J-Live - "Eleven Nine"

I've been a fan of J-Live's for over 15 years, but I have to keep it a buck: this new joint, "Eleven Nine," has me feeling the way I felt about his sophomore album, 2002's The Best Part. Something about J diving deep into his social commentary bag, pouring all of those feelings we've had since Trump won the election on top of the stale cereal made up of America's fuckery into some heat. Deeply poetic, all the way real, "Eleven Nine" is true food for thought.

This track is taken from At The Date Of This Writing (Vol 1), the first in a series of all self-produced cuts from J-Live. It's out via Mortier Music on December 12. "Eleven Nine" is available when you pre-order; stream this serious dose of medicine and cop the project ASAP.

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Jeremy Ian Thomas - "She Waits"

I woke up today actually feeling OK, but in the last half hour or so started feeling some type of way. It drew me to the music of Jeremy Ian Thomas, who's dropping his The Emerald Tablet project on December 9. Shouts to Rappers I Know for putting me on; these kind of soothing, serene tracks help ease the nonsense of the daily grind. Fuck the dumb, use music to numb...or something.

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DJ Zinc Makes His Return to the Essential Mix

Seven years ago, the impeccable DJ Zinc put together one of my favorite Essential Mixes ever. By that point, he was already very deep into the non-dnb world. This time around, with the basshouse/night bass scenes taking over both sides of the Atlantic, Zinc returns with a smashing Essential Mix set that premiered last night on BBC Radio 1.

As they put it, "A workout for your bassbins! The British breakbeat, house and junglist legend DJ Zinc is back on the Essential Mix with a stack of new material, alongside tunes from Chris Lorenzo, My Nu Leng, Kry Wolf, Redlight and Cadenza."

Hopefully there's word on another Zinc EP (or album!) in the near future, because his cuts in this set are huge. You can stream the full mix right here, and check out the entire tracklist so you don't miss a tune!

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DJ JS-1 Spans All Genres In New 'On Track' Mix

As you know, we don't just rock to hip-hop around here; we're fans of pieces of MANY genres, so when experienced DJs like JS-1 step up for these multi-genre mixes, you have to stand up and take note.

In describing "On Track," JS-1 says "I listen to a variety of music. This mix is a collection of several songs I listen to while on tour or sitting on airplanes, etc... I hope you enjoy it, a lot of DJ's are not doing these type of mixes."

The set is MASSIVE. Over 90 minutes of music, featuring a whopping 84 tracks(!) with artists like OutKast, Coldplay, The Beatles, Next, The Spinners, John Lennon, Bruno Mars, Stevie Wonder, and plenty more occupying the mix. Everything from classic soul and R&B to rock to pop to hip-hop to everything in between, "On Track" is a great mix to zone out to with a room full of like-minded friends.

"On Track" is available for download via DJ JS-1's site; we've provided a stream, and you should know where to find that full tracklist.

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The Dixon Brothers Get You Into the Holiday Spirit With Their "Ho! 3X" Mix

Having trouble getting into the holiday spirit? Don't fret, the Dixon Brothers have your back. The UK-based duo is back with a perfect 11-minute holiday mixtape, featuring classics and remixes of said classics. Everything is in here, including Destiny's Child, the Jackson 5, Brenda Lee, and more, with reworks from Buck Rodgers, Nishe and Gin, Beef Wellington, and others.

As the Brothers put it, "If The Grinch, Buzz McCallister and Ebenezer Scrooge (before the ghosts) made a Christmas mix... this is what it would sound like." Make this mix a part of your life; stream it via Mixcloud, and the full tracklist is down bottom.

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Watch TV One's 'Unsung' Documentary On Frankie Knuckles and the History of House Music

Image via Dave Hoekstra

Earlier this week, TV One's Unsung series looked at the life and legacy of DJ Frankie Knuckles, who passed away two years ago. He's truly the architect of house music (hell, the name "house music" wouldn't even be a thing if it wasn't for heads in need of a way to describe what Frankie would play at Chicago's Warehouse club), but instead of just looking at his life, Unsung decided to dig a bit deeper, taking a look at the history of house music, growing from the ashes of disco hatred to a worldwide phenomenon.

Fans of electronic music owe a lot to Frankie. Take some time out to reflect on the life of a true pioneer. You can stream the documentary in full down below. If you want more on Frankie, check out the letter Barack Obama wrote after he passed, as well as a collection of Frankie's best tracks. For those who might be new to Frankie's material and house music as a genre, we've added some mixes of his (including his last-ever recorded set) down below.

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Run The Jewels - "Legend Has It"

Image via Run The Jewels

Word hit today that Run The Jewels' third album, RTJ3, is set to hit on January 13. With that, they dropped "Legend Has It," the out-and-out BANGER I've been waiting for. Just hit play and listen.

Something about when Killer Mike and El-P are able to go for broke over a monstrous beat sits well with me. Also has me feeling great about RTJ3, which also features Danny Brown, Trina, and Kamasi Washington. Full tracklist down below.

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PAx Noble Thinks A Lot of You Artists Are "Fake AF"

Now I love stuff like this. There's a lot to be said for the way music is going today; a lot of cats want their music to sound crispy as fuck and have a catchy-as-shit hook, and most of the time they take that route because their hooks > their bars, but they can pay for the ill studio engineers, so they don't work on their craft. Props to heads like PAx Noble, who see what they're doing and raise them a little back-to-basics kick in the ass.

When talking about this cut, PAx says that with "Fake AF," he "wanted to go back to the basics and keep it raw without a lot of bells & whistles. Want people to give more attention to the verses and what I’m saying rather than hide behind a complex mix and hook." It shows, fam, and I'd just say keep doing what you're doing. Too many frauds out there for the real to be buried underneath.

"Fake AF" recently hit iTunes, so if you want to support, go in; you can also stream and download the track below. And use your creativity, people.

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Frank Knight - "Vain (Rediculus Remix)"

You have to love when two hip-hop titans get together to give dope material a new coat of paint. That's what the mighty Rediculus did for Frank Knight's 2015 album Free Lunch. Their new project, Munchies, is a full-on Rediculus remix of Free Lunch, and if this rework of "Vain" is just the tip of the iceberg, heads who rock Timbs and skullies year-round are going to be VERY excited. This knocks, HARD, and contains bars as hard as the beats. Say ya pray-ers!

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New Track City - "Get it, Got it, Good."

You'll never understand how much new artists will excite me. There's something about getting material from someone you'd NEVER heard before, having the music hit you, and letting that familiar rush of excellence wash over you. That's how I felt when "Get it Got it Good," the new one from the trio known as New Track City.

This squad (which hails from Federal Way, Washington) reminds me of the underground hip-hop I'd record over night off of college radio. The actual production is much airier than what you'd expect from the lyrics, which are raw and playful, with some witty bars mixed in with loads of real talk.

One hopes that crews like this, who have obvious talent and seem to be having fun doing them, could get put on. At the very least, let ya boy blog premiere a mixtape or something! Speaking of tapes, their Damn Gina Tape is reportedly on the way; for now, stream and download "Get it Got it Good."

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