Crazy to think one of these hasn't happened since Christmas 2016. Actually, it isn't that crazy; shit's been busy around here. I did make a move recently that'll manifest itself on this here podcast...and beyond.
On this set, I did two things: one, I took my love for certain black YouTubers and constructed a narrative in the first chunk of this podcast, featuring material I've loved from Roc Marciano, Quelle Chris, Deal - The Villain, DANGERDOOM, and others. One the flipside, I felt the Purge of the first section was complimented perfectly by Son Raw's RTDMIX, which is a headfuck of a trek through the '90s hip-hop sound, but in a more underground lens. Trust we.
Damn near as long as I've been blogging, I've been rocking to Cymarshall Law's music. Part of that is because we rep Jersey on the regular over here, but the flip is that he's just nice, and his new album proves it. The Rhythms & Poems of Solomon Prince is written and produced by Cy himself on some Spike Lee shit, and if you need a heavy dose of that real, he's got you covered.
No, forreal. If your zone is to get crazy blunted to refreshing loops and crispy drums all day errday, Cy's got you covered. If you need those hype lyrics, full of powerful punches with a raw delivery, Cy's got you covered. And if you want all of this for the free, Cy really has you covered.
You can download The Rhythms & Poems of Solomon Prince for free via Sendspace, or grab it via Bandcamp. Stream the full project below via SoundCloud.
Over the years, artists that have been featured on this site have come and gone. And while I fuck with a fair number of them, jokers like Deal - The Villain always stand out as my favorites. Dude's whole steeze when it comes to putting pens to paper, fingers to pads, is right up my alley, and I'm amazed that he can just slide right back into the pocket like it's nothing, unleashing his Beards x Beats x Kicks EP earlier today.
Sadly, I fucked around and didn't recognize the beauty of the EP's lead-off track, "Legend Blue," when Deal dropped the video earlier this month.
Yeah, this will already be one of my favs of 2017, trust. Deal produced that track, along with a couple of others on the project, alongside S1ncere (who you should remember from his debut project, EPic), although DTV also found inspiration from the material of Knxwledge and Flying Lotus. DTV did hit me on the jack to let me know that he's going to be producing the forthcoming Beards x Beats x KicksALBUM from top to bottom, making this a proper "extended prelude."
To keep it a buck, I've been waiting for "Emerald Preference" since December 2015, so I'm glad this is out now. It's also refreshing to see cats know how to evolve their sound without totally sounding like some other artist. Dumb refreshing, actually, and Deal says you can expect more of the full length project to sound more like "Legend Blue" and the EP's closer, "Entrada."
You can stream the entire project below via Bandcamp, where it's available for whatever you want to pay. Shouts to the EA crew and all of the real from the Garden State. JERSEY!
Featured in this set are low-end friendly cuts from the likes of Ikonika, Burt Fox, Proper Villains, Doctor Jeep, Untold, and others. Any of you pining for a proper rave-y turn up for your holiday weekend, you need to hit play on this compilation then stay transfixed with your bassbins.
We know, it's been a few months since the RTDMIXblessed you, and just like we did in January, we've got another mix from the mysterious drum & bass mastermind known as Jaxtella.
We've actually been sitting on this mix for a little bit; we don't know who the hell Jaxtella is, so it made sense to try and figure out what his situation was. Of course, we couldn't find a fucking thing, so we just have to unleash this supreme drum & bass mix on you. Featured in this set is new material from Goldie, Klute, Submorphics, Dave Owen, and others, including a Frank Ocean remix from Jaxtella! It's a perfectly thumping mix for those of you who want to vibe out on this Memorial Day.
In August of 2016, the bass music community took a major loss, as Big Makkpassed away after a horrific car accident. While his sound lives on in the music from artists like Palmer Reed, there are still some idiots who don't know how to a) make their own material and, more importantly, b) love to steal music and say that its theirs.
I'd seen a tweet from G Buck go up earlier today, but because I was on the clock, I hadn't gotten into it that deeply. Shouts to Nappy for enlightening me to the fuckery, which involved someone who goes by the name GRIF8 trying to pass a Makk tune off as his own.
