Mouse Powell. An epic player in the valley's underground hip hop scene, as the host of Thursdays Blunt Club held at the Yucca Tap Room, he has made a name for himself. His latest project, These Are The Good Times, has national and local celebs adding their creative juices for one XL power drink.
I was honored when Mouse emailed me, giving me full access to his latest project on soundcloud, I had heard about him here and there, and speaking to JDV a while back, was excited to see JDV and Mouse collaborating on a song. I think after this review, a follow up interview will be necessary. What do you think Mouse, will you let me crack open your brain to see your ideas and words?
These Are The Good Times has several MUST LISTEN tracks.
#3 Dancing In The Rain - Featuring the Veragrooves own Andres Rodriguez and Karly C.
#4 Brass Monkey - because who doesn't like a brass monkey every so often!
#6 Cliff Clavin
#7 DGTW - Featuring Kristina Moore
#8 Good Times - Featuring Jason Devore
If you have been following my blogs and reviews you know I write about how the music makes me feel, how it moves me and I always try to stay away from production values, sound and beats. But not this time. This time the production sound is fan-fucking-tastic, the beats dropped and lyrics are like no other. We all know that one song that we can sing to, the one we enjoy and yes I know you do, sing in the shower, well Mouse gives us that chance with Brass Monkey, DGTW, and Dancing in The Rain. Production on this project was spot on, kudos to The Ref for sampling, mixing and producing a quality set of songs. The overall LP was not overproduced and it didn't interfere with the lyrics and vocals.
There were some trumpet samples, sending chills down my spine and giving me turkey skin. An amazing mix of harmonious vocals, trumpets and fresh ta def beats make These Are The Good Times one of the valleys top 5 LP releases. It's a close 3 to Fayucas Barrio Sideshow.
Want more info on this project?
"These Are The Good Times" is the result of a year long collaboration with Tempe producer The Ref. Our project which was made possible by over 70 backers on kickstarter.com is a unique blend of some of the Valley's best talent. We really wanted to step over genre boundaries and create something special while staying true to our Hip Hop backgrounds. We were able to accomplish this by bringing in musicians from different bands throughout Phoenix, and allowing them to add their flavor to our music. The project features and collaborations can be found along with the track listing in the description of the private soundcloud playlist. "These Are The Good Times" will be available for free on November 12th, 2013 at MousePowell.com.
Check out Mouse Powell on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/mousepowell
Like Him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MightyMousePowell
And you can catch him most Thursdays at Blunt Club @ Yucca Tap Room. I have to say Mouse is another one of the valleys best kept secrets, but hopefully no more. Its time to rise Phoenix, from the ashes of our nearly deceased underground music scene and show that once more we rise and will stay on top.
I hope you support the project 100% and get it once it drops, I know I will.
I want to thank Mouse Powell for allowing me to review this project before release, I am deeply honored.
