MEMBERS ONLY

Um, So...Yeah

2011-01-03T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry blogspot, I'ma let you finish...but the new MembersOnly206.com is the greatest looking Members Only website OF ALL TIME!!! OF ALL TIME!!!

The Internets Best of 2010 Rap

2010-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

It's the end of the year and ain't shit going down. To be fair we have seen and heard way more dope music than anyone has a right too in one lap around the sun. I'll be devouring things that dropped this year for the next decade. But thats cool, music is sounding great and when the need to debate what was the best goes down? Far better than the feeling of scratching your head asking what did I get down to this year, didn't it all drop years ago? I for one can't get enough new music and struggle with the prospect of balancing out time spent hearing new things versus just enjoying them music I love.

As I prepare to move at the top of 2011 and put together our own best of lists I've been perusing the usual haunts, more so hopping for something new to be delivered than to read yet another list but that's what critics do this time of year. A few sites have impressed me with their choices, my favorite site dropped a list of 50 albums over half of which I'm certain I never heard - got even more listening to do, thank god for the first quarter when nothing drops and we all play catch up with what we missed in the year that was.

What lists have impressed you? If you have never ventured over to No Trivia I highly reccomend Soderbergs sly take and ear on modern hiphop. He resides in B More and sometimes he lets his city influence him more than it would if he lived elsewhere which is ok, it provides a voice for some dope music in a town no one cares about. What you know about that Moodyman? He dropped his list of 25 best rap tunes then went on to mix 'em up and drop off a smooth playing podcast. He sounds like a radio DJ throughout the mix, basically just letting one tune finish and dropping the next one, but hey not everyone can be a DJ and at least this way you are able to actually hear the full song in case you missed any. His best selection in my eyes? The Little Brother jam, that as the title states, is "Tiggalo For Dolo." Don't forget that Phonte has bars, even if he is more concerned with singing a tune these days.

Passion of the Weiss always organizes a pretty serious year end wrap up, you may have already seen it, or clicked the above link to my fav site - yeah I said it, if you are looking for music journalism on the internet focused on forward thinking artists this is the site to visit hands down. Enough stanning, this is about Sach O aka Son Raw's best of the year rap mix. Sach has multiple skills with his hands, not just writing dope pieces on bass music of the future he gets down on the tables behind his computer and in front of crowds every now and then in Montreal. Mixing a tad bit more than Soderberg did and looking at a whole other section of hiphop, listening to these two mixes next to each other you will hear just how wide open hiphop is these days. Lots of dope music coming from so many different angles.

And if the glasses are confusing you just watch this and be ready for one of the dopest projects of 2011.

Willie Joe ft. Dice "Coming Up"

2010-12-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

From what I can learn Willie Joe is repping the Bay and Atlanta, dropped an album entitled Focus this past August and my bet is when he was in Seattle for the release party he shot this video. Can't be mad at that. Dope to see visuals of the town from an outsiders perspective. Local singer and emcee Dice holds down the hook for Willie on this track about some things we all understand in this recession.

The download link I was directed too at Dat Piff was no longer active. Speaking of Dat Piff, all aspiring rappers I don't care whose tape you downloaded off the site, do not use Dat Piff to distribute your music. It's wack as fuck and looks tacky. End rant. You can purchase Focus from Willie Joe here.

DaVinci "The Day The Turf Stood Still"

2010-12-27T08:19:00.001-08:00

At the end of the day heads want to hear banging beats and dope flows. Some care about content more than others. When you get all three you can’t help but smile. DaVinci is the latest emcee from the bay to attempt to break out the confines of his city and he carries himself with confidence and spits with ease, skills that won’t be taken lightly as his name begins to ring out in other parts of the country.

His project The Day The Turf Stood Still is a pretty dope collection of cuts that have very little in common with much of the output his peers deliver on a regular basis. The first thing to stand out are the thumping beats, far more boom bap than west coast cruising style. This is ok though as DaVinci has a message heavy enough for the deepest of drums. Hit him with your best.

He doesn’t rap fast, he stays in the cut and let’s his thoughts develop. His bars are deeper than they might at first sound, but listen close and his clear pronunciation will have you rewinding for days. He discusses the street life, nothing new to hiphop. Sometimes he does it with a hint of regret other times it’s more a sense of lessons learned from experience.

2010 saw a rise in what I viewed as intelligent gangsters. A number of emcees made a name for themselves walking the line between telling ignorant street tales about exploits and crimes commited in exchange for the demonstration of compelling feeling about the negatives to these actions.

DaVinci addresses gentrification in a manner I’m sure my college professors wouldn’t approve but will probably teach more than a few people how the concept affected them directly. “What You Finna Do” has DaVinci rapping in almost a whisper about D-Boys loosing work as a different class moves into the neighborhoods accustomed to serving. His observations are with merit and have to prompt questions.

He injects slivers of his life in all his tracks, “All I Have” shows him spend three minutes discussing the struggle of acquiring any kind of wealth. Expressing the pain of empty pockets is an expertly chopped sample shouting “All I have in my pocket.” Money is a reoccurring theme, lending credence to the notion it does make the world go round. “Ben” is an awesome song about the journey a dollar can take and what people will do to get it, how fast they can blow it.

At some point in time “gangsta” rap lost any significance and became a blanket term for rap tunes that had no conscious, no accountability, no knowledge. While you can still find more than enough of that, the introduction of artists who want to be gangsters to the system once again is a great addition to the landscape of hiphop in 2011. DaVinci is helping pave that path.

The Post Christmas Wrap Up

2010-12-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

I'm enroute to work brunch once again after many months away. I told the bartender to be hooking up some champagne in my glass of OJ, hope he remembers! If you took a break from the computer over the holiday you might of missed more than a few things, here are a few jawns that grabbed me.

Kendrick Lamar has only elevated in the months since the release of his stellar O(verly) D(edicated) record. If you missed out on the review or interview peep 'em respectively. Schoolboy Q is the only member of the Black Hippies who hasn't hit us with a great project. With this leak off Setbacks there is no doubt in my mind that he will stand tall with his family.

SL Jones isn't a name I've heard too much outside of a guest verse or two with Killer Mike. Here he calls on the big homie to close out his track. Pill also swings through for a solid 16, dude is becoming my new favorite guest rhyme slanger. SL holds it down, makes me curious what he has coming. This is off a tape he plans to drop in January. The new year is already looking promising and I'm still devouring music from the year that we ain't quite finished with. Gotta love great music!

Speaking of Mike this is some serious hiphop shit right here! Just let that track above play. Yes that is El-P lacing Killer motherfuckin' Mike with a monster of a beat. They are working on an album that shall be released via Adult Swim. I seriously couldn't be more excited for this and it's been more than a hot minute since Jamie Meline's alter ego has gotten me excited in the slightest. Rest assured should this hit the internets faces will be melted while minds are sharpened on the knowledge Killer Mike recites with ease.

And this being our blog and all we did drop a little EP yesterday you might have missed. It's from Brothers From Another and you can learn more here - or just scroll down slightly. I'm outta here, come eat some food at Palisade today and help ease my hatred of the place.

Merry Christmas from the MO Crew

2010-12-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

If all you got was some coal in your stocking here is a little gift to help lift those winter blues! Members Only has teamed up with the two Brothers From Another to deliver their latest EP Two Week Vacation.

Created in the summer time off Rainers and good times these two now college freshman have been home for the holiday break and rocking the town while they can. If you didn't catch em at the Jus Moni show they will be holding it town with the SOTA crew at the all ages get together Sunday night at Nectar. Be there.

In the mean time put this on, relax and feast your ears on some more 206 hiphop goodness!

Christmas Music 2010 Roundup

2010-12-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Google hiphop Christmas and this pops up in the image results. I can dig it.

Last night I sat and watched a play. The play was a sequel to the holiday classic A Christmas Carol. It was pretty lame and made me think about my distaste for holiday music. For the holiday in general. But it's Christmas Eve and I'm kicking it with the fam. I need some music that convey's the holiday spirit and still makes me feel sane. Thankfully a number of artists have decided to break us off with some good music this week to help aid in our celebrations.

I'm not overly familiar with Gerald Walker, but I know he has dropped a song or two via the blogosphere that I've bumped. His quick EP A Gerald Walker Christmas dropped on the 20th and I've already played it through many times. It's fun and good music. He picked up some beats that feature bells, strings and soft drums that all equate christmas to my ear. But don't imagine these beats as weak. Far from it. You'll be vibing with him. Lyrically he just talks his holiday shit. About his feelings of what it's about, how he spends it and happiness. Mess with some family members heads with this! Listen to my fav cut off the project above, and download the whole jawn here.

Stones Throw blue eyed soul man Mayer Hawthorne dropped "Christmas Time Is Here" featuring him singing the holiday standard over some melancholy piano keys from Vince Guaraldi. To be honest this song is right on the edge of what I hate about Christmas music. His voice is high here, almost uncomfortably so yet the smooth piano and funny cover help endear this nerdy take on a Christmas song everyone in your house has heard at least once.

Mayer Hawthorne - Christmas Time Is Here by Mayer Hawthorne

Paul White is a name you will be hearing more of in the future. He makes dope sample based instrumentals. I'm curious how traditions vary across the pond, perhaps one day I'll find out. Holiday standards appear to be standards worldwide. He unleashed "We Three Kings" last week, you should enjoy it with some peppermint egg nog.

Paul White - We Three Kings by alexchase

After storming the world with his album that is racking up slots on year end lists, Ye decided to hit us with one more Good Friday jam to help us ring in the 25th of December. "Christmas In Harlem" sees the Good music fam joining up with the Harlem crew to wish their hood a very merry Christmas. The beat is smooth, Kanye found a good chick to hold down the hook and Musiq Soulchild singing at the end makes me remember why I bought all his albums in high school. Vado's verse here might have been the tipping point for me, may be checking for dude in 2011. You can download this from Kanye.

Over the same beat Statik Selektah and his 1982 partner Termanology team up with JFK, Reks & Kali to wish their town the same sentiments. Another fun cut that will probably mean more for those in that local. But hey if you need something a little harder for your Christmas mix this will suit your needs perfectly!

Burn One might have been the most under the radar producer this year lacing many a souther cat with a banger. Right before closing out the year it's only fitting he would drop the instrumental "Figgy Pudding (Spaced Out Xmas Jam)" on our collective conscious. It's heavy. It features guitars ragging in the background over choir vocals. There is a melody here we have all heard every year around this time too, replayed only how a hiphop head could do it. This bangs.

Merry Christmas to you all from us here at Members Only. Have an awesome holiday!

Wick-It "The Brothers of Chico Dusty"

2010-12-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

I guess Christmas time just brings out the mashers. After that ill lil Budos Band and Wu-Tang merger a character known as Wick-It has taken two albums from the top 10 lists and delivered something that might be better than the originals.

A year ago The Black Keys delivered a collaboration with many rappers called Blakroc. It seemed to go fairly unnoticed but some of the recording techniques they picked up in that process rubbed off as they entered the studio to make the next proper Black Keys album. Brothers was the result and it's an album all you hiphop heads should put on and escape for awhile too.

Big Boi not much can be said for. He is the smoothest spitter to ever emerge from the A. Most heads had seemingly written him off the books and resigned themselves to celebrating whatever few verses Andre deemed suitable to bless us with. Then the much discussed solo work from Mr. Patton Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty hit the world like a new Outkast album dropping. And that's pretty much what it is, Outkast minus Andre. It's dope. Sounds like everything the greatest duo ever has given us for damn near 2 decades. I know I'm alone in this thought.

Now enter Wick-It. This guy takes some awesome blues inflected rock that is dustier and grimier than any hiphop record to be released in the last decade (as long as the record is not called Marcberg) and flips the shit into some awesome beats that fit Big Boi like a glove. While the soulful drenched production of Chico Dusty is pretty beautiful and groove inducing, these beat incarnations hit harder and convey more southern authenticity than a a shutterbug.

I don't know how long this will last thanks to our archaic copyright laws, but Wick-It has the tunes on his soundcloud page here.

UPDATE: Thanks to Andrew who works with Wick-It I've discovered the bandcamp page for this project too! Listen below.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Jus Moni

2010-12-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've been spotlighting a number of talents found via Bandcamp, until now they've been from outside of Seattle. Last week I sat down at the Faire Cafe with Jus Moni to talk about her debut project and her life here in the six. Tonight she releases the project with a special celebration at Chop Suey. If you are still in town you should definitely check it out.

You grew up in Seattle?
Yeah.

Where abouts?
Central District and Becon Hill, between the two.

What were your parents playing, what did you grow up hearing in the house?
Oh, well I've always stayed with my grandmother and she is Cambodian so we've always listened to Cambodian music. But what I gravitated towards Pete Rock, CL Smooth, Pac, Biggie, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, just a mixture.

Do you still listen to the Cambodian music?
Yeah always.

When did you start signing?
It's really corny because people are always like I started singing as soon as I could make sounds, but I probably did. But when I started singing and taking it seriously was probably when I was like 12 or something.

How did you connect with the heads you have on your record?
Me and Lace met early last year, not sure how we met but we just did. It was probably through mutual friends. We finally got the opportunity to work with each other and put out the single and that was great.

With Khingz, he is like my brother, he has always been like my older brother. So finally got the opportunity to make music with him, that's awesome.

Cripsy I don't know that well, I met him through Khingz.

In the days when Laced Up used to be open on Pike and we all just kicked it in the shop and SOTA Boys would come through, well Thad was working there and we didn't know he could rap for hella long. And then Parker and Nate just came along. That was some years ago. I knew that Parker had skills when it came to recording and engineering and all that stuff so I was like let me hit up Parker before I make this project.

With Kuddie, it's funny we have never even met in real life and Kuddie listened to a song I was on the hook of with Thad, Good Sin and Tay Sean. So he heard that and hit me up on twitter saying can I send you some beats? I was like yeah whats up. I was sleeping on his beats for hella long and when I finally got to a point where I was ready to start creating music I hit him up asking for permission and he sent me even more. That's why the majority of the project is all Kuddie.

Your Relationship with Sin goes back too?
Kellen is also like my brother, they all consider me like their little sister but we are really close. He has been in my life for a couple years too.

What can you tell me about the session for that track, "Turn Me On"?
Nooo… Actually, let's see. We were all in the studio and Tay Sean is hella funny. In the studio, even in life he is just hella funny so we always have a good time when we get together. Then Thad, The Good Sin, it was just funny. We came together and wrote our verses together, laid it down, it all came together really quick.

Is that you rapping next to The Good Sin on "Almost Lover"?
Yes.

Are you gonna be rapping more?
I do rap. Sometimes. I only rap for a verse, even half a verse. But I do rap. And I do have a side project called the Game Show Winners. It's Khingz, DJ WD40, Amos, Belicia, and Hollis from Canary Sing. We are called the Game Show Winners and I'm rapping all in the Game Show Winners.

Is that gonna out at some point?
Yes, at the release party we have something special.

Did you have the whole project done in your head before you sat down in the studio with Parker?
Not all of it, most of it was like party music that I had written out to all the beats and when I came to Parker there was still some production that I hadn't written over and that's where he came in, started giving me ideas. I really trust Parker's judgement and his musical genius and so we would go back and forth and stand on tables in the studio and come up with ideas and start spitting out words and it just came together.

So he was providing more than just being a technical recording engineer?
Definitely, that is why he is executive producer on the project. He had so much input with how things sound, what kind of harmonies can I use, how should the song be arranged, can we cut this verse here and put it here, he was all into it. So I appreciate him. I've never been in the studio with somebody who can help me and guide me in the direction I need to go to make an incredible song, so it worked.

What are you working on now, after this?
Game Show Winners stuff. But also I want to travel with Ready For Life, like next year. But I'm sure I'm gonna get back in the studio and start working on the album Spring time next year and it come out early 2012.

Growing up were you hearing Seattle rap?
Probably when I was younger it was like Absynian Creole. It was probably just because I knew Gabe and Khalil. Other than that not really, I wasn't really checking for Seattle rap either. A lot of Seattle Rap is wack.

A lot of what you mentioned was rap, were you listening to much 90s R&B?
Oh Monica? Me and Monica go back, that was my girl. I didn't mess with Aaliyah that much but I sure did know all of her songs lyrics. Not really. I so much gravitated towards just hiphop and rap as my influences and even what I listen to daily. De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest. Tribe Called Quest is probably the biggest influence in my whole music career into even what I do, how I perform, everything.

Have you been doing shows for awhile?
I have, I started doing shows when I was like 12. Seattle young people's project used to host the MLK hiphop show that happened every year in Seattle and we used to have our shows at the Vera Project so we'd rap at the Vera Project or have a guest appearance at like Chop Suey or something for Gabe. It's been a minute, I haven't locked down the town yet but it's been a minute.

What's your set like?
For the release party I'll be performing the first half of my set with DJ WD40 and the second half of my set with Big World Breaks, the live band. So it's gonna be a whole different feel, atmosphere.

Have you rocked with them before?
No, I don't think I have. Maybe with Aaron Walker-Loud just playing drums before at Lo-Fi or something but not with the whole band and just me singing.

So are you trying to get to performing with a live band?
Yeah definitely. I want to travel with the live band shit. I love my DJ, Waylon, he is awesome and he plays cuts. But just the sound of the live band, it's a different experience. You are able to bring people in and take them there.

Are you gonna be getting any DJ WD40 beats in the future?
Well that's the Game Show Winners, all him and Amos.

Is there any modern stuff you are listening to?
Helladope, I fuck with Helladope. SOTA. Now with the modern stuff I really listen to local, modern shit. I fuck with Wiz, not heavy but I fuck with him. Currensy, love that guy. U-N-I, Pac Div, Kendrick Lamar, Diamond District. Those are some cats.

What's your favorite album of the year?
Oh shit… Album of the year would have to be Bilal. The album he just dropped, Airtights Revenge. Album of the year.

Who would you like to collaborate with outside of Seattle?
I really want to work with Exile and Oddisee. Filthy. My whole dream, like I'm living to work with Lauryn Hill one day. If that ever happens, I don't know what I'm gonna do, that's what I'm living for is that opportunity. Also on a lower scale, I'd love to work with Blu, I think that would be incredible. Such talented artists.

Last words?
Come to the show, Dec. 22nd!

---

Thanks to Moni for sitting down with me!

Wu-Tang Clan x Budos Band "Wudos Band"

2010-12-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Just touched down in Portland, had to get this up for yall before I get into any antics around Bridgetown.

If you are at our spot I hope you fuck with Wu-Tang Clan, I hope you've grooved to the tunes of Budos Band too but you are forgiven if not. A lot of bands have been doing the modern funk thing for years now, Sharon Jones has helped shed light on her band the Dap Kings, Rakim, Ghost and a few other rappers have toured with The Rhythm Roots Allstars, the El Michaels Affair has backed Raekwon in NYC. These groups and those of their ilk make songs you could be mistaken for thinking RZA, Primo or Pete Rock had flipped in the past.

Producer and engineer Tekst, who has worked with a number of members from the Clan, chopped up some of Budos gritty funk and flipped 'em into some classic sounding material straight out of the Shaolin. Enter the Wudos Band. Download here.

Hipped to via Nerdtorious.

Jus Moni "Ready For Life"

2010-12-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

With the Seattle hiphop scene steadily growing it’s only natural that voices would emerge more interested in harmonies than flowing. Jus Moni has appeared alongside some of the vibrant faces in our community and is now delivering her debut project Ready For Life.

Like R&B of the 90s, she finds herself with production obviously influenced by the hiphop sound of things. Kuddie Fresh may have left Seattle but Atlanta has only given him some new ideas, new sounds to explore. Tay Sean cooks up a smooth track (“Almost Lover”) that sounds nothing like anything we’ve heard him do yet.

