Oakland, California's Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN) performs the innovative music of composer & Steinway artist JooWan Kim, who blend genres like classical, hip-hop, film music, jazz, & pop into a unique musical hybrid. For the past year they have been working with MC Kirby Dominant & MC Rico in hopes to create a unique mix of hip hop and classical. This new video is their latest collaboration with Kirby and shows how exciting JooWan Kim's hybrid brainchild can be when it's flawlessly executed.
Here is the third video off of Gel Roc's 2011 Beautiful Tragedy album.
Gel Roc's "Beautiful Tragedy", is an accurate prosopography of his recent works over the past couple of years. A solid collective of ideas, raps, and storied songs with production from Xczircles; cuts and sound selections by DJ Drez. This album features sixteen tracks with additional contributions from Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Awol One, Ecid, Mestizo, Open Mike Eagle, and many more.
It's been awhile since I've heard new music from Phoenix MC RoQ'y TyRaiD, but here is a new Dn³ laced track that contains three different stories to ride and contemplate to.
DJ/producer Quickie Mart and singer/songwriter/musician Jes Hudak together form Bang You're Dead, presenting their new single, "Arizona", featuring L.A. emcee Dez Hope. New Orleans-raised Los Angeles resident Quickie Mart produced three volumes of the Haze Diaries mixtape series with East Coast emcee Gotham Green, and recently released Space Monkey Radio EP, five artist-approved dubstep remixes of tracks from Freddie Gibbs, Ricky B, Slightly Stoopid and more. Jes was introduced to the world via her stint on Bravo's reality show Platinum Hit, and has been recognized by Billboard, AOL, ISSA and the LA Music Awards for her talent. Her most recent release is last year's National Holiday EP. BYD are set to release the Partymonster remix of their last single "Alive" (watch video here) February 14 exclusively on Beatport.
Dr. Dog are set to release their new album, Be the Void on Feb. 7 on Anti- Records. The album was recorded live in Meth Beach with two new members, drummer Eric Slick and guitarist/percussionist/electronics operator Dmitri Manos.
The band has said that the upcoming release is more a rough-around-the-edges rock album that’s more in tune with their earlier material, and many of the members found that to be pretty liberating.
“It was reminiscent of when we were starting out and were these fearless weirdoes in a basement, so confident and reckless and bold,” guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken said.
The approach is clear on “Lonesome,” Be the Void’s opening cut. The track features slide-heavy, tube-warmed guitar tracks that complement McMicken’s bluesy melodies. Take a listen to the Be the Void cut below.
Homeboy Sandman's Stones Throw debut EP Subject: Matter has arrived "with songs dealing with content no one has ever rapped about before in the history of rap music. Unfortunately not a difficult thing to do."
The Miracle is the lead off track from the record featuring a wild instrumental virus from the year 3030 that makes Homeboy's verses strong enough to cause blackouts in every single metropolis.
Dallas based SP1200 producer Gensu Dean is preparing to release his debut album "Lo-Fi Fingahz" February 28th on Mello Music Group. To introduce Dean, the razor sharp DJ Chief-One has put together a dope mixtape of Dean's production including work with Sadat X, Crooked Lettaz, and Large Professor.
NorCal chop chemist Dirtybird B released his latest album Hard Work in Paradise last week featuring fourteen bugged out compositions bloated with crusty synths, pounding bass lines, and quirky samples.
Here is a taste below, as well as the full album stream/download on the flip side (read more) of this post.
Compared to the original, Full Spectrum 2 is much like Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Zilla Rocca and Has-Lo top everything they accomplished on the first output, while newcomer Open Mike Eagle adds the arresting special effects.
Here is another new(ish) Open Mike Eagle feature off of Seattle duo Wings and Wounds' (Sarx and Graves 33) debut self titled EP. You can download the rest of their EP for free below.
1st video and 3rd single off the critically acclaimed album "PremRock & Willie Green." This time the duo pairs up with L.A. spitter and Swim Team rep Open Mike Eagle to wax poetic about a female jogger.
