Beats for your Sunday by two artists from cities with hills, Hong Kong and San Francisco, easily two of my favorite cities.

First up is FLOYD from Hong Kong. I know nothing about dude except that he makes really nice beats. Short tracks, like those on Dilla’s classic Donuts. He’s just released one tape out on the new SVBKVLT label and an EP on Singapore’s Darker Than Wax, both dope. Peep the A-side to the SVBKVLT tape here and clean yo house or make an omelet.

And this one by the young Seth Steelo, one of the original Come Correct members who had to move back to San Francisco suddenly before the night really took off. He’s been back in The Bay producing loads and really stepped his game up over the last year. Take this jazzy cut for example.

WATCH OUT FOR UMBRELLA THIEVES. THEY LURKIN.

Love this new track from Thundercat so much. Works magic on the floor too. Brainfeeder really one of my favorite labels.

Thundercat – Without You

Download audio file (08 Without You.mp3)

Also feeling this new Busta Rhymes “Twerk It.” Read loads of complaints/hate about this one on the web, but this and disco a la “Get Lucky” will be the sound this summer. It’s also way better than most new dancehall. Sounds like Pharrell made this beat with water droplets. Also, Busta Rhymes is Jamaican so it’s not like he’s just jumping on this style like Snoop Lion. Here’s the dirty version.

Busta Rhymes – Twerk It

Download audio file (TwerkIt (Dirty).mp3)

You’ll definitely hear this at Dada tonight for Papasuda so come down to get down.

HELLO FAM.

I’M STRAPPED UP IN THE RAIN. BOUT TO GET ON A BOAT TONIGHT AND DRINK OPEN BAR CRAFT BEER.

KNOW WHAT’S BEST ABOUT DJING ON A BOAT? NO ONE CAN LEAVE. I CAN PLAY SLAYER, LIL B, OR AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES MANSON, AND 没办法. WHAT U GONNA DO? JUMP IN THE HUANGPU RIVER? THOSE PIGS WERE ALIVE BEFORE THEY HIT THE WATER. THEY WAS THIRSTY. NAW DON’T WORRY I’M GONNA DIG IN MY “WHIIIIIIIIIITE PEOPLE” CRATE.

LOTS OF WAYS TO SPEND UR 元 THIS WEEKEND, SO HERE’S SOME IDEAS.

1. PURPLE SOUL ALBUM RELEASE @ SHELTER ON FRIDAY – ALL CHINESE HIP HOP CREW COMING DOWN FROM BEIJING TONIGHT WITH DJ CAUTION AND CHA CHA ON DECK. EVER WONDERED WHERE ALL THE LOCAL HIP HOP IS? WELL, 说实话 THERE’S NOT MANY RAPPERS IN SHANGHAI, SO SUPPORT THESE GUYS RIDIN THE TRAIN DOWN FROM BEIJING AND PUTTING OUT THEIR ALBUM ON A REALLY LIMITED BUDGET.

Purple Soul – 忙碌的人-龙胆紫

Download audio file (PURPLESOUL.mp3)

2. TODD TERRY @ ARKHAM ON FRIDAY – ONE OF THE LEGENDS OF HOUSE MUSICS, PLAYING PURE HOUSE MUSICS.

3. REDDIT MEETUP @ ??? ON SATURDAY – IMA BE THERE. SHOUT OUT TO THE REDDIT FAM. ONE OF YA’LL CAME THRU THE VINYL NIGHT LAST NIGHT.

4. VOLUNTEER @ A HOMELESS SHELTER ON SATURDAY – PLAY PING PONG AND CHILL WITH SOME HOMELESS PEEPS. SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD WAY TO MAKE UP FOR ALL YR SINNING IN SHANGHAI U FUCKING DEGENERATES. RSVP AT beanshanghai@gmail.com AND THEY’LL SEND U THE INFO.

