Ryan Adams- Nutshell (Alice in Chains Cover)

Adams In Chains.

Ryan’s cover of AiC’s Jar Of Flies (and Unplugged) standout “Nutshell” in all of its four-chord, Layne Staley heroin-stained/Jerry Cantrell searingly soloed glory. -Stereogum

Ethereal- ▲ B S T R ▲ C T I C ▲

I couldn't ask for a better complementary post to Shabazz Palaces than this. Here is another #LatePass.

▲ B S T R ▲ C T I C ▲ is the blunted in left-field project of a young right-brained Atlanta, Georgia based rapper/producer known as Ethereal. The stunning 22-track unveiling is the heart and soul of this budding artist, which is instantly reflected in its dimensions, cohesiveness, and creativity. The sound of the tape falls somewhere between Shabazz Palaces, a more mature Odd Future, and spacey creations from the Low End Theory universe. My clichéd artist comparisons are only present so I can somehow make sense of a kid that's obviously on a planet of his own.

Yelawolf saw the potential and immediately signed Ethereal to his Slumamerican label for the release of ▲ B S T R ▲ C T I C ▲. You can note Wolf's musical intelligence after peeping this space dusted base head jazz symphony for yourself. It's woah.

Download: Ethereal- ▲ B S T R ▲ C T I C ▲ or Stream via Bandcamp

Album Stream: Shabazz Palaces- Black Up

#LatePass on Butterfly's latest project. The latest record, Black Up, was just released yesterday. Full album stream above, NPR review/info below.

Shabazz Palaces emerged out of the ether, or at least that's what group leader Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler would have you believe. The former Digable Planets MC originally operated under a veil of secrecy, taking the alias Palaceer Lazaro, declining interviews and performing behind a head scarf and sunglasses. After self-releasing two critically lauded mini-albums in 2009, Butler has loosened the grips on his anonymity.

Still, two years later, it's hard to find information on Shabazz Palaces. Butler won't name anyone else who's involved in the group. The only guest vocalist listed on the album is THEESatisfaction. There's no Shabazz Palaces MySpace page, and the group's website offers little more than tour dates and an online store. Butler seems dead-set on having listeners focus on the music rather than the persona behind it — and that's a good way to approach Black Up.

Out June 28, Black Up is a sonic world made up of discordant beats, swirling synths, bouncing 808s and Butler's nimble, impressionistic poetry. Straight narratives are nowhere to be found, and rhythms emerge and then vanish just as quickly. The effect can be bewildering, and yet the album is far from unfocused. Butler's rhymes are lyrical and tight in the opening track, "Free Press and Curl," where he offers an ostensible mission statement: "I run on feelings, f—- your facts / Deception is the truest act."
But there's more here than avant-rap experimentation. In "Recollections of the Wraith" and "Endeavors for Never," melodic female vocals float into the spaces between the unpredictable beats. It's a welcome break from Butler's tinny delivery, and it gives a warm, accessible touch to the tough-talking, hard-headed raps.

It makes sense that the album's last line is "Still it morphs, this s—- is way too advanced." If Butler's mission on Black Up is to create something intentionally out of order, he's done just that. It's a dissonant listening experience, but it's richly rewarding, revealing something new with each spin.

Streaming Mix: Toro Y Moi Serves Up Creamed Coffee

A lovely blunted mix from Toro Y Moi featuring Madlib, Electric Wire Hustle, Suff Daddy, and more.

v. The Quiteus

Quietus Mix 32 - Toro Y Moi Serves Up Creamed Coffee by The Quietus on Mixcloud

Video: Co$$- Pot Ash (Prod. Exile)

My favorite song from Co$$' debut album, Before I Awoke, available now on Tres Records.

Video: David Ramos- No Bono ft. Ceschi

Two artists that never cease to amaze me on one glorious ode to the anti-christ known as Bono. If the scathing cracks on U2's front man aren't enough, Popular Culture Shaman laces the video with psychedelic visuals while the Ramos brothers throw shirtless rap hands.

Listen/Cop David Ramos' new record, That Down There!, here.

