New instrumental track from blooming DMV based producer, Damu the Fudgemunk. More information on the track is below (if you want more "DIG A LITTLE DEEPER"). Peace to all the sarcastic dinosaurs still roaming the internet.
Brooklyn Flower is a privately commissioned project in conjunction with Slice-of-Spice Records, and ReDef Records. The title track is a reworking of the Ramsey Lewis and Minnie Ripperton versions of the Charles Stepney classic, Les Fleurs. The intention of this track and project is a dedication for the birth of my daughter. These samples, and others deemed relevant, were referenced to Damu The Fudgemunk, when the project was first commissioned in late 2009, and as expected he produced something quite extraordinary and sublime. This is not a track he created for himself, or intended for commercial release.
It took me awhile to catch up with what I missed this Spring, but I have listened to everything I wanted (and you forced me) to hear in 2010. With that being said, here is WhiskeyTeeth's Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of the Year list. The winner receives that beautiful award pictured above, which is presented to you by Big Lots.
Thoughts: Canadian hip hop gets a bad wrap (mostly because a lot of it is bad rap), but Shad has proven himself more than worthy to the snarky and pretentious United States hip hop elite, especially with his acclaimed 2010 release, TSOL. Seamless, conceptual, intelligent, and full of humor-- Shad somehow topped 2007's The Old Prince and gave underground hip hop fans a canuck to pull for.
#9-1 on the flip side!
9. Moe Pope- Life After God (Brick Records- July 27th)
Thoughts: If WhiskeyTeeth had a Top 10 Underrated Albums of the Year category, you can bet your ass Moe Pope and Rain's project would top that list. After numerous overlooked collaborations with Electric, Headnodic, Project Move, and Mission that never went the distance, Moe Pope has found his comfort zone and an emerging producer he can flourish with. I'm hoping that this wasn't a one and done.
8. Atmosphere- To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy (Rhymesayers- September 7th)
Thoughts: Am I the only one that thinks Atmosphere has only gotten better with time? From Seven's Travels and on, my love for Slug and Ant has grown exponentially and their 2010 double EP has me loving them even more. Over a pool of classic rock guitars, organ stabs, and crisp drums, Slug slangs slurred grown man raps that a lot of hip hop heads in their late twenties/early thirties will connect with.
7. Kokayi- Robots & Dinosaurs (QN5-August 28th)
Thoughts: The official follow-up to 2008’s Mass Instructions, Robots & Dinosaurs is a self-produced tour de force that showcases the Grammy-nominated artist’s varied talents on every track. With lush layers of live instrumentation, soulfully expressive sung-vocals and wordplay galore, Kokayi has managed to create a work that highlights the spaces between the extremes of modern pop, rock & hip hop and subsequently deletes them. One of the most exciting and unexpected independent releases of 2010-- why aren't more people excited about this?
6. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasty (Roc-A-Fella Records- November 22nd)
Thoughts: Out of the ten, this is the one that I have sat with the least and the only record that affected me outside of the music that it contained. Accidental genius or not, Kanye knows how to grab this generation's attention and keep it. Even though I think his media theatrics, ego, 30 minute film school reject video, and live performances are comedy skits, I think any lunatic artist that can control this generation like he does deserves a round of applause. Plus his shit sounds good.
5. Ceschi Ramos- The One Man Band Broke Up (Equinox- June 28th)
Thoughts:Ceschi is a genius. I became a huge fan after listening to the self titled Toca album (I would give my life savings to members of Toca if it would help them pull off another album), which made me dig into Ceschi's solo catalog. His third solo album is without a doubt his magnum opus and one of 2010's must hear albums. It is definitely an album you have to sit with, absorb, and give multiple listens, but the reward is well worth the efforts. Combining hip hop, folk, and psychadelic rock, The One Man Band Broke Up tells the story of a well-traveled musician at odds with the industry and himself. Ceschi speaks through the character of Julius & the Bearded Saviour as he weaves narratives about the perils of the road, failure and self-destruction.
4. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Purple Ribbon- July 5th)
Thoughts: Bangarang.
3. Open Mike Eagle- Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush Records- May 11th)
Thoughts: Yes, in my world, Open Mike Eagle's debut solo album ranks above both Big Boi and Kanye West at the end of the year. If I wasn't a big enough Swim Team/OME fan boy before, Unapologetic Art Rap put the scoop of hummus on top and made me one for life. The self proclaimed 'nutcase displaying an obvious what the fuck face' will grab your attention with his untouchable rhyme schemes, playful concepts, and intelligent humor and make your blunt smoke smile and sway to his weird wordplay and infectious hooks. But you have to have enough patience to catch all that he throws at you.
It took awhile for internet nerds and blogosphere bums to take to Homeboy Sandman, so it's only a matter of time before more people catch on to Open Mike's genius-- a genius that, in my opinion, will take him further than any Blowedian has ever gone before. You can see what I mean in the I Rock (For the Unemployed) Remix and Haircut.
2. Intuition- Girls Like Me (Hellfyre Club- February 9th)
Thoughts: For a first quarter release in the middle of the ADD generation, Intuition's sophomore album held up extremely well. Not only did this album feature some of the best production of 2010 (courtesy of emerging Los Angeles beatsmith Equilibrum), but it was a 15-track clinic on the long lost art of song sequencing. Combine these two vital components with Intuition's easy to digest style and well penned tales of a directionless man in his mid 20's that's prone to complacency, womanizing, and debauchery, you got yourself the go to album for any 18-33 year old white boy for years to come. Asher Roth who?
