Too fat, fat you must cut lean

Treebeats Shitty Reviews Of Not Shitty Artists Presents: A King E & PSY/OPSogist Extravaganza!!!

2008-03-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

Alright, sorry, sorry, sorry. I’ve been trying to get this other thing going which was recently hacked and instead of working on it I decided to end the neglect with some super dope exclusive(ish) material for you and yours. Both are instrumental. 1 is straight up hip hop in the best sense of the word and the other is hip hop on pharmacy-grade hallucinogenic (think Ninja Tune that is not totally avant-arde and ridiculous).

First up we have my man King E’s, “Heart Beats” project. Those of you unfamiliar with him should check his MySpace out. El Rey's been making beats for the past 8 years in one of the most relevant and dyanmic cities in the history of Hip Hop, Pittsburg. Just consider it further data to confirm Rakim Allah’s statement, “it ain’t where you from!” All the beats are strictly sample based. The King is not a fan of synths. Not a fan of using them. Not a fan of anyone that does use them and will fight you to the death using only the box of his purchased copy of Fruity Loops and a loaded AK if he finds out you do. While his sound can easily be compared to 9^th Wonder, there are a lot of cats that sound like 9^th Wonder, but the difference is he does what he does well. Beats and samples get flipped like a Triple Lindy and really well structured and well put together. It’s not easy to do an interesting or refreshing take on Ayer’s “Sunshine” and he does. I also like the work he did with Minnie Ripperton's “Lovin' You” I reference the two most common sources because they are two most common sources but they still sound interesting. He included the following blurb with the songs, “This is an instrumental album that I put together with the valentines theme in mind. I feel it’s some of (if not) my best work to date. I really hope you take the time to listen to it. And please listen to it with someone you love, that’s why I made it.” Aww. He'll kill your ass too so don't get it twisted, he just is in love with love. This is only the first act and next year it will have M.C.’s and possibly other vocalists over the beats presented here. Aww shit son.

01 - Holla
02 - Complete With You
03 - Incredible Feelings
04 - Loving You
05 - Heres a Kiss
06 - The Wedding Song (You My Queen)
07 - Sunshine Of My Life
08 - Baby
09 - I Love You
10 - I Wish I Could Kiss You
11 - You Shine
12 - Baby Makin Music
13 - How Much Do I Love You
14 - Golden Feelings
15 - I Need Your Love (Not actually part of the Heart Beats project, consider it a bonus track cause I got you like that nahmean!)

You lucky bitches also get his sample set to download as well. So grab it and steal the new FL and pretend like you got skills too. And Fail.

01 - Ray Charles - She's Funny That Way (Holla)
02 - Grant Green - We've Only Just Begun (Complete With You)
03 - Ronnie Laws - Night Breeze (Incredible Feelings)
04 - Minnie Riperton - Loving You (Loving You)
05 - Ronnie Laws - Momma (Here's A Kiss)
06 - Roy Ayers - Take All The Time You Need (Wedding Song)
07 - Roy Ayers - Everbody Loves The Sunshine (Sunshine Of My Life)
08 - Ronnie Laws - Living Love (Baby)
09 - Les Mccann - Changing Seasons (I Love You)
10 - Barbara And Ernie - For You (I Wish I Could Kiss You)
11 - Sylvia St. James - So I Say To You (You Shine)
12 - Sade - Sweetest Taboo (Baby Makin Music)
13 - Ray Charles - How Deep Is The Ocean (How Much Do I Love You)
14 - Stevie Wonder - Golden Lady (Golden Feelings)

Secondly, we have PSY/OPSogist’s (pronounced [sigh-ops-oh-jist]) offering entitled “Suffused With Static.” I really am not sure where to start with this dude. If we are talking genres, I’d just stick him in Electronica, simply because he uses electricity to make music and not because it is techno or trance or any of that hippy music. If I was to peg his style it would be fucking ill. Psy (which he will be refered to as from now on because I don’t actually like to type) twists the shit out of beats till juices run down legs and snares and kicks get distorted and panned like Greek mythology. I’m a big fan of delays and fucked up vocal samples getting tweaked and slowed down. Psy does this. Another thing he does really well is take shit that you kind of think would not work together and somehow make it gel. Some people say he’s hacked Reason and Ableton, some people say he’s a fucked up dude with wicked beats, some people say he looks like Diana Ross. Fact of the matter is he’s a humble dude with an exceptional amount of talent. What is one the more irritating of his idiosyncrasies is the fact that he’s only been doing it for 2 years. I mean, he played bass in guitar in bands previously but after his gentle and soft-spoken friend Raven Mack of Solaris Earth Pipeline approached him a couple years ago about working together and providing some beats for them, he pretty much has not looked back. While this is his most recent and most beloved by me, he has a slew of other work to check out at his blog. Sonically, he spends a lot of time sounding like a less pretentious Ninja Tune artist, but there are almost RZA-esque moments like on “Transmigration” or nearly boom bap tracks, “Potent Spirits” sprinkled throughout that make for a dynamic and interesting aural stroll. It’s also lovingly laced with some gnarly ass P.C.P. and a vile of liquid acid. Do yourself a favor, download this shit, burn it to a cd or stick it on your new fangled music toy and put on some headphones, spark one and dig it. Thou shall not be disappointed!
01 - Intro
02 - Birth, Space And Time
03 - Between The Keys
04 - Transmigration (Stranger)
05 - A Quick Reminder
06 - V-Sis
07 - Dreamland Happy Times For All
08 - Service Preperation
09 - Non Music
10 - Potent Spirits
11 - Opposing Drives
12 - Time (A. Not Just Madness B. Clarity C. Anaethetised)
13 - Outro

Enjoy,
Pace.

where you been at kid?

2008-03-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Korg on a DS
And likely, I say "likely" because I don't like to disappoint, there will be a post tonight. Although I have the attention span of a

February Is For Breaks: Ultimately Broke and Beaten

2008-02-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

So it's been a minute but I've been steadily working on this other site. The first week went prety well. This week I'm not feeling the sample as much or rather, I've fucked with it so much that I want to kill that Italian fucker and the majority of it's family. But this is not about my limited ability to play around with sounds while simultaneously downloading huge amounts of porn I'll never have the time to watch. This is about the month of February which here at treebeats is for breaks. The original UBB was realeased on Street Beat Records in 86 and over the next 5 years 24 more were released to the delight and cheering of many a dj and producer. Most of it was "obscure" (digging hadn't really become the culture it is now yet) funk but there was also gems from Billy Squire and The Steve Miller Band. You kind of have to remember that a lot of cats that listened to hip hop hadn't ever heard of Steve Miller or his hippy band back then. You kind of have to remember actually that none of this stuff was obvious back then and made for a huge volume of music to fuck with. A lot of the breaks were already looped in the record making for easy juggling for your favorite DJ hooked up to a lightpost for power bringing in Debbie D to celebrate Ramo's new home and baby. It's a great place to begin to learn how to make beats and begin to dig. It's really fun just listening to it and trying to name as many people as possible that had sampled the song. Well, "fun" if your nerdy things like that.

Anyway, Here is volumes 1-25 in their entirety (except for 8 which I don't have the real version of) I made cute little folder pics and numbered them all because I'm retarded that way.

Enjoy

Pace.

1-3

4 & 5

6 & 7

8 & 9

10 & 11

12 & 13

14 & 15

16 & 17

18 & 19

20 & 21

22 & 23

24 & 25

January Is For Beats...Patrick Douthit, Peter Philips, & Chris Martin

2008-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

So, there's one more day but I wanted to get the Class Is In Session thing out and big up a gimme. I can’t rustle much up on the “Class Is In Session” record. It was done around 2005. It was collaboration between 9th Wonder and Pete Rock. Grap Luva and Phonte were involved. The beats are dope. If anyone has some info on why it came about or any back-story, please let me know.
And Premier really is just that dude. I’m putting up The Question Remains instrumental. You’re probably like, “this beat isn’t a good example of Primo. I disagree. He took a two count from one of the more popular samples of the time and flipped it. He’s the king of finding things that can be looped infinitum and still sound fresh. He has the most widely recognizable scratching style in the world.
From GangStarr to Lord Finesse Jeru to Nas to Biggie. On and on and it’s all pretty consistent. That’s about 20 years of not sucking. That ain’t easy. There’s plenty more info on him, but you guys are hip to it. And I’m lazy.
Pace.

01 - Whatever You Say (Remix I) (Feat. Little Brother)
02 - Whatever You Say (Remix II) (Feat. Little Brother)
03 - Am I Dreaming?
04 - Hi Baby (Instrumental)
05 - Watch Me (Instrumental)
06 - City Star Srut (Instrumental)
07 - Oh yeah (Feat. Phonte, Grap Luva, & Kevin Brown)
08 - Always (Feat. Kevin Brown)
09 - From The Basement (Feat. Phonte & Grap Luva)
10 - Funky (Instrumental)
11 - Night Cruise (Instrumental)

12 - Hello Tokyo (Instrumental)

On Some Ol Nex Shiznit...

2008-01-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

So, shit has been crazy gearing up to launch my new project. And now, people, behold…

I Hook A Beat Up

It’s going to be a weekly beat battle. Sample sources will be provided by the likes of
Mr Mass from Mass Corporation, Dr OK from And It Don't Stop, DJ Nes from Dirty Waters, or Scholar from Souled On. Then we have a bunch of talented cats, including yours truly, take the song and sample it and flip it any way they want over the next week. The beats are then posted and a Panel (including Travis from WYDU, Eric from WTR, Max from Hip Hop Isn't Dead, Mike Dikk from Dumpin.Net, Andrew from Strictly Beats and King E from the Justus League boards) will discuss what they liked and/or didn't like and Rank them. There is also a public vote which will be ranked and scored as well. The cat or kitten with the most points wins and can brag to all of there interweb friends about how they won and there friends will be like “OMFG. U’r fresh.” And the winner will be like, “ROTFLMAO” and their friends will be like “PIR. TTL” or something along those lines. Stop by if you feel like it or if you want to contribute.

Next up we have the video for Gnotes new single “Missing You”

I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the video but conceptually I like what they did. I also like what Gnotes does a lot. (Also coming out soon on Gnawledge Records is Afro DZ ak's solo joint. I'm not familiar with his work but if it's from Gnawledge, it's got to be interesting.) It’s just the dude in the video doesn’t fit in my opinion. Not that I need some dude with a pimp cup smaking Buffy The Body’s freakishly rotund glutes, but the dude just seems out of place. But, there’s nothing wrong with taking risks unless you are jumping out of planes naked.So nothing to post. Again? Yes, again. I haven’t been able to post all the producers I wanted but I’ve been producing myself so there. I will post the 9th Wonder and Pete Rock “Class Is In Session” and some other stuff before the month of beats comes to an end. I’ve also decided to make February the month of breaks since I’ve been spending so much time thinking about it lately. Expect the Ultimate Breaks & Beats, The Dusty Fingers collection, The Super Breaks & Beats, and some others. Nothing too obscure because that’s mine, but there is a lot of stuff still flippable in what I’ll put up. Plus there is always a new batch of 9th Wonder wannabes who have yet to hear some of it.

Pace

Just A Few Things That Have Been Going Through My Head...

2008-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

I saw Ladysmith Black Mambazo the other night. If you get a chance to see them, go. It’s a South African male acacpella group that has been around for 50 years. The layers and harmonies they come up with are fucking amazing and leave your jaw kind of loose when you watch them. You probably will recognize them from Paul Simon’s Graceland album but they have a huge body of work that is worth checking unless you are one dimesional and can’t listen to anything that is in another language. If that’s the case, you’ll probably prefer listening to American Gangster again. Watching them preform is almost like watching a martial art. They kick and squat and punch. It's really worth checking out. More recently, they were nominated for a few grammys. Really cool stuff that, sadly, was not included in my letter “L” listing (my one mistake).
Secondly, and completely unrelated, I saw “Cloverfield” and “I Am Legend” last weekend. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I haven’t been able to go to a flick since Transformers and before that since my boy was born, but they were both pretty good. Cloverfield is dope because the story is told completely by one handheld camera. Now, my dad said he felt nauseous watching it and some people may feel the same way (think Blair Witch Project) but it submerged you in the movie and was an awesome way to tell the story (sans the beginning plot set up, love triangle, pretty & rich Manhattan people that live in ridiculously nice lofts shit) Also the 2 main hotties in it are muy caliente. I thought Will Smith wasn’t bad in I am Legend either. I’m a sucker for most things “zombie” and except for an ending that was horrible it was a good watch.
Third, I am ironing out the details of a new venture that will include a lot of your favorite bloggers, a lot of talented cats and a lot of beats. Oooo. How excitingly covert. It has taken up some time for setting up and that’s why I haven’t posted any more beat nuts.(punny)
So, I’ll get another cat up either tonight or tomorrow for your continued aural ecstasy.Pace.

January Is For Beats: Joe Beats

2008-01-21T13:55:00.001-08:00

Joeseph Beats (god given name) is straight out of the biggest little state in the union. He’s a sample based producer and here’s a tip for you aspiring producers that keep getting newer equipment and software to make your beats that much better. He uses SAWPro on a 333 MHz, 128MB RAM, Windows 98 computer. Now, I’ve never used SAWPro but I’ve used a lot of Cakewalk and some Cubase and no Pro Tools. My point is this, stop getting more and more shit. Pick something that you have and like learn the fuck out of it. Spend some time with it. Flirt. Play hard to get, whatever but learn that particular piece of software or hardware in and out. Then you can build on that. It will help you define your own sound. If it doesn’t do something that someone else does, then you should both stop trying to do what someone else does and also figure out a way to make it do that. 9th Wonder does his shit on Fruity Loops and Cool Edit Pro. Shadow did Endtroducing all on an MPC-60. Just learn some thing and define your sound. Yeah, so Joe Beats is really dope. Really moody and brooding type shit. His first release, Reverse Discourse came out in 2003 and he’s had 3 or 4 since then. I’m putting up Side 1 of the vinyl version of Diverse Recourse (2007) which has some tracks not on the CD. It’s way to recent for my liking to post, thus only one side (like that makes a difference but I’m inconsistent and irrational so sue me. Actually don’t sue me but hate me) but the shit is dope and I don’t think he gets nearly enough shine. But, I like it a lot and January is the month of beats. He’s also works with Sage Francis (another RI thug) as Non-Prophets. Good shit too. Feel the funk baby.
Pace.
01 - Don't Front...
02 - Smart Dumb Person
03 - Me Talk Pretty
04 - Kiss Of Life
05 - Sleep Or Bust
06 - Strategery
07 - Friday Afternoon

Doin his thing.

January Is For Beats: Daniel Nakamura

2008-01-18T05:21:00.000-08:00

Under the slick monniker "Nathaniel Merriweather" I bring you Mr. Wannabuyamonkey himself. Now, I’m a big fan of hip-hop that’s been slowed down and beats that are as well. The natural reverb comes out. The sound is thicker and murkier and fanfuckingtastic. Mr. Nakamura is a big fan of this stylee too as he has incorporated it into a lot of his work. Some people call it Trip-Hop but there are also some people that thought braided rat tails or having a Gumby was a good choice in hair style. Another thing he does well is incorporate some spaced out “Forbidden Planet” type sample shit that is campy without being over bearing or stupid. Again, this is the kind of shit I like because it just sounds good. A friend of mine is was a big fan of laughing going through a delay and no matter how enjoyable or infectious the laughter is originally, after it echoes over itself again and again it sounds maniacal and menacing. That has nothing to do with Dan but I'm just saying. He's very cinematic. Very big sounding. Along with the Dr Octagon project, which kind of blew him up, he has done a lot of remix work and has worked with a bunch of others on side projects. Most notably would be the Handsome Boy Modeling School and Loveage side projects (both of which I love and would marry if I could manifest them into a physical form or even just a pair of boobs.) What always makes someone stand out for me is they take risks musically and don’t basically rely on Ultimate Breaks and Beats volumes 1-25 for source material. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. The Bombay the Hard Way project was a perfect example of this. Maybe I’ll put that up as well if anyone cares. But it’s bollywood over hip-hop before it was cool and Punjabi MC and such were mainstream. Timbaland did it too but this is more my thing.
Side note: I won’t have a Timbaland day this month as there are way to many artists and too few days as it is. I like him and think he’s had an impressive career. He’s more pop than I am or listen to but has successfully defined what pop is several times over. That’s not easy and isn’t luck after the first few times. So that’s my piece on him.
Back to the Japanese dude, I’m upping the Dr. Octagon Instrumentalyst as it was really his first success and was a really dope release. Poppa Large was impressive as well. THis is more standard Hip-Hop fare and I say that only because it's around 90 BPMs. It still has that Automator feel but he uses more familiar breaks or drum kits.
Enjoy.
Pace.

Dr. Octagon - The Instrumentalyst

01 - Intro
02 - 3000
03 - I Got To Tell You
04 - Earth People
05 - No Awareness
06 - Raw Deal
07 - General Hospital
08 - Blue Flowers
09 - Technical Difficulties (Produced By Kut Masta Kurt)
10 - A Visit To The Gynecologyst
11 - Bear Witness
12 - Dr. Octagon (Produced By Kut Masta Kurt)
13 - Girl Let Me Touch You
14 - I'm Destructive
15 - Wild And Crazy
16 - Elective Surgery
17 - Halfsharkalligatorhalfman
18 - Blue Flowers Revisited
19 - Waiting List (DJ Shadow / Automator Mix)
20 - 1977

Handsome Boy Modeling School Promo Video

A Couple Of Things About This "Whatever Of The Month" Thing I'm Doing...

