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Yeah. So first, I have several shoutouts – Mamiko for sending me my board, everyone I know out here in the city for probably unknowingly influencing me to buy one, Elliot for – well, I’m not sure, but somehow I think he influenced this one too.

And real talk, I’m not trying to act like someone who’s been down since day one on this. I only got my jawn like a month and a half ago, and my best trick is a little number I like to call “not falling”. But to be fair, growing up where and when I did, general common sense said that black people do not ride skateboards (I think my father might have actually told me this once). Somehow I did manage to own a pair of rollerblades, but that’s beside the point.

But yeah, this is a tape specifically engineered for hitting the pavement during these last few weeks of summer. Put this in the iphone/ipod/whatever devices you foreigners are using nowadays and hit the streets.

MIXTAPE 124 – THE SKATE TAPE by mixtapeshow

instromental: Madlib – Blunt Break.
Jay Electronica – Retro Electro. With DJ Clue screaming all over it, which maybe makes it better, I’m not sure. I was having a hard time thinking of what to start this off with, when I found this in the archives. I’m sort of looking forward to skating to this. m/jayelect

Che Grand – King ✖ Grand. My official theory behind the name of this track is that Che found out how to make this ✖ mark and decided to use it in a song. m/chegrand

Unagi – Song of Satisfaction feat Eddie Meeks. Shouts to Unagi for hitting me with this record in I think March. Actually, I’m certain it’s March, as I was listening to it back at home in CA and my moms heard me playing it and asked me who it was because she liked it – then she heard this particular track and said that “that man just ruined a very nice song”. I think the chorus is sort of great, personally. I cut this off halfway, but if you want the rest, go check it out. m/unagi

K-Salaam & Beatnick – Don’t Die feat Bun B, Talib Kweli, and Colin Munroe. I still don’t really understand the chorus here. “Don’t die” sounds like something you tell somebody before they try something stupid, like being Mexican and walking into a 7-11 with your hands in your pockets – but this song doesn’t even have any Spanish in it, so I’m sort of confused. That said, it’s a pretty good track. m/ksalaammusic

The Roots – !!!!!!!. Yeah. m/theroots

Tanya Morgan – Hardcore Gentlemen. The high pitched rapping in here is going to evoke a really obvious connection some other groups/tracks, but I think that’s the point. This song is great. “I took her to the movies and got her hella Skittles”? Brilliant. m/tanyamorgan

Wait, is that where I’ve been going wrong? Skittles. Had no idea it was that simple.

Born Wit It – Elevators Freestyle. The rest of the Substance Abuse tape ain’t too bad, either. w/bornwitit

J. Cole – Til Infinity. Somehow the last cut made me think of this one. Shouts to Ultra Ouxu for recommending this tape.

Hudson Mohawke – Rising 5. I mean, I’d heard of Hudson Mo before, but nothing like this. This is so good I felt bad talking over it. w/hudsonmo

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Living North. I mean, you can’t have a skate tape without at least some guitars in it, right? w/cymbalseatguitars

PS: My board is actually a longboard, and it’s hella cool. I should post a picture of it or something.

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Man, I don’t even know how to start this one off. So once, a very long time ago, on this very here rappidy rap podcast, I put out a nintendo mixtape. I didn’t actually think anyone would like it, I just sort of wanted to do it – but the response was actually sort of good. You could call this a sequel if you want, but in reality, this is actually a prequel…

The year is 1998, and our hero is a 14-year old dex digital. I would write out the story here, but I’ll just let Ghosteo take it from here with the mad drawing skills.

And thus opens today’s episode – The Gold Cartridge, Level 1.

Or, if you want the full experience, try it in fullscreen as you listen to the new jawn.

So for those of you who missed the ridiculous 5 minute intro skits – here you go.

Instructionalude
Serengeti Drop.
J Bizness – Denice
Paul White – City Bright Lights
時の過ぎゆくままに(Toki no sugi yuku mama ni) (NES)

Meek Millz – One For The Money. Hoodfamous on the track. I have to say, this is probably the best flip of the Super Mario Bros sample I’ve ever heard. Even beyond that, this beat just sorta goes hard. And anybody who’s seen any videos of Millz knows that the dude is sort of skurry with it. I mean, I woulda liked some mario references in this cut, but I can’t be mad at him. Shouts to JT for the cut. m/hoodfamous215.

Game/Realitylude
Crash N The Boys (NES) – this game was the business back in the day. Most violent pseudo-olympics game I ever played.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Overworld Theme) (NES) – this game was so stupidly hard it wasn’t even funny.

Finale – Motor Music (snippet). When I first heard this cut I wasn’t really sure if I was reading too much into the droning background music – but then I heard One Man Show. Obvious nintendo influence. m/finale

Alchemist – That’ll Work feat Three 6 Mafia (snippet). You know, because I still like Three 6. This cut for some reason makes me think of Castlevania. I can’t really condone how dude prefers to spend his money, though. m/thealchemist

Wow, I forgot how whiny I was as a 14 year old.

Racist Gamealude
Street Fighter Intro. (SNES)

Turbo – Gigaton Punch. Definite shouts to AustinJ for putting me on to this track like two years ago. Now that he mentions it though, I don’t know anyone that actually used Balrog. Personally I started off on probably Dhalsim (long range punches), then Blanka until I realized the electricity thing was only cool until you got hit with a fireball in the middle of your shock attack. Then Guile, then Chun Li, mainly because she can jump off the walls. Why’d they have to make Balrog all useless? On the song though, you can’t even front on it. It’s great. y/scrambletv

Oh No – Lay You Out feat Redman. Oh No was already on the last Nintendo jawn, so he’s already got a record for being a nintendo fiend. And Redman isn’t really surprising either, considering that one episode of “Cribs” where he had like a Sega under his bed or something. m/ohnodisrupt

DJ Tour – Street Fighter Mix feat Mistah Fab. I don’t know, this is sort of a weird choice I guess. Beatwise, it’s actually perfect – they did absolutely nothing to the instrumental except add an extra kick and clap in and maybe some orchestra hits. Fabby himself comes with some sort of ridiculously corny lines, but I like how he says “money” so it’s okay. m/mistahfab

Outrolude
Star Tropics 2 (NES)

Afro Classics – The Follow Through. Maybe a new name for some (I’m actually sorta late with this one, so probably not), but if you remember Scarub of Living Legends – this is him paired up with Very. I haven’t had time to sit down through the whole record yet, but it ain’t bad. I dig the hook on this one. m/afroclassicsmusic

Oh wow, I completely forgot to do this in the outro, but shouts to B on the in-game announcer vocals. You might remember him as Uncle Chester from the Rock Episode.

Anyway, that’s what it is for this week. Apparently there’s a World 2 to this game, so I guess check back next week for another one?

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So yeah, near the end of the actual Tsuyu season, I manage to get this one out. If you haven’t heard of Tsuyu, you’ll know what it is by the end of the episode. So for those of you in areas of the planet cursed enough to be still dealing with rain at this time of year, sit inside, put the headphones on, look out the window, and dig it.

Introlude: Chris Craft – Rise Again.

Finale – Issues. Both sides of the mic, dude is really just kinda dope. I’ve got a couple other joints I plan on putting up in the near future. m/finale.

Doom – Absolutely. I mean, it’s Doom.

Edan – Murder Mystery. Surreal. Shouts to F Diesel for putting me up on the dude. m/eeddaann

Faimkills – In Your Sleep. Replaying the bit at the end, I’m realizing that I may be mixing up part of the story with something else. But I definitely remember cereal, and socks. Kid clearly puts a lot into tweaking out the production – I’m pretty sure some of the references are over my head. m/faimkills

Statik Selektah – The Thrill Is Gone ft Styles P & Talib Kweli. “I’m like god damn, they even screwed up conscious rap” = thank you, amen, church, tabernacle. I can’t quite cosign on the funny clothes comment though, because I like funny clothes. m/statikselektah.

JR & PH7 – Top Rank feat Guilty Simpson and Black Milk. Guilty just continues to say violent things where violent thing-saying is totally irrelevant and unnecessary, but still sort of cool. Dig the production.m/jrph7.

Outrolude: Esser – I Love You (Prince Paul Remix Instrumental)
Chan – Lonely Road Instrumental

Rhymefest – No Sunshine. Promise, last time I put a track up off this tape. Still, though, the concept was just really that great. m/rhymefest (thanks for the correction J)

On Michael – as I said, there’s not a whole lot that needs to be said. I can’t do a tribute episode or a special or anything like that, it just doesn’t feel right.

ps – I think I’m not using “paradox” right. Blame it on the whole not-english-speaking thing.

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After what, like a year of Earth time, the two adventurers from the 2100s are back with the future funk. In this installment, Dex Digital (wait, that’s not his real name?) and Brothertron are busy repairing their ship after getting half blown apart by space pirates. Everything is going well, if slowly, until all of a sudden the main computer starts, well…malfunctioning?

Note – this is a continuation of the Soultronica Saga series – if you missed Episode 5, you might wanna check that out.

Introlude –
Black Milk – Purple Track 6
Black Milk – Purple Track 8

A Leon – Spaced Out. Real talk, this track is a large part of what prompted this episode. I don’t really think there’s a whole lot that needs to be said about this cut. And just a reminder – for those of you who were in to myspace.com/aleoncraft

Co$$ – Khakis and Taylors. More ridiculous, random statements (”documenting the documentations?”) from someone you’ve heard here before. This one kinda just goes hard. m/paidthecoss.

Saroc – The First Mother. Production from Sol Messiah. I can’t really think of any other artists that could get away with running the same lyrics twice – but in this case, it’s more than worth the second runthrough. Everything I have heard from this woman has been dope. I got a little more Saroc on the way too…

malfunctionlude:
Aphex Twin – Ageispolis
Louis Bordeaux – Say The Word Again Bitch (

Gil Scott-Heron – Angel Dust. Really, just bootlegged off of an old Sa-Ra mixtape.

Ta’Raach & Konphlict – 10 Feet High (Giraffe Pussy). I can’t even pretend that I understand this one. Stoned rappidy raps over triple time. m/taraach.

Afro-Mystik – Urban Euphoric. Off the Future Tropic record. I can’t really even recall why I have this joint, but it’s definitely very good. m/afromystik

Team Knoc – Swisher. Sirrealz is actually one of my favorite artists, even though I haven’t heard much from the dude lately. Team Knoc can be kinda hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit. m/officialteamknoc.

Biosphere – In Triple Time. I really recommend that you just get the full version of this and space out. m/biosphereofficial.

So. Yeah. Soultronica. Holler.

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See, a promise is a promise.

Anyway, this week, as the title suggests, is the breakup joint. Partially based on real life, partially based on the bizarre phenomenon in which when you’re depressed, you want to listen to even more depressing music, and partially based on that urge to just get something off your chest. That said, let’s get into the:

introlude – Mos Def – Brown Sugar.

Ta’raach – Hey. You know, this is like that part where you’re all “man, forget her, I’m good.” You know that phase. Trackwise, I don’t know, I’ve just been meaning to get this one on forever. A lot of the stuff dude says in this track is just really mean-spirited, which makes me like it even more. myspace.com/taraach.

