Ahmi - Needs

We all have needs right? I mean sometimes you just need start dancing like a retard when no one's looking and you've been stuck at work for seven fuckin' hours, right? Or sometimes we have a need to find the dirtiest grimy gangsta rap track and attempt to blow out our speakers on our way somewhere where we know we'll have to act like a respectable citizen.

So I present to you this trill track from Ahmi, entitled just as such "Needs". It's a track that fills my personal needs for alternative beats; for you see I need at least one track a week to listen to that doesn't sound like every other hip-hop track or else my eqars will glue shut and my eye-balls will boil inside themselves. So much thanks to Ahmi for providing me with my weekly sustenance and much love to all you guys ^__^

Happy New Year, almost....

The Shaolin Temple - Insanity

With a lot of tracks I end up hearing, I tend to fall into the trap of categorizing the song into parts I like and parts I didn't. I think a lot of us do that most of the time when we're listening to music; we'll say things like "the bass on that is dope" or "I like the second drop better" and so on.

But the interesting thing about a lot of TST tracks lately is that it's very hard to separate them into different fields of positive and negative; you just kind of end up listening to the song through and then make-up your mind as a whole at the end. I'm not sure whether it's because of the collaborative nature or the ambient feel that most of their recent stuff has held; but their songs flow in a way that's quite hard to put your finger on.

On this track "Insanity" this is especially the case; sweeping pads and lush vocals fill up your headphones with sonic audio-porn until you're sort of left speechless and just sit back to take it all in. When I've shown this track to friends in the car or on my ipod they've had basically the same reaction; a glazed look over their eyes, and when it's over they try a few times to describe what the track sounded like to them before simply giving up and saying something in the vein of "it's trill man..." or "that was pretty dope dude..."

Skifcha - Dazey EP

So Skifcha has dropped an EP ^__^ and I'm sure all of the head-bangers out there are probably pretty hype (time for a Docta Philth Retwerk perhaps?). Mostly this is due to the simple fact that like most Skifcha work, this shit hits fuckin' hard as shit; pounding bass drums that test the limits of your headphones; twisted and contorted synth lines that make you question your sanity, all the things that you would probably expect from a Skifcha package of late.

But when we take in this release as whole we begin to get the idea that this isn't some "run-of-the-mill" dubstep album; it's the display of evolution for a producer whose trying to throw off the shackles of his previous work. This kid seems hell-bent on not trying to pigeon-hole himself into any one genre, everything from tackling mid-tempo beats to straight-up polling his facebook page as to what type of production he should tackle next (which, if I recall correctly, ended up with some very odd skifcha-esque dutch house). So, "experimental" is probably what I'd say most about these tracks, for yes, they still have the same build-up/drop outline but within this framework this kid is really trying to fight and struggle against the limits of what his mind can think up.

Luzcid - BANGN' (Docta Philth Retwerk)

You have to kind of wonder where this kid gets these samples... Like where the fuck do you find this crazy shit? As I sit down and fire up Mr. Philth's latest retwerk of Luzcid's "Bangn" I'm left to sit mouth agape at the mental ward worthy array of off-beat sounds this producer has collected into a single track.

Now when we look at the overall encompassing umbrella of "real trap shit" one does have to wonder what differentiates this track the multitude of others that I'm sure are out there with similar beat structures and 808-heavy drops and breakdowns; is it the slight flare in build-up he showcases before the second drop? Or is it simply the tenacity to lead off a track with such a weird synth array? 

To be honest I'm not quite sure, but I find myself of the general opinion the Doctor was putting as lot of effort into the heavy attributes of this track, rather then the original twists he could have brought to this banger. But all in all the track accomplishes what it sets out to do, although I would love to see if this producer can get more creative in some of his upcoming original tracksd

Bwi-Bwi - Southern Grinda (Shaolin Squad Bootleg)

Let's talk for a bit a bout the concept of a "release" because these days it's an often muddled concept which some friends of mine would go as far as to say is nothing but a relic from ancient times. For the majority of the lifespan of underground music songs get released on their own; whether they're released as "Singles" to then lead into a full album release, or simply on their own to generate as much hype as possible. This has been the format for a looooooooooooooooong time, if people like one song from an artist, then they release another; if people like that song then maybe release an EP to showcase their talents with a broader brush-stroke as it were. For that is where that term comes from, "Extended Play" as in we heard a little and we like it so give us more.

But this has also led to a lot of disappointment, I feel especially in electronic music as of late; because the emphasis has fallen so greatly towards the individual track hype and fallen so vastly away from making a cohesive album as a total. Examples are abound but lets focus in on one I'm sure we're all familiar with; RL Grimes recently released debut "High Beams" EP, when this came out everyone was fucking hype as shit (as they should be) because RL Grime (aka Clockwork) was probably one of the most celebrated trap artists to come out of  LA last year; he had the prior experience in other genres, the Diplo/Mad Decent pedigree, all the youtube love  and blogroll in the world, so when he finally drops his debut release it should change the fucking world right?

But it didn't... Because the moment anyone heard the EP they realized that all of the tracks had been leaked all year long, and anyone who had any interest in this producer probably already had all of these tracks...

