Until We Meet Again...

Alright bitches. I'm off for two weeks. May your holidays be filled with dopeness and that new hotness. No top anything lists here. Nothing to post either. I mismanaged my time. Fuck it. See y'all next year.
Pace

Mommy Mommy, Look. Here Comes Santa Claus. And He's Black...

Next up, we got the “Enhanced version” (I say enhanced because I added a bunch of tracks and switched the order and it makes me feel regal) of Christmas Rap. I had this tape and loved it. Of course Christmas in Hollis is a classic, but there were some other greats on it too. Sweet Tee’s “Let The Jingle Bells Rock” was good. Dane told another goofy story in a goofy accent. King Sun brought a depressing story of Christmas in the ghetto when “ghetto” wasn’t synonymous with “cool”. I added “Santa’s Rap” from the Treacherous Three. I put the single and the version from the movie (Beat Street). There’s a slight difference but I just loved the track and redundancy makes me feel good. Also, redundancy makes me feel good. I felt like this was the one and only Hip Hop Christmas release that wasn’t completely wacky. It seems that Luke’s Christmas and Afro Man’s 40oz Christmas and the Dipset one were all more interested in being shitty then feeling good. Granted King Sun and Spyder D were not happy but, and maybe this was 14-year-old naiveté, but I felt like this release was fun and not mean. Whatever. You can draw your own conclusions. Enjoy.
Pace.

01 - Run DMC - Christmas In Hollis
02 - Sweet Tee - Let The Jingle Bells Rock
03 - Dana Dane - Is Coming To Town
04 - Treacherous Three - Santa's Rap
05 - Derek B - Chillin' With Santa
06 - Spyder D - Ghetto Santa
07 - King Sun - Christmas In The City
08 - The Showboys - That's What I Want For Christmas
09 - Coldcut - Christmas Break
10 - Audio Two - Christmas Rhymin'
11 - Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
12 - Disco Four - He's Santa Clause
13 - Lightning Rich - Santa's Groove
14 - Hard Rock - Christmas Bells
15 - Busy Boys - Funky Fresh Christmas
16 - The Rap All-Stars - Last Christmas
17 - Surf M.C.'s - Surf M.C.'s New Year
18 - Treacherous Three - Santa's Rap (Beat Street Mix)

Word!

A Long Time Ago In A Studio Far, Far Away...

So, I realized that I am going to Costa Rica on the 20th and will be there till January 2nd so I figured I’d hit y’all off with some Christmas music interspersed with some other stuff before I am M.I.A. First off, we have Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album. It was produced by some guy named Meco, who takes himself far too seriously. Armed with the vocal stylings of Anthony Daniels as C3PO who kind of talk/sings his way through most of an album spattered with brief skits, mostly between the stock sounds of R2 and 3PO calling him a silly droid. You can almost hear Anthony Daniels cocking the pistol that he has in his mouth as a tear leaves it's wet trail of sorrow across his cheek. It is somewhat difficult to listen through. The only other cast member is a roar by Chewy in the intro to the holiday classic, "What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" Oh Meco, thou art so droll.

Oddly enough, the track "R2D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas" brags the first time Jon Bon Jovi is on wax. Both of these tracks were released as 45's. The songs fit into the "painfully-cheesy" genre and I don’t really recommend it unless you want to hear something different or are a fan. It is nowhere near as bad as the TV holiday special and thankfilly, B. Arthur is nowhere to be found. It’s just kind of goofy and fun to listen to once and only once. I must stress this fact or you may suffer some anal leakage and mild clotting if you listen to it twice. Enjoy.
Pace.

01 - Christmas in the Stars

02 - Bells, Bells, Bells

03 - The Odds Against Christmas

04 - What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)

05 - R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas

06 - Sleigh Ride

07 - Merry, Merry Christmas

08 - A Christmas Sighting ('Twas the Night Before Christmas)

09 - The Meaning of Christmas

The cartoon from the holiday special

Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things. The Letter M

I’ve had about 5 different collections of M people. There are glaring omissions in this one. One of my main deciding factors is to try to get everything under 100 megs. With a letter like M, limiting that to around 20 groups is very hard. I get that this one is emaciated as far as what should be there. I just got tired of rearranging and adding and removing. So there it is. If you feel adventurous, put some of what you think should be there in the comments. I’m guessing about .00009% of you will do so, so don’t feel pressured. I hope everyone is having a swell December filled with visions of your said or applicable holiday. Although if you are not celebrating the official birthday of the son of the one true god then you probably will end up in hell with Satan. He has horns and a tail and a pitchfork. I’ve seen pictures.

