“Tales of a Cursed G” has hit the streets and the vibrations have been felt throughout the Underground. Could this be the UG album of the year?
Welcome back to the ROX-TV green room. It’s not very big and it doesn’t stay in one place for long, but it does do the trick. There’s room for one more, so shut the door and grab a seat. The air is cold and chilly outside with a dusting of rain. But in the green room, all is right in the world. We don’t have a lot but we have enough if you can dig that. Friday nights still get the proper attention, even if it is a Tuesday. Well, whatever day it is, we are back where it matters…creating and experiencing life. The smoke is heavy these days, which ultimately affects the churn, but if you can’t have a good time, what the fuck are we doing here. Why be given the flesh? It’s an experience machine, fucking use it scardy cat. Well, the nights are always easier to write about when there is something to write about. What could it be tonight? That force that tore through the fabric of my cannabis procedures and adventures…demanding that I take notice. When that wasn’t enough, the energy increased, forcing me to cease all other goings on, until the words could be hammered out on the keyboard. Is that some fantastical tale? No that’s really how affected I was by the sounds my ears were hearing. The vehicle was YouTube and the dial had landed on HEXXX‘s new release called “Tales of a Cursed G“. I was aware of the drop, but conditions had not been “right” for what I needed to do. A lot of action makes channeling the vibes harder than normal…and although not impossible, is not the way I prefer to do it. No, it’s more of a sighting in and dropping the hammer at the right moment. When the air is free of disturbance and the smoke zen is peaking…that’s when the magic really starts to rain down from the black sky.
ROX-TV did review the drop for “Another Day” a few days back. At least I think that’s how it went. I thought that if “Another Day” was any indication of what “Tales of a Cursed G” could be like, the Underground would be served a righteous hydrogen bomb of W.C.W.S. and beyond. “Another Day” will be talked about a little further down in the writings so keep reading to learn more about that. Back to the path, oh yes…HEXXX. The real leadership (vision) of Ouija Macc to recognize what this cat was and what he could do should be commended. Picking winning horses can be tricky man but C17 seems to have no problems in looking towards the future. The old song and dance will not suffice in this new era. The times call for cutting edge music to inspire and entertain, at least that’s what the spirits tell me. So anyway…the first time I interviewed HEXXX, I saw a very polished, hungry, and formidable force sitting at the table with me. I was no fool, at least on that day. I had HEXXX autograph the Office Max folder I had been toting the questions around in. This was going to be one for the collection, because this cat was going places and people were going to know his name.
Does it excite me to have some instant insight from time to time? Yes, it helps in the field. HEXXX was ready, he had prepared long and hard. Like a verbal Samurai, learning the craft…paying the dues. The climb is treacherous. But glory awaits those that take the hill. I believe this. To make noise and move the people, the music has to be of a certain caliber. Anyone can make a song, but if it doesn’t get the energy building…what good is it really? I hear noises all day. What I don’t hear every day, is a solid album from start to finish. They don’t exist normally, at least never in large numbers. But every now and again, regardless of genre, there is an album that I think is the top of the pops. If you’ve ever watched the BBC than you will get that.
As most of the readers know, I’ve been covering the Underground like dirt since the end of 2020. My adventures have changed hats from time to time, but mostly it’s been a writing situation. From books to articles, I’ve been travelling down the well worn paths of underground…from the unknown trails to the streets paved in Faygo and Weed. Sometimes looking, sometimes listening, but always on the edge of the scene, like a half functioning satellite…fueled up on Nos and smoke. Blazing wildly into the dark, looking for the edges…looking for the crossroads…sometimes searching for nothing. It’s just the way she goes (thank you Ray). So yes, “Tales of a Cursed G” stopped me in my tracks and everything else had to be put on pause. So, because the music Gods have demanded it to happen right now, I give to you…”Tales of a Cursed G”.
Album: Tales of a Cursed G
Artist: HEXXX
Release: August 2023
Label: Chapter 17
Track One: Tales of a Cursed G featuring DJ Chunk
Time: Four minutes and Twelve seconds
Right out of the gate, I hear this spooky melody rising up from the silence. It’s a heavy vibe. It reminds of an old school Nine Inch Nails track called “Something I can never have”. Sadness wrapped up in the dark. Then HEXXX starts to spit fire, slow at first, but then death rains down.
“I fly high like a Crow, then I swoop down”
-HEXXX
You’ve now entered the hard country and HEXXX is introducing you to his world and vision. I hope you have come prepared, because the shades and leathers are required for this mushroom cloud. The scratching is top shelf towards the second half of the track. Thanks to the lightening quick hands of DJ Chunk. Praise to those that preserve the “scratch”, may we never lose it. This track is hard, like a homie back from the Marquette Branch. There is no room for bullshit. Someone has been getting their weight up. The best way to silence the competition is to deliver a beast. Houston, I think we have found what we’ve been looking for.
