Blog: Fancy Sounds

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The B.E.T. cypher has become one of my favorite traditions in hip-hop. Every year some of the game's best veterans and up-and-comers get together to battle it out in rap's most basic form. A mic, a beat from DJ Premier, and however many bars are all each rapper gets to prove themselves and win the hearts of the audience. Careers have been made and broken at the cypher, and it's always fun to find out, at it's rawest form, who are the real poets in the rap world and who are the wannabes. This [...]

I think I’ve figured out the ultimate realness test of live bands. Sweat level. If the band isn’t getting a work out, then they aren’t giving you their all. Judging by the drenched clothing among the members of Cut Copy every single night they play, I’d say they do a pretty good job of staying fit. In fact, Dan Whitford (vocals, keys, guitar) could easily host his own work-out program based on dance moves. I’m not even kidding. Cut Copy has been one of those bands that grew up with me through [...]

Coming to you straight from Harlem is Smoke DZA and ASAP Rocky's latest single, "4 Loko". Both these rappers have been releasing fire lately  and now there's a video for their latest track named after the notorious alcoholic concoction that caused that legendary night that you've somehow completely forgotten. Smoke DZA and ASAP Rocky both throw some really hard rhymes over the beat produced by  Lex Luger. ASAP Rocky's released a few dope videos lately, if you haven't seen them make sure to drop by his Youtube channel . Soon to be up from the Harlem underground, ASAP just recently signed [...]

Here's a new one from Thundercat titled "$200 TB". It was originally released as a bonus track on foreign versions ofThundercat's album  The Golden Age of Apocalypse . Now Flying Lotus has uploaded the track to his soundcloud. The song has a distinct Brainfeeder feel to it, which makes sense because Flying Lotus and Austin Peralta (both Brainfeeder artists) helped make it. Thundercat - $200 TB prod.Flying Lotus ft. Austin Peralta by Flyinglotus

• Thundercat - $200 TB prod.Flying Lotus ft. Austin Peralta

I haven't jumped on the Lana Del Rey bandwagon yet. She's pretty and has a good voice, but other than that I don't hear anything too enticing about her. Anyway, master remixer Joy Orbison has added his signature minimal groove to her song "Video Games". Check it out below.

Today The Roots announced that their new album, undun , will be released on December 6. It is a concept album described as "an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens" in the band's press release. Along with the news of the new album, Okayplayer has posted the premiere of the albums' first single, "Make My" feat. Big K.R.I.T. "Make My" will be on iTunes starting November 1.

• okayplayer - The Roots "Make My" featuring Big K.R.I.T.

Kendrick Lamar - "Cloud 103 (prod. Nosaj Thing) Learn more about the Windows Me Series .

• Kendrick Lamar - Cloud 10 (Prod. by Nosaj Thing)

The hype is building for Common's upcoming album, The Dreamer, The Believer . "Blue Sky", produced by No I.D. is most likely the next single off the album, and features a sample of ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky" . This is only a piece of the full track, and is not full quality. Look out for The Dreamer, The Believer  if you want to hear "Blue Sky" in its full glory. Common - "Blue Sky"

2011 has been a quiet year for Just Blaze, but he's back in a big way with a new beat for Rick Ross. "I Love My Bitches" will appear on Ross' upcoming album God Forgives, I Don't . Hearing this beat—in fact hearing Ross over anything other than a Lex Luger beat—is getting me excited for the album. Lyrically, Ross is as subtle and articulate about his lifestyle as ever. "Am I really just a narcissist / cause I wake up to a bowl of lobster bisque?" he asks, finally articulating what everyone's been wondering. Rick [...]

• Rick Ross - I Love My Bitches

J. Cole’s debut is reminiscent of Kanye West’s College Dropout for several reasons. Both artists have a decent education (J. Cole graduated from St. John’s University), both struggled as rapper/producers before being signed by Jay-Z, and both of their debut albums show off their abilities to humbly rap about their journey in to the record industry over soulful beats. After releasing his luxury-rap epic, Watch The Throne , with Jay-Z and premiering his women’s clothing line at Paris fashion week, Kanye is hardly recognizable as the young, exuberant rapper on College Dropout , but with [...]

Hey there! I know it's been a while, but we've been working on a new site. Now we're coming back bigger and better than ever. Check out the new site: http://www.fancysounds.com . We'll be posting music news, reviews, and downloads daily.

You can bet that things are going to start looking up when Mary Anne Hobbs names you her "Favorite Unsigned Artist of 2010". You can also bet that you'll be getting rid of that "unsigned" part. Coming out of the U.K., Young Montana is one of several artists working to bridge the gap between L.A.'s beat makers and London's ever-expanding dubstep scene. But what makes Young Montana's music even more interesting is that he takes it back and uses a more classic hip-hop sound, reminiscent of legend's like Madlib and Dilla, rather than keeping it electronics [...]

Warpaint , an L.A. based all female quartet, have had a steady stream of tracks floating around the internet since the beginning of this year and in a little over a month, October 25 to be exact, we'll finally get to here their debut album, The Fool . They've given the public a taste of the album with their single "Undertow". The four-on-the-floor beat and synchronized bass and guitar are reminiscent of The XX , but everything else, especially the funky breakdown just before the three minute mark, is all Warpaint. Download "Undertow" and the older but equally [...]

The Morning Benders have covered Paul McCartney's "Ram On" as a part of their Echomix2, which you can download here . The cover has an unexpected R&B feel with heavy drums and a speaker-shaking bass. Download: The Morning Benders - Ram On (Paul McCartney Cover)

Women didn't get nearly enough credit for their self-titled 2008 debut. It had more than a couple memorable songs and there wasn't a bad song on the album. Now, as they're readying their second album, Public Strain, I get the feeling they won't be so easy to ignore this time around. The single, Eyesore, runs just over six minutes but you'll be begging for it to keep going by the end. It's mellow production and atmospheric layering of guitar and bass drag you in while the melody invades your mind. Public Strain comes out September 28 on Jagjaguwar [...]

Ana Caravelle is a 22 year old harp player and vocalist who has ties with the L.A. beat scene through her boyfriend/producer Asura . Her music is reminiscent of Bjork and Joanna Newsom and any other harp playing pop-vocalist you can think of. As if that weren't intriguing enough on its own, the production and remixes of her tracks combine two completely unrelated genres to create songs unlike anything you've ever heard. Her debut album, Basic Climb, comes out September 28 via Non Projects . Below is a spectacular track from Basic Climb and a remix by [...]

Jonwayne is one of several members of the WEDIDIT COLLECTIVE , a collective of L.A. based beat makers. He is a rapper and producer with an upcoming release on Stones Throw. His latest track, "Infinite", is the strongest thing he's put out yet and is one of the best beats I've heard in months. Also, check him out rapping over a RZA beat in the video above. Keep an eye on this one. Infinite by jonwayne

As Dominant Legs , Hannah Hunt and Girls' guitarist Ryan Lynch create an entirely new form of indie tinged disco-pop. The combination of his vulnerable voice and her dreamy backing vocals creates a playfulness that makes you want to get up and dance. Despite having only a four track EP out, the duo's fan base is growing rapidly. Two tracks from the Young At Love And Life EP are below. Dominant Legs - Young At Love And Life [mp3] [...]

Teebs is one of the youngest and most promising beat-makers coming out of the Los Angeles area. He's signed to Brainfeeder and has an EP and a debut album on the way. The album, titled Ardour , is supposedly being released on Oct. 19. "Arthur's Birds" is the first track from the album to be shared with the public. It's dreamy bells and buzzing bass will have you listening to it on repeat. Teebs - Arthur's Birds [mp3] [...]