DJ Matthew Africa - I Wish You Would

This blog has moved

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:16:00 +0000

This blog is now located at http://blog.matthewafrica.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.matthewafrica.com/feeds/posts/default.

2 Busy Saying Yeah - Substitution

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:38:00 +0000

Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution" is my favorite break of all time.

I love drum breaks and could go on for days about the greatest ones, but "Substitution" stands out. Those drums sound so immense, hit so hard and are so funky-- there's just nothing close.

On this week's 2 Busy Saying Yeah show, I mix and talk about 47 of my favorite songs that sample "Substitution", plus play the song itself.

2 Busy Saying Yeah 19 - Substitution

Matthew Africa's Podcast

Download
Subscribe: RSS iTunes Google Yahoo

1. Ultramagnetic MCs: Ego Tripping
2. Xperado: Watch Your Step feat. O.C.
3. Divine Force: Holy War
4. Ghostface Killah: Mighty Healthy
5. N.W.A.: Real Zaggin Don’t Die
6. Too Poetic: God Made Me Funky
7. Onyx: Throw Ya Gunz
8. Pharcyde: Ya Mama
9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth: For Pete’s Sake
10. Public Enemy: Don’t Believe the Hype
11. Willie D: Put the Fuckin’ Gun Away
12. MC Jr. Cas: Walk On the Wild Side [Club mix]
13. Almighty RSO: One in the Chamba feat. M.O.P.
14. Group Home: So Called Friends
15. T-Wiz: Good Thing Goin’
16. Knowledge: Put On Your X
17. Def Jef: Black to the Future RMX
18. Top Choice Clique: Peace of Mind
19. Biz Markie: Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching
20. Supreme Nyborn: Versatile Extension
21. Ultramagnetic MCs: Pluckin’ Cards
22. Freddie Foxxx: Crazy Like a Foxxx
23. Percee P & Ekim: Now They Wanna See Me
24. Robbie B & DJ Jazz: Comin’ Correct
25. AMG: Trunk of Funk
26. Zhigge: Toss It Up
27. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out RMX
28. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out
29. Von Love: This Is How It Should Be Done
30. Choice M.C.: This Is the B-Side feat. Chill Phill & MC Sergio
31. Ol Dirty Bastard: Cuttin’ Headz feat. the RZA
32. Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front
33. Naughty by Nature: Yoke the Joker
34. Ghostface Killah: The Champ
35. Funk Lab All-Stars: La Da Da
36. Digital Underground: Tie the Knot
37. Too $hort: Hoes
38. EPMD: Mr. Bozack
39. De La Soul: Stone Age
40. Coolio: I Remember feat. J-Ro & Billy Boy
41. Method Man: All I Need
42. Scarface: Murder by Reason of Insanity
43. Eazy E: Eazy Street
44. Gang Starr: Code of the Streets
45. New Style: Drop the Bomb
46. C.E.B.: Get the Point
47. Brotha Lynch Hung: 24 Deep
48. Melvin Bliss: Synthetic Substitution

I'm currently working on turning this sprawling podcast into a streamlined, hard-hitting mixtape. When I get around to that, I'll share what I know about "Synthetic Substitution" itself and about Melvin McClellan, p/k/a Melvin Bliss.

Guru, R.I.P.

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:35:00 +0000

This morning I woke up to the news that Guru of Gang Starr had passed away.

Since word of his illness first spread last month, I've been going back and listening a lot to their catalog, which is one of the strongest in rap. Here is a mix of many of my favorite Gang Starr songs that I made a few weeks ago:

To stream the mix, click here.

To download the mix as a single, continuous track, click here.

To download the mix broken into individual tracks, click here.

1. Intro
2. You Know My Steez
3. Just to Get a Rep
4. Mass Appeal
5. Step in the Arena
6. Now You're Mine
7. The Militia feat. Freddie Foxxx
8. B.Y.S.
9. Take It Personal
10. The ? Remainz
11. Full Clip
12. DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth
13. Who's Gonna Take the Weight?
14. Jazz Thing
15. Soliloquy of Chaos
16. Check the Technique
17. Credit Is Due
18. Speak Ya Clout feat. Jeru the Damaja & Lil Dap
19. It'z a Setup feat. Hannibal
20. Words I Manifest (Remix)
21. 2 Deep
22. The Place Where We Dwell
23. Suckas Need Bodyguards
24. Flip the Script
25. What You Want This Time?
26. Love Sick
27. Ex Girl to Next Girl
28. The Planet
29. Make 'em Pay
30. Execution of a Chump
31. DJ Premier Is In Deep Concentration
32. Take Two & Pass
33. Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)
34. Rite Where You Stand feat. Jadakiss
35. I'm the Man feat. Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja
36. Code of the Streets
37. Tonz 'o' Gunz
38. Next Time

I'm sad.

I don't want to be right

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Mill Street Depo: "I May Be Right, I May Be Wrong" (Stang, 1976)

I love the feel of this song and wish I knew a lot more disco in this vein-- warm, melodic, totally spaced out. Harry Ray and Al Goodman, both of the Moments and later Ray, Goodman & Brown, are all over the credits and I'm guessing the backing track is from Wood, Brass & Steel.

Since I see Jimmy Mayes's name in the credits on the (nice) ballad on the flip side, I'm pretty sure Mill Street Depo is the same group who cut this rare slice of Chicago funk a few years earlier:

Jimmy Mayes & the Mill Street Depot" "Monkey Shine" (De Caballero, 19??)

I like just about any riff on "Monkey Time". This one is definitely the rawest I've heard. According to his not-logged-into-in-the-last-2-years Myspace page, Jimmy Mayes is performing.

