MNR: EASTSIDE FESTIVAL

MNR: Eastside Festival

Please pardon me if I’m cold as Vancouver. Mom was overworked at her job. Pops was a user. You couldn’t touch me. Not even on your best day. That would add plus one to the death rate. The keystroke is my paint. Your phone or computer screen is my canvas. I ran with young kids who moved work and wore bandanas. The movement’s to the left. If you know the code dig it. My lady fine as South France wine. Her mind exquisite. UnB is the squad. We’re family through death. Mr. Ty Monday, bitch, get it correct. For the record it’s Tyrone when it’s time to cut my check. Lost eight to gun play. One by the sword. Shareon was a genius. By ear she could play any chord. I ran through plenty New York City projects. I’ve walked plenty country roads. I was trained to stay woke and keep quiet. I don’t stray from the code. I’m really not in fear of death. But for the longest I was afraid to live. My early life was juvenile hell. It was wild in my crib. I watched a five dollar rock crack a generation. I’m watching the medicine cabinet decimate another. We all know who gets the profit from both. Trust, it’s not you or me, brother. I love Pac and BIG. But I really miss Heavy D. He made it fly to be me. Way before I was heavy T. It’s sunny days for ole Sgt Pepper. He finally found serendipity. His heart is no longer lonely. The Lord sent HER to me. He is I and I am he. You dumbass. That was plain enough for Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Helen Keller to see. This entire world is ours soon as we achieve true unity. The last shall be first. On day seven you and I shall see.

Oxnard is the third commercial album release from rapper/singer Anderson .Paak. .Paak became a household name in the hip hop community after being featured on Dr. Dre’s Compton project. Unlike his ambitious debut Venice or his classic sophomore release Malibu (both R&B dominant), .Paak let his hip hop alter ego press its way to the mic this go ‘round. Oxnard, .Paak’s hometown and the least known of the three California cities he’s chosen to title his albums, is in its own way a tribute to the days of .Paak’s rap roots coming up in a hip hop dominant culture. Oxnard has its just share of star power, with features from Cali King Kendrick Lamar, aforementioned rap gawd Dr. Dre, modern GOAT J. Cole, iconic Quester Q-Tip, cocaine rap avant Pusha T., and hip hop’s global ambassador, Uncle Snoop. Snoop is the guest MC on Anywhere, a laid-back track that evokes early ‘90s nostalgia (my fav off Oxnard). Ironically, it’s one of the few tracks that .Paak doesn’t rhyme on. Other standout tracks include the Kendrick feature Tints, the Cole feature Trippy, and the album’s showstopper 6 Summers. I can’t even explain it. You have to listen for yourself. In my unbiased opinion (and as a fan who owns all of his projects including his NxWorries collaboration project with Knxwledge), it’s the not the machine Malibu is. But what it does share with Malibu and Venice alike is a full dosage of soul, fly production, and .Paak’s unique and witty pen. You’ll love it. (8/10)

I would like to end this by wishing our Crew UnB CEO @themisterceizzo a blessed born day. He’s a hard working family man who deserves nothing but the best in life. Cheers lil bro. It’s our time. Cheers ###

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