Subscribe

* indicates required
Okayplayer News

To continue reading

Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

The Stuyvesants Fresh Selects Tight Songs Guest Mixtape Cover Art
The Stuyvesants Fresh Selects Tight Songs Guest Mixtape Cover Art

Mixtape Monday: DJ L'Oqenz x Basquiat Premiere, MF Doom Origins, Soulection x BBC + More!

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Welcome friends to the other side of yesterday. It's a new week, and with that comes another Mixtape Monday. We've prepped an excellent batch of tapes this week, one that bends the usual conventions of our approach--but it's all in the name of good music. Things get started with the Okayplayer premiere of a live mix from NiteOwlNaps dedicated to the legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. From there things keep visual for a moment thanks to Parisians Now Futur and their dazzling video mixtape of MF Doom beats reconstructed from their O.G. sources and set to vintage films. A little farther back awaits Soulection's takeover set on Diplo's BBC broadcast, vintage master O. Wang, a little J. Rocc, a little LeFtO, and a lot of 90s beats. Get set to get down; the mixtapes begin now.

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

(Art by Felipe Velasquez)

This one goes a little deeper than most. If you've spent some time in the East Coast scene, you're likely familiar with DJ L'Oqenz, whose penchant for selecting only the choicest of hip-hop and electro grooves has made her a must-catch in and out of her native Toronto. L'Oqenz also produces tracks under the name NiteOwlNaps, and recently combined her passions in a DJ set of brand new material at NYC's Brooklyn Museum.

But why a museum mixtape session? The answer is the illustrious Jean-Michel Basquiat. NiteOwlNaps had the honor of DJing an evening at the BK Museum's exhibition of Basquiat's notebooks, and brought a set of appropriately original material along with her. Her live set from that evening was recorded, and now Okayplayer is very pleased to premiere NON's Downtown 81 ~ A Tribute To Jean-Michel Basquiat. Just as with Basquiat's work, the set is fraught with dichotomy. Soothing hip-hop beats get doused in anxious chords reminiscent of Massive Attack; Basquiat's own words punctuate the entire set, reminding us of the dual brilliance and self-doubt that marked his life. Downtown 81 is beautiful mixtape loaded with tension and release.

The mixtape's cover (which is just above) was created by Felipe Velasquez, an artist who already shows great promise and (naturally) cites Basquiat as an influence. "I want the viewer to feel disrupted. I try to create an emotional response to my pieces that forces the viewer to confront what's in front of them and ultimately themselves." His art, just as with NON's music, is one of challenging complexity. Without further ado, presented by Pirates Blend, we bring you Downtown 81.

Downtown 81 - A Tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat Tracklist:

01. New Day

02. Untitled 1

03. Untitled 2

04. Untitled 3

05. Lower East Side

06. Untitled 4

07. So Far, So Real

08. 1986 Interview w/Jean-Michel Basquiat

09. Bob The Bob (Original)

And so we proceed and continue with the visual culture features. The Parisian geniuses Now Futur put in a mountain of work tracking down original MF Doom sample materials, re-chopping them to drum beats and essentially composing their own versions--like a feast made home-style with the help of the villain's recipe cards.

But then, Now Futur really went and did the damn thing by setting the entire 45 minute mixtape to some vintage video clips, kicking the throwback flavor through the roof. It's a creative, slightly-unorthodox way to remind us of the brilliance of Doom's production work. Watch the full video piece above, or enjoy the audio-only mix file below.

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

The sound of tomorrow hit the BBC this weekend, as Diplo allowed a Soulection crew comprised of Abjo, The Whooligan, Sasha Marie and Andre Power to take over his weekly program. What came about is certainly our most favorite Diplo & Friends in recent memory, a pleasing and positive-vibes mix that brings the best of modern beatmaking to the foreground. If you need a primer, you can re-up your Soulection knowledge via their own latest radio show, but do so quick-like--you're going to want to press play on their BBC takeover asap.

