Black El x Durkn (Blast staff photo/Steve Osemwenkhae)

Despite competing in an online market that’s harder to be discovered from than Craigslist’s “missed connections,” Boston rapper/producer team, Black El x Durkin, has already created a surprising buzz for themselves.

Every day, the Internet becomes more riddled with free hip-hop mix tapes. The sheer amount of new rap music that can be accessed online makes the task of uncovering brand new artists almost impossible. Success in the over saturated world of online mix tapes is generally reached by artists who are already established in the mainstream (see Lil Wayne, Andre 3000), or those who produce such an alarming volume of material that they become difficult for Hip-Hop heads to ignore (see the mix tape back catalog of Chicago duo Cool Kids).

With their debut project, Color Commentary, Black El x Durkin has caught the attention of a number of well-respected hip-hop blogs. This fact alone demonstrates the promise of the local duo. Production of backpack rap being at an all time high, the emergence of an artist with just one EP under their belt suggests that there must be some talent behind the release. A few listens to their rookie mix tape confirms that this local duo has enough skill to move from the free downloads of datpiff.com to the charts of the iTunes store.

Black El’s flow has a tight, punchy quality similar to that of Talib Kweli. He has the ability to consistently fill bars with quick and clever couplets, particularly on tracks like “Go!” and “Hi(GH).” The MC is also aware of the value of a decent sing/rap-along hook, the likes of which is best achieved on “Once A Week.” One can easily envisage an audience of college kids playing a game of hip-hop call and response to this song.

In terms of Black El’s lyrics, it is refreshing to hear a young Boston rapper not banging on about how “wicked crazy” the college party scene is, a la Asher Roth or Sam Adams. Though the song “Lunch Line Rap” (with lines like “keg stand girls – too easy to tap”), might find itself providing the soundtrack of a few games of beer pong this semester, most of El’s lyrics deal with more traditional hip-hop motifs. The MC creates mix of witty word play (“close to big Bills like Claire Huxtable”) and self-referential story telling (“I cheated, I beated, copied all that / applied to twenty jobs, ain’t received a call back”). There are times at which the rapper’s complaints about his middle class upbringing fail to pack much of a poetic punch. For the most part, however, Black El shows himself to be an MC who can start either a party or an interesting dialogue.

While Black El’s rapping is more than satisfactory on this ten-song mix tape, what really impresses is the tight production of Northeastern alum, Durkin. The DJ has been doing the rounds, playing club nights around Boston for a few years. “Color Commentary” exposes Durkin’s skill as a beat-maker to a mass audience for the first time. The producer’s tracks manage combine a number of well-established hip-hop techniques in some intelligent ways. Chopped and looped soul samples, relied upon by producers like 9th Wonder (formerly of Little Brother), are made to work along side throwback, boom-bap baselines of artists like Cool Kids. Durkin builds both multi-layered tracks and more straightforward tracks for Black El to spit to throughout the album. “Chutes & Ladders” combines repetitive vocal samples, a strong 808, synths, and various other electronic sounds. Whereas, on “The Jam” all Durkin needs is to play around with the tempo of some old soul records and add some drums to create a full sounding instrumental. Perhaps most importantly, Durkin’s production fits Black El’s flow brilliantly. The MC has to be pleased to have found a producer who compliments him so well.

As well as the buzz surrounding their debut release, Black El x Durkin has also been well received in live settings.

The duo played The Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge on Monday and will likely continue to build their local fan base. Based on the evidence they’ve produced so far, this pair looks set to gain popularity over the next few months. Get to know them now and your friends will think you’ve made the coolest local hip-hop discovery since DJ Premier met Guru.

Color Commentary is out now and available online.

Having seen the (so-called) documentary "I’m Still Here," I still don’t know for sure whether Joaquin Phoenix’s abrupt retirement from acting to launch a hip-hop career is a hoax, or if "J.P." is just off-balance, insulated and delusional.

I do know two things: 1. This film was made expressly so we’d continue to contemplate the question, and 2. After sitting through it, I’d be glad to never see Joaquin Phoenix again.

The particular Joaquin Phoenix character that this film concerns was first introduced in a 2009 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Dressed like a Blues Brother, with black suit and dark shades, he sported the long unkempt hair and bushy beard of a vagrant—a sharp contrast to the chiseled jaw line featured in "Two Lovers," the film he had come, supposedly to promote. Instead of doing so, he announced to Letterman that he was retiring from acting all together, a decision he seemed surprised to have to explain or justify, and that he would be focusing his efforts on a hiphop career.

More surprising than this announcement was his complete lack of a sense of humor about it. Clearly sensitive to the idea that he might be mocked for his efforts, he appeared chilly and withdrawn, chomping on gum, speaking in monosyllabic mumbles and answering all questions about his last film or his future with sneering disdain.

Rumors that this was some sort of hoax, an elaborate publicity stunt, spread through the entertainment press immediately, and peaked when it was learned that Phoenix’s friend and brother-in-law, Casey Affleck was working on a documentary about his shocking career move.

The entirety of "I’m Still Here" thrives on the uncertainty. Like "The Blair Witch Project," "Borat," (the short-lived) "K-Street" and much of reality television, it’s about guessing which parts are real and which are staged, and working out the implications of each contingency.

Phoenix is clearly as complicit as can be in this film, which begins and ends with pointed home movies from his childhood. He is always aware of the camera. The character he creates, or allows to be revealed, is appalling. Expending far more t energy passionately yet incoherently defending his hiphop career than making or practicing songs, he appears paranoid, boorish, overweight and overbearing. Affleck’s lens catches Phoenix abusing his entourage, overindulging in booze, weed and cocaine, ordering prostitutes off of the Internet, brawling with hecklers, vomiting backstage at a gig, and basically failing spectacularly and with naive surprise whenever he is presented with an opportunity for success or redemption.

The film doesn’t have much of an arch; It’s a pretty much a flat line of ugly flailing. The only thing keeping it alive is the ever-present questions: if this is real, how did it happen? Why would Phoenix allow himself to be shown in such an unsympathetic light? How can Affleck dare to profit off it? If it’s fake, what could be the point? Who is the joke supposed to be on? Where could Phoenix imagine himself going next?

No matter how these questions are answered, the problem with the film is that it fails the test of any piece of post-modern, conceptual art: is it still compelling without the artist’s statement? Is it as worth looking at as it is considering?

Ignition Entertainment launched an online demo for the upcoming puzzle-strategy title Red Bull BC One for Nintendo DS.

“Red Bull BC One is one of the most important B-Boy competitions in the world. The legendary battle hosts 16 of the world’s best B-Boys in a one-on-one, knock-out-battle to determine who is The One,” Ignition said in a statement Wednesday.

B-Boys and B-Girls are hip hop terms. The term originated as a way to refer to any follower of hip hop, identifiable by clothing habits, listening tastes or lifestyle. It has since more specifically been used to refer to the hip hop dancing.

There are a ton of Red Bull BC One videos, screens, wallpapers and info on the game’s website.

GAME FEATURES:

• Officially licensed game, featuring the world of Red Bull BC One competitions
• 36 battles throughout 8 stages in story mode, plus training mode
• 70+ different dance animations
• Many un-lockable mini games and items
• 35 unique music tracks
• 3D backgrounds (basketball court, urban street, beach and more)
• Multiple customization options (outfits, hair, shoes and more)
• Battle against a friend in wireless multiplayer mode

Red Bull BC One hits shelves September 16.