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All the education you need is right here on the Mixtape Show.

Okay, maybe not - but I’ll keep the written short and say this - if you don’t get something out of every track on here, rewind.

iLLiTe - Intro. Courtesy of CDR. Easily coulda made the First Impressions episode, if, you know, it was out back then. New artist to me, but sounds good thus far. Side street it on empty. myspace.com/eyedouble.

Jay Electronica - Exhibit A (Transformations). The early may have heard this a bit earlier this month, but hey, I’m putting in work here and things take time. Not much needs to be said here. myspace.com/jayelect.

Also this might sound sort of weird but something about the way Jay says “Nirvana” strikes me as kinda endearing.

Mr Scruff - After Time. Not necessarily representative of all of dude’s work, but yeah. Short clip. Go dig. myspace.com/mrscruffofficial.

Wu-Tang - I Can’t Go To Sleep feat Isaac Hayes (Live Version). Okay, I get that you invented the crying flow, fam, but serious? A little far maybe? I can’t front though, this one sort of goes hard.

DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Intro. I discovered this earlier this morning. Sort of a counterexample to the intro. This one might change the way you think about house music - which should make you start thinking about hip-hop, considering the family tree. Check the release page here, which includes the words to the track. 日本語訳もあるので、是非チェックしてね。

Jay Electronica - Posers. I’ve been holding onto this forever with the intention of putting it into a different themed episode that I sort of tossed. No information on the vocalist though. Anyone care to fill us in before I start having to write emails?

Saroc - Motorbike. The title won’t make much sense until the end. Sol - who was kind enough to send me this cut direct from the studio last week - on production.

Shaun Boothe - Unauthorized Biography of Bob Marley. Seriously, this is like running through a Wikipedia article set to a beat, in a good way. Maybe if those stupid Multiplication Rap tapes my 2nd grade teacher gave me thinking I’d like it because I was Black were this good, I wouldn’t have gotten that D in Calculus senior year. I’m sort of looking forward to this Muhammad Ali joint. myspace.com/shaunboothe

Madlib - Disco Break. Yes, you’re supposed to learn something from this too. No excuses. myspace.com/madlib

Wiley - I Was Lost. I could never play this one on the radio back home because it had curses in it. Not the end of the world though, because I could still play Pies and Wot Do You Call it, and maybe that is making some of you UK kids roll your eyes but anyone who has the sheer nerve to end six consecutive bars with the words “no girlfriend” instead of thinking of actual rhymes on the first cut of their debut record is okay with me. www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley

e.s.t - Still (Radio Edit). In lieu of an outro, I guess. Shouts to Giant Step for the hookup.

Jay Electronica - Exhibit A (Transformations) - Final Version. Or at least that’s what it says on the tin. This sort of adds another level to the first mix, with more audio tweaking (but still a little reserved compared to old episode 82) but I like both, so here you go. Dig the outro.

Oh, also, supercali, there is a section in here that I absolutely expect you to identify.

Pencils down, put your answer sheet inside your test booklet, and pass your packets forward and to the left.

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I was originally going to talk about something else here, but all of a sudden I like felt the holy ghost or something and was inspired to talk about this. Seriously everyone, this is an important issue that I feel strongly about. I’ve actually had serious conversations about this.

Intro: Copywrite - Fuck A Soundcheck (prod RJD2)

Busta Rhymes - Packin Them Things (prod Kev Brown). This is just sort of a given. And even Busta Rhymes voted for Obama. You know where to find Busta, so go check out myspace.com/kevbrown.

Blu and Mainframe - Hold On John. Off of the Johnson and Jonson record, which you’ve been hearing bits of for the last couple years or so. Apparently the joint is actually out now, and it’s highly recommended. I don’t think there’s a single cut on this record that I don’t like. I’ve said enough about this record before, so I’ll leave it at that. Shouts to Steve for this one. myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts.

I mean, think about it. The only dude who seemed to be able to dance. He could beatbox. He wore rappidy-rap style clothing - well, comparatively. Oddly enough, I never felt like this was stereotyping - I just naturally internalized that Skeeter was Black. I seriously can’t wrap my head around the fact that some people don’t get it. To my white friends - I like you all a lot, but sometimes you miss things. Very important things. Like which cartoon characters are which race.

Stanza - Do. As heard previously on your favorite rap podcast, this is another selection off of Name This Album. The lyricism is sort of bizarrely great (trying to imagine the hand contortions in the beginning is alternately funny and amazing) and as with the rest of the cuts on here, there’s actually a message in here. And as I mentioned in the outro, Stanza has inexplicably put this entire record up online for free download - inexplicably because it’s easily worth the money. The record is dope. Go get it here, and check out the rest of the site at mqrt.com.

MF Doom - Rapp Snitch Knishes feat Mr Fantastic. Does anyone actually know anything about Mr Fantastic? I mean, I could google the dude, I guess, but after listening to this, I’m realizing that I haven’t heard much of anything from the dude.myspace.com/mfdoom.

This of course, is all based on when the show was on Nickelodeon. I quit watching when Disney took over. Actually I think at that point in my life I was a little busy to be watching cartoons (okay, it was just on at an inconvenient time. I definitely used run late for school because I wanted to catch the end of Pokemon).

