The John McCain Experience from Tittsworth (giggle) mixes up Gorillaz Ghostface Killah and presidential hopeful John McCain
Hip hop mixtapes provide hidden gems
It’s been almost 10 months since Radiohead shocked the world and offered their album In Rainbows as a pay-what-you-like download. The move ushered in a surge of artists trying similar distribution methods and while the major labels might be unhappy listeners have reaped the rewards. Never has more music been so readily freely and most importantly legally available at the click of a mouse. Here’s a look at just some of the goodness that wormed its way onto the Internet in July.
Diplo and Santogold — Top Ranking (www.zshare.net/download/15896225a915034c/)
Diplo always seems to be showing up on Radio Silence’s radar with some new morsel or other. This time he offers considerably more than a morsel with Top Ranking a 35-song mixtape he put together with Santogold one of this year’s biggest breakout artists. Featuring several remixes and verses from Santogold’s self-titled album Top Ranking immediately calls to mind Piracy Funds Terrorism a classic mixtape Diplo made with M.I.A. in 2004. The similarities end with the format though. Released months before M.I.A.’s debut Arular sent critics into seizures Piracy really served as the world’s introduction to both M.I.A. and Diplo’s signature South American-influenced baille funk and hip hop mash. Top Ranking on the other hand finds Santogold firmly established and Diplo already moving away from the genre he helped create and firmly into dub. A lot of thick bass-heavy dub that sounds great on days when it’s too hot to move. The album also has an affinity for The Clash’s reggae excursions and even features M.I.A and Santogold teaming up to turn the classic “Guns of Brixton” into “Guns of Brooklyn.”
Murs and 9th Wonder — Sweet Lord (www.mursand9thwonder.com/download.html)
After two successful collaborations overwhelmingly positive rapper Murs and Little Brother’s production wiz 9th Wonder decided that their third album together Sweet Lord would be a free gift to their fans. It’s a welcome gift too as Sweet Lord sacrifices none of the quality from their earlier conventionally released albums. True Murs’s optimism and spiritual allusions are perfect examples of what has been derisively called backpacker hip hop in recent years but his giddiness throughout the album is undeniably infectious. Some of his rhymes might cause groans but more cause head-splitting grins especially when he boasts “You know my cherry Kool-Aid is the best” and refers to 9th Wonder as his “mother-freaking friend.”
Tittsworth — The John McCain Experience (www.discobelle.net/2008/08/06/tittsworth-mix-album-releaseparty/)
Unless you live in a cabin up in the mountains without a TV computer or radio it’s impossible to avoid hearing about the upcoming American election. It’s even started to creep its way into the realm of free music. Fortunately Tittsworth’s The John McCain Experience is a banging club mix rather than a bland discussion of swing states. The mix features Gorillaz Ghostface Killah Blaqstarr a mash up of George Michael and Li’l Wayne and a bunch of Tittsworth’s own stuff. Though that’s all well and good it’s really the hilariously out-of-context quotes from the Republican presidential hopeful himself regarding his technological illiteracy.
Much like Diplo people from the Spank Rock crew keep showing up with mention-worthy free music. This time around it’s Alex XXXChange with a very chill installment in the We Make it Good mix series (www.wemakeitgood.com/media/WMIGMixVol4.mp3) . Also worth mentioning are the classic ’90s hip hop-laden mix DJ D-Nice put together as a promotion for Jonathan Levine’s film The Wackness (www.getrightmusic.com/2008/07/02/dj-d-nice-the-wackness-the-mixtape/) Kid Cudi’s alternating between introspective and humourous rhymes on his album A Kid Named Cudi (http://www.10deep.com/KIDCUDIMIXTAPE/) and a crazy mixtape by Swedish electro hip hoppers Lorentz and M. Sakarias (http://www.zshare.net/download/164822820fa90159/) . Yes Swedish hip hop. Who knew?
