Jun
08

You Are Now Rokking with the Best: The New DJ Shadow EP

The masses abandoned Shadow on The Outsider, when he attempted to recast himself squarely within the Bay Area hip-hop lineage — right where he’s always belonged. Since he was a teenager submitting mixes to K-MEL, Shadow has been the definition of hip-hop: he takes influences from everything from forgotten records to found sounds to classic… Continue reading »

Jun
08

Sach O: Elementz vs. Starkey Ft. Curly Castro – Gamma Rays (Bricks V.I.P mix)

Sach O thinks that song title/credit list is a mouthful. Now here’s a curve ball. Essentially crafting a full-on Funky House jam out of Philly gunners Starkey and Curly Castro’s Marvel backpack epic “Gamma Rays,” production duo The Elementz haven’t so much made a V.I.P edit as an entirely new track. Ironically, while Starkey’s self-proclaimed… Continue reading »

Jun
08

Video: Hail Mary Mallon – “Meter Feeder”

Somehow I imagined the video for this would involve Rob Sonic and Aesop Rock decapitating parking meters like Cool Hand Luke, but instead they opt for the black and white and green screen. That’s obviously cost-efficient and follows protocol, but it would have been nice to have seen one parking meter explode with quarters. Regardless,… Continue reading »

Jun
08

Question in the Form of an Answer: Dirty Beaches

Photo via Scott McDonald Darkened highways. Pocket combs. Battered Gibsons. The vein of Americana imagery drawn upon by Dirty Beaches runs deep. The Taiwan-born, Vancouver-reared Alex Zhang Hungtai is the man behind Badlands, a fleeting, evocative record that tours through the back roads of David Lynch films, Duane Eddy. I chatted with Hungtai via email… Continue reading »

Jun
07

The Hybrid, Smoking on Papaya

Danny Brown needs to score an endorsement deal from Shire Pharmaceuticals. Best advertisement for Adderall since all-nighters during finals week. It’s probably the Shade 45 and Detroit connection, but his freestyle on Toca Tuesday reminds me of those old Eminem Wake Up show freestyles. That good. The Adderall Admiral also just dropped “Blunt After Blunt”… Continue reading »

Jun
07

Flash Bang, Fire and Knives: Nocando, Busdriver, Beats, and Bitches

Nocando once told me that Project Blowed was like rap graduate school. Makes sense. Rapid-fire freestyles at weekly battles are the equivalent of a thesis defense, complete with less argyle and more soy. After all, the Blowed’s origins date back to the Good Life, the only spot in South Central where you could cop couscous.… Continue reading »

Jun
07

Video: Erykah Badu – “Out My Mind Just in Time”

OUT MY MIND JUST IN TIME from Creative Control on Vimeo. Evan Nabavian voided his conscious aura by stealing Talib Kweli’s Metro Card. Erykah Badu voided her conscious aura by working with Rick Ross, whose tattooed bosoms are burned on the insides of my eyelids thanks to the new Vibe. You can’t be a bohemian… Continue reading »

Jun
07

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: Woods Stands in the Sun, Lays in the Shade

Douglas Martin is still waiting for Women and Wolf Parade to return, but Woods’ are helping palliate his sorrows. Nobody would have faulted Woods for taking a break. The Brooklyn band– whose Jeremy Earl runs frighteningly consistent indie label Woodsist, whose Jarvis Taveniere runs Rear House Studios, whose Kevin Norby plays in a number of… Continue reading »

Jun
06

Live: Shabazz Palaces on KEXP (5/20/11

Photo via Kristen Blush Between Shabazz Palaces, Hail Mary Mallon, Has-Lo, and the new Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti albums, it has been a stellar year for dense cerebral hip-hop. I am investing my 401K in both blunt and head wraps. That is, if I had a 401K. Shabazz Palaces make music like they haven’t… Continue reading »

Jun
06

The Most Interesting Men in the World

In the words of Lucille Bluth: that hair. Those wondering where the Weekly wrangled the fish net phalanx for the cover, look no further. I did not mention that Suga Free is in the final stages of signing a deal with Quk’s Mad Science. The Quik-produced full length is expected in the fall, which probably… Continue reading »

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