Mix Tape: The Nextmen - The Nextmen vs. Bestival 2011

Festival season is almost upon us here in Ol' Blighty, and as per usual, there's a myriad of events large and small competing for our hard earned £s.

But one of the undeniably unmissable dates in the festival calendar year-in, year-out is Bestival, which consistently delivers the goods for the punters who flock to the Isle of Wight every year.

This year's line up has something for everyone, with acts ranging from Primal Screen to Public Enemy scheduled to hit the stage.

To help you get you in the mood, the Bestival gang have teamed up with The Nextmen to release a little pre-festival refresher in mixtape form.

As we've come to expect from The Nextmen, the mix - named The Nextmen vs. Bestival 2011 - throws together a ton of genres plus the kitchen sink, creating a readymade party using tunes from some of the acts that will be taking the stage at Bestival.

Whether it's bootlegs which add a new twist to classics like Primal Scream's 'Loaded', big tunes everyone knows and loves by DJ Shadow, Public Enemy and House Of Pain, or the newsest newness from bright young things like James Blake or Katy B, this mix will get you in the mood to get muddy, Bestival-style.

You can download The Nextmen vs Bestival mix tape here.

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron

Sad news from the Big Apple this morning. Gil Scott-Heron, the legendary jazz/bluesman who most famously implored the masses to look away from their TV sets for the impending revolution, has passed away.

Scott-Heron - widely credited as being one of the forefathers of this hip hop thing we all know and (mostly) love - had just returned to NYC from a trip to Europe when he fell ill, passing away yesterday (NY time).

There are plenty of obituaries floating around already, some of which will speculate about the cause of his death (which hasn't been reported as yet), and some of which will give you a fitting run down of his work (the BBC delivering the latter - read it here).

I'm counting myself amongst the lucky ones after having had the chance to see Scott-Heron in the flesh when he toured Europe last year.

While a lifetime of hard living had clearly caught up with him, he still displayed a cutting intellect as he spoke and joked with the crowd at length on matters big and small.

But Scott-Heron ultimately let his music do the talking. So that's how I'll pay my respects. Here's something off Scott-Heron's last release, We're New Here (a remix collaboration in conjunction with Jamiexx), along with my all-time favourite Scott-Heron tune. Peace go with you, brother:

New Music: Bad Meets Evil (Eminem & Royca Da 5' 9") – 'I'm On Everything'

Eminem and Royce Da 5' 9" are playing nice these days, and that can only be a good thing for fans of top notch, lyrical hip hop.

The long-estranged friends buried the hatchet recently and set about making up for lost time by jumping into the studio.

The chemistry certainly didn't take long to return. In fact, things went so swimmingly well in the studio that the boys decided it was only right to release an E.P. of their handiwork. The result is Hell: The Sequel, due to be liberated on 14 June.

First leak 'Fast Lane' showed that the pair are adept at spurring each other on, with both MCs putting their writing skills in gear in order to deliver a pretty damn impressive lyrical performance.

Leak two is named 'I'm On Everything', and is now seeping out across the world wide web (courtesy of Rap Radar) - and as you can predict, it's another lyrical bloodbath.

'I'm On Everything' features a smoking beat from Mr Porter (and a little appearance by comedian Mike Epps on the chorus), but Royce and Em slay this. I repeat, SLAY this. Drug references a-go-go here. Check it:



Hell: The Sequel is shaping up to be one hell of an E.P., I tells ya. June 14, people.

New Music: David Dallas – The Rose Tint (LP)

I’ve been a little slow on posting up The Rose Tint, the new album from Kiwi M.C. and Duck Down signee David Dallas.

But don’t let my slackness detract from what is a damn good LP, which DD is kindly giving away for free. Good man.

If you’re not familiar with Dallas – a stalwart of the Kiwi hip hop scene (they do have one in case you were wondering) who is currently chasing his hip hop dreams in the Big Apple – The Rose Tint is a good chance to school up.

