By Ben Jackson ’11
THE ROUNDUP

New York-based hip-hop duo Dean and Ravo released their new mixtape “A to B” Feb. 28 via the music blog thissongissick.com.

On “A to B” the duo released 12 tracks.

Dean and Ravo’s music is considered hip-hop, but they have a style of music that is much different from many other hip-hop groups today.

You notice this difference the instant you begin listening to any song on the record.

Contributing to their different style of hip-hop is this duo’s unique way of preforming their music together.

Ravo sings the catchy and often softer choruses that follow Dean’s harder and smoother flowing rap lyrics.

Their style of music has been compared to Citizen Cope, but with more of a hip-hop edge to their songs.

Parts of “A to B” are not very great but there are times when Dean and Ravo show promise of eventually becoming major players in the music industry best exemplified by the songs “Walkin’ Around,” “End of the Week” and “Runaway.”

In these three songs, Dean and Ravo show their range of musical abilities.

“Walkin’ Around” has a light, happy and fast electric piano beat that is nontraditional to hip-hop music.

“End of the Week” brings in a more traditional hip-hop beat with bass and drum kit, but Dean’s lyrics on this song are what make it special.

Dean has the ability to take a normal beat that is decent and then lay amazing lyrics over it, making the song itself amazing.

In “Runaway,” Dean and Ravo bring in a normal drum kit beat with electric guitar laid over, giving it a very edgy feel.

This song shows Ravo’s singing ability with the chorus.

Also, “Runaway” shows off how well his voice fits for the chorus to this song.

“Walkin’ Around” and “End of the Week” were both released by Dean and Ravo through Youtube and various music blogs before the Feb. 28 release of their mixtape.

However, this mixtape is well worth the time to download for free, and look for Dean and Ravo to be making an impact in the music business in the near future.