The Northern Cali king of slap

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:13:00 +0000

I've only made it part of the way through E-40s two new Revenue Retrievin' CDs because I keep getting bogged down by the gratuitous cameos, which long ago superseded skits as the #1 totally superfluous cause of shitty rap albums. (By "superfluous cause", I mean other than intrinsic stuff like shitty rhyming, beats, lack of originality, etc.)

It took about 15 years for rappers to stop putting skits on albums; here's hoping they wise up about guest appearances sooner.

If there's a saving grace to the Revenue Retrievin' CDs (other than intrinsic stuff like E-40's slang and rhyme style supremacy) it's that he brought Rick Rock back on board to produce eight tracks, five more than on that career-worst turd from 2008.

For those unfamiliar with Rick Rock, he's the Bay producer who was the main architect of hyphy music-- just about every major hyphy record was either produced by him or really imitative of his style (e.g., "Tell Me When to Go", "Get On My Hype"). But Rick Rock's career is more than just hyphy music-- it stretches as far back as mobb music from the mid-90s and as far afield as major radio hits for the likes of Fabolous and Xzibit.

Last month, my London homie Rob Breezy assembled a really cool overview of Rick Rock's career, a mix entitled Rick Rock... Make the Beat Knock that I'm way late in recommending. It's got most of Rick's radio hits, some significant hyphy records as well as some classics I hear far too seldom (Ray Cash's "Bumpin' My Music"!!!!!!!).

You can grab the mix here.

The site that Rob runs (along with partners Davey Boy Smith & Superix), Southern Hospitality, is a great source for the latest regional American rap. They've also been cranking out quality artist- or scene-specific mixes and compilations at a crazy clip lately (Huntsville! The-Dream! Mr. Lee! Hypnotized Minds! Ryan Leslie! Livewire Records! etc., etc.). They keep those free mixes and compilations here.

I thought I'd round this out with a couple Rick Rock treats. The first is a video from a few years back in which you get to see Rick Rock slap a beat together in a few minutes. Watching it, it's obvious how well he knows his craft:

The second is a slept-on single from Rick Rock's short-lived Southwest Federation label:

Kinsmoke: "Do the On One" feat. Rick Rock (Southwest Federation, 2005)

This beat is maybe the most frantic hyphy record Rick Rock ever produced. And that's saying a lot.

The 12" also contains a pretty good remix featuring verses from the Federation and Battle Loc and a longer verse from Rick Rock himself (he actually raps pretty well!), but that version is missing the spoken introduction, which is a highlight for me.

Honor rolling

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:30:00 +0000

The homeboys Trackademicks & Tap.10 just dropped the third volume of their [Re]Mixtape series, which features Tap mixing a lot of Trackademicks's recent remixes, both official and unofficial.

Trackademicks is one of my favorite current Bay producers and though I haven't had time to check out the whole release yet, it features a bunch of things that have been out for a while that I like. You can grab the latest [Re]Mixtape free here.

Here's one of my favorites from the previous volume:

Ready for the World: "Oh Sheila" (Trackademicks RMX) (2006)

Speaking of Trackademicks, Teedra Moses's recent street album, Royal Patience, features three collaborations with him and is also worth your time. Her Complex Simplicity, from 2005, was to me one of the best R&B albums of the last decade and her new music is strong, too. You can download the whole album free from her site.

Here are two of my favorite tracks from it:

Teedra Moses: "Kisses Never Tasted So Sweet" (S/R, 2010)

Teedra Moses: "R U 4 Real (Freestyle)" (S/R, 2010)

"Kisses" was produced by Trackademicks. I think the other track was produced by "Wow Jones" (!) but I can't really read the credits.

Trifling

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:59:00 +0000

The horn part from this has been stuck in my head since I heard it sampled in the trailer for Kick-Ass:

Trifle: "One Way Glass" (Dawn, 1970)

The album this is from, First Meeting, is a great record. Like their more heavily sweated label-mates Demon Fuzz, Trifle are kinda hard to pin down: sort of jazzy, sort of psych-y, sort of funky-- basically, prog but not annoying. There's a Japanese reissue of First Meeting that's pricey but worth it.

The other Prince Ice

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:36:00 +0000

Back when I was trying to figure out what Clash "T"'s "Non-Stop" was, I remember listening to the lyrics closely for clues and seizing on the references to "DJ Prince Ice" and "All City". My first thought (hope?) was that it was Prince Ice from the Bay.

Prince Ice spun for KMEL in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was a member of Sway & King Tech's All City Productions crew. Back in the day I used to go up to the Wake-Up Show regularly to kick it and bring Joe Quixx breaks and samples to play. Although Prince Ice wasn't the DJ for that show, he was often around, along with other guys like Fredwreck, Franzen, Alexander Mejia, etc.

I met Prince Ice plenty of times but didn't really trip until years later when I heard these two megamixes that he did:

DJ Prince Ice: "Dopemix Vol. 1" (Megajamm, 1988)

DJ Prince Ice: "Dopemix Vol. 2" (Megajamm, 1989)

I have really low patience for megamix records-- the only rap-related genre I hate more is cut & paste records-- but I love these two 12"s.

Drawing on what were probably the two best years ever for mainstream rap music, Prince Ice plays many of the hits as well as some slightly left-field stuff (Life-N-Def! Stezo! MC EZ & Troop! a King Tech remix of "Girls I Got 'Em Locked"!). Although both mixes drag a little towards the end, for the most part he flies through the selections in a way that's deft and super-smooth.

Kinda in the same vein, I saw that someone has uploaded a few more classic Dr. Dre mixtapes. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet but the previous ones I've heard were pretty face-melting.

