Last Wednesday night was the debut of Flying Lotus' ambient set at the Low End Theory with harpist Rebekah Raff, who has toured with the likes of Kanye, Outkast and Britney Spears. The set was incredibly atmospheric, probably different from what many expect out of the weekly Low End Theory hip hop show, but an incredible treat and a nice departure from the beat-heavy club to say the least. Anyways, Gaslamp Killer kicked off the set with some nice electronic and dirty south jams, and then Daedueus' band The Long Lost followed up with a nice laidback set. [...]
Here's a new mixtape from DJ Benzi and the good people over at 10 Deep. Wale and Kid Cudi have hosted previous installments of 10 Deep's mixtape series and with DJ Benzi going in like he did on this one, The New Deal is going to be a tough act to follow. Benzi said the people at 10 Deep hit him up when their other host unexpectedly dropped out and he had to put this thing together in just a matter of a couple weeks. Nonetheless, The New Deal definitely doesn't sound rushed and with all of [...]
Alright, back to that raw shit, I'm glad I stayed in tonight and discovered this Flying Lotus Essential Mix over at the Mad Decent blog. This thing is like two hours long and it really sounds like Fly Lo put some time and effort in to it. This is if not the best, one of the best mixes I've heard all year and I'm trying to spread the word about Flying Lotus to pretty much everyone I meet at this point. Amazingly, this guy is really not as popular on the West Coast as I expected him to be, but [...]
One of the only few mainstream American bands that has captured my attention over the last few years has been Maroon 5 and not just because every girl I know starts to gyrate whenever their songs come on the radio. It's because they actually have unique, catchy melodies that don't really sound like anyone else out there, and their singer has a pretty good voice. As a matter of fact, a close friend of mine and I were riding around listening to the radio in Bowling Green, KY a few years back and about halfway through "This Love", we broke [...]
This is the first new cut off of the soundtrack for Notorious, the Biggie Smalls biopic set for release on January 16th. I gotta say I'm really looking forward to this movie, being that Biggie is easily my favorite rapper of all time and I think Gravy was actually pretty good choice for the part. Guerilla Black would've also been a good choice, but the guy is from Compton and lord knows we don't need to stir up any more coastal rivalries (especially those involving puppets). The Notorious soundtrack is scheduled to be released on January 13th and aside from [...]
The Clipse released a new mixtape today titled Road To Till The Casket Drops. In conjuction with Complex Magazine, the mixtape commemorates the release of The Clipse's new clothing line, Play Cloths, as well as the duo's new LP, Till The Casket Drops, their first on Columbia Records. If any of you were a bit disappointed with We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3 like I was, Road To Till The Casket Drops more than makes up for it. Instead of more Sandman, Ab-Liva and Pharrell disses, we just get the Clipse by their lonely dropping a dozen pure coke-rap [...]
This is Justice's DJ set from the annual I Love Techno festival in Belgium, courtesy of Asian Dan, who reports that this is their first live set using Ableton. To be honest with you, I can't say that this is all that much different than Justice's other live sets, but it's damn good as usual, and there's a little bit more hip hop and it seems more uptempo than their previous sets. I think Ableton's working for them. Asian Dan also has a mix from Justice's performance on The Weekend Warm Up, which you can find a link to below. [...]
If you're a big Franz Ferdinand fan, chances are you've heard this new track "Ulysses" and if you aren't, you should probably check it out anyways because it really doesn't sound much at all like the material from their first two albums. This track and "Lucid Dreams" find an excellent common ground between pop and hard rock. Stereogum compared "Ulysses" to Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On", but aside from the similar bassline, this track rocks out a lot harder, although there is a nice semi-melodic breakdown towards the end. Regardless, I think fans and critics alike are both going [...]
Here's a link to Lil Wayne's new mixtape with DJ Drama, Dedication 3, courtesy of Nah Right . I'm only a few songs in, but this is definitely in the running for mixtape of the year. Jae Millz makes frequent appearances on the mixtape, as do Willie The Kid and LA The Darkman. This poses the question..is there about to be some kind of southern rap consolidation going on? I'd be perfectly fine with that if it included these guys and not Ace Hood or Soulja Boi. Good to see Jae Millz back in the game in whatever way [...]
It just so happens that "Bama Gettin Money" from DJ Benzi and Diplo's mixtape with the Paper Route Gangstaz is featured as the iTunes Discover Download of the week on iTunes. Go scoop it up here while you can, and if you like it (which I'm sure you will, believe me), go pick up Fear and Loathing Huntsvegas, which will finally be released next Tuesday. There's a link to a nice sampler of the album that I posted a while back, as well as this new remix of "Don't Go" featuring Wale below. I've been hyping [...]
So while I'm out on the road, Lil Wayne is still constantly dropping new material and for some reason it seems like the fall and winter really contributes to his productivity (Lilweeziana is just one example). Just a few days ago, The Leak 5, another unauthorized mixtape from The Empire, was released with all kinds of new material and not just features. As a matter of fact one of the best lines on the tape is where he tells people to start calling him "Featuring Lil Wayne". But the tape mostly consists of more great material from [...]
Above is the video for "So Fresh" from Evidence's upcoming Layover EP, due out November 25th. As a nice precursor for the release, Ev has linked up with the West Coast's world famous DJ Skee for The Layover Mixtape, which you can find a link to below. DJ Skee and Evidence - The Layover Mixtape [
This is the most recent leak from Kanye West's new album 808s and Heartbreak, which was recently pushed up a day for a November 24th release date. Yes, oddly enough, that is a Monday, but if that means I get my preorder earlier then it's all fine by me. Two of the only collaborations with top notch rappers on 808s and Heartbreak include those with Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. The rest, as I've mentioned before, is pretty much all Kanye singing in autotune, and the outlook looks pretty bright. On "Amazing", Kanye continues his love-lorn crooning with a feature [...]
"History" is a rumored track from Jay-Z's long-awaited third installment in the Blueprint series. The Blueprint 3 was originally scheduled to hit stores this December, but it looks the album has officially been pushed back until the first quarter of next year, which looks to be pretty wide open for the taking as far as competition is concerned. "History", however, is a metaphorically motivating monster of a track, where Jay-Z rhymes about success and victory as if they're women he's chasing. The concept, along with the flawless production, makes for one of Jay's most truly inspirational tracks. [...]
This homemade 8MM video for "Tape Song" only furthers my ongoing fascination with The Kills. The video features footage from their recent North American tour with The Raconteurs. If you haven't heard The Kills' most recent album Midnight Boom , you should definitely do yourself a favor and go check it out.
Little Joy’s self titled debut is a strong and complex array of vintage folk and classic rock influences that displays little to no interaction with the sounds of modern day rock. Every aspect of the album, whether it be the stripped down production or the songwriting, is coated in the feel of 60s and 70s rock, whether it’s a slight nod to the Beatles on “Play Your Part” or a huge bow to Van Morrison on “Brand New Start.” How well all of these different dynamics blend together on the album is what is really [...]
Critical Acclaim
NSFW: Miley Cyrus shows off her BANGIN TANKINI BOD!
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Better Days
Doldrums - "Holographic Sandcastles"
