Mixtape Monday: DJ QBert, Ta-Ku, Prince Paul, The Rub + Many More!
It's time for another edition of your favorite weekly sonic rodeo. That's right, Mixtape Monday is back yet again bringing a rush express delivery of hip-hop, house, funk and more straight to your earphones. This week's lineup keeps it thoroughly old school and thoroughly hip-hop, kicking off with a scratch-heavy mix of vintage funk from DJ QBert before diving into Prince Paul's latest work, an ODB tribute set, fresh tones from Eli Escobar. As a little breather, we've included the latest airport-friendly "Flight Track" set from Aussie producer Ta-ku. Whether you prefer dance, head nod or carelessly drift through your week, OKP has got you covered with this big batch of seamless tones. Let's begin.
One of the most revered and revolutionary to ever lay hands on a turntable, DJ QBert has returned with a vibrant new mix that skews toward the vintage and acoustic side of things. Loaded with psych rock guitars, latin congas and more than a few classic break beats, 'Bert's "Hard Boiled Scrambled" mixtape features DJ The Eggsecutioner and is one of the best old-style vinyl cooking sessions that we've heard in a long, long time. QBert and Eggsecutioner bounce back and forth, teasing new grooves out of short repeated interludes and come up with a mix that makes for both joyful listening and mind-bending education. Inquiring parties should check out QBert's wild and weird "Jellyfish Lazer Face" mix from earlier this year and if you somehow haven't heard his A+ chop of DJ Shadow, go ahead and do yourself a favor.
When Ta-ku teamed up with travel and lifestyle magazine Cereal a few months back to make a playlist for travelers all around the world, we were treated to a gorgeous mix of ambient, indie and R&B. Now the Aussie beatsmith has returned with the second installment in his "Flight Track" series, and this one leans even heavier on the sort of woozy, slowbeat R&B that seems to be pouring out of the land of Oz these days. With cuts from Arcade Fire, Thundercat, CYN and more, "Flight Track" 2.0 is a big step up from its already excellent predecessor and is proof that mister 'ku has his airport playlist game on lockdown.
In rapid succession, Prince Paul has been dropping mixtape gems. Now his royal highness has returned with the 3rd installment of his "It's Not The Size Of Your Mix, It's How You Use It" series, which features cuts from Quasimoto (aka Madlib), A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy and many more. The short but sweet session (but let's be honest, 41 minutes isn't bad by any stretch) is full of expert blends and fades, rolling from one obscure choice tune to the next. Paul calls the mix "a collection of songs I never get to hear outside of my iPod," which suggests that we all best be giving these tracks much more love. It all kicks off with Nine's "Whatchu Want" and only builds from there, so put it on and enjoy some grade-A hip-hop from one of the genre's best.
If you haven't yet caught your copy of Check The Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies...what's your deal? Author Brian Coleman put in a massive amount of work compiling notes and errata on the genre's most essential recordings and live moments, bringing them together in a gorgeous live book that has already lead to a second volume (and hopefully a future third?).
To commemorate the release of Coleman's fist volume, Brooklyn RadioThe Rub (aka DJ Ayres & DJ Eleven) threw down a fantastic hip-hop mix full of joints from A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, The Wu-Tang Clan, BDP, Onyx, Black Moon and more. The set from Ayers and Eleven bucks em down hard, doing Check The Technique justice in very way. What are you waiting for? Push play and re-up your true school listening pleasure.
If you're not hip to the legend of Nicky Siano and The Gallery club of New York in the 70s, then skip right over to our previous post and get yourself educated. This is the kind of set that we live for in Mixtape Monday--a historic document of under-appreciated songs that satisfies the thinking brain and shaking hips all at once. Siano regularly DJed at The Gallery throughout the 70s and now another of his vintage sets has reappeared in the digital realm. The mix charts a course from disco through vintage soul (check the back-to-back Stevie Wonder cuts in the opening minutes) and shows just how much could be done with old equipment, classic records and a whole lot of DJ skill. Read more about Siano's work over at Wax Poetics but press play immediately to let the funk party begin.
