Whispered to a couple o’ my close heads yesterday that I was intending to unveil a midweek world exclusive today.
I kid not.
This is a fresh-off-the-stove melting pot (not single-track, individual mp3s) masterminded by tastemaker Jay Scarlett of the internationally renowned Beat Dimensions movement: champions of the bold, brazen, progressive and fearless future of music.
Those of you who copped Jay and Cinnaman’s Beat Dimensions Vol. 1 courtesy of us will know what to anticipate: a seamless selection of spacey, bugged out, glitched-up, forehead-knockin’, ultramodern Soul, Hip-Hop, Dubstep, Grime and other Electronic hybrids alongside classic, organic vibes. This man has his fingers on the pulse of these evolving genres (if one can even box them like that which I doubt). You may want to listen in, in dread of being left behind…
This compilation was recently completed in private conjunction with Reebok (and otherwise may not have seen the light of day) though I’m notified it’s getting pushed for a wider drop later this month. Disc jockeys, promoters, bloggites, audiophiles, forum dwellers, honour Your Mum: get this out there as far as possible, make the world pay attention to that next generation.
Props going out to my source for the fantastic voyage.
I inadvertently found this whilst looking for something completely different altogether (I think it was a song by Bjork so I’m not sure how the hell the two correlate). To my bonny suprise, it contained a number I’d be searching months for and knew not the name of (now revealed to be ‘Lonely Nights’). Actually wait, no, it’s ‘The Roots Dilla Spirit Mix’ of that particular joint on their MySpace that I desperately need, but I’ll still claim fancy fuckin’ luck to gratify myself.
This is Detroit produer Daru’s recent collaboration project with singer/songwriter and sibling Rena, and quite the sturdy, stereo-stompers they are. In fact, I didn’t even know cats/kittens were still making Soul as rugged and gravel-textured as this anymore. The backbeats sound as if they were fashioned around the fiercer time period of mid 90s Eastcoast Hip-Hop: pounding boom-bap drum loops and some tremendous break chopping (all delightfully Primo-esque) as Rena’s airy vox glides and glitches along the contour of kicks and snares. You could easily be mistaken into thinking this was recorded in ’96.
If you were ever a fan of Groove Theory, or you just like your beats hard like 2 day old shit- you’ll be particularly jubilant.
Exceedingly bangin’. Only a total pussy would sleep on this.
1. All Alone
2. Turn It On
3. Your There Part 1 4. Happy 5. Take Your Hand
6. Sometime
7. Feel The Love
8. When You’re There 9. Lonely Nights
10. Things You Do
11. Spirit Part 2
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
Once in a cobalt moon, I hear something so skillfully archetypal that I’m reminded why I fell in love with classic Hip-Hop as it palpitated with the dust settled on its skin.
There’s two types ofproducers in the rap’s subterrestrial province: firstly those who pay homage to its glorious golden years yet fail to equalize the acoustic texture of those TIMELESS compositions (recognize that mixing/mastering and tools are different than they were 15 years ago and unless you calculate-to-emulate accurately with the recording techniques, you’re shit will just sound monotonous and Primos, Pete Rocks, Large Pros, RZAs, Prince Pauls, Easy Mo Bees, Buckwilds, Havocs, Diamond Ds, Q-Tips you will never be thus remaining relegated to backpacks and bootlegs amongst a sea of undistinguishable underground drones).
Then there are cats like Damu, who just quite simply from the crates to the breaks, the chops to the bass, the booms to the baps- forms a beautiful noise that feels mortal once again. Perhaps my only criticism is that I’m awaiting a inimitable, yardstick, signature sound like the greats before, yet for now this is genuine progress from the Washington DC beatsmith. The new instrumental mixtape thumps so lovely. My next request would be to have someone like CL Smooth or Brand Nubian or Lord Finesse or Poor Righteous Teachers or ED O.G. goin’ over these beats instead of the nonsense producers those stray cats be working with nowadays and the mediocre emcees (what good is dense lyricism without dynamism, personality, characteristic vocals?) present underground producers be hooking up with.
(Hol’ tight my Pinboard Blog viral thug ninja Speakz and pardon my pride when you forwarded this, I was in the know off last year’s Y Society LP; I get sensitive like a recently augmented nipple chafing against angora over my self-reliant, fanatical, musical subsistence sometimes. Allow me.)