Sacramento emcee Chuuwee and Raleigh rapper/producer Sundown (of Actual Proof) have joined forces with The DJBooth and The NQM to bring fans their collaborative mixtape debut, The Millennium Falcon. Joining Sundown and Chuuwee on the guest tip throughout The Millennium Falcon are Intalek, Thee Tom Hardy, Sean Boog, Carbin, Drique London, Keno, Big Remo, GQ and HaLo. All production comes courtesy of Sundown.
Since Declaime aka Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow co-founded their own label, SomeOthaShip in 2010, the duo has been releasing projects from artists including Quazedelic, Riff Raff McGriff, and others. The pair is also focused on developing a collection of their own releases, and while Georgia will release Seeds, a collaborative effort with Madlib on March 27th, Declaime has been equally busy as he continues to promote his latest album,Self-Study, released in 2011.
The latest single from Self-Study is "Ship's Doctor." Georgia Anne Muldrow produced the song, and in continuing their efforts to keep things in-house and hands-on, Dudley and Georgia directed and produced the video together. The straightforward clip features Declaime embodying his Dr. Shrooman persona, as his rhymes – a mix of slippery wordplay and spiritually-guided social commentary – unravel throughout the song, accompanied by a mix of scrolling effects that help to drive home his message.
On The Vegetable & The Ferret two Bay Area underground legends in White Mic (Bored Stiff) and Z-Man (One Black Radius) connect to bring us nine fog city slappers full of wit, knowledge, and stories about their past, present, and future as lyricists.
Grab the free download below and check out the Z-Man and White Mic video interview for more background info. I also added Z-Man's new video "Z-Machine Gun" because it's bugged out lovely.
Los Angeles renaissance artist Anacron has just dropped the third installment of his Facelift remix project, Facelift 3: Cosmetic Characteristics. Miles beyond the typical hip-hop "mixtape," Anacron employs his talents as a producer, instrumentalist, rapper, and singer to morph 12 previously crafted tunes into completely evolved (and revolved) interpretations.
On number three, Anacron tackles artists like Lenny Kravitz, Malachai, Rollerskaters, and more.
Boston's Black EL and Ryan Durkin are preparing to drop a lot of material on us in 2012. They blast things off with this Lo Jones directed video for "Under the Influence" off their upcoming freebie project, The Collage.
This is the first track that Rampage (of Flipmode Squad) has released off his upcoming Everyone Ain’t Loyal EP (Feb 2012) featuring the reason why I posted this in the first place, RA the Rugged Man.
Three years later, & here it is- the official debut collaborative album from
Planet Asia x G_Force - Camouflage Jackets.
Originally recorded in 2008, G_ & Asia first connected thru MySpace (remember that?)
when G was still just 18 years old & living in Eugene, OR & reached out to the Fresno rap veteran. Asia dug what he heard, & quickly the duo started sending trading back beats & verses to each other.
The tracks that resulted from the sessions were intended to have a few different homes, including a period when they were signed to Talib Kweli’s label, BlackSmith,
but were ultimately left in the vault - never to be heard from again,
until now, where they are available, in full, as a free download.
Naturally sample-heavy in nature, the beats on Camo Jackets
pull from sources of classic soul, psych rock & even reggae/dub records - & w/ them as his backdrop, Asia delivers one of his most hungry & focused album performances in years w/ his streetwise battle raps & unmistakable cadence.
You can hear three previews from the LP & see the tracklisting & credits before getting the full download – all below.
Growing up I was a huge fan of 8Ball & MJG it was an honor to work with them on “Money On The Floor” & from there we just started building. This record is coming out on 8Ball’s new mixtape Premro which is dropping soon. 4evaNaDay February 20th, I Got This. – K.R.I.T.
With this project, Alexander Wolfe (a.k.a. Wolfey) aimed to capture the fear and uncertainty that hung quietly like a shadow over North America in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Musically, he draws on a diverse array of influences ranging from artists such as Burial, DJ Shadow, and early James Blake to Radiohead, Boards of Canada, and Miles Davis.
