Really rather like this video for "Dynamic Tension" by Mr. Dead featuring M. Sayyid. Kind of has that gritty early 80's New York exploitation look / feel, you got in films like Driller Killer and Basket Case. The tune itself is OK and it does sample the classic Morricone ditty from A fist Full Of Dollars, which vies for the title of my favorite film ever.

On a side note "pencil Fighting" seems to be an inner city version of classic English kids pastime Conkers.

The Others' Madwreck and Mattic (of the Wax Tailor crew) along with Catt Magle (producer for Sonny Cheeba, Phonte) have released a free album entitled ZKPRZ. It's a dark, soulful, and sample heavy record.

"We wanted to give something to all hip-hop heads out there to show them some appreciation. The album will be free until physical copies are released later this summer." ... Madwreck

www.myspace.com/zkprz

Download it now!

It feels like ages since the pre-album Feel Like A King EP was released (I think it's been a year). Finally the master bassist from cult downtempo duo Fingathing releases his first solo album. Feel Like A King...Pluck A String. The LP contains all 4 tracks from the EP including the excellent Beduija which was my ringtone for months (probably still is, but I keep my phone on vibrate of late). The albums been well worth the wait (if your into downtempo music), but you don't have to take my word for it you can listen to the full thing over at Sneakys Myspace (in the player further down the page).

The download is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk (or whichever MP3 store you prefer) You can pick up the physical disc from Sneaky's own webstore.

www.thisissneaky.co.uk | www.myspace.com/sneakytunes

Video for "Boom Up History" by 3canal, taken from their LP "Joy + Fire". 3canal are leading exponents of the "rapso" genre of a music which is a "conscious" blending of Soca music and Hip Hop. 

The term Rapso was coined by fellow Trinidadian artist Brother Resistance (Cyar Take That) in the early 80's.

3canal came to prominence with the song "Blue" in1997. Which I must have picked up on a compilation once, as I've found myself playing it quite often over the years.

www.3canal.com | www.myspace.com/3canal 

New video from Wax Tailor featuring A State of Mind (ASM), who are probably best known for their previous collaboration with the French beatmaker 'Positively Inclined'.

www.myspace.com/waxtailor | www.myspace.com/astateofmindproductionz

www.waxtailor.com

"Craig Mack. 1000 degrees. You'll be on your knees and you'll be burnin', beggin' please. Brother FREEZE!"

Nosaj Thing has gained a strong reputation with his remixes of Flying Lotus etc. (check his MySpace profile). His new LP title "Drift" is available for digital download from today (26th of May), the CD hits shelves June 9th. These days I've pretty much dispensed with CD except for the occasional mix CD, prefering digital or Vinyl depending on what I'm buying. Drift features Nosaj Thing's stunning beat driven ambient electronic soundscapes.

Listen to the full tracks "Quest" over at Analog Giant and 'Coat of Arms' at spinner.com.

You can also listen to previews of all the tracks at amazon.com and boomkat (UK)

"For Corners is the first full length album from Diego Bernal, a civil rights attorney and beatsmith, located in San Antonio, TX. For Corners is Diego Bernal's love letter to the music, cultures, era and people that nurtured him.

The music is dusty and layered with Latin soul, from the triumphant blasts of horns to the laid back groove of lowrider melodies. It is a call to return to the simplicity and integrity of hip-hop's best moment and an invitation to enjoy a slightly different kind of southern comfort. Not so much dirty south as directly south. The full album is a completely free download."

www.myspace.com/diegobernalmusic

Hatembargo

Hatembargo is a library music blog with top shelf appeal.

Head Full Of Snow

Head Full of Snow celebrates the music and styles that came about during the late 1960s and throughout the 70s.

