iBOMS at D-Gallerie Solo Exhibition- Xebra

iBOMS unveils his latest exhibit and character “Xebra” this month at D-Gallerie.

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A lot of the themes discussed in these pieces are the struggle with duality. “The Xebra character is based on existence as an emerging artist in a world and city in the midst of a reboot”. The character often asks itself “Am I black with white stripes, or white with black stripes”. This piece “Xebra” is the centerpiece of the entire collection. We see the Xebra character on full display bones and all, exposing himself to the world.

Guardian Angel

Despite Xebra doing bad sometimes, hinted at in the “Your Cane, when not Able” line, the guardian Angel is always watching over Xebra, and ready to protect.

Two Birds One Stone

I dig the less polished approach on this piece. We are so used to this grandiose pieces from Jabari that it’s nice to see some pencil work now and then. I gotta pocket full of stones!!!

Global Blooming

The first of the two murals featured in the show. “Global Blooming” shows the Xebra character pulling out his heart, squeezing it to create a fire. Xebra’s head is portrayed like the earths core, with molten lava ready to spurt out.

I Grieve Different

A nod to the K.Dot song, this piece being done with chalk on a chalk board gives it that child like wonderment Jabari usually fills with his pieces.

Performance Of A Demi Man

In this piece the character appears to be surrounded by darkness. Once he does his performance blooms shoot out surrounding, the character with their light, with arms wide open.

MyGreat

I really dig the nod to the “Coat Of Thieves” masterwork piece Jabari dropped at his last show. The dancers and the fire give off mad Leo vibes to me.

Raingasm

This piece really hit for me. The Pexiglass added a lot to the rain drip effect. A viewer behind me didn’t really understand what was going on in the piece but it was nice to hear her friend explain it to her. It’s dope to see that the Xebra characters can be male or female, expanding the world of iBOMS.

To Release A Butterfly

This whole wall had nothing but statement pieces on it. The vast amount of colors was unreal. This purple piece harkens back to that child like nature I described before. The purple figure comes off spirit like. Similar to the Xebra characters she is also missing a heart. Once you take someone’s heart it might be time to release them back, just like a captured butterfly.

Gods Tears Are Made Of Honey

Not all tears are bad especially when they come from God. The twin zebras in the center are a nice touch. If you look closely you can see iBOMS trademark bee in different plots throughout the peace.

Poachers

Seeing this piece online doesn’t do it justice. From the Dracos to the sparkling golds there are hella iBOMS trademarks in this piece. I like the color combo of the blue hair and the orange boxers behind.

Bright Shadows

It’s crazy how much darkness is on this canvas. The flaming character is the only source of light on the entire piece. Evil stands no match to the shamen.

Kodak Spoke Of Tunnel Vision

This one in person is next level man. The exit signs make their return, as the character is making its departure. It’s almost like the figure has just came out of a glacier with a new person and view on the world. Now he’s gotta keep it tunnel vision.

Nola

The coat of thieves makes it’s return once again, this time covering most of the canvas. Hella blooms and exit signs fill up the circle, which is a dope canvas rather than the usual rectangular or square.

Awareness Of Infinity

This is one of my favorite pieces that dives deeper into the Xebra characters. A rush of blooms connect both figures hearts which have been taken, thus forming a new heart. Despite the dark and almost blood like red that fills up the piece, there is a lot of hope when I see this.

Blood Moon

Look to the Blood Moon to solve your questions. I dig the elder character iBOMS focuses on in this piece, his expansion of the universe is always a vibe. It’s possible the blood moon can tell us who we really are.

Dance Of The Blood Moon

When one goes searching for answers they must summon the Blood Moon by doing a certain dance. It can only be done under the depths of the ocean. Not sure but this might be the first time Jabari added fish to a piece.

Orator

The Coat Of Thieves is my favorite every-time it’s makes an appearance. It’s dope that Jabari is expanding the lore of why the coat exists. Justice will be served.

Firewall

The second mural on display might be my favorite. It’s dope how Xebra is sitting on the bloom, containing the fire that is in front of him. The fire tells all so we look closer but be careful not to get burned.

Harmonic Convergence

This one should be a favorite to any of the day one supporters. Most if not all of Jabari’s characters all pull up in this multiverse esque “Where’s Ashi” style piece. The rough draft feel makes it standout from his more grandiose pieces, allowing each character to get their shine.

