MIXTAPE 88 – THE JENA 6

For those of you who have heard, today is the day of the nationwide protest in Jena, Louisiana for the freedom of Mychal Bell and the rest of the Jena 6.

If you’re not totally up on this situation, listening to this hip-hop podcast should remedy that. This show contains, in part, an interview with Brother James Rucker of ColorofChange.org. But that’s not the only voice you’ll hear. A few days ago I posted a call for messages from the community on this situation, and got literally dozens of calls, which I’ve also added into the mix. You’ll hear people from California, Chicago, NYC, South Africa, Canada, London, and beyond. Rappers, filmmakers, label presidents, students, and everything in between.

Hopefully you dig this one. Thanks again to Color of Change, thanks to every single person that called, and every single person that is continuing to get the word about and fight for positive change. As you listen to this, a few thousand of our brothers and sisters are marching the streets of Jena, LA. The least we can do is make spread the word.

Note: To all college/community radio people: This episode is completely FCC clean and ready for airing. If you do

Hip-hop Artists/Personalities that appear in the show:
NYOIL (hear snippets of his “Jena 6″ in the intro and outro)
DJ Mr. King – myspace.com/djmrking
Vell Rob – cdbaby.com/vrob
John Robinson (President of Shaman Work Recordings) – shamanwork.com
Nick Cicero of Cicero Pro Audio – myspace.com/ciceroproaudio
Jahmil XT Qubeka (Filmmaker)
Michael Miraflor of Hip-Hop and Advertising – hiphop-ads.com.
Mad Anthony – Designer madanthonynyc.
Agent M of Blunt Beats Radio bluntbeats.com.

Beats:
Suburb – Untitled (first heard at 0’20)
Mobb Deep – Temperature’s Rising Remix (first heard at 1’55)
Madlib – Mind Touch (first heard at 5’20)
RJD2 – Weatherpeople (first heard at 9’40)
Dilla/Pharcyde – Runnin’ (first heard at 23’55)

Participate in the Campaign.
The Jena 6 campaign at Color of Change – www.colorofchange.org/jena.

Also: Note that Mychal Bell is still in jail. You can send him postcards and letters of encouragement at:

Mychal Bell
Inmate, A-Dorm
LaSalle Correctional Center
15976 Highway 165
Olla, LA 71465-4801

A few moments of your time can really brighten this kid’s day.

Post this on myspace, facebook, email this, whatever it takes.

Free the Jena 6.

MIXTAPE 71 – FEATURE – IMUS, STOP SNITCHING, AND RAP

This is not a simple interview, and it’s definitely not just another episode. This is an hourlong (!) special on the state of hip-hop in the media today.

This special covers everything from the Imus-inspired backlash on Hip-hop to sexism/racism in the media to the Stop Snitching ‘movement” to the number of people that actually dictate what videos get played on BET and subsequently MTV (hint: it’s less than four).

During the last few weeks, Hip-Hop has been under serious fire from the mainstream media – not only because of the backlash following Don Imus’ termination, but the more recent 60 minutes interview featuring Cam’ron and Anderson Cooper’s interpretation of the Stop Snitching mantra. So in order to bring some clarity to the situation, I spoke to several different community leaders, all of different backgrounds.

Aishah Simmons – An African-American feminist and activist documentary filmmaker, producer of the award-winning No!: The Rape Documentary, and perhaps best known to longtime listeners of the Mixtape Show as the older sister of Atlantic Recording artist DJ Drama (previously interviewed here).

John Robinson – also known as Lil Sci – a producer, MC, and President of Shaman Work Recordings, which has put out releases from artists such as Emanon, CL Smooth, and MF Doom.

Willie D – a solo artist and core member of one of the most influential rap groups to ever come out of the South, the Geto Boys.