MOG Music Network

Music blogs directory

Soul Sides

Oliver Wang's (formerly/occassionally known as DJ O-Dub) funk / soul / rare groove / hip hop audioblog

Analog Giant

Blog is on music (hip hop mainly, electronic, jazz, blends, dub and R&B)

Music video for Hidden Treasure by DJ Vadim feat Sabira Jade. The single is released worldwide on April 12th.

www.djvadim.com | Myspace

Over at The T.R.O.Y. Blog they flip the hip hop of yesteryear with a new brand new twist. Jump on over and download Volume 4 of their compilation / mix series "Sounds Like The 90's."

01. Raekwon - Yessir (prod. MF Doom)
02. MF Doom - Gazzillion Ear
03. Superstar Quamallah - 88 Soul
04. Danny Brown - Contra feat. Elzhi
05. Finale - Heat (prod. J Dilla)
06. Blaq Poet - Too Strong
07. Saigon - Prepare For War
08. Slaughterhouse - Wack MC's
09. Reks - Killaz On Wax
10. Wale - Word Play feat. Curren$y & Tre of UCB
11. Brother Ali - Good Lord
12. CunninLynguists - George (Remix) feat. Khujo Goodi & Killer Mike
13. Jay Electronica - Exhibit A (Transformations)
14. CunninLyngists - Don't Leave (When Winter Comes) feat. Slug
15. Abstract Rude - Rejuvenation
16. Mike Eagle - iRock
17. Dragon Fli Empire - 2-Man Team
18. Oh No - Smile A Bit feat. Posdnous
19. Joell Ortiz - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)
20. Focus - Homage To Pete Rock feat. Rapper Pooh, Sha Stimuli & Kurupt

Props to QN5 Blog

The latest single from the upcoming CunninLynguists’ release Strange Journey Volume One, “Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes)“ is produced by Kno and features Slug of Atmosphere.

"... never got rich and famous, don't get me wrong, theres a lot of different faces that listen to the songs, but theres no big time, never wrote a hit rhyme, had to roll the highway, just to go and get mime"

www.cunninlynguists.com | Myspace

Listen to "Don't Leave (When Winter Comes)" below and purchase the 7" single from Bad Taste Records.

"What you are about to see is a mix of unrelated YouTube Videos/Clips edited together to create ThruYou. In other words - what you see is what you hear."

I love this track, had I walked into a record store (Yeah I still sometimes visit real world independent vinyl stores ... those that are left) and this was playing, the last thought in my head would have been it sounds like a mash up / edit of YouTube music performances.

www.thru-you.com | www.myspace.com/kutiman

"Chief Rocka" from 1993's Here Come The Lords by Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.) is one of my favourite tracks of all time.

Check out D-Nice's True Hip Hop Stories featuring Doitall over at Vimeo

www.myspace.com/lordsoftheunderground1 | www.myspace.com/mrdoitall1

New music video from Kool Keith featuring KutMasta Kurt for "Take That Ride" from the Album "Dr. Dooom 2"

"Dr. Dooom Pebel Stone and The Funky RedNeck Drive The Streets Of Hollywood, and stop for in for donuts and chinese food at chin chins."

www.threshrecs.com

d-nice.com is the online home of Derrick Jones better known as D-Nice of seminal rap crew Boogie Down Productions with KRS-One and the late DJ Scott La Rock.

Expanding into visual mediums D-Nice has carved out a niche for himself as a talented Photographer and filmmaker. The highlight of d-nice.com has to be his series of short films featuring "Golden Era" Hip Hop artists "True Hip-Hop Stories". Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Dana Dane and Doitall of Lords Of The Underground are amogst those featured so far.

You can also check out D-Nice's obligatory profile at MySpace

Analog Giant highlights new electronica, hip hop (mostly of the indie variety), reggae, funk and down-tempo tunes

Left: The Anthem Single Right: Chinoiseries Album cover art

"Due to it's immense success and the huge amount of requests for a longer version of The Anthem, Favorite Recordings felt it had to do it's best to satisfy Onra fans, DJ's as well as newcomers to his beats. The brilliantly odd instrumental hip hop beat constructed around vintage Vietnamese pop records picked up in flea markets on a trip to the far east is now available on 7 inch."

