Man oh man, I have been anxiously waiting for the day I could finally let this one loose on the world- today is the day! This song happened about a year and a half ago, on my first day ever working with the extremely talented and prolific, Zimbabwean-American, singer/songwriter Shungudzo. We have since written a bunch more together, but this one holds a special place for me. Almost as soon as we finished it, I felt strongly that this was the anchor for my next Captain Planet album, which was just a handful of songs and unfinished beats at the time. The message, the focus, the hard hitting sound, all these things were a culmination of what I’ve always tried to create as Captain Planet. Well, my album NO VISA is now done (set to drop June 26th on Bastard Jazz) and I feel confident that because I used this first single as my anchor, the whole project has a consistent cohesion and power. You can read more of my thoughts about this song on the nice write up that Complex did as an online premier, and I’m extremely flattered that today this song made it to NYTimes Notable Songs Of The Week (alongside Aventura & John Legend). But most importantly, I hope this one hits home for all of you out there, who know and appreciate the work I do, who go on spreading the good vibes in your playlists, your dance parties, and with your friends and fam. Press play and bump loudly! And as always, go support if you’re feeling it.

Check this new remix I did for Bastard Jazz labelmate Manatee Commune. The original was such a beautiful lush song, but I dug into my classic boom bap roots and tapped the guitar talent of my youngest brother Taj (just turned 19) to cook up this smoothed-out, moody head nodder. More new music coming shortly, which makes me super excited. As always, please support if you feelin the vibe!

From the weary depths of quarantine, comes an hour of uplifting & inspiring soul salve to help shake you out of your currently confined environs. Mixtape Riot head honcho Charlie B Wilder returns with a wide range of sounds, from Brazilian boogie & tropical electronic, to future funk, soulful house, Afrobeats and beyond. A properly eclectic mix, connected by a vibe that is sure to put your body in motion, something we all are in need of right now! Includes selections by Selvagem, Bosq, Populous, Sault, Tame Impala, Aroop Roy, Reyna Tropical, Uproot Andy & Pierre Kwenders and more. Download the mix and check out the full tracklist on the BrooklynRadio.com page, and while you’re there, check out past episodes you may have missed.

Wow, many of you regular readers may be somewhat familiar with my approaching doomsday prophesying, but gottdamn this one really feels REAL! Me & my fam have been locked up at home now for almost 2 weeks, and I hope all of you out there are doing the same. Sure, the Coronavirus appears to send only about 2-4% of people in my age range into intensive care (NOT A SMALL PERCENTAGE), but I am taking absolutely no risks for the love of my older, asthmatic, & immune compromised folks (which includes family & close friends). It’s hard to think of any time in my life, when looking into the future felt so totally unknown, when the everyday customs & habits of our way of life have been so thoroughly rocked out of place. I can’t help but imagine that things will never really be the same. I was a person wandering the streets of Manhattan on Sept. 11th 2001- I felt a big jolt then, a major awakening for myself and shifting in my culture, but it didn’t seem as fully global and all-encompassing. I feel like one of the main silver linings I’ve been trying to focus on, is the global connectivity which we are being forced into right now. Sure, borders are closing and panic is running rampant, but no one denies that we are all in it together. In the aftermath of WWII the U.N. was created, right? Could this be the training we needed to organize a proper global effort against climate change? I’m focussing on that hopeful possibility since there’s so little other positivity in the news right now. And of course, I’m counting myself insanely lucky for the love of my family and friends. It’s a time to reflect, and remember what’s most important, even more so for me today because it’s my birthday. We’re going to be going through it as a planet in the next few months, let’s do whatever we can to help take care of eachother. What I do have to offer, as always, is music. I will continue to be sharing my soul on this page, and I’m doing livestream DJ sets on instagram Friday nights 9-10pm West Coast Time (@chuckwild), annnnnd I just finished my next album which will be coming out this Summer because people still need the music no matter what, right? So with that, I leave you with another playlist of gold. Do yourself a favor and play it loudly while dancing in your living room, ok?

Some of these songs on today’s playlist I’ve actually been meaning to share for years. Well, lucky you, because for whatever reason of alignment, all-time favorite tracks like “Palco” (please play this one at my funeral!) seemed like a good fit with new bangers like “Is It True” & “No Requests“. There’s definitely no direct connection, but that space in between the dots is what makes DJ-ing more fun and relevant, as the ever-encroaching algorithms continue to lead us closer to the inevitable moment of artificial intelligence singularity, when the best of human ingenuity no longer can compete with ones and zeroes, the final John Henry battle of human consciousness… But I digress, let’s get back to enjoying ourselves in the moment, shall we? Hopefully this top tier selection of gems helps in that endeavor. For those of you in LA, I will be sharing more of the good stuff this Thursday night at Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice, alongside two amazingly talented fellow disk jockeys- Sumohair & El G. I’d love to see you there! Otherwise, feast your ears on the music, and give your eyes some dessert with more goodies from Jessalyn Brooks (pic above).

We are officially living in the future! 2020 feels a bit unreal, like I never actually pictured making it this far when I was a kid. 2020 solely existed in the plots of sci-fi dystopias. Yes, we definitely have arrived there. But the upside seems to be a major point of self reflection, at least for me. I’m assessing the state of things (grim), and setting my focus even more intently on the crucial work ahead (lots), while taking stock of the beautiful things that truly matter to me (music, art, food, family, community). 2020 also marks 15 YEARS since I posted my first blog entry (back then it was “Captain’s Crate”). It’s also been 15 YEARS since I released my first Captain Planet EP. So I feel like I’ve duly earned whatever nuggets of wisdom I can squeeze out of this moment of reflection. Music be the food of love, ain’t that right Shakespeare? So let’s play on, turn up, and keep doing the damn thing with gusto. Top notch tunes today from all over, as you should always expect from Mixtape Riot. Here’s to another 15 years of loving music that doesn’t have to make sense! Also, be sure and check out the work of Mous Lamrabat (pic above) for more brain candy galore.