Clocking in at 13 tracks, The Rose Tint is a rather smooth affair, backed by soul-sampling beats which showcase Dallas’ laid back yet precise delivery.

There’s a few appearances of note too, with Dallas’ new boss Buckshot adding a verse to ‘Ain’t Coming Down’, and Freddie Gibbs dropping in on the excellent ‘Caught In A Daze’ (check the video here).

You can listen to The Rose Tint by David Dallas below, or download it here. For more info on DD, visit his website:

The Rose Tint by David Dallas

New Music: Rah Digga feat. Torae & Styles P – 'You Got It (Nottz Remix)'

Do you know any producers out there who can take a James Brown tune, cut it up, past it back together, and still be as funky (funkier?) as Mr Dynamite himself?

If you ask me, Nottz can put his hand up if this question ever crops up in conversation.

A true beast of the boards, the Virginia native can hook up banging beats with the best, as his recent remix of 'You Got It' by regular collaborator Rah Digga shows.

Taking a chunk of Bobby Byrd's 'I Know You Got Soul' (produced by the Godfather of Soul, don't ya know), Nottz slices and dices his way through elements of the track, adding a little more low end into the mix to create a truly neck snapping beat.

Quality rhymes from Digga and guests Torae and Styles P definitely help the cause, but for my money the beat is the star here. This is heavy rotation material, for real.

You can listen to or download 'You Got It' (Nottz Remix) by Rah Digga feat. Torae and Styles P below, courtesy of Nah Right:

New Music: Truth & Soul - Fallin' Off The Reel III

Funky, funky business from Truth & Soul Records today, who have kindly sent over a smattering of tracks from their latest compilation, Fallin' Off The Reel III, for your downloading pleasure.

Fallin' Off The Reel III showcases the best of the best from T&S' string of stonking 45 vinyl singles releases.

It's a bit of a chance to catch up on what you've probably missed out on due to the label never pressing up more than 2000 copies of any of their singles.

There's some quality business on offer from the likes of El Michels Affair, The Olympians, Quincy Bright, Cosmic Force, Lee Fields, Timothy McNealy and much more.

And what's even better for the try before you buy-ers out there, T&S have kindly offered up three of the tunes for free download. Read on below for a little write up on each track courtesy of T&S:

1. Lee Fields - 'Problems': The title track off the 2004 Lee Fields record which was recently re-issued on CD and vinyl by T&S: Download

2. El Michels Affair - 'Red Rooster': A interpolation of the Isaac Hayes masterpiece from the Tough Guys soundtrack. Off El Michels Affair's Tribute To Black Moses CD/Vinyl EP: Download

3. Black Velvet - 'An Earthquake's Coming': The one and only single by Black Velvet, a girl group out of Plainfield, NJ. Produced by Tyrone Ashley, released in 1970 and re-issued by Truth & Soul in 2009: Download

If this kind of music is your bag (and it should be if you're visiting this site), you can purchase Fallin' Off The Reel III through the T&S store, Dusty Groove, iTunes, Turntable Lab, or your local record store (if you still have one).

New Music: Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun - 'That's Hard'

Pete Rock is keeping himself well busy these days, teaming up with rappers who, like him, are of more advanced years to record a couple of projects that will have golden agers of all shapes and sizes salivating.

Over the last year or so, the veterano producer has teamed up with Duck Down stalwarts Smif N Wessun and slick slangsters Camp Lo (under the name 80 Blocks From Tiffanys) on new projects.

Speaking of the latter, how much fun is it to play the Camp Lo game by whispering ‘bubbly’ and adding ‘ah’ to the end of every sentence? A lot, that’s how much-ah. Bubbly. But as per usual, I digress. Back to the beats.

There are plenty of leaks of each of Pete's projects floating around the net (get your Google on), some of which are good, some of which are average-ah (bubbly). But today's post is about one of the more decent (great English, right?) tracks from the Smif N Wessun venture.

