One can readily hear Dilla’s tutelage in House Shoes’ selections, chops and filters. Take the masterful “Time” where Steve Miller is re-interpreted to mind-expanding effect; Yes, the song sampled is beyond the point of familiarity but when you re-imagine something so effortlessly…well, that’s about as good as hip-hop gets. Jermaine Jackson’s “Castles Of Sand” gets the black belt chop treatment on “Castles (The Sky Is Ours)” and while Jimetta Rose’s vocals are almost unnecessary, the track soars to places hip-hop rarely goes these days. A couple of these beats were used on Quelle Chris’ semi-slept-on Shotgun & Sleek Rifle but most heads won’t mind hearing them again.

Lyrically, this album does not always rise to the superior production, but there are some excellent runs from well-known names and up-and-comers alike. Most of the mic work is handled by Detroit artists such as Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Danny Brown and Fattfather. Obvious focus cuts are “Dirt” featuring Greneberg, “Crazy” with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson and “Last Breath” with Oh No and MED. There are also two lesser-known names that make splashes on this effort, Moe Dirdee and Black Spade.

In the end, this album has a listenable quality that so many releases are missing. Though something of a collaborative effort, it has a rare focused feel. House Shoes has served Detroit (and hip-hop) for decades and it’s only right the man gets his due. So hard to let shit go these days, but you ‘d do well to let go of a few hard-earned ducks for this release.

- M.F. DiBella

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Quelle Chris excels again on this next joint from Shotgun and Sleek Rifle but its the Roc Marciano verse that really sets it off with “Whips & chains, Rick James frames / We rip the stage, ships hit waves / Used to flip ‘caine, shoot clips, aim / Elusive, if the shoe fits, get strings.” Then the crazy breakdown on the House Shoes beat shuts it down. The LP is out now, buy it here–no cooling off period required.

>>>Download

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World Premiere! And I do mean world. Fresh off his collaboration with brithop king Paul White Detroit ambassador to the world DJ House Shoes is back to put us up on German I mean Austrian beatmeister Brenk Sinatra. This 8-minute mix is a preview of Brenk’s forthcoming LP Gumbo 2: Pretty Ugly (available for digital pre-sale here). The format of short instru-ludes scratched together with fx and drops from the likes of DJ Premier is reminiscent of Dilla Donuts but Brenk got his own unique ear for atmospheric percussion and disjointed soul–and already has a deep catalog in his own right, having laced Guilty Simpson, King Tee and MarvWon with beats. The self-described “West Coast rap fanatic” is also producing MC Eiht‘s upcoming LP Which Way Iz West in it’s entirety. Stream below to find out what those cats already know.

DJ HOUSE SHOES PRESENTS BRENK SINATRA – GUMBO 2: PRETTY UGLY (SNIPPET TAPE) by MPMCGN

The post Premiere: DJ House Shoes x Brenk Sinatra – Gumbo 2: Pretty Ugly [Snippet Tape] appeared first on Okayplayer.

So I think I was telling you about this Rapping with Paul White LP that drops on August 23rd? As the tile suggests, It’s basically UK producer Paul White‘s weirdo beats plus raps from Danny Brown, Guilty Simpson, Marv Won and more. To promote it, White’s One Handed Music label enlisted DJ House Shoes to put some choice cuts together in mixtape form, interspersed with some of White’s exclusive remixes of Nas, Prince Po, A Tribe Called Quest and stuff like that. Voila: the Rapping with Paul White mixtape. Listen or download below.

Rapping With Paul White – The DJ House Shoes Mixtape

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