Archive for March, 2009
Study Music Vol. 1: Instrumental Hip-Hop
3/30/2009 9:04 am
(This was originally posted on blip.tv a couple months ago. Volume 2 is in the works, so I thought it made sense to finally post Volume 1 here)
A DJ that produces his/her own beats has to know how to dig. They have to swim through miles of vinyl to find the best and most obscure samples to make their beats the awesome and original. DJ Shadow is the godfather of instrumental hip-hop and the king of digging. I heard his first record, “Endtroducing” in 2002 and was instantly mesmerized by the complex layers in his sound. His style of sampling and drumming has influenced some of the best producers in the business of instrumental hip-hop. Madlib, another digger, samples everything from reggae, to bollywood tunes, and blue note records. He recreates it and makes it something entirely his own. His album under the alias of Quasimoto is a phenomenal album with hundreds of beautiful jazz samples. This year a friend turned me on to Flying Lotus and DJ Nobody, both producers from Los Angeles who I’ve been listening to a lot this second half of 2008. They are the latest in a generation of Djs that are making cutting edge sounds.
This has become one of my favorite genres because I can listen and work simulaneously. Call it downtempo, trip hop, drum n’ bass, it doesn’t matter. Just give me the sweet guitar riff and piano melody over a knocking beat. I’m set.
“Sorry, honey… it’s time to off NPR. I have to put some beats on.”
This was originally meant to be a study mix and it might still be one depending on how you listen to music. The last song is certainly a dance track, and I apologize if you want to cut a rug at the workplace. Let’s get some work done in 2009.
Tracklist
Koushik - Welcome, Flying Lotus - Camel, Blockhead - Carnivores Delight, Eligh - Sandstone, Nobody - White Folding Slowly, DJ Shadow - Changeling, RJD2 - The Proxy, Zion I - Metropolis, Tommy Guerrero - Four Trk. Samba, A Tribe Called Quest - 4 Moms, Quasimoto - The Unseen, Urbs - Ununited, Bonobo - Recurring, Cut Chemist - The Garden
Headphones & Headnods - 90s East Coast Hip-hop Podcast
3/26/2009 6:50 am
Like most cats that engaged in their adolescence in the 90s, I still bump a lot of old hip-hop. In the manner that Indians still listen to 80s pop and classic rock like it were fresh, I love the 90s and early 00s hip-hop. Recently, Ta-Nehisi Coates and David Sasaki both dug through the archives and gave their favorites from this era, thus kicking me to finally finish something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. This podcast comprises some of my most favorite upbeat and grimy East Coast (with a splash of Southern) hip-hop tracks from the 90s. Funny enough, a handful of these songs were radio hits from artists I don’t really listen to (Keith Murray, Craig Mack, Lozt Boyz), but these classic singles captured a time and place so well for me when I was a teenager. (Unfortunately, I left out The Roots, Blackstar, Dead Prez, and more Wu-Tang for no specific reason, but they just didn’t work on this one).
As Coates says, getting into your favorites can spark a controversy. But I believe that’s the sort of discussion that is beautiful because people are so different. The greatest musical artists are ones that generate an argument over which of their works is the best. The Bends or Kid A? Illmatic or It Was Written? Atliens or Aquemini? Also, art is subjective and I’m not sure why I don’t like Common, but his flow lacks vitality to me. Gotta love opinions. Enjoy and feel free to comment.
Big L - Put It On
Gangstarr - Full Clip
Notorious B.I.G. - Unbelievable
Nas - Halftime
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt. II
Goodie Mob (feat. Outkast) - Black Ice
Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)
A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
Lost Boyz - Music Makes Me High
Craig Mack - Flava in Ya Ear
GZA - Liquid Swords.
Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing in this World
(To listen in itunes, click and save as here)
Song of the week: Gui Boratto - No Turning Back
3/16/2009 8:37 am
It happened six months ago with Alaska in Winter’s track “Berlin.” Then again with Air France’s “Collapsing at Your Doorstep.” Once more, I hear the first few chords of an electronic track and I’m instantly enamored. This is Gui Boratto, a Brazilian progressive house/techno minimalist DJ. Oh, the beauty and travel of a seven minute song can be awesome. Listen…
Best of Living Legends podcast
3/11/2009 8:51 am
For over a decade plus, Living Legends have been producing their own beats, rhyming originally, and putting out independent hip-hop. Between the nine emcees, their total discography probably hits fifty full-length records. From The Grouch selling cassettes on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley to Sunspot Jonz jumping onto sold-out crowds at Broke Ass Summer Jam, they are true pioneers in the California underground scene. Recently, I went back to home to the Bay Area to catch up with family and friends. In the process, my buddy Oatey and I met up, and as per usual, we chatted about hip-hop. After some conversation at Peet’s Coffee, we scoured through our dusty cd collections and came to a consensus on our favorite Living Legends tracks. Here it is:
Nothing Less - Living Legends (feat. Slug)
18 w a Bullet - Murs
Mind Over Matter- The Grouch and Eligh (feat. Psc)
Depths of Survival - Mystik Journeymen
Nothing’s Changing - The Grouch
Not Here - Living Legends (feat. Pep Love and Jo Wilkinson)
The Next - Bicasso
Track 11 - Murs
Overall - The CMA
Bird Race - Eligh
Allstar - Living Legends (feat. The Grouch)
Araingus (Race the Moon) - Mystik Journeymen
L.I.F.E. (For What It’s Worth) - Scarub
(To download into Itunes, Right click and save as here)