Vocally she is a very interesting talent. The EP doesn’t expose a belting superstar, but she has an awesomely unique voice that you can tell she is still developing and learning to utilize. She doesn’t shy away from sensitive subject matter addressing complicated issues you would envision an aged singer contemplating.

From spitting raps next to The Good Sin on “Almost Lover” discussing what the title says, singing a smooth duet with Lace Cadence about the complexities of emotional openness on “Can We” to penning a very honest song in “Never Too Late”, Moni exposes a lot of herself on this record and only lends credence to the twitter chatter last week of people echoing the sentiment she proves throughout Ready For Life: She is more grown up than most.

While the album is serious and heartfelt, the grooves provided here are very moving in a whole different way and there is no doubt you shouldn't be moving to this. She may make you think, but she is still a young person and there is a calming sense of happiness surrounding both her and her music.

Moni will be celebrating the release of this EP at Chop Suey on Wednesday the 22nd. Be there if you are in town, it's bound to be full of good vibes and great tunes. I hear a Seattle rap super group maybe forming like Voltron too.

Currensy "Daze of Thunder"

2010-12-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

Curren$y - Daze of Thunder from Creative Control on Vimeo.

What's a morning without some Spitta? I can hear Swerve rockin to it at the moment and this video is as fresh as any other one he's dropped. Off his upcoming tape Return to the Winners Circle.

2 Rappers. 2 Producers. 2 Albums.

2010-12-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Tick Tock - Co$$ (feat. Sene) from Mupalia Pictures on Vimeo.

The pairing of one emcee with one producer is more commonly used as a marketing ploy these days than it is a demonstration of two artists really collaborating to make some powerful music. There are always the exception’s to the rule and via the internets above ground stature more art is being made than probably ever before in the history of recorded music. Being stuck with one portable music playing device that has no space I chose two albums to join me on my bus ride to work yesterday. I didn’t expect them to be what I was listening to 24 hours later but sure enough I was impressed.

The two albums in question are Revelations, an officially titled “mixtape” from Co$$ and Numonics, and Brown Study, the debut album from female ATL by way of Detroit spitter Boog Brown and fellow 313 representer Apollo Brown on the beats. Both albums represent their towns and demonstrate young voices trying to strike a chord in the ears, hearts and minds of anyone who will give them the time to hear one song.

They are both banging, classic styled boom bap affairs that will have heads rolling shit up and vibing out to the grooves laid down via perspective producers. Apollo Brown wears his city heavy on his sleeve demonstrating the best elements of some grimy Detroit production with lots of samples, hard drums and some smooth melodies which add a certain texture to Boog’s voice.

Numonics on the other hand veers away from much of what you have heard out of the city of angels. Listening to the project (it may be tagged a mixtape but this is all original - it’s an album) you are struck with his keen sense of space within his beats. He utilizes pauses in the action, be it the elimination of a key sample or the cutting of the drums from the track. Sometimes tunes sound like he might have fleshed out what he was listening for with some live players. Or else he is digging and chopping with the best of em.

Like his partner with the beats, Co$$ isn’t coming off like your typical west coast gang baning rapper. He runs with Blu and while I wouldn’t want to compare them in many ways their choice of content is similiar. Co$$ is aiming to show the multifaceted life of people, be them rappers or you or your fam. Everyone lives life and the ability to capture those minute details that make up our experiences on Earth is a skill not all know how to convey.

Boog Brown is a serious chick with no gimmicks but the skill she wields on the mic. I was hipped to her by House Shoes making the comment that woman can’t rap, but Boog has bars. He is right about her skills, but I think there are a few other femcee’s worth something. As straight forward as they can come, you won’t hear her getting flashy or talking nonsense. As she says “every word counts” and she doesn’t seem to forget it throughout the twelve tunes that make up Brown Study. She talks shit and steadily demonstrates why you shouldn’t doubt her claims. But braggadocio alone does not an emcee make. And Boog Brown is an emcee. Listen to her.

Co$$ and Numonics dropped their project with the dopehouse for free, grab it via their post here.

Apollo Brown & Boog Brown dropped Brown Study with Mello Music Group and can be purchased here.

Elan Tamara & Dimitri Grimm "For Medals"

2010-12-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Dimitri Grimm is the name of long time beat experimentalist Dimlite. Always ahead of his time when it coms to forward thinking music, he has released albums with Sonar Kollectiv and Stones Throw.

Seeing artists of this level embracing Bandcamp is a pretty awesome. Freedom to do what they feel with music is something any artist has to crave. He just threw up this short collection of three songs entitled For Medals. It features vocalist Elan Tamara who has a unique voice that floats over these beats of his. The beats are anything but really. Full of life and different instruments, sounds are something Dimlite has always toyed with and bent into his own ways. This record shows glimpses of that, but much more traditional musical progressions throughout the songs make this into a futuristic jazz affair in my eyes.

Recorded in 2007 and 2008 he had apparently almost trashed these, lucky for us he changed his mind and they are now available for your listening pleasure.

Download here, stream below.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Bodega Man

2010-12-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

As per usual with the Bandcamp interview, if you missed Bodega Man's album check out the review of it from Monday! I came across this album just as it dropped in February, I'd just gotten a job and was starting to feel a little more on my feet. The job was serving students at my alma mater which didn't excite me much. One perk was I got to play music all night long, can't ever be mad at that! Bodega Man got a few spins there and a few in the whip, his lyrics about the struggle for a dollar mean something.

Introduce yourself? What should people know about Bodega Man?
Well the name is Bodega Man from East side of Long Beach. I’m a very humble emcee and a college grad with a lot to spit for the masses.

You grew up in the same area that Snoop Dogg did, what can you say about this community? Do you still live in that area?
Well, its a multi- racial community which includes Latinos, African Americans, Asians, and Samoans. Everyone in the community has different culture values and conflicts occur when the different cultures clash. The neighborhood is still rough but after a while, you learn to cope with the environment. I don’t live in the area anymore but I still hang around with my friends who live there.

Your first album never saw release due to it's poor recording quality, what did you change in that process to make your second album, The Jazz Album: Recession Thinking, of high enough quality to let the public hear?
A.T. (Average Thought) recommended me to his boy Matt who has a recording studio in his garage after hearing The Bodega Album. Once I recorded a few tracks from The Jazz Album, I kept in contact with Matt from there on. Matt knew what he was doing and gave me some direction for the album as well.

Your producer is A.T., how did you two meet? What is the collaborative process like between the two of you?
A.T. was trying to sell his MPC for 900 bucks and his beats. I didn’t really pay attention to it for two weeks because I had finals. Until one day I looked at his ad again. I wrote down his myspace page info, then I checked it out... man, I was speechless. You don’t come along around people like A.T. His style of beats is what i was looking for because I’ve always admired Jay Dilla beats, Pete Rock, Primo, and Madlib and A.T. had that style. I gave him a call and left a message on his phone. It took him about two days to call back but I had missed his call. He was selling his beats for 150 a pop but I didn’t have that kind of money so we talked it out and managed an agreement. Before he gave me any of his beats, I had to freestyle in front of him at his homeboys pad. When he started to freestyle, I stayed my ass quiet hahahhahhaha. Ever since then everything has been history.

The way A.T. and I handle our collaborative process is by feeling each others idea out or I tell him about the song that I’m writing and he makes a beat or he has a beat ready.

You are a college grad working in the service industry, how does this situation feed your creativity?Well I look at what I have and figure out how I’m going to make it. Even though I’m a college grad I still struggle to make ends meet. Thats when my creative juices start to drip and I’m able to write better music. I feel like people who start from the bottom have that hunger to show the people what its all about.

What did you grow up listening to? Who inspired you to start flowing?
I listen to everything from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, 2Pac, Snoop, Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Nas, Wu-Tang, MC Hammer, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, oldies music, salsa etc. The people who really inspired me to flow were Mos Def, J-5, Nas, Common, and Talib kweli.

You mentioned that your next album, tentatively titled The Love Album may be your last. Is it still in the making? Still planning to have it be your exit? What would be next for you after that?
Yes, The Love Album: Love In Love Out will be my last album. I am working on it right now and I’m about three songs deep into already. After this album I’ll work on little tracks or throw out songs here and there when I get inspired to write. After this album I’m planing on producing with my boy Tech Advance and see where that goes. I wouldn’t be the greatest at it but I’ll try my best.

What is the overall vibe of Hip Hop in LA today?
In my opinion I feel like LA has lost its touch in hiphop. Most cats are stuck on their selves trying to make it with corny songs. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the hustle but dudes lost that touch. Once in a while you find true gems and say damn, thats hip hop. Overall, the vibe is alright.

Who are you listening to today?
I’m listening to the new Roots album, John Legend, Jose James, Mayer Hawthorne, Dam Funk, Aloe Blacc, Jay Electronica, Little Brother, Nas, 2Pac’s old material, Kindred The Family Soul, Eryka Badu, Stalley, Bilal, Black Keys, Black Spade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Fashawn, Currensy, Incubus, J. Cole, and Blu.

Outside of music, what are your other hobbies? What do you like to do for fun? Believe it or not one of my hobbies is running long distance. Running makes me clear out my mind and forget about everything and its soothing. For fun, I like to go out and find low key food places to eat, drink good beer, and cruise on my beach cruiser.

Are your parents fans of the music? Supportive of the creativity?
My mother loves the material but doesn’t understand some of my tracks. Sometimes I take my mom to my shows and she enjoys them. She’s very supportive in my creativity. I love her dearly.

What's the story behind the name Bodega Man?
Back in college when I did track and field, I was the run to guy if anybody needed anything cheap. If they needed clothes, cheap food, furniture, drugs... I was the run to guy. So that’s when I started telling people to call me Bodega Man because you could find anything cheap at bodegas. For those who don’t know what’s a bodega, it's a small store in the hood where you could find anything from food, shirts, etc except illegal drugs hahahhahha depending where you go.

Have you been to Seattle? Heard any modern hiphop from the town?
I’ve never been to Seattle but I would like to visit. As far as hiphop from Seattle, I’ve never heard of anyone.

Last words? Advice? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
My last words are for the people who are struggling and that’s to keep your head up through this recession. They say its over but its only over for the 1 percent who rule over us. The advice I would like to give to any emcee is to believe in your craft, never wait on people, and invest your money on yourself. I would like to give shout outs to my whole family, my sugarr, my friends, A.T., Tech-Advance, Flipa, Kiki iz Da Man from France, Young Dub from Arkansas, Daniel Funaki for his bomb pictures, Ashley Caprice and you could catch her at kbeach.org on Wednesdays from 10am-12pm, the whole Dirty Politicians camp, XP from the Rhyme Addicts, DJ Underground from the big ATL and you could catch him at djunderground.podomatic.com, Young Hype, Onwon, Bad Fish from the LBC, State of the Art, Unitus, DJ Yeraflavor, DJ Joni from Spain, Buddah from Reno, Dr. Ebony Utley and all the people who downloaded my craft... I would like to thank every single one of you who supported me either from youtube or my bandcamp site...Thank you.... my words of wisdom would be believe in yourself. peace out!!!!!!

G-Side & Huntsville Alabama

2010-12-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

In 2008 I graduated college, lost my job and made the decsion to move back to Oregon. Staying in OR didn't last but moving did for quite some time but through all my travels the only album that I consciously made sure to always have with me came out of Huntsville Alabama by a group called G-Side. That album was called Starships & Rocketz, download it here.

Since then their profile has only risen, although not as fast as another AL representing artist who does a quick few bars at the end of this video repping for their state college football team.

I hadn't paid them much attention of late and this morning I came across an awesome article by Jon Kriby who contributes to Wax Poetics among other magazines. This article was done for Oxford American, a well regarded publication focused on exposing American South culture via "the very best in Southern writing."

Read the Oxford American feature on G-Side here. Peruse some more videos below.

Jorge Ben

2010-12-15T02:05:00.000-08:00

Brazilian music has interested me since I started buying records. Deodato's Prelude was something dug up on the first excursion. At some point Jorge Ben's name came up and while I'm yet to come across a record of his in the bins I've found records here and there on the internets to give a hint into why this man is regarded so highly in his home country.

A song of his came on in shuffle and prompted me to see what I could find in the way of footage of performances. If you have never heard the man, listen and watch. It's all subtle and simple. It's fun. It's light. But maybe it's not, I don't speak Spanish so at the end of the day I don't have a clue what is being discussed here... I dig it none the less.

Jay Rock "Tolerate"

2010-12-15T00:31:00.000-08:00

The Black Hippies are steady keeping me tuned to their growing brand. Jay Rock has been staying busy having dropped Black Friday less than a month ago, he's put out a music video and his label just posted up this new tune on their site.

Show Tufli "Keep in Mind That I'm an Artist and I'm Sensitive About My Shit!!"

2010-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Show Tufli is a name that's been buzzing around the blogosphere for the last couple years but his tribute style mixtapes haven't really gotten him off the ground. I suppose the Charles Hamilton affiliation may be hurting too. But regardless of who he knows and how the public views his marketing ploy's the bottom line is the music on his latest project, inspired by Erykah Badu, is fresh and the perfect slice of summer for these cold and wet days Seattle has been awaiting.

I put this 10 track project on tonight and was immediately caught up in his style. Dude is only 18. I guess recovering from paralysis would be invigorating. The above video features an intro that gives you a little history on Show and the one below is a more professional affair that shows off the traditional summer BBQ on the block. Of course there's a girl who's caught the young emcee's eye.

If the videos got you interested you can download the tape here for more.

A Conversation with A Dope Boy

2010-12-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

What is there to say about 2DopeBoyz? You love it or you hate it. They changed the blog game, the music industry and are delivering a new generation of emcees to the masses free of any overseer. If you've been following Meka since his days talking shit in editorials you probably expect a loud and outspoken asshole. He couldn't be further from his online persona. After he traveled to DC for a show that didn't happen he hoped on a plane and joined us at the HG Lodge to rock an Almost Famous set. Those in attendance heard a set full of great tunes that definitely veered away from his blog rap world. Before he went on I sat down with him for a few minutes on the upstairs deck to learn a little bit more.

You grew up in LA?
Yeah, all over. I was born in Fresno from Carson to Long Beach to Inglewood to Korea Town before moving out to New York last year.

What was your first exposure to hiphop?
My first exposure was actually MC Hammer around the Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em era. That was my very first tape, as soon as I popped that into the walkmen I fell in love with it. Always listened to it from front to back, when the tape snapped ended up getting my second tape which turned out to be Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em. My third tape turned out to be Ready to Die and that’s when everything changed though.

So it was the East coast shit that flipped it for you?
Yeah, cause I had never heard anything like that before. First off it was my first dirty album. I wasn’t used to, you know MC Hammer is very clean. Then I got Ready to Die it was cuss word this cuss word that, first I was like I didn’t even know they could do that. To be honest I hated it when I first heard it because it’s too much cussing but after awhile I started enjoy it and it started me to look more into East coast sounds. It’s werid because I was born and raised in Los Angeles but I spent so much time focusing on New York music from like the Illmatic’s, to Only Built 4 Cuban LInx to 36 Chambers and everything in between. I felll in love with New York before I even had a chance to go see New York for the first time. Like I knew as early as my 10th gade year I wanted to live in New York just off the strength of their music scene.

You eating it up being out there now?
It’s not what I thought. I used to always go out there and visit for like a week or so cause I have family and it was basically the tourist thing. But when I moved out there and had to live it was totally different from what I was used to in Los Angeles because Los Angeles is very laid back, slow and has a very chill nature. New York is just hustle and bustle, I wasn’t used to that, public transportation, wasn’t used to the weather, wasn’t used to the people. I wasn’t used to anything out there. Literally for the first six months I hated it and wanted to move back home until I went back to Los Angeles for the holidays and realized oh it’s not as bad as I thought because the same reasons that I left Los Angeles are still there. So now at the moment I can dig it., I don’t like the weather but who does?

When did you first start writing?
I started writing around High School, I just really liked to write. Prior to that I used to draw, it was never very good some people liked my drawing skills back in the day. I always knew there was something different with me from my family cause all of my sibilings, I have four sisters I was the only male in the house. All of my sisters are into law and medicine, became lawyers and doctors and I’m here drawing and writing. I started writing probably around the ninth grade but I didn’t take it professionally until I got out of college and I started freelancing for a local magazine out in Los Angeles and started writing for hiphopDX but because of my job, previously I was a production assistant and an entertainment production company, I didn’t write for two years until I got bored and started picking it up again. I’d say on and off for six or seven years but straight threw for four.

When you and Shake sat down did you ever envision 2DopeBoyz becoming what it is today?
It’s actually funny, we never really sat down. It was because I was writing for hiphopDX that I ended up meeting Shake through that. We ended up meeting for the first time physically at a Rock the Bells in 07. HiphopDX came with the idea of essentially making a Nah Right competitor and put the two of us in there. They were gonna start the whole thing but a couple months passed and nothing happened. In the writers strike a lot of people lost their jobs, I was one of those peoples. After I lost my job I asked Shake when are they gonna start this site, he said we will just start it ourselves and roughly two weeks after I lost my job 2DopeBoyz was born.

Recently On Smash and Splash’s sites got shut down by ICE, what has been your guys reaction to that?
I haven’t really said much because that issue is very touchy and I have to pick and choose my words carefully around it. I was just as shocked and scared as everybody else. We could of been on that list. In my opinion both Splash and On Smash were both wrongfully chosen. Because of it we are just really on our toes now, just being really careful about what content goes on the site. We don’t want to be next on that list. It’s like a witch hunt now. Nobody who is in our field of work knows who is going to be next. We are all just trying to be very careful. We are all hoping this type of shit won’t continue. It’s really a damn shame how it happened cause they got their sites pulled but then the bill to pull it got approved the day after. There is so much wrong, I’m just trying to keep quite. We were pretty much shocked, it was Thanksgiving. Some of those folks, those were their jobs and I feel they are being wrongly profiled and now they don’t have a job because of that. It’s a lot. I’m just trying to stay quite and work.

Out of the artists you guys have broken who are some of your favorites?
I have a couple favorites. Pac Div, TiRon. There is an artist out of Compton named H.O.P.E. - really really dope, of course Kendrick Lamar. It’s funny I started really liking West coast music when I left. In terms of New York there is Tanya Morgan and the Lessondary crew. It’s a lot, I can’t pinpoint just one particular artist.

What is your favorite album of 2010?
There is one thing, it’s not like what everyone’s favorites is. I’ll see TiRon’s MUSTRD is the first thing that comes to mind. Von Pea of Tanya Morgan Pea’s Gotta Have It, Dom Kennedy From The Westside With Love is really dope. Kendrick Lamar’s OD is really dope. Those are the four I can think of right now, I’m freezing cold [laughter breaks out between us].

Ok you are about to go rock Seattle, what’s on your mind?
Thank you. Seriously that’s all I can think of. Thank you to everyone who has shown support in anyway shape or form because if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be here period. I don’t even think I’d be in New York. I’m just very humbled by everything that has been happening to Shake and I and it’s because of the people. Thank you.

--

Thanks to Meka for sitting outside and answering my questions thoughtfully!

Rapsody ft. Skyzoo & Thee Tom Hardy "Honda Accord Music (Still Can't Afford A Maybach Remix)"

2010-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

RAPSODY - HONDA ACCORD MUSIC (REMIX) from Pricefilms on Vimeo.

After taking mild swipes at this project she delivers a video for a stellar track on the back half of the tape - I didn't even listen to it halfway through. Guess I know how I'm spending my evening off. This is a classic 9th beat and what's not to love about that title... or the skills of all three emcees invovled. Tom Hardy might have to be given a listen now.

Bodega Man "The Jazz Album: Recession Thinking"

2010-12-13T08:58:00.001-08:00

Everyone is talking about the economy these days. I hear about it at work where senior servers lament what sounds like it’s been a steady decline in business for the last few years. I hear about if from my mom who is a CPA. I hear it from cats we try to sell a CD too. Money is tight.

