(click the image below to listen!) embed this episode in your myspace/blog/whatev: No, I’m not dead. And no, the show is not dead, and I’m not planning on letting it die anytime soon. I’ve kinda been underground for a minute, just basically putting in work and getting my bars up on the school angle. It has, however, been far too long - maybe too long? Are you all still even out there? That said - let’s get into it: Tracklist Intro Instrumental - 9th Wonder - Black Album Rejects #31 (I think). Murs - Can It Be. I couldn’t think of a better track to start this one off with. And no, I’m absolutely not hating on Murs. I remember the first time I actually saw the dude - he came to my university in a dirty white T shirt, old sneakers, and some pajama pants and rocked a show on what was basically a hill with some grass on it. Crazy show, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Dude is a dope rapper, he just happens to have made a song that confused me, and this joint more than makes up for that. And apparently he’s got a free record up - check out www.mursand9thwonder.com. And yes, when the new record comes out - buy it. Jay Electronica - Defcon 4. From what I can tell, this joint is at least 4 years old. Produced by Sol Messiah (fam hit me up), it’s a little more straightforward beatwise than the stuff we heard, say, on episode 82. Lyrically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the dude. Time to hit the library. myspace.com/jayelect. Gif - Invisible (Ramona Moore). I was eating dinner a few weeks ago with a kid from Hong Kong, a kid from Japan (duh), and a Kyrgyzstani, when the topic turned to the elections. The Kyrgyzstani dude said something about that he’d heard that there is no longer any racism in the US. Unfortunately he decided to say that when I was in the middle of trying to sip my soda so he definitely ended up with that joint all over his new shirt. I laughed that hard. I don’t know - maybe if you watch the news you get that impression - but I don’t watch the news, so I wouldn’t know (I have been, however, watching Japanese news, and that is a whole different story)…Dude was actually genuinely surprised when I had to set him straight. Anyway, as I said, this song actually follows the seqence of an actual event. For some more info on what happened with Ramona Moore, you can check this blog post. For Da Gif himself, check myspace.com/dagif. Thank you for making this song, fam. East Flatbush Project - A Day In A Life feat Stress. This cut is just dope. I don’t have too much to say about this. It’s been too long since we’ve had one of Spencer’s joints grace the Mixtape Show. Do yourself a favor and play this one a few times. myspace.com/theeastflatbushproject. Black Milk and Fat Ray - Take Control. I’ve been sitting on this cut for a miiinute. Maybe it’s just the cymbals on this joint that do it for me - but they’re not exactly slacking in the lyrical department here either. myspace.com/blackmk. Madlib - Go feat Guilty Simpson. This song has some of the cruelest lyrics I’ve heard since, well, the last episode. That Punk’d line, combined with the Black / white / Chinese man joint is just too much. stonesthrow.com. Outro Instrumental - 410 Pharaohs - Fresh. And yeah, I’ll get into the rap in japan thing at some point in the near future… In the meantime, that’s what I got for this week. Holler at a scholar. Less

(click the image below to listen!) embed this episode in your myspace/blog/whatev: Thought I told you it was on again. First and foremost, thank you to everyone for sticking around. I know it’s been a minute. I’ll try to explain more later, but for now, the episode: This is a sidebar to the Soultronica Saga (which, yes, is still in the works…slowly, but in the works). I set the spaceship aside for a moment and we take a look at an alternate future of rap, jungle, and reggae music: Dubstep. Let’s get right into the music: The Tracklist. intro: DZ - Strong On Ya. Loefah - It’s Yours. Well, might as well ease you all into it, right? Rough track. See if you can remember where this sample came from. myspace.com/loefah. Jay Electronica and Zed Bias - The Cauldron. From a BBC Benji B session, I think. This one I’ve got to say I did not see coming. I’m not exactly sure what the story is