2008-01-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

There is no order to what I'm talking about. These are all artists that I have enjoyed a great deal and while some of them are pretty obvious, cats like Ratatat, Joey Beats or Mr. Cooper don't get a lot of shine and I think some people might enjoy them. The fact that RZA is ahead of Pete Rock has nothing to do with me liking him better so if you are looking for a hierarchy, don't. There isn't any.
Second, there is no way on god's (the one true god) green earth I can put all of my favorites here. "30 days" or even "a month" sounds like a lot of time but then you start widdling away and during morning meeting 20 kids shout out that it's January 17th you're like "fuck" but not in front of the kids because then I'd get fired. But last night I wrote down the names of the producers or beat making bastards that I felt I had to post and the list was past 40... and I'm already halfway through the month. In a perfect world I'd post 2 or 3 artists a day and it would actually be interesting and informative. Welcome to my world bitches. I use commas too much. I think I'm funnier than anyone else seems to and I procrastinate a lot (exhibit A: I was going to write this last night but then I decided to sit a little bit longer.)
In closing,
If man is 5,
and the devil is 6,
Then god is 7.
Pace.

January Is For Beats...Ewart & Walter Dewgarde

2008-01-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

Da Beatminerz. A crew that became famous for using a filter on an Akai sampler. A friend of mine had the S950 back in the day. We were playing around with it and all of the sudden, with the aid of a low pass filter, we were Evil Dee and Mr. Walt. Not to slight the guys but their early sound was distinct for a reason. They did define the gritty dark sound that was the East Coast Street in the Mid 90’s. Really thick and fat loops de la Jazz variety, really compressed drums and bass lines that made you want to get on some old high school shit and start punching people in the face. Enta Da Stage blew my mind and I spent many hours writing rhymes to that record. I’d say that one and Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop were the cause of many pages of metaphysical blundering by me. Lots of “3rd eye”'s and “my mental” this and that. Anyway, they evolved. Got a few more cats in their click and released two joints showcasing their beats and the raw talent that began to blend all together and sound the same to me and a whole buncha remixes. That being said, I liked pretty much all of it up through O.G.C. then it got a bit monotonous. But those earlier releases were fucking huge for me and obviously a few others. I wish I had had this instrumental version (and the sassy cover I created on paint.net) back then but then again I wouldn’t have left my house and probably would not have gotten up to eat or poop and would have been found dead emaciated and rotting in a sea of feces. And that probably wouldn’t have been worth it. They have since gone back down to the original two-brother combo and have continued to make bangers.
Enjoy.

Pace.

01 - Powaful Impak (Instrumental)
02 - Niguz Talk Shit (Instrumental)
03 - Who Got The Props (Evil Dee Mix Instrumental)
04 - Act Like U Want It (Instrumental)
05 - Buck Em Down (Instrumental)
06 - Black Smif N Wessun (Instrumental)
07 - Son Get Wrec (Instrumental)
08 - Make Munne (Instrumental)
09 - I Got Cha Opin (Remix Instrumental)
10 - Shit Iz Real (Instrumental)
11 - Enta Da Stage (Instrumental)
12 - How Many Mcs (Instrumental)
13 - U Da Man (Instrumental)
14 - Funk It Up (Instrumental)
15 - Murder Mc's (Instrumental)
16 - Reality (Killing Every) (Instrumental)
17 - Who Got The Props (Mw Smooth Mix Instrumental)

Siblings and a short guy in the studio.

January Is For Beats: Peter Phillips

2008-01-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

I was just going to write “HORNS” for this but I figured I might as well actually write something. If you haven’t heard of Peter Phillips then you are reading this in some parallel universe where he turned out to be a mildly retarded elementary school janitor with a stuttering problem. There would also need to be some weird rip in the fabric of reality to allow this post to pass through unaltered. I’m assuming none of that is true so, needless to say, you’ve heard of the Chocolate Boy Wonder. I spent some time with “Mecca & The Soul Brother” this weekend and really enjoyed it again. I hadn’t listened to it for several years now but it still holds up and The Creator still says “what,” “yeah,” or “ow” at the end of each bar. CL has always been one of my favorite MC’s and the two of them made a classic record. But this is about Petey and his crates. The dude put little beats snippets in front of songs as if to say, “yeah, I could have used this but I have too many beats so check it out.” His use and abuse of Funk, Jazz & R&B was exceptional. The drum work on T.R.O.Y. is better than 99.999999999999999% of what comes out today. Still. That record came out nearly 20 years ago. By the way. Yes. You are now officially old. He made the horn riff a mainstay in hip-hop production and his chopping of samples, while not really as prominent on their debut developed and was mastered over the next few years. Also, when’s the last time an artists did all of their own remixes on a single. And speaking of remixes… He invented them! I mean after Puffy of course.
After the Main Ingredient, The Soul Brother #1 went on to do a lot of great work including the INI project, Soul Survivor and a slew of remix work. CL’s “American Me” was horribly disappointing. He’s still one of my favorite MC’s though. I’m putting up their Rare Tracks" release, which was stuff done between Mecca and Main Ingredient.
Enjoy. Pace.

01 - Searching (Remix)
02 - Take You There (Remix)
03 - Lots Of Lovin' (Remix)
04 - I Got A Love (Remix)
05 - It's Not A Game (Vocal)
06 - Mecca & The Soul Brother (Wig Out Mix)
07 - Creator (EP Mix - Vocal)
08 - Straighten It Out (Vocal Remix)
09 - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Vibes Mix)
10 - Get On The Mic (Remix)

"Pete" rhymes with "beat"

January Is For Beats: Baobob Productions...

2008-01-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

So, I couldn't find what I had initially intended to put up. However, as I went looking through boxes and crates I found a CD of beats I had put together in 96. It was all done on my trusty ASR-10 and was just before I really started chopping breaks up so beat wise it's pretty basic. It was mixed with a bunch of vocal samples from my favorite anime but that version is long gone. I was pretty excited to find this. It's kind of like looking in an old journal. I never really did anything with them so I figured I might as well let someone hear them. You got stuck with it. I had some cover art for it but that's long gone too. In other news: it looks like I'll have a snow day tomorrow so I'll make a proper post then.
Pace.

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

2008-01-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

In my mad intricate plot, I saved the second half of the alphabet for the dos mil ocho putas. An amazing year thus far with January “The Month Of Beats” progressing along quite nicely. Next month is either the month of “Breaks & Rare Grooves” or “Rapper Guys” I’m not sure yet and planning 3 weeks ahead seems a bit too ambitious. Anyway, here’s “N” Enjoy or don’t.

01 - Nancy Wilson & CannonBall Adderly - Save Your Love For Me
Ah Nancy Wilson. The babalicious song stylist with a remarkable voice to boot. This is off the record she did with the legendary Cannonball Adderly. Its just really good vocal jazz with Adderly making aural brass love. The whole record is great and I highly recommend it.
02 - Nas - It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Large Professor Remix)
Perhaps there are too many LP remixes on my list. I don’t care. There’s a reason for it. They’re dope. With a clever Biz sample this one just bangs. It loses the charm of the Human Nature version but was probably cheaper and legal-er to make. I know it’s obvious to say this album was big in one’s life but this one was. I actually met Nas when he had released this album as we had a mutual friend. He was doing a promo tour and did a show in Florida where I was living at the time. He came to my crib and we had a session and smoked Bidi’s and talked about beats. My homeboy had just bought a bunch of hash and we started smoking and drinking beers and got pretty fandangled. As the night progressed he became more comfortable and familiar and was less Nas and more Nasir and he started opening up a little. He went on about his difficult relationship with his dad and then out of nowhere, the dude starts crying. I mean literally weeping on my couch and I’m looking at my friend like “What the Fuck!?”
Actually none of that happened. And I would go on but got really bored with myself. Great track though.
03 - Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem
Before making Egypt with Pepa. Before his acting career with co-stars Peanuts Chocolate and Obsession (seriously? You’re telling me it’s not gay porn but his name was Peanuts Chocolate!) Naughty By Nature was doing well. And after their self-titled debut they did a little song on the Juice soundtrack that fucking owned me. I mean the whole thing with the piano in the beginning and then him coming in with, “Hey you can smoke a spliff...” and then continuing his rapid-fire delivery into shit no one ever really understands. Vinnie once again paled in comparison but still was fine. I don’t know how many times I watched this movie.
04 - Nellie McKay - The Big One
From the nearly never released second record from Ms. McKay we have “The Big One” After doing stand-up for a while Nellie started recording music. Her initial outings generated a lot of buzz and the bidding wars commenced to have the next big thing. After a label debacle I think she is now on her own label. She’s pretty hard to pin down genre-wise. She does have a great voice and smart lyrics. The song is about Harlem being Guliani-ized and how great that turned out for anyone not old, white and rich.
05 - The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed
Honestly, the main reason this song is here is because Neko Case’s voice kicks ass and it was a two-fer. The song is pretty good too. People drool and babble about how Mass Romantic was such a better album and any real music fan would agree. I’m a surreal music fan, man. I burn incense and I am guided by the winds of change and the planets in the northern hemisphere.
06 - Nice & Smooth - Sometimes I rhyme Slow (Stay Faithful Remix)
There was a time where I dropped this beat behind everything else in my collection. And I would juggle it for hours much to my delight and any one else’s chagrin. I don’t know what it is about the beat, but Joshy likey!
07 - Nick Drake - Parasite
The sad case of a dude who was really talented and petrified of sharing his talent. A story that parallels the crippling sorrow that washed over America when Jonathan Knight came out and announced he had stage fright and the New Kids broke up. Nick Drake battled or rather was beaten down by depression up until he overdosed on antidepressants in 1974. He never was critically acclaimed in his lifetime and this certainly didn’t catapult him into extroversion. He was one of dudes that played guitar and sang quietly and would get his guitar ripped out of his hands and then have it smashed against the wall by William Zabka if he was in any 80’s film.
08 - Nightmares On Wax - Morse
I’m a lot more familiar with George Evelyn’s work from the 90’s a la “Smokers Delight” and “Carboot Soul” which was well produced down tempo hip-hop. This is off the latter. He had a lot of musicians and artists come in for the sessions and I heard that the show was pretty good. Another reason I like N.O.W. is he did an EP with De La. So, yeah dig the mellow vibe and spark an L.
09 - Nina Simone - Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair (Jaffa Remix)
So what if Eunice Kathleen Waymon looks like and sounds like a dude? So did MC Lyte but Ms Simone made more than 2 albums worth listening to. This song is from the Verve Remix series which are worth checking out if you like fat beats and Jazz. Her voice was unique and covered a lot of emotions effectively. A few cool facts about her. She recorded over 40 albums. She had Bi-Polar Disorder. She once shot a neighbor’s child for disrupting her concentration. Lauryn Hill does a spot on imitation of her defecating on a microphone. Nuff said.
10 - Nine - Wutcha Want (Portishead Remix)
Nine was that dude that sounded like he was in the midst of swallowing a bag of gravel and then decided he rhyme as well. Kind of like that guy who drinks a glass of water while his Mannequin sings The Star Spangled Banner. But different and iller. This is the Portishead remix. Speaking of Portishead, when asked about rumors as to whether or not they would be working with Danger Mouse on their new effort Mr. Barrows replied, “I’d rather poo in my mum’s Sunday roast than have Danger Mouse produce a Portishead record. No offense.” None taken sir. Well played.
11 - Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Upon further introspection, I was never really a Trent fan. I like a couple of tracks off of this record and the only track of his I liked a lot was off of the Mulholland Drive soundtrack which featured hot chicks naked and making out and the standard “I’m the only person who actually knows what’s going on but I have know clue what that actually is” plot by David Lynch. So, I should have posted that song but I didn’t and don’t feel like going back now. In closing, I only put this here because I like what he did conceptually, pushing boundaries and expanding his audience’s tastes but I didn’t really like it.
12 - Nirvana - Lithium
I wasn’t ready for this band when they came out. I was too submerged in making beats and writing rhymes to accept anything that wasn’t sequenced. I grew up. I’m also glad I wasn’t on the Nirvana bandwagon because they would have been ruined for me by over exposure. Now I can come from the future and freak that futuristic George Jetson robotic type shit and appreciated it without millions of depressed and pseudo depressed kids having candlelight vigils and crying over him going out with his grey matter splattered against the closet wall. I think that was gangster.
Pussy.
13 - The Notorius B.I.G. - Gimme The Loot
Okay here it goes. I don’t think Biggie was the greatest rapper of all time. Now that everyone has left the room I shall continue. He was obviously great but he recorded 2 records. Only one of them was great. The second one was not. Sorry. And his style was ill but he recycled lyrics all the time. I’m not saying others don’t but I guarantee the greatest of all time won’t. I was a much bigger early Biggie fan. I liked his cameos. “Party & Bullshit” is my favorite song of his, period. True Story, this is kind of where that Nas story came from BTW. Me and a bunch of my friends went to Jack The Rapper in Florida while I was living there. We broke 2 ounces into nicks and dimes and sold it and tried to network. We sold a lot, smoked a lot but networked nil. Anyway, I was taking a break and taking in the scene for a minute when Big and some stromie of his stand right next to me. This was after Party & Bullshit but before he was huge (as a star I mean. He was still quite fat) So I’m doing my best to not look over at him and be like “Hey I think your really groovy sir, and on behalf of all white people to all black people, “I’m sorry” can we be friends?” But apparently Big Poppa had had too much to drink and was having trouble balancing his girth and maintaining a vertical stance. His buddy says he’s going to look for someone and he starts whining, “Nah man. Don’t leave me man.” Like really pitifully. It was horrifying. I felt awkward and uncomfortable and walked away and we never crossed paths again.
14 - The Nonce - Mix Tapes
Did you know “nonce” means “pedophile” in the Queens’ English? I didn’t. It means, “present time” in Real English. It means “a rap group form the mid 90’s that had 2 MC’s, one of which died” in Ebonics. It’s one of those slept on records that people go on and on about so I won’t but if you haven’t checked out “World Ultimate” then do so. It’s a good example of what good hip-hop from the West Coast sounded like. Less posturing and more postulating. And the “mix tapes” referred to in this song are the kind that don’t suck.
15 - Nuyorican Soul - Jazzy Jeff’s Theme
A really interesting project that came out in the late 90’s that was the brainchild Of Kenny Dope and Little Louie Vega. This one features Jazzy Jeff which I don’t think one can get enough of. Well that’s not true but it’s a dope track. The rest of the release was a combination of Jazz, Latin, R&B, and Hip-Hop that all blended really well. Certainly worth a listen if you’ve never checked it out.
16 - N.W.A. - Gangsta Gangsta (Aphrodite Remix)
Aphrodite on the remix. Not much like the original but maybe some of you haven’t heard it yet so I wanted to break you off something proper like. If you don’t know Aphrodite, he was instrumental in making Drum & Bass a big thing (I use “big” as a relative term) this comes off of a CD called Urban Jungle where he remixes a couple other rapper guys like Jeru and The Luniz. You’ll also find the Vinyl Syndicate’s "Man Of Steel" which always gets me open and should absolutely be checked out.

Pace.

01 - Nancy Wilson & CannonBall Adderly - Save Your Love For Me
02 - Nas - It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Large Professor Remix)
03 - Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem
04 - Nellie McKay - The Big One
05 - The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed
06 - Nice & Smooth - Sometimes I rhyme Slow (Stay Faithful Remix)
07 - Nick Drake - Parasite
08 - Nightmares On Wax - Morse
09 - Nina Simone - Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair (Jaffa Remix)
10 - Nine - Wutcha Want (Portishead Remix)
11 - Nine Inch Nails - Closer
12 - Nirvana - Lithium
13 - The Notorius B.I.G. - Gimme The Loot
14 - The Nonce - Mix Tapes
15 - Nuyorican Soul - Jazzy Jeff’s Theme
16 - N.W.A. - Gangsta Gangsta (Aphrodite Remix)

The Natalie Portman Rap

W3RD!

January Is For Beats: Robert Diggs

2008-01-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

Robert Diggs was born 15 days before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon (or did he?) 22 years later he released "Ooh I Love You Rakeem" Then he went to jail. 2 years later he reunited with his cousins Gary and Russell and 7 other rapper guys, to release the quietly recieved "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)." Apparently a few people bought this long playing vinyl record with sales over 8.3 million thus far. The Bodyguard Soundtrack, which was released around the same time however, has sold about 18 million. That means it's a better album and I'm considering staring a Whitney blog because of that.

But back to Bobby. I read somewhere that he did the whole thing on an ASR-10, which I had at the time...still do actually. It was dirty sounding and crunchy and redefined the way a lot of young producers wanted to sound. Full of references from old kung-fu flicks seems passé now but that cat was genius to blaze that trail. And the fight sounds getting punched in over curses for the "radio" versions!? Fucking brilliant! It was by far my favorite sounding Wu record and rests with ODB's and Rae's solo joints in my world of deeply loved RZA excersions. I don't remember where I found the Instrumentals but wherever it was, "thanks." Enjoy.
Pace.

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)Instrumentals

01 - Bring Da Ruckus (Instrumental)
02 - Shame On A Nigga (Instrumental)
03 - Clan In Da Front (Instrumental)
04 - Wu-Tang 7th Chamber (Instrumental)
05 - Can It Be All So Simple (Instrumental)
06 - Da Mystery of Chessboxin' (Instrumental)
07 - Wu-Tang Ain't Nothin To Fuck Wit (Instrumental)
08 - C.R.E.A.M. (Instrumental)
09 - Method Man (Instrumental)
10 - Protect Ya Neck (Instrumental)
11 – Tearz (Instrumental)
12 - Wu-Tang 7th Chamber (Part 2) (Instrumental)
13 - Method Man (Remix) (Instrumental)

That rough, rugged and raw shit

January Is For Beats: Ratatat...

