Monday Mixtape, Vol. 158

Put your headphones on, put the volume on high, and let Run the Jewels wake you up.

RTJ, this generation’s Rage Against the Machine, released their new album, RTJ4, two days early and released this message:

Killer Mike has been in the news recently due to his impassioned plea to the people of Atlanta amidst the looting amidst the protests in the wake of George Floyd:

If you haven’t listened to this, please do.

So Run the Jewels released their newest album amidst a lot going on in our world and country. It’s an amazing album full of deep reflections (“I used to wanna get the chance to show the world I'm smart. Isn't that dumb? I should've focused mostly on the heart.”), humor (“I’m chubby, husky, thighs rubbin’, fuckin’ up my Levi’s”), bravado (“Stack addict, a mack with blackest fabric, I’m back”), and sense amongst chaotic and raucous beats that fill the entire air with energy.

The album is the energizer bunny, stomping and banging its cymbals. Killer Mike, as usual, holds court, and El-P plays Robin (don’t forget he also produces RTJ’s beats along with the help of others) better than anyone.

“I’m ready to mob on these fucking charlatans,” raps El-P at the end of “yankee and the brave (ep. 4).”

“Every child, woman and man / Opinion don't matter, stick to your plan / If they judge, still don't budge / Don't give a inch, don't give a nudge / Life a bitch, leave you battered and bent / Lose or win, gotta hold up your chin / And I put it on Jaime and me / We just gave you inspiration for free / The money never meant much.” - Killer Mike

You have to listen to the album yourself to feel the vibe, the urgency, and Run the Jewels holding homily. It’s epic. It’s what we need.

And on that note, I’ll leave you with RTJ’s lyrics from their last track, “a few word for the firing squad (radiation):”

El-P:
I woke up early once again, that's four days straight
I didn't wake you, baby, I just watched you lay
In the radiation of the city sun
I am in love with you, it is my only grace (Woo)
You know how everything can seem a little out of place?
All of my life, that seemed to be the only normal state
So feelin' normal never really meant me feelin' sane
And bein' clear about the truth and bein' sane have never really been the same
I used to wanna get the chance to show the world I'm smart (Ha)
Isn't that dumb? I should've focused mostly on the heart
'Cause I seen smarter people trample life like it's an art
So bein' smart ain't what it used to be, that's fuckin' dark
You ever notice that the worst of us have all the chips?
It really kinda takes the sheen off people gettin' rich
Like maybe rich is not the holy, ever-lovin'
King of nothin' fuckers, know we know you're bluffin'
You are dealing with the motherfuckin' money-money runners

Killer Mike:
It'd be a lie if I told you that I ever disdained the fortune and fame
But the presence of the pleasure never abstained me from any of the pain
When my mother transitioned to another plane, I was sitting on a plane
Tellin' her to hold on, and she tried hard, but she just couldn't hang
Been two years, truth is I'll probably never be the same
Dead serious, it's a chore not to let myself go insane
It's crippling, make you wanna lean on a cup of promethazine
But my queen say she need a king, not another junkie, flunky rapper fiend
Friends tell her, "He could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin"
She told her partner, "I need a husband more than the world need another martyr"
Made in Atlanta, Georgia, where I use to ride the MARTA
With a empty .22 in the front pocket of my Braves Starter
Tryin' to make it out the mud as a baby father is much harder
The same children that you love and adore, the court'll use to break and rob ya
Circumstance woulda broke a weaker man, but I put it on my mama
I'm a man of honor and the hardship made me a better money runner

El-P:
This is for the never heard, never even got a motherfuckin' word
This is for my sister, Sarah, honey, I'm so sorry you were hurt (Ayy)
This is for the dawn, mama took a knock, had to change the locks
Dusted up, but brushed off and I watched, talk about a boss
For the holders of a shred of heart even when you wanna fall apart
When you're surrounded by the fog, treadin' water in the ice cold dark
When they got you feelin' like a fox runnin' from another pack of dogs
Put the pistol and the fist up in the air, we are there, swear to God

Killer Mike:
Black child in America, the fact that I made it's magic
Black and beautiful, the world broke my mama heart, and she died an addict
God blessed me to redeem her in my thoughts, words, and my actions
Satisfaction for the devil, goddammit, he'll never, ever have it
This is for the do-gooders that the no-gooders used and then abused
For the truth tellers tied to the whippin' post, left beaten, battered, bruised
For the ones whose body hung from a tree like a piece of strange fruit
Go hard, last words to the firing squad was, "Fuck you too"

Amen.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 149

OMG This is two times in a row - I just deleted my post again. So frustrating.

