This summer a lyrical tidal wave splashed over the entire South Sound, with the aftermath leaving the streets of Olympia scattered with new hip-hop.  There were probably more mixtapes, EPs and full-length hip-hop albums released in the past three months than there were over the previous two years. I say to myself, "Something must've been in the air or the water or the whiskey." Or maybe Olympia's hip-hop scene is just finally growing up, going from its adolescent days of freestyling on the sidewalks to releasing quality music on a professional level. 

With Olympia infested with so much new hip-hop, it was tough to choose a certain release to talk about, which is why you will read about both Hollywood Kill Krew's album Smoke Monster and Never Sleep's self-titled EP this week.

When I listen to HKK's Smoke Monster the feeling I get reminds me of being a kid again, taking bong hits in my parent's garage while watching Ren and Stimpy. The beats and lyrics seem appropriate for a teenage party-like environment, in a good way.  The up-tempo, dance-y, party beats - produced solely by Doc Hollywood - are accompanied perfectly by hilarious lyrics praising marijuana, alcohol and the Krew's hometown, Olympia.  If you like serious, whiny or multi-syllable prone rappers that make songs over soul-sampled, laidback beats I would not recommend this album. But if you like to party - or just flat out have a good time while laughing your ass off - then this bud's for you.

Never Sleep's new self-titled EP sounds REALLY good.  The sound quality is some of the best I've ever heard out of an Olympia hip-hop album.  Produced by both members, Double B and Dan Fajans, and mixed by Fajans, this is an all-around solid project that proves both these guys are very talented - not just at rapping but in the engineer department as well.

Never Sleep's new self-titled EP, much like HKK's Smoke Monster, definitely has the party vibe going on - just not as much in a glorifying-getting-fucked-up kind of way.  It's an album that shows you these guys are gifted rappers who know how to put their skills to use.  If I were hosting an event where people wanted to dance, but I didn't want them to be offended by an occasional dirty lyric, this would probably be a safe selection.