So that's why I got so hype for my label-mate Bwi-Bwi's new release; firstly, because although this producer has had a lot of hype around him from his work with M&C's "Japanese Folies" release he had resisted the temptation to leak any of these songs before they released, so the whole thing felt fresh. Secondly, with a well thought out intro and outro of well placed house-y vibes with a clear intention to round out the entire listening experience one felt they didn't have to just skip through to the good parts, but could sit down and take in the entire thing as whole, hearkening back to as someone put it "...the days when Bloody Beetroots were kings..."

Ahmi - LOH

Well folks, it's been over a month since our last post, so you know it had to be a special track to be able to drag us away from our crazy schedules. There's a word in french; "Doux" it means like gentle, warm or sweet (fyi I failed french so don't take my word on that) and once in a while I come across a track which likens to such explanation where all I can use to describe it is said word; and Ahmi's new track LOH fits this scenario perfectly.

You can try to pick apart the song, try to dig down deep to find the particular substance that causes this emotion in the listener, but it's quite the challenge I must warn you. For with some styles it's simple; one can easily point to the modulated basslines in generic dubstep, or the heavy 808's in 'real trap shit' (-__-) and say "there, that's the defining sound you have to go for." But as with a lot of Ahmi's work this is difficult; can one honestly put there finger of the diffinative part of this track?

The synth lines are mellow and warm, over a simple bass line, all gliding along chill trip-hop patterns that clock in at around a standard 120bpm; yet one still gets the feel that only Ahmi could have produced this track, and that if any other were to make the same track it would end up sounding different; the slight tribal feel to the percussion, the slight stuttering to the bass before the beat kicks in. These little things just scream under-rated, and it seems to be here where Ahmi tends to leave his most personal mark on his tracks, for only those chill enough to pick up on them.

Ahmi, Me and Chopstix - Release Interview

So for anyone planning a hang-out session this week, do I have the fucking gift-of-all-time for you today :)

The one and only Nenjah Nycist, lead vocalist for the shaolin hip-hop group Rising Sun All-Stars, has teamed up with the reclusive trip-hop warrior Ahmi and brought us a fierce exploration of a record; it's called Ahmi, Me and Chopstix and as a collaborative work this EP brings quite a satchel of diversity along with it's switched up beats and solid lyricism; you can download the record below the interview for free (or be really cool and throw them some bread for it...) To be honest we were sort of blown away as this record seemed to have come out of nowhere, so we went off into the wild to find Ahmi and have him explain some of the background as to how this record came about:

Sup Ahmi! So how long have you guys been making music together?

Hey what's up, I met Nenjah around last February during an intermission at one of the Rising Sun performances at Rhythm and Brews. My cousin Rah Zah Ade (dope lyrical emcee) and I had been drinking so we came up with the idea to meet the band, some more drinks, some conversations on music, calling my cousin on stage to spit and a beat-listening session later we decided we'd try to work together.

So, what's up with Chopstix? Is it a pseudonym or a tag, or what?

The name and theme of the EP came about while Nenjah and I were actually hanging out and eating sushi one night. We had some tracks laying around that we recorded over some of my older and very new beats and started thinking well we might have something here. Some re-recording and editing later Chopstix was born.

You ever spin a set together?

Nenjah and I have yet to spin a set but that's definitely in the plans. Still have other stuff no one's heard yet.

A lot of these tracks seem to be pulling influences from vastly different directions; which artists did you guys find yourselves listening to the most when you were making this record?

I can't speak for Nenjah but I remember were both diggin the new Big Kritt that had just dropped over the summer during, and I was listening to a lot of xxyyxx, Joey Badass, Giraffage, and Kendrick Lamar.

If you had to pick a track that "sounded like stuff you guys used to make" the most and a track that sounds completely new for you guys, which would those two be?

A track that sounds like our older stuff would definitely be No Country...I was way more of a traditional hip hop beat maker back then when I made that beat and the theme of the song is familiar...REVOLUTION!!! From all the absurd norms of current society, greed, robotic group-think, and the other abuses we're gifted with from society. A song that I'd say was very new for both of us was Mona Lisa...I actually hadn't been making trip-hop beats before the summer, but once I started it felt right and luckily I had recently ran into a rapper that was down to rap over stuff like that.

Alright, time for the dirt, what's an annoying habit one of you guys would have during recording?

It's funny he's called Nenjah but I know I would disappear a lot during the making of this...it's a classic bad habit of an introvert and I know I can be a huge bit of a recluse at times, but shout to him for putting up with it.

So say it's a lazy afternoon and you guys are gonna go chill; Northshore? or South?

Definitely Northshore...that goes without saying, we just need to decide on what spot.

So, real talk...
Say the earth would enter some sort of nuclear apocalypse, and between the symbolic Chopstix, Nenjah and yourself one of you would be absolutely in the wrong place at the wrong time and get obliterated, one of you would mutate into a ferocious pile of slime and radiation, and one of you would escape on the last shuttle with the remnants of humanity... So, whose which?

