the stones throw twitter feed has been kind to me today, so i figured i’d share with the rest of you too. yesterday, they shared the super great madlib remix of j dilla’s “the $”. stream and download that below. then, just 20 minutes ago, they tweetered out about a new/unreleased dam-funk track, “beautiful creep”. i clicked over, and even better than the track, i saw that dam-funk will be playing here in seattle at nectar lounge in fremont on december 10th. this event is put on by the homies at reign city and members only, tickets are only $12, and i’ll see you there.

J Dilla – The $ (Madlib Remix) by stonesthrow
Dam-Funk – Beautiful Creep (Unreleased) by stonesthrow

For anyone who was a fan of the early 2000 contemporary soul movement, the name Bilal is hard to escape. He’s collaborated with a slew of popular artist that are commercially and artistically respected (Dr. Dre, Common, Erykah Badu, J-Dilla, and Shafiq Husayn immediately come to mind) in the midst of a career that’s seen its share of peaks and valleys. Bilal, who also happens to be a classically trained jazz singer, recently released his much anticipated second studio album, Airtight’s Revenge, four weeks ago and fans instantly recognized that it had been a resounding nine years since his first proper release. How could such a prolific singer who’s guest appeared on damned near every meaningful urban release of merit over the past decade only be on his second album? The answer is actually a harrowing story and during a recent hour-long interview, Bilal checked in with lastnightsmixtape to chat about new music, what he’s been up to during his assumed “layoff,” his latest inspirations, raising a son with autism, and lot’s more.

And if you didn’t already know, Bilal performs in Seattle this Saturday at Nectar with Xperience, DJ Topsin, and Choklate also supporting the show. Check out the full interview with video and mp3′s spliced in if you’re still trying to figure out if you should go.

You went quite awhile in between studio releases, but I’m sure that doesn’t mean you were unproductive during that stretch. What do most people not know about how you spent that time?

Bilal. A lot of people that haven’t really heard from me in awhile probably didn’t know that I was doing a lot of shows during this lay off. I’ve been with the same band for the past eight years now. We’ve been doing shows off the last major record that got bootlegged a couple of years ago, Love For Sale. So we been gigging in certain markets, but everyone doesn’t know that.

What’s the biggest thing that kept you from pushing to release a new album until now.

Politics. Changing labels, changing people in my camp that didn’t have my best interests at heart. Changes that I had to go through outside of music. It was the business side of the music really.

Within all of that, what set you back the most?

The bootleg. When the album [Love For Sale] was bootlegged, I really had to assess how it happened, who was around me, and a lot of things started to come into play. I had also… well, I felt like I needed to sit back and think for a minute. I was really into that music that I was doing and all of the songs on that record. Not being able to release it properly took a lot out of me. It went into the negative side for awhile. I stopped making music for a minute. I did shows, I lived life, but I really had to change things on the other end and the spectrum of music. And once that got cleared out, I saw music again.

DJ Mensa’s Best of Bilal mix
Download audio file (djmensa_bilal.mp3)

Did not recording music for a long period affect your happiness during that time?

The music shows up in my brain. If it doesn’t show up, I don’t force it. I was at a point where I was like let me make some music, but wait, this sounds contrived, so fuck it. It wasn’t happening and there was nothing I could do about it. I was doing jazz gigs, improvising, painting, but really, I go by the whole philosophy of flow. If that’s where I’m at, I flow with that situation. It’s not really about trying to try to make it work. Because it comes out like that. Miles Davis didn’t play music for 10 years, and then came back and changed the game. Basically, I use music as therapy I don’t use it as validation.

How long did you go without creating new music?

I probably didn’t make any music for like two years.

Your voice, it’s probably one of the most unique octaves in all of R&B right now. Vocally, exactly what are you?

I don’t know. I never really counted the range. I look at it like a tenor saxophone. I kind of see myself as a tenor but I use my falsetto a lot. I play keyboards a lot. I listen to a lot of instrumental music. I love Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. I listen to a lot of Miles Davis too. I think I get my falsetto and scat from him. I use my voice like an instrument basically and go up and down depending on what’s needed.

What was it like working with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson?

Well I did two projects with him, I did the string thing with Miguel for the Suite For Ma Dukes orchestra piece… I sang on that, then we worked in L.A. and did this thing with a band and horns, and he had Flying Lotus involved as well. I like to jam and play and meet new musicians so when he asked if I’d do it I said ‘yes.’ I sang a Donny Hathaway song.