2008-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Ratatat is made up of guitarist Mike Stroud, producer Evan Mast and more recently, Jacob Morris on the keytar. They have released a couple of remix albums of your favorite rapper guys (details here and here ) and also two other cd’s and an EP, which wasn't ever officially released (here, here and here respectively). I really like the way these guys sound and put shit together. It’s not standard fare hip-hop production, which always appeals to me.
The incorporation of guitars in hip-hop always makes me a bit uncomfortable because a lot of people don’t really know how to do it. For some reason they try to have some crazy Satriani-esque solo over a dry 808 beat. Not good. It’s like they have one dude who speaks only Japanese and makes hip-hop beats and listens to nothing else and then have some guy who speaks only siSwati and listens to nothing but Randy Rhodes' solos and then they’re put in a room together and are expected to work together, understand each other and make something cohesive and dope. That’s how I feel about it anyway. Ratatat doesn’t sound like that. I wouldn't say the guitars are subtle or understated but they gel with everything else that's going on. Plus, who doesn't like a little organ in their head nod? That could sound dirty if you try. I like it and I think you will agree. If you don’t, you’re wrong. But we can still call each other when we’re lonely.

I’m upping their debut and the EP entitled 9 Beats. A lot of the beats from the latter were used on the second volume of remixes and are more straight up beats while the debut is more song and melody based. They got a lot better at drum programming as time went on. Anyway, enjoy.

Pace.

01 - Seventeen Years
02 - El Pico
03 - Crips
04 - Desert Eagle
05 - Everest
06 - Bustelo
07 - Breaking Away
08 - Lapland
09 - Germany To Germany
10 - Spanish Armada
11 - Cherry

01 - Beat 01
02 - Beat 02
03 - Beat 03
04 - Beat 04
05 - Beat 05
06 - Beat 06
07 - Beat 07
08 - Beat 08
09 - Beat 09

Back, Caught You Lookin For The Same Thing...

2008-01-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hello again fart knockers. I hope you all had an intensely inebriated holiday season and share the sorrow of returning to the grind. Alas, we all need an education or a job or else we’d all have a blog or a reality show on the CW. I thought long and hard about this blog over the break and after the blood, sweat and tears a typical nap incurs, I’ve decided to have monthly themes. I’m really easily distracted and deciding what to put up and talk about is a daunting task for me. I’m also lazy and without guidance I will nap. I intend on finishing the listing of really dope things, much to everyone’s chagrin, but I kind of feel like I should finish it if for no other reason than to feel like my listing does not parallel the rest of my unfinished novels, paintings and guano sculptures that clutter my past. So, welcome to January, “The month of beats.” It’s a month filled with some of my favorite producers and instrumental artists. Call it “Beats” Call it “Downtempo,” call it “Trip-Hop,” call it “the secretion from the infected and gaping anal sore of humanity”, I don’t care. It’s one of my favs and I now bestow it unto you.

I figure I’ll start with Shadow.
I don’t really know what to say about this dude. His impact is immeasurable. His skill is undeniable. I mean Monosyllabic!? I am not really feeling the newer shit but that’s more because of the lyrics on top and less the music. Whatever you can’t deny the dude. If you do, you don’t understand what goes into programming or you make beats on an SK-1.
I’m putting up The Private Repress, which was a series of remixes, his Lesson 4 Archive Mix which is a shout back to Double Dee & Steinski and a BBC mix that came out during the UNKLE time. While this isn’t the best representation of his work, I figured some of you might not have it yet and the rest of the stuff is readily available out there. Enjoy.
Pace.

The Private Repress
01 - Intro
02 - Six Days (Soulwax Mix)
03 - GDMFSOB (UNKLE Uncensored Feat. Roots Manuva)
04 - Interlude
05 - Walkie Talkie (Extended Radio Edit)
06 - Six Days (Remix Feat. Mos Def)
07 - Disavowed
08 - Interlude
09 - Right Thing (Tokio Ghetto Tech Remix)
10 - Mashin' On The Motorway (Radio edit)
11 - Right Thing (Z-Trip 'Get The Party Off Mix' In Three Parts)
12 - Outro

Shadow BBC Mix
01 - Intro
02 - Lonely Soul (Early Instrumental Version)
03 - Lost and Found
04 - Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix)
05 - Painkiller (Depeche Mode remix)
06 - High Noon
07 - Organ Donor
08 - Midnight In A Perfect World

Lesson 4 (Archive Mix)

The Shadow Percussion Project.

Until We Meet Again...

2007-12-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-12-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-12-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-12-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-11-22T08:52:00.003-08:00

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...

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-11-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-10-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-10-18T05:04:00.001-07:00

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.

2007-10-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-10-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

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

Putting my naked nuts on a table and giving you a bat with rusty nails...

2007-09-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

Fuck! This has been the hardest fortnight I’ve ever had in my professional career. I won’t bother you with details but just know I have valid reasons for absence. So, I figured I’d up a remix I did a while ago. If you saw Pump Up The Volume, and were young enough to think he was cool with his pirate radio antics you probably remember his theme song was “Everybody Knows” by Leonard Cohen. This was the one reason I bought the soundtrack to the film and since I didn’t know who did the song then, I figured Concrete Blonde sounded about right. It was wrong, and their version sucked infected anal warts. The original by Leonard Cohen though, kind of kicked ass. Jump 5 years and I started rhyming less and producing more. Jump another 2 years and I started really fucking around with breaks. Jmp another 2 years and I became reasonably proficient with chopping drums up and I figured I’d add a bigger beat to the song. If you’re looking for a new break you’ve never heard then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a pretty fat beat and some drum chopping and vocal tweaking then this is the remix for you. If people like it I’ll up more. Let me know what you think.

Also, I wanted to post this Pitchfork Media mix. Although Pitchfork may have even more pretentious writers than most of the blogs we frequent, they did produce this. "This" refers to a series of mixes by selected Selectors. The first mix was from DJ Optimo so I’ll post that too if they remove it ad people are interested. This one is by my man Diplo. Hollertronix. (That was stupid. Sorry) The track listing is in the mp3 "comments" section of it's ID tag. I'm sneaky like that.

Pace.

My Ink Part 2

2007-09-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

So I got the tat filled in on Sunday at the Tattoo convenvention. What a fucking freak show that was. There are some people that pour acid in clever shapes so they can have permanent burn in the shape of a hand print or some such nonesense. There were not a lot of good looking females there either so if you are looking for ladies avoid those conventions. But it turned out dope. I'll try to get a better picture up later if anyone cares.
Pace

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

2007-09-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I know it’s been a while. I have reasons. School started two weeks ago. I now have a class of all English language learners. One of my kids isn’t potty trained. One doesn’t speak a lick of English. Two don’t speak at all and one says Whoizat (which means both “who is that”, “what is that” and apparently any of the infinite combinations of words that one can create since it's all he says all day long.) I’ve also had this “J” thing for a while but the idea of writing what would have ended up being 6 pages of my endless dribble was too daunting a task and would not have been good for anyone. "J" groups were far more prolific than either "H" or "I" so it’s a big group of music. I kept my comments short and sweet so if you desperately want more info either leave a comment (just to try something new) give a shout on the cbox or look it up if your desperate. I don’t think I can keep up with the Monday Mixtape or Friday’s Cover for a little while until I can get my shit together at work. So yeah, there it is. Sorry it took so long. But you can always look at the links (I have now updated them) if your dying for something to check out. HHB and Bossplayer are back in effect so give a cheer and go browse. That’s it for now.

Pace.
01 - Jack Johnson - Breakdown (Handsome Boy Modeling School Remix)
He’s from Hawaii. He makes the girls swoon and this is a really dope remix by Dan and Paul.
02 - Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)
Ah Michael. How great thou were. Zach does a good remix on this one.
03 - James Brown – Coldblooded
Ever heard of him?
04 - Jamie Lidell – Multiply
I really want to see this dude live. I don’t know much about his group, Super Collider, but his solo stuff is very soulful and he does his show by himself with a lot of layering of vocal loops and has a nice kind of dusty sound.
05 - Jamiroquai - Morning Glory
A lot of my homeboys think this song is too pretty and they're probably right, but I think it’s a good track and has always been my favorite of theirs.
06 - Janet Jackson - That's The Way Love Goes
I miss Janet when she talked about being a lesbian and before she married JD. Don’t front. You liked this song when it came out.
07 - Jazzamor - 5 Times
An interesting reinterpretation of Brubeck’s Take Five.
08 - The Jaz - The Originators
The original Iggity flow. The first time I heard Jay on record and probably my favorite track of his. I killed two birds with one stone with this one. I'm Smaht.
09 - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Live At Union Square, (November 1986)
I’m still blown away by this routine. It’s what a DJ should do.
10 - The J.B. Horns - Givin' Up Food For Funk (Parts 1& 2)
They backed up some cat that sang.
11 - Jedi Mind Tricks - Animal Rap (Feat. Kool G. Rap)
Hard ass rhymes and a wicked beat. I can’t take a lot of JMT at once but this song always gets me open.
12 - Jel – Slight
I'm mnew to this cat but my first piece of real equipment was a SP1200 and this dude makes me think back to those all night sessions with bidis, Buddha and endless freestyle ciphers.
13 - Jeru - Me Or The Papes (Dillinja Remix)
I never understood why more heads didn’t like Drum And Bass. It’s just Hip Hop double time with more attention to fucking up breaks.
14 - Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
Big distorted guitars and mega reverbed vocals.
15 - Jill Scott – Golden
I just think she is one of the dopest chicks on the mic. I have a big crush on her.
16 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Castles Made Of Sand
Apparently he’s a guitar player.
17 - Joe Beats – Slivers
Any dude from Rhode Island is cool with me. And this cat has some wicked beats
18 - John Coltrane - Cousin Mary
I don’t even know where to begin with John Coltrane. My dad raised me on a lot of Jazz an Coltrane, Monk, and Miles filled many an afternoon in my youth.
19 - John Legend - Show Me
My favorite track of his.
20 - John Mayer - I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
Also my favorite track of his.
21 - Johnnie Taylor - Steal Away
The fact that he took a song by a dude with the same phonetic name and made it better takes balls and talent. I never actually saw his balls but he had talent. Another Stax great.
22 - Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
The man that should have been Elvis.
23 - Johnny “Guitar” Watson - Real Mother for Ya
Funk blues pioneer. Heavily sampled.
24 - Jon Kennedy - Cut Up
Another cat I’m new to but makes some good instrumental hip-hop
25 - Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Permanent Mix)
The band made two records as Joy Division, the singer dies, they get back together as New Order and sound a lot happier.
26 - J. Rawls - Great Live Caper
A great story with a plane being blown up always makes me want tea and crumpets.
27 - Juluka - African Sky Blue
I lived in Swaziland. These guys were like the Beatles. But less white and more tribal.
28 - Jungle Brothers – Jimbrowski
One of my all time favorite hip hop tracks. The beginning of The Native Tongues. I remember having a Red Alert tape with this as the 45 King Special (echo) and it lasted for a blissful 6 minutes.
29 - Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard
Some people Like them. Some hate them. No one will ever see them preform live as this group again.
30 - Just Ice - On The Strength
God, I love this beat for it’s simplicity and the fact that it was like nothing I had ever heard before.
31 - Justin Warfield - K Sera Sera
He took Tip’s tip out of his mouth long enough to record this song.
32 - JVC Force - Strong Island
Just one of those songs I’ve always loved. They sound more like they are talking then flowing but I can’t quit this song.

Friday's Cover: People Are Strange

2007-08-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

I was never really a Doors fan. I dug a few of their songs, but those fucking posters of Jim Morrison with his shirt off in every chick’s dorm room made me spontaneously vomit and seize. I mean I guess it’s cool that he whipped his dick out on stage but shut up about it. I know plenty of dudes that would like to whip their dicks out on stage and that doesn’t make them revolutionaries or poets. I guess I don’t really know a lot of dudes that would whip their dicks out and in retrospect that sounded far gayer than intended, but you know what I’m saying. So, “People Are Strange.” Song by the Doors that I actually liked. I guess it’s all about being socially outcast (can anyone relate?) But I always thought that song was kind of hokey.

Stina Nordenstam is a Swedish chick that makes music. I don’t really know a lot a bout her but Unkle did the remix and there was a time in the late 90’s that I considered anything done by Unkle was pretty much gold. What I’ve read, she was a jazz based lass who decided to do some experimenting and released a record of covers from which this is taken. It’s far more eerie and moody than the original and added those weird and uncomfortable feelings that compliment the lyrics more in my opinion. But this isn't about me. This is about you and your beleifs.
Pace.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things. The Letters H&I

2007-08-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Alright y'all I didn't have enough H or I to make a complete mix so I combined and purged. I'm tired and I gotta go to bed but enjoy.
Pace.

01 - Hall & Oates - Private Eyes
Darryl Hall and John Oates came up with the punny genre “Rock & Soul.” They made outrageously large mustaches, jeri-fros, and mullets sexy as hell. They also made some good music. When I moved back to the States in 82 my cousin had made about 6 beta-max tapes of Mtv. My brother and I acclimated back into American culture by watching 36 hours of shitty new wave videos. I then got into several fights on the first day of school. Apparently tying bandanas around your thigh wasn’t really a good idea. Who knew?
02 - Handsome Boy Modeling School - If It Wasn't For You (Feat. De La Soul & Starchild Excalibur)
So, I’ve tried to find out about what exactly Starship Excalibur did on this track but I’m at a loss. I simply put this in because it was De La with Prince Paul and that’s always a great reason to listen. If you haven’t heard any of the Handsome Boy Modeling School then go get both their records. They are certified dope. If you don’t like it I will personally come to your house and erase all traces of memories of listening to it with my aural deletion apparatus.
03 - The Herbaliser - Another Mother (must be downloaded separately)
I think Herbaliser was my first taste of Ninja Tune and I was hooked immediately. It was when I got my own apartment and started really getting into production techniques and straying from hip-hop a little bit. I didn’t consider it a stray but some of you cats that require a drum machine and an M.C. would. Anyway, it was downtempo instrumental hip hop at it’s finest for me. It also was my first taste of Jean Grae who I was feeling.
04 - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream
Certainly my favorite record cover featuring a female covered in whipped cream ever. I was so excited when I got a good copy of this and was able to put I ton my wall. I felt like I worked in a record store. This is actually from the Rewhipped version of this album which was great and Herb Alpert had a lot to do with it and re-recorded some trumpet work for it. It’s a classic record that was reduxed well. Check it out if you haven’t
05 - Herbie Hancock - Rock It (Feat. Grand Mixer DXT)
I remember seeing a live version of this when it was touring on TV and being absolutely blown away. I was sitting with my dad too and it was one of those moments where we shared a musical moment that I’ll always remember. Herbie Hancock was an amazing jazz artist who understood the importance of hip-hop and embraced it as it began and was never trite and made the best cross-over record for at least a decade. Maybe ever.
06 - The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So
The Hives are the hardest group from Sweden you’ve ever heard. Really more punk than rock, they are a pretty hard ass band. This song, by means of basic deduction does also indeed rock.
07 - Hollertronix - So Many Shrimp
If you’ve never heard Diplo and Low Budget doing there mash-up thing you should. It’s one of those rare occasions for me when I can listen to southern gangsta rap for an extended period of time and still enjoy myself. They work together a lot of material, not to the dizzying amounts of Girl Talk but this certainly is not a blend tape.
08 - House of Pain - Jump Around (Pete Rock Remix)
It seems like this version is making the rounds on a lot of the blogs I go to now but here it is again. I have to say that I think Pete Rock was lazy by cutting out the first “Pack” in Pack it up. This is simply a production gripe and otherwise it was similar to the PE remix he did. I mean that in the sense that it was fucking ill as shit and if you heard it when it came out and House of pain wasn’t one of the six rap records you owned you quite possibly shat your pants and played it several times in a row.
09 - The Housemartins - People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
My brother was a fan of these guys and I kind of hated them but always liked this song. I don’t know anything about them and don’t care enough to look it up really. All I know is that Fatboy Slim was the bassist which is kind of like saying KT Tunstall will have a grammy winning rap album in 10 years. I always kind of liked that about Norman Cook.
10 - Ice Cube - The Nigga Ya Love To Hate
I honestly can’t think of a first track on an album that I like more than this and that set the stage better for what an M.C. was about to do to you in the next 45-60 minutes. Maybe the Roots’ “Proceed” but this was so fucking beautiful. I mean the bomb squad did shit that made Hip-Hop production into an art. There were drum beats you heard for one measure. Or a loop that only played for on hook and no the rest. I really like them and this isn’t about them but sort of is. Cube always shined in NWA and with the addition of good production he released one of my favorite albums and EP’s of all time. By the way, O’shea Jackson, I don’t hate you. I think your recent work with the “Are We There Yet” series of motion pictures is truly your legacy.
11 - Ice-T - I'm Your Pusher
There was a Time when Ice’T wasn’t a punchline. A time when there was no Coco and Darlene’s joyfully underdressed form adorned his covers. This was the time of L.G.B.N.A.F. and Ice-T was more of an M.C. than a pimp of an actor or whatever the fuck he does now. “I’m Your Pusher” was the first record I had 2 12”s of and I juggled it poorly for a long time. It’s also one of my favorite songs of his, probably for the same reason.
12 - Idlewild - Annihilate Now!
I’d like to sound cool and say I was down with these dudes from day one but I honestly didn’t know about them until I started looking for the latest Outkast travesty and stumbled over them. Scotland makes some really good rock and roll. These cats started of a lot harder and have certainly mellowed out. Maybe it’s switching labels. Maybe it’s breaking up and getting back together. Maybe it’s just getting old. There new record, while good and all doesn’t have the same hunger that their earlier work did.
13 - Ill Al Skratch - Where My Homiez (Come Around My Way)
I kind of thought of these guys as a modern day (15 years ago) Nice and Smooth. I mean they weren’t as compelling to listen to but they had that rhyming/singing thing going on. It’s amazing how poorly this aged and how dated they sound “We over here G” Come on. What’s worse is that I used to sing that shit and think that there was a possibility I would shoot someone if they looked at me funny but I didn’t have a gun and cried at camp when they killed a frog so it was even more disturbingly ridiculous. Loved it when it came out though.
14 - Interpol - Untitled
Their debut blew me away. This was my favorite track from it. Very moody and emblematic of that “New York indie scene” sound. Basically they wear tight jeans that are taperd and use far to much product in their hair. In any event, they made a really great record and this was part of it.
15 - Iron & Wine Calexico - He Lays In Reins
I thought this track had a little more balls than the rest of his catalogue. Kind of an interesting story. The dude was a professor in Miami and his friend found some tracks he had recorded at home, sent them into Sub-Pop and he was signed. I have a personal man love for this dude. I first heard him several years ago on Christmas, severly inebriated at my brother’s house. I didn’t know how to work the audiotron at my brothers and ended up listening to his album for three hours while I read Ego Trip’s Book Of Rap Lists. It was one of the most bizarre experiences in my life. Also, my wife walked down the aisle to his “Our Endless Numbered Days” that I had looped to glorious results. Awwww.
16 - Isaac Hayes - Walk On By
I kind of wish I had used this for a Friday’s Cover, but this is just a fucking great record that has been sampled ad nauseum for good reason.
17 - Isley Brothers - Between The Sheets
This record has also been sampled ad-nauseum. Here’s what I came up with off the top of my head, Biggie’s “Big Poppa”, Keith Murray’s "The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World", A Tribe Called Quest’s "Bonita Applebaum" and Da Brat’s "Funkdafied". I mean, those are pretty significant records and all sampled from the same source. Believe it or not. (Ripley’s reference that doesn’t translate in a 12 point font.)

