The Jealous Guys are two guys from SF that are taking a refreshing approach to making good hip-hop. I came across them after reading their interview over at mostly junkfood. They’ve got a message that a listener can attach to, which is always a good start (At the end of the day we live what we live and that’s Life Insomniac, which is not sleeping on life.). I proceeded to download “The Love Mixtape,” and haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. First of all, “Brainwashed by London” is one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. That track is flaming hot cheetos addicting. The beat struck me as raw as “Yonkers” did when I first heard it.

Ayinde and BizYCasa both mention that the root of their music is writing, and it really shows. Their lyrics reflect a thoughtful effort into detailed writing, which is a nice change of pace from My Drink Is Purple/Barney. SWAG. The result is serious storytelling skills and tightly woven wordsmith-ism. (Out Here Creating Words/Webster’s. Swag). The Love Mixtape gives you the subject matter that you’d expect from a title like that – not simply 50 minutes of raw bars but rather a complete project. Their sound at a couple points reminded me of early Little Brother. They’re currently working on “Audio Book,” a 4 track EP that apparently will be accompanied by 4 videos as well. I’m all for visual representation, adds to the experience. D/L The Love Mixtape and check out the video for “Brainwashed by London” below!

Download | The Jealous Guys – The Love Mixtape (Mediafire)