MIXTAPE 84 – DIVINE RETRIBUTION

So there it is ladies and gentlemen. The Podcast Awards results are in, syphilis and the Music award went to a Catholic podcast.

As in we did not win.

I deeply appreciate the support shown by everyone who voted and bugged their friends to do the same, but there’s no way I could have expected to pull some stunt like the Religious Studies episode and not expect the big man upstairs to get his in the end. Hope this episode serves as an apology.

Black Moon – Make Munne. Throwwwwwback. Not quite as scary as some of Mobb Deep‘s offerings, but dudes kinda make a kid want to lace up their timbs and shank somebody. But hey – still got some social commentary in there. duckdown.com.

Mac Dre – Feelin Like That Nigga. An unreleased joint. I forget where I got this from, and it’s certainly nothing you would want to emulate (hear that kids?), but this is one of those cuts that both displays Dre’s abilities and is actually palatable to sane people (c.f., for example, the Thizzle Dance). The first time I heard it I thought it was gonna end with him dying, but..well, I won’t ruin it for you. myspace.com/thizzentertainment.

Bobby Digital – So Fly. Didn’t he say he wasn’t doing this Bobby Digital stuff anymore? Not that I mind, RZA can pretty much do anything he wants and I’ll still like it. Off the Afro Samurai soundtrack, which all of you should probably own. I still have yet to watch the show though. myspace.com/rza.

Bushwick Bill – Only God Knows. Throwback again. This song manages to be brooding without being actually depressing – the rationalization he gives for staying alive is pretty sobering. I’ll admit to not being as up on the Geto Boys as I should be – especially considering I interviewed Willie D not too long ago. Recommendations, anyone? www.myspace.com/therealbushwickbill.

T.I. – Still Ain’t Forgave Myself. Throwback city. Damn, this cut is really that good. I didn’t catch this when it first came out – I had to be put up on it via cocaineblunts. The other side of the gangster shit – can you dig this too? myspace.com/trapmuzik.

Intro beat – Beewirks – Relentless. I’m going to have to give this another spin on the show just because it is too good for skit material. Somebody holler at this kid. myspace.com/beewirks.

Oh yeah, have to credit the special guests: Walter Crunkite, my publicist Jerry Goldberg, the KKK, and Jesus.

Okay my throat hurts. Hit the comments and blah blah blah.

MIXTAPE 60 – BACK TO BASICS

Hey, sovaldi sale I think I’m actually on time with this one. There’s no real concept here, stomach aside from the “back to basics” thing, sale which basically means that I’m talking ass and playing random tracks because I like them. Classic.

Also, since I did a lot of talking in the show, I’m going to lay off on the long descriptions for the tracks. Hope you don’t mind. Leave comments, let me know how you felt this one…

Oh yes – I’ve just upped the quality from 96kbps to 160. It’s 2007, kids. The player above is gonna give you lofi, but if you want the hi-fi, you’ll need to download it by clicking the album cover from now on (or just subscribe in iTunes).

shoutouts to truestatiks for the intro beat!

DK – Observing The Night. DK’s all right, man. I like this dude. myspace.com/dk730

RZA – Just A Lil’ Dude feat Q-Tip and Free Murder. I am really feeling this joint. Off the Afro Samurai soundtrack. I have yet to check this show out – anyone out there seen it and can comment on it? afrosamurai.com

Hi-Tek – Let It Go feat Dion. This new Dion cat is kinda nice. I’m not buying this “15 times in a single day”, though. I mean, logistically, that’s just not even fucking feasible. Liar. myspace.com/hitek

Denots – Inolvidable. Better break out your old high school Spanish texts, because these motherfuckers get bilingual on us. This crew is out of Paraguay, and apparently fans of the show, which is always a bonus. myspace.com/bassreflexpy.

Howard Lloyd – We Did It. I’m not condoning any of the behavior found in this song. It is kinda funny though. cdbaby.com/cd/howardlloyd

4-Ize – Steroids. You might remember this dude from mixtape show 29. 4-Ize is a weird dude. 4ize.com

Nas – Where Are They Now (West Coast Remix) featuring Breeze, Kam, King Tee, Candyman, Threat, Ice T, Sir Mix A Lot, and Conscious Daughters with cuts by DJ Bobcat. Yeah, that’s a long “featuring” list. There’s another couple of these ones, actually, featuring mainly East Coast rappers from both the 80s and 90s – y’all wanna hear those? I got em…

Sniper E - SAS Diss Part 2. I can’t really explain why I like this song. It’s hilarious. Check out the “big ups” on dude’s site for a shoutout to the mixtape show. I actually don’t even know anything about SAS other than that they like to say “Dipset, bitch”. snipere.co.uk.