Why did you choose that song in particular, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”?

Miguel actually chose the music, and he asked me if I wanted to get on it, and I was cool with it. Donny Hathaway, yeah. Haven’t sang like that in awhile. I used to sing like that on my first album. I sang a lot of chest voice, full on sound. Like church, kind of. And it was cool to pull that out again (laughs)

Who were the main producers that you worked with on this album?

Myself and Steve McKie did the bulk of it. I also did some production with Shafiq Husayn, Nottz, and 88 Keys.

What was it like collaborating with Shafiq?

It was amazing. We made the track from scratch in his studio. It was the type of scenario where I did something for his album, and then right after that, we did something for my album. That’s the way a lot of collaborations come about these days, but yeah, the man is a genius and we had a really good time working together.

Lyrically, what were your main sources of inspiration during the writing process for Airtight’s Revenge? What were you drawing from?

I was drawing from my life and real life situations. Not so much just the regular. It feels like a continuation to me. I’ve always written songs about my life and I’ve written a lot of freaky, janky music too. But the core of my music is always still there. The blues, hip-hop, and jazz. And I hear that in all the things I do. This album is more guitar heavy because what I wanted to make my music a little more open for the aspect of adding jazz elements when we play it live. Usually when u give it a guitar feel, it opens up the music for improvisation. I was also inspired by British rock.

Why British rock?

I’m really fascinated by Britain’s take on the blues actually. Led Zeppelin and the Beatles… and Pink Floyd too. I’ve always loved Steely Dan as well. They’ve influenced my music from early on.

They’re not even British.

Yeah, but Steely Dan added a lot of sophisticated changes in their music early on worth paying attention to. Like what Wayne Shorter and Jaco Pastorious used to do. They had some sophistication to the changes and that’s one of my favorite things to do. I did that on my first album. The song “When Will You Call,” is a good example of that. More linear type of chords. Earth Wind and Fire used to do that as well. They add a real sophistication to their funk.

What’s the main thing that you want to get across to your audience on this latest album?

I was trying to get across to them where I feel where we are today in society. I took an overview of where we are and put it to music. Like any artist would. Mainly I want people to identify and hear some things in this music. I flirted with a lot of topics that would make people go away talking about that subject. I talk about money, capitalistic views, the robotic type of things in our life. The song “Robots” touches on that. I flirted with the topic of religion at times as that’s an issue that we’re going through since people look at Islam so differently too.

Autism causes people to see the world through a different lens… sights, colors, etc. I’m wondering, does raising a son with autism cause you to see the world through a different lens as well?

Aw yeah. I have to understand how he’s looking at things. Autistic children really can focus on certain aspects of things and that’s how they understand it. My son really likes to focus on details of things. To a point that he tries to do things on his own. He’s always really good at puzzles because of that. And drawing. A lot of autistic children have that ability. A lot eventually go into art. It’s really a brilliant thing you know. I have a song on my album dedicated to my children called “Little Ones” that gets into a little bit.

Another one of your sons has Sickle Cell. There’s information about Sickle Cell obviously in the black community, but not enough info about autism. Why do you think that is?

Sickle Cell is a black disease. It’s not in white people’s blood gene. So we know more about it. But autism is something relatively new. For awhile, black people just look at things like, ‘you’re being a bad boy, now go sit down,’ without realizing that a child might have a larger problem. We don’t really view the psychological side of things. We leave that to the church. We just go and pray about it. But I think it’s something that really needs to be viewed more in the black community. So many kids are being born with autism now. People think it might be the vaccines. They have this super vaccine where, instead of getting all the shots that you’re supposed to get from the time a baby is born until he’s four years old, you can get all of those vaccines at once. It really shocks the system. My son Bashir had that shot. And… [voice trails off]

I think it’s really about focusing on your child. Get into your child and give them all the love that you can because they’re all unique.

Do you do anything to bring more awareness to Autism nationally?

I’m going to launch something eventually for autism. Everything is in the works. I really want to do it right. Thus far, I’ve done countless walks though.

Alright, quick check-in. The term neo-soul, are you for it or against it?

Totally against it.

Choklate is hosting the show here in Seattle. How well do you know Choklate?

Yeah.. Choklate is a good friend of mine. We did a show together in New York not that long ago. I like Choklate and I like her swagger on the music. She’s got a lot of rawness when she sings which is usually a good thing.

