Guyana and Suriname (formerly known as Dutch Guyana), along with French Guiana, are usually completely neglected when people are discussing anything to do with South America, let alone it’s music. I’m not gonna lie. I tend to forget that there are places on the continent that the English, Dutch and French colonized too.  Thankfully, Afropop Worldwide has released this top notch mix of  Guyanese and Surinamese music, produced by Marlon Bishop and mixed by Geko Jones, to cure our collective musical ignorance of this awesome corner of  South America.

So what exactly does the music of the Guyanas sound like? Well, imagine a place that’s situated on the Northeast South American coast, between the Caribbean and the Atlantic, that is mostly Amazon rainforest.  Add four hundred years of European colonization, African Slavery, Chinese and South Asian (they say East Indian) indentured servitude, and a whole lot of subsequent immigration from all over the globe, and bam – it sounds like this:

Zeta Barber a.k.a. Zachariah Tucker is a man of many talents; ranging from music production to clothing and digital design – and he can give you one of the cleanest fades around. However, Zeta stands out from the throngs of self-styled muli-entrepenuers of modern hip hop culture in some very important ways. For starters, Zach’s heart matches his artistic skill and hustle. Over the last 6+ years, he has initiated countless collaborations with artists stretching the Puget Sound - scouting diverse acts from the hood to the hills to feature on his “All-City Chop” mixtapes, all while promoting and supporting the hell out of damn near everybody in the 206 hip hop scene.

His newest project finds dj Zeta Barber & The Forces of Nature at new creative-collaborative high.  SoundBody represents a evolution grounded in the chop style - with a smooth osmosis of bounce, 90′s R&B nostalgia, and just the right amount of mystic blip-hop to keep it fresh. Tender Bounce is my jam! Laced with the airy vocals of True Brilliance (see indeed)- the result is another good musical look for Seattle, from a good dude.

There are a handful of famous black jews out there that immediately come to mind when I think about the rare combination. Drake is, unfortunately, the first that pops into my head. Lord help us. Sammy Davis Jr, Lenny Kravitz, Whoopi Goldberg and Jesus immediately follow. All are probably influences on one level or another for a project that NY/Miami’s Lex One recently put out with his record label fam, Verbal Kush.

The two recorded an album called Black Jew together during a quick two week stint back in 2009 and then left it on the back burner to simmer until now. Many of the songs are just about being hungry, audacious, hellacious, and a little crazy which is something most black and Jews share in common anyway. The rapping is fresh and different than what people might expect. Definitely worth listening to as this isn’t meant to be a gimmick at all.

Check out a video above and then peep the full release below. This certainly isn’t the first project from Lex One that we’ve posted on the site as dude stays putting out albums. Pay attention to him if you’re not already, dummy.

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If you are not into songs about weed and beer, than this one’s not for you. Everyone else, here’s a video for a catchy new song about weed and beer by young up-and-coming American rappers ScHoolboy Q and A$AP Rocky.  I particularly enjoyed the vocals that were sampled for the hook, which apparently came from this Kid Cudi cover, and the repetitious use of the words “weed” and “brew.”  I don’t, however, appreciate the glorification of drinking and driving.  If you’re ballin so hard, can’t you at least afford a taxi, dummy?

Oh dip! It’s the homegirl Tecla, back again! We’ve written about Tecla before, and got a lil bit of kicking it time during a Northwest stop on her current journey through the vastness of the western expanses of America.

Today we get the release of her brand new video for “Male Dominatrics”, off of the Thank$giving mixtape from a few months back. Rad visuals, rad song, and a taste of the Tec’s killer stylings. If you haven’t yet, get the mixtape and more, and enjoy the visual accompaniment.

Bits and pieces have been cropping over the last couple months, but today it went official: Heems, aka Das Racist honcho and Greedhead capo aka the homie Himanshu, dropped his solo debut, the Nehru Jackets mixtape.

The entire enterprise has an entirely crewed up vibe. 100% of production duties are handled by fellow QNS repper Mike Finito, and there are guest verses from across the spectrum of the Das Racist extended family, including Kool AD/Vic Vazquez, Lakutis, Danny Brown, Fat Tony, Big Baby Gandhi, Action Bronson and Despot.

There’s an updated East Coast sound to the entire project – samples figure heavily, but the boom bap is updated to a stomping, clapping shake. Nobody’s going to mistake this for a backwards-looking retread; Nehru Jackets has an entirely forward looking sound, and maintains it for 25 tracks, an incredibly rare feat in the era of blog rap and Mediafire.

Also rad: Heems released the tape in partnership with Seva NY, a community organization in Queens that builds leadership in under-resourced communities, throwing the release party at a Seva event, and putting Seva youth onto the album itself. It’s not often enough that folks in make the leap from cultural tastemaker into a very very grassroots organization. It’s definitely a good look for Hima, in my opinion, and just one more good reason to get Nehru Jackets into your rotation.

Download Nehru Jackets here, and listen to a couple songs below, in modern “You Tube O Vision”.

More below the jump.

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it’s that time again! SOUNDSYSTEM will be crackin’ off for the first time in 2012 this THURSDAY, january 19. same bat time (10:00ish), same bat channel (MOE BAR), same bat cost (FREE!) and same bat-djs (our very own Toast and tang). this SOUNDSYSTEM is also the official after party for blog homie gabriel teodros’s colored people’s time machine album release, happening up the hill at chop suey (cop tickets here!), and featuring other blog homies oc notes and WD4D. go support these great local artists and then walk down the hill for a bomb dance party.

SOUNDSYSTEM
MOE BAR
Jan 19, 2012
10pm-close 
FREE! 

oh, and one more thing, be sure to tune in tonight to other, other blog homie dj chilly’s always-awesome KEXP show el sonido this evening from 6:00-9:00pm to hear aforementioned Toast and tang say words about LxNxM and SOUNDSYSTEM and play some jams.

Because it’s snowing, goddamit.

Cuddle up, get cozy, and slip into something a little more insulating. We don’t get a ton of snow in these parts, so whenever more than a dusting falls, everyone shuts down, and everything goes into hibernation mode. It may not be reasonable, but it’s an all city inside joke, and everyone wants to be in on it. Happy snow day.

Here’s some goodness to get you through the day.

LibreCommeLata! [Mixtape 2012] by LATA

Your Boy Is Back by SWEATER BEATS

NVR-NDR – B WHO U R (ICUH8N REMIX) by ICUH8N

CEDAA DIJITAL MIX by Cedaa

San Francisco producer and DJ Kush Arora has been getting an increasing amount of well-deserved press recently. After a recent hot run of riddims (check the Gunshot and Spanish Street riddims after the jump), Kush is keeping active in the Bay and worldwide, including a collaboration with the homie Zuzuka Poderosa.

This mix highlights the goods bubbling out from Kush’s Surya Dub crew, and their Non Stop Bhangra night in San Francisco – anything that kicks off with Mr. Vegas and wraps with a Sheeqo Beat remix is aight by me.

Added bonus: sneak preview of one of his and Zuzuka’s creations. Hottt.

Kush Arora – Surya Dub and Nonstop Bhangra Reunite Mix by KushArora

Tracklist and additional riddims after the jump.

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