Enjoy.
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
Chiddy Bang, a group made up of college freshmen, sounds fantastic. Think Gym Class Heroes with more electronic influences. They were first featured a month or two ago on PrettyMuchAmazing! and I was hooked. There are two tracks I want to share today, these guys might wind up going somewhere.
Chiddy Bang – On Our Way [mp3 download, right click]
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^Laid-back top-down jam.
Chiddy Bang – Kids [mp3 download, right click]
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Ah, that new-school sampling. Anyone else notice the paradigm shift in the last 5 or 10 years towards sampling contemporary songs? From sampling MIA and Santogold (“Swagga like us;” ”Brooklyn”), to sampling the early 00′s electronic club anthems, it’s a growing trend and often not done very well. Anyone else shocked and disappointed that T.I. sampled “Dragnosta Din Tei” – you know, that Maya Hi song?
I like this one. This one samples MGMT’s “Kids,” and it’s fantastic.
Monday, April 6th, 2009
Alright, so maybe I’m approaching fanboy status, but this is the 2nd Asher Roth single and it’s really pretty good. The production is very Cee Lo, which makes sebse considering he sings on this track. The beats are raw, the hook is catchy, and Roth’s lyrics are pretty fly.
“If you don’t get made when I get fat/cause all I do is eat, drink, smoke weed, & rap,/and play madden? Then dag/ that’s pretty rad and I take it all back!”
Asher Roth feat. Cee Lo – Be By Myself [mp3 download]
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Monday, March 9th, 2009
Oooh, a new track from Method Man and Redman. The verses from Method Man and Redman are decent, though not incredible, they have a very tight flow. The only question I have is this: what on earth are they rapping about?
The real hero of this track is Saukrates, the guy singing the hook. The hook is tight, and I’d be down for 4 minutes of just that. Actually it’s reminiscent of that track “Compton” by Guerilla Black and Beanie Man.
Redman & Method Man (feat. Saukrates) – A Yo [mp3 - right click to dl]
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Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Emilio Rojas has just dropped a mixtape, entitled “Recession Proof.” A fair number of the tracks have been kicking around (“Young Fresh & Fly,” “585,” and a few others) but others are new to me and totally SIIIIICKKKKK.
My favorite track on the album right now (aside from the clearly superior 585) is the track “Don’t Go.” Featuring a woman named Mela Machinko and produced by DJ Noodles, the hook is emotional and rough. The lyrics are tight and it’s just generally emotionally raw.
The beats on this album are really great, by and large. Certain tracks, like “Way She Moves” harken back to some of the best thug-love-songs of the 90s. The drums are tight, it’s got a perfect little swerve-y synth and the classic guitar strums. Oh, and the hook is pretty good too. Others, like “Just One Night” feature the TINIEST bit of auto-tune and a synth pretty similar to “Get Buck.” Is that a good thing? Actually, Rojas’s lines are tight enough and interesting enough that I really don’t even care to debate the issue.
Two of my favorite Rojas tracks aren’t actually on this mixtape. Check out “That Time” and “Bailout Money” for some fun additions to this fantastic album. And for all you U of Rochester kids, how many of those “585″ references do you actually understand? Leave a comment, let me know how “ROC Savvy” you are. Oh, and you can find the mixtape “Recession Proof” HERE.
Emilio Rojas - 585 (remix featuring Rochester’s hip-hop scene) [mp3 download, right-click]
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Emilio Rojas (feat. Mela Machinko) – Don’t Go [mp3, right-click to download]
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Saturday, February 21st, 2009
Snoop dogg, what are we going to do with you? First you mess about with Jim Morrison and now you mess about with Mr. Johnny Cash. Oh wait, “Riders on the Storm” was hot. And this record is pretty cool too. You might be violating some sort of sacred rock & roll commandments, but I won’t say anything.
To be fair, “Walk the Line” isn’t incredible – it’s got some weird small key-clashes that always put me off it, but at the same time it’s nearly endearing. Odd, yet endearing.
Snoop Dogg & Johnny Cash – Walk the Line [mp3 download]
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Friday, February 20th, 2009
Colin Munroe, of previous-post fame, has graced us with another track. We first heard him in the the fantastic “Colin Munroe is the Unsung Hero” mixtape. “I’m Fine” is a new track featuring Young Buck and continues the same wonderful trend of hip-hop beats, trumpet flairs, and R&B guitar finishes. Young Buck’s flow gets a little too close to Bun B at some points, but that’s not exactly a bad thing.