Diminishing returns

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:42:00 +0000

DJ Shadow's Diminishing Returns is, on most days, my favorite DJ mix ever.

Shadow recorded it in 2003 as a BBC Essential Mix. Essential Mix is a long-running weekly show featuring mixes from big-name producers and DJs. More often than not, it's 2 hours of indifferently mixed techno from guys who make a lot of money in Ibiza.

Shadow's mix was a completely different thing. It's an amazing selection of eclectic, mostly unheard songs that's cleverly sequenced and masterfully mixed. It was far beyond what anyone else was doing at the time and, to me, remains the apex of the hip hop-influenced digger/DJ mix.

The first 80 minutes of the mix are largely built around unknown late-'80s rap. Diminishing Returns was made at about the same time as the random rap craze was taking off and it's hard not to hear it in light of that. DJ Ivory had already dropped one volume of Hear No Evil and Ultimate Breaks & Beats-based NYC obscurities were starting to draw a lot of attention from other DJs and collectors.

While Shadow covers some of the same ground that Ivory and others did, he leavens some of the oppressive purism of those mixes by incorporating a lot of other stuff-- current mainstream Southern sorta hits (8ball & MJG's "Put Your Hands Up") and oddities (Tow Down's "Country Rap Tune"), backpack experimentation (Beans's "Mutescreamer"), ancient regional goofs (SF's RSP Crew on "MC School") and neglected classics (Mantronix's "Hardcore Hip Hop"). There's some scratching, some doubling, some blends and enough variety in the mixing that it never feels static. Shadow then closes out the first half with a series of oddball covers (Gary Numan, Hall & Oates & Queen) and silly dialogue that act like comic relief before changing up styles completely.

The second part of the mix is largely made up of '60s psychedelic rock. As with the first half of the mix, most of the selections are things that were largely off the radar of both other DJs and collectors-- not necessarily incredibly rare or even unknown, but not sweated collectibles either. The selections are impeccable-- moody and haunting but also soulful and even a little funky. The mixing in this part is really outstanding because he takes songs that are really difficult to blend and makes them segue in ways that feel really natural. While the transitions are incredibly musical, he also follows a lyrical/conceptual thread from song to song. Seven years later, it still blows my mind.

Diminishing Returns is available directly from Shadow's website on CD or as a download. If you don't own it or haven't heard it, I can't possibly recommend it highly enough. He also has a lot of other worthwhile mixes for sale there, like the Miami bass mix I'd heard about for years but only heard recently.

***

There are a lot of great records that Diminishing Returns led me to. Some I stumbled on, others I sourced from the internet and a few I got from Shadow himself. Shadow never provided an official tracklist, but through collaboration most of the tracks have been identified over the years.

Out of all of the records on the mix, this one evaded me for the longest, bothering me like an itch I couldn't scratch:

Clash "T": "Non-Stop" (B-U, 1989)

I don't know anything about Clash "T" or any of the other artists on the EP this is drawn from. I asked Shadow about this song years ago and I remember him telling me it was from Ohio but there are no explicit signs on the label to bear that out.

The whole release is incredibly lo-fi-- it sounds like it was mastered from a 4-track cassette-- but I love the rawness and enthusiasm of it. Also, the way Clash "T" rides the beat is amazing.

Gots to be the sureshot

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:19:00 +0000

In the tradition of my mix CDs paying tribute to DJ Quik, R. Kelly and Too $hort (the latter with DJ Eleven), here is a mix devoted to the kings of New York boom bap, Gang Starr:

To stream the mix, click here.

To download the mix as a single, continuous track, click here.

To download the mix broken into individual tracks, click here. (new link)

1. Intro
2. You Know My Steez
3. Just to Get a Rep
4. Mass Appeal
5. Step in the Arena
6. Now You're Mine
7. The Militia feat. Freddie Foxxx
8. B.Y.S.
9. Take It Personal
10. The ? Remainz
11. Full Clip
12. DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth
13. Who's Gonna Take the Weight?
14. Jazz Thing
15. Soliloquy of Chaos
16. Check the Technique
17. Credit Is Due
18. Speak Ya Clout feat. Jeru the Damaja & Lil Dap
19. It'z a Setup feat. Hannibal
20. Words I Manifest (Remix)
21. 2 Deep
22. The Place Where We Dwell
23. Suckas Need Bodyguards
24. Flip the Script
25. What You Want This Time?
26. Love Sick
27. Ex Girl to Next Girl
28. The Planet
29. Make 'em Pay
30. Execution of a Chump
31. DJ Premier Is In Deep Concentration
32. Take Two & Pass
33. Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)
34. Rite Where You Stand feat. Jadakiss
35. I'm the Man feat. Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja
36. Code of the Streets
37. Tonz 'o' Gunz
38. Next Time

Gang Starr is one of my favorite acts from the 1990s. There is no rap group I listened to more in that era, although De La Soul, Outkast & A Tribe Called Quest all run pretty much neck and neck.

Still, in recent years I haven't listened to Gang Starr much. Maybe it's because they haven't released any new music since 2003. Maybe it's because in the last decade the school of hardcore hip hop that they defined stagnated and played out so hard.

For me, this mix was about rediscovery. It grew out of an episode of 2 Busy Saying Yeah from a few weeks ago; after reading about Guru’s health troubles, I devoted a 2-hour episode to Gang Starr's music. It was my first time mixing a lot of the songs in years and it felt so good, so natural, that I knew I had to turn it into tape along the lines of my previous tributes to $hort, Kells, etc.

