Tulsa
Lines
Over the past couple of years rap beef has occurred, but it’s mostly been a regional thing where artists from the same city beef over who’s the big dog in that city. There hasn’t really been a big rap beef since the Drake and Pusha T beef. Some might argue that the Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion beef is a major one. To be honest. Both didn’t really give the people what they wanted. The diss tracks seemed to be more like jabs that stung but didn’t really inflict any actual damage. So, I would say that the game has been relatively peaceful. That’s until Kendrick Lamar chose to shake up the game and drop a verse that broke the internet, again. I say again because this isn’t the first time that Kendrick Lamar has broken the internet with just one verse. Many remember the bombshells he dropped on the game in Big Sean’s song, “Control”. In the song he literally called out rappers that he had made songs with and are said to be friends with. It’s not personal. It’s just hip-hop. He even called out Big Sean on his song. And Big Sean’s verse was first, so it was like he just caught this stray bullet that he wasn’t ready for. Now looking at this new verse, ironically it dropped on the same day Big Sean’s new single "Precision" dropped, which is the first single he's dropped in two years, unfortunately it was overshadowed by the release of Kendrick's verse. Literally nobody was talking about Big Sean’s song. It was “Control” all over again: Now we get to the new verse that shook up the world. I’m talking about “Like That” from Future & Metro Boomin’s new album “WE DON’T TRUST YOU”. But why did Future let this happen? Future and Drake have been long-time collaborators who dropped a joint project together called “What A Time To Be Alive”. Interesting enough, Future didn’t appear on Drake’s most recent album, “For All The Dogs”. On the other hand, Drake did appear on Future’s last album “I Never Liked You”, which may mean something since Drake’s album was the latter album to drop. When it comes to the new album, “WE DON’T TRUST YOU”, something to also note is that Metro Boomin’, who provided most of the production for the album, doesn’t rock with Drake, so this might’ve made it easier for Kendrick to drop the bombshell on this track. Am I my brother’s keeper? This might be the real question that Future may be asking himself as there has been another theory popping up around the internet as to why Future would let Kendrick diss his friend and long-time collaborator, Drake. The theory floating around the internet is that both Drake and Future are involved with the same woman, but Drake has been pillow talking to the woman badly about Future. This may be alluded to in his verse when he spits. “Stickin' to the code, all these hoes for the streets, I put it in her nose, it's gon' make her pussy leak, Pussy niggas told, ain't gon' wake up out they sleep”. Now let’s talk about what you’re really here for. Kendrick. He firs attacks Drake with the line, “Say, it's a lot of goofies with a check”. We all know that Drake is endorsed by Nike, and the check is the trademark logo. So, Drake is Goofy the dog and he's getting checks from Nike. OK Kendrick. Nice bar. Another bar is, ‘Niggas clickin' up, but cannot be legit, no 40 Water, tell 'em”. OK it’s getting hotter. This is another jab where Kendrick is talking about Drake and J. Cole clicking up, while also giving probs to E-40 and B-Legit, who formed the group called "The Click". and that the fact that their clicking up ain’t forreal or ain’t gonna help them be better than him. Also note that the beat used for this song E-40 also used on his song "Look At Me" that featured Juvenile, BG, Lil Wayne, and Birdman. Then Kendrick starts to point his aim more direct with the bar, “Fuck sneak dissin', first person shooter, I hope they came with three switches”. People know that "First Person Shooter" is the name of Drake and J. Cole’s track that was a great song and did numbers. Anyone that knows Kendrick Lamar knows that he is clearly a writer and master of his craft. He loves hip-hop but also like in the line he raps, he’s not afraid to go against hip-hop, “I crash out, like, "Fuck rap," diss Melle Mel if I had to”. Story time, Melle Mel from The Furious 5 (which is a classic hip-hop group) dissed Eminem for being on a Top 5 list but stating that it’s mostly to do with him being white. This made Eminem go against the hip-hop pioneer and drop a diss track calling out Melle Mel for possible steroid drug use. Kendrick Lamar is willing to do the same and go against hip-hop to prove he’s the best. That being both the pop rap that Drake is, or the hip-hop purist that J. Cole is. Finally let’s break down the most direct bars. Remember Andre 3K was the set-up