It’s been on repeat for the last 24 hours, so I’d suggest you see what it’s all about.
Colin Munroe feat. Young buck – I’m Fine [mp3 download]
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Monday, February 16th, 2009
A welcome departure from his other recent material, this track isn’t homophobic. Instead, it’s a gritty picture of hardship that is supported by a great beat. The bible imagery is a little much for me, but he’s got some fantastic biting lines in there:
“Pray to God AND the devil in church,/I’ma worship whoever hold me first./What you know ’bout trust?/ You ever got locked up?/ To have the prosecutor say you in luck!/ Tell us who gave you the dope, who gave you the pistol./Who told you to shoot it, think smart and think the sentences”
The beat is sharp, too – some great Chicago-style soul samples and a bass-line that reminds me of a downpour. If the majority of his new work is as impressive as this I’ll be a happy kid.
Rhymefest – Exodus 5:1 [mp3 - click to download]
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
With a Poli. Sci exam tomorrow evening, I’ve pretty much locked myself in the library today. I procrastinate and you win!
Charles Hamilton – Brooklyn Girls [mp3]
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His first real track was that “Windows Media Player,” made almost solely from using sounds from Windows 98. Amusing, and the lyrics were tight. This is a little bit more playable, and DJ Benzi (as an aside, his new mixtape 10 Deep is fantastic) has been hyping him like none other. This is some good stuff – the beat is energetic but not out of control. It hits hard but would sound equally at home in my car (1996 Green Toyota Camry, thanks for asking) with the windows down, or in the middle of a massive house-party. The lines are clever and while I prefer the WASP-y/JAP-y girls that reside in Massachusetts, who am I to quarrel with Hamilton’s taste?
Peter Gabriel & Hot Chip – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa [mp3]
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Um… Holy shit. No, seriously. This is soooooo god-damn good. Considering that Vampire Weekend is probably one of my favorite groups right now, and that Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is incredibly influenced by Peter Gabriel, I cannot believe this is actually happening. My favorite line? “Feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too. And it feels so unnatural… to sing your own name.” Oh, and did I mention that Hot Chip worked on this with him? I’m not Hot Chip’s biggest fan, but this is damn cool.
The only gripe? It sounds like this was recorded with the F-word in it and then they silenced it for the final editing. The end of the “do you want to” is cut off in a strange way. Apparently this was supposed to make the single version of this track but was never released. This makes procrastinating soooo much easier. Made my day. Made my day. Made my day.
Daniel Meriweather & Wale – Pot of Gold [mp3]
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This track must have come out a long time ago, cause it originally appeared on Mark Ronson’s “Get Chai” mixtape from like 2004 – around when he started working with Meriweather. That said, this has a Wale verse on it, and it sounds a little cleaner than the version I have from the last mixtape. It’s got a good piano feel, with some hard-hitting drums that would feel at home in an early 90′s hip-hop party anthem. Anyway, I highly recommend you check it out.
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And… an amusing little music video from Wiley (featuring Daniel Meriweather’s voice). They did this in one take. How? Why? Thank you lord.
Sunday, December 14th, 2008
A few new tracks to make the snowy days go easier…
The Game and Lil Wayne – Red Magic [mp3]
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Originally from The Drought Is Over mixtapes, this song is sick. The beat is absolutely beautiful, some sharp and thick horn stabs with a beat that doesn’t mess around. While this never got officially released, it made it’s way onto a mixtape and then was finally released without the obnoxious “EMPIRE!” DJ talking over it.
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When I listen to it, it’s overcast and grey out as, riding in your car, waiting for the heat to warm up. It’s got a great piano sample and the drums are tight and understated. The only I think I don’t like about it is the sinister organ stab at the end of every 4 bars, but whatevs. It’s a good feel anyway.
Kings of Convenience – I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (Mojib Remix) [mp3]
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This is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous and melancholy. The original is really good, but this remix has the perfect breakbeat behind it, some incredible samples (including some strange vocal samples, talking about chord changes). The song is oddly compelling and the more I listen, the more I want to stick it on repeat.
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Warning: This Post Is HUGE. Oh, and click the titles of each song for the mp3. Deal?
Without further ado…
I’ve wanted to do this post for a while, and I finally have enough mp3s for it. There are tracks, mixtapes, and a DJ set from Z-Trip. This will take you days to digest, and it’s incredible. Please don’t take this as some lame political statement – I’ll be voting for Obama but that’s not why I’m posting these. I’m posting these because there’s some great music in here. And it’s got a theme. I do love themes.