Wiley vs. U.K. ’90s Dance Music
This might sound funny, but for the past couple of months, I’ve been trying to post a banging Wiley track but have been unable to do so for reasons of quality control. Frankly, most of the stuff that’s popped up on the internets from Wiley of late has bordered on wactose. And we here at LxNxM are wactose intolerant. Hence, despite my strong love for Wiley’s earlier grime work, he’s been absent from this site for awhile. But his newest track harkens back to the ’90s as he spits over a refixed version of White Town’s “Your Woman.”
I’m glad that Wiley recruited singer Emelie Sandi to record this song and video. Today, I learned that White Town is actually the studio name of an Indian man from the U.K. named Jyoti Prakash Mishra. Consider your Trivial Pursuit studying thoroughly completed.
Busy Signal vs the Commodores and Phil Collins
Guess who wins. This is definitely the most unexpected reggae video of the year thus far. VP Records all-star Busy Signal gets his security guard sing-jay on and manages to come out on top while playing the humble. Hip-hop artists could learn a thing or two from this. Conversely, ladies could learn a thing or two from the video vixens that he selects.
Erykah Badu – Window Seat
Jump Up in the Air and Stay There, the previously leaked Erykah Badu track I heard floating around the nets a lil while back, was, disappointingly, not my jam. Window Seat, however, is some classic, laid back, feel good Erykah. It’s produced by the Soulquarians, with ?uestlove on drums and James Poyser on keys.
How can you go wrong with ?uest and Erykah? You can’t. Download Window Seat here, courtesy of 2dopeboyz.
lightworks
here’s some dilla-related noise for wordlush (and this is way more serendipitous than you might think). the video above is a cover of a song that i (and you, most likely) primarily know as a sample in a j dilla track, by cibelle/cibelle’s alter-ego sonja khalecallon. i sorta wish it was the same length as the dilla cut, but the video is definitely not boring. thx to gvb for the heads-up.
y’all should also check out this jaylib vs j rocc mix: ”J Rocc – who would later become the third member of Jaylib, on the turntables for each of the shows the guys did together – put together this mixtape of Dilla, Madlib and Jaylib songs, as well as some of their sources, essentially telling the story of this group.”
on a semi-related note, i’m looking forward to this.
Detroit Heat Part 7: Never Forget James Yancey!
Today is February 5th and it’s not technically J Dilla week yet, but it’s a little too quiet for me this year. I haven’t heard very much about the onset of Dilla week, which typically commences on February 7th (Dilla’s birthday) and includes tribute parties and events around the globe. I hope all of that is still happening and I’m just missing the hype, but either way, I haven’t heard much noise about it and it makes me wonder if folks are starting to care a little bit less about the life of the late great James Dewitt Yancey. I could write chapters on how vital Dilla was to hip-hop of the past and hip-hop today, but instead of doing that, I’m just going to post one of my favorite Dilla beats of all time and let it ride. One the count of three, #turnitup!
Raekwon ♥s Sade
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the mighty Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon “The Chef” performing Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” in dedication to Sade:
That was good, right?
If you’re as big a fan of Sade as Raekwon, peep the mixtape and album sampler links after the jump.
Detroit Heat Part 6: Marv Won — Wayne Fontes
It’s been awhile since I hit folks with some genuine Detroit Heat — probably because it’s “so cold in the D” at the moment — but it’s definitely time to change that.
For awhile, a lot of people in Detroit have been looking at Marv Won to truly break out and go global. He spent years grinding with the Fat Killaz and isn’t just “cosigned” but rather is legitimately cliqued up with Black Milk, Royce Da 5′9, Guilty Simpson, Invincible, Dwele, and the rest of the D’s upper echelon of MCs. Oh what, you didn’t know Dwele could rap? Anyway, Marv’s rap flow has definitely changed and progressed over the year and some of his best work is strewn across his latest project, Wayne Fontes.
The album is a slight play on words as Wayne Fontes used to be the coach of the Lions back in the Barry Sanders glory days. Right now, the Lions aren’t shit, but Marv on the other hand, is a rapper that folks need to not sleep on. My favorite cut on this album right now is “Stomp,” a track that just oozes that Detroit 313 struggle. Marv sounds at home on that cut but if Proof (RIP) or Guilty were to get on that song, they’d sound the same way. “Lay it on the Line” and “Mad at Me” (which actually features Dwele rapping) are both album faves as well.
You can stream the entire project for free right here. Cop it for $10 if you feel so inclined.
New Luchnow Brides
A couple years ago, a somewhat cryptic group of musical type called The Luchnow Brides popped up onto the radar. A couple songs floated, including a remix with Seattle/Vancouver rap rapper Khingz. It was interesting. What should appear today, but a clutch of new songs by the same motley crew.
Now, first off, full disclosure – the Brides are friends of ours, close in fact, but they’ve kept their identities hidden and so we respect that. That said, we’re still going to write about these new songs!
It’s two complete sets, of songs, the first, This is the way we do, has some of the older material that was floating around back in the day. There are a couple remixes thrown in, the one with Khingz as well as a hoard touch up job by someone named D’Schoonmaneuver. Numero dos is newer and leans a little more to the synth.
On the whole, it’s electric gray stuff for a gray day. Enjoy!
The Luchnow Brides – This is the way we do
The Luchnow Brides – The Brass Anniversary EP
More graphical type things below the jump.
Reggae Reconciliation
Here’s a little story that warms my heart, not just as a reggae fan, but more importantly, as a lover of straight up dancehall culture. Some folks might know about it already, but the years-long feud between dancehall stars Mavado and Vybz Kartel is officially done. The two have gone at each others throats with words and actions for too long and it reached a point where dancehall lovers in Jamaica were becoming divided themselves. Of course, Mavado and his Alliance Crew, (BountyKiller, Serani, etc) have tons of support but true Kartel fans are legion! As a writer who has had to cover more dancehall fueds than I care to explain, the situation has reached ugly points in the past and honestly needed to end. For casual reggae observers, this not make any sense, but seeing Mavado and Vybz Kartel on stage genuinely laughing and embracing each other is something that I can’t help but want to spread to the masses.
I’ve known about this for awhile but forgot to post on it. Today that changes. So much war and fuckery a gwaan inna di world but today, LxNxM wants to show you some peace.
Kilo Ali – Organized Bass
If there is a linear, uniting factor in what makes a song fit into the Last Night’s Mixtape pantheon, it might potentially be summarized in a single word: bass. Whether it’s fast or slow, dubbed down or grimed out, it’s almost always there. Let us celebrate bass.
And let us celebrate the man who kicks off his hit song with by laying down a bass ultimatum: “Said I don’t know anything about bass music? Man I am am bass music. And bass music is me!” The man is Kilo Ali, mid/late nineties ATL rep, and purveyor of bouncy high hats from before the South was dirty. The song that earned the above introduction is the title track off his 1997 album Organized Bass. If you recognize the raspy sing-rapper on that track, that would be gnarly gentleman Cee-Lo Green the soul machine. An excellent showing by one of the South’s finest mid-nineties representatives.
Needless to say, the album cracks. It’s Official (sic) like Massachusetes (sic). Tang and I will be DJing at Grey Gallery next weekend, and Kilo Ali is going to get some playing time. Too good not to, dammit.
Toast
krieg
tang
wordlush
praxis83
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