Been on hiatus for a damn good reason. Young brother Murphy and I are living it up in paradise. The picture above was taken yesterday in Semuc Champey, Guatemala. I honestly don’t think I could picture a more perfect place (even after seeing AVATAR– which any self respecting person should view while under the influence of psilocybin). We’re back in lake Atitlan now after exploring some caves, jumping off enormous waterfalls, and climbing a 10,000ft. volcano. The rest of the trip I plan on doing as little as possible while listening to this stack of bootleg CDs I picked up at the mercado. If I get up the gusto, I may try to post a best of 2009, but then again I may be preoccupied playing futbol with local heads at the little field in town. Todays picks come from an ambiguously labeled CD which gives no artist credits and improperly lists some song titles, so if anyone out there can help identify these cumbias it would be much appreciated. There’s supposed to be a 3-day rave on a nearby volcano starting tomorrow, so if I don’t post before 2010, enjoy yourselves!

Unknown Artist :       Cumbia

Unkown Artist #2 :       Cumbia Arabe

Luz Roja de San Marcos :       El Gallo Mojado

This one you really don’t want to miss! And I’m not just saying that. FREE GIVEAWAYS from our homie’s rad clothing company run called DEATH/TRAITORS. Happy Hour 10-11, NO COVER, live show that will certainly be unruly, and yes POLE DANCERS! I’ve talked about Ninjasonik a few times on here, broke my nose in the pit at one of their SXSW shows, and I heartily support what they do. My other friend DJ Morsy (who did a remix for my Gettin Jacked song and has done a BUNCH of other dope production) will also be performing with his group Claire Hux. You should be there! Just sayin

And here’s some songs that will be played for those of you reading this all the way in Norway…

Quintino :       Parapapa

Ninjasonik :       Pregnant (Morsy Mix)

Death From Above 1979 :       Romantic Rights (Erol Akan's Love From Below Re-Edit)

I ain’t gonna lie: I wasn’t exactly buying the whole “Solange-as-aesthete-outsider” story that was going around last year in advance of the release of her latest album. I get that she (or the execs at her label, anyway) wanted to make it clear she wasn’t her sister. I get that. I get that they were pursuing the “this is the substantive younger sister” avenue; the “more than just a SuperDiva” angle. I get that. They wanted us to believe that she was the genuine article — a real artist. And the record was pretty darn good… but, I don’t know, I just wasn’t biting. They were pitching her like she was some kind of left-field art-school lo-fi indie-chick phenom. Like she was recording chorus-less banjo music for exclusive release on 8-track and cassette single.

Reality check: Her name is Solange. Knowles. As in Beyonce. I mean really.

And then I heard this song.

Now, part of me feels like this is just one facet of the ploy to win over wary skeptics like myself. And maybe she’s trying to convince us that unexpected is equivalent to artistic, which of course it’s not. I’ll even concede that Solange’s version doesn’t touch the original… But I mean, for the love of Jehovah, she’s covering the Dirty Projectors here. Where does a Knowles girl even hear of the Dirty Projectors. And I don’t care that it’s a recycled beat (a legendary, epic recycled beat); or that the song begins to drag by the end. The girl tackles a substantially dense track by one of the great Art-Outfit bands of the 00’s and absolutely pulls it off. It may not reach new heights, but it soars pretty damn high. Don’t look now, I’m a believer.

(And, ps. if you ain’t acquainted with the Dirty Projectors, remedy that.)

Dirty Projectors: Stillness Is The Move

Solange:       Stillness Is The Move

Temperatures are finally starting to drop a bit here. Spent the better part of the weekend shooting a music video for Get Lite (Trampolines, Acrobats, BMX, Dance Crew, Skaters… it’s gonna be bananas),  and some of that time was spent dancing in the freeeeezing rain. We had a crew of kids who were total troopers- popping and jumping around with the beginning stages of hypothermia setting in. I think my body also went into some state of intense shock after it was all over, because I ended up sleeping for 15 solid hours straight. Heaven must be like that. When I finally woke up, I needed some BRIT FUNK! As promised a lil while back, an entire post of music by Freeez. If this doesn’t thaw you out, you may be dead.

All selections by FREEEZ

      Southern Freeez ,       Flying High &       Caribbean Winter
all taken from Southern Freeez 0n Beggars Banquet (1981)

      One To One
taken from The Best Of British Jazz-Funk Vol.2 on Beggars Banquet (1982)

      I.O.U. &       We've Got The Juice
taken from Gonna Get You on Beggars Banquet (1983)

and one more fresh video, peep the nonchalant suave of this lead singer!

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.