I wanted to find a clip of Halle Barry in Catwoman but I thought this was probably better.

Mixtape Monday: Cold Krush Cuts

2007-08-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Coming from the double cd release of Coldcut and DJ Krush, this is the second side and by far my favorite. It’s a Ninja Tune mix and I’m sure that may scare a few people. Please, don’t fuck up the rest of your future and any chance of getting laid by not listening to this mix. Its 68 minutes and 39 minutes of aural ecstasy. A lot of cat’s think that hip-hop is limited to a having an M.C. or else it ain’t real. This is not only limiting it's why were stuck actually giving a fuck about Curtis Jackson. Not that I like him but he's part of my reality, whether I like it or not ("not" for therecord). There are actually, 4 elements to Hip-Hop and DAT’s are not one of them. A posse of your boys protecting your poor stage presence on stage is not one of them. fronting, sadly, is not one of them. And what I find absolutely unacceptable, dress-length, white t-shirts are not one of them. The original four, if anyone cares, is M.C.’s, B-boys/girls (but really who cares about b-girls or female M.C.’s) Graffiti, and DJ’s. This is an example of the latter. The production on this was ridiculous. The mixing was pretty on point and flawless. We’re blessed with my favorite version of “Autumn Leaves”, gum shoe samples, esoteric stories about insects and some brilliant fucking music. Everything goes together well and seamlessly. For all the heads, there is a Wu Tang sample if that gives it the necessary cred to give it a listen. I bought this on a whim in 97 or 98 as I was getting more into production and was really lucky I did. It’s not a rap mix. Don’t misunderstand. It is however one of the greatest blends of downtempo, Drum & Bass, Instrumental-abstract-jazzy-Hip-Hop and any other Genre that Ninja Tune helped to create and develop. Do yourself a favor and check it. If you don’t, you will hurt yourself in a mysterious horse riding accident.
01. Funki Porcini - Groover
02. KT & Hex - Global Chaos (Archi Version)
03. 2 Player Vs. The Herbaliser - Sometimes (Feat. Shin)
04. DJ Vadim & Mark B - The Breaks
05. The Herbaliser - The Real Killer Pt. 2 (Rooftop Prowler)
06. Luke Vibert - Get Your Head Down
07. London Funk Allstars - Goodbye Cruel World
08. Coldcut - Naked Leaves
09. DJ Food - Spiral
10. Hex - Harmonic
11. Cabbage Boy - Mod You
12. DJ Toolz - Ready Brek
13. Amon Tobin - Creatures
14. Peezee - Nightrous
15. Up, Bustle & Out - An Unmarked Grave (In Memory Of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid)
16. Up, Bustle & Out - The Revolutionary Woman Of The Windmill (OestroGwen Mix)
17. The Herbaliser - Mr. Chombee Has The Flaw
18. DJ Food - The Breaks Of Wrath
19. Drome - Alice Effekt
20. Gideon - Glass
21. DJ Food - Sun Vibes
22. E.V.A. - Oddly Godly
23. Funki Porcini - Going Down

A few things...

2007-08-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

So Curtis Jackson says he'll stop making records if Kanye out sells him. I beg everyone to buy Kanye's record. And then burn it. Or you can return it. It's my plan. Second, I go back to work tomorrow. I'm not sure how this will affect postings but I will be curled in a ball weeping for at least two days in shock. I'm also finishing up the H&I episode. Finally, I thought I'd drop this beautiful example of why I don't really like blonds and why I don't really like pageants except for the Miss Nude USA pageant.

Friday's Cover: Fell In Love With A Person

2007-08-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

The White Stripes are made up siblings? No. Lovers? No. Divorcees? Yup. And oddly enough the ending of the marriage led to their successful relationship as the punk/rock/country/blues powerhouse that is the White Stripes. With Jack on guitar and Meg on drums (buxom chicks on drums are hot by the way) they seemed an unlikely big-time rock group but somehow it worked for them. The song, “Fell in Love with a boy” is all distortion and a loud and basic backbeat. I mean that in a “this-song-rocks-your-ass” kind of way. Unbeknownst to the irreconcilably differentiated couple, Steve McDonald, of Redd Kross fame, added a much missed bass line to their White Blood Cells record (A hint that they took and since have had bass in each following record.) and re-released it song by song n his website as Redd Blood Cells. It is this version, dear readers, which I bestow unto you. The song itself is about some dude getting with a chick who is taken. Some believe it’s about lesbianism, the “Bobby” in the song being short for Robyn and not Robert. I say who cares as long as Joss Stone is involved with the lesbian possibility.

Segue

Joss Stone covered it an embarrassing 1 year after it’s success and while it may have been a deplorable way to sell some records, she did make an alright cover. Joss Stone, the lover of bare feet and interracial dating, really has quite an impressive voice for; I think she was 16 at the time. She mellows it out and does her own thing to it some hate it (me) and some love it (my wife, she wanted me to do this one). Thankfully she is now of age and all the dirty remarks made previously are not quite as uncomfortable. She ruined the girl on girl fantasy by singing “Fell in love with a boy” and I hate her for that. Enjoy.

Pace.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Michel Gondry Owns your ass!!

Mixtape Monday (But it's Tuesday): DJ Drez

2007-08-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

So, I don’t know a whole lot about this cat besides I really like the mixes he does. Dj Drez has been DJing in the LA underground circuit for several years. I don’t have a whole lot of info on him but he DJ’s for the A-Team (and Project Blowed) and worked with the Black Eyed Peas before they took on tig bittied meth addicts.

He has a plethora of Mix Cd’s out including hip-hop, rare grooves, reggae and dub. Recently he’s been doing more studio work. All of it is well done and worth checking out. I’m hitting you off with Cool World Chapter 2. Mostly hip-hop with some diverse instrumentals mixed in. Very mellow, which is pretty much the norm for my man Drez, and good to play on one of the remaining lazy summer afternoons. No track listing for this one, sorry guys. If anyone has one please let us know.

Pace.

Sorry 'bout that

2007-08-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

So, no Monday Mixtape. Sorry. I'll try to get it out tonight but since my hot sexy wife is home I may need to get busy (read: thwarted) all night. However, I did want to show you guys and gals stage 1 of my tat. It's about 2 inches high and 6 or 7 inches long on my upper (undefined) arm. The dude who's doing it likes it so much we're filling it out at a tat convention. I think it's dope. But then again I think my son is dope, so his name in graffiti on my arm is quite possibly the dopest thing ever. What can I say, I'm a bit biased on this one.
Pace.

Friday's Cover: Wannabe

2007-08-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

Responding to a trade ad asking "R U 18-23 with the ability to sing/dance? R U streetwise, ambitious, outgoing and dedicated?" five young ladies felt they were, could and emulated the given criteria. Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Michelle Stephenson formed a group named “Touch.” Michelle sucked ass and was replaced by Emma Bunton. They then switched their management, their group name and the glory that was to become the Spice Girls, with the cerebral and esoteric mind of Simon Fuller, began to gel and develop their trademark sound. I was going to try and do a serious write up on the Spice Girls but then I sobered up and didn’t seem like such a great idea.

Anyway, I think Ginger is the only one I’d still bone. I guess Baby is cute too but I’m not really a blond guy. Sporty became Girthy spice as did Eddie Murphy’s baby's mama who, quite honestly, now looks like a transsexual hooker as well. Posh, who I liked when her boobs were the same size as mine for some weird reason that I don’t care to look into, was a favorite of mine until she turned into an animatronic reject from Madame Tussaud’s House of Whores. Thankfully they have announced a greatest hits record with a few new tracks and an upcoming tour. I have to go change.

So they did that song “Wannabe” which was released in 1996 and was linked to kids in Japan having seizures and made many a reluctant penis to become erect. It was awful.

Oddly enough that was the same year that heralded the creation of Zebrahead. Now, I was never a Rock-Rap hybrid fan. I think it was maybe done well and put on wax 2 times and was done poorly a googolplex times. Dudes that rhyme in those bands always seem to hold the mic like that scrawny dude from Linkin Park and phallate the mic and spit screamy shite during the break. Zebrahead did this too. Problem was, they were a pretty tight band without M.C. Suck-a-doo-dah. I’ve seen them live a couple times and always had a great time. This is rare with a lot of this kind of gobbledygook, as they normally take themselves far too seriously. Anyway, they covered “Wannabe” and as per norm, the rap sucks hairy, pusstuous testicles but I’ve always enjoyed the rest of the cover. It picks up the tempo and sounds kind of bad ass. But I’ll let you decide.

Pace.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Mixtape Monday: DJ Neil Armstrong

2007-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

My man DJ Neil Armstrong is a mixtape mastermind. I’m hitting you off with the first of his AOK (All Out King) mix series, Warmfuzzy. If you don’t know about Neil Armstrong then imagine that dude that has every record ever printed and then imagine him mixing them. However, not in the, “yo check out this a capella over this instrumental” kind of way but in a “oh this one line rock track relates to this R&B joint correlates perfectly with this hip-hop joint that sampled this funk track that was used in the movie this little snippet is from.” The dude is meticulous in his choices and spends an exorbitant amount of time making things work together. Warmfuzzy was released on Valentines Day and is set up to make panties drop as well as make you laugh. The AOK mix cds continue with Extraordinary which is rock with artist like The Zombies, Interpol, and The Cure. The third is “Filthy” which gives you your hip-hop fix from cats like Trends of Culture, Wu, and the Roots crew. And the fourth, and so far final, is Oscillate Wildly which is a tribute to synths and potentiometers (Read:Debbie Deb, New Order, and Kraftwerk). I also recommend his Sweeet series. There are few DJ’s that take as much time with their craft as this dude and I can’t really big him up enough. Definitely check it.
Pace.

Al Green - I'm So Glad Your Mine
Beres Hammon & The Originals - You Know My Name
Earth, Wind & Fire - That's The Way Of The World
Zapp & Roger, Common & Erykah Badu - Computer Love
Wayne Wonder & Buju Banton - Bonafide Love
Stevie Wonder - Hey Love
Jackson 5 - My Cherie Amour
Hall & Oates - Method Of Modern Love
Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels
The Cure - Close To Me
Spandau Ballet - True
Queen - Play The Game
Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed
Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
The Style Council - You're The Best Thing
Michael Jackson - Got To Be There
Toto, Slum Village & Noelle - Selfish-Georgie Porgie
New Edition - Mr. Telephone Man
Sybil - Don't Make Me Over
The Cranberries - Linger
Teena Marie - I'm Wishing On A Star
Jackson 5 - If I Don't Love You This Way
De La Soul - Eye Know
Stevie Wonder - Do I Do
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
Evelyn Champagne King - I'm In Love
Sheila E. - Love Bizarre
Dan Hartman - I Can Dream About You
Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
Bob Marley - Is This Love
Stevie Wonder - Send One Your Love
Sade - Lover's Rock
Coldplay - The Scientist
Kip Dynamite - Always & Forever
Lenny Williams - Cause I Love You

Friday's Cover: Ms Jackson

2007-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time Eryka Badu used her voodoo on Andre and they got sweaty, copulated, and didn’t use protection. The result was their son ,Seven. It also fueled the fire for the fifth track and second single from OutKast’s Stankonia (I knew she was good for something. )There are theories that the Ms. Jackson of “Ms. Jackson” refers to the Maiden name of Eryka’s mother. Others think it’s just a name. Regardless, the song is about the difficulties of broken relationships and broken homes and baby mamas and baby mama’s mamas. The OutKast version goes back to the days when Andre spent more time rhyming then conceptualizing the merits of furry pants and heat combs. I could go into a whole OutKast thing but I don’t really think that you are that ignorant. I believe in you and I think you’re a good person.The Vines are an Australian rock group probably most famous for the song "Get Free." This is sad because the group had a pretty amazing debut with a multitude of influences and all of it executed fairly well. It sounded more like a bunch of songs than a record but all the songs were pretty dam good. Outtathaway!! was their third single and had the Ms. Jackson as a B-Side. Thankfully they removed all of the verse lyrics and just left the hook and the bridge. We’re left with a far more somber and acoustic version of a great song. Granted it’s not better but it is pretty good. Also it’s kind of hard to call it a cover because they stripped 90% of the lyrics but what are you going to do? I like covers that appreciate the original material and make it different. I feel the Vines did it well. You decide.And one more thing, anyone considering covering any rap song... don't! Rap covers are bad. Ask Snoop. He destroyed one of the most classic classics ever. Ask Tricky, Everlast, and Mos Def. Children’s Story was Ricky D's opus and not for some British chick to verbally poop on or Whitey to crap on or Mos to think he’s clever and ruin. Huh, I just realized both were Rick’s songs but the point still remains. Rap is not a genre that covers well and I hope it never happens again in the history of mankind.
Pace.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

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

2007-08-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

The original rube bwoy come wikked with the “G” installment. Them na wan test we. Also, I am going to normalize all the tracks from now on. I just was tired of this mix not getting posted and didn’t have the patience to do so. So I understand there may be some level issues. I’ll fix that. Enjoy

01 - Gangstarr - Lovesick (Upbeat Mix)
So, granted it’s not Primo beat but we can do Premier for “P” This remix was done by John Waddell who also did a few Monie Love and Latifah remixes. Oddly this sounds kind of like where Premier got the idea for Christina Aguilera and I knd of thought that was the case until I realized he didn’t do it. But I’m dum. Now you don’t have to share my ignorance. As far as the track, it’s an interesting reinterpretation of the original. Kind of like Streets meets 1988.
02 - The Gap Band - You Dropped A Bomb On Me
Thank you Charlie Wilson for giving the inspiration to Aaron Hall to completely bite your style. Thank you proving Cowboy hats essentially look goofy on everyone. Thank you for cleverly naming your records The Gap Band II, The Gap Band III, The Gap Band IV (etc through VIII). Some may think "Outstanding" would be a better idea to post. I get it. But I think that “You Dropped A Bomb On ME” was the quintessence of their cheesy-pop-funk hybrid that somehow worked for them.
03 - Genius – Labels
You may want to call him GZA, but on this album the “Genius” preceded the “GZA” and I was one of the six people that bought his first record so he’ll always be Genius to me. That being said. What a fucking song. RZA was in his rape-every-stax-song-possible stage and found a perfectly simple guitar riff to make you go “Oh shit” throughout most of this track causing many a repeat. It starts out with “Tommy ain’t my muthuhfukin boy” and keeps you enthralled for the duration. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the Genius since he was the first WU soldier I ever heard, but this song shows why he is so dope.
04 - Ghostface Killah – Underwater
With Doom on the beat this song bangs. Ghost, ODB and Genius, in that order, are my favorite solo Wu artists. Ghosty gets top billing because that guy does just about anything and it still sounds good. He shines on most cameos and isn't afraid to take chances and this track is a perfect example of his seemingly freeform flow, “I opened the door, No I knocked first” for some reason doesn’t sound corny or like he doesn’t know what he’s saying. He goes on to tell some story about mermaids and Islam but who knows.
05 - Girl Talk - Friday Night
Talk about mash up. This dude samples 213 songs which include some songs that include several samples already. This song alone has 22 songs mixed and chopped up into it. The dude has far too much time on his hands but it works out well for us. If you are severely ADD or appreciate the time it takes to make some mash up shit like this then check it out.
06 - Gnarls Barkley - Smiley Faces
Alright, you may call Cee-Lo a sell out, but Gnarls Barkley was just a better produced third solo album from him. He was always the star of Goodie Mob and always kind of scared me. Probably because he said, “Those Crackers think they slick” and I am a cracker and think I’m pretty slick so I’ve always kept one eye over my shoulder fearing Cee-Lo will break my connection to the Illuminati wide open.
07 - Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy
Soul Food was a close second as to what to post here. Goodie Mob came out of Atlanta while I was living there and while everything else that came out of Atlanta sounding much more Miami. Organized Noize were in their swing at this point and there work with Outkast and TLC was making them household names. Cell therapy had that tweaked out piano and that fucking scraper that made you paranoid as well. Of course Cee-Lo shines as does Khujo. I always thought T-Mo was the Pras of Goodie Mob but I’m thinking about making a “Third Wheel” post of all the groups that had that dude that was probably blood related or rich because lyrically he sucked copious ass.
08 - Gorillaz - Dirty Harry
Featuring my man Bootie Brown who was in the Pharcyde when they didn’t suck and stayed with them as they proceeded to suck and suck and suck some more. But this is about Gorillaz. You know what? I just looked them up and this album went 5 times platinum in the UK and double in USA (who knew?!) so you probably know all about them.
09 - The Go! Team – Ladyflash
Once again, Brighton shines and brings us Go! Team. A dual drummered sextet with a flair for samples, rock, and hip hop. Ladyflash enjoys a sample of Sweet Tee’s (first?) record appearance from Davy Dee’s seminal hit “The DMX Will Rock” accompanied by some English chick. It’s just a good song that is loud and good to listen to.
10 - Grand Daddy I.U. - Something New
Down with Kane and Biz IU was the hard ass muthahfukkah that made a somewhat solid debut and a sadly flaccid follow up. However, “Something New” I feel, holds up very well to the test of time (that’s 17 years btw) I am old and wrinkled. Good shit if you’ve never heard it
11 - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious 5 - White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
Instead of go into a long discussion of Flash and his importance, let’s just take that as a given. So, with that being said, I read somewhere that any song with Melle Mel without scratching is apparently devoid of Flash which is why I properly labeled this track. I mean it’s Melle Mel y’all. The Godfather of conscious rap. It’s about cocaine which apparently “is a hell of a drug.”
12 - Grand Puba - I Like It
I always thought this was a much more solid and cohesive album than Reel To Reel (most of which was written while he was working on One For All. Thank you “Check the Technique”!). The vibes sample on that track makes me piss my pants every time. Also once again someone else did a better job reviewing this so go check my man Eric at When They Reminisce here.
13 - Grandaddy - Now It's On
WARNING! Direct rip from wikipedia “Musically, the band features guitars (both in the indie rock style and in a fashion calling Jeff Lynne to mind), keyboards reminiscent of Philip Glass's minimalist style and vocals in the key of Neil Young. The band's musical style (somewhat classifiable as indietronic) often combines experimental electronic sounds with elements of folk and rock. Lyrics generally focus on isolation in a high-tech world grafted onto rural America. Common themes in the band's music are wildlife, obsolete technology, robots, incompetency and heartbreak” Indietronic!?! Cooool. Anyway, it’s a good track.
14 - Gravediggaz - Constant Elevation
I’d like to think I’m smart enough to make a good review of this record but I know Max over at Hip-Hop isn’t dead will make anything I do look inane and puerile so check out his review of the entire album here.
15 - Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse (Kruder & Dorfmeister Session)
This is one of those rare examples when the remix is better than the original. I always liked Mr Isaacs because he was one of the dudes I could actually understand when I was getting into reggae. Kruder & Dorfmeister are the best thing Germany has given us since farfegnugen and Eva Braun (she’s hot). This is a dubbed out reinterpretation of Night Nurse that makes it sexier and dub-ier and just better.
16 - Groove B. Chill - Hip Hop Music
Another group that made that inexcusable mistake of combining humor with hip-hop. After their brilliant cameos in such hits like House Party and um House Party 2. In 2001 Daryl Michell made the ultimate funny and became a paraplegic. What do you call a paraplegic in a pool? Bob. What do you call a paraplegic with a rap career? Chill. Is that not funny anymore? Shh it’s ok; some of my best friends are missing all four limbs.
17 - Groove Theory - Hey U
I think Amel Larrieux’s voice is great and I always liked this track. Oddly enough Bryce Wilson always considered this the worst song on the record. It’s kind of Trip Hoppy if you take “Trip Hoppy” to mean really fucking good. If not it’s just really fucking good.
18 - Guy - Groove Me
I already admitted how much I loved Teddy Riley and previously in this post toted the brilliance of Charlie Wilson’s bastard child (well that actually doesn’t make sense if all he has is in fact a father but you feel me right? Right? Is anyone still reading?) I heard this song and entered the New Jack Swing fold.
Pace.