Super Chron Flight Brothers – Once We Were Kings. And then you start to think back. This record kinda reminds me of Airborn Audio. Weird, paranoid subject matter over weird, paranoid beats. Apparently they holed themselves up in a Yogyakarta hotel during the production process, and their weed/skurry noises type antics resulted in an unwritten ban on Black patrons at that establishment. Not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that. myspace.com/flightbrothers.

Malcolm Kipe – My Room Remix. Negativity. Really it was the instro that got me on this one. mk on lastfm.

RJD2 – June (Remix). Aaaand here comes the “why me why me” phase. After the first verse you think it’s just going to be a rant on the state of rap music, until the second one comes in. Just too heavy. myspace.com/rjd2

Jay Electronica – Girlfriend. You think about calling her… remember? That always used to work. Not much to say here. It’s Jay. myspace.com/jayelect

Albe Back – Without You (dex digi Bohemian Rhapsody Edit). No, she said don’t call. It’s already over. Give it up, famo, you’re just making yourself look bad. Don’t lose your cool. Seriously, three bars in I realized I’d heard this chord progression before. You can hate me for doing this, but really my only motivation was that I couldn’t stand the original hook. myspace.com/albemusic.

Jay-Z vs Coldplay – What If We Cry? prod Remot. Which gives you more time to think. And now you can finally be a little more honest with yourself. Trying to “keep your cool” was what got you here in the first place. I don’t own any Coldplay albums, but I hear from very reliable sources that lots of white people like them. This cut is even more depressing this time around. myspace.com/remotmusic.

People Under The Stairs – More Than You Know. Congratulations, you’re now officially “in touch with your emotions”. What, you want a medal or something fam? I keep forgetting how dope this group is. myspace.com/peopleunderthestairs.

O.D.B - No More (Wasted Time). But hey, at least you can respect yourself a little more now, right? Right? At least, that’s what this cut seems to be called. I know, it’s really lo-fi, but this is the only version I’m aware of. A cry for help, man, just too late.

DJ Lt Dan and Jay Z – Interlude b/w Living Proof. … I don’t know, this just seemed to fit.

And that’s what it is for this week. Bonus points for anyone who can identify the original image I bootlegged to make this week’s episode cover.

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Yeah. Took a minute. We changed directions last week, now we gotta keep it moving.

Oh yeah, I’m sorta trying something new here with the soundcloud player. You can play this show in the player below, and embedding on your own site should work too.

Lemme know what you think, I’m in the midst of rethinking the structure of this site…anyway, on to the…

introlude: Zaki Ibrahim – You Choose.

GaKnew Roxwell – Trynna Say. I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure how to say this dude’s name. Joint itself is raw, in a good way, and just powerful. myspace.com/gaknew.

Shaun Boothe – Unauthorized Biography – Jimi Hendrix. I’d sort of appreciate it if people here stopped comparing me (visually) to Jimi Hendrix. Not that that’s going to happen any time soon though. myspace.com/shaunboothe.

Cee-Lo – Free (full version, live on 88.5). This isn’t really even rap music, it’s gospel, and it’s brilliant. If you need any more of a reason to recommend this show to anyone, do it for this track. myspace.com/ceelogreen.

Blu and Mainframe – Long Time Gone. Off the Johnson & Jonson release. You all already know how I feel about this project. myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts.

Alf-Alpha – Bittersweet feat Pheo. Alf gave me this track (speaking of which, I never asked you dude, why the name?) forever ago, and then just recently hit me with this version with the Pheo vocals. I think he did it because he knew I would appreciate the Dexter’s Lab reference (shouts to anyone that remembers the Lab parties, or was at one of the Lab parties but doesn’t remember it, ahem). myspace.com/alfalpha.

Black Milk – Mo Power. Dude can produce, and rhyme. myspace.com/blackmk.

U-N-I – Reach For The Sky feat Tabi Bonney and Haziq Ali. Really the production is what pulled me in on this one (Beatnick and K-Salaam have apparently been really busy recently), but it’s solid all over, really. myspace.com/unimuzik.

The Uhh – I Love Me feat Jon B. As Yep of The Uhh (these dudes are either on to something with their names or, well, I don’t know) stressed, “thee Jon B“. I’ve been asking these dudes for a record for like four or more years. It’s sort of rough, but this is an all over hilarious-but-still-really-good song. They were also kind enough to let the instro ride out for like a minute and a half, which I happily jumped on to talk about the term “grown and sexy”. In short, I’m not a fan of the term. Details in the show itself. myspace.com/theuhh.

So yeah, let me know what you think. Also feel free to talk about Grown and Sexy because I think that this is seriously an epidemic that should be stopped. I’m dead serious about this, as serious as I was about Skeeter being Black.

Anyway, that’s what it is for this week. Tune in next week. Yes, next week. Yes. Next week. Promise.

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note: if you accidentally got ep 11 instead of 118 in your iTunes, my bad. Things are fixed now. Try hitting the “update” button in your iTunes or podcast client. Sorry about that.
注意：間違って１１８回の代わりに１１回をもらった購読者がいらっしゃったそうなんですが、まことに申し訳ないです。 iTunes又は常用のポッドキャストアプリで「更新」のボタンを押せば直ります。

So I’ve been recently getting a little jealous of the popularity of the Soultronica Series on my own site. I’m not really sure how they do it, but somehow Digi (the 2109 version) and Brotherton manage to consistently make tapes that rival, or maybe exceed, my stuff. Even though it’s been over a year since there’s been a proper update to the Saga, I still get mail about it.

I mean, they’re 100 years in the future so I guess it makes sense that they’re more advanced than me, but still. So I figured I’d try my hand at something different, but still kept it 2009 with it. Hope you dig.

通常はラップばかりのMixtape Showなんだけど、今週は敢えて新しい方向へチャレンジしたいと思ってソウル・R＆B系へと向かった。イントロではあまり話さないけど、まあ、僕の声が聴きたくてこのサイトに来てくれたわけでもないだろう。

introlude: Ratatat - Nostrand

The Foreign Exchange - Daykeeper feat Muhsinah. Not really the way that I normally start things out, but I dig this one. Shouts to Aimee, by the way.

本当ならこんな風に回を始めないけど、こんな曲が好き。Aimeeに感謝。 myspace.com/theforeignexchange.

Dwele – Untitled. At least, it didn’t have a title when I got it from Sweeney Kovar like a year ago.

ドゥエレ（だと思われる歌手）からの無題の曲。まあ、Sweeney Kovarからもらったとき、タイトルはなかったけど。myspace.com/dwele.

J*Davey -You Are. This one probably has a proper title by now, but this was the track name when I got it Got a title. Thanks Niels.
今となってはこの曲はきっとちゃんとしたタイトルを持ってるけど、もらったときは単に「untitled 2」だった。　やっぱちゃんとしたタイトルはあったよね。 ありたとう、Niels.myspace.com/jdaveybaby.

Full Crate - She Was Fly feat Mar. Space out, man. The video for this is sort of cool, sort of scary.

なんか超現象的。　この曲のPVはカッコイイつーか、怖いつーか。myspace.com/fullcrate.

Dwele – Workin’ On It. This hits like 4 classics in the space of about a minute and a half.

やばい。　１分半のあいだに４曲のディラーによる古典にも触れる。

Innosphere – Gotta Be Me. Brand new group formed by Mixtape Show alumni Kenny Keys and a new name (to me), Nina Rae. Sort of raw on the mastering process, but I dig this one. I was actually about to put an old Z’hane remix Kenny had sent me on this, but I got this and changed my mind. Looks like they have a site up here.

かつてこのMixtape Showにも素晴らしいビート力を見せてくれたケニー・キーズと（僕の中で）新人のニナ・レーからなる新しいウイニット、インノスフィーア。　録音物としてはちょっと生っぽいけど、好き。　実はケニー・キーズによるZhaneのリミックスを入れようと思ってたけど、この曲をもらって気が変わった。　

Jimmie Reign – 3 The Game. See, if I wouldn’t have pulled this out, I could have almost passed this off as something Brothertron put together. Couldn’t help it though. Also, everybody take this opportunity to make sure that you’re being real with your significant others people in general.
これさえ流さなければ、これをブラザートロンが作ったミックスとして掴ますこともできただろう。　あと、いまのうちに、みんな、彼氏とか彼女とかに、自分に素直でいれてるか確認しよう。
myspace.com/jimmiereign1.

L.A.U.S.D. - iFeel feat Curly Tops and Nautica Jackets. Okay seriously these two need to stop with extra names. Generally the acceptable limit is 6ish official names plus 37 throwaways used in rap lyrics only ala Wu-Tang, but these two are about to get their alias privileges revoked just off the ridiculousity of their first picks. I’m not sure which is which, but Jack of J*Davey and Blu are both on here. Also L.A.U.S.D. as in the producers, not as in the system that screwed up countless friends (shout outs to the San Bernardino system too though). The more I listen to this the more I like it. Even though it’s sort of corny.
普段、原則として、（ウータンクランのように）正式な別芸名は６つで、歌詞だけに使われるもの。使い捨て用のあだ名は37までは許容範囲だけど、これはやりすぎだ。それはさておき、この曲は聞く程好きになる。ちょっと甘いといえば甘いけど。
myspace.com/curlytopsandnauticajackets.

Suhburb - Gone Away feat Aniyia.
I’m running out of things to say about this guy. If you don’t get it, maybe you just don’t get it. わかる？

この番組を熱心に聴いてくれてる方の馴染みのサバーブ。いつもながらとんでもない作曲ぶりをみせてくれる。こいつやっぱすごいね。ところで、まだ元ネタがわかならないのなら、T.I.のWhat You Know About Thatを聴いてからこれを聴き直してね。myspace.com/suhburb.

So that’s what it is. And yeah, no outro on this one, but after the last couple joints, I’m sure nobody’s exactly complaining.

Holler.

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So I’m going to apologize upfront:

1. The intro is long. The outro is long. This episode is long. Almost an hour. I talk a lot.
2. I repeatedly use a word that I’m not really known for using, ever.

That out of the way, here’s the background:

The other day, during the course of my very serious research (read: half-asleep, cruising the Japanese interwebs), I discovered Japanese beef.

Apparently underground rappers Seeda and Oki of Geek had taken offense to something in the outro of the Teriyaki Boyz’ (probably only known in the States (and Japan) for showing up on Youtube videos wearing Bape and dancing around with Kanye) new single, “Serious Japanese”. They then proceeded to air their frustrations in public by recording a dis track (complete with accompanying video) and posting it up on Seeda’s blog.

Check the video below:

The two lines which we will be tackling today are below:

一人はビッチで後はカス you are serious? へそが茶を沸かす
One of you is a bitch, the others are trash. You are serious? Don’t make me laugh

二番煎じはニガの機嫌取り ass hall ガバガバ　＄をばらまく
You’re played out, just trying to make the niggers* like you. Assholes**, throwing money around

*Ostensibly, the black rappers/producers they’re associated with. I could have used the “nigga” form, but it’s being used more as an insult here, so it’s sort of in between a swap-word for “dude” and an actual proper racial slur.
**I think that’s what they meant.