Q-Tip - Gettin’ Up. On the Dilla rework - you might have heard this one, but for those who haven’t - dope. This really is a proper rework. myspace.com/qtip.

Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo remix). For real, when I read the track title before actually listening to it, I was both excited and worried to hear what sort of destruction Diplo would wreak on this classic - but it’s oddly restrained. It’s good. myspace.com/officialmarlenashaw.

Outro: Qwel and Kip Killagain - Heliocentric (Instrumental). I actually like Qwel.

So, really. Doug was clearly white, Skeeter was obviously Black. The logic doesn’t really run across color lines, however - I mean, what about Bee Bee? She’s blue too, but I never got “Black vibes” from her, if that’s an appropriate word. And reversewise, come to think of it, Patti was sort of ambiguous - mixed ancestry, perhaps? She was sort of dark. Connie was Asian. I’m fairly confident about that one.

Am I overthinking this? Any other theories are welcome.

Oh yeah, and thoughts on the music. You know.

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What’s good Earthlings - this is an official Mixtape Show Soultronica Sidebar Hijack by your favorite android - Brothertron. What we have here is what I promised you last week (Future Colour Time - we don’t run on your crazy Earth clocks, dig? For us out here, this is on time!) - a new (to you!) project by A.Leon Craft (he’s appeared on the Mixtape Show in as a member of Labratz), over J Dilla beats, courtesy of Sol Messiah.

And, of course, since we’re bringing you this tape from the future - you’re the first to get it. Dig it.

Here’s the tracklist for those of yall keeping score:

Project Title: Mothership Dillaleon
Track Selections (Continual Stream Mode):
introlude: Planet New Afrika Cultural Archives Audio Identification.
1. ALeon’s Craft
2. Lite Beam
3. Healing Process
4. Guitars In The Water
5. Concrete Complications
6. Maroons
7. Melanin
8. The Moon
9. Black Dolla
10. Mothership Dillaleon
Possibly more info on the dude also at myspace.com/aleoncraft.

Bonus: The original album artwork from the project:
Front:

Dex (2008 version) will be back next week (Earth time, maybe) with a new rap episode - or in the meantime I guess you can holler at him in the “comments section” of this “website”. Brothertron out.

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So this, I guess, would be the third official Summer Mixtape. For those of you who are in Southern California - it’s probably still summer for you - so feel free to grab the first edition - SUMMER MIXTAPE (2006), the second one - BACKPACKER/SUMMER IN LA (2007), and then put it together with this one, and get on your Dyno with the black mags and bang out, kiddo.

As I said - I had a major hard drive crash and lost hella data (and some music - do your backups, kids, for serious) which caused the 3-week delay, but here we go. Let’s get into it:

Intro - Thad Reid - Cruzin feat Akshan.

Stat Quo - Dear Summer (Part 2). The follow-up to Part 1, which I probably would have put out were it not for the hard drive crash-induced delay. I don’t think I necessarily cared that much about Stat Quo’s life and/or career before hearing this series, but I have to say, this is sort of an interesting series that dude has been putting out. It’s sort of like the rap version of Livejournal. Or maybe that’s Atmosphere. So maybe this is more like the rap version of Caroline’s older sister’s Xanga, because I used to read that all the time and be like damn she’s cool. You ever do that? Interweb stalking is bad, kids. myspace.com/statquo.

DJ Crazy Toones - It’s A Demo Teaser. This isn’t even a song, but I dig this cut. Some of the most ignorant statements on this episode are made by this man. I mean, I fully agree with the sentiment - too many people out there don’t understand how to put together a mixtape/cd/podcast, but come on, did we need that comment about Singapore? And why was the dude in Singapore? I mean, anybody can go to Singapore. I can go right now in probably like a few hours. Is there something special about Singapore that I don’t know? I mean, go to Tibet, fam, and I’ll be impressed. Maybe beat up a monk or something. Aside from that, this demo is just ridiculous. I really want to hear this mixtape now. myspace.com/djcrazytoones.

Birdman - Sun Come Up feat Rick Ross and T-Pain. Nobody really cares about what Rick Ross did before he was a rapper, because 90% of the rap game is lying, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an act. Yes, it has ramifications on what happens out here, and it’s okay to get sucked into the drama on some suspension of disbelief, but 騙されるな、dig? I gave a talk at a high school earlier today and some kids in the audience were absolutely blown away that rappers weren’t you know, actually shooting people in real life. Remind me to tell you about the first time I ever saw the Beef DVD (hint - it wasn’t in the US). That said, I like this cut, and it’s probably the most “traditional” summer rap cut I got on here.

Guilty Simpson - Michigan Nights. Okay, Guilty - “I’m like that cat you never liked but was scared to fight”. I’m actually thinking about this now and I can’t think of anyone I didn’t like to the point that I wanted to physically harm them but I was scared to actually give it a try. That said, I more or less quit fighting around age 12 or 13 (the age when people start bringing knives and guns to school fights). A lot of the time I wish rap songs were shorter - like on the 2 minute range - but this is one of those cuts where you’re glad you don’t have to be satisfied with a cut-up radio version. Cinematic. Dig it. myspace.com/guiltysimpson.