On top with having a lot of emotional connections to Intuition's lyrics ("Don't Try" plays when I walk down the street), Girls Like Me allowed me to musically connect with a lot of special ladies in my life that would have never listened (or given a chance) to this type of music. You can't say that for many new artists or albums. I think this says a lot about what Intuition and Equalibrum accomplished and what they will accomplish in the future.
1. The Roots- How I Got Over (Def Jam- June 22nd)
Thoughts: They did it again and no one should be surprised.
Kruse is a talented up and coming MC/Producer from Los Angeles, California that you might not know about. His 2007 debut album, True Stories, is a record he wrote, produced, and mixed himself, while calling upon numerous underground "legends" (Luckyiam, Eligh, Sunspot Jonz, etc.) to fill in a few vocal guest spots. Kruse has been quiet since his debut record, but recently popped up with a brand new single to celebrate his forthcoming free EP, Kruse Light. The new single, Never Heard About It, features the playful Pigeon John on the hook and La La's and Eligh on the beat.
Here is the first look at Deca and Timeline's upcoming collaboration EP with their first dubstep laced single "Stop Zzz'in" featuring Rebecca Molina. The EP does not have an official release date as of yet, but Whiskey Teeth will keep you posted. If you are not familiar with Deca, peep our past coverage of his fantastic "Due Time" video here.
Swedish producer Erik L is a problem. If you aren't familiar by now, this brand new mix tape presented by Soul Arp will get you familiar:
On Display is mixed by Devastate, a talented Swedish DJ that released his debut album on the legendary English label BBE Records. This mix features a selection of hip hop and soul productions made by Erik L in the past few years along with some new and previously unreleased material. Lately he has been focusing on getting a new album ready with his group Favorite Flava that also consists of Stray (Mattias Axelsson) and Paul Mac Innes. Favorite Flava released their critically acclaimed debut album ”Different Phase” in 2009 on Ubeat Records. The music is a perfect blend of soul, RnB, pop and jazz with an approach to melodies that is unusual in the music busines these days.
A member from Cleveland hip hop group Keyel, Pease (aka Pablo Amor), has just released his latest instrumental project, Familiar Feelings. This 17-track freebie was constructed by Pease during emotionally inspiring times and hopes the listener can feel his experiences and emotions through his fleeting compositions.
With a stack of dusty VHS tapes, French producer J-Zen has constructed hip hop's first beat tape made of music and vocal samples from 1970's porno films. In between the moans, screaming orgasms, and fuck me in my ass taunts, J-Zen's ability to flip cheesy funk, earthy flutes, and casio stabs into head noddin' hip hop beats is just as astounding as the size of 1970's bush and areola.
Here are two previously unreleased tracks from 1/2 of Junk Science, Baje One, and Batsauce, the Jacksonville, FL based producer who laced one of the best free releases of the year in Summertime. If you want to keep with Baje One (who is quietly having one helluva 2010) and company, make sure to bookmark his website Modern Shark.
Here is the stream and single download for the infectious single Boxstitch with Willie Evans Jr. You can also download the full zip file below, which contains Half Truths.
"Everybody's rapping, everybody's selling clothes, everybody's picture taking, shooting videos...everyday in the city of L.A. is everybody's birthday," goes the first hook on Open Mike Eagle's "Art Rap After Party EP" -- a record that solidifies the Chicago-born Angeleno-based rapper as arguably the finest (and funniest) chronicler of the seedy and mustache-marred L.A. underworld.
The follow-up to this year's stellar "Unapologetic Art Rap," Mike Eagle II rambles through the dregs of his new home's coked-out, jungle-juiced wastelands, getting wasted to stay sane. He sarcastically compliments a girl on her asymmetrical haircut, telling her that he hopes she stays ahead of the trends. Then he tells her that she dresses like the Macho Man, Randy Savage.
Those with one-dimensional interpretations might wrongly brand this hipster rap, but Mike is no hipster. He dresses more GQ than Vice and boasts a surliness that could get him tossed from Intelligentsia. Rather than stridently complain, he fulminates against his targets with a caustic wit and an ironic sense reminiscent of a less solipcistic Das Racist. Indeed, Eagle's tangents are even more searing and cogent. He attacks racists for assuming he's going to play 2Pac on a jukebox when he just wants to play "Rock the Casbah." He creates an absurd cosmology -- a 100 proof nightmare filled with wanna-be nabobs and those who have read too much Nabokov.
Balancing his smarts with endearing self-deprecation, he never lapses into self-seriousness. Eagle mocks himself for sending out embarrassing texts, scheming on unfortunate women, and for his own hypocrisy. Mush records has given Pop & Hiss permission to give away the EP for free for the next two weeks. Open Mike Eagle does the dirty work-- throwing Art-Rap after-parties so you don't have to. After all, it's far preferential to eat hummus in solitude. (Be forewarned, the download contains some salty language.)
These are posts from the old WhiskeyTeeth.com website. You can find open download links from all types of independent hip hop artists, as well as videos, mix tapes, free albums, and more.
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