Note that the above is a really loose translation. If you have a more eloquent one, let me know and I’ll fix it.

Oh yes, shouts to VTS for this week’s image design and some insight on the lyrics. Also shouts to ミスターポポ.

So yeah. Pretty much every underground Japanese rap fan is aware of this dis, the Teriyaki Boyz’ Verbal has responded to it on his blog and mentioned it on his podcast, and it’s been picked up on every site I can find – but there’s one angle that hasn’t been touched – the fact that in the first twenty seconds, somebody drops the N-bomb.

I thought it was interesting. So today, using this dis track as a starting point, we’ll look at some of the different ways we can look at this phenomenon (if you want to call it that), some of the background on how we got to this point, and in the end, I guess, look a little closer at the situation as it is at home.

A lot of talking, a lot of what will likely come off as little more than pointless theorizing, but at the very least, an awful lot of dope music.

beatro: The Brothers Johnson – Q.
beatro 2: Nipsey Hussle – Hussle in the House

Re-Up Gang – Real Niggas. I didn’t actually sit down and listen to the whole mixtape, but I do dig this cut. I had a conversation at a ramen shop this morning (somebody needs to tell these dudes that letting customers in at 3:AM, handing them soup, and then closing down at 3:20 is not funny) about the above dis track, and he said “Dex, you know that for these guys, ‘nigga’ just means ‘guy’”. If so, this song gives more than a few real-life examples of how to use the word – actually, this one goes above and beyond and expands on it, giving you the macho angle on the word as well. myspace.com/ablive

beatro 3: Super Smoky Soul – Simply (Extended Version)

Stat Quo – I’m Sorry. As I said in the episode, this stands on its own as a piece of art. All of these songs do. You don’t have to “agree” with what the dude is saying – since when did we start judging art with a PC ruler? But dig dude’s stance on the word: “They can’t say it but we can…Look at the power we hold in our hand”. And while this dude does make an attempt at showing respect towards women, this song is sort of uncompromisingly misogynistic – if you spelled it out in mathematical terms, bitch characteristics = “female” characteristics = undesirable characteristics. A = B = C, thus A = C, Q.E.D. This is sort of a theme throughout a good number of these songs. myspace.com/statquo

beatro 4: Jr Don – Bring In Black 2

Tribe Called Quest – Sucka Nigga. I guess this is the most palatable song of any of these for the PC set. That said, there’s not much substantially different from Q-Tip’s and Stat Quo’s stances on the word. myspace.com/atribecalledquest

Three 6 Mafia – Watcha Starin At feat Lil Jon. Sort of had to put these dudes in here. Lil Jon was possibly the root cause of white frat dudes screaming “nigga whut” at college parties from ‘03-06′. At least from what I saw.

beatro 5: Unagi – High? Yes

Tahir – You Don’t Know Me. Probably the most challenging cut on here. Make no mistake about it, though – as the dude says, the sentiments expressed on this record aren’t rare, and they aren’t new. Lyrics to rewind and contemplate: “It’s my right to say this right here. This is my shit. This is my hood, and you’re in it“.

beatro 6: Sadat X – Hang ‘Em High

Jayo Felony – Don’t Call Me Nigga. I’m realizing that it’s starting to look like I put a large portion of this together just doing a search in my iTunes folder for “nigga”. Early 90s west coast. A lot of prison rap on this particular album, for good reason. myspace.com/jayofelony

MC Tucker and DJ Irv - Where Dey At? Probably a couple hooks in here you’ll recognize. Obviously this is just the intro, but the rest of the song sorta does the same thing.

beatro 7: Platinum Pied Pipers – After the Worries

You know, maybe I should have said this earlier, but I’m not here on some NAACP whining about how the word itself is bad. I’m not really interested in “nigga” right now beyond its use as a tool here to give us a look at a bigger issue. You know, just putting that out there.

Sporty T – Sporty Talkin 93. Edited. Note how “niggas” and “brothers” is used absolutely interchangeably. The first time I ever saw the Beef DVD series was in Japan (they got all 3 out here). Subtitles. And every time the dudes on TV said “that nigga this, a real nigga wouldn’t that, I don’t like them niggas”, etc, the “nigga” was translated as “黒人” “black person”. Sometimes 黒人男性, “black male”. So if you want to go with the “ignorance of the weight of the word” route, this would be a good thing to cite. Also I’m realizing now that I didn’t talk about bitches as much as I promised – maybe some other time. myspace.com/sportyt504

Jayo Felony – Niggas and Bitches. This was released as a radio single, believe it or not. And since the hook (you sort of have to hear it to believe it, try not to laugh) wasn’t going to work on radio, they actually cut a totally different version for the B-side called “Brothers and Sisters”, complete with each “nigga” being replaced for “brother”, and “bitch” for “sister” throughout the song. It’s sort of interesting to think about how simply switching the two words around makes such a large difference – the sentiment of the song doesn’t change at all (either way, it’s a tribute to loyal friends).

So that’s what it is for this round. Hit the comments, I’m interested.

(oh, and even though I said this in the episode, let me put it in writing – don’t mistake this as ‘dex is hating on Japan/Japanese rap/rappers’. And I like Seeda (and what I’ve heard of Geek). I sorta wish I woulda done a proper Japanese rap show before I put this out, but I had to get this off my chest first. Look for an actual music episode coming soon.)

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Happy new year, happy new president, hope you bought yourself a new hoodie instead of blowing it on chocolates for some dude/female who aint appreciate you anyway. Been a minute.

For those of you who have been curled up in a ball in your room, in the dark, whispering silently to yourself “man, I wish dex would hurry up and talk about something he has no business even opening his mouth about for over 12 minutes in an outro”, this is your episode. For those of you who haven’t, it’s all good because you can just loop the tracks instead.

Priorities – we all have them.

Tracklist

Intro – Kev Brown - Keep On Instrumental. myspace.com/kevbrown

Co$$ - Angelic feat Blu. Both of these dudes are dope. I can’t support the Power Rangers reference (never liked them dude(ette)s from the start, Ninja Turtles reigns supreme son), but Blu’s “we in the field tryna kill demons” for some reason makes me want to go play Final Fantasy or something.myspace.com/paidthecoss

Bambu - Crooks and Rooks. From LA to..uh, LA. Really, relistening to this track again, probably all of that nonsense at the end shoulda just been left to a close ear bent at this joint. I know I’m a little late on this, but this joint, along with the video, is some of the best rap music I have heard in a minute, period. myspace.com/bambumusic

Primeridian - Money feat Rashid Hadee and Pugz Atoms. True story – I found this cut, unlabeled, in my iTunes the other day, and dug it. I sent an email to Suhburb to double check that this was okay to blast on the show, and got a “uh, I didn’t write that song, fam” mail back. Lol wut? So I dug through my gmail box and it turns out it’s a Primeridian cut. Make no mistake, being mistaken for a Suhburb production is a good thing (come on, the drum work – doesn’t this sound like 06 era Suhburbia?), but seriously people gotta start tagging their mp3s – this “final mixdown 080707.mp3″ business is getting old.www.myspace.com/primeridian

oh yeah, thanks to mamiko for this ep’s design.

Tor Cesay – The Perch feat Flying Lotus, Phonte, and Oddisee. I got this sampler from (I think) Giant Step and it was sort of great. I really wanted to put some of the more grimy tracks up, but I ended up going with this one. Anyone out there more up on this person, the proper pronunciation of her name? myspace.com/toruk

Royce - Shake This. I’m too tired to remember the original sample on this cut (help?), but I’m actually kinda into with it. The balance and intensity is pretty impressive. I like how the first verse is squeaky clean and then all of a sudden Royce flies into a flurry of curse words near the end of the second verse, and then it’s really all over. Also how his statement regarding his status with Primo is actually affirmed an appropriate sound effect. Seriously guys, Primo-style radio edits are so much better than album cuts.

Pax and Pry – Another group whose name I’m not quite sure how to pronounce. I forget who put me up on this group (they’re from NL, so maybe Ouxu? was this your doing?), but right now I am very thankful for their advice because they are sort of good. And, for anyone wondering how they might implement, sans bandcamp or any other outside party, some of the pushy “advice” given in this previous post aimed at independent rappidy rappers, their site is a good example. paxandpry.com

Outro Instrumental – King Most Yancey Boys Megamix (sliced, looped, etc).

Eskibeat Public Service Announcement – as you probably noticed, that was a cover of the old Wiley “Eskimo” beat as produced by yours truly with a few minutes of spare time and a Nintendo DS. I’m totally serious, I expect to see a hit track pop up from over there produced on a DS. Also sorry about the whole echo effect thing, somebody told me UK people liked that sort of stuff so I was just trying to do some outreach.

Actually, if anyone wants the raw version of that track I can post it up.

And that’s what it is. While I’m not really confident that I expressed myself properly (or concisely) in the outro, I am serious about being worried that people that just randomly support any minority (choose your own definition for that word) artist, just for the sake of “supporting” them, are taking away from and cheapening the efforts those artists within that same group that really are dope and truly do deserve respect for putting out good music.

So yeah, does anyone have any thoughts on that? I’m sort of interested in hearing what people think about this.

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Here’s Johnny? This is sort of a weird story and I’m not sure if it makes any sense the way I’m telling it, but yeah. This happened, and is still happening.

Fusion Unltd – The Sun feat Little Brother, Nickelus F, Hall of Fame, and Skillz. A producer that is sort of new to me. Lyrics ain’t bad either – “When I write I’m enlightening myself”? That’s sort of profound. myspace.com/fusionunltdfup

H.O.P.E – Can’t Knock the Hustle II feat Raquel Rodriguez. The vocals are kinda on the edge of contributing and taking away from the cut, but overall I dig. myspace.com/f2dhope.

Caltroit – Goatit feat Elzhi and Bishop Lamont. Off that recent Black Milk mixtape. This dude is sort of dope on the production. And come on, “raise your hands and see stars like King Hippo”? I hope I’m not the only one here who caught that. myspace.com/blackmk.

Jim Jones, Noe, and Tom Gist – Christmas Eve. Aside from dude feeling the need to do adlibs at the end of every bar, this is sort of a great song. myspace.com/jimjones

Rhymefest – Breakadawn feat Daniel Merriweather and alpha. I’ve dropped one cut from this tape before, but this is seriously a genius project. Don’t miss the skits. myspace.com/rhymefest.

Wurd Munchaz – Shakespeare. This is actually one of my favorite groups. If you don’t get the reference, I don’t know. You don’t spend enough time on the internet. myspace.com/wurdmunchaz

Okay, here:

original: marriedtothesea
I mean, come on. A rap song based on an internet joke? What’s next?

Cassius Clay – I Am The Greatest. Yes, as in Muhammad Ali. I checked the latest Shaun Boothe Unauthorized Biography joint (you heard the Bob Marley joint here last episode), and he referenced Ali’s recording career. Apparently people have referred to his stuff as some of the first battle raps – and really, listening to this, I can’t disagree.

