Ghostleg, our VJ friend in Australia re-ups the visual remix of some United Fruit Company propaganda he started on for New York Tropical, this time with Uproot Andy‘s Vale La Pena remix.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiFT2baUQlo[/youtube]
Blog (2008-2018)
LOS RAKATAKA TE PONEN A GOZAR
A couple weeks ago, Los Rakas got flown to NYC for some super-private birthday event and as a result, I got to kick it with them for a couple days while they made the most of their time, hitting up radio stations and meeting east coast industry types on a promo blitz.
The Panamanian by way of the Bay-Area Ambassadors of Plena, have been on my radar for a hot one. On one of my trips to the Bay area last year, my host, Chief Boima, asked me what I wanted to do while I was in town. Answer: what is link up with Los Rakas for the daily double.
I got my hands on a dj promo cd from them with some acca’s from their La Tanda del Bus mixtape. Slowly between rounds I started working on some remixes for them with friends, which you’ll be hearing on the forthcoming Dutty Artz compilation and Los Rakas remixs EP respectively
The back forth flow between these guys makes them my favorite duo since Camp Lo, though definitely in a more raggamuffin style. They spit bars in both English and Spanish and rep hard pa mi gente..
I heard alot of blazing new tunes from them while they were here and you should too by listening back on Fader Magazine’s Radio show interview on EVR. On the way there, Rich started telling me about/singing this tune he stayed up was writing till 5am the night before. Just from hearing him in the car I knew the tune was gonna go long. He was writing to the riddim for Hold Yuh which Dancehall.Mobi was just pointing out is still climbing charts. No lie, you can often hear two or three cars bumping that piano riff at different intervals of the song on the walk from your door to the train here in Brooklyn, atleast thats the case in my hood. Its in heavy rotation and both Rich and his homegirl Fabiola Wan came correct on this one.
Los Rakas ft Faviola – Abrazame
[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/Abrazame.mp3]After they sent me the tune and acca, I passed them off to Uproot Andy to lay over his remix of Gyptian’s version who then passed both tunes to our man Eddie Stats over at Fader’s Ghetto Palms blog and then Los Rakas went on to be the most famous guys in the world – the end
Erdal Erzincan
While delving a bit deeper into Kayhan Kalhor‘s repertoir following a Mudd Up tip-off, I came across baÄŸlama player Erdal Erzincan, who he collaborated with on the album The Wind. I can’t really tell you too much about him, except that the following video is amazing and that you should watch it in its entirety.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5kpcQ95jnc[/youtube]
It’s mostly a showcase for his jaw-dropping technical prowess (the guy actually makes the tapping technique popularized by Eddie Van Halen sound cool), which goes beyond the virtuoso habit of playing a ton of notes and actually tells a story. There are a ton of subtle structural and sonic details (rhythmic shifts, open spaces, buzzing strings) that keep me coming back to this clip, which now that I think about it, has been pretty time-consuming…Anyway! Kalhor has this to say about him (via):
“I appreciated at once that Erdal is a very good musician, a very serious baglama player – but he is still, normally, working within the demands of Turkish music today,” says Kalhor. “Ihis means songs and maybe a minute of playing in free time, and then another song. In Turkey, if you have a CD the market says you need 14 tracks and you have to have singing. I didn’t ask Erdal to sing. I explained to him, ‘I’m looking for something that departs from nothing and then goes into developing material and then goes into something else really improvised. Maybe we’ll go for a climax in terms of melody and energy and keep it there…And I’m looking at this for a form for maybe an hour of music.’ And he said, ‘I haven’t done that before, but I would like to do this.’ And he showed that he was indeed very much able to do this, and many of the things he played surprised and delighted me. What I’m trying to do in these kind of projects – whether with Shujaat or, now, with Erdal is to learn the music and experience the world through their eyes. And I am not trying to change what they do so much as offer them another vision of it. Musical Turkey, for instance, is very much based on composed songs. Improvisation of the kind that Erdal and I undertake, developing material, is something that has been forgotten…”
And here’s a video of them playing a beautiful piece together live, with Ulas Ozdemir and Ali Akbar Moradi:
[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x77anf_kayhan-kalhorerdal-erzincan-ulas-oz_music[/dailymotion]
WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME
Man, when Beyonce makes songs and videos like this it just really makes me hope that those scurrilous rumors about Jay-Z being gay are not true and that he is taking care of his responsibilities on the home front. Otherwise, WHAT A WASTE! I like this on a lot of levels. Especially the Betty Page style old film look and costumes. And although I don’t always feel what she does I think this song actually has some passion and intensity.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKqIgqJEH-o&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]
Downbeat the Ruler!