The long and skinny is go see the Netflix documentary, Echo in the Canyon, a homage to the great artists who lived in Laurel Canyon during the mid-60s, including The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, the Mamas and Papas, and so many more.

I learned so much in this doc. I never knew David Crosby was in The Byrds, I didn’t know Neil Young and Stephen Stills were in Buffalo Springfield (and by the way, I’ve been listening to more Buffalo Springfield, they’re freaking awesome), and although I know Brian Wilson, the singer and songwriter of pretty much all Beach Boys songs, was always revered as a songwriter, I never appreciated the love and awe other musicians have of him. His genius was thought to be on a level no one could even come close to. They were comparing him to Mozart and Beethoven.

Jakob Dylan brings a bunch of current artists together to recreate and honor all these musicians and their favorite songs via both an album and a concert. Check the film out, it’s great!

As for the other songs on this week’s mixtape, it’s pretty much a mix of artists you’ve heard many times before. Twin Peaks did a cool cover of Wilco, DJ Shadow released a record of some great tracks with rappers, and after seeing Spider Man - Into the Spider-Verse, I had to include the catchy track from Swae Lee and Post Malone.

Enjoy!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 65

Friday night I get a text from a buddy, "Any interest trying to get tix to the sold out Run the Jewels show??" Response: "Yes. Yes I do."

Fast forward to later that night at the entrance of the Fox. We got fake tickets! Now we're running around trying to find scalpers but there are very few tickets around as everyone is so damn amped to see these dudes - the most politically-charged and beloved voices of an angry population since Rage Against the Machine. To add to that, they're rap's modern day Run-DMC. 

(Killer Mike disclaimer: Run the Jewels was on NPR Tiny Desk Concerts recently and Mike said that at some point RTJ will be labeled a political rap group, and he said, "We are not. We don't care what party you belong to, we don't care who you supported, we don't care what you're doing tomorrow, politically. We care that socially every one of you know that you were absolutely born free and nothing has a right to interrupt that freedom. We love ya'll.") 

BACK TO THE STORY: We almost give up as we see numerous other people getting burned with fake tickets, but we finally ask a scalper if I can stay with the scalper with the money while my buddy goes to the entrance to ensure the tickets are real. BINGO. Cash changes hands and we're in. 

We literally get to our seats - first row in the upper section - as the lights dim and two beers are in hand. The seats (disclaimer: we did stand the whole time) gives us the most amazing shot of the GA section below. 

“We Are the Champions” begins to play as Killer Mike and El-P saunter out and orchestrate the crowd as we scream “We are the champions, my friends…And we'll keep on fighting till the end/ We are the champions / We are the champions / No time for losers 'cause we are the champions / Of the world!”

The songs fades out and “Talk to Me” starts up as the GA crowd goes absolutely ape shit as Militant Mike goes psycho:

We return from the depths of the badland
With a gun and a knife in our waistband
Went to war with the Devil and Shaytan
He wore a bad toupee and a spray tan
So high now, hoping that I land
On a Thai stick, moving through Thailand
On the radio, heard a plane hijack
Government did that like they cooked crack
I move in a world of conspiracies
Obey no rules, I'm doing me
Smoke kush, transport to the airport
Customs found a joint in my passport
Pulled cash and I gave him what he asked for
Goddammit, it's a motherfucking miracle
Small bribe, made it back into America
Hit Uber and maneuvered out the area
Rhyme animal, pit bull terrier
Rap terrorist, terrorize, tear it up
Brought gas and the matches to flare it up
Militant Michael might go psycho
On any ally or rival
Born Black, that's dead on arrival
My job is to fight for survival
In spite of these AllLivesMatter-ass white folk

Then the interlude goes:

This is spiritual warfare that you have been dealing with. This is not a fight that you have been dealing with flesh and blood but this is a fight against principalities and evil doers and unclean spirits.

