Mixtape Monday: Te’Amir, Marquis Hill, Tabi Bonney, King Most + More

Source: Bandcamp

Te’Amir, Marquis Hill, Tabi Bonney, King Most and more contribute tapes celebrating a cross-section of cultures this Mixtape Monday.

Te’Amir Sweeney previews the forthcoming Abyssinia EP, inspired by his Ethiopian heritage. Marquis Hill teams with King Legend and Mic We$t to explore transcendental thought on the Meditation Tape. Tabi Bonney explores the African continent on Le Bon Voyage, and King Most’s Redirection Collection is a 32-track compilation of his best reworks.

Amerigo Gazaway celebrates the 26th anniversary of a Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth classic with the Mecca And The Soul Brother (Remixes). Producer Lewis Parker returns with When It Rains It Pours, Damon Davis takes a journey into the heavens with Darker Gods, clwdwlkr serves up Visions, ewonee’s Wattstax inspired ‘73 tape makes the cut, and DJ Rahdu closes things out with the Sun-Ra Mix for Skoolwerk Apparel.

Source: Bandcamp

Te’Amir - Abyssinia

Te’Amir Sweeney follows the 2018 LA GIGS tape with a preview of his forthcoming Abysinnia EP, out July 27th via Tru Thoughts. The project is led by “Habesha” – a single dedicated to the “strength and history” of the Ethiopian people.

Highlighting five new tracks of beat driven, rootsy and soulful explorations, this EP is inspired by Te’Amir’s Ethiopian heritage and features the psychedelic vocals of Dustin Warren, strings from Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, harp lines from virtuoso Rebekah Raff, Randal Fisher on saxophone and more of L.A.’s finest creatives.

Marquis Hill - Meditation Tape

Trumpeter Marquis Hill drops a timely rework of his 2017 Meditation Tape, featuring MC’s King Legend and Mic We$t. The tape exploring the rich and diverse sounds of black music also features contributions from bassist Junius Paul, drummer Makaya McCraven, keyboardist Brett Williams, pianist Kiefer Shackelford and poet Harold Green III.

Source: Spotify

Tabi Bonney - Le Bon Voyage

DMV institution Tabi Bonney lends his Afropolitan sensibilities to the four-track Le Bon Voyage tape. The project is the audio accompaniment to his collaborative photo exhibition of the same name, which showcases the beauty and diversity of the people in southern Ethiopia’s Omo Valley.

Source: Bandcamp

King Most - Redirection Collection (32-Track Anthology)

King Most compiles a whopping thirty-two tracks worth of his jam-centric reworks with the arrival of the Redirection Collection.

Folks, I'm very happy to send this to you all just in time for your summertime gigs and kickbacks.

It's a 32 track anthology of my work as a remixer/producer in various genres from the past few years. Everything from reworks that landed on radio shows worldwide to go-to favorites found in countless DJ sets. Enjoy these as much as I did making them.

Source: Bandcamp

Amerigo Gazaway - Mecca And The Soul Brother (Remixes)

Amerigo Gazaway lends his ace remixing skills to a handful of joints from Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s Mecca and The Soul Brother LP.

Had to go back and flip several of my favorite Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth joints for the 26th Anniversary of their debut LP "Mecca and The Soul Brother". Stay tuned and subscribe to hear more exclusives like this one. -AG

Source: Bandcamp

Lewis Parker - When It Rains It Pours

Known for his contributions to the catalogs of Joey Bada$$ and Ghostface Killah, producer Lewis Parker gives up just a little more heat on When It Rains It Pours.

Source: Bandcamp

Damon Davis - Darker Gods

Saint Louis native and post-disciplinary artist Damon Davis explores the nuances of blackness across planes of existence with the eleven-track project Darker Gods, which features appearances from Tef Poe, Samora Pinderhughes, Kari Livingston and Tonina.

Source: Bandcamp

clwdwlkr - Visions

clwdwlkr drops a solid twelve tracks for the lo-fi beat tape junkies with the arrival of Visions. The tape is split down the middle with an A-side and B-side that recall the road trips, vast bodies of water, warm temperatures and colorful moments that typically accompany the warmer months.

Source: Bandcamp

ewonee- ’73

ewonee pays tribute to director Mel Stuart’s classic funk and soul documentary Wattstax, which was released in February of 1973, with the 22-track ‘73 tape.

'73 is what happens when I take out thee timee machine. Inspired by the black and beautiful documentary "Wattstax". This collection is a tribute to beauty, perseverance and strength of people who look like mee. Enjoy.

Source: Mixcloud

DJ Rahdu - Sun-Ra Mix

Bamalovesoul’s DJ Rahdu pays tribute to Sun-Ra and champions the act of listening with the Sun-Ra Mix for Skoolwerk Apparel.

Born and raised in my city, Sun Ra is a constant muse and musical icon whose philosophy included thinking outside of the box and not being confined to another’s ideas. Coupled with the increase of albums being hailed as classics or failures within hours of release I imagined a musical listening society that allowed an album a reasonable incubation period before bestowing a designation. This Listening Society would serve as a means to discuss music and share ideas with like-minded individuals IN PERSON. Think book club, but instead of discussing a literary work, we would chat about an album in that fashion. In a time when everyone is so quick to rate and judge an album, I felt a need to return to an era when an album was properly digested and discussed before it received a dubious distinction based primarily on groupthink. Music is subjective, of course, so no one is right or wrong but it’s always fun to dialogue.

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Karas Lamb writes and digs for tunes you haven’t heard yet. She actually wants to listen to your mixtape. Follow her on Twitter @karaslamb or Instagram @blamblamkaraslamb.