Replife - Do You Want To Pay A MF. Interlude status. The album is good, though. Stay tuned.myspace.com/danielgraykontarisreplife

Double F - I-5 Merge. I alluded to some superbly ignorant statements being made in this episode - and here they are. What is this dude even talking about? You’ve heard a cut off this tape before, actually. myspace.com/mystadub.

U-N-I - Yesterday. I think I was put up on these dudes last summer, and finally they make an appearance on the mixtape show. Kids set aside the A.D.I.D.A.S style swagger stuff for a minute and go somewhat serious for a minute. I like this cut. Shout-outs to Amanda for having the good sense to pick these kids up for Block Party. myspace.com/unimuzik.

Fatlip - What’s Up Fatlip? (Breakbot Remix). Breakbot is a new name to me, but whoever the cat is did a pretty good job with this remix. Fatlip somehow sounds more pathetic on this cut, and the vocal glitching is just enough to be noticeable but not over the top on some Funkstorung (not that I don’t like Funkstorung). Like you can’t listen to this and not really feel bad for this dude. And we all have days like this…right? Right? (I can’t find dude’s myspace.)

Guest Anouncement/広告alude - Jim Jones - Pop Champagne feat Ron Browz and Juelz Santana (instrumental): I’m not going to write about it here since I’m still a little upset about it, but the end of this episode got cut off by someone you’ll probably recognize…looks like next week’s episode I’ll be taking a break.

And before I forget, shout out to Mamiko again for handling the artwork on this joint because I still don’t have any image editing software yet.

So - how was your summer?

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So if there was a State of the Hip-Hop Union, I think one thing that we could probably count on would be that unlike any previous or current administration, we would get the straight, uncut reality of our current status. I mean, there would still be lying about what sort of dirt people did in the past or how many guns/cars/etc dudes owned - but yeah. I would tune in to watch that.

So the idea behind this is people from different angles telling us what our current situation is - some of them more indirect than others, some of them more violent than others, and hey, some of them even have some recommendations for us. Enough from me, let’s see what they have to say…

Stereolab - Neon Beanbag I think I must have been the one person at KUCR that never actually played any Stereolab. Probably because I never really listened that much - my mistake. Everybody go out and buy Stereolab. Off the 4AD and Rough Trade 2008 Sampler, which is ridiculous. stereolab.co.uk.

Young Jeezy - My President feat Nas. Leave it to Jeezy (yeeeeeeeahhhhh) to make a song where he praises a presidential candidate, damns the current president, and raves about his blue lambo in the same breath. I like this song.

East Coast Avengers - Kill Bill O’Reilly. I really wanted to get this episode out like four days ago, but technical difficulties prevented that. As I say in the episode itself - this track placement comes with zero disclaimers or apologies. I figure that in a genre where threatening other rappers for nothing is the norm - threatening somebody that actually deserves it is pretty sensible. ちなみに、the girl at the end probably deserves an award for best line in the song. East Coast Avengers is made up of Esoteric, Trademarc, and DC the Midi Alien. eastcoastavengers.com.

Mic Legacy - So Ghetto feat Rapper Big Pooh. The instro on this is like the musical embodiment of the Minstrel Show cover plus being in church. myspace.com/miclegacydafuture.

Crooked I - Paper Planes Remix/Block Obama. I’m not exactly sure what the official title of this cut is. About 80% of the stuff this dude is talking about is totally ridiculous - including the random diatribe on claiming that stealing songs is “not hip-hop”. I’m not saying that stealing music is a good thing, but seriously, it seems like every time I turn around someone is telling me that something is “not hip-hop”. Eating broccoli is not hip-hop. And co-opting the “Change” line? There’s got to be something wrong with that, but I can’t hate. Anyway, this song is hip-hop, and it is over the Paper Planes riddim, which makes it extra good. myspace.com/crookedi.

Elzhi - Colors. Come on, it’s Elzhi. There’s something sort of surreal about this song - not just the imagery. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s a great song. You might need to play it back a few times to actually get what he’s doing. myspace.com/zhifi.

Invincible - Locusts feat Finale, wsg Gwen Mingo and Ron Scott. Welcome to the reality that is Detroit. There’s a video to this as well - I’ll leave my commentary on this one out and just let you read the interview. Thanks to Sweeney Kovar for this one (and the one above, come to think of it). Album sounds like it’s definitely worth a purchase. emergencemusic.net.

The Stranglers - Golden Brown. Apparently everyone else and their mom has discovered this song recently and are trying to make beats out of it, but if you want to hear a proper drug song done properly by proper white people (nothing against Pink Floyd, I like you guys too), this would be a good joint to track down. myspace.com/thestranglers.

See, told you I was back on track, sorta.

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No, I’m not dead. And no, the show is not dead, and I’m not planning on letting it die anytime soon. I’ve kinda been underground for a minute, just basically putting in work and getting my bars up on the school angle. It has, however, been far too long - maybe too long? Are you all still even out there? That said - let’s get into it:

Intro Instrumental - 9th Wonder - Black Album Rejects #31 (I think).

Murs - Can It Be. I couldn’t think of a better track to start this one off with. And no, I’m absolutely not hating on Murs. I remember the first time I actually saw the dude - he came to my university in a dirty white T shirt, old sneakers, and some pajama pants and rocked a show on what was basically a hill with some grass on it. Crazy show, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Dude is a dope rapper, he just happens to have made a song that confused me, and this joint more than makes up for that. And apparently he’s got a free record up - check out www.mursand9thwonder.com. And yes, when the new record comes out - buy it.

