Mixtape Monday: Oisima World Premiere, Tuxedo, Dev Hynes, Stevie Wonder x Nas + More!
While the wind wails and the rivers freeze over all is warm and beautiful inside Mixtape Monday. Here we are again, celebrating the beauty of a creative, well-made mix, and this week's ten features put on a brilliant show. First and foremost, we're very proud to bring you the world premiere of the latest Jewels of Thought mixtape from Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer Oisima, a high-minded set loaded with tastefully-blended beats. Also on deck is the latest lovers' set from Tuxedo (aka Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One), plus Dev Hynes's mind-expanding Sounds of Guyana Megamix.
But the goods don't stop there--this week is all about depth. DJ Jamad's more-than-half-amazing Stevie Wonder x Nas mash-up mix is waiting to put your ears on notice, and a new NBA All-Star weekend mix from Wax Poetics top dog Monk One is, yes, we'll say it, a slam dunk. All this plus new moody tones from sofie, bright reggae courtesy of Chairman Mao, and a J Rocc's proper Dilla tribute means that this week's roundup is better than your sweetie's Valentine's chocolates. So keep it connected to this here internet station and forget about the wind chill--your sonic vacation is about to get underway.
Hailing from Adelaide, the sunny southern Australian "city of churches," Oisima is a producer and jack-of-all-trades musician on the rise. In preparation for the April 24th release of his new Nicaraguan Nights LP, Oisima not only just released a brand new video for single "Sun of Truth," but has rolled out a brand new mixtape, the fifth volume in his Jewels of Thought series, which Okayplayer presents below as world premiere exclusive. The mix, a scintillating hour of genre-diverse beats, has something for practically every listener in the OKP universe, with cuts from Hiatus Kaiyote, Joey Bada$$, Delusional Thomas, Caribou and more seamlessly blending in and out of one another at a pace that recalls the open air of the Australian outback.
Oisima is also taking a big step upward this spring as the opening support for Bonobo's Australian tour, which runs through the latter half of March. With so much happening at such a feverish pace, it might seem likely that Oisima is in danger of getting caught up in a rush of success, but just one listen to Jewels of Thought (and a scan back through his backcatalog) will make it clear that this fellow has plenty of calm concentration to spare. Listen to Volume 5 below and enjoy.
Tracklist:
Hungry Ghosts – "I Don’t Think About You Anymore, But I
Don’t Think Of You Any Less"
Delusional Thomas – "The Jesuits feat. Da$h"
Willie The Kid & Alchemist – "Gettysburg"
Mott & Supreme – "Product Of The 90’s"
Raiza Biza – "Winter feat. Tanya Anguna"
Addullessence feat. Braille – "For The Love Revisited"
Joey Bada$$ - "Summer Knights feat. Dessy & T’nah Apex"
Hiatus Kaiyote – "The World It Softly Lulls (Dan Marshall Flip)"
Submotion Orchestra – "Thinking"
Lord Echo – "Bohemian Idol"
Jordan Rakei – "Street Light feat. Gwen Bunn"
Caribou – "Our Love"
Letherette – "I Always Wanted You Back"
FKJ – "So Much To Me"
Mos Def – "Boogie Man Song"
As we get closer and closer to their much-anticipated album release, Tuxedo continues to build the sensual tension. Made up of funkateers Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One will drop their debut set piece via Stones Throw Records on March 3rd, but the two have already been teasing us all in right ways with cuts like "Do It" and "Number One." Now (more specifically, last week) the duo has seized upon Valentine's Day to make the perfect sonic greeting card--an ideal set of steamy 80s funk bits, all relaxed in tempo and smooth all over. Picture a low-burning fire, snifter of cognac and a bit of mood lighting. Then put this on, loosen your bowtie, and enjoy the Tuxedo junction.
When Dev Hynes traveled to his mother's homeland of Guyana last year, he made a massive personal discovery--the underexposed yet brilliant music that can be found on the nation's airwaves and cd shops. Hynes opened up his wallet and brought much of that music home, and now the Blood Orange front man has sewed together some the best material in his new stash to make a megamix loaded with multiple genres. Dev puts it as such:
While visiting my mother's hometown of Georgetown, Guyana last year I stumbled across an amazing cd store (pictured). I purchased as much as I could and forgot about this til very recently when my boy Heems texted me asking about it. Saying he'd spoken to my friend Adam, who was with me in Georgetown, and he'd mentioned the music that i'd bought.So I decided to dig through, edit choice cuts and make a megamix.
Featuring a range of disco, Bollywood, Reggae, Soul, Dub, Rock, Rap. This is the multicultural landscape of Guyana.
Enjoy.
We'll enjoy, Mr. Hynes. We'll definitely enjoy. The creole imports could not be more timely since Carnival season is in full swing in much of the world right now (most notably Trinidad this week). LargeUp is on the case so hit the link below for more Carnival selections courtesy of Jillionaire + Private Ryan on their own edition of Mixtape Mondays:
Tracklist:
Duniya - "Dum maro Dum"
Duniya - "Kitne bhi tu Karle Sitam"
Joseph Cotton - "No Touch The Style"
Psalms - (?) Dev edit
Bela & Changa - (?) Dev edit
Ashok Khare - (?) Dev edit
Dominic Weekes - "Freestyle"
Wayne Wonder - "You Me and She"
Eddy Grant - "Time Warp"
Eddy Grant - "Boys In The Street"
Jaal - "Sona Sona Soniye"
Bubu Re - "Aap Mujhe Aache Lagne Iagi"
The Telstars of Guyana - SOS"
Waah! Tera Kya Kehna - Yeh Muhe Kya Hua"
The Yoruba Singers - "Long Grass"
(Devonte’s Dub Medley)
Jhayee - "Dear Land Of Guyana"
Trevor Ranks - "Guyanese Girls"
Val Barnwell - "I’d Give Anything"
There's almost nothingthat gets us at OKP more excited than a mixtape blend of classic soul and modern rhymes, and lo and behold, that's exactly what we've got here. DJ Jamad has put in a staggering amount of work and come up with Half Man, Half Amazing--a chopped and blended mix combining the works of Stevie Wonder and Nas. Yes, this is the collision "Do I Do" and "You Owe Me," the mindful meeting of cuts like "Sir Duke" and "Life's A Bitch" all under one roof. At some points Jamad blends the two completely into one new voice, and at others he's content to just let them brush elbows with each other. It's an amazing 80 minutes of hard, funky music. One Love's In Need Of Love Today.
