Mix Tape: The Weeknd – Thursday

Living up to his name, blog darling The Weeknd is back with a new mix tape just in time for the onset of the respite from the five day working drag (for most of us, any way… if you have to work this weekend, well, it's tough to be you).

I’m a little more up to speed on The Weeknd – a.k.a Canadian singer/songwriter Abel Tesfaye – than I was when I wrote about the rather impressive House Of Balloons mix tape back in May.

HOB sent shock waves through reputable sites and second-rate blogs the world over, with every man, woman and their dog standing up and taking notice.

Now The Weeknd's back to keep the fire burning. Always one step ahead, his new offering is named Thursday. Thought provoking… because Thursday really isn’t in the weekend, but it’s… oh, this is hurting my wee brain!

Lots of quality on here, from previously leaked singles 'The Birds (Part 1)' and 'Rolling Stone' through to 'Gone' (featuring fellow maple leafer Drake) and the title track.

Is it as good as House Of Balloons? Too early to say really (excuse me while I extract the fence from my arse), but you can check it out for yourself by downloading Thursday by The Weeknd here.

New Music: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah - Back For More

The gift and the curse of every artist and their dog giving away their music for free on the interwebs is that it becomes very easy to be a little complacent.

Here's a good example. I've been dragging my feet a little to check out the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff's latest project, a new LP called Back For More with a singer named Ayah.

Jeff tweeted about it a while back. Okay, probably about a month back. I heard whispers that it was good. But did I use my chubby little fingers to click and drag? No. No I did not.

But I've put this right tonight - and hot damn, all I can say is shame on me for being so tardy.

Put simply, the majority of Back For More is R&B of the highest order. Jeff brings the smooth production style for which he is well known, flipping a bunch of samples that you'll recognise, and a bunch that you won't, and providing a lush backdrop for Ayah.

Oh yeah - did I mention she can sing? Well, she can. Oh yes she can. Check tunes like 'Notorious', 'One Life' and 'The Game' for proof.

If you're not too tough to admit that you like a bit of rhythm & blues business (don't act like you're not singing into you hair brushes in front of the mirror, all you hard rocks out there), stream or download Back For More below:



If you want a little more hip hop thrown into the Back For More mix, download a remix of album cut 'Notorious' here, complete with verses from Freeway, Toronto's own Tona and Philly newcomer Dosage. For more info, visit Jazzy Jeff's website.

New Music: The Stepkids - 'Legend In My Own Mind'

The Stepkids may be the latest bright young things to emerge from the Stone's Throw stables, but this three-piece outfit makes music that is deeply rooted in days gone by.

'Legend In My Own Mind' - the second single off their soon-to-be-released, self-titled debut LP (check the first one here) - is a prefect case in point.

This psychadelic, old-school R&B ditty sounds like it has been unearthed from a long-forgotten 1960's recording session - and in case you need clarification, that's a good thing.

Slow, soulful, smoking; in the name of alliteration, I dub this to be a splendid song. Sorry. I'm running on empty.

Something that's less cringe-worthy than my turn of phrase today is the fact that 'Legend In My Own Mind' is being released in white vinyl, as displayed in the picture above. Hubba hubba.

Read more about it on the Stone's Throw website (which includes a bunch of U.S. concert dates for my American friends out there who are interested), stream it below, or download here.

The Stepkids - Legend In My Own Mind by stonesthrow

The Stepkids debut album drops September 27th. Ones to watch out for, I'd say.

Video: Jay-Z & Kanye West - 'Otis'

What would you do if you and your best mate-slash-fiercest competitor were looking for some inspiration for a music video, after banking an estimated $50 million plus in the last year?

Ooh, ooh, let me guess: pull out a chainsaw and blowtorch, use them to rip a Maybach to pieces, and then do doughnuts in the converted luxury car while a bunch of girls have a grand old time in what's left of the back seat?

Well, that's the angle that you'd choose if you were Jay-Z and Kanye West.

The pair have chosen this slightly odd path for the first video from their much anticipated Watch The Throne project, which hit stores today after a pre-release on iTunes earlier this week.

The tune in question is 'Otis' - which draws its name from a rather handsome helping of Otis Redding's 'Try A Little Tenderness' for this Kanye-produced beat - is a rough and ready slab of hip hop heaviness.

So what about the lyrics? 'Ye and Jigga trade verses about how excellent they are. Surprised? Of course not. Revolutionary subject matter it isn't - but it's still good fun.

Weird and wonderful directorial maestro Spike Jonze is behind the camera for this one, and manages to draw out an animated performance from the boys. Put simply, the pair look like they are having a good time, which is always good to watch.