01 - Mad Kap - Da Whole Kit & Kaboodle
Back in 93, I was living in Florida, flunking out of my first attempt at college and smoking far too much weed of far too low a grade. I had a shitty car, I thought Phillies made me cool and I was planning my move to Atlanta to make it big and let the world hear my name. I lost everything except for the shitty car. Mad Kap was part of the blossoming West Coast sound that was based on East coast sound. They just did it well and the cat on the trumpet, while gimmicky, blended really well. This was a really great first and last release by them and worth checking out if you like that kind of thing. If not, you aren’t a patriot.
02 - Main Source - Fakin' The Funk (Remix Feat. Neek The Exotic)
I had the “White Men Can’t Jump”/“White Men Can’t Rap” soundtrack and actually kind of liked it now that I think about it. It had this joint and Cypress Hill’s A to the K and a College Boyz song I can’t remember the name of and don’t like it enough to actually look it up now but I remember liking it then. Anyway, it was The Xtra-P doing his thing and the “Ba-Ba-Ba-b-Ba” (that’s my creative interpretation of how it should look) always got my pumped.03 - Mary J Blige - Sweet ThingMy favorite part of old school mixtapes was when they blended an R&B acapella with a Hip-Hop beat. It always made R&B more palatable for me. Puffy made his early career out of it. Back when he was trying to be grimy and rhyme like 3rd eye. This is off the Remix album of "What’s the 411." I liked this version a lot more than the original but I kind of liked the original too.
04 - Massive Attack - Teardrop
My man Matt over at Beats And Blood wrote a really good review of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine record that this is off of. You should really check his site out anywayPlus, I’m lazy and can admit when someone does a better job than me. Plus, I’m laz (so much so that I can’t even finish typing “lazy” get it?)
05 - Master Ace - Letter To The Better (Remix)
I love Ace. I love the Juice Crew All Stars. I love Marley Marl. I fucking love this record.
06 - MC Shan - The Bridge
C-L-A-S-S-I-C!
07 - MC Lyte - Cappuccino
I’m always a sucker for a good story and this was Lyte in her prime. No “Rap & Bullshit.” No trying to be pretty. Just Lyte being Lyte, which was what she did best. I read some interview of hers where she was complaining about how she was forced into different directions like the “Ruffneck” and clubby shit. She sounded sorry and pissed off and seemed to realize that she fell off. I like when people admit they fucked up.
08 - MC Serch - Back To The Grill (Feat. Chubb Rock, Nasty Nas, Red Hot Lover Tone)
I won’t make any “Next White Rapper” jokes because that show depressed the shit out of me. This is one of those “posse” cuts that I always loved. A lot of MC’s can’t really hold a whole song, let alone an entire album. It’s not their fault. They are forced in different directions like Lyte was. Look at Supernatural or Cannibus. Those cats would rip most anyone to shreds in a battle but can’t make a complete record to save their life. The Posse cut allowed you to murder 8–16 bars and everyone got a chance to not suck. If you didn’t come off with 4 or five other dudes then you stuck out like a sore thumb and everyone beat you with socks filled with D batteries. Or so legend has it.
09 - Metallica - Last Caress & Green Hell
There was a time when Metallica were:A. not a shitty band and B. trying to help their fans. They released the $5.98 (as printed on the cover) EP to make sure we weren’t getting our balloon knots torn open by record stores. This song is also a two-fer because they are covering Misfits’ songs. I never really liked The Misfits when they were out because I thought Danzig sounded like a pussy. I had never seen him. This was before interwebs. They were too mature for my taste. I wanted someone screaming into the mic. Anyway, Metallica released this cover of two Misfits songs and fused Metallica's early raw energy into what I felt was missing from The Misfits back then. It made me want to punch someone in the face in the best kind of way.
10 - The Meters - Cissy Strut
We all have to start somewhere and if you’ve never heard The Meters, than you are wrong because you have silly. The Neville brothers and co. have been sampled to death and helped define that nasty southern funk. It's really an integral part of musical history that you should explore. Interestingly enough, they opened for the Stones on one of their tours.
11 - Method Man - Bring The Pain
The first solo Wu and one of the best. Meth still sounded interesting and thirsty to me. He wasn’t doing movies or deodorant commercials. Rza was always a favorite of mine because we both used an ASR-10 and therefore I thought he would probably show up to my parties or call me on holidays. He never did. He did make a fine ass series of beats (again) for Meth to flow over. Sure, the songs a gimme, but there is a reason for that.
12 - M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gun
My coming out song. I don’t really care how homosexual this song makes me. It’s really gay! I feel like I should be in a Cheerleading competition on ESPN4, wearing tassels. But not red because that makes me look fat. There is just something about those horns that I bug out to. The rest of her album was one of my top records last year too. Her new one is also really worth checking out if you are not musically limited.
13 - Minor Threat - Straight Edge
I think I’ve talked before about how many similarities I feel there are between the hardcore punk scene and the hip-hop scene. If I didn’t, then pretend I did and it was eloquent and convincing. Minor threat was a DC band led by the one and only Ian McKay and rocked your ass off. There was such a raw energy and emotion in these songs that completely appealed to the 13 year old in me. Plus, the lyrics came with the record and they said shit and fuck a lot, which made it even cooler.
14 - Mississippi John Hurt - First Shot Missed Him
My dad introduced me to Mississippi John Hurt and the blues at an early age. Mississippi John Hurt was on a lot. This is off of his last sessions when he was nearly 70's and you can hear him forget lyrics and just kind of hum melodies. He still sounded like two dudes playing the guitar though. It’s really someone worth checking out if you like southern folksy-blues.
15 - Moby - Flower
Granted, it’s very chic to hate Moby now. I certainly don’t want to have a cookout with him but he made some pretty well crafted music for what he does. This is from the "Play" B-sides. Along with being a sucker for a chick over a fat beat, I really like the counterpoint of having some old blues or gospel or something like that over a fucked up break or digital kind of back drop. It appeals to some part of me a great deal.
16 - Morcheeba - Tape Loop
"Wow, that’s weird. Another Portishead clone makes your list?" Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just a sucker for a chick singing over a fat beat. I freely admit my fault. There’s nothing I can do about it. The group was properly named and forced me to purchase their namesake to truly appreciate their music and the wonders of incense and lava lamps.
17 - Morphine - Good
Representing Beantown, we have the greatest Drum/Bass/Sax trio to ever perform. Mark Sandman had one of those voices that was depressing and low and made you want to listen. They sound like no one else. Unfortunately, Sandman died from a heart attack and they only made a couple records but there’s a lot of extra material out there. If you are willing to let something sink in, I really recommend these cats.
18 - Mos Def - Ms. Fat Booty
When I heard the song it was sampled from, I fell in love with the beat. Mos Def is one of those cats that are pretty consistently dope, extremely talented and willing to take risks musically. Not all of it is great but his body of work, on a whole, is pretty fantastic. Plus, did you see him in that Carmen re-make with Beyonce!? Amazing!
19 - Murs - D.S.W.G. (Dark Skinned White Girls)
There are so many women from my past and present that fall into the three categories in this song that it gives me chills. I also felt it was a powerful/empowering song for a lot of them too. It hasn’t ever really been covered like this before and I found it refreshing and dope. I like when people do cool things.
20 - Muse - Time Is Running Out
I saw these guys, knowing that I would be disappointed by a three piece set trying to sound as big as they do on record. I am happily an idiot though and typically wrong and witnessed one of the better shows I’ve seen. A small venue and these guys sounded like a slew of dudes on stage. A really good group. This is from my favorite album of theirs but all their stuff is pretty dam good.
Pace.

