Metal Lungies

Even though JR Mint looks like Mac Miller’s stunt double, the Canadian rapper mostly sidesteps frat rap topics, with the exception of a great smoker track produced by MoSS. He’s an able enough rapper who really shines when he has the right beat (Super Mario World sample?!?). Download the whole album here and listen to the standout tracks below.

Blu released a new eleven track project called jesus on Tuesday. Most artists would have preceded such a release with months of teasers, leaks, interviews, music videos, and behind-the-scenes clips, but Blu posted a link to the project on Twitter without any explanation.

He didn’t even link directly to the album. He posted a link to a thread on the KanyeToThe.com forums which then links to a Bandcamp page where you can stream the album or download it for ten dollars. All of the text on the page is lowercase. The artist field just says “b”. The given release date is June 1, 2011 and when you try to view the lyrics for each song, there are cryptic descriptions like “lucky left e .” and “r a g g i d y.” The only concrete description is “production by alchemist, madlib, hezekiah, knxwledge, nathan & g o d lee barnes,” but it doesn’t say who produced which tracks.

It’s not entirely clear what jesus is. Is it an EP? An unreleased album? A mixtape of loose tracks? When were these songs recorded? I’m not even sure how you’re supposed to write the name. It’s annotated as “je s u s ” on Bandcamp but the cover says “jesus.” I can’t include the little triangle symbol, because WordPress keeps displaying it as a question mark.

Blu fans are used to his oddball web presence. He does stuff like this all the time. Maybe Blu thinks this discreet approach affords him a cool mystique. Maybe he’s too lazy to hype a project for three weeks before he drops it. Maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he thinks eschewing a promo cycle emphasizes the music, which I’ve ignored for four straight paragraphs.

Rockstar Games never skimps on a soundtrack and L.A. Noire is no exception. The game features the music of Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Thelonious Monk — a suitable backdrop for a detective thriller set in 1947 Los Angeles. In addition, Rockstar partnered with Verve Records for L.A. Noire: Remixed, an EP of remixes of jazz standards by the likes of Dave Sitek and DJ Premier. Premo turned Louis Jordan’s “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” into an undeniable head-nodder. Rockstar sure knows how to please hip-hop heads.

L.A. Noire is out now. Watch the launch trailer below and listen to the rest of L.A. Noire: Remixed here

Ron Artest, you’ve done it again. First it was Champions, on which Dr. Dre reportedly worked with him at one point telling him his verse was stupid. Now comes a new video for the single Go Loco. I find it interesting that Ron Ron would put out a song about going crazy, since well… Remember when he thanked his shrink after the Lakers won the title last year?

But what really makes this song is the guests. Fat Joe? Sure. B Real from Cypress Hill? Ok, a little old school, but nothing too bizarre. George Lopez? Que? The song premiered on the show back in March. It’s a memorable performance, only for its absurdity. Lopez has a very dubious wardrobe choice, sporting a shirt that reads, “I didn’t ask to B A Mexican, I just got lucky,” as well as a bandana, black shades, and matching black top hat. Artest has on a nice shirt as well. It simply reads “Peanut Butter.” Lucky for us the mic isn’t really working. Quality in the video is better. Check it, if you have the cajones.

On April Fool’s Day, we got DJ Burn One to remix Will Smith’s “Men in Black.” We thought it would be funny, but Burn reworked a cheesy childhood memory into a sleek after hours cruise. We knew we were onto something.

Hence Remix Lungies, ML’s own remix series, where take dope producers out of their element and have them rework pop songs. Today, Bossman, one of the unsung producers behind the wave of great music coming out of of Huntsville, Alabama, (note his skills here, here, here, here, and here) remixes Mike Posner’s “Bow Chicka Wow Wow.” He scrapped the jokey tone of the original and gave it a candied sheen. As the artwork (provided by the amazing Yumi Sakaki) suggests, this is poolside music.

Right after we approached him, Bossman lost power for five days because of the tornadoes that hit the Southern United States in April. The subdivision across the street from his house was destroyed, as well as the houses in front of and behind it. He told us he and his family are doing well.

Download: Mike Posner – Bow Chicka Wow Wow (Bossman Remix)

The highlight of Future Joyner’s Listen to Me mixtape is this classy number produced by The Audible Doctor. Best enjoyed with cocktail weenies.

They call themselves “the Texas Wu-tang” and the claim isn’t entirely without merit. There’s a wide range of talent in Austin’s League of Extraordinary G’z collective. It consists of eight guys spread across three groups: Da C.O.D, Dred Skott, and Southbound. The common thread is precise rhyming and sample-based beats, but members might rap like Big Boi, Bun B, or Phil Da Agony. Highlights include two great Jake One-produced tracks, a weeded Jackie Chain cameo, and a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sample that surprisingly doesn’t suck. But the whole thing is great and it’s clear that these guys are just getting started.

Download: The League of Extraordinary G’z – Concealed Weapons 3

via DJBooth.net

Baroque meets dub on The Bug’s remix of The Kills’ “Satellite.” Epic intonations to fill an arena. Or a cathedral. Watch the video for the original below.

On some lose your pants and frolic in a meadow type steez.

Download: Solar Bears – Dream Valley (Young Montana? rework)

via Gorilla vs. Bear

A year ago, I was the biggest Starlito fan outside of Nashville. Renaissance Gangster and Living in the Past were the work of a charismatic rhymer whose demeanor jumped between jeering and somber. He rapped with a stoned apathy, reciting the next line purely at his convenience. He was Lil Wayne without the bullshit.

I don’t remember exactly what happened next. Then there was a series of subpar mixtapes leading up to Starlito’s Way 3: Life Insurance in December, which disappointed. I was just about ready to hang up my homemade “#1 Lito Fan” t-shirt when out of nowhere, his tape from last week recaptured some of the magic.

Three tracks on @ WAR w/ myself stand out. “Felt Like Giving Up” is back-against-the-wall trap rap with Lito rapping his heart out, “Like Mike” is a DJ Burn One track about hoop dreams, and “Thinking of You” uses a trapped out version of the same Jackson 5 sample as J Dilla’s “Time: The Donut of the Heart.” Whole tape here, best tracks below.