'Sirens Comin' - DJ Shepdog (Busta vs. Dizzee Mashup)

Check out DJ Shepdog's youtube channel for more mashups and DJ type jugglinz such as Dead Prez vs. Damien Marley and Gorillaz vs. Malente.

Tea Sea Records CDs Available!

Big ups to Tom Caruana, UK producer and boss of Tea Sea Records. I've just got home to a fat pack of CDs from him, 7 in all, so thought I'd big them up a little (if that isn't a contradiction?).

He's sent me, in no particular order, 'The Rough Versions: Bootleg remixes by Tom Caruana' (which features tracks from D.I.T.C, J-Live and Busta), 'Tom Caruana Instrumentals Vol. Two' (which features beats from Dr. Syntax's 'Off The Radar' and Wordsmith's 'The Roadman Showcase'), 'Boiler Room Collective: The Mixtape' (with tracks from Dr. Syntax, Wordsmith, SkinnyMan, Genesis Elijah, Supar Novar and loads more), Longusto's 'Back In The Bad Books', 'Tom Caruana Instrumentals Volume 3', 'Boiler Room Collective: The Album' and his own 'Welcome Aboard'.

All of these CDs are available to you from Suspect Packages (just click on the CD names above) for the very reasonable price of £4.99 or less! There are also other bits and pieces available over at SP from TC's stable. I'll be working my way through these and keeping you updated on my progress!

'The Diary Volume 1.5 (Twenty Years of the Remix)' - VA - Chris Read (free download)

'The Diary (World's Greatest Rap Megamix)' dropped in 2007 and it was a 800+ track mix that really really did what it said on the proverbial cylindrical metal container. If you missed that one, then you can download it for nothing at Music of Substance's downloads page.

As a stop gap between that and the second volume, which is currently being worked on, Chris has put together 'The Diary Volume 1.5 (Twenty Years of the Remix)'. This time the tracks are split and named (an easier task than splitting and naming hundreds of tracks!) and it features Chris Read's own remixes of tracks from Eric B & Rakim, Nice and Smooth, Heavy D, Beatnuts, Jurassic 5, Jay Dee, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep and loads more top quality names.

The idea of this latest work is: "one iconic hip hop track from each of the last 20 years, remixed paying tribute to the prouction style and sampling trends popular at the time of the original release. From the James Brown influenced style of the late 80s, to the jazz sampling trends of the mid '90s, to the iconic and distinct sounds of DJ Premier and Jay Dee, all the cornerstones of the genre's development are touched upon." A mixtape with a great concept!

‘You Know What Love Is’ – J Dilla & VA – Mixed by DJ Spin Doctor (album review)

Tupac. Biggie. Now J Dilla. Posthumous releases in the form of tributes are the order of the day 3 years after Jay Dee’s untimely death. London’s Doctors Orders mainstay Spin Doctor is the latest to pay homage to the Detroit based producer.

Now I’ve got to admit, during his life, I was ignorant of his work. Since his death I’ve realised a few of my favourite tracks were produced by him, for example, ‘Dynamite!’ by The Roots (one of my all time favourite songs). I don’t know how many other people share my experience of unawareness but for me, J Dilla’s legacy is similar to that of art world greats.

The good thing about Spin Doctor’s mix (apart from all the Dilla bangers) is that ALL of the proceeds will go to the Yancey family and Lupus UK. Over both discs Spin Doctor steers clear of the better known productions and instead offers up remixes, original breaks and lesser known tracks, making his mix a little different to the others.

With healthy doses of golden age favourites such as Busta, Q-Tip, Tribe and De La and equally hearty portions of Motor Town artists like Slum Village and Phat Kat the instrumentals and original sample sources all meld together perfectly. If you didn’t know what Dilla sounded like before, this mix will ensure your ears are attuned to some of the most headnod provoking Hip Hop instrumentals ever made.

All J Dilla fans, there must be many out there, need this mix. 2 hours of the late, great Jay Dee and your hard earned dollar/pound/euro/yen going to a worthy cause. Realness. Get it at Phonica.

'The Golden Age' - Spin Doctor (free download)

Do you love the 90's? 90's Hip Hop that is Well if you do you needs to get your mitts on Spin Doctors 'The Golden Age' mix.

