I don’t care how fancy they try to make the ballot machines, voting still feels super old school to me. I know plenty of people who would argue that it’s just a pacifying tool to keep the sheepish masses believing they have some minuscule hint of authority, when in fact we’re all just puppets controlled by the higher powers that be… and while I like conspiracy theories as much as the next guy, I don’t really buy all that. Being a lover of mostly everything old-school, the outdated machines and long lines in public school gymnasiums and churches actually add to the charming appeal for me. There also happen to be some pretty important local issues this year that I genuinely feel need to be sorted out before things get any worse. Anyway, this ain’t a political blog, so I’ll steer away from preaching and get on with the tunes that have absolutely nothing to do with politics aside from the fact they’ve been handpicked by my authoritarian rule in the land of mixtapopolis.

Rhye :       The Fall (Maurice Fulton Alt Mix) &       Open funky disco house rework from Mr. Fulton hits the soul train sweet spot

Alt-J :       Breezeblocks I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while now, absolutely love it, and I want to give props due to the band for winning the Mercury

Miguel :       Adorn (Cousin Cole Remix) excellent breakbeat remix for the early evening dancefloor from NYC’s Cousin Culo

Cherub :       Doses and Mimosas &       Hold Me (ft. Dominic Lalli) thanks due once again to Marley for turning me on to these guys out of Nashville

Retro Stefson :       Glow my homie THC sent me this catchy one from these Icelandic pop kids

Solange Knowles :       Losing You  simple moody indie pop done proper. Produced by Lightspeed aka Blood Orange aka Dev Hynes. Really cool video too

Sky Ferreira :       Everything Is Embarrassing and again, Dev Hynes on production. Reminds me of some of the better material from Jessie Ware. Starting to see a trend here?

Chico Mann :       Luz Attack of the killer MANN! Get the EP if you don’t have these songs.

DJ Nu-Mark :       Oya' Indebure Uncle Nu done outdid himself on this latest 2-sider from his broken sunlight series (which is FREE!). The flip has a real nice cut with Quantic too.

José James :       Trouble and a lil bit of mellow soul from Señor James to round it all out and try to keep us calm while we hope for the voting results to go our way…

First off, Happy Halloween! I hope you’re earning a new cavity in that sweet tooth of yours, I’m certainly going to do my best. While the entire East Coast (and much of the Caribbean) gradually gets back on its feet, I put together this latest installment of musical upliftment to help soothe the minds and move the asses of those in need. Even if you weren’t affected in the slightest by superpower Sandy, it never hurts to have a solid playlist of new music to help make it through whatever tough times this week has in store for you. Highly eclectic as always, this month’s show features new tracks (many of which haven’t been featured here yet) from Monkey Robot, Miguel, The XX, The Stepkids, Cherub, Crazy P, DJ Nu-Mark, Chico Mann and a whole lot more. Full tracklist and downloadable podcast available on the BrooklynRadio page.

For all my people bunkered up and hunkered down on the East Coast, I’ve got some heavy selections to help you dance away your cabin fever while you’re trapped at home. From the pics and video clips I’m seeing, this storm is no joke. Stay safe and prepare your lazers for the godzilla attack! Also big thanks to all my friends and fam who came out to the Stupid Hype premier on Friday, so good being back in NYC (even for just a couple days) and seeing all your beautiful faces. Glad I got out in the nick of time too. Finally, related to rain in it’s gloominess, RIP Terry Callier who passed yesterday- a truly unique artist whose voice & music has been deeply moving to me over the years.

Eddie Kendricks :       Date With The Rain (Disco Version)

Blondie vs. The Doors :       Rapture Riders

Recloose :       Don't Get Me Wrong

Solidisco :       Turn Around &       Set Me Free

Julio Bashmore :       Au Seve &       Battle For Middle You

Roska :       Long Range

Eats Everything :       The Size

Juan Atkins :       Dayshift (Oliver's Nightshift Remix)