behind this one, but think about it - how many US rappers are willing to even consider jumping on a grime/dubstep/categorizemeplease track? Exactly. I think Zed produced this. I think. Courtesy of Sweeney Kovar. myspace.com/zedbias. The Bug - Skeng feat Killa P and Flow Dan. If you are wondering where the dub and reggae influence I was talking about comes in, listen to this. I remember the first time I heard this in that crazy art studio basement club that Pure Filth used to occupy. Absolutely bananas. I liked this one so much I used to refuse to listen to it unless it was on a real system. The lyrics, though - they are completely over-the-top ridiculous. Seriously. myspace.com/thebuguk. Rusko - William H Tonkers. Remember me saying that you need a good set of headphones for this one? Exhibit B right here, kids (A was the last one). Dig the synth programming on this one. ruskonfire. Nebulla and DJ Dore - Poppin (Dirtystep Remix) feat T.I. I can’t say that I like this one better than the original, but it definitely goes kinda hard. The basswork on this one ain’t bad at all.?myspace.com/djnebulla, myspace.com/djdore. Loefah: Voodoo (666) / Lord Finesse: Check the Method (DJ Premier Scratch Mix). If you just couldn’t get into anything else on this ep, wait until this one. This may well be my favorite song on this episode (which is saying a lot considering my feelings towards The Bug). Ripped from the briliant Dubstep Sufferah Volume 3, which is highly recommended if you liked this one. grievousangel.com. Moody Boys - Honey Remix feat Erykah Badu. I take back what I said on the last one - if you can’t get into the other cuts, check this one. Seven minute, dubbed-out workout of one of the best new soul singles in recent memory. Brilliant. I think Mamiko likes this one. myspace.com/themoodyboyz. Pre-emptive shouts to Pure Filth for throwing some of the most inspiring jams I’ve ever had the privilege to attend. And those who know me personally know that I don’t take statements like that lightly. So yeah - while I’m certainly no dubstep expert, I know enough to know that I like this stuff. What do you think? Less

(click the image below to listen!) embed this episode in your myspace/blog/whatev: You all ever heard of this thing? Type A personality? It’s like I can’t even slow down here. Start up this episode, take a deep breath, and try to see the big picture here - it’s bigger than just your issues, kids. Aside from that, though, I got two pairs of tickets to Nicolay + Kay shows to give away - one in each of these venues: April 12 – The Forbidden City, Hollywood, CA April 18 – The Black Cat, Washington, DC So, I guess I’m supposed to do some sort of “contest” or something. I’ll make this one easy - just write me an email or leave a comment and tell me the number of the last Mixtape Show episode in which Nicolay appeared. Extra consideration given if you make the comment interesting. I’ll pick the winners pretty much asap. This will also be going on the Facebook thing too, so…get moving. Enough of that, let’s do it… Tracklist Big Boi - Royal Flush feat Andre 3000 and Raekwon. It’s like the three of them sat down and said “Listen here, Andre. You rap good. Have like seven verses.” And Andre said “Okay”. And it was good. myspace.com/outkast. The Roots - 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction). I didn’t count them, but if there are 75 bars here, they are all good. Suburb put me up on this one and I’m still kicking myself for taking this long to actually get to it. I’m sometimes not too big on The Roots’ recorded material, but this is just kind of great. Even if there are probably more niggas in this song than bars (bonus points for anyone that counts them up!). myspace.com/theroots Percee P - Untitled Percee P Track. Or at least that’s word-for-word how it was labeled on this CD. Dig the rhyme patterns that dude uses, and the Billy Jack quotes (I think I should check this film). Once again, kids - the bigger picture. “Payback’s a bitch, America / Karma too” myspace.com/perceep Jay Electronica - Colors. Seriously, fam? 45 seconds? Don’t worry, kids, I got more. Guilty Simpson - Pigs. I don’t think I really forsaw anyone attempting to rap over this Madlib jawn. Can’t hate on this dude for taking this one on, because