MIXTAPE 119 – KEEP IT MOVING

Yeah. Took a minute. We changed directions last week, sick now we gotta keep it moving.

Oh yeah, look I’m sorta trying something new here with the soundcloud player. You can play this show in the player below, and embedding on your own site should work too.

Lemme know what you think, I’m in the midst of rethinking the structure of this site…anyway, on to the…

introlude: Zaki Ibrahim – You Choose.

GaKnew Roxwell – Trynna Say. I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure how to say this dude’s name. Joint itself is raw, in a good way, and just powerful. myspace.com/gaknew.

Shaun Boothe – Unauthorized Biography – Jimi Hendrix. I’d sort of appreciate it if people here stopped comparing me (visually) to Jimi Hendrix. Not that that’s going to happen any time soon though. myspace.com/shaunboothe.

Cee-Lo – Free (full version, live on 88.5). This isn’t really even rap music, it’s gospel, and it’s brilliant. If you need any more of a reason to recommend this show to anyone, do it for this track. myspace.com/ceelogreen.

Blu and Mainframe – Long Time Gone. Off the Johnson & Jonson release. You all already know how I feel about this project. myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts.

Alf-Alpha – Bittersweet feat Pheo. Alf gave me this track (speaking of which, I never asked you dude, why the name?) forever ago, and then just recently hit me with this version with the Pheo vocals. I think he did it because he knew I would appreciate the Dexter’s Lab reference (shouts to anyone that remembers the Lab parties, or was at one of the Lab parties but doesn’t remember it, ahem). myspace.com/alfalpha.

Black Milk – Mo Power. Dude can produce, and rhyme. myspace.com/blackmk.

U-N-I – Reach For The Sky feat Tabi Bonney and Haziq Ali. Really the production is what pulled me in on this one (Beatnick and K-Salaam have apparently been really busy recently), but it’s solid all over, really. myspace.com/unimuzik.

The Uhh – I Love Me feat Jon B. As Yep of The Uhh (these dudes are either on to something with their names or, well, I don’t know) stressed, “thee Jon B“. I’ve been asking these dudes for a record for like four or more years. It’s sort of rough, but this is an all over hilarious-but-still-really-good song. They were also kind enough to let the instro ride out for like a minute and a half, which I happily jumped on to talk about the term “grown and sexy”. In short, I’m not a fan of the term. Details in the show itself. myspace.com/theuhh.

So yeah, let me know what you think. Also feel free to talk about Grown and Sexy because I think that this is seriously an epidemic that should be stopped. I’m dead serious about this, as serious as I was about Skeeter being Black.

Anyway, that’s what it is for this week. Tune in next week. Yes, next week. Yes. Next week. Promise.

MIXTAPE 79 – ALL UNSIGNED HYPE

It’s been a minute since I’ve really concentrated on the independent artists that really make this show stand out from any other bullshit show. While it would be pretty easy for me to just play old classics or guaranteed sellers, therapy nothing ever really progresses without the new, page underground artists.

So this episode is 100% devoted (minus the intro cut, prostate obviously) to giving some shine to the independent artists without a major record/distribution deal, without a bunch of squares telling them how to sell records in the college market. Just a bunch of talented young brothers and sisters with talent, an MPC, and a myspace.

This show and community was built on the strength of real artists who have supported the show since day one. This episode is just a small thank you.

Big Shug – Play It (prod DJ Premier). The video for this cut is actually pretty good. Basically Shug sits around in gym shorts and looks at the camera with puppydog eyes and asks you to play more records. Okay that didn’t sound so great but really – it’s a simple, yet good video. The track is just a given, and partially helped remind me that I needed to do a show like this. myspace.com/gangstarrfoundation.

Interlude – Dex Digital, CEO of the Mixtape Show Corporation in 2016 vs Propane Pip (and his conscience). Beat by Alf-Alpha.

Gif – Oh Love. I am not sure where the name came from, but Gif’s cut is good. I can’t even remember when he got this one to me – months and months ago – but I’ve been meaning to drop it for a miiinute. Postproductionwise the song needs work – the levels are way too hot – but the feeling is definitely there. myspace.com/dagif.

