From last Tuesday til June 5th I’m on the road, so posts may be a bit patchy for the next month, but trust that I’ll be marauding each and every city I visit for the freshest new music to share on here. Also, there will be many, many good parties along the way (can you say… EUROPE TOUR!?!). I kicked things off in Brooklyn on Thursday with a big ole family throwdown alongside DJ DRM. So many homies came out it was almost overwhelming, luckily I’ve learned how to handle my whelms. Currently I’m up in Montreal for a couple days (trying not to spend too many ones), and on Monday I leave for Amsterdam. Full schedule will get posted real soon. If you’re in one of the cities I’m stopping in, come through and say what’s up!

Also, wanted to take a quick moment to pay tribute to a legend who passed on Friday- funky prankster extraordinaire, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch aka MCA. That group was one of the most influential mind expanders for me as a lil dude. The breadth of creativity and experimentation that they were always known for is a truly rare gift, and something that I’ve always strived for myself. Rest In Power!

Beastie Boys :       Shake Your Rump &       Get It Together

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble :       Fire (Colm K Edit)

The Dø :       Gonna Be Sick!

Zoufris Maracas :       Et ta mère &       Un Gamin

Phenomenal Handclap Band :       Give

YACHT :       Le Goudron

Switch :       I Still Love You (ft. Andrea Martin)

Jamie XX :       Touch Me (feat. Yasmin)

Astrobal :       Trains (The Hue Re-Think)

Wildcat! Wildcat! :       Mr. Quiche

Dirty Gold :       California Sunrise

Very happy to announce the debut episode of Mixtape Riot Radio has just gone public over at BrooklynRadio.com! Those of you who’ve known me for a long time remember how I held down a radio show on WNYU 89.1 for 8 years beginning when I was 18. I’m glad I took time off from doing it, but the truth is, I started to really miss it. While the site has given me an outlet to share cool music with the world and make playlists that connect dots between genres, I hope this radio show will be an even greater extension of that. Plus, it’ll be that much easier for me to convince other DJ’s to give me guest mixes now. Most of the music in this debut episode has already made an appearance on this site, but there’s a few newbies, plus, you get to hear my smokey voice talk over the interludes haha. Similar to this site, expect the unexpected- the next episode could end up being all vintage bollywood favorites, just depends on what I’m feelin at the moment (in fact, that kinda sounds fun).

LISTEN / STREAM:

For full tracklist, MP3 download & show description, peep the page on BK radio.

I can’t tell you where I took the above photo (secret Nike underground lair), but just know that it exists, and yes, they have a hoverboard skate park too. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to walk away with a pair of the holy grail Michael J. Fox’s, but merely being in the presence of this legendary fabled footwear was gratifying enough. And now, back to the future, where all the kids like me who grew up on Parts I, II, and III, are making the appropriate soundtrack to tomorrow, today.

Hot Chip :       Night And Day
This bassline is disco genius. Damn I love these guys, really looking forward to hearing the new album they’re working on.

Friendly Fires :       Hurting (Tensnake Remix)
Another excellent usage of electro-marimba by this guy

Santigold :       Disparate Youth (The 2 Bears Remix)
I still like the OG version better (and the whole album is knockout), but this dark n funky remix will definitely work on a dancefloor during the witching hour.

Pheonix :       Armistice (RAC Remix)
pretty similar in sound and vibe to their big hipster anthem, but I’m not really mad at that.

Ben Westbeech :       Same Thing
most of the material on Mr. Westbeech’s new album is a lil soft for my taste, but this one has the right amount of Justin Timberlake steez that’s hard to come by these days.

Mark Foster, A-Trak & Kimbra :       Warrior
I’d like to be super suspect of a non-music brand putting out music, but Converse seems to be doing it right. I still play that Santigold / N.E.R.D. collabo track every once in a while.

Ancient Astronauts :       Oblivion (Maker Remix Instrumental)
Gritty breakbeat goodness with little hints of old school Bollywood in the mix. Nice work Astronauts!

Phantogram :       When I'm Small &       Turn It Off
I’ve been really sleeping on this group. I like them a lot. I wanna see what they do live.

Purity Ring :       Lofticries
In need of a trip inside your mind? Perhaps they can help.

Major Lazer :       Get Free (ft. Amber of Dirty Projectors)
WOW. Favorite song this week. SO. ILL. Damn.

