September 22nd, 2010

Mumdance EP

Mad Decent’s Mumdance has moved out of the realm of the remix and firmly into his own original productions, and he is now due to release his Mum Decent EP on October 5th. It’s a 3-track record featuring grime MC Badness on the soca crazy ‘Sacrifice’ and vocalist Esser on the even more tropical ‘Don’t Forget Me Now’. To top it off, the other track is named ‘Smasher’.

To celebrate they’re giving away a nice cover of the garage classic ‘Battle’ by Wookie. It’s probably impossible to ever reach the tuffness of the original, but it’s always a pleasure to be reminded of the 2-step gem.

Preview the EP tracks here.

September 21st, 2010

Dogs N Bumpz feat. MC Zulu

Despite it seeming like the worst possible moment to start up a record label, everyone’s doing it: Masala and Ghetto Bassquake just transformed from blogs/club nights/radio shows into labels and now London’s Carnival kings, Oi You (who’ve been putting on their secret soundsystems and warehouse parties for the last couple of years), have joined ’em in labeldom. Their first release is the drum heavy ‘Carnival Madness’ from West London’s Dogz N Bumps, with vocals from the ever-excellent MC Zulu. Alongside the dutty carnival madness, the animation in the newly dropped video is incredible.

September 20th, 2010

Hat & Hoodie EP

German tropical dons, Hat & Hoodie, have released their very first EP, out today on Scandinavian label, DBTY. They’ve got two originals and two big remixes from Cocotaxi and Legobeat on there. Listen below for some brassy badness.

Q-Tip production, Consequence rhymes, Amerie sample. Sunday jam!


Consequence – Got Me Trippin’ (The Amerie Joint)

Bye, bye Summer. Hello, Fall . . .

When you think of rap artists from Compton, Calif., names like N.W.A., the Game, DJ Quik, King Tee, Coolio and others come to mind. Well, now you can add Kendrick Lamar to that distinguished list.

The 22-year-old rapper has been making a lot of noise on the Internet with his stellar MP3-released songs. His new full-bodied project O(verly) D(edicated) is the most anticipated mixtape of the summer. You can officially cop the tape via iTunes. You need more incentives? Check out a few tracks below:

Kendrick Lamar – She Needs Me (Remix) (Featuring Dom Kennedy)

Kendrick Lamar – Growing Apart (Featuring Jhene Aiko)

Kendrick Lamar – Cut You Off (To Grow Closer)

Rapper Joell Ortiz closes out the summer season with a hot new project of previously unreleased music. His Farewell Summer EP boasts stellar productions from DJ Premier, Statik Selektah and Don Cannon, as well as guest appearances from Sheek Louch, Talib Kweli, Brother Ali and Jean Grae. Check out a track from the EP below:

Joell Ortiz — “Sing Like Bilal” (Remix) [Featuring Sheek Louch] [Produced by DJ Premier]

DOWNLOAD: Joell Ortiz – Farewell Summer [EP]

In support of John Legend & the Roots’ soulful new album Wake Up! (in stores Sept. 21), DJ/producer J. Period has created a special mixtape called Wake Up! Radio. Unfortunately, the tape won’t be released until November. But here is the first leak from the project called “Our Generation” (J. Period Remix) featuring John, the Roots and a reunited Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The song marks the first time Pete and CL have collaborated together on a song in seven years. The tune is a cover of the Ernie Hines’ classic of the same name, which, Pete Rock & CL Smooth sampled for their 1992 single, “Straighten It Out.” The track is available for download at Jperiod.com.

John Legend & The Roots featuring Pete Rock & CL Smooth – Our Generation (J.Period Remix) by Hypetrak

Naughty By Nature are legends in the rap game who still continued to tour all over the world while they rep their home state of New Jersey. The trio is dropping a free mixtape on Sept. 20 called Garden State Greats. The collection boasts songs from up-and-coming N.J. rappers and six new tracks from NBN. Below is the first single from the mixtape. Check it out:

DOWNLOAD: Naughty By Nature – Hood Shit (Featuring Garden State Greats) [via On Smash]

More Mixtapes:

Gucci Mane – Ferrari Music [via Live Mixtapes]

Diggy Simmons – Airborne

GLC – Respect My Come Up (Vol.2) [via Fake Shore Drive]