EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Arabian Prince - Situation Hot + Let's Go To The Beach
I was kind of shocked the first time I listened to N.W.A. Not by anything they were saying, but by the sheer fact that the beat sounded like…techno. I was only a teenager with absolutely no knowledge of early hip-hop’s aping of electro sounds, so Arabian Prince’s stuttering drum machine work with the rap pioneers sounded absolutely bonkers. Obviously, since then, things have come to light. Akai didn’t make the first MPC until 1988, so hip-hop producers and DJs were using the same drum machines and keyboards that dudes like Juan Atkins and Arthur Baker were employing to craft early electro records. Arabian Prince, in addition to his work with N.W.A., was a trailblazer in Los Angeles’ then-burgeoning electro-rap scene, crafting loads of 12-inch wax that has remained largely overlooked in the years since. That is, until now, as Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ and head of Stones Throw, has put together Innovative Life, a definitive collection of Arabian Prince’s output from 1984 to 1989. We’ve got two tracks from the album available, including an exclusive download of the machine-soul cut “Situation Hot”. Also make sure to check out “Let’s Go To The Beach”, replete with lines as seemingly brillant as this: “Don’t go to the beach if you don’t want to get wet/ And if you can’t swim, you should learn and don’t forget.” Truth.
Sounds like: Jimmy Edgar, Cybotron, Afrika Bambaataa
Exclusive Download: Arabian Prince - Situation Hot
Download: Arabian Prince - Let's Go To The Beach
Arabian Prince's RCRD LBL Page
