Awon & Dephlow (Virginia) – “Dephacation” Album (prod. by Phoniks)

“Dephacation” by Awon & Dephlow is a refreshing change of pace to the sea of monotonous chill hop and trap music on the airwaves. It is just no bullshit, no gimmicks real hip hop that is as much energetic and raw as it is polished and technically precise. The emcee tandem of Awon and Dephlow compliment each other perfectly as they trade verses lashing out at the new wave of effeminate auto-tune hip pop that has taken over in recent years. The two are particularly vocal about rap’s merger with the world of high fashion that has lead to rappers wearing skinny jeans, kilts, and women’s clothing.
Awon and Phoniks bring the vintage hip hop sound of last summer’s critically acclaimed debut “Return to the Golden Era”, but this time with the added dimension of Virginia emcee Dephlow. Dephlow’s voice, flow, lyricism, and overall presence on the mic is unlike any new emcee that I have heard in recent memory. His sound is reminiscent of a young Jay-Z before he “dumbed down for his audience to double his dollars”. Awon is an up-and-coming emcee from Virginia whose loaded bars and effortless smooth delivery have earned him millions of YouTube and SoundCloud hits over the past 2 years. 23-year-old Portland, Maine producer Phoniks brings everything together with his soundscape of funky, soulful beats that will remind listeners of producers like DJ Premier and Marco Polo. Without a single skip track, each minute of the album is packed with dope beats, bars, and DJ cuts. The trio of Awon, Phoniks & Dephlow have created a cohesive, 10-track project that should go down among the year’s best.

US CD/Vinyl: dephacation.bandcamp.com

European Vinyl: sergentrecords.bigcartel.com