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Despite the weather in the Pacific Northwest at the moment, summer is by no means over. Just a few days ago, the lovely Boshra AlSaadi (AKA Saadi) just put out her Summer of Saadi (S.O.S.) mixtape and it’s full of re-imagined summertime jams with Arab/African flair. Saadi and her creative partner, Dither Down Records founder Tim Wagner, have teamed up with Sierra Leone artists Ahmad Janka Nabay (of True Panther and Bubu Gang) and Pupa Bajah of the increasingly momentous Dry Eye Crew, for a fun mixtape you’ll be glad you listened to in its entirety. If you’re into dance music with a political swing to it, Palestine, the United Nations, and Israel all make appearances here. Thankfully, Hillary Clinton is nowhere to be found. Full tracklist below the jump.
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For the past two days, the only reggae I’ve listened to — and I mean really listened to — is the music of Gappy Ranks. The British singer is sort of a newcomer to the international reggae scene and I’m glad to have a young person gravitate toward making new school culture music rather than dancehall. Romain Virgo did the same thing earlier this year, but that little 17-year-old (while awesome) still has some growing up to do. On the other hand, Gappy Ranks is grown. His latest album, Put The Stereo On, released last week, is impressive from start to finish and I highly recommend purchasing it.
Gappy is half Jamaican, half Dominican, and 100% talented. Check out the video for his song, “Longtime” above and support Put The Stereo On. Even though this song isn’t on the album, you’ll be glad you bought it. Meanwhile, pour one out for Maradona. I can’t believe he got sacked by Argentina. Shame.
SOL “DEAR FRIENDS” – Official Music Video from Jon Augustavo on Vimeo.
I normally wouldn’t throw the video director’s name in the headline like this but Jon Augustavo came so clean with this music video that he deserves more shine than usual. There’s a mini music video revival happening in Seattle right now with a host of fresh young talent stepping to the forefront. It’s obvious from the work that Augustavo did on Sol’s new single, “Dear Friends,” that he’s among the new crop of video makers worth watching. Check out a fresh interview that LxNxM extended family member Prometheus Brown recently did with the Augustavo and definitely be on the lookout for Sol has he continues to make moves through the latter half of 2010.
Black Milk drops Album of the Year on September 14th and it seems like he wasn’t boasting at all when he chose that title. Everything I’ve heard thus far from the album is stellar and this video proves once again that Detroit has some of the nicest emcees in the country.
Now I’ve had this song stuck in my head all day. I was humming it, singing it, and recently did a short DJ set over on Hollow Earth Radio where I played some Donny Hathaway. But I didn’t expect to find a fresh video of this song on the internet. Leave it to the good folks over at Put Me On It to have the goods. Enjoy. And shout out to Miguel Atwood-Ferguson for doing such great work — recognizing the genius of J Dilla — and for simply being super nice in person.
And if you’d like to download the song, have at it. After the jump, listen to the Donny Hathaway original. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the best double music video that I’ve seen in a long time and I’m glad to share it with the masses. Not only because I helped work on the project and I’m closely linked with ‘Vinc and Waajeed, but as a Detroiter, this is the view of my city that I wish more of the world saw. Detroit is not a ghost-town. The city is alive, surviving just fine, and definitely vibrant in the summer time. Enjoy.
Invincible + Waajeed – “Detroit Summer”/”Emergence” from EMERGENCE Media on Vimeo.
Over the past few months, I’ve been following the career ascent of South Africa’s Spoek Mathambo and have mostly been intrigued by everything I’ve seen. All of the fast rising world music stars (M.I.A. especially) learn early on that you don’t have to be particularly amazing, you just have to intrigue the hell out of people and make “good” music that’s just a notch over everyone’s head. While this isn’t a knock, Mathambo has figured that out perfectly. His music is good, his aesthetics are even better and he represents a creative voice within Jozi that deserve to be heard. Plus he’s well produced and the team around him creates music naturally that all the culture vulture DJs of the U.S. and U.K. dream about.
Check out Mathambo’s new new video for the song “Mshini Wam.” His album of the same name drops September 13. Expect to hear a lot more about this cat a month from now.
Not for nothing, there’s probably nobody else on earth tougher than folks from Afghanistan. They’re putting up with a total U.S. onslaught, a Taliban onslaught and God knows what else, without giving up at all. What exactly does that mean, who knows, but I sense they’re some tough motherfuckers. I found this image online a couple of days ago thanks to something the homie Peter Dean Rickards tweeted out and have been fascinated by it ever since.
Today, while still compelled by this photograph, I went on Soundcloud and wondered if there are any Afghani’s with Soundcloud accounts. It’s the concept that even amidst death, war and carnage, there’s still time to make music and dance. I didn’t find any DJs in Kabul with Soundclouds, but I did discover a solid mix from a cat named DJ Wise that’s worth a listen. Ever wondered what Afghan music is like? Probably not, but dig deep and find out below. That is if you’re a real music head.
Leave it to the kings of Oxnard, Madlib and his longtime collaborator MED, to come up with some of the smokiest raps, beats, and videos you’ve ever seen in your life. While Madlib stays putting out new material (peep the brand new Madlib Medicine Show Vol 8. right here), it’s been awhile since MED really did anything that caught my ear.But this new video for the song “MEDical Card” is a winner on all fronts. Cool concept, good camera work, tight beats, and good ganja rap. Even though it’s full of so much Cali weed culture it’s ridiculous, the song is tight. Oxnard stand up! According to the good folks at Stones Throw, MED should be dropping a project later this year. Hopefully it happens. Check the vid below.
MEDical Card from Stones Throw on Vimeo.
One of the album’s slated to drop in early 2011 that I’m most looking forward to is a full length LP from Invincible and Waajeed. They first linked up musically on the Platinum Pied Pipers Triple P album a few years back with the song “Detroit Winter.” So it’s appropriate that their current track is called “Detroit Summer”… plus if you’ve ever been there, summertime in Detroit is the shit. Listen to a radio rip of the tune above.
The duo are releasing a split 7-inch vinyl album called Detroit Summer on August 10 which you can pre-order here. Do it. Also, check out video shot by yours truly of Invincible premiering this track live at the Allied Media Conference. Read the rest of this entry »
