Jigmastas grassroots mixtape cover art
Yes, we're indeed back once more with some of the best mixtape material this side of tomorrow. Mixtape Monday is leading off this cool September morning with the world premiere of Beatnick Dee's new "Inspiration for Hire" set, a globe-trotting sampling of cuts from South America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Beyond that, we're packing the latest soul rap mixtape from Kid Millions, some Fool's Gold-approved party madness and a brand new live goodness from Maseo of De La Soul.
West Coast producer and sound selector Beatnick Dee has done his fair share of globetrotting--and it shows. His new "Inspiration For Hire" mixtape plays out like a world music microfestival, with each cut transporting us across hemispheres and time zones. Grooves sourced from Thailand, Spain, Jamaica, Germany, France, Brazil, US, UK, Sweden, and Russia all feature prominently in this 40 minute pleasure cruise, which brings to mind the soundtracks of all those foreign films you wish you'd actually gone out and seen. Dee drops boogie, breaks, library weirdness, jazz-funk and psych-rock to equal degrees.
This one's truly mission-affirming for all those crate-diggers out there, and if you're curious as to how Beatnick attacks a stack of records, check out the video clip after the jump, in which we follow the American born, UK-bred hipshaker on a mission to find new records.
Yes it's thatMaseo. The De La Soul don laid down a live mix in NYC late last week and kept things sufficiently proper with cuts from The Roots, Jay Z, James Brown, Redman and more rare breaks than you've never heard of (figure that one out). The mix fills a full 90 minutes, which means that even you West Coast commuters will be able to rely on this one to get you from work and back. Just don't label it a hippy mix.
The Dope Folks crew apparently can't stop and won't stop dropping excellent mix material, and on their newest release, Kid Millions drops off some brilliant moves with his "Kid Soul & Rap MINI Classy Mix." Weird kid records? PG grooves that go as hard as their R-rated counterparts? Anything goes with this one.
Artwork by LoweFactor
Arts collective and lifestyle blog LoweFactor has recently teamed up with Philly rising star DJ Cool Out to drop "Disgo Sessao 1," an ethereal and high-floating mix of electro and house that blends in just the right amount of hip-hop. Think of it as a wild head trip that packs plenty of heart as it proceeds. 32 tight minutes of beats, the track features uptempo(ish) renditions of D'Angelo, Tinashe, Potatohead People and so, so much more.
LoweFactor's own Jared Lowe described the mix just so:
"Disgo” is a contemporary, genre-defying take on the disco music movement doused in deep house beats, with elements of soul, funk, retro, and rap. It’s “faster than hip-hop, slower than house, still 4-on-the floor.” “Sessao”, which is Portuguese for “session”, signifies the full collection of the “Disgo” sound.
Tracklist:
01 Pat Lok - Move Slow Feat. Kaeyae Alo (SirOJ Remix)
02 Sndwvs – Collide
03 D'Angelo - Betray My Heart (Dino Soccio Rework)
04 Robin Thicke - Lost Without U (Disgo Remix)
05 Aeroplane - Let's Get Slow Feat. Benjamin Diamond (Jean Tonique Remix)
06 Raphael Saadiq Feat. Q - Tip - Get Involved (Jean Tonique Edit)
07 Boxed In - Mystery (Pat Lok 'Yukon Soul' Mix)
08 Chris McClenney - Tonight (Youngblood)
09 OSAGE Feat. Foremost Poets - Bougie Bounce (Disgo Remix)
10 Kid Loco - My Daddy Waza (Suonho Remix)
11 Vic Mensa – Down On My Luck (Chris McClenney Remix)
12 Missy x Beyonce - Temptation (Kource Edit)
13 Potatohead People - Blossoms (Nick Wisdom Remix)
14 starRo - House Party
15 Tinashe - Vulnerable (Pomo Remix)
Quite frankly, if it's even slightly, tangentially-related to Jamie XX's brilliant single "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)," we want in on the deal. Boiler Room's latest features 90 minutes of live drops from New Jersey's own Mike Simonetti, which keep the beat moving quickly and the dancefloor densely packed.
If you're pressing play on this one, you already know exactly what you're going to get. Yung Wall Street went to town on a bevy of modern dance cuts for Fool's Gold, in preparation of their big Austin throw-down (which just took place last weekend). Things start slightly mellow, but by the time the Sophie and Future drops, it's a full-on sonic brawl.
Tracklist:
1. Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime (Yung Wall Street Edit)
2. Tove Lo - Talking Body (Yung Wall Street Edit)
3. Hi Tom - Fantasy x 1,2 Step
4. Noah Plause - Runnin'
5. Sophie - Lemonade (DJ Boyfriends x DJ Javascript Remix)
6. GRRL - Bad Bitch
7. Future - Thought It Was a Drought
8. DJ Javascript - Jiggly Pop
9. Yung Wall Street - Moonlight Tower
10. Dej Loaf - Try Me (Nick Catchdubs Jersey Gardens Mix)
11. Catt Moop - Nova
12. Vices & Jailo - Know Y I Came
13. Ellie Goulding - Figure 8 (French Fries Remix)
14. Astronomar - Look At Her Butt (Samir's Horn Mix)
15. Galantis - U & I (Yung Wall Street Edit w/ Yacht Club Remix)
16. Robokid, AO Beats & Manila Killa - Helix 2.0 (Ft. Blaise Railey)
The ever-tasteful and concise selector, Brooklyn's own cuurlzzz has shared a brand new mix that has us swooning, wishing we could turn back the clock to yesterday. Her "Sundaze" mix features a bit of everything, from Diana Ross to Action Bronson, with a bit of uptempo house thrown up front, just because. Here's hoping there's some bright afternoon light streaming through your open windows and you're able to let this one just wash right over you.
