MIXTAPE 106 -TYPE A PERSONALITY

You all ever heard of this thing? Type A personality? It’s like I can’t even slow down here. Start up this episode, illness 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.

MIXTAPE 94: TRAVIS

You could probably say that there is some sort of skewed-ass social consciousness theme in theme in here, find but no official concept this time. This is the Travis Episode, because my friend Travis is in the hospital and I want him to get healed up soon so we can continue partying. Stay strong, famo.

On to the episode.

Intro Beat: Beewirks – Make It Happen. This isn’t the first time dude has placed on a Mixtape Show intro. myspace.com/beewirks.

Sha Stimuli – The N Word. Two dollars says most of you didn’t realize what was going on until a few bars into the first verse. This is inevitably going to bring up controversy, which is brilliant. What do you all think of this one (the theme, I mean – musically it’s beyond dispute that dude has talent). As far as n-word alternatives, I’m a fan of the word “family” in all its iterations – famo, fam, etc – or “dude”, as anyone who reads this site often can probably surmise. “Brah”, however, is not okay unless you are an islander, period. myspace.com/shastimuli.

Duo Live – Caught Up (feat Talib Kweli). I coulda cut the outro short on this one, but it’s just too nice. This is my first time hearing of dudes, but apparently they are really on their grind nowadays. Sounds good to me. myspace.com/duolive.

M.I.A. – Paper Planes (remix feat Bun B and Rich Boy). All three of these artists should be on your “man hol up these people go hard” list. I gotta say, after Arular dropped I was a little mild on M.I.A (Piracy Funds Terrorism went way harder) but this last album is just the business. Then you add Bun B AND Rich Boy to the mix? Too much. Plus this is at once the catchiest and most violent hook in recent memory. I gotta do a post about M.I.A.’s show sometime soon. miauk.com.

Guru – Cuz I’m Jazzy (feat Slum Village). Well, the production on this cut doesn’t exactly belie the title. Apparently this was a very good week for music. Dig the synth violins in the chorus. gurusjazzmatazz.net.

Scienz Of Life – Build Wit Me (feat Baretta 9). John Robinson is one of the most positive people I know. This is an old 2001 cut from the ATL days, showing us all that you don’t need to go crazy with the drums because sometimes the sample just wants to be left alone. And what’s with the bonus beat outro? myspace.com/scienzoflife.

Nicolay and Kay – Stop My Way (feat Mic of The Legendary KO aka K-Otix). As seen before way back in Ep 16, Mic graces the B-side for the N&K concept project single. I wasn’t quite sold on this cut until that whistle synth came in – then it was game over. Great cut. Too bad I didn’t get hold of this one in time for the Love Episode. And the outro is some of the most ignorant shit I’ve heard in like two days. myspace.com/nicolay.

Outro Bonus Cut: Bomani – Read A Book Remix (feat Hueman Prophets) (snippet). If you wanna hear the full version, you’ll have to check Bomani’s myspace! I think most people remember the video and song from this, but not too many people actually know who is behind the song. This song is totally different from the original, but for some reason the end of the last version is really hilarious to me. I’ve got to admit that I haven’t read most of the books on these dudes’ lists. Somebody should make a dance to this song.

And we should start a Mixtape Show Book Club.

MIXTAPE SHOW EPISODE 52

As most of you are aware, patient I get so much music on a daily basis that it’s not possible to put even a tenth of it into a show. Thus, anemia a lot of good shit never ends up getting out, due to a combination of my tendency to sit on joints until I feel like it’s ready and my ADHD kicking in and me getting bored with the stuff I was going to put out. It’s not an easy life, trust me.

So with that said, I’ve tried to put some of the joints that really caught my attention over the last few months on this podcast. Don’t call it “leftovers”, cause it ain’t that, but just because sometimes I just can’t fit a song into a particular episode shouldn’t mean that it never gets out.

Here’s the track list.

Dabrye – Air feat MF Doom. Regardless of what I might have said about that Dangerdoom project, I’m still a Doom fan – and I’ve always liked Dabrye’s shit. If you feel this joint, I’d actually recommend going out and picking up Dabrye’s Two/Three – it was a long time in the making and there are at least five joints that spent forever in my Volvo CD player. dabrye.com.

Nicolay – The End Is Near feat Black Spade. I was actually so swamped a few months ago that I never actually got to listen to this record until I was in Hong Kong. I remember the overall record – Here – being sort of hit or miss sometimes, but for the Black Spade joints are definitely worth checking out. Cop up. myspace.com/nicolay.