Jay Electronica - Defcon 4. From what I can tell, this joint is at least 4 years old. Produced by Sol Messiah (fam hit me up), it’s a little more straightforward beatwise than the stuff we heard, say, on episode 82. Lyrically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the dude. Time to hit the library. myspace.com/jayelect.

Gif - Invisible (Ramona Moore). I was eating dinner a few weeks ago with a kid from Hong Kong, a kid from Japan (duh), and a Kyrgyzstani, when the topic turned to the elections. The Kyrgyzstani dude said something about that he’d heard that there is no longer any racism in the US. Unfortunately he decided to say that when I was in the middle of trying to sip my soda so he definitely ended up with that joint all over his new shirt. I laughed that hard. I don’t know - maybe if you watch the news you get that impression - but I don’t watch the news, so I wouldn’t know (I have been, however, watching Japanese news, and that is a whole different story)…Dude was actually genuinely surprised when I had to set him straight.

Anyway, as I said, this song actually follows the seqence of an actual event. For some more info on what happened with Ramona Moore, you can check this blog post. For Da Gif himself, check myspace.com/dagif. Thank you for making this song, fam.

East Flatbush Project - A Day In A Life feat Stress. This cut is just dope. I don’t have too much to say about this. It’s been too long since we’ve had one of Spencer’s joints grace the Mixtape Show. This one is off the “First Born” EP - a joint project with Spencer and Stress. Do yourself a favor and play this one a few times. myspace.com/theeastflatbushproject.

Black Milk and Fat Ray - Take Control. I’ve been sitting on this cut for a miiinute. Maybe it’s just the cymbals on this joint that do it for me - but they’re not exactly slacking in the lyrical department here either. myspace.com/blackmk.

Madlib - Go feat Guilty Simpson. This song has some of the cruelest lyrics I’ve heard since, well, the last episode. That Punk’d line, combined with the Black / white / Chinese man joint is just too much. stonesthrow.com.

Outro Instrumental - 410 Pharaohs - Fresh.

And yeah, I’ll get into the rap in japan thing at some point in the near future…

In the meantime, that’s what I got for this week. Holler at a scholar.

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This is for those of you who have been sending emails and leaving comments asking when I was finally going to let go of some of the SuhBURB stuff I had stockpiled up…

As promised earlier (you did see the video, right?), the new Suburban Sprawl record is out. In case you missed it, Suburban Sprawl = Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) and probably the one producer that gets the most airtime (airtime? do you say that for a podcast?) on the Mixtape Show - SuhBURB.

So yes, the record is out. 40 minutes, 16 tracks, and highly recommended. And it’s on here. In its entirety, for free.

I’m going to keep my comments to myself for the time being, but lest you be wondering whether or not you should click that “play” button, keep the following three points in mind:

1. This is the best thing I’ve heard all year
2. The last time I gave an entire episode to one artist/group, it was Jay Electronica. We all know how I feel about Jay Electronica
3. wow

As you listen, you can check the liner notes featuring ridiculous commentary by both artists, and grab the full hi-fi version from the official site.

00 - Ridiculous-ass Mixtape Show drop by Suhburb. Seriously fam, this is not what I had in mind when I asked for a drop.

01 - The Tiki Torch. I remember when I first got this beat. First time I played it out anywhere, it got a nod from Daedelus. I’m sort of glad they left it as is.

02 – Sittin’ at the Bar Demo. Ha! Tearing apart Ladder Theory from the base, I guess.

03 - Baltimore Bitch. Words fail me.

04 - Diwadiwadonald. Wow, the bongos on this one. I think at this point I remembered why Donwill is sort of dope lyrically.

05 - Salsoul. This is one of the things that, for me, separates SuhBURB from other producers - the soul he puts into the kick drum programming. This obviously isn’t the only song where you’ll notice that, but dig the lows on this one.

06 - Fly Me feat. Von Pea. (you heard this one earlier, but without the Von Pea verse, which is quite possibly the cruelest verse I’ve ever heard in my life.)

07 - Guilty. Damn.

08 - Night Time. Am I the only one who thought of UGK at the end here?
09 - All Right. When I first met Suhburb, I don’t even think he was really making that much rap music yet - he was a jungle producer. I’d been sitting on this track for a very long time - I wanted to drop it as part of the Soultronica Saga. I guess that will teach me to wait to drop a track.

10 - Slipknot. Is this from the Brasil beat tape?

11 - The Words. It’s joints like these that make me respect Don for actually having the nerve to rap on tracks like this. I think Suhburb makes beats that are hard to rap on on purpose.

12 - Dead Ass. Lyrically maybe the most powerful track for me on this project. Check this one.

13 - Maybe. More heavy content.

14 - Audio Visual. This song is sort of ridiculously cute. I mean, I’m not even mad they didn’t get to put Jack Davey on this one. Can we get this “girl at the time”’s name?

15 - The Champ (LP Version). Seriously, who raps over things like this? Something is wrong with both of these kids.

16 - Funeral March. Propane Pip dropped this one first, but it’s still dope. And by the way, Suhburb - you make fun of me for spinning slab music on my old radio joint, and then you turn around and drop a slowed version of this joint? Explanation? Also, the content here confused me until I read the liner notes - you should probably check them instead of reading this.

