Javelin: No Mas

So last night my weekend told me it wasn’t ready to settle in  just yet, so I said – okay weekend let’s bounce up off this couch.  I landed at the always all ages, Seattle landmark venue Vera Project and ended up peeping out Javelin, a Brooklyn based duo – comprised of funky cousins Tom van Buskirk, 27, and George Langford, 29. Armed with drum pads, mpcs, a dollar store piano guitar, an electric kazoo and slew of other merry noisemaking tools – Javelin proceeded to rock the modest yet giddy crowd.

The set made me feel alot of things, a few I’ll name here: merry go rounds, mexican ice cream trucks, miami sound machine, that movie batteries not included, kisses, a quechua disco, Herbie Hancock, dancing like a kid at a Chuck. E. Cheese animatronic show,  rainbows, Dilla. It was fun. These guys pride themselves on digging for dollar bin gems and transforming them into that new new. Javelin are signed to Luaka Bop the label of eccentric maestro David Byrne.  You can download the very fresh, very free mixtapes World Midi Classics Vol.2 or Andean Ocean Tape below. Still,  do yourself a favor and earn what! u aint up on this? points by copping the recently released, and thoroughly pleasing full length No Mas, here .

Here is vibrationz, a guaranteed summertime jam off of No Mas.

Dice, Dilla, Pregunta

I either jumped the gun or its very serendipitous that Shake just posted this over at 2dopeboyz at about the same time I was hitting the publish button on the previous post.  Damn it 2db, you’re always staying one step ahead of me!

Anyway.  Y’all already know how I feel about the The Roots’ Dilla tribute, and I’m tired, so I’m gonna keep it short and sweet.  Remember Dice Raw from the good ol’ Illadelph Halflife and Things Fall Apart days?  Yeah that’s him.  And he’s rapping over Dilla Joints.  It’s not the same as the first time they got together, but it’s good to hear Dice Raw rhyming with  The Roots again (sorta).  

Dice, Dilla, Pregunta also features Charles P Bailey, Rick Friedrich, and Yameen Allworld.  Free download link and tracklist after the

The Roots – Dilla Joints

I know that this came out back in February, but the blogs were too busy with Dilla tributes around that time for this album to shine properly.  I also realize that a bunch of better-known music blogs reposted this album not too long ago, so if you already downloaded this or saw this elsewhere, my bad – give a brother a late pass.  But if you’re a Dilla or Roots fan (if you’re not a fan of both, close this window and don’t ever read my posts again) and you haven’t listened to this totally free and awesome tribute album yet, you need to do yourself a favor and download this now.

14 Dilla tribute tracks performed by the Roots.  I believe this is what they mean when they say ”unfuckwithable.”  

Just Because (Part Deux)

This is one of the chronically slept on Slum Village tracks that more ppl need to know about. “Don’t Fall in Love” is an ill cut all by itself. But the remix version of this track is where it’s at. It’s arguably better than the album version and I damn sure wish more DJs would play it.

Detroit Heat Part 7: Never Forget James Yancey!

Today is February 5th and it’s not technically J Dilla week yet, but it’s a little too quiet for me this year. I haven’t heard very much about the onset of Dilla week, which typically commences on February 7th (Dilla’s birthday) and includes tribute parties and events around the globe. I hope all of that is still happening and I’m just missing the hype, but either way, I haven’t heard much noise about it and it makes me wonder if folks are starting to care a little bit less about the life of the late great James Dewitt Yancey. I could write chapters on how vital Dilla was to hip-hop of the past and hip-hop today, but instead of doing that, I’m just going to post one of my favorite Dilla beats of all time and let it ride. One the count of three, #turnitup!

YouTube – J Dilla – Airworks (Donuts) – Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Bullion: psychadelicious

Hailing from West London, and the One Handed Music squad along with Paul White, Nathan “Bullion” Jenkins sneaks mushrooms into your hip hop dance party and shames you off the decks. Apparently this beat savant piqued many an ear with a mix called Pet Sounds: in the Key of Dee, a remix project that remixed The Beach Boys in the style of the late and beloved Dilla. This was followed by the well received Young Heartache EP.

Now Bullion packs more flava for ya ear with the new single “Say Goodbye to What” along with a free mix composed in cahoots with the freshcheckers at FACT magazine. The single and mix are a gumbo of Krautrock, afro-funk, avant-garde electronics and dreamy 70s rock. For god’s sakes have the friends over for a potluck and dance already… Download the Bullion FACT magazine mix

J. Dilla’s “Take Notice” (60 piece orchestral refix)

Taken from J. Dilla’s Rough Draft EP, this is “Take Notice” like you’ve never heard before,  performed by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and the Suite for Ma Dukes orchestra and mixed and mastered by legendary Grammy award-winning producer/mixer Bob Power (you there? turn up the bass and level, make my shit sound clear).   Download the mp3 here.

Offly Good: Beat Dimensions Vol.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember gushing to local beat savant WD40 about how dope the first Beat Dimensions compilation was:  full of delightfully weird cuts with that Spacey off-beat swing, crackin crispy drums, and warm warbly bass.  A couple weeks back the homie hit me with the news that a Beat Dimensions 2 (compiled by Cinaman and Jay Scarlett) was coming out. I took the late bus – but managed to give it a listen tonight – i say thumbs up good sir/madam. Here a couple of joints off the compilation that I am really feeling…  to cop the album hit http://www.myspace.com/beatdimensions with the itunes link, or poke around http://www.beatdimensions.net/ and peep out what else the Beat Dimensions clique has to offer…

Mono/Poly – Distant From

Dimlite- Ravemond’s Young Problems

 

 

Jay Electronica – Suckas (Produced by J. Dilla)

Dang, this track is just off the motherfrickin chain!

Courtesy of okayplayer, this song, which was likely made in the early 2000s, was produced by Dilla while he was still alive.  Jay Electronica didn’t actually meet Dilla to work on this project, but it’s fire nonetheless.