Wolfey re-contextualizes classic soul vocals from the likes of Nina Simone and Billy Withers, whose mournful performances compliment the ominous vibes established by his use of atmospheric field recordings, and speech samples taken from Harmony Korine’s films Julien Donkey-boy and Gummo.
This is Wolfey’s first release on Blenheim & Celtic (Montreal, CAN). He originally planned to include four tracks on this release; however, upon the recommendation of a friend, (LA-based beat-maker & mc, Jonwayne), Wolfey decided to withhold the fourth track from the release in order to develop it a bit further. It may or may not be released in the future– The Sleep Country EP was mastered at Transition Studios, (London, UK). The artwork is by Lincoln Clarkes (Vancouver, CAN).
Wolfey is an electronic musician based in Montreal, Canada. He studied electronic music production through Berklee College of Music (Boston, US). He is currrently finishing up undergraduate work in Philosophy and History at McGill (Montreal, CAN). As a dj, Wolfey has been quietly establishing a reputation performing in support of such forward-thinking artists as Eskmo (Warp, Ninja Tune) and Jonwayne (Stones Throw, Alpha Pup).
I love what the two German composers did on this soundtrack. Like Roni Sarig said below, "It's just one more nugget mined from the overflowing heaps of past decades' trash culture". This top notch find contains 14 oddball compositions full of sitars, brash horns, psychedelic sounds/arrangements, and kinky keys. The only thing that tops the music is the presence of the beautiful Soledad Miranda on the cover/inserts.
You'll recognize its hip hop connection instantly in the songs We Don't Care and Necromania (hear both below).
Here are two of my favorite tracks from the album below:
For diehard fans of low-budget cult cinema, Jess Franco is among the great directors--his style somewhere between European versions of Roger Corman's Mondo sexploitation and Andy Warhol's hardcore improv. His films Vampyros Lesbos, The Devil Came from Akasava, and Mrs. Hyde, She Kills in Ecstasy--all made in 1970 and starring Franco's doomed Spanish seductress Soledad Miranda--perfected "horrotica," Franco's melange of B-grade horror and twisted erotica. Collecting original music from the films' soundtracks, Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party pays tribute to Franco, Miranda (who died in a 1971 car crash), and the films they made together.
German composers Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab (recording as Vampires' Sound Incorporation) created music sufficiently groovy and go-go to accompany Franco's freaked-out vision. Their crazy sounds are a speed-hopped swinger's bash of blaring trumpet, booming trombone, slinky organ, and spacy sitar, with a beefy foundation of mod guitar, bass, and drums. Eccentrically titled instrumentals like "The Lions and the Cucumber," "Droge CX 9," and "The Six Wisdoms of Aspasia" manage to be psychedelic in the way of both the Doors' haunting rock and the Fifth Dimension's up-up-and-away pop. Music ripe for revival, Sexadelic Dance Party falls somewhere between the glorious lounge orchestrations of Esquivel and the cheap Casio-funk porn music championed by bands like the Beastie Boys. It's just one more nugget mined from the overflowing heaps of past decades' trash culture. --Roni Sarig
Here is a dope video and catchy track from Toronto's Backburner crew off of their 2011 album of the same name. Hand'Solo Records are also putting on a remix contest for the song. Read the details below.
Hand'Solo Records and the Backburner crew are excited to announce the release of the video for the first single (and title track) from their new album, Heatwave. Toolshed's Timbuktu provides a lackadaisical, piano-heavy beat to create a breezy summertime vibe as a backdrop for the sweaty lyrics of himself, Chokeules (also of Toolshed), Wordburglar, Jesse Dangerously, Jay Bizzy, and Thesis Sahib with his crazed but catchy hook. Out as of Monday, January 16, 2012, the video is produced and directed by 3:AM Design with welcome assistance from the legions of awesome Backburner fans who financed the production through their kindly contributions.
