After looking back at a year full of great releases, it's time to look ahead to 2012 and the new releases it has to offer us. Here are 10 projects in alphabetical order that I'm looking forward to based on the whispers of them heard in 2011.
This list also concludes my lists for 2011. I hope you enjoyed them. See you next year.
AUTOMatic
After creating a respectable amount of buzz with their sophomore album "Transistor" the few tracks that have been released to the internet from their third album show growth in both songwriting and sound.
Break Bread
Dana Coppa is at the top of his game and after a successful collaboration effort with producer Reason there is no doubt that this project he's doing with producer/emcee Da Ricanstrukta will be dope and worth the listen.
Klassik
Those in the know, know about Klassik and know that when he finally puts out his album that it's going to be a good one and should garner a good amount of attention. If Klassik isn't on your radar, make sure he is from here on out.
Lili K. and Peter Cottontail
After releasing a slick EP in 2011 I am heavily anticipating their next project, which will either be an EP or album – I'm not sure. Lili's pleasant voice and Cottontail's musicality – along with their band – really do deliver the goods so I'm hoping that we get both an EP and album in 2012.
Pacino
"Beyond Compare" has been in the works for a while now and though Pacino hasn't said that he's going to release it in 2012, we saw the preview mixtape in 2011 so I hope that means this project will make a splash in 2012.
Ray Nitti and DJ Pain 1
I don't really know much about this project outside of the fact that the two are working together to put something out. EP, album, mixtape – whatever they end up doing, it's going to be interesting to hear how the two play together for an entire project.
Streetz-n-Young Deuces
After a string of single releases that show growth in focus and maturity in their sound, the EMP duo is clearly doing what they need to do to settle into a possible fast lane that will take them further than they've even been. Maybe that's why their next project is called "Next Day Air."
The Cranberry Show
Set to release their new album "Paranormal Karaoke" on Feb. 1, 2012, the perennial goofballs have been abnormally quiet about the new release. On recent mixtape releases the duo have shown a lot of
growth and have added depth to their swagger brand of hip-hop, which leads me to be very curious about what their new sounds have in store for my ears. Could this new project be TCS all grown up?
Yo-Dot
Though "Red Mist" was set to be released in 2011, there is no doubt that whenever it's released it's going to be everything a fan of hardcore street and battle rap wants. Yo-Dot has gotten better with every project so there's no reason to believe "Red Mist" will be anything other than a step forward.
Unlooped Records debut
Tarik Moody and friends have recently established Unlooped as a record label and I have to say that based on their promo sampler, I'm incredibly intrigued to hear what he's going to put out as the true debut through Unlooped. Whatever it ends up being, I'm sure it'll be good.
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
