Pants plays Mayer
Stones throw just dropped a new digital 7″ of Mayer Hawthorne covering the James Pants track “Thin Moon” and James Pants covering Mayer Hawthorne’s “Green Eyed Love”. It’s titled Pants plays Mayer, and you can cop it here. The actual 7-inch will debut at Stones Throw’s all-45s event at SXSW. Stones Throw and Wax Poetics teamed up to press this limited edition record, which they will be giving away at the event.
Mayer Hawthorne – Thin Moon (right click, save as)
Hudson Mohawke – Freek
HudMo recently remixed the Jodeci classic Freek’n You and put it out on the internet for all to enjoy. The release of this free track marks the launch of his Pegasus Rising UK Tour. While I will not be in the UK to enjoy any of those shows, and he will not be stopping through Seattle on his mini US tour this month, I still appreciate the new song.
Also, peep the Valentines Slow Jams mix vol.3 HudMo dropped a couple weeks back. It’s strictly 90s RnB jams and definitely worth a post-Valentines day listen or few. And, since it’s along the same vein, if you’re not already familiar with Mr. Mohawke’s remix of Tweet’s Oops! you should get that here.
Finally, just in case you forgot how awesome the video for the original Freek’n You was:
Every freek’n night and every freek’n day
I wanna freek you baby in every freek’n way
Every freek’n day, every freek’n night
I wanna freek you girl
Your body’s so freek’n tight
Who is Clutchy Hopkins?
- Am I Clutchy Hopkins?
I have no idea, but this mystery has been plaguing the internet and fans of good music since 2006.
Over the last four years Clutchy Hopkins has put out five albums (two with Shawn Lee and one with Lord Kenjamin) and an EP with MF Doom acapellas over his instrumentals. He also has an upcoming album on Ubiquity records, the Story Teller, set to drop April 16th. Call me late to the party, but I just got hip to this whole “Who is Clutchy Hopkins?” thing and I must admit that I’m very intrigued. Is he some crazy looking old dude like the guy pictured on the left, or like the guy they describe in the video below? Is Clutchy Hopkins just one person? Is “he” really a bunch of people? Is he actually a well known DJ or producer like DJ Shadow, Madlib, MF Doom or Shawn Lee? I don’t know!
What I do know is that all of Clutchy’s music that I’ve heard so far is instaclassic material. It’s mellowed out, soulful, instrumental magic. I haven’t heard one song of Clutchy’s that I was not feeling yet. Seriously. Who is making this music?!?!
So you’re probably wondering what all this fuss is about. Check the videos and links below and let me know what you think. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. And if you have any clues, holler at your boy.
Dego (2000Black, 4Hero) – BTS Radio Selector Set
I know your neck must still be hurting from that WD4D mixclusive Toast dropped on you yesterday, but I just found this BTS Radio mix and had to share. This time it’s a selector set by London’s own Dego, who, according to BTS, is pretty much the fucking man:
A founding member of 4Hero, Dego is a true original and living legend. A chameleon with it comes to production, Dego has taken hand in influencing and spearheading new styles and movements ranging from Jungle, Drum & Bass, Broken Beat, Hip-Hop and Soul. With aliases and projects like Tek 9, Jacob’s Optical Stairway, DKD and Silhouette Brown among countless others, he’s solidified his place as a master of music.
I’m warning you now, don’t hurt yourself! Nod your head at your own risk.
Dego BTS Radio Selector Set (right click, save as). Sorry, kids. No tracklist for this one.
For more on Dego visit:
www.2000black.com
www.twitter.com/2000black
www.myspace.com/2000black
Raekwon – Pioneers
Not sure where this came from or if it’s gonna be featured on an upcoming project, but it’s some hot new Raekwon spit over a deadly, eerily familiar whistle loop. I guess you don’t really need to know much else. Nice production from Vin tha Chin. Stream and download it here.
Wale – My Sweetie (video)
Olubowale Folarin, aka Wale, reps his Nigerian roots hard on this track.
I’m glad they made a video for this song. I’m not that big of a Wale fan, but this song is the joint. It’s produced by the Apple Juice Kid, who took a classic African disco rhythm and flipped up something real nasty with it. The original, “My Sweety, My Sugar (Let Me Love You),” was recorded by a Sierra Leonean artist named Bunny Mack in 1979. Bunny put out a few albums, but never hit as big as he did with this track. Apparently, this was a big, big tune when Africa caught disco fever. 20 years later, Bunny’s song is as catchy as ever in its latest, hip hop incarnation. Stream and download the original, sampled song here.
Just in case you’re the type of person that still buys actual CDs , you should know that this song is only available on the iTunes version of Attention Deficit (or you can download the rough version Wale leaked himself last August from 2dopeboyz).
Hip Hop RIP?
I know what you’re thinking. “Really, Tang? Hip hop is dead? I’ve heard that before.” So, I want to clarify at the start by saying that this is not how I feel. However, someone who I regard as being one of the great hip hop/pop cultural commentators of our time, Jay Smooth, has declared the death of hip hop. And when Jay Smooth says hip hop is dead I don’t take it as lightly as when I hear that noise coming out of other people’s mouths or, as in this case, blogs. Now, you might be asking yourself “what caused Mr. Smooth to make such a bold claim?” It was this:
“Hip-Hop was irreparably destroyed by the 25th Anniversary remake of ‘We Are The World‘” (more…)
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.
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.
Oddisee – Traveling Man
Seeing as how I just got back from a little travel of my own, I figure why not post a lil something about this bangin new instrumental album from Amir “Oddisee” Mohamed, the producer/brains behind Diamond District, titled Traveling Man. The album follows a simple concept: each beat is inspired by a different city that Oddisee has traveled to or lived in. Since he’s based out of Washington D.C. the album starts with a track called “Goodbye DC,” is followed by 24 tracks that bear the names of different worldwide cities, and ends with a beat simply labeled “DC.” As you follow Oddisee on his musical journey around the world, you will not be disappointed. Every track is dope and has its own unique flavor, which is spiced by the soul of each city that inspired it.
One of my favorite tracks on the album, “Khartoum,” stands out not just because it’s an ill beat, but because Khartoum is a special place for Oddisee. His father is Sudanese and he spent many a summers in Khartoum, where he found musical inspiration in the guitarists, poets and singers in his family. Nowadays, Oddisee is a renowned musical artist in his own right, and he carries on the legacy of his family and people back in Sudan through his work in the world of hip hop. That’s pretty cool if you ask me.
Stream five of the tracks below and follow the links in the player to purchase Traveling Man.
Toast
krieg
tang
wordlush
praxis83
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