he kinda tore it up. Quotable lines abound. myspace.com/guiltysimpson Rhymefest - Mentor Mike feat Michael Jackson. What could I possibly have been doing that was so important that I didn’t listen to this song until this morning? Wow. myspace.com/rhymefest Spec Boogie - Bed Stuy. The beat is just ridiculous. This one came highly recommended from our good friend Suburb, who is currently too busy eating Hot Chee-tos or something to let me listen to his new record. That’s fine, buddy. Spec, though - this is a great track. Plenty more of the same on his myspace. myspace.com/specboogie Nicolay and Kay - Grand Theft Auto. Yes, the subject matter matches the title. If you dig this cut, hey, maybe try to get yourself a couple tickets. I really shoulda saved this for the next edition of the Nintendo Mixtape, but hey, who knows when that one’s gonna actually drop…myspace.com/nicolay. Shouts to Aimee, and everyone else that made this episode possible. Bedtime. Less

(click the image below to listen!) embed this episode in your myspace/blog/whatev: Yeah, so that’s where I’ve been the last few days. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and you know how they usually give you a choice between getting knocked out or just doing anaesthesia? Well, the surgeon took one look at my X-rays and said “Son, we generally like to give our patients a choice in the matter, but you’ve got four impacted choppers in there, and I’m gonna have to put you under. No arguments accepted.” I’ll spare you the bloody details, but suffice to say that there was a lot of sawing involved I’m not able to talk just yet. Now, most people would just take a break and enjoy the vacation from rappidy rap podcasts, but I promised myself February would be special. But I was in no condition to speak into a mic - so a few scrawled messages on napkins, promises I have no intention of honoring, and sad puppydog looks later, I managed to con Mamiko to record the intro for me. Everybody, please, a round of applause for Mamiko. A lot of good music this episode - let’s get into it. Tracklist mamikolude - Bullion - God Only Knows. Yes, the Beach Boys flip. I gotta put this dude on - next beattape, I promise. Labratz - Grow. Is Labratz a new name to you? It shouldn’t be. More of the same raw post-production (especially on the I mentioned the first time I played these dudes. Too many quotables in here, but all the same - “It gotta precipitate / Before you levitate”. Take that one with you today.myspace.com/thelabratzmusic Jay Electronica - When The Levees Broke. I’m not sure who produces some of these more unconventional tracks (it may well be Jay himself, come to think of it), but the understatedness of this cut…man, just listen. Jay Electronica - Departure. The title of the second part of this cut (not included here - next time!) that inspired my original name for this episode before Mamiko took it over, but the spirit is still there. Vividly autobiographical track. See that “embed” function up here? You might consider using that to share this with your friends. Penuckle - I Love Being Black. As do I. I’ve been meaning to get Penuckle on the show for some time, so when he hit me with the track just before February kicked off, I knew this one was a given. Black History Month - do your research. Thanks again, P (by the way, who handled production here on this one?). myspace.com/penuckle. G.L.C. - Honor Me. Not the Welsh group. The flow and beat on this are obviously dope, but what does it for me is that extra vocal tweaking on there. The trash talking at the end is kinda funny, but doesn’t take away from the intensity of the track. Shouts to Vince for putting me up on this track. myspace.com/glc. C.L. Smooth - Multi Barz of Fury (prod. Pete Rock). Yes, you read that right. Is the coldness between the two masters over? I have no idea, and technically this isn’t that much of a new track considering that Pete released this cut on the Surviving Elements as an instrumental called “You Remind Me”. So what does this mean, CL? Are more Pete/CL collabs on the way? Saroc - Black Dot. Exclusive courtesy of Sol Messiah (Labratz). I got an email from dude referring to Saroc as his “secret weapon” with this cut attached. I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to