01 - Gangstarr - Lovesick (Upbeat Mix)
02 - The Gap Band - You Dropped A Bomb On Me
03 - Genius - Labels
04 - Ghostface Killah - Underwater
05 - Girl Talk - Friday Night
06 - Gnarls Barkley - Smiley Faces
07 - Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy
08 - Gorillaz - Dirty Harry
09 - The Go! Team - Ladyflash
10 - Grand Daddy I.U. - Something New
11 - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious 5 - White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
12 - Grand Puba - I Like It
13 - Grandaddy - Now It's On
14 - Gravediggaz - Constant Elevation
15 - Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse (Kruder & Dorfmeister Session)
16 - Groove B. Chill - Hip Hop Music
17 - Groove Theory - Hey U
18 - Guy - Groove Me

Intro to Ghost in the Shell. Go see it if you haven't and be amazed and confused.

Where you been? (A.K.A. Mixtape Monday but it's Tuesday)

2007-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

So it’s the end of the summer and I want to spend as much time as possible not in front of a monitor. Not a day goes by when I don’t reminisce about the days of yore when flocks and flocks of you would stop by (read:3). So to make up for it, I’m hitting you off with the “g” installment of all things dope in a day or two and my “Mixtape Monday” thing that I wanted to do tonight. So, yeah that. Mixtapes every Monday(-ish) of shit from whatever. Could be rap, reggae, drum & bass, crate digging, shit, even rock. Whatever. But not done by me and probably less talk from me. Who knows? And I know you're saying “But it’s Tuesday...” Shut it! I know what day it is. That's just rude at that point.

So, first Mixtape “But it’s Tuesday” Monday installment comes from my man the Kiiiiiiiiid Capri. Now some of you can roll your eyes and bitch and moan but Kid Capri Tapes were like gold and they were not distributed freely on cool blogs like this one. I went to boarding school in Western Massachusetts in the Berkshires (where everyone packs a gat and be slangin) and there were a few kids from New York that went there and they would not let you copy their Kid Capri tapes, period. We would dub and share all the other music we got, but them and their fucking Kid Capri tapes. Jesus!That may be the reason I liked him so much, the forbidden fruit and all. However; I was lucid enough to realize that “The Tape” was awful and that “Billy” song made me want to fight goats anytime I heard it. Anyway, he did spin a lot of good records and gave me my first taste of digging too. When he would bounce Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” lights went on and bells chimed and colors seemed brighter. Which is a nice segue into this one... “52 Beats”
I’m a big fan of crate digging. I was really into producing Hip-hop for a while and was of that whole record era and used to practice making out with Olivia Newton John on the cover of the Grease soundtrack. Which, of course, has no relevance with my feelings for Mr. Capri? Not that he can’t choose that lifestyle if he wants to. And though it may seem antiquated now an I know we’ve all heard several volumes of the Ultimate Breaks series whether you know it or not, that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t the dopest fucking thing on the planet for a while. You dam kids with you magic “softwares” and high falootin “interwebs” don’t realize how precious this tape was for a young kid writing rhymes to his headphones and using tape and a razor to fix it after it popped. It’s a lot of fun to listen to.

G is coming up.

Pace

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

2007-07-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

What up!?!? As the end of summer creeps closer and closer I yearn for yesterday when school's last day was tomorrow and I had big plans to recreate my life in mine own image. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and all I did was read The Deathly Hallows and Check The Technique (both good reads but fairly different in subject matter.) On a positive note I just got my ingrown toenail removed. I've had that sinfully painful delight poking it's way into the deeper recess of my right big toe for about 15 years now. Good riddance. Also, instead of doing anything constructive or worthwhile, I've also spent some time deciding who my favorite Wiggles dancer is (you have a kid and see if you don't do the same inane type of shit). This is the F mix. I'm not doing Friday's cover this week but I'll do it next week. I'm also going to post a few things that I have found interesting recently and I hope you will too. I need to come up with a clever sign off like "You stay classy" or something sexier like "Keep it hot" but, alas, as you can see I am currently as inventive as something very uninventive (see!)

01. Fat Boys - Stick'em
With a combined weight of 750 pounds of fatness, the legendary Disco Three changed their name, made one good record, put beat boxing on the map (be honest, he wasn’t the best but he did have every kid in America loudly hyperventilating) and made the first movie starring rappers not as themselves (again, not that it was any good but it was groundbreaking). Also, another sad tidbit of this song is they did an ad campaign for the then totally chic and poorly made Swatch watches where, due to their creative dynamism, they replaced “Stick Em” with “Swatch Em” Pure genius that is. Regardless, this was one of the first hip-hop songs I knew in and out and truly loved in a way only a way only a 12 year old douche bag, white boy in an upper middle class neighborhood inRhode Island could.
02. Fatboy Slim - Give The Po' Man A Break
This was the first song that I really learned about builds in techno. I also love the idea of giving the poor man a break, for at times in my life I have enjoyed being financially ungifted, and this is something that I wish people had done. So the rent’s late…Give the poor man a break. My payment is past due? Give the poor man a break. I'm short 50 cents on that 40 of St Ides...You get the idea. This is also one of the first songs I tweaked the EQ on whilst DJing to great effect. If you don’t like techno or electronic dance music, this song could make you spontaneously combust and leave behind a pile of ashes and the smell of roses. I’ve seen it happen. It was kind of cool.
03. DJ Faust – If 9 Was 6
If you don’t know DJ Faust then you don’t know your DJ history. He made the first record, “Man Or Myth” completely by records on an 8-track I think. He used to be in a crew of DJ’s that included Shortee (she did the DJ 101 video), Klever (currently on tour with GZA), Craze (money has like 6 DMC titles), and Shotgun (from Goodie Mob days of old). He ended up marrying Shortee and now the 2 of them live in Cali teaching classes on DJing at the The Scratch DJ Academy founded by Jam Master Jay (R.I.P.). This track was a rethink of Jimi Hendrix’s track If 6 was 9 and, as far as I’m concerned, is about as good as it gets. The dude is fucking nasty! He’s probably the most influential person for me in the world of production. The things that kid got out of a SP were ridiculous. He’s spinning a lot more Drum & Bass now but still is a crate digger and is about as dope as they come!!!
04. Finesse & Synquis - Soul Sisters
I’ve always liked the idea of ladies rapping their asses off. Although I can only think of 3 that were good (Lyte, Bahamadia, and Lauryn) I always try to give them a chance. It’s like a chick playing bass. It’s hot if a female can rip the mic to shreds. Exceptionally rare, but hot. Finesse & Synquis wore leather Gucci suits and had asymmetric hair do’s and weren’t really that good but this song was pretty awesome when it came out.
05. The Flaming Lips - Waitin' For A Superman (Mokran Remix)
Peter Mokran started off by doing remixes for Aaliyah, Changing Faces, and the legendary musical God, Michael Bolton. Thankfully he left shitty R&B (Changing Faces) and shitty shit (Mr. Bolton) and did a remix of my favorite Flaming Lips song, "Waiting For A Superman." It’s not really an exciting remix but adds some thump in the beat and a few sounds but sometimes less is more.
06. DJ Food – Break
DJ Food started out as a side project from the Coldcut masters, Matt Black and Jonathan More. Later joined by Strictly Kev and Patrick Carpenter from Cinematic Orchestra, they were a collective of amazingly influential artists that released, I think, 5 volumes of Jazz Breaks, not including “Dub Plate” and “Refried.” Kaleidoscope was the last album they released and probably my favorite (that’s favourite if you are speaking the Queen’s English). "Break" is just a tripped out avant gardeish jazz track with some smooth ass dude making pool sound like the coolest thing in the world. Production wise, this track was ridiculous to me when it came out.
07. Foo Fighters – Everlong
David Grohl is one of my favorite drummers of all time. Technically, he’s no Stuart Copeland but he plays a really powerful drum. With work in side projects like Queens of the Stone Age and Tenacious D and being part of the little known trio that played as Nirvana, he’s been part of a great deal of the contemporary rock that I like a lot. Everlong was popular when it came out but was a really good song.
08. Foreign Legion - People Round Town
I heard this record from a friend of mine while I was lamenting about the state of hip-hop. Prozac and Peter Parker have a 1-2 flow that keeps them up with really good back and forth rhyme smiths. While they weren’t legendary they were really good and made me want to take Hip-Hop back into my heart, whisper secrets in her ear, and caress her hair til she fell asleep and then cop a feel when I thought she was out.
09. Fountains of Wayne - Bright Future In Sales
Another great indie rock group that released heir debut in 1996 and were then up for MTV’s best new band award in 2003 after their third release. hmmm…. Anyway, besides the fact that they had Rachel Hunter in a swimsuit for a video and “Stacy’s Mom” was #11 with a bullet, they were a pretty solid band even before MTV noticed. Any song about an alcoholic trying to get his “shit together” because he “can’t live like this forever” has got to be good. Although I never had the balls to go to a job drunk I highly respect anyone that has, does or will.
10. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
While the Scott’s have been the musical red headed (heh) step child of the UK, never since the Proclaimers, has a Scottish band made me want to sing along with such fervor. Franz Ferdinand wanted to create a sound that, as they put it, would be "music that girls can dance to." Who doesn’t?! Plus, I danced to it to. And I’m a boy. I’ve always like songs that morphed into another song and this one does it well.
11. Fred Wesley - Blow Your Head
Being the band leader of the J.B.’s makes you funky. It makes you uber-funky. Ever Since PE sampled this track for “Public Enemy #1” I’ve been a fan. It’s noisy and not quite jazz and not quite funk but dope nonetheless.
12. Free Speech - Everything Is Different Now
I’m not putting this under “Laffy Taffy Rots Your Teeth” because I feel like it. But the project was done by M.C. Freespeech (thus the “f” inclusion) and Ro Blvd on beats. This record was released for free at their site and was pretty good. The video for this is done in one take and that takes guts in any situation. Who doesn’t like a song that says how much better things were in the days of yore and how stupid and contrived things are now.
13. Freestyle Fellowship - Inner City Boundaries
I’ll admit I wasn’t as hip as this record when it came out. But, I’ve always dug scatting (not in the Pornographic, defecating on people sense of the word) and Hip Hop. This does both and makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
14. Fu-Schnickens - La Schmoove
Phife helped these cats make one good record and they made another one by themselves. For some reason in the early 90’s having a dude that spit lyrics really fast and had dreadlocks made you legit. I liked the video for this too because they were just on stage getting wicked.
15. Fugazi - Waiting Room
Minor Threat was my favorite hardcore punk band. They were short lived and highly influential (check for the “M” edition for a full write up) Ian MacKaye went on to Fugazi in 87. “Waiting Room” has one of those bass lines that freezes you in spot until the rest off the track comes in and makes you want to punch someone in the face (in a good and politically correct sort of way.)
16. Fugees - Ready Or Not (Clark Kent-Django Remix)
I had never even heard of this remix until a couple of years ago. It get’s it’s “Django” moniker from the Modern Jazz Quartet’s (Milt Jackson anyone?) song of the same name that was sampled. Oh Clark Kent, where are you now? This is up there with “Vocab” and “Nappy Heads” insofar as it is a really fucking good remix. Listen and be amazed that Lauryn Hill now demands all of her security to be black and not look at her or pass in front of her (she really is a lunatic).
17. Funkdoobiest - Bow Wow Wow
DJ Muggs loved him some Latin rappers that either were or dated porn stars. I was a big fan of this song when it came out and loved that vocoder “Bow wow, wow” That’s all I got.

Pace.

01. Fat Boys - Stick'em
02. Fatboy Slim - Give The Po' Man A Break
03. DJ Faust – If 9 Was 6
04. Finesse & Synquis - Soul Sisters
05. The Flaming Lips - Waitin' For A Superman (Mokran Remix)
06. DJ Food - Break
07. Foo Fighters - Everlong
08. Foreign Legion - People Round Town
09. Fountains of Wayne - Bright Future In Sales
10. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
11. Fred Wesley - Blow Your Head
12. Free Speech - Everything Is Different Now
13. Freestyle Fellowship - Inner City Boundaries
14. Fu-Schnickens - La Schmoove
15. Fugazi - Waiting Room
16. Fugees - Ready Or Not (Clark Kent-Django Remix)
17. Funkdoobiest - Bow Wow Wow

18. Flight Of The Conchords
If you haven’t watched this New Zealand group’s deadpan sketch comedy on HBO you should and then tell all of your friends at the water cooler how hip you are and spread the word. It’s about two guys in a band that doesn’t really have any gigs and how pathetically worthless they are. Great fun!

Friday's Cover: Respect

2007-07-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

I think I’m going to keep the Cover day as Friday because it’s easier for me. I had my birthday on Wednesday to little fanfare and no god dammed booze and nary a spliff to be found (wife was working, boy was asleep, I was stuck). Send all donations to my pay pal account and please send any drugs to my home through the US Mail.

Originally recorded By Otis in 1965, this song truly found it’s legs in 67 when Aretha redid it. Any song that sounds like it’s about being treated nicely but is really about getting your bone on must be respected (see that). It’s also practically impossible to not think this is Aretha’s song but I thought that would be too easy. Otis Redding is an R&B legend and was one of the big Kahunas of the Stax dopeocity. There is talk that the song is really about sex and respect is code, kind of like The Beatles, “I want to hold your hand” (“hold your hand” Wink-wink. Nudge-nudge. Say no more) Anyway, Otis’ version is blusier than the one we’re more familiar with less “socks” to him.

At the same time Aretha was making the song hers, a woman in Jamaica recorded “The First Cut Is The Deepest” on the legendary Studio One label. With label mates like, Marley, Tosh, Dawn Penn and Delroy Wilson, she was in good company. I can’t seem to find out when she actually covered “Respect” but she did it well. It’s not really ground breaking. It’s just a good pop R&B tune that became a pop Reggae tune. But you decide. Alright I’m out.
Pace.

Vote here for your fav.

