still sorting through Gucci Mane mixtapes…after a solid two years of listening to dubstep/uk funky/future whatever, concluded that dirty south production still bangs harder than Night Slugs or anything else.

speaking of hip hop, the soft opening of DJ Caution’s new weekly at Panic Room went really well last night. I rapped better than I have in years and a few b-boys lit it up.

But for real, PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR FUCKING SOUNDSYSTEM, PANIC ROOM. the highs in there are unbearable and lots of people left as a result. just drop some g’s and do it right – it’s a great space. don’t know why people are so fucking cheap about sound here…(Lune, looking at you).

Some people will probably stop reading this site if I keep posting Gucci Mane songs, so here’s something for all to agree on. A slice of magic from 1977.

Alessi Brothers – Seabird

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sucks to see people living where they work when there’s sawdust and paint fumes everywhere, and that’s life for a lot of people around the world. what’s worse, being a poor migrant worker in China or being a poor minority in the hood in America?

Some music for the hoods across America..

Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka Flame – Young Niggaz

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Picture is taken from the roof of 1933, in Hongkou district. They had a “flea market” that wasn’t really. Just a room full of pretty girls selling mass-produced goods from Qipu Lu and maybe three booths with actual handicrafts (cell phone leashes…). No records, tapes, or even CDs to be found. Still, Hongkou is one of my favorite districts in Shanghai so no real complaints.

Jump right into the music – some cats in Shanghai are bringing the tempo down to about 112BPM for that moombahton, but does you fucks with 84??? I DJed a brunch the other day (folks got crunk) and dropped this with much success.

Eddie C – We Need We

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big thanks to all who came to dada on saturday. party went till 5:30AM with a classic freestyle sesh. that’s freestyle as in Debbie Deb, not busting rhymes off the dome. Ceezy killed it too.

only bummer was one really weird and crunk bro who had a row with almost everyone, and apparently got put in a headlock and beat with a purse, but for some reason kept buying me shots and saying “you’re the only one who gets it man. these people…you’re a good guy.” he also rolled in with a near-empty bottle of Crown Royal, which I’ve never seen in China.

saw this “man massage” tag on Huashan Lu, thought of italo disco. here’s a few gems.

this first song is about a girl celebrating her lack of a relationship and being on the prowl for d.

Knight Action – Single Girl

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and this one – a white girl going to Japan, finding love, and being touched.

Lori & The Chameleons – Touch

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Drank a cup of this last night because the auntie in charge of the restaurant said it would help my cold. Looks like a facehugger from the film Alien, tasted like Baijiu and Chinese medicine. Two cups = blackout for sure.

Danny Brown, the best Detroit rapper since Esham ? Likely. Been listening to a lot of rap mixtapes lately, including Ferarri Boyz, Angel’s Exodus, 808s & Dark Grapes II, and Free Bricks, and XXX is definitely the best. Not just saying that because I’m from Michigan.

Download the whole tape here for free.

Great art can come from poverty. No better example of this than Detroit.

Dude mostly raps about eating pussy and smoking blunts, but gets serious sometimes too. The flow is ridiculous and unique; had me laughing out loud several times as I listened to this all the way through.

Danny Brown – Outer Space

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Danny Brown – I Will

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Love Bang #9 tonight @ Dada!

real quick post fo’ i grab my chicken sandwich and get on the train.

hopefully i won’t run into songbro and his female accomplice again. it’s all good if people want to sing songs/dance/do backflips/tell stories for money – this is much, much better/more respectable than outright begging. but people shouldn’t sing songs for donations if they’re in a bad mood.

songbro brought the vibes down big time on Line 10 last week. just a halfhearted, “why am i even fucking doing this” affect. literally no one gave them money.

like i said, i’m all for people singing songs in public as long as:

a) songs aren’t typically tragic Chinese love songs
b) (even more important) the singer is in a good mood/fakes a good mood

wish Hype Williams would show up on Line 10 and do an impromptu performance. their shit is brilliant. this track is the Pokemon theme song slowed way down.

Hype Williams – Rescue Dawn

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and again, late pass on this but new Rapture track. their album’s coming out on DFA soon. looks good.

The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love?

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Young Edits // Youth, from Brisbane. been listening to this dude’s edits for a few years now. really, really solid. always adds something new.

he’s just dropped this on Kojak Giant Sounds. would cop it quick if you’re feeling it – this label always sells out.

The version on the vinyl sounds remastered; bigger drums.

no DLs on the track.

Smile At You (Youth’s Going Home Dub) – Stevie Nicks

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super, super late pass on this but i’ve been digging into the lil b catalog lately. if you don’t know, lil b is “the based god.” Based apparently means thinking on at least 36 different levels and not giving a fuck.

lil b first came up back in 2006 with that song “Vans,” but now he’s on some other shit. dude releases 600+ song mixtapes. a lot of it is garbage, but some is genuinely gold. he’s helped in no small way by his producers, including Clams Casino (one of the best in the game right now).

although he sounds like it on some (many) of his songs, i don’t think lil b is retarded. think he’s a smart, funny dude with no quality control, probably due to narcissism mixed with a quantity > quality in the age of the interwebs philosophy. if you dig through his mixtapes (seriously so many) you’ll probably find something you like.

for me, right now, Wonton Soup is the track. he claims he has to make “ignorant” songs like this sometimes to entice peeps to explore deeper in his catalog. it’s a brilliant satire of the past..i’ll say fifteen years of rap. classic lines like:

“please bitch, you hatas ain’t got no felonies/young base god flexed ten armed robberies/young base god been breakin and entering/young base god ride hot when you bought it.”