Binary Star – Conquistadors. This group no longer exists (or at least I don’t think it does), but this is back from their Waterworld days. I remember the first time I met this dude named White Boy (not the rapper, but this kid who actually preferred that we all refer to him as White Boy, or WB – like the TV network). He had on a set of headphones, so I asked him casually what he was listening to. “Binary Star. You should check them out, man.” Which ended up being pretty good advice. This record didn’t really age so well, but you can see the duo really pushing to find their own sound on this cut. And come on. Chuck Mangione beatflip? I’m there. myspace.com/onebelo (one half of the former BS).

Rashid Hadee – You Can’t Hide feat Augustine. I don’t even remember where I got this one from. Production values on this one are a little higher than the previous cuts, and really the cadences are kinda Little Brother-esque, or maybe even a little reminiscent of certain artists on the Loud Minority roster. I can’t even remember who e-mailed me this song – whoever it was – thank you. myspace.com/rashidhadee.

Specifics – This Is Why. Specifics is one of the few groups I can name that just has consistently good material. The MC is constantly just this side of weird, and the jazz loops are solid, and never give you that “okay another lame throwback” feel. I really wanted to drop “My Tunes” in here, but couldn’t get it in time. Maybe I’ll get it in the future. It looks like Specifics has an album dropping in the near future in Japan – if you live out there, you might want to get in on this. myspace.com/specifics

Trew – Lyrics To Go feat Mic Source. Has this sample been flipped before? Yes? Do I care? Not if the rhymes are this good. myspace.com/trewdat.

K.Sparks – Ghetto Child feat Tina Quallo. This one, along with the last one, hit my inbox not more than a few weeks ago. Really, this song just works – if I find myself putting a joint on repeat when it’s still in the gmail account, it’s in. This is one of those cuts. Make sure to check out the blog of the Hoodgrown record label – I’ve never seen so much transparency in a record label before. If you are looking for a perspective on how weird the music business can get for an independent label – check this out. myspace.com/k.sparks.

Outro beat – Alkota.

So that’s it for this week – as always, stay in tune for new developments – got a few things coming down the pipeline.

MIXTAPE 75 – BACKPACKER / SUMMER IN LA!

Hell yeah. It’s summer, therapist and you know what that means: pool parties, approved less clothing, see and college rap music. There is definitely a Los Angeles sound within the college rap/backpacker rap subgenre – if you’re into categorization – and this show is all about that. Perfect, fun summer music – download this one, grab the chucks and dickies, and bump it.

And while you’re on the computer, don’t forget to join our facebook group!

Tracklist:

Giant Panda – One Time. I remember being really excited about this release when I got it a couple years back, and for good reason – it’s hot. I actually was supposed to catch them at a quasi-legal show under a bridge in some weird back alley somewhere in LA, but there was sound trouble and one of the neighbors snitched, so the promoters moved it to a club and what do you know, I was all like 19 and stuff and it was 21+. So I went home. Dope record though. myspace.com/giantpanda.

Oh – did I mention that a summer episode went down last year, too? Check it out here.

Aesthetics Crew – LA Opinion. LUKE SON WHAT IT IS. I met Luke, one of the members of AC back what, two years ago?, and he told me that he was in this rap group called Aesthetics. He never let me hear any of it, but I kept hearing about them, and seeing stickers on freeway onramps. Like 1.5 years later, dude decides to send me a couple LPs and the CDs and what do you know, it’s nice. Last I heard they were working on some new material. Look for it in like 2015. myspace.com/aestheticscrew.

Shout outs and respect, by the way, to Nasty Nes.

People Under The Stairs – Eat Street. Even if you don’t like rap music, this pretty much lays some of the more infamous food joints in the LA, on some tourguide status. The Roscoe’s was an obvious, but I must say I prefer their waffles. Gus Jr also gets the stamp of approval. I actually interviewed Thes One of PUTS a loooong time ago on this very hip hop podcast – check it here. myspace.com/peopleunderthestairs.com.