The turn out for this show was crazy. Jabari always ups his game with each show no matter how big the stakes are. Who else is using app tech with their pieces right now in the area. Like I said do yourself a favor and see these pieces in person, IG doesn’t do them right.

Dinero Tarantino- K3ys

Key Kartel’s own Dinero Tarantino returns for the third installment of his “Keys To The Streets” series, and this time he’s going way harder grabbing some of the biggest features the city and beyond has to offer.

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The real heavy church like keys hit you on the intro, with a majority of the Key Kartel family spitting “Keys To The Streets”.

Kaedo comes through on the same production. In my opinion no one is really on the same level as Dinero when it comes to those orchestral sounding keys. I love some good Harding hitting production but the background synths and keys are what bring it together.

Now let’s get to one of my favorite joints. Tampa Bay Hip Hop pioneer Famous Kid Brick pulls up with 813s own Yung Dread. Brick has always been one of my favorites since I’ve been a Jit so any time we get a new Brick verse it’s a gem. Yung Dread does his thing as well putting that gutter stamp on the tracks. The bells added a lot to the background beat.

“Innit Pt.1” featuring Ali is a certified banger. I am not really familiar with Ali. I like how there is a good mash up of rage shit and street shit on the album.

No stranger to each other Lil Fancy kills it on “Cinco De Mayo”. I really fuck with Fancy’s more melodic tracks giving off vibes from “Twins” and “Fan Favorite”. This time Dinero came through with a more playful beat but that’s where Fancy thrives.

Ali returns on “On Go”. I like Ali’s flow a bit more on this track. My favorite part about Dinero’s beats have got to be all the sounds he comes up with to add to the drums, mostly with the synths. Another dope bangers.

Let’s go Haze Ala was made to spit over the grimiest production possible. Haze stands out above the rest because you feel like he really doing what he spits. Who else really doing that street storytelling like Haze. Really dope menacing beat from Dinero. Again that bell makes it all shake.

Indie Indigo comes through on his rockstar shit for “Drip Like That”. Indie is always top tier with his vocals and this track is no exception. That warped sound that comes in the beat towards the mid point of Indie’s verse is really dope. One of my favorite tracks on the project.

Ali come through once again on “Smoke One Wit’ Me”. The more melodic vocals on this joint really did it for me. This one of those tracks you just ride around late night to making plays. We definitely need a video for this one.

“Ballin” with YO! Dave will get you hype for sure. This one is a dope mash up of street lyrics but also getting you hype for the event or party.

This my favorite track on the whole album Dawg. Everyone knows Drogotdoe is my favorite artist in the 813 if not the whole games From the ear worm hook, to the impeccable flow this dude Dro got it in all aspects of game. The bars are there to, I always leave with qutoables after a Dro track. This was the perfect choice to be the first video off the project. The way they ended the joint with the slowed down production was so fire. We need that DrogotDinero Ep soon!

Yessir with “Blaque” on the way you already know Richie Guapo had to pull up and spazz on “No Auto-Tune”. I like how this track sounds tailored to Guapo. Could this be a tease as what’s to come on “Blaque”. One of my favorites on the project.

“Down Below” featuring Tido2X is some off the porch shit. The drums are knocking and the keys are hitting. I like how fast this track feels it’s like some in and out type shit but in a good way. Almost like some mini movie vibes.

The project closes out once again with Ali on “Innit Pt.2”. Bro definitely caught my attention with four placements on this projects. This one I straight rage shit. I fuck with the vocals from Ali he should stick with the drowned out Auto-Tune. The beat sounds like what imagine being in the inside of a hurricane does. That “Take 100 beans I think I’m about to take another one” was a standout. Bro spazzed out at the end of the track. Great way to end out the project.

This is by far my favorite installment of the “Keys To The Streets” series. You can see the growth and evolution in Dinero’s backing production. The keys have also gone up another level with a lot of dope sounds that are not being used by other producers. Producer projects like this are so important in my opinion and I wish more producers took advantage of this tool. Big shout out to the entire Key Kartel family.

Drip Dry, Let The Work Drip Dry

The homie ABSTRACTPOET came through with another art show at The Bends, but this time it felt more like summer.

