Dec
29
Beat Drop: Best of 2011.
Posted by KNOBBZXL

(Image)
My stomach hurts and my throat is on fire. I wish I could sit on the toilet and re-read all seven Harry Potter books, but I can’t do that right now. I’m a working man. Kind of. I have to put in some good hours so that they’ll hire me at the end of this internship. I miss college so much, but I try not to dwell on the good times I took for granted — Halo 3 marathons and staying up until 3:00 with no repercussions. Time to be a grown up.
New York City is freezing and my blood is barely moving by the time I get to Penn Station. I get home at 11:00 and spare an hour of sleep to listen to LiveLoveASAP again. 2011 was rough. We lost Amy Winehouse, Gil-Scott Heron, Heavy D, and Nate Dogg. There were riots and protests all over the world. But I’ll sleep soundly tonight, heartened by the fact that my new baby cousin has all his toes and fingers and that this year, the following beats were dope.
As is tradition, we gathered some friends to each pick their five favorite beats of the year. 2011′s swaggiest are…
Pete Rock – Soul Brother #1
Big K.R.I.T. – Mississippi maestro
Mark Ronson - DJ, super-producer, the man
Dave1 – 1/2 of Chromeo, expert funkateer, style guru, life long hip hop connoisseur
Waka Flocka – Hardest in the paint
Georgia Anne Muldrow – Stones Throw lady
Nick Speed – One of Detroit’s finest
PT PrimeTime – 1/3 of Untamed Ent (The 6 Day Equation)
Jensen Karp – Pop culture junkie, Gallery 1988 owner, rapper pension plan beneficiary.
Craig S. Jenkins – Potholes In My Blog
And your humble editor, KNOBBZXL aka Evan Nabavian
Dec
27
G-Side – Trip.
Posted by KNOBBZXL

Psychedelic ‘tryna make it’ rap from G-Side. “Trip” appears on the Japanese retail version of iSLAND.
Dec
27
Chuuwee – Amalgam Back (produced by J57).
Posted by KNOBBZXL

Says Chuuwee of the tracks conception,
The last 3 or 4 months I’ve seen like 60 different “backs.” That shit is dumb to me so I was just like, ‘If I’m going to bring some shit back, it’s going to be forreal forreal. That, and the fact that a lot of people sleep on Amalgam. I fuck with Amalgam tough, them is my peoples. So I was like, “I’m bringing Amalgam back.”
Perhaps the only tribute to the often forgotten label/online music store.
As a bonus, here’s a cut from J’s forthcoming 2057 EP.
via rubyhornet
Dec
27
Willie the Kid – Lil Drunk Ass Bitch (produced by Lee Bannon).
Posted by KNOBBZXL

Willie the Kid paints a detailed portrait of a hip-hop stock character.
Dec
20
Freddie Gibbs – Menace II Society (ft. Dom Kennedy, Polyester), Video.
Posted by KNOBBZXL
I listened to the whole song waiting for a Kurupt verse. I also would have appreciated a Montell Jordan cameo. So yeah, I’m comfortable with this vibe. Don’t listen to this if you don’t like fun. Off Cold Day In Hell.
Dec
13
PT PrimeTime – Crazy (produced by Block Beattaz).
Posted by KNOBBZXL

PT PrimeTime of Untamed/Block Beattaz gets it. On his new single, he preaches about local harsh realities, et al. over a gospel-flavored track, but he doesn’t make any dramatic changes to his cadence or his diction. He doesn’t put on airs to distance himself from tracks like “Facebook Freak.” Still the same PT, just a different side. That’s why it isn’t that corny when he raps, “You can achieve if you believe.”
“Crazy” will appear on his debut solo album “Thoughts of a Leader.”
Download: PT PrimeTime – Crazy (produced by Block Beattaz)
Dec
13
Fat Joe, Playing the Race Card.
Posted by KNOBBZXL
When I played “Lean Back (Remix)” for the first time on the radio with Angie Martinez, the city stopped. The whole earth stopped. She was like, ‘I heard you got this remix, and I heard it’s crazy. But I don’t know who’s on it.’ And I was like, ‘Yo, I got the white boy.’ And the whole place got quiet.
Dec
13
Blu – The Clean Hand (produced by Pete Rock).
Posted by KNOBBZXL
Blu casually revealed on Twitter that Pete Rock sent him a batch of beats. Was this supposed to be a direct message? Did Blu pull an Anthony Weiner? Either way, grab the souled out stylings of Blu and Pete Rock below.
Download: Blu – The Clean Hand (produced by Pete Rock)
via Blu
Bonus: Blu – ez (produced by Madlib)
Dec
13
Spaceghostpurrp – Don’t Give A Damn (Miami Bass).
Posted by KNOBBZXL

I’ve been fiending for more Spaceghostpurrp ever since I heard him lace ASAP Rocky on LiveLoveASAP. “Don’t Give A Damn (Miami Bass)” doesn’t disappoint — throwback Miami bass music with a sinister bent.






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