Tagged: james kelley

watch: the niceguys – nice shorts [sxsw edition, 'right hook']

the niceguys had a grand time at this year’s sxsw festival. free’s brother and our buddy greg noire was along for the ride, filming all kinds of great footage for this installment of “nice shorts.” catch performance footage, yves gold teeth on camera for the first time (that i know of) and a lot more shenanigans that you’ve come to expect from the houston fellas.

oh and go listen to/buy/spotify/etc james kelley, just cause it’s been a while.

-grizzly

video: the niceguys – live a little (2012)

yves introduced this song as one that was influenced by good ol’ moonshine, given to the guys by their engineer and new project namesake, james kelley. the boys have been moving swiftly, putting out videos and singles (“ari gold/ari gold remix,” “overtoast,” “magick”) from james kelley long before its release, and as always, danny ocean and evesborough films did a fantastic job with this set of visuals. much like the set of toast, the niceguys go for authenticity here. so why not throw a house party and get footage of that as the video for this track? just remove the suits and champagne, throw in some sole purpose and whiskey.

james kelley is out now. buy it or at least stream it via bandcamp.

-grizzly

the niceguys – 1996 (2012)

a few weeks ago, the niceguys hosted a listening party for their new album, james kelley, which i’m sure you’ve heard plenty about here on WWM. at the event, the group premiered “1996,” which was initially slated to be a bonus track. “1996″ is an ode to texas chopped and screwed movement, and more important, this whole thing. remember when drake made his own take on so far gone? well the niceguys wanted to one up that whole situation and go all out with the situation.

chopped and screwed by houston legend OG ron C was a nice touch, too. as an added bonus, hit the jump for the video after you download the track.

download:

-grizzly
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album review: the niceguys – james kelley (september 11, 2012)


photo credit: todd spoth

If you know me, you know I’ve stood by these guys for years. There’s no need to make it a fluff piece or anything like that, but there’s honesty in the bias. I believe what these guys are doing is worthwhile of changing the landscape of hip-hop music and the production of said music. Hit the jump for my review.

Buy it at Bandcamp for $5 TODAY only.

Stream it at Soundcloud.

-grizzly
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buy: the niceguys – james kelley [full album stream] (2012)

It’s finally here. After all the setbacks and delays, EPs to tours to scrapped songs to right now. James Kelley, The Niceguys’ proper sophomore LP, is finally here. The group is running a special. For 24 Hours only, you can purchase the album digitally for $5.00 via Bandcamp, and it’ll return to $9.99 the following day. Of course, you can stream the whole thing at the bandcamp and Soundcloud pages, respectively. Now, a full review of this album will be up in the morning, but rest assured, this is worth the money. This is a group of hard working dudes that got this thing kicked off in a small apartment on the University of Houston campus, and they’re on the brink of something special. Proud to know these dudes and proud to promote this record.

Stream:

Buy:

The Niceguys – James Kelley [Full Album Stream]

-grizzly

video: the niceguys – magick (2012)

hell, fire and f’n brimstone. the niceguys previewed this at their james kelley listening party, but the full, 5+ minute clip has been unveiled today. “magick” is the latest in james kelley’s single collection (following “overtoast” and the “ari gold” pair), and danny ocean does a good ol’ job of keeping the imagery of such sorcery alive. plenty of bonfires, hat tricks and shots of our beautiful city to go around folks. great work per usual from danny ocean/evesborough films.

p.s. i’m still not letting go of the fact that they said this was their “illuminati” song. sucks for you, todd.

james kelley drops september 11th.

-grizzly

event recap: the niceguys & the james kelley listening party (2012)


photo credit: greg noire photography

It’s been a long road. Talk to any of the guys, and they’ll tell you themselves. The group saw a lot of personal turmoil, and amidst all of that, had to follow up their excellent debut LP, The Show. Well, fear not 265 faithful: The group’s sophomore album cycle is here in full swing. Last night, the group threw a listening party at the beautiful Wire Road Studios for a few inner circle folk, including their musical colleagues, artists, bloggers and close friends. James Kelley, once an EP and now a full-fledged LP, was the trophy on display. The food was plentiful, the drinks were flowing and the music showcased.

Hit the jump for the recap.