I have shit for luck so I can definitely see myself being in the absolute wrong place at all the wrong times. I'm assuming Nenjah would then try to escape the city in Gaiden fashion but the irradiated fog I imagine would be a bit much for anyone so he'd probably go out the mutated way, and I'd pray to the Universe that Chopstix made it; I think other worldly and dimensionally beings have been waiting on such a thing for a while...they told me that one time over a 5th of Haitian Barbancourt rum...I think...

JTTG - Jazz

When it comes to atmosphere in this scene, one rarely has to look past JTTG and his fellow producers from the Temple; the clear attention to detail and mood setting put into almost all of his beats are enough to explain the widespread respect he has garnered from his peers as of late. For whether your tastes stray from the straight ambient Cashmere Cat devotees or over to the more crunk-oriented hip-hop side of the outer boroughs these days, you'd be hard pressed not to find at least a single beat from this kid on any given bass-head's ipod.

Personally, I might consider killing people in order to get access to his and The SHRNK's wide array of formulated pads and sample library. This beat in particular doesn't announce it's arrival in any bombastic way; it glides into existence of waves of metallic vocal cuts and rolling hi-hats and then fades as quickly as it came. Another trill puzzle piece to the ever growing cacophony of sound that is JTTG's lonely journey through the misty hills and lonely mountains of the ancient land known to the few as shaolin.

Think I'm getting way too poetic, huh? Well, how about this; give this track a listen and see if you still think so. Because honestly, when reviewing this kid's work, I'm starting to think you really can't get poetic enough. 

Morrison - Something For The Day

A unique voice is a clever trademark in rap music; I'm not an expert or anything, but with the recent drop of Danny Brown's album "Old" this has become clearly apparent to me. Because over the last week or so I've been dragged into a lot of conversations (which more often then not soon turned into arguments) over whether originality was a favorable characteristic in it's own right, whether be apart from the general pack of rap artists was a sign that you were ahead of said general pack; if an artist's work clearly differentiates itself from the standard of the day does this immediately that's it's better then the standard? My personal opinion is somewhat skeptic, because it's easy to take any track and say "OMG that's soooo different; it must be the fucking future." But this can't be 100% true can it?

What's more likely is that being unique in one's style allows his product to be heard above the rest; whether or not it is genuinely above the rest is completely up tot eh listener, but it does allow the opportunity for their music to be heard in a vacuum, without critics debating who produces that style better, because there are few if any to compare it to. Case in point is this freestyle from Morrison: this kid has a style to his flow (and consequentially a vocal structure) that's pretty unlike many others I've heard from this scene recently, he lackadaisical attitude about his skills and lifestyle tend not to focus too heavily on any one area, which is the sign of an artist who can gravitate fans to his story without overselling it. Top all of this off with a weird funky, tribal sort of beat and we get a pretty dope refreshing tune that should be getting people excited to hear more from this kid.

Ahmi - Find

When a lot of people are stuck somewhere without their music (your job, school, internship, w.e) we tend to start developing playlists in our head for when we're finally left alone with our ipod; all the songs we feel we just haven't gotten enough of lately begin to burn onto our brain until we're able to listen to them in peace.

For me lately, one of Ahmi's new beats has been consistently on that list; for the past few days on my way home from work I've been bumping this track at least a few times on the commute, and I'll be honest, it seemed kind of weird to me that I've been having loop-mode jam sessions to this quick two-minute arrangement of soul sampling and skipping snare patterns.

But if we delve into it a bit it's quick to see that this is what most of Ahmi's work has comprised of so far; smooth, if not slightly simplistic beats that jump in and out of existence without any dramatic openings or endings, and while for me this has been partially part of the charm of this artist's beat-tapes, it would be exciting to see him delve into some more creative song structure.

But for now he seems content to keep rolling these little gems of trip-hop oriented, old-school tinged trillness; and I'm perfectly okay with this; as long as no one bothers me on the way home :)

KidsWithSoul x AdoTheGod - Woman In Black ft. S.I.T.H.

I like this shit. Why? Because it's trill. How's it trill? It's heavy as fuck, it flows, and it gets me hype as a purveyor of music that other artists in this scene might lean in this direction due to tracks like this. It makes me proud to say that young artists like this are a part of the same scene of my exploration into bass music.

Adding to the ever expanding soundtrack of this island at night is KidsWithSoul, a smooth crooner of wavey rhythm and blues that seems to slink around lonely places when the moon comes out, softly singing about lost love or materialistic slogans with bitter melancholy accentuation. 

One thing is art least astoundingly clear from the get-go; this kid doesn't seem to fear not sounding like everyone else, and A.) it shows. and B.) it works. His uniqueness makes his tracks seem to stand out in line-up of similar artists in similar scenes; and whether it's his odd phrasing or the crisp production the final product is usually a steady and groove-driven track worth of dropping in any good DJ's set based around the slower regions of hip-hop.

As for this kid S.I.T.H....holy shit, like....idk, the kid's nasty as fuck, but I guess that's a good thing if you have a stage name like that; and while the sexual rhyming nature in this song isn't exactly the most creative thing I've ever heard, he is unrelenting and fearless enough in his perverse vocabulary to exchange something for it with the listener. While all of this wrapped up by a sweet production effort behind the whole track, suffice to say AdoTheGod should be collaborating more with these kids; for a style like this could easily be spun out into a worthy mixtape imo.