bar in the “Control” verse, well here it shows itself again. When he says Motherfuck the big three, this is a jab back to Drake and J. Cole’s song “First Person Shooter” where J. Cole says, “Love when they argue the hardest MC, Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?, We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali”. I think other rappers would've seen this line as a complement, but that's not Kendrick, who takes this more as a backhanded complement, especially since J. Cole ends the bar saying that he is "The Greatest" aka Muhammad Ali. But again, Kendrick Lamar doesn’t want to be buddy buddy, he says it’s him at the top and him only. "Your best work is a light pack". Kendrick is snapping. Then he says, “Prince outlived Mike Jack”. He is saying that he’s Prince and his career gonna last longer than Drake’s. Again, on First Person Shooter, Drake rapped, “What the fuck, bro? I’m one away from Michael, Nigga, beat it, nigga, beat it, what?”. I would argue thought that J. Cole is more like Prince because he can produce music as well as rap. But back to Kendrick with a direct hit to Drake again, “‘fore all your dogs gettin' buried”. Drake’s album is called “For All My Dogs”. Coincidence. I think not. Especially with this line “K with all these nines, he gon' see Pet Sematary”. Ouuuu!! That’s a crazy triple entre. First K stands for Kendrick who is saying that he is a 10 and with the nines, and that Drake and J. Cole are just nines. Second K with the nines, meaning K-9, which means dog. Then with the nines infers that they have 9mm guns and not the stick he says he has earlier in the verse. Also, in that same line he goes into Stephen King’s novel Pet Sematary to say that that’s where their careers are going to be if they keep fucking with him. And just to put the final nail in the coffin he calls them bums. You can see that there were multiple casualties in this verse. Kendrick went direct which many say First Person Shooter was filled with more subliminals than direct hit. Kendrick going direct. So, there you have it. The verse that shook up hip-hop. Kendrick Lamar is now known as one of those artists that doesn’t say a lot, but when he does, the world stops and listens. This verse is so hip-hop. We didn’t even talk about his tone, his delivery, the iconic sample that was also sampled by Lil Wayne. I wanted to focus on the words. Kendrick made a point in this verse. He kept it hip-hop. He kept it direct. But every action has an equal or in hip-hop’s mind a more powerful and deeper cutting reaction. Hopefully, that means J. Cole will respond. Drake too. Just know they both are now officially on the clock.
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Few rappers are actually story tellers. You might be thinking. Give me an example. Well, here are a few. Slick Rick and his song “Children’s Story” or Lupe Fiasco’s “Hip Hop Saved My Life”. Then you have Nas with his song "Rewind". Nas spit a whole song backwards. Crazy. So, as you can see you really gotta have a pen to tell a story and put it into a beat. But can you do it for 3 songs? And can you make all the stories fit into this amazing epic that keeps your audience wanting more? Well, that’s just what OTS J. Huncho did with his 3-part series called “Calvin’s Story”.
OTS J. Huncho seemingly came out of nowhere in 2019 just before the Pandemic and unlike most he didn’t let the Pandemic slow him down, it actually made him put his feet on the petal more. And if you know his music then you know you get some bars, you gonna get some hard beats, and by the end of the track you gonna be saying just like his tagline. “I like that one. Huncho on the beat bitch!”
The series starts with “Calvins Story Pt. 1 (Cali)” which appeared on OTS J. Huncho’s debut album “Guerrilla Warfare”. The track sets the stage and introduces the main character of the story, Calvin also referenced throughout the track by his nickname “Cali”. Also mentioned in the track is the damsel of the story Tori, who is Calvin’s love interest and together have this Bonnie and Clyde relationship. Tori is also the one who introduced Calvin to her uncle who then became the plug. Later on in Pt 3 we will see how the uncle is an intricate piece of the story as well. The story gets crazier as Calvin and his brother end up in a shootout with 4 robbers. They end up killing Calvin’s brother Cameron during an exchange of fire that also leaves Calvin with 3 shots in his arm, which the robbers mistake Calvin for being dead. The only thing that is on Calvin’s mind is revenge after that, of which he does catch one slacking at a gas station. The plot thickens as final scene rolls Calvin rolls up on a car with one of the other robbers and to his surprise, he finds Tori!!!! DAMMMNNNN!!!
