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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Heavee Gives Away Gunna Edit [Free Download]

After dropping one of my favorite albums of 2018, Heavee's back with the first of what I hope is many new tracks. Reworking Gunna's "Speed It Up" with that TEKLIFE swing, Heavee proves that the footwork clan ain't nothing to fuck with, or front on. There's not much else to say, honestly; this one is good and you need it in your life. Lehgo.

You can add Heavee's "Speed It Up" rework to your setlist by grabbing it over on Bandcamp.

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DJ Chap Refixes the '80s With New 'Numbers' EP

Back when I had time to devote to this slice of the internet, I'd put together compilations or mixes to commemorate days like today, rockthedub's 13th anniversary. This dreary Sunday morning? I'll just share a release that's been doing my head in, and cobbles together the ethos that shit site was built on 13 years ago.

DJ Chap crafts an intriguing mix of footwork. I won't say that the idea of full-on reworking cuts in a footwork vein is dead; it happens all of the time. But compared to how the entire electronic music scene was, say, seven years ago? SoundCloud and the like fucked the game up. Anyways, he recently dropped his Numbers EP, which finds him fully revamping classics from Billy Idol, Chaka Khan, Tears for Fears, and plenty more. If you have an idea of what this will sound like, judging from his past work, you've got the right idea, and you're better for it.

Celebrate RTD's 13th year by streaming Chap's latest (foot)work below.

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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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DJ Paypal Gave Away His Refreshing Remix of Adam F's "Circles"

With the tempos of footwork and jungle being around the same speed (160 BPM), it's been welcoming to see footwork's finest diving into their jungle bags. Today, DJ Paypal of the TEKLIFE squad shows the world how its done, putting a 2019 footwork shine on Adam F's CLASSIC "Circles." He doesn't go insane with the edits or feel of the tune; it's still just as lush and beautiful as what Adam crafted back in 1995, just with some percussive reworks. This one's available for free, so grab it while you can!

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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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DJ Ends Bounces Back With '808s & Hard Breakz'

Over a month after introducing us to Kraut Juke, DJ Ends returns with one of the best-titled releases of 2018: 808s & Hard Breakz. Representing Munich, Ends is really coming into his own. Cuts like "Baile Drunk," which bring Brazilian funk to life, or the jungle'd vibes of "Wot R U Doin" aren't what I'd have expected from him even six months ago. There's some growth going on with his sources, and it's ill to see him bringing those influences to life.

You can stream 808s & Hard Breakz below, and download it over on Bandcamp.

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DJ Ends Serves Up Some Piping Hot 'Kraut Juke'

I couldn't tell you any real facts about Germany, especially German music. I mean, Kraftwerk is German, and they are the shit, so maybe I just lied on myself. Either way, Munich's DJ Ends recently linked up with District160 to release Kraut Juke, which does exactly as it says on the tin. Ends took a number of German songs and gave them a 160 BPM jukeout. Don't ask me to identify any of the original tracks. Just press play and turn up to these.

You can download this five-track release via District160's Bandcamp, and stream it in full down below.

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DJ Chap Blends All of the Genres In New Release, 'El Mundo Es Tuyo'

Feels like it's been a minute since we've heard from DJ Chap, but realistically, we rocked to Saint Elsewhere back in May. Since then, his Baile Furioso EP has been getting some love, and this week he also dropped El Mundo Es Tuyo. A "mixtape" featuring material he's made over the last year or so, Chap says the project was inspired by "r&b, jungle, ambient music and progressive rock." If you know what time it is with Chap, that still doesn't dive into the meat of this project.

What's wild is, I had just been asking about the lack of bootleg dance remixes, but then realized that they just hide in footwork releases, under different names. Not only does Chap flip Kanye West and Lil Pump's "I Love It" on this release, to this hypnotic SWV rework that I forgot I'd been sitting on for a WHILE.

Releases like these make me remember why I love when capable producers start to question what's been given to us, putting their own spin on these gems. You can stream El Mundo Es Tuyo down below, and cop it over on Bandcamp.

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Juke Bounce Werk Presents JBDUBZ Vol. 6

Outside of the Teklife crew, I think Juke Bounce Werk has a great handle on the growing juke/footwork scenes across the globe. Their sixth JBDUBZ compilation is no exception, featuring new material from DJ Earl, Hesk, Neuropunk, Kush Jones, Sonic D, Teep, and plenty others. 19 tracks in total, all available for free via Bandcamp. Get your tracks up!

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Manny + Rolow "Find Ya Wings 2020"

The TEKLIFE camp can't miss. Even their freebies are fire flames. For the footworkers out there, DJ Manny has a new one for you to sink your teeth into. In collaboration with Rolow, he dropped "Find Ya Wings 2020," which is in the pocket of luscious jazz loops and frantic bass and percussion. A true headbanger.

Full stream and download of "Find Ya Wings 2020" below.