Davey D – Hip-hop historian, journalist, deejay, and community activist, whose website, Davey-D’s Hip-Hop Corner, is one of the oldest and most respected Hip-Hop sites on the net.

and David K Far-El – aka D-Brad, the former producer for BET’s Rap City and the creator of Spring Bling. He was fired some time after Viacom’s buyout of BET and is currently working on a book and DVD exposing the commodification of the nation’s biggest outlet and representation of Black and Hip-Hop culture.

I encourage everyone to listen to this feature, pass it on (messageboards, myspace, wherever), and continue the discussion both here in the comments and elsewhere. Or hell, request this on your local community station (see below).

So, yeah. What do you think? Hit the comments section.

Oh, and here’s the information on the instrumentals featured in this show:
Sun.NY – Soul of a Hustler
Common – The Light feat Erykah Badu
Lords Of The Underground – Tic-Toc
Goodie Mobb – Black Ice feat Outkast
Dead Prez – Hip-Hop
Black Star – Children’s Story
Naughty By Nature – Mourn You Till I Join You

MIXTAPE 64 – THE EMO RAP EPISODE

And no, before you close the window in horror, Atmosphere does not make an appearance in this episode. This ain’t that kind of party, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to know what this show is about, you sort of have to listen.

Sorry in advance for making fun of British people.

Tracklist time!

Termanology – 50 Bodies (prod. Marley Marl). Who needs a hook? Not him. I like. Note the Sean Bell reference.myspace.com/therealtermanology

Skillz – Don’t Act Like You Don’t Know feat Freeway – I’m not sure why it took me so long to get these two on the show, but here they are. myspace.com/yourghostwriter.

Che Grand – Che Grand Was Bored (prod. Suburb). Yeah, that’s the track name I was given. That’s how exclusive we get on this hip-hop podcast – bootleg one-verse joints recorded on computer microphones. Still, it’s been a long-ass time since we’ve heard from anybody in the Loud Minority camp, hint hint. loudminoritymusic.com

Trump – Da Souf. Off the Hate It or Get It mixtape. If you don’t know about this dude already, you haven’t been listening to the show. Go do your homework. myspace.com/shamanwork

Mac Dre - Not My Job. This was my jam for like 3 weeks out in China, for whatever reason. I never really got up on half the shit that was (and still is) happening in the Bay, but the small collection of the late Mac Dre that I do have is pretty hot. That line about the grocery shopping is funny as hell. myspace.com/macdre

Devin the Dude – What A Job feat Snoop Dogg and Andre 3000. That corn on the cob thing was a little odd, but then again, this is Andre we’re talking about. The album comes out on the 20th, which is today, which means that maybe you could get it or something. myspace.com/devinthedude

And there we have it. The outro joint was an Emilio Rojas beat, and the intro was by Philip Glass off the Mishima soundtrack.

You know the drill: comment, email, subscribe.

MIXTAPE 57 – SOULTRONICA VOL 2

And as promised, 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 54 – THE FREESTYLE JOINT

Oh shit, I’m actually on time with another episode. This is yet another concept episode, one I’ve had on the stove for a few months now – the Freestyle Episode. Also, my image program ain’t working today so you’ll have to live without the cover art this time. If anybody wants to make me a picture, email me.

Ike Eyes – PSA Freestyle. Yep, you know this one. If you haven’t heard the Brooklyn Legends Vol. 1 mixtape by now, you’re missing the fuck out. myspace.com/ikeeyes

DK – Go Crazy Freestyle. DK is sort of ridiculous with some of this shit. Sample quote: “We made white move like gentrification”.

Skit – Poin Lean. Yep, a “Shoulder Lean” beatjack – but this is actually superior in pretty much every way to the original. I mean, the cat switched up the chorus. Sample quote: “Hit cupid on the phone / Ask him where’s the love at”. myspace.com/datsskit

Allstar – untitled freestyle. This was off a Gangsta Grillz / Yo Gotti mixtape, but this particular track got more play in my deck than any of the Yo Gotti joints. Sample quote: “That’s for y’all Steve Urkel-ass niggas / Hang around rats all day, Ninja Turtle-ass niggas” cashmoney-records.com

Jay-Z – Hot 97 Freestyle. Courtesy of DJ Mr. King. I’m not even going to comment on this one.

