Author Archive
A little while back, we put up a track by Eric Lau that was released as a preview to his The Mission EP. Well, time flies, and The Mission has arrived. Lau is London’s maestro of soulful boom bap hip hop, and this seven track EP confirms that.
It’s a cohesive product, with a few well-selected co-conspirators: Olivier Daysoul, Fatima, and Guilty Simpson. In some ways, it feels more like a formal group than one-off collaborations, which seems fitting for a producer whose sound is so steeped in cohesion.
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.
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
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.
It’s another installment of Sunday Sweatpants Jams, aka songs to listen to while you’re comfy on a chilly Sunday, climate change be damned. Get some cocoa, turn the lights down low, or whatever it is that puts you in your lane. Ah, Sundays. And sweatpants. Enjoy!
First up is “Yesterday”, a new one from London superduperfly producer Eric Lau. You probably wouldn’t expect Guilty Simpson to be your Sunday relaxation music, but on this jazzy number, it works. Plus, vocals from fellow Brit Fatima (aka Eglo Records‘ soul diva) and DC/UK singer Olivier Daysoul round it out to something vurry nice.
Yesterday (feat. Guilty Simpson, Fatima & Olivier Daysoul) by Eric Lau
And speaking of Olivier Daysoul, a little over a year ago he put out a smooth little collaboration with Diamond Districteer Oddissee, entitled Mr. Saint Louis. It may not be brand new, but Daysoul’s voice and Odd’s melodic production are a winning combination. And like a fine wine, some things get better with maturity.
Nextly, here’s a little something from another member of the Eglo Records familia. This time, it’s ARP101, whose productions have been making me smile very regularly. He’s got that Funkineven energy with a little extra slip to it, making for some heavy records.
Kito & Reija Lee . Sweet Talk (ARP101′s Boogified Mix) by ARPâ–˛101
And last, but certainly not least, is Seattle’s own Keyboard Kid. One of Lil B’s main producers and a longtime advocate for all things #based, dude’s been pumping out instrumental goodies for a years now. For some reason we’ve never highlighted him on these august pages, so we’ll start to make things right with his October release The Mind Is So Complex When You’re Based. Beautiful.
Shoutout Chilly, Darwin, Rhythma and Derek Mazzone.
It seems like just yesterday that we were writing about a bushel of new releases from Bay Area/NYC squad Honor Roll – well, two months ago, actually – and already we’re back again with more.
Just before the new year, Honor Roll honcho Trackademicks dropped Cherry 2000 a four song, vibed out piece of beauty. Good snappy snares plus icey synths? It’s some serious wintertime music.
Listen to the whole thing in one mix below, and click here to download the full unmixed ep.
Okay, this feels right. Following up on the heelarious Chillin Island, Das Racist’s Dapwell and journalist/cultural soothsayer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd have combined forces to create Chittu Chattu, a podcast of insight, humor, wit, and, in this case, Seapunk – or rather, #seapunk. Just listen to the damn thing.