I didn’t think I would ever see mosh pits that big at The Fox - this was a rock show of epic proportions. People lost their minds the entire show. 

I look over to my buddy and it does’t need to be said. Thank God we came to this show. 

I don’t know a (legitimate) group around right now that commands this level of love and craziness. The crowd absolutely adored these guys and were singing every single word of the songs. It was one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen at a show. RTJ loved it. 

Needless to say, RTJ’s lyrics/music the past few years have taken over rap and people's political angers. Killer Mike has been rapping for decades but never received his due until RTJ. He is an absolute showman and El-P holds the stage with him. Their chemistry was electric and their sincerity the truth.  

Every track on this week’s mixtape was a song they played at the show and some of my faves. 

Nothing shows who these guys are then “Down,” one of my favorite tracks on the new album. 

Check out these verses:

Killer Mike 
I hope (I hope)
I hope with the highest of hopes
That I never have to go back to the trap
And my days of dealing with dope
So I, I only spit fire and dope
So later on you can go quote
My lines to your people and folk
And they say damn (damn, damn, damn)
That boy be spitting that pressure (pressure)
And he be smoking that pressure (pressure)
And he smart as a professor, yes sir
25 lighters on dresser, pound of that pressure
Sittin right next to, next to
Next to a book and a gun
Ballot or bullet, you better use one
One time for the freedom of speeches (speeches)
Two time for the right to hold heaters (heaters)
Just skip to the fifth, with the cops in the house
Close your mouth and pray to your Jesus
Ask why cause the Devil a lie (lie)
So I stay holy and high (high)
May never get rich, but I never bitch
'cause I made it here by and by

Then El-P takes over:
You're gonna need a bigger boat, boys, you're in trouble
Aye, gonna need a little hope, boys, on the double
Aye, you muckin' with a G here, see, talk to me
Or maybe listen to the man that barely dodged his own lobotomy
Pop the tape in, baby, we got shit we wrote for you (for you)
Came from feeling what a pure absence of hope can do
Only to leap through flaming rings and break the nose of crews
Still in their wings'll be them darlings, hope they've broken you
Yeah, they better hope that
I'm a full force and a cold fact
See the cold floor where I licked dirt
When the dough dried and the pride died
Had a dumb max, had to shop right
Gimme two meals and the lights on
I'ma do right, get a new crew
Make a new life, never boo hoo
Never lose sight, I'm a voodoo
With a burst heart from a old soul
Better stop, drop when the squad's hot, we don't stop a lot
We don't talk a lot about it, we just pop it off a lot
I'm high, man, I'm a cosmonaut
Scream, "Fuck 'em," 'til they lop our bloody noggins off
I promise y'all

RTJ!!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 63

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to 2017! I'm clearly a few weeks late, and I took a sabbatical from the blog. I was also trying to get over my anger at Spotify for not releasing how many minutes of music I listened to this year. I don't think I could have beaten last year's 100,000 minute mark, but it's always cool to know. Ridiculous how much info Spotify has on our listening habits and such but doesn't tell us shit. Very annoying. 

Not a whole lot usually gets released right before the new year, but Run the Jewels is nothing usual.

Their new album, Run The Jewels 3, is a phenomenal album, spitting fire at the establishment and the state of the union. Not only does it feel like a revolutionary album in an unordinary time, but it's lyrically fed up and a calling to arms to "kill your masters."