You’ve done so many cuts with artists from a certain strain of rap, Common, Guru, J Dilla, etc, do you ever consider yourself the Nate Dogg of “conscious hip-hop” for a lack of a better term.

I wouldn’t want to consider myself the Nate Dogg of conscious hip-hop I’ve done music with everyone from Dr. Dre to the conscious cats, Jay-Z, Scarface, MOP, I just kind of fuck with shit that I think is dope. But I went through an era where I was doing shit just to keep my name out there. I wasn’t putting albums out and I was changing labels so I’ve been on some of everything.

Who are your favorite contemporary soul/funk singers and who is your favorite old school soul/funk singer?

I’d say Erykah Badu has been consistent in her soul and her funk the most for me. And for old school, I just like George Clinton’s swagger. George came out as a doo-wop singer/jazz singer in his early career, and then he flipped it. George reminds me a lot of Miles Davis. He started so classical with his jazz and flipped it into something totally crazy. And George did that with his vocals. He knew the appropriate way to do shit, but he was totally inappropriate. He could really sing, but he was an inappropriate motherfucker and I love him for that.

Official video for Bilal’s “Restart”

FULL SCREEN
The Sounds of VTech / Bilal: Restart

Tickets for Bilal’s Seattle show are $15. Doors are at 9 p.m. Support Airtight’s Revenge.

I was pleased to find out Kamau’s obvious love for the T-dot manifests through some amazing youth work with Toronto’s Remix Project, an“arts, cultural and life skills incubator serving vulnerable young people located right in the heart of Toronto”.  It’s dope that dude is so grounded in community, staying level headed even with the co-sign from Canadian heavyweights like K-os and Knaan.

Here’s a video with some beautiful footage of Toronto, off Kamau’s latest mixtape Love and Other Struggles: Volume 3, download the whole thang – and look out for an album from Kamau in the near future.  Over this contemplative banger,  Kamau’s flow evokes jazz horns – smooth, melancholy and urgent – all at the same time.

Since the mixtape is free, think about donating a little scratch toward the Remix Project or your local youth arts programs that are making space for future arts brilliance.

It’s a great day whenever I get to chat it up with longtime Detroit stalwart DJ House Shoes. Although most folks know that Shoes is now located in Los Angeles, he’s still got the D on his back as the ambassador and general of Detroit hip-hop at all times. He’ll be performing in Seattle on Thursday, Sept. 30th at Soul Repair as part of the kick off night for the new hip-hop monthly called Enjoy, so I caught up with him via phone earlier this week. As always, Shoes was ready to talk much shit but also update everyone on his growth since moving to the West Coast, comment on his online popularity, and hit us with some Dilla stories as well.

Let’s talk about the Do-Over. For those that don’t know, what is it? And how did you become a part of it?

House Shoes: I went to the Do-Over the day after I got to Los Angeles, it was the first Sunday in July. I’d never seen anything like that in my life. It’s a day party, and it goes on every Sunday from Memorial Day to Halloween and goes from like 2pm to 10 pm. Sangria all day. Mad good people, and there’s a little bit of water on it now, I’m not going to front. But that’s what happens when you allow regular people into a scene like that. Anyway, they’ll book the best of anybody that’s in town. If Rich [Medina] is in town or Spinna is in town or any of the Djs Djs basically. They come through and rock. They want the best music from the best DJs. Benji B, DJ Scratch, whoever. It’s a great great event. Jamie Strong, Aloe Blacc, and Chris Haycock do a good job of putting it on. They did one in Portland, they did one in Puerto Rico. They’re really just scratching the surface.

What are the keys to handling the Do-Over if a person goes?
If you go to a Do-Over, stick to sangria and pace yourself. I want to say the third week I spun, I took my friend who had never been before. We drank of course and went through a couple of carafes of sangria before I even DJ’d. Then I went up, spun for like and hour and a half. I get off the turntables, and I’m looking around like where is this cat. This mafucka was white as a ghost, shirt soaked to the bone. Drunk. And I totally played him to the left too. I was like, ‘uh, there’s an ice machine over there, go throw up behind that, drink some water, I’ma go talk to these people and be back in 30 minutes.’ (laughing). And he did all that, and was good! Then we ordered more sangria and drank for like three more hours. So pace yourself. The key is, once you hit that wall, shake it off, chill out, and then come back.

