Music
Raz & Afla Launch MoBlack Records – “AfroZone” with new EP Benwa Marafi
Raz & Afla reunite for forward-thinking Afro House EP ‘Benwa Marafi’ First release on MoBlack Records’ newest annex AfroZone.
Welcome to AfroZone, the newest annex to MoBlack Records’ expanding house, a creative space dedicated to the essence of Afro. For AfroZone’s debut release, Raz & Afla reunite with an inimitable two-tracker that resounds the sub-label’s vision in perfect elocution. AZ001 is the label’s genesis as they always imagined it to be. Educing from their tried, tested, and proven transcontinental chemistry, the Hackney-based producer and Ghanian musical maestro render their Benwa Marafi EP, a forward-thinking manifestation of Afro House that breathes the past in unison with the present.
Organic percussion, convictive tribal drumming, and bright, gritty strings pulsate life into the 7:12 minute journey, while Senegalese inspired vocals siphon soulfulness that ground man to earth, and earth within the body. Quixotic melodies, airy riffs tread Benwa Marafi’s sensual rhythm while elegant electronic tweaks and effervescent synths lend a subtle cosmic touch that unravels a celestial perspective from which earth is one entity. An impassioned plea out of love and despair, a deliberate chorus of hope into syncretic conviction, Benwa Marafi’s exudes rich tapestries of ethnic sounds, made by man, some, machine, echoing the universality of Afro House and the universe within Afro House.
Shake It Mama rounds off the EP, shaking loose and breaking beat in a vast acoustic space, wallowing in a kaleidoscope of Afro-infused raw materials, mechanical modulations, and funky sonic juxtapositions. This 4:03 minute track is a mental trip for locomotive desires, teeming with faded reverberations, ominous harmonies, and glossy resonance self-fulfilling on ecstatic bass lines and body-binding rhythms.
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/raz.
Artist Spotlight
Bash Co. examines emotional imprisonment and love on “Dungeon”
Love is often seen as freedom, connection, and emotional release, and in the single “Dungeon,” Bash Co. takes a more complex look at reality, exploring what happens when an emotion becomes a prison. The song has been described as a darker take on “Velvet” and is part of an artistic duality between opposing emotional states. “Dungeon” explores being trapped by feelings that should otherwise bring freedom.
The song tells a story of emotional entrapment, fractured communication, and a broken inner state. Bash Co. examines how difficult it can be to shake attachment and emotional intensity. This picture fits with the song’s theme of pain and imprisonment.
The recording process also unexpectedly influenced the final direction. “Dungeon” was written on an acoustic octave guitar, inspired by a series of technical setbacks that helped Bash Co. hone in on the mood he was seeking. Those struggles could’ve thrown him off his game, but instead he used the experience to get closer to the suffocating character that the song’s lyrical concept demanded.
This is especially relevant to the release’s identity. The emotional side is also offered as a philosophical exploration, not as personal history. “Dungeon” would suit “Velvet” much better, and the two pieces explore the dichotomy between emotional freedom and constraint, providing a wider context for Bash Co.’s creative direction. The two releases are divided by a study of how the same emotional terrain can lead to very different experiences.
Music
Young Thug, YSL Win in Court in Lil Wayne Tour Bus Shooting Lawsuit from 10 Years Ago
Young Thug and his label, YSL, have been dismissed from the lawsuit over the 2015 shooting of Lil Wayne’s tour bus, another major development in a decade-long legal battle. The move follows Birdman and Cash Money Records being dropped from the same lawsuit.
Judge Eric A. Brewton threw Young Thug out of the case, Billboard reports, because there was no evidence to prove an employment relationship between the rapper and the shooter named in the lawsuit, PeeWee Roscoe. The court found insufficient evidence to support the claim that Roscoe was acting for Thug.
The lawsuit was filed by Alvin Lewis, who was Lil Wayne’s tour bus driver at the time of the 2015 shooting. Lewis named several parties in the lawsuit, including Young Thug, YSL, Birdman, and Cash Money Records.
A central part of Lewis’ allegations was that Roscoe acted on behalf of Young Thug. But the court’s ruling suggests that the evidence did not establish the connection that Lewis was trying to draw between the rapper and the shooter.
The judge’s emphasis on the absence of an employment relationship was especially important in reaching the decision. There wasn’t enough proof tying Roscoe to Thug in that role, so the court ruled that the rapper should be out of the lawsuit.
Birdman and Cash Money Records were also dismissed from the case. The judge said there was not enough evidence to link Birdman to the shooting in their case, including information that he was not in the same state when it happened.
The ruling is the latest setback for Lewis in his ongoing case stemming from the 2015 incident. A lawsuit that once involved several big names in hip-hop has seen those defendants dropped after the court weighed the evidence.
The development offers a significant legal break for Young Thug and YSL from a lawsuit that has been active for years. The ruling doesn’t change the history of the shooting itself, but it does change the rapper’s and the organization’s legal standing regarding Lewis’ accusations.
It is important to distinguish between the dismissal and a finding on all issues in the original incident. From what we know, the ruling concerns whether enough evidence linked Young Thug to Roscoe’s actions through an employment relationship.
The case has garnered attention because of its link to Lil Wayne and other celebrities who were originally named in the lawsuit. With Young Thug and YSL now removed, alongside Birdman and Cash Money Records, the legal dispute has taken another major turn.
“The decision is a hard development for Lewis in a case that started ten years ago. The defendants who were dismissed have won a major court victory.
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