Tropical-flamenco-house anyone? Just in time to start getting you in that precious Summer state of mind. This one’s going to be on the first EP released by NYC’s Cloak Dagger on his Phlamencore record label.  There’s a FREE DOWNLOAD for the first 100 on his soundcloud page, so go get it while you can. Otherwise MP3 should be available on iTunes shortly… I’ll keep you posted.

Feel like I just got back from a week in Africa. Way too many things to put into words right now (‘specially since I still have to do my taxes today arrrr), but rest assured, there is some serious collaborative heat in the works between me, Mr. Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited crew. Eugene aka Eu-Scream, is a sweet little rain-drenched outpost of good mellow vibes. Huge shout out to Thomas for putting me up in his house for the week, and to fellow Mbira-lover and MTR reader Drea for giving me a lil escape and taste of the local flavor (and for the music). Haven’t watched that much soccer, or smoked that much herb, possibly ever. In returning to the hustle of LaLa land, I put together some newer “worldly” tracks to give you all a little taste of the foreign mental landscape I’ve been traversing.

Wild Belle :       Keep You
hard to hate on mellow indy rock / reggae. These guys only have 2 songs right now, looking forward to what comes next…

Zee Reach :       Caramba
Arabic moombah bomb from this French producer.

Rusko :       Skanker
really happy to hear a healthy amount of reggae and DUB influences on this new album. Too many dubstep producers forget where this stuff came from.

Santigold :       Big Mouth
can’t wait for this album to drop. This girl remains in my top ten most badass females of our era.

DJ Passon :       Kuduro Logobie
heard this one on a mix from the homie Chief Boima. Don’t know anything about it, guessing it’s from Angola.

Vybz Kartel :       Half On A Baby (Dubbel Dutch Remix)
certified dancefloor destroyer from this Austin heavyweight.

Silver Bullit :       Koloko ft. King Ayisoba
great new EP coming out on Urban World records this friday, which includes a remix by The Very Best.

Mo Kolours :       Banana Wine &       Drum Talking
don’t know how I missed this dude’s first EP (on CASSETTE!!!), but I’m really happy he’s on my radar now.

Bombino :       Ahoulaghuine Akaline (King Britt Remix)
nice dubby remix of this up-n-coming Tuareg musician.

Tor :       Glass & Stone
Great cinematic other-worldly sounds from Vancouver-based Tor off his upcoming album.

This morning I’m getting on a plane to Eugene, Oregon where I’ll spend the week hanging out and recording with one of my favorite living musicians: Thomas Mapfumo. Yeah, it’s hard for me to believe too. I’ve been really hesitant to mention this, even to close friends, for fear that somehow I’d jinx myself and it wouldn’t happen, but now it’s here. More than likely, you’ve never heard of Mr. Mapfumo– he’s not exactly a household name, at least outside of Zimbabwe- but for me he’s up there with James Brown and Bob Marley and a handful of other legends who have totally shaped my musical world. While I grew up with a fair amount of African music being played by my parents (Graceland counts in my book), it was a Mapfumo “best of” cassette tape that I had while driving cross-country at age 16 that really blew my mind and set me on the path to discovering more African music on my own.

Over the years, while I continued to explore and fall in love with more styles from throughout Africa and the diaspora (Highlife, Afrobeat, Juju, Jive, Soukous, Mbalax, Kwaito, Benga…) I still have always felt some unexplainable deep spiritual connection to Mbira & Chimurenga music (if you share my obsession, this might interest you). I don’t know why, wish I could explain it. Maybe it was just that trip and that one cassette, maybe it’s the power of Mapfumo. Anyway, I don’t need to ramble on and get trippy-hippy with you, but this is a big week for me, regardless of what comes out of it. I’ve posted a few of my favorites on this site before. Today I’m sharing some other Zimbabwean tunes I absolutely love as well as some recordings from when Stella Chiweshe was a guest on my college radio show (back in 2003! holy crap I sound so young). I included one clip in particular where I ask her about the future of Chimurenga… foreshadowing a bit right?

Thomas Mapfumo :       Nyoka Musango &       Shumba

The Four Brothers :       Ndivumbamireiwo

Nyami Nyami Sounds :       Ndiani Apisa Moto

Dumisani Maraire & Ephat Mujuru :       Chembere Dze Musango &       Chirombo / Mhondoro

Stella Chiweshe : ,
&       Nhamoimbiri