How in the hell did you get to be so popular on twitter?
Well, I would honestly say it’s just a branch… cause cats were fucking with MySpace hard in like ’03 ’04. I jumped on there and I put in a lot of work on MySpace yo. I was on, no joke, like 14 hours a day, bulletining, blogging, sending out music mixes, making myself available to anyone that reached out, whatever. When that shit kind of fell off. I got probably 25 to 30,000 fans from MySpace and a lot of that popularity transferred to twitter. About two or three years ago, ?uest hit me up and said I need to get on this twitter shit. I have a strong personality, you kind of have to have strong personality to be popular on twitter. I’m strong minded and brevity is the key, so that all fits in. Of course from the whole Charles Hamilton shit, I got about 1,500 fans off that. Detroit is respected… and they know I’m the general of that shit so they want to know what the general has to say.

Is it a little weird that, after being a world class caliber DJ for years, it takes something like twitter for more people to start paying attention to who you are?

That’s one way to look at it, but I was so hard headed about my Detroit shit for years. I never really DJ’d outside of Detroit until 2006. I never marketed myself in that regard. I wasn’t trying to go nowhere. I had a city to take care of. I had to make sure we were getting together and doing our shit. I’m not a religions cat by any means but it’s like I’m the shepherd of the flock. I’m just worrying about my flock. When J passed and Proof passed and I looked back, I realized that I’d put the city above myself. When I thought about bettering my position in a way that kind of gave the city a broader platform, it made sense that I needed to make a bigger push. If I’m just sitting behind four walls in Detroit, I can’t make that much of an impact. I came out to L.A. to getting it popping and that’s what’s happening.

Since moving to LA, where’s the craziest place you’ve had the opportunity to spin (globally, whatever) and what’s the best thing to happen to you career-wise since the move?

Just Europe… Europe period. Just seeing how pure the situation is based on what the listeners want to hear and knowing how worldwide the party really is. I was on tour with Illa J, Exile, and Aloe Blacc. Winter of ’06. We had a gig in Paris. Before anything really jumps off, the DJ throws on a Marv Won joint. Reciting the verse, reciting the hook, everything. In Paris. It’s a real struggle for a lot of these artists in Detroit. That was one eye opener. After the performances were finished, I spun for five hours yo, with one case of records and a CD wallet and they were posted all night. You’re not going to see that shit here in the States. It’s a night and day difference from what you’re going to see over in Europe.

Why do Europeans love Detroit music so much?

The easier answer is, we’re the best. We’ve been making the best music in the world for nearly 50 years. From Motown in the 50s, 60s, that deep Stevie Wonder and funk/soul of the 70s etc. Techno, whatever. We been running hip-hop in the world for almost 15 years. We make music completely unapologetically and we do our own shit. Detroit is a grimy city and music is an escape for all of us. When we’re in the lab, it’s an escape and we just kill it. Take me for an example, I make music for my-motherfucking-self. When I turn on the MPC and I get behind the boards, I have very very specific taste in music. The difference between me and these cats tweeting about their garbage ass mixtape or their wack ass beats is that if I make some shit and I’m not feeling it, I turn the MPC off. If you listen to real music, and can’t tell that your shit is wack, I don’t understand. Another thing is, all these casts making music, Apollo Brown, Marv Won, Korona, Black Milk, whoever. We don’t rally care about all that extra industry shit. I don’t care about getting placements on music. We don’t give a fuck. We don’t sell ourselves out for a check.

You and I talked about Danny Brown via phone almost 2 years ago as you were predicting that he’d come on strong, and now it’s happening. Why do you think folks are paying attention?

Cause he ain’t slowing down for nobody. Danny is a workhorse. He’s an artist that puts in the work and even if he’s not financially making it since he hasn’t released a project people have to pay for, he still grinds it out and he’s fucking fantastic. He’s a one of a kind artist. He fits right in the middle. The grimy cats appreciate it, and the poppy kids appreciate it. Everyone likes all of Danny Brown. He strikes some type of nerve in people. And his voice! It’s so different. It’s so fucking different. It’s either going to push you away or grab you. But he keeps putting out material and you can’t ignore it. This cat can rap his ass off. So I want to see a project from Danny brown that you have to pay for. I’m tired of arguing with cats about giving away free money.