Crown City Rockers – B-Boy Remix (feat Planet Asia, Zion I, The Grouch, Chali 2na, and Mystic). In a scene full of me-too groups that are trying to do this whole live instrumental hip-hop thing, Crown City Rockers stand out as one of the few groups that take it beyond gimmicks and really put some soul into the art form. Plus they’re nice people. I first met them at a show we threw at UCR back when I was still doing that stuff, and they basically did the damn thing. And all you producers should definitely take a look at their site, where they’ve uploaded all of the acapellas for Earthtones – for free. Shouts to Rashad and everyone at Basement for getting this one to me. crowncityrockers.com.

intro cut: Sunny Outside (In LA…) by Voice.
outro beat: Soul Slam by Alf-Alpha.

So that’s this week’s show. Hella busy around here – don’t forget about the video podcast! Artists, VJs, whatever – holler at me, and everyone else – let me know what you want to see on the show!

MIXTAPE 66 – SOUL

So in this week’s hip-hop podcast, clinic lest any of you webternet kids think that I’m forgetting about the “Soul” in “Soultronica”, arthritis I bring you some of the more soulful joints I’ve come across recently. This is necessarily South-heavy, grip because I mean, they’re the ones really making these country rap tunes.

Check the playlist:

intro: Nedelle - I lied. (thanks elizabeth)

UGK – International Player’s Anthem feat Outkast. This cut is ridiculous. There’s a reason that there are no drums on Andre‘s verse. myspace.com/ugk.

Devin the Dude – Anythang Remix feat Rick James (produced by Cory Mo). Shout outs to Cory Mo for linking me up with this exclusive remix. Cory Mo did this joint originally for Devin’s last album, then went back and remixed it with the Rick James vocals. Shit is hot. myspace.com/devinthedude and corymo.com.

Dex – Ponds & Lakes. No, this isn’t me – but like the hip-hop podcast star from whom this artist obviously stole his name, he clearly has talent. myspace.com/thefoundationmusic.

Nicole Wray – Can’t Get Out The Game feat Beanie Sigel. Shoutouts to Krystian for getting this mixtape out to me. I can’t think of that any other singers that would actually make sense on an Aphilliates mixtape. myspace.com/msnicolewray

interlude – Unagi‘s If You Wanna, and two females that I hope never ever hear this episode.

Oh No – T Biggums feat Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow. I never really did listen to Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms – maybe I need to get back on that. Georgia‘s joint too – damn, I’m slipping. Not enough hours in the day to really listen to all this shit. myspace.com/ohnodisrupt.

outro beat – Alf-Alpha – Slam.

Hit the comments and let me know how you felt this one. And if you haven’t done so already, make sure to subscribe in iTunes!

EPISODE 42 – SUMMER MIXTAPE

This episode, migraine as you probably noticed, is the Summer Mixtape – yet another concept episode. Basically the concept here is a typical summer day – I won’t get all nostalgic about summers spent during my middle school years – you know, ice cream, running through sprinklers, and coke binges, you get the idea. One day, one mixtape. Here we go.

NOTICE – MAKE SURE TO NOMINATE THE MIXTAPE SHOW! CLICK HERE TO GET US (ALL) AN AWARD (in the “podsafe music” category)

4:35 AM: Eulorhythmics – Good Life (Intro). Yeah, I probably coulda put this one at the end, but damn, it’s such a dope intro that I had to switch it up. This is the joint you wake up to, before the sun wakes up. This is off their EP, which, incidentally, is probably up there with the best shit I’ve heard this month. Highly recommended, and there should be an interview with one of the members of Eulo fairly soon – watch out for that. allnatural.com.

6:30 AM: Steve Spacek – The Hills. Dawn’s broke like a minute ago, but nobody’s really awake yet – this is the joint you ride your bike around the block to, because you feel like it, and anyway you don’t have a driver’s license yet. I was about to play “Dollar”, but a) you’ve all probably already heard that and b) I don’t know, I couldn’t help thinking about Reaganomics every time I listened to it. More science from Sound In Color. Hope you guys aren’t mad that I played singing on the rap show. If you are, fuck off.

