Local Record Review: 'We Are Locally Grown' by Locally Grown Collective

Locally Grown Collective
We Are Locally Grown
http://locgrwn.wix.com/lgcltv#!

In the city of Orange, the seeds of good hip-hop music are being sown by its hometown hustlers the Locally Grown Collective. Harvesting together their distinctive talents, Endz, DaveAllen, DeeJaeeBee, FourthBeats and Coley Cole have recently released their We Are Locally Grown mixtape on DatPiff offering listeners everything from underground hip-hop, neo-soul and spoken word poetry.  A collective is only strengthened by the diversity of its intertwined elements, and the eight tracks off the new mixtape illustrates that the members of LGC are stand-alone talents in their own right, but are able to expand the scope of their musical horizons when collaborating together.

Take the first track "Daily," which displays DaveAllen's smooth, laid back flow tinged with woozy vocal harmonizing. DeeJaeeBee comes next with rhymes delivered with the staccato intonations of a poet and Endz closes out with his energetic presence that's disciplined enough to stay in the pocket of the beat.


For the rest of the mixtape, different pairings and a set of solo tracks round out the effort. DaveAllen and DeeJaeeBee possess the ability to spit verses like they do on "Daily" but can also come at you wholly on a soulful tip on songs like "SoDamnGood" and "Lowkey Confused" respectively. Endz goes off on his own in "Lessons," a standout head nod inducing underground effort.

Dope beats back up We Are Locally Grown and the collective comes with proper lyrics that get stuck in your dome. "Dreams are important / But they can get you into trouble / It's a sad day / When you forsake the beautiful struggle," rhymes DeeJaeBee on "Visions Eye." Endz puts all that YOLO shit to rest in "On That" when he says "One, two, three, maybe four / Times I gotta tell these kids to shut the front door / You only live once / But think of what you dying for."

These cats are clearly living for their craft and are producing quality hip-hop that's not only locally grown, but good for the soul.

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