5. POPASUDA @ DADA ON SATURDAY – COME WIND TO MUSIC WITHOUT ENGLISH LYRICS (MOSTLY). LOADS OF BASS, SOME BOOTY. PLUS YRS TRULY AND DJ SAL ON DECK.

PROBABLY SOME OTHER STUFF GOING ON, MOSTLY INVOLVING:

a) DIFFERENT STRAINS OF HOUSE MUSICS

b) BEAUTIFUL, COOL PEEPS

c) VENUES THAT WILL CLOSE IN ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS

SEE U ON THE STREETS OR ON THE WATER FAM. WHAT UP WITH THIS RAIN?

Oran “Juice” Jones – The Rain

Download audio file (TheRain.mp3)

Zomby – Tears In The Rain

Download audio file (05 Tears in the Rain.mp3)

ANYONE KNOW WHICH MOVIE THIS ZOMBY SONG SAMPLES? LEAVE A COMMENT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A BROKEN UMBRELLA!

AND 大 THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TO OUR VINYL NIGHT LAST NIGHT <3 LOOK FOR A BIT OF THE MIX ON SOUNDCLOUD SOON.

This track’s from one of my favorite Brazilian Baile MC’s Dieze Tigrona. It exudes the Popasuda motif, with a driving Brazilian percussion line that bangs hard alongside a rugged female Portuguese vocal, exclaiming with attitude the need to fucking Get Down! Pretty raw, nothing fancy – just a bad-ass piece of Brazil.

Jesse Rose – Toca Pra Mim

Download audio file (TocaPraMim.mp3)

There’s nothing I love more than a well-sampled Indian Vocal. This track right here’s set on a nice BPM, it’s got that international vibe that I’m trying to increase in Popasuda, and it’s cut from one of my favorite (and probably the most famous) Indian classical singers Lata Mangeshkar. Hopefully you won’t be hearing too many English vocals from the Popasuda sets, unless it’s really worth it. I’m really trying to keep shit as foreign and diverse as possible.

Latah Mangeshkar – Todha Rashem Lagan Hai (Daniel Haaksman Remix)

Download audio file (LatahMangeshkarThodaReshamLagtaHaiDanielHaaksmanRemix.mp3)

Old School Acid Gems:

This is one of my favorite acid-trance tunes from way back in 1995. It was one of my first records, given to me by a fellow DJ back when I was in high school. While making me feel old as shit, it’s undeniably one of the dopest classic acid tunes reminiscent of that early Daft Punk sound that was just beginning to emerge back in the mid-nineties. It actually predates Homework, but certainly draws along the same line. Wicked 303 line about halfway in (1:53). I’m so happy that acid is making a mild resurgence, so I can finally have a chance to play this oldschool shit now that I’m a “seasoned DJ”. There definitely won’t be a full acid set (or a full set of anything for that matter), but when you least expect it, 303 lines will be tweaked.

Snitzer vs. Humate - Oh My Darling I Love You (Heavy Mix Cut)

Download audio file (OldSchoolAcid.mp3)

If you haven’t already seen some Youtube footage of Asonto from West Africa, it’s a weird little dance on it’s way to being a flavor of the month. For all those cats out there who are all “whaaaat, that’s shit’s last year”, stop frontin it’s not like you were in the back allies of Lagos railing lines and getting low… dick!  Either way, though it’s most likely a passing fad, the movement did produce a few very dope, grimy, ass-to-the-floor dance tunes, like this one.

Sarkodie and EL-Ghana – You Go Kill Me

Download audio file (SarkodieYouGoKillMeO.mp3)

I’m really trying to take the night in an international direction. There will be no hour of straight anything, it’ll be easy on the English vocals, we’ll be fucking with BPM with very selecta style drops and quick transitions. Rewinds, horns, a fucking amazing MC from Ghana (The Mighty Junior Revelation), and shit ton of different languages. Expect reggae, dancehall edits and bassy shit, vocal inspired Trap shit in Spanish to Jamaican or Swahili, Crazy digital Soca, a little bit of cool old-school Acid, perhaps a few underground reggaeton bangers from our favorite rapper Tego Calderon, some moobah inspired African stuff, Crazilian Shit (see what I did there), Indian vocal shit salt & peppered in, and just generally dirty vibes built for some community-center dancehall in some third-world country with rhythm.