He’s not serious, so don’t take it seriously and appreciate it for what it is. “Wonton Soup” makes as much sense as “Laffy Taffy” or “My Dougie,” but way funnier. He got death threats for naming his latest album “I’m Gay” (he’s not).

Lil B – Wonton Soup

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Some other tracks I’m feeling as well.

Lil B – Motivation

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Lil B – I Hate Myself

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Lil B – I Seen That Light

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Doing a party at Dada this Saturday with fellow Otakrew member Ceezy. He’s one of the busiest producers in Shanghai, with an output eclipsed by only The Acid Pony club, but they don’t sleep.

Like in his previous mixtape, the 22 year-old Shanghainese-native takes you on a journey, this time through soul, funk, and hip hop. Just in time for summer’s sunset. It’s short, but the track selection is fire, with a great Ceezy tune at the end.

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Ceezy – Hungry Ghost Mixtape Series #1 (download)

Tracklist:

01. One Night Affair – Jerry Butler
02. Winners Together Or Losers Apart – George & Gwen Mccrae
03. Wax and Vane – Dorothy Ashby
04. Substream – Kyoto Jazz Massive
05. Date With The Rain – Frankie Gee
06. I’m a Good Woman – Barbara Lynn
07. 100 Days, 100 Nights – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
08. Mad About The Boy – Dinah Washington
09. This Thing – D’Nell
10. Just Do It (feat. Awon & Tif The Gift) – SoulChef
11. Desperado – Beat Demons
12. Do Not Break Your Promise – Ceezy

For dozens of original tracks, check out his site.

We’re also playing together in Beijing on Sept 17th, along with DJ Cavia and LOTS of other big artists at the Black Rabbit Music Festival. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Does anyone know the etymology of the term-of-endearment “boo” ?

All I’ve come up with in the Apple dictionary is the British phrase “wouldn’t say boo to a goose” to describe a shy person.

And a really strange example in the verb section, “I practically got booed off the stage for talking about cyperpunk.”

In this classic 90s jam, boo just means lover, or girlfriend/boyfriend, as in “you’re my boo.” Pretty sure girls are usually boos.

Balam Acab, who’s about to release an LP on my favorite new label, Tri Angle, just remixed this track, slowing it down into something some people might call witch house. Not as ill as the original, but still good.

Ghost Town DJs – My Boo (BALAM ACAB Remix)

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Actually I’m bumping the original right now and my Ayi is really digging it.

Some tracks I’m definitely gonna play out on Saturday. Bicep, originally from Belfast but now living in London/Glasgow/the gym, came out to Shanghai last April for the first ever Love Bang and smashed it. The DJ skills were already on point but they’ve stepped up the production game heavily, especially on this new release.

“Say You Wanna” has been one of my favorite jams for the past year. Still not sick of it. Really liking “Knockout” as well. This vinyl will probably sell out fast and they’re not doing a repress – cop it here.

Here’s a preview of all four jams on the EP. “Sleazy Disco Funk” sums it up nicely.

BICEP | MYSTERY MEAT EP (SAMPLER) by BICEP

and they run a great website too over at Feel My Bicep.

real happy with this poster. will give some explanation later.

sorry for all the problems with the site lately. having your site shut down because of too much traffic is like the police shutting down your party for noise – you’re doing something right, but it’s still not cool.

expect lots of updates this week, but first peep this – an all vinyl reggae mix by Blaise Deville, one of my favorite DJs in Shanghai.

I saw Blaise do this mix live at uDance (where i’m hosting Beat Buffet this weekend from 8PM – 10PM). He came in with a huge box full of 7″ 45s and used serato as a sampler for the sound effects.

It’s a great mix, just in time for the peak of the summer heat. So grab some watermelon off that truck in front of your house and dig in.

Here’s the tracklist:

Tracklist :

1. Elimination Game – Ticklah VS Victor Price

2. True Born Arfican – U-Roy & Sister Audrey

3. Kunta Kinte – The Revolutionaries

4. Noah’s Ark – Eek-A-Mouse

5. Rasta Tell You – Judah Askenda

6. Jah Help Those Who Help Themselves – B.B. Seaton

7. Should I – Dennis Brown

8. Coming From Town – Madoo

9. Shaolin Plot – Nicademus

10. Gwane A School – Tony Tuff

11. Good Morning Teacher – Nitty Gritty

12. Love Is The Light – Horace Andy

13. Till – Horace Andy

14. Jah Jah A Beat Them – Cornell Campbell

15. See A Man Face – General Levy

16. See & Blind – General Degree

17. Praise The Emperor – Black Mice

18. Chase The Devil – Earl 16

19. A Few Goes Aboasting – Dean Fraser

20. Unchained – Bob Andy

21. Looking My Love – Barrington Levy

22. Shinning Star – Phillip Fraser

23. Ease Up Baby – Linval Thompson

24. Run Around Girl – Tristan Palmer

25. Love Has No Shame – Glen Washington

26. Ghetto Girl – Dennis Brown

27. Loving You – Janet Kay

28. Mama Mama – General Smiley & The Sound Dimension

29. Peek A Boo – The Tamlins

30. Hotel Fee – Madoo

31. Fattie Bum-Bum – Carl Malcolm

32. Jammin So – Madoo

33. Soul Movement – Tommy Mc Cook & The Supersonics

34. Once Upon A Time – Delroy Wilson

35. Westbound Train – Dennis Brown

36. Glory To Sounds – Cedric Brooks

37. All Over – Ashanti Waugh

38. Jack Slick – Junior Murvin

39. Clean Out Yu Heart – L.T.

40. Believe In Me – Daville

Blaise and I will play a special Love Bang Chinese Valentine’s Day Special this Saturday, August 6th at Dada. Expect reggae early in the night and soul, disco, and hip hop later. Won’t get too crunk – we’re doing this for the lovers.