J. Cole did really well on his debut LP, mixing his penchant for soulful consciousness with a few tricks that grab radio spins. "Grew Up Fast," released as a celebration for amassing two million Twitter followers, is how we love Cole, though. Over an oh-so-soulful beat, he raps about his upbringing, favorite rappers, past relationships and all sorts of other things normal people talk about. Refreshing!
Download: J Cole - Grew Up Fast [Dream Villain]
Footwork continually blows my mind by taking the familiar – whether it's samples, Juicy J, autotune or whatever – and mashing them up into a hyper splatter. Here's a new excursion from Chicago icons DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn called "We Trippy Mane." The title? It's true.
There's guitar dreamers, guitar shredders and guitar players. Rarely do all three fit into the same world, but Mark McGuire and Charles Berlitz go intergalactic yet stay a-rippin on this new one "MR" – a dedication to surfer Mark Richards. If you love those old Fripp & Eno albums, get on this.
War! Violence! Murdering a brother! All these themes come up in the foggy, industrial haze of "Brodermordet" – a preview of a new duo called War that includes Iceage frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt and Loke Rahbek from Sexdrome. It's like hearing a rave-turned-riot from down the street. The only question is whether to run into the chaos or run away.
(Photo: Michael Vadino)
It's a numbers game. That's what they say about life, at least – no more rhythm, all algorithm. Turing Machine waited eight years to build on their acclaimed 2004 release Zwei, and now the trio is back with What Is The Meaning Of What, which is set for a May 8 release on Temporary Residence. Here's a premiere of album track "Slave To The Algorithm" – a heavy, punky, club-ready punch to the gut with ear-splitting bass, ringing harmonies and the sort of organic drums that made you fall in love with DFA way back when. That association makes a lot of sense. LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney along with a slew of DFA mainstays appear across the record. Get psyched!
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Ultra poetic, musically experimental and mixing consciousness with party-rocking, Chicago rap crew BBU has dropped a new Mishka NYC-presented mixtape entitled bell hooks. Mixed by DJ Benzi, the effort features Das Racist and GLC along with varied production from The Hood Internet, Stefan Ponce, Montana Macks and more.
Released at the end of 2000, H.N.I.C. was the first solo album from Mobb Deep's Prodigy, featuring classics like "Keep It Thoro." Now, it's twelve long years later. Prodigy went to prison for a bit on gun charges and was generally knocked out of top-shelf territory by Jay-Z on 2001's "Takeover." H.N.I.C. 3 arrives today as a free mixtape, and it finds P in tip-top form on tracks like the French Montana-featuring NYC anthem "Lay Low" and a slew of tracks produced by his Mobb Deep brethren Havoc.
(Photo: Christophe Agou)
"Frozen" starts like a barge sailing into ominous fog. Tindersticks prove that they still know how to create a mood, and here it's reedy drones, driving drums and the deep, subterranean voice of Stuart Staples yearning to hold you . Choral post-punk. It's real, and you can hear more on The Something Rain, which is out now on Constellation.