Shoutout to Fresh, by the way. I see you.

High Noon: Exile f/ Jontel – Summertime in LA. I’ll fully admit that this one is a little odd. Still, though, it’s sort of oddly catchy, and definitely on some weird next level yet familiar shit. Every time I listen to this I think of Costco. I have no idea why, because I don’t really like Costco that much. But I like this song. This one definitely goes at noon, though. Haven’t heard much about Jontel, but we all know Exile here, right? Right. soundincolor.com.

2:30 PM: Lawless Element f/ J Dilla – Love. Yeah. It’s early afternoon, you’re thirteen, somebody just stole your Pokemon cards, and you’re about to ride on the motherfuckers. That’s what the fuck I’m talking about. Have you ever bought a Wal-Mart CD with the edits, and realized that the edits make the song a bit better? That’s the case with this one – the bleep edits actually make Dilla’s (who, as one would expect, totally outshines everyone in this song) part a lot more interesting. I never got to listen to this whole album, but the parts I did hear were pretty good – easily recommendable if you like this track. babygrande.com.

6:30 PM: DJ DMD f/ Screwed Up Click (Chopped by DJ Ryno). And this one rounds out the show – late afternoon, just maxin in the Rite-Aid parking lot with your cheap-ass ride. I came really, really close to saving this one for a slowed & chopped episode, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to doing that – if anyone wants to get at me with some of that shit, definitely holler at me about that. This one is pretty much a classic in my opinion, though. RIP Screw and Pat.

Oh, and the outro beat is courtesy alf-alpha. Believe that.

Well, there it goes. You can call my approach cheesy, but you can’t front on the quality of the joints themselves.

Nominate the Mixtape Show

Oh, as an aside – make sure to listen to the end of the show, since there are some instructions on nominating the Mixtape Show for a Podcast Award. I’m not trying to go for the prizes or personal fame here, but really it’s all about spreading the word and making sure that any artists featured on here get as much exposure and positive momentum from being on here as possible, yaoming? Plus the bigger this show gets, the more you get to be like “oh yeah I listened to that shit back in the day”, etc.

So, here’s the basic instructions:

1. Click here to go to the Podcast Awards Nomination Section

2. Scroll down to the “Podsafe Music” category, on the left and the third from the bottom.

3. Fill in the fields – the show is obviously “The Mixtape Show” and the URL is “http://www.mixtapeshow.net”.

Nominations close July 15th, so make that shit happen now. Voting should start after that, so I’ll keep yall posted if the show gets in there.

And that’s pretty much it – I do this for yall, so any support you all can give me is much appreciated and will help me keep doing my thing here.

Holler.

Oh yeah, and fuck an independence day.

MIXTAPE 40 – BEATTAPE EDITION

So since there’s so much track switching up in here, I’ll just give you a timeline along with some comments.

0’00 – Sam Sever – Tonight (dub joint). Maybe best known for his work with the Beastie Boys back back in the day. Dude has some fucking skills, and from what I understand, he’s still at it and probably available if you’ve got a project. Holler at him at www.myspace.com/samsever.

3’50 – Platonic - Alternate Thursday. Some of you will recognize this from a few episodes ago when I was talking over it. I got so many emails and shit about that joint that I put it up here. www.soundincolor.com.

6’45 – Suburb - Feel Me. The first of the Suburb beat snippets. Kind of a prodigy with this Fruityloops shit. Look out for an interview with the kid pretty soon. His beats are watermarked*, so no jacking. www.myspace.com/suburbproduce.

7’30 – Madlib - Understanding. Three words regarding the record this joint comes off of – BUY BUY BUY. The record is just that hot. Madlib is pretty much a genius. stonesthrow.com.

8’50 – Suburb - Warning. More Suburb, featuring the Juggernaut Bitch!!! treatment by yours truly. Don’t you know who I am?!

