Doors @ 9pm | Performances by: Phillip Morrez, 401 klick, R.E.P./S.M.E., Playboy Ny$e and there has to be more.

$5 and all the beer you can stomach. If I was a drinker, Id be all over this…I might be there anyway. and you should too!

March 24th @ The Beach House, 506 Park ave, Portsmouth, RI | 9PM -1AM | Performances By: SBO & Neysean, Big City Bumpus, JProfane, Freddy Black, Lil Bear, Marshall Law, Phillip Morrez

March 8th @ The East Bay Tavern, 305 lyons st, east providence, RI | Open mic @9pm | $5 | Performances By: H.W., Playboy Ny$e, Phillip Morrez, Nitty, G Hearder, Shaymin, 401 klik

come through should be a good time.

Live @ The East Bay Tavern, 305 lyons ave, East Providence, RI | DJ Allstar, Playboy Ny$e, A.L.E., Phillip Morrez, 401 Klik, Rush, New Era, Remedy

Show @ 9Pm | Price:$5 | Hosted By Mystik

I know we dont update much but if people would let me know about things, maybe I would. probably one of the dopest flyers I have seen out of this area.

I won’t lie. Going into this review I did not have the most objective mindstate. Forgive me, but when Phillip Morrez told me that he leaned ‘towards the radio side of hip-hop’ in our e-mail correspondence, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and make assumptions. This review is a testament to the fact that you should never, ever make assumptions, because The Smoker’s Cough, Vol. 1 truly surprised me, and more than surpassed expectations.
First of all, when I found his mixtape in my e-mail inbox, I had no idea who the fuck Phillip Morrez was, other than that he was another rapper from Rhode Island, which doesn’t mean much these days. What I found was a good emcee with a ton of potential. Morrez is well aware of what he is, and doesn’t try to be anything else, which is an admirable quality. The lyrics are pretty solid throughout this release, albeit some of the subject matter is a little stale; he’s not exactly reinventing the wheel with songs like “Back Pack”, an obvious attempt at a club jam dedicated to the finer sex, but he does craft a decent one. The fact that I could actually sit through a song like “Back Pack” says a lot, so kudos to him.
The most impressing parts on this release were when Morrez just rhymes and avoids bullshit topics like broads or rims; when listening to “Say Goodbye”, I actually thought to myself “If Lil’ Wayne sounded more like this, I’d probably listen to the radio more often”. Morrez shines brightest when he’s got competition on the track; “No Hesitation” featuring SBo and Montana Millz is definitely the best track on this album, with “From the Soul” featuring Montana Millz coming close to it. There are some hiccups in delivery here and there, a testament to impatience more than anything; a lot of minor kinks that bog down some verses could have easily been worked out with another take. You probably won’t notice those kinks unless you really listen – but who does that shit anymore, anyway?
While you can attach a nice, fat JOTS seal of approval on Morrez’s lyrical efforts on this release, the beats are a slightly different story. A lot of the beats are very forgettable – it’s not that they’re bad, they just could be better. Too many emcees these days are using soul beats with PLAYED OUT chipmunk hooks that are almost completely interchangeable and equally trash-able – either emcees are too lazy to dig for good producers, producers are too lazy to try new things and make original sounds, or everyone is lazy and making music is meaningless these days. Reviewer rants aside, some of the beats are quite nice – “Close Your Eyes” and “From the Soul” are pretty well done, and “Don’t Let The Beef Ride” packs some grime to it that I’d like to hear more of. So PhillMorr, do me a favor and be picky as fuck when it comes to beats for your next joint. For that matter, that goes out to every aspiring emcee that may be reading this – there’s more to rap music than free Soundclick beats. DIG!

Jots Recommends – No Hesitation feat. SBo and Montana Millz
Don’t Let The Beef Ride
Say Goodbye

Dope flyer, should be a good show.

November 9th @ The East Bay Tavern | GTC Productions, Hannibal Lecture, Phillip Morrez, Playboy Ny$e, 401 Klick, Jaz, Rush | Check the flyer for more information.