F. Stokes: Love, Always (EP)

Back in late January I posted F. Stokes' video for "My Simple," the lead single off his Love, Always EP. The EP will be officially released tomorrow but is available for streaming/purchase on his Bandcamp page right now. It will be on the iTunes store and other digital music outlets tomorrow as well. Hit the jump to stream the project and purchase the project if you like it.

F. Stokes: Love, Always (EP)

F. Stokes: "My Simple" (Music Video)

F. Stokes is releasing a new EP titled Love, Always on March 6. Above is the music video for "My Simple", the lead single off the EP, which you can download fro iTunes below. Also, F. Stokes will be performing at the FineLine in downtown Minneapolis on February 1.

F. Stokes: "My Simple"

F. Stokes: "Jo Jo Dancer" (Music Video)

F. Stokes: "Soul Clap" (Music Video)

F. Stokes: 'Baked Goods' (Mixtape)

New mixtape from Chicago's F. Stokes, who has been spending recent months touring all over the place and really making some big career moves. Can't wait to hear what's next from him. Download link at the bottom of the post.

F. Stokes: Baked Goods (Mixtape)

F. Stokes: "Blessings" (Music Video)

Here's the music video for a Lazerbeak produced cut from F. Stokes' Death of a Handsome Bride EP.

F. Stokes EPK (Video)

F. Stokes: "Wait A minute"

Chicago's F. Stokes let loose some new heat off his upcoming Baked Goods mixtape.

F. Stokes: "Wait A Minute"

F. Stokes: YRB TV Interview (Video)

The always intriguing F. Stokes shares some rhymes, some stories, and some insight to share. It's great to see him doing gradually bigger and bigger things in his career. Congrats to the man.

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz in "Niceland" (Video)

F. Stokes in "Dopenhagen" (Video)

F. Stokes checks in from Copenhagen, Denmark, where he's doing a brief tour with the Dirty Disco Kidz.

PREVIOUSLY -- F. Stokes & DDK: F.I.L.M. (Forever I Love Madison)

F. Stokes Performing in Madison, WI 11/3/09 (Video)

Here's a compilation of various moments strung together from F. Stokes' recent performance at the Barrymore in Madison. He was opening up for Ghostface Killah.

Tracks performed: 1) "Jeremiah (Remix)" 2) "Sparse Parts (Remix)" 3) "Blessings (Remix)" 4) "Sky High" 5) "So Into You" 6) "GO" 7) "Soul Clap (Remix)"

F. Stokes Performing at SOB's in New York City (Videos)

F dot Stokes putting it down in NYC at SOB's, performing a handful of tracks off his Death of a Handsome Bride EP (Review).

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz: 'F.I.L.M.' Release Party (Promo Videos)

For those of you Wiscaaansin Badgers here in Madison:

Thursday, Oct. 1st 2009 @ The Annex in Madison, WI. F. Stokes and Dirty Disco Kidz present F.I.L.M. (Forever I Love Madison) release party: $5, 18+ doors at 9pm.

And you can all download F.I.L.M. right here.

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz: F.I.L.M. (Death of a Handsome Bride Remix Album)

Back in May, I reviewed F. Stokes' Lazerbeak-produced EP Death of a Handsome Bride. Now, he hooked up with the Madison production conglomerate Dirty Disco Kidz to remix the entire thing. It's retitled F.I.L.M.(Forever I Love Madison). Being that I have lived in Madison for the past 3 years (and counting), it's always nice to post some local material on Midwest Broadcast. So here you have it; this should tide you over until F. Stokes' full-length comes out.

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz: F.I.L.M. (Forever I Love Madison)

F. Stokes: "Jeremiah" (Prod. Lazerbeak) (Music Video)

This joint was off of F. Stokes and Lazerbeak's collaborative EP, Death of a Handsome Bride (Review). Video was directed by Dissent Films. I actually interviewed F. Stokes a very long time ago, and have had some extreme technical difficulties with transcribing the interview (my recorder had a major malfunction). But I have recently gotten that fixed up, and should finally be hitting you guys with the interview in a short matter of time. Sorry for the delay.

F. Stokes & Lazerbeak: "Pretty Shit"

Here's a song from F. Stokes & Lazerbeak's EP, Death of a Handsome Bride (Review). Also, if you want a non-album joint, check out his track, "Letter To Kanye," which I posted a few days ago.

F. Stokes & Lazerbeak: "Pretty Shit"

F. Stokes: "Letter To Kanye"

The homie F. Stokes just hit me with this new track, on which, over the "Homecoming" instrumental, he explains his feelings towards Kanye and Mr. West's legacy in Chicago. On the version he sent me, the first verse from "Blessings," off his Death of a Handsome Bride EP (Review), was tacked on to the end. I took that file and split off just the "Letter to Kanye" track into a separate mp3 file, but both are included below for your listening pleasure.

