Hosted by the venerable Terry Urban, Gilbere comes through with an unexpected mixtape, composed of unreleased songs, freestyles and remixes over the course of his short career thus far.
Gilbere is certainly one of OTU’s favourite upcoming rappers, and hopefully his consistency will carry over to this collection of rarities, whilst providing a good platform for him to really excel and break that glass ceiling this year. He’s joined by an excellent line-up of supporting artists, including established acts such as Pusha T and Lloyd Banks alongside frequent collaborators Sean Rose and Selina Carrera. Free grab of the 18-track project is available below.
Probably one of A$AP Rocky’s more popular tracks, Gilbere takes a spin on the Peso instrumental and comes through with a good remix. That piercing, naturally intense style of Gilbere contrasts with the mellow production well, and though his raps don’t mesh with the beat as Rocky’s lazy flows do, that’s not entirely terrible as it ensures this version offers something a little different to the original.
Exactly the type of rapper that should be taking this production on, the hungry, passionate style of Gilbere Forte slides in excellently on the head-nodding No. I.D. production. Lots of energy and intensity throughout, with a general air of confidence that’s usually found with Gilbere tracks, the freestyle boasts a steady flow and some nice lines to make this a very worthwhile remix that fans of the original will surely enjoy.
Gilbere’s stock has risen considerably in recent weeks, and he certainly takes advantage here with the release of his latest project in this 11-track EP.
He’s brought some rather interesting names along for the ride too, as Pusha T, Jim Jones and many more are involved in the EP, though I’m sure the quality of Gilbere’s own raps is motivation enough to give this project a look. The co-signs don’t stop there either, as he’s secured fashion brand The Hundreds as the presenters/sponsors of the EP, which is a rather clear sign of the progress Gilbere has made. Definitely a project to check for, and hopefully it lives up to the standards set with his previous works. Free grab below.
New material from Gilbere, a man who’s likely to get some real shine soon given that he’s just taken part in the annual BET Cyphers (due to make their way to the internet any moment now!). Similarly, Big K.R.I.T. has just featured on T.I.’s comeback single, arguably his biggest co-sign to date, and one that should see his profile rise.
Interestingly, K.R.I.T.’s opening verse has a heavy T.I. influence, particularly his delivery in a speedy, tongue-twisting flow combined with a strong southern twang, whilst his lyrical content isn’t left wanting in what’s a very enjoyable opener to the track. Gilbere follows up with some enjoyable bars of his own, blending together introspection, ambition and energy, and whilst the delivery is relatively unchanged throughout, they’re still two cohesive verses that make for good listening. Solid all-round effort.
Massive features here for one of the quicker rising (and a personal favourite) rappers out in the US, and he certainly deserves such lofty co-signs with a consistent, solid body of work behind him.
A great production really holds this together, opening with a vocal sample, evolving into a speaker-rattling, dub-influenced, electronically-driven beat with a series of addictive synths and pounding bass hits. What’s noticeable is that the production is slightly different for each rapper’s verse, adding a nice tailored quality, and a commendable attention to detail. Asher opens the verses with a solid set of bars, taking on the beat with a challenging flow and his typically laidback manner, whilst Gilbere follows with a little more urgency in a decent verse, and Bun closes things off with the strongest verse of the three, as he rotates between riding the beat step-for-step and slightly less strictly for a smooth and diverse listen. Decent effort that’ll sound great on loud.
“Fresh off being selected for the 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher, a feature in the Philadelphia Weekly and making it to the finals of Complex magazine’s #MaddenBattle last night, Gilbere returns with the trailer to his forthcoming SOME DREAMS NEVER SLEEP [EP]. Available for download September 27th.”
The track being played in the trailer is Hello, which can be listened to on its own as well as downloaded for free via the Soundcloud stream below. It’s a track that has Gilbere Forte’ giving us a fresh angle to the music we’re used to hearing from him. Showing his versatility he gives us a more energetic song, one that has a very Travis McCoy feel to it.
Talented upcomer Gilbere Forte hooks up with Young Money’s Tyga for the lead single to his next solo project, 87 Dreams To Reality. I’ve been effusive in praise of Gilbere’s work over the last year or so, and he continues his run of consistency with a solid single, lacing an uplifting, defiant production with some typically-passionate rhymes. Whilst the heavily-Autotuned hook is a little rough on the ear (purely for the heavy Autotune itself), the melodies are solid and certainly capitalise on the momentum of the verses. Decent feature from Tyga, who much like Gilbere takes to the beat comfortably with some enjoyable raps, rounding the song off nicely.