And there you have it. Burn it, share it, whatever. I’m still sort of scratching my head over the fact that this isn’t being sold for, you know, money.

So, obviously, I think that this record is dope. Thoughts?

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Thought I told you it was on again.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone for sticking around. I know it’s been a minute. I’ll try to explain more later, but for now, the episode:

This is a sidebar to the Soultronica Saga (which, yes, is still in the works…slowly, but in the works). I set the spaceship aside for a moment and we take a look at an alternate future of rap, jungle, and reggae music: Dubstep.

Let’s get right into the music:

intro: DZ - Strong On Ya.

Loefah - It’s Yours. Well, might as well ease you all into it, right? Rough track. See if you can remember where this sample came from. myspace.com/loefah.

Jay Electronica and Zed Bias - The Cauldron. From a BBC Benji B session, I think. This one I’ve got to say I did not see coming. I’m not exactly sure what the story is behind this one, but think about it - how many US rappers are willing to even consider jumping on a grime/dubstep/categorizemeplease track? Exactly. I think Zed produced this. I think. Courtesy of Sweeney Kovar. myspace.com/zedbias.

The Bug - Skeng feat Killa P and Flow Dan. If you are wondering where the dub and reggae influence I was talking about comes in, listen to this. I remember the first time I heard this in that crazy art studio basement club that Pure Filth used to occupy. Absolutely bananas. I liked this one so much I used to refuse to listen to it unless it was on a real system. The lyrics, though - they are completely over-the-top ridiculous. Seriously. myspace.com/thebuguk.

Rusko - William H Tonkers. Remember me saying that you need a good set of headphones for this one? Exhibit B right here, kids (A was the last one). Dig the synth programming on this one. ruskonfire.

Nebulla and DJ Dore - Poppin (Dirtystep Remix) feat T.I. I can’t say that I like this one better than the original, but it definitely goes kinda hard. The basswork on this one ain’t bad at all.　myspace.com/djnebulla, myspace.com/djdore.

Loefah: Voodoo (666) / Lord Finesse: Check the Method (DJ Premier Scratch Mix). If you just couldn’t get into anything else on this ep, wait until this one. This may well be my favorite song on this episode (which is saying a lot considering my feelings towards The Bug). Ripped from the briliant Dubstep Sufferah Volume 3, which is highly recommended if you liked this one. grievousangel.com.

Moody Boys - Honey Remix feat Erykah Badu. I take back what I said on the last one - if you can’t get into the other cuts, check this one. Seven minute, dubbed-out workout of one of the best new soul singles in recent memory. Brilliant. I think Mamiko likes this one. myspace.com/themoodyboyz.

Pre-emptive shouts to Pure Filth for throwing some of the most inspiring jams I’ve ever had the privilege to attend.

And those who know me personally know that I don’t take statements like that lightly.

So yeah - while I’m certainly no dubstep expert, I know enough to know that I like this stuff. What do you think?

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You all ever heard of this thing? Type A personality? It’s like I can’t even slow down here. Start up this episode, take a deep breath, and try to see the big picture here - it’s bigger than just your issues, kids.

Aside from that, though, I got two pairs of tickets to Nicolay + Kay shows to give away - one in each of these venues:
April 12 – The Forbidden City, Hollywood, CA
April 18 – The Black Cat, Washington, DC

So, I guess I’m supposed to do some sort of “contest” or something. I’ll make this one easy - just write me an email or leave a comment and tell me the number of the last Mixtape Show episode in which Nicolay appeared. Extra consideration given if you make the comment interesting. I’ll pick the winners pretty much asap. This will also be going on the Facebook thing too, so…get moving. Enough of that, let’s do it…

Intro beat - CL Smooth and Skyzoo - Perfect Timing instrumental.

Big Boi - Royal Flush feat Andre 3000 and Raekwon. It’s like the three of them sat down and said “Listen here, Andre. You rap good. Have like seven verses.” And Andre said “Okay”. And it was good. myspace.com/outkast.

The Roots - 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction). I didn’t count them, but if there are 75 bars here, they are all good. Suburb put me up on this one and I’m still kicking myself for taking this long to actually get to it. I’m sometimes not too big on The Roots’ recorded material, but this is just kind of great. Even if there are probably more niggas in this song than bars (bonus points for anyone that counts them up!). myspace.com/theroots

Percee P - Untitled Percee P Track. Or at least that’s word-for-word how it was labeled on this CD. Dig the rhyme patterns that dude uses, and the Billy Jack quotes (I think I should check this film). Once again, kids - the bigger picture. “Payback’s a bitch, America / Karma too” myspace.com/perceep

Jay Electronica - Colors. Seriously, fam? 45 seconds? Don’t worry, kids, I got more.