keep her a secret, but the lyrics are definitely impressive. Make sure to play this back a couple times to make sure you’re absorbing it all - in the meantime, I’m waiting for more from Saroc. Erykah Badu- Real Thing (prod. Madlib). Anyone else out there miss Erykah? Fortunately we won’t have to wait that long - her new record is coming pretty soon. I wouldn’t mind hearing more collaborations between these two. myspace.com/erykahbadu. I’m excited for the rest of this month. I’ll post the particulars in a bit, but I’m craving milkshakes again. Thoughts on the show are welcome, as are suggestions for food that won’t make me pass out. Less

(click the image below to listen!) how do I listen to the show? Most of us here are far too young to remember this, but when Dr Martin Luther King, Jr died he was extremely unpopular in the mainstream US media - primarily because of his stance on the war. This sermon could have been delivered this morning and still have been relevant. I’m of course not satisfied with this, because it’s really not possible to do the original justice, but this is what I’ve got. I really could have just thrown the acapella on here, that’s a good enough #100 for me. They say we’ll nod our heads to anything said over a beat and they lament the fact that too much of what is said over those beats is destructive. So here’s something good to nod your head to. Tracklist Words: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr - The Drum Major Instinct Sermon. Delivered 4th February, 1968. He was assassinated two months later, to the day. 0′35 - Jay Electronica - The D.O.C. Song (loop). This is really just a loop taken from the beginning of Jay’s song by the same name. Not sure what the title of the cut means. 2′58 - P Dukes - Brown Leaves. 5′40 - J Dilla - Anti-American Graffiti (Reprise). Kinda hard to do one of these without the D on here. 6′45 - Suburb - Jazz on Acid. 9′00 - Kenny Keys - Set ‘em Up. Mean cut. 10′40 - Madlib - Old Age (loop). 13′40 - Madlib - Pyramids (Changes). If you don’t already own everything that Madlib has put out, you should probably get started now. Stones Throw is a label worth supporting. 15′30 - Suburb - synth+strings. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you listen until the end. holler. Less

(click the image below to listen!) how do I listen to the show? Yeah, a little late. New music, new design, new year. Shouts to Rashad for the inspiration on this episode concept. I have so much new music it’s not even funny. More episodes in the pipeline. Beattape, bounce tape, soultronicas, new soul (?), and some new tricks up my sleeve. But for right now, let’s get into the primaries… Tracklist intro beat - Iain “F a Quantize” Haywood - Switch on the MPC. myspace.com/12pads. What’s this about UK and US releases in 08 son? Hit the comments, do tell. Labratz - Dirty Slum. Yes, comparisons to Goodie Mobb and early Outkast are easy, but that’s just because so little progressive Southern rap has hit your ears. Lyrics aside, one of the things I really dig about this record is the approach to postproduction - vocals are slowed up, jammed up, tweaked out, but the final mix is still raw to the point where I had to ask Sol if he was actually done with these because so many people nowadays overproduce records that it’s pretty rare to see someone leave that grit in it. I dig. I also must say that I’ve been walking around chanting “Marty McFly, Marty-Marty McFly-Fly” more often than I’d care to admit. myspace.com/labratzmusic Marco Polo - The Radar feat Large Professor. Large as a guest MC, not a producer. Don’t get it confused though, the drum work on this still goes hard. myspace.com/marcopolobeats. Tom C3 and Prince Po - Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. The first couple bars of this song reminds me somehow of Lord Quas’ “Come on Feet” for some reason. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard of Tom C3 until I realized he did the Dopestyle 1231 jumpoff (brilliant album art, by the way). Shouts to Nasty Nes for this one. myspace.com/tomc3. NAAM Brigade - Greatest Man Alive (remix). Well, actually this is more Sonny Black than anything, but still. I’ve heard of these dudes referred to as the Philly Wu-Tang. Who do I need to get on the phone with to figure out what the hell happened to these dudes? You heard them back in Episode 97 with the Message rework. While all these college-rap dudes are trying to recreate some boom-bap sound, NAAM Brigade somehow manages to dig into the early 90s/late 80s with their production and still sound absolutely rough and fresh with the final product. Jay Electronica - Uprock. Definitely different production from what most have heard of Jay thus far, but damn the dude just eats this breakbeat up. The one man live band strikes again. Jay, if you ever do release Act II, you know you got a home for it here too. dexalude - [instro: RJD2 - Inhale (remix)]. Internet rumors are crazy. Bekay - Hunger Pains. Like I said, I’ve been following dude for some time (I actually remember his joint with ODB - I think one of the last he recorded), but nothing was quite my flavor - until now. This song isn’t all about “oh I’m white poor me”, but - or what I get from it, anyway - just a series of really screwed up events and situations that often trace back to a uniquely neurotic and American racism. Kinda hard to make it in a minstrel industry without black skin. myspace.com/bekay. And for the record, the dude sounds nothing like Eminem to me. Labratz - Creation. So does anyone actually have faith in this straight-ahead government process? I wouldn’t really call myself cynical, but my optimism never really involves fantasizing about real change being brought about through the election of some public official. Black leadership has really fallen off. As much as I dig the instrumental on this one, you really have to pay attention to the lyrics on this one. I’d quote some here, but seriously, just listen. And then repeat. Peace to Barack Obama. Less

(click the image below to check the show…) how do I listen to the show? So for this one, most of the commentary is in the episode. Thusly, I’ll keep the commentary short. The Fibonacci sequence, or the M?tr?meru , refers to a sequence in which the given number is the sum of its two preceding numbers; e.g. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc. So this episode is in such a sequence: 0 Tracks by P Diddy. Duh. 1 Track: Suburb - The Main Ingredient flip. Some day this kid will finish his album. Until then, I’ll continue digging in the archives of stuff he probably doesn’t even remember sending me. 1 Track: UGK - Use Me Up. Rest in peace, Pimp C. This was not good news at all. 2 Tracks: Jay Electronica - A Prayer for Michael Vick & T.I. (We Love You Family). (Prod. J Dilla). Brilliant. Surreal. Jay Electronica - Dimethyltryptamine. Surreal. Brilliant. And I’ll say it again: JAY ELECTRONICA IS A GOVERNMENT PLANT 3 Tracks: Percee P - Lung Collapsing Lyrics feat Pharoahe Monch. This cut is just too much. Percee P - Yes, You May feat A.G. and Lord Finesse. The internal rhymes before anyone even knew what that was. I’m not sure why anyone would choose to dispose of those that chose to go to their shows, but if he says it, I believe it. Shouts to Percee. I hear he has a new record out. Percee P - 1991 Freestyle feat Lord Search. The beatboxing on here is just comedy, but if you actually listen past that, you’ll hear the lyrical mastery. Interludes by: Kenny Keys. (first one is called “Cut”, second is called “Tight Rope”, third is called “Bump”). Good to hear from you again, Ken. This was a good episode for lyrics, wasn’t it? ps - here’s the link for the Mixtape Show Hip-hop podcast facebook page. You should join it, giveaways popping off very soon… Less

Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World) Common The Feeling Strange Fruit Project Not Enough (feat. Darien Brockington) Little Brother Sound Of The City w/Fat Ray & Elzhi Black Milk Act Like You Know (ft. Jay Dee) Platinum Pied Pipers Starz Jaylib Renaissance Man Jay Electronica Much More ( Obsidian Blue Remix) De La Soul Go With Us (ft. Strong Arm Steady) Talib Kweli Tight Eyes ft. Oh No & The Luv Bugz Nicolay & Kay The Williams Nicolay & Supastition Misunderstood Common The Sun God (ft. Common) Hi-Tek The Rhyme (Remix) Keith Murray Ill Vibe Busta Rhymes & Q-Tip Glamour & Glitz A Tribe Called Quest Act Like You Know (G.O.A.T Mix) P.P.P ft. Jay Dee Let’s Go Pharoahe Monch Pause J Dilla Hot Thing (feat. Will.I.Am) Talib Kweli Fall in Love (Jay Dee Remix) Slum Village Get Dis Money Slum Village Hold Tight (ft. Q-Tip) Slum Village Reunion w/J-Dilla (Slum Village) Slum Village Less

