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Another Handful of Hip Hop

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Coming at you again with another bunch of tracks that I’ve stumbled upon that remind me of where I came from. Lots of great lyricists on the streets these days. This time around, I’ve got 3 tracks from artists mentioned here before, and 3 new ones.


Schoolboy Q drops a fantastic set of rhymes over some electro soul beats in the first tune. An impressive start, but wait, there’s more.

Tinashe is doing quite well and decided to drop this gorgeous remix of a Chance The Rapper track into a mixtape she dropped in 2012. Chance shows up @ 2:12 and it’s featured correctly, while the remix ebbs & flows in the background. Glad to post about a lady remixing a rapper any time I can find quality, because fuck the patriarchy.

Speaking of fucking & the patriarchy, Ludacris has a new single, featuring Wiz Khalifa & beats by Cashmere Cat. This is a huge opportunity for Cashmere Cat, but make no mistake, this track is NSFW like woah. Definitely music for closed doors. Or a really sexy party, whatever your tastes.


This is an interesting one, straddling indie, Slim Shady/Chance The Rapper style silly flow and some interesting bass. It’s definitely a track that you need to take a second look at because this kid’s gonna go somewhere if he plays his cards right.

Give it up for my boy King Terry for this track. I played trumpet for years, and those smooth, jazzy transitions are seriously really nice. Can’t wait for the next King Terry track, it’s been too long I think. Gotta keep getting that grind on.


DVS is a local favorite that’s going to get maximum rep on this site until I don’t have fingers. The new track he’s featured on is about two steps from being better than the last 5 “EDM bangers” I’ve heard. The growling bass and intensely quick lyrical work is not to be trifled with. These guys have chops and they can hold their own wherever the battle takes them. Word is that there’s new hotness coming from DVS, so I’ll keep you posted on that.

(Image via The Hop Hop Renaissance)

Earworm Of The Month: Dark Star by Jaymes Young

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I’ve been listening to this song incessantly & obsessively. Been listening to it since last year, for the specific reason that it’s one of the finest blends of soulful, potent indie vocals and future bass that really needs to get some production eyes on it. I’m not really sure how else to describe my love of the song but that if it was something I had in high school, I’d listen to it on my cd player daily. The music video is new, and the soundcloud link is below if you want to add it to playlists. There’s some powerful artistry at work here and I can’t wait for Mr. Young to get into a wider audience because this tune has movie soundtrack/epic pop hit written all over it.

Party Of The Month: Split Infinity by Soulcraft @ The Paper Box, 1/31!

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Tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/event/459429

The Paper Box has emerged as one of the go-to venues in Colonial Williamsburg these days (Yes, I’m referring to “East Williamsburg” or Bushwick as Colonial Williamsburg). When it comes to quality that hasn’t been discovered by the fist pumpers or bridge & tunnel crowd just quite yet, this place rages hard, even in the face of adversity. This means you better get your rear out to this party because in another couple of months, the magic of the secret will be out and it’ll be a whole different ballgame inside. SoulCraft hasn’ t been on my radar, but clearly this is because I’m getting blind & dead in my old age, as this is a cut and dry, to the point event. This collaboration between Ben Jammin’ & VJ Krunch is a force to be reckoned with. This partnership means the event will be a feast for the eyes and the ears. And speaking of the ears, it seems Been Jammin’ made some calls and brought out some surprisingly quality talent. The steampunk theme should be a “giant top hat with gears on it”-levels of fun, so grab that leather and those spectacles, it’s time to shake one’s steam-powered booty.

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The Track That Might’ve Changed Things For Good In 2013.

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This track was shared/favorited/retweeted the world over, with 350k plays in 1 week. For Skrillex or a Triple A artist, this is no sweat, but Daleri was a total unknown. They created a minute mashup of everything that was wrong with dance music last year, as illustrated by the Beatport Top 100. Listen to it if you don’t believe me. I tweeted about it whenever it came out, but one of the things I have to agree with Mixmag about now, the charts the tunes within the mashup came from on Beatport, are different now. The staccato beat/drop + wow so epic build pattern was repeated over and over, isn’t gone completely, but the diversity is growing, and the “let’s all do the same thing” has weakened a bit for the moment. Do you think we need more audio-based commentary like what Daleri did?

Double Mix of the Week: Hospital Records Podcast 216 ft. Keeno & Maduk’s

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For your holiday week, whether it’s Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day (or something I missed that I’ll probably get angry emails for not mentioning), celebrate with a two pack of liquid drum & bass mixes straight from the internets to your sound holes. There’s no real in-app playlist, but it’s also a massive free download, so grab the mix here. The mix features several new tracks from Keeno & the first new tune by London Elektricity in THREE YEARS. Recognize & get down.