TroyBoi - Amadeus (Haywood Retwerk)

From the wavey depths of counter-culture Haywood has recently come bopping forth with another sick spin, this time on the rising trap artist, TroyBoi. This remix draws a fine line between the club-banging bass music of acts such as Smookie Illson and early-Tincup with what I guess one might call the more "real trap shit" of producers like UZ and Brillz. While one might wonder what might surge into existence should this love for trapstep be put towards original production, this is a definitive banger to add to one's collection for the time being, which is always something to be hype for!

See once this beat drops it seems almost hilarious in it's flow; the resounding 808's pound and vibrate as club samples and other sonic candy seem to jump out at you from the dark. But when the music slows down, we can also see a appreciation for the smoother side of hip-hop based electronic, even if it might only be to justify such a hard drop immediately following it. 

Almost as if hip-hop's charlatans were spitting over an equally fun-loving beat; this track while hitting hard doesn't take it too seriously. Rather then trying to "break new ground" most of Haywood's retwerks are just that, a powerful new spin to that which seen it's days past before it, bringing that sort of classic electronic feel back into this new world of heavy trap music; the crispest snare hits rolling right along side the rolling hi-hats and eternally pounding 808's, all with Haywood leading the charge.

Marcus G x Lyrics - Type Of Way (Freestyle)

Don't have much time today, but I did want to jump online to post this nice two-part freestyle by Marcus G & Lyrics that I've been jamming to on my stream all morning; you really have to hand it to The 90's Collection when it comes to quality selection, because this group of vocalists seems to just refuse to put out mediocre tracks. It seems like sometimes they must run around with a backpack stuffed with verses to be able to put out this kind of relaxed flow through lyrics that actually have weight to them.

And let me just remind everyone that this is a freestyle; a quick slammin' track these two bring their A-game to without even really sounding like they're trying too hard. On top of this whoever made this and produced the track deserves a tip of the hat as well; again it's just quality over quantity with these guys, and with flows like these I feel like their fans are chill with it.

EPIC STARSHIP - September Mix

Ever wondered what a rave in the heart of Rapture would be like? Or what the radio would sound like if they had LSD in the big band era of the 1940's? Because that's pretty what this mix is created from; the backwards twisted step-child of classical dance music. 

For their very first mix for this blog, the producing/DJing group Epic Starship (a sly tongue-in-cheek name for an electronic group, I'm assuming) have strung together an elaborate collage of miscellaneous slammers and rhythm structures that seem to sync together with the styles of producers like Giraffage, Gold Panda, and perhaps Chloe Martini if she was a little heavier and more oriented towards a two-step. 

The infamous Haywood (along with his partners Jason Klein & David Bristol) has shown a side of psycadelic electronic music that's hard to pin down; it's very trip-hop leaning, while also showing small fluctuations of break-beat, while having this whole old-school vibe laid over the whole thing very smoothly. So fuck, I guess I don't know what the fuck to call this; either way it's a really trill mix, which I'm sure you will all enjoy :)

Tracklist (thx haywood!)
Perfect Plan - Ann Peebles 
Dont Mess - Handbook
Nice To Be Around - Helen Reddy
Give You Everything - Le Nonsense
Jemmas Reminisce - Mike T
Time To Give Them Something - OMG Productions
Pyramids - Phatcap!

Young Lavi$h - Abyss

Man...Let me tell you...

Dark fuckin' things have been rising out of the world of Young Lavi$h recently; his rhyming structure has become dank and melancholic as of late, and it shows in the type of productions he's been choosing to spit over, depressed ambient waves of eerie panning wafting over a sub-bass that provides that ever-so-crucial saunter that personally make or break his tracks for me. 

All of this leads his listeners to find their story-teller as a young man lost in his own thoughts; subtly disenchanted with the finer things and aspiration that most rappers tend to focus on during their underground climb to notoriety.

All of this speaks to his attitude towards the grand scheme of music, to make tracks that people want to hear, as opposed to making tracks that A&R want to hear; it's a attitude of fierce DIY ethic (do it yourself... although I sincerely hope everyone knew that acronym already) that, while hasn't been lauded to the height this lyricist is putting it at in this scene, has quietly been the backbone of what we do and why we do it for a while now.

Because do I get get paid for writing this blog? No, of course not. Do my posts on other larger blogs get more attention? Sure, but do most of these artists getting paid to make music? nope, and while most people outside of the scene might think that we're all just waiting to "make it big" or w.e, Lavi$h seems to be striving to bring up a different point, maybe we make music for a reason beyond this...

What that reason is? lol fuck if I know; but this kid seems to be pretty close to his own personal answer through what his songs seem to be reaching for, so I would keep an ear to upcoming mixtape 'Peace' if I were you; those distance monologues wafting through the waves of darkness may have something deeper to them.

Ahmi - Fades

Now most bass-heads who have perused this blog probably know by now that I like me a lot of Trip-hop, and part of it is probably just because I smoke too much, but there's also something else there entirely; you can never really put your finger on it but whenever you hear those switched up timings and psychadelia drenched synthlines you can hear a little bit of the future behind it.

