A curated collection of rare underground hip hop tracks from specific American cities and states during the second Golden Era (approximately 1992-1998). Each box set features several compilations of thematically linked songs, refined from an initial listen of up to 1,000 others. The final product is a focused assemblage, illuminating a community that is at once bound geographically yet evident of complexities equal to and larger than the music produced therein.
Ascended Drifts 1: Philadelphia
Spooky tracks from Philadelphia hip hop artists, 1991-2008. This first installation deals with a feeling of dark magic. Not necessarily artists rapping about witches (though there is a track about Friday the 13th). Most of these beats are off, jangly, haunted. Ambiguous sirens or ghost wails? Charles Manson bells. Dark, echoing lyrics. Volume 1 is more aggressive; volume 2 is lighter.
Ascended Drifts 2: New Jersey
Jazzy tracks from New Jersey, 1991-1999. Most artists hail from Newark, Trenton, and Jersey City, which were also jazz epicenters at various points throughout the 20th century. Horns and pianos dominate the beats with a pleasant smoothness that intersects with ideas of mortality and ego, giving each track some real murky muscle. It's big, and it's grey, and it's weird, and it's New Jersey.
