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Melo-Zed – Turn Heads.

Young British beatmaker Melo-Zed made a cool boom bap thing out of an obscure Meek Mill feature from 2012. The wonders of the SoundCloud generation. Sphere: Related Content

Swarvy – Jawbraker x Tapeghost.

Pennsylvania’s Swarvy is quickly becoming one of my favorite new beat dudes. “Jawbraker” sounds broken in the best possible way and “Tapeghost” is a blunted medley with so many colors that it feels much longer than its six minute runtime. Sphere: Related Content

Sir & Iman Omari – Designated Driver.

One of the few worthwhile tributes from Dilla Day 2014 was Sir & Iman Omari’s “Designated Driver” which mimics James Yancey to satisfying effect. Also peep Omari’s Vibe Tape +?+?+ (2), which includes an oddly succesful neo-soul flip of Modjo’s “Lady”. Sphere: Related Content


Soosh – Too Soon (fLako Remix).

London-based beatmaker fLako with a tactile and melodic remix of a 2011 track by Soosh. Sometimes you can tell when an artist is playing with a different deck. Sphere: Related Content

Mo Kolours – Mike Black.

After a trio of great EPs, Anglo-Mauritian singer-producer Mo Kolours drops the single from his first full album. He still has his signature clattering drums, but there’s more emphasis on his singing on “Mike Black”. We’re not complaining. Sphere: Related Content

Various Artists – 777.

A nice surprise in December was the 777 compilation from L.A.’s Hit+Run crew featuring a swath of the city’s most exciting beatmakers. Deep breath: Mono/Poly, Jeremiah Jae, Zeroh, Kutmah, Gonjasufi, J.Rocc, Dibia$e, Ras G, Gaslamp Killer, Computer Jay, and Knx. Come for the progressive beats, stay for the latent Jewishness —..