A Look at the Long List: 7. D-sisive – Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye

I’ve supported the kid before. Derrick aka D-Sisive seems to be a love it or hate it proposition for many with his laconic almost spoken word rhyme style and song subject matter heavy on the pop culture references, but he puts a lot of himself in these records too and I gotta respect that. As a matter of fact, I guested on my dude Paul’s ‘What I Call Music’ podcast, the first part of which should be dropping my end of the week (aka Canada Day for my US bred’ren) and I actually ended the show with the track, “If….” so read into that what you want!

A Look at the Long List: 5. Buck 65 – 20 Odd Years

Buck 65 is the kind of rapper and hip-hop the Polaris jury tends to favor (cf. K’naan, K-os etc.): more respectful of the old school and/or the four elements of hip-hop culture than most other contemporary, more commercial MC’s but at the same time incorporating more of rockist feel to their sound be it using instruments more than samples during recording or a band set-up for live performances. In Buck’s case that means exploring more a rootsy, blues-man feel in the music he’s released in the latter parts of his career. Although I won’t lie and claim to be an expert on his music or much of a fan based on the stuff I’ve ever checked out in the past but 20 Odd Years had it’s moments including actually a sense of humor on ‘Zombie Delight” and a dubstep and strings melange on the ‘Who By Fire’ track that features fellow Polaris nominee, Jenn Grant who also provides an assist of the moving, ‘Paper Airplanes.’

Buck 65 Superstars Don’t Love [MP3]

Buck 65 Zombie Delight [MP3]

[MP3] Arcade Fire – Suburbs (Alejandro Chal Remix) feat. Drake

From the homies at GFC-NY an interesting mash-up (?) of two of the biggest music industry success stories out of Canada in the past couple years:

“Here’s another remix courtesy of Alejandro Chal, which you may formally know as Precize. The song involves a blend of Arcade Fire‘s Suburbs and some verses from Drizzy. Not quite as breezy as the original version, but certainly a more lively version. Check it out and let us know what you think. FACELIFT VOL. 1 Coming Soon.”

MP3 Download: Suburbs (Alejandro Chal Remix) by Alejandro Chal

I digs a lot. What about y’all??

[Music Video] Shaun Boothe presents part 7 of 12: the Unauthorized Biography of Oprah Winfrey

Been a while since Kitchen fave, Shaun Boothe has done one of these Unauthorized Biographies. What y’all think of this one on the Queen of all Media?

Bonus:

Also, check out Shaun’s new single:

MP3 Download: Do It For You feat. Kim Davis by Shaun Boothe | Alt. download link: sendspace

[DJ mix] Chris Read – Classic Material Edition 8

“Edition #8 of our monthly Classic Material series pays tribute to the hip hop of 1994, a year which for many is best remembered for giving us two of hip hop’s most revered debut albums, Nas‘ Illmatic and Notorious B.I.G‘s Ready to Die. It was also a golden year for radio and mixtape DJs with tapes from the likes of Funkmaster Flex, Stretch Armstrong, Doo Wop, Ron G and others being a key outlet for the new breed of underground acts as well as established names. Despite tempos generally drifting downward in comparison with previous years and the general sound of the year’s output being laidback and largely jazz infused, ’94 had its fair share of anthems, Craig Mack‘s ‘Flava In Your Ear’, Gang Starr‘s ‘Mass Appeal’ and Channel Live‘s ‘Mad Izm’ being notable examples.

As with previous editions, our mix places classic cuts alongside the lesser heard. The CD version, available next week from the Classic Material online store includes a megamix of 30 classic cuts from 1994 and a Chris Read Remix of a classic 1994 cut.”

How come labels can’t offer package for sale like this?? Dude’s even doing a release event for this edition – get details HERE.

BUY Chris Read – Classic Material Edition #8

Related: speaking of classic 90’s hip-hop, check out the t-shirt my Dad was wearing this morning!