Every artist has a vault of unreleased material; rarities, remixes, and alternate versions that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. This week, Mark Ronson used the holidays as an excuse to excavate some music from his hard drive and post it on Facebook. So what did the super-producer/Beat Drop contributor have in his vault?
I actually asked Mark about this track two weeks ago (full Q&A coming soon) and he told me he had no plans to release it. I guess Boxing Day changed his mind.
Here is an unfinished cover version of “Let’s Ride” by Q-Tip that Mark and Daniel Merriweather recorded during the Version sessions. “Stop Me” remains Daniel Merriweather’s best work. And last but not least,
here’s a reversion that i did of one of my favourite late-era MJ songs, “Happy Birthday, Lisa”. me, victor axelrod, nick movshon, homer steinweiss and thomas brenneck were in the studio working on “Record Collection” when we got sidetracked and made this….
Mark Ronson has three DJ sets tonight in England. Set times, locations, and a flyer after the jump. If you’re stuck in NY like me, go see Q-Tip at the Ace Hotel. Happy new year, fam!
Here are some more names from Huntsville, Alabama’s Slow Motion Soundz collective that you should be checking for. Who knew there was such an epic track waiting in the words “I’m doing good?” From O’Third’s upcoming Family Ties mixtape.
Consequence sure likes doing promo. Movies on Demand 2 will be the second mixtape released to promote his album Cons TV.Cons has been promoting this album (that’s supposed to be produced by Kanye and Q-Tip) since July 2009. But don’t complain about free mixtapes, especially when Lee Bannon and Statik Selektah are involved. Bannon provides a Wu-Tang-inspired beat and Statik scratches a classic Biggie line. Can’t lose.
Planet Asia is a little too aggressive for such a smooth beat, but I’ll take it. Madlib is moving in on Pete Rock’s turf with those horns. Crack Belt Theatre is out now.
2010 was chock full of crazy shit. Teena Marie just died—as did Leslie Nielsen a few weeks back. LeBron made a deal with the devil’s advocate, Pat Riley. There were the Nashville floods no one heard about because of the BP oil spill. Of course, the economy continued to tank, with the politicians too busy circle-jerking each other to get anything of substance passed, besides a half-assed health bill. And even Tron disappointed, for having too much of “The Dude,” for chrissakes.
But there were some bright spots. Christopher Nolan continued to push the boundaries of film for the better. The World Cup justified AM drinking. And “The Dude” won an Oscar.
As always, the (good) music never stopped. The year will best be remembered for Kanye’s second-semester ubiquity, from his tweets to the leaks to his almost-masterpiece. Eminem solidified his comeback, with the only album (besides Taylor Swift) that sold well this year. Dame Dash continued his own resurrection, too, cleverly hopping on the Curren$y bandwagon. Janelle Monae finally released a full-length, which was arguably the year’s best. Big Boi proved his independence worthwhile. B.o.B. went pop, which is good for him, I guess. And Jay-Z rapped over a Pete Rock beat. God is good, sometimes.
If you listened closely, you caught a lot of great music this year. If not, we’ve got you. We gathered our friends to tell us their five favorite beats of the year. DJ Eclipse got to pick six because he’s special. You can find part two here. Forming today’s musical brain trust we have…
At long last, here’s the final, full, untagged version of Kanye’s Christmas posse cut and perhaps the final entry in the G.O.O.D. Fridays series. It warms my heart that Cam’ron sets aside some bars to wish his Jewish lawyers a happy Hanukkah.
Hit-Boy told Vibe, “I never really heard it as a Christmas song but when Kanye heard it, he said it sounded like some classic Christmas music.”
And if your Christmas experience is lacking beats and rhymes, check out this Christmas rap compilation put together by battlecatmeowstab212 of the Philaflava.com forums. Nothing like a little Ras Kass for when Billy’s unwrapping his new Stinky the Garbage Truck.
Here’s the album highlight from MURS & 9th Wonder’s otherwise lackluster Fornever. Murray updated Common’s classic allegorical record with references to hip-hop’s more recent missteps. Oops I just spoiled the allegory.
And where the hell is his album with Terrace Martin? “Time is Now” and “Doing Me” are undeniable bangers.