John Robinson – Don King. Shouts to JR for linking this one up – been a minute since we’ve had some of his material on the show. If we spin Ali, it’s only fair to spin something about Don King, right? Info about his latest project here: myspace.com/thejohnrobinsonproject.

The Thunderclaps – Judgement Day (short preview edit). Shouts to Charlee for hooking me up with this joint forever ago. I have the long edit, but for some reason I dig the quick pace of this one. myspace.com/thunderclapsmusic.

instros:
intro:
Black Milk – Purple Track 3
outros:
Illa J – DFTF
RJD2 – Unlimited
Scarface – In Cold Blood

So yeah. Go out and do something nice for one of your friends, or for somebody you don’t know.

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All the education you need is right here on the Mixtape Show.

Okay, maybe not – but I’ll keep the written short and say this – if you don’t get something out of every track on here, rewind.

iLLiTe – Intro. Courtesy of CDR. Easily coulda made the First Impressions episode, if, you know, it was out back then. New artist to me, but sounds good thus far. Side street it on empty. myspace.com/eyedouble.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations). The early may have heard this a bit earlier this month, but hey, I’m putting in work here and things take time. Not much needs to be said here. myspace.com/jayelect.

Also this might sound sort of weird but something about the way Jay says “Nirvana” strikes me as kinda endearing.

Mr Scruff – After Time. Not necessarily representative of all of dude’s work, but yeah. Short clip. Go dig. myspace.com/mrscruffofficial.

Wu-Tang – I Can’t Go To Sleep feat Isaac Hayes (Live Version). Okay, I get that you invented the crying flow, fam, but serious? A little far maybe? I can’t front though, this one sort of goes hard.

DJ Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Intro. I discovered this earlier this morning. Sort of a counterexample to the intro. This one might change the way you think about house music – which should make you start thinking about hip-hop, considering the family tree. Check the release page here, which includes the words to the track. 日本語訳もあるので、是非チェックしてね。

Jay Electronica – Posers. I’ve been holding onto this forever with the intention of putting it into a different themed episode that I sort of tossed. No information on the vocalist though. Anyone care to fill us in before I start having to write emails?

Saroc – Motorbike. The title won’t make much sense until the end. Sol – who was kind enough to send me this cut direct from the studio last week – on production.

Shaun Boothe – Unauthorized Biography of Bob Marley. Seriously, this is like running through a Wikipedia article set to a beat, in a good way. Maybe if those stupid Multiplication Rap tapes my 2nd grade teacher gave me thinking I’d like it because I was Black were this good, I wouldn’t have gotten that D in Calculus senior year. I’m sort of looking forward to this Muhammad Ali joint. myspace.com/shaunboothe

Madlib – Disco Break. Yes, you’re supposed to learn something from this too. No excuses. myspace.com/madlib

Wiley – I Was Lost. I could never play this one on the radio back home because it had curses in it. Not the end of the world though, because I could still play Pies and Wot Do You Call it, and maybe that is making some of you UK kids roll your eyes but anyone who has the sheer nerve to end six consecutive bars with the words “no girlfriend” instead of thinking of actual rhymes on the first cut of their debut record is okay with me. www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley

e.s.t – Still (Radio Edit). In lieu of an outro, I guess. Shouts to Giant Step for the hookup.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations) – Final Version. Or at least that’s what it says on the tin. This sort of adds another level to the first mix, with more audio tweaking (but still a little reserved compared to old episode 82) but I like both, so here you go. Dig the outro.

Oh, also, supercali, there is a section in here that I absolutely expect you to identify.

Pencils down, put your answer sheet inside your test booklet, and pass your packets forward and to the left.

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I was originally going to talk about something else here, but all of a sudden I like felt the holy ghost or something and was inspired to talk about this. Seriously everyone, this is an important issue that I feel strongly about. I’ve actually had serious conversations about this.

Intro: Copywrite – Fuck A Soundcheck (prod RJD2)

Busta Rhymes – Packin Them Things (prod Kev Brown). This is just sort of a given. And even Busta Rhymes voted for Obama. You know where to find Busta, so go check out myspace.com/kevbrown.

Blu and Mainframe – Hold On John. Off of the Johnson and Jonson record, which you’ve been hearing bits of for the last couple years or so. Apparently the joint is actually out now, and it’s highly recommended. I don’t think there’s a single cut on this record that I don’t like. I’ve said enough about this record before, so I’ll leave it at that. Shouts to Steve for this one. myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts.

I mean, think about it. The only dude who seemed to be able to dance. He could beatbox. He wore rappidy-rap style clothing – well, comparatively. Oddly enough, I never felt like this was stereotyping – I just naturally internalized that Skeeter was Black. I seriously can’t wrap my head around the fact that some people don’t get it. To my white friends – I like you all a lot, but sometimes you miss things. Very important things. Like which cartoon characters are which race.

Stanza – Do. As heard previously on your favorite rap podcast, this is another selection off of Name This Album. The lyricism is sort of bizarrely great (trying to imagine the hand contortions in the beginning is alternately funny and amazing) and as with the rest of the cuts on here, there’s actually a message in here. And as I mentioned in the outro, Stanza has inexplicably put this entire record up online for free download – inexplicably because it’s easily worth the money. The record is dope. Go get it here, and check out the rest of the site at mqrt.com.

MF Doom – Rapp Snitch Knishes feat Mr Fantastic. Does anyone actually know anything about Mr Fantastic? I mean, I could google the dude, I guess, but after listening to this, I’m realizing that I haven’t heard much of anything from the dude.myspace.com/mfdoom.

This of course, is all based on when the show was on Nickelodeon. I quit watching when Disney took over. Actually I think at that point in my life I was a little busy to be watching cartoons (okay, it was just on at an inconvenient time. I definitely used run late for school because I wanted to catch the end of Pokemon).

Q-Tip – Gettin’ Up. On the Dilla rework – you might have heard this one, but for those who haven’t – dope. This really is a proper rework. myspace.com/qtip.

Marlena Shaw – California Soul (Diplo remix). For real, when I read the track title before actually listening to it, I was both excited and worried to hear what sort of destruction Diplo would wreak on this classic – but it’s oddly restrained. It’s good. myspace.com/officialmarlenashaw.

Outro: Qwel and Kip Killagain – Heliocentric (Instrumental). I actually like Qwel.

So, really. Doug was clearly white, Skeeter was obviously Black. The logic doesn’t really run across color lines, however – I mean, what about Bee Bee? She’s blue too, but I never got “Black vibes” from her, if that’s an appropriate word. And reversewise, come to think of it, Patti was sort of ambiguous – mixed ancestry, perhaps? She was sort of dark. Connie was Asian. I’m fairly confident about that one.

Am I overthinking this? Any other theories are welcome.

Oh yeah, and thoughts on the music. You know.

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What’s good Earthlings – this is an official Mixtape Show Soultronica Sidebar Hijack by your favorite android – Brothertron. What we have here is what I promised you last week (Future Colour Time – we don’t run on your crazy Earth clocks, dig? For us out here, this is on time!) – a new (to you!) project by A.Leon Craft (he’s appeared on the Mixtape Show in as a member of Labratz), over J Dilla beats, courtesy of Sol Messiah.

And, of course, since we’re bringing you this tape from the future – you’re the first to get it. Dig it.

Here’s the tracklist for those of yall keeping score:

Project Title: Mothership Dillaleon
Track Selections (Continual Stream Mode):
introlude: Planet New Afrika Cultural Archives Audio Identification.
1. ALeon’s Craft
2. Lite Beam
3. Healing Process
4. Guitars In The Water
5. Concrete Complications
6. Maroons
7. Melanin
8. The Moon
9. Black Dolla
10. Mothership Dillaleon
Possibly more info on the dude also at myspace.com/aleoncraft.

Bonus: The original album artwork from the project:
Front:

Dex (2008 version) will be back next week (Earth time, maybe) with a new rap episode – or in the meantime I guess you can holler at him in the “comments section” of this “website”. Brothertron out.

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So this, I guess, would be the third official Summer Mixtape. For those of you who are in Southern California – it’s probably still summer for you – so feel free to grab the first edition – SUMMER MIXTAPE (2006), the second one – BACKPACKER/SUMMER IN LA (2007), and then put it together with this one, and get on your Dyno with the black mags and bang out, kiddo.

As I said – I had a major hard drive crash and lost hella data (and some music – do your backups, kids, for serious) which caused the 3-week delay, but here we go. Let’s get into it:

Intro – Thad Reid – Cruzin feat Akshan.

Stat Quo – Dear Summer (Part 2). The follow-up to Part 1, which I probably would have put out were it not for the hard drive crash-induced delay. I don’t think I necessarily cared that much about Stat Quo’s life and/or career before hearing this series, but I have to say, this is sort of an interesting series that dude has been putting out. It’s sort of like the rap version of Livejournal. Or maybe that’s Atmosphere. So maybe this is more like the rap version of Caroline’s older sister’s Xanga, because I used to read that all the time and be like damn she’s cool. You ever do that? Interweb stalking is bad, kids. myspace.com/statquo.

DJ Crazy Toones – It’s A Demo Teaser. This isn’t even a song, but I dig this cut. Some of the most ignorant statements on this episode are made by this man. I mean, I fully agree with the sentiment – too many people out there don’t understand how to put together a mixtape/cd/podcast, but come on, did we need that comment about Singapore? And why was the dude in Singapore? I mean, anybody can go to Singapore. I can go right now in probably like a few hours. Is there something special about Singapore that I don’t know? I mean, go to Tibet, fam, and I’ll be impressed. Maybe beat up a monk or something. Aside from that, this demo is just ridiculous. I really want to hear this mixtape now. myspace.com/djcrazytoones.

Birdman – Sun Come Up feat Rick Ross and T-Pain. Nobody really cares about what Rick Ross did before he was a rapper, because 90% of the rap game is lying, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an act. Yes, it has ramifications on what happens out here, and it’s okay to get sucked into the drama on some suspension of disbelief, but 騙されるな、dig? I gave a talk at a high school earlier today and some kids in the audience were absolutely blown away that rappers weren’t you know, actually shooting people in real life. Remind me to tell you about the first time I ever saw the Beef DVD (hint – it wasn’t in the US). That said, I like this cut, and it’s probably the most “traditional” summer rap cut I got on here.

Guilty Simpson – Michigan Nights. Okay, Guilty – “I’m like that cat you never liked but was scared to fight”. I’m actually thinking about this now and I can’t think of anyone I didn’t like to the point that I wanted to physically harm them but I was scared to actually give it a try. That said, I more or less quit fighting around age 12 or 13 (the age when people start bringing knives and guns to school fights). A lot of the time I wish rap songs were shorter – like on the 2 minute range – but this is one of those cuts where you’re glad you don’t have to be satisfied with a cut-up radio version. Cinematic. Dig it. myspace.com/guiltysimpson.