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

2007-07-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Seriously this is a great mix. I've been listening to it a lot. I know I made it, but every song on here is def, dumb, dope and completely phenomenal.
01 - Eagles of Death Metal - San Berdoo Sunburn
The Eagles of Death Metal are a side project of Carlo Von Sexron (A.K.A. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame) and Jesse "The Devil" Hughes and are a lot closer to The Eagles than they are to death metal. They describe themselves as “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals." They've been used in a lot of commercials and nobody knows who they are. Now you do and you will spread the gospel. It’s just a good rough garage rocky record with a good vibe.
02 - Easy Star All-Stars - Money
The Dubbed out version of Pink Floyd’s, Dark Side Of The Moon could sound like a bad idea. It could be executed poorly with miserable and idiotic results. It could end up terrible. This record does none of this. Rather, it takes a tripped out psychedelic record and trips it out some more with less LSD and more THC. This is probably my favorite cover record of all time and is fucking brilliant. I heard this at a friend’s house watching the Boston Marathon six years ago and stayed inside for the whole thing while everyone went outside and drank and watched the race. I was absolutely enthralled. I then went outside and enjoyed a beer(s) and the rest of the race. Do yourself a favor and pick this record up. The Radiodread is not as good certainly, isn't awful. Look for another one of their songs appearing in a coming up edition of “Friday’s Cover.”
03 - Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - I'm Different
When I was in High School I believed that any hip hop made in New York was the best and anything made anywhere else was OK but not “real” hip-hop. I was at boarding school and over winter break I gave my man Almasi $40 to get me some new records that I couldn’t get at home. He brought back ED O.G’s “I Got To Have It” single. He, and The Black United Leaders Livin Directly On Groovin Sounds were dope and only a 45 minute drive from me (I was in Rhode Island at the time). I’m sure it was some hometown pride as well, but that record got played the hell out and their debut release faired the same. I don’t mean “played the hell out” in a “I’m bored of this now” kind of way, but rather a “I can’t get enough of this lyrical dope and these ill ass beats!” None of his releases ever moved me the same but this record gave him a permanent place in my “MC’s I respect” list.
04 - Eek A Mouse - Wa-Do-Dem
Da one don gorgon demma call Eek A Mouse is a Reggae giant (literally at 6’6” and metaphorically by being one of the more celebrated and recognizable voices.) “Wa-Do-Dem,” which is patois for “What’s the matter with them” is probably his most famous song. Who doesn’t like a song about a hot virgin girl!? It’s a reggae standard and it’s dope. Perrrrfect! (I’m steeple-ing my fingers.)
05 - Eels - Woman Driving, Man Sleeping
Mark Oliver Everett A.K.A. the Man Called E is the force behind Eels. This track is from Souljacker which was released in 2001 and is a favorite of mine. “Woman Driving, Man Sleeping” is a song about just that. It paints a picture of a somewhat depressed relationship or maybe it’s just dark and quiet. Whatever. I don’t know what the hell the song is actually about but its mellow goodness with a steady riff and rim shots echoing into the black. It’s good to drive to as well.
06 - Elbow - Ribcage
My love for Elbow is a result of my love for Doves. Love not love love. They are another Manchester band from the 90’s that did the music I liked. If you like Doves (see the post I did here or check the “D” installment) you will love these guys. This song just builds into this aural typhoon of beats, choir, guitars and delayed beeps. It’s a big song and I love it and would marry it if not otherwise betrothed.
07 - Ella Fitzgerald - Oh, Lady Be Good [Scat Version]
It’s Ella Fitzgerald y’all! The First lady of song. I never understood why her scatting wasn’t sampled more. This is just one example of why she was a fucking amazing individual. Read up about her. Her story is pretty impressive.
08 - Elvis Costello - Alison
Was his aim true with a 9MM or with devotion? Who knows? It was early Elvis that still holds up today. The song was released 30 years ago! If you’ve never listened to Elvis Costello, then imagine a guy who has been Punk, New Wave, Rock, Folk and then anything else he wanted. The dude is prolific and gifted. This is a great song of his.
09 - Eminem - Drips
This is my wife’s favorite Em track. Say what you want about him but he will kill most anyone in a battle. I never saw him battle Canibus which is my personal battle fav, but I would like to see it. It would be like Kenobi Versus Anakin except without the first 2 movies.
10 - En Vogue - My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
How do you pick a favorite? OK Cindy was the best. But Rhonda, Terry and Maxine were a close second. This was a making the band(®Bad Boy Films) group that was actually pretty good, looked dam good and had a career spanning more than a single or two. As I said earlier, I mixed this with D-Nice’s “Call Me D-Nice” ad nauseam. It was a good song. Don’t front. You go “ooooOOOO BOP” too!
11 – E.P.M.D. - Jane
The integrity and beauty of a serial misogynistic and homophobic themed tale has never been so deftly tackled as it was by Eric and Parrish in their quest of Making Dollars. Spanning 6 songs, 3 of which I guess I liked, the story of Jane was a great idea that was done by an average group. Don’t get me wrong I love those guys, they just aren’t that good. This was the best of the Jane songs to me. But I’m old and ornery.
12 - Eric B & Rakim - What's On Your Mind
First their was Mahogany. Then House Party 2 came out. Robin Harris? Sadly died. Martin Lawrence? Gone. George Clinton? Gone. Groove B Chill? Gone. Possibility of two more subsequent films? Gone. The phoenix of the ashes of Kid N' Play's career was Eric B & Rakim’s “What’s On Your Mind.” Both the tracks, this and Mahogany, were ill rap songs about some stupid shit and stuff. Rakim Allah made it alright to talk metaphysical shit to get your lady naked. Thanks buddy. I learned a lot from the R, but being a romantic warrior might have made the biggest difference.
13 - Erykah Badu - Next Lifetime
Ah, Neo-Soul. Gotta love the Soulquarians. Gotta love Erykah. Just to get my gripe out of the way, I heard in one interview that she had the balls to deny that she sounded like Billie Holiday and didn’t get her style from her. Seriously Erykah? We liked you. Why did you say that? Anyway, I still couldn’t front on this record. Along with D’Angelo’s debut this assisted my "Mack" considerably.
14 - Esthero - Song For Holly (Feat. Danny Saber)
Esthero, born Jen-Bea Englishman (good idea on the name change shnookums) released her first record with production by Doc in 98. During the mid to late 90’s there were a lot of douche bags that believed that any time a woman’s voice was singing over a fat beat it was good. I was one of those douche bags. I had always preferred R&B on blend tapes and Portishead made my panties moist. This song was from the movie "Go" during a strip scene that I have been desperately trying to persuade my wife to reenact without success. Esthero did it well and “Breath From Another” was a very solid debut. She essentially created the sound that Res and Nelly tried to emulate. It’s good and you will be a better person if you buy it.
15 - Everlast - Painkillers
I got the Rhyme Syndicate record when it came out and was so excited to see a white guy on it. Up until that point, the only white rappers were the Beastie Boys (Paul’s Boutique wasn’t out yet and the Surf MC’s which made me want to rip out the veins in my eyes and shove fiberglass in my ear holes.) You can hate him or love him but the cat has been down since day one, when it was a lot harder. I have this thing about artists that try different musical styles. Part of me immediately thinks they's a bunch of sell out punk bitches and another part of me appreciates the fact that they are brave enough to try different things. Over specialization breeds in weakness, and without change we would still be listening to “Lime to a lemon” rhymes. So pick that up and pack it in your pipe and smoke it.
16 - E-Z Rollers - Walk This Land
I don’t really know a lot about these guys. There a Drum & Bass outfit from Norfolk England. This song was featured in the scene in Lock Stock when everyone is getting fucked up at the pub and celebrating the heist. I’m sure part of it was the fact that I liked the movie so much but this is also a pretty solid track.

01 - Eagles of Death Metal - San Berdoo Sunburn
02 - Easy Star All-Stars - Money
03 - Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - I'm Different
04 - Eek A Mouse - Wa-Do-Dem
05 - Eels - Woman Driving, Man Sleeping
06 - Elbow - Ribcage
07 - Ella Fitzgerald - Oh, Lady Be Good [Scat Version]
08 - Elvis Costello - Alison
09 - Eminem - Drips
10 - En Vogue - My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
11 - EPMD - Jane
12 - Eric B & Rakim - What's On Your Mind
13 - Erykah Badu - Next Lifetime
14 - Esthero - Song For Holly (Feat. Danny Saber)
15 - Everlast - Painkillers
16 - E-Z Rollers - Walk This Land

I've got no words for this.

I'm Over Here Now.

2007-07-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

Dayum. I’ve been gone for a week and the only comments I got were a dude selling t-shirts (you have now been deleted) and a, literally, 52 page diatribe about some shit. Mostly how black people are bad. Gay people are bad, and that there was symbolism in the movie ‘Logan’s Run” My favorite quote from this gorgeous piece of prose was, “Blacks be looking up at white trash too::::They'd be wise to improve their lives by upgrading from hip hop to raggae .” Honestly, if you don’t find the joyous ironic humor in that, you take yourself too seriously and that douche bag too seriously. So I am going to up a couple of mixes since you all have been so patient and anxiously (read that as ambivalent and absent) anticipating my return. There are 3 different styles, reggae (DJ Bosi), 80’s (DJ Yoda), and a sample lesson mix from brother ?uestion and you should like them. These are all mixes that I have listened to a lot and like a great deal. DJ Bosi I don’t really know a lot about but he’s from Budapest and this is some dancehall and reggae well selected and mixed. The DJ Yoda mix has everything from A-Ha to Kurtis Blow to Betty Boo to Europe so it’s eclectic and very cleverly put together. Anyway. Enjoy. Florida was cool. Lot’s of beach and pool time and my boy has an ill Farmers tan. Hope everyone is good and not listening to that Sean Kingston “Beautiful Girls” track. If you are listening to that song I hate you and I hope you fall down.

Pace.

yoda http://sharebee.com/136ed313

bosi http://sharebee.com/1368d17c

?uestlove http://sharebee.com/dea9b324

Friday's Cover: What Have You Done For Me Lately?

2007-07-06T15:57:00.001-07:00

Alright, I missed Wednesday. I was celebrating the birth of our nation by drinking beer. Nothing says patriotism like a bottle of Negra Modelo. Cool thing is I now have polls for the covers, so vote a away bitches!
Oh Janet, thou art verily difficult to give an accurate weight. In 1986 I was 14 and I thought Janet Jackson was the shit. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were solidifying their careers, Paula was making the switch from half time to videos and Janet was waiting another year to release Pleasure Principle and film the video that made big, fat, booty look delicious. This was a single off of Control and although it sounds horrifically dated now it was def and fresh at the time it came out. It’s still structurally a great pop song. There’s also a cow bell and nothing says “Funky-ass Jam” like a cow bell. That little bridge about “you think you’re God’s gift to the world” was slammin. The piano at the end of the song. The fact that she says, “This is wild. I swear.” Alright that was stupid, but it was a tight song that catapulted her into stardom and led to her topless album cover and nipplegate. The video made shoulder pads still look stupid and proved that you still don’t look skinny in a sports jacket if you not skinny to begin with. Sharon Jones originally recorded a few tracks on Desco Records and began to make a name for herself and released “Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings” to little fanfare and from what I remember, no publicity in 2002. It was the first release on the Dap-Tones label. She waited 50 years unfortunately and isn’t pretty to look at but Gotdam! That woman blows. The daptones recordings are designed to sound like 50’s and 60’s funk recordings and sound compressed and noisy and authentic and really great. The Horns section worked with Ronson for his Just cover (thus the correlation. Look for no other clever segues on later editions of Wednesdays cover. I can only do so much) Ronson also used them for work with Amy Winehouse. The drummer is a funky ass dude and it sounds like this is actually the original rather than a cover. I wish there was more of a market for this lady because she’s so fucking good. Anyway, that’s it.
I’m off to Florida for a week, so don’t mistake lack of activity for lack of work. Actually you can do that. But I will be back in a week. I got an “E” and “F” already in the works.
Pace.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

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

2007-07-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Dana Dane – Tales From The Dane Side
I upped his first record a while ago here. This was from his second release.

D'Angelo – Lady
Some say Voodoo was when D’Angelo really came into his groove, but if you were sexually active and not monogamous, Brown Sugar made many a panty drop from moisture. Plus you got to say, “Yeah, I listen to neo-soul.” while you put your scented oils on and shared a glass of Boones wit yo date. The dude’s voice is dope. This production, while brother ?uest-less, was pretty spot on. Thank you Michael Eugene Archer for changing your name and for helping us hit skins. Also check “Brown Sugar” and “Voodoo” in their entirety.

The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
Rocking out of Portland Oregon, the Dandy’s are a tight little set of indie rocking goodness. With 5 records or 7 if you are a Dandy nerd, they have a lot to listen to. Monkey House probably being the easiest to listen to if you don’t listen to a lot of rock. Bohemian Like You is probably the song they are most known for and it fucking rocks. Good, fun Rock & Roll for the masses to consume and rub their proverbial tummies in delight.

Dane Cook - Struck By A Vehicle
Granted he’s not music but to be fair it’s a list of “really dope things” and Dane Cook’s Retaliation cd is funny as heck, darn it. His references are creative and just because every movie he’s made has been such an utter and total pile of hot, violent garbage, it doesn’t mean the dude didn’t have a special moment, where he truly moved people and made a difference in the lives of some sick children.

David Holmes – Rip
With opening dialog from Don Cheadle the badass boxer with a big prejudice against goldfish and a badass Rhodes riff this song is your typical David Holmes movie soundtrack splendor. It’s really just a big beat with said piano, a LFO and some dialog over it but as usual it works. I posted another mix cd of his here, which is one of my top mix cd’s of all time.

Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off
Before hip-hop there was punk and hardcore. I’ve always felt that the two, punk and Hip-Hop were essentially the same thing executed by two separate and different groups of disenchanted youth. The Dead Kennedy’s were headed by Jello Biafra and were the Dead Prez of the hardcore scene. Very political and unlike DP, they were quite funny a lot of the time. (Did anyone else find that scene when “ya basta” is being “explained” on Dave Chapelle’s Block Party painful to watch?) Anyway, DK were a good example of the “it’s loud, it’s a fad, and it’s destroying the youth” argument that tried to minimize rock, punk, and rap being contradicted. I just realized how ironically similar Dead Kennedys and Dead Presidents are.

De La Soul – Breakadawn
Why Breakadawn? Why not Breakadawn!? Buhloone Mindstate was De La’s 3rd release and blew me the fuck away when I heard it. Let’s look at guests, Biz, Dres, Shorty No Mass, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, some Japanese dudes rhyming. Let’s look at singles, this and Ego Trippin’! For the love of God man. I love those guys. I’ve always thought that “Quiet Storm” sample is about as smooth as it gets and the track itself is just bangin. My man Trav at WYDU posted the Ego Trippin’ single a while ago. Go look for it. His archives are splendid

The Decemberists - The Sporting Life
The classic tale of a boy trying to please his dad, hurting himself at the game, disappointing his dad disappointing his coach, and then watching his girlfriend leave with the captain of the other team. The Decemberist are a 5 person set out of Portland and make really good indie pop music. I'll see if I can find a link of Colin Meloy (the singer) on the Colbert Report. Also check out "We Both Go Down Together" and "The Mariner's Revenge Song."

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Catch A Bad One
I was feeling My Brother George so, the fact that this came out around the same time the Soul’s first record I had a hard on for anything Hiero. The Bowed bass line. The beat. "People having memory loss..." You are a funky homosapien indeed.

Dilated Peoples – Give it To Them
Another Dilated banger. Rhyming over an Alchemist produced beat, Rakaa and Evidence lick lyrical shots from their respective metaphysical mags. Originally realeased in 2003 as a one off, it was later released as "Right And Exact" on the Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2 comp.

Digable Planets - Jettin'
I was a big fan of this second release. I was a big fan of most Jazz heavy Hip-Hop excluding the Jazzmatazz debacle. And the second Jazzmatazz debacle. And the third Jazzmatazz debacle. And now the fourth Jazzmatazz debacle. Blowout Comb was a record you could put on for just about anyone. Just because it's a crossover hit, doesn't mean it's bad. Look at The Fat Boys doing "The Twist."

Digital Underground - Freaks of the Industry
I can't say I loved this when it came out. I was very East coast orientated and this production was a bit too mature for my boom bap tastes. In retrospect this was a pretty great record however, and thankfully this indirectly brought us the entire 57 disc collection of 2 pac's work.

Diplo - Big Lost
This is what The Outsider should have been. Sorry Mr. Shadow. Diplo's other big project is Hollertronix with Low Budget, which is a mash up project. He's out of Philadelphia and makes great music. He also boned and produced some of M.I.A.'s first record. I like him because he does a lot of different things and they typically turn out pretty good.

D-Nice - Call Me D-Nice
The TR-808 sampled that nasty ass riff from Buzz Saw and made "Call Me D-Nice" a song that I used to mix with En Vogue for hours on end (I was lonely sometimes.) Apparently his big thing is photography now but I am either not clever enough or it isn't good and it is very yawn-ish. Anyway, this was his track. I loved this song and it made me buy his album, which wasn't as good as the single, but he beat boxed for BDP's Breath Control part 2 and that made up for it as far as I'm concerned.

Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 2 (James Brown Megamix)
If you don't know about these guys then you don't know the history of hip hop music. Doug DiFranco and Steve Stein were not DJ's but Double D worked in a studio at the time and they worked together to produce a remix for "Play That Beat" by the Soul Sonic Force and came up with the original series of lessons. These were done essentially like a pause tape mix and sounded like a lot of what came after in the late 80's. This one is fun because although Mr. Brown (RIP) has been sampled to disgusting proportions, there are reasons for that. The music was great. This came out before it was played out. Enjoy this lesson.

Doug E Fresh - Risin' To The Top
I wanted to post "Play This Only At Night" which I think holds up pretty well today.
vc xv x g b nhyb u7bh8ju9ij9o0p0l;l.p-[;/[P:l=\.,-l99k8i[u[kj\](That's what my son thinks.)
I wore Obsession cologne in copious, some might say nauseating amounts when this song came out and while I didn't have a Cherokee or an Audi, I felt like I was on my way to hip hop stardom. Unfortunately, besides beat boxing quite well and having a couple good songs, Doug was not that great. I love him and I'm glad he helped the foundation but Aaaaayyyyyoooooo I-ight Makes me want to squirt in his gob and wire it shut. Risin' to the top was a good one though.

