mixtape maestro (2.0)

After dwelling in the dark and moody on the 80’s sci-fi-meets-’70’s soul curiosity “Stylo”, cartoon collective Gorillaz offer a much-welcomed return trip to the lighthearted pop end of their stylistic spectrum for newest Plastic Beach tease “Superfast Jellyfish”.

Goofily sculpted as a three minute long advert of a microwavable breakfast dish that we’re sure is meant to be a metaphor for something deep (sans helpful lyric sheet, we won’t even try to figure out what it’s really going on about), “Jellyfish” is definitely a strange lil’ concoction; at the same time, it’s also one that won’t easily be escaping your brain anytime soon, thanks to convivial cameos from De La Soul and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and an irresistible schoolyard funk groove that’s just begging for a third guest spot turn from that other great animated band, Fat Albert & The Junkyard Gang.

Snatch up a radio rip of the track (shouts) below; pre-order Plastic Beach here for the single CD version or here, for the CD/ DVD combo.

DL: “Superfast Jellyfish (Radio Rip)” (alt)

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, de la soul, gorillaz, gruff rhys, indie pop, plastic beach, super furry animals, UK

Gorillaz, the world’s biggest animated band (and recently announced Coachella 2010 headliners), are set to drop their third LP, Plastic Beach, this March, but they’ve gifted fans today with the streaming premiere of the album’s first single “Stylo”, featuring legendary soul great Bobby Womack and Mos Def.

“Stylo” may lack the immediate quirk-pop hookiness of previous singles “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc.”, but it’s nevertheless one of the band’s most endlessly intriguing creations.

Driven by heavily synthesized production-work that conjures up an eerie ’80’s sci-fi ambiance (it’s dominant musical figure, a dot-and-dash electro bass line, will definitely be echoing in your brain for the next week), the song takes on more of a trippy edge as it goes on, especially once the grainy-voiced Womack enters the picture, wailing his heart out about his “electric love” for the cut’s curious attempt at a chorus.

Expect another (likely equally as fascinating) Womack appearance, alongside guest spots from Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, De La Soul and The Clash’s Mick Jones & Paul Simmons, when Plastic Beach leaks probably weeks before drops March 9th.

Stylo (Feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack)

Gorillaz | MySpace Music Videos

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, alternative, bobby womack, gorillaz, mos def, UK

Our fellow blog peeps have already deduced Cudi’s newly leaked “That Girl” to be some sort of demo recording from long ago (and not a featured entry on his upcoming official debut), but even with it’s interlude-y, “fooling around in the studio” vibe, the track’s an enchanting one, finding the rapper sounding stoned out of his mind as he rambles on endlessly about some sexy dream babe he can’t easily shake out of his brain over some soothingly hypnotic riff-age (sample source anyone?).

All we can think about is how even more cool this would sound with Andre 3000 dropping one of those classic, forever-bar-long verses atop it.

DL: “That Girl” (alt)

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, demo, kid cudi

Tucked away in the closing third of Peter Bjorn and John’s Living Thing lies the underappreciated treasure “Stay This Way”, a lackadaisical reflection on one’s existence (“In my ridicule I thought that I was something special/ In spite of ordinary dreams/ But you end up getting tired of doing psychoanalysis of yourself”) that simultaneously brews a faint flickering of being a touching love ode (“You can only do as much in little time/ If you’re up for sharing I can split up mine/ ‘Cause it makes me happy”).

Geeky Valentine sentiments aside though, the track’s main pull lies in it’s production: a drowsy, snap-accented doo-wop arrangement (think a sluggish “Stand By Me”) that treads along so heavily, even the pregnant pauses between it’s punctuating bass plops feel like they weigh a ton. Despite that unappealing description, it’s a great sublime groove, one you could easily lose your thoughts in…and one that (with a little remix tinkering from producer DJ Jazzy Jeff) surprisingly comes across quite pleasantly when supporting a trio of emcees respectively wishing that they could have stayed ‘Toys R’ Us kids’.

The latest cut to leak from Mick Boogie’s highly-anticipated mixtape re-imagining of Living Thing (due August 27th), this Jeff-helmed revamp cleverly splices together original lines “I don’t wanna grow up” and “‘Cause it makes me happy” to form a brand new hook and inspire some fond childhood-recalling memories (including references to Nintendo 64, “Knight Rider”, lunchboxes, Hot Wheels, “TGIF”, sneak viewings of BET’s “Comic View”, freeze tag and, yes, “Do You Like Me?” notes) from featured rappers Big Pooh, Phil Nash and Chaundon.

