello or experimental at times. There's different subject matter and approach to the rhymes. While perfectly capable of flooring listeners without his Diamond District crew, yU brings a few other friends along to help turn up the heat.
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By Mello Music Group, eMusic Contributor
Michael Tolle founded Mello Music Group in 2007, after he graduated from the University of Arizona and released a series of mixtapes as a college deejay. As indicated by the label's current roster, Tolle's taste in rap music hasn't really changed. As he's plucked notable, under-the-radar artists from Detroit, Los Angeles and Atlanta, Tolle's also turned select members of D.C.'s Low Budget Crew into flagship acts — producer-emcee Oddisee being the most well-known. And so,… more »