MIXTAPE 99 – THE PRIMARIES


MIXTAPE 99 – THE PRIMARIES

Yeah, viagra 60mg a little late. New music, food new design, new year. Shouts to Rashad for the inspiration on this episode concept. I have so much new music it’s not even funny. More episodes in the pipeline. Beattape, bounce tape, soultronicas, new soul (?), and some new tricks up my sleeve. But for right now, let’s get into the primaries…

Tracklist

intro beat – Iain “F a Quantize” Haywood – Switch on the MPC. myspace.com/12pads. What’s this about UK and US releases in 08 son? Hit the comments, do tell.

Labratz - Dirty Slum. Yes, comparisons to Goodie Mobb and early Outkast are easy, but that’s just because so little progressive Southern rap has hit your ears. Lyrics aside, one of the things I really dig about this record is the approach to postproduction – vocals are slowed up, jammed up, tweaked out, but the final mix is still raw to the point where I had to ask Sol if he was actually done with these because so many people nowadays overproduce records that it’s pretty rare to see someone leave that grit in it. I dig. I also must say that I’ve been walking around chanting “Marty McFly, Marty-Marty McFly-Fly” more often than I’d care to admit. myspace.com/labratzmusic

Marco Polo – The Radar feat Large Professor. Large as a guest MC, not a producer. Don’t get it confused though, the drum work on this still goes hard. myspace.com/marcopolobeats.

Tom C3 and Prince Po – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. The first couple bars of this song reminds me somehow of Lord Quas’ “Come on Feet” for some reason. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard of Tom C3 until I realized he did the Dopestyle 1231 jumpoff (brilliant album art, by the way). Shouts to Nasty Nes for this one. myspace.com/tomc3.

NAAM Brigade
– Greatest Man Alive (remix). Well, actually this is more Sonny Black than anything, but still. I’ve heard of these dudes referred to as the Philly Wu-Tang. Who do I need to get on the phone with to figure out what the hell happened to these dudes? You heard them back in Episode 97 with the Message rework. While all these college-rap dudes are trying to recreate some boom-bap sound, NAAM Brigade somehow manages to dig into the early 90s/late 80s with their production and still sound absolutely rough and fresh with the final product.

Jay Electronica – Uprock. Definitely different production from what most have heard of Jay thus far, but damn the dude just eats this breakbeat up. The one man live band strikes again. Jay, if you ever do release Act II, you know you got a home for it here too.

dexalude – [instro: RJD2 - Inhale (remix)]. Internet rumors are crazy.

Bekay - Hunger Pains (prod. Alkota). Like I said, I’ve been following dude for some time (I actually remember his joint with ODB – I think one of the last he recorded), but nothing was quite my flavor – until now. This song isn’t all about “oh I’m white poor me”, but – or what I get from it, anyway – just a series of really screwed up events and situations that often trace back to a uniquely neurotic and American racism. Kinda hard to make it in a minstrel industry without black skin. myspace.com/bekay.

And for the record, the dude sounds nothing like Eminem to me.

Labratz - Creation. So does anyone actually have faith in this straight-ahead government process? I wouldn’t really call myself cynical, but my optimism never really involves fantasizing about real change being brought about through the election of some public official. Black leadership has really fallen off.

As much as I dig the instrumental on this one, you really have to pay attention to the lyrics on this one. I’d quote some here, but seriously, just listen. And then repeat.

“Peace to Barack Obama.”?

MIXTAPE 68 – FIRST IMPRESSIONS


MIXTAPE 68 – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I think if you’ve been keeping up on current [USA] events, mind you’ll know what the opening skit is about. Shout outs to Derek for creating/voicing the character of Johnathan America.

Other than that, though, this episode is all about first impressions. When you are a child of the MTV generation like I am, and you have crazy ADHD like I do, and you bought a Sidekick for the sole purpose of being able to IM and drive at the same time like I did, you rarely have the attention span for much beyond the first minute and a half or so of a new CD.

And as anybody who has ever sold indie CDs out of a trunk on a busy thoroughfare will tell you, the first impression is the difference between a sale and an angry look.

So this episode of your favorite hip-hop podcast is the First Impressions Episode – nothing but first tracks. Track 01s. This is probably one of my favorites so far. Hope you dig – have fun with this one.

Tracklist!

J Dilla – Geek Down feat Busta Rhymes. I remember how fucking amped I was the first time I played this in the dusty Volvo. jdilla.org

Oh No – Intro. 27 beats in 3 days? Damn. As much as I like dude’s older brother, I can’t remember the last beat that Madlib made that made me want to hit somebody (feel free to refresh my memory in the comments though). This one does that to me, but maybe I’m just violent. myspace.com/ohnodisrupt.

Large Professor – Intro. The tempo might slow down a little on this cut, but your head should absolutely not stop nodding. myspace.com/thelargeprofessor.

J.R. Writer – To Be A Diplomat. I like how the dude fits a good portion of the backstory to his entire career into the first track of his CD, just like he’s trying to bring you up to speed on who he is and why you should care. This track inspired the entire episode. myspace.com/jrwriter

Murs – Intro. This is pretty much a given. If you don’t already own this album, get off of my internet. As soon as you put this cut in, you know the rest of the album cannot possibly be anything other than hot. myspace.com/murs316

M.I.A. – Banana Skit. 30 seconds of weird. I bet a lot of you actually skipped this track looking for “Galang”. Dummies. Get yrself an educayshuuuuuuuuuun! miauk.com

Agallah – Gangster. Summer of 2005 (okay I was late), this stayed in the deck like stupid. I replay this to the point where I should be sick of it, but I’m still not. This joint was my introduction to Purple City, period (again, slow). I don’t know if the mixtape is even available anymore, but if you can find it, there are some gems on Doomsday. myspace.com/agallahdonbishop.

Stanza – Enter In. I wish I had found this CD in my stash before I’d started the Soul episode. Two minutes of telling you who he is, and what you’re going to hear for the next 48. The production and the wordplay are both worth a rewind. Probably the best surprise I’ve found in the mail all month. Recommended. myspace.com/stanzahiphop.

Superiority Complex – Intro. See, these dudes get to talk all cocky like that in their intros, and the second I try things like that, females start looking at me crossways. Not fair. These two invite a lot of criticism based on their name alone (not to mention their insulting the rapping public at large), but I think their opening attack ain’t half bad. myspace.com/superioritycomplexmusic.

Now On – Ascension. I remember kinda being eh on this cut until they brought in them crazy-ass synths and rhodes. I actually have a hard time concentrating on the lyrics because the instro just really goes that hard. And then they drop in the turntablism…feel free to rewind this one as well. nowonmusic.com. [thanks josh]

intro beat: Unagi – Sacred Music
outro loop: The Go Gos – We Got The Beat.

Whoo boy. As always, hit up the comments section.