ForteBowie- Decatur ft. Aleon Craft

ForteBowie teams up with Aleon Craft to deliver a single from Bowie's upcoming Something About Bowie project that is set to drop on July 8th.

I racked my brain for hours trying to figure out what track they sampled because I used to listen to it almost every day. Peace to ForteBowie for reminding me it was Bibio's infectious track, Lovers Carvings, from his excellent 2009 record, Ambivalence Avenue.


Download: ForteBowie- Decatur ft. Aleon Craft

SBTRKT- Wildfire ft. Yukimi Nagano

I want to put Yukimi Nagano in my pocket.

Here is a ridiculous UK garage and dubstep splashed single from rising South London producer SBTRKT. Every hipster blog has already covered this, so if you have a Tumblr and sack groceries,  I'm sure you have already heard it, loved it, and then you deleted it off your computer after your sister and former roommate forwarded it to you in an email therefore tainting its worth.

A lot of other sites posted SBTRKT's other singles, EPs, and remixes but I thought they all sounded like disco aids. Stick with this.


Download: SBTRKT- Wildfire ft. Yukimi Nagano

DRGN KING- Altamont Sunrise

Dominic Angelella is a tall and lanky fellow with fire ant colored Jesus-hair and an unkempt beard, which is a perfect picture to paint of the man behind the divine vocals of Philadelphia based indie pop quartet, DRGN KING.

The quarter lived singer and guitarist started DRGN KING as a studio project with producer Ritz Reynolds. The project began as an exercise in collaboration and experimentation and evolved into a four piece band in late 2010. The band's first output, Warriors EP, is a tasty psychedelic-electro-pop sandwich with the upbeat tracks "Wolfboy" (ft. Peedi Crakk) and "Wild Night" serving as the crunchy toast and "Altamont Sunrise" and "Warriors" as the mouth watering meat.

The standout cut from the EP is, without a doubt, the anthem for planetary exodus, "Altamont Sunrise." The Ritz blitzed, Toro Y Moi-esque spaced out tapestry is the gravity between Angelella and his simplistic yet beautiful lyrics. The end product: cosmic.


Download: Drgn King- Altamont Sunrise
Download: Drgn King- Warriors EP

Video for Wolfboy ft. Peedi Crakk below:

MumboJumbo- Cut n Paste Chemistry

Some know him as Lappingtop Macley, Sir Choppington BeatMeister, Slicey McDicey, or The Noisemaker of Northampton (I just made that up), but I merely know him as the random bloke on bandcamp that put together one hell of a beat tape this past May.

MumboJumbo is an emerging DJ/Producer from the UK that has just recently begun to share his creations with the internet. My first taste was the minimalistic Cut N Paste Chemistry freebie that will instantly conjure up Madlib comparisons. This condensed chemical spill highlights Mumbo's endless potential and expert ear. Each beat is crisp, clean, infectious, and addicting, making withdrawals that much harder to cope with. Make sure to bookmark this methadone pack because the cold turkey is hard to swallow.

MumboJumbo is also part of The Fungle Brothers; a 1930's revival Swing-Hop duo alongside fellow producer, Odjbox. Check out their crazy 45+ minute mix here.

Download: MumboJumbo- Cut N Paste Chemistry

Side note: The zip file contains a periodic table of ingredients (sample cheat sheet) used in the tape.

Blood Orange- Dinner

I fell in love with Lightspeed Champion way before I knew him as Devonte Hynes, or the prolific writer that has penned hits for artists such as Florence and the Machine, The Chemical Brothers, Diana Vickers, Solange Knowles, and Thephilus London. Mixing vintage brit-pop sounds with quirky modern pop melodies, Devonte, as Lightspeed Champion, made two endearing records (Falling Off the Lavender Bridge and Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You) that continue to find a place in my short rotation. When I first heard him as Blood Orange, I was immediately infected. I had no idea it was the weird motherfucker with the bushy wig.

"Dinner" (Terrible Records) is a Prince-esque summer jam that will haunt your repeat button. Produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear (and owner of Terrible Records), this upbeat yet dark ode to the broken heart is part 80s R&B and all groove. The song begins as a classic 80s cry for love, but transitions into a modern display of relationship melodrama:  "Hoping that you die unhappy/ I'll do everything I can/ To make sure that you are never happy".