Unlike those mixes, which I struggled with for weeks and months each, this was a breeze. I spent an afternoon figuring out the track list, recorded the mix live one evening and then spent a few days puttering with the multi-track to clean it up, add drops and get it down to CD length.

I drew tracks from all six of Gang Starr's albums, and each is represented more or less in proportion to how much I like it: 1992's Daily Operation tops them all with 9 selections, although 1990's Step in the Arena, 1994's Hard to Earn and 1998's Moment of Truth all feature prominently with 7, 6 and 5 tracks, respectively. The first and last albums got kind of short shrift, although there were more songs I would have included from each if I hadn’t run out of space. They have one of the strongest catalogs in rap music and there were a lot of additional songs, verses and scratch parts I wish I could have included.

Big thanks to my man XJ, who laced the cover, and my main man DJ Eleven on quality control.

Cook's classics

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Stones Throw just announced they're releasing an album of music by Tony Cook, who was responsible for my favorite track from BBE's American Boogie Down compilation and this proto-house classic:

Tony Cook: "On the Floor (Rock-It)" (Full Moon, 1984)

I knew Cook had produced a handful of dance records in the 1980s but had no idea he had also been a drummer with James Brown during the late 1970s and 1980s. Apparently Stones Throw has access to multi-tracks with lots of unreleased mixes and songs. Hopefully, some of them are stronger than the lead single.

Alright

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:37:00 +0000

I wrote about DJ Burn One & All Star a/k/a Starlito not that long ago, but then I got obsessed with this song:

Starlito: "Alright" (Bleu, 2010)

"Alright" is featured on Starlito's newest release, Renaissance Gangster, which you can buy here. I did. I recommend you do, too.

All 11 songs were produced by DJ Burn One and though not every beat fits Starlito as perfectly as "Alright", many come close. I love how Starlito's flow has evolved into a style of rapping so low-key and conversational it's almost not rapping, much like late-period Mac Dre.

Related stuff:

Kalefa Sanneh's 2008 NYT piece on Starlito's stalled career is poignant for at least two reasons.

Kid Slizzard on the complete saga of Triggerman vs. Bugs Can Can.

Lou Bond just wants a little Toyota or something.

Meanwhile...

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Casual's one of my favorite Oakland rappers. He hasn't put out an album since 2005, but lately he's stayed busy with YouTube videos.

His recent clips are all lo-fi flip-cam things. In some, he raps. In some, he studies Egyptology. In a couple, he does both.

Although my eyes and ears kinda glaze over when he gets into a lot of the Kemetic stuff, I find it charming somehow-- I guess I'm interested in the fact that he's interested in the stuff. It's cool to see a gifted rapper who's on some totally different shit from every other rapper out.

Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.

Rapping over Three 6 Mafia's "Ridin' Spinners":

With weights, guns and subtitled commentary:

Nothing but a song, but I really like the song, "N.A.G.A.S.":

You can grab this and a few other recent songs in a zip file of songs that Casual tweeted last week.

Rocking kufis, rapping about the Town, filming the cops filming him:

Rapping over crazy 8-bit beats:

Driving, punchlines:

Ancient Egyptian vocab:

Favorite line: "But I don't really know how to say that, though."

Watching all the clips inspired me to rip Casual's cassette-only Meanwhile... album. This is one of my favorite songs from that. I'm guessing on the title.

Casual: "It Don't Matter" (Hiero Imperium, 1997)

2 Busy Saying Yeah - Why you gotta keep bringing up old hits?

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:07:00 +0000

In this episode I play and talk about some of my favorite songs that got reissued in 2009. The bulk of it is soul and funk, although there's also disco, psych, gospel, rap and weird foreign hybrids of many of the aforementioned styles.

Most of the selections are from releases that are legitimately licensed and carefully assembled, with proper mastering, handsome packaging and thoughtful annotations. I have a lot of respect for those who take the time and effort to do it right. I hope you support them so that they can continue the work that they do.

