mixtape maestro (2.0)

With B.o.B currently doing such a fine job holding down the hip-poppy, “sometimes I rap, sometimes I sing” lane, it almost feels pointless for Kid Cudi to try to work the same path, yet here he is anyway, maneuvering his better-than-average shower vocals through the buffed pop/ rock crunch of new track “Erase Me”, a cut that’s just begging to be handed over to Rivers Cuomo & Co. for the next Weezer project.

Finding him bragging about how his girlfriend can’t stand him, yet finds it impossible stay away from him (“It’s like I’m her new nightmare/ She ain’t escapin’/ It makes me feel a bit complete”), and featuring a mostly clumsy Kanye West guest verse that’s somewhat rescued by the memorable sixteen-capper “I hope you die-arrhea”, “Erase Me” (from the forthcoming Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager album) manages to sound like something that will likely end up peaking in the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 sometime within the next few months (whether you want it to or not), but damn…for a song that boasts both Cudi and Kanye and producer Jim Jonsin, it’s a shame that ho-hum (or worse…WTF?!?) is the best way we can think to describe it.

Somebody please tell us that this isn’t the “revolution” that Cudi was referring to on that last joint of his.

DL: “Erase Me” (alt)

The first single off Kid Cudi‘s upcoming sophomore album Man On The Moon II: Legend Of Mr. Rager, “REVOFEV”, short for “Revolution of Evolution”, offers a repeat dishing of the “lonely stoner”‘s signature contemplative sing-rap style, with Cudi gifting “the kids” standard words-of-wisdom preachings (“Wake up/ Things might get rough/ No need to stress/ Keeps you down too much”) and bland semi-rebel musings (“Where will you be for the revolution?”) that, well, only an overly-blunted guy like himself would think of as “deep” when they’re holed up alone in a studio at whatever-a.m. in the morning, surrounding (and similarly brain-muddled) entourage/ “yes”-men cheering him along outside the vocal booth via silent “Chuuuch!!” nods.

That “REVOFEV” is filled with such underwhelming lyrical scribblings as the aforementioned lands as extremely frustrating when its backing track (handled by Plain Pat) is as striking as it is: A sinister vintage (soul? prog-rock?) loop plod heightened with sharp string stabs, ached “whoa-oh-oh” ad-libs and marching band drums mimicking battle noise, the arrangement tinges with dark-ish feelings of paranoia and chaos, while at times sounding as if the entire world is about to succumb to some sort of Armageddon at any moment.

So how is it, after no doubt being bombarded with this amazing beat on repeated loop, was Cudi not inspired enough to color it with stronger songwriting than the demo-like placeholder lines it otherwise features? Couldn’t we have maybe received a lil’ glimpse of this forthcoming “revolution”, lyrics-wise?

Double sigh Cudi. We’ll accept this for now (and just assume it’ll sound better in the context of the album), but we’re definitely expecting far better variations of your druggy emo-rap craft when the full-length drops.

Snatch it up below, then peep a fantastic live cover of Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” (props to We All Want Someone To Shout For) by on-the-rise sensation Lissie.

DL: “REVOFEV” (alt)

DL: “Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover)” (alt)

For Florida alt-hip hip duo After The Smoke, a “Typical Weekend” sounds like it involves a whole lot of kinky fun.

Here, as producer Speek cooks up an enticing beat that juggles skittering drums, mourning organs, handclaps and bits of electro glitch, lyricist/ songwriter Whuzi uses his skeevy soul vocals to color the low-simmering groove with all kinds of erotic gab, including horny lines likes “I’ll give you a beating/ But don’t throw in the towel” and “Now that I got you tied up/ What’s the safe word?” amongst references to melted bodies.

Hypnotic, sexy, left-of-normal, and a bit Outkast-ish? Goes without saying that we’re SUPER down with this intriguing debut effort.

From ATS’ amazing Under The Influence EP.

DL: “Typical Weekend” (alt)

When it comes to “Hot N’ Fun”, the first single from N.E.R.D.’s June-set fourth release Nothing, it’s all about the record’s “hypnotizing bassline”.

The perfect getting-ready-to-go-out accompanier, it’s one of those naughty, low-rumbling grooves that makes you feel a thousand times more confident and sexy when you hear it, filling your head with the notion that once you hit the door of your nightspot destination, all attention will instantly snap your way with everyone racking their brains trying to figure out why the Maker chose to bless you with such a superior dose of hotness.

Yeah, the record also includes a guest stint from Nelly Furtado and N.E.R.D. members Pharrell and Shad doing their signature mumble-rap thing, but once “Hot N Fun” has faded off your speakers, it’s the funky bass that’ll be the only element truly imprinted on your brain.

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)

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

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)

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)

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)

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.