From Joey Breakdown: "The tunes that make up this set have been sound-tracking my summer of 2012 and I've been anticipating sharing them in the form of a mix. Featuring 35 tracks by the likes of Marcus Intalex, Paradox, Dub Phizix, Break, Skeptical, Heist, Spectrasoul, Lynx, Enei, Subwave, Fracture, Emperor, Jubei, Skitty, Earl Grey, and more. Labels featured in the mix include Metalheadz, V, Soul:R, Critical, Exit, Subtitles, Audioporn, Renegade Hardware, Vibration, RAM among others. Full tracklist coming soon.
As always - mixed in one shot on 2 Pioneer CDJ's. No edits, no software. Huge giant BIG UP to all producers and labels featured in the mix - continuing to prove that drum n bass is not only NOT dead, but just as rad as ever".
You can grab Midnight Lights Volumes 1-3 via the drumskool215 blog or their Podomatic page.
With recent news about the Skrillex x Kanye West collaboration, compilations like the This Is Thugstep series are needed now more than ever, if nothing just to say "this shit isn't new: catch-up". While the first compilation showed you a lot of the foundation of this sound (and tracks that exemplified the sound), volume two took it a step further, showing a lot of the refixes that came out after THUGSTEP's formation and how other DJs have freaked the sound. Volume 3 has dropped today, and has a grip of original tunes in this vein. You've got new(er) stuff from Bassnectar (with Lupe Fiasco), Casey Veggies, Cypress Hill & Rusko, Stinkahbell & Psy:am, Heroes x Villains and more, with refix pressure from Santi Junior, Spinstyles and Stratus. Nappy tested, RTD-approved. Artwork again done by @theotisjones, with ClubTapes supporting the movement. It never stops.
DOWNLOAD This Is Thugstep, Vol. 3
Hopefully if you're in the tri-state area, you're goign to be hitting up the Jersey Fresh Jam tomorrow, August 11th, sometime between 10AM and 8PM. I just wanted to break a couple of things down regarding the events that will be taking place...
In another example of "khal been done told us about this", Skrillex recently spoke about working on a track with Kanye West for his next album: "I did some music with Kanye and from what I know, it's actually going to be the first song on his new album". After hearing "Who Gon Stop Me Now", you already should've known that this was the beginning... for 'Ye. We've been off on that THUGSTEP for how long now? More info on this, as well as Skrillex's response to deadmau5, over on Rolling Stone.
Sliink didn't put any date on this set, but he goes in on this one, dipping from the Club shit into some R&B into the Trap sounds of now. It's his, he spent it.
With this Saturday being the Jersey Fresh Jam, pardon me for my NJ shit. A Sharp produced this banger, giving room for four truly capable spitters to express themselves. The hook is a pretty astute cautionary phrase, and that throwback flavor in the instrumental does something. This is TallCan rap right here, word to your liquor store.
DOWNLOAD Tone Liv, Arty McFly, Sol Zalez & Nalm Myers "Real Math" (prod. by A Sharp)
First leak from Dom O's Gr8Summer, and it's a doozie. I keep talking about the Mad Decent Block Party, but that Saturday I had heard the term "turn up" all fucking day. I'm with it, though. I'm not as young as the kids in the crowd, but that spirit makes me feel like a nigga can cook and not worry. Love the beat off this one - has that lazy fuzzbox bass, with the throwback drums RIGHT UP IN US FACE. FUCK THE DUMB SHIT!
DOWNLOAD Dom O Briggs "TurnUp" (prod. by BanksOnTheBeat)
This the kind of attitude I fucks with. You heard niggas steady taumbout "revolution", but they ain't really ready to take a post. Don't even say it's time for revolution, just revolt and let the media put the tag on it. Gotta disassociate from the straight line and go left. In all facets, if you're really about it. "They call it revolutionary / But it’s more like necessary".
DOWNLOAD blctxt "Warning Signz" (prod. by AWOL)
Full disclosure: I was underwhelmed seeing RiFF RAFF at the Mad Decent Block Party this past Saturday. I pretty much hung it up when his song was playing but he wasn't rapping. He ended up doing a lot of rapping over his full tracks, but whatever. Dude's definitely in his own lane, and the Mad Decent co-sign has me wondering what he's gonna be doing. This 25-track BiRTH OF AN iCON mixtape is his official Mad Decent debut; it features beats from Caspa, Flux Pavilion, DJA, Paul Devro and more, with features from Action Bronson and Chief Keef. Might need to sip on some lean for this one.
DOWNLOAD RiFF RAFF - BiRTH OF AN iCON
When I heard that Charlamagne Tha God was on The Combat Jack Show, I knew it was gonna be serious. Dude doesn't hold back, and has his hands in a number of pots, from The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1, Guy Code and plenty more. Per CJ, "This dude is truly fearless. Listen to how he saw the radio game, came, pause, and conquered. And he’s not stopping. I want to be like him when I grow up". They also ask Just Blaze for a grant. #GetReadyForCombat #Newmanati
If you are or have ever been an aspiring artist, the tales weaved over this Sweet Valley High track from the F.D.R. collective should sound like your own story, I imagine. I still wild out when I hear how cats are asked to PAY to perform. Takes money to make money, but I hate stories like this. The Inauguration drops August 14th.