That’s it for me for this show. Let me know what you thought, and be sure to stay tuned to your favorite hip-hop podcast for more craziness soon soon soon.

Oh, and speaking of that video I was talking about, I am kind of toying with the idea of doing a video podcast. Would you all be interested in seeing something like that? If so, what would you want to see?

MIXTAPE EPISODE 53 – BEAT TAPE VOL 2

And as promised, treat back by popular demand, it’s the Mixtape Show Beat Tape Volume 2. No Juggernaut this time, but plenty of dope instrumentals. Listen:

RZA – Flying Birds. I think this was a secret instrumental on a soundtrack. I mean come on, it’s the RZA. It’s short, but you’ll like it.

Kenny Keys – A Woman’s Gotta Have It. You should recognize this name from the Eulorhythmics interview – the dude is really that ridiculous. This joint in particular stayed in my mp3 player for a miiiinute. myspace.com/kennykeys1987

Jay Dee - A Man’s World Flip. This one didn’t make it into Episode 28, but I had to get it out there. I’m not sure if this one was ever officially released – I don’ t think it was – so ignore the title I gave it. jdilla.org

Suburb – selection from the fall tape. If you weren’t aware, the man Suburb is my favorite beatmaker at the moment – which, given my impeccable taste in music, should really say something. If you don’t feel this joint right here, you don’t have a soul. myspace.com/suhburb

Kenny Keys – F Minor. An interlude before we switch up the tempo a bit…myspace.com/kennykeys1987

Mathematics – Track 1. Yes, Mathematics of Wu-Tang Clan fame. I’m actually not sure what this track is supposed to be called. It’s the first track on his “Soul of a Man” release – shouts to the people at Nature Sounds for getting/clearing this one for me, forever ago.nature-sounds.net

Count Bass-D – All In. This joint is from the Beatology Vol. 1+2 record that J.R. sent me what, months ago? I unfortunately couldn’t find a copy of “Mister Magic’s Wand”, so I couldn’t flip that for you all. countbassd.com

Exile – Move On Em. I like this song – and it seems that Ta’raach did too, since he spit over it on his latest album. soundincolor.com Oh PS – Jon, where’s that mix?

Daz-I-Kue – Melon Bounce. Never would have thought somebody would have the nerve to flip some Herbie Hancock, but Daz did it. I like. www.myspace.com/dazikue

Earmint – All City. This came out forever ago (are you noticing a pattern here?), but that’s not going to stop me from letting you all get up on this Earmint dude. He’s also from EV productions – should ring a bell if you remember the Chester Copperpot and MC Longshot interviews – and his debut album – Another Early Evening – was pretty much the business. I’ll probably be dropping another joint in the not so distant future, so keep your ears out for that.evproductions.net

Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician – You Are. This is an old joint off of Lightweight Heavy. Really the whole album is worth owning, and if you dig this cut, I’d recommend doing some research and finding more of this cat’s work.

Mumbles – unlabeled. I forget how I got this, but I think Jon of SIC sent it to me – any chance of somebody IDing this one for me?soundincolor.com

And that’s it for this week. Again, if you have a moment, be sure to drop a comment to let me (and the artists) know how people are feeling the show, and the material.

I really haven’t got a lot to say about this. Via lyrical swords, I caught this link to a 1 hour, 8 minute guest appearance by The Abbott himself at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. It ain’t exactly your fav hip-hop podcast here, but it’s recommended by your boy, so I suggest that everyone sit down and take a good listen to this.
(click image to listen!)

He addresses some major things here. He gets on the chess-kung fu-5% thing without getting too spacey, he talks about his musicianship, and so on. He also has what I think is a really healthy outlook on the rap world today – I liked his McDonald’s analogy. When you’re ready for real food, you stop eating junk, nahhmean? It’s a cycle. Real talk.

Really, RZA just breaks shit down for you on a lot of fronts, and he comes this close to breaking down himself when he starts talking about the late genius, the Big Baby Jesus.

I’m not totally sure what to make of it. Hip-hop in an academic or otherwise non-street setting usually comes off as pretty stupid, square, and/or patronizing, but somehow this seemed sort of appropriate. Just listen.

Edit: At the request of some people at the wu-tang forums, I’ve gone ahead and converted the file to a downloadable mp3 format. You can get it here (hi-fi 128kbps, lo-fi mono (smaller file) version here. Welcome wu-tang corp forum members, and while you’re here, check out the rest of the site – plenty of good hip-hop to keep you busy.

(original link to ram file is (or check the original link to the R here)