Single Review: Unseen by MC Juice

 

Unseen

By

MC Juice

 

Unseen is the second release by MC Juice on the Nobody Buys Records label. Production comes from the Bankrupt Europeans and cuts from the one and only DJ Grazzhoppa.

Nobody Buys Records (NBR) was formed in by the Bankrupt Europeans back in 2012. This followed eight years of dealing with Industry rule #4080 and signing deals with certain labels from NY and Boston. Once they had the home for their recordings everything kicked off with the Fast Rap EP from Phill Most Chill and releases from AG, MC Rise, PMC, and Craig G were to follow. After a short hiatus between 2015 and 2019 the Bankrupt Europeans returned with the cut n paste anthem ‘Class Dismissed’ which featured scratches from DJ Muzzell and a verse from PMC. Alongside all this the Bankrupt Europeans have a host of production credits to their name including RA The Rugged Man, Chubb Rock, Dooley-O and Dizzy Dustin alongside those already mentioned.

It was in 2020 that the Bankrupt Europeans would finally release their first collaboration with MC Juice on NBR, the highly acclaimed ‘Where You Go’ 45. It was due to the success of this release that 2021 would see NBR drop Unseen…

If anyone is not familiar with MC Juice, then here is very short introduction for you. Out of Chicago, MC Juice is hailed as the GOAT of the freestyle and battle circuits. He is the MC who straight up won a freestyle battle with another freestyle GOAT, Eminem. Now dipping his mic into dropping records he is showing that he cannot only rock rhythms and only rock rhymes but, also rock records…

Unseen hits hard with mix of bass, keyboards and pounding drums, giving this a heavy vibe that lives in the shadows of Hip Hop. This dark and sinister world that is created by the Bankrupt Europeans is the perfect place to be inhabited by MC Juice. On the streets of this shadowy world MC Juice drops some intense vocals that are unapologetic and seep into your physical body and then reach beyond into your soul. He demonstrates what he does best, taking out emcees and getting to the top of the pile and once there he can just walk away, still at the top, because he has done it all from shadows leaving those emcees in his wake wondering what happened as their opponent came and went in style but, still Unseen.

This track has that air of cruising in your car at midnight on the dark empty streets, the volume up loud but, not necessarily to attract attention. Here you might feel you’re being toyed with, you feel the vibe and love the music but, all around you is the devastation perpetrated once more by the one who goes Unseen.

Definitely one to get the pulse pounding Unseen is one of those track you can play anytime but, suits the end of the evening when you want something heavy to wind down to, or when your out in your car and what people to know what you’re listening to. The Bankrupt Europeans create the perfect backdrop that sets you up for MC Juice to take you down and then, just when you thought everything was over DJ Grazzhoppa steps in and finishes you off with some razor-sharp cuts.

Unseen is one for your collection, if there are any physical copies left. If not, then you will just have to settle to being ghosted by the etheric digital version…

On that note, a quick shout and respect to DJ Snafu for sending this over to me, and I’m out…

Peace,

Steve

LINKS

Nobody Buys Records Website:

https://nobodybuysrecords.bigcartel.com/

Nobody Buys Records on Bandcamp:

https://bankrupteuropeans.bandcamp.com/

DJ Snafu (Bankrupt Europeans) on Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/dj-snafu-bankrupt-euros

DJ Snafu on Mixcloud:

https://www.mixcloud.com/DJSnafu/

Nobody Buys Records on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nobodybuysrecords/

MC Juice on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/juice4real/

Album Review: Freeflow Throwdown - Mike Mac

 

Freeflow Throwdown

By

Mike Mac

 

This release is one of those from the crates. Originally recorded a few years back with Mike freestyling over some beats it has been brought up-to-date polished up and is now in the light of day and soon for all to hear.

I don’t want to give this one a huge intro so I’m just gonna dive straight in…

The Intro is a proper boombap head nod beat that forms the backdrop for a host of big names to drop shouts to the man himself so, just let this one sink in damn. 3 Styles Official hits your ears with more of that slammin’ head nod vibe and nice guitar adding that extra dimension. Mike starts by dropping some shout outs before telling how the project came together and really kicking off that freestyle feel. Next, we slide into Get This which features TRZ, it’s a nice piano heavy upbeat track with a sung intro and chorus and is really all about the good times and what makes you feel good. A big beat with melodic organ is the sound for Social Media, which see’s Mike wading in on the popular apps and website that not only keep us connected but, also invade our space and, to a point, control our lives. From the ups and downs of social media we drift into banging beat with some piano and electronic elements that see us look into the life of a Lab Rat. This one looks deep into Big Pharma, prescription drugs, G.Ps and the whole idea that it is not about a cure, because there is no money in a cure.

Break Down is a proper upbeat piano fuelled head nod beat and the track is all about breaking it down about life, it’s just that simple. It’s time to get funky with Love & Respect which has a such a wicked guitar and those hand claps just make you wanna move to the beat. The track is all about being aware of those negatives in your life but, keep that in its place for the thing you want to bring to the surface is your positive awareness, which will keep you where you want to be. We end with the New Style Outro on an upbeat mix of synth and brass elements, this the kinda short freestyle flow that this is all about and why an emcee does what he does.

 

For me I really liked how this was done. That freestyle vibe to it really gave the whole thing that authentic Hip Hop vibe and made me cast my mind back the early 80s when I first got into Hip Hop and the whole freestyle thing was so big with freestyle battles and emcees throwing down that was what gave rap that extra dimension and energy and Mike has ably captured that here with Freeflow Throwdown. I know it is not entirely freestyle but, it does have that feel about it. At times it feels gritty and raw, with areas where you feel it could be a bit more polished, such as with the New Style Outro, where the lyrics are almost hard to discern at times But, all this adds to what I feel he was trying to achieve here and it certainly gives it that element of the underground.

The whole idea for this release was to take concepts, ideas for titles which were suggested by friends on Social Media and then to create the individual tracks around that and you can’t help feeling that he has achieved exactly what he set out to do. The project is cohesive both musically and vocally, you can throw it on and get a real buzz out of it. It also shows exactly what you can achieve when you come up with an original concept for a project.

The fact this is a few years old does not take away from its relevance in today’s climate and it is definitely a release you should not underestimate.

Freeflow Throwdown is due to be released sometime in the future. If you really want to hear this then drop some comments and who knows what might happen...

Peace,

I’m out,

Steve