01 - Mad Kap - Da Whole Kit & Kaboodle
02 - Main Source - Fakin' The Funk (Remix Feat. Neek The Exotic)
03 - Mary J Blige - Sweet Thing (Remix)
04 - Massive Attack - Teardrop
05 - Master Ace - Letter To The Better (Remix)
06 - MC Shan - The Bridge
07 - MC Lyte - Cappucino
08 - MC Serch - Back To The Grill (Feat. Chubb Rock, Nasty Nas, Red Hot Lover Tone)
09 - Metallica - Last Caress & Green Hell
10 - The Meters - Cissy Strut
11 - Method Man - Bring The Pain
12 - M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gun
13 - Minor Threat - Straight Edge
14 - Mississippi John Hurt - First Shot Missed Him
15 - Moby - Flower
16 - Morcheeba - Tape Loop
17 - Morphine - Good
18 - Mos Def - Ms. Fat Booty
19 - Murs - D.S.W.G. (Darg Skinned White Girls)
20 - Muse - Time Is Running Out

Masters of the universe indeed!

Mixtapes Suck.

I hate “the mixtape” culture. I just don’t get it. I’ve been “down” as much as my melanin deficient dermis allows since the early 80’s and I get the point that cultures need to evolve. I’m not saying it was better back in the day. It was by the way. But the whole mixtape thing. It is you rhyming over someone else’s beats, typically. They are rushed and sloppy and lack direction and substance. I understand there are a few that are done well but I don’t need to be inundated with new material from MC Magoo or DJ Magee every few months. It doesn’t make you prolific, it makes you irritating. In my opinion, the only time one should rhyme over someone else’s beat is on the legendary and sadly extinct “posse cut” or at a battle. Otherwise it’s biting. You are straight jacking some shit. Rather than put the rhyme you wrote last night on 2” or into your computer. Take some time with it. When I started rhyming I didn’t really understand that other people made your beats. I just thought you wrote the rhyme, made the beat and, I guess, engineered the session yourself. Naïve? Maybe. But I had to learn how to do it all myself. It was a lot more work, but I got a lot better at making everything gel together.
End transmission
10001110101
p.s. I refer to the rapper "mixtapes" not a bunch of songs from a bunch of artists. That would just make me a hypocrite.

Happy Thanksgiving...

What up people? I finished the mix and I'm posting it along with this. I got eveything you guys reccomended except for the Jungle Brothers' "I'll House you" Sorry Mook. I really tried. I'm posting it early so y'all can check it out. Voting hasn't started yet and I'll updateyou guys when voting is up. I did the whole thing with Acid so there's some time stretch effect on a lot of it but I tried to minimize it so it isn't too distracting. If y'all are feeling it I'll do more. I'll probably do more anyway. It's been a few years since I really concentrated on some music creation and it felt good. So that's about it. I'll get back to the alphabet and try to get some mixes (not by me) and some cover stuff done too. Holidays are crazy though. Enjoy the mix bitches!!
Pace.



01 - Wendy Carlos - Title Music From A Clockwork Orange
02 - The Beatles - Why And Because (Treeked)
03 - Little Brother - Slow It Down
04 - The Roots - Proceed Pt V (Beatminerz Mix)
05 - DJ Krush & Esthero - Final Home
06 - Blu & Exile - Dancing In The Rain
07 - Camp Lo - Swing (Feat. Ish Aka Butterfly)
08 - DJ Shadow - The Number Song (Cut Chemist Remix)
09 - Notorious Big - Party And Bullshit
10 - Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon - (Propellerheads Remix)
11 - Free Speech - Everything Is Different Now
12 - Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (Treemix)
13 - Nas, Krs-One & Rakim - Better Than I've Ever Been (DJ Premier Remix)
14 - The Jaz - The Originators
15 - Doves - Firesuite
16 - Lovage - To Catch A Thief
17 - PSY/OPSogist - Enjoy It While It Lasts
18 - Smashing Pumpkins - Eye
19 - Tom Cat - Muddy Waters (David Holmes Mix)
20 - Rehab - Step Away
21 - Portishead - Humming

Let me know what you think.

A plee to my fellow bloggers...

I realize all of you have fantastic taste in music and care a great deal about it. Why else would you have a music blog!? However, my tastes are not always yours. I don't need to have your music playing while I'm at your blog. I'm there. I get it. I'm interested. Yet even more frustrating is the placement of them. The bottom of the page? halfway down on the right or perhaps a quarter of the way down on the left hand side. If you need to have one (you don't) and if you use one (please don't) then at least make it the first thing that I see on the screen so I can press "mute" or "pause" or "stop" immediately. Then I can make the choice and your ultra rare remix of Spice 1 doesn't create the aural chaos that is inevitable when played in tandem with my Kenny G.

And Happy Veterans Day

I Need Your help...

As I've said before, I am without wit and devoid of any interestingly creative bones, juices, or complex internal structures. I therefore hope that you will help me. I have won my round of the mix competition and have moved to the second. Honestly, I didn't think I would win but now that I did I want to. The first mix was thrown together pretty much except for the I Get Top Billin (and even that was a little lame) and now I'm competing with some cats that are more serious. I'm not scared of the, I just don't know what to do for a mix. This is where you come in. Now, I don't have turntables setup (baby took over my room) so there will not be any scratching but I can still tweak some shit, mash some shit up and I have stuff I've done over the years. Here's what I don't want to do:

1. a mix of all contemporary hip-hop (there's not enough really that would make a mix to win, if that makes sense to you.)
2. A mix of all old school (it just seems cliché and lame.)
3. A dirty south or hyphy mix (A: I don't really like it, and B: see #1)
So, what I was thinking was making a mix of rock that's more hip hop-y and hip hop that's a little more eclectic. What do you think? Do you have any requests for me to put in? Also, any requests (that I have or you can provide for me) I'll put in. It probably won't be the whole song but some element of it will be there. I promise. So, there's my dilemma. Help a brova out. The picture has nothing to do with anything, I just like her bum.
Pace.

Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things. The Letter L

Fall is falling. The air is crisp. The Red Sox are champions of the entire world. You might have 5 more minutes to vote for the mixes on Dumpin.net by the time this is posted. Dancing is coming back to Hip Hop. Sadly, I hate it and all the people that snap, wiggle, walk and superman. Hope you are all well.
Enjoy the letter L
01 - Lamb - Lusty
I don’t really know about overseas, but one of the bands that got slept on a great deal here was Lamb. Andy Barlow, a.k.a. Hipoptimist (not to be confused with the Hip Hopatamus), and vocalist Lou Rhodes made up one of the more experimental and interesting groups that resulted from Portishead’s fame. While groups like Morcheeba did more of the same, Lamb explored breaks and made, at times, straight up noisy tracks that sounded fucked up and different. I liked them a lot, but I also liked Sean Cassidy doing “Do Run Run” so what do I know? The track here is easier to listen to than when they got totally fucked but also isn’t the Amen Brother break chopped with a distorted bass. I really think this was their best album, but I typically like when groups are more raw and unrefined then when they get polished.
02 - Laquan - Now’s The B Turn
I’m not sure if he released anything after this but it was the height of the New Jack Swing movement and besides Redhead Kingpin, I felt this record did it best. Some people think New Jack Swing was totally worthless but I hate them and if you were into hip-hop at that time it was hard to ignore. You can say what you want now but if you lived in the North East in the late 80’s, Teddy Riley was the man. And I know I am constantly defending the fact that I liked Teddy Riley, but Fuck you. You’re ugly and stupid.
03 - Laura Veirs – Galaxies
Hippie indie folk rocker Laura Viers grew up in Colorado, camped with her family and was a patchouli wearing hippy freak. She studied rocks and Mandarin in college. “Year Of The Meteors” was the third release she had and the first record of hers I heard. She’s got a great voice and sings about science a lot but this is basically a love song wrapped in a high-brow ribbon. Galaxies has a great hook and would have been a big pop record if The world was right.
04 - Lauryn Hill - The Sweetest Thing
The bitch is crazy but she was really talented. This song helped me get many women naked. “Oh yeah, I think she’s amazing. There’s so much pain and beauty in her voice. Why don’t you take off your pants?” Now she doesn’t let people walk in front of her and prays to alters drenched in chicken blood, or some such nonsense.
05 - LCD Soundsystem - Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up
The blog-nerd darling that I never really liked but felt pressured to listen to since everyone said it was such an amazing record and I don’t have the ability to think for myself. I didn’t like and/or get “Daft Punk Is Playing In My House” but I really liked this track which is nothing like the rest of the disc and therefore, I think it’s awesome cause I’m counter-culture and really cool.
06 - Leaders of the New School - Case Of The P.T.A.
Before Busta-Bus had a 32 inch bicep and Dinco and Charlie went on to…They released 2 records as the Leaders of the New School and blessed the shit out of us with their participation on “The Scenario” which could be the best “posse” cut ever besides “The Symphony”. This is off their first release, when they were still young and thirsty and more interested with the idea of getting on and rocking shows than whatever happened to them after.
07 - Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can I Do
Zeppelin is one of my favorite groups of all time and spent many years in high school taped to my walls next to pictures I cut out of Word Up and Rap Pages magazines.
There was a time when the only way to get this song in the States was either in the bootleg “Destroyer” which my brother had, or as an import single as a b-side of “The Immigrant Song.” It was officially released on the 4 disc boxed set in 1990, and thusly all of the wind was removed from my pompous sails and the steed from which I toted my “Zoso” superiority broke all four legs, collapsed and decomposed instantly.
08 - The Libertines - Horror Show
When I went to go see these guys, Pete Doherty, in true form, stumbled on stage and nearly knocked the mic stand down with his guitar (he may have been intoxicated.) They proceeded to rock the rest of the set. I’m not a huge Babyshambles fan but I thought the first Libertines release was some get-in-your-ass rock and roll. This was, by far, the song that slammed your anus until it was raw and blistered.
09 - Lightheaded – Orientation
So Lightheaded is part Omega Watts, part Braille, part Othello and part Muneshine. A collective of really talented cats whos only problem is they are Christian Rap. Now it’s weird how bad a rep Christian rap gets. I’ve spent nearly 30 years listening to idiotic interpretations of Islam like 5% douche bags and somehow I’m a big Brand Nubian fan. But, put “Jesus” or “church” in a rhyme and I start bugging out. It’s stupid, I know, but that’s just the way shit is. God bless.
10 - Lily Allen - Nan You're A Window ShopperI thought this song was funny. I thought her debut was a great record but then my wife played it until it was dead and I hated it. It’s too bad she eats and pukes now because I thought she was cute enough as she was.
11 - Little Brother - Slow It Down
This was the Little Brother album that I really liked and this was the song off of it I liked the most. The beat is sick (9th Wonder I miss you.) Phonte and Big Pooh catch wreck. It’s just one of those songs that work really well.
12 - L.L. Cool J - I'm Bad
My High School Soccer and Basketball teams started every game with either this or “Cut Creator”, “Ace Of Spades” by Motorhead, or “We Got The Beat” by the Go-Go’s. Does that make us gay? I’m one of those cats that’s not mad at LL. He made seriously monumental tracks in rap history and besides “The Bitch In You” wrote my favorite dis record ever.
13 - Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth - Track The Movement
I went to school with this kid Mike Johnson. He was from Harlem and I spent a couple vacations at his house. I think the official tally of times that we listened to this record was nearly Elventy bazillion. It was the beginning of the DITC crew for me and my real taste of Premier as a producer outside of Gang Starr. We also cuddled to this song.
14 - Louis Armstrong - That Old Feeling
Satchmo is another one of those cats that gets kind of slept on. I mean everyone knows him. His voice was unmistakably unique, but most people think of “What A Beautiful World” and not a really good jazz musician. He was a band leader. He appeared in a slew of films, he recorded 3 records with Ella Fitzgerald. The dude was really amazing and somehow his accomplishments have kind of faded into obscurity. Take some time and check him out. The dude was ill.
15 - Lovage - Strangers On A Train
I really liked this record a lot. Jennifer Charles is sexy as shit (in a world where feces is unbelievably sexy) and her, Dan and Paul make up a majority of what made Lovage work. I wish I liked Mike Patton more but I don’t and I hope he gets hit by a bus.
16 - Low Profile - Funky Song
I got this record when it came out. I also had the Rhyme Syndicate record but I didn’t really check for them on it. Anyway, MC WC and DJ Alladin made the best debut of any of the Syndicate and then broke up. I don’t really remember hearing this a lot, but I went to boarding school in the Berkshires and everyone else that listened to Hip Hop there was pretty much from New York and they weren’t interested in it. I was. I loved this whole joint. WC ended up with Coolio and Alladin spent more time making out with Ice-T. I highly recommend this record if you enjoy late 80’s Hip-Hop and are cool.
17 - Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin' (Feat. Jill Scott)
If you’ve ever read anything that I wrote, you know I have a crush on Jill Scott. Not enough to go to a Tyler Perry freak show of a film mind you, but me likey. You might of heard of this Lupe cat too.
18 - Lyrics Born - Bad Dreams
Oddly enough, the last show I remember going to was the Quannum tour with my wife, who was my “friend” at the time. Both of the last groups I saw started with “L.” Now, “L” is the 11 letter of the alphabet and there are two 1’s in 11. If you add those you get 2 and “B” is the second letter. Which is where these mixes actually started since “A” was just one group. If you take the 1 from “A” and the 2 from “B” you get 3, and that’s a magic number. I hate mathematics and I think they are stupid. Lyrics Born is dope though.
Pace.