The vibes continue on. Soul Bounce has brought forth the latest installment in their Mixologists series, this one curated by DJ Harvey Dent. Full of groovy house cuts new and old from the likes of Jimpster, Janice B and Fela Kuti (by way of Chris Deepak), the mix is an uptempo hour of non-stop forward motion, sure to satisfy lovers of that four-on-the-floor kick drum sound. Things vary from clean keyboard work into gritty bass and back again on Dent's mix, so get on your good foot and enjoy.
Tracklist:
Choklate - "Wide Open" (Reel People Vocal Mix)
Janice B - "Watch Me Fly" (N'Dinga Gaba & D-Malice Remix)
Louis Benedetti - "Cosmic Soul" (Original Mix)
Jimpster - "Head Spin"
Death On The Balcony - "Addict For Your Love"
Block & Crown & Kim Kaey - "Be Good" (Original)
Adri Block - "Why Are U So Mad" (Original)
Meropa Park - "Live A Lil'" (Suges Remix)
Ricky Indo - "Big Dub & A Smile" (Demarkus Lewis Rework)
Rocky Dawuni - "African Thriller" (Sol Power All-Stars Remix)
Fela Kuti - "No Possible" (Chris Deepak Remix)
Jay Vasseur - "Get On Down" (Original Mix)
Ultra Tone feat. VaalSow & DJ Sue - "Stars (Everlasting Love)" [DeejayKul Meets Soultechnic Remix]
Raheem DeVaughn - "Guess Who Loves You More" (Kenny Dope Main Remix)
Marsha Ambrosius - "Far Away" (Terry Hunter Bang Sunday Classic Mix)
The Begian master LeFtO has once again come correct with a new installment of his regular show, and this one flirts back and forth between solid hip-hop and ethereal future R&B in a way that's sure to satisfy. Most importantly the mix includes brand new material from Waajeed, not to mention fresh picks from the catalogs of SBTRKT, Pete Rock, Jamie XX, Goldlink and more. As per usual the mix goes to great lengths to satisfy and is a dynamite 2 hours of enjoyment for listeners of all stripes. Bless you LeFtO, please and thank you keep em coming.
Tracklist:
Makaya Mccraven - "Finances"
swarvy - "Dubious"
Clap! Clap! - "Alchemical Ceremony"
Kendrick Lamar - "Alright"
Gaby Hernandez - "Entranced"
SBTRKT - "Renegades"
Nikitch - "Red Keys"
Action Bronson - Actin Crazy"
Pete Rock - "Play Yo Horn"
Monkey Robot - "Yolo 15"
Onra - "We Ridin" (ft. Dazz Dillinger & Olivier St Louis)
Cid Rim - "Kano"
Blackbyrds - Dreaming About You
Goldlink - "Sober Thoughts"
Dayme Arocena - "Don't Unplug My Body"
Sohail Rana - "Badal Aur Bilji"
Jamie XX - "Gosh"
Ishmael - "Cold Comfort Farm"
Seba & Karma - "Kring Klein"
Badbadnotgood - "Street Knowledge"
Dave Richards & the Invisibles - "Heart Full of Love"
Fortune - "All Alone" ft. Alexander Lewis
Earl Sweatshirt - "Huey"
Hiatus Kaiyote - "Breathing Underwater"
Reginald Omas Mamode IV - "Moneymaker"
STUFF. - "Java"
Chuck Flores - "Padali"
Andy Hart - "MYLNY"
George Fitzgerald - "Full Circle"
Church Boy Jeedo - "Show Me"
KiNK - "Pocket Piano"
Tom Trago - "Hidden Heart of Gold"
A first-timer in Mixtape Monday, Mistah Rapsey is a new name you should jot down in your R&B rolodex. The host and curator of Staying Underground, Rapsey (real name Thomas Rapsey) has been putting together great sets since at least 2010, but hit a futuristic home run with the 11th installment of his "Collaborator" series, calling on the talents of Miami DJ Lawki to bring forth an extended set of tones that sit neatly in the future-R&B lane that's been blazed by the likes of Ta-Ku, Jakarta Records and the entire Soulection crew. Lawki's opening minutes bring tasteful choices like Cazal Organism's "Ori Shango" and Minneapolis MC Allan Kingdom's stumbling, brilliant "Wavy" before Rapsey himself takes charge with Potatohead People, Nujabes and the latest from Hiatus Kaiyote. "One of the main qualities that I wanted to bring back was the personal context given to the music when it is created by someone you know," Rapsey told Okayplayer, speaking of his "Collaborator" series. "That's how I formulated the idea to collaborate with all the folk who's music taste has helped shape my own." Listen to his joint offering with Lawki below, scan pervious installments in the "Collaborator" series here and keep both ears our for more goodness from the Rapsey real soon.