It's packed full of goodness from the likes of Brand Nubian, The Pharcyde, The Fugees, The Roots, Common, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Busta Rhymes... man the list goes on. But really, it speaks for itself so I'll continue: Black Moon, KRS One, Junior Mafia (unfortunately, can't stand em), Big L, Showbiz & AG, Lord Finesse, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Keith Murray, Das EFX, Sadat X, Mobb Deep, Rawcotics, Nas and Africa Islam (wipes sweat off brow and fingers).

'The Golden Age' is expertly mixed by an expert and is bound to be many folks cup of tea, or even coffee - the Americans will love it too! Whatsmore, you can get it for free! If you go to The Doctors Orders webpage, then you'll find this free to download as one fat track. If you want a hard copy with the artwork and everything then track it down at Sounds Of The Universe, Revival Records, Wyld Pitch, Sister Ray or Phonica.

Whilst you're there, there are loads of other mixes to download - cool!

'The DJ Sessions' - VA - Jabba Tha Kut (Mix CD review)

Blam! Jabba Tha Kut’s new double mix CD could be decribed with that one word. It’s terrific! Jabba has selected just under 20 of the best UK tunes and the same amount of US tunes and has mixed, cut and blended them together most expertly to create a pretty joyful listening experience.

I couldn’t have chosen a better play list myself – familiar and now-familiar tracks form a back-to-back wall of thumping Hip Hop. The opening tracks on both the UK and the US CD absolutely bang – Constant Creation’s anthem ‘Staying Hardcore’ and ‘Do It Now’ by Mos Def and Busta Rhymes are so heavy! English guests include Sir Smurf Lil, Triple Darkness, Skibadee, Brotherman, Jack Flash, Lowkey, Dirty Diggers and Kyza. On the US disc you get the aforementioned Busta and Mos, Sean Price, Marco Polo, O.C., CL Smooth and Reks. The underground is thouroughly represented on both CDs with the lesser known names providing absolute fire to rival the famous guys.

This one will definitely be returning to all manner of music players in my life and I can honestly say it has put me onto a few artists who I’ll be looking out for – Aboriginals for example, who appear to be a modern day Native Tongues – lovely. Thanks Jabba and HHB Radio!

It's being released on 23rd February 2009 and if I were you I'd go here to find out more and to buy it!

We Three Kings

Today's piece of Beastie Boys influenced art is by Chris Roth and it's one of the most unique and original pieces out there. This is stained glass and there is just so much sense to it. Check out what Chris had to say for himself when I asked him what influenced him to make this:

"I've been a HUGE fan of the Beastie Boys since I was about 11. I wanted to somehow showcase in the piece that these three fellows were right there at the birth of Hip Hop and haven't, like so many other acts, faded away with time. The motif of "The Three Kings" worked perfectly, as they are "three Jews from the east" and there is something just so wrong (and awesome) about those early Beasties hanging out with the virgin Mary. The piece was constructed using traditional painted stained glass techniques. A design is finalized, all the pieces are cut from glass, pigment is applied, and the pieces get cooked in a kiln at 1300 degrees F before assembly.

I like the Beastie Boys for a number of reasons: their music, their longevity, their creativity, their positive messages, their efforts to free Tibet.

Favorite BB song... too hard to say..."

So that leaves it up to me to put the 'B' in B-Boy, I'm going to pick the track. I'm going to choose 'Paul Revere', a much sampled/rehashed/quoted Beasties track that tells an imaginary tale of how the boys all met:

Beastie Boys - 'Paul Revere'

Busta Rhymes - 'Paul Revere '04' ft. Labba & DJ Green Lantern

and here's a track sample in 'Paul Revere': 'I Like Funky Music' by Uncle Louie

Talib Kweli on Ghost Weed

You remember those skits on De La Souls 'AOI: Mosaic Thump'? You know the ones where the MC's at a cypher smoke the 'Ghost Weed' and their voices gradually morph into that of a real famous rapper? No? OK, maybe just me and the select few then. Anyway, Talib must be on that particular brand of the leaf. I can't be the only one who has noticed that his already kinda high and mildly squeaky voice has ascended into Q Tip heights. Just check out this selection of mp3's in chronological order and you'll see what I mean. Incidentally, this collection of tracks is actually a really nice Kweli play list:

Black Star - 'Definition' - Released in 1999, it's almost certain that this is Kweli's best song, Mos Def kills it too...all sing along: "One, two, tree, Mos Def and Talib Kweliiiiii".