Bodega Man is a twenties something emcee from the same hood that raised Snoop Dogg three decades ago. Another find from the constant bandcamp digging The Jazz Album: Recession Thinking actually dropped in February but time has treated this album well.

The beats are handled by an unknown cat named A.T. who concocts his own brand of funky grooves. With Jazz in the title you have to be wondering if that is of any significance - it is! The beats carry with them a distinct feel, something that had to have come from hours listening to and chopping up old vinyls. Sometimes it’s loud horns, sometimes it’s a sprinkling of piano keys. Whatever it is, it’s always layered over some dusty drums.

While so many beatmakers are concerned with getting drum kits “used by Dre” or another famous producer A.T. shows off his originality not being stuck any one sound. He doesn’t bother himself with the heaviest of drums or the deepest of basslines, he works with what he has and breathes life into his tracks with a good ear for what sounds should be placed together more so than what sounds your average rap fan thinks must be in a beat.

This is Bodega Man’s album though and he doesn’t let you ignore the fact. He is a good emcee with a precise flow that can ride these beats swimmingly. His youth in the LBC, his central American heritage, his college education and his struggle to make a buck in this recession are all topics he speaks on intelligently and honestly.

A graduate of a California State college he addresses the intricacies of dealing with finical aid at an institution of higher learning as well his frustrations with the student loan systems in place - like so many people who crave an education and get knocked down by the bureaucracies in place Bodega Man captures an all to common struggle familiar to anyone who’s stepped foot on a college campus.

Work is also addressed here. Specifically the lack of power a dollar has any longer verses how hard one works to earn that buck. He isn’t breaking new ground, we all struggle with money and surviving off what we earn. Hip Hop has more often than not for the last many years been caught up in lavish extravagance which holds no weight here. Bodega Man isn’t balling out of control and throughout the album you get the sense he wouldn’t if he could.

The Jazz Album: Recession Thinking is a product of a time that America won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Bodega Man delivered a timely album fueled by problems not uncommon to many in these days and times. Over A.T.’s smooth and funky backdrops he tells stories and conveys a message of strength in the face of whatever is trying to keep you from shinning. Bodega Man didn’t allow it to restrict him from doing what he loves, what are you waiting to achieve?

MO Podcast Vol. 2

2010-12-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

Back in October I dropped volume one of the MO podcast series and this Sunday was shaping up to be a slow day so with a few cuts ringing through my head I decided it was time for round two! I downloaded the new tape from 9th's female protege Rapsody which hasn't caught me like projects from her group Kooley High but the tune "U Sparklin" is pretty smooth and certainly reminds me of something older. Paul White is a dope London MPC beater and his flip of "Relax (Just Do It)" is pretty much the funkiest thing to not blow up on the blogs all year. #Fail. Fela's son Femi dropped a project and while I'd never heard "Bad Government" before it felt right given our current state of affairs. Geo aka Prometheus Brown joins Illecism and DLRN for "Reset" a funky guitar groove with some hard drums and a cool vocal sample in the back ground. Nacho Picasso from the Seattle representing Cloud Nice clan, Russian beat mastro Pavel Dovgal are also in the mix.

It's the holidays why not give something away? Here is the deal, the first person to drop in the comment box which track in this mix was produced by SEA beatsmith Bean One will get a copy of SeattleCaliFragalisticExtrahelladopeness from SOTA!

Download MO Podcast Vol. 2 here.

Tracklist:
Rapsody “U Sparklin”
Femi Kuti “Bad Government”
Focus... ft. Bishop Lamont & Busta Rhymes “Shine”
Public Enemy “Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix)”
Paul White “Goes To Hollywood”
Jinesis “Pop Tune”
DLRN ft. Prometheus Brown & Illecism “Reset”
Nacho Picasso “Gone Til November (Be Right Back)”
Pavel Dovgal ft. Fancy Mike “LA”
Living Legends “Even Though”

DJ Nu-Mark "Take Me With You"

2010-12-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Sounds of VTech / Take Me With You: NuMark

DJ Nu-Mark, along with his partner in scratch from J5 Cut Chemist, has some deep crates that have been filled from the finest selections found around the globe. I've always thought that for diggers there is no better job than one that allows you to travel from city to city, state to state and country to country. The jewels you can find in the most random of spots is endless.

While Mark prepares his debut solo outing for early 2011 he is teaming with Mochilla to deliver a mixtape that is intended to accompany "your next tropical adventure." I for one have never been on a tropical adventure, yet I think this is just the right music to help you feel like where ever you are is tropical! Full of great rhythms, horns, competing percussion and drum breaks and many more sounds this mix will make you groove.

Download the preview mix here and watch out for the full thing to be available January 18th.

The Good Sin ft. TH "No Diss (Hands Up)"

2010-12-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Good Sin has been building a name for himself around Seattle with a no nonsense style, thoughtful rhymes and a presence not to be forgotten. This summer he got in the lab (RIP SCP) with 10.4Rog and recorded an ill project called Late that should be blessing your ears before too long. In the interim he just dropped off this tune to my inbox. Joining forces with TH from the SOTA crew they spit over a smooth Detroit banger courtesy of Karmatic.

Download here.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Poetik Force

2010-12-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

The bandcamp discoveries keep flowing here at the MO HQ. On Monday I dropped off the funky and blunted debut album from Poetik Force called The Mary Jane Project - read the review here. As a young new voice emerging out of LA he isn't hopping on the coat tails of anyone, just steady doing his own thing with his team. Breath some fresh air and read up on who this kid is.

Introduce yourself? Who is Poetik Force? How long have you been making music?
Peace Peace. This is Poetik Force, Reppen from The COV 626 "The Cov' Originals"
I been Making Music for about 4 years going onto 5 now. Its been a bleesing creating music for the globe and for our fans.

Where did you grow up? How old are you?
I grew Up in West Covina, California, Beautiful West Coast. Im 21 Years old with a Mastermind, and a successful future.

What inspired you to make music? Was rapping your first attempt?
Everything Inspires me to Make Music, and everything from my past inspired me to make music. Mainly for myself and to get up out of the streets. Before Rap I was into Graffiti Art, thats when i studied Hip-Hop Music and all of Her Roots. And Realized this is what i wanted to do forever.

Who did you grow up listening to? Who are you listening to today?
I grew up listening to alot of different elements of music in tha 90's. From Punk Rock. to Reggae, To classic Rock, and Hip-Hop. I looked at music as a way of life, so i did a lot of listening. Today i' am listening to everything from The Beatles To Curren$y, from Jazz to Nas, from Bob Marley to Jay-Z, from Erykah Badu to Kanye West, etc. To much to Name um all, but theres alot in my books.

What producers are you working with?
I am working with alot of producers right now; Jansport J. Josh G, Spok Beats from Chamber Records, Kaleem "Sincere" Wasif, Salute Tha Gawd from 92Fam. Its been a Blessings to work with Producers like them, They all are way to ILL!!

Do you have a day job?
FUCK A DAY JOB!!!!!!!!!

You put Ms. Botwin on your CD cover, Weeds fans or was it more about the theme of the tape?
Yes my album cover is something unique. Shoutouts to PhillMatic for doing my cover art, and tha idea of havin her on my album cover. im not really a "Weeds" show fan, dont watch much T.V, so it was more about the theme of my Record! (metaphorically)

What is your preferred method to smoke? Favorite chronic strain?
I really dont have a preferred method to smoke, i mainly be rolling blunts all the damn time but, im a universal weed smoker, so anything is good. but my Favorite Chronic Strain, or i should say Kush Strain, would have to be AK-47 or some OG! or some Chronic shake, we in a recession so sometimes it may get expensive!! hahahah

What is the connection between you guys and blakface?
My Connection with "BlakFace" is family! No other words to explain that! They my mathafuken ride or die brothers! Word. They are my Executive Producers by the way on "The MaryJane Project" so its always something special when im with BlakFace. I wouldn't be the artist who I am today with out Funk Logik and Kaleem "Sincere" Wasif!

You familiar with any modern Hip Hop coming out of Seattle?
I'm not really up to date with the modern Hip Hop movement in Seattle right now. I'm definitely shure there some great artist coming out!!

What is in the works right now for Poetik Force?
Im working on a few things right now before the year comes to an end. I'm shooting a couple music videos from "The MaryJane Project" so definitely look our for that. I'm also working on a lil branch on the side of The Cov Originals called "THE ELEVATORS" which include, Myself, BlakFace and Sean Wyze. We are droppin a EP this December and will be droppin a LP early next year 2011!! Keep ya eyes and ears open for that. its going to be something EPIC!!

Any last words? Words of wisdom? Advice? Shout outs?
Last Call! Toast for a new beginning to Hip-Hop. Shoutouts to my whole Team on the Rize - BlakFace, SeanWyze, Hawdwerk, Jansport J, Keon Supreme, Avi The Most Ill, DKing! Knowledge is Self Determination, Follow Your Dreams and Never Give Up "One Team One Dream" ..... "PEACE ONE LOVE"

A Low Budget Christmas

2010-12-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Whoever determined that the day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas season I would like to meet and shake them into convulsions. Between listening to country holiday "classics" for my job throughout college to the lame ass smooth jazz covers of Christmas standards playing on repeat at Palisade these days I just can't get away! The Low Budget crew out of the DMV has dropped off a little something to help those of you like me who don't want to listen to your typical holiday music - bang this and I'm sure you won't be getting called a scrooge for turning off the radio.

Full of fresh tunes from the likes Kev Brown, Oddisee, Roddy Rod, Kambir & yU most of the cuts are just slow burning grooves that feature some sleigh bells at times or a melody from a traditional song flipped only how these cats do. Get in the holiday spirit and download this!

Griff J - Devil Woman

2010-12-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the new one from my good friend Griff J, it was produced by the Madman Aaron Greene otherwise known as Murder Dice (Slow Dance, Party Time, The Rodeo). This is honestly the first one of his tracks that didn't sound like complete Hobby Rap and a giant step in the right direction. I'm proud of my guy and am excited to see how he follows this song up.

Shawn Chrystopher "You, And Only You"

2010-12-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

The uprising of young emcees who are college educated has allowed for a shift in content and image. Shawn Chrystopher is one of these artists having attended USC on a scholarship he graduate and put out his first album last year - A City With No Seasons. That project caught my ear thanks to his carefree attitude and desire to remember what it was like to be a kid and have fun.

I just downloaded his latest project You And Only You and it’s feeling just as good. His carefree attitude seems to be tempered with some reality this time out. He opens the album with a strong a cappella addressing he and his moms relationship, making money, chasing dreams and working in this industry.

But not all is so heavy. The lead single for which he shot a video for, “Catch Me If You Can”, is a great shot at the haters who want to bring him down. Sometimes he gets like Drake and tries to analyze his fame - it’s interesting to hear someone who isn’t famous yet saying “I don’t want to be famous cause fame just aint right.” When Drake does this it seems as though he is asking for pity or sympathy - hard to give to someone who runs with the Young Money crew. Shawn on the other hand pulls off the struggling artist who needs to come to terms with his public presence.

In the liner notes to this release he includes a statement that says “Constantly challenge the listener to think outside the box. No flow is the same.” He does change it up more than some, but I’m not sure he is always completely different. Sometimes he pulls off a nice sing song flow, he can’t carry much of a note but he flows out of it smoothly and succinctly.

Chrys and some homies of his handle the production, which never recalls a West coast sound, isn’t really boom bap. It does feature some celebratory sounds, some minimal drum sounds, but throughout it’s original and head nodding just how hiphop should be!

Download for free or purchase a physical copy at Shawn Chrystopher’s spot.

Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX "NY is Killing Me"

2010-12-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

Dropped a little bit ago, been stuck in my head. Mesmerizing beat from The XX mpc player, I'm real intrigued about him remixing all of Heron's latest opus I'm New Here. Watch for it in February from XL Recordings!

Poetik Force "The Mary Jane Project"

2010-12-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

LA hiphop has been flourishing as of late. Maybe I’m just paying attention more often but I’m hearing more music from the Capitol of the West coast these days then ever before in my life. Poetik Force is one of those voices. His The Mary Jane Project is a suitably titled affair and Ms. Botwin gracing the cover is hilarious.

This rarely sounds like any weed smoking rap from the left coast you might expect. Poetik Force is anything but generic. He comes across as a considerate fellow, trying to live life and get relaxed every so often. Maybe more so than it might at first seem.

His flow is great. Laid back in style Poetik Force doesn’t rush anything and he likes to give you positive tunes to help inspire better living in the future. Rarely do these wishes come across naively, usually they seem to offer some insight into the struggle of the emcee delivering the words.

The beats throughout the project are melodic and slower in tempo. Full of samples Poetik Force has an ear to the ground snagging up tracks from up and comers who have yet to be destroyed by the business. Sometimes the drums feel a little too boom bap for an LA affair, after talking to Kendrick Lamar and looking at what young music is coming from the city of angels I have to say I think NY hiphop circa the nineties is influencing a lot of young kids who grew up years and miles removed from the second golden age.

The Mary Jane Project doesn’t spend much of it’s time really getting caught up in the details of Marijuana, much like Currensy the weed is just there. Force and his guests are fans of blunts but it all is delivered in a manner that won’t have you wondering what else these guys do, smoking is just a part of the daily routine for this crew.

As an emcee Poetik Force lives up to his name typically. I’m never bored while giving this project a listen. It’s not always the most captivating record, sometimes slowing down to a point that might let you get lost in your own thoughts and forget about what you are listening to. Surprisingly this is especially true for his J Dilla tribute “Playaz”. Whoever cooked up the beat did a sufficent job recreating the SV classic, but the groove is almost too deep, none of the rappers really own it.

This isn’t a common occurrence on the album however. Time is rarely wasted on discussing the little things, Poetik Force is more concerned with addressing life and letting those out there listening know that they aren’t alone for it. The album screams of their own regular life, no one who raps here comes off as though they are bigger or better than the listener. They are just some everyday people spitting life living raps. Inhale deep and put this on in your headphones if you want to feel good.

Spaceman & Xperience "Yuk The Police

2010-12-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

Bean let this go on twitter today, it was actually out for a bit on YukTheWorld - Posts along with a few other jams produced by the man.

Spaceman has impressed me regularly via guest verses but his solo work has been equally disappointing. This track shows him in good form addressing shady police antics and expressing how he feels about those who wield a badge. Space wins with his charisma if he can maintain this level of content he has proven he has no problem flexing the English language.

I'm guessing XP is handling the hook here before rocking the rhymes on verse two. His vocals have always impressed, but his verse here feels lazy. There is no urgency to it which the beat seems to beg for. With drums heavy and a sprinkling of high note synth keys along with some bass that would get James Jamerson grooving, Bean threw in some siren sound effects and seals the feel for this tune. What happened to serve and protect?

EvergreenOne "Born In 86 (Preview)"

2010-12-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

Almost Famous went down last night, Meka impressed all there I think. While sipping on some whiskey I got to chopping with A-Hyp and he hipped me to some Tac goodness. Been playing that Milk On Wax from Evergreen and Todd Sykes and this sounds like it's in the same vein. Raise your hand with me if you were born in 86!

I Love My Friends... Mad Rad @ Neumos

2010-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Mad Rad had me skipping down 2nd Avenue last night with my hands in the air screaming “I want your blood.” Straight up I didn’t give a fuck, I was high off music and an overall great feeling in the air that didn’t leave Neumos until security escorted everyone out of the building around 3 AM. Whatever expectations you held about Mad Rad, they were met last night.

It wasn’t their best show, I don’t know what a bad show would look like for these guys but there was no way it was going to happen last night. Selling out the venue early people were drinking and having a glamorous time. Portland’s White Fang and that Champagne gang opened up and set the mood for a party. Once Darwin got on the tables it might as well of been over.

The crowd roared and then got down to his eclectic set of high BPM mashers that would of had any passer’s by outside thinking it was a rave. He brought the energy up and got the people ready for his team, not that anyone needed preparation - I think Seattle had been waiting for last night for quite some time.

The album being celebrated last night is the new one from the Mad Rad guys. P Smoov, Terry Radjaw, Buffalo Madonna and Darwin have been at work on The Youth Die Young since White Gold started making waves. They’ve had a lot of highs in that time, a few lows, but the biggest change is their profile and that fame they’ve been confronted with is addressed throughout the album.

Having been met with some great and some not so great words The Youth Die Young hit shelves Tuesday and judging from the crowd’s response a few people had already been digging into it. The Nathan Hale High School choir opened their set singing the beautiful “My Friends” - a classic greeting for a group that has the strongest fan base in the city. The party started when the beat drops in the tune entering Smoov’s trademark synth workout he seems to be perfecting and developing everyday.

The floor at Neumos shook through the next two songs “Caveman” and “Party Mountain.” The later has become a show staple and is probably the oldest on the disc yet it still destroys the crowd - us hill kids just can’t get enough of the anthem. The former is bound to become a fan favorite with it’s “Fuck you that’s how we do around here” chanting refrain throughout the end of the tune, just wait til the next show after everyone has devoured the project.

Some standards were performed much to the crowds pleasure. When the familiar beats of tunes like “Electric Sheep”, “Crack The Blunt” and “My Product” hit the air the mass of people screamed and boogied. Throughout the night you could look around and everywhere people wore smiles. I’ve recently been paying attention to the music that makes me physically happy. It’s true there were a lot of factors contributing to my personal happiness but to see a room full of strangers all loving themselves and each other thanks to some awesome music made in our city, that was priceless.

The standout tune on The Youth Die Young is “Epiphany.” Without question one of the best songs of the year. They premiered the tune just shy of a year ago at Neumos for a free show they called Squashed in celebration of the end of the “beef” between them and an assortment of Capitol Hill clubs that had banned them. When the single piano key lands and then the sparse drum intro plays your mind is just caught. By the time they keys start playing and Smoov starts singing you’ll be relishing in the theme of the song, you only live once, enjoy it.

That has really always been Mad Rad’s message. Life is short, enjoy it and don’t tolerate the BS. While the first album gave them bombast to party with this one is showing them growing up a little bit and developing something I’m certain many people thought could go nowhere. “I Want You Blood” and random bars from all of them still capture the rawness that was their initial draw, but it’s not what will be drawing people in after the dust settles on this record. This is the record for them to make new fans, fans who want some dope thought provoking music that will also make you dance. Who’s making that?

One Time @ Bandcamp With... 80's Babies

2010-12-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

I found Sonic Music early this year via the 80's Babies Bandcamp site. Like so much of what I download I didn't know anything about it, but after it came on in the shuffle a few times I knew I needed to get into it a little deeper. After just one listen I was shocked that this was an album being pushed through their site and by no other means that I'd seen. This is the beauty of Bandcamp and why I've been doing these reviews and interviews. Sure Kanye West may have made the ultimate pop document discussing the current state America has found itself in, but there are a lot of people with things to say, struggles to work out and thoughts to share. Tall Black and Dee Jackson are two of em and Sonic Music deserves your ears.

First up can you introduce yourselves? Who are you, what do yall do, how long yall been at it?
We’re a Chicago bases hip hop group named “ 80’s Babies” consisting of 2 memebers. Dee Jackson is the emcee, and Tall Black Guy is the producer. The groups been together over 4 years now.

Is this your first musical endeavor?
No, we released our debut album 80’s Babies LP in 08. T.B.G is a member of Pathfinders and they have a project out, and Dee Jackson has solo efforts previously released.

Are you guys born and raised in Chicago? What part?
Dee Jackson is born and raised on the south side then moved to the burbs. TBG is actually from Detroit but grew up in Chicagoland.

When did you know you wanted to rhyme/make beats?
Dee Jackson has been rhyming since 97 and TBG has always been a hiphop head, but starting making beats around 2001-02.

