The Teklife Crew Kicks Off 2020 With a New 'TEKLIFE VIP' Compilation

After all of the holiday jazz about gifts and resolutions, there are certain traditions this time of year that I can't wait for. One of them is the TEKLIFE crew's yearly VIP compilation full of bangers from their heaviest hitters. Overnight, they unleashed the 2020 version, which features 17 footwork bangers from everyone, from DJ Spinn to Traxman. For what it's worth, I'd say hit up Gant-Man's Public Enemy flip. He DID that.

You can stream the full project below, and head over to their website to grab the .zip for free.

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DJ Paypal and DJ Taye Turn Classic Video Game Madness Into the Footwork Anthem "Hammer"

When the world of illegally downloading music was in its infancy, one of the most astonishing feats was doing a search for a video game title and finding a litany of dance remixes of said title. It's like the Rule 34 of electronic music. That's what comes to mind when I keep DJ Paypal and DJ Taye's latest on repeat.

The TEKLIFE representers have been teasing a joint project (playfully done under TAYE//PAL) for a bit while giving us a reason to be excited with their collabs like "Bonfire" and "Chanel". Their release, Computers Smarter Than People, is set to drop on the 22nd of March (or the 29th), but today we get "Hammer," which flips this classic, triumphant video game theme and turns them into a club BANGER. You need this.

You can stream the tune in full below, and grab it for whatever you want over on Bandcamp. They also dropped another tune, "Jump," earlier this month which you can also snag.

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Download the 31-Track TEKLIFE VIP 2019 Compilation

The TEKLIFE camp has been solid this year; albums from DJ Taye, Heavee, and others have helped me personally get by, and truth be told, the TEKLIFE stamp of approval is all I need. That said, I woke up this morning noticing some cuts being thrown onto their YouTube page, and low and behold, they've dropped a massive 31-TRACK COMPILATION on SoundCloud. The whole squad is here, from the aforementioned names to DJ Manny, Jana Rush, Traxman, DJ Earl, DJ Spinn, DJ Chap, DJ Paypal, and many, many others, including combinations of the mentioned names.

You can stream the full project below, and download it for free via the TEKLIFE website. Best way to end a fucked up year.

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rockthedub radio: March 2018 Edition

It's not that often that an episode of RTDR lands on this site's birthday, but that's where we're at in 2018. We're talking motherfucking 12(!) years of this site being a thing in some way, shape, or form. We used to do free compilations, but the kids apparently don't download music anymore, so here's a fire hour-ish worth of our favorite tracks from the month of March.

In this edition, we've got a pretty wide variety of material here. Brand spanking new material from The Weeknd, Logistics, and DJ ESCO (alongside Nas and Future) as well as a stellar cut from Blocks & Escher's new album on Metalheadz, cuts from Pac Div, Riko Dan, Ross From Friends, and the homey DJ Taye. You know how WE do.

Stream below, download via iTunes, and check the tracklist down bottom.

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Stream DJ Manny's "Footwork Masterclass" 'Greenlight'

Image via LIKES.THIS

I'm not sure if Fall is for footworkers, but it feels like most of the illest footwork comes out this time of the year; maybe it has something to do with footwork pioneer DJ Rashad's birthday being October 9th. Whatever the case may be, one of Rashad's proteges, DJ Manny, has unleashed what the Teklife crew is calling a "footwork masterclass" in the form of his latest project, Greenlight. I've had it on since it dropped on the 6th and have been enamored. It's the proper mixture of special Teklife bass thumps and UK jungle-leaning breakbeat editing, laced with hypnotic synths and call-and-response hooks.

In typical Teklife fashion, Manny doesn't shy from putting the squad on. Burgeoning bass beast DJ Taye (a duo who knocked out the memorable "Burnin Ya Boa") is featured on half of the album's 10 tracks, but you're also hearing from the likes of DJ Chap and DJ LUCKY, but don't get it twisted; cuts like "Like That" highlight Manny being comfortable enough on his own to churn out solo BANGERS.

You can stream the entire album below, but it's highly recommended that you cop Greenlight digitally or on vinyl. And note, you can get a vinyl album AND a Greenlight t-shirt if you cop from Cargo.

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Watch DJ Taye and DJ Manny Footwork to "Burnin Ya Boa"

You have to appreciate clips like this; for all of the talk of what footwork is and which crews are doing it, many forget that the essence of footwork is actual dancing. The first time I even knew who DJ Manny was was via a clip of him dancing online, so it's dope to see him alongside DJ Taye (and their homey Jalen) getting their steps in to their track "Burnin Ya Boa," which is taken from Taye's forthcoming EP Move Out, which is out on November 25 via Hyperdub.

You can pre-order Move Out today on vinyl and digital download; the EP also features DJ Earl. Keep that TEKLIFE sound alive.

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The Month of August Has Basically Been "TEKLIFE" Month

I almost just wrote "Chicago's TEKLIFE crew," but it's way past that. Sure, the crux of the squad is a gang of producers and DJs from the Chi, but the sound and style has gone global. This month in particular has been pretty amazing for the squad, and instead of chopping up different posts, I figured a dope collection of what's been going on with the crew in one spot would make sense. Hit the jump and get educated... and some free tracks!

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DJ Taye - "Reminisce"

DJ Taye dropped a PERFECT tribute to DJ Rashad.



DJ Tre also dropped a new one today:

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