Public Axis dropped this off and I'm feeling it. Nice and smooth from the bi-coastal collabo of Jersey MC Al Mighty and Left coast steady-riser Blu with DistantStarr on the Beat. This is definitely some nice ish for the back pack set. Headphone-ready nod-along goodness for everyone on their commute.
MAGr (Al + Starr) is dropping an LP next week called No News is Good News, so if you're feeling this, definitely keep an eye out for them.
This was delivered via electronic mail last week. A message from RJD2 (via his publicist), a friendly note to say hello, because he seems to have been away for quite a while. The last thing I remember from him was the project with Aceyalone that was dope.
Dude's got style.
Now he's got his own label. Nice work. Here is what he has to say:
I’ve had a busy year, and have waited what seems like an eternity to talk about this stuff. I wanted to have a little music to put on the table as well, so you don’t think im just some windbag that’s wasting your time blabbing away left and right. So much has changed in the last 12 months, so lets just get to the point: After much legwork/lawyer hours/busting ass, I announce to you that I have started my own record label, RJ’S ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS, and the first signing is…….RJD2!!! I am now a free agent, working for myself. Been a long time coming, and it is truly one of the most exciting moments of my career. The hardcore completionists out there may know that I have previously done some “smaller” releases on my own, under the label Bustown Pride. That was small peanuts; this time out, I have FULL worldwide distribution through The Orchard (world digital, US physical), and !K7 everywhere outside of the US (physical). Furthermore, I also have acquired the first 3 RJD2 releases for my label; my first 3 babies-Dead Ringer, The Horror EP, and Since We Last Spoke. But that’s not all…. This past Tuesday (technically today, as I write this at 11:30pm; running a label is no joke!) saw the first ever digital release of 3 cds of b-sides and rarities I had previously released on Bustown Pride: Your Face Or Your Kneecaps, In Rare Form, and Things Go Better Instrumentals. Your Face Or Your Kneecaps also features 2 brand-new, previously unreleased tracks, as a bonus. But wait, there’s more…. On October 20, there will be the release of a box set commemorating close to 10 years in the game: RJD2 2002-2010. A strictly vinyl affair, it will include full length LP versions of Dead Ringer, The Horror EP (first time on vinyl!), Since We Last Spoke, The Tin Foil Hat EP (a BRAND NEW EP of 7 unreleased songs!), a hand silk screened, signed and numbered poster, a download card for exclusive treats, plus a beautifully printed box. Oh, and lastly, my new album is done. I know I said before it would be out in 2009-you did know I meant FISCAL year, not CALENDAR YEAR, right? You wouldn’t want me to rush this out all willy-nilly, would you? good, I didn’t think so. One last thing before I go; just to be forthright, this is only a portion of what I’ve got lined up for you. I have been SERIOUSLY busy in the last 2 years; and very little of it has to do with twittering. At the risk of sounding all corny, I feel the need to say something that’s important to me: I’ve realized recently that I do music, make records, LISTEN to records, tour, and generally hole myself up in the studio because I love it, not cause its my job. Its become as natural as breathing, and keeps me sane-most of the time. Im much more concerned with making a timeless record, than with how to sell a record nowadays. Also, if you don’t see me posting left and right on whatever the most current social networking site is, its not cause I don’t like being social, its cause I feel like our time on earth is very very short, and that the most I have to offer this planet in my little window of time here is through the vessel of music. I would rather leave behind something you can hopefully use a little more than an update on my belly button lint. Hopefully, a catalog that speaks more volumes than all the blogs I could possibly write in a hundred years. Alright, that’s it for the moment. What are you doing here? Mad Men is back! -rj
Because what do you do after you've had breakfast at Tiffany's, you start smokin' at Tiffany's...or at least you did in the 70s back when cigarettes weren't yet outed as major health risks.
There I was, unsuspectingly checking my email when Boom! the new project from turntablist par excellence Kid Koala's new project called Slew arrives.
In the words of Monty Python, 'And now for something completely different."
I've enjoyed the Kid's releases in the past: quirky, warbling turntable experimentations, usually accompanied by nice beats and of course, ridiculous cuts. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is lovely, but nothing, not even the far out stuff he did for cuts on the Deltron 3030 album prepared me for what was about to be unleashed by Slew.
Here's the gist: Kid Koala teams up with the rhythm section of Wolfmother and drops a turntable-laden psych rock record. I know. It's just crazy enough to work.
Remember the first time you heard a white stripes record (if you're old enough to have had that record be Elephant or earlier)? Remember the way the straight-forward rocking managed to be both immediately gratifying, and yet enjoyable over the long haul too. How the recipe seemed so simple, and yet no one had done it quite like them. That's how I felt when I heard the 3rd track off this Slew record, and the whole album is dope.
This show is either on the road, or about to hit the road. They aren't playing any shows south of the mason-dixon line, so I'm not gonna post the schedule out of spite, but if you live on the West Coast or in NYC, you can probably see this in person if you do some homework.