So emo yet so catchy and flawless. Devonte Hynes can do no wrong. Get familiar.

Look out for the full length Blood Orange album on Domino Records coming at you this summer.

Body Language- Social Studies (Plastic Plates Remix)

As booming dubstep warbles continue to baconize the popped collars of college brahs around my neighborhood, I have found the danceable jam of the summer.

Brooklyn dance party mainstays, Body Language, became the wet dreams of fog machines, disco lights, and DJs everywhere in 2010 with their critically acclaimed Social Studies EP. The standout title track has still been spinning dizzy this year, but has recently received an extreme electro-pop makeover from Plastic Plates that morphed the dreamy original into an exuberant, classic summer dance jam for the ages.

It's hard not to like.

Modern Skirts- Rebecca St. Claire

I'm a sucker for psychedelic folk, a sucker for creepy children singing hooks, and a sucker in love with this weird yet infectious track from Athens, Georgia quartet, Modern Skirts.

One part pre-Mellow Gold Beck, one part lo-fi bedroom pop, and a splash of brown liquid mind detergent forms this catchy track from their 2010 EP, Happy 81. 



I thought I had the band pegged right away as a bunch of redneck hippies gnawing on mushrooms from grandpa's farm while thrashing thrift store guitars into the rusted mouth of a 4-track, but after diving into their catalog I quickly found that not only are the Skirts experienced and established, they are highly creative and versatile. Birthed as an alternative pop band with hints of Weezer and Ben Folds (Catalogue of Generous Men), the Skirts have blossomed into a schizophrenic electro pop outfit that isn't afraid to experiment instrumentally over their funky pop melodies (Gramahawk).

The sounds from their lastest 2011 record, Gramahawk, have a lot of potential (see the video for "Jane Child" below), but I'm kind of diggin' their experimental basement cassette sessions the most, especially the haunting kiddy hooks (no pedo ear).

Freddie Gibbs & Statik Selektah- Lord Giveth Lord Taketh Away

A lot of people hate on Freddie Gibbs and a lot of people hate on Statik Selektah, but will they be able to hate on this self titled track from their latest EP, Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away? I don't think so.

Recorded within 24 hours, Statik and Freddie's chemistry explodes in the opening self titled banger that somehow adds even more body and power to Gibbs' robust cadence. The natural connection continues throughout the seven track EP and receives an extra splash of flavor from the likes of Daz, Reks, PUSH! Montana, Termanology, Fred the Godson, Trae, Smoke DZA, and Chace Infinite.

Despite the overabundance of secondary rhymers, the EP is a smooth, easy listen and shines a blinding spotlight on a healthy musical bond that I hope doesn't turn into a one night stand.

Here is the title track below. The EP is now available to purchase on iTunes.


Download: Freddie Gibbs & Statik Selektah- Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away

Video: Open Mike Eagle- Bright Green Light

Open Mike Eagle has dropped the second video from his latest record, Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, which is easily becoming my favorite hip hop album of the year so far. Bright Green Light is one of the many highlights. Major emphasis on the word high.

iTunes
Physical 

Read more if you missed the video for Nightmares.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire- HuZzah!

This is the metal mouthed MC that awoke me from my hip hop hibernation.

After four months of living under a rock, New York-- the city that supposedly never sleeps but has been putting rap fans to sleep for years-- finally unveiled an artist that wasn't rapping within the old NY template. The grime and the grit remain, but the clichés and old hat delivery have been dropped, giving us an artist that fits somewhere between Wu-Tang nostalgia and a big apple version of Danny Brown.

In the video for HuZzah!, eX wins the hearts of underground hip hop fans everywhere by goin' in over a Necro beat and letting the low budget visuals do the rest. Through a sea of St. Ides, chicken, piled up shoe boxes, and onion booty, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire guillotines his hipster competition and gives his city a much needed slice of ripe produce.


Download: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire- HuZzaH! (Prod. By Necro).mp3

Here is his latest track, Galactus:

Galactus Redux by eXqomania

"Ill slurp a bloody pussy before I be Mickey Factz."

Keep up with eX here.