Track Two: Blade to the neck
Time: Two minutes and forty seconds
The songs are interesting and there is a lot of production value here. This isn’t some one trick pony shit. There are layers of things to take in here, and it takes a dynamic mind to construct this type of entertainment. The start of this track reminds me of the opening credits of a horror movie. A familiar sound, innocent enough, and yet, there is this deeper knowing that the ground is getting dangerous. You won’t hear this track at a Sunny picnic if that makes sense. This is more akin to that dusk to darkness transition. The nighttime, when things happen. Music with a purpose. HEXXX is letting you know he follows the G Code and there is no doubt when you hear his music. Proper style.
“Watch it burn, watch it all fall, just a demon sitting in the dark”
-HEXXX
Track Three: Another Day
Time: 3,2,1 blast off
Credits-
Audio Credits: Maezi666
Video Credits: Performed by HEXXX and Shaggy 2 Dope of Insane Clown Posse
Shot, Directed, and Edited: King Zabb
Location: Infamous 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles
This is that big boom shit that the OG’s love. Nothing but an ice-cold old school proper track. I think the pairing of Shaggy 2 Dope and HEXXX is brilliant. I’m not the only MFER in here that could envision a full album after hearing this back and forth. The video goes off like that big box firework you paid three hundred bucks for on the 4th of July. This is the showstopper, or at least the dance floor crusher. This shit makes me want to dance with my woman, holding a brown bag jumbo in one hand and a smoke in the other. Did I mention that if you don’t dance, you don’t get laid? My dad told me. Don’t be a wall flower, get out and show your stuff. The chicks will dig it. Besides good music is body moving. Just ask the Beasties. I did a deep dive on this track already so if you’d like to hear what that was like, just follow the link below. For those that haven’t read it yet, I recommend that you do. Don’t worry, I’ll be waiting for you to come back.
Track Four: Darko
Time: Two minutes and thirty–seven seconds
What an opening on this one huh? Then kaboom, the sound comes in waves, attacking every angle at once. Layered like an indestructible foundation. The first thought that comes to mind, in that first minute or so, is this: I need to try this amazing track on the philosopher’s stone (NOS). I’m sure everyone falls on one side of the gas question or the other. I’m down with partaking. It’s a personal choice. But for me, it has value in the realm of sound, and so I persist. I don’t endorse drug use, and anything can be taken too far, so move cautiously and take lots and lots of B12. Even if you don’t understand why, just take it any way. Ok, the PSA is out of the way. Now back to the business. This track is one of my favorites on the album for the unique and dope way HEXXX laid it down. However, he reaches these gems, I don’t care, as long as they keep coming. This is the type of song that transcends the underground no problem. I will say this on record because I feel like it has to be said. Do not sleep on HEXXX man. He’s moving with the quickness and the precision required to conquer. One day, if you don’t watch your step, you’ll turn into that guy or girl that says, “oh shit, we should have went and seen him when we had the chance, now it’s too late, the MFER has completely blown up and we missed it”. Don’t be that person, but I already know there are a few of them out there. There has to be. They are the people that make me feel good about taking action. I don’t mind them around, they keep me motivated on living life in the real world. Thanks buddies. Darko is dope. The sound is unique and interesting, both required to get me to write this much about the music.
Track Five: Shimmy Shimmy Yah
Time: Three minutes
Sometimes when there is a flush of quality and there are no lousy songs, it becomes harder to review for the sole fact that the “bad factor” just doesn’t show up. Everything is quality and so, there are no weak links in the chain metal. Now, having said that. There will always be songs that rise above the others. Does it mean the others are not good? No. But with a set list this choice, there are some that will surpass others. I like this track, but I like others better. It’s still a dope piece of work though. No speed lost, still rocketing along. C17 doesn’t stop.
Track Six: Black Crown featuring DJ Chunk
Time: Two minutes, fifty-five seconds
I’ve said it quite a few times both in books and articles and I will say it again. The key to unlocking the total potential requires an artist to be unique, interesting, and different from the pack. This is one of the baddest tracks on the album and rightly so. No one sounds like this and that’s why it’s fucking hot. Dope beats, dope DJ, dope content, dope everything. Shit. There it is. I’m smoking (Mimosa strain all day) and I’m hitting repeat x multiple.
The feel of this track reminds me of “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” or “Snatch” for that matter. I swear to God, this song could have been featured in the Snatch movie, the vibe is right. Fast moving action, with uncontrollable feet. The muscles tense up, the world is moving, pure cocaine energy on a song. (Again, I don’t endorse drug use, but I won’t deny the similarities, you either have a frame of reference or you don’t, that is all) Everyone thinks the underground has to do certain things or sound a certain way, well fuck that, it doesn’t and it shouldn’t. As far as I’m concerned, I keep the word underground around for posterity, but we aren’t really beneath the streets anymore are we? Not unless we choose to be. What’s wrong with popping a manhole cover and wrecking the neighborhood above. Underground? I say for how much longer? I want the main vein. Impossible? Not with guys like HEXXX doing songs like this. This is a new era, and I say we take the underground to the black skies.