J.R. – BBC 1Xtra Freestyle w/ Benji B. One of the only MCs I can think of that sounds good even without cursing. I definitely have a lot of respect for JR and what he’s doing. No sample quotes here, but check the bizarre-ass beginning. shamanwork.com

Agallah – Freestyle. Agallah is pretty much a staple around here at the Mixtape Show. This is off the Propane Piff mixtape, and again, isn’t even the best joint. And yes, getting shit stolen out your house is terrible. Lock your doors, kids. myspace.com/agallahdonbishop

Skit – Chevy Ridin. Yes, another beatjack from the heretofore unknown Skit. This cat literally sent me three mp3s in an email that contained nothing but the mp3s themselves, his name, and his city (Houston). No promo, no onesheet, no nothing. I’m fucking with that. Again, the dude sounds better than the original. Skit, you got a mixtape or something? Shit. Sample quote: “Playa I don’t need a roof / Scarin’ niggas like Beetlejuice”. myspace.com/datsskit

And of course, if you crazed fans out there want to get up on the show yourself, feel free to leave a freestyle yourself on the Mixtape Show Hotline: 310-928-6876, and you just might get featured on the most popular hip-hop podcast on the internets.

MIXTAPE SHOW EPISODE 52

As most of you are aware, 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, 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.

EPISODE 51 – J DILLA TRIBUTE PART 2

What’s good. As promised, here’s the second half of the official Shaman Work J Dilla Tribute Mix – check the archives for the first half. This episode also features a exclusive commentary from DJ 2-Tone Jones, the man behind the mix – you won’t even get this joint on the CD version.

I’ll leave y’all with the tracklist this time, and some extra notes (including official artwork downloads!) after the jump.

20. Busta Rhymes – Enjoy Da Ride
[Jay Dee - African Rhythms]
21. Pharcyde – Runnin’
22. Pharcyde – Runnin’ (Jay Dee remix)
23. Phat Kat – Dedication to the Suckers
24. Bilal – Reminisce feat. Mos Def and Common
25. JayLib – The Mission
26. Jay Dee – LightWorks
27. MED – Push feat J. Dilla
28. Slum Village – Do You
[Lawless Element - The Shining (inst)]
29. Erykah Badu – Didn’t Cha Know
30. Pharcyde – Splattitorium
31. Jay Dee – Move feat Frank-n-Dank
32. J Dilla – Oblighetto
33. Frank-n-Dank – Love (A Thing of the Past)
[Slum Village - Outro]
34. DJ 2-Tone Jones Speaks (Courtesy of DJ 2-Tone Jones and Shaman Work)
[MED - So Real (inst)]

Official Cover Art
(right click to download full version)

And on a further note, if you’re in a mood to blow 60 seconds bigging up the Mixtape Show in iTunes, feel free to click this link (assuming you have iTunes) to rate the your favorite hip-hop podcast in the iTunes Music Store Podcast section. Give us 5 stars, gush about how attractive the show host is, whatever it takes. And tell your friends to do the same. Thanks.

EPISODE 50 – J DILLA TRIBUTE PART 1

What’s good. I know I’ve been extra late with this one, but hopefully this special 50th episode makes up for it.

By now, you’re all undoubtedly aware of the the genius of the late, great Jay Dee, aka J Dilla. However, on the off-chance that you haven’t yet been exposed to enough of his work, for Episode 50, I bring you the first half (part 1 of 2) of the Shaman Work Recordings homage to the master: “A Brief Education on the Musical Genius of Jay Dee“. This is an exclusive joint arranged by DJ 2-Tone Jones, available for free in various stores and put out with the blessing of Mrs. Maureen Yancey herself.