Replife – Do You Want To Pay A MF. Interlude status. The album is good, though. Stay tuned.myspace.com/danielgraykontarisreplife

Double F – I-5 Merge. I alluded to some superbly ignorant statements being made in this episode – and here they are. What is this dude even talking about? You’ve heard a cut off this tape before, actually. myspace.com/mystadub.

U-N-I – Yesterday. I think I was put up on these dudes last summer, and finally they make an appearance on the mixtape show. Kids set aside the A.D.I.D.A.S style swagger stuff for a minute and go somewhat serious for a minute. I like this cut. Shout-outs to Amanda for having the good sense to pick these kids up for Block Party. myspace.com/unimuzik.

Fatlip – What’s Up Fatlip? (Breakbot Remix). Breakbot is a new name to me, but whoever the cat is did a pretty good job with this remix. Fatlip somehow sounds more pathetic on this cut, and the vocal glitching is just enough to be noticeable but not over the top on some Funkstorung (not that I don’t like Funkstorung). Like you can’t listen to this and not really feel bad for this dude. And we all have days like this…right? Right? (I can’t find dude’s myspace.)

Guest Anouncement/広告alude – Jim Jones – Pop Champagne feat Ron Browz and Juelz Santana (instrumental): I’m not going to write about it here since I’m still a little upset about it, but the end of this episode got cut off by someone you’ll probably recognize…looks like next week’s episode I’ll be taking a break.

And before I forget, shout out to Mamiko again for handling the artwork on this joint because I still don’t have any image editing software yet.

So – how was your summer?

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So if there was a State of the Hip-Hop Union, I think one thing that we could probably count on would be that unlike any previous or current administration, we would get the straight, uncut reality of our current status. I mean, there would still be lying about what sort of dirt people did in the past or how many guns/cars/etc dudes owned – but yeah. I would tune in to watch that.

So the idea behind this is people from different angles telling us what our current situation is – some of them more indirect than others, some of them more violent than others, and hey, some of them even have some recommendations for us. Enough from me, let’s see what they have to say…

Stereolab – Neon Beanbag I think I must have been the one person at KUCR that never actually played any Stereolab. Probably because I never really listened that much – my mistake. Everybody go out and buy Stereolab. Off the 4AD and Rough Trade 2008 Sampler, which is ridiculous. stereolab.co.uk.

Young Jeezy – My President feat Nas. Leave it to Jeezy (yeeeeeeeahhhhh) to make a song where he praises a presidential candidate, damns the current president, and raves about his blue lambo in the same breath. I like this song.

East Coast Avengers – Kill Bill O’Reilly. I really wanted to get this episode out like four days ago, but technical difficulties prevented that. As I say in the episode itself – this track placement comes with zero disclaimers or apologies. I figure that in a genre where threatening other rappers for nothing is the norm – threatening somebody that actually deserves it is pretty sensible. ちなみに、the girl at the end probably deserves an award for best line in the song. East Coast Avengers is made up of Esoteric, Trademarc, and DC the Midi Alien. eastcoastavengers.com.

Mic Legacy – So Ghetto feat Rapper Big Pooh. The instro on this is like the musical embodiment of the Minstrel Show cover plus being in church. myspace.com/miclegacydafuture.

Crooked I – Paper Planes Remix/Block Obama. I’m not exactly sure what the official title of this cut is. About 80% of the stuff this dude is talking about is totally ridiculous – including the random diatribe on claiming that stealing songs is “not hip-hop”. I’m not saying that stealing music is a good thing, but seriously, it seems like every time I turn around someone is telling me that something is “not hip-hop”. Eating broccoli is not hip-hop. And co-opting the “Change” line? There’s got to be something wrong with that, but I can’t hate. Anyway, this song is hip-hop, and it is over the Paper Planes riddim, which makes it extra good. myspace.com/crookedi.

Elzhi – Colors. Come on, it’s Elzhi. There’s something sort of surreal about this song – not just the imagery. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s a great song. You might need to play it back a few times to actually get what he’s doing. myspace.com/zhifi.

Invincible – Locusts feat Finale, wsg Gwen Mingo and Ron Scott. Welcome to the reality that is Detroit. There’s a video to this as well – I’ll leave my commentary on this one out and just let you read the interview. Thanks to Sweeney Kovar for this one (and the one above, come to think of it). Album sounds like it’s definitely worth a purchase. emergencemusic.net.

The Stranglers – Golden Brown. Apparently everyone else and their mom has discovered this song recently and are trying to make beats out of it, but if you want to hear a proper drug song done properly by proper white people (nothing against Pink Floyd, I like you guys too), this would be a good joint to track down. myspace.com/thestranglers.

See, told you I was back on track, sorta.

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No, I’m not dead. And no, the show is not dead, and I’m not planning on letting it die anytime soon. I’ve kinda been underground for a minute, just basically putting in work and getting my bars up on the school angle. It has, however, been far too long – maybe too long? Are you all still even out there? That said – let’s get into it:

Intro Instrumental – 9th Wonder – Black Album Rejects #31 (I think).

Murs – Can It Be. I couldn’t think of a better track to start this one off with. And no, I’m absolutely not hating on Murs. I remember the first time I actually saw the dude – he came to my university in a dirty white T shirt, old sneakers, and some pajama pants and rocked a show on what was basically a hill with some grass on it. Crazy show, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Dude is a dope rapper, he just happens to have made a song that confused me, and this joint more than makes up for that. And apparently he’s got a free record up – check out www.mursand9thwonder.com. And yes, when the new record comes out – buy it.

Jay Electronica – Defcon 4. From what I can tell, this joint is at least 4 years old. Produced by Sol Messiah (fam hit me up), it’s a little more straightforward beatwise than the stuff we heard, say, on episode 82. Lyrically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the dude. Time to hit the library. myspace.com/jayelect.

Gif – Invisible (Ramona Moore). I was eating dinner a few weeks ago with a kid from Hong Kong, a kid from Japan (duh), and a Kyrgyzstani, when the topic turned to the elections. The Kyrgyzstani dude said something about that he’d heard that there is no longer any racism in the US. Unfortunately he decided to say that when I was in the middle of trying to sip my soda so he definitely ended up with that joint all over his new shirt. I laughed that hard. I don’t know – maybe if you watch the news you get that impression – but I don’t watch the news, so I wouldn’t know (I have been, however, watching Japanese news, and that is a whole different story)…Dude was actually genuinely surprised when I had to set him straight.

Anyway, as I said, this song actually follows the seqence of an actual event. For some more info on what happened with Ramona Moore, you can check this blog post. For Da Gif himself, check myspace.com/dagif. Thank you for making this song, fam.

East Flatbush Project – A Day In A Life feat Stress. This cut is just dope. I don’t have too much to say about this. It’s been too long since we’ve had one of Spencer’s joints grace the Mixtape Show. This one is off the “First Born” EP – a joint project with Spencer and Stress. Do yourself a favor and play this one a few times. myspace.com/theeastflatbushproject.

Black Milk and Fat Ray – Take Control. I’ve been sitting on this cut for a miiinute. Maybe it’s just the cymbals on this joint that do it for me – but they’re not exactly slacking in the lyrical department here either. myspace.com/blackmk.

Madlib – Go feat Guilty Simpson. This song has some of the cruelest lyrics I’ve heard since, well, the last episode. That Punk’d line, combined with the Black / white / Chinese man joint is just too much. stonesthrow.com.

Outro Instrumental – 410 Pharaohs - Fresh.

And yeah, I’ll get into the rap in japan thing at some point in the near future…

In the meantime, that’s what I got for this week. Holler at a scholar.

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This is for those of you who have been sending emails and leaving comments asking when I was finally going to let go of some of the SuhBURB stuff I had stockpiled up…

As promised earlier (you did see the video, right?), the new Suburban Sprawl record is out. In case you missed it, Suburban Sprawl = Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) and probably the one producer that gets the most airtime (airtime? do you say that for a podcast?) on the Mixtape Show – SuhBURB.

So yes, the record is out. 40 minutes, 16 tracks, and highly recommended. And it’s on here. In its entirety, for free.

I’m going to keep my comments to myself for the time being, but lest you be wondering whether or not you should click that “play” button, keep the following three points in mind:

1. This is the best thing I’ve heard all year
2. The last time I gave an entire episode to one artist/group, it was Jay Electronica. We all know how I feel about Jay Electronica
3. wow

As you listen, you can check the liner notes featuring ridiculous commentary by both artists, and grab the full hi-fi version from the official site.

00 – Ridiculous-ass Mixtape Show drop by Suhburb. Seriously fam, this is not what I had in mind when I asked for a drop.

01 – The Tiki Torch. I remember when I first got this beat. First time I played it out anywhere, it got a nod from Daedelus. I’m sort of glad they left it as is.

02 – Sittin’ at the Bar Demo. Ha! Tearing apart Ladder Theory from the base, I guess.

03 – Baltimore Bitch. Words fail me.

04 – Diwadiwadonald. Wow, the bongos on this one. I think at this point I remembered why Donwill is sort of dope lyrically.

05 – Salsoul. This is one of the things that, for me, separates SuhBURB from other producers – the soul he puts into the kick drum programming. This obviously isn’t the only song where you’ll notice that, but dig the lows on this one.

06 – Fly Me feat. Von Pea. (you heard this one earlier, but without the Von Pea verse, which is quite possibly the cruelest verse I’ve ever heard in my life.)

07 – Guilty. Damn.

08 – Night Time. Am I the only one who thought of UGK at the end here?
09 – All Right. When I first met Suhburb, I don’t even think he was really making that much rap music yet – he was a jungle producer. I’d been sitting on this track for a very long time – I wanted to drop it as part of the Soultronica Saga. I guess that will teach me to wait to drop a track.

10 – Slipknot. Is this from the Brasil beat tape?

11 – The Words. It’s joints like these that make me respect Don for actually having the nerve to rap on tracks like this. I think Suhburb makes beats that are hard to rap on on purpose.

12 – Dead Ass. Lyrically maybe the most powerful track for me on this project. Check this one.

13 – Maybe. More heavy content.

14 – Audio Visual. This song is sort of ridiculously cute. I mean, I’m not even mad they didn’t get to put Jack Davey on this one. Can we get this “girl at the time”’s name?

15 – The Champ (LP Version). Seriously, who raps over things like this? Something is wrong with both of these kids.

16 – Funeral March. Propane Pip dropped this one first, but it’s still dope. And by the way, Suhburb – you make fun of me for spinning slab music on my old radio joint, and then you turn around and drop a slowed version of this joint? Explanation? Also, the content here confused me until I read the liner notes – you should probably check them instead of reading this.

And there you have it. Burn it, share it, whatever. I’m still sort of scratching my head over the fact that this isn’t being sold for, you know, money.

So, obviously, I think that this record is dope. Thoughts?

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Thought I told you it was on again.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone for sticking around. I know it’s been a minute. I’ll try to explain more later, but for now, the episode:

This is a sidebar to the Soultronica Saga (which, yes, is still in the works…slowly, but in the works). I set the spaceship aside for a moment and we take a look at an alternate future of rap, jungle, and reggae music: Dubstep.

