[Editor's Note: Spare Notes is a Weekly music feature
highlighting outtakes and personal stories from bands who just finished
working their asses off to put out new music.]
All the flowers can be cut, as the late poet Pablo Neruda reminds, but the coming of spring can not be detained. That same relentless spirit alluded to permeates No Colored Flowers, the latest collection of songs from Orange-based rapper Endz that dropped down the chimney for free on Christmas. It's not only the follow up to his Half N Half solo venture from earlier this year, but also the We Are Locally Grown mixtape by Locally Grown Collective released in the summer. In short, Endz is puttin' in work and it's paying off as the EP already maxed out its 200 free downloads on Bandcamp and collecting many more on Soundcloud!
With No Colored Flowers he continues to display his lyrical prowess whether on the rap-rock vibes of “Filthy Corpse” or the back and forth rhyme trading chemistry with Los Angeles underground rapper Reverie on “Sickest of MCs.” Pensive, mellow and self-reflective at times, No Colored Flowers reveals the motivation behind the music. Endz shouts out his single mother on “Dear Thoughts” before rhyming, “One day you'll stop working / I'ma get us out this mess / Until I reach the top / Until my last fucking breath.” It's a theme he returns to again and again on different tracks including over the musing melodies of “Imagine.”
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Endz humbly says he's claiming no titles, but after listening to No Colored Flowers all the way through, his talent for hip-hop is as undeniable as his determination to be heard.
See Also:
* Dose One of Santa Ana's 'IllNes Infection' Will Turn You Into a Hip-Hop Savage
* Local Record Review: 'We Are Locally Grown' by Locally Grown Collective
* How 'The Cypher Effect' Has Changed the Local Underground Hip-Hop Scene
On what a 'No Colored Flower' is:
“To me, a no colored flower is a lesson learned. No matter what, it taught
me something good, bad, or ugly. It represents learning from your
struggles and using them to find your reasons to do what you want to do in
life. No colored flowers basically represents the everyday grinder living through struggles but loving 'em because that's what has fueled him to make
his way.”
On releasing the EP on Christmas Day:
“Honestly, it was never planned to drop on Christmas. We had mentioned earlier dates, but it wasn't complete until Christmas. My engineer Blank and I got to work! And why not? I mean it is Christmas. Who doesn't like gifts? [Laughs] It's my way of saying thank you for the opportunities. 2012 is nearly over, but we're preparing for a new season…a growing season!”
Endz opens for Psycho Realm at the Observatory, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. www.observatoryoc.com; (714) 957- 0600. Fri. 8 P.M. $20. All Ages.
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Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!