Guilty Simpson - Pigs. I don’t think I really forsaw anyone attempting to rap over this Madlib jawn. Can’t hate on this dude for taking this one on, because he kinda tore it up. Quotable lines abound. myspace.com/guiltysimpson

Rhymefest - Mentor Mike feat Michael Jackson. What could I possibly have been doing that was so important that I didn’t listen to this song until this morning? Wow. myspace.com/rhymefest

Spec Boogie - Bed Stuy. The beat is just ridiculous. This one came highly recommended from our good friend Suburb, who is currently too busy eating Hot Chee-tos or something to let me listen to his new record. That’s fine, buddy. Spec, though - this is a great track. Plenty more of the same on his myspace. myspace.com/specboogie

Nicolay and Kay - Grand Theft Auto. Yes, the subject matter matches the title. If you dig this cut, hey, maybe try to get yourself a couple tickets. I really shoulda saved this for the next edition of the Nintendo Mixtape, but hey, who knows when that one’s gonna actually drop…myspace.com/nicolay.

Outro beat - Amplive / Radiohead - Weird Fishez. You all have the Amplive remixes of Radiohead’s In Rainbows, right? Good.

Shouts to Aimee, and everyone else that made this episode possible. Bedtime.

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Been a long time coming, but here we go with yet another installment of The New Soul (see whole series lineup here), hosted by Mixtape Show comrade Black TK. This time, TK introduces - or re-introduces, us to two of the true pioneers of this soultronica sound - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. What they did with their drum programming and synthesizer lines was groundbreaking - and continues to influence producers of progressive music to this day.

For you old heads out there who remember these joints, take off those rose-tinted glasses and really listen to what these dudes are doing with their instrumentation, basslines, and production. Then compare with the next installment of the Soultronica Saga…coming quite soon. Or while you’re waiting, go listen to some of the old Soultronica episodes and hear whence people like Sa-Ra, J*Davey, and hell, Pharrell are taking their cues.

Tracklist:

Cherrelle - I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On. The bassline on this is mean!
Janet Jackson - Nasty. The clarity of the snares on this cut is brilliant. I remember hearing this as a young child and thinking Janet was talking about boys that played in the muddy part of the sandbox.
The S.O.S. Band - No One’s Gonna Love You. Check the processed 909 work and basslines on this one.
Janet Jackson - Making Love In The Rain. I’ve always dug the muted trumpet sound, regardless of the genre. I think I have a Suburb beatflip of this one, now that I listen to this again.

Note that this is also a continuation to the Origins Episode - highly recommended for some more early Soultronica sounds.

And on another note, I have some Black TK material that is going to absolutely blow your mind. I’m dead serious on this one. Blow your mind. Watch for that.

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This week, a history lesson presented in the form of a bonus episode, mixed by the infamous J Rocc of the Beat Junkies. Ladies and gentlemen - Droppin’ Science.

Now, for those of you who are not “up” on the “hip slang” of “today’s young hepcats”, droppin’ science refers to when a professor or scientist accidentally allows a test tube to fall onto the floor. Appropriately enough, then, this mix features a slice of the Blue Note discography that served as the font and laboratory for a major chunk of the production behind many of our favorite rappidy-raps - right alongside some of those true and actually rappidy-raps.

The selection, of course, comes from the recent Blue Note release, Droppin’ Science - Greatest Samples from the Blue Note lab, which presents the original samples in their untampered brilliance. Some of us may well have these songs already (on vinyl, no less), but for anyone that wants a pristine copy of ten of the most-often raided jawns next to the Funky Drummer, this is not a bad choice. Or, hell, if you’re a producer, see if you can sample a different part of The Edge and make it sound as legendary.

And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a good portion of the reason for posting this episode up while I prepare for the next one - I’ve got 5 free copies of this one on hand to give out to anyone who wants one. 3 are going out on this site, 2 are going out exclusively to Mixtape Show Facebook Group members - so join up.

Want one? Pretty easy - if you listen to this mix, you’ll hear, as noted above, some of the actual sampled cuts right next to some of the better-known tracks that sample them. Just name any one of the many hip-hop classics that you hear in this episode below - artist and track, please - and based upon how quick you are and how much I like you, I’ll get you a copy shipped out. Post your answers in the comments. (If you’ve won something in the past, feel free to name cuts, but we’re trying to let everyone get a chance here, dig?)

For those interested in the tracklist of the actual CD you’ll be winning (and if you don’t win, might as well cop it):

1. It’s Your Thing- Lou Donaldson
2. Mystic Brew- Ronnie Foster
3. Think Twice- Donald Byrd
4. The Edge- David McCullum
5. Oblighetto- Brother Jack McDuff
6. Get Out Of My Life Woman- Joe Williams
7. Down Here On the Ground- Grant Green
8. Spinning Wheel- Lonnie Smith
9. Howling For Judy- Jeremy Steig
10. Who’s Making Love- Lou Donaldson

But for this episode itself - for the first time in Mixtape Show history, no tracklist. I’m gonna let you all fill that one out. For the n00bs among us, this is your first introduction to what we in “the know” call “diggin in the crates”, which of course dates back to the old Chinese railroad workers that would dig about in crates full of railroad ties for particularly shiny specimens which they would sell on the black market so that they could afford Mobb Deep records. It’s an exciting world, ladies and gentlemen, and we welcome you.

And hey, bonus, you can listen to this one at work and not get in trouble. No curses!

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So this episode should answer all questions about who I voted for. Let’s cut the typing and do the rundown, shall we?

(but before I do that - remember that you can embed this episode in your myspace, blog, etc! Look above!)

