The great mystery mixtape experiment...

Holla scholars.

For grizzled old heads like you and yours truly, stumbling onto a new artist that truly hits you is an ever elusive event. Shit, I still remember getting my copies of 36 Chambers, ATLiens, and Ready to Die for pennies in the mail offa that Columbia House catalog and having my wig blown back way back forever...when's the last time a total mind-fugg of rrrap awesomeness happened to you??

There is no chance for new favorite artists without random stabs into the heart of the indie Internet hip hop clusterfuck. That's why I'm posting a series of mixtapes sent to me by a cat named Sweeny Kovar (www.sweeneykovar.wordpress.com). According to son these are more like playlists full of dope ish rather than mixtapes, as the mixing is poor to non-existent. Whatever's clever. Haven't listened to 'em, maybe never will, but hidden gems look to abound here...I see some Royce the 5'9'', some J Dills, some Elzhi...right up the Fat Money's ole alley, dig? So peep and support. Son posted even more (older) mixes up on the aforementioned blog if ya'll still ain't satiated by these platters of fatter matter:

CDRadioFour: http://www.divshare.com/download/5792947-92f (featuring Jaylib's "Bonus Beat")

CDRadioFive: http://www.divshare.com/download/5852153-b37 (featuring Kev Brown, Black Milk, etc)

FreshSelect's very first mixtape: http://www.freshselects.net/freshselectsloosejoints

CDRadioSix: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bzzdzy (featuring spoken word by late, great Nuyorican poet, Miguel Pinero)

CDRadioSeven: http://www.sendspace.com/file/gna6fp

Cashusking & Blu- Angelic: http://www.sendspace.com/file/kcnooa

If anyone actually peeps the formulas, let me know if they're any good-- The Fat Money knows time is money, which makes my time fat. It moves slow and doesn't get far, I need more ears than I presently have. Spread some love...

Dub MD presents new mixtape: "Hip Hop Renatus"

http://www.mediafire.com/?m1ntu2mnydm

Don't sleep on this one. It features a slew of lesser known lyrical talent over "New, Rare, Classic & Unreleased" instrumentals from production l-l-l-legends like J Dilla, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, ?uestlove, Large Professor, Oddisee, Illmind, Marley Marl, Madlib, 9th Wonder and others, so at the very least there's gon be some choice beats to head nod to.

"Renatus" is a Latin term meaning Re-birth: exactly what the game needs right now. Exactly what the earth needs right now. Exactly what my fuggin whole like need right now. Dig it!

Mixtape ov the Day: DJ Rondevu's "The Depression"

(Why does the recession feels so depressing? Probably because even us lucky ducks with gainful employment hate our jobs. But fear not, music as escapism is still a valid pursuit...)

So for all you pod-heads eager to fill up that massive empty space in your life (oops I mean hard drives), here's another collection of solid mainstream rrrrrap mixed up nicely by my man DJ Rondevu.

Z-Share: http://www.zshare.net/download/522010618dd515d0/

or
yousendit: https://www.yousendit.com/download/TTZtWmd1UzdlcEtGa1E9PQ

*check out track 16, "Interview with that Palin Bitch" if nothing else, or the reprise of Bun B's "That's Gangsta" with Styles P. Now that's gangsta and gentleman, man.

Combating cultural amnesia 1 mixtape at a time: Throwback rap from the Arsonists

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F00NUG9K&utm_source=Creative+Juices+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c8ab9561fb-November+2008+Creative+Juices+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

Free download of a mix made in 1998, featuring a slew of classic and rare tracks from that group the Arsonists. If you don't know, ya better... (and shit, if you don't know how to finish that phrase up, you really better...). For those with short attention spans, the Arsonists were (are) a tight and multi-faceted group out of Bushwick (Brooklyn!) who promoted all the elements of Hip Hop culture with passion and action. Wikipedia says they originally had 13 members, damn. Anyway, no blingin out here, jus real real good music.

1998: the year of puffy and cash money, the year we all thought the music couldn't possibly get any worse....ha!

thinking bout end of year top tens

folk, fam, flim, flam,

As is inevitable every year, holiday season for me means not presents and cheer (the Fat Money is notoriously broke and cantankerous) but end-of-year best and worst of lists. Only this year, after a few nights spent tossing and (as they say) turning, I am really at a loss as to clear album favorites from 2008. A variety of factors may be at fault: I've basically given up buying CDs (a far cry from my hey-day of $100/week on music conspicous consumption, big up Cheapos); the artists that are usually money have come with weaker-than-usual efforts (the Dude, Weezy, etc); my memory is shot from one (or 500) tooo many spliffies; the music industry sucks. Basically, it seems like this was a(nother) down year for our beloved hip hop (remember 95? Me neither).

I'm wondering if I'm alone in this feeling. Also, I'm sure there are at least ten amazing indie/inderground/local joints that I've either forgotten about or haven't gotten my greasy hands on. What I'm asking for from you, my loyal readers (no doubt all of you discerning experts on rrrrap), are suggestions on some ov your favorite discs from the last year. Whereas others might call this sort of blanket pandering lazy journalism, I like to think of it as an effective form of populist collectivization (sans pleas for the free coinage of silver, read your history kiddies).

My preliminary list includes Bun B, Z Ro, The Roots, Steinski, Q-Tip, Prof EP, Muja Messiah...But what am I overlooking?

Leave a comment with anything you can think ov. Peace peace!

New track from my man Braille: "Frankenstein"

Been sitting on this one for a while (its like Halloween themed, dig?), but it sho nuff deserves some shine. Heading up the trump-tight label Hip Hop IS Music (yea tell us somefin we don't know, kid), Braille has been putting in work for a minute (4 full length albums deep, van damme). Check out this year's The IV Edition, then peep my review of the solid comp "Heavy Rotation" from 2006, and cop that joint too: http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2006_09_heavyrotation.html

The new track is a collaboe between Braille and S1, the first in (we can only hope) a series of tracks that will comprise the future album "Cloud Nineteen" from the two like-minded artists.

The Fat Money is a techno dinosaur, so the best I can do is list a link to all the press materials for this one...worth the effort dun dun: http://www.hiphopismusic.com/uploads/Frankenstein.zip

So illy.

i gets visual

Ever since the Fat Money discovered that here in Mad-town the hip hop can be thicker than coughee smoke in Devin's hotel room one minute, then suddenly it's winter and ain't even no mo doobies in the 'tray (metaphor, kiddies), I been scrambling to expand the H.E.A.D.S. enterprise. I swear, next time a name-brand rrrrapper sets foot in Wisco I'll be too old to enjoy it. But my cash flow is never weak, so what I'm gonna do but play da Vinci on 'em and enlarge the repertoire...

Even though my spurious creditials for film criticism include sleeping through an intro to film studies class in college and boasting having seen the movie Rockers at least 50 times, The Decider actually believed I could review a film fest screening, and I tricked them into publishing my piece, which even comes with neat youtube clips to enjoy:
http://madison.decider.com/articles/recap-wiskinos-fall-kabaret,1093/

Tomorrow I'ma see if I can check out some ballet...playing! Ain't slippin, expect more funky shit from H.E.A.D.S. sooner than later...