The next track in the story is called “Calvins Story Pt. 2”. The track starts where Part 1 left off. Calvin walking up on one of the robbers and the woman who betrayed him aka Tori. But before Calvin pulls the trigger, why not take all his shit too? But money can’t buy you everything and, in this case, it was a life. Calvin unmasked shot the guy and chased Tori out the house. Then shot…..“This nigga fuck around and hit a cop”. The police radio plays as a trembled voice calls out for help. This story getting crazzzyyyyy!!!!
Last but not least we have “Calvin’s Story, Pt. 3” starts where the last story left off. Calvin coming to the realization that he forreal just hit a cop, and that he’s not gonna be brought in alive. During this track OTS J. Huncho really shows his writing skill as he raps from the perspective of Tori. First off, she was talking to the police where she revealed that she was pregnant. Secondly, she told her uncle. You remember the plug from Pt. 1? Yea she told him that Calvin had killed her baby daddy and then tried to kill her. This made the uncle furious, so he put 200 racks on Calvin’s head. Two weeks later. Calvin chillin at the house smoking when the door gets kicked in and two masked gunmen came to collect the bounty, but luckily Calvin had that Mac on him. And that bitch sang. He killed both gunmen and even took one of their phones to get the drop on where the uncle was. As soon as the uncle got out the benz… A gun to his head and Calvin replied as he took the 200 racks “this is all you could put on me?” Calvin walked him in the crib where guess who was waiting? Tori. He replied “This shit is sweet”. Took the 200 racks and all the uncle’s work. Then eventually killed both the uncle and Tori, even after she told him she was pregnant. Calvin couldn’t vast in his revenge to long, because before he knew it, he was on a highspeed chase with the laws. And this time around there was no getting away. There was a pit maneuver, and the car flipping 8 times….
"I miss my nigga Cali"
What makes this series of songs so crazy is that you can literally play them back-to-back and see the story play out. The intensity in the raps and his vocal tone matched with each scene. The production of each track created an environment for OTS J. Huncho to really get creative with the way he told the story, for instance when he rapped from the perspective of Tori. There's no doubt that OTS J. Huncho has a crazy pen game. And if 50 Cent can write "Get Rich or Die Tryin’" and turn it into a movie, then Calvin’s Story can be just as great a movie. But is this the last installment of Calvin’s Story? Who knows. In the words of OTS J. Huncho:
“And that’s still my nigga Calvin.” Listen to each track back to back and let us know what you think.
When it comes to Tulsa music few artists have evolved and made their own lane as much as Dialtone. The Tulsa native has proven he’s a master of many talents, with the first talent being rap. The real shift in his career came when he also decided to take up a second skill, art. His No Parking Studios empire is one of the biggest brands in the town, and it’s taken him all over the country. But when Dialtone gets that itch to start making music again, that’s when no beat is safe. And that's exactly what's happening as seen with the release of his EP Texture Test 001. Dialtone is back in album mode and like we tweeted, “Yo Tone dropped this like to say "Don't think I still don't do this rap shit!". So, sit back and let’s dive into his latest single “Tulsa Bounce”.
