DJ Lord Ron Interviews and Spins on The Listening Station
June 17th 2012 with show host Morgan Rhodes of The Listening Station. Morgan interviews DJ Lord Ron’s past on a series she has started entitled “Legends”. Morgan Rhodes interview & proposed to DJ Lord Ron regarding choosing his favorite year in hip hop culture. Tune in for the interview and find out which year in hip hop DJ Lord Ron spins as his favorite!!!! Right here on The Listening Station with Morgan Rhodes on 90.7 FM.
Catch DJ Lord Ron every weekend (Sunday Morning – 2 a.m. / 4 a.m.) with show hosts Rebels To The Grain on Breakbeats & Rhymes radio. Tune in as guest(s) visit the station On 90.7 FM or kpfk.org. Archived shows are available too. Official website is http://www.breakbeatsradio.com/ .
MP3: King Magnetic f/ Celph Titled, Ruste Juxx - "Guns Theme"
King Magnetic has premiered a new track called “Guns Theme” on Mass Appeal today (link above). The track was produced by French beat-maker Astronote and contains cuts by the legendary DJ Revolution and emcee guest appearances from Celph Titled (Army Of The Pharaohs, The Demigodz) and Ruste Juxx (Duck Down Records). Guns Theme will appear on Magnetic’s upcoming release “Everything’s a Gamble Vol. 3” to be released on July 3rd and gives you an glimpse of the real hip hop starpower that is involved in the release.
Well, I didn’t win the Logan award. Oh well. Maybe next year. But I do have some good news! I have a new song up on The FuMP! Well, that’s good news if you don’t mind disturbing mental images, anyway.
“All In My Tights” is a parody of “All Of The Lights” by Kanye West about a reluctant superhero with a really unfortunate power who now needs a costume in order to fight crime. I got lots of great help from Ben Stahl, Carrie Dahlby, and Chris Mezzolesta on this one and it sounds great. I’m really happy with it.
Help me spread the word! Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Blast it at top volume out of your car while you drive through a quiet neighborhood. Whatever you can do I would appreciate.
Video: JR the Southerner - "Vodka and OJ" & "Man Gone"
BIO-"The truth is. I’m real ill try even though I may never get the deal." These are words from j.r. a rapper that comes from the bottom of Louisiana. Ever since 12 he's been writing rhymes with great wit, truth and style. Influenced by the New Orleans hip hop (big boy records and etc) he's been doing shows around and outside some parts of New Orleans delivering heavy emotions wit a touch of humor at his shows. He now pushes his second mixtape witch is called god of grind 2: search for king hustle which is sure to give him the shine he deserve.
If you missed any of the new reviews including Kool Keith's "Love & Danger" then do yourself a favor and check out this week's edition of the (W)rap Up!
"When listening to the second track of Kool Keith's brand new album "Love & Danger" entitled "You Love That," it's entirely open to interpretation if Keith is celebrating oversized women who love to eat or mocking their obesity. Needless to say, not every rapper will come to a woman by saying "I'll lace you with that Dannon yogurt." If you expect clearer explanations of what's going on, then you should know right now you've got the wrong rapper. Keith Thornton remains as inscrutable in 2012 as ever. In a career that now spans four different decades, he's been lyrically ahead of his time and a sex obsssed pervert, exhibited multiplepersonalitydisorder, and even been incomprehensibly whack at times - but never boring or average. Kool Keith is probably the only person in hip-hop who can get away with the line "Can I have my own autograraph pleeeeease?" in a song like "New York" and have it make perfect sense. On any given day, he may not even know who he is, which is his gift to hip-hop. Make no mistake though, his is a carefully calculated madness with a specific method behind it.DJ Junkaz Lou falls into that rare category of producers who could give Keith a diamond clarity lens to focus his laser beam raps through. Keith is often his own worst enemy, as his self-made audio experiments are often insufferable noise, over which he delivers songs lacking in any recognizeable structure."