Let’s get right into the music:

intro: DZ – Strong On Ya.

Loefah – It’s Yours. Well, might as well ease you all into it, right? Rough track. See if you can remember where this sample came from. myspace.com/loefah.

Jay Electronica and Zed Bias – The Cauldron. From a BBC Benji B session, I think. This one I’ve got to say I did not see coming. I’m not exactly sure what the story is behind this one, but think about it – how many US rappers are willing to even consider jumping on a grime/dubstep/categorizemeplease track? Exactly. I think Zed produced this. I think. Courtesy of Sweeney Kovar. myspace.com/zedbias.

The Bug – Skeng feat Killa P and Flow Dan. If you are wondering where the dub and reggae influence I was talking about comes in, listen to this. I remember the first time I heard this in that crazy art studio basement club that Pure Filth used to occupy. Absolutely bananas. I liked this one so much I used to refuse to listen to it unless it was on a real system. The lyrics, though – they are completely over-the-top ridiculous. Seriously. myspace.com/thebuguk.

Rusko – William H Tonkers. Remember me saying that you need a good set of headphones for this one? Exhibit B right here, kids (A was the last one). Dig the synth programming on this one. ruskonfire.

Nebulla and DJ Dore – Poppin (Dirtystep Remix) feat T.I. I can’t say that I like this one better than the original, but it definitely goes kinda hard. The basswork on this one ain’t bad at all.　myspace.com/djnebulla, myspace.com/djdore.

Loefah: Voodoo (666) / Lord Finesse: Check the Method (DJ Premier Scratch Mix). If you just couldn’t get into anything else on this ep, wait until this one. This may well be my favorite song on this episode (which is saying a lot considering my feelings towards The Bug). Ripped from the briliant Dubstep Sufferah Volume 3, which is highly recommended if you liked this one. grievousangel.com.

Moody Boys – Honey Remix feat Erykah Badu. I take back what I said on the last one – if you can’t get into the other cuts, check this one. Seven minute, dubbed-out workout of one of the best new soul singles in recent memory. Brilliant. I think Mamiko likes this one. myspace.com/themoodyboyz.

Pre-emptive shouts to Pure Filth for throwing some of the most inspiring jams I’ve ever had the privilege to attend.

And those who know me personally know that I don’t take statements like that lightly.

So yeah – while I’m certainly no dubstep expert, I know enough to know that I like this stuff. What do you think?

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You all ever heard of this thing? Type A personality? It’s like I can’t even slow down here. Start up this episode, take a deep breath, and try to see the big picture here – it’s bigger than just your issues, kids.

Aside from that, though, I got two pairs of tickets to Nicolay + Kay shows to give away – one in each of these venues:
April 12 – The Forbidden City, Hollywood, CA
April 18 – The Black Cat, Washington, DC

So, I guess I’m supposed to do some sort of “contest” or something. I’ll make this one easy – just write me an email or leave a comment and tell me the number of the last Mixtape Show episode in which Nicolay appeared. Extra consideration given if you make the comment interesting. I’ll pick the winners pretty much asap. This will also be going on the Facebook thing too, so…get moving. Enough of that, let’s do it…

Intro beat – CL Smooth and Skyzoo – Perfect Timing instrumental.

Big Boi – Royal Flush feat Andre 3000 and Raekwon. It’s like the three of them sat down and said “Listen here, Andre. You rap good. Have like seven verses.” And Andre said “Okay”. And it was good. myspace.com/outkast.

The Roots - 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction). I didn’t count them, but if there are 75 bars here, they are all good. Suburb put me up on this one and I’m still kicking myself for taking this long to actually get to it. I’m sometimes not too big on The Roots’ recorded material, but this is just kind of great. Even if there are probably more niggas in this song than bars (bonus points for anyone that counts them up!). myspace.com/theroots

Percee P – Untitled Percee P Track. Or at least that’s word-for-word how it was labeled on this CD. Dig the rhyme patterns that dude uses, and the Billy Jack quotes (I think I should check this film). Once again, kids – the bigger picture. “Payback’s a bitch, America / Karma too” myspace.com/perceep

Jay Electronica – Colors. Seriously, fam? 45 seconds? Don’t worry, kids, I got more.

Guilty Simpson – Pigs. I don’t think I really forsaw anyone attempting to rap over this Madlib jawn. Can’t hate on this dude for taking this one on, because he kinda tore it up. Quotable lines abound. myspace.com/guiltysimpson

Rhymefest – Mentor Mike feat Michael Jackson. What could I possibly have been doing that was so important that I didn’t listen to this song until this morning? Wow. myspace.com/rhymefest

Spec Boogie – Bed Stuy. The beat is just ridiculous. This one came highly recommended from our good friend Suburb, who is currently too busy eating Hot Chee-tos or something to let me listen to his new record. That’s fine, buddy. Spec, though – this is a great track. Plenty more of the same on his myspace. myspace.com/specboogie

Nicolay and Kay – Grand Theft Auto. Yes, the subject matter matches the title. If you dig this cut, hey, maybe try to get yourself a couple tickets. I really shoulda saved this for the next edition of the Nintendo Mixtape, but hey, who knows when that one’s gonna actually drop…myspace.com/nicolay.

Outro beat – Amplive / Radiohead – Weird Fishez. You all have the Amplive remixes of Radiohead’s In Rainbows, right? Good.

Shouts to Aimee, and everyone else that made this episode possible. Bedtime.

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Been a long time coming, but here we go with yet another installment of The New Soul (see whole series lineup here), hosted by Mixtape Show comrade Black TK. This time, TK introduces – or re-introduces, us to two of the true pioneers of this soultronica sound – Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. What they did with their drum programming and synthesizer lines was groundbreaking – and continues to influence producers of progressive music to this day.

For you old heads out there who remember these joints, take off those rose-tinted glasses and really listen to what these dudes are doing with their instrumentation, basslines, and production. Then compare with the next installment of the Soultronica Saga…coming quite soon. Or while you’re waiting, go listen to some of the old Soultronica episodes and hear whence people like Sa-Ra, J*Davey, and hell, Pharrell are taking their cues.

Tracklist:

Cherrelle - I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On. The bassline on this is mean!
Janet Jackson – Nasty. The clarity of the snares on this cut is brilliant. I remember hearing this as a young child and thinking Janet was talking about boys that played in the muddy part of the sandbox.
The S.O.S. Band – No One’s Gonna Love You. Check the processed 909 work and basslines on this one.
Janet Jackson – Making Love In The Rain. I’ve always dug the muted trumpet sound, regardless of the genre. I think I have a Suburb beatflip of this one, now that I listen to this again.

Note that this is also a continuation to the Origins Episode – highly recommended for some more early Soultronica sounds.

And on another note, I have some Black TK material that is going to absolutely blow your mind. I’m dead serious on this one. Blow your mind. Watch for that.

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This week, a history lesson presented in the form of a bonus episode, mixed by the infamous J Rocc of the Beat Junkies. Ladies and gentlemen – Droppin’ Science.

Now, for those of you who are not “up” on the “hip slang” of “today’s young hepcats”, droppin’ science refers to when a professor or scientist accidentally allows a test tube to fall onto the floor. Appropriately enough, then, this mix features a slice of the Blue Note discography that served as the font and laboratory for a major chunk of the production behind many of our favorite rappidy-raps – right alongside some of those true and actually rappidy-raps.

The selection, of course, comes from the recent Blue Note release, Droppin’ Science – Greatest Samples from the Blue Note lab, which presents the original samples in their untampered brilliance. Some of us may well have these songs already (on vinyl, no less), but for anyone that wants a pristine copy of ten of the most-often raided jawns next to the Funky Drummer, this is not a bad choice. Or, hell, if you’re a producer, see if you can sample a different part of The Edge and make it sound as legendary.

And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a good portion of the reason for posting this episode up while I prepare for the next one – I’ve got 5 free copies of this one on hand to give out to anyone who wants one. 3 are going out on this site, 2 are going out exclusively to Mixtape Show Facebook Group members – so join up.

Want one? Pretty easy – if you listen to this mix, you’ll hear, as noted above, some of the actual sampled cuts right next to some of the better-known tracks that sample them. Just name any one of the many hip-hop classics that you hear in this episode below – artist and track, please – and based upon how quick you are and how much I like you, I’ll get you a copy shipped out. Post your answers in the comments. (If you’ve won something in the past, feel free to name cuts, but we’re trying to let everyone get a chance here, dig?)

For those interested in the tracklist of the actual CD you’ll be winning (and if you don’t win, might as well cop it):

1. It’s Your Thing- Lou Donaldson
2. Mystic Brew- Ronnie Foster
3. Think Twice- Donald Byrd
4. The Edge- David McCullum
5. Oblighetto- Brother Jack McDuff
6. Get Out Of My Life Woman- Joe Williams
7. Down Here On the Ground- Grant Green
8. Spinning Wheel- Lonnie Smith
9. Howling For Judy- Jeremy Steig
10. Who’s Making Love- Lou Donaldson

But for this episode itself – for the first time in Mixtape Show history, no tracklist. I’m gonna let you all fill that one out. For the n00bs among us, this is your first introduction to what we in “the know” call “diggin in the crates”, which of course dates back to the old Chinese railroad workers that would dig about in crates full of railroad ties for particularly shiny specimens which they would sell on the black market so that they could afford Mobb Deep records. It’s an exciting world, ladies and gentlemen, and we welcome you.

And hey, bonus, you can listen to this one at work and not get in trouble. No curses!

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So this episode should answer all questions about who I voted for. Let’s cut the typing and do the rundown, shall we?

(but before I do that – remember that you can embed this episode in your myspace, blog, etc! Look above!)

Mobb Deep – Shook Ones (MF Doom Remix). I don’t think I need to say much about this one. The original was great, this one is possibly greater. Doom is just stupid as a producer. Who needs extra drums? Classic. I won’t be mad at you if you rewind just for this one. myspace.com/mfdoom.

Zero 7 – Somersault (Dangermouse Remix feat MF Doom). And Doom shows up as an MC this time. I had a very good friend once that played Zero 7 incessantly whenever I was at her place. I probably know all the songs from their first CD by heart, and I don’t even know what the album cover looks like. One of the odd joints out where Doom actually attempts to tell a(n ostensibly) coherent story. Simple, but dope production. Don’t get it twisted though – Zero 7 is great by itself. myspace.com/zero7.

Amplive - Video Tapez (feat Del the Funky Homosapien). Off the Zion I member’s somewhat infamous Radiohead – In_Rainbows remix album. There are obvious comparisons to be drawn to Dangermouse’s Grey Album, but it’s still a good (and free) record. It raises a lot of questions (doesn’t everything nowadays, though?) about media ownership and rights, as well. myspace.com/amplive.

Donwill - Camp Cupcake. Off the Beat Thieves Vol 2 record. I will leave the title alone and say that I dig this cut.myspace.com/donwont.

vicolude – Daedelus - Playing Parties (Yesterday’s New Quintet – The Stars Remix). Featuring a very prominent figure from my childhood. Okay, who am I kidding – my teenhood and nascent adulthood.