(Artwork by Little Wing Works)
If Valentine's Day just isn't your thing and you spent the weekend maxing hexes on your exes, then take note of this loveless set of songs from the likes of Crystal Castles, The Replacements, Astrud Gilberto and more. Composed of tracks that are all about heartbreak and the evils of romance, the Anti V-Day playlist was put together by artists from Force Field and is honestly a breath of fresh air from all the mushy stuff that's been circulating lately. Unfortunately the set currently exists as a Spotify playlist only, but if you're not using Spotify by now...what's your deal?
The celebrations of J Dilla's monumental artistry have been huge this month, there's no denying. We've seen a brand new Robert Glasper jazz cut, unearthed studio footage and more--but we've never yet witnessed something quite like this. J Rocc and Rhettmatic have partnered with Beat Junkies to deliver a 2x4 mix, meaning we're hearing two DJs man four turntables and thus twice the amount of Dilla you might expect. It's a strange and beautiful ride through the master of beats's material. You can read Beat Junkies' description of it all below:
February is what we like to call "Dilla Month" in honor of the birthday & death anniversary of the one of the greatest (if not THEE greatest) music producer of all time....the one & only James Dewitt Yancey, better known to the world as the legendary J-Dilla. He was born in Detroit on February 7th, 1973 and passed away in Los Angeles on February 10th, 2006 due to complications to Lupus, a few days after his 33rd birthday & the release of his final opus, "Donuts".J.Rocc & Rhettmatic both have a special bond with Dilla. J was part of the circle of close friends when Dilla moved to Los Angeles, that included Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf, & Egon. J.Rocc is also the 3rd member of Jaylib, the collabo group of J-Dilla & Madlib. Rhettmatic eventually also became a part of Dilla's LA's circle of friends. Dilla personally asked Rhett to be his tour DJ for his European Tour (which actually turned out to be Dilla's last tour ever) when J wasn't available.
Both J & Rhett have done personal tribute mixes to their fallen friend over the years, but haven't recently done one in a while....till now. This time, they decided to make another Dilla Tribute Mix....together. They basically planned to record an impromptu, inprovised 2x4 (2 person/4 turntables) mix...nothing pre-planned, see what happens, as they improvise on the spot, weaving in & out of songs with blends & cuts, pick the best parts of the mix, & release it to the world to share.
As a mega-bonus, Beat Junkies has uploaded some behind-the-scenes footage of both Rocc and Rhett in the heat of making it all happen. Watch their quad turntable acrobatics.
When you're done marveling over the Space Jam dunk, turn your attention over to Wax Poetics and their brillant new When We Were Fly mixtape, which was compiled by their head honcho Monk One and features some of the greatest basketball-referencing cuts from the hip-hop archives. Packed with A Tribe Called Quest, Kurtis Blow, Karl Malone, Larry Bird, Dr. J and (of course) Skee-Lo, the set is at once hilarious and hard, a great sampling of the vibrant bonds between rap and hoops, hoops and rap. Read more about the mix's creation over at WaxPo and get in the paint.
Although he just dropped a mixtape two weeks ago, Chairman Mao is back with his Across 135th Street series once again, making a special Valentine's Day lap around the decks for all us lovers. His weapon of choice this time around is reggae, and he's composed Heartful of Reggae as a dedication to the upbeat, positive energy that inundates the genre. Presented by Red Bull Music Academy, includes "the mix From Paris Connection’s version of the Isleys’ infatuation anthem That Lady through Horace Andy’s reading of George McCrae’s bump n’ hustle staple Rock Your Baby through Norma White’s Chic rendition of the Rodgers/Edwards disco classic I Want Your Love and Hortense Ellis and Lloyd Charmers’ take on the Stylistics’ break-up standard You Are Everything – you’re covered." Read a little more about the mix over at Mao's Egotripland and check the tracklisting and cover art at RBMA.
Picture bright neon flickering against a grey, rainy night and you'll have a perfect idea of what it feels like to listen to a sofie mixtape. The Boiler Room don has been a favorite of Okayplayer for a good long while now, and every month she's come through with some of the choicest hip-hop, downtempo and dark R&B we've never heard. This latest edition of her regular SOS Radio program brings La native Iman Omari through for a guest spot, and is two hours of beats so fresh they probably got soil on their tape decks. Sorry fellas, but you can't really touch this good sh*t that sofie's on.
And we just might have saved the best for last. Continuing with the theme of "Mash-ups you can't believe haven't already happened," Martin George has delivered a magical mystery tour of sorts: a 90s hip-hop/The Beatles mix that is in every way as great and weird as it sounds. Everyone from Biggie to Run DMC to Talib Kweli to Big Daddy Kane to Busta Rhymes to Nas to MC Shan (we did say everyone after all) gets matched up with classic Beatles catalog cuts, and so many serendipitous moments arise that it'd be foolish to try and list them all here. Take these two epic items with you and enjoy the rest of your week--more mixtapes are headed your way in just 7 short days.