MIXTAPE 124 – THE SKATE TAPE

Yeah. So first, dentist I have several shoutouts – Mamiko for sending me my board, everyone I know out here in the city for probably unknowingly influencing me to buy one, Elliot for – well, I’m not sure, but somehow I think he influenced this one too.

And real talk, I’m not trying to act like someone who’s been down since day one on this. I only got my jawn like a month and a half ago, and my best trick is a little number I like to call “not falling”. But to be fair, growing up where and when I did, general common sense said that black people do not ride skateboards (I think my father might have actually told me this once). Somehow I did manage to own a pair of rollerblades, but that’s beside the point.

But yeah, this is a tape specifically engineered for hitting the pavement during these last few weeks of summer. Put this in the iphone/ipod/whatever devices you foreigners are using nowadays and hit the streets.

MIXTAPE 124 – THE SKATE TAPE by mixtapeshow

instromental: Madlib – Blunt Break.
Jay Electronica – Retro Electro. With DJ Clue screaming all over it, which maybe makes it better, I’m not sure. I was having a hard time thinking of what to start this off with, when I found this in the archives. I’m sort of looking forward to skating to this. m/jayelect

Che Grand – King ✖ Grand. My official theory behind the name of this track is that Che found out how to make this ✖ mark and decided to use it in a song. m/chegrand

Unagi – Song of Satisfaction feat Eddie Meeks. Shouts to Unagi for hitting me with this record in I think March. Actually, I’m certain it’s March, as I was listening to it back at home in CA and my moms heard me playing it and asked me who it was because she liked it – then she heard this particular track and said that “that man just ruined a very nice song”. I think the chorus is sort of great, personally. I cut this off halfway, but if you want the rest, go check it out. m/unagi

K-Salaam & Beatnick – Don’t Die feat Bun B, Talib Kweli, and Colin Munroe. I still don’t really understand the chorus here. “Don’t die” sounds like something you tell somebody before they try something stupid, like being Mexican and walking into a 7-11 with your hands in your pockets – but this song doesn’t even have any Spanish in it, so I’m sort of confused. That said, it’s a pretty good track. m/ksalaammusic

The Roots – !!!!!!!. Yeah. m/theroots

Tanya Morgan – Hardcore Gentlemen. The high pitched rapping in here is going to evoke a really obvious connection some other groups/tracks, but I think that’s the point. This song is great. “I took her to the movies and got her hella Skittles”? Brilliant. m/tanyamorgan

Wait, is that where I’ve been going wrong? Skittles. Had no idea it was that simple.

Born Wit It – Elevators Freestyle. The rest of the Substance Abuse tape ain’t too bad, either. w/bornwitit

J. Cole – Til Infinity. Somehow the last cut made me think of this one. Shouts to Ultra Ouxu for recommending this tape.

Hudson Mohawke – Rising 5. I mean, I’d heard of Hudson Mo before, but nothing like this. This is so good I felt bad talking over it. w/hudsonmo

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Living North. I mean, you can’t have a skate tape without at least some guitars in it, right? w/cymbalseatguitars

PS: My board is actually a longboard, and it’s hella cool. I should post a picture of it or something.

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.