The dopest beats, rhymes, and the best ish that we can find.
BadBadNotGood is a trio out of Toronto that’s been making waves recently (well, since 2011), collaborating with big names like Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean and now Ghostface Killah. Now, they’re releasing a whole album with Ghost, Sour Soul, which is due out tomorrow. In the meantime, you can stream the album on Soundcloud. BadBadNotGood manages to distill that unique grimy, claustrophobic – but always soulful – Wu sound, providing the sonic soundscapes for Ghost to do his thing, dropping complex rhymes that demand more than one listen.
Off Action Bronson’s upcoming album, Mr. Wonderful, “Terry” features the Queens rapper’s distinctive flow and complex wordplay, which are complemented by jazzy production by the Alchemist.
In related news, Bronson’s Vice series, “Fuck, That’s Delicious” – whose latest episode includes a clip of Bronson in the studio with Alchemist (see below) – is coming to cable TV. This isn’t totally surprising, considering Bronson is an engaging host, and just generally a hilarious and interesting dude to follow around. His show will no doubt be successful.
Here’s the video for the Memorabilia, the second single off Skyzoo and Torae’s 2014 album The Barrel Brothers. Spotted over at Wordisbond. Lovin’ the Shuttlesworth jersey!
OFWGKTA member Hodgy Beats released a new mix tape last week with producer Don Cannon. The full tape is available over at the OFWGKTA Soundcloud page, but here’s my favourite track, “HakuemeniB”:
Let me start this off by saying I have not independently verified this. Relying on Teambackpack.net (which, if you haven’t checked them out on the web or on Facebook, you are missing out) which in turn relied on MassAppeal.com, I discovered this morning that Zion I has released what they claim to be their last project as the original duo. The EP, Sun, Moon and Stars is 5 tracks. An eclectic mix for an already eclectic group, it’s worth a listen (check it out below).
According to TBP, the duo is going their separate ways, but AmpLive will continue to contribute the occasional production while Zumbi continues on under the Zion I banner. What’s unclear to me is whether Zumbi will be getting new talent in on a full time basis, or just bring in the occasional featured artist.
Spotted over at Word is Bond, here’s a shiny new video from Jared Xavier. Featuring a smooth beat with shimmering keys and, in the background, a trumpet sample that drifts across the drums, the visuals match the tune perfectly. Check it out.
Dope track. I for once read the YouTube comments on this, and found a lot of kids advocating to check out Danny’s back catalog. So go do some searching and report back
To all our production-minded readers: Converse Rubber Tracks, a community-based recording studio in Brooklyn, has put online over ten days worth of samples! Recorded at the studio with live instrumentation, the samples are entirely royalty-free, meaning you can download and use the entire library at no cost. To convey a sense of the possibility here, the studio’s recruited some big name producers to put together tracks using the samples. This is crazy.
A couple of days ago Okayplayer posted this video of DJ Premier rehearsing with his new live band, which is apparently touring now in Japan. Not sure if they have a name yet but they’re sounding good. Super excited for this, and will definitely check them out if they ever come north to Canada.
Continuing our string of reddit-based posts, here’s a YouTube playlist of songs sampled by MF DOOM. For anyone interested in the art of sampling, or just a fan of good music, this is a great listen. Some sources are instantly recognizable, others take a closer listen, but in either case it’s an impressive playlist.
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