I don’t usually post shows I’m not actively involved in but this is a very rare appearance from the veteran reggae sound on one of my favorite sound systems in the city.
June 23rd @ Santos Party House
Doors at 7:00pm $10
Hosted by Fiona Bloom and Misbehavior
TAKING OVER THE AIRWAVES
Today, from 3pm to 6pm, I’ll be playing tunes on WFMU 91.1 fm 90.1 fm wfmu.org – essentially taking over the airwaves for three hours!
Tune in! modesty aside, I have an incredible amount of extremely good music to share & I’ll be as organized as possible, but it’s going to be eclectic and heavy! Expect crazy heat, everything from Busy Signal to Mosca, to Aby Ngana Diop to Jack Rose!
& of course, stay tune for Mudd Up! with DJ Rupture 7 – 8 pm – our regular, reliable hour of undeniable heat and pressure every week!
Plus, I’m going to play a special something for my friend Goalie!
Cinco De Gallo
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/11394518[/vimeo]
COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU
“Cinco de Gallo” starring Geko Jones as Ricky Retardo and Uproot Andy as Gauchito Gillis
Wednesday May 5- we’re parking a taco truck outside Santos Party House and bringing the best Mexican bands in NYC to come rock out in Manhattan for a Hyper-Mexican party.. think Tron meets mariachis with fluorescent colors, spaceship cumbia, and glowsticks.
sponsored by Mex And the City and New York Remezcla
Weds May 5 Santos Party House
96 Lafayette St Doors 930 PM $15
DRINK WELL DO GOOD: BACK TO GLASSLANDS
Sunday May 9th come see myself Matt Shadetek, Jahdan Blakkamoore and Uproot Andy at Glasslands for the Drink Well Do Good tour. The goal of the event is to raise awareness about viticulture (wine making) in Africa. It will also be a great Sunday night party with the Dutty Artz fam back at Glasslands for the first time since our New York Tropical parties. For everyone who has been asking me about those, don’t worry, we’re working on a few things for summer.
The organizers ISAW say:
“All proceeds from the tour will go towards to development of a viticultural training center on the M’hudi Estate in Stellenbosch. This campaign also raises awareness for our partners M’hudi and Seven Sisters, South Africa’s only two black-owned estates. ISAW is using the tour to introduce these wines to consumers, and support South Africa’s wine industry which employs nearly 300,000 workers. Please support our campaign through purchasing tickets, going to your local retailer, and becoming ambassadors for our cause.”
Find out more at www.toastafrica.com
Chief Boima
Chief Boima is a Sierra Leonean-American electronic musician, DJ, writer, and outspoken advocate for the cutting-edge digital music coming out of many parts of the world today.
Currently based in NY, Boima began his international DJ career on a self-initiated travel stint to try and connect with like-minded artists in various parts of the world. From the beginning, his performances integrated a diverse array of global musical styles, inspired by the parties he knew growing up in a close knit African immigrant community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and similar communities across the United States.
Settling down in the San Francisco Bay Area, he became a resident DJ at Little Baobab nightclub, and grew to be an internationally respected figure in the promotion of various global club music styles. His travel experiences and global music expertise launched a writing career which has seen him contributing to various music and culture online and print publications (Ghetto Bassquake, Africa is a Country, WFMU Radio, and The Fader Magazine.)
As a producer, Boima has released original tracks and remixes alone, as part of the duo Banana Clipz with DJ Oro 11, and as a member of the Australian-American experimental band Beaten By Them. He’s also done collaborations with folks like DJ Orion, Lamin Fofana, DJ Rupture, Matt Shadetek, and Uproot Andy, as well as producing tracks for international artists such as Los Rakas, Black Nature of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, and Khady Black.
Visit chiefboima.com for more information.
PAN-RUMBA TECHNO RUMBA
TECHNO RUMBA EP OUT NOW!
artwork by Robert Trujillo
Chief Boima‘s Techno Rumba EP is available now on iTunes, at Amazon and Boomkat! Read more about it + show some class & drop some change, people!