Words by DJ Sal aka Skinny Brown

Starting a new all-vinyl night in collaboration with the homies Alta, Arthur Fox, and Naaah from the UK rave tunes night Push and Pull. We’ve been playing records back-to-back in our living rooms for a while now and tmmr night we’re bringing that vibe to Logo on Xingfu Lu.

每月第三个周四，黑胶社会成员将齐聚LOGO酒吧，将他们最喜欢的唱片呈现给你。
没有CD，没有电脑，只有最原味的黑胶。

No computers, no CDs, no MP3s – strictly wax, in a dark room with friends and candles.

The name “黑胶社会” plays on the words for mafia “黑社会,” literally “black society,” and   “黑胶片,” literally “black record.” No English name for this party, strictly pinyin. We’re doing it on the third Thursday every month because that’s the night of the harvest moon. Special guests each time.

Major shout out to Cecilia Chan for her hard work on this flyer. Peep that hand-drawn  address and logo.

Here’s a rip straight from my collection.

Dee Edwards – Why Can’t There Be Love?

Download audio file (WhyCantThereBeLove.mp3)

Starts around 9PM – see you down there! Peep the event on Facebook right here.

You’ve heard dirty hip hop before – 2 Live Crew, Ice-T, Too Short, Three 6 Mafia, but do you know about Blowfly from Miami? This guy used to write number one hits for R&B and soul singers back in the 60s and 70s, but also released some X-rated tracks with titles like “That’s What Your Pussy’s Made For,” “Too Fat To Fuck,” and the nine-minute “Beggin’ For Pussy Medley.” The groove on “More Than One Pussy” really stands out.

Blowfly – More Than One Pussy

Download audio file (05 More than one Pussy.mp3)

Lookin like a pro wrestler, he performs in a superhero suit, blue mask, and cape to this day, and the website for the documentary “The Weird World of Blowfly” claims he wrote the first rap song ever, back in 1965. If so, that far predates Gil Scott Heron’s 1974 “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.”

I just discovered Blowfly and his 1984 LP “X-rated” in a folder of 80s hip-hop a homie recently passed me. Funny tunes with a really 80s vibe. Something like an X-rated Weird Al meets the Egyptian Lover and Dam Funk. He even raps over other popular beats from the time, like Lional Richie’s “Hello” and Cybotron’s “Clear” on “Electronic Pussy Sucker.”

Blowfly – Electronic Pussy Sucker

Download audio file (ELECTRONICPUSSYSUCKER.mp3)

Love the intro, “You know I saw this fine bitch the other day, in a store that sells computers and video games…”

Without Blowfly, we may not have other classic dirty rap like 2 Live Crew, also from Miami, who were arrested for performing songs from their 1989 album “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” after a federal court judge ruled the album obscene. Music shop employees were even arrested for selling the CD until the obscenity ruling was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1992. Funny how the courts in Florida worked then, but not during the 2000 election recount with Bush vs. Gore.

2 Live Crew – Pop That Pussy

Download audio file (1-11 128 – Pop That Pussy.mp3)

New rappers like Tyga, YG, and 2 Chainz just sound vulgar when they rap about the P because they lack the weirdness and creativity that made Blowfly and 2 Live Crew so appealing. That’s why I’d rather listen to Lil B than the aforementioned rappers, because he’s a weird character who doesn’t seem so serious, e.g. “I popped three pills I look like Harry Potter…I’m finna eat that pussy.”  Really wanna know if The Based God knows about Blowfly, the OG nasty rapper.

