MIXTAPE 118 – CHANGE OF DIRECTION

note: if you accidentally got ep 11 instead of 118 in your iTunes, hospital my bad. Things are fixed now. Try hitting the “update” button in your iTunes or podcast client. Sorry about that.
注意：間違って１１８回の代わりに１１回をもらった購読者がいらっしゃったそうなんですが、まことに申し訳ないです。 iTunes又は常用のポッドキャストアプリで「更新」のボタンを押せば直ります。

So I’ve been recently getting a little jealous of the popularity of the Soultronica Series on my own site. I’m not really sure how they do it, discount but somehow Digi (the 2109 version) and Brotherton manage to consistently make tapes that rival, or maybe exceed, my stuff. Even though it’s been over a year since there’s been a proper update to the Saga, I still get mail about it.

I mean, they’re 100 years in the future so I guess it makes sense that they’re more advanced than me, but still. So I figured I’d try my hand at something different, but still kept it 2009 with it. Hope you dig.

通常はラップばかりのMixtape Showなんだけど、今週は敢えて新しい方向へチャレンジしたいと思ってソウル・R＆B系へと向かった。イントロではあまり話さないけど、まあ、僕の声が聴きたくてこのサイトに来てくれたわけでもないだろう。

introlude: Ratatat - Nostrand

The Foreign Exchange - Daykeeper feat Muhsinah. Not really the way that I normally start things out, but I dig this one. Shouts to Aimee, by the way.

本当ならこんな風に回を始めないけど、こんな曲が好き。Aimeeに感謝。 myspace.com/theforeignexchange.

Dwele – Untitled. At least, it didn’t have a title when I got it from Sweeney Kovar like a year ago.

ドゥエレ（だと思われる歌手）からの無題の曲。まあ、Sweeney Kovarからもらったとき、タイトルはなかったけど。myspace.com/dwele.

J*Davey -You Are. This one probably has a proper title by now, but this was the track name when I got it Got a title. Thanks Niels.
今となってはこの曲はきっとちゃんとしたタイトルを持ってるけど、もらったときは単に「untitled 2」だった。　やっぱちゃんとしたタイトルはあったよね。 ありたとう、Niels.myspace.com/jdaveybaby.

Full Crate - She Was Fly feat Mar. Space out, man. The video for this is sort of cool, sort of scary.

なんか超現象的。　この曲のPVはカッコイイつーか、怖いつーか。myspace.com/fullcrate.

Dwele – Workin’ On It. This hits like 4 classics in the space of about a minute and a half.

やばい。　１分半のあいだに４曲のディラーによる古典にも触れる。

Innosphere – Gotta Be Me. Brand new group formed by Mixtape Show alumni Kenny Keys and a new name (to me), Nina Rae. Sort of raw on the mastering process, but I dig this one. I was actually about to put an old Z’hane remix Kenny had sent me on this, but I got this and changed my mind. Looks like they have a site up here.

かつてこのMixtape Showにも素晴らしいビート力を見せてくれたケニー・キーズと（僕の中で）新人のニナ・レーからなる新しいウイニット、インノスフィーア。　録音物としてはちょっと生っぽいけど、好き。　実はケニー・キーズによるZhaneのリミックスを入れようと思ってたけど、この曲をもらって気が変わった。　

Jimmie Reign – 3 The Game. See, if I wouldn’t have pulled this out, I could have almost passed this off as something Brothertron put together. Couldn’t help it though. Also, everybody take this opportunity to make sure that you’re being real with your significant others people in general.
これさえ流さなければ、これをブラザートロンが作ったミックスとして掴ますこともできただろう。　あと、いまのうちに、みんな、彼氏とか彼女とかに、自分に素直でいれてるか確認しよう。
myspace.com/jimmiereign1.

L.A.U.S.D. - iFeel feat Curly Tops and Nautica Jackets. Okay seriously these two need to stop with extra names. Generally the acceptable limit is 6ish official names plus 37 throwaways used in rap lyrics only ala Wu-Tang, but these two are about to get their alias privileges revoked just off the ridiculousity of their first picks. I’m not sure which is which, but Jack of J*Davey and Blu are both on here. Also L.A.U.S.D. as in the producers, not as in the system that screwed up countless friends (shout outs to the San Bernardino system too though). The more I listen to this the more I like it. Even though it’s sort of corny.
普段、原則として、（ウータンクランのように）正式な別芸名は６つで、歌詞だけに使われるもの。使い捨て用のあだ名は37までは許容範囲だけど、これはやりすぎだ。それはさておき、この曲は聞く程好きになる。ちょっと甘いといえば甘いけど。
myspace.com/curlytopsandnauticajackets.