9’50 – The Earl – The Earl in Technicolor. This is actually the last 2/3 of the track, and both beats in the track are his. As if you couldn’t guess, Sound in Color has been supporting your boy since way back with all the exclusives. I’ve still got a bag of tricks from these dudes up my sleeve yet…just wait for it. Nice grooves from the Earl on this one though. www.soundincolor.com.

Shoutout from Damon of Tha Faculty on here as well.

12’30 – Dudley Perkins – Funky. Produced by Madlib. I know that this is supposed to be a beattape, but I can bend the rules because 1) this is some hot shit here and 2) it’s my show, get your own assholes. The Dudley Perkins record is another CD with BUY BUY BUY written all over it. Dudley’s half-rapped, half-spoken lyrics really bring something new to the table, which, in case you hadn’t guessed, is kind of what this show is all about. www.stonesthrow.com.

15’30 – Suburb - Brown Study Instrumental. I remember hearing this shit in the summer of 04 and absolutely not believing that anyone would ever be stupid enough to rhyme over it. Turns out Che took the beat and turned it into what we now know as Brown Study, which is, oddly enough, a great song. Kinda weird, but great. The intro on this one is amazing.

Return of the Juggernaut BITCH!!

17’20 – Suburb - Untitled Beats from the Spring Tape. I’m sick of writing, just listen. Do pay attention to what happens at 18’30, though. That might be my favorite Suburb beat in a minute. Dirty as hell. You Fruityloops junkies need to step up your drum programming. www.myspace.com/suburbproduce

20’30 – Alf-Alpha – Solar. I must have had this shit on repeat for an hour before I had the presence of mind to call him up and put this joint on the show. I hear he’s got some CD project in the works that features like 70 tracks, one minute each, all styles of beats. Anyone out there want to hear that? Check Alf-Alpha out at www.myspace.com/alfalpha – make sure to check out “Whore” as well.

23’00 – Cook – Stanley Clark Instrumental. You’ve heard him here before, and representing the Beat Locker once again, Cook (used to go by Captain Cook, now it’s apparently just Cook) brings us this EQ’ed-out soul sample flip. Don’t get me wrong, I am all over that synth driven shit (just wait till I knock yall over with the Southern episode), but it seems like the sample driven shit is really what people have been getting at me with recently. www.thebeatlocker.com.

24’20 – Chester Copperpot – Again. More watermark. You’ve heard Chester Copperpot on here before, and if you don’t know who he is yet, you really need to step your game up. This dude is quickly becoming one of Chicago’s most important producers. Do yourself a favor and check out www.evproductions.net.

* Shoutouts to chinesepod.com, since I used their podcast to watermark a few beats. On the off chance that you’re studying Chinese, this is actually a pretty dope site. Highly Recommended (TM).

All right, that’s it for this week. Be on the lookout for some totally next-direction shit coming your way quite soon, as well as a possible increase of shows per week. Also, I may be doing another one of these beattape editions, if enough people ask me to. Hint, hint. Pay attention.

MIXTAPE EPISODE 37

I don’t think I need to say much about this episode. Happy mothers day to all of you, ask and hopefully at least one or two of you out there become mothers while listening to this episode.
Intro beat – Hold It Sucka by Alf-Alpha. Hot joint. Be on the lookout for more of his material on the upcoming beattape episode. You can hear the full version of this beat on his myspace.People Under The Stairs – Pass the 40. Off their new album, Stepfather. I slept on this record when it came in for a good week and a half, until the dude John told me to actually listen to it. The whole album is full of good tracks (add this to your pool party soundtrack, trust me), but in the end I just had to go with this one, if for no other reason than because there’s a sample of a kid asking to get a swig of the Mickey’s. Check them out at putsonline.co.uk.

PUTS fans take notice – we’ll be having an exclusive (exclusive! newshit newshit newshit) interview with Thes One of People Under the Stairs next week. Any questions you want asked, feel free to get at me with them in the comments section.

Click “more” to see the rest of this week’s playlist and show info.

