If It's Too Loud...

Later this month, Grafh and 38 Spesh will be releasing a collaborative album, and we can listen to a new track from that album. The track also features appearances by Haile Supreme and Talib Kweli. While most hip hop that I cover here at If It's Too Loud... tends to be throwbacks to the earlier days of rap, "Right Now" sounds much more modern. It may have a foot in the classic sound of the 90's, but a modernized version of that sound. It's a great combination of the grittier side of the genre and the more mainstream, R&B inflected sound. (Leaning more towards the grittier side.) "Right Now" is a perfect introduction to the collaboration between Grafh and 38 Spesh, and will have you anticipating the full album later this month. You can listen to "Right Now" below. God's Timing is due out July 26. For more on Grafh, check him out in Instagram . 38 Spesh's Instagram can be found here .

Talib Kweli is an absolutely legendary MC, widely considered to be one of the best around. He's one of those artists I know I need to get more into, especially after seeing him do a few songs with The Soul Rebels back in March. Since I'm trying to get to The Middle East as much as possible before it most likely closes at the end of the year, and STL GLD were opening, the show last week became a must see. STL GLD have to be a hard opening act to follow. Live bands always have an extra energy to them, and live they have more than a little bit of a punk and metal edge to them. Not that songs like "Wild Style" or "Resisting" have any rap rock in them, but there is an extra swagger to them live. Opening with "Shimmer," possibly their biggest song to date with Darlingside off last year's excellent Rock Boyega , STL GLD pulled out some absolute favorites like "The New Normal Pt. 1." Part of the appeal of their live show is the duality of Moe...

Talib Kweli is enough of a hip hop legend that we're guaranteed to pay attention to anything he is involved in. He has a collaborative album coming out with Diamond D, and the first single is truly great. "Far Out Bar Out" showcases the flows of all three MCs (the song also features A.F.R.O.) over one of the most old school musical backdrops I've heard in ages. (There are scratches! Scratches!) It's the kind of minimalist hip hop that used to just be considered hip hop. Somehow, despite the song throwing back stylistically, it avoids being just a throwback track. "Far Out Bar Out" is what hip hop would sound like in 2021 is Puff Daddy and autotune never happened. You can watch the video for "Far Out Bar Out" below. GOTHAM , the collaborative album from Talib Kweli and Diamond D, is sue out later this year on Javotti Media. For more on Talib Kweli, check out his website here . More info on Diamond D can be found on his Twitter .

Photo via Facebook I know, I know. At this point we're all having election fatigue at this point, and just want this over. But, for those of us that grew up in the 90's obsessed with hip hop, the latest from De La Soul is a complete dream project come true. "Remove 45" is obviously an anti-Trump song, but, aside from that, it features Styles P (The Lox), Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Mysonne, and Public Enemy's Chuck D. From that line up alone there's no way I'm not going to bring this song to you. Plus, it's a great song. A lot of times a song with eight MCs with a message can be an overbloated mess, but everyone keeps this song under control and on focus. Each rapper gets a verse, interspersed with sound bites from the subject matter. In fact, "Remove 45" might be the best thing that everyone involved has released this century. You can listen to "Remove 45" below. You can find the song here . For more on De La Soul, check out their...

Photo via Facebook I never realized it, but Talib Kweli has a podcast called People's Party with Talib Kweli. He just released a single called "People's Party," which I'm sure is related to the podcast. In a complete dream pairing, he joins with Boots Riley (The Coup, Street Sweeper Social Club) for the track. As you would imagine with the two of them, it's a complete party anthem while still being political. I don't believe Kweli or Riley have done a song together in the past, but let's hope this is just the beginning of the two working together regularly. This is perfect for hip hop fans disillusioned with most hip hop of today. You can watch the video for "People's Party" below. For more on Talib Kewli, check out his website . For more on Boots Riley, check out his Facebook .

I would write about Talib Kweli's excellent new song, "She's My Hero," but I'm going to let his words explain the song much better than I ever could: Good morning. Spending time engaging with fans on social media has allowed me to spread information about causes and events ignored by the mainstream media. It has also made me aware of important cultural events and connected me with brilliant people who make me a better human being. It was on social media that I first learned about the story of Bresha Meadows. On July 28th, 2016, Bresha Meadows shot and killed her reportedly abusive father. She was 14 years old at the time. The first thing that struck me about Bresha was how much she physically reminded me of my own daughter. I had a similar experience when George Zimmerman killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin, who reminded me of my son. I instantly felt drawn to these children and I felt compelled to dive deeper into their lives. Leading up to shooting her fat...

Let's dive right in! Album of the Week : Artist : Ellie Goulding Album : Delirium Quick Description : Third album by the British pop singer. Why You Should Listen : This is allegedly her Big Pop Record, but it's better than that. Overall Thoughts : I've been a fan since "Lights," and this album worried me a bit given some of the advance stuff on this. She's always straddled the EDM line a bit, and I was hoping that she wouldn't stray from that, and, mostly, she doesn't. She definitely brings a Big Pop Record feel to this, but it mostly just feels like an Ellie Goulding album, and one that brings the best parts of her previous work and improves on it. Well done. Recommendation : Probably my favorite album of the week. Artist : Darren Hayman Album : Florence Quick Description : Solo album from the former Hefner frontman, his second this year. Why You Should Listen : Darren Hayman should be required listening for anyone at this stage. O...

Over the weekend, Talib Kweli joined the ranks of legacy artists releasing surprise free albums. It's been a great move for longstanding artists who may have fallen out of the public eye a bit and haven't really had much excitement surrounding their last couple albums, like Nine Inch Nails and Wilco. Plus, the album is called Fuck the Money , so it kinda needs to be free. Fuck the Money  isn't a great album. "Echoes" and "Baby Girl" delve a little too far into R&B territory with their choruses. But it's a really good album, particularly for free. It's too bad what's dull is really dull, because what is good is really good. "Leslie Knope" is just pure minimalist rape gold. "Fuck the Money" starts off with this odd autotune blast of the phrase "Fuck the Money," but redeems itself with fantastic verses by Kweli and  Cassper Nyovest. "Fall Back" reminds me of vintage Public Enemy, but an ultra-chill...