Truth be told I've had many stoned conversations with Ray (our other blog writer) about how someday mainstream hip-hop will morph into something similar, slowly influenced over time by the rumblings of the underground club scenes. For now we producers and DJs will have to sneak in the breakbeats and alternative where we can get away with it; cause let's face it the average club-goers of our area just aren't ready, sure when Mr. Bangladesh drops his "A Milli" beat it won Lil Wayne a grammy, and I can remember last year when Zeds Dead dropped a Salem beat the entire Nokia (I guess now it's called "best buy" but w.e) Theater shat itself; but a DJ who fills an entire set with these revelations is gonna get some weird looks, cause a set needs bangers right?

That's why I've been really digging Ahmi's recent slew of tracks this month, as the summer winds down this shaolin producer has taken the scenic road towards good beats and it's definitely starting to pay dividends for him. Showing that while a beat can be hard and shuffle-able, it can also bring emotion and insight. Idk lol probably getting ahead of myself, so why not just go listen to the track and show Ahmi some love. Cause it's artists like this that make me love where this scene is headed.

Stuffy Booth - In The Club ft. Cheesy McGreasy

Welcome BITCHES to the world of Stuffy Booth and their eternal war on fat chicks; a new (hilarious) collaboration project from the outer boroughs. Now if you have an ear for slick club-style hip-hop then you're probably already familiar with Thick One and Sauce Man; they say on any given weekend night if you listen real quietly you can hear the two rowdy pranksters blowing up some retarded party on this island. Sauce Man's flow has always been tranquil yet nonchalant, with a layer of hilarity laid over all of his verses just to let  the listener know that though his rhyming abilities may run deep, comedy comes before depth with this persona.

To the characters of Cheesy McGreasy and Looseleaf Wallace (whoever they are) it's obvious that nothing is ever held back when your on tracks such as these, as they immediately meld right in with witty wordplay yet retarded hilarity on par with the past songs of Sauce Man and the Thick One. To be honest I thoroughly enjoyed this shit; cause it's basically a NY-version of 2 Live Crew, and what the fuck is there to hate about that?!

So If you got ass you better start shaking it, and if you got cash you better start throwing it; cause the Stuffy Booth is here to stay XD

Skifcha - CRUMPCORE

Whether your a up and coming DJ pouring through soundcloud undefined regions late at night for that next digestible banger, or some punk-ass kid who really wants to freak out the 80 year-old man sitting next to you on a long bus ride, I have just one question for you; have you heard of crumpcore?

The hardcore devotee Skifcha has released his latest beat-tape; a slew of heavy slammers sent out into the airwaves to satisfy all the modern-talking junkies and spontaneous shufflers out there, and personally I'm pretty hype as well, especially when I heard this one track in particular.

Now, while a vast majority of these beats might seem a bit off-the-wall; chugging along with a nice melody before descending into complete and utter bass-fueled nonsense, this track seemed completely well-rounded. It set's the stage of your classic club-banger with heavy layered kicks ringing in the new wave of crazed out partying over an entire crowd of drunken masses ready yet again to pump and grind their way passed 3am.

But I'm not gonna delve to much into it; you can hear for yourself. If you like it definitely make sure you follow Skifcha on his soundcloud and check out the rest of his most recent tracks! :P

Dubyero - August Mix

When it comes to kids from Staten Island; musical taste is often a much ridiculed topic. I'll admit when I first moved to the island I was kinda confused by the sheer amount of cheesy punk persuasion backed with this odd love for all things Wu-Tang related... Shit did not make sense to me.... Like at all... But it was only after a few years of living in new brighton and loitering in random parking lots that things started to make sense to me, about the weird clashes of shitty music taste we all share and how they collide to make a singular identity. Because sometimes that's what I find myself believing this generation is; the aftermath of a pop-culture wasteland. That's also what I believe is so promising about the scene in general; that artists have literally mounds of crap and generations of shitty radio to warp and construe into something relevant. A sinister and creepy electronic underbelly to the dead genre warzone we've had floating over the radio above us for the past, what... two decades?

This all leads to why I'm pretty hype to feature this month's mix by newcomer Dubyero; the kid's style so far is the epitome of mainstream house being filtered down into the underground and the sick changes that morph along with that descension. Quite simply, it's the pure joy of listening to light poppy tunes transform into electro-step monsters; and this is a classic joy among underground electronic fans, so I feel it's only appropriate to add this sort of overlay to a month that's probably gonna be filled with some really weird tracks to on this blog :)

The Shaolin Temple - Someone Like You

AWWWW SNAP SON XD

Yup, that's right kids, Temple is fuckin' back with the trillness; and the stoners all over the island are climbing to rooftops with blunt wraps and ghetto blasters in tow as we speak. For this preview of the mysterious Volume II has seemingly creeped up out of nowhere; much like talk of this upcoming release itself it began as nothing but a whisper slowly and slowly rising it until it is finally over taken by a liquid flow that takes us on the path of this slice of trip-hop; as if we can take this wavey-ass three-minute peek into the hookah-smoking caterpiller's mind. (and yup, that was an Alice reference)