Also, one time for the Missy + Erykah "Sock it to Me," which we ourselves first got hipped to on Summertime 5. That's the good stuff right there.
Tracklist:
why can't we live together - timmy thomas (cuurlzzz edit)
good morning pecknaam - henry wu
sock it to me (missy elliot/erykah badu) - duncan gerow
easin' in - edwin starr
brown baby/save the children - diana ross
imported goods - action bronson
cream on the outside - tek.lun
you are what i'm all about - new birth
Dr. Dre dropping modern beats, and then bringing the legendary Quincy Jones into the studio for a conversation? We don't normally post radio shows, but when we do, we prefer them to feature legends like these.
House Shoes drops the Magic on us once more with his latest installment in his semi-regular series. Tall Black Guy, new Dr. Dre, some Beatnick Dee (synergy!), Jay Rock and Jay Dee all set the stage for what ultimately becomes the most brutal Guilty Simpson throwdown session this here blog has ever borne witness to. Get to it, from one of Detroit's very best.
Tracklist:
1. DERT – smokeys reprise_r2
2. Tall Black Guy – Blak and Mild
3. Chanes – coins instrumental
4. Chanes – yazg
5. Dr. Dre – All In a Days Work (feat. Anderson Paak)
6. Dr. Dre – Gone (prod. by DRUGS)
7. The Mighty Elegant – I Don’t Know What It Is
8. Ka – Still Heir
9. Nikobeats – 21 candles
10. Illingsworth – Kings
11. Big Tone – Get Up (feat. 87 & Quelle)
12. Quelle Power
13. Requiem (feat. Oddisee & Phonte)
14. Beatnik Dee – Burning Clouds
15. PHONIX – banana kush
16. Jay Rock – Easy Bake (feat. Kendrick Lamar & SZA)
17. Electric Wire Hustle – Golden Ladder
18. Scarface – Exit Plan
19. Raj Mahal – Little Ones
20. Kool and the Gang – Little Children
21. Chanes – time is running out
22. Chanes – daydreams
23. Chanes – pads
24. Electric Wire Hustle – Desert of the Real
25. Jay Rock – Telegram (Going Krazy) (feat. Lance Skiiiwalker)
26. UNJUST – crazygame
27. Illingsworth – Duedads
28. Kev Brown – batida
29. Stro – James 3000
30. Good Life
31. Big Pooh – Memory
32. Jay Dee – BILLYBROOKSBAATIN
33. Guilty Simpson – Michigan Nights
34. Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson – The Cook Up
35. Black Milk – G feat. Guilty Simpson
36. Quakers – War Drums (feat. Guilty Simpson & Phat Kat)
37. Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson – Parkour
38. Guilty Simpson – Detroit’s Son
39. Guilty Simpson – Before I Die (feat. the Heliocentrics)
40. Guilty Simpson – Chief Pat Pockets
41. Guilty Simpson – Roll Call (feat. Cysion)
42. Guilty Simpson – Blunts In The Air (feat. Cysion)
43. Guilty Simpson – For the D
44. Quakers feat.Guilty Simpson & MED – Fitta Happier
45. Guilty Simpson – Back on the Road Again
46. Guilty Simpson – Stress
47. Guilty Simpson – Cali Hills
48. Guilty Simpson – Go! (feat. Madlib)
49. Guilty Simpson – Man’s World
50. Guilty Simpson – Lab Rats
51. Eric Lau – Yesterday (feat. Guilty Simpson)
52. Guilty Simpson – Smoking feat. Spacek
53. Guilty Simpson – Make It Fast
54. Guilty Simpson – Blow the Horns On Em
55. Guilty Simpson – Pigs
56. RON JON BOVI – We Get it Poppin
This one is perhaps the most perfect Mixtape Monday closer in memory. DJ Spinna and Kriminul, for much of the 90s performed and released music as Jigmastas, and while their success and notoriety remained an underground sensation, their talent and work ethic was truly sky-high. In a new mixtape, we hear that talent on full display in a new mixtape of their past works put together by BBE. The word is, Jigmastas will be releasing a proper full-length through BBE later this year, and so now's the perfect time to revisit their tasteful and dusty back catalog. "The Grassroots Mix" is an ideal (re)introduction to their work, and should have you on strict lookout for their new LP, which is currently en route. Here's how BBE put it:
More than during any period of its history previous or since, NYC hip-hop in the ’90s fixated on streets-centric authenticity. Being “real” – musically, ethically, biographically – was paramount. From their first release, however, Brooklyn’s Jigmastas proudly defined themselves by nobody’s measure of validity but their own. While others chased the so-called real, DJ Spinna and Kriminul claimed “Beyond Real,” the title of their 1996 independent single on the label of the same name, a debut gem that established their M.O. as purveyors of sonic sophistication and everyman truths.