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones (MF Doom Remix). I don’t think I need to say much about this one. The original was great, this one is possibly greater. Doom is just stupid as a producer. Who needs extra drums? Classic. I won’t be mad at you if you rewind just for this one. myspace.com/mfdoom.

Zero 7 - Somersault (Dangermouse Remix feat MF Doom). And Doom shows up as an MC this time. I had a very good friend once that played Zero 7 incessantly whenever I was at her place. I probably know all the songs from their first CD by heart, and I don’t even know what the album cover looks like. One of the odd joints out where Doom actually attempts to tell a(n ostensibly) coherent story. Simple, but dope production. Don’t get it twisted though - Zero 7 is great by itself. myspace.com/zero7.

Amplive - Video Tapez (feat Del the Funky Homosapien). Off the Zion I member’s somewhat infamous Radiohead - In_Rainbows remix album. There are obvious comparisons to be drawn to Dangermouse’s Grey Album, but it’s still a good (and free) record. It raises a lot of questions (doesn’t everything nowadays, though?) about media ownership and rights, as well. myspace.com/amplive.

Donwill - Camp Cupcake. Off the Beat Thieves Vol 2 record. I will leave the title alone and say that I dig this cut.myspace.com/donwont.

vicolude - Daedelus - Playing Parties (Yesterday’s New Quintet - The Stars Remix). Featuring a very prominent figure from my childhood. Okay, who am I kidding - my teenhood and nascent adulthood.

Daedelus - Obama 2008 feat Shariq and Taz of Sa-Ra. This song is so ridiculous it’s not even funny. Wait, it is. This is the jam, official, game over, I could play this 20 times and it would make a great episode. I don’t know why they have to be so dismissive about my mother’s opinions - I think she may very well have voted for Obama. I should ask her. By the way, if you ever get the chance to see Daedelus - do so. It’s brilliant.myspace.com/daedelus.

Donwill - Go Head (beatjackee = Wale Oyejide). I’m not sure what Mr. Oyejide is doing about the inevitable mixup between him and the other Wale, but I’ve always dug the former’s production. Look for more Donwill soon, by the way, as soon as I get that Suburban Sprawl record…

Q-Tip - Breathe and Stop (Iain Haywood remix). More solid production work from Iain - dig the saxophones! What, you’ve heard his stuff before, right? Do your homework. myspace.com/12pads.

Muja Messiah - Paper Planes (feat Manifest). M.I.A. gets the beatjack treatment this time (about time, that Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol 1 was pretty much grand larceny - can we get a Vol 2, by the way?). I obviously like this song. I guess I should be a little troubled that the “activist” message has been lost in this version, but really activism is for pansies anyway. myspace.com/mujamessiah.

I kid.

Bonus cut -

Cappadonna - Slang Editorial (Madlib Remix). Or at least that’s who it’s credited to, I just happened upon this track while I was mixing this episode down. Remember Cappadonna? That dude was cool. I’d listen to a Cappadonna record. Apparently he actually made some records, but all I remember hearing about him after Triumph was that he was driving taxis. myspace.com/madlib.

That’s this episode…what’s good?

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Yeah, so that’s where I’ve been the last few days. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and you know how they usually give you a choice between getting knocked out or just doing anaesthesia? Well, the surgeon took one look at my X-rays and said “Son, we generally like to give our patients a choice in the matter, but you’ve got four impacted choppers in there, and I’m gonna have to put you under. No arguments accepted.” I’ll spare you the bloody details, but suffice to say that there was a lot of sawing involved and I’m not able to talk just yet.

Now, most people would just take a break and enjoy the vacation from rappidy rap podcasts, but I promised myself February would be special. But I was in no condition to speak into a mic - so a few scrawled messages on napkins, promises I have no intention of honoring, and sad puppydog looks later, I managed to con Mamiko into recording the intro for me. Everybody, please, a round of applause for Mamiko.

A lot of good music this episode - let’s get into it.

mamikolude - Bullion - God Only Knows. Yes, the Beach Boys flip. I gotta put this dude on - next beattape, I promise.

Labratz - Grow. Is Labratz a new name to you? It shouldn’t be. More of the same raw post-production (especially on the I mentioned the first time I played these dudes. Too many quotables in here, but all the same - “It gotta precipitate / Before you levitate”. Take that one with you today.myspace.com/thelabratzmusic.

Jay Electronica - When The Levees Broke. I’m not sure who produces some of these more unconventional tracks (it may well be Jay himself, come to think of it), but the understatedness of this cut…man, just listen.

Jay Electronica - Departure. The title of the second part of this cut (not included here - next time!) is what inspired my original name for this episode before Mamiko took it over, but the spirit is still there. Vividly autobiographical track. See that “embed” function up here? You might consider using that to share this with your friends.

Penuckle - I Love Being Black. As do I. I’ve been meaning to get Penuckle on the show for some time, so when he hit me with the track just before February kicked off, I knew this one was a given. Black History Month - do your research. Thanks again, P (by the way, who handled production on this one?). myspace.com/penuckle.

G.L.C. - Honor Me. Not the Welsh group. Not them. No. The flow and beat on this are obviously dope, but what does it for me is that extra vocal tweaking on there. Everyone, more delay, please. The trash talking at the end is kinda funny, but doesn’t take away from the intensity of the track. Shouts to Vince for putting me up on this track. myspace.com/glc.

