As Cruel as School Children

We bring ourselves down
And build ourselves up in disappointment
How fragile we are
So fragile we are, we just don’t show it
We’ll shake up this town
And shoot down the stars for our enjoyment
So sexy we are
So sexy we are, we just don’t know it

-Gym Class Heroes

Now I have to admit that this band has officially become my guilty pleasure. They are the first band I play in the morning. I am always playing them in my car stereo. I have seen them in concert multiple times and every time I see them they get better and better with time. I am one of the first people to hear about them. Also they hail from my native New York! Gym Class Heroes is an old school Hip-Hop mixed in with a hypnotizing drums and guitars this band has made the easy transitions from underground to mainstream. The Album I am review today is “As Cruel as School Children”

First, a little history on Gym Class Heroes, coming from Genva,New York. The band started when Lead Singer Travis McCoy and drummer Matthew McGinley started a band while still in High School. Once the band was formed they started they began to play for local clubs and birthday parties so they can have money in their pockets. They were signed to Peter Wenz’s ( from Fall Out Boy) record label Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen. Once signed they began to preform in small venues, even nabbing a couple of spots in the Wraped Tour in 2004 through this past summer.

“As Cruel as School Children” isn’t there first album though. “…For The Kids” was the first album released under a unknown record label. Followed by “The Papercut Chronicles” in 2004. When they first were release to little fanfare. But after the success of “The Queen and I” and “Papercuts” the band has shot up in hip-hop Indie Craze.

I personally love this album (it seems that I say that about every album I review). I love Travis McCoy. McCoy lyrics seem to be like poetry to every lyrical beat that is produced. Also Each song fits its place. I mean the uplifting lyrics are like poetry to the heart and soul… I love this band and I would recommend letting anybody listen to this. You are just going to have to buy your own copy.

 

Until Next Time…Stay Fly,

Courtney A.

Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs

Yes! My favorite album in the underground hip-hop scene. The only group I know that has gone mainstream and still stayed true to the game. The Beastie Boys!!!!!! Yay! Released in 2004, ‘To The Five Boroughs’, brought the best out from the three New Yorkers! Yet unlike there previous albums, the Beastie Boys have kinda gone political. Some of their songs have been used as a political waker to the younger generation. Some of there song have been on number one charts for a while. I an super excited to tell you, the viewer about it.

Once you put the album you notice there infectious and danceable music, with the song “Ch-Ch-Check It Out” the Beastie Boys haven’t missed a beat since there last album in the late 1990s. They waste no time in making fun of themselves and their strange love for Star Trek. They get right into the groove of the politcal scene with songs as “Right,Right, Now, Now” and “We Got The” urge for young voters to bring up their voices and vote, which just happens to be a pivitol moment for all voters this election year.

Here’s a clip of ‘Ch-Check It Out:’

I love the Beastie Boys, both old and new . I love how they tend to mix all kinds of music into their lyrics. The Lyrics tend to speak to everyone and anyone who would listen, it becomes poetry and sometimes people live by it. In some of their older albums, The Beastie Boys tend to rap about the normal stuff rappers would rap about, drinking, and women. Now they tend to use politics and yes, they still  diss other rappers. I mean why try to step up to them… It’s the Beastie Boys!!!!!!!

So go out and grab “To the 5 Boroughs” It doesn’t matter if they came out before your born, or whether  you were a fan from the very beginning.. This album will get your ‘body movin’….and fix yourself some “brass monkey” to get you in the mood….

 

Until Next Time…Stay Fly

Courtney A.