I love it when foreign DJ/producers pair up with American rappers (I think I also mentioned this here), and the Jazz Liberatorz are a prime example of this. Their second track on Clin d’oeil, Ease My Mind, features Omni, Tre Hardson and Fat Lip, the latter two previously from The Pharcyde, rapping to a nice jazzy beat (who would of thought) with a playful piccolo… at least I think it’s a piccolo, might be a flute. Whatever, it’s a catchy track with some great featured artists. Check it out! I’m gonna go listen to their new album, Fruit of the Past, which I just found out about from researching this track.
[audio:EaseMyMind.mp3|titles=Ease My Mind](Download Link in Full Article)
I ran into Language Arts Crew a couple years back, and wanted to give them credit for a few of their songs that’ve stuck with me over the years.
9 to 5, being one of them, first caught my attention when I heard it sample a few classic movies lines from Office Space and American Beauty (good Marketing technique!). It has some talented rhyming by the four MC’s of the group and one featured artist, X.I. I would try to type out the lyrics for you to follow along to (since there isn’t any online), but I’m too lazy and it’s too complicated (i’ve tried, it’s not easy). Anyways, give it a listen and tell me what ya think… then maybe i’ll feature some more of their finest!
By the way, the best part of the song is at 2:01 for both it’s rhyming and lyrical ability.
[audio:9-5.mp3|titles=9 to 5](Download Link in Full Article)
I thought this was befitting to the recent Vikings win over the Cowboys :). I actually planned to feature this before hand, but this gave me the extra push.
Rob the Viking is a DJ/producer from the recognized underground hip-hop group, Swollen Members. Back in 2003, he came out with a solo album entitled Beats to Pillage and Conquer by. Maybe a song from this album could the Viking’s next fight song… maybe not. Though, the original (Skol, Vikings) may need to be updated. Anyways, Rob is talented in his own respect, and has worked with a widespread amount of underground MC’s (I am too lazy to find examples, just take my work for it).
My favorite song off the album would have to be Go for Mine (which should be obvious by now). It incorporates some hip-hop inspired beats accompanied with a string-bass (at least I think it is :D), as well as some excellent DJ doctoring. Overall, this may not be the most rich or engaging piece, but it does pull off some fine stringin’ with some original cuts.
Check out another beat by Rob (the Viking) featured on Therapy by Swollen Members. The MC’s for Swollen Members can really tear up Rob’s beats.
[audio:GoforMine.mp3|titles=Go for Mine](Download Link in Full Article)
I’d say Crescent Moon is what first got me into DJ Okawari (right before Animal Forest. At the time (around a year ago), I became increasingly interested in Hip-Hop from Japan (the DJ’s not the MC’s), and came across Okawari’s second album, Diorama. Diorama is more of a Nu Jazz style with Hip-Hop influences, and doesn’t feature any MC’s (something Okawari should possibly reconsider for his next album… I vote yes!). His music (this song in particular) for some reason brings me back to the song 3030 by Del with the quote, “while I float to Neo-Tokyo with Opio”. Probably because Okawari is from Tokyo, and his music reminds me of a night out in Tokyo, but most likely because I have nothing else to talk about, so I need a filler :)
I’ve been getting a lot of Japanese hits on my site lately (mostly looking at Okawari), and if any of you know of any similar music to Okawari then please post some of it on here! I need an expert to point me in the right direction… anyone :D
One other thing, I also posted this on Animal Forest, but it’s also worth mentioning here – the cover artwork for this album is incredible! Check it out in it’s entirety here or just click the image at the top (the beautiful vector’d girl).
[audio:CrescentMoon.mp3|titles=Crescent Moon](Download Link in Full Article)
So, I decided to introduce another series onto the site. The first one was the Know Good Classics series, so check that out if you haven’t. This series, Some Cool Ass Ringtones, is pretty self explanatory. I get the ringtones usually from my favorite hip-hop or electronic beats. I might also pull them off of some classic tunes, so look out for those as well.
The first set I bring to you is from my absolute favorite trip hop artist, DJ Frane. Goddamn, does this guy have talent! I have never seen so many rich & intricate beats from an artist. All of the ringtones featured come from his third full-length album, Journey to the Planet of Birds. Right now, I have Cloudy Voyage as my ringtone. Like I said in my article about his album, he is a major reason for the creation of this blog.