Tracklist:

Ozzie & Gravez – "All Yours" [White Label]

Feki – "Remember" [White Label]

Torai – "Jungle Refix" [Occult Sounds]

Maesu – "11fortysevn" [Soulection]

Sam Gellaitry – "Temple" (OSOSBLANCO Remix)

Dirt Choc – "Memory Cards" [White Label]

Dojo – "dc" (feat. Chahine) [Record Kicks]

Kojacks – "Brassflute" [Unreleased]

Mc Chapadinho – "Passinho da Macumba" [Soulection]

K-Wash – "Obrigado Sango" [Soulection]

Kid Indigo – "Colors" [Soulection]

oshi – "Thank You" [Soulection]

Yunis – "BaeBae" [Soulection]

Sam Gellaitry – "Childhood" (Senojnayr Remix) [Soulection]

Mark Johns – "5 South" [Soulection]

Masego – "73 Degrees" (Dem Apples Bootleg) [Epic Sounds]

Cəs – "Cobra" [Unreleased]

E. Doza – "Anyway" [Unreleased]

G-Eazy – "Lets Get Lost" (feat. Devon Baldwin) [Unreleased]

Kang – "Eclipse" [White Label]

Preston Harris – "Iloveyou" [Film Noir]

The Weekend – "Drinks On Us" [Soulection]

E. Doza – "RYB" [BEVSTMODE]

BONHM CARTR – "Oops" [unsigned]

Fortune – "How I Feel" (You’re The One) [Flow-Fi]

A Tribe Called Quest – "Lyrics To Go" [unsigned]

JR Jårris – "Golden Vibes" (AbJo x JR Jårris) [Darker Than Wax]

Jo Def – "Wednesday Night Edit" [Soulection]

Mikos da Gawd – "Arpee Dance" [unsigned]

Penthouse Penthouse – "Going Out" (Club Edit) [Team Supreme]

Zuper – "Stop" [Non Drifter]

Melo-Zed – "Silken Hearts" [Darker Than Wax]

The Notorious B.I.G. – "Get Money" (Mikos Da Gawd & The Whooligan Bounce Edit)

Darius – "Helios" (feat. Tennyson) [Roche Musique]

Abraham Blue x J-LOUI – "Let’s Escape Together" (JL x Krs Bootleg) [Noir Sound]

Kource – "Down" [unsigned]

oriJanus – "I Want You" [Soulection]

The Seventh – "Excessive" [Fader Label]

C. Justice – "She Wants It" [Unreleased]

Sango – "Baile Somebody" [HW&W Recordings]

K-Wash – "La Mierda" [White Label]

K-Wash – "Nao Salto Nao VS Pa’Mala" (ReWork) [Unreleased]

HERZELOYDE – "Phanboy" (Geotheory Remix) [INDEPEDENT]

NckStphn – "Refuse" [White Label]

Da-P – "Ground Play" [Soulection]

Sango – "Sempre" [Soulection]

RXN – "alma" [Unreleased]

Tails & Alexander Lewis – "Time" [Candid Music Group]

Gravez – "Where We From" [Soulection]

Aaliyah – "One In A Million: [Atlantic]

SPZRKT & Sango – "Hipster Girl" [Soulection]

J-Louis – "I Can’t Explain It"

Drake – "Madonna" [ovo]

KRS‐One – "Ginger Me" [Film Noir]

AbJo – "In Light Of" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Momentum" [Soulection]

AbJo – "TMRW" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Gladius" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Wake Up!" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Imperial Lights" [Soulection]

Munoz – "FIYAH" [Munozbeats]

AbJo – "Golden Vibes" [Soulection]

oshi – "808Luv" [White Label]

The Roots – "Coming To (VIP Mix)" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Siddartha" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Ce u (Bonus)" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Over" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Break It Off" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Silvicide" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Vibrac a o Comigo (Vibe With Me)" [Soulection]

AbJo – "Travel Heavy" [Soulection]

lefto show 572

Get set for another excellent guest radio mix (This whole roundup moves in pairs--conspiracy?). Stones Throw stalwart J Rocc stopped by LeFtO's regular program to spin a guest mix of top-notch material. Mixed with LeFtO's own selections, including Hudson Mohawke's latest, some classic McCoy Tyner, and the latest Vic Mensa x Kanye joint, J's moves are as excellent as ever.