-grizzly
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stream: the niceguys – II. VI. V. (inglorious basterds) (2012)

the niceguys are now on the tear that is their promo run for james kelley. we’re exactly 30 days until the album’s release date, and the group wanted to share their next single with you all. for those of you who are unaware, “265″ is the apartment number where this group was born, and since then, has been the driving motto and inspiration behind the crew’s growth.

free on the production, and it’s no cakewalk. james kelley is out 9/11.

stream:

-grizzly

stream: the niceguys – magick (2012)

friends, the time has come. the niceguys have been locked away for the past year plus to bring you the new standard of how up and coming rap artists should be. what was once the james kelley EP – a release that would be dropped upon crowds at SXSW as a promotional device, has taken a turn into the group’s sophomore LP. following up 2010′s the show would prove to be a difficult task, but the houston crew is ready to unleash the LP on everyone come 9/11.

“magick” carries the niceguys’ houston influence on its sleeve. from the opening seconds, you get the OG ron c and candlestick friendly intro from yves himself, in all of his syrupy glory. laced by christolph’s production, “magick” will take you on a car ride at night, doin’ shit you’re not supposed to – like sorcery and other shit harry potter’s into and will now be afraid of. listen to the track below, follow along with the lyrics, and stay tuned for james kelley on 9/11.

stream:

-grizzly

news: the niceguys announce their release date for james kelley (2012)

there you have it, folks. the niceguys have officially announced that their proper follow-up to the show will be dropping in exactly 60 days from now. mark your calendars and get ready. i got the chance to hear a few of the songs, and 1. they’re nothing like ‘the show.’ 2. in a good way.

-grizzly

show recap: schoolboy q + the niceguys + dustin cavazos (june 29, 2012)

Schoolboy Q has been cleaning up blogs and hip-hop heads across the webs’ recommendations this year, hasn’t he? After Kendrick Lamar’s superb 2011, Schoolboy Q was the next up from Top Dawg Entertainment to showcase his talents, managing to hold his own on January’s Habits & Contradictions. It was strange that by the end of June, he was already headlining a set at Houston’s Warehouse Live Studio, and brought along our friends The Niceguys and Dallas’ Dustin Cavazos along for the ride.

Hit the jump for the recap.

-grizzly
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kickstart the niceguys (2012)

the niceguys are on track to release james kelley in july. there’s a catch though: they (finally!) need your help getting there. this is a group who’s done everything in house from the start – and i do mean everything. from producing, rapping, having their friends shoot their videos and shorts, having a residency at a studio, having their own friends as publicists, managers, tour managers, PR, all that shit. anyway, it’s good to see em branching out. they’ve lined up a variety of packages – go help em out and wait for james kelley to drop. i’ve gotten the chance to hear like 5 songs from it, and it’s fuckin’ nuts.

kickstarter:

be a part of the niceguys’ james kelley album

-grizzly

video: the niceguys – overtoast (2012)

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looks like things are moving forward for my friends and one of houston’s brightest up and comers. not only did red bull do a neat little piece on the group, but they’ve also elected to premiere their brand new video for the single “overtoast.” danny ocean is a fuckin’ wiz behind the camera, if you haven’t noticed. anyway, the track is from james kelley, the group’s pending summer 2012 album. while the album has no immediate release date, it’s coming sooner than later. and if you haven’t copped the song yet, stream/buy it below.

bandcamp:

the niceguys – overtoast

-grizzly

video: the niceguys – vast majorit [commercial] (2012)

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awww yeah. the niceguys are inching closer and closer to a release date for the james kelley. watch the commercial above, continue liking the niceguys and catch a 30 second preview of “married to the mob.”

-grizzly

video: the niceguys – nice shorts vol. 10 [sxsw recap] (2012)

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who’s putting out cooler videos on the internet, yall? my frands in the niceguys played 6 shows in 5 days this year at sxsw, and amongst the whole ‘winning’ thing, the boys did a hell of a job promoting. they passed out copies of their new single, “overtoast” – which you can buy here. they also had stickers, and this neat impromptu street performance, with jack freeman, lee lonn and nick greer.

james kelley coming soon. and for those of you in houston, the group has a FREE show this friday at the university of houston. more info here.

-grizzly