Lil B – Red Light Fashion

Download audio file (18 Red Light Fashion.mp3)

My mom never let me buy Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg’s first LP, back when he was Snoopy Doggy Dogg. This was during the post-LA riots moral panic about gangster rap and Snoop’s murder trial (not guilty!). I was eight years old with a brand new Sony CD player. Luckily, my cousin had all the good CDs, i.e. those with parental advisory stickers. We used to play that unicycle racing game on SNES and listen to Doggystyle. Remember this track from the first pressing of that LP? It didn’t appear on any later pressings due to sample clearance issues. What a gem.

Snoopy Doggy Dogg – Gz Up Hoez Down

Download audio file (GzUpHoesDown.mp3)

That was 1993, and in the 20 years since, Snoop Doggy Dogg has not only transformed into Snoop Dogg and then Snoop Lion, he’s made the top-selling porn video of 2001, coached youth football, and become a cultural icon, appearing all over TV and film, both as himself the actor and through others parroting his “fo shizzle bizzle” and other nonsequitors – he was a meme long before the meme era. He is a brand.

Was Snoop Dogg’s late-90s, early-2000s ubiquitousness proto-Gangnam Style? Is Snoop as important as Andy Warhol? How did brands, trends, and globalization collide to make Reincarnation happen? I dunno man, I ate taxi driver food at 2am and woke up hella sick.

>>

Don’t know how many non-English social networking platforms Snoop Dogg/Lion posts on, but he’s all over Weibo, the Chinese Twitter. Bilingual posts from his Snoop_DoggCN account cover wide-ranging topics from Chinese holidays to sports to strange shout-outs and blatant attempts to get marketing data. Some are probably just re-posts from Twitter, but others are clearly for the Chinese market. Some tweets/posts are just straight up advertising.

After digging through Snoop’s Weibo page, here’s my picks, in no specific order:

1) “I’m Bob Marley reincarnated so faded – 我是Bob Marley的化身，他是最棒的”

.
2) [odd] “Shoutout 2 tha homeyz SOUNDGARDEN congrats on tha new album KING ANIMAL – make … – 支持我朋友Soundgarden，祝贺他们发行了新专辑《King Animal》.”

3) “My president is black – 我的总统是黑人”

.
4) “Charlie Murphy, ay fam need u on my show!! get at me – Charlie Murphy，我需要你来上我的节目！！联系我吧。”

.
5) [attempt to get marketing data?] “So many artists in China are dropping new albums in the next months – which one are you most excited for? – 许多中国艺人将在接下来的几个月里发行新专辑 — 你们最期待谁的呢？”

.
6) “Happy Mooncake festival from your Uncle Snoop Dogg! Eat a mooncake today!” and “Happy singles day in China – sorry I won’t be celebratin witchu, I have my lovel… – 中国的粉丝们，光棍节快乐 – 抱歉我不能和你们一起庆祝节日了，我有我可爱的老婆S…”

[SERATO FACE! prlly not even Serato, probably some proprietary Snoop Dogg DJ software that no one else can get, kinda like the Magic Johnson cure for AIDS that no one else can get...]

.

7. “Live in Korea wit 2NE1! – 和 @2NE1-YG 在韩国现场!”   (2NE1 is a major K-pop group and this shows the growing global reach of K-pop…compare this to 20 years ago when rappers were spitting anti-Korean lyrics).

.

8. “Get high wit me – 和我一起来嗨吧.” (this is the transliteration of “hi” and not the character that means “high” like uncle snoop means…)

9. “Also heard bout the stabbings in china – my heart goes out to those families as well. Sad day 2day”

.

10. “Lunch meat n eggs so good. – 中午吃的肉和鸡蛋好美味啊。” This looks like Hong Kong lunchmeat but in an American shape..what’s the cross-cultural significance of this? Is that paprika? What rare spices does Snoop Dogg/Lion have?

11. “My girl tchin taught me how to write my name in Chinese – how’s my handwritn?!”