Very pleased to get some new material from Gilbere, having finally exhausted his absolutely superb Eyes of Veritas mixtape from back in February. It surprises me that he still gets slept on given the diversity and depth of his rapping ability, but hopefully projects of the aforementioned mixtape’s quality will ensure he gets his credit eventually, hence I’ve got hopes and expectations pinned on this one!
Don’t know much about Sean Rose, though his one feature on Gilbere’s mixtape was on my favourite track from the entire project, Tonight, which certainly bodes well for this EP. Forte’s frequent vocal collaborator Selina Carrera also makes a few appearances on the EP, and she’s certainly not to be ignored either, possessing a hugely captivating voice that suggests she’s also one to watch. Free grab below.
I avoid using this phrase as much as possible, but Gilbere’ is genuinely one of the most underrated rappers in the game. He’s got stacks of ability, both lyrically and with his passionate, versatile deliveries over a range of production styles. There’s no obvious flaw in his game, and hopefully it won’t be long until the masses catch on.
Big fan of this track, taken from his fantastic Eyes of Veritas mixtape (probably my favourite tape of the year so far), and it’s a great display of the emotion and intensity Gilbere can bring to the table. Importantly, it’s imperative that Gilbere gets some camera time to put a face to the good music, and he’s gone with the right approach of keeping the video simple by largely centering it around shots of himself. The raw, unfiltered vibe of the track itself hence extends into the video, and combines simply and effectively with it.
If, for some odd reason you don’t have the mixtape, you really need to be changing that by clicking here.
Been really enjoying Gilbere’s work in 2011, and he’s undoubtedly one of the best candidates to jump on the type of passionate, angsty tracks that Adele has become known for.
Over a captivating blend of piano and light percussion, Gilbere delivers some of his best verses to date with a melancholy and deliberate delivery that emphasises the introspective and thoughtful lyricism he brings. The synergy of production and raps is hugely successful, and when combined with Adele’s rousing vocals on the hook, it comes off as a well-rounded remix.
The biggest compliment I can pay it is this: it doesn’t encourage me to listen to the original in the slightest, as I’m 90% convinced that it’s not going to be half as good. I’m yet to really buy into this Adele hype either, so if you’re like me, this will act as a nice dose of her work without being too much. Pick up Gilbere’s Eyes of Veritas if you haven’t already, it’s one of the best mixtapes of 2011 thus far!
Gilbere’s been on a rather extended roll of good quality music, and he now turns his hand to the freestyling game with some bars over the unexpectedly-popular Skyzoo and Illmind collab, Speakers on Blast. The minimal, gritty hip-hop beat is perfect for Gilbere’s passionate style, and this is a freestyle that displays both Gilbere’s rapping skills and the versatility of his beat selection. Certainly worth a listen, stream and download both available below.
Here’s the new mixtape by Fashawn, as promised yesterday. Given the strength of yesterday’s track that I posted and the stuff I’ve heard Fashawn come out with in recent times, I fully expect this mixtape to be incredibly good.
Definitely one of the best from the underground hip hop circuit about and with the likes of J. Cole, Common, John Legend, GLC and Gilbere Forte all on the list of features on this mixtape, it shouldn’t disappoint.
Click here to grab it and click below to see the tracklist.
Every so often, a track pops up on here that puts together everything I enjoy from R&B into one neat, slick package. This would be one of those rare occasions, making this track essential listening.
Atmospheric, ethereal synth work is weaved into pulsating, midtempo drum work to give this track one of the best productions I’ve heard from the R&B game in quite some time. Miguel is one of my favourite vocalists in the R&B/soul scene, and comes through with a soaring, captivating and skilled vocal performance that makes full use of the production’s peaks and troughs: the hook in particular is very memorable, giving this one the potential to appeal to just about anyone.
The icing on the cake is a couple of very assured contributions from the ever-passionate Gilbere Forte, coming through on the relationship/love style that I’ve not heard him try out yet and passing with flying colours, adding a wholesome and complete feel to the song. Fantastic track all-round.
Miguel-Hard Way Remix ft. Gilbere Forte
Over the last few months, this guy has been on a fantastic streak of consistency. His talent and passion are evident in everything he’s put out, and I can safely say he’s a rapper I definitely view as one of the brightest talents in the hip-hop game. Comparisons to J. Cole have been fair, and I hope he can mirror Cole’s 2010 successes for himself in 2011.
