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1 week ago | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
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(Music Lab Records, digital, limited vinyl) Robscure is a rapper and producer who reps Washington, Vt., a tiny town in the hills of Orange County. Naturally enough, he's since moved to New York City, but he's remained a constant presence in the Green Mountain hip-hop scene that raised him.
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1 month ago | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
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(Music Lab Records, digital, vinyl) In theory, music is an infinite canvas rendered in 12 tones. In practice, even the broad horizons of "jazz fusion" tend to veer uncomfortably close to jam band excess. Granted, the bar for the former is set exponentially higher for sheer chops, and the demographic for jazz concerts is far less likely to be arrested at the venue.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
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(Self-released, digital) Ko rabwa, for starters, means "thank you" in Kiribati. The tiny island nation in the Pacific is a big part of the story behind Topia, a singer-songwriter, part-time rapper and spookily talented producer who has been at the forefront of Burlington's post-pandemic new wave.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
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(Machete Ish Records, digital) Eyedos has been a staple of Vermont's hip-hop scene for damn near two decades — and a proud outsider that whole time. Part of that is just geography: The talented performer got his start with Jynx Inc, a horrorcore duo out of southern Vermont. Back in the days before Instagram, local artists who weren't playing shows in Burlington were basically invisible.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (Self-released, digital)Instrumental hip-hop is not a hugely lucrative line of work. Even some of the biggest names in the business are earning a middle-class income at best. Making beats, then, is largely a labor of love, a subculture full of fanatics. Plattsburgh, N.Y., producer G Hanz is a proud part of that subculture, and his latest project, SUPLEXUS, is proof.
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Sep 4, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (Self-released, digital)BTV/Brooklyn rapper rivan doesn't have a whole hell of a lot to prove in 2024. He's one of the most nimble and versatile MCs the Queen City has ever produced. He's an accomplished DIY promoter. And he's already dropped one of the year's best local projects with his band Juicebox, the sprawling and electric Ollies in the Hallway. Just the same, his latest offering, simply titled rivan, stands as his greatest work to date. It's his first solo release in years.
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Jun 26, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (AfterLyfe Music, CD, digital)Everything in the music business takes longer than expected, but some projects are decades in the making. That's very much the case with AfterLyfe Volume 1, a compilation album that celebrates the long, industrious career of DJ, rapper, producer and VT Union mastermind Nastee. He's been a giant in Vermont's hip-hop scene since the early 2000s, both as a genuine trendsetter and as a mentor to dozens of local artists.
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Jun 12, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (Equal Eyes Records, digital)In the past decade, Vermont's hip-hop scene has witnessed an explosive proliferation of spooky-talented producers. Consider D👁️Y, a recent album from Equal Eyes Records head honcho ILLu, which features a dozen outstanding artists. Presented as an instrumental "Do It Yourself Rap Album," this is an unexpected and quirky triumph. It's also kinda weird. First, there's the emoji in the title, always a fun monkey wrench to toss at print media.
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May 15, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (AfterLyfe Music, CD, digital)In a genre full of hard workers, Boston rapper Termanology has distinguished himself as one of the most prolific artists in the game. A lifelong genre purist who's been hustling rhymes since high school, he celebrates his legacy on Time Is Currency, his latest, and 50th, album. That is not a typo, but it is one hell of an achievement.
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May 1, 2024 | 
sevendaysvt.com | Justin Boland
click to enlarge (Self-released, digital)Anyone paying attention to Vermont's growing hip-hop scene knows Big Homie Wes as an institution. From his start as a young, hungry open-mic rapper, he's evolved into a show promoter and touring artist, building a circuit throughout New England and Canada. All along, he's remained a humble student of the game, creating opportunities for other aspiring local MCs.Given how hard he grinds, you'd think Wes would have plenty to get off his chest.