Blende :       Fake Love

Le Youth :       Dance With Me

Terry Callier :       Dancing Girl &       You Goin' Miss Your Candyman

Tonite I present you all with the first official nugget from the Stupid Hype project that I’ve been working on for the past 4 months. Stupid Hype came out of the success of the viral video that I helped make with my brother, the elusive Murphy Lawless, hyper-talented director homie, Dugan O’neal, and the pint-sized swaggadelic alter-ego of actress Rachel Bilson– “MC Thug Lite”. We made a rap video with a hollywood starlet, and people laughed. The CW Network then thought it appropriate to extend more resources towards our crew to make a “webseries”. Well, we went waaaaay beyond what they expected and it’s finally ready to be revealed. My brother and Dugan wrote a kooky, hilarious, and ironic-yet-moving tale of a has-been b-boy who pursues his newfound dream of becoming the best rapper alive in 1990 (official trailer here). I produced and recorded the soundtrack (and I’ll take a lil credit for helping come up with the concept too). If you were raised on 90’s hip hop like I was, or have a love for new jack swing and Big Daddy Kane, then you’ll no doubt get a kick out of this. We also collectively owe a great debt of inspiration to Cool As Ice. The whole series runs over an hour in it’s entirety, with music videos and songs running throughout- “Get Hype!” is the first official single. The video was shot with VHS cameras. 2 Legit 2 Quit, nawmean?!? I’m sharing a playlist of some other 90’s boom bap gold to help get you in the mood for the rest that’s still to come. If you’re in NYC, join me and the posse at the premier this Friday at the NY Television Festival. Hammerpants and acid wash are highly encouraged.

N.W.A. :       Express Yourself one of the first hip hop songs I fell in love with, from a mixtape given to me my by my big sis. Forever indebted.

Public Enemy :       Don't Believe The Hype Remember when I opened for P.E. at Flava Flav’s 50th Bday?!? I do. It was kray. It’s also kray that Flav has a cameo in Stupid Hype. YES.

De La Soul :       Buddy (ft. Jungle Brothers & Q-Tip) These are the dudes that would shape my listening for, well, the rest of life…

Masta Ace :       Music Man a somewhat lesser-known bomb

Cypress Hill :       How I Could Just Kill A Man catch me at age 12 with a bbgun in hand, off-roading (or “skiddin”), in the jacked up jeep of my best friend’s older brother- bumpin this

Run DMC :       Peter Piper Mardi Gras drumbreak, still one of the best ever, WITH the bells.

KRS-One :       You Must Learn words from the teacher

Young MC :       Know How this full album was one of my first CD’s ever

Big Daddy Kane :       Warm It Up I still drop this all the time, and I don’t think that’s gonna change any time soon

Eric B & Rakim :       Let The Rhythm Hit Em (Mashed Up Funk Mix) where to begin with this duo, so many joints! But maybe you don’t have this one

During the past two weeks I think I’ve spent more money at restaurants and bars then I will on my rent this month. Time spent with good friends on top notch eats needs no further validation as far as I’m concerned, but that’s not quite how my bank account sees things. So I’m sharing this quick playlist and then gettin right back on the grind. Despite what many of my friends may think, I DO ACTUALLY WORK! More big musical things in the pipeline dropping soon, including something super special for all my 90’s heads. Until then, some songs I’m feelin…

Onra :       Keep On Lovin Me

Mayer Hawthorne :       No Strings (RAC Remix)

Le Youth :       Memories

Moon Boots :       Sugar

Frank Ocean :       Pyramids (DJ Apt One Disco Dub)

The XX :       Angels (DJ Theory Edit)

Colonel Red :       Rain A Fall (FALQ 1979 Remix)

Bing Ji Ling :       Hold Tight (Colm K Remix)

Shafiq Husayn :       Le' Star (Instrumental)

Tomas Barfod :       Broken Glass

It’s here! And I couldn’t be happier to share this lovechild with you all. The basic concept for this whole project was about returning to the roots of what first inspired me to make music as “Captain Planet”. From the cassette mixes my sister would give me with ornate hand designed track-listings (generally accompanied by glitter), to smoking weed with my high school art teacher and her husband while recording tracks from their insane psychedelic record collection, to my travels abroad in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, to the endless thrift stores, flea markets and record dens where I always spend too much time and too many dollars digging, to the present day where I’ve come to dedicate my life to making and sharing music that often falls beneath the radar- this 50min mix is a product of all of that. I warned you I was going to make a cassette tape, so now here’s your chance to grab it. We only pressed 200 of these, and they’re already selling faster than shake-weights, so I highly suggest you get one quick. Letting my creativity run amok, I even hand painted some walkmen which are available as a premium package. AND, if you’re as broke as I used to be, then you still have the opportunity to win big with this sample-spotting contest through TurntableLab.com where you could take home the coolest boombox known to humankind. Big shouts to my Bastard Jazz fam, to OkayAfrica and to the Potholes blog for their support.

And now, without further ado, feel free to press play, and take a trip…