they felt like dropping a new song to prep for the red bull SKOOLED tour (dates here), so here we have the nearly finalized “overtoast,” which is definitely not what you’ve come to expect from this houston quartet. grimey ass bass, floaty synths and yves swimmin’ on the beat. can’t wait to hear the mastered product on james kelley this spring.
download:
the niceguys – overtoast [unmastered]
-grizzly
evesthuro films presents the video for all cried. but for real, when has evesborough ever put out a subpar product? this time, they took thuro and his lead single from the impending brass knuckle sandwich to new orleans to soak in some culture and provide a different landscape for the track, video and respective portfolios for this houston bunch. and if you’ve been a dick and ignored the past few thuro posts, be sure to download “all cried” (produced by christolph of the niceguys) and his brand new single “words with friends” (produced by free of the niceguys) ASAP.
-grizzly
time is flying, and we’re getting much closer to the release of my dude thurogood’s new album, brass knuckle sandwich, which he hopes to drop by february/march. “words with friends” enlists doughbeezy and killa kyleon, and remains as one of two songs with rap features on BKS. the other will feature yves of the niceguys and hash brown. so overall, this is gonna be a party and a half, bringing together some of my favorite houston artists. speaking of the niceguys, free of such fame produced the beat. download it for free via bandcamp.
download:
thurogood wordsmith – words with friends [f. killa kyleon & doughbeezy]
-grizzly
the niceguys are gearing up towards a spring 2012 release for the james kelley record and wanted to put out a teaser for a new song they have called “casino.” the clip’s very much in the vein of their nice shorts, and that tinge of humor will put you in a nice mindset.
-grizzly
S UGAR
H ONEY
I CED
T EA,
it’s a new niceguys video. you already know evesborough film is gonna bring out the celebrations for this one, especially with poppa bun on the track. the song has just been featured in our top 50 lost songs list, and the video has just been featured as one of SXSW’s showcase videos. get into it. james kelly coming in 2012.
-grizzly
while this won’t be making the final cut of james kelley (the album, no longer an EP), you can download this cut as a ‘tide-over’ until you see some new stuff from the crew. i recently had the opportunity to have a chat with yves and todd, who both promised that the LP will be dropping in the first quarter of 2012, and all of your faces will melt.
stay tuned for that interview (as it gets edited by evesborough) and for now, enjoy this outtake.
download:
the niceguys – soho [unreleased]
-grizzly
this past weekend, houston was treated to a nice little showcase at warehouse live, put on by the fine folks of jack daniels – specifically its “gentleman” products. with plenty of gentleman’s jack, single barrel and JD honey on hand, artists like jack freeman and the niceguys, along with event curator phife dawg and scarface, were in the building to ensure a good time.
i was only there for a little bit, as i had time constraints, but there was plenty of fun to be had by all. shout out to DAAD for the heads up.
-grizzly
it doesn’t seem like the niceguys half ass anything, huh? the average remix would re-use the same beat, maybe even the same verses and just tack on the feature like it wasn’t that pivotal of a moment in music. but yves and producer free took things to the next level. new beats, new rhymes and a lyrical showdown between one of houston’s finest and bun b. just kidding on that last one…but seriously. you’d be surprised as to how well yves stacks up.
props to brando on the premiere, download below. don’t forget, the group is still working on james kelly…the album, which is dropping one of these days.
download:
the niceguys – ari gold [remix f. bun b]
-grizzly
nothing to do tomorrow night? you usually don’t on a thursday in the ass end of september, so be sure to RSVP to dub frequency’s latest houston event. this month’s creme de la creme will feature all local talent, headlined by killa kyleon. kyleon will be performing songs from his recent tape, candy paint and texas plates 2, with a full band backing him. opening the show will be the niceguys, upstart doughbeezy and the wonderful dj sets of candlestick and ipod ammo. free for 21+, $5 for 18+.
-grizzly
photo credit: wire road studios
Wire Road Studios hosted an all-access event this past Sunday, and I was invited to come check out the facilities on a professional level, mingling with the people behind the amazing facility, as well as the artists it showcases. Home to The Niceguys, Mantis, Thurogood and Montana – Wire Road Studios are an automatic friend of weworemasks, so we were more than happy to attend.
Hit the jump for the recap, as well as photos of the studio and the event.
-grizzly
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and right on time comes the premiere of the niceguys’ latest music video venture, “ari gold.” coinciding with the premiere of entourage’s final season, “ari gold” is the first single and official debut of the james kelley EP promo cycle. per usual, i can’t wait to see what these guys bring with the rest of the release, as i’ve been lucky enough to sit in on few studio sessions to hear some ‘demos.’ all of you assholes are in for a treat. right now, give props to evesborough films for another ace product.
-grizzly
with the niceguys’ official video for “ari gold” to drop in a little over a week, the boys decided to put together a ‘preview’ of sorts, having an innocent bystander read the lyrics with a strange level of contentment. an ‘lol’ affair if i’ve ever seen one. july 24th.
-grizzly
after having a successful premiere party for the “ari gold” video at a houston venue last week, the niceguys have decided to build the public anticipation for the clip by hoarding it for two more weeks. immediately after the season 8 premiere of entourage airs, the group will be debuting the video live on their website. and as always, it’s an evesborough films production. fuck around and get lost in it.