So yeah, you might just wanna hit play now lol

But if you wanna stick around and hear me ramble on, I'd love to delve into the line-up change the Temple has chosen for this preview; upstart producer/lyricist M2 has made his first appearance onto the scene of Shaolin bass music, and quite honestly it's a pretty damn extrodinary debut. For by this point we have a pretty good idea of what a JTTG track sounds like (check his beat-tape for a full lesson) and most of us have a pretty good idea what The SHRNK and he sound like together on a track; tight heavy bass-work, with subtle under-pads of different shapes and sizes, but overall a very distinct sound. But the thing is while this track definitively falls under the overarching banner of T.S.T. as far as genre and tone, the execution and production decisions are pretty inherently different.

So, is this a good thing for Temple fans? Well, yeah probably, especially as some of the WAAU producers have begun to explore new more creative styles, they've developed vast stylistic differences, and this in turn will make (or should make) the collaborations within the group more distinct from each other. Who is on which track will begin to make a huge impact on how the track will turn out and sound, which is pretty cool news if your a fan of variation in this scene as we go forward.

Because, what, is everyone supposed to sound the fucking same? My vote is for "fuck naw" and I think it's truly tracks like these that are convincing most kids in this scene to agree on that.

Someone Like You by TheShaolinTemple

BINO x Voduz - What I've Become

While it's pretty clear to most people who have an ear to the world of shaolin lyricists that everything and everyone associated with The Charity is in a dominating position to overtake the scene; it's slightly less clear which one of them is particularly leading the pack.

Cause, in all honesty, with this scene being so young (and most of our artists so young as well) who can you really rank that far over anyone else? On the one hand, when closely examined, most fans can tell that they all draw from each other and come from a common approach, as they seem to have similar structures and themes on most of their tracks; it all seems very "north shore" with a sense of street wisdom and real-world problems overtaking extravagant vocabulary or vocal prowess. Yet on the complete flip-side, one begins to realize that they all rap with staunchly different attitudes towards life, and it's these subtle style variations in who they are as lyricists surrounded by the overarching style of Charity Music that makes them such an exciting group.

When it comes to BINO in particular; I've recently found myself drawing comparisons to 90's rappers like Raekwon or Scarface; you can almost actually feel the fucking weight of this environment of ours hanging over his words. It's not just about his rhymes or his flow, but more-so the attitude in which he presents himself, dropping small bombs of wisdom casually as if perhaps he doesn't feel like anyone will fully understand him anyway... but, of course, I could be totally wrong lol

But with all of this topped off by a sweetly padded Voduz track (a page he has clearly taken out of Zaytoven's book) delivered with a quiet precision that accentuates BINO's message; the overall product is a sweet, if not slightly straight-forward track that plays well to his style and was a pretty damn nice addition to dat ol' weekly playlist :P

BINO - What I've Become (Prod. By Voduz) by BINOTheCheif

JTTG - Konoha Nights

So with his debut beat-tape having been out for a week or so now; I feel JTTG's new tracks have begun to sink into the scene a little; I also feel like now is an appropriate time to put out a review on the piece. See, we never really wanted this blog to be just another "press release" for artists, which is why we tend to not post the majority of tracks sent to us until we feel the scene has shown a degree of inherit interest in them. But now that all is said and done I feel it's a good moment to let you guys know that I think this mixtape is fucking ill, so imma muse a little.

See, not many mixtapes follow a storyline; while we hear of over-played groups putting out "concept-albums" all the time we rarely see much of this underground; most mixtapes, good or bad, tend to be a random assembly of ideas and concepts, but The Next Hokage takes a different approach. For while some people might grimace at a Naruto-themed anything, once you get into it you pretty much....yeah, get into it. This kid has refined his ability of pulling listeners into his tracks which then in turn draw listeners into his mixtape as a whole; you start off saying "okay, imma listen to the first track" and then all of sudden your halfway through the whole tape and completely immersed without realizing it.

And while it would be really easy to compare JTTG's release with his Temple partner The SHRNK's recent beat-tape, I don't thing that would do this tape justice. It's become pretty clear to their fans that their solo work is vastly different from each other, which on the one hand is really cool to hear, but on the other hand is a real challenge when it comes to their next Temple release; because everyone will have clear examples of the two producers' styles and some will be quick to scrutinize who each track seems to be leaning towards. Personally, I'm hoping cohesion will be the name of the game.

And on a side note; how fucking cool is it to give a world such as Masashi Kishimoto's a hip-hop soundtrack to go along with it? All of a sudden the story turns into Samurai Champloo and we have ninja's fighting to spaced-out trap music. Is it taking a dangerous risk? Sure. It's an idea that could've fallen flat on it's face if not executed properly, but it IS executed properly, and would you really rather listen to some generic DatPiff shit instead?

Corona - Rhythm Of The Night (Haywood Retwerk)

Okay, so this remix from Haywood starts out as a total nostalgia trip for older ravers; I mean come on, Corona? That shit's back from when Jungle music was like, fucking NEW, like WAY back; when you could be coming home from some warehouse party on the dilapidated 90's subway system at four in the morning, flip on your pocket radio (cause everyone had those, right?) and hear Dee-Lite crooning in your ears to go back out and party more.

