Hey guys, sorry but my website got hacked. It was first noticeable in small things, like malicious pop-ups when people would try to click on an embedded link or one of the songs. But then visual themes on pages disappeared, the site became insanely slow, and I couldn’t even make a new post because the admin dashboard was not functioning correctly. This has been extremely frustrating, and thankfully, I’ve had some help from folks to get the website back to a place where I could make this post and get rid of the pop-ups. But all the frustration also forced me to re-think the future of this site, and what it is that I’m trying to do.

To put it simply, I’m not really sure yet, but I may be looking at a transition away from this blog the way it has been for 15 years now. I know, for some of you out there who have been reading & following for about that long, it’s pretty crazy. But I feel like there might be better ways to continue doing what I’ve been doing on here. I’m not clear on what that will look like exactly, or what the platform will be (maybe it’s multiple outlets). With that said, please stay tuned for the future iteration, whatever that may be. Rest assured, I’m not going to stop digging up gems to share with the world!

As a consolation for your patience, I present to you all one of the deepest collections of cuts I’ve ever posted (some of them recorded from my own vinyl). It’s the very reason that I can’t just go and make a Spotify playlist to post, because a lot of these gems won’t be there. **I do however have a MTR Spotify playlist with some of the best ones from over the years**. So here’s to the future, whatever it may hold in store. Art today comes from a surprising source- Action Bronson (who knew?!?)

I was talking with a friend about where we’re currently at in the pandemic world, with better, more “normal” days just around the corner. Both of us were commenting on several other mutual friends who have passed their breaking point and basically just thrown in the towel on being Covid cautious. He made the funny analogy that when you’re in the midst of a long drive, but feel the urge to pee, you can usually just brush it off, and brush it off again… but when you finally get out of the car, that’s when it really hits you, and that worst moment when you actually feel like you may piss you pants, is when you are at your house with the key in the door. Yeah, I feel like I’m getting there. So so so ready to actually DJ for a crowd again, ready to travel and hug family without concern, ready to go to a concert, to hire a babysitter and eat at a nice restaurant. We’re close folks, I can feel it. Anyway, today I’m catching up on some heavy hitters that I’ve been spinning the past few months. Turn em up and spread the good vibes far and wide! Visual stimulus today comes courtesy of the highly gifted Adebayo Bolaji.

What’s good folks??? Got another very tasty set to serve up for you today, courtesy of sonic sorcerer and digger supreme- Ohmega Watts. Although we’ve never met, I’ve been following this dude’s output since the early aughts, and he never ceases to deliver. He’s also a member of the NuTropic fam and rounds out our little guest spotlight series. With a style deep rooted in golden era boom bap, he doesn’t shy away from anything funky, soulful, and vibey, as his selections today will clearly illustrate. From Turkish psych, to Mexican electronic pop, to rootsy Samba, to left field dance music and some truly beautiful melodic jazz as well. This is a real musical journey for those ready to take a trip. Here’s what he had to say about the songs:

“2020 came with some unique negatives, but reflecting back on tunes from the year, there were a lot of good gems and jams that provided both solace and danceability. My selects span a variety of global riddims from downtempo to Uptempo, as that’s the m.o. within our NuTropic fam. I hope you can find a gem or a few to add to your personal playlist or record collection on this ‘Field Trip’ of mine, like the track by Jah9 of the same title I put in the mix. Enjoy and thank you for tuning in to Mixtape Riot and the NuTtropic Sound!”

We’re back with another guest playlist from tastemaker supreme – Sergio aka Mano. This dude has been slaying parties and spreading the sonic gospel for years. We first met at an FEX party in his hometown Chicago many years back. Since he made the jump to LA, he’s been a cornerstone in the NuTropic getdown that is one of my favorite places to dance and hear new global sounds. Since Covid, you can hear him stretch to the outer limits of head candy on his WorldwideFM show. If this guy plays it, best believe it’s top shelf! In his own words:

“Sifting through all my new joints I’ve been sitting on for the last month, I finally dug in for 2021! These selections represent many corners of the globe, similar to the sonic journeys we go on with the NuTropic soundsystem – kicking these selections off with some newness out of the Rio de Janeiro scene, a bass laden, brass heavy number from Antonio Neves. This track is from his forthcoming album due out Feb 2021. Watch out for this cat. I also wanted to include one of my most played producers of 2020 – Kutiman. Copasavana is a new dub flip, from his album last year. My selections then head towards a mid-tempo, broken beat and UK swing. These tracks took me back to the good ole days of that Bugz In The Attic broken beat, but now they call it bruk (bruk bruk!) Enjoy the ride, from Brazil, Africa, UK, Middle East, Portugal, and a round trip flight back!”

Can I really say “Happy New Year”??? Well, despite it all, I’ll try. Best believe I am keeping my sights set on better days in the near future. I hope all of you out there are managing to stay healthy, stay positive, and keep finding ways to make the most of what we have right now. Which brings me to today’s guest selector- my mellow my man DJ Seano! I consider him a sort of pillar in the Los Angeles underground music scene. Not only a party rocker, but a real deep cut selector who hosts not one, but 2 radio shows on separate stations of extremely high repute (KPFK & Dublab). He’s also a dad, which gives him way more kudos than any other accomplishment in my book. He’s put together a monster batch of gems, ALL UNKNOWN TO ME, and was very generous to share them with us all. Here’s what he has to say:

“I’m not sure how to put into words why I like what I like. If it has dope drums, I’m usually on board. I’ve never cared whether it was old, new, analog, or electronic. I study breaks, mixtape track-lists, samples and do my best to share my discoveries with dancefloors and radio airwaves as often as possible. I’ve been a huge fan of Mixtape Riot for YEARS so I consider it an honor to contribute some tunes for the many music lovers out there. All of these tunes are dancefloor ready. I’d like to take a moment to thank my NuTropic brothers in sound, Mano, Ohmega Watts, and NewLife, for their constant support and for always hippin’ me to new tracks and for always keepin’ me on my toes at the function. Much love to Captain Planet for the invite. Dive in and remember to TURN IT UP & ENJOY!”

Closing out the craziest year of my lifetime, this 60min mix is a collection of some of my 2020 favorites that have been helping me get through these incredibly trying times. Eclectic as always, you’ll hear funk, disco, Afrobeats, reggaeton, house, and some psychedelic vibes all together in the mix- sounds that know no bounds. For us DJ’s & performers out there, as well as everyone else involved in nightlife and entertainment, the past 9-10 months have been a very strange and uncertain vortex, not only dealing with global pandemic, social rights uprisings, and political turmoil, but also complete disruption of our normal career and income streams. All these factors made me even more appreciative of the steady slew of amazing new music releases coming out, the soul salve that helped me stay sane and positive through it all. Hopefully these songs can provide some relief for you too, get your body in motion, and help us find things to celebrate while we look forward to better days ahead in 2021. Happy New Year folks!

Full tracklist and download available on the Brooklyn Radio page