My sincere apologies for posting this later than I had initially intended because I first found it a few weeks ago in promotion for a couple NYC shows, which, after giving this a listen, I’m sure were extremely hyped affairs.  Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew hail from Sierra Leone and kind of remind me of Daara J or a West African T.O.K. with the high to low vocal range and killing it equally as hard with the one drop riddims and dancehall elements, while also fusing some boom baps and electro grooves to create a pretty unique dance floor vibe- I mean, these guys go from 140BPM all the way to chopped and screwed!  Their sound has caught the ear of hip hoppers like ?uestlove and Black Thought of the Roots, Talib Kweli, and K’naan, who are all slated to make appearances on their debut album due some time this fall, while the production is helmed by the Fyre Department, made up by the talented Adam Deitch and Eric Krasno of Soulive, meaning that these guys have some serious heavyweights in their corner.

Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew are already massive in their home country and throughout Western Africa where they are hailed as “the voice of the voiceless,” speaking out against the various political and social injustices that are prevalent throughout their area.  In regards to the overwhelming support they get back home, one of the members A-Klazz (amazing name) says, “When we have a show in the national stadium, you see these guys making a long line, taking off their T shirts and laying them on the floor so we can walk on it as a mat to go on to the stage…yeah, red carpet…a lot of love, man. For real”

It’s nice to get behind some dope music with a real message, so be sure to support these folks and cop the album when it drops, but in the meantime bump the mixtape at your next BBQ and remember to enjoy all that you got.

For more info and full mixtape download check out-  http://planetbajah.com/

      Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew- Laba Laba
Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew- Bondo Kallay
      Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew- Continue reading…

The whole city is slowing down right now. It’s finally getting hot (proper NYC muggy nasty hot) and I realize I haven’t made a single trip to the beach yet this Summer, which is entirely unacceptable. I have, however, been doing plenty of damage on the dancefloor. Today I’m sharing a few recently acquired goodies that have been helping me get my exercise (bars and clubs are the closest thing I have to a gym I suppose).

First up is a funky scorcher off the new EP from Pleasuremaker out of San Francisco. I’ve been trying to meet these dudes for eons it feels like, and somehow we missed each other once again while they were out here in Brooklyn last week. OZ, the executive producer of the EP, even came thru my weekly gig at Bembe and dropped off a CD but didn’t introduce himself! I won’t blame him because I very well may have been spinning salsa circles with a chiquita at the time. Get yourself the full EP for more of the good stuff, and check out the weekly Afrolicious party if you’re out in SF.

Next up are 2 perfectly re-mixed tropical tunes that feel very appropriate this time of year. Uproot Andy is someone that you should definitely get familiar with if you’re not already. He’s put out a slew of great cumbia remixes, as well as a merengue-dancehall mashup and a electro-fixed version of Prince Nico Mbarga’s “Aki Special” that I’m really feeling. This “Botellon” track (not just a jug) is maybe my favorite official release from him so far though. Sometimes a few simple touches is all it takes to turn a rootsy folk cut into a dancefloor banger, and that’s exactly what he did here. Seeing him DJ a few weeks back, I was privy to hearing an un-released remix hi did for Chief Boima which was an absolute mind-melter, he told me it would be up on iTunes store soon, so keep an eye out for that and download his Guacharaca Migration mixtape (Aki Special included) or his recent mix for Diesel:U Music Radio in the meantime.

Finally, I got this Amphibious remix off the hollerboard a couple weeks back and it’s been steadily growing on me. Again, it’s just a subtle fattening of bass, extending of grooves, and adding some extra handclaps that turns this latin soul classic by La Lupe into something for a modern dancefloor fiending something new. There was a Sinden remix of this track that came out a while ago too, but that one just killed the soul of the OG for me, so I was really glad to get this take on it. More tracks from the Flavorheard crew can be copped here or on their blog.

Pleasuremaker :       Stuffs His Pockets

Grupo Naidy :       El Botellon (Uproot Andy Remix)

La Lupe :       Fievre! (Amphibious Remix)

The drum break on “One More Try” (which is only in the beginning on Dimitry’s re-edit mix) is so nasty I felt a moral obligation to share it with the world. That’s why I still keep up this blog diligently (even when my so-called partners in crime be slacking). It really feels like my duty- with great music, comes great responsibility to share it. So here’s a couple more dancefloor monsters to keep up the vibe that Ashford & Simpson started. I was reminded of this Crown Heights Affair classic at one of the better NYC summer parties I’ve found- The Kitchen Tuesdays @ Jungle Garden in Williamsburg hosted by my friend LinYee (I can’t remember if it was Amir or Geology that played it, but the music was on point all night). I’ve often written off The Salsoul Orchestra as being on the cheesy side of disco, and while that is certainly sometimes true, this cover version of EW&F‘s “Getaway” comes in like a prize fighter dancing around the ring and then brings to mind a parading circus of boogie-ing elephants, giraffes and zebras- at least that’s what I see. Enjoy the music, and if you’re in NYC, maybe I’ll see you out at the Kitchen party tomorrow night.

Ashford & Simpson :       One More Try (Dimitri Re-Edit)

Crown Heights Affair :       Say A Prayer For Two

The Salsoul Orchestra :       Getaway

Call it writer’s block. I’m feeling three thousand things at the same time and have nothing to say. These songs, which I plan to keep on repeat all day (maybe all week), somehow manage to sum it up perfectly. I guess when you’ve been a DJ long enough, playlists can become the preferred method of expression. Today I’m feeling like the Jamaican John Cusak (somewhere in between Say Anything and High Fidelity).

