...is the spice of life!

MUSIC…is the spice of life!

seed: TALWST

powder: Alien Tentacle Sex

color: R&B/Rap

trade: If U enjoy your rap beats dripped in syrup w/the kind of sweetness The Weeknd or Drake sugars their lyrics on, compliments producer ILLANGELO, you’d def wanna add this latest LP, Alien Tentacle Sex by Toronto’s TALWST (pronounced “tall waist”) to your music files. I did. Forefront single “Peace Tonight” opened up the palette a few months back. Now wet the appetite some more w/other tracks such as “Lonely Guy” (uploaded above for your listening pleasure), where the much slower style of singing (slowly) in-repeat mode seems much more of natural fit for TALWST than on other cuts such as “Woman,” “Colors” or “I’d Die” where his somewhat serious singing attempt exposes a bit of unfortunate flaws. Slow motion through your ears, aided by the floating, atmospheric productions of ILLANGELO, is when TALWST sinks his tentacles w/a poison that’s almost impossible to reverse. Just 7 tracks deep, his debut LP also boasts other standouts such as “Mercy Me” and a soon-to-be anthem in “No Stones,” a groove thrown amongst those aliens in today’s lost generation who’re more conscious about standing up for individual romances n’ boasting about their latest sneaker purchase, than policies or tragedies that affect their rights, freedoms n’ future…

(Source: isthespiceoflife.com)

With the upcoming Olympics 2012 in London, a city holding one of the largest populations of Jamaicans outside the island of Jamaica (Brooklyn’s yardie population probably surpasses the island’s!), the 20th edition in this series of Reggae Gold displays a cover that’ll probably replicate something too familiar seen once the track n’ field battle gets underway! Packed w/speedy, current dancehall hits on DISC ONE, including Popcaan’s “Only Man She Want” smash amongst other club anthems such as “Yuh So Nice” by Potential Kidd n’ the reckless anthem, “Cheater’s Prayer” by Christopher Martin, it’s really DISC TWO that shows reggae/dancehall’s test-of-time hits from yesteryear. Still crossing the finishing line strongly n’ destined for a medal on the podium are the blend of 21st century hits like “No Letting Go” by Wayne Wonder n’ “So Special” by Mavado - songs that even seem old in this fast-moving crop of dancehall track n’ field stars - w/ones from the 20th century you’ll be quite delighted to hear such as “When I Hold You Tonight” by General Degree n’ “Romie” by Beenie Man. Despite a show of some gray hairs, these still dent your modern ‘Beats by Dre’ speakers like they’ve never been tested before! Chant ‘USA, USA, USA’ all you want, these tracks will drip - Black, Gold n’ Green!

(Source: isthespiceoflife.com)

(Source: isthespiceoflife.com)

R.I.P. Adam “MCA” Yauch (August 5, 1964-May 4, ‘12) of Beastie Boys, WE’LL MISS U…

(Source: isthespiceoflife.com)

MUSIC…is the spice of life!

seed: DJ SPINNA

powder: The Best Of Perception & Today Records

color: soul/breaks/funk/jazz/rare grooves

trade: Brooklyn’s own DJ Spinna, producer/DJ extraordinaire, together w/BBE Soundsystem draw on the crates of Perception Records n’ its sub-label Today Records, where in the 1960s n’ 1970s countless births of coolness in the form of jazz, soul, funk n’ even poetry, paved the way for a whole new generation of would-be listeners of hip-hop who at such early childhood ages, didn’t even know they’d be attached to these artists’ songs via another unborn genre that would sample, sample, sample into the future! Very recognizable is Black Ivory’s “You And I” sampled by Q-Tip for his “Gettin’ Up”, as well as the sample of “I Keep Asking You Questions” again by Black Ivory in Raekwon’s “Criminology” feat. Ghostface Killah. What’s truly amazing is how some of the hip-hop producers, for instance Kenny Dope who used the horns in Tyrone Washington’s ”Submission” for his hip-hop version of “Get On Down”, almost make it undetectably layered, rearranged n’ like THEIR OWN. But ‘almost’ is a powerful word, so for most of these rare grooves, the detection of certain breaks being part of my hip-hop appetite were ringing a bell here n’ there n’ everywhere! Like for instance, from others such as Joe Thomas’ “Every Brother Ain’t A Brother” (BDP’s “Build & Destroy”) to J.J. Barnes’ “Wishful Thinking” (Brand Nubian’s “Where Are You Now n’ General Monks’ “We That Shit”), it was all too familiar! Outside of these identifiable samples, “Take My Love Don’t Set Me Free” by The Eight Minutes lured me into repeat mode trying to crack the code, so I felt I had to share n’ upload it for U. Not sure if anyone ever sampled this. Besides, the last half of it seemed perfect for a theme song, soundtrack or maybe it’s just too damn funky for just 1 spin, right Spinna? I kinda feel some of these tunes would indeed be the perfect soundtrack to watching a slideshow of black historical achievement, especially during the civil rights era, whether in sports, politics n’ culture throughout those years. I’m sure Jackie Robinson would agree. But I just resorted to opening up one of those chain emails (forwarded by my mom), instead listening to it while watching this! Still quite an achievement though…

(Source: isthespiceoflife.com)