October 06, 2015

The Left "Gas Leaks" (EP Stream, 2010)


I remember back when Dart, Eric and Trav were pushing The Left hard through Bloggerhouse. We all agreed, they had an ear up on some classic hip-hop! I recently did a quick search for The Left in my laptop and up popped the LP, instrumentals, and then "Gas Leaks." I couldn't recall if these were demos I'd heard in those Bloggerhouse days or a separate EP that was released after "Gas Mask" dropped, so I did another search and there was the press release/blurb to remind me: "Coming off the success of their debut album Gas Mask, Detroit trio The Left, made up of producer Apollo Brown, rapper Journalist 103, and DJ Soko, are treating fans with the release of a brand new EP -- for free. Gas Leaks is comprised of unreleased material from Gas Mask, and while Gas Leaks was initially intended for release prior to the album, the group explains, "we wanted to bring a shock value for this album since it is was highly anticipated and Gas Leaks just puts more value and credibility to "Gas Mask." When I copped the LP back in 2010, the one track that disappointed me a bit was "Real Detroit," because it was different than the version that floated around prior to its release, however it did land on Apollo's producer LP, The Reset. There may (or nah) have also been a slightly alternate version of "Get In Where You Fit In," too, but my memory is fading. Either way, stream the 3 bonus tracks + instrumentals and the Real Detroit "remix" below. Props to Dart Adams, Trav G and Eric for their work behind the scenes helping to secure a label home for the album.