SUBTERRANEAN: Radius

W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 1 8 , 2 0 0 9

"The best thing about Radius is his ability to transcend Gangster & Conscious Rap."

Last time I did this, I gave you Son of Ran, a California emcee just beginning to get things moving. Today we are jumping to Newark, New Jersey. I've been listening to Radius now for five years. He has never released an album and I couldn't find any info on him on the Internet until three years after discovering him. I just had a bunch of random tracks that got let loose on the Internet and a name. It was a random download off some private site that led me to his music.

Finally five years later he is starting to make some progress towards releasing a legit project. An actual LP from Radius is much needed with the state of Rap these days. Over the years he has released two other mixtapes that included Lost Cause & Radius vs. Just Blaze vol. 1. Now he has released the prelude mixtape "Process of Elimination" to his actual album which we will hopefully see soon.

The best thing about Radius is his ability to transcend Gangster & Conscious Rap. He seamlessly unleashes a stream of lyrics that one second describe his gritty situation growing up to dropping similes & metaphors that beg you to rewind, re-think and respect what you just heard.




Radius- "Process of Elimination" (download)

I recommend the songs...
*28 Bars Later- Samples the movie 28 Days Later.
Don't Stop The Fight- Master of the quick flow showcases his slow flow on Hard drums.
*A Star is Born- This song is too nice.
I Wonder- Shows why spitting truth about yourself can make you even better than lying.
*Really Don't Try- Seriously I wish him and Fifty would get in a wax battle so he could rack him.
Dark Light- Epic beat and deep flow.

Check here for downloads of other Radius mixtapes and his thoughts on the new mixtape.

-Keith

SUBTERRANEAN: Son of Ran

T h u r s d a y , A u g u s t 7, 2 0 0 8

I want to start a new entry for myself and I figure now that we're getting like 13 views a day this would be a good time. I know some of you out there will enjoy it too. Music is a big part of my life and I take it very seriously.

There is Underground and there is what lies beneath. The things I put up are what lie beneath, they are off the grid, below the radar, lurking in the shadows if you will. Kind of like this Blog! Today I want to put a focus on a young emcee who goes by the title "Son Of Ran". He's a young up and coming emcee from "Sky City", Cali. He's due to have the official album drop soon but in the mean time he kicked over to me the "Tribute to Sky City" mixtape which is stellar even though many songs are from 2006.

The rap game is filled with "hipster" rap, which isn't all bad. I mean, it's like mainstream music that's fun and light hearted, it's just in the end it has no substance or sustainability. It is a fad, and as trends in clothing move on so will the rap game apparently. Could we possibly see rappers from Superfuture, and I'm not talking bout a kanye!

The point is, I see music moving back into a direction of "Heart"! When a person puts themselves in the music, mind, body and soul. This is what I get from "Son Of Ran." He makes you aware of his position in life and what he's about, who he is and especially where he is from. I can appreciate it when somebody has the guts to do that. Although at times these artist don't come off as polished or accomplished they're doing something that those in the mainstream are afraid to do. That's be themselves!

-Keith