Shabazz Palace’s latest single “Forerunner Foray” much like “#CAKE” is a single that effortlessly morphs and shifts seemingly at will; however, there’s a subtle trap influence as the song possesses enormous boom-bap beats that pair perfectly with Butler’s ridiculous flow.
If you’ve been frequenting this site since its inception six years ago, you’d likely be familiar with JOVM mainstay artist, the New York-born and based emcee Homeboy Sandman. Arguably, the New York-based emcee is one […]
Earlier this month, I wrote about Analog Brothers, a brief collaborative project featuring Ice-T, Pimp Rex, Kool Keith, Marc Live and Black Silver that recorded an extremely rare album Pimp to Eat back in 2000; in fact, the album is […]
Much ink — both real and virtual — has been spilled on the work of the legendary J. Dilla, so delving deeply into his backstory will seem highly unnecessary — but what I will say […]
Remi is a 23 year-old Melbourne, Australia-based emcee and along with collaborator and producer Sensible J, the duo have quickly risen to national and international prominence with 2014 being the duo’s breakthrough year as their Raw X Infinity was critically […]
New York-born and based emcee Homeboy Sandman is arguably one of hip-hop’s most prolific, inventive and uncompromisingly challenging artists, and unsurprisingly over the course of this site’s history, the New York-based emcee has been a JOVM mainstay. Now, since […]
As the story goes, back in 2000 Ice-T, Pimp Rex, Kool Keith, Marc Live and Black Silver teamed up for a project that they dubbed Analog Brothers, and they recorded an extremely rare album together Pimp to Eat; in fact, the album is so rare to me at least, that I didn’t know it existed — and I bet that you didn’t know it did either. According to Ice-T, the original masters of Pimp To Eat were delayed when Kool Keith’s vocals were stolen during the melee that followed the Indiana Pacers vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals game on June 19, 2000. Of course, no one actually knows if that’s some insanely true and legendary story or if it’s something someone just made up.
In any case, Mello Music Group will be re-releasing Pimp to Eat on June 10, and the re-release’s first single “We Sleep Days” feat. Jacky Jasper possesses a acid-tinged and futuristic production that paris shimmering and oscillating synths and stuttering boom-bap beats with some of the most talented emcees out there trading fiery bars about pimping, hustling and drug dealing. Sonically, the song sounds as though it evokes a hip-hop alternate universe in which Outkast and Too Short managed to collaborate together.
As I’ve frequently mentioned on this site, I’m often multitasking while listening to singles on Soundcloud and as a result I’ve often (and serendipitously) discovered new artists that have caught my attention — including this Phife Dawg/A Tribe Called Quest/Earth, Wind and Fire tribute track “Earth Wind and Phifer” by New York-based producer and remixer Jewbei that features Phife rhyming over a chopped up Earth Wind and Fire sample with boom bap beats — and it’s done in a such a warm, organic fashion that it channels J. Dilla‘s legendary and beloved production.
Last Friday marked the 32nd anniversary of Marvin Gaye‘s tragic and untimely death — while Saturday would have marked Gaye’s 77th birthday. Recently as a tribute to Marvin Gaye’s incredible influence on contemporary music, Counterweight Records‘ producer and DJ, DJ Devastate and self-professed synth guru Segerfalk went to Analog Sweden‘s studio to record a rework and re-imagining of Gaye’s beloved classic song “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” that DJ Devastate and Segerfalk have titled “Do You Cry?” And the rework pairs DJ Devastate and Segerfalk’s boom-bap beat heavy production featuring twinkling synths and swirling electronics with Marvin Gaye’s iconic and silky smooth vocals — this time as the song’s hook and chorus — along with guest spots from Joe Lefty and Chapee.
Simliar to Red Hot + Fela, the Fela Kuti tribute album featuring reworked and reimagined songs from Kuti’s enormous catalog, DJ Devastate, Segerfalk, Joe Lefty and Chapee’s tribute to Marvin Gaye manages to be more than just a fresh take on a song that several generations have been intimately familiar with for quite some time, it’s an adept meshing of hip-hop and classic soul that should remind listeners of Gaye’s how much Gaye and his peers have influenced contemporary music. But perhaps much more important, this rework should remind folks — especially those who were too young to remember when he was alive — of the fact that Marvin was a vital and sensual presence you had to pay attention to.