Are yall 80s babies? Or is it more about being in line with a sound from a different era?
We are both 80’s Babies, but it’s more about the golden era of hiphop.

How did Rookie films get invovled with yall? Are there more videos in the works?
We are fans of each other. We always loved what they’ve been doing and they have always enjoyed our work. So it was only right, plus those are the homies anyway. Technology video coming soon by Rookie Films.

When did you officially release the album?
Sonic Music was released on May 18,2010

How has the response been locally?
Very positive, lots of love from the home town

How often are you guys playing shows?
We perform on a weekly basis now. For booking hit up 80sbabiesmusic@gmail.com

Who are some artists that inspire you?
Nas, Common, The Roots, J Dilla, DJ Premeire, The Roots, Pete Rock, Mos Def, Slaughterhouse, Blu, Tribe, Lupe, and the list goes on…….

Who do you view as peers within the Chicago hip hop community? Is the scene supportive of each other or are cats all doing their own things?
Chicago hiphop scene is very segregated, but there are some talented cats that we have mutual love and respect for, such as The Pathfinders, Thaione Davis, Primeridian, Kazi the Blak, Yng Sin, K Sera, Allegra Dolores, Kenny Keys, Rashid Hadee, 1773, Fam Squad, Jelify, GQ the Teacha, Radius, Coolout Chris, Amina, Midflex, and many more. Chicago is in good hands.

Currensy "Pilot Talk 2"

2010-12-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing that has been proven about Currensy throughout his career it is that he stays in the lab, I wonder if this is a trait he gained from or passed to Wayne? Regardless of where his hustle came from, the major label machine hasn’t slowed it any. Partially due to the isolation Dame has given himself and his new crew, it seems Currensy, Ski, and the rest of the DD172 crew can do everything in house and just hand deliver a final project. Just before Thanksgiving the jets flew in a gift in the form of the latest installment of Spitta’s Pilot Talk series.

At this point you probably know whether you like Currensy or not. You know that I wasn’t a fan and have been won over by his growth in more recent years. One thing that always bugged me throughout his discography was his inconsistency with projects. That proves to not be the case here and while I don’t know how long he can maintain this level of quality and quantity I’ll take it for as along as he delivers.

Ski has resurrected himself with the Dojo and the Senseis, they are utilizing skilled musicians and making dope music that flows and grooves. Hiphop growing up. Thinking back to the beats of Ski’s over the years Currensy chose to spit on, it’s an awesome completion of the circle to see them now making the best music of their careers. Even when Ski isn’t behind the boards their are some great turns here from Monsta Beatz who continues to show off why they were the first to grace Currensy with an album full of tunes. He may working in NY but he doesn’t forget the NO. Nesby Phips has a track to that once again impresses, no verse this time though.

The guests are kept tighter here, seeing only one outside face in the form of a typically zoned out Chef Raekwon verse on the “Michael Knight” remix. He and Dom Kennedy reunite for the cool west coast affair “Real Estates”. Then it’s the Jets for a pair of tracks that both only show off their chemistry and pairing as a stellar trifecta of stoned talent. McKenzie Eddy sings the hook on “Silence” to ok results. The song has one of the weaker beats which is what’s detracting from my experience, on the vocals I’m not mad at her. I’m curious if Currensy put her on or how she found her way into the session, the pairing feels a bit forced.

The other guest comes from his Flying Iron partner Fiend. This has been one of the cooler developments of Currensy’s fame. No Limit was pretty much fading into obscurity as I was just coming into rap but I remember his voice from a few tracks here and there from those days. Hearing these two together has been nothing but magic and the Drupey beat for “O.G. (The Jam)” is the best one turned in here. Fiend’s flow is lazy in an awesome way, his accent only adds to the voice and I he is obviously invigorated by new opportunities suddenly at his door.

Since it’s release I’ve heard a lot of comparisons and complaints about this as a follow up to the first. I love the first, it’s my favorite record of 2010. But this one isn’t anything to be disappointed in. It plays almost as smoothly, with the replay value still at an absurdly high level. What should we expect from number 3?

LHF "Fact Mix #178"

2010-12-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

Fact Mix 178: Lhf by Fact Mix Archive on Mixcloud

I had just begun digging into Fact Mag at the end of '09 and in 2010 it was one of my go to sites. Myself and others have sung the praise of their mix series which is now beyond 200 volumes deep featuring way to many individuals to name. LHF have been making waves in the underground dubstep world for a few years now releasing tunes strictly via radio shows and podcasts. This year saw them team with pitchfork contributor Martin Clark's Keysound label to drop Enter The Silence.

For their go with Fact they dove into their rumored archives of over 1000 tracks and hit you over the head with deep bass, smooth rhythms and awesome atmospherics. It's awesome for late night highed up listening.

Sometimes you just get lost in your head with some heavy grooves spinning.

Currensy "Pilot Talk"

2010-12-01T15:34:00.001-08:00

Those that know me could tell you why I like Currensy. I can tell you that his music relaxes me. I love his lack of seriousness. It’s not a I don’t give a fuck, it’s more like he just isn’t concerned with the bullshit in life. On the song “Seat Change” he repeats the refrain “She just want to ride with a G” - it’s this carefree attitude that permeates Currensy’s lyrics along with his choice of musical backings courtesy of mostly Ski Beatz that makes Pilot Talk an album that will make you smile, nod your head and worry about the little things in life.

Pilot Talk dropped in the middle of the summer and was full of sounds perfect for smoking and riding, backyard barbeque's or the headphones. Ski cooked up music that is in a groove no one else is touching. It’s more live than most producers fuck with, it’s invigorating at times, humble and concerned at others. Regardless of the tracks tone, Currensy knows what to do at every turn always holding his own and demonstrating his worth as an emcee for good.

His cleverness that was hinted at throughout the mixtape grind is on full display here. His verbal dexterity is in a league all its own and his imagination is classic. While he can get abstract with the best of them, he doesn’t spend his life in the clouds all the time. He closes the album out with a great analysis of how people watch those with fame. Only someone who’s been through the regimes he has could speak on this with such accuracy, and few would approach it with as much honesty.

Nesby Phips produced one of the only non Ski tracks here and he also joins Spitta with a guest verse. “Piroritze (Beeper Bill)” is another slightly more serious tune addressing peoples inability to pay bills and yet blowing money on nonsense. Not your typical rap philosophy.

But by and large Currensy is a relaxed dude who likes to enjoy life. He raps a lot about weed of course, so much so that it doesn’t even have to be mentioned and yet it’s there. The smoke just bleeds out his verses. The aforementioned “Seat Change” is all about Currensy winning over ladies nonchalantly and it’s a perfect place for Snoop to slide in with a guest verse. Luckily he doesn't waste too much time of these tales, just enough to let the guys he know he hasn't lost his touch.

The guest emcees are abundant on Pilot Talk but don’t ever detract from Currensy’s demeanor. Next to Snoop and Devin he stands tall. “Chilled Coughpee” is one of the dopest Ski produtions here and Spitta & The Dude sound meant to rhyme together. Perhaps it’s the southern chemistry. His parts in the Jets ride with him on the smoothed out smoking gem “Roasted” and just begs for a Jets album. Stalley shows up for maybe my favorite track here in “Address” that always gave me some odd comfort whenever it played during the last year.

With Pilot Talk Currensy and Ski hit a chord together that hasn’t been seen in a producer emcee pairing in quite some time. The pothead aesthetic Wiz and Spitta have been championing has found it’s musical counterpart in Ski’s brand of live production. Wiz has been on a path for larger things for awhile now, Currensy seems to be a little more down to earth and always in his own lane. Pilot Talk establishes his lane as one not influenced by any other sounds today.

Currensy "Smokee Robinson"

2010-11-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

While the world debates which Pilot Talk is better (next couple days will see my opinions on the matter published) and where Currensy is taking us with the series I could see how it might be easy to forget about his mixtape with Don Cannon from early in the year. Smokee Robinson dropped with a fair bit of fervor, his first since the seven in as many months during 2008 and his free follow up to the two strictly digital releases in 2009. There was no talk of BluRoc, Dame, Creative Control videos, or Ski Beatz - but there were fresh and familiar faces over a splattering of smoothed out beats.

In traditional mixtape fashion Spitta rocks over a number of industry beats throughout the tape, with a few notable exceptions. “Smash On O’Leary” is sheer brilliance. The beat is incredible, uptempo with crazy shifts and changes, super heavy drums. “I Don’t Fucks With Em” seems Nipsey teaming up with the joint brothers - Wiz only handles the hook but handle he does. The track is on some perfect West coast smoking and riding music and if you know these guys you know they handle that kind of tune with ease.

Currensy is no stranger to how the West gets down and he grabs a few classics to rock over. “187 On A Beat” seems him going in on that Snoop/Dre collab. Sporadically Currensy spits lines that show a much nerdier side to the man than any label would want from a rapper - this song features such bars. He also turns Ross’ “Maybach Music” into “Monte Carlo Music” to fess his love for classic cars, weed, and girls.

I don’t know if Spitta was the first to be claiming he used his Louis Vuitton pouch to hold his trees but he was the first I heard and on “Damier Doobies” you just hear some highed up story telling that is hilarious and clever. Throughout Smokee Robinson Currensy is at his most ambicable. This was the tape that introduced me to him, and it sucked me in thoroughly. There is something about Currensy that is instantly like-able and not stand offish.

Smokee Robinson hints at nothing that was to come in the months after it’s release from Currensy - a rarity in the mixtape driven rap world today. It’s place the project in an interesting position to have been created purely out of the desire to create. No pressures. The music reflects it, from the tracks with the Jets and their monstrous appeal that screams turn me up and just enjoy this shit to his pairing with Dom Kennedy on “Racing Stripes” and Wiz and Nipsey on “Mazaltov” a classically smoothed out instrumental that’s pretty minimal but features just the right effect dropped in to make it hit. Just some young emcees making music and having fun.

Of course there is him rocking over Kanye's "Last Call" to close out the tape with those haunting lines "Here's to the Roc" - was he trying to tell us something? Jets fool. Download here.

Avatar Young Blaze "Wishing On A Dream"

2010-11-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

Some more Jon Jon visuals for you to feast on. This guy has put in serious work this year. Avatar stays grinding too. One of the stand out tracks from his freely downloadable "mixtape" Russian Revolution. If you missed that read up about it and him. The lovely Isabella Du Graf (where's the album at ma?) kicks it with Av in his new home - the always sunny LA. Didn't expect this as a single, I'm glad I was wrong.

"Was raised in the same house Jimi Hendrix hit his first joint/So you could say purple haze raised me."

80's Babies "Sonic Music"

2010-11-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

It’s time to look at the album, and group, that is responsible for this whole bandcamp feature. Sometime in the summer I heard Sonic Music from the 80's Babies. Sure I was listening to some other jawns at the time but nothing quite struck me like this album. The fact that it was available almost exclusively from their bandcamp got me wondering how many albums could be out there in the ether a person would never know about it they didn’t just make one click.

The 80’s Babies are Dee Jackson on rhymes and Tall Black Guy cooking up the beats. The album falls in line with a lot of early underground east coast rap from about a decade ago yet nothing here sounds old. One of the refreshing qualities to this album is it’s air of newness. While I feel like I’m certainly listening to something inspired by music of the past, the 80’s Babies are not biting anyone delivering 16 tracks of original banging music.

The production throughout the album is ridiculous. Tall Black Guy flips so many jams, I’m afraid to investigate his crates be them digital or physical. From the “Intro” with it’s spacey synth line and drum-less groove in the beginning you will be mesmerized before Dee even starts dropping quotables.

Elsewhere he chops things so hard your neck might be in fear of snapping should you repeat listen all day long - and you will want. Horns get dropped in the mix, music is present in all his beats. Tall Black Guy has a great ear for melody and producing rather than just making a beat. These tracks grow and develop as you listen to em. On “C.O.B (Control Our Block)” he cuts the drums our and gives Knoc-Turn’al a fitlhy ghostly break to spit over, later in his verse bringing a mellower drum kick in over the piano keys he has making the track sparkle.

Most of the guests here are their homies from what I can gather. Crooked I also shows up on the aforementioned “C.O.B.” and delivers his trademark brand of scorching devastation he isn’t given the credit for being capable of enough. No one else here ever touches Dee Jackson though. The guy has a commandeering tone that insists you take him seriously. He never feels forced, his flow is as natural as Slick Rick’s story telling.

Topically Dee Jackson covers a lot of ground. Politics are addressed and their hometown pride in the current president shines through. The constant synchronous living with the internet and social media is a struggle and cause for confusion addressed in “Technology.” Stories are told on “Fighting Demons” about people in unique situations and the different demons that can be faced. Love isn’t far from the heart and Dee Jackson certainly has both. His daughter is mentioned with a sincere passion only a father could deliver.

No rap album is complete without some track extolling an emcee’s virtues on the mic and that’s here too. These two demonstrate a serious passion for the art, and a serious skill for it. Musically this album has made me smile, dance, laugh and just feel good about life. Lyrically its made me think, reflect and look at the life surrounding me. It’s great. Give it a listen below and if you dig it give em the 7 bucks - it's better than that sandwich you were thinking about for lunch.

Poetik Force ft. Avi The Most Ill & Blakface "The Rush"

2010-11-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Poetik Force will be the subject of a bandcamp feature around here in the near future, he passed me his latest video from his The Mary Jane Project last night. I'm still trying to make sense of these visuals, but regardless of that the song is one of my favs of the year.

Currensy "The Jet Files"

2010-11-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

This month has taken me on a whirlwind journey of Currensy’s career. I’ve heard pretty much all he has to offer and given you my thoughts on the tapes. Today it is his second official project and second of 2009, The Jet Files. While I can’t find any evidence that this was meant to be a collection of previously recorded songs it plays exactly like that. Their is no continuity between songs, these are just some jams from Spitta.

We saw him team up with Ced Hughes awhile ago and Ced comes back, this time on the production end for the lead off track “Dosier (In & Out)”, yes Currensy brought back the in and out’s for this project - probably adding to it’s overall mixtape like feel.

Whitey, an in house Amalgam Digital producer, does a chunk of the beats here. He is no Ski Beatz, not really even Monsta Beatz but his tracks knock with enough oomph to not quite bore you. He aims for a spacy vibe that may be more suited for Wiz than Spitta. Sledgren, Wiz homie on the beats, also comes through for the track “Sleepless in New Orleans” a bouncing tune where Currensy details his playing ways.

The ladies are, as usual, a heavy topic here. Whether it be talking about the buss down he kicks it tough with who rolls his trees, the girls who compliment his style, the ones who ride around with him in his vintage whips, or the one who let him go out and pick up a guest for the bedroom one evening he has stories for days about adventures with the fairer sex.

The Jet Files were intended to be a stop gap before Amalgam released Currensy’s “real” debut which never was. There aren’t bad songs here but they aren’t great either. Most everything makes me feel indifferent, Currensy’s likable personality and ability to make you relate to him regardless of how lavish a life he leads disappear here and you are left with another rapper leading a life you can only hear about on wax.

Completest's can purchase this here.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Kendrick Lamar

2010-11-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

On the first of October I was kicking back at the Batkave, listening to some tunes contemplating the Das Racist show going down that evening at the Comet. Out of no where I got a call from an unknown number. The conversation went something like this.

ME: "Hello"
Caller: "You wanna talk to Kendrick Lamar"
Me: "................... Yes"

Details were flushed out and what went from being a phone conversation became an in person interview prior to his show at Sodo opening for Tech N9ne. Random pairing, you are telling me.

If you didn't read the review of O(verly) D(edicated) at least get the tape cause this is one of the best albums of the year and deserves your ears.

Kendrick Lamar is an intelligent cat who was personable and very honest. He reps his home hard and I learned his CPT heritage has gotten him on the road in the past with The Game - even visiting our city before in 2008. Certainly not your average twenty three year old rapper. Read up.

Introduce yourself, who is Kendrick Lamar?
Kendrick Lamar is Compton, California. Kendrick Lamar the oldest of four. Both parents, from Chicago, came to Compton in ‘84 had me in ‘87. I like to say Compton a lot because that’s what I represent, I represent everything that it holds. You listen to my music it represents a kid that’s trying his best to duck the influences of the city. That represents everyone that’s living in the city. The influence can be police, peer pressure, gangs, drugs, whatever. That’s me.

You say on one song “Half of yall don’t even know Kendrick” - what should people know?
I think one of the misconceptions is that I’m this overall angel at heart. I tell my stuff from the inside looking around rather than the outside looking in. So when I talk about all these ills and these situations, I’m not knocking it or saying it’s bad because I go through the same shit that everybody else go through. I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions right now, they put me around this whole conscious thing, but I’m just like every other person that’s living in the city. I’ve been through some shit, negative situations where it’s not cool to glorify the shit. I just gotta show people I’m more like them.

Where did you go to high school?
Centennial High, it was cool too.

When did you start rapping?
I started rapping in 8th grade, matter fact 7th grade I was 13. I got inspired by the DMX album because Pac had died, I felt like there was a void missing in hiphop, DMX came with that same type of motherfucking energy and I just got inspired and started writing. Then I went back and studied all the greats, Pac, Biggie, Nas, Big Daddy Kane, everything, just perfected my craft.

That was a lot of East coast names for a West coast head...
Yeah. I grew up on the West coast, I know it. Truthfully I didn’t like Biggie until after he died. I think everybody can say that but they just too scared to say that shit. I didn't give a fuck I was a downright Tupac fan, fuck everything, Bad Boy killa all that shit. Yeah that was me. I was nine years old, I didn’t give a fuck ignorance was a bliss to me. Shit I seen Tupac in person, in Compton, on Rosecrans. You couldn’t tell me shit. I didn’t give a fuck if Biggie new how to rap good. It was all about Tupac. That was just me being a child not knowing shit. After he died, then i started rapping, then I started realizing this is the shit I like to rap about, same shit Biggie, Jay-Z is kicking. Then I went back, got out of my naive ways, studied that shit. Shout out Biggie rest in peace, Pac all legends.

Your parents grew up in Chicago?
Yeah born and raised.

Did you hear a lot of music from Chicago growing up then?
A lot of oldies, just a lot of oldies. My parents, it’s like... The best way to describe my upbringing is, you ever seen Menace to Society?

Yeah.
Remember when Cain is a kid? They had parties every motherfucking Friday. Drunk, smoking, I got tons of motherfucking cousins and older uncles. There was always music in the house, everyday. They played rap, R&B, oldies, so I grew up on a variety of shit which basically is musical influence for me because that’s how I pick my music as far as instrumentals and beats, a lot soul samples, snare drums. It all comes from that.

Who are some of the producers on OD?
I got mostly in house. Soundwave, King Blue, TaeBeast, Willie B. I got a major producer on there named Wyldfire - he produced the Nas and Jay-Z “Black Republican” track. That’s about it right there.

When you say in house, what is that? Is it your company?
Top Dawg Entertainment. It’s the company I signed with at 16 or 17. The CEO is a dude, Top Dawg himself, I put out a local mixtape when I first jumped in the booth at 16 and I spread it locally. It caught the ear of him and he’s believed since and we moving on.

So OD came out for free, then was gone and only on iTunes. What’s the situation with it?
It’s still floating around there for free. I was batteling my company on putting it out for free from the jump. I felt like everybody wasn’t a believer in Kendrick Lamar yet. The Kendrick Lamar EP did great, better than what I thought it would do but i felt like I still need to put out this free music, I ain’t touched everybody yet. They was like nah. It’s a good thing my people believe in me, think I can actually sell. But I was like let’s put it out for free. So we came to a compromise, we put it out on iTunes, put it out for free for a few days and just let it float and see how many people pick it up and make their own links. At the end of the day it turned out a good thing, it still got out to the people that need to hear it, you can search for it if you really want it, and for the people that bought it, it’s letting me know people still buy music and are looking for it.

