Scene

Music in 2016 is a beautiful thing. No matter where you are in the world you can find a gem from any corner of the globe, regardless of your musical tastes, if you turn off the radio and put some effort into your musical experiences. My bread and butter is hip hop, so with my ear to the streets, I came across a duo named LNDN DRGS who aren't from a far flung corner from the globe, far from it but they may as well have been.

LNDN DRGS are from California, or south-central Los Angeles to be more specific and early glimpses of them make their gang affiliations clear. Whether it's Jay Rock or YG, Bloods are well represented in the West Coast's resurgence in hip hop and you can add LNDN DRGS to that list as they rattle of lingo and terms that had me feelin' bool.

Jay Worthy is the rapper and LA local who came up in Bompton, while Sean House is responsible for funk in immense doses, both originally hail from Canada though. Aktive is their first drop and I doubt you've heard of these cats before so come on in and join the wave.

Songs

1. La Quita ft. G Perico - One time for all the pimps out there #Saxophone
2. Susan - Not sure if G-Funk or new West Coast funk, funky though
3. Fade ft. Mitchy Slick / Summertime - Laid back and violent at the same time
4. Plug B4 ft. YG Hootie - This jam belongs back before I was born
5. Fast Blakk ft. A$AP Yams - Pimpin' ism
6. Aktive ft. YG Hootie - What's brackin?
7. In The Rain ft. Dubb - Take me there
8. Uza Trikk ft. A$AP Yams, G Perico, Earl Swaavy - "I give her hand-me-down uggs"
9. Real Life ft. Krayzie Bone - Shout out to Bone one time, keep it G
10. So Rare ft. Retch & Sha Hef - Slow it down
11. Time Flies ft. K Dey, Big Wy - There's levels to the pimp game
12. Hop Out - Example A that Jay Worthy can spit
13. Choose Up - Borderline revolutionary
14. The Makk / Burnt Out  - Soulful pimpin'

Vibe

Usually I put a fair amount of listening and thought into coming up with a vibe for each musical review that I do, but with Aktive it was fairly easy; funky as a mofo. There's a retro vibe with old school samples which enhances the funk feel to Aktive, combine that with some intricate knowledge of the streets and what it's like to be a real life pimp and you've got some quintessential West Coast pimp shit.

Feminists will obviously hate this music, maybe they might appreciate the cruising in the sunshine vibe? Who knows, I do know that there's an unmistakable authenticity to LNDN DRGS and Aktive that gives off a sense of honesty that differs to anything else I've heard recently. Other hip hoppers have that authenticity/honesty, just not in this lane.

Music

My knowledge of artists from the 70s and 80s isn't crash hot so I can't really reference all the samples/artists that influence Aktive, I can say that it all comes under general funk.  Sean House weaves slick drum patterns into the funk and here we are with a distinctive sound. It'll be interesting to follow LNDN DRGS from this point and see how/if their sound develops.

There's a number of features, none of which ring and bell and from the in-depth research that I've conducted I think we can safely assume that the likes of Earl Swaavy and YG Hootie are homies from the 'hood, who can all spit slickness. Krayzie Bone jumps on 'Real Life' to do the hook and understandably so as it sounds perfectly suited to a Bone Thug.

Finale

It's summer, it's hot, the windows are down, you're cruising, your hand is surfing the passing air, so jam some LNDN DRGS, loud.