Jan
24

Sach O: HGLDT – Climbing and Other Pursuits

Sach O went out partying this weekend despite his illness. Send him music to help his recovery. “Climbing and Other Pursuits” may sound like the title to a 1940′s guide to Alpine activities but there’s no doubting the song’s soul credentials. Anchored by a Footwork-style, chopped up R&B sample (by you know who) and a… Continue reading »

Jan
24

I Can’t Go To Sleep: Starlito & Burn One- “Renaissance Gangster”

Aaron Matthews gets seven snuffleupagus. All-Star started his rap career with a largely fruitless run at Cash Money, with a genuine hit that was never capitalized on. The Nashville rapper, rechristened Starlito has kept his buzz going with a ridiculously prolific run of mixtapes, culminating in this record: a concise collaborative album with DJ Burn… Continue reading »

Jan
21

Frank & Beats: J Rocc Rocks Benji B

If any weed dispensary owners are reading this, both Frank&Beats and Passion of the Weiss are accepting sponsorships. Since Benji B replaced longtime favorite Mary Anne Hobbs with his new program last year, he’s already given us some memorable mixes from Jamie xx and Darkstar. Turning his focus to Los Angeles artists J.Rocc and Flying… Continue reading »

Jan
21

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: Ariel Pink is Ready for His Close-Up

Douglas Martin still prefers Conan. This is the part where the belle of the ball gets the solo dance. After a trophy case full of year-end accolades for both Before Today and its unfuckwithable lead single (and my favorite single of 2010) “Round and Round,” it seems that the next logical step was to bring… Continue reading »

Jan
20

Evan Voytas – “Tomorrow Night We’ll Go Anywhere”

TOMORROW NIGHT WE’LL GO ANYWHERE from Jamie Harley on Vimeo. I’ve been meaning to mention Evan Voytas for a minute now. He’s something of the L.A. beat/rap scene Hall & Oates, the token white synth-pop dude embraced by guys who normally don’t dig music made by men who look like this. But he rolls with… Continue reading »

Jan
20

Time Out of Mind: El-P, Nocando, and The Cult of Weird

There’s been a rash of recent articles heralding the rise of “weird rappers.” From my perspective, it’s a bizarre generalization  considering that other than maybe the last half-decade, hip-hop has always been weird.  The only reason why it stopped being strange was that corporate pressure forced rappers to conform to bland thug-trap stereotypes, resulting in… Continue reading »

Jan
20

Jaylib – “Louder (Blast Your Radio Theme)”

Aesthetic by-laws require this song seeing the light of day (or its low-budget blog equivalent). The reasons are obvious. A superior flip of The Meters “Handclapping Song” (take that will.i.am.), shouts courtesy of M.O.P., and long-buried audio footage of Dilla and Madlib talking shit for three minutes. The track comes from the sessions from their… Continue reading »

Jan
20

Question in the form of an Answer: Mary J Blige

Mary J. Blige is one of the few constants in R&B’s recent history. While many of her contemporaries fell off after the modern iterations early 90s heyday, Blige continued to write and record at an impressive rate, merging with a new generation of artists and becoming the go-to girl for rap producers in search of… Continue reading »

Jan
19

Sach O: Starkey & P-Money on Elijah & Skilliam

Elijah & Skilliam – Feat Starkey & P Money – Rinse Fm 13/1/11 by Elijah & Skilliam on Mixcloud One of these days, I’ll actually get through my planned “Bluffer’s Guide to Rinse FM”. Such ambitious plans will have to wait however as I’m currently feverish and delirious (I actually think I enjoyed Lil B’s… Continue reading »

Jan
19

Times New Viking- “No Room To Live”

Times New Viking – No Room to Live from Merge Records on Vimeo. First time I saw Times New Viking was at SXSW. Siltbreeze showcase well past 1:00 a.m., huddled in a lightless second-floor cavern – behind me, a guy hawking tapes and LP’s of records I’d never heard of — obscure Rust Belt bands… Continue reading »

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