F. Stokes: "Letter To Kanye"
F. Stokes: "Letter To Kanye + Blessings"

Midwest Broadcast Presents Flyover Land, Vol. 1

It's been a long time coming, but Flyover Land, Vol. 1 is finally available for free download. I won't weigh this post download with excessive anecdotes or sentimental thank yous — I can save those for later. However, I will say that I think this is a legitimately outstanding project, and I'm confident that you will enjoy the music on Flyover Land, Vol. 1 as much as I do. Some of the most talented emcees and producers from the Midwest have contributed songs for this mixtape, most of which are entirely exclusive to this project and have not been heard before until today.

Furthermore, if you take any message from this release, I hope that you realize that Midwest Broadcast is for the people. Excluding the intro track, this mixtape features no shout outs for this site. I hate it as much as anyone when a mixtape's flow and rhythm is absolutely ruined by overbearing DJ drops — I did not want that for Flyover Land, Vol. 1. Just sixteen consecutive tracks of uninterrupted, high-quality hip-hop. I appreciate every reader of Midwest Broadcast, whether you check the site daily or stumble upon it irregularly. Readers visiting this site and showing love is what keeps me working on this blog, and I don't take it for granted. Thank you.

Finally, I want to close on a couple of notes. First, I want to give one huge shout out to Jonah Miller at High Top Productions. Jonah did the artwork for Flyover Land, Vol. 1 (as well as the website's banner design) and was extremely cooperative and patient with me in the creation of the album's covers. Secondly, I want to remind you that Midwest Broadcast will be coming back with Flyover Land, Vol. 2 in a matter of months. The artist feedback for this project was so great that I had to expand the series to multiple volumes. I already have several tracks collected and big plans for the next volume, and I encourage you to keep checking back at Midwest Broadcast for the next release in the Flyover Land series (as well as all other daily updates!). Without further adieu, I present to you Flyover Land, Vol. 1. Enjoy. Share it with friends. Peace!

DOWNLOAD - Midwest Broadcast Presents Flyover Land, Vol. 1

F. Stokes & Lazerbeak: Death of a Handsome Bride (Album Review)

Expectations can be treacherous and unpredictable when listening to albums for the first time. In today’s Internet age, many rappers can hardly eat lunch in public without appearing on YouTube only hours later; this 24/7 barrage of media constantly shapes our opinions of musicians. Needless to say, rarely do our personal biases not influence our initial reactions to artists’ new music. So, it’s a refreshing situation when, as a “critic,” an album can be judged solely on the merits of its content. I was able to do this with Chicago rapper F. Stokes and Minneapolis producer Lazerbeak’s recent collaborative EP release, Death of a Handsome Bride.

It’s clear from the EP’s opening song that F. Stokes is unabashedly honest in his songwriting. The a cappella track, “Too,” assess some of the social handicaps Stokes has had to deal with (“Too skinny, too fat, too black, ain’t black enough”; “Offspring of a dope head”). The track transitions into “Jeremiah,” another one-verse opener on which F. Stokes effortlessly rides a bouncy, soul-sampling beat from Lazerbeak and raps about the problems of being an African-American in modern society. “Fresh out the womb, got penitentiary memberships,” he raps, criticizing our country’s criminal justice system. Lazerbeak offers up an absolute gem of a beat for “Hang On,” a track on which F. Stokes kicks knowledge about the struggles of inner-city living, notably the omnipresent conflict between living legally and doing what’s necessary to make ends meet (“My niggas be hustlin’/ trying to get that bubble Benz,” and “Them Chi streets cold, when your baby need clothes”).

These conflicts dominate the thematic landscape of Death of a Handsome Bride. F. Stokes’ lyrics tiptoe the fine line between the blues and gospel impulses. Some tracks are all about acknowledging the burdens that dominate our lives, and finding some way to deal with those pains (“Pretty Shit” evaluates the vicious cycle of domestic violence in relationships). Other songs concern unification, community, and finding ways to overcome life’s difficulties and issues (“Blessings,” on which Doomtree rapper Mike Mictlan lends a nice verse, and “So Into U”). In the end, though, F. Stokes reminds us that the dichotomy between blues and gospel, pain and joy, isn’t as separated as we believe. His opening lines of “Hang On” help to demonstrate that concept: “Who would have thunk it?/ The kid who sold crack for Dunk kicks/ Would get his opportunity and punch it out the ceiling/ And it didn’t take an A&R or labels frontin’ millions/ It’s motivation for my nappy-headed ghetto children.”

The EP does have its knocks, however. Clocking in at less than 30 minutes, Death of a Handsome Bride is over when you are just starting to get an understanding of who F. Stokes is. Minus the opening a cappella, which doesn’t have much replay value, and the bizarre, electronic “Tickle Me Mars,” the EP’s song selection runs thin at times.

Nonetheless, Death of a Handsome Bride is a testament to the determined, “do it yourself” mentality in underground hip-hop. F. Stokes deserves praise for his introspective and forthright, yet still evocative lyricism, and Lazerbeak once again validated himself as the one of the best producers in hip-hop that no one knows about. Death of a Handsome Bride shows that listenable, thought-provoking hip-hop is out there, it just might take a little extra work to discover.