Tracklist:

vernessa mitchell - no more tears

mocky - tomorrow maker ft. moses sumney *

too many zooz - mouse trap

breakdown brass - monmouth

hudson mohawke - ryderz

l'orange & jeremiah jae - ignore the man to your right ft. homeboy sandman *

nosaj thing - let you

illa j - strippers

anderson paak ft. nocando - the fif

vic mensa - u mad ft. kanye west

ltgl - catharsis

mono/poly - low end theory

mura masa - are u there? *

casssandre - sifflant soufflant

mcCoy tyner - opus

mieux - rush *

jessie ware - champagne kisses (darius remix)

quiet dawn - new dawn ft. oddisee

(Begin J Rocc Guest Set)

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

When it comes to knowledge and an ear for vintage tones, few can compete with Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides. O. Wang turns out a steady stream of excellent sets, but this one, a tribute to West Coast legend Matthew Africa, if especially poignant. There's no better way to sum it up than O Dub's own words, so read up and enjoy. R.I.P. forever, MKA.

After Matthew Africa passed away in the summer of 2012, his friends all pitched in song ideas for the music that played at his memorial. These were songs we associated with him, learned about from him, remixes he had done, etc. In the two years since, I put the idea of the mix on the back burner but only in recent weeks did I finally, get around to working on it. Using that massive folder of songs as my raw material, I went through and whittled things down to a 37 song, 67 minute mix that reflected the broad range of MKA's musical tastes. Simply putting this together just made me appreciate, all over again, how expansive his embrace of different musical styles was; this mix says far more about this sensibilities than mine, even if I cherry-picked the songs I thought would work best together.

This mix is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Africa and all his friends and family. Special thanks to Stephanie Gardner Design for use of the Matthew Africa logo.

Read Wang's extended tribute to Matthew Africa here.

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

When Soundfounder of the Austin, TX Exploded Drawing collective let Okayplayer know he had a mix ready, we were fascinated. The DJ and producer (real name Andrew Brown) as an obvious knack for picking out the best cuts across hip-hop, electro and downtempo genres, and is one of the more refreshing mixtape voices we've heard in quite some time. New Yorkers who have never had a chance to see him at work can catch him Thursday, April 30th at Kinfolk 94 in Brooklyn (along with Philly's Kate Faust), but why wait? Listen to his brand new mix, "Journey to the Big Red Delicious" below, which comes loaded with OKP-approved material. Brown's newest LP, Cinnamon and Waterloo, will be out May 5th via (iN)Sect Records.

EVENT INFO:

Pugilista Trading Co. in connection

with Exploded Drawingpresents

a new monthly (April through July)

at Kinfolk 94 in Brooklyn, NY

called "Exploded Sound Sessions"

April 30th:

Kate Faust (Philadelphia) & soundfounder (ED/Austin)

RSVP Here

Tracklist:

1.Quantic­ Absence Heard - "Presence Felt"

2.The Fabulous Three -­" Odyssey Revisited"

3. aLive­ iN Cleveland

4. Onra­ - "The Vallee of Love"

5. Modeselektor -­ "Grillwalker"

6. Durazzo -­ "Waterbed"

7. Outkast­ - "Liberation"

8. Bullion -­ "Are You the One?"

9. Botany -­ "Throwing Knife"

10. Cyne -­ "Automation" (Four Tet Remix Instrumental)

11. Gaslamp Killer­ - "Nissim"

12. soundfounder­ - "Lights Out" (Edit)

13. J Dilla feat. J.Rocc and Karriem Riggins -­ "Body Movin'"

14. Jonwayne -­ "Bus Stops" (Prod. by Flying Lotus)

15. Dabrye -­ "Missing You"

16. Butcher Bear ft BoomBaptist and Chief & the Doomsday Device­ "Esoteric

Clerics"

17. Edan­ - "Torture Chamber" (soundfounder Remix)

18. Open Mike Eagle -­ "Raps for When it's Just You & the Abyss" (Prod. by Lo Phi)

19. Free The Robots­ - "Turkish Voodoo"

20. Solar Shield -­ "Planisher"

21. Dorothy Asby -­ "Soul Vibrations"

22. soundfounder -­ "Saying Uncle When Mum's the Word"

23. Shuggie Otis­ - "If You'd Be Mine"

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Brooklyn's tastiest The Stuyvesants stopped by the Tight Songs radio hour, hosted by label Fresh Selects on XRAY FM. The producer duo of Algorhythm & Darien Birks have become underground sensations, beloved for their ability to pluck the very best records out of even the densest shop, and on their Tight Songs debut they bring their A-est game. Dig on a number of new joints from Knwledge and plenty of their own material. It's a new sound that feels like the best old records you've never heard. Press play and enjoy.

