DJ Joe Dubb is back with his latest mix, Magnum Opus, highlighting new hip-hop from Louisville and points beyond. Some familiar faces and voices return via Skyscraper Stereo’s party cut “Put Em Up” and T. McAfee’s “Monday Night,” both recently reviewed in these pages. Another Louisvillian shows promise in the mouthful of a title, “The Triumphant Return of Romanticism.” The rapper, FNMC, standing for “Friendly Neighborhood Master of Ceremonies” (multisyllabic much?), could benefit from a better mix, but this is only a minor distraction in an otherwise excellent song. I look forward to hearing more from him. Edreys and 700 are New Yorkers who invade with “Superman Swag” and “Desire,” respectively. Swag is just that — four minutes of collar popping that matches up with the best of ’em. “Desire” boasts a cinematic track that sounds incredible at high volume. Cincinnati’s Ill Poetic provides the groove based “Ride Thru It,” showing that he’s not only one of the better up-and-coming producers out of the Midwest, but not a bad rapper either. Joe Dubb’s track record continues for picking some of the best new names in the area.
This article appears in December 3, 2008.