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Hesk Returns With 100% Footwork On His New EP, 'My Jeep'

For a while, I was mad concerned for Toronto, Ontario's HESK. After covering a lot of his material over on DoAndroidsDance? (RIP), he'd seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth the internet for a while. We're talking like three years of no word from this prolific producer. This past June, he returned with a bang, literally dropping 100 tracks spanning a massive amount of time, and it looks like he's far from done.

This week, he posted My Jeep, a six-track footwork EP spanning material from 2015 to 2018. It does exactly what it says on the tin, giving you 100% footwork for 100% free. Stream this thunderous release below, and download it for however much you want to pay for it over on Bandcamp.

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Heavee Releases New Album, 'WFM'

Not sure if Fall is truly made for Footwork, but the Teklife camp definitely drops some superior releases during the chiller months of the year. Keeping with that tradition is Heavee, who unleashed his long-awaited album WFM this week; it was truly worth the wait.

Clocking in at eight tracks, there's truly no fat or filler on this release. Many of you will remember his DJ Rashad collab "It's Wack" from Grand Theft Auto V, but that just scratches the surface of this release. "Cloud Ride" (featuring DJ Phil) is a ready-made club anthem, while his Sirr Tmo collab "What U Waiting For" is the space-y footwork trip that the newer school of Teklife producer specializes in.

You can stream WFM in full below, and cop it today. Heavee also dropped a mix for Rinse FM, which you can stream (and download) right now.



Photo credit: Desmond Penn

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HI$TO "INVASION"

The homey HI$TO from Bmore has been on my radar for years; during the tail-end of the DoAndroidsDance? days, we were steady supportive. He's got a new EP on the way, and this week, he gave away the title track. If you're footworkin', you're in need of this. Stream and download below.

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Random Tracks of Flyness

Years back, when I realized I had no time or money to be a DJ, I started making these odd mixes using old software. I guess I woke up this morning with a song (well, a bunch of songs) on my heart and decided to churn this out. There's lots of radio static, a bunch of random sounds and sketches that might only be funny/clever to me, but this also represents a bunch of material I dug during that timeframe of not making rockthedub radio mixes. #shrug.

Featured artists include Elucid, Pusha T, Westside Gunn, DJ Paypal, DJ Manny, Wen, 03 Greedo, and others. It's also the first time using hearthis.at, which allows you to not only upload shit, but give it away. Trying to figure my life out with this. Stream and download the demo; tracklist is below.

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rockthedub radio (July. 2018)

I KNOW, I KNOW; I said we'd be doing this month to month, and then dropped the ball back in the Spring. That's my bad. Either way, we're back bringing you our favorites from July of 2018, with an added bonus: drum & bass maestro Jaxtella has returned with a massive mix of treats from last month, featuring everyone from Social Misfits to Need For Mirrors. Of course, I also drop a hodge podge selection of cuts from Blood Orange, DJ Earl, Curren$y and more before him. Hopefully we've returned to form. Don't beast me up.

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

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Heavee Preps Teklife Records Album, 'WFM'

In what's already amounted to being a dynamic 2018 for the footwork genre, we have Heavee, who's set to release his album WFM on September 7th, 2018 via Teklife Records. The eight-track opus features the Teklife familia, including two collaborations with Gant-Man, DJ Paypal, and Sirr Tmo, which includes the bright title track (which also features DJ Phil) that you can hear below. It also includes Heavee's hypnotic collab with DJ Rashad, "It's Wack," which should sound familiar to fans of Grand Theft Auto V.

From his synthwork to his soundscapes, Heavee's been a footwork force to be reckoned with, and quiet as kept, this album should be surprising. Stream "WFM" below, and for more details on the album, head over to the Teklife website. 

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DJ Earl Puts His Spin on Danny Brown's "Lie 4"

For those who don't remember, when the deluxe edition of Danny Brown's XXX hit vinyl, it was released with a bonus 7" featuring four acapellas from the album. That meant that nimble diggers have heard their share of "Lie 4" remixes, but they ain't hitting like DJ Earl's. The TEKLIFE repper dropped his frantic, pulsating remix, which has been causing quite a stir during recent live sets of his. He's only got it up for a limited time (aka however long it takes for SoundCloud to spot it), so grab the free download ASAP.

For more from Earl, hit up his Bandcamp page, and if you're wondering what Danny would sound like on an original footwork track, check out this cut he did with DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn.

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DJ Chap Drops Footwork-out 'Saint Elsewhere'

Image via Alfred Englis

In the mood for some footwork on your Sunday afternoon? Take a trip to Saint Elsewhere, courtesy of DJ Chap. This five-track EP feels like his first release in a minute, and is one to really soak into. Not too many people can take Tribe Called Quest interludes and turn them into fully-functioning tracks, but then again, not too many producers are Chap. There's something about the sample choices that he puts out there; cuts like "Speakers" put you in a dreamscape, while "300 Conejos" feels like a full-on journey to a gunfight. It's an intoxicating adventure that you can cop right now, via Bandcamp.

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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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