Ladies & gents, I present to you, the greatest lyricist on the planet right now…
“What I put down in the sound coil is Crown Royal, It’s like I dug in the ground soil and found oil, I’m known to terrorize, paralyze a pair of guys or prepare to rise off the land, sea, air, and skies, Snatch his heart, but spare his eyes, To show him why I’m great, violate, and I annihilate, My punchlines ain’t just tossin’ jabs, they often grab to put you in a Boston Crab, Caution, they say I’m psychosomatic in the attic, My automatic stick to my clothes like static, Cling on, better kiss the fist while the ring’s on, On the winning hand, four aces, now a king’s drawn”- Fire (Euro Pass Mixtape)
(Hol’ tight my ‘those who been knowing’ associates, we waited a decade for the debut opus. This one’s as bona fide as Hip-Hop gets in the state of 2008. 14 out of 16 joints laced by Black Milk. Only concern being the key stand-out cuts were all on the prior Euro Pass mixtape. Cop it all yo.)
01. Intro (The Preface)
02. The Leak (feat. Ayah)
03. Guessing Game 04. Motown 25 (feat. Royce Da 5′9″)
05. Brag Swag
06. Colors 07. Fire remix (feat. Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Fatt Father, Danny Brown, & Fat Ray)
08. DEMONS
09. Save Ya (feat. T3 of Slum Village) (prod. T3)
10. Yeah (feat. Phat Kat) 11. Transitional Joint
12. Talking in My Sleep
13. The Science (feat. Fes Roc) (prod. DJ Dez)
14. Hands Up
15. What I Write
16. Growing Up (feat. AB)
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
1. Intro 2. That’s That One
3. Fire Feat.Black Milk
4. The Reason Feat. Phat Kat 5. Talkin In My Sleep
6. Save Ya Feat.T3
7. The Know
8. High Off Life
9. Heart Of The City Cuts 10. The Transitional Joint
11. Dedicated Feat. Trip 12. Motown 25 feat. Royce Da 5’9
13. Audio Cinematic
Disc 1: 01. 2000 Intro (prod. by Wajeed)
02. Over Wit
03. Hands High 04. Days And Nights (prod. by Jay Dee)
05. Haters f/ T3 & Nick Speed 06. The Alchemist
07. Goin’ Out
08. Get It Up
09. Boomerang Slang
10. Stroll
11. Let’s Talk (prod. by Wajeed)
12. All I Want f/ Dwele (prod. by Wajeed) 13. Where It all Begins
Disc 2:
01. Nix Productions
02. Gunna (Are U Ready)
03. Kiddo 04. Don’t Be Alarmed
05. Concrete Eyes (prod. by Jay Dee)
06. Love It Here (prod. by Jay Dee) 07. How I Feel
08. It’s Your World (prod. by Wajeed)
09. Stunted Growth (prod. by Wajeed)
10. Writer’s Block 11. Friends (prod. by Jay Dee)
12. The Letter
Elzhi deconstructs his rhyme style syllable by syllable- and educates these motherfucks on how to emcee. I rip and I rhyme, I rhyme & I ripe, that is the way the Elzhi spit!
These guys, are a bit like, a slightly better (dressed) version of Frank-N-Dank.
Sufficient enough mixtape that I haven’t been in a rush to post (now 8 months after acquisition), then I felt it’s notable for 2 utterly outstanding cuts you’ll be needing in your life very much if you’re currently devoid of them: ‘Castlevania’ is one of my gorilla-thumping, vertebrate-snapping, 8-bit, Nintendo-beat bangers of ‘08. And ‘Beautiful Day’ shimmers so lustrously with Summery boom-bap glory it almost suppresses my usual misanthropy and cheers me up, a little.
01. Introduction
02. The Launch
03. Soul-Hop 04. Let Me BE
05. The Show 2007
06. Do Wit Me
07. Let Me Sing For You (Skit)
08. Knock On Wood
09. Fat Girl
10. The Proposal 11. Castlevania
12. LapDance 13. Beautiful Day
14. K.R.E.A.M.
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
In early June, I had one personal anthem only: ‘Have You Ever Made Love To A Weirdo?’ Excelling with a delicious sax solo 3 minute and 19 seconds in, it’s a miniature classic awaiting mainstream acknowledgement and chronic radio rotation.
I expected more from this mixtape however… but I’m never one not to emit a fat wad of steaming doo-doo-butter on the hype when it’s premature- I’ll wait till a debut album instead.
And a memorandum to the lesser music pundits: just because this troupe hails from Atlanta, and they wear silly outfits and spout colorful libretto… does not give you the right to the call them the next Outkast, you indolent, unimaginative arseholes. More akin to an electronic Nappy Roots as far as lazy artist comparisons go, do your homework.