(Learn how to transfer ringtones to your iPhone in the Full Article)
[audio:Ringtone-NectarforIsis.mp3,http://silencenogood.net/mp3s/Ringtone-SpaceConvoy.mp3,http://silencenogood.net/mp3s/Ringtone-CloudyVoyage.mp3,http://silencenogood.net/mp3s/Ringtone-IfIHadWings.mp3,http://silencenogood.net/mp3s/Ringtone-GravitationalCommunications.mp3|titles=Nectar for Isis,Space Convoy,Cloudy Voyage,If I Had Wings,Gravitational Communications](Download Ringtones in Full Article)
Well, I’ve featured songs both by Nickatina and Dre, but nothing as good as this. A good friend of mine (from The Bay – the usual case) recommended it to me, so I gave it a listen. Now I could go into words about why it’s good, and blah, blah, blah, but I’m sick of trying to express myself so that you all will think, “my god, he has described this song perfectly”. And to be honest, I’m not really good at it anyway. So, just listen up and tell me what you think Better yet, tell me who you like better, Andre or Mac Dre I’ve asked a few different people, and all have given me the same answer (but I’m not telling)… until maybe I see some f’ckin’ comments :)
[audio:AndreNAndre.mp3|titles=Andre N Andre](Download Link in Full Article)
What initially caught my interest about this album was its purpose. Ecosystem is a 4 day festival in the Amazon, which is trying to raise awareness of the many threats the Brazilian rain forests are facing. The album is a mix of native roots and urban jungle beats by a compilation of artists from the festival. All of the proceeds from the album go to the Ecosystem foundation, so purchase this to invest in a better future :).
There’s not much to say about the song featured (that hasn’t been said) other than that it’s goood (with three o’s)… thought provoking, I know. The song incorporates vocal percussion, and a mix of natural sounds by both DJ Soul Slinger & Bid. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts about the track!
Also, subscribe to my Facebook Page because I’m in the cheap promotion tools mood ;)
[audio:NaNoiteSeResolve.mp3|titles=Na Noite Se Resolve]
When I first caught glimpse of Mattafix a couple years back I wasn’t a Big Fan (haha, sorry, just watched this film). I wasn’t really into their style at the time, but thought they had some potential, so I threw ’em into my collection anyway. A couple months went by, and I decided to give ’em another try. At this point I started to realize their talent, eventually becoming obsessed, and playing the album over and over again. I tend to do this a lot with albums I get hooked on, and it really pisses off my roommates (Pyramids in Moscow – being another good example). After my initial obsession subsided, two tracks stood out from the rest (even though I do enjoy a couple others). The first song being Things Have Changed, which I featured a couple months back, and the other being, of course, Stranger Forever.
Stranger Forever doesn’t have as meaningful of lyrics as Things Have Changed, but it does have a quality of its own. The basic premise is about recognizing someone from the past, but not knowing exactly where from. We’ve all had this happen to us… right Well, this is what Preetesh Hirji (vocalist for Mattafix) is trying to get across, and I must say, he does it with grace. Though, the more I listen to his lyrics, it simply sounds like some guy creepin’ on a girl at a bar, but besides that, the song is elegantly done with Hirji’s delicate voice… that’s sometimes confused for a woman’s, but let’s put that aside as well :). So, pop this shizz in (push play), and tell me what you think (of his voice)…
[audio:StrangerForever.mp3|titles=Stranger Forever](Download Link in Full Article)
I recently spotted this song (I’m not typing it out) on Pandora, and thought it made for a good feature. The only problem with it is it’s length (1:50). It’s an intro. for La Phaze’s album, Fin de Cycle, so I can undestand why it’s so short, but it would have been better if it carried on a little while longer. Most of La Phaze’s music seems to be a blend of rap, electro-rock and reggae. I am not the biggest fan of his other works, mostly because I still haven’t grown accustom to MC’s outside of the U.S. (a little more on this here), but this song (still not typing it out) is their stellar track, combining two elements in two different genres to create something new, yet familiar. These “two elements” I am speaking of are (1) the electric-guitar combined with (2) DJ scratching. Recently, I’ve had growing interest in the combination of the two… this song, along with a lot of music by Mel Gibson and the Pants (II), being great examples. The guitar in this, for some reason, reminds me of something Johnny Cash would rock out to, being in a large amphitheater to create that echo sound. It’s a nice quick little piece that won’t take much of your time, so give it a listen and tell me what you think…
Also, if you have any thoughts or info. about La Phrase or Pasderépit@punglist.com (there I said it… or copy/pasted it) please indulge me, I don’t know much about these guys ’cause a lot of the references are in French (and Babelfish can only do so much) :-
[audio:PasdeRepitatPunglistCom.mp3|titles=Pasderépit@punglist.com](Download Link in Post)