The Dope Sandwich crew has formed like Voltron to create the Union of Sacred Monsters, a group featuring Basik Lee, Knife, Zone D, Righteous and Mr. Brown. After years of doing shows all over the place, hosting the longest running active event downtown (the Tuesday night weekly hip hop extravaganza at the Jinx), and dropping numerous mixtapes and solo projects, the crew has finally gotten around to putting out an EP of new material as the Union of Sacred Monsters.
Here is one of my favorite joints off the EP, which you can find on iTunes and other online music merchants.
A few weeks ago, the wife brought home the Black Moth Super Rainbow album Dandelion Gum, and I learned a lesson about judging bands by their names. In hindsight, I guess I should have realized that any group of people far out enough to think of such a moniker would be into some pretty psychedelic sounds, but really I assumed they were some sort of sad bastard music. (On a side note, please understand that I hadn't seen the album art either, which is also a dead giveaway that this is something brilliant.) I'm sorry.
This is the first song off the record, and it really sets the tone. "Forever Heavy"
BMSR must have listened to some Bruce Haack at some point. Along with a laundry list of vintage, left-field electronic acts, and some old school hip hop. Every bit of it, more than worthy sources of inspiration.
Here's a remix I just finished in hopes that it will earn a spot on an upcoming release from Irish electro-house producer Blumenkraft. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
Gotta give a big shout out to two C-Port alumni for this track "Sloppy Joe Pt.1", one of the new tracks off Danny!'s upcoming album, Where is Danny?, because it is pure butter. Alex Goose on the beat, and he drops a plush velvet carpet for D.Swain to vocally stroll down.
This is good shit fellas. Can't wait to hear the rest.
Wander over to Danny's site to grab this and "Manic at the Disco"
The inter-connected nature of the internet is a wonderful thing. There is infinite possibility for wondering and discovery fueled by serendipity and a hunch...
Point and case, the Algorhythms EP, which I stumbled across earlier this evening, and which you should go and grab of copy of here.
Here is the review, as contained within the context of a Nas line:
This is some lyrical smooth shit, maybe not that murderers move with, but you get the idea. These theif's themes have stolen their way into my rotation.
Live hip hop can be a bad thing. There are dudes who can kill it in the booth who just have no stage presence at all. I think that's why you don't see too many live albums, with the exception of the Roots, whose live album is completely separated from the proverbial chain.
This is what makes Basik Lee and Zone D's Live in Savannah album, which they've been passing out at shows for a couple weeks, an exception to the rule. As members of Savannah's Dope Sandwich crew, these two have played a major roll in holding down real hip hop in Savannah, hosting Hip Hop Night at the Jinx, battling anyone and everyone, and doing shows all over the place - as well as breaking and DJing respectively.
What it comes down to is these two might grind or hustle, but its focused on refining their art rather than slanging. They've probably logged more stage hours than most cats can dream of, and their live performance seems effortlessly energetic.
This was recorded down at Livewire on River Street. Backed by the UFO DJs, they proceed to shred freestyles and do live remixes of their tracks on top of classic beats. Its a document of two cats who know their craft having fun performing.
While you're listening, ponder who approved that cover art...His jewelry is straight off the set of the first Conan movie, a shirt might have been tasteful, and the red lighting lends the scene a hellish quality. It's probably a sin to be so funky...
Wow. Sometimes an album ends up hitting me at just the right moment, like just when I needed it, and for a brief moment the universe looks like an intricately detailed pattern of meaning rather than a cold, uncaring jumble of happenstance.
Speech DeBelle is a British MC, and a female...so those two things will probably mean that she'll never really hit in the states as anything more than a gimmick, or will be compared unjustly to Lady Sovereign (because she's the only other British female MC most folks could name). And for better or worse, Ms. DeBelle won't hit as a gimmick, because there is nothing in her music that could be seen as anything other than real, and that doesn't play well among the irony set.
"The Key" - Speech Debelle
Her debut is titled Speech Therapy, which is apt, because her name is Speech and she's getting a lot stuff off her chest with this album. Lyrically, it is some of the realest shit I've heard all year, and pretty much every cut is on point.
The closest sonic analogy would be Digable Planets...mostly on the clean, organic jazz backing sounds, but that still doesn't do her justice.
I've got to admit, one of the reasons this album struck me was because it is so completely different, and so refreshing. I've gotten jaded with hip hop lately. If it's not trite top 40 noise, then its cookie cutter underground where local heads with fruity loops do their best 9th Wonder impression while some cat spits about how we need to take back the art from commercial interests. Or it's some synth heavy, ironic party track that trivializes everyone involved. The whole game isn't like that, but if you follow hip hop then you might feel where I'm coming from - sometimes it feels that way.
Speech is on some other shit. Her verses would be incredible spoken word pieces if their weren't beats behind her. Her wordplay is clever, her verses are tight, and there are some lines that will make you check yourself real quick.
She doesn't sound very old, but her music is grown-up.
"Where Do We Go?" - Speech DeBelle
I'm a little late posting this, the album dropped June 1, but you should go buy it because if you like these two tracks, the rest of the album won't disappoint.
