In my opinion Guilty Simpson is the one emcee that Dilla’s beats fit with perfectly. Every time you hear Guilty on a Dilla track there is no questioning whether he was the right person for the job. With the track “Stress” the outcome is no different. Dilla lays down a sick beat that is very omniscent of the Beatles tune “Eleanor Rigby” with a more electronic twist, and Guilty flows over this track like a waterfall. Even though this track isn’t on Jay $tay Paid it still makes me anticipate it even more, because the only thing better than Dilla tracks, is new Dilla tracks.
Download: Guilty Simpson, “Stress” (Produced by J Dilla)
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
I finally got the download link for this album when I checked my MySpace for the first time in about two weeks. It’s over at the MTV2 Subterranean Blog, and unfortunately you have to download each track individually, not as a whole album. Although I feel as though the individual track download is kind of bogus, I don’t think that the EP is going to be the same. Make sure you download this FREE EP, and also go out and get Depart From Me when it drops in July.
Download: I Never Knew You EP
Prepare to hype or hate. It’s that time once again to praise some of the world’s best selling artists for follow up albums. Canadian super group Broken Social Scene are finally recording a following up to their self-titled third album, full band and all. Radiohead are also quick to start recording the follow up to their hugely successful 2007 album In Rainbows.
Which one am I more excited for? Go ahead and reference the title of this column for the answer to that one. Radiohead is good and all (sort of) but the coordination and complication that comes with Broken Social Scene recording a full band album makes their news all that much more exciting than lame Thom Yorke and co. recording some stuff.
Here are the official words from each camp on the recording of the albums:
Radiohead -“It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we’re just looking at all the bits and thinking what’s next?…It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun.” via Bassist Colin Greenwood.
Broken Social Scene -“I can’t tell you what this record will sound like, who from the other great bands will be involved, but I can tell you it feels amazing to be in Chicago recording.” Guitarist/everything man Kevin Drew.
Radiohead is recording with their longtime producer Nigel Godrich. Broken Social Scene is recording with mastermind John McEntire, of Tortoise and Sea and Cake fame. I guess I’ll really be a dick about it when both sure-to-be-amazing albums hit the shelves.
Until then, enjoy these tracks!
Radiohead – “Nude” Live at BBC Radio Theatre London
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Hip Hop Official had the chance to sit down and interview Cage after the Paid Dues Festival last month. The topics that are discussed in this video are awesome. Cage is one of the most interesting guys on the Indie Hip Hop scene and this interview totally shows it. He talks about what Depart From Me is going to be about as far as concept, as well as what the production is going to sound like. He talks about Hell’s Winter album a lot and how Depart From Me is going to be different. Check this one out guys, Cage is one hell of an interesting guy.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Here is Cage’s newest video off his I Never Knew You EP which is supposedly due out today (Monday). I discovered this video today thanks to the homie Shake over @ 2Dopeboyz. The video is directed by the one and only Shia LaBeouf who also makes a cameo in the video. I will have Cage’s free EP up for you guys when it comes out later today.
Clutch is back with a powerful new track called “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” from their forthcoming Strange Cousins from the West album, and our friends at the MetalSucks 
mansion were kind enough to offer an exclusive premiere. The release is due in stores on July 7th, and if this track is any indication, it looks like Clutch won’t be straying too far from the riff-heavy, groovy prog rock they’ve displayed on some of the exceptional releases they’ve put out this decade. In fact, while it’s hardly a sound that qualifies for the “metal” classification I’ve thrown on them in this post, it seems to marry the wicked boot-stomping heaviness that originally introduced me to Clutch with the swampy classic rock and blues that eventually started to infest their minds more seamlessly than ever. My prediction is that this will be the album to satisfy your summer hard rock craving; I hope Clutch finally get the radio play they deserve with Strange Cousins. Get this one while it’s hot!
LISTEN: Clutch, “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” (from Strange Cousins from the West, available 7/7)
While “Starry Eyes” got a somewhat official release back in 2007 when James Murphy and crew were tearing up your summer playlist, the track was coupled on the tail end of the amazing “Freak Out / Starry Eyes”. Waxploitation and their running Causes benefit album series were lucky enough to score a stand alone studio recording of “Starry Eyes” on Causes 2.
If you haven’t heard the song yet or if you’re a newcomer to the awesomeness that is LCD Soundsystem, “Starry Eyes” might not be the best starting point, but it’s a track that is gleaming with synthesizers more reminiscent of some of the other artists on DFA. The track doesn’t even feature Murphy on vocals, instead trading him in for now Juan Maclean faithful Nancy Whang.
It’s a fairly repetitive track, relying heavily on the echoing snare hits and lyrics that come across as scattered and just plain weird. It’s by no means LCD’s best effort, but it’s a cool gem for long time fans because it introduces and exemplifies various aspects of the band that are rarely seen on their records. Enjoy!
LCD Soundsystem – “Starry Eyes Original” Causes 2 Exclusive
Last week, the Swedish post-rock/shoegazers in Logh released a very interesting new music video with some dreamy psychedelic animations that bring the song “Death To My Hometown” from their North album 
to even greater heights for its release on the iTunes exclusive Death to My Hometown EP. The playful, lighthearted vibe of the video by Kenny Lindström contrasts amazingly with the gentle, reserved delivery of vocalist Mattias Fribeg; the like best post-rock, sometimes this band sounds the heaviest and most alive with feeling in the quietest moments. This video definitely realizes the potential of these amazing nuiances with brilliant explosion of joyous color that compliment the weight of the introspective reflection and accentuate it. I highly recommend heading over to iTunes to grab these new songs soon. The link to buy is listed below!
1. Death To My Hometown (from North, 2007)
2. Forest Eyes RBG Version (Previously Unreleased)
3. Left Foot Breaking (Previously Unreleased)
4. White As Snow (Previously Unreleased)
DIG DEEPER: Buy Death to My Hometown – Official Website – Myspace
Thanks to Shamz over at OKP for this one. The Beat Junkies have made a sampler mix of Dilla’s new album Jay $tay Paid for all of the fiends (like me) who can’t wait for this album. I am downloading this one as we speak so I can listen to this all night tonight. Make sure you download this one to get a good preview of what is to come on June 2nd. If you want to check out the artwork and track listing for Jay $tay Paid can go here. Join me at the record store on June 2nd to pick up one of the best albums of this year.
Download: Jay $tay Paid (sampler mix), Mixed by the Beat Junkies.
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
MIND INVERSION 