Episode 207 : Kickin' Back

"...we gon' act like we on vacation, with this on rotation." - Nas This episode was a challenge - I needed to get the audio recorded before going off on a beautiful honeymoon/anniversary trip with Dr. Lisa, which meant I had to work fast! Now that I'm back, I've been able to use a photo I took on the trip for some appropriate cover art for an episode that in the main is in that cruising/vibing/grooving lane. If any of these tracks are new to you, I get the feeling at least one will stick in your head over the coming weeks... Mastodon : @[email protected] Twitch : @airadam13 Playlist/Notes Jak D, Craig G, Sean Price, and Large Pro : Why You Wanna Do That? You didn't bring in the late Sean P for your light and polished beats, he was someone who got the call for blessing the crunchier, more traditional production. This track falls between the two, and is from one of those super-underground 12"s that make up the distinctive parts of a DJ's collection. The unmistakable Large Pro is the first voice you hear among this set of respected NYC MCs, and he supplies the low-key bouncy production too. Ilajide : Nubian Lady Serious bassline action from Detroit's own Ilajide, taken from the "Latex" LP. This funk disciple was of course the producer for Clear Soul Forces, and has worked with artists like Semi Six, but I'd love to hear even more MCs taking on his beats! Kokane : Out Of My Mind We enter the first mix on a romantic tip, with a G-Funk lean, courtesy of Pomona's Kokane - a man you may have heard here and there alongside more mainstream rappers, but who has a long catalogue and storied career in his own right. Here he shows that his singing isn't limited to just the occasional hook, as he carries the whole track in his inimitable style and over his own production. This is the highlight of "Lady Kokane Presents Kokane Love Songs" for me, but far from the only quality track. Anthony Danza ft. B-Legit, J. Stalin, and Bosko : Nobody Mobbin Heading up the coast to the Pacific Northwest, we land in Seattle for an album cut from the brand new Anthony Danza release "Highway Lifestyle". Of course you recognise the hook, flipping a Chaka Khan classic, before the bright, grooving Church Santana beat even fully kicks in. Once we're up to speed, Danza slays the opening verse before yielding the floor to his guests - with foundational "mob music" MC B-Legit of The Click being an especially welcome inclusion. Plus, you can never go wrong with adding a bit of talkbox (not Autotune!) Kurupt, DJ Battlecat, and Butch Cassidy : West Coast Muzik Ain't that the truth? Quintessential Cali funk right here. Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound has just released a full album ("Tales From My Hood") with production legend DJ Battlecat, re-uniting a duo who have a history going back at least as far as Kurupt's solo debut back in 1995. With this being released on Death Row Records, we basically time travel back to the 90s for a few minutes, as Kurupt and then veteran MC/singer Butch Cassidy represent their side over a bouncy, sunny beat that, together with its underlying toughness, strongly reflects the place it comes from. Moon Riders : The Galaxy Who'd have thought Italy would be the home of a producer on a mission to keep that 80s synth-bassed, talkbox funk alive? Ivan Makvel, half of Moon Riders, is also the owner of The Sleepers Recordz, and a devotee of that sound. On "The Boogie Diaries" he combines with fellow astronaut Esko Boogie to take all those vintage influences and fold them into a collection of modern funk dopeness, with this track being a prime example. Heavy synth bass, talkbox lead vocal, handclaps in place of a snare, it's all there! Onra : Moving The Parisian Onra is a producer who was on the 80s/boogie tip way before most, and here he takes a nice 1983 record and keeps it recognisable while dropping the speed and putting his own swing on the added drums. The full track is only about two and a half minutes long, but absolutely earns its place on the 2010 "Long Distance" LP. The album is an expensive one these days, at least partially because it's not available for digital purchase or streaming - so if you see a copy for anything like a reasonable price, pick it up as it'll likely be a while, if ever, before you see another! AZ : Fresh Water Mr. Quiet Money returned this year with the third entry in his "Doe Or Die" series, that started way back in 1995. AZ gets outrageously fly over two strong verses here - I could have done without the interlude between the two, but then that's just my preference. Bink does a great job on the boards, with what sounds like a sped-up soul sample being pounded into submission by big, booming drums that AZ simply glides over. This is the sound of an MC who hasn't lost a single step in over thirty years. Nas : You Wouldn't Understand "Life Is Good" seems like a relatively-recent release, but is actually a 2012 release - how