'That's Hard' is what it says on the tin, with Tek and Steele (Smif N Wessun to you) trading some New York tough guy verses with a couple more New York tough guys (Sean Price and Styles P). Good beat, good lyrics = good track. Listen below:

Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun "That's Hard" feat. Styles P & Sean Price by duckdown

'That's Hard' features on Monumental, the new album from Mr Rock, Tek and Steele that's due out on Duck Down records on 28 June.

New Music: The Weeknd - House Of Balloons

I don't know much about The Weeknd, a rather anonymous project (and rather annoyingly spelled one for the obsessive compulsives amongst us) that's been floating around my iPhone for the past few months.

The mysterious individual's/group's latest (first? last? who knows!) album, House Of Balloons, is a rather slick slice of modern R&B. And that's all I've got to say.

Seriously, I've been trying to think of a good comparison, or something witty to write about The Weeknd for a while now.

There's no simple way to describe House Of Balloons, though Many are claiming it as one of the best albums of the year.

Me? I think I like it. But rather than pissing around any longer and trying to make my mind up, I'll do my bit to put it out in the universe and let others have their say.

For my money, tunes like 'The Party & The Afterparty' and 'The Morning' sum it all up, with some memorable lines ("drinking Alizé with our cereal for breakfast"/"got the walls kicking like they six months’ pregnant") sprinkled over the sort of ethereal soundscape that artists like Drake have made cool with the kids.

It's not for everyone, of course; if you cringe at sugary hooks, House Of Balloons is likely to make you a touch ill.

But if you have a soft spot for a little bit of R&B (as I unashamedly do... okay, there's a teeny bit of shame) it's worth checking out. You can download House Of Balloons by The Weeknd here, or stream below:

The Weeknd - House Of Balloons by The_Weeknd

Mix Tape: Elzhi - Elmatic

When most hip hoppers of a 'mature' age are asked to name their top hip hop albums of all time, a good fair few will inevitably throw Nas' Illmatic into the mix.

They - who am I kidding... I mean we - have good reason, of course.

Boasting a bevy of banging beats from the cream of the mid-90's production crop (DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor) and some of the most quotable hip hop lyrics of all time, Illmatic is a pretty damn intimidating piece of work.

But Elzhi obviously isn't scared of a challenge. The Detroit MC - who was down with Slum Village in a former life, but certainly doesn't seem to be now - has offered up his own take on Nasir's seminal debut.

Elzhi's effort, entitled Elmatic, pays homage to Illmatic through both lyrical references and beats (laid down by a rather impressive live band, Will Sessions.)

It's certainly not an easy act to follow; others have done it with mixed results. But El gives it a good crack, creating an album that both honours and reinvents Illmatic in the same breath.

You can get an idea of what to expect by checking out album cut 'Half Time' below:



If you like what you hear, you can download Elmatic by Elzhi here.

New Music: Mayer Hawthorne - Impressions EP

It's been a while since we've heard from Mayer Hawthorne. But fear not, the Stone's Throw soul slinger is back with a new free-p (I'm starting to hate that term as much as 'blogosphere') for your clicking, dragging, downloading and eventually listening pleasure.

Impressions is six new interpretations of other people's music, provided courtesy of Mayer, his band The County, and a few close friends and family. Yep, that's right, family; turns out that Hawthorne's pops even gets down with this music thing.

If you're the sort of music fan that likes liner notes (read: geek; also read: me), then you'll be happy to see that Mayer has penned a few words on each of the six cuts. How else are you going to know that one of the cuts was recorded in one take in a makeshift tent in the charmingly named Belgian town of Dour?

Impressions is a mixed big; from a slick cover of The Isley Brother's 'Work To Do' through to an interesting take on Chromeo's 'Don't Turn The Lights On', there's sure to be something to float your boat. And if there's not, who cares? It's free! Just delete it!