Suhburb - Gone Away feat Aniyia.
I’m running out of things to say about this guy. If you don’t get it, maybe you just don’t get it. わかる？

この番組を熱心に聴いてくれてる方の馴染みのサバーブ。いつもながらとんでもない作曲ぶりをみせてくれる。こいつやっぱすごいね。ところで、まだ元ネタがわかならないのなら、T.I.のWhat You Know About Thatを聴いてからこれを聴き直してね。myspace.com/suhburb.

So that’s what it is. And yeah, no outro on this one, but after the last couple joints, I’m sure nobody’s exactly complaining.

Holler.

In an open letter to the record industry posted by Jack Davey of J*Davey on her blog:

“the age old model is failing . as an industry based on faithful consumers you have lost your connection with the people who matter most : the PEOPLE . you have yet to show them that you are with the changing times & able to adapt to something new . you are proving that you are too afraid to promote good music . you would rather let the monotonous drone of what is today’s music remain unbalanced by substance . you would rather watch more legendary artists abandon you for direct deals with itunes & touring companies .“[emphasis mine, dosage read the rest here.]

Pretty much recommended reading for anyone who listens to digital music in any form. The game isn’t changing – it already changed. And she’s not the only one who feels like this, therapist either – Saul Williams pulled a Radiohead for his latest release (and is doing very well with it, from what I hear), Labratz (hear them on the show here) went straight online on theirs ($8.99 for the full album, damn), I think Suburb is doing something similar, and real talk? We don’t need the industry, the industry needs us.

Switching gears only slightly:

Are you one of those waiting for Jay Electronica’s Act II? There’s a few snippets in here.

Sneak peek: Act II is coming, and it will be free. Act III will be a commercial release but the proceeds will go to the displaced families of the Magnolia projects in New Orleans. And he’ll continue to put free material out here.

2008 is shaping up to be a very interesting year.

MIXTAPE 63 – BEATJACKS AND REMIXES

So I talked a lot in this episode. Hopefully nobody minds. Here’s a few notes before we begin:

[1] The footage for MTV’s 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Groups of All Time is here, artificial and the “postgame” footage, prostate including Run and Chuck D musing briefly on the effect of crack on hip-hop, buy information pills is here.

[2] And yes, the Mixtape Show was listed in Q Magazine‘s (UK) Best 100 Places To Get Free Music Online. #1 in the podcast section. They said that I was “lively”.

[3] I do think that the Beastie Boys made some nice songs, especially productionwise. I wouldn’t call myself a big fan, but they did their thing in their day. Plus, they were the featured group on during the official Mixtape Show Caucasian Appreciation Show. And around here, that counts for a lot.

And now for that playlist.

(instrumental – myspace.com/truestatiks.)

Hasan Insane – Hustler’s Clarity feat Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. Kid is nice with the beats. This one is just one of those that just works. Thanks for the tip, oux. myspace.com/hasaninsane

DJ Lt Dan – Justify My Thug feat Jay-Z (b/w G Thang). I can’t remember who first remixed Jay’s Black Album, but this cat is definitely one of the earlier and more memorable ones. That acapella release also spawned the Grey Album, which in turn tipped the white liberal media off to this whole “remixing” and “hippity-hop” thing, at which point it started to get sort of lame. myspace.com/ltdanmixtapes.

J*Davey – Untitled 1. Jack of J*Davey on this one. Free shoutout in the next episode to the first one to identify the instrumental. jdaveybaby.com.

Paul Dateh – Violin Demo. I’m not giving out the whole thing, but the last half of this was too good not to share. Paul and I connected some time ago, and he mentioned that he got down on the violin. Dude ain’t kidding. As much as some of you like to hate on Timbo (did anyone see that Scott Storch diss video? wow), the second half of this is pretty ridiculous. Paul, you have any more of this? Also, my friend walked into the studio when I was recording this and he said he thought I was watching a Hong Kong soap opera because of those last few licks. No offense, I get down with that HK drama shit. myspace.com/pauldateh.

Jimmie Reign – Keep Pushin’. Everybody’s doing Kick Push remixes nowadays, but this is a pretty original take on the joint. Hi, helly. jimmiereignworld.

Trump - Kick Push. Yeah, this is the same dude you heard on the last episode, and it’s not the last you’ll hear of him. myspace.com/shamanwork

Lupe Fiasco – Kick Push (Ro Blvd Remix). This beat was actually hot enough to make me wear out Lupe’s joint all over again. laffytaffyrotsyourteeth.com

Dead Prez – Turn Off Your Radio (Wale Remix). I’ve seriously been holding on to this track for months. The Black Gold mixtape is some serious shit, and this is probably my favorite joint on there. If this track doesn’t catch at least five rewinds in your mp3 player, something’s wrong with you. Get off my internet. myspace.com/shamanwork

And that’s it for this episode. As always, holler in the comments section and let me know what you’re thinking on this one.

MIXTAPE 57 – SOULTRONICA VOL 2

And as promised, pilule Soultronica Volume Two. If you haven’t caught the first installment in this ongoing sideseries, you need to go back and get a bar – once you’ve caught Soultronica Volume 1 in its entirety, come back and check this one out.