"Reading those lines from 2005 now almost seems prophetic, but that was the attitude that Big K.R.I.T. has always seemed to inject into his music. Most of the world, self included, didn't really take notice of him until 2010's "K.R.I.T. Wuz Here," but Krizzle was doing his thing way before then. Years prior, K.R.I.T. dared the world to picture him being a success with his "See Me On Top" and "See Me On Top II" mixtapes. It was a pretty lofty goal, being that Justin Scott was only 18 years old at the time, but he remained focused. Back then, K.R.I.T. was still developing his voice and the sounds of others that certainly influenced him could be heard in his flow. Southern legends like T.I., Juicy J, MJG and even a bit of Pastor Troy definitely appear to have left their mark on the younger BK, as he then sometimes would call himself. On the production side, Kritikal was the name and the beats weren't always as soulful as they can be now. On the other hand, many of his beats had a Hypnotized Minds feel to them, so there were always glimmers of his potential. For example, "Just Touched Down" first appeared on "See Me On Top II" before undergoing several tweaks both lyric and production-wise before the release of "K.R.I.T. Wuz Here." With that release, the internet world began buzzing about a dude from Mississippi that wasn't David Banner and sounded a hell of a lot like Pimp C. I usually don't feed into hype but on a whim, I decided to give the project a listen. Honestly, initially I gave K.R.I.T. a chance because of where exactly in Mississippi he was from. Meridian is not far from the state line at all and I have family on the other side of that line over in Alabama. When I visit down there, we go to Meridian to do our shopping at the Bonita Lakes Mall. I've taken photos at the Bonita Lakes Park. Very nice place."
"It's time for a summer mix - the weather is getting hella hot, the line to get ice cream is getting long, and the pools are packed full of teenagers as the opening night of The Hunger Games. People need some party tunes they can get their dance moves on to, and "Hip Hop Mix USA (Mixed by DJ Woogie)" aims to be your summer lick of chocolate, vanilla or swirl. It's fifteen songs made for the dance floor, and if you buy the physical version of this album it even comes with an instructional DVD showing you how to do the dances some of these songs made famous. Let's stop daydreaming like Rae, Meth, Cap and Ghost though and come back for two scoops in a minute - there's some actual factuals to get through about this mix. There are 15 songs in total, and even though you can chapter your way to individual hits if you like, it's presented as one continous mix you can play from start to finish at your dance party/social gathering. The woman showing off her curves and moves on the cover may not be PG, but the mix itself is - no advisory sticker and no explicit versions of the songs on hurr. For these tracks the lyrics are somewhat secondary to the beat and dance anyway though. You might know the difference between the two versions of "Teach Me How to Dougie," but I guarantee if you're getting your D-Town boogie on, it doesn't matter. "
"Yeah so technically this is billed to 58Beats, but effectively "Wor(l)d Connects Vol. 1" is somewhat of a follow-up to Glam's "Laceration," which we covered in 2007. As 58Beats' in-house producer he crafted all the tracks on the label's latest release. The difference is that this time around the global connections were established through Urban Vibes, a concert series taking place in Munich since 2006 that aims to showcase urban music from all four corners of the world. Urban Vibes is an official event held under the auspices of the city, more precisely Munich's Department of Arts and Culture, sub-sections Cultural Education/International Relations/Urban Cultures. Glam and crew stick to hip-hop, but they demonstrate diversity on plenty levels. Senegalese rap veterans are featured back to back on track one and two. With someone chatting in patois over a funky, bouncy beat, "Who We Are" could be mistaken for a Kardinal Offishall track first, but the French and German raps that follow mean that Dakar's Pee Froisss are joined by David Pe, rapper for Glam's group Main Concept. Characterizing his vocabulary as regional yet his language as global, David Pe affirms that the whole 58Beats posse can get behind a project like this. "
Clams Casino :: Instrumental Mixtape 2 :: {self-released} as reviewed by Patrick Taylor
"There are two divergent trends in hip-hop production these days. On the one hand you have producers getting noisier and noisier. Death Grips, El-P, and Bigg Jus have all put out albums in the past few months that sound a little bit like a robot getting into a fight with a laundry machine and electric guitar. These artists are making beats that are chaotic and cacophonous, as soothing as a root canal and as peaceful as an explosion. On the other hand, you have artists like Blue Sky Black Death and Clams Casino who are making music that has more in common with ambient electronica than funk or jazz. Clams Casino has made a name for himself as the go-to producer for Lil B and A$ap Rocky. He has just released his second instrumental mixtape. Volume 2 sees Clams Casino continuing to build on and expand the sounds he worked with on his first instrumental mixtape. There are lots of ethereal synths and re-worked female vocals. He combines these elements with banging bass, skittering hi-hats, and snapping snares. It's Dirty South mixed with Bristol trip-hop, and it works as well here as it did on the first installment. It's not all mellow, however. He mixes things up on Squadda B's "Kissing on My Syrup," which has pulsing synths and driving snares. "Palace" is about as close to Lex Luger as Clams Casino is going to get, adding a vocal chorus to make music that is both bombastic and pretty. "Bass" trades on staccato synth bursts, and "Angels" combines blown-out bass and a woman's voice to create a beat that is both peaceful and energetic."