1. Intro / Southern Tuki 2. Don’t Fight The Light
3. Stormy (Beat by Madlib)
4. The Climax (Weirdo Pt. II)
5. Alpha Jerk Interlude
6. HollyFunk / Beat Interlude
7. Ur Smile (Prod. 9th Wonder)
8. Dream Requiem Interlude / Street Now
9. Swagger
10. AUC Crusin’ / Basquiat Interlude
11. Have You Ever Made Love To A Weirdo?
12. Party All The Time Pt. II
13. Sincerely Jane (Remix) / Attraction Rules Interlude
14. Gripplyaz – Shake Her Rear 15. PartyLife
16. Pinball
17. Karl Tutymer (Prod. James Posey & Questlove)
18. Bonus Track: Back In The Day
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
What conceivable commentary could you possibly demand from me on this one?
Unreleased recordings + demo versions from the classic long player resurrected like praying mantis Frank White… my real heads rejoice, and pass the wet wipes.
(‘Ready To Die’ = my 3rd most cherished Hip-Hop masterpiece of all time alongside ‘Liquid Swords’ and ‘Illmatic’ son doobie. Word is bondage.)
“Welcome to my center, honies feel it deep in they placenta, as cold as the pole in the winter!”
01. Intro (Original Uncleared Sample Version)
02. Things Done Changed (Original Version)
03. Gimme The Loot (Uncensored Never Before Heard Version)
04. Machine Fun Funk (Dj Premier Version)
05. Warning (Original Version)
06. Ready To Die (Original Beat Version)
07. One More Chance (Original Uncleared Sample Version)
08. Fuck Me (Interlude)
09. The What (Original Unheard Lyrics Version)
10. Juicy (Pete Rock Version)
11. Everyday Struggle (Demo Version)
12. Me And My Bitch (Original Beat Version)
13. Respect (Original Extended Version)
14. Friend Of Mine (Original Demo Version)
15. Whatchu Want (Unreleased Original Version)
16. Suicidal Thoughts (Pete Rock Version)
17. Come On (Unreleased Original Version)
18. Who Shot Ya (Original Demo Version)
19. Mac’s N Dons (Unreleased)
20. Pepsi Freestyle (Unreleased)
21. Biggie Got That Hype Shit (Unreleased Demo)
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
This was released rather unexpectedly with one of my choice cuts of the year ‘She Loves Everybody’ from forthcoming Star Trak signed, prep-school, Harvard white boys Chester French… on some late-60s-chamber-pop-Walker-Brothers-overdosing-on-early-80’s-new-wave-shit, which doesn’t seem to be available elsewhere. Worth downloading for the one joint alone; the rest of the mixtape despite some very capable newbies, is sadly unremarkable.
1. Mickey Factz- War (Prod By Precize)
2. Mickey Factz- Mick Joy (Prod By N*E*R*D)
3. Theophilus London – Sand Castles feat. Salonge (Prod By Machine Drum)
4. Mickeylude
5. Kid Cudi- Embrace The Martian (Prod By Crookers) 6. Fresh Daily- Jump f. Jesse Boykins III (prod The Milkman) 7. Chester French- She Loves Everybody (Prod By Chester French)
8. Curtis Santiago- TKO
9. Mickeylude II
10. Mickey Factz- Rockin N Rollin Remix feat. The Cool Kids (ILLFONICS REMIX)
11. Mickeylude III
12. The Cool Kids- Oscar The Grouch (Prod By Chuck Inglish)
13. FKi- Clap Ya Hands (Prod By FKi)
14. Nakim- I Get It In (Prod By The Runners)
15. Smoke Dza- Go Getter feat. Nipsey Hustle
16. Mickey Factz- Salute feat. Jesse Boykins III & Mz.Mimz (Prod By Chase N. Cashe) 17. Melo X- XXX 18. Jesse Boykins III- Sobriety (Prod By Jesse Boykins III) 19. Jade- So Fresh
20. Mickey Factz- Peace (Prod By Precize)
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
Unpredictably decent mixtape (obvious filler shit & inaudible slurs inclusive) from Timbaland’s latest weed-carrier Izza Kizza with some advancement on the synth-heavy Southern production from prospective future billboard chart bombardiers Souldiggaz and Koolade. Not one fresh Timbo treat on here though? Surely he’s not charging $300,000 a beat to artists on his own imprint…