Maduk has been on my radar for most of 2013, and the competence they brought to mixing this shows why. There’s a serious amount of liquid d&b independent of hospital records as well. It’s a solid review of the tunes of the year, with a few of the highlights coming from Hybrid Minds, Feint, Metrik, Stan SB & Rameses B. If you don’t know who any of those artists are, and you’re into drum & bass, you’ve got some homework to do. Can’t wait to see what 2014 brings for the boom-tch.

Merry Christmas! A Mix & A Track To Fight The Carols With!

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Just in case you needed something that vaguely qualifies as Christmas music, Johnny Lectro has got you covered. This amusing electro-swing/polka track will keep the whole family moving while you warm up them Christmas vittles (or wait for Chinese delivery, you know, same thing). If that doesn’t serve up enough merryment, TheFatRat has pushed out another hour of supremely groovy, fast-paced & excellently produced mix goodness. TheFatRat is one of my favorite things about the LA area right now, and I can’t wait to see them live.

Enjoy both, have a wonderful Wednesday, may your Christmas be merry, your Kwanzaa wonderful, your Boxing Day bountiful & your New Year’s Sunny & Bright. And of course, if you celebrated Festivus on Monday, I hope there were many airings of grievances and you succeeded in all of your feats of strength.

EP of the Week: Chapter One: The Ruins by The Adversary

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I was lucky enough to catch The Adversary performing at the NYC Unofficial Burning Man Decompression event (previewed here), and boy did he kill it. There’s a lot to like about his live set, but interestingly enough, he’s one of the few indietronica artists here in Gotham that can actually drop both live and studio session work competently. I managed to get my hands on his EP, and if you can, you definitely should check it out. And you can right from here, because I’m wonderful. The intro pushes into some angelic vocal work that bewilders & intrigues.

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EP Of The Week: Burial’s New Hotness “Rival Dealer”

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From the depths of the UK underground, Burial has risen once again to issue forth future garage gorgeousness. Burial is the only person on the planet that can drop a 3 track EP that lasts 29 minutes and no one will bat an eye. The work is dotted with positive, anti-bullying messages. The odd sample, foreshadowing, leading up to a tremendous quote by a very famous person (I’ll get to a little later) reminding us to believe in ourselves and not give into the haters. He actually sent a text to Mary Anne Hobbs, one of the Radio One aristocracy, discussing his inspiration (via NME)

“I put my heart into the new EP, I hope someone likes it. I wanted the tunes to be anti-bullying tunes that could maybe help someone to believe in themselves, to not be afraid, and to not give up, and to know that someone out there cares and is looking out for them. So it’s like an angel’s spell to protect them against the unkind people, the dark times, and the self-doubts.”

The stupendous production value is on display with the first track (same name as the album). Rival Dealer is a deep, driving but enclosed track, dotted with messages about support, love and bisexuality, tunnels through this space that only he can create. I’ll continue to contend that Burial can best be described as “music you listen to while wearing your favorite hoodie in the rain.”

“Hiders” starts with a vocal sample of “There’s a kid somewhere” evoking a very raw feel of the idea that there are children who fear for their safety and flee the light. The sounds are murky, but hopeful. There samples continue, keeping you guessing, and almost hoping things turn out ok.

“Excuse me, I’m lost” begins “Come Down to Us, the 13 min opus of the EP. It’s almost a ballad, with the shimmering vocals leaking out between the cloudy bass. Burial is also one of the only artists on the planet right now that can put more than one or two ideas into a track and not lose anything from them. The melodies and energy build gradually over time, even when the track seems to be turning into something completely different. Without knowing it, you’ve gone from dark to light and eight minutes in (that’s right kids, eight, and we’re nowhere near done) we’re in this triumphant, hopeful and sunny place, reminding you, that you’re not alone. This is capped off by a speech, one of the first obviously/overtly political samples in the entirety of his discography. Lana Wachowski discusses her experience of being transgendered and how she was able to remind herself of her inherent worth and value, even under the onslaught of bullshit from people.

The fact that this kind of message is coming from Burial makes me even more reverent of his work. He could literally say anything, but he chose a strong anti-bullying & trans-positive message, not the easiest position to take on these here internets. Kudos to you Burial. Can’t wait for my copy in the mail.

A Quartet of Quality Hip Hop.

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As of late, I’ve come across a series of lyrically competent hep cats that I wanted to make sure to remark on. Lots of people complain that hip hop, R&B and other sub-genres of the like peaked and are of poor quality today. They really couldn’t be more wrong. Just in case you didn’t know who these people were, check em out, and definitely give rhymes another shot if you didn’t like rap back when it consisted of Puffy and such.