Jesse Abraham & PremRock :: Live at Southpaw :: DJ Booth as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
"Jesse Abraham and PremRock got together for a live set in August of 2011, and as so often happens at live concerts, someone there in the venue was recording the show. Thankfully in this case it didn't turn wind up as a poor quality bootleg of a bootleg sold secondhand on eBay. Abraham and Prem set up their OWN recording equipment. "Live at Southpaw" captured the sound of the live raps so clearly it could almost be mistaken for an in-studio recording session. Wait - is that necessarily a good thing? I'm certainly not praising the audio quality of a third generation concert bootleg, but by the same token if you're going to capture what it means to be "live" it has to sound a little dirty. On "JA Medley" they have to encourage the audience to make MORE noise just so you can get the feeling there's somebody in the room with them. The audio sounds slightly distorted by the microphones and amplifiers, but in 2012 we know it's possible to create that effect in the studio, as numerous Beastie Boys albums have shown us over the years. (R.I.P. Adam Yauch.) Sometimes it's the belching of drunk audience members, random haters yelling shit at the stage, and miscues as the performer misses a word or a beat that helps you grab that "live" sound by the throat. By the end of the "JA Medley" they do get that right, as Abraham does his own live cover of the OutKast classic "Bombs Over Baghdad." You can hear that a FEW members of the audience got that it was a call and response song, but the volume of silence as most of them don't sing along with the chorus is almost deafening. That's a live show - when you try something as an experiment and it doesn't work, but nevertheless you suck it up and continue for the packed venue."
Koolade :: Koolade Beats Rocky :: Blackout Entertainment as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
"Even if the name "Rocky" wasn't in the title of this album, the lyrics of the above track would have hipped you to the fact this Koolade album is all the way live to 2-1-5. There's an interesting twist to this Phillie Blunt though. As Maylay notes in the opening to "Philly Morning" this album is "all world, West Philly to Zagreb [...] even out in Croatia they feel this shit." Say word? Word son, because that's where Koolade comes from. The man behind some of your favorite songs from Masta Ace, Styles P and Ghostface Killah hails from the biggest little country in Europe, a land of proud people with big balls who drink Ožujsko beer and sing about how their soldiers once marched all the way to Paris. The next time you have to put on a three piece suit for a classy function, you can thank them for introducing Parisyans to the style of wearing neckties. (I learned all this from an episode of Zane Lamprey's "Three Sheets.") Getting back on track though, Koolade has decided for the first time in 15 years to create an album of his own, and in keeping with that length, he's created a 15 song release that's styled after the 15 rounds that Rocky Balboa boxes in his title fights on the Hollywood screen. As you'd expect the instrumentals of Bill Conti factor heavily into this CD, which may in part be why this album was given away as a free download. Somehow though I lucked into a hard copy of the album though, and even though it only came in a CD sleeve, it has a professionally printed insert and disc artwork. If it weren't for the high cost of clearing these samples, you'd probably find this one at retail stores somewhere near you. "
"Like many underground rappers today, Stretch Money sees a problem with the current state of mainstream hip-hop. After growing up listening to legends such as Biggie, Nas, and Tupac, Stretch reminisces on the days when hip-hop had "substance" and attempts to steer it back in the right direction with his sophomore album "25 Miles Per Hour," inspired by both his love for the music and his struggles growing up in a single-parent household in Detroit. Of course, while this sounds good in theory, it takes more than just grit and determination to make it in hip-hop, and while it is evident that Stretch Money possesses both these qualities, absent from his latest release is the lyrical prowess and complexity – the substance – that is necessary to warrant significant replay value. The lyrical shortcomings are evident from the opening track, "Work of Art," as Stretch Money gives the listener a window into his personal life and his career trying to make it in the rap game, voicing his frustration with the hardships he encounters along the way. While Stretch succeeds in getting his message across, the lyrics are very straightforward and lack the clever wordplay or intricate rhyme scheme necessary to set him apart from any number of similarly situated artists with the same story."
