April Heatrocks: The Lost and Late Edition

My favorite feature of iTunes has to be the play count and top 25 most played lists. I love being able to see what is getting the most plays from me. With my computer crashing and the subsequent reloads I found myself loosing the valuable information that makes up my play count and helps determine what you all are blessed in these here posts I like to call the heatrocks. A few of the songs from last month were so ingrained in my ears i couldn't forget them, others just jumped out as I scrolled. Just 11 bangers this time around due to technical difficulty but you'll enjoy them!

J Rocc, Daedelus, Ras G & Nobody all participated in a little project with Dublab outta LA entitled Secondhand Sureshots and it is one of the dopest documentaries about diggin I've ever seen. They all went out with 5 bucks and picked up 5 records from thrift shops in LA. Took them home and made tunes out of them, dublab pressed em on to dubplates (and subsequent full 12" vinyl) and had each artist go drop them back into the original bins. DOPE. This tune is J Rocc's concoction flipping some Barbara striesand. So beautiful.

Rick Ross has become perhaps the biggest joke in all of Hip Hop but he consistently picks some of the best beats and has the ability to just body a track. Don't know who his homie C-Ride is but his tape The Arab Store gave me a little enjoyment. This track "Str8 Outta Carol City" is on some grabbing at it's namesakes stature with the energy and excitement they let loose. I dig it. What you think?

I will never forget deciding to buy Bonobo's last album on CD because it came with the instrumentals, forever being pissed as the record is so beautiful I can only imagine what it would really sound like if played correctly. Oh well, live and learn. His latest album Black sands seems to be gaining a lot of momentum and hype and this selection "Kiara" reminds me slightly of the Starkey album along with some of the best moments of Joker's brand of dubstep. It's an airy party tune.

Flying Lotus has let loose his latest onto the massive that is planet Earth. Although Cosmogramma may very well be communicating with other dimensions too, us earthlings should be glad to have this project. It's beauty is unmatched and very well may not be. Here on "Do The Astral Plane" we experience a house track done FlyLo style. It's hot and should have every DJ itching to give it some burn. Rock this track, rock this album, rock anything FlyLo, Brainfeeder or Low End puts out - the hot streak isn't cooling, they are on some shit in LA right now.

Keeping the beat heads satisfied is never easy, in 2010 it seems everyone wants to do it though and as long as the albums come are as hot as the assortment of bangers we have seen drop already this year we would be fools not to embrace this ever evolving sub genre. Free The Robots delivered a project that has been standing out more and more with every listen. I'm constantly hearing a track off it, wondering what it is and being more impressed by the record Ctrl Alt Delete upon discovering yet another track worth repeat listens. The cut that had me at the moment was this "Turkish Voodoo."

Philly is not a town I think of when considering electronic music hot spots. Starky has changed this for me in one fell swoop with his album Ear Drums And Black Holes proving that dubstep and Hip Hop are lost cousins that can be contored together into something special. The album has a number of beautiful instrumental moments (opener "OK Luv" was close to taking the selection here's place) along with a few vocal performances. The best of which is here. "Numb" with P-Money on the bars delivering a great message about music's power to heal and save. I love this song and captures the pain music can absorb.

10.4 Rog dropped this little gem for us while we were running a remix contest "ExtraHellaDope" from them SOTA boys. Rog laced it pretty right, with a narly bass line and his quirky synths that are rapidly becoming a trademark of this young beatmaker. Yet another demonstration that 10.4 needs to work with everyone in the town. Seattle beats to make your head nod.

Murs and 9th Wonder have teamed up yet again and I once again don't know where to stand. I've had such a roller coaster ride with both parties music at this point I kinda just feel like I want to throw my hands up - it doesn't matter this much. In reality my questioning the music is silly, Sweet Lord was one of the best records I'd heard when it dropped and the fact that they did it for free? Who does that today of the same stature as these two? For this lastest offering it feels like they finally got to Murs coast as the music is much more riding type shit. Kurupt makes two appearences and kills both with ease. He needs to make a record with 9th now. Murs does what he does, can't really say he stands out.

I'm in the middle of reviwing these Wiz discs and it's been a great ear opening experience. He has traversed many styles of rap in his years making tunes. Today he is at his most haziest and most distant from rap. Here on "Up" he is in effect singin, albeit quite poorly. Yet it works. Probably more for us stoners than anyone else but we all know what he is getting at as he chats "we go Up, up, up, up (repeatedly)." No we ain't coming down with ya Wiz. Just keep us flying - no one is audio dope like the Khalifa man.

I'm slowing breaking into the final Little Brother, and While Soderberg paint's a great picture that we all should embrace I'm feeling a little like what the older heads must of felt when Tribe or EPMD split: heart break. It's bittersweet. I wasn't mad at 9th's departure/removal but I'm not sure about the prospect of never hearing an album of Tay and Pooh raps together. I'm sure we will get cuts here and there but it won't be the same. Such a shame. At least they gave us one more jawn that is filled with gems we shouldn't overlook. Here is the first cut that got me, shouts to Tay with that line "rap's no country for old men." It's the truth yet I think you had the skills to change the face of Rap. Fuck you probably already have. Time will show us the birth you gave to this music. Thanks for the time on the mic.

Download the heatrocks here!

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