2 Busy Saying Yeah 16: Why You Gotta Keep Bringing Up Old...

Matthew Africa's Podcast

Download
Subscribe: RSS iTunes Google Yahoo

1. Man: “And In the Beginning” Revelation
2. Little Francisco Greaves: “Moving-Grooving” V/A - Panamá! 3: Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cúmbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75
3. The Blue Rhythm Combo: “Take the Funky Feeling” V/A - Tropical Funk Experience
4. Kukumbas: “Respect” V/A - Psych Funk 101
5. Chocolate Snow: “Inflation” V/A - Eccentric Soul: Smart's Palace
6. Lyman Woodard Organization: “On Your Mind” Saturday Night Special
7. Nite-Liters: “Valdez In the Country” A-Nal-Y-Sis
8. Demon Fuzz: “Disillusioned” Afreaka!
9. The Pretty Things: “You Might Even Say” Philippe Debarge
10. P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble: “Bada Que Bash” V/A - Spiritual Jazz - Esoteric, Modal + Deep Jazz From the Underground 1968-77
11. Lizzy Mercier Descloux: “Hard-Boiled Babe” V/A - Ze 30 - Ze Records Story 1979-2009
12. Gichy Dan's Beachwood No. 9: “On a Day Like Today” (Todd Terje's Friendly Children Edit) V/A - ZEVolution: ZE Records Re-Edited
13. Chemise: “She Can't Love You” V/A - DJ Spinna Presents the Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams
14. Cubie Burke: “Down For Double” [JM After-Session M&M Mix] V/A - John Morales - The M&M Mixes
15. Herman's Rocket: “Hanged in the Universe” V/A - Jean-Pierre Massiera - Psychoses Discoïd (1976-1981)
16. Chorus Reverendus: “Dans Son Euphorie” V/A - Wizzz! Psychorama Français 1966-70
17. Apostles of Music: “Wade In the Water” V/A - Local Customs: Downriver Revival
18. The Metros: “Since I Found My Baby” Sweetest One
19. Willie Hutch: “A Love That's Worth Havin'” Soul Portrait
20. Ronnie McNeir: “In Summertime” Ronnie McNeir
21. Andrew Brown: “You Made Me Suffer” V/A - Light: On the South Side
22. Sugar Pie DeSanto: “Use What You Got” V/A - Go Go Power • The Complete Chess Singles 1961-1966
23. The Daughters of Eve: “Help Me Boy” V/A - 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60s Garage & Psychedelia From U.S.A. & Destination Records
24. Brigitte Fontaine: “Il Pleut“ V/A - Dirty French Psychedelics
25. 24-Carat Black: “I Want to Make Up” Gone: The Promises of Yesterday
26. Sensational Saints: “How Great Thou Art” V/A - Forge Your Own Chains
27. Amazing Farmer Singers of Chicago: “I Got a Telephone In My Bosom” V/A - Fire In My Bones: Raw Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007)
28. The Relatives: “Don't Let Me Fall” Don't Let Me Fall
29. John Heartsman & Circles: “Up From Down” Music of My Heart
30. Azambuja & CIA: “Tema De Azambuja” V/A - Black Rio 2: Original Samba Soul 1968-1981
31. Tafo: “Karye Pyar” feat. Nahid Akhtar V/A - The Sound of Wonder!
32. The Animated Egg: “Sock It My Way” Guitar Freakout
33. Natural Elements: “Tri-Boro” 1999
34. Sport "G" & Mastermind: “Live” V/A - Random Rap
35. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou: “Koutoulié” The Vodoun Effect - Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975

Chairman wow

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:00:00 +0000

I don't generally spend much time listening to other DJs' mixes or radio shows because they cut into the time I have to seek out new music. When I make exceptions, they're for stuff friends have done or mixes which I think can turn me on to something I want to know.

Chairman Mao's monthly radio shows for Spine Magazine, the Spine Blowing Decisions series, are both. In case his reputation doesn't precede him, Mao is a longtime NYC DJ and rap writer whose knowledge is as deep as his taste is good. His shows focus on obscure soul, funk and disco and usually have a theme or style (e.g., disco raps, Halloween music, tortured ballads). They always include at least a handful of things I wish I knew or had forgotten about and am delighted to be reminded of. His dry, occasional voiceovers are a nice touch, too.

This week I finally got around to listening to Mao's December show and it really knocked me out. The episode centers on late 70s/early 80s sounds: disco, modern soul, boogie, funk and the selections are uniformly great. There were songs I hadn't heard in too long, songs I'd never heard before but instantly wanted to hear again and even some songs I'd been saving to build mixes of my own around (damn you, Mao!). It's the best collection of soul sounds I've listened to in a long time.

There's no track listing per se, but Mao scatters some clues throughout the mix and also his blog features scans of some of the songs he included, like the following:

(One track that's not pictured is the Gospel Soul Revivals' awesome Slave knockoff, "If Jesus Came Today". The track is featured on the Numero Group's new and wonderful Good God! Born Again Funk, which came out Tuesday and which I can't recommend highly enough.)

But uh, back to the lecture at hand. Spine Magazine doesn't host older shows and the episode of Spine Blowing Decisions is no longer available from Spine's site, so with Mao's permission, I've uploaded the show:

Chairman Mao: "Spine Blowing Decisions 18" (2009)

(Spine dudes, if this is a problem, get at me and the links will be gone.)

Win your love

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:18:00 +0000

Billy Jones: "Win Your Love" (Blue Elephant, 1974)

Billy Jones was an American singer who lived and recorded in the Netherlands, first as a member of Oscar Harris & the Twinkle Stars and later solo. I pulled out his Birds of the Sea album intending to rip one track and ended up getting sucked into the whole thing-- it's really good front to back. There's some more info about Jones and other artists from the Netherlands's surprisingly fertile soul scene here.

So ruff, so tuff

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:00:00 +0000

I just got around to listening all the way through the homie DJ B.Cause's tribute to Roger Troutman, Playin' Kinda Ruff: The Troutman Legacy and it's a really enjoyable listen.

Although I know and love most of Roger and Zapp's hits, for whatever reason I never listened to much beyond the first 2-3 LPs. Josh's mix draws together all of the much-played, much-sampled classics, some of the rap songs that stem from them and a whole lot of other stuff you probably haven't heard, from pre-fame recordings with the Human Body to oddball collaborations from the 90s. Josh is an incredibly skilled DJ and knows his way around a multi-track, so he's able to make all kinds of transitions that I would never attempt sound smooth and natural.

There's a full track listing and instructions for ordering physical copies of the CD at Josh's blog. You can also download the mix for free here.

Speaking of Roger, a recent Soulstrut post reminded me of this, which is one of my favorite performances by him:

Vontel: "4 My Homiez" feat. Roger Troutman (Fo' Life, 1998)

Vontel's an Arizona rapper. The album this is drawn from was partly produced by Battlecat, but this track was produced by Dre LeSean and Robert "The Professor" Anderson. Troutman's ad-libs are gorgeous.

Oldd rapps

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:23:00 +0000

King Monkey: "Badd Mann Dann Rapp" (Ala, 1980)

King Monkey: "King Monkey Rapp" (Ala, 1980)

This is not a great record, but it's an important one-- I'm fairly certain it was the very first rap record from the West Coast. Both tracks are traditional toasts dressed up with a little blues/funk backing. It's really derivative of the style of Rudy Ray Moore, who recorded a lot of traditional toasts, sometimes also with a beat. I'd be curious to know if Too $hort heard this, since it anticipates both his nasty subject matter and his spelling, although not his musical or lyrical style.