01 - Lamb - Lusty
02 - Laquan - Now’s The B Turn
03 - Laura Veirs – Galaxies
04 - Lauryn Hill - The Sweetest Thing
05 - LCD Soundsystem - Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up
06 - Leaders of the New School - Case Of The P.T.A.
07 - Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can I Do
08 - The Libertines - Horror Show
09 - Lightheaded – Orientation
10 - Lily Allen - Nan You're A Window Shopper
11 - Little Brother - Slow It Down
12 - L.L. Cool J - I'm Bad
13 - Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth - Track The Movement
14 - Louis Armstrong - That Old Feeling
15 - Lovage - Strangers On A Train
16 - Low Profile - Funky Song
17 - Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin' (Feat. Jill Scott)
18 - Lyrics Born - Bad Dreams

Them's fightin words...

Alright, if you haven’t been to Dumpin.net then you need to for two reasons. First, it’s one of my favorite blogs out there. It’s one of the few that make me laugh out loud, a lot. And not in a douchey LOL way either, those cats are funny as shit.. Second, they are currently running a mix contest that I’m in. It’s four groups of four mixes and my group is currently up. Check out the other mixes (Dart’s in my group, if you haven’t gone to his spot, stop fucking around) and then vote for mine even if you don’t like it because they promised me a pony show that I played a special part in.

Check mine here

Track List:
01 - Mr. Cooper - Amongst Strangers 01
02 - OC - Times Up
03 - Zion I - Critical
04 - Mass Influence - Twenty 20
05 - Joe Beats - Don't Front
06 - Arts The Beat Doctor - The Anthem (Feat. Pete Philly)
07 - Shithop Interlude
08 - 50 Cent & Milk D - I Get Top Billin (Treemixified)
09 - Black Moon - I Got Cha Open (Remix)
10 - Blue Scholars - North By Northwest

Treebeats Shitty Reviews Of Not Shitty Artists Presents: Gnotes

So Canyon Cody from the mighty Gnawledge empire actually asked me to write about something and since I am without wit and creativity I decided I’d take him up on it. There is also a great interview from Dan Love at From Da Bricks you might want to check. Now, while there is the proverbial curse on any musician trying to make it in Boston, there are some cats or bands that shine. Aerosmith for instance, Tracy Bonham, and The Cars were reasonably successful, Sean Dwyer aims to be next, by releasing "Rhymes And Beats". Dwyer, A.K.A. Gnotes (not pronounced “guh-notes” or “G Notes” but rather “notes” like gnome or Gnarls) is part of a goofily named independent, bohemian, underground hip-hop movement and represents Beantown (617 bitches!).
Raised on Pearl Jam and Public Enemy simultaneously, Gnotes started making mix tapes in middle school and sharpening his axe for the day he would one day rock crowds and make heads nod. It’s these varied influences that have created his sound. Not totally “Teenage Love” and not totally “Teen Spirit”, he crosses over well. I don’t mean “crossover” in the sell out sense but more in the bridging genres sense. The music these cats make(all self produced by the crew at gnawledge with a few contributions) is pretty dope. One of the tracks that is not included here but can be found on the disc has my favorite Muddy Waters song sampled. Another, “Samba-tryst” blends in Latin influences. Sun Don’t Chill (dope beat!) kind of reinterprets C.R.E.A.M. but subtly and devoid of diddyness. More of a celebration of the beat than a straight jack. It’s all a mix of samples and live instrumentation, which blend seamlessly and force neck muscles to contract and heads to bob.
Lyrically, Gnotes is skilled. My one qualm is sometimes he gets too vague in his metaphysics and social commentary and I’m left scratching my head not knowing what the hell he is talking about anymore. However, I’m not the brightest cat so this may just be my inability to be cerebral. He’s obviously talented and, while he’s no Souljah Boy, he is leaps and bounds beyond a lot of trite shite released by major labels today. My wife says he’s not “Poppy” enough and he “sounds white”. Both are true but irrelevant to what he’s trying to do I think. I included a couple tracks (good lookin Canyon) here and you can get the whole jawn at the site.
My first officially requested review, and perhaps the last, is now officially over.
Pace.