Remix Backburner's debut single, "Heatwave." Submit by February 29, 2012. Submissions will be judged by a representative of Hand'Solo Records and the participating members of Backburner. The winning remix will be announced on HandSoloRecords.com and Backburner.ca as well as included on the upcoming collector's edition vinyl EP of Heatwave, and the producer of the winning remix will receive five copies of this vinyl release. The following four runner up remixes will also be featured on HandSoloRecords.com and Backburner.ca.
Here is episode 1 of what I guess will be an on going series of Sahtyre raising the bar with his bars.
Here goes episode 1 of my #BARS youtube series directed/edited by Amadeuz Christ (@amadeuzchrist) of Open University. Shot out to Strongarm (@strongarm408), and my beautiful co-stars Maxine Myles (@maxinemyles), and Marlene Mendoza. Subscribe to my youtube channel to stay up on the latest shit http://www.youtube.com/sahtyre.
On this new track aDaD teams up with Simple X and Midas Wells, collectively known as Tensei, and adds a fuzzy, futuristic twist to his already cosmic cadence.
Make sure to keep your satellites orbiting around Tensei as they will be releasing their debut EP on Plug Research later this year. We can also expect aDaD's "P.S. I'm Next" mixtape sometime in the near future as well.
I stayed up until 2:00 am to hear what these guys came up with to follow up an almost unbeatable album in For The Glory. The verdict? They did it again.
Lord of the Fly is bloated with what everyone loved about their 2011 album-- Nacho's endless stream of one liners, BSBD/Wolves' doped up and dreamy production, and a chemistry more potent than Nacho's weekday stash-- and more. My eyes match the color of the album's artwork (Sleepin' on this album is the cousin of death), but still I worm through my second listen and find myself loving what they did with Rammin', Phantom of the Opera, On a Bitch, Tool Man, Tutankhamun, Staring at the Sun, Tree Tops, I'm a Greek God, and Maintain.
The crew behind For the Glory stuck with the formula that worked but found a way to up the ante their sophomore take. The beats are louder and pack more punch, Nacho's pen burst with the marks of stigmata, and team RaisedbyBlueSkyBlackNachoDeathWolvesPicasso are about eat their way into the minds of the masses.
As I said in my 2011 Albums of the Year post: "His clever writtens and rapping style match the reasons why rap fans love MF Doom and Danny Brown and the ethereal production provided by the incredibly underrated BSBD and company only help his genius reach divine levels."
"Got Next" is WhiskeyTeeth's version of XXL's infamous annual Freshmen list.
In my opinion, XXL does a great job with the drama and hype around their annual list. Even though I don't touch the majority of the stuff they paste on their cover, they do a decent job of tapping into what's hot and what people are tuned into in the blogosphere era. So, just to clear things up before we begin, this is not a combative response. This is not WhiskeyTeeth saying they got things all wrong. This is simply our take on their idea with the artists we enjoy.
I'm not quite sure the "guidelines" that XXL has with their list, but I do follow one for Got Next: The nominated artists must not have released a debut RETAIL album before the first day of the year (January 1st, 2012) [It's fine if their free release turned into a purchasable album] . I follow this guideline because, to me, that's a true "freshmen". A Got Next artist is an artist on the cusp of greatness; one that has impressed and shown great potential before asking for your cash; a "rookie" on the rise.
I love hip hop of all types, but I'm not here to celebrate the same batch of artists that the rest of blogs laud (although a few of these artists may get coverage there). These are 5 artists that I believe deserve your attention and are consistently shelling out staggeringly good singles, EPs, mixtapes, videos, free albums and deserve just as much praise and attention.
Here are the artists that WhiskeyTeeth believes-- GOT NEXT.