Erol Alkan Serves Up Two New Mixes on Double Disc Bugged Out / Bugged In Due September 4th
The clichés about DJ mixes are well worn. It’s a journey, it’s educating the listener, it’s telling a story. All those descriptions, hackneyed though they may be, apply to Erol Alkan’s new 'Bugged Out' mix and 'Bugged In' selection, but they don’t come close to capturing the indefinable magic that makes it sing. That comes from the sixth sense all great DJs have, the unconscious force that draws them to the next song, somehow knowing it will fit with the previous one even though it might seem unlikely. Call it musical clairvoyance, seeing into the sonic future. And no-one has the gift more than Alkan.
It’s there from the start on CD1 of this two-CD set - one side club-oriented, one aimed at home listening. He opens with the pulsing bass and twangy guitars of "To Our Disco Friends" by Smith N Hack, a track that’s ten years old, but which sounds bang up to date. He follows it with "Sensation" by legendary Chicago house DJ Ron Hardy, then "Gridlock" by In Flagranti. Who else would put those three tracks together, spanning three decades in the process? No-one, that’s who.
Erol mixed the set live in a couple of takes, no computerized beat matching or studio trickery. Why? “For me, that’s what DJing is about, spontaneity, mistakes, records trying to keep up with one another” he says. It took just two takes, as he was nearing the end of the second, the sub bass of Spandex's "The Bull" shook the speaker off the mantelpiece of his music room at home and sent it crashing to the floor, leaving a deep dent in the floorboards. “I just thought, It’s going so well I’m going to carry on,” he laughs. “I didn't want to detract from capturing that moment. That’s where - for me - the electricity lies: in the moment, not crafting something that’s perfect on a computer.”
Of course, it’s not the first time Erol has released a Bugged Out compilation. The current mix comes eight years after 2004’s landmark ‘A Bugged Out' mix, which defined the then nascent electro house scene, featuring music from the then relatively unknown Justice alongside Steve Bug and Roman Flugal. However, Erol feels that it was the second disc, the ‘Bugged In’ selection, that made the most impact. “The club mix was fine, it was representative of me evolving at that time, but it was the more gentle - and far more musical - mix that seems to have stayed with people over the years.”
The reason is simple enough. Erol is an obsessive crate-digger, both real world and virtual. He spends thousands of hours searching for lost gems. And his knowledge of music is encyclopaedic. He was keen that the ‘Bugged In’ disc have a similar impact this time round and spent time searching for the right songs. “The internet means that everyone has access to the same records these days, however many there are out there, there are a hundred times more which have yet to exist in digital form” he explains. “The only way to stand out is to find tracks that people have forgotten about, music which is off the beaten track. Then you have to assemble them into something that works as a whole.”
