It’s offically summer. You know how I know? Nope, it has nothing to do with the heat that people are bitching about on twitter. It is because Arthur King’s annual Summer Mix is here. I almost didn’t want to post this so all you aggregating savage blogs don’t get a sniff, but this man deserves more shine. I’ve been following the guys work since I stumbled his Pop Sh*t mix about 5 years ago. Arthur is a maestro of seamless transitions, remixes, and edits of jams that go hand in hand like Kells and underage girl.

So check out the first 25 minutes of his Summer 2011 mix NOW:

The kicker? If you like what you hear, you will have to buy it. from France.

Sidebar: That guy Knobbz is probably downloading this off the strength of the .gif mixtape cover alone.

If you like what you hear, I’ve procured some personal favorite jams from Arthur’s soundcloud, after the break. Stay tuned, I’m going to try to share the older Summer Mixes soon.

FULL Summer 2010 Mix for free.99.

Aeroplane / Ludacris / Diddy : Paris

3 6 Mafia x Sebastien Tellier : Roche (Arthur King Edit)

Here’s a great interview with DMV go-go sensation, Mambo Sauce, from the former co-host of ML Radio, Julie O. of JournalisticK Media.

Check out more of her work on her youtube channel!

How could I see this on Nah Right and not post it?!

Cover for his new album Apollo Kids after the jump.

I mentioned Koncrete a couple of months ago. His mixtape, Well Grounded, is set to be released on March 26. He just sent us a freestyle, on the much used Over beat.  This dude has a ridiculous flow, and he is definitely an artist to watch.

Download: Koncrete- Kon Air (Freestyle)

Bonus: Koncrete- Too Young To Die

Next weekend, Kia  moves on to Philly where MGMT will be joined by The Drums, Amanda Blank, Popo, YACHT and Francis and the Lights.

All the shows are free except you need a ticket for the MGMT shows that you get by test driving a Kia at the respective Collective location Friday through Sunday from noon – 8pm.

ML will be in the building Space in DC on Friday night to catch the homie Wale, and on Sunday for MGMT.

DC Location: 3330 New York Ave, NE

Philly Location: 23rd Street Armory 22 South 23rd St

More Info at The Kia Collective site.

This is some gorgeous throwback soul perfect for your next BBQ. Video is on point too; ladies love cool Mayer. A Strange Arrangement drops in September.

This song is actually a cover of a song by Detroit group New Holidays. O-Dub at Soul Sides has the scoop.

DOWNLOAD: Mayer Hawthorne & the County – Maybe So, Maybe No

Tour dates for Mayer Hawthorne and the County after the jump.

Sat, Sep 05: Seattle, WA at Bumbershoot Festival | www
Thu, Sep 10: Los Angeles at The Roxy
Sun, Sep 13: San Luis Obispo at Downtown Brew |
Tue, Sep 15: San Francisco at Rickshaw Stop |
Wed, Sep 16: Santa Cruz at Catalyst (Atrium) |
Fri, Sep 18: Portland at MusicFest NW
Sat, Sep 19: Eugene at WOW Hall | www
Mon, Sep 21: Salt Lake City at Kilby Court
Wed, Sep 23: Denver at Larimer Lounge | www
Thu, Sep 24: Omaha at The Waiting Room
Fri, Sep 25: Chicago at Dark Room | www
Sat, Sep 26: Ann Arbor at Blind Pig | www
Sun, Sep 27: Toronto at Drake Hotel | www
Tue, Sep 29: Boston at Great Scott | www
Wed, Sep 30: Philadelphia at Johnny Brendas
Thu, Oct 01: Brooklyn at The Knitting Factory
Fri, Oct 02: New York at Mercury Lounge
Sun, Oct 04: Washington DC at DC9 | www
Mon, Oct 05: Chapel Hill at Local 506 | www
Tue, Oct 06: Atlanta at Druken Unicorn
Wed, Oct 07: Orlando at The Social | www
Fri, Oct 09: New Orleans at Parish, HOB | www
Sat, Oct 10: Austin at Red 7 | Tickets
Wed, Oct 14: Scottsdale, AZ at Chasers
Thu, Oct 15: San Diego at Canes | www

Seriously rivalled only by the infamous “thugginest” interview with NORE (we’ve linked to this twice already, but it never gets old.)  HipHopGame’s latest interview with two-time Beat Drop honouree Alchemist is about a week old, but it’s so damn entertaining that I’m posting it anyway. Alc drops knowledge on getting weed delivered to your room, making beats with pots and pans and the greatness of matzo brie.

Here’s a selection of some of the best parts. On producing:

HHG: Can you take us through the making of an Alchemist beat?