01. Intro 02. Flippin’ In The Rizzide
03. I’m The Izza Kizza 04. Millionaire (Preview)
05. Walk The Dog ft. Missy Elliot
06. Wham!
07. Timbo Freestyle
08. Tell ‘Em What My Name Iz 09. Red Wine
10. Here I Izz 11. Ooh La La (Preview)
12. Living My Dreams (Preview)
13. Don’t Stop Go! 14. They’re Everywhere
15. Hello
16. Me & Keesha (Boy Meets Girl)
17. Testimonial 18. PUSH
19. Outro
20. Georgie Porgie (Bonus)
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
The first time ‘Day N’ Nite’ leaked into my aural I was caught by this Ohio native’s musing on the hook, “Cuz day n’ night/ The lonely stoner seems to free his mind at night/ He’s all alone through the day n’ night/ The lonely loner seems to free his mind at night”. Had I just discovered what may well be… borderline Emo-Crunk?
You’ll find forlorn, outcast sentiments peppered throughout the tape, and maybe this gives insight into the changing face of Rap music as a new generation of artists chooses to take a sabbatical from the ostentatious lyrical clichés that may no longer be enough to keep Hip-Hop generating mass interest and selling 5 years down the line outside of the States. In simple terms, I think Cudi for example knows (and if he doesn’t, here’s the science homie) there’s cream cheese to be collected from the Caucasian kids that cop My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy records in both American and European suburbs. Everybody, spit cereal-milk at your Fathers and let’s get emotional.
This mixtape is in conjunction with streetwear brand 10 Deep who also hooked up promising Washington spitter Wale’s slightly superior Mixtape About Nothing which you’ll stumble upon in my 7 Months Into 2008 semi-annual update.
A commendable few borrowed beats here aswell including Dilla’s ‘Wild’andAndre 3000’s ‘Prototype’,though it’s Cudi’s own canvases that spark intrigue from the dusty boom-bap of Is There Any Love? which later evolves into the radio-affable luster of ‘Day N’ Nite’, yet it’s the intergalactic highlights ‘Cleveland Is The Reason’ and ‘Heaven At Nite’ that made me certain this piece was post-worthy. In honesty, I don’t think Cudi is a tremendous emcee just yet but the unusual vibe he brings to the bench is worth noting for those who want to examine forthcoming industry trends.
01. Intro
02. Down & Out 03. Is There Any Love? feat. Wale (Produced by Emile)
04. Cudi Get
05. Man On The Moon (The Anthem) (Produced by NOSAJTHING)
06. The Prayer (Produced by Plain Pat) 07. Day N Nite (Produced Dot Da Genius)
08. Embrace The Martian – Crookers feat. Kid Cudi
09. Maui Wowie
10. 50 Ways To Make A Record (Produced by Emile & Plain Pat)
11. Whenever
12. Pillow Talk
13. Save My Soul (The Cudi Confession)
14. T.G.I.F. feat. Chip The Ripper
15. Cudi Spazzin 16. Cleveland Is The Reason (Produced Dot Da Genius) 17. Heaven At Nite
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
Fantasticunt mixtape rating:
6.5 mums out of 10
Video: Day N’ Nite
[This is a free promotional release- appreciate free shit.]
Also the comrade SpeakerBox (looky, I’m finally bloody making blog allies now) over at the illustrious Pinboard Blog right royally baits up my shit nicely to the masses dem, thus I show courtesy to my dude for the complimentary advertisement. So here it is…
Go to this fucking blog frequently or you’re a flaming fanny’ole…
He’s got a genuine video exclusive up of a new Common track (Gladiator) from the new ‘Invincible Summer’ album playback in London last Monday. Don’t kip, shit sounds major.
For those of you who aren’t Spike Lee enthusiasts and haven’t seen the classic ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ (released in the year of my birth), take it away Wikipedia…
“Nola Darling (portrayed by Tracy Camilla Johns) is a young, attractive, sexually independent Brooklynite who juggles three suitors: the polite and well-meaning Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks); the self-obsessed model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell); and the immature, motormouthed bicycle messenger Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee). Nola is attracted to the best in each of them, but refuses to commit to any of them, cherishing her personal freedom instead, even though each man wants her for himself.”
Now as for these two upcoming Harlem honeys I’m feeling- female compeers to The Cool Kids in this current phase? (No lazy music journalist artist-comparison bullshit intended.)
01. Who is Nola Darling? 02. In Hindsight f. P. Casso
03. Now You Know 04. Coco Rico ft. Fresh Daily
05. Chat Ms. DJ (Acapella) 06. Chat Ms. Dee Jay
07. Real D’s
08. Dem Rude Gals
09. The Answer f. Melo-X
My stand-out tracks highlighted in Bold Red above.
I Bootlegged Your Mum 