You can check it below:



Now, before you complain about the wasteful nature of this video, and what sort of message it sends to the youf, know this: The dismantled vehicle will be auctioned, with the proceeds going to the East Africa drought disaster relief. Reckless spending with a clear goal.

As for Watch The Throne, I've yet to listen to it - it's ripping into iTunes as we speak. But reports are fairly positive. Let's wait and see.

Video: Common - 'Ghetto Dreams' (Feat. Nas)

Here at A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard, the appreciation of masterpieces of the facial hair variety is obviously high.

While my own beard is more designer stubble these days (that's a euphemism for a few days without shaving, truth be told), I yearn for the good old days when my facial carpet had a touch of the wild and woolly to it.

So hats off to Common, who has made the boldest of statements in his latest video by rocking a beard that would make Rick Ross cry.

The tune in question is none other than 'Ghetto Dreams', the No I.D.-produced banger that's been slowly but surely infiltrating my summer (I use that term very lightly) play lists.

Guest M.C. Nas does his bit for continuity by showing up for the Matt Alonzo-directed clip, which is shot in tasteful black and white. There's also other tasteful elements to the video. I'm talking about pancakes, obviously.

Check it out for yourself below:



'Ghetto Dreams' is the first single from Common's new album, The Dreamer, The Believer, which is due out in November. To pick up the track, head over to iTunes.

Who’s in the money for 2011? Forbes Hip Hop Rich List

Jigga proves that dollars don't buy
dance moves

I’ve started a few ‘regular’ columns or features during my time charting this site through the murky waters of blogdom. Most of them fall by the wayside (‘Under The Radar’, any one? 'Interview Archives' perhaps?).

But there’s one column that that I seem to come back to on an annual basis. Ladies and gentlemen, back by lukewarm demand – it’s time for the annual Forbes Hip Hop Rich List! (cue canned apathy).

As the world’s capital markets continue to endure more ups and downs than a corkscrew roller coaster, hip hoppers at the top of the pile are proving themselves to be adept at making enough cash to fill up their swimming pools, a’ la Scrooge McDuck.

Who wants to take a guess at who’s on top this year? Go on, I dare you. For all those that guessed Jay-Z, please take a moment to bathe in the resplendent glow of someone else’s financial success. Most. Depressing. Prize. Ever.

As he did in 2009 and 2010, Jiggaman topped the lot, walking a cool US$37 million to the bank in the past year thanks to his Blueprint 3 tour (lord knows the album wouldn’t have made him that much) as well as a myriad of business ventures such as book and merchandise deals.

Numero duo on the list is the ever resilient P Diddy, who proves that you don’t need to release music (or good music, anyway) to make a good living off hip hop. $35 million in the past 12 months. Diddy will take it, yes he will. Ciroc for one and all!

Kanye ‘Hitler’ West claims third place with $16 million – a figure that will most probably grow over the next 365 days thanks to his Watch The Throne collabo with Jay-Z, and the rather large tour the pair have planned for later in the year.

Quick sideline; how is Kanye not a Scientologist? It seems like a good fit, for no other reason that he’s a bit loopy, and seems to be into aliens heaping praise on him. Hang on, I think Scientology is the other way around – I’m sure Kanye could come up with his own sect though. Make it happen Yeezy!

Rounding out the other major placings were Lil Wayne and Birdman, who raked in $15 million a pop to share fourth place, while Snoop Dogg and Eminem locked down sixth equal with Dr Dre, pocketing $14 million each.

Looks like the evry canny Dre might be launched into another stratosphere next year though. HTC, here he comes.

Finally, Mr Black & Yellow – Wiz Khalifa – also pulled down a cool $11 million, matching last year’s rookie Drake. Nice work if you can get it.

Check the rest below:

1. Jay-Z: $37 million
2. Diddy: $35 million
3. Kanye West: $16 million
4. Lil Wayne: $15 million
4. Bryan "Birdman" Williams: $15 million
6. Eminem: $14 million
6. Snoop Dogg: $14 million
6. Dr. Dre: $14 million
9. Akon: $13 million
10. Ludacris: $12 million
11. Wiz Khalifa: $11 million
11. Drake: $11 million
13: Pharrell Williams: $10 million
14. Timbaland: $7 million
15. Swizz Beatz: $6.5 million
15. Nicki Minaj: $6.5 million
17. Rick Ross: $6 million
17. 50 Cent: $6 million
17. Pitbull: $6 million
20. T-Pain: $5 million
20. B.o.B: $5 million

The top 20 artists made a combined $271 million in the past year. I think that’s less than past years. But to be honest, even I’m starting to feel a little queasy with all this money talk - maybe it's the riots here in the UK. Who knows? Another feature bites the dust? Time will tell, but if it does, it's in good company.