I'll let Killer Mike (maybe the second best lyricist around right now next to Kendrick) take it from here:

Choose the lesser of the evil people, and the devil still gon' win
It could all be over tomorrow, kill our masters and start again
But we know we all afraid, so we just simply cry and march again
At the Dem Conven my heart broke apart when I seen them march mommas in
As I rap this verse right now, got tears flowing down my chocolate chin
Told the truth and I've been punished for it, must be a masochist 'cause I done it again
"Ooh, Mike said 'uterus'"
They acting like Mike said, "You a bitch"
To every writer who wrote it, misquoted it
Mike says, "You a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch"
Add a "nigga" for the black writer that started that sewer shit
I maneuver through manure like a slumdog millionaire
El-P told me, "Fuck them devils, Mike, we gon' be millionaires"
I respond with a heavy "Yeah"
Big bruh says "Fuck that, toughen up
Stay ready, write raw raps, shit rugged rough"
The devil don't sleep, us either
El spits fire, I spit ether
We the gladiators that oppose all Caesars
Coming soon on a new world tour
Probably play the score for the World War
At the apocalypse, play the encore
Turn around, see El, and I smile
Hell coming, and we got about a mile
Until it's over I remain hostile

Killer Mike really entered the political fray this year with his endorsement of Bernie Sanders, and he is a voice that speaks to a lot of people. From the front to back of this album, Killer Mike and El-P continue to rise on a platform with more people listening and more people acting. I saw them at Coachella a couple years ago, and the crowd was NUTS, feeding off every syllable and sweat of the two. They're becoming the modern day "Run DMC." 

The xx also released an album this year, and I like much more than their last album which just felt like a regurgitation of their first album. Definitely check it out. 

How can I not start this mixtape with “Redbone,” easily the biggest miss on my Top 100 Songs of 2016. I actually listened to Gambino’s album from start to finish a couple times, and for some crazy reason, this song didn’t sing out to me. But after Glover’s speeches at the Golden Globe (winning for his amazing new show “Atlanta” and best actor in a musical or comedy), I had to come back to his album and rediscovered “Redbone.” This song is like Prince and Outkast making love, it’s just beautiful. 

If you didn’t see Glover’s speech, he also gave a shout out to Migos, the Atlanta rap trio who had a guest appearance on one of the best episodes of the season, though he wasn’t shouting them out for being on “Atlanta,” but instead for writing the greatest rap song ever (his words), “Bad and Boujee.” I hadn’t heard of that song either, so I went to play it and was immediately hooked. 

I’ve always been one of the many to make fun of Big Sean because I’ve always thought his flows were awful and his lyrics were terrible. He has a new album coming out, and if “Moves” is any indication, it might be worth listening to. 

If you haven’t heard Milo on some of my previous mixtapes, Scallops Hotel is another one of his projects. It’s weird with strange beats and weirder cadences. “Lavender Chunk” is probably the most accessible track on the album, but if you’re into some weirder rap, check this album and Milo’s latest album out as well. 

Hope to see you next week!

Albums to look forward to in 2015!

I've scoured the interwebs for a bunch of info on 2015 album releases (thank you Consequence of Sound, Stereogum, Pitchfork, Metacritic, Ranker) and here's an incredibly quick listing of albums that I promise to listen to MANY MANY times which are ranked from somewhat excited to RIDICULOUSLY excited):

Brandon Flowers - TBA
Savages - TBA
The Dodos - Individ (1/27)
Wild Nothing - TBA
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox from Animal Collective) - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
Heems (from the now extinct Das Racist) - Eat Pray Thug (3/10)
Jose Gonzalez - Vestiges & Claws (2/17)
Fleetwood Mac - TBA
Chromatics - Dear Tommy
Pusha T - King Push
Freddie Gibbs - Lifestyles of the Insane
James Blake - TBA
DIIV - TBA
Purity Ring
Belle & Sebastian - Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (1/20)
The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (1/20)
Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear (2/10)
Death Cab for Cutie - TBA
Chance the Rapper - Surf
Blood Orange - TBA
Joey Bada$$ (finally!) - B4.DA.$$ (1/20)
Band of Horses - TBA
Drake - Views From the 6
Adele - TBA
Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves (3/3)
Beach House - TBA
A$AP Rocky
Grimes - TBA
Run the Jewels - RTJ3
My Morning Jacket - TBA
Kanye West - TBA
Kendrick Lamar - TBA
Radiohead - TBA
Frank Ocean - TBA