We travel in circles. Our lives move in cycles. Our dreams spin us around. This is something that artist Rafi El understands intuitively. Through his life and music, he’s been constantly circling back to the source of his creativity, the mountains of South America – long a source of cultural wealth and shamanic power. Raised by parents from Argentina’s historical Jewish communities, Rafi was born in Israel and grew up in Los Angeles, where he currently lives. His earliest days were steeped in the sounds and cultures of three continents.
In anticipation of the release of Rafi El’s debut full length album this summer, Dutty Artz releases the lead single “Tra Ba” as a free EP:
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[youtube]http://youtu.be/qyMJGE0ZcLo[/youtube]
Old Money and Lamin Fofana present the video for “Ethiopia” (shot, directed & edited by Olivia Seally), the single they released on Dutty Artz last fall. The video also includes the B-Side from the release, Nãga.
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[youtube]http://youtu.be/1uAwtT8Qa3A[/youtube]
Matt explains a little bit of the process behind making The Empire Never Ended above.
Also, VIBE Magazine just premiered Matt’s version of French Montana and Waka Flocka Flame’s “Chopper Down“, one of his many secret weapon bootleg remixes, and it’s available for you to download here:
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My album The Empire Never Ended is finally out. The weight of waiting has lifted! Â Waiting to release things drives me crazy so I am super super happy to be able to finally share this music with you. Â I put a ton of time and effort into this record and I feel like it’s some of the better stuff I’ve done, sonically, song writing wise and in the way it all fits together. Â I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
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It was a great full weekend of Dutty Artz performances and events. We started out partying hard at Glasslands for Matt Shadetek’s album release party, and ended up Sunday night all winding down over cheap drinks and stretching out our musical legs at Bushwick’s Bossa Nova Civic Club.
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I’m very excited to announce that today, on March 5th, Sierra Leonean singer Sorie Kondi’s latest album, Thogolobea, is out on Dutty Artz! Buy it on iTunes or at any of your favorite digital stores.
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On I Like To Move Matt Shadetek enlists Jamaican talent Kid Kurupt and Chan Dizzy with Brooklyn’s own 77Klash to transform Reel 2 Real’s ‘I Like To Move It’ into a stripped down and pounding smugglers anthem. Chan Dizzy, known for his dancehall hits ‘Strange Face’ and ‘Hello Bad Mind’ showcases his talent as a rapper while Dancehall veteran Kid Kurrupt sets the tune off with a blast of energy with long time Shadetek collaborator 77Klash chanting the chorus. I Like To Move is an explosive combination of dancehall, hiphop and dance music. Kaboom.
Buy Moner Alo now at iTunes, Amazon, Emusic, and more!
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On the Valentines Day before the release of Matt Shadetek’s new album The Empire Never Ended on March 26th, the Brooklyn producer has assembled a gift for his fans containing a previously unheard mix and alternate versions which re-imagine his 2010 project Flowers as hazy baby-making music for paranoid shut-ins. Dragging Flowers to a halftime crawl Shadetek connects the dots between the bouncing effervescence of Flowers and the heavier, darker tone of Empire. In addition to the mix the Purple Flowers EP features remixes from Dubbel Dutch, Lamin Fofana & Shiftee. The Empire Never Ended is released March 26th on Dutty Artz.
Grab the project for free over at the Dutty Artz Bandcamp.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkxLXbBLZU8&[/youtube]
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Dutty Artz has a lot coming for you in 2013. We decided to kick off things nice with a golden monster from the West Coast. Rafi El lives in LA but he’s been known to walk on water in El Salvador as little pieces of sunlight shimmer around him. You’ll be hearing more from Rafi El in the coming months — if not from us, from DJs bumping next level tunes like this one, which is the best Dr.Dre homage we’ve ever heard. En serio. No joke. Spanish-language rappin’, Xzibit boots, and a 95BPM bounce guaranteed to reignite that all-powerful connection between ears & hips. Who is this man?! Questions take second seat to these rays. Vibe with la diferencia…
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Dutty Artz is immensely proud to announce the new album from Matt Shadetek The Empire Never Ended, his second solo effort.  The album will be out March 26th 2013 via Dutty Artz.  The record is a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks which fuse Shadetek’s love for new sounds with the street knock of Rap and R&B.  Guesting on the record are Riff Raff, Troy Ave, Chan Dizzy, Aku Orraca Teteh and Jahdan Blakkamoore.  “After I moved back to NYC after living in Berlin I wanted to make something more local” Shadetek says “I grew up on rap music but there was a moment where things just got really boring and my interest went elsewhere. Lately things are getting interesting again.”  You can listen to Madness from The Empire Never Ended over at Pitchfork.
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Enchantruss -Â one of my favorite cuts from one of my favorite releases last year. THEESatisfaction are on some next shit. Had a lot of fun remixing this.
And below, stream the single my group Old Money did with the good brother Sir Fofana circa Nov 2012, in case you missed it. Out now on iTunes.
Iswaski is heeerrrreee.
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I’ve been keeping this under my hat for a while so it’s a great pleasure to finally announce the first single for my new album: La Vida Loca feat. Troy Ave. It’s quite a departure from stuff of the last stuff you may have heard me do, I’ve been returning to my hiphop roots and incorporating some of the crazy southern rap sounds that are in the air. I linked up with Troy Ave to do this after hearing him on Mr. Motherfuckin Exquire’s mixtape and being impressed by his flow and panache. I’m really happy with how the song came out and hope you will enjoy it too.
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