DL: “Stay This Way” (alt)

DL: “Stay This Way (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, big pooh, chaundon, dj jazzy jeff, indie pop, mick boogie, mixtape, peter bjorn & john, phil nash, remix

When 2009 is all said and done, Drake will surely stand out as one of the more captivating music-related success stories of the year. A former tween TV-star (who no one wants to really take seriously) suddenly takes what feels like the entire industry by storm thanks to an excellent, 808s & Heartbreak-inspired mixtape and a couple of the year’s biggest crossover pop hits (“Best I Ever Had”, “Every Girl”)…all without even having an official label backing (well, until recently)? In a sense, it’s perfect “underdog-turned-top dog” Hollywood script fodder.

But what of Drake’s pre-So Far Gone years?

Take the Drizzy you appreciate right now with less focus on all the singing, replace Lil’ Wayne cameos for Little Brother guest spots and trade in the blog pop rehauls for soul-sample-based beats, and you’d pretty much nail what the emcee was bringing to the hip hop table prior to ‘09.

“Think Good Thoughts”, an entry from one of those older mixtape releases (2007’s much-acclaimed Comeback Season, to be more specific) was recently leaked to the masses in full (it’s previous incarnation omitted the final verse from Slum Village’s Elzhi), and while the track proves that Drake has always been a charismatic lyricist, it’s appeal lies more in the Native Tongue-y vibe Drake tended to favor back then.

Produced by 9th Wonder and based around a nicely looped sample of Anita Baker’s 1986 goodie “Sweet Love”, “Thoughts” sees Drake, Elzhi and Phonte (of Little Brother/ Foreign Exchange fame) doing their best to disprove rampant gossip gab that they subscribe to the typical “rap star” ways.

“We know what you thinkin love/ You think we out smokin’ and drinkin love/ Pushing big whips, chains clinkin’ love/ Well you don’t really know me like you think you know me,” Drake rhymes on the hook, later sharing a few words of wisdom concerning the negative rumors-spewing haters (“My groove theory is that when you too cheery/ They try to bring you down to the level they at”).

If we were to be honest though, we’d have to honor his trackmates as the true stars of this cut. Especially Phonte’s contribution, which starts off strong with this neck-chopping four-bar assault: “You probably think I walk around with my gun tucked in/ Swing dick to these hoes like nun chucks well/ You can think what you want but/ I think you been watchin’ too much BET Uncut“.

Drake’s official debut Thank Me Later is expected to drop sometime later this year (you can peep the long-awaited, and slightly disappointing, vid for “Best I Ever Had” here); but in the meantime, do yourself a favor and get familiar with the projects that really started “Drake-mania” off. A simple Google search should do the trick.

DL: “Think Good Thoughts” (alt)

Uncategorized 9th wonder, alt-hip hop, anita baker, drake, elzhi, mixtape, native tongues, phonte, soul sample

Rich Hil likes to call his sound “electric street music”. Going by the druggy, synth-heavy flourishes that dominate “Girls, Sounds & Colors”, a prematurely unleashed joint featuring an unsurprisingly ace guest rap from Kid Cudi, we’d probably label it electro-urban-psychedelia.

Disagreements in taggings aside, this acid trip of track is an intriguing one, leaving us both puzzled and mildly fascinated by the lead artist, who has apparently been doing the music thing for a few years now and also happens to be…(drum roll please)…TOMMY HILFIGER’S SON!! Interesting… (we say in our worst accented Bond villain voice while stroking our chins).

Hear/ snatch up the track below, followed by a video to the equally bewildering/ captivating cut “O’s”, then grab Hil’s The Lonely Limo mixtape from his No Limos blog here.

DL: “Girls, Sounds & Colors” (alt)

Rich Hil – O’s from The Famous Firm on Vimeo.

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, kid cudi, mixtape, rich hil

On his brilliantly formatted new mixtape Distant Travels Into Soul Theory (brought to us through a partnership of illRoots and 2dopeboyz), Miami emcee QuESt tracks every intricate moment of a romance’s span, from it’s nervous beginnings brought about via a dare through the always-precious “getting to know each other” phase to it’s unfortunate painful dissolution, setting each and every key instance against the lush soundbed of various ’70’s soul works (sampled acts include The Temptations, The Stylistics, Bootsy Collins and Isaac Hayes).

It’s cinematic unfolding coupled with some inspired crate-digging makes for a continually compelling affair, forcing one to re-experience their own trips through the giddy highs and depressing lows of past love lives alongside the rapper’s emotional rollercoaster of a narrative.

On early project highlight “Who You Are”, QuESt puts on his interrogation hat, picking the brain of his new boo as the cool throbbings of Ronnie Foster’s classic “Mystic Brew” (famously revived on Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation”) coat a laidback chill around his attempts at establishing a connection.

With nosy inquiries that range from favorite dishes and hobbies to “What you wanna do with your life?” and “What makes you wet?” delivered through QuESt’s oh-so-suave flow, the mellow entry lands as an appealing throwback to the feelgood, PG-rated air of the long-lost Native Tongues movement, an era when even at their horniest, the boys still understood the importance of being gentlemen.