But then suddenly the track takes a dangerous turn; as the slick well produced style of the current culture come pounding forward with pure satanic 808 power and start slapping against the ground. Yet throughout this solid remix of an old classic, we get the feeling that indeed the old truths still hold there weight; as any DJ could drop this at any party today and every girl would start swaying with familiarity to this classic track (even though most of these chicks were probably like, five years old when Corona was out).

But maybe I'm reading too much into it. Either way this is a solid track, that every DJ in this scene should probably add to his arsenal, for it's not often you get that solid mix of past and present, and it's a choice tool to use at the appropriate moment in a good set. It also makes us wonder if this producer will bring that ear for the past into his projects when he (undoubtedly) begins to venture into original solo tracks, but I guess we can only hope, right?

And while it's currently not available by legal means, perhaps enough appreciation from the scene on Haywood's soundcloud and that 'download' button will magically appear somehow ;)

Rhythm of The Night(Anthony D. Haywood Rework) by Anthony D. Haywood

Skifcha - Baff Weats

Holy Shit... Okay... So, I'm not sure exactly how to write this review; because as I'm writing I have Skifcha's new track "Baff Weats" playing on another tab and I can't stop head-banging. Because this kid just doesn't quit does he? The amount of new content this kid releases on a regular basis is the absolute envy of any producer on a free label or online medium; it only makes me wish that all these hard beats were organized into beat tapes or something on his soundcloud.

But then again you can't really expect organization from such young talent can you? Not even slightly, Skifcha's fans know him better then that, he's gonna put out ideas as they fly into his head, a never pausing amalgam of sonic inquisition. Into the dark and forbidding world of underground bass music this kid delves head first with little thought to genre or stylistic ristrictions, and personally I can't be anything but happy the scene has such a constant producer of hard bangers for all of us to enjoy and analyze over.

It seems only a matter of time before some online music collective decides to harness this creative force we call Skifcha, and *holy fuck* I just hope the scene (and my eardrums) will be good and ready.

BaffWeats by Skifcha EDM

The 90's Collection - Society Woes

Picture it; brothers huddled around a lit blunt, along down some winding avenue or perhaps a parking lot near the ferry on some dark grey October afternoon. It's a moving scene, no? Lost souls in the cultural wasteland that is our home, striving to find a meaning behind their paths. 

It's these sorts of struggles and this kind of atmosphere I feel brings out the best in artists who grow up in environments like this; and I believe it's this sort of mentality that gave rise to The 90's Collection.

These kids have talent man, there's no denying that; like some forgotten age-old Motown catalog from back when music was good without even trying, these vocalists ooze through your headphones with an undeniable skill-set and charm.

And yet there's a moroseness behind the steady beat that Ceo has expertly laid down for them; a melancholy attitude that the gang seems to fit into comfortably; they vocalize their ambitions with the weight of the world upon them, dragging each uplifting thought and wish back down into the reality of these *ahem* dare I say it? slums we call home...

This track was a mark of beauty in a particularly rough day of mine, and I feel people in this borough have been having a lot of those, so here, just take a listen ^__^

The SHRNK - No Questions

"...The day of; like, you ever stay up ‘til 9 a.m. to finish a paper for school and go to school with no sleep? It’s kind of like that..."

"Literally; like, up ‘til the last minute. At some point, I finally feel good about the track; We don’t take instructions from anybody because in the end you have to trust yourself and your own creative process and do what you need to do and make your music."

"We don’t deal with A&Rs, we don’t deal with people’s opinions, we don’t deal with managers or them bringing us song ideas ever... We’re very internal; we just decide at some point 'hey, we’re getting close, this is when I think it should come out'. We aim and strive for that moment and we work tirelessly and change songs up until the last minute and because I’m mixing it and because I’m producing a lot of it and because I’m tracking a lot of it, or all of it, we have the ability to do anything at any moment."

- Noah "40" Shebib

If you find yourself agreeing with this quote, cop this beat_tape, and you're welcome :)

Skifcha - The Things We Used To Do

=^.^=       =^.^=      =^.^=      =^.^=

You know, lately, I feel our cat-monster Skifcha has been in a sort-of transition; he's been producing these tracks that seem to juxtapose themselves with the standards in hard dance music as a more insightful understanding of that labyrinth that is 140 beats per minute.

I know it might seem a bit off for some of his fans; cause Skifcha's supposed to be just grinding bassheads and snapping snares, right? RIGHT?!

Well, let me assure you that this growth in soundscape this year so far has done way more then just add genres to the kid's resume (what's chiptune anyway?); it's also seemed to change the way he goes about his beats, and that's something I'm pretty hype to hear: a little less formulaic "step" and a little more classic "dub"

That doesn't mean that I don't dig his complextro-esque fuck-your-face "...finish him..." shit (wait till you hear his track on our comp) but it is nice to hear tracks like these, and know that at least there are some kids on this island taking the time to study those classic roots.