The Anthem is taken from the LP Chinoiseries which French DJ Onra began work on in 2006 after a trip to to Vietnam, where picked up some rare (in the west at least) classic Vietnamese vinyl.

Onra previously contributed to the brilliant French beats compilation La Boulangerie (A LateMag favorite)

www.myspace.com/onra

Check out the short but sweet album version below and search for the 7" version at good record stores near you or go online and order it from Manchester's mighty Fat City record shop.

De Tropix are a duo made up of ST Vincent & The Grenadines born singer / songwriter Cherry B and UK producer Instinct. Having toured the world with M.I.A. maybe its time for Cherry to shine.

Da Tropix:  www.myspace.com/detropix

Instinct: www.myspace.com/instinctsworld

Cherry B: www.myspace.com/cherryoi

Download the E.P. Oi (Free Download uploaded by the artist)

Check out the track "A Dey Hey" below:

Now and again I wander over to Myspace Music and see if any artists have posted any tracks that catch my interest. This weekend I have found myself listening to stuff from Sneaky, Boca 45, DJ B.Cause and X Clan (but I'll mention them in another post).

Sneaky is an artist I've mentioned before, when his album sampler / EP featuring four tracks from his forthcoming LP "feel like a king ... pluck a string"dropped. I still think "Beduija" is a massive tune, the bass drop is simply sublime. The album is due next month but in teh meantime I have been listening to "Grind The Coffee", which while I'm not normally a huge fan of breakbeats at that tempo, I'm loving this.

Bristol based Boca 45 states on his myspace "I'm trying to make beats how they might sound if they were recorded in 1968 in massive studios with real musicians". Currently I am kind of enamored by "Crime De La Creme" from his 2006 LP 'Vertigo Sounds".

DJ B.Cause is someone I know nothing whatsoever about, I ended up on his Myspace via a post on Analog Giant.The dub edit was cool, but I found myself more drown to his cool "Let It Whip" remix and even more to "Annie's Plane Break" which is a cool little mash-up, though its got a sound in it which kept making me think someone had sent me a message on Skype.

*You can listen to "Crime De La Creme" on Boca 45's Myspace

*You can listen to "Grind The Coffee" on Sneaky's Myspace

*You Can listen To "Annie's Plane Break" on DJ B.Cause's Myspace

*Tracks where available at teh time of posting

hiphopsite.com has a wonderful quote from Erick "The Green-Eyed Bandit" Sermon "EPMD makes music for people that like EPMD" I spent my early teens (from like 12/13) listening to "Golden era" hip hop and Eric and Parish Making Dollars where responsible for for some of the highlights from the soundtrack to my adolescence so I can't help but be one of those people.

We Mean Business is EPMD's first album in 10 years and was released on December 9, 2008.

www.myspace.com/therealepmd

London-based Soul, Jazz and Blues-influenced Hip Hop producer, Tommy Tempa, has been quietly gaining recognition for his production of other artists work. However, whilst also making up one third of spooky Hip Hop/Blues outfit, Mancini and the Creepers, he's still managing to make time for his own personal musical output. And for this I am thankful.

Untitled Prt1 is a track from his upcoming EP, which will soon be released by 2600 Recordings. This Jazzy, music-box delight has something of dark French abstraction to it, though tainted with prettily Western-sounding chimes and guitars of Americana. It's a recipe for all-round deliciousness and I thoroughly recommend a listen. Enjoy! 

Catch Tommy Tempa's Untitled Prt1 on a computer near you via his myspace page.

Rudy Ray Moore sadly passed away the other day at the age of 81, best known for his filthy rymeing banter and of course teh character Dolemite.

He guessed on legendary old school rapper Big Daddy Kane's (A contender for G.O.A.T.) album Taste of Chocolate LP way back in 1990 at the age 63. The track called Big Daddy vs. Dolemite see's the old master steal the show.

