The May Heatrocks

These Heatrock compilations never seem to make it up to the blog in a timely manner? The two jobs are over and summer is about here. I took a brief hiatus this weekend from the antics of Seattle life to come home and visit with my mom. Always feels good to return to the place of my beginings but I'm ready to get back and keep things moving. Shouts out to all my Jet Set fam, rock tonight for me!

Download the May Heatrocks here.

May saw the release of the Jeezy tape Trap or Die 2, picking up from the last tape and as is usual with mixtapes things stay just a little harder than you would hear on a full length issued by a label. The Clipse and Jeezy are three of the only emcees who own the coke raps today. This song doesn't really pull on their mutual trade but they deliver a high energy banger for you to rock out with none the less!

Detroit is a cold hard place. People say the grey skies round Seattle keep our youth
depressed more than anywhere else. Maybe so, but depression has a bit more stressors than the weather - an important facet to it still. Shigeto is walking the line, like Kyle Hall, between 313 hip hop and electronic pulling obvious inspiration here from the god Mr. Yancy but also demonstrating an ear for electronic squeaks and nodes that will keep your head spinning and the beat moving.

Elevated Soul entered my conciousness via their last LP (I'm drawing a blank on at the moment) and now they are back with another dope project this time teaming with Boho Fau. The album includes instrumentals on the back half. "Open Mic" came on in shuffle and I was hooked. The dusty drums that sound live (sampled or played? I'm leaning towards sampled from a live record) along with the awesome trumpet refrain and sprinkling of keys keep your attention rapt. Heard them rhyme to it as well, comes off pretty hot.

Keeping the spacey beats pumping like it was the year 3000 round these parts of the
internet, Budamunky is another name I'm getting familiar with today and his cut here
"Atmospheric Vibe" is the soundtrack to the astronauts chiefin on the space station, no joke! Smooth and head nod inducing sounds wrap around your head and make you feel like their is no time, just now, Let this shit make you travel mentally, spirtually and physically.

De La Soul has been making rap tunes since the 80s. They make great music. Yet have almost no repsect outside of the heads who have road with them since about as long. Some cite their AOI series as a fall off that was unrecoverable from. I personally rocked those albums heavy. They were my introduction to the three and why I went back and learned about the work they had put in. 4-Ize at one point in time was down with Luda and the DTP crew. Today I have no idea, but he has this tape dropping with Cannon doing what he does. "Concrete Jungle" sees Senor Kaos joining everyone else for a serious tune discussing the realities of life in the streets.

From Fela's first horn refrain that opens "Water No Get Enemy" you have to smile. His music was so full of life. Even on a song such as this or another tune that is speaking about unfortunate ways of African being the music is always energetic and happy. Swinging and funky. He certainly did learn a thing or two from Mr. Brown upon his visit to the states. My fascination with Fela and music created in Africa began almost 3 years ago and hasn't ceased yet. Still finding new artists and new ideas, don't be nervous to turn on the long jams - they hold an honesty rarely seen in a 3 minute radio cut.

This might lose me a few cool points with the Hip Hop bloggerati but I'm not at all familiar with MC Breed. Heard the name, feel like I remember hearing him on a 2Pac jam? Help me out someone! "My Walls" is real funky and is certainly from an era of west coast rap that doesn't exist any longer. I really like him here, with all this talk of Drake being a rapper and a singer MC Breed demonstrates how the two can really work together from a time when cats certaily weren't trying to do both.

Good soul music soothes you. It can make you feel good, put a smile on your face. Stee Downes put out a nice little project called All In A Day on Sonar Kollectiv filled with great melodies and his wonderful voice. "Asunder" opens the project and it's great. The horns scream happiness and jive perfectly with the underlying guitar licks.

Starlito has been gaining some noterity as of late but he isn't new to potential fame. He was once known as All Star and signed to Cash Money. I spent some time downloading a number of old tapes and have only really rocked one - The Tenn-A-Keyan - it's a dope project that shows you Lito rocking over a number of industry beats, including this one here "Hollywood Divorce." Andre & Big Boi's melancholy track provides the perfect chance for him to get a little serious and talk about his life for a moment. Check this out and hear where a recent voice has been before.

Gonjasufi has gotten some local attention thanks to his relationship with Seattle star Ish aka Palaceer Lazaro of Shabazz Palaces. I wrote about the Gonjasufi album when it leaked and while I haven't kept it in rotation I did recently grab a whole slew of his old projects when he went by Sumach. "Phosphate" came on in shuffle and grabbed me. The reveresed sounds, heavy static and random vocal sample that I can't quite decipher. I'm not suprised that GLK and FlyLo are fucking with this guy. Nor am I suprised he is related to Ish.

I remember the Red Hot Riot compilation coming out but I wasn't hip enough yet as I was still just begining my digging deeper into Hip Hop. I didn't discover Fela til college yet I had been hearing his music and influence for years. "Shuffering & Shmiling" is a classic tune from the man and on this compilation they rework it to include Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and J Ben. Kweli gets to rock over a dope drum breakdown and tells a tale of when he worked in the book store back in BK. A fun and lively tune.

Kweli was in my ear a bit this last month. After not expecting much of anything from a new Reflection Eternal album I was pleasently suprised by Revolutions Per Minute. While most of Hi-Tek's beats don't evovle much they all sound dope and as usual he knows the sound that matches with Talib's flow and voice. "Lifting Off" is the first time I've ever heard Kweli dedicate this much time to the herbal. A great tune that is filled with Talib's ever present thoughtful analysis of both the downfalls and heights one can reach.

Earlier in the comp I was talking about some modern beatmakers traveling to space with their compositions. Now we have Manzel here to travel with ya. "Evil, Wicked, Mean & Nasty (The Dopebrother Remix)" I know nothing about but that it sounds good! Super nasty with a great bass line, funk for days and gnarly synths. Just have fun with yourself, that's all this tune is concerned with. Peep the break in the last 45 seconds.

After that ride you gotta kick back and just cruise. From Statik Selektah's last joint 100 Proof: The Hangover he traveled out west to pick up Ev, Fash and his homie Kali for a laid back jam dedicated to that which we call home: "The Coast." Kali holds the hook down but it's really the beats and rhymes here. Statik cooks up awesome beats, has been for a minute his third project doesn't seem to be any different. Ev is at the top of his game, Fash is the young kid making moves, spitting fire trying to prove himself the right heir to the lefts thrown. If you have ever called the fresh coast your home this is a jam for you.

Everyone that knows me knows what I roll with. Dutches are great but hard to find and
scream east coast. Swishers are the west coast roll. Pac Div dropped this tape that I
listened to once and moved to the hard drive but it had a couple jems. "Don't Forget the Swishers" was that one everyone was checking for before the tape even dropped. Justifibly so with Dom Kennedy, cARTer & Chip tha Rip joining the trio to dedicate a smooth jam to the blunts. So break it down, roll it up and apply the flame to that big bomber, fuck them planes. Thanks for rocking with the heat rocks and TML one mo gin!

Download the May Heatrocks here.

Comments

Will Johnsen said…
It's not availbile for purchase, it's my own compilation. I put them together each month for the blog. Just songs that caught my ear in the previous month. You can download the collection of tune in the post.

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