A big shout to Brooklyn's "Teflon Don" MC, Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Christopher Wallace, who was murdered on this day back in 1997. How do you know when an artist's music is enduring? I DJ'd a Bar Mitzvah in Manhattan last month and had a whole chorus of 13 year olds rapping back to me the lyrics to "Juicy." Classic. (Shout to Mandean for the heads up.)
Back to basics this week, as I bring some fresh riddims for the new year. Jump Start riddim is fyah, the 2010 riddim: also fyah. A couple of new Vybz Kartel joints (leave your kids out of the room when "Beg Yuh..." comes on), including the new banger "Versatility,” a solid follow up to last year's "Romping Shop". Sorry, no Mavado in this mix, but don't think I'm taking sides in the Gaza/Gully conflict (peep this week's Village Voice to know what I'm talking about. Apparently some people feel that the rivalry between Vybz and Mavado could become Jamaica's answer to Biggie and Tupac.) I go out to left field with some solid Bhangra mash-ups from Tigerstyle, then bring it home like always with the roots and culture. Tell Mr. Officer to cool down for the next 50 minutes, I-man not cause no trouble, just bringing vibes and tunes.
This week on Greenmoney, Alex and Leo welcome Photomachine for a mix of heavy bass and forward thinking dance clangers. If you're in the Brixton area of the U.K. across the pond, you can check out the Greenmoney crew at their bi-monthly fiesta, Download This! at Plan B. Joining them on the decks is Roska, Seiji, Redlight, and Photomachine.
Lil' Wayne starts his mandatory rest and relaxation at Rikers Island Resort and Spa today. If the goblin rapper is a good boy, he could be out in eight months. He was sentenced to one year for gun possession on an October 2007 felony charge, when his tour bus was raided by the NYPD and a semi-automatic pistol was found. We look forward to his prison bar blues mixtapes, where autotune will be a hard commodity to trade for. Fast home, Weezy.
Reports coming into the magical bodega that is The Dope Spot this week is that the Wu, down many members on Friday night at the Nokia Theater, still brought the menace. I'm certainly enjoying this new track, "Criminology 2.5," which is part of their new LP, Wu Massacre, dropping March 29th. As usual, there's plenty of new stuff to dig into and funky classics to get your Monday moving.
Before actually listening to Ann Arbor native Mayer Hawthorne, one might be hard-pressed to believe that this 31-year old is a crooner who learned from listening to the greats (Mayfield, Hayes, Robinson) while driving with his father as a young boy. The Stones Throw producer, songwriter, DJ, rapper and snazzy dresser has had quite a year. Even before his debut release, A Strange Arrangement, came out in September of '09, Hawthorne was touted as this decade's soul man. Hawthorne and his live band The County chose Webster Hall in NYC as the jump off for this latest series of U.S. tour dates.
DJ U-Tern gets your weekend started with this week's episode of One Day Later, "Head For the Hill." There's a slew of new dance music here, with an exclusive remix by yours truly. If you're in the Vancouver area tonight, check out U-Tern on the decks at Fortune for the Happy Endings Friday party. Let's goooooooooo!
DJ Darkat is a sunshine scientist behind the boards on this week's episode of Sound Dimensions. Mixed up on this show is Gus Valley, Squarepusher, Money Mark, DJ Food, Flanger, Mouse on Mars, and much more.