Who would you like to work with?
People ask me this all the time... It’s cliche to say like Jay-Z, Nas, Andre3000.

Are there some young cats coming up you are into?
I like a lot of neo soul stuff. India.Aire, Bilal, Floetry. That’s the people I want to work with. I think they so musically inclined that they will take me to that next level that I haven’t been. Even though they doing a whole other genre of music I feel they can open up another motherfucking part of my brain where it’ll make me rap better, or make me put together my music as a whole on another level.

What’s the deal with the Black Hippie project?
Ah the Black Hippies, you know what that whole project and that whole idea was just some shit we were sprinkling out and it just caught motherfucking fire as soon as we threw out a couple tracks. We are everywhere with it right now. We working on a mixtape, album shit. We got a whole lot of motherfucking music in the chamber. We can throw shit out anytime but we just want it to be right and get all the artist projects out and let everybody see each individual artist as their own entity so they will know where we come from. Then see it as a group, Ok here is how it all meshes together.

How did y’all come together?
You know we just fell out the motherfucking sky. Schoolboy Q is from LA, Rock from Watts, Ab-Soul from Carson, I’m from Compton, you know those are all local motherfucking cities. We all around the same age group, high schools ain’t but 10, 5 minutes from each other - LA is a small as a motherfucker man. Everybody know each other. So I fall through the Top Dawg studio one day and see Jay Rock, seen him come through Centennial with his gang, his hood or for a female. Ab-Soul, same with him, knew him through a mutual friend, we just all came together at the end of the day.

What’s next after the tour?
Oh yeah I got the album done. I’m just gonna push this motherfucking OD until the wheels fall off and then hit em across the head with the album shit.

What’s the story with the video you dropped today?
You caught that? That’s crazy, we were just talking about that. You heard the “Heaven & Hell” record? I wanted to go totally left field. The “Heaven & Hell” record is basically a description on heaven and hell, on how I think heaven look from an imaginary perspective and hell being the today world we live in today. So the guy cruising from the first point of view in the car is basically saying through all the red lights in life he never stops. That can be one perception. The second one could be everything that’s going on around him he’s still speeding through. That can be the hell perception. It could be all types of violence, type of shooting, extortion, he’s still getting through to do whatever he has to go do. And then at the end of the video he meets a significant other, somebody that he loves and supports him. The whole process of me making the “Hevean & Hell” record I want people to think, the ultimate high is god. But on a spiritual level sometimes people can’t meet them standards, pray and actually believe he is real. So you need somebody in actual life, in physical form to keep your serenity inside of you. So that’s where you see the lady at the end. The lady can be your brother, your sister, or your pops. You always need somebody at the end of the day to keep you sane in this motherfucking world. That’s actually a piece from 1975 and probably the world is just now seeing that shit, I felt it went right with the music.

You got any last words?
Oh shit go cop that Kendrick Lamar OD, that’s all it’s about right now. Just spreading the word about good motherfucking music. Got G Malone in here. He got this Drive By Music. It’s all motherfucking West coast shit, we just trying to bring it back to where it’s suppose to be, the respect we need.

---

Thanks to Alex for hitting me up while in town and making this happen!

Currensy "This Ain't No Mixtape"

2010-11-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

After all the free projects, label bouncing and history with an assortment of successful rappers Currensy stepped out on his own to do his own thing. It paid off. In 2009, months after his free monthly mixtape series ended he partnered with Amalgam Digital and released the aptly titled This Ain’t No Mixtape.

Deciding not to wait for another major to come scoop him up, Spitta hooked up with Monsta Beatz and cooked up nineteen tracks. If you enjoyed any of the mixtapes, or have been rocking with the guy just recently over his Ski jams, you will probably nod your head to these cuts too.

Lyrically Currensy is sticking to his script, talking about his fly life. His life around rappers, skaters, and other assorted cats who play for a living have rubbed off on him and his experiences. Ladies, weed, skateboarding, shopping, clubbin, and cruising is all covered here much in the same way they were throughout the mixtapes. Either you like how Currensy puts his thoughts across a beat or you don’t.

On the topic of flow, he is sounding as good as ever here. Unsurprising given it is his offical debut, even if it’s only available digitally. For an inaugural album it doesn’t hold a lot of the inexperience an artists first solo album can, thanks to his mixtape grind Currensy already has perfected his art.

Monsta Beatz shows himself to be quite the accomplished producer covering a lot of ground with his productions here. For the first time Currensy handles and entire record over original beats. It’s a great thing and giving the reigns to a singular partner was a great idea. I’m surprised Monsta Beatz hasn’t done more work since this record. He shows a knack for great drum programming, varied samples and some sprinklings of live instruments. The beats can sound like Mannie Fresh to J. Rawls yet none feel out of place.

Just like his ear on the mixtapes, Currensy selected beats he knew he would fit well and over and over again he rides these beats with a kind of precision we had yet to hear from him. At times it feels a little stiff, like he is trying to hard but sometimes I think he must of been smoking in the booth as you can almost hear him mellow out by the end of some verses.

After my overall disappointment in the majority of the mixtapes, it’s great to hear the album not disappoint. By now I know what Currensy is gonna rap about and I’m more concerned with enjoying his fun personality portrayed on record and listening to his weed comments. He raps well, calls in some friends who also rap well, and made a dope ablum that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We all need a little time to relax in our lives, if smoking isn’t it for you maybe you can get high off the audio.

Buy This Ain't No Mixtape here.

For those of you who need something for free, here is a bootleg collection put out in support with mostly tracks you can find from the mixtapes along with a few random loose ones. Enjoy.

Download This Is A Mixtape.

Snow day: Video break!

2010-11-24T11:49:00.000-08:00

While those of us here in Seattle act like the world has come to an end thanks to an early snow storm (word is this is the earliest we've gotten snow since '55... this winter is gonna be rugged) the rest of the world hasn't slowed down or taken a break. If you are like me and holed up in your spot for the day staying warm here are a couple heatrocks from the city of angels. Maybe they will warm you up.

Jay Rock's voice here is as menacing as can be. The song "Diary of a Broke Nigga" is light on happiness and heavy on the dark reality that is our economic times. While times are tough we shouldn't be unprepared for more acts of violence against our fellow man. This song isn't about sympathy, it's about despair.

If the modern day intelligent gangster rhetoric doesn't do it for ya there is always the other side of LA hip hop, honest everyman Blu. While far from discussing street politics, Blu also raps about life and the struggles humans deal with. Word is he is preparing his Warner Bros. debut No York and this may be the lead single. FlyLo on the beat!

West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. 1 – Anotha Level of the Game

2010-11-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

I remember buying this tape at the only music store in Sunnyside, WA. I was staying at my grandparents house one summer and spent every spare dollar I had shopping there buying whatever tapes or cds looked dope. I was just getting into Master P (Ice Cream Man era), and this had his name on it so I found it to be a must have.

Back in the early 90s before P was riding for NOLA he was deep in the NorCal rap game alongside stalwarts such as Too Short, JT the Bigga Figga, 4 Tay, 40 Water, and a pair of Dres (Dog and Mac respectively). During this time period P had a different group of running mates such as E-A-Ski, Dangerous Dame, King George, and Sonya C who all make appearances on this tape.

What makes this interesting looking back on it is that it represents what was happening in the Bay at the time but more specifically San Francisco. JT and 4 Tay were both “big names” when I heard this, but I still wasn’t hip to Dre Dog, UNLV, Cellski, and Cougnut who were all doing some big work in the streets of SF.

This record has one great song, the Cameo jacking “Trying to Make A Dollar Out of 15 Cents” a collaboration between Master P and RBL Posse. Honorable mention goes to Cellski and UNLV (Baldhead Rick and SB outta Lakeview) on “Stressed Out” which is rapid fire raps over a real laid back beat. All in all this is a compilation of low level hood rap that I’m sure was very well received in the bay but today sounds dated and a bit corny. Feel free to judge for yourself.

Listen to West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. 1

Currensy "Fin..."

2010-11-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

After the disaster of the last tape I was feeling a little nervous going into Currensy's final installment of his monthly mixtape series. Fin... doesn't follow in the footsteps of Fast Times, or any other for that matter. He once again pulls on many different style of beats, loosing the continuity of Super Tecmo Bowl, but still finding more focus on his best traits than the lack of focus he has proven can over take his mind.

Throughout the release of these tapes he always featured what he called "In & Out's" which are one verse songs he drops over industry beats. They are hard to judge because of their quickness and nine times out of ten they are over a dope beat no one is gonna be mad at someone going in on. For his final hooray he does more of these than ever before over some more aggressive tracks than he is familiar with. He rocks the Diplomats banger "I Really Mean It" to pay homage to his homie he has been doing these tapes for. He goes in on a classic LOX jam, and many others you should download it to hear.

On the intro he speaks about going through this process and how much music he has given out, he then says he went back and gave us some of his favorites. These selections are worked into the back end of the tape and while at first going into this I was a little annoyed by the choice, today waking up and hearing them I can't be mad at it. The older cuts he picks are pretty on point and I’m certain he was getting paid more attention around the release of Fin... than he was when Independence Day kicked it off.

Currensy says it and I think he knew it going in, this is the introduction for some, perhaps many, new fans of Spitta’s and he gives them a tape that is easily digestible. The majority of the new tracks don’t play for more than two minutes and the “best of” area is stacked with prime selections. If you have been digging any of these projects you won’t dislike this one but you may get bored with it quick. If you haven’t copped any and don’t think you need all of em this is your best introduction. Still can’t recommend Super Tecmo Bowl enough though.

Download Fin... here.

Kendrick Lamar "O(verly) D(edicated)"

2010-11-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

The West coast is my place of birth and my home, yet I’ve rarely followed as many artists from my home coast as I do from the land where the sun rises. Maybe I just hold cats from my area to a higher standard? As the South took over the game in recent years and the East became a joke of it’s former self the West has been on a steady uprising seeing artists springing up full of life, lyrics and potential to bring hiphop to the next generation.

Kendrick Lamar is from Compton and unlike his famous neighbors doesn’t claim any set. He saw it all and much like Nas telling us about what he saw from his project windows Kendrick tells us about life. Not just any life though. A life full of pain and sorrow. Happiness and joy. Ups and downs. Good relationships and bad ones.

Where the West coast rappers of the past (by and large, not all) were about colors and a gangster mentality these new kids grew up on that and around it, or in it. Today they are making rap about life from a realistic perspective, talking about aspects of life a generation or two ago wouldn’t of got any white kids in the suburbs blood boiling.

Kendrick Lamar is a terrific emcee who plays with his delivery, voice and intonation (see “Monster” freestyle) to convey the feelings tied to the experiences he is sharing. Be it the hazy “H.O.C.” where he talks about being mistaken for a pothead by teachers, rambles off some serious stoner type philosophy and makes as good a weed song as those two joint rolling brothers or "The Heart Pt.2" where you are introduced to who Kendrick Lamar really is.

His community isn’t far from his mind and he addresses violence, despair and drugs among other uncomfortable topics throughout the tape. “Ignorance is Bliss” was one of the early leaks and is still as moving with the added benefit of two more verses. “Heaven & Hell” shows him going off pretty stream of conscious style about problems in the world today, cliche maybe but not when it’s done on Lamar’s terms.

While he can get serious on you, he doesn’t forget about the party and has a couple up beat jams here for the good times. “I Do This (Remix)” sees U-N-I, Skeme & Brown joining the Kendrick and Jay Rock for their previous collaboration. Over a monstrous beat these guys crank the energy up to 10. Ab Soul shows up here for “P&P1.5” where they talk about the two vices in their lives, pussy and Patron. Far from an ignorant song about getting drunk and banging, this is an intense examination of how each affect life positively and negatively.

Musically the album is rich and warm. It rarely shows off any traditional “West” coast type sound. “Michael Jordan” brings to mind the crunk of Lil Jon cut with a thick kush filled swisher. Somtimes some horns will blast, but mostly it’s subtle drums, soft piano chords and spacy synthesizers. Perhaps this further proves how much of an instrument Kendrick’s voice is as nothing ever sounds soft here, no matter how “soft” those sounds i just described might seem.

O(verly) D(edicted) is a great release. It’s a tough release. It’s not going to win just anyone over. It’s deep. It’s heavy. It’s not always happy. But it’s full of knowledge and insight. Kendrick Lamar runs with a crew that calls themselves Black Hippies and this is certainly some freedom music for the people. Perhaps Dr. Dre gave him the nod because this is what modern day gangsta rap should be?

Unfortunately it appears Kendrick Lamar's bandcamp site has been taken down. I swiped this link from the dope house, my bad guys. If you do anything today, download and listen to this tape.

Matthew David & XLR8R

2010-11-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty unaware of this guy Matthew David, but his label Leaving Records has released a few joints I've enjoyed in the last few years from the LA beat scene. He dropped this little podcast earlier in the month with XLR8R full of some random jams. He has some field recordings and unearthed cassettes mixed in with a few new jack swing cuts, of course a few random beat jams and a whole lot more I couldn't even describe. Check it out! Enjoy the snow and you Sunday y'all.

Currensy "Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly"

2010-11-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

I suppose a good thing can’t last forever. I would of liked it to last a bit more than one tape though. After the rousing Super Tecmo Bowl that showed me a Currensy I’m familiar with he comes back a month later with Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly - the title and the fact that it’s the second to last had me holding high hopes even before I started this little mission of mine. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Gone almost completely are the smoothed out beats he appropriated on Tecmo Bowl, in their place are an assortment of more intense and at times grating beats. I remember being into “All About the Benjamin's” in middle school, but today the beat sounds terrible. I don’t even know what Spitta was talking about there.

I’m going to take a leap and say that the amount of ladies Currensy was getting with over the course of 2008 went up as his productivity did. Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly is full of songs about random ladies. Meeting them in the club, kicking it at the crib playing video games, girls rolling up planes, and more adventures with the opposite sex dominate the air time here. On a song like “Navigation Pimpin” you can’t be too mad at it but they don’t maintain this level.

As the tape progresses I loose interest. I’m baffled by how this project is letting me down like none of the previous one’s (except for maybe the early two) have. Currensy seems to be a bit distracted, seeing his clever self gone with a stiff unlikeable emcee in his place just reciting run of the mill bars about non sense. If you are gonna rap about this subject matter you gotta make it exciting and not come off as a lame. Here he fails on both counts.

Completest eat your heart out, download here.

UGK, Master P & Silkk the Shocker - Playaz from the South

2010-11-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

I've been rexamining some of the music I used to listen to as a young man and this song was on one of my favorite comps "Down South Hustlers - Bangin and Swingin" just one in a series of many comps brought to us by Mr. Percy Miller. Will's recent look at Curren$y has inspired me to take a trip through my musical history by listening to all my old No Limit comps and soundtracks and sharing my thoughts here on the blog.

Stay tuned for some real ignorant shit.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Leonard Dstroy

2010-11-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

On Monday I dropped the review for a project by Leonard Dstroy called Higher Vibrations available for free at his bandcamp. I shot him a few questions and he had alot to say. Get familiar with this KC based beat stomper.

Who is Leonard Destroy? How old are you? Where are you from, is it still your home?
My real name is Kyle Dykes. I am 30 years old and I'm from the middle of the map, Kansas City, MO - born and raised.

When did you start making tunes? Were your first music making endeavors in the same vein as what you're on today?
I started DJing in 1994 when i was 14 years old. I didn't start producing til 1999. I actually started playing with a couple bands (Sevenfold Symphony and the Jesse Jackson 5), later on I formed the group Deep Thinkers with my partner Brother of Moses in 2001. We went on to release 4 full length albums and we are still very much active to this day. Since day one, I've always been interested in progressive hiphop and electronic music.

What were you hearing as a kid? What were you digging into as you grew up? Did your parents influence your music listening?
As a kid, I was exposed to a wide variety of music via my father who is an outstanding guitarist and singer. Growing up my dad had a very extensive vinyl collection and I was fortunate to cut my teeth on lots of Soul, Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Dancehall, Funk, Afrobeat, etc... As it turns out he gave me his entire collection as a wedding gift, so now its mine. When I got a bit older, around the time I started middle school, I started getting into hiphop and other things. The first record I ever bought was Coolio's Fantastic Voyage on vinyl haha. I was really into the early beat stuff , like the earlier Ninja Tune catalog. To this day, artists like Amon Tobin, Clifford Gilberto, and Coldcut are still huge inspirations to the work I do. I was also really into Venetian Snares, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and stuff like that too!!!

Do you have a day job?
Yes, I still hold down a part-time job, but hopefully not for long.

Outside of music, how do you like to spend your time?
Outside of music I like to hang with my wife, friends and family... eat good food, play basketball, watch movies and enjoy the great outdoors. But honestly, I'm a hermit and I really do spend most of my free time in the lab creating.

What's your goal with your music? Are you looking for vocalists to get on your tracks?
My goal with music is to pay the bills doing something I love and also to use it as a opportunity to travel and meet new people. As far as vocalists are concerned, I am always down to work with people who inspire and push me to be better.

How are you as an artist dealing with the changing face of the music business?
I am just trying to go with the flow of things and adapt to the ever changing landscape of music today. I think it is important to embrace all the technology we have at our fingertips and use it to our advantage.

Favorite record label?
Right now I'm really feeling a few different labels.... proboably on my top ten list would be Alpha Pup, Error Broadcast, Elm and Oak, Warp, Brainfeeder, All City, TokyoDawn, Hyperdub, StonesThrow, AND Planet MU.

Are you a vinyl collector? Do you play out either DJin or doin a live production set?
I am a vinyl collector and when I play out I usually DJ, but I am actually making the transition to doing more live production sets in the future.

Are you happy with music today? What's in your ears?
I am very happy with the state of music today. It seems as if there is a renaissance happening right now with progressive beat/bass music in general. There is so much good music coming out every week that it is hard to keep up with sometimes. All over the world people are pushing the boundaries and it is a beautiful thing indeed!

What's next for Leonard Destroy?
Hopefully this year you will see quite a few things from me. I am currently in the process of signing with a label and you should see a full length album and a E.P. in 2011... more information to come on that real soon!!! (Ed. Note: Leonard Dstoy and Elm and Oak Records made the official announcement earlier this month, congrats man!)

Also doing a collaboration album with my right hand man HeRobust that is gonna be absolutely insane, that should see the light of day in the near future. It is gonna melt faces for sure!

Also gonna be releasing a few remixes on a few different labels, and a project with Reggie B that has been in the works for awhile now. Also working with a few very talented Kansas City emcees, and I am planning on getting back in the lab with Brother of Moses sometime this year to start working on the next Deep Thinkers album as well.

You hearing anything coming out of the Northwest?
Yeah Ive heard of a few things coming from the Northwest, but I am still kinda in the dark. I am a big fan of the homie Devonwho's stuff and I really think the Frite Nite guys kick major ass. I would love to get up there sometime this year and check it out. I hear nothing but good things.

Last words? Advice? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Be excellent to each other and party on dudes!!!

Currensy "Super Tecmo Bowl"

2010-11-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

Currensy has finally got a tape in his canon I won’t look down on. Fear and Loathing in New Orleans got pretty close, but Super Tecmo Bowl sees the Hot Spitta finding both his voice and the right style of beat for him.

Throughout the bars he spits here there is a confidence I’ve not heard on any of the previous projects. He touched it on Life at 30,000 Feet but his youth and the Cash Money influence are heavy burdens on his earlier tape. Here he is on top of the world. He attacks tracks with a passion. He is five tapes into the monthly mixtape series and it’s starting to pay off, he has captured the attention of the bloggeratti and was probably seeing some doors open via his own work. That has to be an invigorating feeling, this feeling is expressed through his flow.