Probably my favorite track of the ones here.

The single for which there is a visual collage of stills that is called a video.

Another pretty dope track.

"Video" of "Throw Your Nickels Up".

Perdition, Paradise, Peanut Butter Wolf Proudly Presented In The Pentaconta Post

Chris Manak has been DJing and producing as Peanut Butter Wolf for nearly 20 years now. He is probably most known for, or has the most influence with his Stones Throw record label.
He started out in a crew with his homeboy Charizma who, sadly, passed in 1993 before the group had a major release besides a single which came out the same year as his death. Chris was obviously jaded and fell into a warranted seclusion for a while. Thankfully, after a couple of Bomb Records releases (including a spot on the first Return of the DJ) he got back to Hip-Hop and channeled that dopeocity into working on starting up, Stones Throw (home to Quasimoto, Madvillian, other internerd blogging favs and joyfully, a number of obscure funk and jazz reissues.) Nowadays he’s doing more DJing than production and this leads us to these 2 little gems.

First is the 666 mix, released on June 6th 2006 (get it?) which is chock full of the typical Death Metal and, Industrial and Punk we have all grown so accustomed to from DJ’s like Ron G and Scribble. Filled to the brim with the likes of Revolting Cocks, Black Sabbath, Ministry, Led Zeppelin and many more, it’s a ("nice" wouldn’t be the best word here) "interesting" break from the norm.

Secondly, is the 777 mix. Released on July 7th 2007 (aha!) this was part of a grander 7 day tour in which each gig had completely different play lists about god in all of her Multiple-Armed, Mohammed-Appointing, Mary-Bonining, Level 6 Magician Spell Casting glory. The CD version sports the likes of the Street Christians, Brand Nubian, and Pharoah Sanders. It's a lot of random yet fitting holy shit that he makes work. So there it is. Do you pick the fiery pits of satanic rock or the glorious speakers of the Lords words bitches?

Pace.

666 Mix

777 Mix
There are a couple of weird issues with the audio of the mix but it sounds like he just fucked up a few times.but it's still, very easy to listen to

15,000 Bitches!!

So, it's not as exciting as turning 2 (big up Trav) or a mix competition (dump in yo mouth) or a Rev Shines exclusive (massive) or any of the other myriad things going on in the terrific links located on the right of this blessed site, but I got 15000 hits today or yesterday and that's cool with me. Granted only 6 of them returned but I like to think the 2 seconds they spent here before they realised they mistyped their intended URL that I made them better people and they pressed the back button feeling sublimely calm and/or comfortably numb. I got some ish on the kettle so stay tuned you 3.

The Roots Be On That Green Shit.

Happy environmentally concious blog action day!!

I'm not going to bore you with a long diatribe about the horrific state of the world today. If you don't recycle, at least somewhat, you're an idiot. If you don't believe in global warming, you're an idiot. If you throw you McDonalds wrappers or cigarette buts out the window, you're an idoit. My one recommendation is switching to those energy pig tail light bulbs too. But make sure you get the "Warm Light" ones. They are also listed as burning at 2700K. Any higher and they get too flourescent and you feel like your working in that basement office in the beginning of Joe Versus The Volcanoe. The bulbs are more expensive initially but they last longer and cost less to use.

Now for music we got The Roots' Do This Well rarities and remix compilation. What's more organic and environmental than a root right?! This is a huge compilation of rarities and remixes (thus the name) Anyway, enjoy. I don't have much time to write but I didn't want Alley Al to ride me about not posting.
Pace.

01. Proceed II (feat. Roy Ayers)
02. Worldwide (London Groove)
03. Silent Treatment (Black Thoughts 87 You And Yours Mix)
04. You Got Me (Me Tienes Remix)
05. It’s All About You (Not About Me)
06. Distortion To Static (At Ease Mix)
07. Take It There (Remix) {Nonchalant}
08. Rafiki (Album Mix) {Zap Mama}
09. Silent Treatment (Da Beatminerz Mix)
10. Listen To This {Walking Large}
11. What You Want (Feat. Jaguar)
12. Proceed III (Feat. Bahamadia)
13. The Good, The Bad & The esolate
14. Distortion To Static (Freestyle Mix) Bonus 2002 Track
15. Break You Off (Original Version Feat. D’Angelo)
16. It’s Comin’
17. Distortion To Static (Ques Jim Mix)
18. Proceed (Live At The Supper Club)
19. New Year’s At Jay Dee’s
20. What They Do (Live On Jenny McCarty)
21. Silent Treatment (Street Mix)
22. Da Jawn (Bahamadia)
23. Distortion To Static(Black Thought Mix)
24. Burnin’ & Lootin’ {Bob Marley}
25. Proceed II (Butcher Mix)
26. Still Out There
27. You Got Me (Live On David Letterman)
28. Sprite Commercial
29. Proceed IV (AJ Shine’s W/O A Pause Mix)
30. The Lesson Part 2 (Instrumental)
31. The Show
32. Rafiki (Hard Mix) {Zap Mama}
33. The ‘Notic (Feat. D’Angelo)
34. Distortion To Static (At Ease Microphone Check Mix)
35. Silent Treatment (Kelo’s Mix)
36. Proceed II (Live On John Stewart)
37. Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa
38. Listen To This (The Roots Remix)
39. Adrenaline (Live At Woodstock ’99)
40. Distortion To Static (Bob Powe Bass Mix)
41. Silent Treatment (Questions Mix)
42. Y’all Know Who
43. Proceed V (Da Beatminerz Remix)
44. You Got Me (Original Version Feat.Jill Scott)
45. The Last Track