Please spread the word about this mixtape, and be sure to check back in at www.mixtapeshow.net in a couple of days for part 2, featuring exclusive (as in – not even available on the store CD version) audio commentary from DJ 2-Tone Jones on the purpose and inspiration behind this first installment of the series. Shouts to Lamar, 2-Tone Jones, JR, and the rest of the Shaman Work family for making this thing happen.

Check the tracklist for this half (don’t worry, Pharcyde’s “Runnin” is on the next half, coming soon), and the press release after that.

1. Jay Dee – Fuck the Police
2. Jay Dee – Reckless Driving
3. Oh No – Move (remix) feat. J Dilla and Roc C
4. Jay Dee – Think Twice
5. Slum Village – Jealousy
[Pillz (inst.) - JayLib]
6. A Tribe Called Quest – The Hop
7. Q-Tip – Let’s Ride
8. Guru – Certified feat. Bilal
9. De La Soul – Much More
10. De La Soul – Stakes is High
11. De La Soul – Stakes is High (remix) feat. Truth Enola and Mos Def
12. Common – Thelonius feat. Slum Village
[Rock Box (inst.) - Que D]
13. Busta Rhymes – So Hardcore
14. Dabrye – Game Over feat Phat Kat and Jay Dee
15. Platinum Pied Pipers – Act Like You Know (Ge-ology remix) feat. Jay Dee
16. Steve Spacek – Eve (J Dilla Remix) feat J Dilla and Frank-n-Dank
17. J-88 – Keep it On
18. Keith Murray – The Rhyme (Ummah remix)
19. FunkMaster Flex – That Shit feat A Tribe Called Quest and Jay Dee
20. Enjoy Da Ride – Busta Rhymes

Also, please note that because this tribute is free to the public; Shaman Work Recordings is instead asking that supporters donate to the J Dilla foundation by either:

o Sending funds to the PayPal account set up by DJ K-Fresh www.rensoul.com
o Sending funds directly to Jay Dee’s mother Mrs. Yancy at www.jdilla.org

Again, make sure to come back in a couple days for the second half of the CD. In the meantime, the phone lines are always open – 310 928 MTSN [ (310) 928 6876 ] – hit us up with freestyles, thoughts on the show, or whatever. And make sure to subscribe in iTunes, spread the word, and so on…holler.

MIXTAPE EPISODE 36 – CL Smooth Mixtape

First things first, shouts to JR at shamanwork* for hooking me (and thus you all) up with this mixtape for this week’s hip-hop podcast.

So in case all y’all forgot about CL Smooth, here’s the re-introduction. Apparently dude is going to be dropping an album in the near future, and to give people a preview, he’s released a promo-only, all-freestyle mixtape. In classic mixtapeshow.net shameless bootlegging postmodernly artistical fashion, I’m bringing you the whole goddamn CD, including the bonus remix of Impossible. Check the playlist:

The CL Smooth Man on Fire Mixtape: The Freestyle Sessions (w/ J. Period, presented by Truelements and Blackheart Ent.)
Intro/Man on Fire Freestyle
Metamorphosis Freestyle
Get Down Freestyle
Top of My Game Freestyle
The Base/New York Freestyle
Listen Up Freestyle – sunshiiiiine…damn i’m ready for summer.
Runnin Freestyle – again, RIP Dilla.
Electric Relax Freestyle
Ill Bomb Freestyle
Hate It or Love It Freestyle – oh, come on, you liked this one too.
The Potion Freestyle
Blown Freestyle
Win Or Lose Freestyle
Indian Flute Freestyle
It’s On Freestyle
Guess Who’s Back Freestyle
Travelin Man Freestyle
Bonus: Impossible (J. Period Remix)
Elements of an MC
Again, this is the whole CD – normally I’d cut a few joints out on account of my not being a major major fan of such and such a beat, but please, where else are you gonna get this shit but from your boy?

Overall, this is some shit to rock in your iPod/CD Player/tape deck/whatever. And once again, respect to the people who got you this shit – JR, J Period, and the man hisself, CL Smooth. Feel free to pass this around, link it up, blah blah. For more info on the project though, hit up www.shamanwork.com.
Next week: the beattape episode, aka the all instrumental episode. If you’re looking to get on board with some of these heavyweight-ass producers you’ve been seeing pop up here and there on the mixtape show, you best get your beats in quick snap.