Given the way pop culture seems to constantly get more vulgar, I'm always a little surprised when I hear nasty lyrics that predate $hort, 2 Live Crew, etc. I guess songs like that were always being written and performed, if not necessarily circulated in the mainstream.

This recording, from 1964, has some of the filthiest, most vicious lyrics I've ever heard:

Henry: "Pimpin' Sam" (Rounder, 1964)

The recording comes from an album called Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me!: Narrative Poetry from Black Oral Tradition, which was compiled by Bruce Jackson as a companion to his 1974 book of the same name. Most of the recordings were made in Texas state prisons; this one is credited only to a man named Henry on the Ramsey, Texas prison farm. The last minute or so gives me chills; it's colder than even anything Suga Free ever recorded.

Real sounds

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:44:00 +0000

Last month Chairman Mao posted a teaser that had me lusting for BBE's The Real Sound of Chicago comp. It's finally in stores, so I snatched it up.

The Real Sound of Chicago is a 2-CD collection of disco and boogie tracks compiled by the two guys who run Chicago's Peabody's Records, which I'm told is a great store. Their selections are all really obscure and rare; several are great to boot. The comp is a little frustrating because the liner notes are uninformative and (as is too often the case with BBE releases) completely illegible, but it's worth copping if only for Martin L. Dumas, Jr.'s insanely great "Sun Goddess" rip-off.

Kinda in the same vein but not remotely as rare as anything on The Real Sound of Chicago, I thought I might as well throw this up:

Heaven & Earth: "I Really Love You" (WMOT, 1981)

Heaven & Earth were also from Chicago, although I think this may have been cut in Philly because it features PIR ace Dexter Wansel.

I don't generally mess around with a song this great, but I've edited this track ever so slightly. It's a small thing, but the original version comes in with a fill that confuses the shit out of me every time I try to play the song. I snipped it off. This is still a little tricky because it comes in on the 3 but to me it's way more comprehensible.

Willie Mitchell tribute mix

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:58:00 +0000

Willie Mitchell passed away earlier this month. He produced some of the greatest soul music ever made, so this week's show collects 45 of my favorites, including some big hits from Al Green and Ann Peebles, as well as great music from a handful of lesser-knowns.

It's tough to talk about Mitchell without talking about Al Green, the artist Mitchell worked the most with and had his greatest success with. Green's gift is so overwhelming and his vocal identity is so established that it's easy to overlook Mitchell's role in shaping it. But to hear Green's work prior to recording with Mitchell, or even to hear their early recordings before Mitchell crafted Green's signature style, and to compare it with his mature style is to understand exactly how important a producer can be.

Mitchell plucked Green from relative obscurity, brought him to Memphis and recorded him for almost two years before they hit upon Green's sound. Early singles, like "Back Up Train", "Gotta Find a New World" or "All Because", show Green to be a better than average soul singer—strong, gritty, agile—but offer no clue as to how sinuous or graceful Green's vocals could be. It took two albums and a dartboard approach to find out what worked and apparently even Hi Records didn't recognize it at first; Green's breakthrough, "Tired of Being Alone", wasn't the first single from Green's second album with Mitchell, Al Green Gets Next to You, it was the fourth.

Once Mitchell hit upon a formula for Green, he worked subtle variations on a style that paired lush strings and jazzy chords with a restrained, lightly earthy backbeat. It was a perfect setting for Green’s music and their run of albums from I'm Still in Love With You to Livin' for You is almost flawless.

Mitchell’s touch was also evident in a host of other records he cut at Hi Records’ Memphis studio, both for Hi mainstays like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles and for out-of-towners like the Detroit Emeralds and Denise LaSalle. Mitchell was not just a producer, he was an engineer, too, and the sound he coaxed from the room and from Hi’s band is instantly identifiable. Signature elements stamp all of these productions, like the wheeze of Charlie Hodges’s organ, the full, slightly tame sound of the Memphis Horns and especially the bone-dry snap of a snare drum, whether played by Al Jackson, Jr. or Howard Grimes.

The other acts Mitchell produced may have been less successful than Al Green, but many made remarkable music. When their songs were up to snuff, O.V. Wright, Syl Johnson and Ann Peebles all regularly made music that was nearly on Green’s level. Soul journeymen like the Masqueraders and George Jackson cut some of their best material with Mitchell, too.

I’ve tried to capture some of the breadth of Mitchell’s work in my mix. It’s not really his greatest hits (that would have required too much Al Green) or a selection of songs that have been popularized by sampling (though many were) and Mitchell’s work as a trumpeter and bandleader gets really short shrift (truth be told, I really dislike the music he made under his own name). I chose my favorites and tried to shape them into a mix that would function as an introduction or a celebration of his incredible body of productions. Enjoy.