Justin Timberlake – My Love (Benja Styles remix with Vybz Kartel). I realize that probably most of you have had this song played the fuck out by now, but I really couldn’t let this remix sit any longer. The dude Benja Styles threw a Vybz Kartel verse on top of the original, and for me, there’s really no point listening to the rest of the joint because that’s simply the best part. myspace.com/benjastyles

Diamond D – An Untitled Percee P Joint
Jaylib – The Ruckus

Both of the above joints were shamelessly stolen from the Stones Throw Chrome Children podcast. I actually lifted these when the joint first came out – too bad, they would have fit perfectly in the Nintendo Mixtape. The CD/DVD is out right now though – check out stonesthrow.com for more.

E-40 feat Big Gipp and Big Boi – Ham Sammiches & Coup Devilles. Straight from the source:
On the subject of songs that vaporize into the ether, this, from an interview I did with 40 Water on June 1, 2002, best I can tell, so happy anniversary and shit: “That song right there was a winner. At the time Outkast was going through some type of merge [LaFace/Arista] the same time my album was coming out. Jive neded a response about the licensing, and all I remember was they were saying $50,000, no video, no packaging, no single rights. No disrespect to them, they might not have even known this…”.

It’s a hot joint. Listen to it.

Nas and Lauryn Hill – If I Ruled the World (Wale Oyejide Black Gold Remix). Courtesy of the Shaman Works family, a pretty brilliant remix of the what – ’96? – classic. I’ve got the rest of the Black Gold album, and trust me – the remixes are hot. Wait until you hear the Dead Prez remix.. shamanwork.com.

Aight then – till next week.

MIXTAPE EPISODE 34

Cheyeah. So this is pretty basic. I got a dope show, prostate and some tickets to give out for next week. This is for the Exile (Sound in Color) Dirty Science Tour, featuring Exile, Blu, Ta’raach (Platinum Pied Pipers), Aloe Blacc, etc etc. Hit me up if you want to get on the guest list for any of the following dates: april 16th – Kansas MO @ PNut Downtown
april 18th – Iowa City @ Gabes Oasis
april 20th – Miami FL @ Sweat Records (In-store, so you dont need tickets. Just go.)
april 20th – Miami FL @ I/O Lounge (live performance)
april 24th – New York NYC @ Rothkow/ Beatminerz
april 25th – Atlanta GA @ Apache Cafe
Now for the playlist. (ps – intro/outro beat = Platonic – Alternate Thursday.)
Exile f/ Blu – Narrow Path. This, combined with the other Exile/Blu joint you heard on this site (check the archives son!) is what made me realize that Sound in Color was running with some fucking heat. Turns out Blu is singing the hook, but you really have to see Aloe Blacc singing it with him to get the full experience. Dope beat, hot track. soundincolor.com.
Scienz of Life f/ MF Doom – Yikes. I think Doom produced this one. This is off the Leak Edition Vol 1 that John Robinson shot me (what up JR). You pretty much already know the story with this one without listening to it. Real simple sampling, esoteric raps. Listen. shamanworks.com. [good looking out Aush]
Modill – Nod (radio exclusive). I don’t know, it said “radio exclusive” on the CD. This was my joint for a little while a couple years back. Modill actually released a new record just recently, and apparently I duped Chess into thinking it would be a good idea to let me play some of that shit on the show. Be on the lookout for that, and cop up kiddies. evproductions.com.
Von Pea – 1st Date. Nicolay on the beats. I don’t know Nicolay, but he’s apparently kina dope. Please don’t drift off on this beat though, because the story VP is telling does not end how you expect it to. I’m not going to say much more than that. God damn this episode is turning out well so far. loudminoritymusic.com.
Chill Will – Freestyle. Straight out of D-town. This one came via the Mixtape Show Hotline at (310)-928-6876. Breaks up in the middle, but that’s cell phones for you. Chill Will is part of the Certified Ballaz – not much info on them yet, but we’ll see… Second southern freestyle though. This should be proof for all you dumb motherfuckers out there that the Mixtape Show is not an LA thing, not a West Coast thing, but a fucking rap thang. Pay attention.Exile f/ Ghostface – Milk ‘Em. Oh, come on, it’s Ghostface. Do I need to write anything about this? Just download and learn. soundincolor.com.
That’s this week’s episode, though. Be on the lookout for episode 35 of the fucking best rap podcast on the entire internets, all of them. Again, if you want them tickets, holler at your boy. yeeeeeeeeeeah