Fat Lace Radio/Podcast/Ramblings

The boys over at Fat Lace Magazine have started recording a semi-regular show that is available from their Soundcloud page or their own very fine blog. Check the first two shows below, stream or download.

Fat Lace Show 001 by Fat Lace Magazine

Fat Lace Show 002 by Fat Lace Magazine

Fashawn - The Antidote

Now I'm so late on this it's almost silly. This is a free mix for download from the man who put out one of my favourite albums of last year. Fashawn put this out before his debut album "Boy Meets World" and I clearly just missed it at the time.

Check it here, and then go and buy the album. Seriously, you need it in your life. While you're at it go and check his site for additional material and hit him up on Twitter as well.

DJ J-Live - First Things First Vol. 1

DJ J-Live hits us once again with this mix of great first songs from great albums. This is free to download for a limited time from here, and apparently he's preparing to drop Vol. 2 on is very soon.

You can also have a listen to it all by clicking on the player below.

DJ MK - 100% Pure Nuts

If I have to explain who the Beatnuts are then you clearly don't like hip hop that much, and in a similar way you should be well up on who DJ MK is. This is a Beatnuts mix that MK put together for a HHC cover CD from years ago, and it is still the best thing they ever gave away.

Check it right HERE.

MK is more of Twitter man these days so you can hit him up here to tell him how this mix changed your life.

Chilly Gonzalez - Pianist Envy

At the moment I'm really enjoying this but I'm not sure if it'll get annoying after a while. Either way you might as well check it out because it's free of course. Chilly Gonzalez has put together a mix of mostly commercial bangers and tinkled his ivories all over the top of it all. Since I wrote the first sentence I'm actually warming to it quite a lot, so check it out right HERE. A Clipse verse will do wonders for someone sitting on the fence.

Konny Kon - It's Winter Time, Tie Your Tims Up

These are a couple of mixes done by Konny Kon of Broke'N'English with a specific time of year and feeling in mind. In his own words:

Its the wintertime,tie up your tims,put your champion hoody and starter hat on,zip up, put this in your walkman, turn it to 11 and stand outside some shops like your invincible..either that or just listen to my mix in your nice warm house,tracks from-the u.n,pete rock,sadat x,mobb deep,12 jewelz,biggie,wu tang,p brothers,onyx,scaramanga,jay z,black moon,smif n wessun,odb,bravehearts,capone n noreaga,imam thug,m.o.p,redman,prodigy and more.

He put them both up on the Broke'N'English blog which is right here. It's well worth checking for mixes like this, old tracks and general niceness from the Manc lads.

Here are the mixes in Soundcloud player form, and just click on the relevant part to download.

KONNY KON-ITS THE WINTER TIME,TIE UP YOUR TIMS by konnykon

ITS THE WINTER TIME,TIE UP YOURS TIMS PT2 by konny-kon

Jay Electronica in Oxford

This has got to be the biggest hip hop event that's happened in recent times. The boys from Wordplay have sorted this out, and it took me by surprise at first. They have booked Jay Electronica at the O2 Academy in Oxford.

The big tune that has taken the net/world by storm was Exhibit C of course, and if you look into my previous posts it's there somewhere. The Facebook page for the Oxford event is here amd you can buy tickets by hitting this link. I'll see you down the front.



To prepare you for the gig I thought I'd stick up this mix that entirely consists of Jay Elec material, it's worth checking believe me. You can stream or download it by clicking HERE. I can't take credit for it but I'm not sure who put it together originally.

I'm glad to say that one of the support acts is Chima Anya of local crew GTA. He's promoting his album which is due out this year, he's a nice guy, a fully qualified doctor and thankfully in this context, an ill MC.

Here's something that will give you an idea of what he's about.

DJ Cable Guest Mix for Mista Jam/1Xtra

I've been downloading free mixes from DJ Cable for sometime now, and now it seems he's getting a bit of recognition on a wider scale. He put together this guest mix for Mista Jam on 1Xtra.

You can download it HERE, and have a look below for the tracklist.

01. Interview/Intro...
02. DJ Zinc - 138 Trek (Bingo) *
03. TC - Where's My Money? (Caspa Remix - Cable Re-edit) (White)
04. DJ Cable Vs. Tempa T & Rusko Mr. Muscle's Hype (White)
05. Caspa - My Pet Monster (Dub Police)
06. Joker & Ginz - Purple City (Kapsize)
07.Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly (Acapella) (Sony BMG)
08. Grand Puba - Get It (12th Planet Remix) (SCION US)
09. Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Joker Remix) (Wichita)
10. Caspa - Marmite (Cable VIP Re-edit) (White)
11. Redlight - Be With You (Lobster Boy)
12. Silencer - Dirtbag (Silencer)
13. Ludacris - How Low (Can You Go) (Def Jam)
14. Gucci Mane - Wasted (Warner Bros.)
15. Lil Wayne - Go DJ (Instrumental) (Cash Money Records) *
16. DJ Baddmixx - Go DJ (Juke Traxx Online)
17. Deep Blue - The Helicopter Tune (Moving Shadow)
18. Yung Joc - It's Going Down (Acapella) (Bad Boy Entertainment)
19. Foreign Beggars - Contact (Noisia Remix) (Dented)
20. Xample & Jakes - No Respect (RAM) *
21. Total Science - Nosher (Marky & S.P.Y. Remix) (CIA)
22. Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Acapella) (Def Jam)
23. Tinie Tempah - Pass Out (Parlophone)

Some videos of artists featured below...

