Needles » jazz

PPF House – Attic [mixtape]

needles — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:25:18 +0000

Well, it’s been a little while since I posted. Unfortunately, that has been a trend for me lately. I have moved a few times and have had a small bit of trouble getting Internet access at the new crib…but that problem is now solved! What better way to reenter the scene then to put my man LEO37 and the PPF House crew on blast. I first met LEO37 when I was gigging in Taipei. We hit it off instantly. The cat has a nice flow and is type ILL with the freestyle. The PPF hail from Canada and cover a wide range of artistic talent, from music to visual arts. Check out their website here. They continue to pump out new material on a regular basis. This particular mixtape actually hit the web this past spring, but it is my favorite so far. Check out two of the tracks below and judge for yourself:

PPF House – Glorious (f/MAGNOLIUS) | mixtape
PPF House – Sometimes Things Go Wrong (f/LEO37, The Worst Pop Band Ever) | mixtape

Oddisee – Odd Summer [mixtape]

needles — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:32:04 +0000

I first heard this cat on DJ Jazzy Jeff’s classic The Magnificent LP back in 2002. I didn’t start hearing any of his production work until Little Brother released their …and Justus for All mixtape a few years ago. Since then, he has worked with a number of artists including Freeway (for his Month of Madness in December), on last year’s mixtape EP with Hot97′s Peter Rosenberg, “A Rosenberg Oddisee” and then finally with DC-based Diamond District, a group he founded with XO and yU. Check out DJ Jon Oliver’s blog for a review of this one. This summer, Oddisee has released a new mixtape of his own new instrumental material, save for the last track with Muhsinah Abdul-Karim who has most recently appeared on Common’s and The Foreign Exchange’s last albums. Odd Summer is a groovy and yes, very summery, mixtape (download it here). It is only eight tracks long and mostly very fun and upbeat. I have included the very Roy Ayers / Donald Byrd jazz-funk-sounding track “When Everything Changed” to give you a taste of his work:

Oddisee – When Everything Changed | mixtape

Heavy Rotation – 2008 September

needles — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:47:36 +0000

This is the first of my monthly posts on some of the stuff I think is worth checkin’ out (Prodigy, Jadakiss, DJ Cam and more). Some of the tracks are notable for lyrics, some have great beats, while others are just treats from artists we haven’t heard in a while, from New York to Los Angeles… even Boston! This month there is a lot of rap, but also some neo-soul and r&b. I’ll be posting a new month’s worth of tracks every week until I catch up with the current month.

[click to listen, files will be available for six months]

DJ Babu – Dearly Departed (f/M.O.P.) | Stones Throw

Heltah Skeltah – D.I.R.T. (Another Boot Camp Clik Yeah Song) | Duck Down

Q-Tip – Gettin’ Up | Motown / Universal

The Foreign Exchange – Daykeeper (f/Muhsinah Abdul-Karim) | Nicolay Music

T.I. – Let My Beat Pound | unreleased

Terrance Martin – The Martin & Blake Jam Session | unreleased

DJ Babu – For Whatever It’s Worth (f/Evidence) | Stones Throw

John Legend – Green Light (f/Andre 3000) (Diplo Dade County 1988 Mix) | independent

DJ Revolution – King of the Decks (f/Sean Price, Tash) | Duck Down

Statik Selektah – Mr. Popularity (f/Consequence) | Showoff / Brick

Prodigy – Stop Stressin’ | Dirt Class

Fusion Unltd. – The Sun (f/Little Brother, Nickelus F, Hall of Fame, Mad Skillz) | Grind Date / ABB

The Game – State of Emergency (f/Ice Cube) | Geffen / Interscope

Jadakiss – By My Side (f/Ne-Yo) | Roc-a-Fella / Island Def Jam / Universal

Johnson & Johnson (Blu, Mainframe) – Wow | Tres

DJ Cam – For Minnie Riperton (f/InLove) | Inflammable

Ne-Yo – Closer | Island Def Jam / Universal