Naked Nuts: ...Baby One More Time

I did this around 1999 I think, but who knows or cares? I always thought that "...Baby One More Time" was a pretty good bubblegum pop song. I worked in a studio and had to listen to shit like this a lot so it doesn’t have as adverse an effect as it once did and also, they make creams and balms and salves for anything else. If you can get over the fact that she can’t sing a lick, and I can appreciate if you can’t, she was quite a good entertainer. I don’t like her and don’t want to hang out with her but she put on a good show. I’m obviously still somewhat defensive about liking this song but that’s my baggage. Onward… So, I wanted to do a drum and bass kind of remix but keep it pop still because nothing that I ever did before or previously was approached that way so I wanted to challenge (or fake challenge) the fartist in men. I thought the Willie Dixon sample was an interesting counterpoint and makes me giggle when I hear it. The beats are standard issue DNB breaks. The Bob James sounds good to me too, but made it so I’m biased. Plus I’m an idiot. So there’s that too. Okay enjoy. Or don’t.

Pace

"This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine."

I Have A Cousin Named Liam...

Liam Howlett made the Dirtchamber Sessions (volume 0.5 in this case) as a mix for a Breezeblock show…which means nothing to a Yankee like me. He apparently killed it and people stated bootlegging the mix so he decided to release it. However, he had some issues with clearing some of the music. Most problematic was probably the holy grail of sample material, The Silver Beatles’ work. Now, this was before the days of Prince Rakeem and co being cleared and hopefully blowing that door down. Paul McCartney even liked the idea of being used for the mix. However, Apple said nay with a big fat “fuck you” on top and Jane’s Addiction was used as a replacement. The mix itself is how I like to hear things done. Everything from D.S.T. to P.E. to the KLF. I have a vivid memory first time I heard this. I was helping my homeboy Mook the Rhyme Dragon move out of his old house to a new one with his douchey soon to be ex-wife and their god dammed cats. I’m allergic to cats. I don’t like cats. They make me sneeze and irritable and cause my eyes to itch to the point I would rather remove the ball from it’s socket and burn it only to bury it than to deal with the frustration of scratching my iris. So, I was in a bad mood and all itchy and sweaty because he lives in New Mexico me and him are moving all the heavy shit and she’s spending 3-4 hours packing her 25 Cd’s. Eventually, Twatimus Prime, leader of the Cunticons, throws this on and actually made a good choice. A better choice would have been suicide but the music made the move a lot better. The one good thing she did, I feel. Anyway, it’s a really good mix with a lot of different stuff and I bestow onto you the original mix with Sgt Peppers and Jimi Hendrix on it. I’m nice. I wouldn’t do you wrong. I am here for you.