Eulorhythmics – Blam. I didn’t know a whole lot about dudes previously, but Jennifer got at me with a couple joints off of their new album, Extended Play, and shit was hot. I’ve only heard maybe one or two of their other joints, but they were dope too – you should pick up the album maybe? Oh, I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologize for the Eurhythmics joke I made on the show. Sorry guys. You can check them out at allnaturalhiphop.com, along with their weird rambling bios that make it fairly clear that someone was smoking that all natural when they wrote them. Jokes aside though, hot shit. Listen.

Modill

- Next Single featuring Diverse. Diverse shouldn’t be a new name to you, but then again, if you’ve been paying attention to the show, neither should Modill. Again, this is another case of trying to pick out the best song on the album, which is sort of impossible here, so I just went with the one I’ve been listening to the most recently. Favorite part on this track – Diverse’s jump-in. K-kruz makes some motherfucking slick tracks, and Racecar is on that weird space shit for most of the album. Here, try this. Buy Midnight Green, listen to the first track. If you don’t like the first beat, you’re broken. modill.com.

Coppershot – Can You Believe. Here’s that project that Chester Copperpot and MC Longshot (coppershot! get it? lololokthxbai) have been talking about since like August. Chess (who, by the way, you all owe a lot of gratitude to seeing as how he gives your boy the hookup on all the EV Productions artists) sent me this record like three times because the shit kept getting lost in the mail or something. Speaking on the track, though, Longshot wasn’t lying when he said that Chess has gone on some next level shit for this record, and Shot himself – well, you already know what to expect from the kid. The record is called Issues, and (again), the whole album is solid. Cop up. evproductions.net.
Oh yes, I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank both K-Kruz and Longshot for forgetting to add your boy to the guestlist for that show at the Knitting Factory. I’m just fucking around, kids. No hard feelings.

Because, you know, money grows on trees for me and shit.

Tommy Danger – It’s A Rap. I have to say that my favorite Tom Danger material is shit like this, where he comes with that laid back, casual/humorous shit, cause he really does kinda have that R&B voice and that goes best with the sort of beat he’s got here. The beat, the flow, the whole vibe on this joint just goes. His Luther Vandross reference on this might be the best quote from this whole episode. Shit is bananas, which is funny, considering that this is off the Cherry Flavor mixtape (but I think he might have a Banana flavor one too). More info available on tommydanger.net – and if you’re in Harlem, catch his TV show. tommydanger.net.

Ghostface and MF Doom - Angeles. I’m going to be real with you. I have damn near zero idea what is going on in this song. I mean, I understand certain bits and pieces of it, but the whole thing is like watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon without subs after taking a half semester of Chinese – people walk in and they say hello and bow to each other and drink tea, then a bunch of gibberish and scribbles written on signs, and then all of a sudden people are flying around and kicking each other and doing flips and hitting each other in the face with baby crocodiles and shit and you just give up and enjoy the show because you don’t know what’s happening, but you still like it. Listening to this song is sort of like that, except, you know, without the Chinese people.

Like I said, though, it’s a good song. It’s off of Nature Sounds, which features a bunch of other somewhat unlikely but still dope pairings of rappers. Shouts to Dennis for making this one happen. More info on nature-sounds.net.

Suburb – Actually, I don’t know what this beat is called. And wrapping it up with the outro beat, we’ve got my man Suburb. If you haven’t heard of this kid, you pretty much need to start paying attention now because he kind of sons about 88% of producers out there. Then again, that’s just my opinion. Then again, we’ve got a special word for dex’s opinion here on the mixtape show, and that word is called “fact”. All of you wack-beat-having rappers that keep sending me demos, please do yourself and me a favor and get a Suburb beat and rap over that instead. I her he’s selling. Check him out on loudminoritymusic.com, and be on the lookout for his material popping up on the all-but-legendary and forthcoming beattape episode very soon.
Okay, I think that’s it for today’s episode of the mixtape show, the hottest motherfucking rap / hip-hop podcast on the internets, and if it isn’t, that’s too fucking bad, because I have to go do my radio show now. See you next week, and feel free to drop comments and let me know what’s good.

Oh, and don’t forget the freestyle hotline – 310 928 6876.