On his debut album, I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here, Milo's blend of self help hop and computerized soul folk swings smoothly over a grab bag of noise from Flying Lotus, Freddie Joachim, Madlib, Com Truise, fLako, Shlomo, and others. The binary bleeps provided by these popular purveyors of post-hop pops and hisses are a perfect accessory to Milo's dry perspectives on life, love, and music. His self deprecation, obscure references, and nerdisms will remind you a lot of Busdriver and the aforementioned Open Mike Eagle, but are authentic and his own. What I dig most about Milo is his ability to balance the silly and the serious. Some MCs get caught up in a vortex of wordplay and topical concepts, but never expose who they really are. There were numerous times on this album where Milo showed his vulnerability and allowed listeners to connect to something deeper than his expert way with words.
If I knew about this release when it dropped in November of last year, there is no doubt it would have landed high on my end of the year list(s). Milo is a 19-year old MC with an old soul and a talent with words far beyond his years that nix any conversations about his potential growth.
Better late than never. The music world is ravenous for this brain food.
Here is my favorite track and the full download below.
Intuition and Equalibrum drop a track out of the sky for all the fellas that have dealt with the emotions and insecurities of a scorned bird. STFU and listen.
New Jersey is strongly represented on this new track as Mello Mel, Tone Liv (who I've been meaning to listen to since I've heard his name floating around a lot), and Soymilk Sinatra toast to our favorite pastime and how you partake in it the right way.
I'm dying that someone made a Words With Friends related record, but I'm not hating on it at all because I'm dragging letters around on that thing all day. What's cool about this corny track is hearing three very different Houston artists come together on a very un-Houston beat. Also, I've never heard of Doughbeezy before this, but I like what I heard and swiped his Reggie Bush & Kool-Aid mixtape from last year as I typed this out. You can do the same below.
Here is a nice new track from the German production duo of JR & PH7 and rappers St. Joe Louisand Brokn.Englsh off of their new collaboration EP of the same name. You can cop the EP on iTunes here.
Here is a track from DJ J-Ronin and DJ SnipsAll Elements vol.12 hosted by M.O.P.
All Elements Vol.12 is finally done, physical copies will be dropping next tuesday along with a digital download link on bandcamp. As per usual over a dozen records were done exclusively for this mixtape with M.O.P., Sha Stimuli, Cappadonna, Rock of Heltah Skeltah, Hell Razah, Planet Asia, Math Hoffa, Timbo King, Serious Jones, Cortez, Illa Ghee, Ruste Juxx, Sav Killz, DNA, Hollow Da Don, Nutso and more!
I promised myself to post more Texas music in 2012. I don't just listen to that jazzy underground stuff.
Here is a new track that I'm feeling from an emerging duo out of Dallas called Gorillas Only, made up of Slim Dawg and Yella Man.This new track features a hard beat from Taylor Gang's Cardo and will be featured on their upcoming mixtape, Texas Made, Texas Paid. Via ThaFixxx.
San Diego beatsmith Insightful laced the world with a nice remix for Eligh & Amp Live's Remix contest. The submission period for the contest has ended, so it will be interesting to see if Insightful nabbed one of the prizes.
It's not too often I throw up a post in the middle of listening to an album, but Prof had me at track one (Gampo). The intro track epitomizes the rest of the album, as well as Prof's general attitude: “Everyone’s trying to be a preacher or a politician— telling you how to live your life,” he says. “I’m not running for Senate. I’m doing this for fun and I don’t watch my mouth.”
Halfway through and King Gampo is exactly that-- nothing serious but overflowing with originality, infectious beats, and gripping rhymes. Prof's album is a fun listen from a seasoned veteran ready to break through his Minneapolis obscurity and this is the album that could get him there. In my opinion, it has cult potential just like the oddball indie film Prof is portraying on the cover.
Surgeon is a St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada based group of post-rock phoenixes that rose from the ashes of a previous instrumental rock project called Narrows in 2008. After adopting a darker, heavier, and structural vibe to their music, these practitioners of prog, led by leftover Narrows members Steve Cowan and Andrew Wicks, went full speed ahead into another realm of instrumental rock and came up with their debut self titled EP that we bring you today.