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A few of Raheems past works where on display but I am mainly going to focus on the new pieces for this article. Taking his classic style of collage and incorporating with his newer barque style was jaw dropping. In this piece “Untitled #1” I like the nods to time, past, present, and future. I also dig the cactus, which also can be looked at as passing of time or a nod to out west.

Fall of man

In this one called “Untitled #2”, Raheem is tapping more into the biblical vibes. Is the modern day fall of man being real or fake? I really dig the modern take on this century old debate.

NHO

On this piece the ABSTRACTPOET taps into the Eastern European sensibilities. The notorious tape makes an appearance on this collage as well, making it the perfect middle ground between his old and new works.

I Hate When Girls Die

“I Hate When Girls Die” is on some surrealist shit. Big nods to NHO as well as some of the past collages with the chrome hand at the bottom. The seemingly decomposed body really says it all. That fire is so realistic looking.

Son Of God

This “Son Of God” piece is a look at the Jesus figure. This interpretation has the son of god looking more caveman like, which if you think about time period, is probably more realistic than he is usually portrayed. The face kind of has Wilson from “Castaway” vibes.

Creation or Concept

This piece is some next level shit. Titled “Untitled #4” this might be my favorite new piece from the show. From the tape, to the way Raheem sectioned off the four different panels, allowing each section to get its own own shine.

Amazing follow up to the “Usual Suspects” show, especially on such a quick turn around. What I enjoyed most about this show was Raheems nods to his past work while still staying true to his new found modern barque style. He really made it feel like summer time in the 727.

Zhudaru1963- Trap Marley Video & Single Review

The man himself Zhudaru1963 comes through with his latest single “Trap Marley”, bringing those island vibes to the Burg.

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Zhu Shit comin at your neck

Off rips we are hit by that smooth guitar rift that sets the tone for the song. We have all heard Zhu spit before but this time he is a bit more chill just vybing like the beat. It was nice to hear Zhu over some different production, usually he goes over more Boom Bap or Trap beats but this laid back beat was a dope change up.

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Despite the chilled out vibe of the track Zhu is still dropping that knowledge like usually. Since he’s Trap Marley we get some of that street talk towards the opening verse, but later on Zhu spits on how he’s got to change all that to see his kids grow up, as well as see his homies blow up with their music. Nice use of duality with the lyrics and message.

As far as the video goes, It was dope to see some 727 landmarks that have been in the city for generations make appearances in the video. Having the lyrics up on screen was a nice touch, allowing the viewer to take the full message in.

Words of Wisdom

“Trap Marley” is one of my favorite singles of the year. I really dig this new feel good vibe from Zhu. We all know him as the OG and founder of the crew but it’s dope when the homie steps into the booth and does his thing. I see big waves coming from this track, and I can’t wait to see where Zhu takes it next with this “Trap Marley” persona. Zhu!!!!!!

Concealed United

After the release of their patchwork denim jeans last year, Concealed Untied has arrived with their inaugural “Mainspring” collection.

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Home Property

My favorite piece in the whole drop is the “Home Property” tee. This joint takes me back to the gym class days. That “Concealed United” word mark and logo adds some flare to the nostalgic piece. Can we get a grey collection next drop.

The work button up is a vibe for sure though. The materiel doesn’t look real heavy so the lighter fit makes it still rockable in the Florida Heat. Like the model throw this on with some shorts and shades, you’ll be good to go.

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The “LBG Bucket Hat” is a nice accessory to beef up the collection. The distressed look gives the piece some character. Definite statement piece.

It was worth the wait, amazing drop from Concealed United. I knew it was only a matter of time before the homie Chad dropped some gems on us. Hype to see what the future holds, some shorts would be dope to go with the shirt.

Chester Watson- Mirrors Single and Video Review

Hailing for the 727, the enigmatic Chester Watson returns with a brand new single and accompanying video for “Mirrors”.

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Off rips let’s talk about this production. That mystical flute in the background is the perfect addition to the drums, transporting us into another dimension. Chester has always been one of my favorite producers, since his track “Honcho” he produced for Robert Gallardo. Once the hook kicks in at the mid way point of the track, the flutes become a bit more pronounced, this is my favorite moment of the song.

3 Eyes

Chester is no slouch on the bars though. Talks of third eye vision as well as his ancestors weeping at his decisions. Despite all the bad that’s going on in his life, Chester is able to see past it, through the mirrors.