This volume finds our heroes back in space, and your boy back in Cali with the official studio – don’t get me wrong, the Macbook mic is fine for what it is, but nothing beats recording into a mic that’s worth more than you are.

D’Angelo – Devil’s Pie (Kenny Keys remix). I was so impatient to share this joint with the listeners when I first got it that I damn near made a one-song episode of your favorite hip-hop podcast. Keys shows us where his name came from on this joint, and the production is hot as well. Brilliant remix. myspace.com/kennykeys

J*Davey - Let It Bleed. There’s so very little I can say about this duo without simply reiterating what everyone in the know has been saying for what, going on a couple years, at least, now? Production is funky, soulful, and futuristic, the vocals ooze intelligence and well, sex. jdaveybaby.com

J*Davey – Gangsta. Damn. Do not let the lyrics slip by you on this one, trust me.

Dwight Trible and the Life Force Trio – Equipoise (feat Sa-Ra). And somehow I managed to sneak Sa-Ra back into Volume 2. I remember back a couple summers ago when JR was talking about Dwight Tribble, and when I finally got my hands on Love is The Answer, I got what he was talking about. Real spacy, groovy, soulful joints – special thanks to JR for approving this joint for mixtape show play. Make it a point to cop the full album.

DJ Spinna - Where’s Your Love (feat N’Dea Davenport). Another joint off of Intergalactic Soul. This record is kind of weird because it starts off hip-hop – and does a pretty damn good job of it, as listeners that caught volume 1 will remember – and then around track 5 decides it’s had enough of this rap shit and runs for safety in the form of house. I’m not complaining, because I like house anyway – shit, I might do a house episode sometime soon (what do you all think – want to hear that? comment away), and this is a nice example of what the rest of the album sounds like. djspinna.com

J*Davey – Mr Mister. Some of you might know this one.

Wale Oyejide – Falling. And we finally got some more Wale on here. This joint is off of Africahot!, and was actually recommended to me by LG over at Shaman Work – I’d forgotten how much I felt this joint when I first heard it. There’s been a lot of buzz around this record, and for good reason. Wale’s got style all over the place – wait until I break some more of this Black Gold material out for y’all… shamanwork.com

(opening beat – Kenny Keys).

And that’s it for this week’s installment of the most important hip-hop podcast on the entire intarwebbe. Next week, we’ll be…actually, I have no idea what I’m doing next week.

Any feedback, questions, comments, light up the comments section.

MIXTAPE EPISODE 49 – SOULTRONICA

This week – no hip-hop. Yeah, glaucoma you heard me.

I’d like to officially present to the internets – each and every one of them – a nascent genre of new Black music. I don’t know what to call it – I’ve heard Space Funk (or maybe I made that up? I can’t remember), dosage Neo Funk, and TK seems to have settled on Soultronica, which I think is fairly accurate. You’ll see what I mean when you listen to the episode. So, for now, soultronica it is. Check the playlist.

DJ Spinna – Intergalactic Soul feat Phonte of Little Brother. This is sort of a weird record. Spinna starts off with two or three solid space-hop joints – this being the hottest – and then just when he’s got a good momentum going, he turns around and runs straight for motherfucking Chicago. House all the way through. Weird, but good. djspinna.com

J Davey – No More (Donwill Piracy Remix). At long last, after nearly 8 months of talking about it, I’ve finally gotten some J Davey material. I actually have enough for a whole episode, or two – peace to them for getting all that to me. I’d already heard the original joint, but this unofficial remix puts it over the fucking top. If you’re not already on the J*Davey bandwagon, you need to be. jdaveybaby.com.

Steve Spacek – Dollar. A J Dilla production [1]. Jon of SIC passed this to me damn near a year ago, or maybe it was a year ago, shit. Still, the beat is ridiculous. If you’ve already heard it, listen again.

Jneiro Jarel – Breathin’ feat Rocque Wun. In true space-age fashion, both of these artists have names that I can’t pronounce. For some reason I slept on Jarel’s last album for the longest – something about the cover art, I don’t know. Finally someone told me to listen to the goddamn thing, and it’s nice. Nice. jneirojarel.com

Sa-Ra – Second Time Around. Black pretenison personified. This is material done before the G.O.O.D. music thing – I think – some more material from the batch of exclusives Jon for SIC gave me a while back. If it hasn’t hit you quite yet that this whole Soultronica thing is a throwback to Parliament, maybe you’ll get it here – or find their sampler and listen to that.sa-ra.net

Opening beat – Kenny Keys – Starr Step (unreleased) – myspace.com/kennykeys
Outro – Sa-Ra – We Gonna Do It Again sa-ra.net

[1] Be on the lookout for the big Episode 51 – trust me, it’s going to be hot. Shaman Work has a lot to do with it, if that is any clue. Check back with your favorite hip-hop podcast next week for the full joint.