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HudMo Brings The Bonafied Lovin’

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February 14, 2012
Mixes, New Music
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I’ve been avoiding Valentines Day themed music all day, but this is too good to pass up. Everyone’s favorite maximalist, Hudson Mohawke, tones it down for one day to bring you Slow Jams Chapter V. For five years now, The Glaswegian native has brought the masses the best in slow jams and general love-making music. I haven’t had the chance to give the mix a spin, so I’ll let LuckyMe take it away:

5 years deep, the kid Hudson Mohawke returns with the definitive soundtrack to Valentines. Look, cancel that reservation. Put the money into good pizza and champagne. You’re getting this shit for free so buy your spiritual counterpoint something: the Heathers DVD. A single rose. Some salted caramels. Whatever. You got all the other magic you need right here. And if you’re alone tonight that’s okay; being into shit like this you’re gonna be fine. Trust us. Buy yourself those caramels. Get naked enough. Let a lil Mo get inside you… Happy Valentines everybody.

Download: Hudson Mohawke – Slow Jams Chapter V

New Kendrick Lamar – “Cartoons and Cereal”

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February 14, 2012
New Music
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It looks like Kendrick Lamar might have gotten some inspiration from the spaced-out production fellow Black Hippy Schoolboy Q’s Habits & Contradictions. Or maybe he just really enjoyed working with Nosaj Thing last year. Anyways, Kendrick’s newest track, “Cartoons and Cereal” features the Compton spitter changing up his cadence repeatedly over a futuristic beat alongside another MC and a female vocalist. The beat devolves into pure percussion at times, before ramping up again as Kendrick chants over the top. If this track is any indication of how Kendrick’s first official release, Good Kid in a Mad City, will turn out, we are in for a treat. It will be tough to top Section.80, but so far Kendrick has avoided all of the major label trappings and stayed true to himself and his true. Stream/download “Cartoons and Cereal” below and be on the lookout for album news.

Download: Kendrick Lamar – “Cartoons and Cereal”

Update: The non-Kendrick MC on the track is Gunplay and frequent collaborator THC is on the beat.

Knxwledge-J Dilla tribute

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February 10, 2012
2012, New Music
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Knxwledge made another tribute to the great J Dilla yesterday. Using Dilla’s classic track, Let’s Take It Back, Knxwledge flips the track perfectly in this little remix to pay tribute to one of the best that ever did it. Check out the original if you haven’t heard it yet and Knxwledge’s after that.

Lytesho! Back Again With Two/Six EP

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February 9, 2012
New Music
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Lytesho! aka Charles Amara is back with another tape. The Wilkes-Barre, PA native caught our attention last month with his promising Concept of Space EP. Over the weekend, Amara released his third tape, Two/Six, a collection of beats and instrumentals. Two/Six shows a marked improvement over his past two efforts and is the young artists most cohesive work to date. The tape starts off with haunting vocals and a sample of what sounds like talk radio. Maybe Amara drew inspiration from Exile’s Radio project, or gasp, maybe even LL Cool J’s classic album. “Metal Ox” and “Neon Smoke” are the highlights, but the tape is at its best when listened to from start to finish.

Earl Sweatshirt is (Reportedly) Free!

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February 9, 2012
2012, New Music
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Ladies and gentlemen, it seems long-absent OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt has returned. The youngest (but possibly the most promising) member of Odd Future, who has been away from the music scene for quite some time, is reportedly free from his stint at reform school/rehab at Coral Reef Academy in Samoa.

Yesterday afternoon, new Twitter and Tumblr pages surfaced, seemingly linked to Earl. His first tweet upon return? “Home.” Then, a YouTube video popped up, featuring Earl’s face backed by a snippet of a new song. “You want the whole shit, give me 50,000 twitter followers,” the description demanded.

Just a few hours later, his Twitter account had reached 50k followers, and he Tweeted the link to a new website, which was barren except for a music player containing a new song, “Home.” The track, which does indeed seem to be new material from Earl, is backed by a noisy, cymbal-heavy beat and contains the dark, nonchalant flow we’ve been missing from the young rapper. The last line states, “and I’m…..back. Bye.” Download the full song here.

However, before you throw out your Free Earl hoodie, it’s only fair to let you know that Tyler, The Creator‘s tweets from yesterday expressed far more frustration and anger than the celebration we might have expected from him. One tweet, which has since been deleted, read, “Ive Never Been Excited And Angry At The Same Time Until Today. Thats A Fucked Feeling.” So for now, only time will tell whether Earl is back in LA for good. We’ll keep you posted.


