Hand To Hand Mixtape Review

From Hand To Hand, the mixtape’s notes drop from ear to ear spreading the real Detroit hip hop spirit to the world

Global rating of the product: 4.5 stars

Proof s Hand To Hand mixtape allies Detroit s hottest talents. You will meet Proof, the whole IF crew ( Purple Gang, Woof Pac, Supa Emcee), the hot I-Mac group, Quest Mc Quody, Slum Village and many more good Detroit names such as Marv Won of the Fat Killaz on the CD. The mixtape’s assets are certainly brushed up productions: Sick Notes, BR Gunna, J Hill, Jay Dee, DJ House Shoes, Trick Trick , Swifty Mc Vay’s Fire Department contributed to a high quality production.

Hand To Hand will allow the listener to appreciate a full range of various artistic talents.

IF Soldiers fully represent on Times Up: an incredible flow delivery, a murderous spirit, spicy and well thought lyrics, rhythmic drum beats combined with various instrumentals make this track particularly hot. IF soldiers are taking over: Purple Gang, Woof Pac , Supa Emcee and their CEO RIP Proof show some unity. Back is the meaning of raw: opponents better not mess with the IF crew. The track is pure fire.

Don’t miss Supa Emcee’s Play With A Nut. Built on claps, piano, violins and dark basslines combined with Supa Emcee’s powerful lyrics, the track will offer the listener a real perspective about the Detroit hood. Supa Emcee is a real busta . I highly recommend you the song.

Woof Pac’s Western style 1 + 8 N Us song is based on a guitar notes and rhythmic drum beats song. I enjoyed the real OG dimension of the song brought to you by three merciless players in the game.

Macks And Pumps is a beautiful Purple Gang Trick Trick collaboration. The Trick Trick produced song leads you into a menacing, dark atmosphere. Little by little, you will feel the upcoming tension. Time for overheated speech and gun talk.

Bells, a dark bassline, violins, claps, keyboard sounds mixed up with the menacing voices of the artists will reinforce the scurrilous intent of the track.

Coming Up With Lent has a little bit of Promatic spirit in it. Proof and Ameer s rapid flow delivery totally matches with the bass sounds and the dope ass beats. Enjoy both players know how.

Don’t underestimate Swifty Mc Vay’s talent! The skilled emcee with smash you up lyrically in no time with his Fyre Department Team. You will find the Lawsuit song on Swifty’s Forest Fyres mixtape, a very valuable solo piece of work that I highly recommend to all of you who haven’t listened to it yet.

Heart Of The Streets combines pan flute and heart beat alike drum beats. Feel the coldness of the streets, the pain of the numerous losses of the street soldiers. One slug will tear people s lives away.

Wot I Look Like fully describes hood fights. Violins, claps, rhythmic beats totally intensify the harshness of the hood context brought to you by the Woof Pac crew.

Quest Mc Cody’s Detroit City gig will barely leave the listener indifferent. The track welcomes you into a quite euphoric ambience that is enhanced with harpsichord and keyboard sounds. Detroit City fully comes to shine. Let’s stand up and take part to the rhythmic and festive gig!

The DJ House Shoes produced Remember When is definitely worth your attention. The swinging track featuring Marv Won of the Fat Killaz will take you back to the golden age of hip hop.

Wudd Up beautifully fits into the Hands Up mixtape. Originally from PG The Mixtape 2006 will allow you to appreciate Purple Gang’s lyrical skills and nice flow delivery. Purple Gang has an obvious passion for rhyming that will shine on the well handled track.

The Beats, The Rhymes featuring Proof and Chino XL is a classic if you ask me. Thanks to Big Proof’s unconditional love for hip hop, the days of the hip hop shop have been kept alive. Guitar notes combined with rapid drum beats will suggest the enthusiasm and the huge passion for a non commercial hip hop that is all about the beats, the rhymes and the mic.

While the artists spit on the rap game’s hypocrisy, they will totally convince you about their genuine love for a subtle art called hip hop.

How I Got Over enlightens local Detroit artist J Hill’s talent. Dark bass lines contrast with soft female vocals, while electric guitar sounds will enhance J Hill’s confident voice. I liked the opposition between light and dark, night and day, as suggested by the complexity of the instrumentals.

Russian Roulette allows the listener to step into a dark and menacing atmosphere provided by electric guitar and keyboard sounds. The song teaches you about the fragility of life. Well done, Kuniva.

This That Heat is a beautiful Supa Emcee/ Konflikt collaboration. Organ sounds are mixed up with rhythmic beats. Both artists are lyrically superb. I loved the mixture of scary/ murderous/ gangsta atmosphere of the track.

Royce da 5.9 and Proof worked on a Girls With Da Boom Remix. I recommend you the variation on the Girls With Da Boom Theme that will allow to discover another face of the track.

I highly enjoyed Mr Hash’s Talk Over song. The song s theme explains the state of mind of a man who has always been determined to do what he was the best at it: rapping. It eventually paid off.

Anybody should take advice from Mr Hash’s mouth. Don t listen to the people trying to discourage you and to convince you to abandon your way. Do what you re best at, and most importantly, go to the end.

Globally speaking, the Hand To Hand mixtape is worth your deepest attention. Not only does it feature valuable emcees from Proof s IF label, it will also allow connoisseurs and non specialists to appreciate tight Detroit talents such as Mr Hash of I-Mac, Trick Trick and less known however non less valuable Detroit emcee J Hill.

The mixtape summarizes the enthusiasm, the passion of local Detroit artists for hip hop and for their hometown Detroit City.

Explosive, incisive, raw, rhythmic, lyrical: one could barely stay indifferent in front of so much raw energy and the many talents that represent REAL Detroit hip hop. Hand To Hand is the diamond in the dirt. Cop it with no hesitation.

Copyright© 2006 by Isabelle Esling

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