Daedelus - Obama 2008 feat Shariq and Taz of Sa-Ra. This song is so ridiculous it’s not even funny. Wait, it is. This is the jam, official, game over, I could play this 20 times and it would make a great episode. I don’t know why they have to be so dismissive about my mother’s opinions – I think she may very well have voted for Obama. I should ask her. By the way, if you ever get the chance to see Daedelus – do so. It’s brilliant.myspace.com/daedelus.

Donwill - Go Head (beatjackee = Wale Oyejide). I’m not sure what Mr. Oyejide is doing about the inevitable mixup between him and the other Wale, but I’ve always dug the former’s production. Look for more Donwill soon, by the way, as soon as I get that Suburban Sprawl record…

Q-Tip – Breathe and Stop (Iain Haywood remix). More solid production work from Iain – dig the saxophones! What, you’ve heard his stuff before, right? Do your homework. myspace.com/12pads.

Muja Messiah – Paper Planes (feat Manifest). M.I.A. gets the beatjack treatment this time (about time, that Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol 1 was pretty much grand larceny – can we get a Vol 2, by the way?). I obviously like this song. I guess I should be a little troubled that the “activist” message has been lost in this version, but really activism is for pansies anyway. myspace.com/mujamessiah.

I kid.

Bonus cut –

Cappadonna - Slang Editorial (Madlib Remix). Or at least that’s who it’s credited to, I just happened upon this track while I was mixing this episode down. Remember Cappadonna? That dude was cool. I’d listen to a Cappadonna record. Apparently he actually made some records, but all I remember hearing about him after Triumph was that he was driving taxis. myspace.com/madlib.

That’s this episode…what’s good?

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Yeah, so that’s where I’ve been the last few days. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and you know how they usually give you a choice between getting knocked out or just doing anaesthesia? Well, the surgeon took one look at my X-rays and said “Son, we generally like to give our patients a choice in the matter, but you’ve got four impacted choppers in there, and I’m gonna have to put you under. No arguments accepted.” I’ll spare you the bloody details, but suffice to say that there was a lot of sawing involved and I’m not able to talk just yet.

Now, most people would just take a break and enjoy the vacation from rappidy rap podcasts, but I promised myself February would be special. But I was in no condition to speak into a mic – so a few scrawled messages on napkins, promises I have no intention of honoring, and sad puppydog looks later, I managed to con Mamiko into recording the intro for me. Everybody, please, a round of applause for Mamiko.

A lot of good music this episode – let’s get into it.

mamikolude – Bullion – God Only Knows. Yes, the Beach Boys flip. I gotta put this dude on – next beattape, I promise.

Labratz - Grow. Is Labratz a new name to you? It shouldn’t be. More of the same raw post-production (especially on the I mentioned the first time I played these dudes. Too many quotables in here, but all the same – “It gotta precipitate / Before you levitate”. Take that one with you today.myspace.com/thelabratzmusic.

Jay Electronica – When The Levees Broke. I’m not sure who produces some of these more unconventional tracks (it may well be Jay himself, come to think of it), but the understatedness of this cut…man, just listen.

Jay Electronica – Departure. The title of the second part of this cut (not included here – next time!) is what inspired my original name for this episode before Mamiko took it over, but the spirit is still there. Vividly autobiographical track. See that “embed” function up here? You might consider using that to share this with your friends.

Penuckle - I Love Being Black. As do I. I’ve been meaning to get Penuckle on the show for some time, so when he hit me with the track just before February kicked off, I knew this one was a given. Black History Month – do your research. Thanks again, P (by the way, who handled production on this one?). myspace.com/penuckle.

G.L.C. – Honor Me. Not the Welsh group. Not them. No. The flow and beat on this are obviously dope, but what does it for me is that extra vocal tweaking on there. Everyone, more delay, please. The trash talking at the end is kinda funny, but doesn’t take away from the intensity of the track. Shouts to Vince for putting me up on this track. myspace.com/glc.

C.L. Smooth – Multi Barz of Fury (prod. Pete Rock). Yes, you read that right. Is the coldness between the two masters over? I have no idea, and technically this isn’t that much of a new track considering that Pete released this cut on the Surviving Elements as an instrumental called “You Remind Me”. So what does this mean, CL? Are more Pete/CL collabs on the way? myspace.com/clsmoothmusic

Saroc – Black Dot. Exclusive courtesy of Sol Messiah (Labratz). I got an email from dude referring to Saroc as his “secret weapon” with this cut attached. I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to keep her a secret, but the lyrics are definitely impressive. The production? Signature Sol. Make sure to play this back a couple times to make sure you’re absorbing it all – in the meantime, I’m waiting for more from Saroc.

Erykah Badu- Real Thing (prod. Madlib). Anyone else out there miss Erykah? Fortunately we won’t have to wait that long – her new record is coming pretty soon. I wouldn’t mind hearing more collaborations between these two. myspace.com/erykahbadu.

I’m excited for the rest of this month. I’ll post the particulars in a bit, but I’m craving milkshakes again. Thoughts on the show are welcome, as are suggestions for food that won’t make me pass out.

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Yeah, this is the story the Source won’t tell you. Consider this a bonus episode. Back in September, Jay-Z and I had put together a really brilliant companion to the American Gangster movie, featuring a lot of talented beatmakers previously featured on MTSN. I was pretty excited – my first A&R project, my first big industry check, everything was awesome.

Then Def Jam heard the final project and freaked. Next thing I know everyone’s scrambling around grabbing beats from no-names like Pharrell and Just Blaze, nobody’s returning my phone calls, and my money is all screwed up. Then the “official” record comes out, and no mention of my name.

So Jay, if you’re reading this, you know our first version would have gone triple plat, easy. I’m putting the first EP version up so people can hear the original. My version is 10 times better than the commercial release, Jay, and you know that.

intro dexalude: Pimpology 101 by Mathematics.

Nas – Hey Nas (remixed by Quincey Tones). We start with the whole remix thing kinda turned on its head. UK beatmaker Quincey Tones got hold of a bunch of Nas acapellas, plus the original joints sampled on the official American Gangster record, flipped them himself and created a new project. myspace.com/quinceytones.

Jay-Z – American Gangster (remixed by Shuko). That’s funny, when I think of the decade in which I was born, I don’t generally think of medium-sized wading birds in the Ardeidae family. To each his own, I guess. Been a minute since any Shuko production has been on the show. Mick Boogie and everyone’s favorite German got together and flipped Marvin Gaye samples and put this out pretty quick, from what I remember. This is probably my favorite cut on his version of the project.

Jay-Z – Ignorant Shit (remixed by Beewirks). Somebody stop this kid. I had this in my inbox a few days before Christmas hit. Pretty much everyone and their great uncle hit me up on some “hey dex look I made my own Jigga album lolkthx”. Beewirks’ version, though, is easily the most consistently great across the board. myspace.com/beewirks.

Jay-Z – No Hook (remixed by Beewirks). See? Kid’s range is pretty impressive. Beewirks brought a lot of nuance out of both this and the previous track that I think people would normally miss. myspace.com/shuko.

Jay-Z – Blue Magic feat Jack Benson (remixed by Von Pea). Yes, dig Von Pea on vocals – dude takes the remix concept one step further and sings the hook himself. Beat is extra dope too. I remember being absolutely bewildered as to why someone would name a song after hair product and then sing about drugs, but turns out Blue Magic is just extra pure heroin. Go figure. myspace.com/vonpea.

Nas - Warrior Song feat Alicia Keys (remixed Quincey Tones). Somebody will probably step in and hit me for sleeping, but this is the first I’ve heard of Quincey Tones. Dude really is not bad with these soul flips.

February should be an interesting month. We’ll talk more about that later. Until then…

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Most of us here are far too young to remember this, but when Dr Martin Luther King, Jr died he was extremely unpopular in the mainstream US media – primarily because of his stance on the war. This sermon could have been delivered this morning and still have been relevant.

I’m of course not satisfied with this, because it’s really not possible to do the original justice, but this is what I’ve got. I really could have just thrown the acapella on here, that’s a good enough #100 for me. They say we’ll nod our heads to anything said over a beat and they lament the fact that too much of what is said over those beats is destructive.

So here’s something good to nod your head to.

Words: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – The Drum Major Instinct Sermon. Delivered 4th February, 1968. He was assassinated two months later, to the day.

0′35 – Jay Electronica – The D.O.C. Song (loop). This is really just a loop taken from the beginning of Jay’s song by the same name. Not sure what the title of the cut means.

2′58 – P Dukes – Brown Leaves.

5′40 – J Dilla – Anti-American Graffiti (Reprise). Kinda hard to do one of these without the D on here.

6′45 – Suburb – Jazz on Acid.

9′00 – Kenny Keys – Set ‘em Up. Mean cut.

10′40 – Madlib – Old Age (loop).

11′45 – Ayatollah – Listen.

13′40 – Madlib - Pyramids (Changes). If you don’t already own everything that Madlib has put out, you should probably get started now. Stones Throw is a label worth supporting.

15′30 – Suburb – synth+strings. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you listen until the end.

holler.

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Yeah, a little late. New music, new design, new year. Shouts to Rashad for the inspiration on this episode concept. I have so much new music it’s not even funny. More episodes in the pipeline. Beattape, bounce tape, soultronicas, new soul (?), and some new tricks up my sleeve. But for right now, let’s get into the primaries…

intro beat – Iain “F a Quantize” Haywood – Switch on the MPC. myspace.com/12pads. What’s this about UK and US releases in 08 son? Hit the comments, do tell.

Labratz - Dirty Slum. Yes, comparisons to Goodie Mobb and early Outkast are easy, but that’s just because so little progressive Southern rap has hit your ears. Lyrics aside, one of the things I really dig about this record is the approach to postproduction – vocals are slowed up, jammed up, tweaked out, but the final mix is still raw to the point where I had to ask Sol if he was actually done with these because so many people nowadays overproduce records that it’s pretty rare to see someone leave that grit in it. I dig. I also must say that I’ve been walking around chanting “Marty McFly, Marty-Marty McFly-Fly” more often than I’d care to admit. myspace.com/labratzmusic

Marco Polo – The Radar feat Large Professor. Large as a guest MC, not a producer. Don’t get it confused though, the drum work on this still goes hard. myspace.com/marcopolobeats.

Tom C3 and Prince Po – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. The first couple bars of this song reminds me somehow of Lord Quas’ “Come on Feet” for some reason. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard of Tom C3 until I realized he did the Dopestyle 1231 jumpoff (brilliant album art, by the way). Shouts to Nasty Nes for this one. myspace.com/tomc3.

NAAM Brigade – Greatest Man Alive (remix). Well, actually this is more Sonny Black than anything, but still. I’ve heard of these dudes referred to as the Philly Wu-Tang. Who do I need to get on the phone with to figure out what the hell happened to these dudes? You heard them back in Episode 97 with the Message rework. While all these college-rap dudes are trying to recreate some boom-bap sound, NAAM Brigade somehow manages to dig into the early 90s/late 80s with their production and still sound absolutely rough and fresh with the final product.

