Metal Lungies

This is probably the first and only mention Palin gets on ML, she doesn’t even need to be there really. Amy Pohler made the whole skit with her Cypress Hill imitation. Moose are shook regardless.

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Levi Stubbs of the legendary Four Tops passed away today at his home in Detroit from complications from a stroke he suffered in 2000. The Four Tops were one of Motown’s most consistent hitmakers. I was actually just listening to the Four Tops earlier today. Do yourself a favor and bump these tonight in the man’s memory.

Download: Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)

Download: Four Tops – Love Feels Like Fire

Download: Four Tops – It’s the Same Old Song

Download: Four Tops – Since You’ve Been Gone

Hip-hoppers should recognize this one. (via Hip Hop Is Read)

Download: Four Tops – Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got)

via washingtonpost.com

Another Charles Hamilton mixtape. And it’s hosted by the Rosenthals! He’s more conservative with the beats on this one but not to the point that it stifles his creativity, which is a good thing overall. And he doesn’t shout out his websites this time around.

Download: Charles Hamilton – It’s Charles Hamilton

via 2dopeboyz

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DJ Premier had a release party for his Beats That Collected Dust Vol. 1 album at this stank ass bar that threw me out because I was grabbing too much booty. I thought I had blown my chance to talk to the legendary DJ Premier but Thankfully, a heaven-sent PR lady arranged for me to talk to Premo outside. He rolled up in a truck and walked toward the bar like he was just a normal guy and not the greatest (greatest? yeah, greatest) producer of all time. He agreed to the interview, but had to take a piss first. And that’s how I met DJ Premier.

ML: What do you use today?

Premo: Same equipment.

ML: MPC?

Premo: MPC60, the old beat up clunker. It’s not broke, keep rockin’ that.

ML: My friend’s a digger. He has a shitload of records. [Ed. Note: my friend had accompanied me]

Premo: Shitload meaning how many?

Friend: I just started, I got like four hundred.

Premo: Aight, that’s cool. Nah, ’cause some people be like they DJs and they only own like fifteen records due to the whole digital age. So I make sure that the original way is respected.

ML: That’s why you still use the MPC?

Premo:  Yeah.

ML: You hear what Nas was saying about what he wants to do with his new album?

Premo: Oh, the one about Dre doing one and I do one and they drop ’em on the same day?

ML: So is that gonna happen?

Premo: Shit, I haven’t heard from Nas yet, didn’t get a call. Nas, where you at?

ML: Do you want it to happen?

Premo: It would be fun. I love Dre, I love Nas, I love what I do.  It would be crazy. And plus the competition would be that incredible because I know Dre’s gonna come with it and I gotta come with it and Nas gotta come with it. The pressure’s on all three of us, but in a good way. It would be healthy and it would funky and probably make the music industry a lot better again. I’d like to see it happen, but it’s up to Nas. It’s his project, it’s up to him to make it happen. He’s the ‘make it happen’ guy.

ML: Most people your size, you don’t see them working with smaller artists like Little Vic and Termanology. How does that happen? How do you find these guys?

Premo: From either word of mouth or I just do my research. For the most part, I still know how to identify skills versus just alright rhyming. There’s a difference. Skills is something that has a serious attachment to it. So, there’s a difference between rapping and skills.

ML: Awhile ago the sample for “Nas Is Like” — people finally found out what it was.

Premo: Yeah, I remember somebody was telling me they found it.

Friend: Dusty Fingers found it.

Premo: Really.

Friend: I know you’re not down with that though–

Premo: I mean, I don’t care if they find it. Don’t put used by me. They could put whatever they want on the record. They could be the original artist, all that. Except don’t put used by me, ‘as sample by…’. Because now it’s like you’re using that to sell the original, where a lot of other people dig for the original instead of having to cheat that way, which is all good because those are just Ultimate Breaks and Beats. It’s just don’t put who sampled it. We already know not everybody’s not in the love portion of hip-hop culture. They’d like to see it go away. So it’s only for the people that love it, so there’s certain things you don’t have to speak on and that’s one of them. I think they stopped now, though. Yeah, I think they stopped. Dusty Fingers don’t put who used it, now it’s just artists and the song.

ML: What are you working on right now?

