It’s 13 years to the day since the passing of Biggie Smalls. On the 26th of March it will be 15 years since Eazy E died of AIDS and the 11th of April is the Day Proof (D12) was shot dead. With this in mind, recent Mercury Prize winner Wayne Lotek has put together this dope tribute mix for all the fallen soldiers. And it’s free to download here.
Featuring the recently deceased Apache, MC Breed, Proof, Poetic/Grym Reaper(Gravediggaz), Eazy E, Big Pun, Ol Dirty Bastard, Big L, 2Pac and of course The Notorious B.I.G. Obviously there’s too many dead rappers to feature on one mixtape, but maybe he’ll do a volume 2 if this get’s enough downloads. Who would you put on?
Andreya Triana, one of Ninja Tune’s most recent signings, has a Bonobo produced LP, entitled Lost Where I Belong, coming out in August. She’s already provided vocals for Mr Scruff, Bonobo and Flying Lotus, and the latter has returned the favour remixing the lead single (also called) Lost Where I Belong, that has been made available for the down lo. Cop it here.
Warming to the theme, it’s also worth checking the Music Weekly podcast over at the Guardian. While it lacks the chaotic genius of the James Richardson led Football Weekly, this series of podcasts provides a solid overview on the music scene in general and the recent piece with Big Dada founder Will Ashton is well nifty. While your on the Guardian site check the affable Paul Morley utlising his laid back charm with Giggs, Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip. Excellent work.
Greymatter’s Mind Over Matteralbum has just fallen to earth and there is an intense Illum Sphere remix of the track Too Much floating around for free. Well Bladerunner.
Speaking with the Psychonauts last week regarding the re-release of Songs For Creatures. During the interview we touched upon the urban myth that was the Headz, Headz, Headz release (for Mo’Wax) by the Swedish hip-hop production unit, The Prunes (pictured above). The Prunes flitted between the now shut set of labels Mo’Wax and Grand Royal and one of their members, Peder, now resides on Ubiquity. Peder put out a mixtape a while back. Not exactly hip-hop, but very, very smooth and the perfect way to soften the blow of Monday morning.
Head over to Suspect Packages and download the free Valentines mix by UK stalwart Disorda. Cheers to the man who is pretty much the backbone of the British hip-hop scene. Heads come and go but Disorda has been around since the early days.
In his own words the mix comprises of “sweet reggae love songs, ranging from the late 60’s through to the early 90’s. It runs for 1 hour, 8 minutes and 52 seconds (to be precise), perfect for burning to CD…”
Check it out at suspectpackages.blogspot.com Have a look round the rest of the site while your there, they also do a monthly radio show along with various other downloads and freebies. They will soon be stocking Bonafide magazine at suspectpackages.com too so Big ups!
Kidkanevil has been a busy boy since we last spoke to him, check out the dope new video for Minjo by Ricky Kershaw, from his dope new album Basho Basho. Ever evolving, Kidk has flipped it yet again for his third long player and this one is truly epic. An abstract landscape of sonic sound textures played via a Boombox hooked up to a Commodore 64, which is hooked up to a satellite on the other side of Mars, which beams the sounds back to Tokyorkshire, recording over itself in a resounding auricular paradox. This is some next level future shit. You can check the album out and download it here.
In fact he’s been knocking out the mixtapes for fun recently, you can check his recent mix for knowledge mag here. and a mix he describes as “aggy bass music” for Data Transmission here.
And while we’re on the subject, you may have missed the video for his debut single Kranium Rock ft. Testament the first time round (also by Ricky Kershaw) way back in ‘05 – A Bonafide favourite recently re-upped on Youtube.
Introducing a new monthly column shining a modest sized spotlight on all that’s good, bad and downright awful in the crazy world of music blogs, and anything else that I can just about get away with including.