the time has flown! Nas' tenth album was of course headlines by the mighty "The Don", but this smoothly-produced cut quietly holds down its spot. The Eighties-infused production from Buckwild of DITC provides the bedding for Nas to express the uniqueness of his life, while Victoria Monét provides the sweetly-sung hook that helps bring it all together. Go back and check the whole album sometime, the deluxe edition ideally. DJ.Fresh : Sugarfoot This track channels strong Ohio flavour via California, with Oakland/LA producer DJ.Fresh for a mostly-instrumental ride. The "Zapp & Roger Refreshed" project is a collection of tracks flipping and reworking the work of the late great Roger Troutman, and this samples something I didn't even know existed! Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner of the Ohio Players released a solo LP "Sugar Kiss" in 1985 which was produced by Roger, recorded at Troutman Sound Labs, and which needs to be chased down and added to my crates :) BusCrates ft. Lailah Reich : Gotta Get Back The Pittsburgh synth boss continues the funky thread, with the guitar licking crazy and the bassline warm and enveloping. Late-night lounge vibes from the "Altitude" album from last year, with Lailah Reich adding a cool, assured vocal performance. If you like this kind of music at all, I think it's impossible not to enjoy the LP. Nicolay : Players' Ball For those who don't know, Nicolay came onto the scene from The Netherlands in the early 2000s via his work with Little Brother, and Phonte in particular - the duo formed the much-loved duo The Foreign Exchange. While those releases were lauded and popular amongst those in the know, there was a lot of material that didn't see the light of day...until now! "Nice Chops - The Dutch Schultz Tapes 2004-2008" is pretty much what the name suggests - previously unreleased material from the 2004-2008 period, remastered for a 2020s release. A breezy beat like this one could easily have made a great album cut with vocalists on it, but here we have the mind of the producer in its undiluted form. LE$ : Nothin New LE$ continues to be one of the most prolific artists of the modern era, with the "Reset" LP that features this track being his fifth release of the year - and at the time of writing, he's released another! This is driving music, bonus if you're in a convertible, with a tempo and a smoothness that makes you want to cruise slow rather than put your foot down. The youngster Luka Burr holds it down on production, and LE$ continues to deliver his trademark style - staying in his lane, as it were, to give his fans what they came for! Dewey da Don & Novacain : Takes Two Gangsta meets player vibes on this new single, as the Kansas City (Missouri) rapper Dewey da Don, an MC new to me, connects with hometown comrade Novacain. Downtempo, clean, and funky in its execution, both MCs come with subdued flows to match, and the voice in the hook sounds almost ghostly - a result of how it was mixed as much as the delivery. If you're someone who insists on higher tempos or more animated deliveries, then this might not be for you, but for the rest of us...volume up! Mecca:83 : AllNite Mecca's 2024 "Quiet Storm" beat tape was a masterwork, a producer's love letter to 80s and 90s R&B/Quiet Storm music that spanned fifteen tracks of smooth goodness. The rhythm on this is chunkier and looser than the tune sampled for the melody, and makes for a satisfying union. Mya ft. Lloyd Banks : Why You Gotta Look So Good? The rhythm pounds and stalks while the keyboards bubble on this one! Rockwilder comes over to the R&B side to produce a track for the one and only Mya for her "Moodring" LP, which she takes on skilfully. Unlike Paul Cain on the remix of "Don't You Forget It", the guest MC here sounds like a piece of work because that's the picture the whole song is supposed to paint - rather than spectacularly missing the point. Either way, she definitely needs to leave this guy! Beatology Beatz (?) : Freaky Just a little instrumental breather from the "Beatology Beatz" collection with all the synth action that might remind you of that second-ish wave of G-Funk in the mid-90s - despite this being a 2006 release. The question mark is due to this also being credited to DJ Stealth on at least one version on iTunes - so I'm not sure if I've got the artist 100% correct here! Blak Twang : For The Summa Finishing back in the UK, we take it down to London for a selection from the fifth (and currently final) Blak Twang LP, "Speaking From Xperience". Silvastone Beats on production gives us a track which, when placed at the end of the show, makes for a nice wind-down. This feels like the British, more underground, slightly rougher-edged take on DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Summertime", and an appropriate one to end on - even if plenty of people have spent our summer dodging the intense heat! Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!