Reflection Eternal - 'This Means You' ft. Mos Def - Released in 2000, probably my favourite sequence of consecutive songs ever is on Kweli and Hi-Tek's 'Train of Thought' set. This is preceded by 'Move Somethin', 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'The Blast' (so good I named my Uni Hip Hop night after it) and they are all such great tracks. What many don't know is that if you fold the CD inlay in a different way you get much better cover art, we all know the proper cover is whackedy whack.

Hi-Tek - 'Can We Go Back' ft. Ayak & Talib Kweli - Released in 2006 and we hear Kweli's voice on the up along side London's Ayak (who I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, check her).

Strong Arm Steady - 'One Step' ft. Talib Kweli - Released in 2007 and, yup, his voice is up one more notch on the voice-higness-meter. A great track with a great crew, I gots to check some more music by this collective.

Talib Kweli - 'Follow the Leader' ft. Busta Rhymes - Released this year on Kweli's new mixtape 'The MCEO Mixtape' (Yes, that is a cross between MC and CEO, bet Jay-Z is gutted he didn't think of that one for himself). Talib is positively chipmunk-like here and must have just inhaled a great deal of Ghost Weed smoke. This is an awesome track over Eric B's 'Follow the Leader', flawless production that seems to have got stronger over time too. As usual, Mr. Rhymes's guest spot is hungry and entertaining.

Get that Mixtape for yourself by clicking here, or here, or here, or here. No excuses now eh?

Also, here are the De La tracks with the ghost weed skits at the end:

De La Soul -'Oooh' ft. Redman (Ghost Weed skit features Pharoahe Monch)

De La Soul - 'Set The Mood' ft. Indeed (Ghost Weed skit features Phife)

De La Soul - 'With Me' (Ghost Weed Skit features (a woman doing) Black Thought)

Get all tracks in ther body bag, zipped up here

And finally, much love to Tunji for emailing me all the promo stuff for this mixtape, check him out at http://inversehiphop.wordpress.com/.

This must be Love

I remember watching a video either at school or at a youth group that was all about love and sex, you know how they do. Anyways, at the time it was made (it was outdated when we watched it then) Simon Mayo was the big cheese in the radio DJ world. He worked at Radio 1 and was excited to show us how he’d categorised all the records he receives into ditties about love and, as far as I can remember, ‘other’. He proved his point, there are a lot of songs about love, the majority of those played on Radio 1 in fact are about love.

Love is a powerful emotion so it’s unsurprising that there are so many tunes about it. It’s almost a requirement for an artist to make at least on track with ‘love’ in the title or somewhere in the lyrics. Here are 10 tracks, not a top 10, just 10 tracks about love that I like.

Busta Rhymes – I love my Chick
All there is to be said is ‘Yup Yup I love my chick’ and ‘comedy’.

Lady Sovereign – Love me or Hate me
So this isn’t strictly about love but it is in a way. Plenty of people do bother about whether people love them or hate them, most people are insecure in this way…and I just wanted to post the S.O.V.

Labi Siffre – Turn on your Love
This is the guy (not the song) Dre sampled on Em’s ‘My name is’ so you know he’s got that funky soul going on.

Huey Lewis & The News – The Power of Love
One of the songs going by this title, definitely the best by far. A great feel good tune perfect for driving.

K-Os – The Love Song
Hailing from Canada and contradicting the title in the first line (“This is not a love song, it’s a sonnet”) K-Os brings dusty beats and sing-song lyrics and if I remember correctly this was used in an advert that had a fly in it.

Peace 586 – Love’s still there
Not man/woman love this time but man/God love, 586 explains a relationship with God easily over this laid back, sweet, headnod beat.

Erick Sermon – Love iz ft. Al Green
A song about all sorts of ways that love is manifested all built around a sample of Al Green singing, you guessed it, ‘Love is…’.

>aRRO – I Luv U ft. Digga
Sharing a title with a Dizzee track could be a bad thing, but in this case it’s not. This is something a little different for y’all, from the vocoded fart bassline to the 80’s rock snare via the Grange Hill theme tune breakdown this is pure fun (and love).

Uffie – First Love
Yeah so posting Uffie is a little hypocritical after the whole Justice thing, especially since I got this off someone else’s blog but it fits right in here. This has 80’s written all over it and Uffie’s cheesy lyrics fit nicely with that but the fact they are slightly vocoded really brings it bang up to date, as does the broken electro beat.

Codebreaker – Are you ready 2 love?
This is probably thieved off another blog too but it’s infectious with more vocoder, funky guitars and bass and simple lyrics that I challenge you to not sing along to.