-grizzly
i had the pleasure of meeting this houston emcee the other day while lurkin’ wire road studios, studio-homes to the likes of colleagues and cohorts the niceguys and thurogood. up until this point, i had yet to hear him rap, but i’d soon come to find out that he produces his own beats and works with zo rill, a houston-based media company that’s responsible for the release of this video. the video up top is “mercy,” which premiered earlier this week at the sanctuary release show with the niceguys (“ari gold” – dropping on the day of the entourage season 8 premiere) and thurogood (“a.m.” – dropping sooner than later).
nothing personal towards tana, but not hearing about him once until seeing the video for “mercy” worked out in the end – it lead me to this excellent video for “leaving flo” (featuring easy yves of the niceguys) and of course, his EP, lift off, which can be downloaded for free.
so i mean, catch up like i had to. you’ll be hearing more from montana in the near future.
follow him on twitter.
download his ep, lift off.
-grizzly
my man thurogood’s been hard at work on his debut LP, brass knuckle sandwich, which he plans on releasing this year. the appetizer was exactly that, as christolph/todd (of niceguys fame) produces a lush arrangement for thuro’s gritty delivery and head-spinning hook. start hoppin’ on this train now, as brass knuckle sandwich should be quite the conversation topic in a few months.
download:
thurogood wordsmith – all cried [prod. by christolph]
-grizzly
“the only thing promised on this tilted axis, is victory for my niceguys, death and taxes…”
if only artists with massive budgets could make videos this intriguing and visually impressive. the crew over at evesborough is a force to be reckoned with and continues to piss excellence, and the niceguys are dropping what i’m presuming is their last (or second to last) single from the show before we can all indulge in the james kelley ep.
download the show if you’ve been sleeping for the past 9 months, too.
-grizzly
is this an official nice shorts addition? who cares, really. it’s hilarious. the james kelley ep…coming soon.
-grizzly
the fine gentleman of evesborough films have put together another promo video for the niceguys’ upcoming studio EP, the james kelley ep. i’m sure you might’ve heard ari gold, but i got the chance to hit up wire road studios for a preview a couple of weeks ago – and yall haven’t heard shit yet. i previewed three new songs – “married to the mob,” “war eagle” and “i’m bout a dollar,” and each one is better than the one you just heard, regardless of the order.
in the meantime, peep the short. i even have a very brief cameo.
-grizzly
photo credit: greg giant
A couple of weeks ago, J. Cole played an Austin show at a fraternity house for charity. That show sold out at about $25 a ticket, but naturally, I didn’t go for several reasons. The price for one. For two, it was the week after SXSW, so it’s safe to say I was a little burned out on Austin. I was more than happy to find that my dudes in the Niceguys were opening up for Cole at a Prairie View ‘Springfest’ event only two weeks after I heard all the acclaim from the previous show in my inner circle.
An hour drive isn’t too bad for a free J. Cole/Niceguys show, right?
Review after the jump.
-grizzly
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very happy that the nice shorts series is back, if not only for the 8th installment. this one finds the guys in austin for sxsw, rockin’ an impromptu freestyle with some fellas while droppin’ a little product placement.
look out for some new music from the crew very soon.
-grizzly
OH NO THEY DIDN’T. my dudes in the niceguys are only the third hip-hop act to be on the cover of the coveted local magazine houston press. they got a real nice look over there with a cover story and the whole 9. to celebrate, they’ve released “ari gold,” the first single from their upcoming ep – the james kelley ep, which is dropping this month.
good clothes, good music and some other shit like that is all you need to know.
read their houston press feature.
download:
-grizzly
the fine dudes of antis and yves of the niceguys hops onto the dreamers cut for an unofficial (but still official, ya know?) remix. nice looks. oh and as a bonus, here’s a new cut (“jaws”) from the mantis camp to boot as well.
download:
mantis – money [remix; f. the niceguys]
-grizzly
so, pretty much all the houston rappers i fucks with on a regular basis played a sxsw-esque show a couple of weekends ago in austin, and here’s a recap video cataloging the event. few highlights of the other groups, but you can catch a free style from yves and christolph from the niceguys there at the end.
over drake’s ‘november 18th,’ too.
-grizzly
this is a real good look. nick greer (of guest vocals on niceguys songs fame) and his new project mantis just dropped their new album this week. an ep titled dreamers, which can be bought on itunes or amazon.com. after you hear their lead single and watch the video for “money,” i’m sure you’ll be SOULED on the bluesy, gritty rock from the loins of houston, texas. be on the look out for these guys. oh and props to danny ocean for the video. him and evesborough films got a great thing going on.
-grizzly
all photos courtesy of greggiant
The Niceguys had a hell of a 2010. Along with a few high profile shows with Big Sean, Clipse and others, they finally released their debut album, The Show. For a record that was three years in the making, everyone in their camp and fanbase were excited with what was to come. The culmination of all that hard work paid off at what seemed like was their homecoming Tuesday night at the House of Blues. Local emcees came out to support; Fat Tony, Hollywood Floss, Hash Brown and even Bun B were in attendance. Bloggers (ahem) came out as well. This was something to celebrate, after all.
Hit the jump for the rest of the recap.
-grizzly
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