C.L. Smooth - Multi Barz of Fury (prod. Pete Rock). Yes, you read that right. Is the coldness between the two masters over? I have no idea, and technically this isn’t that much of a new track considering that Pete released this cut on the Surviving Elements as an instrumental called “You Remind Me”. So what does this mean, CL? Are more Pete/CL collabs on the way? myspace.com/clsmoothmusic

Saroc - Black Dot. Exclusive courtesy of Sol Messiah (Labratz). I got an email from dude referring to Saroc as his “secret weapon” with this cut attached. I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to keep her a secret, but the lyrics are definitely impressive. The production? Signature Sol. Make sure to play this back a couple times to make sure you’re absorbing it all - in the meantime, I’m waiting for more from Saroc.

Erykah Badu- Real Thing (prod. Madlib). Anyone else out there miss Erykah? Fortunately we won’t have to wait that long - her new record is coming pretty soon. I wouldn’t mind hearing more collaborations between these two. myspace.com/erykahbadu.

I’m excited for the rest of this month. I’ll post the particulars in a bit, but I’m craving milkshakes again. Thoughts on the show are welcome, as are suggestions for food that won’t make me pass out.

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Yeah, this is the story the Source won’t tell you. Consider this a bonus episode. Back in September, Jay-Z and I had put together a really brilliant companion to the American Gangster movie, featuring a lot of talented beatmakers previously featured on MTSN. I was pretty excited - my first A&R project, my first big industry check, everything was awesome.

Then Def Jam heard the final project and freaked. Next thing I know everyone’s scrambling around grabbing beats from no-names like Pharrell and Just Blaze, nobody’s returning my phone calls, and my money is all screwed up. Then the “official” record comes out, and no mention of my name.

So Jay, if you’re reading this, you know our first version would have gone triple plat, easy. I’m putting the first EP version up so people can hear the original. My version is 10 times better than the commercial release, Jay, and you know that.

intro dexalude: Pimpology 101 by Mathematics.

Nas - Hey Nas (remixed by Quincey Tones). We start with the whole remix thing kinda turned on its head. UK beatmaker Quincey Tones got hold of a bunch of Nas acapellas, plus the original joints sampled on the official American Gangster record, flipped them himself and created a new project. myspace.com/quinceytones.

Jay-Z - American Gangster (remixed by Shuko). That’s funny, when I think of the decade in which I was born, I don’t generally think of medium-sized wading birds in the Ardeidae family. To each his own, I guess. Been a minute since any Shuko production has been on the show. Mick Boogie and everyone’s favorite German got together and flipped Marvin Gaye samples and put this out pretty quick, from what I remember. This is probably my favorite cut on his version of the project.

Jay-Z - Ignorant Shit (remixed by Beewirks). Somebody stop this kid. I had this in my inbox a few days before Christmas hit. Pretty much everyone and their great uncle hit me up on some “hey dex look I made my own Jigga album lolkthx”. Beewirks’ version, though, is easily the most consistently great across the board. myspace.com/beewirks.

Jay-Z - No Hook (remixed by Beewirks). See? Kid’s range is pretty impressive. Beewirks brought a lot of nuance out of both this and the previous track that I think people would normally miss. myspace.com/shuko.

Jay-Z - Blue Magic feat Jack Benson (remixed by Von Pea). Yes, dig Von Pea on vocals - dude takes the remix concept one step further and sings the hook himself. Beat is extra dope too. I remember being absolutely bewildered as to why someone would name a song after hair product and then sing about drugs, but turns out Blue Magic is just extra pure heroin. Go figure. myspace.com/vonpea.

Nas - Warrior Song feat Alicia Keys (remixed Quincey Tones). Somebody will probably step in and hit me for sleeping, but this is the first I’ve heard of Quincey Tones. Dude really is not bad with these soul flips.

February should be an interesting month. We’ll talk more about that later. Until then…

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Most of us here are far too young to remember this, but when Dr Martin Luther King, Jr died he was extremely unpopular in the mainstream US media - primarily because of his stance on the war. This sermon could have been delivered this morning and still have been relevant.

I’m of course not satisfied with this, because it’s really not possible to do the original justice, but this is what I’ve got. I really could have just thrown the acapella on here, that’s a good enough #100 for me. They say we’ll nod our heads to anything said over a beat and they lament the fact that too much of what is said over those beats is destructive.

So here’s something good to nod your head to.

Words: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr - The Drum Major Instinct Sermon. Delivered 4th February, 1968. He was assassinated two months later, to the day.

0′35 - Jay Electronica - The D.O.C. Song (loop). This is really just a loop taken from the beginning of Jay’s song by the same name. Not sure what the title of the cut means.

2′58 - P Dukes - Brown Leaves.

5′40 - J Dilla - Anti-American Graffiti (Reprise). Kinda hard to do one of these without the D on here.

6′45 - Suburb - Jazz on Acid.

9′00 - Kenny Keys - Set ‘em Up. Mean cut.

10′40 - Madlib - Old Age (loop).

11′45 - Ayatollah - Listen.

13′40 - Madlib - Pyramids (Changes). If you don’t already own everything that Madlib has put out, you should probably get started now. Stones Throw is a label worth supporting.

15′30 - Suburb - synth+strings. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you listen until the end.

holler.