Mix Tape: J-Live - 'The Live Identity'

J-Live is readying another album, so it makes sense to get the fans in the mood by dropping a little mixy-mix tape now, doesn't it?

Enter The Live Identity, the first installment in The Live Trilogy, a series of mixes which will be dropping over the next few months.

So what's the deal with the first tape? According to J, "The Live Identity is a collection of J-Live songs, old, new, rare, hot and classic.

"The tracks range from the first singles of the mid 90s to the new single for the upcoming album S.P.T.A. Said Person Of That Ability" [which is due out on 27 September].

"Like the album and the Undivided Attention EP before it, The Live Identity features the hip hop triple threat as a three man group (Emcee/DJ/Producer). This is an all J-Live compilation, mixed by DJ J-Live and hosted by J-Live."

Nice to hear classic tunes like the original version of 'Break It Down' (produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff), 'Them That's Not' and 'Braggin' Writes' up in the mix, while some of the new tunes sound pretty tidy, too.

You can download The Live Identity by J-Live here, or stream it below. For more information, visit J's website.

New Music: Apathy – Stop What Ya Doin’ (Feat. Celph Titled & DJ Premier)

I've said it before, and I'll undoubtedly say it again: it's pretty hard to go wrong with a DJ Premier banger.

Primo has turned his hand to one such banger -  'Stop What Ya Doin'' - for veteran MC Apathy's upcoming LP, Honkey Kong (ha!), which is set to drop on 23 August.

'Stop What Ya Doin'' is simple but effective: A booming break beat, some heavy rock guitar chords, a cut-and-paste chorus borrowing from an old classic by Digital Underground, and two MCs trading boasts and taunts.

It's not rocket science admittedly, but it doesn't have to be. This is a case where less is definitely more.

You can listen to 'Stop What Ya Doin’' by Apathy, featuring Celph Titled and DJ Premier below, or download here courtesy of 2DopeBoyz:



This one is for the people going wild on the streets of London right now. Not trying to sound like a public service announcement or anything like that, but take the song title to heart and stop what you're doing - it's shameful.

New Music: B.Lewis - 'Plug EP'

More heavy beats and pieces from the Jus Like Music Records camp today, with the British label unleashing another banging freebie (following on from the excellent Jesse Futerman EP from June) by another young producer, B.Lewis.

Apparently Lewis has been busying himself over the last three or so years on a myriad of self-released projects.

Now he's bought his glitch-heavy brand of hip hop beatiness over to the JLM stable, which has released the Plug EP with a warning that it's "a lot deeper than your average contemporary 'beats' release."

"B.Lewis, for such a young man, has an old head on his shoulders. Whether uptempo and hectic, or slower and melodic, he manages to weave a fine level of intricacy into his tracks.

"Plug is hard and dramatic in parts, yet smooth and well tempered in others, and it really needs to be listened to from start to finish."

The Plug EP has earned some praise from a few peeps who know a little something about this sort of thingc, with Kutmah (of Brainfeeder fame) exclaiming "Ouch this is ugly! I fuck with that!"

This is the kind of statement that might confuse your parents. So just in case you are parents, or aren't down with the kids, he means that he likes it. A lot.

For my money, it's hard to go past tracks like 'Black Zinfandel' or 'Les Saisons', but there's plenty of quality on offer throughout. Check it out for yourself by downloading the Plug EP via B.Lewis' Bandcamp page, or streaming it below:

New Music: Big K.R.I.T. – 'Happy Birthday Hip-Hop' (Feat. Yelawolf)

Big K.R.I.T. and Yelawolf are two of the leading lights of Southern hip hop these days. But don't let their allegiances with the dirty south fool you - it seems that K.R.I.T. and Yela don't let geography limit their influences.

The pair - who have collaborated on a few tracks now - show and prove their love for beats and rhymes from all climes on a new track, 'Happy Birthday Hip Hop', which surfaced last week after being recorded back when the pair first met in 2010.

Based on an old piano loop that's more than a touch familiar (my hangover is a little too fresh to try and get into sample spotter mode today), 'Happy Birthday Hip Hop' sees K.R.I.T. and Yela pay respect where its due.

The boys do what they do best here, trading rhymes with ease while  tipping their respective caps to acts from both coasts (Group Home and Souls of Mischief, for example), as well as the Southern artists who paved the way for them.

Check it out below, or download here courtesy of Nah Right:



'Happy Birthday Hip Hop' is the first record from K.R.I.T.'s forthcoming mixtape Last King 2: God’s Machine, presented by DJ Wally Sparks and DJ Breakem Off, which will be released on 18 August.

Download: Oddisee - '101' LP

Everyone loves free stuff! So hats off to the folks at Mello Music Group, who have been running a great series over the last few month - Free Fridays.