Track Seven: Brick
Time: Two minutes and forty seconds
This is a darker sounding one, with a taste of that “what condition my condition is in”. Not only do I agree with the sample, I think that it is smart and obviously often the beaten path of “regular shit”. This is why HEXXX is dope, well not just that reason, but I think it’s worth noting. Who takes time to find a two second blip, to make another track a click above? HEXXX. This is the same guy that dropped Pale Horse. Like everyone forget about “Pale Horse” already? That cannot be. When the song came out, I was blown away because HEXXX didn’t chase that low hanging horror fruit…the sample that everyone uses all the time. What did he choose to mess with? He went straight into the dope realm and sampled one of the greatest horror movies ever made and mostly overlooked…Phantasm. Follow the road lesser travelled. There is good shit down there.
Track Eight: Blueberry R3dbull
Time: One minute and fifty seconds
Track Nine: The Coast featuring Trizz
Time: Two minutes, fifty two seconds
The Coast is a real dope track that reminds me of California. How could it not? I’ve been there a few times, in 1996 and 1998. I remember cruising up Venice Beach with my family. Some of the Shepard clan ended up in Bakersfield, where they still live today. I got a few cousins in LA and more than ever, I’d like to see that Northern California Coast again. Fucking Pismo Beach, Avila Beach…there are a few I need to see once more before I die. As HEXXX goes to work on this track all is right in the world. I thought Trizz was dope as well. I will have to look up his backlog.
Track Ten: Season of the Sick
Time: Two minutes and twenty four seconds
Track Eleven: No Rest
Time: Two minutes and thirty-six seconds
I think this track is really a statement about the mentality it takes to make it in the music industry. What is required of the artist to break wide open. Well, it starts with a vision and then it takes action. Action means there is no extra sleep, no days off…earning those stripes. Putting in work. Getting fucking dirty. I don’t think people really understand how much goes into this lifestyle. I know the C17 Clique makes shit look easy, but it’s really not. The road can be a cold place, out on the wire, away from everything you know and love…winning over the masses, one soul at a time. It’s not for everyone and not everyone can do it. Some try, most can’t, HEXXX owns it. There is a reason why Chapter 17 is on top of the Underground food chain.
Track Twelve: Paradise
Time: Three minutes and forty seconds
This is my favorite song on the album for a few reasons but most of all, it passed my good music test. Any song that can raise the hair on my arms, send a shiver down my spine, and cause the center of my head to white out with fuzz…is truly a bad ass jam. That goes for all genres. Paradise takes me to that place, where there is an actual physical reaction to something that I listened to. I think that is special and rare. Not many songs cross into that territory. But this one did and has earned a place in my rotation for the rest of my life. That’s a true story.
Final Summation:
After hearing the songs, reviewing the work, and adding up the finer points, I think we have a case for Underground Album of the Year for 2023. Now, first off, I don’t give awards out and either does ROX-TV. If I did though, guess what…this MFER would be in the running for the top spot. Now, I know a lot can happen in four months, but HEXXX just set the fucking bar awfully high, and the only people that are sad about it are the competition. I’m not really joking though. This is a solid delivery, like three kilo’s solid you know. There isn’t a weak link in the chain metal, I know because I’ve been running them over and over for days.
This is what can be done when an artist is unique and following their own path. Fuck sounding like everyone else. Fuck the limitations of the underground. I only call it the underground for posterity. We don’t have to be under anything if we don’t want to. It’s not 1993 anymore. Let’s pop a manhole cover off and run free. Limitations frequently come in the form of labels, and I think the Underground label is stifling what can be accomplished. This album is as hard as anything in the UG right now, but it sounds so fresh and different. The way to blow up is to make music that transcends, and with HEXXX…it’s not if…. it’s only a matter of when because the music is already there. Don’t screw up and miss HEXXX before he shows the world who he really is. A next level cat, just waiting on time to declare it so. I said it here first. I won’t be the last. Get ready for HEXXX or get out of the way. This train is leaving the ground.
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV
(Author’s Note: Just after finishing the article, which came in at 3,125 words, the WordPress program fucking crashed on me. I lost about three hours of work on this article and everything after the track “Brick” was lost. About 1,100 words. It’s a bummer because it was a rad ass piece, where I captured what I was feeling in a nice way. But the fucker crashed, just like during the Willy Wonka series. It happens. So, if you notice the vibe off between the first seven entries and the last five, they were re-done after dinner, and I was very tired. But I wanted to see it through. It is what it is. The only thing you really need to walk away with is an urgency to dive into HEXXX’s music, yesterday)