Check it out below, but keep in mind 'ol Rudy really did have a potty mouth.

www.dolemite.com

Inspired by the Intro to Fiona's Aim / QNC post, I figured I would post this classic video from Brit born New York Hip Hop Legend Ricky Walters AKA Slick Rick, MC Ricky D and Rick the Ruler. Known originally as one of the Kangol Crew with "Cinderfella" Dana Dane and as Doug E. Fresh's right hand man in The Get Fresh Crew.

In 1988 he released the influential album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, which included the track Children's Story a modern fairytale / bedtime story / morality tale with lyrics you just couldn't help but memorise and sing (rap) along to.

Once upon a time not long ago, when people wore pyjamas and lived life slow...I was was fairly in love with the genre that is Hop Hop. But, I became disillusioned with the generic new wave (anything that ever sounded vaguely good to me was only because it was recycling some old classics, and they were better the first time around anyway) and we parted ways. However, I still hold a candle for my much-loved favourites (EPMD, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, etc, etc) and always kept an ear to the ground lest someone might ignite that spark within me once more.

Fear not, folks, as this tale of musical woe has a happy ending, for along came Aim with his track "Before." Before is taken from the Barrow-In-Furness-based down-tempo master's Birchwood EP, and is the vocal rendition which features New York's finest Hip Hop duo, QNC, working their lyrical magic. Of course, as one might expect, Aim doesn't disappoint with the music, serving a delicious helping of glorious brass, strings and vocal loops. But, for me, it's QNC who take this from being just another really great track into something very special. You see, what was lost to me in the Hip Hop genre was the art of storytelling, but this is a skill which QNC brought back with this very sweet and heartfelt tale of the makings and breakings of industry strife. If you don't feel a lump in the throat at such lyrics as "it was only just me" you need to check you're not running on WD40. Fuel for a case of the happy/sads if ever there was one.

Visit Aim's Myspace page at www.myspace.com/aimflight602

Visit QNC's Myspace page at www.myspace.com/qballandcurtcazal

Video for Blanka's track "Brioche" from La Fine Equipe's album "La Boulangerie".

www.myspace.com/laboulangeriealbum |  www.lafineequipe.com

Bristol DJ Parker's debut UK long player hit shelves this week. Hailed as the UK's RJD2 (for good reason), the westcountry beatmaker / party rocker has built quite a reputation for himself. He has his own radio show on XFM with DJ Moneyshot and some solid 12 inch releases as well the not so long ago released mix CD The Butler Did It.

However although the title track "To Eternity" could be the greatest RJD2 (pre wandering off to make sub-par folk music) track not made by RJ himself, Parker is not a clone and this album shows off a great deal of versatilty. 

Sure "that" Brigton / Bristol (think Tru Thoughts etc.) sound is strong here, but what do you expect - he's a westcountry producer. There's certainly a twist of something uniquely Parker added to the mix. Fans of the UKs leftfield hip hop / downtempo and trip hop scene should be on safe ground, with scene luminaries such as DJ Yoda, A Skillz, DJ Andy Smith, and Massive Attack’s Daddy G all giving praise.

While there's definitely no filler here, my own personal taste has me more interested in the instrumental hip hop. So having said that my favourite tracks would be "To Eternity", "Lost" , "Penny Dreadful" and the stand out (I bloody love it) "Old Time Sermon".

However there's no denying that the likes of "Sugar Coasted", "Western Soul" and "Calling You" will probably have more mass appeal.

Don't sleep on this one, drop by Parkers myspace and check out the tracks there, then go get the album - its one of the best releases this year. Certainly if your into Wax Taylor, Shadow, Aim, RJD2, Rob Smith, Boca 45, P*Nut etc. Your going to want to find a place for this in your CD collection or hardrive.

Parker - Sugar Coated (Video) | Introducing Parker (video)

www.myspace.com/djparker

Check out the mighty "Old Time Sermon" below: 

'One Of Those Days' video taken from the album 'Rock This World'. UK rapper Mystro flows over the production of Mark Rae and Rhys Adams.

www.yeskingrecords.com

Promo video for 'To Eternity' the album by Parker

www.myspace.com/djparker

www.cunninlynguists.com | Myspace