Alright… Sweet for Ma Dukes and the whole Miguel Atwood-Ferguson production… I watched it, I saw you on stage, and I heard from Miguel afterword that he saw you with tears in your eyes at one point. I’m not sure if that’s true…

That’s definitely true. I was sitting stage right, I was able to fight it for the majority of the night. It’s crazy. A huge orchestra playing my mans shit. Dwele was sitting to my right and the whole time, we’re just looking at each other, not really saying anything. And for the most part, I had been fighting ‘em back. But when the strings started at the beginning of “Untitled” it was like someone turned the water faucet on. It was over. Everyone cried. That shit was crazy. Just knowing if Jay would have been able to see that shit. He never had a strong grasp on how his music affected other people. He would have been crying like a baby if he’d gotten a chance to see his music played by a 50-60 piece orchestra. You got Primo, Doctor Dre, Pete Rock, that shit ain’t happening for them. But it’s another testament of how J was the best.

Your son, James DeShawn Buchanan, is named after Dilla and Proof. What made you want to do that, and do James and DeShawn’s mother’s know that you’re keeping their son’s legacies alive through yours?

It was… (pauses) that’s what it had to be. That’s what it had to be. It was no question. My girl, she had no problem with it. There’s no other way to be able to pay respect to my first born and possibly only child beside naming him after Dilla and Proof. That’s all there is to it. Ma Dukes and Pepper [Proof's mom] both know about that.

What are you top 3 Dilla songs of all time?

Oooh, ouch. This is a disclaimer and this is something that changes from day to day depending on mood and what’s going on in my life but right now, my top 3 are “Untitled” off Fantastic Vol. 2, “Take Notice” off Rough Draft…and uhmmm, I’ma be selfish and say one of the joints I did for him on the MCA album. There are a lot of tracks people haven’t heard yet. I did a joint for him that was supposed to be the intro for the album. The first time I’d ever played a full beat tape for Jay was probably late ’99, early 2000. The very last beat that was on the tape, he’s like, ‘I want that’ and I got the check from Universal for days later. He cashed me out. It was a sample based track, and he played the track over on a Moog synthesizer. It’s dope that Jay remade one of my joints. He murdered it. He liked it because it didn’t sound like him. He said he always hated when people would send him beats that sounded like him. He never wanted that. I don’t think joint I did for him ever got a title.

Top 3 Proof songs of all time?

“Searching” with 5ELA. I’d say “Broken” with Journalist and Mu on there. That’s a House Shoes beat probably from 98-99. And I’d have to say, “Forgive Me.” It’s kind of hard to listen to. Or maybe The Good Die Young off the second D12 album.

You’re coming to Seattle for the first time? Who from the music scene…hip-hop or otherwise are you a fan of?

Definitely I’ve been fucking with Jake One for damn near 15 years, it’s been great to see him rise up and make some real strong moves in the game… getting down with the G-Unit thing when that really mattered and Red Bull Big Tunes now which is incredible. On the old school tip, Mix-a-Lot, Kid Sensation and those cats. I’m not really to hip about seattle, so I’m looking forward to learning when I get up there.

Jake One once told me that one of the scariest nights he’s ever had in his life was crashing at your crib.

He slept on the floor and I think [my cat] Smokey assaulted him. You gotta understand, Smokey has assaulted a lot of these rap cats out here. My cat doesn’t play. [Shoes then puts the phone up to Smokey and, right on cue, Smokey meows into the phone].

What can folks who have never seen you spin before, expect on Thursday night?

Some real, I dont’ give a fuck type shit. I don’t care…like, you got a lot of these Djs talking about reading the room, and figuring out what people want to here. Man, I don’t give a damn what you all want to hear. You booked me on the stregnth that I play music that I love and I must be doing something right cause the parties are popping. I rocked three parties in the Bay this weekend and that shit was bananas. So when I get on the turntables, I drink, I talk my shit and I’m not going to be typical at all. You’re going to hear Dilla, Guilty, Danny Brown, 14kt, Marv Won, and hell, you might hear the theme song to WKRP in Cincinnati. Whatever feels right is what I’ll play.

House Shoes spins on Thursday, Sept. 30 at Sole Repair in Seattle. $5 no guest list. No bullshit.

it’s been a minute since i did one of these, so i’m going to give you two for the price of one, which fits nicely with the theme of funky tracks about money-induced stress. first up is the billy paul classic “let the dollar circulate,” from 1975, another period of economic calamity. a couple observations: first, this video really doesn’t flow with the song. yes, the hook is “let the dollar circulate,” but c’mon. if you’re going to use 80s movies about making money (scarface, wall street, goodfellas), don’t leave out trading places! second, you might recognize this track because it’s been sampled so much, most notably by j dilla on the steve spacek track, “dollar.” less notably, young jeezy sampled it on a track called “circulate.”

next up, gwen guthrie’s great track “ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent” gets a chrissy murderbot re-edit. the title pretty much says it all. stream it below, and then right click for the high quality download, courtesy of mr. murderbot himself.