The Things We Usto Do by Skifcha EDM

Amplify - June Mix

This is a mix I'm glad I've gotten the chance to upload, mostly because other issues prevented me from hearing it that night as I would have liked to (loitering around the DJ booth as I usually do).

Marred by horrible weather among other things the gig quickly turned into a bunch of bass-heads and their close friends spinning sets for each other, waxing poetic in the back about what this scene could become. I for one was incredibly invigorated by the talent I saw displayed at the lounge last week; it gave me the drive to work on creating a viable, sustainable scene for us on the island for the electronic revelation that's been quickly crawling it's way into charts and festivals across the nation. Make no mistake; electronic music is becoming our generation's medium.

But more to the mix at hand, I feel like this set is a prime example of where our scene is currently; Amplify's style is, well let's say expansive, he reaches from far corners of different sub-genres and pulls them together to create cohesive sets that mesh and flow; and honestly, what more could we club-goers really ask for when swaying around with drinks in our hand?

So if you agree bump this mix; and if you dig this mix go hit up his soundcloud/mixcloud and post ghetto comments everywhere (oh yeah, and tell him we sentcha lol)

Live @ Sapphire Lounge NYC / 6.7 (Hosted by From the Slums) by Amplifynyc on Mixcloud

The SHRNK - As If

We can be honest here, right? 

Cause in truth, there's a lot of hard shit out there when it comes to bass music....like, a lot......

But when it comes to our little scene in particular there's this second wave that's been rising up slightly behind the darker beat-makers, a sound I'm hearing more and more as of late, tracks flush with chillness of pretty epic proportions; with these multi-layered pads atop of these lightly bouncing bass-lines, to the point where it's, honestly, just too fucking trill to be labeled Ambient so I'm gonna call it Ill-bient (if you'll allow me to dust off an old phrase). Because when I play these tracks for friends they consistently have this look on their faces like "...dude.......shit's audio sex..."

So all of this brings us around to why I'm excited about posting this brand new track from The SHRNK. Cause this kid's pretty fucking ill; a producer that could easily grow to be the next crooklyn ambassador to the island, our generation's Old Dirty Bastard. (i know, i know... but with this kid's affinity for drug-use and party-life, that's actually not so much of a stretch; go listen to his track "xanny" if you don't believe me)

We have to admit, these days it is more and more the producers that enter the spotlight, whether or not they're from the world of rave-bangers for EDM or the world of beatmaking for Hip-hop (or inhabit that weird unnamed crossover space in between) the fact is that the Jersey Club sound that threw shit like "Harlem Shake" and "Trapstep" up into huge popularity came from the DJs of our area, not the MCs.

So I think it's safe to say that these alternative tracks that I'm hearing are definitely taking their place in the overarching sound of (whatever the fuck) this scene is turning out to be, and personally I'm getting bass-head chills mixing some of this softer wave (some of Phranq's tracks, TST's new single, etc) with the sick foot-stomping shit (basically any Skifcha track...) Like a Yin to the darker shit's Yang they mesh well together, because they're still inherently "bass music"

But it's giving depth to bass music, feel me?

AS IF (COCAINE) by The SHRNK

Shaolin Squad x Ded Beatz - Jwenn Ba VIP

Have you ever wanted to play a track that undeniably proves to someone you have unorthodox taste in music? 

Well then you should probably go download Jwenn Ba VIP (which apparently means "Get Low" in creole) because it is without-a-doubt that track in a nutshell. It slaps you across the face from the very first second, as trip-hop vocals mesh over pounding 808s and deep southern rap samples; the kind of track only heard in the most fucked-up parties, the deepest underground bass sessions. 

But how did this monster come into existence you might ask? Well, S.I.’s home team Shaolin Squad got together with a trapstar from Cali by the name of Ded Beatz; and between the two of them produced probably one of the weirdest trap tracks we’re going to hear for while… 

But then again, maybe not; maybe trap music as a whole is getting stranger, as more and more people tire of the standard laser-y “bangers” on YouTube every week, made by the same Flosstradamus and Brillz copies we’ve heard all throughout 2012. Maybe this year shit’s gonna get fuckin psychedelic and trippy as trap music takes a turn for the original… 

God, I hope so…

Skifcha - Rylan Dios

A long time ago, a man once posed the question; “Damn son, where’d you find this?” 

To answer his question a barrage of bass music has poured out from the underground; and today I bring you a track that’s definitive of the kind of innovation that can be heard among the rumblings from from below. 

Yep, that’s fucking right! The hard-bass master Skifcha has dropped “Rylan Dios” a nonstop head-banging monster crashing its way through house parties of the grimey-ist nature. Like a fucking mountain coming to get you, this track is a huge step forward for the young producer. 

For while Skifcha is mostly known for his dubstep I’ve always secretly hoped he would expand into his own unique sound, and I think that this track is true proof that crafting one’s own style out of party music is a great accomplishment. The transition from a specific genre into something particularly unique is a hard one that many producers (mainstream or otherwise) fail to accomplish time and time again, so I say bravo... And plus we all get to go fuckin in now. 

So go download this track, and for the love of god start head-banging.

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