Someone just showed me a @djGriF8 track. It was a @BIGMAKK_. FUCK THIS MAN
At the time of this writing, GRIF8 hasn't said anything about this fiasco, but with the caliber of DJs who are pissed off at him, he might need to just hang it up and find another profession.
Back in 1999, I knew of DJ Craze because he was a murderous turntablist, owning any turntable competition he brought his crates to. Somehow, he got bit by the drum & bass bug, and on his debut album Crazee Musick, he had a track—"Mogli"—that found him recreating a thumping jungle track using nothing but vinyl and his turntable. After that, he went on a dnb tear, dropping mixes, incorporating drum & bass sounds into his turntablism sets, and all-around being a G with it.
I remember the dubplate politics souring him on the genre, but he's been a fan, and recently, he took a trip to Los Angeles where he tore down Respect LA with a thunderous mix of drum & bass anthems new and old, as well as some BEATS, that got committed to tape. You can stream this gem (which features Armanni Reign on the mic) below. Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Those of you who've been rocking with us for the longest should be up on Trackstar the DJ. He's gone from an internets phenom to being named the official tour DJ for Run the Jewels, including being the DJ behind the WRTJ shows on Apple Music.
This week, he contributed one awesome hour-long mix for Solid Steel, and it's amazing. No, seriously, it's the truth, but let him tell it, he had a totally different idea for the mix.
"Originally I had other plans for a more conceptual mix," he starts, "but as I was telling The Gaslamp Killer about my ideas on our tour date in Belgium, he told me not to bother with any of them and instead do a mix displaying what he called "My Rare Appetite In Rap". I trust The Gaslamp Killer (as you should, too), so I immediately switched gears and started putting together a playlist of songs from the last half-decade or so that I love that many rap fans may have missed. It features some names you'll recognize as well as some that you may not… Hopefully you enjoy these tunes as much as I do, and maybe pick up a new favorite artist or two."
Featured artists include Killer Mike, Rockwell Knuckles, A$AP Twelvyy, Tef Poe, Vince Staples, and more. Stream and download the full mix, and check out the full tracklist down below.
I've been a fan of the drum & bass scene for over two decades now, and no matter what new producers come along, I will always have a group of names who's released are "buy on sight" to me. You know, the producers who's tunes you always have to check for, and nine times out of 10 end up loving. Commix has been one of those names, for me, since the early 2000s.
While I don't remember the first tune I'd heard from Commix, I do remember being blown away by the then-Cambridge-based trio's "Satellite Song," as well as cuts like "Together" and "Talk to Frank." Their sound design was second-to-none (IMHO), but it was the energy that resided in their tunes that really captivated me. I was hooked, and not surprised when they became the first group to have an artist album on Goldie's legendary Metalheadz imprint, releasing their impeccable Call to Mind in 2007.
After some changes in both the group's dynamic and the different phases within the dnb scene, Commix is now just one man: George Levings. Since his return in 2016 with two Generation EPs, he's been working on the follow-up to Call to Mind, which is set to drop on Metalheadz as well. Before we get that, Dispatch Recordings snagged three Commix dubs (four if you count the digital-only exclusive "White Trash") for the sixth release in their Dispatch Dubplate series, which is out now.
We got a chance to speak with George about the tunes featured on this release, his thoughts on dubplate culture within the drum & bass scene, as well as how his sound evolved from what people loved in the early 2000s to now. He also gives us some thoughts on the direction he's heading with his next LP. Check out the full interview down below.
While I don't really get into insane Cinco de Mayo celebrations, I normally do have a few things to drink on a Friday night. Somehow, my alcoholic intake was down to zero on a Friday that doubled as the 5th of May, but if I was sipping on some adult beverages, I would've had Maffew Ragazino's Cinco de Maffew on. It's pretty damn dope; the ground hasn't been broken 'round here, but both Maff and his boy Easalio coast over these bottom-heavy bangers. Stream the full project below.