Still on deck: the all-south episode, and some other bonus round level shit. If you got anything you think is up to par, holler…

oh, by the way – here’s the cover art (click to enlarge).

* not shamanworks, which I somehow kept saying. my bad. shamanwork, singular.

MIXTAPE EPISODE 31

Two main concepts this week: One, we’ve got a remix contest from Rebel’s Advocate kicking off this week. Here’s what you do – remix their acapella to Bite (download the mp3 by right-clicking

Next concept: education. Way too many of y’all little rap kids running stupid. I put together this episode to hopefully teach you some things – about the industry, about working on your craft and persisting, and about rap history in general. So pay attention.

Craig Rip f/ Matic - Where do we go from here. Getting spacy on y’all real quick. Matic with the kinda esoteric lyrics, and Craig Rip laying out them tracks. Am I allowed to say Van City? Am I the first to do that? I’m sorry if I offended anyone from Vancouver. Dope track. And also, sampling Quas = win. mumbleshiphop.com. Read on for more…

John Robinson – Indy 102. Hopefully this is not a new name to you. Met up with JR back over summer at some thing or other, and he recently got at me with a couple of packages – Beatology vols 1 and 2, and his The Leak Edition, Vol.1. This joint right here though should help you get your business game up, which is important since there are way too many people out there trying to take you for your shit. Listen to this a couple times. shamanworks.com.

I think especially important on here is how early he stresses the website thing – sure, a myspace is a good start, but what’s important is that you step your online game up, or you’re gonna get left behind. Speaking of which, if you’re interested in sponsoring the show, holler…

Rebels Advocate – Bite. You’ve heard them here before, now hear them again. This is from that same EP that caught me the first time. Basically it’s a 5-minute joint over damn near every classic hip-hop joint you can think of – like 15-30 second snippets of each joint. Pretty crazy hearing dude spit over drastically different beats and keeping it cohesive. All you producers, this is the song that you’ll be remixing for the grand prize of vinyl pressing and the iPod nano – so listen up, and check the end for details.

Specifics – Take me back. I’m sure there’s some life lesson to be learned here. Not sure what it is, but it’s probably there. Specifics have been supporters of the show since mad early on. And obviously since they’ve gotten so much play on the show, I’m definitely a fan of the sounds. Check the beat and the laid-back flow on this one…ill. Keep them coming…mumbleshiphop.com.

Milk Crate – What’s the deal f/ Muneshine. Had to drop this piano-and-bass laced beat up there in the end on some classic type shit. And come on, references to the Jeffersons and Prince in the same song? It’s a wrap. Basically just a dope way to close out the show. mumbleshiphop.com.

Aight, that’s this week’s show. I actually had a couple more joints I wanted to try to fit in here, but looks like we’ll have to wait for next week.

[oh - sidebar. I still have a couple of those Propane Piff mixtapes left - you want one? comment here and let me know, I'll hit you on the email if I decide to...]

Yeah – the info on the official Rebels Advocate Remix contest, cosigned by yours fucking truly. Copied from their website, here’s what the winner gets:

1. Your Version of the Bite Remix on the next Rebel’s Advocate 12” set to release in the spring
2. Apple I-Pod Nano
3. Deluxe Rebels Advocate Promo Package (t-shirts, posters, cds, ect)

Plus, 20 Runners up will be posted on the webpage and given Deluxe Promo Packages

Cheyeah. You can check all the official info right here: rebels advocate remix contest info. And again, you can download the acapella right

That’s it for this week – get on them decks, kids, and start producing! All you fans stay in tune, and all y’all entrepreneurs stay in tune with me too…if you’re trying to make something happen on a promo tip like this, get at your boy boyyyyyyyeeeeeeee. next week, yall. peace.