His rhymes cover a lot. He’s got a lot on his mind. Weed is starting to be talked about more, girls are front and center often, he boasts on one song that he has no game chicks just know his story. His fashion sense is on display as well. While anyone can talk about these things, Currensy delivers his talk in quite clever rhymes that humanize what it is he is talking about.

He isn’t totally caught up in the material world however and on a song like “I Did It Myself” he bounces back and forth between his fly talk and some serious introspection about his career path and the work he has done. This is a reoccurring theme throughout Super Tecmo Bowl, addressed in different scenarios He talks about the blogs, the series, his homies he intends to put on - perhaps this doesn’t sound interesting when read about but the way he rolls all of these things together he shows his fans his life through his rhymes. His life just happens to revolve around his music and clothes.

He talks to the haters on “Top Shelf” and gets as close to his old gangster threats since before the series began with the line about his homies not responding kindly to disparaging remarks and points out while that’s not really his steez, it’s how it’ll go down so just keep them thoughts to your self. He gives us a weed song in “Blaze Something” certain to piss off any club promoter, owner or security staff as the hook incites anyone with chronic in the club to light it up.

A big part of this tapes playing as a whole are the beats he selected. Most I recognize, few I’m able to place which is driving me crazy but you can’t know all. The common theme with most is their more musical than much of what we’ve seen in the past. Many of these feature horns, what sound like live drums or at least live played via the producers machine of choice. While not exactly what Ski is on with his current Karate School sensei’s they mesh well with Currensy’s voice.

Maybe it’s the weed, maybe it’s the success, maybe it’s the good times he is having living life with his crew recording raps, playing video games and going shopping - whatever it is that makes Currensy happy was going on in his life while making this record and he gave that back to his fans.

Download it here.

Groove Merchant Turns 20!

2010-11-17T12:26:00.001-08:00

If vinyl and the bay area is mentioned in the same sentence you are probably gonna hear Amoeba not to shortly after. While I'm not gonna make a trip to SF without a stop there, a little shop known as Groove Merchant is where you will find the real gems while digging in the city.

I saw a pristine copy of Mecca & The Soul Brother in the stacks when I made my first visit. I proceeded to spend many hours, combing through racks, boring my girlfriend to death. I have never made it back to the shop, or the Bay for that matter but I think about the store often.

While GM became a destination spot for diggers over the last two decades, it's also seen two stellar labels be created out of it's confines: Luv N' Haight and Ubiquity. In celebration of the store, it's owner "Cool" Chris Veltri and Ubiquity are releasing a collection of tunes "from behind the counter." Purchase it here.

They've also created a Tumblr for the album where they have EVERY song up to stream along with some good information about each tune. The selections are as varied as you can imagine a seasoned collectors to be. It's good music all the way through. Here are a couple that grabbed me.

Rod Abernethy - Ron and Eddie Blues by Groove Merchant 20

September - Stump by Groove Merchant 20

Frankie Gee - Date with the Rain by Groove Merchant 20

Shouts to O-Dub for the heads up!

Currensy "Fear & Loathing in New Orleans"

2010-11-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

With tape number four in “Spitta’s Monthly Mixtape Takeover” (his name, not mine) he shouts out his home and a classic book about a wild drug fueled journey. I’m sure Fear & Loathing in New Orleans was fueled by as much chronic smoke as any other tape Currensy has released, but he isn’t one to rep for much else - he even goes so far as to say on the intro he doesn’t “pour anything up.” Regardless of what ingests, he has delivered a pretty good project this time around, maybe the first of his tapes I could see myself going back to as a whole project.

He introduces the tape over Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness” before jumping into the title track sounding great over a smooth jazzy beat that I swear I’ve heard before but can’t place. He is talking about his home here, he talks about the hood, friends passed, and his first rap that was “full of bullshit and lies” about doing dirt. I can dig this.

The tape kinda falters for a sec after with a couple ho hum joints. “Murda” comes and goes with Spitta talking about how he can take out anyone with his bars while “Movie Writers, Bussiness Men & Gangstas” features a terrible beat with no life for Currensy and Mr. Marcelo to talk about nonsense, and some contrived connection between the three. Well I guess their could be, but they don’t capture it in the slightest.

He and Roddy take “We Major” into “Sky Barz” talking about their typcial Fly Society type shit about just how fly they get and over a Neptunes industry beat he talks about “World Class Bitches” who love him. He sounds good over the Neptunes baby making tune, and he keeps it light and funny throughout, he just wants to get highed up with the fly ass chick who snuck the planes into the club.

Many of the tracks on this tape only feature a verse and a hook. This isn’t a knock against the tape, one of the flaws in the previous ones relates to how they could drag on. That being said, it’s an easier task to write a hot 16 over a hot beat, coming with a complete idea is a whole different task. Of course he has proven today he has no problem being creative, if anything these days the guy is being too inspired... nah, no such thing.

“Lost In Transit” is one of the best Currensy song I’ve heard in my going through the discography. Over an awesomely spacey beat that features very mellow drums just playing in the background, whoever played the synths on this tack wins big in my book, I want more! Currensy gives us some high talk about rappers being parents to kids who’s biological don’t bother, education getting you killed, and of course he has a couple lines about how dope he is.

He raps about being new age technology, tell dudes how to get on in this new Internet driven rap biz. He rocks over Ski’s Camp Lo classic, continually demonstrating the chemistry they have goes deeper than just knowing Dame. He pulls on Ced Hughes for an awesome track in “Calm Down” and reminds me why I interviewed dude, why I hate that I don’t have the audio any longer, and just how dope he is. He has a much more precise flow next to Spitta, but they compliment each other here awesomely well.

Fear & Loathing in New Orleans has some gems. Like most mixtapes it’s not flawless, that’s ok. Like all of these proects it’s free and it’s another notch in Currensy’s belt. He wasn’t dropping these tapes to make people believe he was the dopest on the mic but to prove that he could rap and you should listen to him. What he lacks in lyrical dexterity he makes up for with charisma and a knowledge of rap that only the biggest of heads would put on display. He rocks “Intergalactic” like it was his own. Enough said.

Download the tape here.

Leonard Dstroy "Higher Vibrations"

2010-11-15T08:42:00.001-08:00

While FlyLo and his Brainfeeder collective have firmly established LA as the hub of life around the ever growing “beat” scene their influence has escaped and begun to seep into the ears of creators all over the world. This weeks bandcamp excursion brought me to Leonard Dstroy from Kansas City.

I don’t know much about KC, but I wouldn’t of expected something like this cooked up in the town’s city limits. Dstroy uses a wide array of synths, bleeps, bloops, and crazy mechanical like roars. Often times he is incredibly melodic with his construction of rhythms merged with the synthesizer noises.

Leonard has a knack for delivering really hard drums on his tracks. He doesn’t go for an up tempo mood too often, he likes to keep things more cerebral. On a track like “Mojave” he let’s the beat build, then where a hook would go if it were a typical song sees several elements of sound added, I can’t even begin to explain the levels to which he is layering things, you will hear new aspects to things upon every listen.

The album is full of this. He is not at all shy when it comes to chopping up and tweaking things. He’ll have a vocal sample play, slow it down all the way into a grinding clicking noise, but at the same time be having the volume of it reduced all the while he’s brought in some keys, some atmospheric effects, and flipped the drums up. He doesn’t fail at keeping the listener intrigued.

His track evolution is awesome. Instrumentalists can far to often fall into the trap of just making beats that have no depth to them. Dstroy isn’t making beats in the traditional sense. Many of these tracks wouldn’t suite an emcee, and the emcee that does decide to rock some of these deserves all the attention he can get.

A few vocalists do join the party. Reggie B belts out some excellent lines on “Trying to Find My Way” over an off kilter drum beat. He harmonizes with himself and has a beautiful voice. It sounds like Dstroy added some effects to B’s voice as well, which helps it in the mix feel like part of the beat rather than just someone doing their own thing over it.

“Higher Frequency” sees Brother of Moses make an appearance. The track is toned down on bleeps and blips for Moses to spit bars. He doesn’t stand out how I’d prefer to hear a rapper on a beat but if you take the time to listen to him, you won’t be disappointed. The beat is bubbly, with a happy vibe behind it, you’ll be smiling while you listen no doubt.

Higher Vibrations put me in a mood every time I listened to it. It’s not dark or grimy, it’s something else. While Leonard Dstroy may have been inspired by some peers with longer track records he owns his music here demonstrating that his style is all his own. The record is something to be heard as an album. Individual songs here are cool, but I’m not inclined to go to anyone individually. I just want to put this on at the front and let it ride.

Fatima "Warm Eyes"

2010-11-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Anyone else miss them Summer days already? With some Dam Funk production you can always have summer!

Currensy "Welcome to the Winner's Circle"

2010-11-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

After five mixtapes it’s nice to say that their is finally one that I really enjoy front to back. Maybe it’s just my love for Seattle’s favorite boutique that Spitta unintentionally shouts out with the title, but Welcome to The Winner’s Circle is 18 tracks of awesomeness. Unlike most of the previous tapes featuring a wide array of industry beats, this one features beats that all fit within a mood. I recognize some but not all, wish that mixtapes came with production credits, ha.

The mood here is comfortable. While the first two tapes in the monthly series didn’t feel like they were projects so much as random songs thrown together, this one plays through like an album. He recruits Nate Dogg for a hook (or maybe that‘s jacked too?) over some subtle drums and muted horns. Currensy does a good job of explaining what makes him him.

I’ve complained about his constant focus on material items through the tapes we’ve looked at so far. This one doesn’t shy away from that like he has as of late, but it does mellow it out. He isn’t bragging any longer, nor is he trying to push a gangster persona. With “Bubble Gum Gangstas” he goes in on the classic Jay beat from “Imaginary Players.” Currensy addresses the fakes who front on record, he’s addressed his own guilt of this on wax already, it’s cause for a chuckle but he makes a good point when he says he’s gonna sit back and enjoy his good guy image.

Kick back and enjoy the good life seems to be what he has done. He lost the overly seriousness, the hard facade, rolled up a few more planes, got down with his homies who were on the same wavelength and started making music for himself. Roddy and Trademark are here in full effect, I can’t hate on either of em, they never appear enough to really judge what they can do, but as far as guest bars go they handle their own all the time. Fiend is still popping up which is awesome, their chemistry is obvious and it has been since the No Limit era.

2008 sounds about right in my head for when the streetwear culture had hit it’s boiling point and Currensy is embracing it fully here. He’s always been about gear, but shouts out to Neako, BAPE, the Hundreds, Rocksmith, and others throughout the tape is a new reach. It could be his excitement of looking at these companies as peers given he had just inked a clothing deal for Fly Society at the time of recording this. Wonder where those clothes ended up?

Welcome to The Winner’s Circle is a mixtape from a rapper who has learned some things from time spent in the industry. While it’s not his first tape to be wholly listenable it is his first one that is wholly him. Gone are the leftover tracks, gone is the confusion of how to approach a project that you have sole control over. The best moments of all his previous work and what’s carrying him today is his ability to make people connect with him. He’s found this quality here and experimenting in all the right ways over beats that connect sonically.

Download the tape here.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... TassNata

2010-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

This week for my bandcamp adventure I went to the North for an emcee out of Canada who goes by TassNata, he makes heartfelt rap that is fully inspired by the mid nineties classics far to few are growing up on these days. If you didn't catch the review or give the album, Between Planets, a listen do that while reading.

Introduce yourself? Where are you from? How old are you? What do you do? How long you been at it?
Yo! I go by the name TassNata, or my goverment is Justin Nerling either is cool haha. TassNata is a play off of latin "Veritas Dignitas" which is truth and dignity, two values i hold very important. Also truth > Justice > Justin > and I'm a libra so my sign is the scales! I recently turned 24, from Vernon BC, spent some years in Victoria as well. I currently work in Kelowna as a mental health worker with autism, and for the schoolboard here as well. Oh yeah, I rap too I guess haha... I been busy writing since at least elementary when I heard Big L, but never recorded until someone showed my how to do it myself when i was 16.

What was your introduction to rap?
I'd say Tupac in Grade 4. My friends older brother bumped it alll the time when I'd be at their house, so I was a big fan until I heard East coast shit, I was obsessed with Biggie, Big L, Jay-Z, and Wu-Tang. I just liked the style more, and how it felt generally.

Does Canada have it's own hiphop history that ran parallel to the growth of the culture in the states?
Of course! Obviously not as internationally dominant as American hiphop became but I mean we had dudes doing it big still! Maestro waddup! The first emcees in Canada I became BIG fans of would have been the Rascalz and Kardinal. But I mean Michie Mee killed it and so many since the 90's.

What is the feeling of the hiphop scene around you? Is it vibrant?
It's cool, where I live there ain't a lot of rappers or artists but MAN, EVERYONE around here is a fan of hiphop. So I appreciate that, and all the support I get at shows. My friend SonReal is from here as well but lives in Van now. Also everyone around here has branched into different things so its great in the sense I'm surrounded by career driven people all the time, they keep me inspired!

You have some Detroit connections on your record, how did those relationships develop? Were you in the lab with them?
Yeah, Detroit is one scene in particular that has me really excited about hiphop in a time when I will admit I was losing faith in the genre. Slum Villa and JDilla were always a major influence to me, before I started rapping. Black Milk came out and dude was incredible, Danny Brown, Apollo Brown, so many people coming out of that side its crazy. We connected through a homie of mine, sup B! who is a promoter and was reaching out to Milk and El for some shows, it just went from there really... dudes were easy to work with and we came out with some crazy tracks! Unfortunately we were not in the lab together but in the near future I'll be heading to Detroit to link and hopefully come out with some new music. We are also starting to lay the groundwork on some videos for the songs as well.

I read through the credits on "Between Planets"... Who are the beatmakers you are working with here?
SOME CRAZY TALENTED INDIVIDUALS!
Big Pops(Northern Profit - Drake, UGK, Dr.Dre,Styles P,Alchemist)
Tone Mason(Grammy Nominees with Fantasia, Jay - Z, Drake, Sean P, AZ)
DJ Crown from France
Neenah from Amsterdam
my homie Lew Ashby
Ominous
Neo Tempus, him and myself are working on an EP right now actually.

Who do you want to work with musically?
TOUGH question, so many people man, I'm such a fan of all music but I'll give a top 10? No specific order. Jay-Z! Ghostface, Lupe, Alicia Keys, Jake One, Premier, Santogold, The Roots, Bilal & Andre 3000.

Are you listening to anything from the Seattle hiphop community?
Blue Scholars, J. Pinder and Jake.... wanna work with ALL 3 as well.

What's in your ears right now?
To be honest for some reason I hardly listen to hiphop in the Fall. I don't know why but I think I blast so much in the summer, I like to switch it up for a bit and come back fresh when all the biggest records come out later in the year. There is a FEW hiphop records im bumpin still though, so I'm listening to The Black Keys, Nina Simone, Big Boi's new album, an old Coheed and Cambria record (Second Stage Turbine Blade), Album of the Year - Black Milk, and Apollo Brown & Boog Brown - Brown Study.

How long was "Between Planets" in the making? Is it your first release?
3 years man. I took a hiatus when my first daughter was born in 2008. I probably did 100 tracks in the process at least and the majority of the songs on there were all made in 2010. Lullabye, Intro, Why, are all three years old.. and the hidden track caled The Everwonder.

What is next?
8 track untitled EP with my homie Neo Tempus (he produced Stars Fade and Between Planets on my album) The EP is going to have some HEAVY tracks, with a more electronic - melodic vibe, something I think will be different than alot of shit out right now.

Last words? Advice? Rants? Words of wisdom?
Thanks for the love! I hope to visit Seattle soon!!

---

Thanks to Tass for taking the time to answer my questions, next week it's a beat head from Kansas, Leonard Dstroy. Till next, thanks for rockin.

Munk "Violent Love"

2010-11-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

I woke craving something different this morning. I found my way to Rinse for the first time. I'll save my praise for another time, but whatever you have heard about the long running online radio station is probably true. Pretty amazing project.

This is about a group called Munk and the tune "Violent Love" that the visuals above accompany. I like the concept of telling the tale in reverse, showing a situation I'm sure anyone involved in this music game has encountered with their partner, sometimes you just need to listen and escape. But sometimes that's the last thing you can do.

Currensy "Higher Than 30,000 Feet"

2010-11-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

Tape two in Currensy’s 2008 monthly mixtape series was done in two days in the LBC section of Los Angeles. Some of the project holds a laid back west coast vibe, but thanks in large part to Spitta’s choice of beats Higher Than 30,000 Feet plays like a vintage east coast project. He even comes off on a couple of these tracks like he was raised around the block from where the track might have been made.

Currensy’s fluidity on the mic is something I’ve heard discussed about the kid before. While he hails from New Orleans, and certainly possess a southern drawl, when he raps he can fit any style. If you’ve been following the tapes so far you’ve already heard “Hear It & Fear It” over the Roots jam “The Next Movement.” I can’t dig on his reusing of a song, but he dispatches the beat with ease telling us a story about a dog Katrina claimed.

Elsewhere he hops on “Hate Me Now” and “Shook Ones.” He sounds good on the later, flows like Hav and P were right there with him. His remake of the former is lackluster to say the least. He spends too much of this tape caught up in the material ideas that flooded rap in the late 90s, I don’t care if your crew is called Fly Society.

His new team’s ideals permeate the entire tape. Lots of talk about cars, girls, fly gear and the planes. He raps on “Grindin” and it’s one of the few times when you actually miss the original emcees. While he can’t work with the Neptunes minimal sounds, he handles “Feelin It” like a pro and should Jay hear it, if he hates that’s all it is.

Throughout all these projects Mr. Marcello has remained a presence. Today he is no where to be found, but at one point this was Spitta’s go to guy I think. He raps decent enough, on “Do What It Do” his deep voice sounds perfectly grimey for the bouncy beat. He also gets his own bonus track at the end of the project, dropping a 16 that’s forgettable.

Being out West for the recording of the project, how could he not link with his West coast counterpart to the Jets, aptly named F.S. West. Ha. Sometimes rappers lack any originality what so ever. These guys sound like hangers on and whats worse when Currensy joins the posse cuts he only stands out for his voice.

The Hot Spitta has gone up and down throughout the five tapes I’ve reviewed so far. At his best he can convey a genuine, stoned out, skater kid that spits raps about his life and how fly he is. At his worst he sounds like an arrogant fool who happens to have some flow and nothing to say. Higher than 30,000 Feet is more of the later unfortunately.

Download the tape here.

In The Woods.TV: Far From Home

2010-11-10T21:06:00.001-08:00

Got hit up by this guy Will via facebook complimenting my Teebs interview. He works with the Portland based In the Woods internet TV station. They got some cool features on the site, dig into it and peep this snippet they caught of Teebs rocking out and tweaking sounds out. Think Ardour might have to be the soundtrack to my bus ride home this evening.

What's all the hype about, who is J. Cole?

2010-11-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

That's who J. Cole is. If you didn't watch it, you should. I haven't been sold on dude, still not but he is slightly captivating and I'm intrigued. He's coming to town on the 23rd to rock Neumos. While it's his first headlining appearance in town, he was here last October with his boss - Jay-Z.

I didn't catch that set, my roommate at the time did and wasn't impressed. He was the one who told me to listen to The Warm Up but I never did. Until this past week. Today I went back to it again while writing something about him for a friend. He has an interesting story that is unlike many of his peers.

He graduated college in 2007 and quickly put together his first tape. This cat isn't only a college grad, he finished magna cum laude. Since then he has become the first artist signed with Jigga's new Roc Nation label and released one more mixtape, with another scheduled to drop in a couple days although the hype has been minimal and his album has already seen delays.

Regardless of what's happening with his projects, what is out shows an emcee that's talented and smart. He obviously isn't just a book smart kid, and his rhymes reflect both sides of his education. He makes beats and pulls on heavy drums and dusty samples like so many NYC legends, his samples and overall vibe of his music can't escape his heritage in the south however and you hear southern soul seeping out of many of his cuts. He owns the industry beats he takes as well. I guess I do like J. Cole.

