Mos Dub

My little sister tipped me off about this. It's well worth the listen and is ideal for the tube. If you go on a tube. Maybe try in a car if not. Click here to stream or download.

Madliberator

Never had Paul Morley down as a Madlib fan. But HERE HE IS raving about the hip hop producer/ rapper/ composer in The Observer.

Below is a recent favourite Madlib beat for Mos Def's Auditorium- which features Slick Rick too.

Gorillaz Remix

This is pretty banging. Much like Tinie Tempah's Pass Out track which has really grown on me.

Gorillaz' Plastic Beach album is really good. I had a sneak listen a few weeks ago and there are some massive tracks on it and contributions from De La Soul, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Snoop and Gruff Rhys.

Leak Of The Week: Gorillaz- Stylo

So there aren't many big albums released as this time of year. Vampire Weekend seem to be the only one and to be honest i've never really got them.

But what does seem to be happening in Jan' is that songs from the big albums of the year are leaking online. Last week was M.I.A (see below) now it's Gorillaz. As mentioned before on the blog i'm a massive fan of Albarn and his fairly perfect cartoon band.

Their new album Plastic Beach features Mos Def (on three tracks), Barry Gibb, Snoop Dogg, Kano, Lou Reed and The Horrors. Just now the first single leaked- it's called Stylo and has Mos and Bobby Womack on it.

HEAR STYLO ON GORILLAZ SITE HERE

Love the bassline, beat and the general vibe. Kinda like Gorillaz megahit Dare remixed by Hercules and Love Affair. Bring on the album.

Clipse & Roots

What a stroke of genius it was to install The Roots as Jimmy Fallon's house band. Here's another great live performance with everyone's favourite crack rappers Clipse.



And you should definitely watch THIS Mos/ Talib/ Dirty Projectors vid

Top 10 Albums Of 2009 Finally

NUMBER ONE: Jamie T- Kings & Queens



Jamie T returned with an album better than his (excellent) debut in 09. And like the Wimbledon boy's first disc it took a few listens to get into.

But once it clicked there was much to discover in the raps, shouts, screams and hollers. With nods to the Beastie Boys, Billy Bragg, The Strokes and The Clash the musical mish mash worked on just about every song. From the UK hip hop of Castro Dies' to the forlorn folk song Emily's Heart.

With layers and layers and layers of stunning production and lyrics that mean nothing and everything at once Kings And Queens is near perfect.

And then in no particular order...

Raekwon- Only Built for Cuban Linx 2
Mos Def- The Ecstatic
Lily Allen- It's Not me, It's You
La Roux- La Roux
Speech Debelle- Speech Therapy
Bat For Lashes- Two Suns
Major Lazer- Guns Don't Kill People Lazers Do
Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca
The Maccabees- Wall Of Arms

Blakroc

On Letterman.

This record (hear it on Spotify here) is a late contender for my albums of the year list. Love hip hop with a blues feel. Or maybe that should be blues with a hip hop feel.

And Mos is just the collest. Where do I get that hat?

10 Best Tracks Of 2009

In my opinion (obviously)

Dirty Projectors- Stillness Is The Move-
Bat for Lashes- Daniel
Jamie T - Sticks n Stones
Lily Allen- Back To The Start
La Roux- In For The Kill (Skream Remix)
Phoenix- 1901
MSTRKRFT (+ John Legend)- Heartbreaker
Eminem/ Dre/ 50- Crack A Bottle
Mos Def- Auditorium
Major Lazer- Hold The Line

Hear these and other things I like here: GET STRAIGHT BEST OF 2009

Mos Def In London

Might Mos plays at Kentish Town Forum at the end of this month. I'm going. You should come too. He's one of the best rappers of all time, in my opinion.

BUY TICKETS HERE

Mos/ Black/ Em

Three of my favourite rappers- Mos Def, Eminem and Black Thought (from The Roots) with DJ Premier on the cut. It's Mos that smashes it though.

Mos Def Is Back

BACK DOWN KANYE, T.I, LIL WAYNE, DRAKE, KID CUDI, ASHER ROTH and, well EVERY OTHER RAPPER AROUND. MOS IS BACK!

And The Ecstatic is one of the best albums of 2009. It's not Black On Both Sides but not many hip hop albums can compete with that classic in my eyes. Buy it.

"We are alive in amazing times/ delicate hearts- diabolical minds/ revelations, hatred, love and war/ and more and more and more and more/ More of less than ever before."

George Bush: Saviour Of Hip Hop?

I distinctly remember an NME interview with Jay Z around the time Blueprint came out. The interviewer was told that he couldn’t ask the ‘greatest rapper alive’ about anything politics-related because he didn’t feel qualified to answer and wasn't interested in the subject.

Fast forward seven or so years and Jay was on stage around the world (including Glastonbury and London) shouting ‘Fuck Bush’ and campaigning for Obama. Under Dubya it wasn’t just Mos Def, Talib or Dead Prez who went political. Eminem was suddenly a conscious rapper protesting against the Iraq war on Mosh. And after Katrina Kanye West announced on national TV “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

So I guess what I’m saying is- the former President was good for Hip Hop. Yes I said it. Songs about Barack are currently coming out but love-letters to the promising President will certainly get boring over four (or maybe eight) years.

Posted are two of my favourite anti-Bush tracks from Mos Def (certainly one of my Top 5 MCs) and Big Boi- who was never political on early Outkast albums.

MP3: Outkast/ Big Boi- War

MP3: Mos Def- Dollar Day for New Orleans