Month in Review

 

September has been a good month.  Maybe not for everyone, but for those of us who crave old school and golden era nostalgia, it's been a bumper month.  What's been most surprising though, is that much of this little collection is kind of new, despite being old (bear with me and you'll see what I mean).  Ah heck, to save me explaining it, just peep the first item and you'll see where I was going. 

 

Be sure to follow the jump link as there are mixtapes, break beats, new music and much more for your eyes and ears.  I told ya, it's been a monster month.

 

Bizarre Tribe

 

No, I've not found a previously undiscovered group of cannibals deep in the Amazon rain forest!  But if you haven't heard this mix yet then you must have been deep in the Amazon yourself.  Amerigo Gazaway (who previously fused Fela Kuti and De La Soul to critical acclaim) has been hard at work again, this time reinterpreting the music created by A Tribe Called Quest.  Using the original soul, funk and jazz samples, Gazaway recreates the instrumentals from some of ATCQ's classics, and then drops vocals from the Pharcyde over the top.

Aside from the painstaking effort that has gone into this, the nicest thing for me is that it doesn't sound like a mash up.  If you didn't know better, these could be original golden era recordings.  The selections and pairings are impeccable, and I stongly recommend you give it a listen.

Krazy Drazy and Smif N Wessun

Yep, you read that title right.  And no, this isn't some DJ mashup of two old tunes or a gimmick.  Krazy Drazy from Das EFX returns with this head nodder of a tune featuring the Boot Camp Click's very own Tek and Steele.  And if you like it, there's a free download too.

Break 2 The Beat

Next up is this little gem for fans of early UK hip hop and breakbeats.  If you take most of the classic UK records from the late 80's and 90's and pair them up with their original breakbeat then you've pretty much got the concept of this project.  However, there are 6 volumes of these compilations so it's a comprehensive collection.

A lot of time and effort has gone into this and there are plenty of breaks that enlightened me (not that I profess to be a breakbeat fanatic or expecrt!).  And if you're not interested in the breakbeats, then just enjoy some of the finest UK hip hop of that era.

Props to Wars over at the Style Warriors Revenge blog for sharing these, and to Jemze for pulling the whole thing together.  Click on the image above to get the full track listing and the download links (via Mediafire).

Delicious Vinyl 25th Anniversary

 



This mix seems to have been pretty damn popular since it's release earlier this month, but in case you missed it I've included it here.  Soul brother Pete Rock has put together an hour long mix to celebrate the best of artists signed to Delicious Vinyl over the last 25 years, including Masta Ace, Pharcyde, Young MC, Whoridas, Tone Loc, Brand New Heavies etc.   A lot of the tracks are the remixes too, so it's not the usual versions you're accustomed to hearing.  Oh, and if you're a big Delicious Vinyl fan, then check out the accompanying range of t-shirts that Stussy have produced.

Lunchroom Battles



Now this mixtape goes one step beyond the previous Delicious Vinyl tape.  This is a classic collection of all those old and rare freestyle battles from waaaaay back in the day.  From when Rakim was called Kid Wizard, when Kool Moe Dee infamously battled Busy Bee, before Nasty Nas was signed etc.  Previously confined to retro audio cassettes, they've now been digitised and pulled together by Gudtyme to make a supa dupa dope trip down memory lane.  A full explanation of this project can be found on his own blog.

So if you love the old school vibe, the slightly hollow sound of a cassette and the atmospheric hiss of old recordings, then hit play and reminisce like a grandfather in a high backed armchair.   Full tracklisting after the embedded media player.

 

 

 

Mourning in America

Brother Ali has just released his latest LP Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color.  Now I don't know about you, but I frequently want to check out an album before parting with hard earned cash, so what better way to do this than to upload it to YouTube, accompanied with some interesting footage and let people decide for themselves?  I love this idea, it's saves me illegally downloading it!

You're probably wondering whether it's worth listening to though?  Well, I've only played it through once, but it's exactly what you'd expect from Brother Ali, intelligent rhymes with quality production that compliments his flow and stlye.  Check it out yourself, legally.