12. “Whaddup china – love me some kungfu!! 功夫.”

13. “jus touched down n india n heard that tha US has more land, but indias got 4x more people – 刚刚抵达印度，听说美国的国土面积要比印度广，但是印度的人口却是美国的4倍”

14. “The Tao of Snoop – Snoop之道” + “Jackie Chan donated props from “Chinese Zodiac” to the National Stadium – who’s gonna hit that up? @成龙 – 成龙将电影《十二生肖》中的道具捐赠给了国家体育场“鸟巢” – 谁会去那参观？@成龙”

and this one:

15. “Happy Chinese New Year of tha snake! givn my niece a red envelope! 新年快乐恭喜发财 shoutout to my girl t-chin for the chinese”

Actually Snoop doesn’t have that many fans on Weibo – just 77,000, compared to his 10 million+ on Twitter. In China, that’s less compared than 泸州MC石头, this guy (sorry for the lengthy ads):

This guy has 170,000 fans and brings a desktop PC to DJ with at his live shows. So how can we explain a legend like Snoop’s low-numbers in China? Look for some possible answers in an upcoming piece here about hip hop in China.

I wish this tweet made it to Weibo:

“Im takn over as tha CEO of Yahoo. Need sum of tha Snoop Dogg content ya digg. Nuff Said.”

Anyway, I can’t wait to play Doggystyle for my grandkids someday, and “Snoop Lion: Reincarnated” is a terrible symptom of the post-modern condition.

So that live blogging from the BBQ cookoff never happened. Within thirty minutes of  arrival, I crashed on a skateboard and started bleeding from my back and wrist then got chased and bitten by a Scottish Sheep Dog with an enormous D. But otherwise a great day in the sun, with pure meats, whiffle ball, and reverse culture shock.

Starting today, I’m going to feature some of the best cloud seedlings on Soundcloud, beginning with an upcoming release by one of my favorite producers. Kingdom fuses some of my favorite genres, R&B, electro, Baltimore, and dubstep, but manages to sound way classier than his peers. This is the darker cousin of R&B (no racist), with similar DNA as newer releases by Shlohmo but much clubbier and stripped-back. Super distinctive and immediately identifiable style. His 2010 release on Night Slugs remains one of my favorites from that label, and I expect he’ll eventually get picked up by some pop stars and major labels. Tracks like “Let You Know” make me think that’s what he’s after.

I’d been listening to this track from his upcoming EP on Fade To Mind (sister label of Night Slugs) and noticed a familiar name on the art production credits – Kim Laughton from ROM! The VJ who looks like white Jesus, you know who I’m talking about. He’s seriously stepped up his art game in the past few years and now he’s done this stunning album cover. Reminds me a bit of the final battle in Akira. Definitely copping the full EP on May 28th, can’t wait.

So my British roommate, who teachers high-level posh manners courses and sells the Queens clothing, 4,000GBP suits, and is actually trying to sell a 20 million pound castle to some rich Chinese people just woke up hungover as fuck and Chinese auntie just told me don’t leave lighters in the sun in the summer cause they’ll explode. Auntie shouted “what did you drink??” but roommate doesn’t speak Chinese. Auntie says her husband can drink so much Baijiu (50% alcohol Chinese white wine), and us foreigners all drink beer. She asked if I know another foreigner named “Kevin” who also drinks beer.

We all need coffee but no one in our neighborhood can grind these Ecuadorian beans except for the cat shit coffee shop down the block. Ok they’re not cats, they’re civets but I’ve never seen a civet and the Chinese translation is 猫屎咖啡 (cat shit coffee). So many new cat shit coffee shops in Shanghai opened in the last year; I’ve seen at least six. These places charge $50 a cup for cat shit coffee! Jesus, I need to think of some luxury products to sell here. Need to talk to posh manners roommate about this.