Double X Posse - Not Gonna Be Able To Do It
Another killer base line. Again, this wasn't the best group by any means and remember their second release? No? Neither do I, but this song was definitely a banger.

Doves – Pounding
I already posted the b-sides compilation earlier here. This is my favorite song of theirs.

Down South - Southern Comfort
I think this was Shawn J Periods first production gig. Along with the Beatnuts this album is pretty solidly produced and was good lyrically. Not great but certainly not bad either. It's one of those slept on gems that you can't understand why [people didn't push this record more. It's another one of those records that almost every person that hears it is like, "Oh this is dope. What's this?" And you're like, "It's Down South bitches!"" And they're like, "word?" And you're like, "word!" And they're like, "that's what's up." And you're like "youknowwhatimsayin!"

Dr. Dre - Let Me Ride
I love this beat and the Jamaican chick in the beginning is my baby's mama. Also, she'll shoot you.

01. D'Angelo - Lady.mp3
02. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You.mp3
03. Dane Cook - Struck By A Vehicle.mp3
04. David Holmes - Rip.mp3
05. Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off.mp3
06. De La Soul - Breakadawn.mp3
07. The Decemberists - The Sporting Life.mp3
08. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Catch A Bad One.mp3
09. Digable Planets - Jettin'.mp3
10. Digital Underground - Freaks of the Industry.mp3
11. Diplo - Big Lost.mp3
12. D-Nice - Call Me D-Nice.mp3
13. Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 2 (James Brown Megamix).mp3
14. Doug E Fresh - Risin To The Top.mp3
15. Double X Posse - Not Gonna Be Able To Do It.mp3
16. Doves - Pounding.mp3
17. Down South - Southern Comfort.mp3
18. Dr. Dre - Let Me Ride.mp3

** The Dane and Dilated People's tracks need to be downloaded separately**

Michel Gondry directing Daft Punk's "Around the World" video.

Alright I'm a douche...

2007-07-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

Just got back from watching the Red Sox with my wife and my homeboy Dale. Tomorrow I'm going to a 4th of July party and won't be able to post. I got the letter "D" all set and am just finishing reviews and the next installment of Wednesday's Cover is conceptually prepared it will just be "Thursday's Cover". I'll leave you with this video because it's funny if you haven't seen it. If you are part of the Liberated Group Against the Abuse of Indian Midgets that Breakdance, please don't watch and also, find another movement.
Pace.

BTW,

2007-07-01T19:47:00.001-07:00

I fucking hate people that talk on their cell phone with the speaker on. I hate it even more when they hold it to their ear and do it. I hate the word "celebutant" I hate people that are richer and dummer than me. And I hate t-shirts that go past your ass. It's a dress at that point playah.
If you fall into none of these categories, I hope you do not swallow a shard of glass and then have to shit it out. Too much?
Pace

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

2007-06-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

01 - Cake - Friend Is A Four Letter Word
By far my favorite Cake song and not not really sure of what the song is about. It just sounds really good if not a little sad. Cake is a indie rock quartet from Cali that are probably most known for "The Distance" which is off the same Album as this one. Also, you gotta love a rock band with a solo trumpet player.
02 - Camp Lo - Luchini Aka This Is It
I wouldn't necessarily listen to a whole album of theirs but this has got to be one of the illest, most pimped out songs ever. I don't mean "pimp" in a gilded-goblet and douche baggy way. I mean "pimp" in a goldfish in your platforms and a velvet cape kind of way. Go ahead and listen to this song while your walking somewhere and see if you don't start leaning to one side and suddenly feel the urge to have a cane and a feather in your hat.
03 - Casual - I Didn't Mean To
When Souls released 93 til I was blown away. The whole multiple word rhyming schemes they had. The production. Their ill and sometimes humorous lyrics. It had me hooked. Casual seemed to kind of get missed in the Souls and Del shadow but I thought he was just as dope.
04 - Cat Power - He War
If she was good enough to work with Handsomeboy Modeling School, there must be something to her. This whole record was really good and her voice is fucking awesome. Also check out "I don't Blame you."
05 - The Chemical Brothers - Where Do I Begin
The whole beginning guitar riff with the preverb and backwards shit blew me away. Plus, I've had many Sunday mornings where I couldn't even focus on a coffee cup.
06 - Chicago - 25 Or 6 To 4
Even though Peter Cetera is singing this is not a ballad. Chicago was once a pretty funky-ass septet. Check their first couple of records and you will not find the inspiration for "You're the inspiration" The starting riff of this track reels you in and it's just a bad ass song.
07 - Chill Rob G - Let The Words Flow
I bought his record the day it came out because on the back his fan club was based in Providence and I thought he was from Rhode Island (I was living there at the time). In the 80's we had no Sage Francis or Joe Beats to Rep the Biggest Little State in the Union so I was pretty devistated when I found out he was from Jersey. Nonetheless, a pretty solid release from one of the most underrated members of the Flavor Unit. By the way, I didn't find out he was from New Jersey for about 15 years and told everyone I knew he was from RI. I'm Dum.
08 - Chubb Rock - Caught Up (Remix)
I always liked the Chubbster. This was the first song I heard by him and it really appealed to me. His voice is gruff. His delivery was pretty hard and his lyrics were up to par at the time. Also check out Ya Bad Chubbs. Granted his name was a gimmick but Prince Markie Dee he is not!
09 - Coldcut - Noah's Toilet
I was torn with this one because of the spoken word over it but just the production on this track is fucking incredible. I dissected this track trying to emulate what I heard and failed miserably but was quite inspired anyway. That thing they do with the Ape howling made me shart.
10 - Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost
Ever heard of them? This is my favorite song of Coldplay's. I think the first time I heard them was on HBO's old concert series which I can't think of the name of now but they were pretty good. Smug and pompous, but I guess duly so.k
11 - Common - Soul By The Pound (Thump Remix)
I wasn't really a Com fan until he released this record. Can I borrow a Dollar had him squeaking too much but his song was it and Resurrection solidified the deal for me. Who knew he'd do Gap adds!?
12 - Cornelius - Drop
I upped the Cornelius Remixes record a while ago. This track is from his Point disc and it is just another reason why I love this guy so much. No a lot of people blend so many styles and genres together so well to me. He's certainly a bit esoteric and noisy at times but this track is none of that and just a great listen. Now he might be talking about toting guns with nuns and going to hell for snuffing Jesus but it's all in Japanese so it's all good.
13 - Cornershop - Heavy Soup
While Brimful of Asha would probably score high on my list of songs that make me want to chew glass this is one funky ass intro song with Otis Clay doing the introductions.
14 - The Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do
The fact that Crystal Method sampled The Dark Crystal was what made me like them at first. Also, like Common, they are linked to The Gap by use of their "Busy Child" for a commercial. This is electronica at some of it's drug celebrating best. 303's and 808's and tweaked out shit. Pass the biscuits please.
15 - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
My brother swore to me these guys were good but all I had was a picture of Robert Smith to go on and I wasn't really impressed. Anyway I finally gave them a listen and once again my stinky ass brother was right. I'm more a fan of their earlier and highly depressing stuff but the rawness of this track was just plain good.
16 - Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man
For an even better review of their whole album go to Hip Hop isn't dead and read this review.

01 - Cake - Friend Is A Four Letter Word
02 - Camp Lo - Luchini Aka This Is It
03 - Casual - I Didn't Mean To
04 - Cat Power - He War
05 - The Chemical Brothers - Where Do I Begin
06 - Chicago - 25 Or 6 To 4
07 - Chill Rob G - Let The Words Flow
08 - Chubb Rock - Caught Up (Remix)
09 - Coldcut - Noah's Toilet
10 - Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost
11 - Common - Soul By The Pound (Thump Remix)
12 - Cornelius - Drop
13 - Cornershop - Heavy Soup
14 - The Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do
15 - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
16 - Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man

I was looking for a video Of Crazy Legs and found this dude. Just as good I figure.

Wednesday's Cover

2007-06-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

So, as continuation of using consistency to maintain a happy status quo, I humbly introduce “Wednesday’s Cover”. In the middle of the week we have time to reflect on all of the mistakes we made so far and how to cover them up properly until the weekend where we are hoping they will be forgotten. What better time to hear someone take credit for someone else’s work? In my opinion a “good” cover is one that doesn’t shit on the original material. I think it’s easy to take a song and make it really bad and then consider yourself clever. I think it’s a lot harder to make a different version of a song that isn’t a mockery but rather, a celebration or extension of the original material (I came up with that while I was burning Nag Chamba and having a Kharmic O.B.E.). I will try to use the latter as examples.

First of all, I gotta big up my brother for hipping me to this song first. You don't want to test my bro yo. He knows more about music than you do.
So, in this high tech age of pro tools and calculator watches some of us may forget that the masters of post production were once a masterful rock group. I give you Radiohead. My main gripe with Radiohead isn't how experimental or impossible to classifytheir music is but how pretentious their fans are. As much as I never liked the Grateful Dead because of my patchouli stinking roommates, it took me a while to listen to Radiohead because everyone said they were the greatest thing since boobs. However, I did and I now I really like them.
Originally, they were a lot rockier and in 95 released a record called “The Bends”. Nestled between a Nice Dream and an Iron Lung was the joy we just call “Just”. An awesome blend of brief, quiet, acoustic moments which are then engulfed by huge guitar assaults (in a good way). I’ve never really understood a lot of what Thom Yorke is talking about, but thankfully he's actually explained that this song is about a narcissistic friend of his. The solo is simply ridiculous and comes in three delicious parts. It's just one of those songs that you really like to act all tortured when you sing along to it in the car.
Mark Ronson decided to re-do, nay, cover “Just” in his own funky style. Well, I'd like to thank you Mr. Ronson. While those irritating Radiohead purists will scoff at it, this is a pretty awesome cover. Ronson has Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet doing vocals. And look, even if one of his songs (California) was the theme song for The O.C., you can’t hate. Plus, it’s not even a bad song. But I digress. Alex on vocals and the Mighty Mighty Daptones horn section adding the glorious brass (if you don’t know Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings then go check it out now.) It’s a funked out version of a song that was named number 34 in the NME and XFM's "Greatest Indie Anthem Ever" (brought to you by the color Black and the Letter 6)
Aiight den enjoy
Pace.

01 - Radiohead - Just
02 - Mark Ronson & Alex Greewald - Just

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

2007-06-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Alright I decided to change it up. Instead of one record, I’m going to put a mix of artists starting with the appropriate letter. That way you get to hear a bunch of different artists and I won’t post my Barry Manilow’s Greatest hits for the letter “B” installment. So sit back after you’ve downloaded and enjoy. Also, I’m now using Zip files because it’s easier for people that don’t know winrar. So enjoy. Leave a comment and send me some money.
Pace.

01 - Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block
First is Badly Drawn Boy doing "Once Around The Block". I heard this track I think on MTV2 first oddly enough. That was back when it didn’t have commercials and TV shows. Anyway I dug it and the rest of the album was pretty good too. He was originally backed by Doves, which I really like a lot too.
02 - Beastie Boys - In 3's
I can’t stand when they rhyme. Conceptually, I like them but besides about 2 or 3 songs unless they are just playing music or playing hardcore, I am not the biggest fan. I love their production. I loved Paul’s Boutique. Blah-blah-blah. This was is one of my favorite tracks.
03 - Beck - The New Pollution
I liked the first 2 records a lot. I also liked Sea Change and Guero. The New Pollution was Beck at his bizarre musical hybrid's finest. You don’t have to like his beliefs and you don’t even need to like him, but you can’t front on his music.
04 - Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces
The Ben Folds Five were a piano rock band with a sense of humor and a jazz influence. They had three records and an outtake cd. I like Whatever and Ever Amen the best and I think One angry dwarf is just as bizarre and brilliant a song concept as they came up with. Also check “Song for the Dumped” and “Brick.”
05 - Big Daddy Kane - Wrath Of Kane
I’m saying! I can’t remember hearing Kane for the first time but I remember hearing this track for the first time vividly. I was in high school and the first time I heard that scratch sound I jumped up and said “Ooooooo!” and my friends around me all pretty much did the same thing. I think it’s when I really started paying attention to production.
06 - Bilal - For You
Bilal never got the props he deserved because people thought he was a D’Angelo clone. Granted, "Soul Sista" could have been a B-Side to Brown Sugar but he’s a lot jazzier and apparently can sing Opera in 7 languages. He’s one of those cats that people are always into when I play him for them for the first time. This is my wife’s favorite song and any track that starts off with, “As a matter of fact, I ‘m the dopest nigga you ever wanted to fuck wit.” is either going to be unbearable or it’s going to get backed up. Bilal does the latter.
07 - Biz Markie - Nobody Beats The Biz
T J Swan’s singing was terrible and the fucking shit at the same time. Anyone can sing along and sound just like the record and that’s always satisfying. Biz isn’t the illest MC. Hell, he wasn’t even good sometimes, but the dude is fucking Hip-Hop to me. Not the marketed hip-hop but I just feel like it oozes from every pore of his body. Everyone likes the Biz. How can you not. Plus, I still do the Biz dance anytime I’m at a club.
08 - Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin (Remix)
It was the beginning of the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. I can’t remember how many times me and my boys sat in my shitty studio apartment freestyling over their first joint and smoked Bidis. I liked the remixes of the first record because he re-did the tracks. I was torn between this and the "Buck Em Down" remix and I really just picked it randomly.
09 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Red Eyes And Tears
First of all their name is awesome. Second of all they make really good garage rock. The name is a reference to a Brando movie and they are pretty good to listen to. This song has always been a favorite of mine.
10 - Black Sheep - U Mean I'm Not
I was torn between this and putting up Flavor of the Month but I just loved this song for it’s over the top lyrics. “Ma! You broke my fucking egg yolk!” That’s some tight lyrics dun!
11 - Blackalicious - Alphabet Aerobics
The fact that he successfully goes through the alphabet to a constantly accelerating tempo and still sounds dope is cause enough. Blazing Arrow was one of those discs you could listen to all the way through. And I went to the Quannum tour and his does have that breath control. Second only to Abdominal, check the third verse on Breath Later. Holler at your homeboy.
12 - Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass
These cats are an indie rock set from England and while the second half of Bloc Party's debut kind of fizzles out, the first side of this record is the dope. Honestly, I’m getting tired of writing this shit and I have only done one letter but this is great rock. Also check "Blue Light" and "Helicopter".
13 - Bob Marley - Waiting in Vain
Um… it’s Bob Marley. I always loved the melancholy of this song. Probably my favorite song of his.
14 - Bobby Brown - Every Little Step
Coming in live and direct form Roxbury in the 617 is our pride and joy Bobby Brown. It was 89. A lot of my friends had gumby’s and high top fades. While New Edition was good, the combo of Bobby and Teddy Riley made him a super duper star. And somehow he made dancing around a bunch of huge white letter look so cool. He was also amazing in Ghostbusters 2
15 - Boogie Down Productions - 9mm Goes Bang
Um… it’s BDP. My friend and I rode around in his jacked up Fiero that only had sound on the left side in the Barrington High School parking lot shouting "Wa da da dang, Wa da da da dang" out of his window. We didn’t know what it meant but that was one of my favorite moments in my love affair with hip-hop.
16 - Brother Ali - Prince Charming
Oddly enough an artist friend of mine hipped me to this. I was in one of my “God, rap sucks nowadays” funks and he gave me this disc. “It’s some albino Muslim rhyming.” Not the greatest sell and sounded more like a gimmick than an actual person, but then I heard the record and was hooked. I'm also a fan of stories and this dude sounds so logically insane you gotta love it.
17 - The Beatnuts - Story
The flute sample is what did it for me and the beat is bizarre and it’s The Beatnuts for fucks sake. My buddy played this shit for me after he picked it up and we sat in my Ford Tempo, on blast, and listened to it twice through. I think I was 20 then and any time I heard a song about sex I thought it was cool. This one is ridiculous and pretty funny.
18 - The Black Keys - The Desperate Man
The Black Keys are 2 dudes that fucking jam. Very Bluesy and very distorted and really rough sounding. I think they have about 4 records out. If you don’t like one you probably won’t like the others. They have a formula that works and they stick to it and it’s really dam good.
19 - The Breeders - Cannonball
Any chick that plays the bass is hot. Kim Deal is hot. She was also in one of my top ten groups of all time. After The Pixies she got back together with her twin sister and worked more intensely on their side project The Breeders. While "Cannonball" is obvious it’s still a great song.

01 - Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block
02 - Beastie Boys - In 3's
03 - Beck - The New Pollution
04 - Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces
05 - Big Daddy Kane - Wrath Of Kane
06 - Bilal - For You
07 - Biz Markie - Nobody Beats The Biz
08 - Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin (remix)
09 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Red Eyes And Tears
10 - Black Sheep - U Mean I'm Not
11 - Blackalicious - Alphabet Aerobics
12 - Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass
13 - Bob Marley - Waiting in Vain
14 - Bobby Brown - Every Little Step
15 - Boogie Down Productions - 9mm Goes Bang
16 - Brother Ali - Prince Charming
17 - The Beatnuts - Story
18 - The Black Keys - The Desperate Man
19 - The Breeders - Cannonball

Beat Street Battle

Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things

2007-06-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

So all these other bastards with there 1000+ daily readership have daily or weekly themes and as a Kindergarten teacher, I realize that people need consistency. So I am going to kill 2 birds with 1 stone while maintaining a finite start and end point. Bear witness to the one and only “Treebeats A To Z Posting Compilation Of Really Dope Things.” While I like to think I am a creative guy, the cleverest concept I could come up with is alphabetic. So we start with a group, individual, or other noun starting with A and then make our way through the alphabet. It will be filled with omissions and you will probably have much better ideas of what should be posted. That’s fine. Go to Blogger . com and click on the arrow that says “Create Your Blog Now.”