“Bouncin’ thru uptown,
Anybody that knows Dialtone’s music knows that he’s more than a rapper, he’s more like Tulsa historian at times, just in the way he drops names and tells stories that are like insider trading secrets that only Tulsa people who grew up on the northside would know. These are the same stories he paints into his art. Tulsa Bounce is one of those tracks where the stories are woven into each bar. This track also highlights his mastery of rap as he shows that he can rap in whatever flow ya’ll think ya’ll favorite rapper can. And do it better. It’s almost like watching a runner set the pace of the race. When he switches flows it’s like pockets or speed bursts where he proves he’s still so ahead of the competition. One line that stands out is, “I gave up tryna convince, either you with, or get”. This line symbolizes a major shift in Dialtone’s music. He has nothing to prove, he’s put on for Tulsa since the beginning, he has a song with Charlie Wilson. What more can he do? What more does he have to prove? “The Fuck! From Round.”. Another thing to point out about this song is just the way he strings these moments together. It’s cohesive and at the same time these moments play out like different timelines in the multiverse. “Jukin, manuverin, the game what I’m fluent in, landin like superman, Goku super saiyan, what me do my dance, on you dog hoes.” We can't forget the instrumentation on the beat. Which is crazy. It’s like mixing the nostalgic sound of the pianola and the unpredictable beat making of Timberland, and last but not least, that bounce. It’s so Tulsa. So much of a feeling that if you ain’t feeling it then you just hating. Get that hate out your heart. Because Tulsa Bounce is one of them ones.
Dialtone has built a life where he doesn’t have to do rap anymore, but the sport and the competition is what he still loves. Tulsa Bounce is that love that will never go away. It’s an example of him lettin these rappers know I can still push a button and fuck up the game. “Bouncin’ thru uptown, but I can go uptown, in 4 minutes, niggas out of breath, tired of Tone winnin’. Niggas is winded, niggas is finished, niggas was timid, I made a template.". Checkout Tulsa Bounce by Dialtone below and let us know what you think!
Make sure to follow Dialtone on all social media:
Instagram: @tonesbeach Twitter: @tonesbeach Spotify: Dialtone YouTube: Dialtone BandCamp: No Parking Studios Men lie. Women lie. But numbers don’t. Everyone remembers this bar from Jay-Z’s song “Reminder”. And that’s because it’s true. But to lie to someone’s face that’s a whole nuther thing. Again, both men and women lie. But the numbers don’t. And two artists that have the numbers on their side are the SAIKKO Twins, made up of SAIKKOMIKE and SAIKKO 10. Who have dropped their new single “Lie 2 My Face”.
Facts! Can be defined as; A thing that is known or proved to be true. So that means there’s no confusion when it comes to what is, and what isn’t. No matter if it comes from the source or it comes from a third-party. The facts are the facts. T3REZZY is out to show the world that everything he says, he stands on. And it’s with the release of his new single “All Facfs Freestyle Pt. 2” that T3REZZY is setting the record straight.
101 years ago one of the worst attacks in the U.S. took place. And for so long it was written out of history. Especially the place where it occurred. Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you’ve ever picked up an Oklahoma History book then you know that the pages are filled with stories about the Trail Of Tears, The Land Run, and other stories of how Oklahoma came to be. But not one story was told about one of the richest black communities in the world.
Throughout the years rappers have wanted to be basketball players. And just like rappers, basketball players have wanted to be rappers. Both rapping and basketball are very competitive, so it's no wonder why both would be appealing to one another. 24K Astall is one baller turned rapper who is here to run up the score with his new hit single "Run It Back" that features the talented Alexis Renee.
It’s something about a phenomenal woman. Mayou Angelau told us about them in her famous poems. A phenomenal woman has the power to command a room. She knows herself. A phenomenal woman will get the respect from the president all the way down to the pimp.
Introductions are everything. You only get to introduce yourself to the world one time. For an artist your first introduction is your art. For Auri her introduction to the world will be with her debut single “Loves Me Like You”. Auri is an R&B vocalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma who puts not only her talent into her music but also her life. That’s just what “Loves Me Like You” is, a life experience that is expressed through melodic undertones of love and passion in lines like, "I hope he loves me like you.". Which would seem like the female version of the Future text meme that famously ends with Future saying he cares about her and to tell her momma you said hi. It her smooth melodic voice that draws you in and her vocal range that keeps you listening. What does it take to be known in Oklahoma? Is it a fly car? Is it million-dollar music videos? Maybe the girls? Naw it has to be the money right? Wrong! All these things are the rewards from the hard work and sacrifice that an artist has to go through to get to the top. JuvieRay is an artist that has put in the hard work, has sacrificed, and has put everything into his music, including his new single “Back From Me”. |
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