Mixtape Monday: The Black Opera, Gilles Peterson, Cut Chemist, LeFtO + More
The legendary Gilles Peterson pays tribute to an equally respective music icon, Sun Ra Arkestra alum and celebrated trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Add to the session some formidable sets from Cut Chemist, LeFtO, rising L.A. producer Omniboi and an impressively stacked project from AIME, and episode #22 of Mixtape Monday is sure to fill your earholes while you tend to your bellies. Enjoy!
The Black Opera - 80z Babies To The 2Gz II [Experimix]
The Black Opera seeks to bridge rap’s recently contentious generational divide with the 80z Babies To The 2Gz II [Experimix] tape. The mixtape throws back to the days of rap radio diversity and celebrates a host of artists and their material -- whether you like it or not. Plus, TBO gets all of the points for that Pen and Pixel revival cover art.
"We wanted to follow up African America with something that wasn't as heavy, so we worked on the second installment of our 80z Babiez 2 The 2Gz Experimix series. We feel right in the middle of this Old Heads vs New Wave battle. So in this new mix you can hear our influences come across, young and old, in a way of expressing it that we feel only we can do it. - The Black Opera
80z Babiez To The 2Gz 2 [The ExperiMix] by The Black Opera
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Culture Power45 - Fruition
Chicago based label Culture Power45 doubles down on its commitment to quality vinyl releases with the 19-track Fruition LP, due out June 2nd. The stacked project boasts joints from a who’s who of underground talents including Thaione Davis, Nekaybaaw, Fatnice, Tall Black Guy and more.
Fruition serves as a platform for showcasing the artists associated with Culture Power 45, the title lends itself to the experience of the collective as each song is a piece of the whole which manifested the project. Artists working together professionally, creatively, and financially to bear fruit is what Fruition is all about. The Fruition intro is a snippet of an actual phone conference held monthly and sets the listener up for a journey via precise lyrics and tight beats. Take for instance the Tall Black Guy produced News Flash Pt. 2 from 80’s Babies with Dee Jackson featuring Chicago mainstay Thaione Davis where the two pose as modern day news anchors alerting the listener to the constant ills of a residing in a violence driven politically oppressed environment.
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LeFtO - Studio Brussels #705
Always committed to delivering the latest and greatest, LeFtO serves up his latest from Studio Brussels featuring solid joints from J.A.M, Rejjie Snow, Ezel, Kutmah, The Heliocentrics, Badbadnotgood, Gaby Hernandez and more. If you have ever pressed play on a LeFtO set, you know that his selections are near pristine and never require a bunch of fuss. Dive in.
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Omniboi - Signals
L.A. producer and Paper Crane Collective member Omniboi follows the House of Omni project and a bubbly "Bad and Boujee" remix with the full release of his Signals EP. Channeling the aesthetics of Surf and Cinematic Orchestra, the project takes on more analog jazz chords but still sports the pre-programmed keyboard sounds and whimsy that have become Omniboi’s calling card.
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Cut Chemist - A Stable Sound Ep. 18
Cut Chemist drops what he's dubbed "A Bittersweet Soul Symphony" for the 18th episode of the A Stable Sound series. The Memorial Day set is a deeply soulful excursion that arrives just in time for barbecue season and features plenty of 45 rpm gold. There are also in-session appearances from Hymnal, Mike Styles and special guest Biz Markie.
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Juicy The Emissary - Attention KMart Choppers (Side A)
Juicy The Emissary preps listeners for the forthcoming full release of Attention KMart Choppers with a preview of the project’s A Side -- a treasure trove of choice samples and chops that bode well for what’s to come on the remaining tracks, which will be available on June 2nd via Street Corner Music.
On Thanksgiving 1989, Kmart employee and audio enthusiast Mark Davis wandered behind the customer service desk to check out the store’s sound system, which looped muzak and top 40 plus ads and announcements under the banner of “KMRT, The Kmart Radio Network.” When he found last month’s tape hadn’t been thrown out yet, he pocketed it and made a habit of doing this, collecting 56 tapes from 1989-1992.In September 2015, Davis uploaded the tapes to archive.org with the humble intention of preserving them. But within a few weeks he became an internet celebrity among obscure media fans and supplemented the collection with reel-to-reel tapes from the 70s and 80s thanks to Tom Schwarzrock, who acquired them serendipitously along with a deck he purchased. The tapes are like a consumerist time capsule, a vaporwave trove of eerily familiar corporate ephemera extracted from its original context and purpose.
Similarly, Attention Kmart Choppers is composed of pieces from this collection chopped up, resculpted, and mosaicked together by Juicy The Emissary, forming a new, distinctly contemporary sound while inheriting a haunting nostalgia that provokes memories burrowed deep in the subconscious.
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AIME - DAVID
AIME spits fire straight from the diaphragm on DAVID -- a one-off project that follows the release of the Book of David micro-album. The arc of AIME’s 808-heavy DAVID is derived from currency and the role it plays in his life and music. Rapping with urgency, he takes sonic risks across the tape produced by Dameadelphia and Eric Boss. Singer/saxophonist Max Swan is the lone feature on the DAVID EP, which is built upon a foundation of cleverly chopped samples from the preceding release.
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DJ Shinobi Shaw - HeatWAVY 2017
DJ Shinobi Shaw drops a straightforward summertime mix with the arrival of the HeatWAVY 2017 set. The 23-track party mix is a soulful mash featuring some of the most impressive talents in the business of dropping certified jams. HeatWAVY includes joints from Kaytranada, Anna Wise, Reva DeVito, Penthouse Penthouse, AlunaGeorge, Chance The Rapper, Domo Genesis, Zo! and more.
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DJ Mza - Soul Circle Radio Show #177
For his "XVIIth" set for Soul Circle Radio Show, chief selector DJ Mza drops an “abundance of music from across the globe.” The set includes jams from Sly5thave, Wayne Snow, Lost Midas, Kei-Li x falcxne, Kero One, Petijee, Deheb, Francesca Sortino, Louis Baker and more.
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Gilles Peterson - Phil Cohran 90th BIrthday Spiritual Jazz Special
Gilles Peterson celebrates Sun Ra Arkestra alumnist and celebrated trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran on the occasion of his 90th birthday with a "Spiritual Jazz Special." The set from Peterson’s Worldwide FM features recording from Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Walter Perkins, the Sun Ra Arkestra and more. Take a trip back into the work of a musical master.