The Avalanches, “Since I Left You” record is made up of 1 disc, 6 DJ’s, 18 tracks, 60 minutes, and somewhere around 900 to 3,500 samples, or so they say. “They” being the proverbial “they” not a specific they “they.”) If you’ve never heard The Avalanches then you don’t live in Australia. Also, you are missing out on a really great record. They hail from Melbourne Australia, the birthplace of Hip-Hop and Midnight Oil. They started out as a garage punk outfit and then one day… (it always starts with “One day a guy had an Akai S900” )they got a sampler and went from punk to funk (thank you Fatboy Slim and further, thank you Housemartins because one day I did indeed grin myself nearly to death, so I know how it feels.) So the Avalanches started putting together glorious, sample-heavy compositions that borrowed from everything from Boney M to Madonna to The Main Attraction. It is not the typical “DJ” record you may think of with some scrub showing off what he learned how to do in his bedroom while other people had sex and went outside, but rather a humorous celebration of everything that is music (up to 2001) and an expansion and reinterpretation of it. “Since I Left You” is both the title track and the most radio friendly track there is also “Frontier Psychiatrist” which is hilarious and pretty fuking banging at the same time. "Electricity" is also one of my favorites for some other snobby reason I can’t articulate right now but trust me, I’m really intelligent and my music taste is impeccable and I never ever where the same outfit twice. They’re just a really tight set, and while I never saw them live there is, and has been for six years now, talk of a new album. One band mate is quoted as saying, “We have over 40 tracks to select from blah-blah-blah.” In other news, P-Diddy was quoted as saying, “I feel safe in white because deep down inside, I'm an angel.” Word up to you Sean combs and thanks for keeping it real!!! While the whole Puffy thing is irrelevant, The Avalanches Record is really dope so listen to it or end up like Diddy (1. I think I used all of Puff Daddy’s (now I have) monikers. 2. It really is a great record.)
Pace.

01. Since I Left You
02. Stay Another Season
03. Radio
04. Two Hearts In 3/4 Time
05. Avalanche Rock
06. Flight Tonight
07. Close To You
08. Diners Only
09. ADifferent Feeling
10. Electricity
11. Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life
12. Pablo's Cruise
13. Frontier Psychiatrist
14. Etoh
15. Summer Crane
16. Little Journey
17. Live At Dominoes
18. Extra Kings

Video for Frontier Psychiatrist. This is a really cool concept.

When Bizarre Things Happen To Bizarre People....

2007-06-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I think it speaks for itself. But this is Johnny Depp getting interverwed in Japan. Another reason to move to the Land of the Rising Sun is there stellar television.

Pace

When Bad Things Happen To Good People...

2007-06-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

So since I’ve been working on a remix post and there have been lots of other remix posts in other blogs and my cover post is not completed, (don’t bite bitches) I have decided to post a record that has a remix on it and is relevant to my life.
So I’m going down to Atlanta on Friday for a weekend of drunken debauchery. Stunts, blunts and hip-hop, knowhatimsayin!?!? Also, I used to live in Atlanta and worked at a studio as an intern and engineer for a few years. So one day Lauryn Hill came there and this was when The Score started blowing up. Now I was one of the eight fools that bought the Boof-Baf record mostly because it had the word “blunted” in it and I thought that anything that alluded to smoking pot had to be good and was cool. Anyway, I see her at the studio and I was really digging their new record and had dug the "Nappy Headz" and "Vocab" singles so I’m like, “What was so different about those two records? It sounds like you guys had a great time making The Score.” And she just looks at me thinking “White blood-clot raison” (I’m white by the way so it made some sense although the ‘blood clot raison’ part was just nasty and not very helpful) So there is an awkward silence and being sometimes a glutton for punishment I proceed, “I mean it almost sounds like two completely different groups.” She rolls her eyes at this and responds “Not really” and walks away.
“Not really?! So you’re saying that Blunted On Reality was up to par with The Score and "Boof-Baf" and "Ready Or Not" are equals you stank ass skeezer!?” I didn’t actually say this but thought it really hard and gave her an evil look as she walked away. I then proceeded to tell all my friends that I had met Lauryn in the studio and basked in my celeb status.
Anyway, another group that recorded there was Y’all So Stupid. They dropped Van Full of Pakistans in 93 and had a sense of humor, pretty dope lyrics, and decent production in a time where I feel that all three were beginning to dissolve out of hip-hop. Well maybe not production. Well even production insofar as originality. It kind of leveled off for a while for me. Anyway, these cats, H20 (dude from Mass Influence), Uncle Buk, Logic & Sha Boogie get together in the south and make a North East rap record that's pretyy fucking dope. A couple tracks were produced by Majesty from Da King & I fame (I should post that record too). They weren’t ground breaking, but they went against the grade (there were pictures of them skateboarding in the jacket.) Sadly and oddly fittingly) they stole a bunch of equipment from the studio and got kind of blacklisted. It was a pretty prominent studio and they don’t like when people take their shit. Who does?
So there are 14 tracks and 8 skits, the skits are funny enough and maybe I like them because they are doing crank calls and shit. It just sounds like a group of talented cats that got together and had a lot of fun putting together a really dope project. Check “Introduce Me” “Bootleg Beatdown” “The Plant”. Really, it’s not a hard record to like as long as you like juvenile humor mixed with dope beats and witty lyrics.
Aiight, I’m off to Atlanta for a long weekend starting Friday.
Pace.

01 - Introduce Me
02 - 85 South
03 - Interlude
04 - Van Full Of Pakistans
05 - Interlude
06 - Bowl Of Soul
07 - Interlude
08 - The Plant
09 - Interlude
10 - Bootleg Beatdown
11 - Interlude
12 - Family Tree
13 - Dirt Road White Girl
14 - Interlude
15 - Monkey Off My Back
16 - Interlude
17 - Super Nigga
18 - Yall
19 - On And On
20 - Interlude
21 - You Wouldn't Understand
22 - 85 South (Remix)

The volume is way low but I had never seen it.

David Chase is a tremendous bag of douche juice!!!!!!

2007-06-11T08:37:00.001-07:00

I would put a spoiler alert but what would be the point. The Sopranos series finale was already spoiled when it showed. For those of you that have never heard of the Sopranos tv show, don’t worry about it. It will leave you with the taste of hot garbarge in you mouth. I have invested 8 years into this god-awful show and only enjoyed the first 3 or 4. The first 3 or even 4 were really good, thus creating the first high that I and a nation of millions tried to feel again. It never happened. I recently read an interview with Mr. Chase saying that the Sopranos was like real life. No sir, it’s not. It’s fucking tv show. Make a documentary if you want real life. The point of art is for people to enjoy it. I assume there is probably like 5% of artists that need to produce art to release or they will end up dead. Another 90% of artists claim the same thing. If you were stuck on a deserted island by yourself, you wouldn’t make art. And if you did, it would be for someone else to know you were there. My point? Don’t make a final season of a show that is a huge success something that pretty much only you and your gaffer find entertaining. It’s pretentious and I think you’re a dork for doing it. And not like a “dork” in a cool self effacing way you would try to endear yourself with but “dork”: in a “you’re-a-sweaty-dingleberry-shit-licking-fuck-ball-and-I-would-call-you-that-but-I’m-only-in-second-grade-so-the-strongest-thing-I-can-come-up-with-is-dork” kind of way.
Good day to you sir!
Pace.

This is how a good mob movie ends!

I know this record is corny...

2007-06-08T05:09:00.000-07:00

Cue irrelavent picture to titillate and force further reading...

Before I get to the post I just wanted to hit you up with a little 555-1212. There are a lot of blogs out there. A lot of them post a lot of the same stuff. I guess this is inevitable with a finite amount of records in recorded history and a seemingly infinite amount of blogs. Because of this, I have decided to only post 50 cent or related material. Nah, I’m buggin.
Because of this, it’s hard to know what sites to go to without feeling a little deja vous.
Because of this, it’s hard to know what sites to go to without feeling a little deja vous.(get it?)
Trav, at Wake Your Daughter Up has posted a few times about blogs he’s digging recently (big up rude bwoy yute). But I’m not going to do that since I steal everything else from him (conceptually and monetarily) but there are a few blogs you can go to that have posted stuff that not everyone else, or in some cases anyone else, is posting. So why not start with my man Trav.

Recently he re-upped his WYDU classics Vol 1-12 of last year. That’s 12 times 20, which if you do the math equals around 3 billion songs. It’s essentially just a bunch of records he likes and there is no real logic to it (that my simple self can decipher) but his taste is impeccable and if you listened to hip-hop in the late 80‘s or early 90’s will be sublimely satiated. There is also a “Trav invented the Remix” post that has a whole bunch of remixes on it. Granted there are no buxom broads in the post (Trav, ya slippin) but there is a lot of dope shit there too.
Second up, Mr. Mass has bee posting the DJ Eleven mixes (WYDU also mentions these mixes) the great thing about Masscorporation is the dude adds a slew of chronologically relevant pics along with it. It’s really fun to look through and listen to. The track listings are bananas and if you came up during those times, it is an amazing trip to reminisce through. Oooo segue. Eric on When they reminisce has been slowly posting Eric's "Top 100 Tuesdays." It's his top 100 hip-hop records of all timeand he’s up to 62 so that’s like a google plex more songs he’s dumpin on you. I am the master of the segue. Mike Dikk and the essential Expert Whiteboy Analysis vitamins and minerals are slowly releasing there EWA 100 MASTER LIST (their top 100 songs) at Dumpin.net If you add it all up that’s at least 14 songs for you guys. Plus, these are all blogs that I go to often and they are run by a solid group of cats that are either funny or knowledgeable or both.
Now, on with the post...First off, before I get started, I realize this isn’t Illmatic. I realize Pete Rock didn’t produce it. I also realize that he’s not a royal prince. That said, “Free” by Prince Markie Dee was a fun enough record. It came out in 92 from Columbia Records in the dawn of a harder “realer” style and Rap & Bullshit was phasing out. The reason I’m posting it is two fold. First, Eric at When they Reminisce, has a guilty pleasure’s section in his blog where he posted the “Mack Daddy” record which I haven't heard that was when he was with Motown. Second, Biff over at Biff’s Hp-Hop Section posted a Billy Lawrence record. Now I'm not sure, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, butI don’t think it’s the same chick because of age discrepancies but Prince Markie Dee’s Soul Convention had a singer named Billy Lawrence as well and the post was born. And there was much rejoicing. The "Trippin Out" song was probably my favorite (I would never repeat that in public) and there are a few others of that style that are equivalent. However, you can’t go though the whole record in one listen or you brain will leak out of the holes that were once your ears but had apparently ripped themselves off of your skull sometime during the fourth song. But it’s fun anyway. I really don't know why I like the Fat Boys anyway because besides "Stick 'em" and "All You Can Eat" I can't immediatly think of any other songs I liked by them. Whatever. Aiight, I gotta go back to work.
Pace.

01 So Very Happy
02 Trippin Out
03 Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)
04 Trilogy Of Love
05 Free
06 Addict 4 Your Luv
07 Back To Brooklyn
08 Foreplay
09 I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love
10 Ghetto Bound
11 Something Special
12 I'm Gonna Be Alright
13 The Aftermath

Video for Trippin' Out with a young Billy Lawrence.

The World Is Spinning Too Fast

2007-06-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Alright all you crackers and nappy headed hoes, today we got some dubbed out old world monkeez crossed with some cosmic simianz. The whole Laika Come Home (Laika referring to the first bitch in space and “Come Home” referenceing “Lassie, Come Home”) was done by this one off (apparently) dub outfit named Spacemonkeyz. I really don’t have a whole lot of info on these cats. The three members, Darren Galea, Richie Stevens, and Gavin Dodds had other projects. Darren was a DJ named DJ D-Zire (Ooooo, dead sexy name, that is.) Richie was in a group named Well Red (that’s a pun by the way and not mine.) that I have never heard of before, and I have nothing on Gavin. However, the three of them came together for what seems to be one record and made it a banger. Most everyone has heard the Gorillaz or probably at least the Soulchild remix of "19-2000" or Del on "Clint Eastwood." This was nothing like that. This was a really good Dub record. A lot of the tracks are nearly unrecognizable from the original and there’s plenty of repetitive bass line and atmospheric blips and sounds that delay into themselves into infinity. It’s just a relly well done record and if you like dub it’s fire. If you like the Gorillaz, then it isn’t really anything like them in the sense that it isn’t pop but is in the sense that it’s a different take on how music should sound. For me the stand out tracks are probably "Tomorrow Comes Today" and "Punk (De-Punked)" but it really is a solid record. I recommend a hot day, a pitcher of mojitos, and a few fat spliffs. It should all go down quite well.

Pace

01 - 19/2000 (Jungle Fresh)
02 - Slow Country (Strictly Rubbadub)
03 - Tomorrow Comes Today (Bañana Baby)
04 - Man Research (Monkey Racket)
05 - Punk (De-Punked)
06 - 5/4 (P.45)
07 - Starshine (Dub 09)
08 - Soundcheck (Gravity) (Crooked Dub)
09 - New Genius (Brother) (Mutant Genius)
10 - Re-Hash (Come Again)
11 - Clint Eastwood (A Fistful Of Peanuts)
12 - M1A1 (Lil' Dub Chefin')

This is by far the least dubbed out track they have but it was the only video as well.

I told you my name is Jeff

2007-05-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

While the Jeff trilogy is widely available because of the reissue of 3 Feet High And Rising, I’m upping it because I want to and because it represents a part of Hip-Hop that I sorely miss. I think the first single I heard from De La was Potholes, or maybe it was Plug Tunin’ but the first record I bought was the Potholes single. I burnt a fucking hole in that record. De La were one of those prolific groups that filled singles with b-sides, remixes and alternate versions. It was always exciting to get a De La single because you knew you weren’t just buying a 45 or a 5-minute tape that had an instrumental b-side. If you got a De La single you got a deeper understanding what these crazy cats were talking about and where they were coming from. I’ll go on the record now saying De La is my favorite rap group of all time and will enjoy and suffer through whatever praise or implications that incurs. These guys are dope. They are poets. You need to listen to some songs several times to get everything out of them. Their beats, well, I won’t say they had the impact the Bomb Squad did but I think they took a lot of chances when James Brown was a sure bet. They sounded like no one else at that time. But I digress. So the “Jeff” trilogy (I thought it was Chi Ali but there is speculation that it was Trugoy’s cousin or nephew or something) was based on the b-sides I was talking about earlier. They are basically about what my man Dana Dane and his 5th element of hip-hop and how it was getting a bit over the top. (Shocker! Hip Hop plus fashion equaling ridiculousness?!? That cant be!!!) I agreed, so I put my medallions on over my Le Coq Sportif sweatshirt and laced up my Air Jordan IV’s and said I wasn’t going to follow the trends either. This was after my whole argyle sock thing. But Jeff is complaining that De La are not keeping it real without dookie gold chains and beepers. And no one else was really doing that at the time. Again the group was refreshing and it was kind of what “Shopping Bags” is as a statement today (BTW Grind Date was really dope too). The other two tracks are from the Clear Lake Auditorium record. "Sh.Fe.Mc’s" (Shocking Females) which is a posse cut with Tribe and "Stix & Stonz" with Tito of The Fearless Four, Grandmaster Caz, Whipper Whip, LA Sunshine, and Superstar, which is fine and all but it was released in 1994 and you can get all excited and bitch me out, but those cats sounded old and corny. It was a nice thought and I have nothing but respect for them but wasn’t my favorite. Look, I could go on and on with a De La post and this was supposed to be a quick paragraph but I like them a lot and you should too. If you don’t then Jesus doesn’t love you and you will burn in the eternal fires of hell. Sorry if that sounds a tad preachy. I don’t make the rules I just live by them. So in summation... If you like De La Soul you will be a millionaire and go to heaven on a snow-white pony or a hot, buxom angel.
Pace.

01 - Sh.Fe.Mc's (Feat. A Tribe Called Quest)
02 - Stix & Stonz (Feat. Grandmaster Caz, Tito, Whipper Whip LA Sunshine & Superstar)
01 - Brainwashed Follower
02 - Mack Daddy on the Left
03 - Double Huey Skit
04 - The Death of Jeff (Intro from De La Soul Is Dead)

The De La Press Kit.
Pretty cool if you've never seen it. It's from 3 feet high and rising

Rhymes Worth More Than Platinum...

2007-05-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Back in 1988, after marginal noise made by their first EP a group of cats named Wrecks-N- Effect released their self-titled debut on Motown Records. Teddy Riley’s brother, Markell Riley, Brandon Mitchell (Teddy’s half brother), Aquil Davidson and Keith "K.C." Harris (neither of which were related to him in any traceable form) made up the crew with Aquil really being the only memorable part. While tracks like “Juicy” made many a panty wet and “Club Head” enjoyed the famously short and not-really-appreciated-but-somewhat-tolerated Hip-House movement the track “Peanut Butter” was the crème de la crème for me. Aquil’s voice and delivery were aggressive and smooth and the way they built the track at the beginning always got me open. They also had the “New Jack Swing” track which heralded the musical movement of the same name. I can admit that I thought Teddy was the shit and was a big fan of Kane’s “I get the job done.” and Mr. Brown’s “Prerogative” They also had Redhead on a posse cut called “Friends to the end” and at the time “Do the right thing” was in heavy rotation on my piece of shit turntables. While it doesn’t really stand up to the test of time it was a record that made you hate “Rumpshaker” even more and resent the “G-Funk” movement until you were consumed by it’s undeniable charm from artists like Celebrity Fit Club Star, Warren G. Unfortunately they renamed themselves Wreckx-N-Effect in 1992 to keep it real.
Pace

01 - New Jack Swing

02 - Leave The Mike Smokin

03 - Juicy

04 - Club Head

05 - Soul Man

06 - Deep

07 - Wipe Your Sweat

08 - V-Man

09 - Peanut Butter

10 - Friends To The End

11 - Rock Steady