New Remix: Katie Kate – “Houses (Keyboard Kid Remix)”

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February 9, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Keyboard Kid has been on a tear lately. Last month, he released his BASEDTREASURES tape, one of the best instrumental releases of the year. He has also been aching to release the BASEDINSTRUMENTALEP, a collection of instrumentals Lil B has used recently. Now, the #BASEDGOD’s main producer brings us a remix of Seattle crooner Katie Kate’s “Houses.” Katie Kate’s vocals dip in and out of the meandering synth progressions and 808’s on this remix highlighting both the vocalist and the producer. The vocals are altered, cut out and refigured throughout the track, but the soothing beauty in Katie Kate’s voice remains throughout. Stream and download the track below and be on the look out for BASEDINSTRUMENTALEP.

http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F36025412&show_artwork=true

Battles/Shabazz Palaces: Weirdest Collaboration of 2012?

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February 9, 2012
New Music
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A few days ago, I heard about a release called Gloss Drops 1 made up of two remixes of tracks off of experimental rock group Battles‘ latest album. The two remixes, by Gui Borrato and The Field, were solid, but uninspiring. At the time, I had no idea there would be a Gloss Drops 2. That was why I was so excited to wake up this morning to the news that Gloss Drops 2 will feature remixes from some of my favorite artists around, and that each of those artists come from completely different worlds. The first remix is from avant-rap virtuosos Shabazz Palaces. I’m not too familiar with Battles, beyond witnessing their incredibly strange live show, so I didn’t know the original of “White Electric,” but Shabazz’s remix is outstanding. The track features Ish’s trademark droned out raps over a plodding, guitar driven beat and would be a real treat to see the track performed live. The second and third remixes from Gloss Drops 2 have yet to surfaced, but they should be equally exciting. The first is by The Alchemist. Yes, that Alchemist. East Coast boom bap legend. Last seen collaborating with Oh No on Vodka & Ayuhuasca. The third is by Kode9, Hyperdub representative and London dubstep legend. Not just any dubstep legend, but the type that makes the turtlenecked crowd bitching about Skrillex wet their pants. I never thought the day would come that I would see artists from such distinctly different parts of the popular music world collide like this, but here it is. Gloss Drops 2 will be released on February 21st by Warp Records. Stream Shabazz’s remix below.

Machinedrum and Om Unit Team Up To Form Dream Continuum

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February 9, 2012
New Music
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Wow Machinedrum aka Travis Stewart just keeps coming through with the collaborations. Last year it was Sepalcure (with Praveen Sharma) and now he has partnered up with Jim Coles aka Om Unit. Last month, Om Unit wowed everyone with his L.A. Refixes 7″ preview, featuring remixes of Daedelus and Om’Mas Keith. Machinedrum has been anything but quiet as well, releasing the SXLND EP, a remix for Bonobo and a mix for the Fader. Now the two have teamed up to form Dream Continuum and plan to release their first EP, titled Reworkz, on March 26 via Planet Mu. “B Free” is the rapid fire A-side to the EP and really highlights the skills of both producers. Spanning 6:46, “B Free” flips in and out of a breakbeat patter to highlight chopped vocals and an uplifting piano loop. The track is only available to stream at the moment, but be on the lookout for more Reworkz in March.

Visuals For Jarv Dee’s “I Just Wanna” Released

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February 9, 2012
New Music, Videos
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I’m in love with mary jane, call me peter parker

Higher than a damn plane, don’t let me travis barker

Jarv Dee is a Seattle native, Cloud Nice representative, and Nacho Picasso affiliate. He’s not the most talented rapper in the world. In some cases though, outright lyricism doesn’t matter. I’m not saying Jarv is in the Lil B categorie of artists that make a name off of their exquisite weirdness though. Instead, Jarv just makes fun songs. He has a great ear for beats, fits the everyman persona, and more importantly, appears to have fun on the mic. It doesn’t help that he’s honest either. Not honest in a naked, brutal sense like Schoolboy Q, but honest in the sense that he raps about what he knows and he know what he raps about. Anyways, Jarv has a new video for his track “I Just Wanna” focused on everyday struggles and the vices that appease them. There’s a sense of escapism in the track, but not enough to make it uncomfortable. You can stream/download the track from Bandcamp below.

Happy Birthday Nujabes!!

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February 8, 2012
New Music
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Along with J Dilla’s birthday being yesterday (Feb 7), it was also Jun Sebas (Nujabes) birthday as well. Nujabes was a japanese hip hop producer who helped to influence artists like Uyama Hiroto and Shing02. He has worked with CYNE, Cise Starr, Five Deez, Substantial, and CL Smooth. He also  was a founder of the independent label Hydeout Productions.  Nujabes has a very distinct sound that incorporates many different jazz samples into his tracks. This, combined with beautiful piano keys interspersed with some sampled vocals are what makes his beat to Another Reflection so mesmerizing.

Nujabes also has multiple rappers who grace his tracks with some bars. Namely Substantial and Cise Starr, who are on the most of his tracks. This next track is off of his phenomenal Modal Soul album which you must check out! This is Feather feat. Cise Starr and Akin from Cyne. 

Another one of my favorite tracks is Blessing it featuring Substantial and Pase Rock.

One last soothing beat from the great Nujabes featuring Uyama Hiroto called Spiritual State. This song is off his Spiritual State album which was actually just released last year and was his last album that he worked on.

RIP Nujabes