Download the Warm Up here.

Listening this morning and learning a bit more about him has made me a bit more a fan, I'm still curious as to where exactly he is going and I'm not convinced he is always really talking about anything. Critiques with answers in time. Right now I'm gonna let "Last Call" replay once again. Check out his tapes and catch him at Neumos on the 23rd.

Currensy "Independence Day"

2010-11-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

The sweet smell of freedom. After many years tied to two of the biggest labels of their time, and with nothing more than three mixtapes to show for it, Currensy goes independent and emerges two years after Life At 30,000 Feet with Independence Day. It was, as he said, the first of a seven month long series seeing him drop a tape a month.

The first thing to know about Independence Day is that while the music is better than any of the previous tapes, it lacks a cohesive feel that he had started to touch with Life at 30,000 Feet. It’s not surprising being that this is his first project in two years, I’m sure these songs are pulled from sessions years apart. Sometimes the quality tells you, sometimes the mixing does and sometimes Spitta does.

The great thing about it is that he is doing him for the first time. I've made a point of the fact he wasn’t talking about weed overly on his previous ones, it’s still not as big trend but it is building it’s place in his persona. The beat selections are very blunted beats, or they are club bangers you’ve probably heard a different rapper on. Perhaps none of these are original?

You begin to hear the carefree side of the man. He makes a song about dealing with his cell phone that’s hilarious, honest, and relateable to no end. For anyone who has been stuck on a girl for no apparent reason, you have to listen to “She’s on My Mind.” Another hilarious couple verses from Currensy and he takes the prize for the first rapper I’ve ever heard use the word ribbing. I thought it was clever.

Elsewhere he and his homies rock, Roddy makes some appearances and pretty much sounds the same which might bug some but I won’t complain about listening to Roddy spit. He completely outshines Joey Queans on “Passport Sports.” A familiar face from the first project, Mr. Marcelo shows up and he still doesn’t stand out to me.

As the record plays out it’s choppiness starts to wear, it looses interest from time to time and when dealing with pot heads you know you gotta keep em captivated. His braggadocios lyrics are still occupying too much time. As is talk of money and it’s accompanying perks.

My opinion of this tape is as varied as the 23 songs present. He raps over hella different selections. I think this is one reason I like Spitta, he is a Hip Hop head to the bone. He has lived and breathed this culture for ever. I don’t feel that from every rapper. Doesn’t mean they haven’t but does mean he can personify better than many. That’s a valuable asset.

For a project that is re-announcing you to a scene you had begun to break the ice with Independence Day is decent enough. Perhaps that is why he made it sporadic. Here is all of me. It’s all an evolution and who are we to complain at the end of the day? It’s not like he’s asking us to pay anything. Download it here.

Tassnata "Between Planets"

2010-11-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Tassnata is a young emcee haling from Canada. While our Hip Hop counterparts to the north have never really seen the kind of success in the states that your average, nondescript rapper from the block can a few from the North have proven bars and flow aren’t just an American trait.

Tass wears his life on his sleeve. It’s what he knows and what he raps about. He discusses being broke, being abandoned by his family, growing up, traveling, having fun, and a whole lot more. Between Planets is a well rounded journey that will leave you satisfied and intrigued, questioning what he had to say and desiring to hear more.

I’ve had several friends vacation in Mexico this year, had even more say they wish they could visit the country. Tass makes a song about running away to the Southern country that is pretty funny and heartfelt, we all just want to get away every now and then. The beat features some guitar that is distinctly latin, if it’s a sample I wouldn’t be surprised if it was pulled from a record originating in Spain. It works regardless, with some heavier drums layered you won’t have any problem nodding your head or moving your feet to it with a lovely senorita.

Tassnata sounds like a dude who has gone through some shit in his life, yet he doesn’t dwell on anything overly negative - the true sign of someone who has overcome great adversity. You can hear the pain, but the hope is so much larger throughout this album. “You & Me” sees him rocking over a great Tone Mason beat discussing his love for the special lady in his life. People would be lucky to find someone to care about this thoroughly.

He calls on a few guests throughout the record. Detroit is present which is never a bad thing. Promise caught my ear last year rocking over some FlyLo production and just generally doing what it is 313 cats do with ease. He shows up here on “Remember” next to Black Milk, who needs no words of description. Addressing the past and their individual memories, they speak on the old vs. new worlds of Hip Hop but don’t close any doors on where it’s going. Appreciate the old and use it to grow into something greater.

Between Planets will keep you listening. Tass lacks nothing when it comes to the basics of emceeing. He has a captivating flow and writes about things place him solidly in the every man rap category. This isn’t a bad thing but it may not be the most popular of circles with the flood of this style of rhyme. If you’ve enjoyed Blu or Phonte, among the many others who have tried to perfect Slugs methods, Tassnata is someone who needs to be heard.

Listen and download below!

Fact Magazine Mixes

2010-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Fact Magazine has received a lot of praise over the last year or two for being a consistent home for news about new music and music itself. Based in London, Fact tends to focus on the electronic sounds emerging from their city and other like minded ones throughout the world.

While you can get your music news anywhere Fact Mag also provides something exclusive: Twice weekly mixes. Mix number 200 should premiere on Monday sometime and while they keep them live for three weeks they also recently uploaded all past mixes onto their Mixcloud account.

Fact Mix 172: Mike Simonetti by Fact Mix Archive on Mixcloud

That's just one mix you can find there from the founder of the label that Glass Candy calls home, Italians Do It Better. Dig deep you will find LHF, Space Dimension Controller, Prevelist, Four Tet, album of the year contender Guido, Brainfeeder Lone, a few different LuckyMe representers and the list could continue but I'll spare you the music nerd shock and awe.

I will mention that these mixes tend to feature exclusives, originals and rarities you aren't likely to find regardless of what.cd access or serious Google patience. If your Sunday afternoon was meant for relaxing with some new music put one of Fact's mix on stream and introduce yourself to something new, it's bound to happen. I'll leave you with a personal fav from Bass Clef.

Fact Mix 121: Bass Clef by Fact Mix Archive on Mixcloud

Currensy "Michael Knight"

2010-11-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

This Currensy is leaps and bounds beyond the kid whose tapes I've reviewed so far. Something illy for your Sunday morn wake n bake. I see Spitta's repping a Seahawks hat?!

Currensy "Life At 30,000 Feet"

2010-11-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

On Currensy’s third outing he finally proves himself a rapper worth hearing. The mixtape game at one point was all about development. I doubt you would ever hear an emcee coming out with something as rough as what we’ve already seen from the Hot Spitta. Life at 30,000 Feet is Currensy’s second mixtape with Cash Money and this time he is rocking with the family and fitting a role to a T.

Gone are the “freestyle” tags from these tracks. Sometimes he rocks over an industry beat and sometimes he has something original to hit you with. Guests vary throughout the tape but for a 27 track tape I’m not mad at the mixture of solo material with appearances from some different faces. Wayne comes through twice, Mack Maine, Top Gunz, Roddy, some guys named Joey and Daryl are also here along with a few others.

Wayne’s first verse comes over the classic Ski beat that Jay-Z owned - “Dead Presidents.” While it can never be touched, these two do not let anyone down with their writtens. Currensy spends time throughout all of his tapes rocking to many Ski beats, this is an awesome foreshadowing that we as fans should eat up.

Where the first two tapes held nothing that made me want to come back to them, this one has much that I enjoy. It’s more in line with what he is doing today, still less the regular weed talk. That is starting to creep in more and more though, don’t doubt it. He gives you “Smoke-N-Maintain” an awesome weed track, along with “Coastin’ Through The City” featuring this guy Top Gunz, who spits an awesome 16 to open the track discussing how he get’s highed up while riding through the city looking for “money and bitches.”

On that note, the influence of a conglomerate like Cash Money weighs heavy on Currensy still. It’s obvious here that he is aiming for a change, yet he knows the line he must walk to please those who hold the keys. Towards the end of the tape, he goes in on an assortment of early 90s native tongue beats and he sounds great. None of his posturing for the streets, just riding beats and flexing the art of gab that he can do with ease.

On “Galaxy Rap” he address some of the hate that has come his way and comes off honest and open. He nonchalantly dismisses the haters while continuing to push the image of being a young baller with cash, cars and girls. It’s hard to argue with. Currensy does a lot to prove himself on this record. His choice of beats to rock over and his fine walking of a line between his more gangster label mates and his laid back stoned demeanor is great.

While the first two mixtapes held tracks only the most die hard of Currensy fans need to hear, this tape features some gems for a much larger audience. You have Wayne in the Carter era here and Currensy opening up his mind to idea’s bigger than the block. His ear for a good beat is the deal breaker as you won’t be disappointed upon any track change. Roll one while this tape downloads and spark it as you press play.

Ninja Tune Goodies

2010-11-06T03:47:00.000-07:00

Celebrating your 20th anniversary must be rough. Ninja Tune has been celebrating with an assortment of releases. They are not slowing down as a label with a regular release schedule to attend to however. After first being convinced by Burial that there may be something to some of this electronic noise The Bug became one of my first points of reference. "Skeng" is heavy.

This new tune is on an all together different wavelength, but pairing with Hitomi is terrific for his music.

I also recently got hip to another group whose album the Ninja is about to release. Stateless is their name and the guitar riff in this was given to them by DJ Shadow himself. I'd love to know how you get to receive sample ideas from the sample master. If your intrigued by the video, watch this documentary. Modern visual art.

Hezekiah "She-Male"

2010-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is funny. Shout out to my guy Pomz. Hezekiah hails from Philly and has a new record called Conscious Porn out and this is the lead single. Produced by I Make Mad Beats. Cool visuals.

Nyle VS The Naysayers

2010-11-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I lived in New York for 4 years from 2005 to 2009. Now I'm back here cranking out the business with SOTA and Members Only. I'm still keeping tabs on my homies in New York that I used to rap with, produce for, rock shows with, etc. If you keep up on this blog you've already seen Will's feature on Fresh Daily, the engineer Ben Amin and their project "Mothership Land."

Another friend of mine is Nyle Lee, the man responsible for the "Let The Beat Build" remix video that went viral last year--unfortunately I missed the shoot. Still kicking myself in the foot for that one. Anyway, Nyle and some of the homies who I knew as well have put together a band behind his music (which actually includes Ben Amin on the MPC), and they're incredibly talented. Today, they announced a new partnership with Creative Control, an online media label that is "the brain child of directors Coodie & Chike (Kanye "Through the Wire" Erkyah Badu "Window Seat") and media mogul Dame Dash." Needless to say I am happy for them and their succes, and I present to you the first episode on their CC Channel. Get hip.

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Young Montana?

2010-11-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

On Monday I posted a collection of tunes, some of which were at one point up on Young Montana?'s bandcamp that seems to have been discontinued. As per usual with these bandcamp interviews, this one was done via email. He had a lot to say, read up!

Who is Young Montana? Where were you raised? How long have you been making music, do you play instruments?
I'm Jon Pritchard, 19, from the West Midlands, England, I'm 6'5 and
goofy looking. I started drumming when I was about 10 or 11, I'd just
spend every night teaching myself how to play and smashing the shit
out of this cheap drumkit. I joined a few bands and just could just
generally pick up and play a few instruments through my teens. I was
playing synth in the most recent band, and after that fizzled out
about a year ago I was just left with me and my laptop, I just kinda
fell into producing really, hadn't planned on picking it up before. I
didn't have a clue where it could take me.

What did you grow up listening too?
Lot's of shit. It's the perk of being a 90's baby. I was really into
bigbeat/breakbeats when i was really young, I used to have a sound in
my head that i wanted to find, but as i was so young I just didnt know
the terminology's or where to find it, haha. I actually took up
lessons playing the Recorder when i was about 5 because I thought it
was gonna be some crazy synth or something. Then when my teens kicked
in I got pretty into rock and metal, went to go see Slayer and
Mastodon once. I started getting back into more electronic sounds when
i heard tracks like 'Come to Daddy' by Aphex Twin, and Venetian
Snares. I kinda realised "oh this that sound I was looking for all
those years ago". I think about 4-5 years ago I went to a club with
some friends and there was this crazy sound coming from a pitch black
room. The music was dark and scary, like metal, but it felt so much
more powerful. It made you fucking dance like a twat and gave you a
rush of adrenaline at the same time. That was my first introduction to
dubstep, and the best way it could of happened. It's such a shame that
the whole jump-up dubstep scene is falling apart, or at least in my
eyes. Because nothing has ever shaken me as much as that shit did when
it was new. It was like nothing ever before.

Are you in university?
Nope, don't plan to yet. I just feel that you learn so much more from
real life than you can being taught what real life should be like.
I've never felt challenged by education the way that life tests you
every day. I had a bit of an arguement with a friend this time last
year because he was taking a course in music production - I was saying
you would learn a lot more spending that same year just doing it for
real. I'm not sure whether this year has proven that or not, haha, but
it doesn't matter. People need to take their own path in life.

I do think if I did go to University I would go do fucking physics or
something fucked up like that, I wouldn't want to be 'taught' anything
creative.

Do you have a day job?
Nah, I just do my music stuff pretty much. I sign on at the Jobcentre
every couple of weeks, and if I didn't, I just can't see how I'd
managed to get all this stuff done. I had jury summons just last week
and that 6 hours a day was making it impossible to be as productive as
I'd like.

Were you listening to the Mary Anne Hobbs show when she dubbed you what she did? If not how did you find out?
Yeah I was listening, I had a guest mix slot that day so I was
listening. I was so, so worried that the mix was gonna be shit that it
really didn't sink in, what she said. I don't think I really heard her
say it until my girlfriend pointed it out. I'm still quite a
perfectionist I think with my tracks, but 3-4 months ago when I did
the guest mix, it was killing me. It was the first mix I'd ever made I
think.

In your mix for BTS radio that recently dropped it's got some crazy modern electronic sounds and then out of no where you slip in "Return of Crooklyn Dodgers," personal favorite?
Haha, nah. Well it is now yeah. I found it a few weeks back on
youtube, thought i'd found a gem! I posted it on my facebook and
everybody was like 'Damn! Hip-hop classic!" I was like fuck that, I'd
never heard it before, hahaha. I think it's a great track though and
really represents a great part of the sound I'm looking for too. I
didn't want to fill the entire mix with just my shit, because from my
point of view that's boring and I wanna make something I enjoy. So I
tried to summarise my own sound with the jumble of artists in that
mix. All those sounds on the mix put together, that's me, that's what
Young Montana? is about at the moment.

What was the exposure like of american Hip Hop for someone growing up in the UK?
Pretty huge, except the fact I'd never heard Crooklyn Dodgers, I did
go through a big phase of liking Hip-Hop as a kid - Even R'n'B before
it was mainstream. My Mum was always very liberal but my Dad didn't
like me listening to certain things. When Eminem came out I fucking
loved that shit but my Dad wouldn't let me listen to it. He wouldn't let
me watch shows like South Park or Beavis and Butthead either. So one
day, to make up for it he bought me a 'Beavis and Butthead Experience'
compilation CD. The first track on there was Nirvana, and suddenly the
course of my life was changed from there. I went from wanting to hear
songs about fucking peoples mums - to learning about suicide and
heroin, thanks to my Dads censorship, haha. I guess in a way it was a
good thing really though, maybe I wouldn't be talking to you now if he
hadn't.

How did you connect with Daddy Kev and Alpha Pup?
Well when I did the MAH mix on Radio1, there was me and 2 other
artists on the show. One was Dr. Strangeloop and the other was Asura,
both of them being part of the Alpha Pup family. I guess that's where
the dots start to join up. I got speaking with Daddy Kev, and he said
he was loving the mix and had listened to it a few times that week.
Right there and then he just asked if I wanted to release something
with Alpha Pup!

You have dropped two tracks via your bandcamp page, do you have plans to regularly release music their or will that stop when the album is ready?
There's no real plan with all that, I just like to let me people hear
new stuff. I've got plenty of material that I wouldn't feel
comfortable releasing, stuff that I wouldn't pay for myself basically,
but I know other people may like it and would like to hear it. I get
asked by people if they can download my old music, like this little
tape I put up for download a while back. Some of those tracks are
going on the EP and some aren't. So I'm just gonna put the ones that
aren't up for free, and some other nuggets.

Did Meza reach out to you for his mix? Had you been paying attention to BTS for some time?
Well I'd kinda been in and out of contact with Meza for a while. He
asked me to send him some tracks earlier in the year and nothing
else really happened. Except every now and then I'd reccomend some new
shit for him to hear or he'd send me a funny .gif on AIM of like an
R/C car driving over a dog or something. But we were chatting on AIM a
couple of months ago, I said I'd just signed with Alpha Pup but I
wouldn't show him anything! He had a look on my soundcloud and heard a
mix I'd made on there and said "I wanna put this on the site".. I was
like fuck that, I'll just make you one.

Are you looking to work with vocalists on your tracks? Do you prefer to crafft instrumentals?
I'm not actively seeking anything right this second, but in the long
run it's definitely something I want to lean towards. I'd like to be a
whole lot more self-sufficient with samples and shit, and work with
different artists in different ways. I just wanna expand my mind and
make sure I never get stuck in a loop, one thing you'll find with my
music is that it's always changing. I just never want to become
stagnant - Locking myself underground with 1 style of music and 1
technique and 1 idea. That's just not me.

Are you performing out? If so is it more a DJ set or are you doing live production?
Live 'production' is probably the best phrase yeah. A bit like the way
Nosaj Thing 'calls up' parts the track and effects them. It's all a
work in progress, and a bit of a brain ache. I played a show with
S. Maharba and he played everything literally live - If he stopped
pressing buttons, so would the sound. I used to play instruments, so i
know how stupid that sounds, but in electronic music it's so much
harder to do that! And almost inconceivable with the complexity of
my tracks. But yeah, it's really inspired me to take it to that next
level - I'm probably gonna have to take a big key of ketamine one day
to try and figure out some weird plan to make all the sounds at once,
by myself, with just two hands. At this point though, it's been really
great fun and the live shows have been getting crazier and crazier!

What's the latest update on the album?
Musically it's done! Finished it yesterday and now it's all in the
hands of Alpha Pup. We just need to get it all nicely mastered and
settle on some artwork. I hadn't really thought about the art until
recently, so I'm just playing with a few idea's until something
sticks. Hopefully it will all be plain sailing from here though and it
will be out in the next few months, as soon as possible! I really wish
I could be out in LA right now to help with the mastering process, I
really wanna learn from it and be there to help form it. It's the
first time my music has been out of my control before, but Daddy Kev
is the safest pair of hands to hold it in definitely.

Last words? Rants? Words of wisdom?
Last words kill people - Don't get me started on rants - Contrive your
own wisdom.

---

Thanks to Mr. Pritchard for the time!

Atmosphere "The Best Day"

2010-11-05T02:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've been interested in anything Atmosphere dropped, but after hearing some random songs off the latest EP I gave it a listen. Meh. A few gems remain, this being one. Shout out to Grieves at the minute to 1:03 mark, clowning as usual and with a beer in hand - I expect nothing less.

Currensy "Welcome Back"

2010-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Listening to Currensy as a younger emcee is interesting. He is a great example of someone who needed the mixtape game to perfect his craft. Sports Center Vol. 1 held my attention only in so far as an example of growth for one of my current favorites. Welcome Back does about the same. He sounds a little better, but this is a much shorter affair with only nine real songs.

In the course of one year Currensy switched camps and on Welcome Back hears him repping hard for the Young Money/Cash Money conglomerate. Their are no guests from the crew present but some of the beats sound as though they may be Mannie Fresh throw aways. Some hold the “Armz” stamp which leads me to believe he got them off the long running instrumental mixtape series done by J. Armz.

