Pete Rock & Smif-N-Wessun
August 5, 2011 Leave a comment
Pete Rock on the beats and raps from Bun-B, Raekwon, Sean Price and Boot Camp Click. Need I say more.
Booka Shade
August 3, 2011 Leave a comment
Download – More!
I bring you Booka Shade, a German tech-house duo. House music with song structure, by which I mean real intros and breaks that are more than just fading out the low or high ends. Although they use basic techno sounds there is rhythm and melody to their music. The use of vocal samples is better than any house artist I can think of. The influences of classical, jazz and rock combined with house creates music with emotional content. I saw them in their hometown Berlin, never sleep on a chance to see them, with live drums and production they had an ass packed warehouse moving all night. They will be touring the US as part of the Identity Festival this summer, for more check out BookaShade.
New Hudson Mohawke
August 1, 2011 Leave a comment
Download
Today Hudson Mohawk released his new EP Satin Panthers on Wrap records. The opening song sounds like the start-up to a video game, and from there you stay in game mode throughout the 5 tracks. He starts to get into his glitchy, high-pitched synth, hip-hop style pretty quick though. With lots more bass and chops Thunder Bay and Cbat would be the battle stages. The ending track All of your Love is a vocal, piano layered dance track, on some ending credits shit, congrats you recused the princess, beat the game but don’t worry it gets better every time. Also check out Polyfolk Dance EP.
Savath & Savalas
July 29, 2011 Leave a comment
From electronic hip-hop and lo-fi producer Guillermo Scott Herren, better known as Prefuse 73, comes his side project Savath & Savalas. Downtempo, atmospheric and ambient. It sounds like waking up next to a beautiful woman on a Sunday morning, in Spain and then having her sing to you for a week. This is some of the most relaxing, soothing headphone music I own, and since most of the lyrics are in Spanish you can really zone out. Herren makes use of natural samples like waves, and people walking around the kitchen to create soundscapes and some tight tracks.
Tyler the Creator and Pusha T – Trouble on My Mind
July 27, 2011 Leave a comment
Tyler the Creator and Odd Future are doing big thangs, really digging these dudes. Check out this track with Pusha T from Clipse. For more on Odd Future check here.
The Heavy
July 27, 2011 Leave a comment
Hiding in the UK is the new age James Brown. Not really, but if he formed a rock band in the 21st century he might play in The Heavy. With gritty guitar fulled rock, dope horns and a huge vocal range they bring some much needed funk to the scene. At times they are soulful, others bluesy and on Cause for Alarm it is a straight reggae track, they got all the bases covered. Bands like this really give me hope for rock music. In 2009 they released this CD on Ninja Tune.
Download – The House That Dirt Built
The Hi-Hat Club
July 25, 2011 Leave a comment
For the past few years Melting Pot Music has teamed up with photographer Robert Winter to bring you the freshest installment of European hip-hop producers. Each LP release in the Hi-Hat Club series includes a book of photos and an accompanying showcase usually in Berlin, Germany. The Hi-Hat Club is made up of beat makers from around western Europe, showing their take on downtempo hip-hop. A great compilation by some very talented producers.
Vol. 1 Testiculo Y Uno – Download
This first volume of the Hi-Hat series features producers Hulk Hodn and Twit One, two of the biggest names in the burgeoning Cologne, Germany hip-hop scene.
Vol. 2 Suff Daddy – Suff Draft Download
With samples from B.I.G. to the Isley brothers, you can tell Suff daddy has his American music down. Nice drum driven beats over some melodic synths. Suff means “drinking heavy” in German, now based in Berlin, he grew up listening to 90s American rap and his music shows the influence.
Vol. 3 Dexter – The Jazz Files Download
With volume 3 German producer Dexter shows his love for jazzstrumentals. Using old jazz records and samples from the NBC program “The subject is jazz” with new drums, he creates a timeless beattape.
Vol. 4 Brenk & Fid Mella – Chop Shop Download
Starting off with a Trey the Truth sample Brenk and Fid Mella bring a new style of production to the series. The Chop Shop is soulful and banging with elements of glitch and electronica that the other LPs lack. Fid Mella is originally from Meran, Italy but now lives in Vienna with Brenk. They are doing work with a ton of MCs look for more to come.
Portugal is the Man
July 22, 2011 Leave a comment
I grew up listening to classic rock. I knew everything; all the super groups, side projects and solos artists. I know more about classic rock than your hippy father, bet. However I am rarely spurred to write about current rock bands. Sure I love the Black Keys and My Morning Jacket but there is so much mundane rock music out there I get lost in the swamp and just end up bumping some Blockhead or rap. But for the last week I have been steady playing this new Portugal the Man album In the Mountain in the Cloud. Somehow its new and refreshing although familiar. They kinda sound like MGMT or Passion Pit, with the same high-pitched voice that can instantly turn some people off. I dig it, almost in a guilty way, you would find me singing Got it all in the shower, if you yelled at me I might stop, but when you left, I be singin again. Their sound is dynamic, lots of layered sythns give a lot of depth to the band.
Kankick
July 22, 2011 1 Comment
Download – Acid Massive Musical
Hailing from Oxnard, Cali and the deep blunted basement of high school friend Madlib comes Kankick, born from the same downtempo big beat, Dilla inspired hip-hop. Something about Oxnard makes people wanna roll up, sit back and drop some soulful instrumental hip-hop. Kankick started out as a member of the Lootpack along with Madlib, Wild Child, and DJ Romes. He later split and formed the Funk Farm, which also included DJ Babu (Dilated/Beat Junkies). He has the genre to a tee; drum dominant and soul sampling, but he expands on parts and is smoother around the edges, making it accessible to the masses. His songs, mostly all under 3 min, are creations in themselves, many of them having the weight to create much longer tracks with a verse or two. Acid Massive Musical flows well as an album, like sampling a record collection with a drum kit, but with so much more inflection and composition than any radio rap.
Odd Future Rap
July 13, 2011 Leave a comment
Odd Future is a collective group of rappers and producers from LA consisting of Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Left Brain and others. They have a music label and skate label amongst other things.
Earl Sweatshirt is so damn raw, he raps about fighting, smoking blunts, skating, getting drunk and fucking bitches, but in the most unconventional way. He is too violent for radio and the mainstream rappers who do rap about typical things like fucking bitches. He is young (16) and immature but his style is so refined, he spits it fast, slow, to off note beats and simple ones. Compared to other rappers on the tracks he takes such command, his voice sticks out so well. His flow is wordy, off beat and lyrical, not to mention vulgar, eat a dick, he talks about mutilating bitches on every track. His delivery is almost talk rap but he has such control on time, anyone who was a punk as a kid can identify with his lyrics. The beats are simple and powerful, with basic drum kits and a lot of bass and at times like Stapleton melodic. But they back up the vocals so well they are necessary. Earl is in with the Odd Future crew but after they blew up last spring he went to boarding school in Samoa, hopefully soon to be back.
Mellowhype are rapper Hodgy Beats and Left Brain from the Odd Future label as well. You can tell that this group is in the same crew as Earl, but the raps don’t stand out as much. Hodgy is rapping about the same shit but, like the beats, his delivery and flow is calmer and more refined. The production is better than Earls. While he occasionally spits the off beat talk flow, he normally sticks to a standard sing song rap. He switches up his style and does show some skill, he gives a shout out to Houston syrup sippers on the first track, and this does show on some of the beats as well.
Contributors
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miles kennefick
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Rusty Shackleford
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john2hite
