Archive for July, 2011
Artsy fartsy rapper Theophilus London comes with the animated craziness for his new single, “Girls Girls $,” a song about “everything hyped weather good or bad.” TL’s major label debut, Timez Are Weird These Days, is available online and in stores 7/19.
On a side note, I really enjoy the still shot above. “Chinese Hispanic Grocery.” That’s me.
truthfully, i’ve never been a big fan of the hip hop/random genre mashup. ghostfunk, combining the lyrical stylings of wu-tang-er ghostface killah and some afro-funk jams, though, i’m a fan of. maybe it’s just cause i really like ghostface and afro-funk, and you know what they say about two great tastes, amirite? stream it below, and download the whole thing or whichever tracks strike your fancy:
in related news: the forever-rumored collaboration between ghostface and MF doom (billed here as DOOM/starks) got some press thanks to a leak on some NYC radio station. supposedly the song, “victory laps (madvillvainz remix),” will be out on july 26th via itunes (or spend more money and get a sweet-looking red cassette tape). obviously, no word on more than just the one track. enjoy/download below:
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DOOM/starks – “victory laps (madvillainz remix)” (download)
When it comes to music, quality is a must. Without taste and skill, it’s just noise. And then there’s quantity. Quantity doesn’t hurt, provided it stays good. Connect high quality plus a huge quantity? Now you’re talking.
Which brings us to DJ Chorizo Funk, Austin’s bboy floor-rocker extraordinaire and official LxNxM homie. Like a well-oiled machine, Chorizo Funk keeps pumping out his Chorizo Chunks series, following different themes and styles down the rabbit hole, and into his very own Milwaukee (which, as Alice Cooper pointed out to us, is Algonquin for “the good place).
Wayne’s World references aside, Chorizo’s latest mix – the tenth(!) in the series – is a most excellent 50-minute journey into Afro-Latin jams. Quality through and through, and the live mix shows and proves. Chorizo!
unknown mortal orchestra is a portland-based, new zealand band that play some kind of psychedelic-tinged indie rock. frontman ruban nielson (who, from this video at least, looks like a cross between harry potter and our own praxis) recently put together a podcast for the folks over at modular. it’s fitting in with that whole noir&B sound, with a bunch of remixes of late-90′s stars aliyah, brandy, and monica. my jam, though, is the all-too-brief remix of neneh cherry’s “buffalo stance.” i liked it so much i ripped it out of the mix and am sharing it below. it’s a great summer jam. stream and download below, tracklist after the jump.
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neneh cherry – “buffalo stance (UMO remix)” (download)
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unknown mortal orchestra modcast (download)
Uh son. Shabazz Palaces doing what they do, live in the studio of Seattle’s beloved independent radio station KEXP. Coming through with style, substance, and unfuckwittable creative veracity – these 206 luminaries demonstrate they have been around the block and see into its future. In this intimate, in-studio session, they perform a few cuts from Black Up, the first album since their recent signing to the world-renowned, Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop. Do yourself a favor and cop Black Up here.
Javier Estrada is Monterrey’s certified crunk cumbia maestro. Every so often (as in, practically every day it seems), he’ll unleash yet another electrofied, whipppped up, Four Loko’d out track on the world.
A little while back he dropped Ritmos del Mundo 3, a breakthrough mix that flipped everything from “Teach me how to dougie” to Maria y Jose into hyper-beastmode electro cumbia jams. So good was it, in fact, that it violated a number of RIAA contracts (salty!), and was yanked from wide circulation (look closely though, and you shall find it…).
Luckily for we the people, Javier recently put out the follow-up, titled, appropriately, Ritmos del Mundo 4. The latest installment follows a similarly-amped trajectory: high energy, airhorns a-plenty, and a merciless dedication to bpms.
Though Ritmos 4 generally steers further away from lawsuit-inducing samples, there are enough familiar sounds to keep a dancefloor warm and receptive (in particular, the heavy heavy moombahton flip of Gloria Estefan’s “Conga”).
You can stream a minimix below, but really, really, you should be heading over here and downloading this bad boy for yourself.
Ritmos del Mundo 4 MIx by djjavierestrada
Track listing after the jump.
When last we crossed paths with LA/West Coast jockey d’disque and all-around tastemaker Righteous Trash, he had just blessed us with the summery tones of his Tropixx mix. Well, apparently sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, because he’s back – in the height of summer, no less – with a mix that is as chilled out as Tropixx was uptempo.
Stocked with selections from the “Goth-R&B-Step” spectrum, the new mix comes with the excellent title of the Neuromantics (excellent pun, good sir). Few people seem to have as much fun as Righteous Trash when it comes to selecting a mix. There’s a certain cheekiness to a mix that jumps from Salem to Yelawolf, and from Purity Ring to Big Boi.
Where Tropixx was your soundtrack on the way to the beach, Neuromantics is what you turn up – and up, and up – well after the end of the night, in an empty car with the windows rolled down.
Neuromantics by Righteous Trash
Tracklist after the jump.
It’s been awhile since Seattle thoroughbred emcee Fatal Lucciauno jumped on a track and really expressed himself to the streets. This afternoon Fatal released a track to let people know he is the last cat you’d ever want to sleep on or take lightly. The fact that fellow Seattle producer Jake One is on the boards helps enhance and bring out that aggressive rap style Fatal is known for.
As much as I hate to admit it, Fatal is at his best when he’s a pissed off and tired threatening folks. That’s his lane lyrically and while he’s versatile enough to rap about anything he damn well pleases, “Warm Ups” is Fatal all day. Play this via your laptop speakers if you must (I am) but I’m dying to hear this one knock on a real system.
And here’s what it sounded like the last time Fatal and Jake Uno got busy on a track.
This video has circulated the internet for a wee bit but the strength of the song and lyricism deserves more love than just one-week of blog hotness and then fade away status. Hip-hop is so throwaway these days that regardless of if something is a dud or a perfect 10, it’s forgotten about in two weeks time flat. Bollocks! Elzhi rapped his ass off throughout the entire Elmatic project and if you haven’t watched the video yet for “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” jump on that right now. And major shoutouts to one of Detroit’s most slept-on emcees, Fes-Roc, who is Elzhi’s right hand man in this video, and in real life. Salute fellas.