Tracklist:

1. Ahwlee - Jimmy. (0:01)

2. TUAMIE - Hit It With Da Fork (2:10)

3. Ahwlee - .45 (4:27)

4. Ahwlee - Love.[ppl] (5:49)

5. TUAMIE - Birds On The Sidewalk (7:22)

6. Knxwledge - wheneverUreadi (9:20)

7. Knxwledge - Direktli[TWRK]_ (11:47)

8. Algorythmusic - Untitled (12:56)

9. DJ Harrison - Beauty Bee (14:45)

10. DJ Harrison - R17 (17:09)

11. STRAANGE - Random Access (17:58)

12. TUAMIE - South Hairston (20:01)

13. Khrysis - Just Friends Instr. (22:02)

14. KVZE - Sight See (23:47)

15. Knxwledge - Yuri (25:50)

16. Algorythmusic - Untitled #2 (26:59)

17. The Stuyvesants - Low Key Lovely / Anna Log (29:17)

18. The Stuyvesants - Crazy Night (31:35)

19. The Stuyvesants - Kleerly (33:22)

20. The Stuyvesants - Well Albright Then (35:17)

21. The Stuyvesants - Synth Beeps (36:50)

22. The Stuyvesants - Chocolate Sweater (38:33)

23. The Stuyvesants - 1 Thing (Remix) (40:29)

24. The Stuyvesants - Future Groove Outro (The Stuy) (42:40)

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Where better to drop a set of 90s golden-era classics than on the Ed Lover show (also: Yo! Ed Lover Raps!). That's just what NJ producer-DJ K-Def did this month, bringing in some of the joints responsible for hip-hop as we know it today. K-Def's Backspin session on Sirius FM included the likes of Nas, Blahzay Blahzay, Lords of the Underground and many more. The mix was performed live on-air by K-Def, who put a top-tier scratch session throughout the entire piece.

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

This mix comes shrouded in a bit of mystery. It was uploaded by choice selectors Mellow Orange, and if they're giving it their stamp of approval, we're on board. Mixed by French collective Tres Beats, aka Yusai, Dubs, Deedot, the set includes chopped and screwed Souls of Mischief, A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village and more. It's layered in gorgeous ways and flows smooth from end to end. Get on it

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Yet another excellent, forward-looking set from Mistah Rapsey and his Collaborator series. This one brings Nonma in for an introductory set loaded with Nxworries, Toro Y Moi, Lapalux and some reworked Hathaway. It's a great way to end this week and point the way into what's to come, so enjoy and keep on moving to it.

A Side: NONMA

1. Flamingosis x Yung Bae - Groovin’

2. Fitzroy - G’d Up

3. Nxworries - Suede [Anderson Paak x Knxwledge]

4. BMB Spacekid - 1 again

5. Toro Y Moi - I Can Get Love

6. Phony PPL - End of the Night (Louis Futon remix)

7. BMB Spacekid - Extragon

8. Lapalux - Without You (Ft. Kerry Leatham)

9. Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (suonho Reloved)

10. Moon Boots - Sugar

11. BMB spacekid - Dance With Me

B Side: Mistah Rapsey

1. Georgia A. Muldrow - Pad Control

2. Chester Watson - Ogre [Prod. by Madlib]

3. Bishop Nehru - Y.E.T. [Prod. by Madlib]

4. Jaylib - Strip Club

5. Illa J - Strippers [Prod. by KAYTRANADA & Potatohead People]

6. Iota - Funkenstein

7. The Meters - Just Kissed My Baby

8. Too $hort - Short But Funky

9. Andrew Ashong - Day Like This (Ft. Eska) (Original Mix)

10. Pete Rock - Something Funky

11. Shafiq Husayn - Cheeba (Ft. Bilal) [Nottz Remix]