The interlude at the end clipped out from the film “The Wiz” was a fire way to end the song, which already had an other worldly vibe to it.

Amazing song from Chester Watson, it’s already on a top list of his all time best tracks. Really hype to hear what his next full body of work will be. Big shout out to him and Kent Loon for always holding down the burg.

YZM- Nghtmr Demo

The Icon YZM gives fans that grimy, gutter, rockstar shit the scene has been missing for a minute on “Nghtmr Demo”.

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The project starts off with “Tracee” a creepy head banger, that has YZM putting a strangle hold over the undergrounds throne. YZM always kills it with the ear wormy hooks. You instantly can’t wait to hear some of these joints live, based on the energy YZM puts out.

My favorite YZM song to date has got to be “On God”. The cloudy dark vibe of the beat reminds me of a dreamy strip club. Really dig the way YZM flipped his vocals on this one. It’s not his normal hype shit, but I loved it.

Now back to the hype shit. “VICES” has YZM going full rager mode. Once that bell hits shit gets real. Prettyboi & Em Milli come through and do their thing. Can’t wait to hear this joint live, on gang.

“Toast To The Gods Freestyle” is one of the best posse cuts of the year. It’s like between this and Zhudaru’s “Burpee” but it’s dope to see posse cuts come back. Did a full break down of this track when it came out and it still bumps today.

“Polly Glocket” has like a dark Egyptian vibe to it for some reason, like some Mummy’s tomb shit. E. Schnur added a lot to the song, it’s dope to see YZM always have a bunch of female emcees featured on his projects.

“STICK BRICK” is straight stick talk. Better watch what you do cause just like the Undertaker, you never know when YZM will appear. Zeus Rebel Waters brought hella energy to the track, definitely gonna check out his music later on.

“WETTY” featuring Leppi is back on some rage shit but the way YZM makes the sound his own is what I like the best. Leppi had a really solid flow, very different vibe from the way YZM approached the song.

YZM and Richie Guapo join forces once again on “WALK”. I would say this joint is more menacing than hyped but the chilling piano production sets the tone for Guapo and YZM to do their thing. Really dope track.

“END IT” featuring Drogotdoe & Drew Baby kind of sounds like a sped up version of “Baby Birkin” as far as the production is considered. Dro came through on the hook adding in his flavor. Drew Baby added that pimp tyte style to the song.

“Wicked” has a more melodic vibe to it but it was a nice change up at this point in the album. That might slap me a rapper line was a stand out for me. YZM killed it on the hook though.

Back to the rage with “Sega”. Really felt like I was inside a Dreamcast while bumping this joint. It’s a toss up which is my favorite rage track on the album but this one at the top.

“Home Team” is on some gang shit. Shouting out the MACIBISION GVNG off rips. You gotta have this joint cranked all the way up when your riding around Trigger City.

“YOUTH” featuring TheHundredsKid & Haver Taker adds in a bit of punk rock flavor to the album, a sound YZM has dabbled in on past projects. It was good to see the homie Haver Taker pull up on the album, he’s been killing shit lately.

This one for the 813 mane. “Worry Bout Yourself” featuring Pusha Preme, Famous Kid Brick, and Indie Indigo is one of my favorite songs on the album. Preme and Indie killed it on the hook, sort of has a “Before I say I Do” vibe to it with the production and melody. Brick went stupid on his verse but always brought in that gravitas with his feature.

That beat though! “SPACESHIP” featuring Cloudmaster Price puts YZM on his cloud rap shit. It would be dope to see some visuals for this one. A stand out for sure.

“Dying Fetus” featuring Breezy Montclair is a return to the dark side. Sort of sounding like a rift of Richie Guapo’s “Fukk Em”. I really enjoyed YZM and Breezy’s more menacing verses on the eerie production. Breezy been doing his thing as of late, definitely check out his latest project.

The project closes on “Break! (DEMO)”. YZM is one of the only rapper that doesn’t ever sound corny or fake doing more rock or punk style songs. It always has an authentic feel, and comes from a good place. Maybe this is a clue on what’s to come next from the icon.

This project was a solid mix of the different styles YZM can bring on a song. It has the rage shit, it had the rock shit, but we also get some chill vibes as well. I can’t wait to see the visuals and hear some of these joints in person. Once again YZM proves why he’s your favorite rappers, favorite rapper.