This started with me finding a few new videos of artists that I've previously featured on this blog and before I knew it I had quite a list. They're all worth checking so have a little look at these.

Skuff of Delegates of Culture puts his own spin on a Gil Scott-Heron classic.



Inja of the same crew spitting over dubstep.



A couple of videos for tracks from the recent LP "Jimmy the Lock" by Nocando.

Nocando feat. Busdriver - Two Track Mind from Fresh Coast on Vimeo.

Dumbfoundead with a concept track off his recent LP "Fun with Dumb".



Mysdiggi going in over 64 bars.



Fucking tune! Cappo and the P Brothers repping Heavy Bronx.

Intuition - Girls Like Me

Intuition is part of the same wider crew as Nocando and Dumbfoundead who I have talked about before. He has just dropped "Girls Like Me" which is a high quality example of the resurgence of LA underground hip hop that has been happening in recent years.

You can sample the goodness by clicking on the player below. If you like what you hear you can get a download from Bandcamp, iTunes or eMusic. I highly recommend it, you know you want to.

Bobby Corridor Hip Hop Mix

Not much info on this but it's a killer tracklisting. Go here to find the mix including a link to a free download, and see below for the tracklisting:

• The Prophet L-Cee- Ace of S.P.A.D.E
• MC Tee & Lord Tasheen- Talkin’ Loud
• Hot Day Dante- Hot Day Is Burnin’
• Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew- Keep Risin’ To The Top
• Seeborn & Puma- They Call Me Puma
• Latee- This Cut’s Got Flavor
• Just Ice- Freedom Of Speech
• Freddie B & The Mighty Mic Masters- Coolin’ On The Ave
• The Rangers- I’m Hot
• Boogie Boys- KMD Step Off
• MC Sugar Ray & Stranger D- Knock ‘Em Out Sugar Ray
• Kid Flash- Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party
• King Dee & The Bishop- What’s Your Opinion?
• Deuces Wild- Five Times The Rhymer
• TDS Mob- Dope For The Folks
• Stezo- To The Max (Remaxed)
• Big Daddy Kane- Ain’t No Half Steppin’
• Massive Attack- Any Love (Remix)
• The Fed- Freestyle
• Sindecut- Sindecut’s Kickin’ Yeah
• The Scam- Scamgroove
• Too Kool Posse- Give ‘Em A Sample
• Kings Of Swing- Nod Your Head To This (Audio Two Remix)
• Extra Curricular- Go With The Flow
• B Boys- 2,3 Break
• Twista- No Peace Sign (Kutmaster Kurt Remix)
• MC Mello- Wize
• Freestyle Fellowship- Hot Potato
• Jungle Brothers- Good Ole Hype Shit
• Ultramagnetic MCs- Feelin’ It
• MC Lyte- Start It Up Y’all
• Blvd Mosse- Move To Somethin’ Funky
• Lakim Shabazz- Hands Of Fate
• MC Player- Rhyming Rampage
• Father MC & The 1st Fleet Crew- Father MC Going Ill
• A.O.K- Shack It Up
• Divine Styler- Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’
• E & J- Lyrically Insane
• Rhamel- Power
• 24-7 Posse- We Ain’t Playing
• Tuff Crew- She Rides The Pony (Remix)
• Unique- Axe Maniac

eLZhi - The Leftovers Unmixed Tape

eLZhi should need no introduction, from his participation in some classic Slum Village albums through to his collaborations with more recent stars of the Detroit scene like Guilty Simpson and Black Milk.

The Leftovers UnMixedtape is exactly what it sounds like: A compilation of one of the game's most talented Emcee's unreleased and featured works. Whether it's a promo joint from a few months back (eLZhi and Black Milk - Deep), a feature from another artist's project (Danny Brown - Contra feat. eLZhi), or just a rare gem from years past (eLZhi and DJ Dez - Living), these Leftovers would have passed for a fresh cooked meal if you didn't know better. It's raw, uncut, unmastered, fresh from the studio and ready for your ears. No DJs, just eLZhi and his comrades, your speakers and you. Without the Leftovers UnMixedtape, most of these songs would never have seen the light of day, so consider this a gift, and come get your grub on!

You can stream the whole thing right here (just click next to scroll though the tracks) or you can go to this page to get the option of downloading the whole thing in the format of your choice for free.

