OKP Premiere: Spread Love With Pharoahe Monch's 'Lost In Translation' Valentine's Day Mix

There's no denying that we've seen a host of artists' releases dedicated to the Valentine's Day holiday--it is, after all, a holiday about giving gifts to the ones you love. But Pharoahe Monch has gone beyond the single-track greeting card--he's crafted a brand new mix, Lost in Translation, that delivers enough loving material to last you through your entire Valentine's weekend.

The mix homes in on the tenderest moments in Pharoahe's storied MC career, and also showcases his open mindedness when it comes to collaboration. Most importantly it features brand new material from Monch and Phonte, a calm-strutting production entitled "Home (We Got This)." Phonte, listeners may recall, has been markedly scarce as of late, and so this Valentine's Day present of a brand new feature from P is a very welcome surprise indeed. Beyond that, early in the set we're treated to a full-on remix of Robert Glasper's "Calls," an already lush and soulful love song that now benefits from the deft bars of Monch and Mr. Porter's tasteful production. Also in the compilation set are Pharoahe features with the likes of Eric Roberson and Brandon Williams, and the entire set closes with a massive finale.

Yesterday Pharoahe remarked on Twitter that "Lost In Translation is a retrospective of songs about the pursuit of love, love lost & regained & it's beautiful emotional journey," but minutes before posting that message, Monch sat down with Okayplayer to speak at length about the mix's greatest moments."Loose Ends," the compilation's epic finale, is a revitalized take on classic Sergio Mendez material featuring not only Monch but Justin Timberlake and Will.I.Am. The track only became fully realized after Monch flew out to LA to hear a new project at Will's request, who had been hinting that he might want to hear the MC lend his talents to a particular latin-tinged track. "I said 'Stop! I'm already writing to the record,'" Monch recalled, and in a matter of no time "Loose Ends" was complete.

Check out the back cover and full tracklist to Lost in Translation below, and stream the Okayplayer-presented world premiere of Pharoahe's Valentine's Day love letter to the world + get the download at pharoahe.com.