Khalil Nova – Tha Black Layne Staley (Chopped & Screwed) (No Jumper, 2012)
Akumasanti chopped & screwed Khalil Nova’s Tha Black Layne Staley for our second premier of this mixtape. Definitely worth grabbing this today, as Nova’s space vortex-aesthetic sounds even more extraterrestrial when slowed to a crawl.
Khalil Nova – Blessed To Tha Bone (No Jumper, 2012)
Khalil Nova’s Tha Black Layne Staley came out two weeks ago, but the Space Don is anything if not prolific. Blessed To The Bone is one of the less personal tracks from the mixtape, where Khalil gets sentimental about a back injury he suffered when he was only twelve years old. Despite mentioning this slight setback, he doesn’t dwell on it, instead focusing on the blessings that have followed and encouraging the listener to move forward. It really is one of the more positive songs on Black Layne Staley, being only the third track there, and that helps it serve as a prelude to the chaos that follows only a few tracks later. It reminds us that even when Khalil gets caught in his own twisted, warped vortex, that there is a human within the approaching nuclear explosion.
Light up, watch the new video for Blessed To Tha Bone now, and let the positive vibes sink in. If you haven’t already downloaded the tape yet, what’re you waiting for?
Khalil Nova - Tha Black Layne Staley (No Jumper, 2012)
Tha Black Layne Staley has arrived! Come get sucked into the vortex with Nova and the rest of No Jumper now.
Khalil Nova - Combo (Soundcloud, 2011)
I ranked this song as #19 on my year end list, and it would’ve been ever higher had I been given more time to listen to it. This is still Khalil’s most grandiose song to date, and Khalil has described this song as making him feel like he’s “riding around on an elephant with a random Hindu God.” Very accurate. I was thinking more along the lines of the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant, but I may watch too many cartoons.
Khalil Nova - I Gotta Do It (Youtube, 2012)
The latest video from Khalil Nova finds him dancing in the woods, presumably on his way to the waterfall. Maybe looking for his spaceship home? It’s hard to say what the Space Don is up to in this video, aside from some tai-chi moves at about 1:50 into the video, but this is one of the most alien tracks that Khalil has unleashed on the world yet. Taken from his vastly replayable 808s of Death.
The Black Layne Staley, 1/31/12.
Khalil Nova - Waterfall (Youtube, 2011)
Khalil Nova’s I’m The Black Layne Staley dropping January 31st. For now, meditate on the top of a waterfall.
~by Maxwell Cavaseno
As 2012′s dawn peeks from over the hills of yesteryear, more new young rappers are poking their head out to bask in the sunlight. More than a few have managed to take their influences and spin them in ways that outsiders would find difficult to trace. One of them is Khalil Nova, a young man in his early 20′s from Atlanta. Like Tyler, The Creator and Spaceghostpurrp before him, he’s a producer with an eclectic style which looms over his vulnerable personality. A personality which is is embodied by the struggle within last year’s “808′s Of Death”.
It’s easy to see why Danny Brown declared “Khalil Nove got next!” While more and more bedroom rapper/producers are popping up out of the woodwork at an alarming rate, few of them have the immediacy in their production styles to stand out and arrest your attention. But on opener “Cloud Mover”, Khalil seduces the listener with a haze of soap-opera strings, low thudding bass, and melodies meant to pull at heartstrings. Throughout the tape, his sounds form a confusing array of realms to dwell in: whether on the murky sitar-tinged plod of “Combo”, the eski/R&B hybrid of “Freezer Bhudd” to the lo-fi could’ve-been-a-malnourished-Zomby-tune of “Internet Muzik” and the Juicy J gone cybernetic grind of “The Ultimate Track”. Khalil manages to merge the sounds of video-game bleeps from bits 8 to 32 with the bombast of modern trap production.
Khalil Nova - Puma (Soundcloud, 2011)
The youngin’s last sneak peek of I’m The Black Layne Staley maybe his most exciting yet. I spoke to Khalil about a week ago, not long after the release of Young Jeezy’s TM103, and he told me of the influence that Jeezy’s had on him over the years. This is the closest Khalil’s come to making a homage of The Snowman’s signature style, but it’s still disctinctly Nova. Khalil’s voice is more diabolical than it has been in the past, letting that grungry rasp echo throughout the already distorted production in a sinister manner. Even though this song really doesn’t stray too far from being about bitches and shoes, Khalil’s tone of voice makes it sound like he’s preparing an army of intergalactic soldiers for universal takeover. He’s in a shiny Gundam, of course.
Khalil’s Black Layne Staley will be dropping on January 31st, hosted by yours truly and the staff at No Jumper.
Khalil Nova - 808s of Death (Internet, 2011)
Khalil Nova is an OG from the deepest depths of the Internet (also Stockbridge, Georgia) who loves anime, Gundams, and “Sega Genesis video games made by the likes of MF DOOM & Gucci Mane.” In other words, little is known about the presumably young artist, other than what little interests he presents to us. 808s of Death, which I found through a co-sign by none other than Danny Brown, is a dark, electronic ride with promises of ruling the world and an infatuation with Voltron. At times during the mixtape, Khalil lets out his pain in an elongated yelp reminiscent of grunge frontman, the late Layne Staley (of Alice in Chains). This is a weird ass album, but it’s absolutely captivating in all its eccentricities. Khalil has 36 likes on his Facebook, but after this D. Brown co-sign and the blog buzz that’s sure to follow, he’ll certainly be a name to watch in 2012. For now, he might’ve just dropped the sleeper of the year.
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