Chance the Rapper dropped a very interesting mixtape a while back so I’ve tried to keep track of him. His drive with James Blake is eerily good. And check this vimeo link for the new vid he just up’d with Childish Gambino http://vimeo.com/81209854

Sway Clarke II showed up out of nowhere on my Soundcloud, and I’m going to be paying a lot of attention from now on. It’s a heavy but serene track with a flow that’s quite nice. It’s definitely an exercise in minimalism, both in lyric & beats, which speaks well of the Berlin-based artist.

DVS has been rhyming competently for longer than I’ve known what the words “Drum and Bass” meant. Brilliant, sardonic, and quite possibly dangerous, he’s the kind of ace in the hole you’d always want on your team, because if there was a rap battle, he’d win. By more than a bunch. The Darkwing send up is hilarious and I’ve been waiting for some new stuff from this guy for a minute.

King Terry III rounds out this group of quality lyricists. His flow is tight and the samples, background vibes and other elements are exquisitely chosen. New Linen is one of the few morsels he’s dropped for us on Soundcloud, and I for one cannot wait to hear what he has in store for us.

Good things coming from all of these cats in 2014 I wager. So pay attention and follow your ears.

Party of the Month: Cosmic Mirrors by Gratitude NYC

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Tickets Here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/fb/511435

This event last year was actually my inspiration for my “Party of the Month” series & this year’s version looks incredible. At a secret 60,000 sq ft. location in Brooklyn with different theme camps, areas domes, lounges and ostensibly, activities! There’s something for everyone at this event, with the Impresario Drew Meeks being joined by Daniel Zen, Tim The Enchanter, The Wizzard Disorient himself & an old friend KaytiBunny and a literal cavalcade of stars. I’m actually kind of concerned the post is going to be too long and you’ll stop reading because of all of the music I’m about to shove into your face. And just to top it all off, this is all being done to support the artists, Figment (discussed here), Dance Parade, Burners Without Borders and other charitable organizations. Yup, it’s non-profit and awesome.

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An-ten-nae is Acid funk/crunk/spunk at its finest, and OneGoodReason has pulled some strings & called in some favors to get some excellent West Coast talent out here. Kraddy is another highlight, Android Porn (one of his best tracks) being one of my very favorite tracks of all time. The Human Experience is showing up with a delicious funky, dubby, soulful batch of goodness, being backed up by Love and Light, emerging to remind us we’re wonderful with heady beats. I’m not going to mention every DJ spinning, but there are some real stand outs for me on this line-up.




Connie has a devoted techno & tech-house following in Brooklyn & once you put one of her mixes on, you’ll understand why. Smooth perfection awaits you. Orion Keyser does wonderful house-related work & I can happily brag that I’ve paid the man for his time and skill. I’ve not had the honor of doing so for the deep, funky & stunningly smooth stylings of REsy (discussed previously here, here & here), but give me a minute. Tektite & Tim The Enchanter are doing something that looks like a vs. set, which, has officially has a billion percent chance of being awesome.




In the Silent Disco (Fuck Yea Silent Disco!), the hits just keep on coming, with dueling beat warriors pushing out some of the best underground music in NYC. Alex Funk has been talked about quite a bit around here, as has Barney Iller. These two could just spin for 6 hours and people wouldn’t mind in the slightest. But they’re being joined by some other stalwart Burner warriors like DK, Friar Tuck, Kannizle & 2Melo. I could yammer on about how awesome they are, but, the music does the talking way better than I do. There’s even live acts, with the rock band I recently interviewed (Suntalk) performing. I told you it was going to be ridiculous.







The VJ work is going to be second to none. VJ Krunch is joined by a platoon of VJs & art by DomeStar, Thunder Gumbo & Livio Mancini. It’s going to be as wonderful for your eyes as your ears. KaytiBunni Roberts is bringing like 30 flow performers to amaze while Kae Burke & Anya S will be repping Lady Circus in glorious fashion. Rewi Bracy & Jeff Robinson of Hoop Hooligans are actually traveling all the way from New Zealand (yes, really) for the first time to perform for all you lovely people. Locally, Seanna Sharpe has been amazing audiences overhead for years, traveling the world & finally settling down in NYC to blow minds and win hearts.

This is an event with all of the trappings, so dust off your favorite disco tuxedo and angel wings. Just in case you need some help, DanceSafe will be there along with Gratitude’s own Love Patrol to ensure that people remain hydrated and can deal with the massive sensory experience that this is going to be. If that’s something you’re into (I’m a HUGE fan of these kinds of services at dance events), drop them a line, they’d love your help.

There are very few tickets left, so grab them if you want to enjoy something special this holiday. I know it’s a touch pricier than the events you usually see me recommend, but this is one of the few cases it’ll be worth it I wager. If you can swing it, swing for the fences & enjoy yourself in grand fashion. Check out this photo gallery from 2011 if you don’t believe me: http://gratitudenyc.org/2013/gallery/gratitude-2011

This is Terry Gotham, see you on the dance floor.