Prodigy Presents: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume 0.5

Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things. The Letter K

01 - Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World
The “big words” M.C. who decided that the established 1,000,000 or so words that make up the greatest and most original language in the world wasn’t enough, so he started making up his own. I'm not sure of the lesser of the two evils between making up words or botching the spelling (see BRID as spelled by Kevin Madison) but both he an Solo were from the same click so maybe that's how they keeps it real. He also uses that “Between the Sheets” sample which makes all things sexier and better.
02 - Keith Sweat - I Want Her
I remember distinctly hearing the hook for this song in my parent’s living room while listening to 90.3 out of Rhode Island State University. It wasn’t rap but the hook was undeniable and the seeds of New Jack Swing were planted in mine ear. It was just one of those moments in musical history that is crystal clear for me. For some people it was Woodstock. Others it was Live Aid. Others it was Britney’s comeback performance. Either way, it stood out for me is all I’m saying.
03 - Kenna - Sunday After You
Who Said the Neptunes only had one dude worth while? The Yin of Pharells Yang, my man Chad produced this recorded and never once sang falsetto or rapped in it. Kenna recorded this record in 2001 for Fred Durst’s Flawless label and it was shelved for two years. When it finally did come out, Durst decided to spend all of the money and effort on Puddle of Mudd and my Ethiopian-born homey got shat upon again. He has a pretty interesting and unique sound and he has a new record coming out soon,so check for it.
04 - Kid 'n Play - Gittin' Funky
You may front now but Kid and Play were pretty dope when they first came out with this one. I honestly didn’t know about them when “Last Night” and “Do This My Way” dropped but this song was dope and they were good dancers and there was a time, you glorious bad ass and boring at clubs wall flowers, when dancing was cool and didn’t make you gay. I actually was doing the Kick Step one night with my homeboy and he head butted me so hard in the face that it corrected the gap between my teeth. Dancing changes lives. True story.
05 - King Sun - The Gods Are Taking Heads (Feat. Poor Righteous Teachers)
The kindness and open arms of the 5 percent nation are quirkily rapped over beats made out of bubblegum and rainbows.
06 - King Tee - Played Like A Piano
Before the Liks and working with Marley, Tee had West Coast supah producah, DJ Pooh to make Act A Fool. Played Like A Piano used one of my favorite, ill and never boring piano loops and King Tee and guest stars, Ice Cube and Breeze made a delicious piece of vinyl.
07 - The Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)
Fjords and Indie-Folk. That’s what I think of when I think of Norway. These cats made no noise at all in the States but apparently were pretty big in Europe. This is from their remix album from their debut which was pretty good if you like music to take naps to. Which I do. So, yeah.
08 - Kings Of Leon - Holy Roller Novocaine
I first liked this song because I thought it started with the lyric, “My Darling you look ugly, I’ve come to lay you down.” And any song about intercourse with facially deficient individuals always intrigues me. Unfortunately, it was not so and the woman in the song is “lovely” not “ugly.” The band made a pretty solid debut and a better follow up. It’s the kind of southern rock that owns your ass.
09 - Kings Of Swing - Nod Your Head To This
After the first Audio Two and MC Lyte records I was down with anything the First Priority family had to offer. I thought the whole Kings of Swing record was average but there were moments, like on “Nod Your Head To This” when they shined.
10 - KMD – Plumskinzz
B-Side to Nitty Gritty and news to me until 3 months ago when I read about it on …And It’s Still All Good blog, where are you Animal Mother? A pretty dope track that I assume a lot of people don’t know about.
This just in the bitch is back! I’m assuming the “animal” half of the alias is, in this case a dog and therefore, I mean “bitch” in a biologically correct sense and not in a derogatory or misogynistic way.
11 - Komeda - More Is More
Once again the Swede’s prove they produce more than Roxette and neutrality. Started in 91, Komeda has 6-ish records (read: 4 domestic) and are known for making guitar and synth laden experimental indie rock. This track is much less synth-ish but the chicks voice is dope. She sings in English which means she loves America and George W. and it’s just a really hot track according to me and my fickle fancies.
12 - Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Men At Work
I remember hearing this song for the first time on a radio tape I had made the Saturday before going back to boarding school off of WRIU with Kurty Kut. 401 Reprazent!! I mean, where do I even begin with G Rap? I was going to put Truly Yours up first because we all know how much of a sloppy whore I am for a good story, but the way this motherfucker rips the mic on this track was kind of indescribable when I heard it for the first time. I just kind of sat and looked into space with my jaw slightly open. Its passé now but when the shit came out he was the thirstiest MC I’d ever heard.
13 - Kool Moe Dee - How Ya Like Me Now
"All aboard." I still kick this entire song much to my wife’s chagrin. She’s new school. But enough about her and her fine ass, Kool Moe Dee was just a bad ass dude. The glasses. The Kangol. The leather suits. The cowboy boots. Plus, that X-mas joint in Beat Street is another one of those songs I know verbatim. Unfortunately LL released Jack the Ripper and kind of slayed him battle wise but he was still a pioneer of battles. Gotta respect that. This just in…. I saw him on the VH1 honors show and didn’t recognize him. Now, I’m older too and fatter but good god man. My wife thought he was Cee-Lo Green. Still love him though.
14 - Kosheen - Hide U
Don’t know a lot about this crew. It’s a Drum & Bass trio from Bristol and the rest of the album is pretty good but this track was always a favorite of mine. I hope you like it. And I hope when you listen to it you imagine me sitting next to you and holding your hand.
Naked.
Covered in Vaseline.
Eating kettle corn.
15 - Kruder & Dorfmeister - Deep Shit Pt. 1 And Pt. 2
Thank you Germany. You brought us Farfegnugen, Tiger Tanks and Kruder and Dorfmeister. If you enjoy ganja or endless delays and filtered vocals then they are the dubbed out shit you have been questing for. They have spawned side solo projects like Tosca and Peace Orchestra, both of which are just as stupendous as their combined efforts... If you’ve never heard of them and want to try out some of their stuff, their DJ Kicks record or their K&D Sessions are great places to start, but it’s all really well done.
16 - DJ Krush - A Whim
I found out about Krush when I found out about Shadow and bought an import that they had done together. Krush has done extensive works with other cats and is another one of those producers that make sample heavy works of art, in my opinion. I’m a big fan of breaks and fucking up a sample. I’m also a fan of finding shit that just works together. Anyone can sample a break a bass line and a horn riff and say they mad a track. Not every one can do it well. Most say they can however and that’s just mean to the people that get fooled by it and then have to listen to 30 minutes of 80’s R&B loops over shitty drum machines and soul-less programming. But I’m bitter.
17 - K-Solo – Spellbound
A great and classic track. I can’t front. For a while I spelled a word or two in every rhyme I wrote. I mean if you’re rhyming one syllable, it’s the way to go I figured. Now, when you can’t spell (BRID?) it’s something you’ll never live down. Thankfully I was always a good speler.
18 - Kurious - Spell It With A J (Yes, Yes Jorge)
Thank you Beatnuts for making a slew of beats that are really dope. Thank you Kurious for making that mid 90’s sound and doing it well. It doesn’t hold up as well as some other things but he had a sense of humor which always gives you a longer line for me. The track was dope. The lyrics were acceptable. Tap a St Ides and pour a little out and listen.
19 - Kurtis Blow - The Breaks
Odd thing about Kurtis Blow, a German dude introduced me to him when he was an exchange student living in my house. We ended up going to the Fresh Fest in 84 and bombing all over Barrington RI. Anyway besides doing a lot of crack, he did have the first major label rap deal and paved the way so super stars like Nelly and Soulja Boy could tickle our ear drums and stirrups today.
20 - Kwame - Boy Genius
It’s hard not to feel really gay listening to the last couple of Kwame records now. I thought A Day In The Life was bad ass but listened to it a couple months ago and somehow ended up masturbating to an episode of Oz. The fact is though; he was a pretty talented dude. He thought his shit out and was pretty good at it. He maintained a production career and I can’t hate. His first album was on heavy rotation in a lot of households. I’m not sure why I’m still trying to prove he’s dope and I’m not gay but I am so I‘ll stop.
Pace.
01 - Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World
02 - Keith Sweat - I Want Her
03 - Kenna - Sunday After You
04 - Kid 'n Play - Gittin' Funky
05 - King Sun - The Gods Are Taking Heads (Feat. Poor Righteous Teachers)
06 - King Tee - Played Like A Piano
07 - The Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)
08 - Kings Of Leon - Holy Roller Novocaine
09 - Kings Of Swing - Nod Your Head To This
10 - KMD – Plumskinzz
11 - Komeda - More Is More
12 - Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Men At Work
13 - Kool Moe Dee - How Ya Like Me Now
14 - Kosheen - Hide U
15 - Kruder & Dorfmeister - Deep Shit Pt. 1 And Pt. 2
16 - DJ Krush - A Whim
17 - K-Solo – Spellbound
18 - Kurious - Spell It With A J (Yes, Yes Jorge)
19 - Kurtis Blow - The Breaks
20 - Kwame - Boy Genius


Krush Groovinnnnn Body Movinnn