Bobby C has been the go to guy for my Ghetto Funk needs lately and now the label has released a quad-banger of his for all of us. The Bobby C Sound TV EP is comprised mostly of rap & reggae funksters signed with that BCST carefree, lazer funk sound. If we only had more Ghetto Funk like Bobby on our radios this wouldn’t be such an underground gem. Spread it wide, people.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/79428991" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]The man with the Caribbean tan has taken on Two Door Cinema Club’s ‘Sun’ and how befitting it may be. And even though Viceroy is still up on his fun-love in the sun game, he always changes it up just right to keep our attention.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/80904903" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]JNL done electro-funk right. I keep on coming across tracks of his that spin catchy and yet I still haven’t gotten to posting any of them. The one thing I did finding missing were solid vocals, but his latest collab with Atlaas set that straight. So sit back and listen to two pounds of funk that have some serious breaks, but first something to get you warmed up, something much smoother.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/6765162" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]I’m up at 3am and I just gotta post this Timberlake remix. WhiteNoize is so fucking on point with this beat for Suit & Tie. It gets rid of that terribly repetitive JT chorus and pops it off electro-nice. And really made me realize that I actually do like Timberlake & Jay-Z’s vocal contributions, it’s just that beat that needed work. Good work, WhiteNoize.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/82848054" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]Cry Wolf, quite honestly, shocked the hell out of me with their cover of David Banner’s ‘Play’. It’s dirty, and I never knew how dirty Banner likes to get until Cry Wolf spelled it out quite clearly.
Now the Cry Wolf duo is up to nogood on their cover of Rihanna’s ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’ with vocals provided by Maigan Kennedy. It’s dark as hell and I bet that’s how Rihanna would’ve originally wanted it (popstar problems).
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/69983064" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]Silver Swans ‘Mother of Pearl’ feels like music made for the screen. In that it’s not just another good song & dance, but made for bigger things. Every time I listen to it, I see it clearly being played out in some dramatic transitional period. Or maybe I’m just trying to prove my worth in soundtracking (not a real word) for films. Either way, it’s gonna look good for the big screen.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/69470904" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]Le Youth has some smoothass disco goin on here with vocals provided by Cassie’s hit, ‘Me & You.’ And the only thing the original has over Le Youth’s funky production is that sexyass video below. Also not really feelin’ the Missy Elliot type raps near the end of ‘C O O L,’ but it still works out well enough.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/60316867" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]Mashups, like remixes, redefine the original and Bronze Whale is helping redefine what Alex Clare, Elliphant & Little Dragon sound like. These aren’t just some of the best vocals right now laid on electro music, but careful placement of each individual track. I can’t say I like what the two did with Yukimi Nagano’s voice of Little Dragon, but they did reinterpret Clare & Elliphant with electro precision. In fact, I didn’t even realize that the two mashups were made up the same two guys at first. It was a nice surprise though I must say.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/78867575" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]Charles Bordeaux did well for himself on Silence last year with two singles off his Fables EP, The Sandman & Blood Pacts I (The Weeds). The rest of his Fables album is mostly a mix of instrumentals that, although produced just as well, lack the story I like to see with Bordeaux. There is, however, one other story-made track on Fables. ‘The Forst and the Moon’ is as heavy on the synths as usual. Make sure to follow the song with the lyrics below.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/73164731" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]Like my run in with Tommy Lee and even our first time with Solange, I didn’t recognize the name until I looked it up. And unlike her sister, Solange has taken the alternate route and we keep digging up one fine style of soul after another because of it. First, her collaboration with Theophilus London – it’s worth a listen – and now with her single, ‘Losing You.’ Beyonce may have the popular vote, but Solange is teaming up with some quality producers who are putting the progress back into soul music.
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