I’m off to a BBQ cookoff on the South Bund. Expect some live reporting over at http://weibo.com/heatwolves

Actress – Hubble

Download audio file (01 Hubble.mp3)

(from Splazsh, easily one of my favorite LPs of the last five years)

SOME PEOPLE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS, GAMBLING, AND ALCOHOL.

I ALSO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH STUFFED ANIMAL/CIGARETTE GRAB MACHINES. I SPENT 63RMB ($10) IN THE LAST WEEK AND GOT A TURTLE AND A PACK OF LION CIGARETTES. I ASKED MANY BBQ COOK IN HANGZHOU ABOUT LION BRAND, BUT NO ONE KNOW THAT. MUST BE VERY EXPENSIVE. LIFE HAS UPS AND DOWNS, THIS IS A SERIOUS UP.

OMG PHOTOSHOP HAS A “TRAP” FUNCTION.

SO I’M AT THE ARCADE ALL WEEKEND TIPPING THE GRAB MACHINES, PLAYING TEKKEN, DRINKING NONGFU SHAN, WATCHING PEOPLE WITH FISHING-GAME PROBLEMS. 10RMB LASTS A LONG TIME AT THE ARCADE.

LOTS ELSE ON. HERE’S THE TOP FIVE:

1. FRIDAY @ KTV DISCO – MOST BARS IN SHANGHAI DEPEND ON THE PROMOTERS, SO GOT DIFFERENT VIBE EVERY NIGHT. NOT KTV DISCO. I TRIED TO BOOK IT THEY SAID NO WE DOING OUR OWN THANG, DON’T WANT DJS WHO PLAY IN SHANGHAI. “ALL IMPORTED.” THAS COOL, U GO GIRL. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET AT THIS VENUE, AND THAT’S SOLID, SOMETIMES BORING DISCO, HOUSE, AND COKE MUSIC. TONIGHT IS A DISCO GUY FROM A LABEL CALLED GOLF CHANNEL. THAT’S @ 3/F, 370 HUASHAN LU, near WULUMUQI LU AND WILL COST YOU ONE RED BILL.

2. FRIDAY @ GEISHA – HIP HOP HIJACK. IF YOU WANNA HEAR THAT NEW TYGA, RICK ROSS, CHIEF KEEF GO HERE. GUEST IS SOME GUY THAT’S GOOD AT DJING HIP HOP.  ALSO GOT A BATHTUB ON THE DANCE FLOOR. THAT’S WACKY. ALSO ONE RED BILL AND ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF FUXING AND SHANXI NAN LU.

3. FRIDAY @ YUYINTANG – ITALIAN PEOPLE PLAYING ELECTROROCK  PLUS THE NEW BAND ASTROFUCK. MAYBE FRIEND OR FOE ARE PLAYING TOO, AND SOME OTHER BAND. SO, FOUR ROCK BANDS AND A NICE PARK FOR 50RMB. NORTHWEST CORNER OF KAIXUAN LU AND YAN’AN LU.

4. SATURDAY @ SO COOL DOCKS – BBQ COOKOFF. MY FRIEND JUST CALLED SAID TMMR GOT BBQ ON THE SOUTH BUND. PUT ON BY BUBBA’S. BUBBA SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE WHO KNOWS BBQ. WAY MORE THAN RON OR HEROLD. IT’S 100RMB FOR UNLIMITED BBQ AND THERE’S PROBABLY SOME NOT ITALIAN PEOPLE PLAYING LIVE MUSIC.

5. ANDY WARHOL EXHIBIT @ ??? BUT THAT’S COOL.

I GOT EXCITED ABOUT EVENT CALLED “GLAMOUR BAR PRESENTS RANGOON THEN AND NOW” BUT TURNS OUT IT’S ABOUT SOME COUNTRY AND NOT CRAB RANGOONS.

I’LL BE AT THE ARCADE WINNING SHIT SMOKING RARE LION CIGS AND LISTENING TO THIS:

PINCH – SWISH

Download audio file (01 Swish.mp3)