Unlike many other post-rock and math-rock outfits, Surgeon are careful to avoid weaving compositions that are under developed or overly complicated; instead, the band combines moody multi-layered melodies, waves of intricate guitar work, and a rousing rhythm section that seamlessly flow through multiple genres while still offering audiences music that's easy to digest. Instrumental rock is a still a niche genre, but Surgeon is one of those bands that could entice a new brand of listener because they understand how not to alienate the average joe while keeping the attention of listeners that are searching for a musical mind fuck.
On their six track EP, Surgeon first lures you in with the aptly titled intro, "Spectrum", where they begin with a sequence of pulsating hard rock riffs that eventually splash onto a shore of trickling guitars and dreamy percussion before looping back into a nightmare of metal. "Octomom" opposes the intro as slow tentacles full of ethereal electronic noise, hypnotic bass and drums, and layers of guitars and eastern woodwinds slowly swirl in circles before the song breaks off into a fast and hopeful swim. The band then shows their various talents with the meat and potatoes of the album-- "Silverfish", "Doso", and "Solar"-- where Surgeon's song composing, expert musicianship, and knack of playing within the heart beat of instrumental rock's cardiovascular system surges through each epic twist. The grand finale, "Rat King", is exactly that, culminating everything the band did throughout the EP in one last dramatic song fit for everyone's end.
The music on this EP is almost two years old, so it will be interesting to see where the band goes next with their music. For now, this emerging Canadian outfit is looking to leave their Newfoundland shores to explore the world and are hoping that this EP gives them the wings to do so.
"Golden State" is the twelfth track off of Planet Asia's upcoming Black Belt Theatre album dropping February 28th 2012 via Gold Chain/Wandering Worx/Greenstreets. The album will feature vocals from Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Paul Wall, Ras Kass, Camp Lo, Strong Arm Steady, Fashawn, Willie The Kid, Torae, and more.
All my experimental hip hoppers are really slacking on Apocandall of my true schoolers are really slacking on RacecaR.
This is a song featuring both of the aforementioned artists off of the forthcoming Langston Bukowski"Leftovers" EP. The track is produced by Modill's K-Kruz.
Seattle producer Chance Random really impressed me with his production on the Cute Attack album that you all slept on last year, so I was pumped to see his latest instrumental album, Catching Cloudzzz, up for a free download.
The mood on this record isn't as dark as it was on Cute Attack's self titled, but it's equally as crisp, cohesive, and tactfully put together. It really comes together at the end with my favorite songs "Precipitation" and "Top Floor"; two tracks that highlight his expert ear and acute understanding of classic downtempo and trip hop rhythms.
Here is the free album download below, as well as a sample of another one of my favorite tracks in "Looking Up".
Matt Schad aka Schadillac is an Austin beatsmith that has laced loops for local staples such as the League of Extraordinary G'z and Dred Skott. Today, I bring you his latest seven track instrumental EP, Grizzly, which spotlights Schadillac's excellent ear for samples and love for the organic side of production. For those that can't stand when a record is overly produced, Schadillac has a knack for leaving the dust on the EQ and letting the 45s ride from where they came from.
Here is my favorite track "Pacman Jones" along with the free EP download.
Chicago native Innobushu - real name Herry Utama - has been slowly building a cult following over the past few years via a series of self released projects, garnering acclaim from the likes of Joe Kay (Soulection) amongst others in the process. FreeForm Records are now pleased to present Innobushu's newest offering: Distraction EP.
Distraction EP marks a pronounced change in Inno's approach to music. His previous sample heavy leanings are replaced with a more compositional approach: drawing inspiration from the likes of Jaco Pastorius and Norman Connors to create layers of dense synth progressions and glittering arpeggios. The sound on offer here is equally both retrospective and forward thinking, combining a heady blend of 80's soul/funk nostalgia with contemporary electronic beats. Essential music for late night reflections...
Distraction EP will be released 10th January 2012 via our bandcmap page, priced at £2. Audio previews & pre-orders are now available via the bandcamp link below.
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