You can download Impressions by Mayer Hawthorne here, and read the Impressions liner notes here.

New Music: Lotek - 'Still Splendid' (Feat. Roots Manuva)/'The Rudest Dude'

Former Big Dada artist Lotek is back with a new album and a new home, heading over to another UK imprint - namely, First Word Records - to drop International Rudeboy, which is due on shelves sometime next month.

Some of the tunes off said LP have been floating around for a minute now, but have avoided my ears until today. I'm catching up for lost time, though - and liking what I'm hearing.

One Lotek jammy that's setting the wireless alight over here in AGOMWAB land is 'Still Splendid', a bumping side of dance floor-friendly, reggae-tinged hip hop featuring fellow British geezer Roots Manuva.

This will be burning up BBQs all over Blighty this summer, trust:


International Rudeboy's first single shouldn't be overlooked either. 'The Rudest Dude', is full of sun-drenched vibes and deep grooves.

According to First Word, "'The Rudest Dude' is a horn-heavy slab of roots reggae - the perfect intro to Lotek's sound." Say word. Check out the video below:

Gig: We Funk @ Lockside Lounge, London, 8 May

We Funk - the finest purveyors of all things funky from over the pond in Maple Leaf Country - are coming back to London for an exclusive all-dayer gig at Camden's Lockside Lounge this Sunday.

For those who aren't in the know, here's the inside word. We Funk is a weekly online radio show dedicated to Hip Hop culture, hosted by DJ Static and Professor Groove, coming out of Montreal, Canada.

The boys have used their skills on the 1s and 2s and an encyclopedic knowledge of Hip Hop, Funk, Soul and B-Boy breaks to create what is "the premier worldwide weekly radio show for all things Hip Hop".

Press blurb time: "We Funk started in 1996 using the studio and airwaves of Montreal's CKUT radio, which has remained their home over the decades.

"In '99 We Funk began web-casting and archiving the shows online and it didn't take long for iTunes to start syndicating their radio stream giving We Funk worldwide exposure."

To get an idea of what We Funk is all about, head to their website to download the latest shows. If you like what you hear, why not make the most of the change of seasons and head down to Camden from 2pm on Sunday (8 May, ya'll).

For a measly £5 (advance tickets from TicketWeb, or click the banner in the top right of this page) you get 12 hours of musical goodness. Nice at twice - or even thrice? - the price. There's of course fine drinks to be drunk, and BBQ to be eaten too.

Support is from DJ Papa Hudge (of The Lockdown, The Boom Bap and Take It To The Bridge Fame), DJ Shredded Pete, and myself. More details here.

New Music: Eminem & Royce Da 5’9″ – 'Fast Lane'

Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″ have had a pretty turbulent relationship over the years.

The pair began working together in the 90's under the moniker Bad vs. Evil before a bit of bad blood led to a less than amicable split.

I can't really remember the details of this feud, to be honest. Not that they're important - this isn't a hip hop version of Heat magazine.

All that matters is they didn't like each other much for a while.

But time is a great healer. The beef between Royce and Em was squashed a few years back, and now the pair have resurrected Bad vs. Evil.

They're even planning to release a self-titled EP on June 14, which will feature production from DJ Khalil, Havoc, Mr. Porter, Bangladesh and others.

Em had this to say about the project*: “Royce and I started hanging out again and inevitably that led us back into the studio. At first we were just seeing where it went without any real goal in mind, but the songs started to come together crazy, so here we are.”

Cuts are beginning to surface for the Bad vs. Evil EP, including 'Fast Lane', produced by Supa Dups and Eminem himself.

Lyrical one-upmanship is the order of the day here, a both M.C.s go hell for leather to out-do one another. If verbal gymnastics are your cup of tea, give this a listen below or head to Nah Right to get your download on



*I don't believe for one second that Em actually said this... "inevitably"? Smacks of a bad press release to me. Just had to get that off my chest. As you were.