It's pretty self explanatory really; when the working week has almost wound down, the Mello crew releases a title from its catalogue for folks to feast on for free.

Yesterday's Free Friday - a free download of producer/rapper Oddisee's 2008 LP 101 (or is he a rapper/producer? He's strong on both fronts) - was a touch depressing for two reasons, though.

Reason one: The download was given away to "celebrate the close of summer" (summer hasn't even begun here, and now you're telling me it's closing? Gah.)

Reason two: This is the last Free Friday (all good things must end).

But enough quibbling. 101 is well worth stretching the bandwidth for, with quality beats and rhymes from Oddisee.

There's also lyrical contributions from Phonte, Georgia Anne Muldrow, MED, Little Brother ('Delusional'), Jean Grae, J-Live ('Once Upon A Mic') and more, and production from Flying Lotus (who lends a hand on 'The Perch'), and M-Phazes.

To download your free copy of Oddisee's 101, head over to the Mello Music Group Bandcamp page in the next two days (the freeness finishes at the end of the weekend) to get your download on, or stream below:

New Music: Thurz - 'Riot' (Feat. Black Thought)

LA Riot, the new record from Los Angeles wordsmith and one time U-N-I-er Thurz, is set to drop next week, and is sounding fairly tasty.

As is the case with album promo schedules in the digital age, the lead up to album d-day sees the musical votes spring more leaks than a Dutch dike.*

In keeping with this trend, Thurz has just liberated a new album cut that will grace LA Riot - the DJ Khalil-produced 'Riot', featuring Black Thought of The Roots.

More of the same here - solid beats (tip of the tap to you, Khalil), some zigga-ziggas from DJ Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies, and solid stanzas a-go-go from Thurz and BT. Check it out below:

THURZ "RIOT" ft. BLACK THOUGHT (prod. DJ Khalil) by #92CREW

If this is your cup of tea, and you feel like splashing out next week on a new album that isn't Jigga and 'Ye's Watch The Throne (not sure about that one, yet, although there's some positive talk), LA Riot will hit iTunes on 9 August.

*This statement is a rather failed attempt to be provocative... sex sells, after all. Even bad, and ultimately rather tenuous sex references. Just shoot me.

Video: REL - 'Public Transit'

After being lucky enough to spend a bit of time in the Bay Area over the New Year period this year, I was interested to see the latest video project from Californian producer REL land in my inbox.

During my stay in the Golden State, I became aware of a bit of police fuckery that's been taking place over recent years, and has resulted in ordinary citizens losing their lives on public trasnport. Read more about it here.


More than a little bit of a fucked up situation, no? The whole thing seems to have riled REL a little too. So much so, in fact, that he's gone out and created a tune - and a lovely, vibey electronic beauty it is, too - and accompanying video to get his point across.

'Public Transit's musical accompanyment might be laid back, but the video is a little sterner, with REL shooting his own footage of the Bay Area from the aforementioned public transport, and mixing it with scenes of the aforementioned nincompoopery by the po-po to create what is a very moving piece.

Here's the word from REL: "The song and video were made to express the feelings of confusion, hurt, and anger in our community as a result of three Police officer-involved shootings that have taken place on Bay Area public transit lines."

"The hardest part was being able to get across all of these emotions without any words at all." Word.

You can watch 'Public Transit' by REL below:


REL - "Public Transit" (Music Video) from SWTBRDS (Sweetbreads) on Vimeo.

'Public Transit' features on REL's upcoming album, On My Way.

New Music: Ye Mighty - 'Beyond'

Some heavy funk business from the First Word Records camp today, who have unleashed their latest players, Brighton boys Ye Mighty, onto the masses.

For the uninitiated, Ye Mighty are Max Wheeler (you might have heard of him from his previous incarnation as part of Dirty Diggers) and Richard “Dutch” Halligan.

According to FW, Ye Dirty are "the latest product of the incredibly prolific Brighton music scene, that has brought the world the likes of Quantic, Bonobo, Nostalgia 77 and Alice Russell to name but a few."

The pair's influences - Galt McDermott, David Axelrod, Ethiopiques, Mulatu and Fela Kuti, to name but a few - apparently shine through on their music.

The track on offer today - 'Beyond' - is a good example of the aforementioned, with squelchy electronics and bold brass thrown into the mix to create a refined brew of psyhcadelic afro-funk.

That might be the most pretentious thing I've written in time. Please don't judge me. Instead, spend your precious time watching the video on Ye Dirty below:


Ye Mighty Album Teaser from First Word on Vimeo.

Like what you hear? Download 'Beyond' by Ye Dirty here, and watch out for Ye Mighty's upcoming album, Beyond Cairo, due soon.