Smoke and Miras
The Line in the Sand Mixtape
(Self-released)
smokeandmiras.com
The Smoke and Miras collective has been busy this year bringing some good, conscious South Florida hip-hop to the foreground. Comprised of Orion, Brown-I, Thousand, Sweet Jesus, Name Brand, Draz, John Wilson, Sci-22, Irene Shemoney, Vers-One, Mr. Chris, Rob Remedy, D-Tox, Magnum-O and Legacy just put out this sweet 17-track mixtape.
Opener "Whut Up" is solid consciousness with Orion, Sweet Jesus and Draz exchanging stanzas of intelligent hip-hop. Thousand's "Acid Tabs" recalls the spacey and ethereal surreal landscapes of Kool Keith, but with a slightly muted grimness. Mr. Chris and Vers-One offer a danceable party number, "Graveyard Shift," that's echo-y fun, despite the dour subject matter.
Now I could sit here and break it all down track by track. But the real pleasure of a mixtape is in sitting through the whole thing and discovering its specialness. Suffice to say, Smoke and Miras' craftsmanship and execution guarantee that the outcome is pure aural bliss. So support this crew's collective creative mission and its commitment to establishing a viable underground hip-hop community in South Florida ... Go blast The Line in the Sand at your New Year's Eve party.
Download: Smoke and Miras' The Line in the Sand
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