Jay Electronica – Uprock. Definitely different production from what most have heard of Jay thus far, but damn the dude just eats this breakbeat up. The one man live band strikes again. Jay, if you ever do release Act II, you know you got a home for it here too.

dexalude – [instro: RJD2 - Inhale (remix)]. Internet rumors are crazy.

Bekay - Hunger Pains (prod. Alkota). Like I said, I’ve been following dude for some time (I actually remember his joint with ODB – I think one of the last he recorded), but nothing was quite my flavor – until now. This song isn’t all about “oh I’m white poor me”, but – or what I get from it, anyway – just a series of really screwed up events and situations that often trace back to a uniquely neurotic and American racism. Kinda hard to make it in a minstrel industry without black skin. myspace.com/bekay.

And for the record, the dude sounds nothing like Eminem to me.

Labratz - Creation. So does anyone actually have faith in this straight-ahead government process? I wouldn’t really call myself cynical, but my optimism never really involves fantasizing about real change being brought about through the election of some public official. Black leadership has really fallen off.

As much as I dig the instrumental on this one, you really have to pay attention to the lyrics on this one. I’d quote some here, but seriously, just listen. And then repeat.

“Peace to Barack Obama.”?

(click the image below to listen!)

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Because real talk, Santa Claus does give more presents to rich kids than poor kids. I’ll be spending my giftmas day back in the hood delivering toys and food. If you can do something to bring people up this season, please do so.

In the meantime, feel free to bump this in the ride.

[Intro beat] Meanest Man Contest – Don’t Die on Christmas. I used to play a lot of MMC on the radio when I first started out. I’m not sure who would win a Meanest Man Contest. myspace.com/meanestmancontest

Big Gen and Snipe – This Christmas ft Birmingham J and Mr Mal. This is pretty much the first I’ve heard of dudes. The song is marginally cheesy (I mean, it’s a Christmas song), but it brings to mind the fact that there’s really a very fine line between songs about giving people gifts and songs about giving people drugs. I dig this cut though. myspace.com/biggensnipe

69 Boyz – What You Want For Christmas. What can I possibly even add to this song? Make sure your bass is turned up.

(Digilude): Hally – Xmas Songs Plastic Sputnik Arcade Punk Remix (snippet). And in the suburbs, Mummy and Daddy wake up Brad Jr. What will little Brad Jr. get this year? A lump of coal? A hard-learned lesson in the gritty reality of living in the streets? Or maybe that new nintendo…8bitpeoples for the full cut.

Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Bad Azz, Daz and Tray Dee – Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto. You might not expect this given the list of artists in the credits, but this may well be the most positive song in this episode.

Master Slash Slave – All I Want for Xmas (Is To Get The Band Back Together) (snippet). Apparently this song was written in like 5 takes and 53 minutes of bizarre indiekid desperation. You should visit the myspace just to look at the ridiculous pictures. If Postal Service did more drugs and had cheaper equipment, maybe they could sound as good as these kids. myspace.com/master1slave.

Treacherous Three – Xmas Rap. And to think that this was technically pre-crack era. Jesus. Other songs on here take occasional jabs at the government and media, but this one is actually pretty bold. And yes, Kool Moe Dee was part of this group.

AKIM & The Teddy Vann Production Company – Santa Claus is a Black Man. I don’t know about you guys, but in my house, Santa Claus was definitely a Black man. This joint really should be mandatory in every household.

Every household. Yours too.

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Why is it so cold? Anyway, other news: Giveaways, son!

Yes, I do have 5 copies of 2K Sports’ NBA 2K8 for XBOX 360 (USA version) up for grabs. Merry Christmas, etc. Listen to the show to get details on how to grab your own copy and then post up your ideas in the comments. And as I said, 3 of them will be going out on the site, and two will be going out on the Mixtape Show Facebook Group – you gotta be in it to get the info on how to win one (click here to join up).

Massive, massive shouts to DJ Spaceboy at 2K for making this possible.

This ep – just West Coast all over the place. You’ll like it, I promise.

Strong Arm Steady – Steady Mobbin feat The Game. And Will Blast screaming random ignorant things in the background. No bad feelings though, that just adds to the bananas-factor of this joint. The funky Dago connection is in the house. I love this song. CHUUUUCHmyspace.com/strongarmsteady

Tha D.R.E. – Wild Child. I can’t necessarily vouch for the rest of the record, but for anyone who appreciates Bay Area rap, this cut is a gem. Oddly enough, dude is from Milwaukee.

Unagi – Mo Champagne feat Motion Man. Unagi hit me with this cut and I think I played it 8 times back to back. The dude really is just dope with the loops. unagi442.com.

Johnson&Jonson – La La La. Yes, Blu is in here. Seriously, how are they going to clear these samples? Jon, can you shed some light on this? Either way, this is really dope. (You’ve heard – and seen – Johnson & Jonson here before, by the way). Something to look forward to ‘08 – the Powders and Oils album. myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts. I’m not pretending to understand the name, though.

Spice 1 – Playa Man. Again, get well soon, dude. I’m really just now getting into this cat’s music. myspace.com/spiceone.

Double F – Weed, Greed, and Chases at High Speed (prod. Dilla). This off his mildly controversial 2006 Welcome to Cali Jay Dee tribute tape (which almost made it onto the First Impressions tape). Short, to the point, and, well, great. myspace.com/mystadub

Dam Funk – December Sun – At some point the two of us are going to link up and just give you all a ridiculous show. Dam is just too funky with the beats. I know I talked all over this one, but you can go get yourself a listen at his myspace. Check for him on the new 2K8 soundtrack, too. myspace.com/damfunk.

Kam – (Untitled)?. This comes off of a Naam Brigade mixtape (the only one I have, actually). Yes, the Message revamped. You can hate all you like, but I actually dig this song a lot. Naam Brigade somehow pulls of these throwback beats that show the roots of this music without sounding contrived – on the contrary, a lot of their tape goes really, really hard. Kam is pretty great on this cut, and the combination of the NoI references, the commentary on the West Coast gangster rap market, and the parallels to the original cut are pretty interesting. In that vein, the “fag” lines are a little abrasive at first, until you remember that the original cut dropped them the same way. myspace.com/westcoastkam1

Hope you all dug this one. Good luck in the contest, and be on the lookout for a few special editions of the Mixtape Show coming your way very soon…

And on a related note, I know I’m kinda opening myself to the flames by calling anything a “West Coast” episode. Too much great music out here – again this is just a slice of the diversity out here. Feel free to let the recommendations fly in the comments.

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So for this one, most of the commentary is in the episode. Thusly, I’ll keep the commentary short.

The Fibonacci sequence, or the Mātrāmeru , refers to a sequence in which the given number is the sum of its two preceding numbers; e.g. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc. So this episode is in such a sequence:

0 Tracks
by P Diddy. Duh.

1 Track:
Suburb – The Main Ingredient flip. Some day this kid will finish his album. Until then, I’ll continue digging in the archives of stuff he probably doesn’t even remember sending me.

1 Track:
UGK – Use Me Up. Rest in peace, Pimp C. This was not good news at all.

2 Tracks:
Jay Electronica – A Prayer for Michael Vick & T.I. (We Love You Family). (Prod. J Dilla). Brilliant. Surreal.
Jay Electronica – Dimethyltryptamine. Surreal. Brilliant.

And I’ll say it again: JAY ELECTRONICA IS A GOVERNMENT PLANT

3 Tracks:
Percee P – Lung Collapsing Lyrics feat Pharoahe Monch. This cut is just too much.
Percee P – Yes, You May feat A.G. and Lord Finesse. The internal rhymes before anyone even knew what that was. I’m not sure why anyone would choose to dispose of those that chose to go to their shows, but if he says it, I believe it. Shouts to Percee. I hear he has a new record out.
Percee P – 1991 Freestyle feat Lord Search. The beatboxing on here is just comedy, but if you actually listen past that, you’ll hear the lyrical mastery.

Interludes by: Kenny Keys. (first one is called “Cut”, second is called “Tight Rope”, third is called “Bump”). Good to hear from you again, Ken.

This was a good episode for lyrics, wasn’t it?

ps – here’s the link for the Mixtape Show Hip-hop podcast facebook page. You should join it, giveaways popping off very soon…

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Once again, I have to give full credit to Mick Boogie, Busta Rhymes, and of course J Dilla. This is a distilled version – my favorite tracks – from the just-dropped Dillagence mixtape. All joints are brand new. This is just stupid good. Stop reading right now and listen. If you want the full version, grab it at mick’s site - though the servers there seem to be struggling with the traffic (part of the reason I did this ep).

You’re gonna dig this one.

Busta Rhymes – Dillagence.

Busta Rhymes – Takin’ What’s Mine. And yes, you’ve heard this beat on this show before, but I just had to do this one again. Stealing somebody’s lunch, their lunch money, and then making them buy their lunch back from you? That’s horrible. Did I say Busta wasn’t funny anymore? I take it back.

Busta Rhymes – Step Up. This beat is just ridiculous.

Busta Rhymes – Words from Ma Dukes. Dilla’s moms speaks to the people.

Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, and Talib Kweli – Lightworks. One-upping the version on the 2K8 soundtrack. I remember my first time at the Do-Over and seeing people just go bananas to this song. Not this song, actually, just the instrumental. Like 1:30 of the Lightworks instrumental off of Donuts, and just wow. I was absolutely blown away.

Busta Rhymes and Rah Digga – Best That Ever Did It. RD is just crazy on this track. References to Portishead, Benzino, Eminiem’s drug habit all in the same verse? Busta’s just a given here.

Busta Rhymes and M.O.P. – Classic. Dig what he says at the end about Dilla’s production and EQing, which is something I’ve heard a lot. For those who this doesn’t seem like a big deal to, talk to anyone who’s ever been on deadline for an album and the studio lost the Protools files. Not fun.

Busta Rhymes and Rah Digga – The Range. As much as I loved that Plastic Cups remix (anyone who came to my last house party knows that one took on special significance!), this one is really just that dope. I have apparently been sleeping on Rah Digga:

That’s why I go to the range
I see some rednecks with shit I can’t even name
Saying to myself I better do it the same
Revolution coming, shit it already came
They called it a hurricane
That’s why I go to the range…

Damn. DAMN.

Busta Rhymes and Rah Digga – Not Right Now. Beat on this one is ridiculous. That “not right now” hook is alternately cool and hilarious.

Busta Rhymes, Cassidy, Papoose – Psycho. Somehow this makes me think of Cypress Hill. Cassidy has some pretty ridiculous lines on there, but Papoose with that “I’m the new era like a mistake on your computer”, and the “www” lines is just too much. And you know what, I miss Cassidy.

Busta Rhymes – Dillagence Outro. The end of this is absolutely priceless. I won’t ruin it for you.

That’s it. If you want the full version – go get it, there’s plenty on there that wouldn’t fit here.