Download audio file (Gwen-Guthrie-Aint-Nothin-Goin-On-But-The-Rent-Chrissy-Murderbot-Re-Edit.mp3)

gwen guthrie: ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent (chrissy murderbot re-edit) – download

The set made me feel alot of things, a few I’ll name here: merry go rounds, mexican ice cream trucks, miami sound machine, that movie batteries not included, kisses, a quechua disco, Herbie Hancock, dancing like a kid at a Chuck. E. Cheese animatronic show,  rainbows, Dilla. It was fun. These guys pride themselves on digging for dollar bin gems and transforming them into that new new. Javelin are signed to Luaka Bop the label of eccentric maestro David Byrne.  You can download the very fresh, very free mixtapes World Midi Classics Vol.2 or Andean Ocean Tape below. Still,  do yourself a favor and earn what! u aint up on this? points by copping the recently released, and thoroughly pleasing full length No Mas, here .

Here is vibrationz, a guaranteed summertime jam off of No Mas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB6Obk2fO64

Anyway.  Y’all already know how I feel about the The Roots’ Dilla tribute, and I’m tired, so I’m gonna keep it short and sweet.  Remember Dice Raw from the good ol’ Illadelph Halflife and Things Fall Apart days?  Yeah that’s him.  And he’s rapping over Dilla Joints.  It’s not the same as the first time they got together, but it’s good to hear Dice Raw rhyming with  The Roots again (sorta).  

Dice, Dilla, Pregunta also features Charles P Bailey, Rick Friedrich, and Yameen Allworld.  Free download link and tracklist after the    

Download dice, dilla, pregunta

1.) Long Time Coming
2.) Pregunta
3.) Hello World
4.) Full
5.) Doot Doo Dah Da
6.) Players Play
7.) Welcome Home
8.) The Greatest Rapper Never
9.) Offbeat Onbeat
10.) Get Ready
11.) Turn It Up (Led it Bang)
12.) Pour Me a Drink
13.) Allworlderlude
14.) The End of the Road

14 Dilla tribute tracks performed by the Roots.  I believe this is what they mean when they say ”unfuckwithable.”  

01. Donuts Outro
02. Hot Shit (I’m Back!)
03. World Full Of Sadness
04. Upper Egypt
05. Stereolab
06. The Stars
07. Antiquity (feat. The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Dillchestra)
08. She Said
09. Hall & Oates
10. Eve
11. Look Into Her Eyes
12. Make Em NV
13. Oh! O!
14. Wicked Ways

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDDIrsVBfXI

Now Bullion packs more flava for ya ear with the new single “Say Goodbye to What” along with a free mix composed in cahoots with the freshcheckers at FACT magazine. The single and mix are a gumbo of Krautrock, afro-funk, avant-garde electronics and dreamy 70s rock. For god’s sakes have the friends over for a potluck and dance already… Download the Bullion FACT magazine mix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=men-jcslePU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0FAeUG_eIk

This performance went down February 22, 2009 in LA, but the video is being released as part of a DVD box set, titled Timeless, on March 30, 2010. 

Timeless describes moments outside of time— moments that exist so deep inside history that they break through that finite grid. Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series is an homage to the composer-arrangers that have influenced hip-hop in the most literal and profound ways.The creative center of popular music today is the beatmaker-producer. Whether it is Timbaland, Dilla, Dre, or Madlib, these musicians have an uncanny sense for voicings, a penchant for unusual sounds and catchy rhythms and a magical ability to manufacture a good performance. Today’s beatmakers are the direct descendants of yesterday’s composer-arrangers. Their processes—whether it be writing a memorable line for background singers or finding the appropriate moment for a baritone harmonica — mirror those of today’s musicians. The composer-arranger creates music through the frame of the bigger picture, often more concerned with how things sound together than individually. Similarly today’s beatmakers produce music on a grand scale, but through automation and sampling.

Timeless brings these two seemingly unlike worlds together. The series honors the musical legacies of some of the greatest composer-arrangers ever.  Timeless celebrates the work of the composer-arranger in the context it should be seen—with full orchestras.

Timeless: A Suite For Ma Dukes, a four-song orchestral EP produced by Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood Ferguson, was released back in February of last year and is  available on itunes.