Episode 15 - Willie Mitchell tribute mix

Matthew Africa's Podcast

Download
Subscribe: RSS iTunes Google Yahoo

1. Al Green: Love & Happiness
2. Al Green: Love Ritual (Remix)
3. Ann Peebles: Somebody's On Your Case
4. O.V. Wright: Ace of Spades
5. Syl Johnson: The Love You Left Behind
6. Ann Peebles: It's Your Thing
7. O.V. Wright: A Nickel & a Nail
8. Willie Mitchell: Groovin'
9. Al Green: So You're Leaving
10. Al Green: Tired of Being Alone
11. Al Green: Let's Stay Together
12. Ann Peebles: I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
13. Al Green: Call Me
14. Al Green: Your Love Is the Morning Sun
15. George Jackson: Aretha, Sing One For Me
16. Jean Plum: Here I Go Again
17. Syl Johnson: Anyway the Wind Blows
18. Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand the Rain
19. The Detroit Emeralds: Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms
20. Al Green: I'm a Ram
21. O.V. Wright: Are You Going Where I'm Coming From
22. Ann Peebles: Run, Run, Run
23. O.V. Wright: I'd Rather Be Blind, Cripple & Crazy
24. Ann Peebles: Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness
25. Al Green: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
26. Al Green: I'm Glad You're Mine
27. Al Green: What a Wonderful Thing Love Is
28. O.V. Wright: Let's Straighten It Out
29. The Masqueraders: Let the Love Bells Ring
30. Al Green: La La For You
31. Syl Johnson: Steppin' Out
32. Syl Johnson: I Hate I Walked Away
33. Syl Johnson: Could It Be I'm Falling In Love
34. Al Green: I Wish You Were Here
35. Al Green: Simply Beautiful
36. Erma Coffee: You Made Me What I Am
37. George Jackson: Let Them Know You Care
38. Al Green: Something
39. Al Green: Strong As Death (Sweet As Love)
40. Syl Johnson: Wind Blow Her Back My Way
41. Betty Everett: Just a Matter of Time
42. Teacher's Edition: Sleepy People
43. Al Green: Jesus Is Waiting
44. Syl Johnson: It Ain't Easy
45. Ann Peebles: I Still Love You

If there's interest, I might break the mix into individual tracks and upload them as a .zip, but it's kinda a lot of work, so we'll see.

Statistical shits and giggles:

Number of songs by Al Green: 17
Number of songs by Syl Johnson: 7
Number of songs by Ann Peebles: 6
Number of songs by O.V. Wright: 5
Number of songs by George Jackson: 2
Number of songs by none of the above: 8

2 Busy Saying Yeah - new rap music 3!

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:29:00 +0000

Since my last new rap show back in November there's been a slew of major rap albums released, as well as some great indie and mixtape stuff. I've sifted through as much as I could find time to listen to and gathered some gems.

It's a diverse selection of songs, covering Oakland, Alabama, Tennessee, New York, Louisiana, Houston, Atlanta, D.C., Virginia Beach and other places, and featuring everyone from buzz favorites to past-their-sell-date superstars. A disproportionate share of the music comes from Huntsville, Alabama, but that's just because they've been making a disproportionate amount of great rap music. Enjoy.

Episode 14 - New Rap Music 3!

Matthew Africa's Podcast

Download
Subscribe: RSS iTunes Google Yahoo

1. Yelawolf: Box Chevy Pt. 3 feat. Rittz
2. Juicy J & Project Pat: Ike Turner Pimpin' feat. Slim Thug & New Generation
3. MJG: Dope Track
4. Webbie: Money Getting Taller feat. Pimp C & Lil Phat
5. G-Side: This Is Life
6. DJ Paul: Hi Way (I'm Gone)
7. Mia X: Grown Woman Shit
8. R. Kelly: Put Some Money On It feat. Rick Ross
9. Whitefolkz: Take a Picture
10. Wyld Money: G-Spot (Remix) feat. Gucci Mane
11. Korleon: Ray Charles feat. Bohagon
12. Mac Shawn: And You Do Know That
13. Drag-On: Money feat. Neo Da Matrix
14. Proton: Fuck the Economy
15. T-Boz: Get It Get It feat. Yung Joc & Too $hort
16. Tabi Bonney: Duhh
17. Souls of Mischief: Fourmation
18. Mos Def: 24 Hour Karate School
19. Kanye West: I'm So Appalled
20. Freeway & Jake One: Know What I Mean
21. G-Mane: 5th Wheel feat. Spyda, PT & Bentley
22. Z-Ro: Bottom to the Top feat. Mike D
23. RapTite: That's My Shit
24. J. Stalin: Pot of Gold feat. Mistah FAB & Kaz Kyzah
25. Messy Marv & DJ Fresh: In My Bloodline feat. J-Stalin, D-Lo & J-Mo
26. The Knux: Fuck You
27. Josie Stingray: Gotta Get It
28. Natural Elements: Off Beat Bop
29. Clipse: Counseling feat. Nicole Hurst
30. Jay Electronica: Glass Everywhere (Act I Encore)
31. Redman: Coc Back
32. OJ Da Juiceman: Frank Sinatra
33. Lil Jon: All the Way Crunked Up feat. Pastor Troy & Waka Flocka
34. Project Pat: Burglar Bars feat. OJ Da Juiceman
35. Cam'ron: Ooh Baby feat. Vado
36. 50 Cent: Strong Enough
37. Black C: Stay With Me feat. Hermanata
38. Betta Half: Cruisen
39. G-Side: In the Rain feat. Bentley
40. L.E.$.: Sittin' Low
41. Starlito: Magic Carpet Ride
42. Dude 'N Nem: McDonalds

Statistical shits & giggles

Songs by artists who were more popular in the 1990s: 12
Songs from the Bay: 6
Songs from New York: 6
Songs from Huntsville: 5
Songs from Atlanta: 5
Songs from Memphis: 4
Songs ripped from videos: 3
Songs by artists from New Orleans who don't sound like they're from New Orleans: 2
Songs featuring artists who were platinum in the 1980s: 1

There's nothing there to hold you back

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:57:00 +0000

This song is so great that it almost makes me wish decades were shorter:

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: "Corners" (Arista, 1980)

Back to burn one

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I spent part of the morning checking out Starlito a/k/a All Star's latest free album, the really enjoyable I Still Love You: Live from the Back of the Class. (Download here.)