DL: “Who You Are” (alt)

You can pick up the rest of the excellent Distant Travels here or here.

Uncategorized '90's, 70's, alt-hip hop, mixtape, native tongues, QuESt, soul sample

So what Kid Cudi’s “Day N Nite” isn’t so easy to tag with one of those corny genre-mash-up descriptors folks like us love to cook up (not to say we haven’t tried), with or without some “clever” label to snap onto it, the “lonely stoner” anthem is increasingly becoming the one song seemingly no living entity within the galaxy can deny.

A casual listen may not instantly birth an idea of what all the fuss is about, but there will be at least one of it’s many mystifying elements (that hypnotic electro warble, those space-beamed “What, what” line enders, Cudi’s emotion-less sing-rapping, a distressing need to figure out what the hell the song’s about) that’ll move one to give it a repeat peep…then another…then another, until you have reached the conclusion that you can’t go a day without it because it’s THE BEST SONG EVER!!!

Unfortunately, as has become the case with anything this widely appealing, both the unknown and the known are coming out of the woodworks, anxious to nab a piece of it’s luster. To add to the equally monstrous Crookers house do-over and remixes featuring Jim Jones, Pitbull and Collie Buddz, catch the So So Def swag-biter unnecessarily hogged by the ever-bragging JD (who has slowly lapped Kanye and Soulja Boy as one of hip hop’s most annoying figures) and a killer seven minutes-plus dancefloor revision by the Bingo Players, below:

DL: “Day N Nite (So So Def Remix)” (alt)
DL: “Day N Nite (Bingo Players Remix)” (alt)

(Look for Kid Cudi’s debut, Man On The Moon: The Guardian, later this year)

Uncategorized alt-hip hop, bingo players, dance remix, electro-R&B, jermaine dupri, kid cudi

There are plenty of excitingly strange going-ons throughout Brooklyn alt-hip hop-ster Theophilus London’s amazing new set, This Charming Mixtape (download it for FREE here). The way he is able to jump from trance-soul to drum n bass to street-centric hip hop to rock-rap spaz-outs and damn near effortlessly succeed in all of them; the way he plays fan-boy to certain records like “Ain’t No Sunshine” or Lauryn Hill’s beloved cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”, letting huge chunks of them play out before sprinkling them with a bit of his personal flavor; the very random outro that finds him shower singing along to the “O Happy Day” performance from Sister Act 2.

But perhaps the mixtape’s most stupefying moment arrives with “Always Love You”, a cut based on Whitney Houston’s syllable-stretching diva staple “I Will Always Love You”. After opening with a screwed-voiced London answering back Whit’s a capella goodbye (“Get yer ass outta here,” he growls), a choppy dance beat drops, slicing-and-dicing Houston’s endless hook as Theo stutters his way through a bitter kiss-off (“No I ain’t staying with you/ I ain’t playing with you/ Six feet under homie/ See where the playing get you?”).

A genius re-take on a song we thought we never wanted to hear from again, it’s entry alone gets London Mixtape Maestro’s vote as one artist everybody needs to get familiar with.

DL: “Always Love You” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, alt-hip hop, east coast rap, mixtape, soul sample, theophilous london, whitney houston

The never-ending reports concerning our current nightmare of an economy got you down this holiday season? Well, here’s something that might lift those spirits a bit. After spending most of the year watering the mouths of music fans with a handful of individual cuts and accompanying live dates, Idle Warship, the alt-urban side-project featuring Talib Kweli, Res and, now, Canadian singer/ rapper Graph Nobel, have plans to drop a mixtape set sometime soon.

The first taste off that project is “Steady”, a “fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” cautionary built on a Paisley Park hand-clap shuffle and the still-spine-tingling synth-paranoia of 80’s New Wave staple “Sunglasses At Night”. Pulling back the curtains behind the paparazzo flashes and big buck bank accounts, Idle reveal a far less glitzy wasteland filled with the trampled-on and soul-sapped. “I didn’t know the game/ I just knew I could play/ You build me up like a team/ I represented the dream,” Res reflects on her naive industry beginnings, but after veering thisclose to losing herself while in dogged pursuit of the glamorous life, she quickly revamps her life plan: “I got to fight for my name/…No more doin’ what you say”.

In addition, there’s the haunting distant cries of “Murder”, a half-singing Talib inquiring “Is it the sex or the drugs?/ Which poison you choose?” and Graph running down a mocking list of random celeb-isms while shouting out her crew and declaring, “Yeah I said it, I’m avant-garde!!”.

Another stand-out creation from this increasingly on-fire trio.

DL: “Steady” (alt)

Peep the video for Idle’s ultra-sexy “Black Snake Moan” below:

Idle Warship “Black Snake Moan” from The ICU on Vimeo.

Uncategorized 80's, alt-hip hop, graph nobel, idle warship, party rap, res, talib kweli