DOWNLOAD F.D.R. "The Come Up" (prod. by Sweet Valley High)
In my household, my wife and I have similar tastes in music. We differ on some shit - I fucks with DnB, while No Doubt and John Mayer get just as much play from her. I imagine this Major Lazer remix of No Doubt's latest single would have us meeting in the middle. Throwing a crowd-rocking Moombahton flex to Gwen's vocal, making this one work well on the floors. Word is this is the first of five remixes to debut from No Doubt in the very near future, with their Push and Shove album set to drop September 25th. The Moombahton sound isn't my normal thing, but after hitting the Mad Decent Block Party last weekend, I can't help it. You know I'm a freak for remixes of Pop tracks. Fuck you want?!
I just realized that one face I wish I'd seen in Philly this past weekend was Starkey's. One of the finest examples of Street Bass on American soil is this guy, and this cut "DPMO" is proof positive of that statement. This one will be dropping on white vinyl on the 10th of September as a special collector's item. This is said to eventually hit digital release at some point, but that'll be for a while, and the instrumental for "DPMO", in all of it's great vengeance and furious anger, will be exclusive to the digital release. This cut features Trim, who is out of East London and is dropping his debut LP on Rinse later this year. Don't sleep.
No matter where I dip off, musically, it always seems to go back to Drum & Bass. I could give a shit how progressive you feel other forms of EDM are, but Drum & Bass is truly the only all-encompassing sound out there. Survival is a gifted producer who never ceases to amaze me with his DJ technique. The intro tune on this is legend, and he amasses a number of cuts in this one from Octane, DLR, Subterra, Vicious Circle & Need For Mirrors, Halogenix and plenty more. Pure heat.
The boy Small Pro has spent the last year unloaded on a gaggle of instrumental projects, but none of them are as, well, focused as this one. He actually borrowed from the recent craze of dropping cassettes and split this one into two sides; as Pro says: "the first six tracks are built around and on soul samples that have been chopped, screwed, broken and pieced back together. The second half is more electronic based and percussively loose, a nod to the tunes coming from my people overseas and in Cali". They're previews of full-length releases, which will kick off with an album entitled Cool Story, Pro, which is set to drop in the Fall. Grab this ho right now, genius.
Before Thelonious Martin moved out to Chitown, he was one of the darlings of the Jersey underground, fucking with the Tastemakers NJ crew. He's since built up a strong following through a Ruby Hornet connect, and those entities recently dropped this EP, featuring Martin beats under rhymes from the god Topaz Jones and Stan Ross. You already know how Topaz and Thelonious get down together, they cook crillz, and do just that for this quick six-track EP, nahmean? August music, trust we.
Straight and to the point with this one. Break returns with his label's podcast, going in for 40 minutes with a mix thatincludes cuts from the Various Artists album The Other Side, which Symmetry is dropping in late September. Break goes in and this mix is a proper showcase of the future of the DnB scene. Or something.
Dope project from Mighty High Coup and THEFREAKBEAT, featuring some fresh beats from the likes of TRiLLBASS, ADHD, Wes Green and plenty more. Nothing but the best in bass music alongside capable MCs that can ride those kinds of vibes. You already know how RTD fucks with the hybrid sound, and projects like this are exactly what I rock to. Shouts to the cats who helped me enjoy the Mad Decent Block Party this past Saturday. This could've been the soundtrack to my weekend.
Back in May, I posted a video from The 2 Of Diamonds. Ray hit me on the BBM like "I rocked with them at SXSW, we working on some material". I know Ray has a project on the horizon, but linking up with T2OD AND The Jake on the beat? This is straight murder. This shit right here is exactly what I'm trying to mob out to. Once I get some good news, this'll be the cut I throw on. With a tall glass of Blue Moon. Say what, bitch! And if you want more from Ray, peep his feature on Ohini Jonez' "Any Given Sunday", which leaked earlier today. Stay up.
DOWNLOAD Ray Dawn ft. The 2 Of Diamonds "Pimps Up" (prod. by The Jake)
"Since Mos Def's taken, I guess I'm most ill" is the first line this cat threw that threw me. Taking "techno breaks and making operas" was the second. Ohini Jonez is returning to the scene with his The Prelude EP, which Kevin Nottingham is dropping ont he 26th of August (his birthday), and this leak is hard. You know my love of quirk within my Hip-Hop, and this one has a different vibe to it. They really go leftfield with the instrumental on this one, and both of these cats go dumb. Shouts to Fawn Nicole for this one - she warned me this one was gonna be special!
DOWNLOAD Ohini Jonez ft. Ray Dawn "Any Given Sunday"
After hitting Philly for the Mad Decent Block Party this past Saturday, I've single handedly seen crowds who probably wouldn't fuck with 808 heavy shit 7, 8 years ago go absolutely dumb for shit like this. I'm not mad at all, I like fat beats, and the Trap sound is where it's at. Danny Brown knows the shit, and creeps onto the best tracks, doing his own brand of nignorance to these future beats. This collab with Evil Nine is set to drop on Bromance Records, which is ran by Brodinski. Shit just makes sense. I expect the Polo-shirt rocking Frat crowd will be spitting these lyrics to their favorite sorority sisters by the end of next week.
One thing I HATE when shocking things (like the Aurora shooting during the Dark Knight Rises premiere) is when cats just half-ass drop a weak bar relating to the current event. The boy Tom Chase isn't one of those hopalong niggas. This cut, produced by @clawsbeats, essentially fleshes out a narrative based on a story we've heard time and again: someone who has some deep issues, a loner who thrives in the escapist activities like comic book reading and formulates plans to cause real world damage. Accented by snippets of news stories on this case, Chase crafts a thought-provoking cinema on wax. He said the beat just spoke to him and this is the result. And you niggas wonder why I can't put too much into the mindless drivel that passes as entertainment. Shouts to Chidda. #CLDCLB
DOWNLOAD Tom Chase "Dark Knight" (prod. by @clawsbeats)
