mixtape maestro (2.0)

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

Like us, you’ve likely spent the past 24 hours re-familiarizing yourself with the rich career-long catalogue of MJ, probably in hopes of capturing some type of alleviation to the pain and disorientation brought about by this week’s tragic loss.

As proven so many times in the past, there’s no greater comfort like a journey through the music that soundtracked your yester-years to help get through the hard times of today.

Toronto singer/ producer Slakah The Beatchild sort of taps into that vibe on his “Enjoy Ya Self”, a neo-soul-baked satisfier from his acclaimed Soul Movement Vol. 1 debut that rewinds the clock to bask in the old-school pleasures of Marvin and Stevie and early-90’s urban staples like A Tribe Called Quest and SWV.

“We need to take it back/ Cause nowadays there’s so much violence/ That feel-good real good vibe is gone/ And it’s so hard to find it,” Slakah preaches, his laidback tone the perfect compliment to the track’s feel-good, house party-ready impression.

In response, all we have to say is “Amen”.

Check out the video below, followed by downloads of both the original and the Drake-featured remix.

DL: “Enjoy Ya Self” (alt)

DL: “Enjoy Ya Self (Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, Canada, drake, grown folks R&B, native tongues, slakah the beatchild

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