His content still revolves around money, go figure with the new alliance, and he is still attempting to carry the gangster image. On “Ambitions Az A Ridah Freestyle” he spits next to a chick I think named Diamond, his bars about killing someone hold nothing menacing behind them. Diamond comes on and has a vicious tone that next to Spitta tells me one thing: he doesn’t believe what he’s saying.

On “Change Clothes” he sounds terrific and it’s more of the same discussing moving grams and holding “so many guns in his trunk he ran out of room for his speakers.” He rides Jay-Z beats incredibly well and makes me wonder how long Dame has been watching him. He still isn’t discussing the sticky green all that much, and does rely on talking about how dope he is a bit too much.

Confidence is great though and it could be the exact reason that we know who Currensy is today and their are countless others who were rapping in 2004 who we don’t. At 23 Currensy was not the artist his partner Wiz Khalifa is, but his strong suits peak out from time to time on these early tapes and it awesome to see how he has identified and developed them.

Download here.

Don't Miss Videos

2010-11-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Presidential Address. from Nemo Achida on Vimeo.

Need to listen to dude more, everything I've heard has impressed.

I fux with the DZA man, you all know this. Off his terrific mixtape that is soon to be an official album.

"The whole industry hated my guts in the nineties, that's what I liked about the nineties."
-R.A. The Rugged Man

Kinda interesting how they spliced interview footage in with the video. Has Buckwild ever done a wack beat? Damn.

Currensy "Sports Center Vol. 1"

2010-11-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

I’ve been patiently waiting for Currensy to come out to our lovely town. The date is set for December 2nd. Over the course of the next month I’ll be reviewing all of his old work. It starts today with, according to Wikipedia, his first mixtape Sports Center Vol. 1.

Released in 2004, this tape is a No Limit affair - the only project I’ve discovered of dudes that bears his first labels stamp. This copy is not the best quality, but everything is listenable and will let you hear the hot spitta as a young emcee just starting to develop.

While he has recently paired with his fellow No Limit refuge Fiend, they are not gettin busy together on this record. Mr. Marcello makes several appearances. C-Murder spits a few bars. Master P, Lil Romeo and a chick - that I’m thinking could be Rom’s sister, get down on a track next to Currensy as well.

I was never buying No Limit releases growing up, but what I know about the label seems to be represented here. Gone is all of the weed talk Currensy is known for today. In it’s place is a fair amount of gangster shit, stereotypical nonsense that shows me probably why I was never checking for him for so long. Elsewhere he talks about money, girls, etc. I’m intrigued to learn about Currensy’s youth, because if this is at all serious I think he may have grown up in the No Limit camp much like Lil Wayne with the Cash Money crew.

Like most mixtapes of this era most of the beats heard are jacked from the hits of the day. A few originals slip in and they are pretty bad. Cheap synths and lackluster 808s barely hitting anything do not make for good rhyming. Over the wide array of selections Currensy and the guests rock over no one ever really sounds great. Currensy was not the smooth rapping cat he is today six years ago.

While he pulls off a decent cadence on “Crush On You” he sounds way to soft for a track like “Gangster Music.” Listening to him struggle on some tunes, show hints of what’s to come on others is the only reason I can say you should download this tape. I love seeing the growth and advancement. Currensy has done a lot of that on many different levels. Sports Center Vol. 1 is essential only for the completests.

Download it here.

Marky "Monster"

2010-11-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Swerve is determined to keep this dude's name in my ear. I'm not convinced, but I kinda like what he is doing here. Different than what I've heard from him. What do y'all think?

On another note, It always was a creepy film.

Young Montana? "Scarce Leaks"

2010-11-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Finding new music has never been so exciting in my eyes. While I continue to find new kids making music via bandcamp, and other viral outlets I can’t forget the journey I’ve taken to hear whatever it is in my ears at that moment. Young Montana? has been getting spins from me for a lilttle while and shares a geographic similarity with some of the other electronic knob twisters and button pressers I’m playing loud as fuck as of late.

Young Montana? is a 19 year old from West Midlands in England. You may remember the BTS mix from dude I posted not to long ago and that is just another great example of what is music is and how he is condensing muiltiple styles into some of his own funkiness. He chops up vocals, throws stuttering synths, brings in heavy bass and throws that out in exchange for happy keys. While listening to the tune “F.F.F.F.” you will repeatedly look at you iTunes thinking it’s on shuffle and you’ve just heard yet another new song. You haven’t, Young Montana? just likes to keep it moving.

Elsewhere in this little collection of tunes is a remix he did for Fader that features him “remixing” Miley Cyrus to hilarious and awesome results. Montana doesn’t take himself too seriuos and you can tell he is till discovering where he wants to take his sound. “Scare Cool” is the song with the most fittin name, as the tune just excudes coolness via a beat that sounds like floating in the clouds. I want to hear Wiz spit to this.

While Young Montana?’s bandcamp page appears to be no more, I’ve asked what the story is but so far no response, the three songs he dropped on the site in the last few months don’t do anything to think that Daddy Kev was wrong in choosing this young Enghlishman to join the ranks of his Alpha Pup stable. Young Montana shows that the Low End Theory set is right up his alley.

“Hot Heathrr” is another one of his epic journeys of a tune that twists, turns and finally grooves you into submission. “Twenty3Skidoo” is probably the most Hip Hop of the cuts here featuring more recognizable sounds as samples. The whole track is anchored by some keys which start off in a normal chord progression before getting out of sync in a beautiful way with the rest of the beat. He brings in this womans vocal snippet that catches your attention always, the drums aren’t hard but their off kilter rhythm is something Dilla fans will feel before they realize the influence.

These six songs show an awesome talent just getting started. So many people right now are making tracks, throwing them online and just hopping somoneone somewhere hears them. Young Montana? has been heard over seas, he’s captured the attention of highly sought after individuals within a few scenes that remain at the fore of progressive music ideas. These songs have me excited for a future with more tunes that twist genre definitions and inspire people to think outside of the box.

Download the tracks here.

Listen to Gilles Peterson

2010-10-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

I was talking to someone yesterday, and when they said all they hear on the radio was bubblegum pop I paused to think about the last time I had really listened to the airwaves. I can't remember, but I do know that I've tuned into the BBC online for a show hosted by this guy Gilles Peterson.

A few years ago I didn't miss one of his shows, and those hours listening are a huge factor on my ears today. Gilles has been an international DJ for years, while he is definetly a radio DJ his knowledge, crates and insatiable appetite for new music has kept him at the forefront of forward thinking music explorers. The above song, a Roy Haynes tune called "Quiet Fire" was selected by him for the BBE comp The Kings of Jazz, couldn't of woke up to a better song this morning.

Gilles show on the BBC is called Worldwide, you can catch it Wednesday mornings from 2-4 AM. Recently he has hosted DJ Shadow, in a show where they both break out vinyl and discuss music like only two seasoned diggers can. Kon & Amir also made a recent visit. Don't worry too much about when it's live, you can listen to the most recent show for a week, and if you want to hear archived ones check this out!

Gangrene "The Sickness"

2010-10-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

In an alternate apocalyptic reality Oh No and Alchemist would be the perfect pairing to create music for chaos. They decided not to wait and are about to deliver their collaborative album Gutter Water under the guise of Gangrene next month on Decon Records. The first single, "Not High Enough," featured trademark Alc keys and an overall spooky kind of vibe. This track right here is full of Oh No's signature odd sounds that only he could compose into something that makes you nod your head.

One Time @ Bandcamp With... Crispus McFly

2010-10-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Alright, by now y'all should know the deal. On Monday I wrote about Crispus McFly's EP The Wake Up! and now it's time for the conversation with the man. If you still haven't given him a listen, check out this new track he gave us for the interview, it's called "Flavius Valerius."

First up who are you? Where do you live? How old are you? How long have you been making tunes? What are you working with?
I go by Crispus McFly. I'm a 26 y.o. beatmaker in Boston, and I've been makin beats for about 3 years.

Samples sound present in your music, are you a digger/vinyl collector?
Yeah, I dig records.

What music did you grow up on? Who are you listening to today?
I grew up listening to a lot of Moments, Little Sister, Breakwater, mainly Funk, R&B and Jazz with some Gang Starr. I still listen to it and Dilla, Jeru the Damaja, etc.

Do you have a musical background? Play instruments?
I used to play the drums, but stopped after my first year.

What's your day job?
I work in a record shop, buying and selling records.

What kind of downloads are you seeing off the bandcamp? Are you doing this for fun or is it something you are trying to make a career out of?
I make beats for fun, but if it leads to profit, I'm down for that too.

Are you interested in getting vocalists on your tracks? If so, singers rappers? both?
I'd be nice to work with some artists, but I'm good right now on my own.

Do you DJ or perform you tunes out in some capacity?
Naw, I haven't really done any of that yet.

How did you find Choclate Chuck's Goodnight EP? What made you want to reinterpret it? Has he heard your take?
I found Chuck on myspace. We talked through some emails and he liked my beats. So, we did remixes of eachother's EPs. It was good times.

What are you working on today?
Just beats and my job.

Favorite pizza?
Pepperoni

Favorite drink?
Beer.

Favorite book?
Reason: The Manual

Domo Genesis "Kickin It" (Fan Video)

2010-10-29T00:20:00.000-07:00

Domo Genesis - Kickin It from Ska Azaro on Vimeo.

I'm fully on the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All skateboard . While they are gaining some Internet praise nationally and got heads talking their name around town they are still just at the beginning of something.

I gave Domo's album Rolling Papers a spin today walking to work. It's pretty awesome. It's also the first album from the crew I've listened to in it's entirety. This track stands out with it's reversed beat and Domo's stoned flow. They posted this fan video up on their site and had this to say:

Some Fanmade Video For Domo Genesis ”Kickin It” From his Rolling Papers Project. Produced By Tyler Creator. We Rarely Post Shit Like This, But The Video Fits The Mood of The Song So Well, We Had To Give Respect To The Person Who Put These Clips Together.

It's not like any of the videos Tyler himself has done, but it's pretty spooky in it's own way. What is going on with that clock? It's some highed up shit for sure. Fuck with it, and Kill Them All.

Pill talks housing

2010-10-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

Unlike my big bro Swerve, I haven't jumped on the bandwagon for Pill. He and gangster Gibbs get it in together, and he has a few cuts that have kept me paying attention. If this is an indication of the kind of message and work he wants to get involved with as he climbs the ladder that is success in the music industry I'll be supporting dude quick fast. Speaking from his home that is no longer present Pill asks some great questions.

Onra "Long Distance"

2010-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Last.fm is an awesome site for countless reasons, if you aren’t on it I highly recommend getting down with it! Directly after having a conversation with my partner dj100proof about the site and how he uses it to discover new music (an application I had yet to explore) I log into my account and find out that Onra, an ill Parisian beat maker, is coming to town next week! Gotta love the internet.

He has been on the road for a little bit now, hitting some big cities and spreading his brand of electro-boogie-funk-hip hop to the masses. I don’t even remember how I got hip to Long Distance - his full length release on All City records that he views as his official debut. He has a few beat tapes in circulation, much in the vien of what Dilla gave us with Donuts. Long Distance is aptly titled as it’s well beyond anything someone would want to say is biting Mr. Yancy.

It is however certainly inspired by much of the same sounds that another Stones Throw representer, Dam Funk, is pulling on. More Hip Hop than boogie however, Onra crafts his own brand of jams here sometimes featuring vocalists like Oliver Daysoul, Reggie B and SV alum T3. All the tracks feature bouncy bass lines that inspire movement, and synthesizer sounds that just feel happy!

Throughout this record a feeling is perpetuated. It’s a good feeling. A feeling of good times. On the track “Send Me Your Love” he features quiet vocals in the background. No singer is credited, I’m guessing it’s off a record he dug up and incorporated, much like DJ Shadow has been doing with his newer work. The Hip Hop influence is definitely present in Onra’s music, heard largely through his drums.

Onra - The One feat. T3 from Slum Village from Onra on Vimeo.

The album really is a beautiful merging of so much. No two tracks are alike, yet everything is sequenced just right. The minimal beat of “Don’t Stop” opens with sounds that remind me of his fellow Paris dwellers, Justice. But then it eases out and turns into a slow burning smooth jam that is incredibly sensual. This is baby making music for the year 4000.

Long Distance should appeal to lovers of many kinds of music. Their are tunes here for everyone. I can’t even hear my mom saying that his electronic sounds and sampling have no soul. Their is a depth in these cuts that you can get lost in. I can’t wait to hear what he plays in his set next week (Tuesday Nov. 2nd at the Lo-Fi for Stop Biting - major props to @introcut!), while I do hope he gives us some jams off the album I’m more intrigued by what secrets his crates might hold. Either way it's gonna be a filthy show!

Around the World in 80 Minutes

2010-10-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin... The collective known as Dublab blows my mind once again. An online radio station that's been operating since 1999, Dublab is based in LA and has a vast network of volunteers from the cities music scene. They are always streaming something, never not worth checking out.

Recently lab rats (the affectionate term for volunteers) Carlos Nino & Frosty called up some of their friends and fellow rats to contribute to a mix that is a journey around the world. Nino opens the show with some music that sounds straight from the islands and inspires the feeling of smoking a big fat spliff. He drops a few more tunes and hands the reigns over to Boss Harmony. Fom their it's Gaslamp Killer, Mahssa, Rob Sevier (from the unfuxwitable Numero Group camp), Dina J, Frosty and Daedelus closes it out.

Of course GLK hits us with some real heavy tunes, some of which I'm almost certain are from Turkey. Daedelus brings in some electronic music that sounds perhaps from Paris (?) circa the late 70s. You are guaranteed to be sucked in, and shown a lot of brilliant music most of which no one has probably ever heard. This is what I think DJs and radio stations should do, expose the people to new music constantly. You can read the tracklist and download it here.

OFWGKTA = HARD AS FUCK

2010-10-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I've recently become slightly obsessed with OFWGKTA or Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. They are young cats around 10 deep creating a signifigant buzz through personality and volume of material. In the last couple years they have released 10+ projects, most with orginal production and zero support from the "big hip hop blogs". I don't understand all of their slang (Why they gotta say Fuck Steve Harvey all the time), I don't understand their videos (which are cringe worthy), and I don't understand why Sweatshirt is in trouble (I can guess though). Nevertheless I am very excited by their brand of in your face, all or nothing, with us or against us, insanity.

Here are some flicks from the crew:

Earl Sweatshirt is very talented for his age, anyones age for that matter. He isn't even a legal adult and he is out rapping half of the mainstream right now which has got him some notice from the mag Rolling Stone. This vid gives you a little insight into his personality.

Tyler, the Creator is the defacto front man of the Odd Future crew, he is the oldest, he does much of the production, and he is brutal in his wordplay. When I first saw this vid the first thing out of my mouth was "Why is he doing that with his eyes". The opening line resonates is a very Rossian manner, the bass knocks hard and he is off on a lyrical sprint filling everybar with outlandish verbiage. His laugh after saying he is gonna fuck Mary in her ass, and the rape of Goldilocks and eating all the bears' motherfucking porridge slays me everytime. Tyler is very savvy and knows exactly what he is doing or at least I hope he does.

I am very interested in seeing where these kids go, and based on the Rolling Stone and Pitchfork coverage it could be far. I hope they make it to Seattle once Earl is of age so we can see them tear up a stage the way only people who don't give a fuck know how to.

Free Earl!

Chi-Town Footwork

2010-10-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

I love how this video pulls from decades of dance footage and splices it with shots of kids who are doing this thing called Footwork in Chicago. I was first introduced to the music via DJ Nate.

From what I've gathered this stuff has been being produced for some years now growing out of Chicago's rich electronic music history and I imagine merging some with the Hip Hop that's always been their coupled with young peoples own artistic desires to try new things. Add with this their obvious appreciation for dance that requires a certain kind of energy.

You aren't getting down like that to just anything!

The profile of this music has elevated to outside it's region thanks to the interests of Planet Mu. A label with a long history of forward thinking electronic sounds. They released DJ Nate's project Da Trak Genious in September, DJ Roc's The Crack Capone this month and have a compilation scheduled for release December 6th, Bangs & Works Vol. 1 In the below video you can hear clips from various tunes on it.

I'm excited to hear this collection. Right now I'm still devouring Nate & Roc's records. My initial thoughts make me feel partial to Roc as his tunes feel more complete and full to me. Nate plays with more minimal effects and sounds that may prove to be far more conducive to rocking a club but don't offer me as much while sitting here listening in my room.

Another thing that pulls me to this stuff, like most electronic sounds I'm feeling today, is the growth I see in it from Hip Hop. Both of these guys are weaving sounds left and right. Nate relies on a lot of very hollow drums that I don't enjoy as much as the dusty ones Premo and his ilk dug up. But elsewhere you can hear vocal bits cut to pieces, synthesizer chords, piano keys, guitars and anything else. I don't think a song of any kind would be safe from these guys.

I'll leave you with the opening cut off DJ Roc's long player "One Blood."

DJ Roc - One Blood by gardenparty

Crispus McFly "The Wake Up! EP"

2010-10-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

It seems fitting that as I wake up on this cold Monday morning I review an EP called The Wake Up! Produced by a young beatmaker who resides in Boston, it’s a quick album that features 9 songs, none clocking in at more than a minute thirty.

One great thing Dilla’s release of Donuts, and to a lesser degree the unoffical release of his ‘05 beat tapes that freely float around the internets, is the inspiration they’ve provided to producers the world over to not hold back. Today we see cats everywhere dropping mini albums, EPs, and beat tapes such as this. I’ll never be one to complain about music being released!

As for the music contained in this .rar file? Well Crispus McFly is hot. He works in a record store which proves to be very fitting as his jams are full of ill chops and well chosen samples. Somtimes he loops things, sometimes you can hear him pounding out the sequence on the MPC - although in reality he could be making this on anything.

The guitar chords on “Rooster” will have you nodding your head without any communication between your neck and your brain - it just happens. He doesn’t construct anything here for an emcee, although I would love to hear the forward thinking rapper who decides he can spit to this... Jay Electronica?

Somtimes the tunes here remind me of the “Chillwave” phenomenon that has swept college students off their feet and got everyone thinking they can create atmospheric vibes via sound collages. Crispus McFly feels a little more schooled on Hip Hop than your average dorm room producer and his ear for finding the right sample is proven impeccable. Wake up to some new sounds.

Give The Wake Up! EP a listen below and come back Friday for a One Time @ Bandcamp conversation with they guy!

MO Podcast Vol. 1

2010-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning with a desire to compile a few tunes together into a little podcast. To be honest I'd only listened to a few of these prior to mixing 'em up a little bit. The guy Grillo remixed Gonjasufi nicely and has a new tape out inspired by the Streetfighter Ken. Wiz hit us with a collaboration he has been trying to make happen for a minute last night via twitter, gotta love how that works. Prodigy gets illy with their classic remix of Mr. Mef's "Release Yo Delf." Got some smoking jams in there, some randome electronic sounds and a little funkyness too. Thanks for rocking with us y'all!

Download the MO Podcast Vol. 1

Tracklist:
Rustie "Beast Nite"
Wiz Khalifa ft. Juicy J "In My Car (Puff Bus)"
Freddie Gibbs "On My Way"
Gonjasufi "Candylane (Grillo Remix)"
Illum Sphere "One For Dimlite"
Jim Jones "Blow Your Smoke"
Method Man "Release Yo Delf (Prodigy Remix)"
Kendrick Lamar "Growing Apart"
John Legend & The Roots "Our Generation (J. Period Remix)"
Flinch "Midnight Hustle"
Melo-X "Mirrors In My Mind"

Mr. Finley "Blowin That Indo"

2010-10-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Something new for y'all to smoke with, Mr. Finley repping the city of sin. Thoughts?