A: Usually I turn the lights down and I’ll put on a record. First I usually stand on my head and I get the blood rushing into my brain because it gets the ideas rushing more. So I’ll stand on my head and I’ll wait for something to catch me on the record or my face is so purple that I have to stand up. It’s good. It’s almost like a high. I’ll find a sound and I’ll go from there. I pretty much just zone out and there really isn’t any method to the madness. I’ll find drum sounds anywhere. I’ll bang pots and pans into the microphone or smash metal cans. I can make my kicks. How did I make a kick? Oh yeah, I remember, I made a kick by turning the record player up really loud and just banging on the turntable and you get an 808 sound. It’s pretty fresh. I stole it from watching Numark on stage with Jurassic 5. I’ll make the kicks myself. It’s pretty much just acting like a complete asshole.

That’s awesome.

Yeah. They don’t understand. And I eat a lot of matzo brie. Matzo brie is the shit. People like to eat it with syrup and salt and that’s wack. I eat it with syrup, pancake style. That shit is pretty good. And Bottlecaps candy is pretty good too. Bottlecaps are really good.

And standing on your head.

I’m telling you, if you haven’t tried it, put on a record and just stand on your head and I’ll bet you as the blood rushes, because when you sit down, the blood ends up going to your feet. You got a lot of blood in your legs and you need the blood to get to your brains actually because you need to use your brain to make a beat. You let the blood go there and it’s kind of ill. It’s a technique. It’s a trick of the trade. It’s real talk. Let me add a disclaimer. If anybody passes out, I have nothing to do with that. Make sure you come up for air if you get dizzy. It’s a special Alchemist technique. I would never want to harm a fan intentionally. I want them to make some hot shit. Go and stand on your head. I just want them to do it at their own risk.

On groupies:

I was at a Ghostface show and he told all the girls where his hotel was while telling dudes if they showed up they would get beat up.

Why don’t he just make copies of his key and just pass them out? “Let me get 10 copies of that key” when he checks in. “I have 10 tickets!” That’s an old school move. When you go on tour you take an extra key and you find a bitch. You gotta find the one that you’re taking and then you’re like, ‘Don’t worry, here. I’ll meet you at the hotel.’ You also have to make sure you have nothing valuable in the room too. Don’t play yourself. It’s a good move. That’s like insurance for the broad. It’s like, ‘Okay, well, he gave me the key so I guess I’m in.’ Make them feel special if you don’t have a backstage pass.

I’m telling you, you gotta put them on. Can we charge for this interview? For the people to read it? Like if you want to read it, there’s a lot of game that they’re going to soak up.

On weed (you should watch the video below for some context)

What’s the deal with Evidence getting charged for weed on his room service bill?

You saw that? That’s a true story. They charged him. I had to pay for half of it too so fuck Evidence! (laughs)

How did that go down?

It’s pretty fresh, right? Marijuana in your room. We got in-room marijuana delivery. People thought we got charged. Nah. We get in-room marijuana deliveries. Usually when someone comes with that you think you’re being setup. Nah. We got the weed trump card. We’re from California. We have our medical cards.

What was your excuse when you went to get your card?

Oh, man, a lot of paranoia. I’m a performer and I have to go on these stages and I’m very paranoid and it’s very stressful.

That’s bullshit.

Are you kidding me? And I have glaucoma too. My vision is not good. I have glaucoma and I have a lot of anxiety attacks. High anxiety. I’m very anxious. Yeah. (laughs)

You sound anxious.

Let me tell you. You should see my hands right now. They’re fucking shaking. I can’t even hold a glass. They put the air thing on your arm and they make it official.

You mean they take your blood pressure?

Yeah! That’s the technical way of calling it. You’re a teacher, man. You know all of this shit. I’m just a dumbass producer. I don’t know what they call it. Blood pressure. They hit your knee with a fucking mallet. Ping! They check your reflexes. It was a little slow. So it was prescribed by the doctor. I think his name was Dr. Greenthumb! It was either Greenstein or Greenthumb, one or the other!

You know, I do believe Snoop Dogg and B-Real have one so fuck that! (laughs) Call it what you want. I would love to have been Snoop Dogg going to the doctor. “Doc, I think I need a weed prescription. I’m Snoop Dogg!” (laughs)

Read the whole thing here. It’s pretty long but worth it.

DOWNLOAD: Alchemist – Hide My Tears (ft.Twista & Maxwell)

You already know we’re fans of Fat Beats at ML.

Something new from the last good member of the Unit. I really liked the original, and Banks definitely respects the song enough to rip it.

I’ve always thought that Lloyd Banks had what it takes to be one of the best. But as long as he stays on the Unit, and keeps releasing RnB then he’ll never get the shine he deserves. Who knows? Maybe he’ll drop a dope street album on that indie tip.

But probably not.

Download: Lloyd Banks- I Do It For This Block

Fascinating story behind this beautiful animated interview with John Lennon, courtesy of Current.

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview. This was in the midst of Lennon’s “bed-in” phase, during which John and Yoko were staying in hotel beds in an effort to promote peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries traditional pen sketches by James Braithwaite with digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and timeless message.

It’s incredible to me that Lennon spoke to this 14-year old kid without an ounce of condescension. John treats him like an interviewer on network TV.

As of yesterday, Lennon’s been gone for 28 years.