Washington, DC-born and Brooklyn-based emcee and producer Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, best known to hip-hop heads as Oddisee has developed a reputation for being extremely prolific as a solo artist, as a former member of The Low Budget Crew and as a member of Diamond District, for bouncing back and forth between full-length hip-hop albums and instrumental efforts and for being uncompromisingly difficult to pigeonhole as his sound effortlessly meshes jazz, soul and hip-hop.
The Brooklyn-based producer and emcee’s forthcoming instrumental album, The Odd Tape is slated for a May 13 release through Mello Music Group, and the album’s first single “No Sugar No Cream” much like the rest of the album is informed and influenced by the rhythms and patterns of every day life — in particular, the artist’s own life while subtly drawing from Roy Ayers, Bob James, Shuggie Otis, Fela and others. Sonically, Oddisee pairs squiggling and soulful keyboard chords, boom bap beats, tons of hi-hat, staccato chopped up beats with brief bursts of congo before morphing into a jazz-lenaing coda comprised of gorgeously intricate piano chords and shimmering organ chords paired with boom bap beats to craft a song that sounds equally indebted to J. Dilla, bop-era jazz and old school soul in a way that feels warmly familiar while revealing a unique artistic vision. Personally, listening to the track evoked eating breakfast, drinking loads of coffee and bullshitting with friends while trying to preparing to tackle the day’s plans.
2016 looks to be a rather busy year for the Washington, DC-born and Brooklyn-based producer and emcee as he’ll be embarking on a lengthy summer tour of the US and UK backed by Good Company — and he’ll be releasing a new solo effort slated for release in the fall. As for the tour, it includes an NYC area date at Northside Festival in June. Check out tour dates below.
Oddisee & Good Company (Full Band) Live Tour Dates
5/3/2016 Middle East Downstairs – Boston, MA
5/6/16 Mainstage – Morgantown, WV
5/7/16 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
5/8/16 Kings Barcade – Raleigh, NC
5/11/16 Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
5/13/16 Orpheum – Tampa, FL
5/14/16 Backbooth – Orlando, FL
5/15/16 Side Bar – Tallahassee, FL
5/16/16 Parish @ HOB – New Orleans, LA
5/20/16 Foundry at SLS – Las Vegas, NV
5/21/16 El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
5/22/16 Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
5/24/16 Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
5/26/16 The Independent – San Francisco, CA
5/30/16 Sasquatch Festival – Seattle, WA
6/4/16 Bunbury Festival – Cincinnatti, OH
6/12/16 Northside Festival – Brooklyn, NY
6/25/16 Glastonbury Festival – Pilton, UK
6/27/16 O2 Academy – Oxford, UK
7/7/16 Les Ardentes Festival – Leige, Belgium
7/8/16 North Sea Jazz Festival – Rotterdam, Netherlands
7/9/16 Open Source Festival – Dusseldorf, Germany
7/10/16 Cactus Festival – Bruges, Belgium
7/16/16 Melt! Festival – Gräfenhainichen, Germany
7/19/16 Valkhof Festival – Nijmegen, Netherlands
7/23/16 Hip Hop Open Festival – Vienna, Austria
7/27/16 Blue Balls Festival – Lucerne, Switzerland
7/29/16 Appletree Gardens Festival – Diepholz, DE
7/30/16 Stuttgart Festival – Stuttgart, DE
Over the course of this site’s almost six year history, you’ve likely come across posts on Brooklyn-based emcee Shabaam Sahdeeq and as you may know, Sahdeeq recently celebrated his 20th anniversary in hip-hop as an artist. And considering the state of the contemporary music industry and that hip-hop has long been an extremely fickle genre, such longevity, especially as an underground/indie artist is a rather impressive, almost Herculean task. Interestingly, Sahdeeq has marked his 20th anniversary as an artist by being as prolific as ever — last year, he released the Modern Artillery EP, a collaboration with Swedish-born, The Netherlands-based producer Big Ape, and this year he’s collaborated with DJ Ready Cee and Spit Gemz on the politically charged single “News at 11.” 2016 will also mark the release of Timeless: The Collection and the latest single from the album “Fly Script” is a collaboration with DJ Doom that has Shadeeq rhyming about social media’s influence on hip-hop, artists and fans, the hustle of the hip-hop game, touring around the world as a musician, dealing with deceitful and dishonest people, and of course, gorgeous woman over a production consisting of boom bap beats, twinkling piano keys, scratching and chopped up vocal samples, along with ominously swirling synths. Sonically, the song has a menacing undertone that reminds me a little bit of It’s Dark and Hell is Hot-era DMX.