I’m a bit of cynical wanker who moans a lot but it’s a new year, the UK’s easing it’s way out of a crippling recession ( 0.1% economic growth, yeahhh boyyee!) and Arsenal are still, somehow, in the title race so I’m going to begin on an optimistic note…
Starting with L-Vis 1990, a name so ridiculous it could only belong to a plug in or a Mad Decent affiliate, it’s the latter, of course. United Groove has been smashing dancefloors for a while now and has rightly been given the remix treatment from Buraka Som Sistema, MJ Cole and this particular offering from Kingdom, a deep, hypnotic groove that gets under the skin. It’s good, if a little surprising, to hear and see the renaissance of MJ Cole in 2009 and from one og(arage head)to another, Donae’o releases his new single Riot Musicin March via Shy FX’s Digital Soundboy imprint, complete with remixes by Skream, The Nextmen and his label boss where sharp digi d+b stabs, aggy snares and sirens juxtapose nicely with Donae’o’s soulful vocals. The video’s pretty basic yet effective, utilizing that most stylistic example of cinematic despair, Mattheir Kassovitz’s masterpiece La Haine. Check it.
Someone I’m not particularly feeling from the Mad Decent stable despite blog hyperbole is Gucci Mane. Dude sounds like he’s got a glob of snot stuck at the back of his throat in a rap style not dissimilar to YouTube phenomenon, Rehdogg. But make your own mind up about the Southern jailbird here.
From one phenomena to quite another, Drake was the undoubted success story for mainstream rap in 2009 and fellow Canadian A-Trak has given hit single ‘Money Loonies to Blow’ a typically trendy club remix via Fader. Closer to home and a little more taxing on the bandwidth comes Mos Defmaking a rare press appearance on Benji B’s Radio 1Xtra show, well worth a listen as Mos reveals some of his own musical influences including Frank Zappa, Shuggie Otis and John Coltrane.
A lot of people keep asking whether the new issue of Bonafide is available in physical shops and the answer is a resounding yes! If you peer to the right of this page you will see a list of ‘Stockists’ but if you’re finding my words to engrossing to look away the new issue is available in all Carhartt UK stores, Magma, Fopp, Noise labin Manchester, Rough Trade and ‘all good record stores’ and if it’s not ask your ever so friendly record store clerk to stock it. Or you could buy a copy from our online shop, just saying.
I haven’t visited the DFA website since they were legally obliged to re-christian themselves Death From Abroad (where art thou Death From Above??!). Thankfully, while the name and website have changed, the output and agenda remain the same. Still traversing electronica, dance, hip-hop and anything else that floats their boat they also retain a healthy sense of humour. The Winter 2009-10 podcast, this time mixed by Holy Ghost, displays all the hallmarks of the label. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore would be proud to play this LOUD through the soundsystem in his Air Cav Huey.
What started as a post inspired by a piece on Certified Banger snowballed into something that probably requires several posts. Time is precious at the moment so to hell with it. First up is the Scor-zay-zee The Starterdownload, an offering that re-affirms the confident delivery and wit and perceptive lyrics evident when he released Great Britain. Its great to hear his Nottingham burr back on the mic and the highlights of The Starter are his ability to poke fun at mainstream rap and his imaginative re-working of The Message. Hopefully the attention he’s been receiving over the past six months will provide the motivation to release the great album that lurks within him.
When investigating The Starter I didn’t expect was to click through to a site that houses lots of free Nottingham based music. Not only is Scorz featured but compadres Tempa, Lee Ramsey and C-Mone et al are all on board. Anyone who used to buy the superb Big Daddy/Grand Slam magazine will be aware of their talent. For more information it’s worth checking the Son Records label too.
BTW Certified Banger is also promoting the latest installment of his On The Radar series and also helped make Bonafide issue 03, providing an excellent interview with Farma G from Task Force. Props.
With name and cover artwork archly referencing Blue Note, Rebirth of Yuleis a lovely Christmas themed mix offering a warm and relaxing backdrop to the most chaotic time of the year. Produced by Kid Vector, who has always had complementary things to say about us, this mix is free so take advantage of the season of goodwill and pass on the recommendation to friends.