I like Starlito's sleepy flow, he's a good lyricist and he chooses beats well. It's just good rap music.

The album was assembled by Atlanta's DJ Burn One, who runs the excellent BLVD ST blog, which rides about as hard as anybody for country rap tunes. Burn One has put together a number of great unmixed artist mixtapes this year, like KD's Soul Inn and G-Mane's Sunday on Da Porch and Smoke Some Kill.

He has also has made some of my favorite beats this year under his production alias, Mick Vegas, producing for rappers like G-Side, KD, Pill and P.Dukes. A lot of his productions are sample-based and sound pretty simple, but he chooses great loops and hooks them up well-- they frequently send me running over to my record room to track down a song I haven't listened to in way too long.

Case in point, this one from G-Mane's recent Sunday on Da Porch, which was entirely produced by Mick Vegas:

G-Mane: "Light Up" (2009)

I recognized the Hi Records snare sound but couldn't remember who the artist was, which gave me a great excuse to revisit some records from Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, etc. until I heard what I was looking for:

Syl Johnson: "Steppin' Out" (Hi, 1975)

BTW, I'm super-juiced for the Numero Group's forthcoming 4-CD/6-LP anthology of Syl Johnson's 1959-1972 output. Apparently they've got 20 unreleased songs and I trust the booklet, packaging, etc. will be up to their usual, stellar standards.

Good combinations

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:14:00 +0000

While I was out Xmas shopping for my girl's nieces and nephews, I snatched up a present for myself, Cohen Morano's The Rest Is Up to You.

Cohen is a third-grader who likes to paint water colors. His father is Aye Jay Morano, the artist/wiseass who brought you the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book, the Punk Rock Fun Time Activity Book, the Heavy Metal Fun Time Activity Book, the recent Country Music Fun Time Activity Book and this awesome cover:

(Still available for free download here and here!)

Anyhow, Aye Jay is a pretty well-connected guy and he started offering Cohen's watercolors to various art world friends for further embellishment--art stars like Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Frank Kozik, Matt Loomis, David Choe and lots more took Cohen's pictures and dressed them up with further layers of words, images, character, colors, etc.

A lot of the resulting pictures are pretty great but my favorite part is usually Cohen's interpretations of what the new pictures represent in the blurbs that accompany some of them. While these comments could easily succumb to cuteness or preciousness, many are perceptive and I find them endearing because they remind me a little bit of what it was like to be a kid and to constantly try and make sense of the world from whatever fragments of information drifted down to me.

To choose one more or less at random (i.e., I was able to scan this one in full without messing up the binding):

I take it that Cohen's orginal drawing is the colorful part; the remainder of the picture was contributed by Brent Rollins, who designed Ego Trip and too many great album covers to mention. Cohen's blurb beneath reads: "'Big up Cohen.' What does that mean? Respect? Respect Cohen? Hmmm... this one makes me think it is raining crayons. An umbrella is needed. Yeah, an umbrella. Just a regular umbrella is all that is needed. I am the person holding the umbrella-- I did not get damaged. I am the only one who has not gotten damaged yet." I hope he never does.

So, uh, not really the same thing, but sort of the same thing, The Rest Is Up to You got me thinking about songs where one artist has taken another person's music unaltered and just layered something new on top. These were the three that came to me off the bat:

Ice-T: "Soul On Ice" (Sire, 1988)

"Hustler's Convention" + "Harlem Buck Street Dance" = the best.

Ghostface Killah: "Holla" (Def Jam, 2004)

Ghostface Killah: "Big Girl" (Def Jam, 2006)

When I first heard that Ghost was releasing an R&B album, Wizard of Poetry, I was halfway hoping it would be along the lines of these.

Beauty's a ring of smoke

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:14:00 +0000

I've been meaning to put in a plug for a pair of free mixes my homeboy Phill Most a/k/a Phill Most Chill a/k/a the Soulman recently put out and, this, the shortest day of the year, feels like a good time for this wintry pair.

Phill's nice with the mic, the pen, the marker, beat machines and other stuff, but he's deservedly best known for his World of Beats tape series, which was among the first to mix rare beats and breaks. Throughout the 90s, Phill regularly dropped tapes featuring obscure original tracks sampled for recent rap hits alongside unknown gems. For many people, Phill's tapes were not just an introduction to the music their favorite songs were based on, they were a gateway to record digging.

Now, having said all that, I actually was never a huge fan of his World of Beats tapes. As much as I love a lot of the music he put on them and as much respect as I have for Phill as a digger and listener, I often found them a little choppy for my taste. Like the rap songs that popularized many of the records he mixed, Phill's tapes tended to focus on little four- or 8- or 16-bar sections-- drum breaks, basslines, loops-- and however hot these pieces were, I usually felt like they didn't stick with me the way songs do.

His two new tapes are a real departure in that respect. Each is a roughly hour-long collection of songs that are minimally mixed and flow naturally.

The first mix is devoted to psych, and it's largely made up of quiet, folk-ish tunes. Many are acoustic, many are female-fronted and quite a few are gorgeous. It's a great nighttime listen and it had me revisiting a few recent reissues that are in a similar style: Dirty French Psychedelics, Fuzzy Felt Folk and Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word and Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word 2. If you enjoy Phill's mix, all are really worth buying.

You can download Beautiful here.

The second mix is closer to traditional Soulman territory-- it's mainly made up of soul songs, although there's some jazz and a few other things in the mix, too. It's a little bit groovier than Beautiful but overall the tone is similar-- much of it is slow, pretty and reflective.

Come to Me Softly is here.