It certainly does that. The ‘Bugged In’ disc is a revelatory listen. It starts with "Don’t You Know" by the Jan Hammer Group. Yes, that Jan Hammer, the one who composed the Miami Vice Theme. “That’s what many people know him for, but in the late ’70s he was considered the top electronic musician in the world,” says Erol. “It’s a beautiful record, and miles away from what people would expect from him.” It’s followed by "Leipzig" by Matthew Herbert, which he describes as like “an electronic version of ‘A Horse With No Name’ by America, but documenting a trip to a night club rather then the desert.” Perhaps the most surprising track is "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by The Space Lady, an electronic cover version of Peter Schilling's 1983 hit song performed by a Los Angeles busker and sourced by Erol on cassette. How’s that for hunting down an obscurity.
Looking at the two CDs as a whole, Erol sees them as a statement of where his head is currently at. “It’s an exciting time right now,” he says. “It feels like the year 2000, just before electroclash happened. Not the sound of the music as such, but the way that all these different strands of music are coming together.”
It’s an interesting thought. As a taste maker, he’s uniquely placed to make such predictions. Either way, his ‘Bugged Out' mix is an exhilarating document, club music at it’s most urgent and irresistible, the 'Bugged In' selection is after hour sounds at their most dreamlike. No-one else DJs like this.
CD1: Bugged Out
1. Smith n Hack - To Our Disco Friends 2. Ron Hardy - Sensation (Obi Blanch edit) 3. In Flagranti -Gridlock 4. Seaside Houz Boyz -From A Man's Journal 5. Umba -Concussion 6. Jimmy Edgar - This One's For The Children 7. Model 500 - No UFO's (D-Mix) 8. Unovidual & Tara Cross - Comme Je Suis (Based in the Sling & Samo mix) 9. Agoria feat. Carl Craig & La Scalars - Speechless (Gesaffelstein Remix) 10. T.S.O.S. - Over And Over 11. Scuba - Never 12. Secondo - Discombabulate 13. Amin Peck - Girls On Me 14. N.Y. House'n Authority - Ravenswood House 15. Jared Wilson - Let Your Body Make Your Body 16. Factory Floor - Two Different Ways 17. Children Of The Night - It's A Trip (Mike Hitman Wilson's Mix) 18. Gingy & Bordello - Body Acid (KiNK's on Acid Remix) 19. Spandex - The Bull (Erol Alkan Rework) 20. Kölsch - Opa 21. Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love (Erol Alkan Rework Version 2)
CD2: Bugged In
1. Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know 2. Matthew Herbert - Leipzig 3. Bibio - All The Flowers 4. Michael Head - Queen Matilda 5. Adjagas - Mun Ja Mun (Instrumental) 6. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Miss Trudy 7. Mickey Moonlight - We'll Meet Again (Bugged In Mix) 8. The Make Up - I Am Pentagon 9. Dibidim - Badminton Bay 10. The Space Lady - Major Tom (Coming Home) 11. Jai Paul - Jasmine [Demo] 12. Margot - Voci Giaga 13. Chromatics - A Matter Of Time 14. Space Dimension Controller - The Love Quadrant 15. Robert Wyatt - At Last I Am Free 16. Walls - Gaberdine (Nathan Fake Ambient Version) 17. Buffalo Springfield - Expecting To Fly 18. Plush - Soaring and Boring
2012 marks the 27th anniversary of !K7 Records. The label will be celebrating with a series of live events, releases, and special projects incorporating music and artists from past, present and future of the label, and the DJ-Kicks series.
![[Everything In Between]](coverart/uglyheroes.jpg)
Everything in between.
![[Love & Danger]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/koolkeith-danger.jpg)
Kool Keith :: 
:: ![[Live From the Underground]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/bigkrit-livefrom.jpg)
:: ![[Hip Hop Mix USA (Mixed by DJ Woogie)]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/hiphopmixusa.jpg)
of this album it even comes with an instructional DVD showing you how to do the dances some of these songs made famous. Let's stop daydreaming like 
:: ![[Wor(l)d Connects Vol. 1]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/58beatsworld.jpg)
![[Instrumental Mixtape 2]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/clamscasino2.jpg)
![[Live at Southpaw]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/jesse-prem-southpaw.jpg)
![[Koolade Beats Rocky]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/koolade-rocky.jpg)
:: ![[25 Miles Per Hour]](http://www.rapreviews.com/coverart/stretch-25.jpg)
and