Working hard doesn’t really do it justice. I have now found a singular focus in music that is really all consuming. Sorry to my friends who think I flake on them, to the girls who are pissed at me for not calling back, and to my own mother whose birthday I forgot (by 3 days!), but there is a reason, if not an excuse: I’m making music. This here is the latest single, fresh back from the mastering spot. If you haven’t seen my group The Beatards live, then it may be difficult to picture just how ballistic we get while performing. These days there aren’t enough hip hop groups that are willing to jump around non-stop and sweat buckets on stage. We couldn’t do a show without that. And we’ve got a lot more music on the way.

This is an official leak, since the songs will be up on the iTunes store soon (and then people will have to buy them, or find them on a sketchy Russian 1 cent per mp3 site). If you’re inclined to making remixes or listening to straight beats, then I’m also sharing a link to the zip file with acapellas & instrumentals for you to mess around with. More coming soon so keep your ears right hear!

The Beatards :       Don't Step On My Sneakers &       Get Lite
cop the whole single with artwork, aca’s & instrumentals HERE

ALSO- my good friends and fellow rockers OUTERNATIONAL have a big show this Friday at Highline Ballroom to celebrate the release of their new CD Eyes On Fire. Japanther and R-Tronika will be on the bill as well- Good Times!

I’ve been listening to a lot of music by B.o.B. lately. You should too. Rapper, singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and the man has a sense of HUMOR! You can find some of his mixtapes online. This is still my favorite one. Cloud 9 is actually worthy of it’s name. I can’t listen to this song without feeling better. Only problem is, like any good drug, I’m developing a habit. Past week I been using this track like 3 or 4 times a day. I keep telling myself it could be worse. I know some kids who stay hooked on that Miley Cyrus oxycontin. That stuff destroys the brain. If you’re in NYC, B.oB. is playing at S.O.B.’s tomorrow night. I plan on attending.

B.o.B. :       Cloud 9

p.s.- The broken links in older posts should be fixed now, not quite sure what the problem was.

One of my favorite things about putting on this party is when I find out about a new artist, post up their music here on the site and write something like, “these guys would be great at a Mixtape Riot! Party”, and then 2 months later it happens!  Fredericks Brown caught my ear with their afro-beat infused soul banger “Betrayal” a little while back and tonight I get to hear them do it live. You can too if you come out! In case you still need convincing, check a bit of footage from last month’s jumpoff. And as a musical offering, a couple tracks from this funky producer that I’m just finding out about way late- MUNK. And yeah, he would be great to have at a MTR party…

Munk :       Kick Out The Chairs
taken from the album Aperitivo on Gomma (2005)

Munk:       Down In LA (Shazam Remix)
taken from the single

I’ve been wishing for a while now that members of the Dap Kings or El Michels Affair would branch off and do a rocksteady side project using all their vintage analogue recording gear. Clearly, someone down in Jamaica was scheming something similar. Instead of trying to recreate that classic sound in a studio today, why not just sing new songs on top of old records? Simple but genius. To be fair, Bitty McLean has already been doing this for a while- with his 2005 album “On Bond Street with The Supersonics” as a perfect example of this very concept. But there’s something so classic about Courtney’s voice that I rarely hear today. So tender and vulnerable that it almost seems frail.

The chorus on “Lucky Man” usually has a way of staying with me all day after I listen to it once. I don’t have any problem with that, but I thought it only fair that I give you warning. And remember the rocksteady version of The Beatles “Blackbird” that I posted here back during Summer? Well he took that record too and turned it into a salve that should help heal even the most shattered heart. I’m also throwing in a couple older Bitty McLean hits for any of you out there who may have missed these when they first came out. Is this a new trend? Neo-rocksteady? I hope so.

Courtney John :       Lucky Man &       Win Some
taken from the album Made In Jamaica on Jamaica Records (2009)

Bitty McLean :       Walk Away From Love &       I've Got Love
taken from the album On Bond Street on Peckings (2005)

It’s about freakin time! This lil baby side project took so long to finish that I was honestly beginning to wonder if I’d ever put it out. I started the first of these songs almost as soon as I finished my Gumbo Funk EP back in 2005! They’ve changed a lot since then, slowly coming into shape in random broken pockets of time, usually late nights alone- too tired or broke to go out. Big shouts to my boys Billy White (who plays piano on Fumando & Speakin’ Nuyorican) and Leo Mintek (who drops the nasty guitar lick on Lagos Speedway). Huge thanks to my brother from another, Ixley, for once again lacing me with super fresh artwork. And also to DJ DRM who runs Bastard Jazz records and continually pushed to get this done.

It is now officially available digitally on iTunes, and for those of you who are vinyl heads like me, get it at Turntable Lab, Bastard Jazz, or wherever good records are sold!

The title track has been available for a while now on RCRDLBL.com, so I’ve decided to share the last track that I finished (which, interestingly, was also the first of these that I started back in 05) “Lagos Speedway”. It’s a funky Afro-electro dancefloor killer that has been getting really good responses every time I play it. If you watch MTV, you very well might hear some of these tracks in the background on classy shows like The Real World Cancun or Styl’d. But what I really hope is that you hear these songs out a club near you- talk to your local DJ and make sure they get familiar with my funky alter ego Captain Planet.

Captain Planet :       Lagos Speedway
taken from the Speakin’ Nuyorican EP on Bastard Jazz (2009)

Extra-special limited-edition CMJ dub-version, extended-dance-mix! It’s jumping off tomorrow night once again at SUTRA. The line-up is kinda crazy, so forget all the 200 other CMJ shows going on that night, and come to ours because IT’S BETTER!  Even though it’s not an “official” showcase (wamp wamp). Remember Joya Bravo who I posted here a while back? Yeah same Joya is coming through. Have you heard of Soundwavve yet? Probably not, so let me introduce you with a fresh MP3 of theirs that samples a rock song I like (I forget, is that White Stripes?). We also have a lil cameo spot from Monica Rush. And as always, the Mixtape Riot family will be representing to the fullest with Soul Imperial DJ sets to flip your lid and a Beatards romp through the room to shake shit up. We’re shooting a video of the whole night, so come through and make a cameo if nothing else. Check the lil promo video by our homies Money Mitch and Bruno to get a taste of what’s on the way…

Soundwavve :       Touch Me