Premo: Right now I have a label called Year Round Records. We have an artist named Blaq Poet who’s about to drop in 2009. He’s about to drop his album called The Blaqprint. Produced everything on it except two joints. Easy Mo Bee did a track and Jim Crates did a track, he’s a new producer that’s coming up. And then also the NYGz album is actually in stores, it’s called Welcome 2 G-Dom. It’s like their jump off project that showcased their crew and themselves and I did nine songs on that album. And now the new album from the NYGz is called Pros and Cons and we’re working on that right now. We’ve got five in right now, so another ten or twelve joints and we’ll be done with that. Then I have artist named Khalil who’s on my label and an artist named Nick Javas from Jersey. Remember that name. Nick Javas. He’s nice. He can spit.

ML: I’m looking forward to it.

Premo: Last thing, Royce da 5’9″, new single.

ML: I heard the new track. “Shake This”.

Premo: That wasn’t the mix though. I mixed it tonight, so I’m about to send out the mixed version where it’s beefed up. A CD got lost and whoever got their hands on it just started going around messing with stuff. It happens. [He starts moving to go inside] That’s pretty much it, man. Big shout out to Royce and Big Shug’s album’s about to drop November 4th. We’re staying busy, man, staying busy. I’m about to go up in here and do my thing. Sorry you couldn’t come in, young’n!

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song to cover for my return to writing Remix Tuesdays than Diamond D’s 1997 comeback single, “The Hiatus”. It’s been almost a month, folks. Not quite weekly, I know. Shouts to DJ01 for doing his own remix feature.

First, let’s start with the video:

Diamond’s beat centers around stately horns and a mix of light hi-hats and thick kick drums. The chorus consists of a sung “la la la”s from both male and female singers (cue Diamond shouting “Ladies!”) and a scratched hook:

There’s a new hombre in town/it’s Diamond D

Diamond remixed “The Hiatus” for the CD single (pictured above is promo 12′). The beat employs some gorgeous, gorgeous strings, probably one of the dopest string loops ever*.It’s a simple loop of David Axelrod’s “The School Boy” but that doesn’t change how nice it sounds. The remix starts with just strings, and some quiet singing. The “La la la” chorus is resung to the tune of the new instrumental, and there’s more scratching on the chorus. Diamond spits a new, hilarious verse, and Chaddeo and Yogi of CRU come in for guest verses. The drums are a bit harder on the remix, replacing the hi-hats with hard snares. Instant head nod, period – this is what a remix should be.

Let me leave you with my favorite Diamond couplet:

Recline with dimes who blow me and breeze/while your broke ass is home eating baloney and cheese

Download: Diamond D – The Hiatus

Diamond D – The Hiatus (Remix ft.CRU)

BONUS BEATS: Shouts to The Meaning Of Dope, who did a nice feature on their favorite remixes a while back. Worth checking for Diamond’s remix of Outkast’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmusik”, which I’d never heard before.

Ace also did a nice comp of his 13 favorite Diamond tracks. Lots of shit I’ve never heard here.

*”Boom” and “Worldwide” probably have this locked.

If Yom Kippur messed up your chances of seeing the Ghost last week, watch the live footage to see what you missed.

(Grafh, Blitz, A-Pinks, and Donny Goines also performed).

Thanks to K-Salaam.

Well the track that features 3 ML Hollers @ subjects finally leaked. Not posting this here would be a criminal offense (pardon its a little late).

Off Halfway House in (digital) stores Oct 30.

Joe Budden Ft. Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Crooked I & Royce Da 5’9″  – Slaughterhouse (Produced By Scram Jones)

From OnSmash via OG

The Real is major this time around with a cameo spot from Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and someone else you may recognize (we don’t spoil around here). Shout out to that Timex clock too, I have one at home.

New shit off Stick 2 the Script. Statik strays from the soulful sound and the result? Dopeness. The album comes out October 21st.

Statik Selektah – Get Out The Way ft. Bun B & Cory Mo

via RubyHornet

To commemorate his newest album The Huge Hefner Chronicles, Diamond D & Imeem teamed up to chronicle his top 10 productions of his career. Hopefully, D will get a proper treatment with a Beat Drop sometime soon.

The Huge Hefner Chronicles is in stores now.