The Paragons ft. Roslyn Sweat :       Blackbirds Singing (yup, The Beatles)

The Tennors :       Weather Report (Paul Simon! do the research)

Otis Gayle :       I'll Be Around (The Detroit Spinners)

Johnny Osbourne :       Jah Promise (sounds to me like it came direct from heaven)

I’ve been in Brooklyn for a good long while now. I was in BK when the towers fell and I remember walking over the Williamburg Bridge to Manhattan looking for friends. I remember when you could still party at raves in Dumbo. I remember walking up Flatbush Ave. for my first time ever at age 16, finally coming up on Grand Army Plaza and being amazed that it wasn’t one of the classic locations that people know NYC by. I’ve been in Brooklyn enough years to say that I’ve lived here longer than any other town in my life, which is long enough to experience one of the most infamous and archetypal of all Brooklyn scenarios- getting jacked. Don’t let the plague of condos or the ever expanding presence of “East-East-Village” fool you, it’s still a gritty place. This song, which I made entirely in one hyper afternoon (beat, lyrics, recording, mix, finito), is about that very real part of my home that I love. Appropriately enough, the laptop and hard drive I used to make the beat were also stolen at a later point, so I can never go back and tweak what I did on that day!

SO many of my friends here can relate 100% to this track, and maybe that’s why it’s been going over really well at our live shows. That’s also probably why I was able to get these dope up-n-coming producers to make extremely ILL remixes just out of the love. I know for a fact that Dypso from Murdertronics has been jacked here at least 3 times, not sure about Morsy, but dude can relate. Even after being jumped by 6 hoodlums, it’s best if you can laugh about it afterward, or even better, make something creative out of it. I’ve been waiting too long already to drop this one officially, so now without further ado, I present a true Brooklyn party starter…

The Beatards :       Gettin' Jacked

The Beatards :       Gettin' Jacked (Morsy Remix)

The Beatards :       Gettin' Jacked (Murdertronics Remix)

or download the whole zip with cover art HERE

As the days continue getting hotter, it’s harder and harder to motivate for anything other than free outdoor concerts and backyard BBQs. Good thing there’s no shortage of those around here. On my way to see Q-Tip & Chester French on Saturday (bullshitted my way right through the Press/VIP line, haha!) I put the new Fat Freddy’s Drop on blast and found perhaps my new favorite song of the year (also high in the runnings is this acapella beatbox freestyle by Gangsta Red). When FFD released their first studio album “Based On A True Story” back in ’05, these funky New Zealanders cracked open the domes of music heads globally- even taking the “Album Of The Year” award from the listeners of Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 1 “Worldwide” show. They spread a new zeal for Kiwi music (sorry, bad pun, couldn’t help myself). Slow builders are their specialty. Combining soul & funk with reggae, dub and even a bit of disco, their lenghty jams transition through separate movements with the seamlessness of the famous morphing faces in MJ’s “Black & White” video. To top it all off, they have the smoothest crooner in the game blessing their tracks with buttery, down home Bill Withers soul. “The NOD” (I’m pretty sure it’s a heroin song) brings together all those things I like most about the group. When the tamborine finally drops around the 2 minute mark, you’re already in too deep to turn back.“Boondigga” is a little more straightforward, but once again has that epic multi-layered build at the end that takes me out of my subway seat, travelling deep through inner-space.

Chin Chin is a Brooklyn band that I kept hearing about but didn’t actually listen to until this past week. More retro-soul disco flavor with some smooth whiteboy falsetto and that vocoder that I’m a such a sucker for. AND, they’re gonna be playing a free outdoor concert at the Prospect Park bandshell on August 11th. That’s what I’m talking about! I love this city. Look out for some fresh remixes to both these tracks by Ticklah, Blockhead and El-P.

You guys should already know Mayer Hawthorne since I posted a remix I did of his first single and because I was hyping up the show that we did with him in LA. But perhaps you don’t have these new tracks from his upcoming album, now out as a single that you all need to cop with the quickness. Did I tell you already that this man held it DOWN live, even hitting acapella when the turntable got funky, taking the whole crowd to church for a minute.

Finally, some fresh sounds from Ocote Soul Sounds from their new album Coconut Rock. The project is spearheaded by Martin Perna who has worked on so many cool projects it’s kinda crazy more people don’t know his name. Adrian Quesada is the other main force behind the album, but he’s joined by a nice line-up of other artists who collabo on here, including Chico Mann and Tita Lima whose breathy Portugese vocals grace “Vendende Saude Y Fe”. Fuzz guitar solo at the 3 minute mark on that song is putting me in the right headspace right now, inspiration information for sure. Now back to making music…

Fat Freddy’s Drop :       The NOD & Boondigga
both taken from their new album “Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW”

Chin Chin :       Go There With You & GG and The Boys
taken from their new album “The Flashing, The Fancing”

Mayer Hawthorne :       Maybe So & Wish It Would Rain
taken from his new single cop it!

Ocote Soul Sounds :       Vendende Saude Y Fe & The Revolt Of The Cockroach People
taken from their new album “Coconut Rock”