It's time we caught you up on the mentions of our last album, Motion Not Emotion, in print, since we were outrageously lax on letting you know who said what since its release.
We've managed to post up nearly all of the major ink that we've been given by the Providence Phoenix this year, and we can't give enough love to the local alternative weekly and especially to Homegrown Product writer Chris Conti, whose consistent support has been overwhelming. Having the biggest media outlet in the local arts community in your corner has been invaluable, and we do appreciate it.
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The always supportive Wake Your Daughter Up has hit us with so many accolades since the time the record dropped its hard to know where to begin. But praise from such a reputable outlet has helped keep us striving to impress them with the next one, so big ups to Trav and the whole WYDU staff.
On April 9, they gave us this endorsement upon the release of MNE:
"Those not familiar with PDP, the group is made up of five members, Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, Entity and Sterbyrock. I've been blasting their music since running across Storm Davis' solo album, Kegstand Poetry for The Recovering Alcoholic, back in '07. We started talking and he let me know of the rest of his crew. From there, their mixtape, Nothing Stays Gold, dropped in 2007 and last years Shoot For The Stars, Hit The Ceiling got major play on the iPod/car stereo, discman, computer and home stereo.
Well, they are graduating from the mixtape scene to.......well, I'm not sure what exactly this is, but it's got the flavor and cohesiveness of a full fledged album in the form of Motion Not Emotion. Coming in at twelve songs, you get the typical PDP tongue in cheek humor, John Friesz name drops (props to whoever knows that name), missed women (and it's fuckin' annoying....listen to the song) and sound drops from "Better Off Dead", the classic 80's movie. They take everything you liked (or will like) about their mixtapes and put it all on one project. If you have heard them in the past, this needs to be heard. If you haven't heard of Poorly Drawn People, then you needs to hear this."
On June 17, head writer Trav listed MNE in his top spins of the week, and wrote:
"In a way, I'm somewhat pissed that this album hasn't taken off as much as it should. This is one of the most cohesive and enjoyable hip hop albums I've heard in a long time. The beats are all on point and the lyrics are filled with battle raps, sense of humor and straight up rewinders (what we used to do to hear a dope line on a tape back in the day). Tracks like "Stress Filled Days", "Might Blow Up", "Ain't Hard To Make A Million Dollars", "Stealers Wheel" and "Sawbucks & Fins" is straight up hip hop with a nice musical ambience to the tracks. I don't know what to say other than go listen to this album and tell me you ain't at least feeling some of this EP."
On July 13, they ranked the top ten EPs of the year so far... and guess who landed the coveted #1 spot, beating out heavyweights such as Rhymesayers' Brother Ali and his Truth Is Here release?
"When PDP dropped Motion Not Emotion, I gave it a listen, and actually was planning on being harder on it than the average submission, just because I didn't want people to accuse me of favoritism (not that I give a rats ass what people think). After the first listen though, I knew that this was a good, nah it was a GREAT, release.
I hated to include this as an EP, although that's what the four man group of Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, and DJ Sterbyrock label it. The truth is, this is one of my favorite projects of any sorts this year."
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Here's one we reaaallllly should have made more of a big deal of: CDBaby, one of the largest independent music sellers in the world, gave us a front page feature this past June, as well as a FIVE STAR REVIEW. Yes, out of 5. Here's what they had to say:
"It's tough to pin this Rhode Island hip hop crew down, and that's exactly what makes this disc such an interesting listen. Each track (though handled by the same producer, the crafty Dox) sparks a new vibe, shoots off in a new direction, but never strays too far from the cut that preceded it. Fittingly, there's a stream of randomness in both the music and the lyrics, but an underlying focus shoots through and makes it all gel. "Celebrity Rehab" is both fun and bitter, with quick-fire verbals calling out the pseudo-famous with a sly nonchalance, while "Better off Dead" takes a darkly funny look at post-breakup emotions. The beats knock across the board, with slick percussion providing tight backgrounds for Reason and Storm Davis, the two gruff MCs who know how to play off one another. There's a little bit of everything on this one, but there's nothing not to like. Get with it."
You can cop the disc from CDBaby here.
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We seem to have just popped up on ToneGents.com's radar a couple of weeks ago, and they've declared MNE in the run for "rap album of the year":
"From one of the toughest hoods you can think of comes what may be the Hip-Hop record of the year... Poorly Drawn People - Motion Not Emotion. So far this year, there have been 3 new Hip-Hop records that have really stood out to me as being extremely not awful. Those three would be the P.O.S. record, the Tanya Morgan record, and this gem by Poorly Drawn People who are... white guys from Rhode Island. Whaaaaaaa? You heard me. Hey, Jay-Z's new record apparently sucks, so somebody's gotta pick up the slack. These guys got nice beats, clever samples and really good, funny rhymes. They are some regular Triple Threats, Debbie Allen! Hear for yourself..."
Peep it in its original context here.
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The Brown Daily Herald shined an extremely favorable light on PDP in a recent article that examined the local live music scene:
"Rap and hip-hop thrive in Providence, and many performers who develop their technique on Providence stages move on to national and even international recognition. For example, Sage Francis has already acquired a national reputation, and Poorly Drawn People — a Providence collective of emcees, DJs, and producers — is on the rise, earning support both across the country and online."
Check the full article here.
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RapReviews.com gave us the "don't have to go to summer school" grade of 7.5 out of 10, and we'll take it. Especially when it comes with commentary like:
"PDP as a whole make serious hip-hop without taking thesmselves too seriously."
and
"PDP may be an encryption key, they may be a group of rapping Rhode Islanders, but either way they unlock a part of your musical subconscious that knows hip-hop can keep it real and keep it fresh without always having to keep it too serious."
Check out the full RapReviews text here.
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75orless.com gave MNE a favorable review, stating:
"It's tough enough dealing with a stubborn music scene in the smallest state in the country, but Rhode Island can rest assured hip hop is covered with these cats."
The full review can be found here.
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Maryland homie SeezMics from Educated Consumers gives us the big up (pause) in this recent interview.
PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
Cole: Dezmatic, Dood Computer, Cubbiebear, Head ResiNators, DJ cam-one, Food Chain Collective, Icon The Mic King, Poorly Drawn People, Lush Farm, and The Caverns to name more than a few.
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Falside shows that its not the worst thing in the world to show love to your hometown crew when the press comes callin', in this interview with AudibleHype.com:
"Much respect to Esh the Monolith. He is a producer/friend also from Providence with great production and mindset. Poorly Drawn People (Reason,Storm Davis, Dox) my main local squeeze have always had their shit together marketing wise."
Check out his full verbiage here and grab some free Falside music while you're at it.
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And finally, our favorite piece of recent press courtesy of the aforementioned Chris Conti and the Providence Phoenix, in their write-up of the ProTown Records 12" release party:
"The night was underscored by a tremendous show of local support: spotting Labeless Illtelligence wordsmiths Esh the Monolith and CasUno posting up in the Strange Famous gift shop, shooting the shit with Poorly Drawn People's Storm Davis."
Getting name-checked for just standing around. Page Six, here we come.
Thanks to all the writers, blogs, newspapers, and websites for the support.
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