Hot Sugar//Made Man

by will brennan on October 1, 2013

Posted in: Album Review, Electronic, Hip Hop, Music, Pop, Uncategorized

Nick Koenig aka Hot Sugar self-released his EP Made Man TODAY. It features a lot of artists we heard on his “Midi Murder” EP like Antwon, Lakutis, KOOL AD, and Chippy Nonstop. We even hear an extended version of “56k,” which was originally released on “Midi Murder.” Some of my favorite tracks feature new artists like Bill Ding and The GTW. As an Grammy-nominated producer, the New York-based artist has a lot of skill in accommodating  the different voices that rap over his beats.

Hot Sugar uses his social connections to develop his original, yet familiar, aesthetic. He has taken his musical style one step further in adding more diverse textures in his melodies like the ones we see in “Erica.” I always try to disregard my impressions of an album’s first track in order to listen to it all with the same mindset, but the croaky piano melody in “Erica” really resonated with me as I listened to the rest of “Made Man.” “Watermelon” features Open Mike Eagle, whose graphic lyrics blend really well with the track’s grungy/electronic/minimalist melody. But I think that Hot Sugar addresses an interesting idea in “Future Primitive Art Student”; that is, the fame of today’s internet sensations like JBiebs who have disregarded art school as an outlet for developing their artistic abilities. Maybe I’m looking into it a little too far, but I think that idea really highlights Hot Sugar’s purpose asan artist. He, along with other artists like Kitty, are bending musical genres to form their unique fresh styles.

Enjoy