Tom Caruana Presents Wu Tang Vs The Beatles

These "theme" projects can vary wildly from pretty shoddy to working well, and I'm pleased to be able to say that this one is definitely near the top end of that scale. Put together by Tom Caruana who runs his own label/site Tea Sea Records, anyone who has more than a passing interest in the UK scene will have heard one or more of the heavy beats he puts out.

Check the label site to preview some of the other product coming/already out, and check the link below to stream this project or download in a variety of formats.

HERE

DJ Dylemma & DJ Sav One - Coming up in '09

As soon as I post one mix showcasing the best of '09 hip hop another one comes along, proving that there is still plenty of quality material out there. There is some common ground in terms of artists featured but J-Live definitely ventured into the mainstream while these guys keep it underground.

DJ Sav One and DJ Dylemma put this together, and it seems fairly representative of the other subject matter over at The Underground Come-Up which has plenty of other stuff worth checking out.

See below for an idea of the sort of artists featured here, and download the mix HERE to hear just how healthy the underground scene still is.

Some classic posse cuts

This list isn't supposed to be exhaustive, but here are some of my favourite posse cuts of all time. Probably stretched the definition slightly but it's my list so I'll do what I want.

Associated Minds Xmas mixtape

Next up is a little christmas treat from the boys at Associated Minds. Mixed by DJ Jaffa it features Ralph Ripshit, Ruffstylz, Beatbox Fozzy, Willo Wispa, Mudmowth, Metabeats, P.L.O., Dubbledge and Elucid.

Download it HERE people!

Mystro presents... The F.D.T. EP

Last week the mighty Mysdiggi hit me up with a copy of his new EP to review. The first thing this made me do was to pull out a load of tunes to throw them on the decks and have a little reminisce. As you can see from the stash I unearthed (above) his back catalogue includes some great tunes. Having checked his Myspace earlier I was almost on for the full discography but I left out the albums and CDs.

I was also reminded of the time that we were preparing for one of our annual boat parties we used to put on and Gabs mentioned that Blufoot might be coming down to party. When he turned up he had Mys with him which was all a bit random. There are some very short video clips of some cyphers from that party but I don't think anyone involved would be too keen on them being made public! Nobody disgraced themselves but let's just say the emphasis was on the party more than the rhymes. I have got a clip of Ineff dissing the instrumental I put on for him (RA's The Lesson for the record) which still makes me laugh to this day.



So the EP, I have to say I like it a lot. I'm not going to reproduce the press release but I have to say it is very well written (unsurprisingly because it was Ryan Proctor who was responsible for it).

In general the beats still have that bounce that a lot of Mystro records seem to swing to, but a lot of the lyrics are a bit more serious than party tip. "The Truth" kicks things off and is driven by an insistent piano line. The first skit made me laugh out loud in the fruit n veg section of Co-op which was slightly embarassing but I suppose is a pretty good endorsement!

This rolls into "Banishment" which directly addresses the title of the EP (I think everyone knows the story/rumours by now). "U Live & U Learn" has just been released as a video (below) so you can see that for yourself.



Without boring you at length about each one the later tracks don't drop in quality. I'll let Mystro describe the whole thing in his own words.

This is almost like a destroy and rebuild project. Aside from me saying the things I wanted to say on there, the EP is also about letting people know that UK Hip-Hop definitely isn’t dead. The scene might’ve changed, but there are still people out there making good music

The EP is out now available from iTunes right HERE so go and cop that so Mys can keep providing us with quality music. You can hit him up on Twitter HERE, and you can go check the Natural Born Spittaz blog HERE.

Finally, on the final track "The Urge" he documents just some of the frustrations modern life can throw in our way. The hook chants "I ain't a killer but I do get the urge". He sounds like he means it people, I would take him seriously if I were you.

Jay Electronica - Exhibit C

This is old by internet standards even though it only appeared a few weeks ago really. The radio rip of this track as produced by Just Blaze made me take proper notice of JE for the first time, you've got to love the lyrics leading up to that rewind...

100 (More) Producers You Need To Hear Right Now...

First things first, this list was produced by Dart Adams over at Poisonous Paragraphs. It may get a bit "beat nerd" for some people but stick with it if you like fresh sounding instrumentals.

This is the article I'm talking about, a pretty comprehensive list of people that make noise in an exceptionally good way. I'm planning on working my way through the list to check them out but I can already tell you from experience/current listening habits that there are some amazing producers in that list, particularly Daru, FS Green, Aspect 1, Roddy Rod, Exile, Grooveman Spot and S-Type.

There are plenty of beatmaking talents that aren't on the list, and as soon as I used the phrase "beat nerd" it made me think of Louis Den and all the people involved there. I think they probably deserve a post of their own when I have a bit more time.

Critical Madness - Bringing out the dead

Critical Madness are a duo originally from Florida, made up of Critical and Madness funnily enough. Their new album "Bringing out the Dead" is out very soon and you can check a sampler of it here. Check it out, and when you love it more than sandwiches then hit them up on Myspace to get your very own copy.