Here we’ve got his latest mixtape offering, Eyes of Veritas, from which Indi recently posted the very enjoyable Born In ’87. I’ve caught one or two other tracks from this too, and the quality of the content is extremely good, which I fully expect will extend throughout the entire mixtape. There are a couple of interesting features too, and some pretty big name producers involved: click below for the download, and further below for the tracklist. I suspect this could be the mixtape to really launch Gilbere to that next level as an artist, so do yourself a favour and grab that (free) download below.
Gilbere Forte-Eyes of Veritas → Continue Reading Gilbere Forte-Eyes of Veritas Mixtape
I first became aware of Gilbere Forte when he and Kanye West linked up to take on the Alors on Danse Remix. Since then I’ve kept a keen eye on him and he’s come through with some quality stuff, including his freestyle over Dr Dre’s Kush.
So I’ve been eagerly awaiting something of more substance, thankfully it’s on it’s way. This is Bere’s lead record from his forthcoming mixtape Eyes of Veritas. Coming through with what is becoming a trademark hunger, Forte spits about the current state of hip-hop and how certain artists seem to release mixtape after mixtape, living off cosigns, whilst he grinds and aims to take the hip-hop crown, so-to-speak. I know it’s lazy to make comparisons to other rappers, but there’s definitely a Kanye influence in the way he spits some of this, not that that’s a bad thing. He clearly has a real passion for the music, which in turn shines through his lyrics making this a great listen.
Gilbere Forte-Born In ’87
Gilbere Forte goes in with another freestyle over what was originally N.E.R.D.’s God Bless Us All (Swizz Beatz used this on his recent Monster Monday track, King Tut).
As with the Kush freestyle Gilbere Forte displays a very likeable flow.
Really, really getting into this guy. Gilbere comes through once again with another top track, this time effortlessly gliding onto Dr. Dre’s Kush.
There haven’t been too many remixes of this track yet (thankfully), but Gilbere takes the award for the best so far in my book: he brings some raw intensity to his raps, and displays the kind of hunger that’s really going to take him places. Couple that with some nice work on the rhymes, and you’ve got a very enjoyable remix. Don’t sleep on this kid, he’s sounding better with every track he drops.
Lots of good music popping up in the old inbox today, and we roll on with a very likeable hip-hop effort from Gilbere Forte.
Kicking off with a simple piano melody, the production blossoms into a rich tapestry of elements that emerge progressively throughout Gilbere’s verses, filtering in and out for Selina’s hook. Gilbere does a nice job on his verses too, coming through with some decent lyricism that captures the ‘nightime’ feel of the production and runs with it. It’s all held together by a memorable and well-delivered hook that finishes this track off as a very good all-round hip-hop effort.
I was listening to his verse on the Stromae remix yesterday, and thought to myself I’d keep an eye out for him. Oddly, the very next day this track pops up in my inbox (someone stealing my thoughts? Please stop?!).
Surprising one too, as his verse on the aforementioned track led me to believe he’d be another modern-day hipster with a positive tint. Wrong. This is actually pretty gritty hip-hop, especially the cutting, almost Havoc-esque production. Gilbere doesn’t hold back on the rhymes, and comes through with some real fury and passion on the verses which has certainly furthered my interest in his work. Don’t sleep on this.
Final, mastered and dirty version (yep, swear words!) of the remix previously posted here. Love the original, love the remix, and its great to have the final version. A couple more tweaks to the production too, which are very good as they add more solidity and structure.
When we first heard this song in South Africa, it was simply a comedy track as we thought he was singing ‘I Love Dogs’. Flashforward a month and it’s one of the biggest dance tracks around, getting regular radio airplay and now has Kanye West jumping on a remix. Incredible!
I love hearing ‘Ye do these remixes. He used to jump on these sort of tracks around the times of Graduation, and it’s superb to see him doing it again-there’s nothing like getting a ‘Ye verse on some good club music! His verses are very good additions to the track, and his flow is adapted nicely without sacrificing the memorability of his rhymes.
The beat is largely the same, with a couple of minor additions (additional percussion on the verses being the main one), and it retains Stromae’s ridiculously addictive hook throughout. Enjoying Gilbere’s verse on this a lot too, and overall it’s one of the best remixes I’ve heard in recent times, although probably because the original was so damn good! I’m so happy.
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