This is as real as revolution music gets. Recorded in the midst of a guerrilla war in which rebel insurgents were fighting to overthrow the white minority leadership of what was then known as Rhodesia, this album was the soundtrack to a coup. “Hokoyo!” means “Watch Out!”, and Mr. T. Mapfumo was not playing around. The melodies sound uplifting, borrowing from generations old Shona traditional songs, but buried within the ambiguous stories told in these proverbs are clear rally calls that inspired rural rebels to stand up and fight. It was working so well that the Rhodesian government banned these recordings, confiscated and destroyed them, and imprisoned Mapfumo for 90 days until they decided to try to use his powerful voice for their own purposes. They even went so far as to blast his music from their helicopters on bombing missions in the bush to demoralize the rebel opposition! In a final desperate attempt to utilize his rallying power, they forced him to perform in support of a government candidate. Guess it didn’t work, the whiteboys fell from their throne and the newly independent “Zimbabwe” was turned over by popular vote to Robert Mugabe. Happy ending right? Not quite. But I’ve been a Chimurenga freak forever and I’m deeply indebted to the diggers who just re-issued this hard to find early recording (can you hear that fuzz and crackle?). Now go drink some Hwa-Hwa and get in touch with the spirits while shaking like an epileptic to the sound of yodeling resistance.

Thomas Mapfumo & The Acid Band :       Hokoyo! ,       Hwa-Hwa , &       Zvandiviringa  
taken from “Hokoyo!” just re-issued on Water (originally 1977)

I’m off to New England for the weekend to do some shows with The Beatards (anyone near Northampton, MA needs to holler!), but I wanted to give a quick heads up about this Hip Hop Howl Mixtape featuring one of our tracks- alongside fresh business from a bunch of other up-n-coming folks you should get familiar with. MTR family members Crosmopolitan & Miz Metro (with a lil help from the one and only Fiona Bloom) put together this amazing live mixtape showcase that we were a part of at SXSW in Austin last month and this mix is the closest thing to a recorded version of what went down live. It was an insane line-up of like 30 artists, everybody feeding off each other’s energy and getting inspired. Check out the iMeem front page where the mix is featured, then proceed directly to the download page to get your copy for the wonderful price of free 99!

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a fresh mix from a fellow DJ who stays on his grind. Hailing from Cali, DJ Still Life recently relocated to Brooklyn and has quickly found himself at one of the better jobs I can imagine (promoting records for Strut, !K7, and BBE among other notable labels). A long-time contributor to one of my favorite funk & soul blogs (www.earfuzz.com), he now also hosts a Thursday night show on East Village Radio called “Pain In My Heart” and puts together a regular podcast on GiantsArise.com called “The Raw & The Crooked”. Today’s Afro Tripping mix is the 10th installment in that series- which is eclectic enough to feature indie rock, dancehall, euro psych and just about anything else that people who like good music listen to. Start checking the man’s back catalogue and see why his diverse mixing style represents exactly what we love here at Mixtape Riot: NO BOUNDARIES, JUST GOOD MUSIC. For the Tripping mix, Still Life put together a solid 30-minute collection of funky, syncopated afrobeat- old and new. It’s definitely danceable, but also dubby and lazy enough to accompany a nice Sunday hammock session (if only I had a hommock!). We still haven’t had the opportunity to actually DJ a party together yet, but hopefully we can remedy that situation soon.

Cop the mix here!

TRACKLIST

1. Omo Mi Gbo Temi - Kollington Ayinla
2. Watch We (Soul Jazz Orchestra Remix) - Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle
3. Psychedelic Woman (Bonobo Remix) - Honny & The Bees Band
4. NNT - Lightening Head
5. Mondo Soul Funky - Ebo Taylor Jr.
6. Afro Beat Blues - Ojah W/ Hugh Masekela
7. Beaten Metal - Antibalas
8. Watch ‘Em - Black Milk
9. Asiko - Tony Allen
10. Gbagada Gbogodo Gbodgo - Luisito Quintero Jr.
11. Aye - The Mighty Underdogs
12. Keep It Rockin’ (Afro Dub) - Wunmi

In other news… peep the updated blogroll (finally- I know we’re kinda slow sometimes) and holler if you run or know of other good blogs that we should check. We DO actually read the e-mails you send, it just takes us a while.

It’s not often that listening to any artist tagged as “indie-rock” gets me so amped, but since I jumped on the Arcade Fire bandwagon a few years ago, I’ve always had the urge to mess with one of their songs. Their music is anthemic. It delivers an energy and emotion that celebrates the best and worst things in life. Think I’m being over the top? David Bowie is alleged to have called them the greatest band in the history of music, so I think by comparison I’m still on sane ground.

While I can’t say I’m as consistently a fan of Three 6 Mafia, I still have not gotten tired of their 2006 hit, Stay Fly. The original beat, sampled from Willie Hutch, was straight fire, but I thought I’d try my hand at a little mash-up with Arcade Fire’s Rebellion (Lies), off their debut album, Funeral. Indie rockers and dirty south hip-hop heads… Unite! Continue reading…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK85IZpa3GA[/youtube]

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Mixtape Riot launch party last Tuesday. There was drinking, dancing, live performances, and drinking. Check the video for a very brief recap of the night. MTR is doin it big from now on, so don’t sleep on the next event. More info. on that coming soon…

Finally! With the sounds of ice cream trucks parading the streets, my first Mix Tape Riot entry coincides with the the most beautiful day of the year in Brooklyn, which inspired me to post some pre-summer jams I’ve been feeling.  With the sunshine inevitably comes marination, so I got something a little older and a little newer from the Brooklyn production duo of K-Salaam & Beatnick to aid you in your quest for relaxation- These two have been putting out solid albums and mixtapes for quite some time, fusing equal parts boom bap and one drop elements to create their unified sound.  The merging of hip hop and reggae can often seem forced, but they keep their beats minimal, yet retain enough of the respective ingredients to get the job done nicely.  The synthesis is a little lighter here, but kind of reminds me of the old Boot Camp Click material meshing patois and classic reggae references with grimy kick drums and Barry White samples, or the hip hop/ jeep remixes on all the dancehall 12 inches from the nineties.  Another thing that initially drew me to their projects, is the diversity of the artists that they get, ranging from a whole array of hip hop luminaries like Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Pharoah Monch, and the legendary Bobbito Garcia to reggae sureshots like Buju Banton, Capleton, Luciano, and Busy Signal. (Check out their myspace page for some interesting interviews with the various artists they’ve worked with along the way).

First jam up is “Victory,” an oldie but goodie from the album “The World Is Ours.”  This track brings together two heavyweights in Mos Def and Sizzla, trading verses on a banger that has seen plenty of airtime at previous summertime affairs, so it felt right to start here.  Nothing too fancy on this chune, just two very versatile and capable artists doing what they do best on a smooth, lazy day production.

Surprisingly, the newer tune, only released for download,  is a saucy little remix they did of the Jackson 5 anthem  “Never Can Say Goodbye.”  While it’s often hazardous tampering with such classic material, they do it justice with a dirty guitar riff and subtle horn section to add just enough spice to the tune without diluting the original flavor.  (After reading those last couple sentences it’s clear that I can’t fire up Phil the Grill soon enough… that’s our BBQ for those not in the know).  Both of these cuts are equally effective in an opening set warming up the crowd or out on the patio warming up the coals, and are getting me really amplified for “Summertime in the NYC.” Continue reading…