(click the image to check the show…) how do I listen to the show? First off, thanks to those that voted in the Podcast Awards. They should be announcing in a few days, but regardless of the outcome, I appreciate the support. This episode we return to the Beatjacks & Remixes concept - if for some reason you didn’t catch the first one, you can hear it here - right after you check this one. Let’s get into it… Tracklist Paul Wall - And Then What Remix feat Coota Bang and Archie Lee. I don’t know that this is the official title for this thing, but this came off of the People’s Champ sampler, which stayed in my CD deck a lot longer than his actual CD did. Say what you want about his nursery school rhymes, I find Paw Waww to be a pleasant listening experience, thank you very much. This joint shows what kind of shit Swishahouse was (is?) really capable of. djpaulwall.com. Superiority Complex - Butter. Yes, as in they re-did the old Tribe joint. This takes balls, and apparently they have these in, uh, large, uh, supply. Some backpackers out there might scream sacrilege, but I dig this one. You’ve heard them here before - check them out in the First Impressions episode. myspace.com/superioritycomplexmusic. Hell Razah - Freestyle. Off of his pre-album sampler, which somebody decided not to tag the filenames on, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to be called. But got-damn the opening bars on this one go hard. “I’m sick of marching in these rallies“…Cosign. myspace.com/razahrubiez. Nas/Dextrus - Made You Look (CMP Remix). Got this joint a long time ago from Dextrus. Dude’s a software engineer by trade, but that doesn’t stop him from getting down behind the boards. myspace.com/dextrusdalabassistant. Jay Electronica - My World (Nas Salute). The mystery kid shows up again, courtesy of Andres pointing out some of his leaked work. A little less surreal than the last offering perhaps, but still pretty damn out there. myspace.com/jayelectronica. Pharrell - When Skateboard Came. Off the mixtape he and DJ Drama did some time back. I’m not sure what it was that made me like this cut so much, but it’s just ridiculous. There’s a reason that Skateboard P stays behind the boards most of the time, but when he comes out, it’s pretty entertaining. The rest of the mixtape ain’t bad, either. myspace.com/pharrell. Pharrell - Liquid Swords. Apparently dudes really like Wu-Tang. Jay-Z - Encore (Block Burners Remix feat Z Nuff). Am I crazy, or is this instrumental ridiculous? This instrumental is ridiculous. True story - I never actually listened to the whole Black Album until I’d heard its multiple reinterpretations via people like DJ Lt Dan and Danger Mouse. But this version sons most of the other cuts out there, easy. I have absolutely no information on these people, though. DJ Virus - 2004 ITF World Championships Set. There’s a good reason that there isn’t a whole lot of turntable wizardry on the Mixtape Show - it’s just not really my flavor. This guy kinda kills it though - pay attention to the end. myspace.com/sdvirus. Intro beat - Iain Haywood - Bad Motherfucker. Finally got a myspace for this dude! myspace.com/12pads. So - as usual, hit the comments, link up on the facebook group, and just generally holler at a scholar. Less

(click the image to check the show…) how do I listen to the show? Okay - again, this is an outside mix by Jay Electronica. I can’t remember the last time I did a one-artist post - if I ever have - but this joint I think warrants it. The intro runs a little long, but trust me on this one. Plus it’s surreal, and surreal is the new black. Jay Electronica: Act 1: The Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge). Tracklisting: 1. foreword by erykah & just* 2. eternal sunshine 3. …because he broke the rules 4. voodoo man 5. fyi. Production by Jay Electronica and Jon Brion. Album artwork from Rappers I Know. This is worth listening to if for no other reason than to show that there are some of us out here pushing boundaries. Jay’s myspace is myspace.com/jayelectronica, but, uh, there’s not much info there. *As in Erykah Badu and Just Blaze. Less