Tracklist:
A Side: Lawki
1. Mono/Poly - "Needs Deodorant"
2. Cazal Organism - "Ori Shango
3. Hirokazu Tanaka - "ディジー姫のテーマ(Evil Needle remix)"
4. KOI - "There for You"
5. Allan Kingdom - "Wavey (Ft. Spooky Black)"
6. PYRMDPLAZA - "Glasses"
7. Gylzeyy - "Vigorous"
8. Bhonstro - "Seize"
9. B.W@V - "Long Walks"
10. Mick Jenkins - "Fresh Water (Whoarei / Knxwledge Rework)"
11. Spike Lee Interview snippet (off of Leeland Fakir $truggling Arti$t tape)
B Side: Mistah Rapsey
1. Potatohead People - "Luv Ya w/ Amalia (Noo-Bap Remix)"
2/3. su na - "Fade / Traced"
4. Nujabes - "Sanctuary Ship"
5. Elaquent - "Black Magic (ft. Kae)"
6. Kelela - "A Message [Prod/ by Arca]"
7. fLako - "Illusions (Flava Dre Breakaway Mixx)"
8. Joe Cruz & The Cruzettes - "Love Song"
9. Hiatus Kaiyote - "Breathing Underwater"
This one is so, so, so damn appropriate. Put together by the good folks at Shout Out New York and United Crates, on hand is a brand new mixtape of rare and raw Ol' Dirty Bastard (r.i.p. forever) material, which includes radio freestyles from the 90s, lost verses, way-out-there Wu-Tang features and more. The mix was constructed to commemorate ODB's classic Return to the 36 Chambers, which celebrated its 20th anniversary late last month. Put it on, turn it up, and enjoy the timeless work of one of the greatest of late MCs.
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Hot 97 Freestyle (’95)
3. Take It Back To Brooklyn ft. GZA
4. Dirty The Moocher
5. Cracker Jack
6. Don’t You Know Part. II
7. Rawhide ft. Raekwon & Method Man
8. Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix)
9. Drug Free
10. ’96 Freestyle Interlude
11. Give It To Ya Raw (SD50)
12. Ol’ Dirty’s Back ft. 12 O’Clock
13. Reunited (Lost verse)
14. One Shot, Two Shot ft. Thirstin Howl III
15. Live On Air Pt. 2 ft. Method Man
16. Stretch & Bobbito Zoo Freestyle
17. Dog Shit
18. Maria ft. Cappadonna
19. Kiss of The Black Widow ft. RZA
20. Pop Shots ft. Lil’ Fame
Last but not least we're pleased to highlight Eli Escobar's latest mix, which was served up live at the Brooklyn Museum just last weekend to celebrate the opening of their new exhibit of Basquiat's notebooks. Escobar's mix features selections from Blondie, Phase II, Funk Sinatra and others. It's the perfect way to leave off this week's roundup, a punch eclectic set dedicated to one of the greatest visual artists of the last century. Until next week dear friends, keep moving to it.