Techno Rumba is the excellent, official debut EP from San Francisco/Bay Area producer Chief Boima. Techno Rumba, the latest in a stream of digital EPs from Dutty Artz, is a pleasantly fresh and elegant take on Afrobeat and contemporary African dance music. It features two original tracks from Chief Boima; the irresistible “Baobab Connect” and the stunning title cut “Techno Rumba,” which boasts a pair of remixes from  Dutty Artz own DJ /rupture & Matt Shadetek and Uproot Andy.  /Rupture and Shadetek are fresh off remixing Gang Gang Dance and Telepathe and turn in an immersive and hallucinogenic afro-colombian flavored edit while Uproot Andy aims straight at the dance floor with his Ojalá Rumba version which has been inciting madness at Dutty Artz New York Tropical parties for months. (more…)
Straight Waterfront
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhiHZB9sRkI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Once again Lil B has left me wordless. Has there ever been harder swag than this? #BASED_4EVER
Lamin and Matt kicked it with Lil B the last night of SXSW. I took the night off to make cognac and rootbeer float cocktails over 3 A.M. Nachos Supreme. I think B freestyled over Andy’s MacGyver Guacharaca. I’m starting to feel like I made the wrong decision.
I’m sure B is making some backstage moves as well- but as far as the public eye can see- he’s taken the over-saturation of digital media and marketing to the extreme. The man has no shame – he’s the Tila Tequila of indie rap- but underneath it all is a startling vision and undeniably powerful sentiment -he’s the open source Rammellzee. Eshun wrote, “In HipHop, science breaks it down in order to complexify not to clarify.” B just signed to Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em’s label Stacks on Deck. I rest my case.
Is it wrong that I cant wait to play this out? The 320 hunt begins.
HEART IS HERS
[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/Aidonia-HeartisHers.mp3]
Aidonia – Heart is Hers (feat. Aisha Davis)
I haven’t heard that many tracks from Aidonia; he’s one of those mid to late ’00s dancehall artists you hear about all the time, see his name on countless mixtapes, and probably already heard a bunch of his tunes at parties, but you never actually went out of your way and check for his tunes. That’s until I heard the title cut from Stephen “Di Genius” Mcgregor’s incredible Bad People riddim which completely shifted my view on a couple of vocalists — but more on that shortly. “Heart Is Hers” features Aisha Davis and is produced by Equiknoxx producer/artist collective (who are also responsible producing another impressive Aidonia track titled “Negative.”) This is what dancehall sounds like in post-808s & Heartbreak/weird-emotional-electro-pop-hop era? Dancehall is going in so many different, exciting directions at the moment, and as for this particular type of sound which has been bubbling for the last few years I think it’s safe to point to T-Wayne & Yeezy as references. As Aidonia sings – “Song is too dead/it needs more life – Needs a faster melody/more melody/groove your body…”
WITH YOU (EMPRESS)
Empress I-Klass – With You (prod. by Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor)
“Amazing reggae flavored harmonies & hotness to warm up the radio & airwaves”
Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor produced the riddim for “With You” — can someone please identify that riddim? Empress I-Klass is a Boston based singer – born of Antiguan heritage. She has been around since the late 1980s performing and singing lead and background vocals in various bands here in the States and in the Caribbean Islands. She opened for Freddy McGregor in Boston in June 2006.
The Ooops Effect
When I was in San Francisco in January the internet at large was steady jockin Shlohmo. He dropped a mix for XLR8R, was getting play from MAH and even the painter whose couch I was sleeping on wanted me to take a second listen to his debut E.P.. When we finally sat down with some medical and had a listen I was blown away by Hot Boxing the Cockpit- but lumped the rest in with the Low End Theory Sound of dequantized hits and blippy emotives. Meaning that it was fucking dope. I tried to get my host to set up a meeting so I could hear more of his tracks- but it didnt pan out. Today twitter is a flutter with a two track remix E.P. that throws some Khia and Montell Jordan on top of mans digital baroque.
The Khia holds it down for me so I upped it direct. Check the WEDIDIT COLLECTIVE for the whole E.P. Both acapellas have been played to death- but kind of like HudMo’s Ooops E.P.- when the production is this on point- whose complaining.
Khia -My N3ck My B4ck (Shlohmo Remix)[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/My%20Neck%20My%20Back%20%28Khia%20Remix%29.mp3]
(ps- and how fresh is the cover art?)