the mix

paul: the hip hop mix: volume one

That's the big file, without the breaks or track numbers. I'll post that up for now until it gets all used up. Hope you all enjoy it!

paul: the hip hop mix!

I'm finally able to write and think about other things than school for a little while. Since I've had a little time, I thought I'd put together a new mix cd! I dubbed it:

Paul: The Hip Hop Mix

volume one


What you'll find is a 45-minute collection of hip hop songs that are mixed and blended by me! I cut out all the verses that took up time, I edited it and blended it together in order to make you (and me) smile. It's called "Paul" because it's full of songs that I don't get tired of, and because that's my name. I hope you all enjoy, although I'm going to only post the tracklist right now 'cause I don't have time to upload it at the moment. I'll try to put up a split-track version and a single-track version because the elimination of the gaps between songs ruin it.

paul: the hip hop mix:volume one

1. Intro (Biggie & Dave Chappelle)
2. Cunninlynguists - Beautiful Girl
3. Slum Village - 05
4. Chali 2na (feat. Akil & Zaakir) - Lunch Time
5. Biggie - Everyday Struggle (Frank Sinatra remix)
6. Jaylib - Starz
7. The Roots - Step Into the Realm
8. Slum Village - Fall in Love
9. Interlude - Reflection Eternal - On My Way
10. Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy
11. the Paul interlude - Prince Paul versus the World
12. DJ Shadow - Hardcore Instrumental (interlude - Paul, you're a genius)
13. The Pharcyde - Runnin'
14. A Tribe Called Quest - Oh My God
15. Jurassic 5 - Freedom
16. DangerDoom (feat. Cee-Lo) - Benzie Box
17. Janet Jackson (feat. Q-Tip) - Got Till it's Gone (Jay Dee Remix)
18. Outkast - Jazze Belle
19. Common Sense - Resurrection
20. Rapper Big Pooh - Between the Lines
21. Little Brother - Watch Me
22. Lupe Fiasco - A Bathing Harry (Gorillaz remix) - outro

If you know me and know how to find me, please request a copy from me and you'll be able to enjoy a nice cd label to go along with it!

Hot Chip / Ben Harper

I just heard of this band called Hot Chip. Apparently they have an album coming out sometime in May, but I heard the advance. It's hard to decide which song I want to share with you, but I'm thinking I'll choose "Over and Over". The album is full of Postal Service, LCD Soundsystem, Bloc Party style, yet they have their own sound.




I also recently heard the new double Ben Harper album, Both Sides of the Gun. I loved what I've heard. He apparently split it into two discs because each disc has a completely different sound from the other. It's true. The first side is chill, the other side is funk/rock (maybe that'll be different on the retail version). Much different from his older stuff, and reminiscent of old funk from the 60-70's. I'm looking forward to the retail version (and so should you).

Have You Heard?

TV on the Radio



I've seen this name so many times, yet I've failed to pick anything up from them until recently. I think they'll grow on me in time, but I like a few songs. I listened to their entire catologue today and it's great to hear a band that's not scared to try new things. They fuse a bit of gospel, a cappella, rock, acoustic, and experimental, and yet they manage to add a little edge to it all.

One song that stood out was "Staring At the Sun".

Shout Out Out Out

Hehehe...an Edmonton band. I've heard a couple of songs through myspace:



(http://www.myspace.com/shoutoutoutoutout)

..and I can't stop listening to "Tiiiiired". What a catchy (ADDICTIVE) song! I don't think they have an LP out yet, but I'm hoping they have something I can buy soon. It looks like they'll be playing in Edmonton the next time I'm in town (March 10 at Powerplant). I hear they put on a good show too, so that'll be nice. Anyone want to join me? It's a Friday.

Random musical musing

Over the past few weeks, I've been flooding my ears with music. I feel as though I should be sharing some of the joys that I've been listening to with you, but really, it's mostly been a lot of playbacks and rediscoveries. So what can I share?

I been listening to a lot of Dilla, and given the recent news of Dilla's passing, I've been getting reconnected with his work, especially those rare tracks that I never heard before. After reading the article about Dilla's last days in the Detroit Free Press, I've been listening to his latest stuff with a different ear. I didn't realize he was that sick. His dedication to music was incredible.



****

So while we're on the topic of "what i've been listening to", let's up a mini-mix.



-----FebTwoSixMix-----

1. Janet Jackson feat. Q-Tip - Got 'till It's Gone

One of my favourite Dilla remixes. That beat simply makes me happy.

2. Quantic - Don't Joke with the Hungry Man

It was funk-night at Bamboo last night and once the DJ played this track, he was instantly rewarded with a swarm of people on the dance floor.

3. Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Classic

4. Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)

Classic-remixed into a new classic (?)

5. Phoenix - Everything is Everything

One of those random rediscoveries.

6. Sufjan Stevens - Romulus

Simply a great song.

7. Zion I - Soo Tall

I'm a sucker for the beat build-ups.

8. My Morning Jacket - Mahgeetah

Another great song.

9. The Roots - The Seed/Melting Pot/Web (Live)

I was amazed the first time I heard this song. I don't know many 16 minute songs where I want to hear them over and over again like I do this one.

10. Spoon - Paper Tiger

One of my favourite Spoon tracks from their second last album.

I'm on a "You Tube" kick

I've been watching all these videos, thanks to You Tube. I tend to get caught up on all my useless video-watching whenever I have a paper deadline to meet.

Ahh...the art of procrastination.

I've been watching and reminiscing over a bunch of old Dilla videos. Here's a couple:

Pharcyde - Runnin'



Common - The Light

"Did you know

...John Myers pee sitting down?"

"John MAYER!"

Hehehe...I always get a kick out of this.

R.I.P. James Yancey

Wow. I'm in shock right now.

One of my favourite producers, J Dilla, aka Jay Dee, has just passed away. Some of my favourite albums have had Dilla all over them. His new album, "Donuts", just came out on Tuesday as well.

Taken from HHG:

"Legendary Producer Jay Dee Dies

Legendary producer Jay Dee of late '90's Detroit rap trio Slum Village has just passed.
Jay-Dee has produced such classics as "The Light" by Common, "Stakes is High" by De La Soul, Woo Hahh (remix) by Busta Rhymes feat. ODB and countless others.

He has also produced originals and remixes over the last 12 years for artists such as D' Angelo, Janet jackson, The Pharcyde, a Tribe Called Quest and many many others.

Jay Dee recently released an all instrumental album titled "Donuts" on indie hip-hop label Stones Throw.

Jay Dee passed around 8:00 this morning at his home in California of a bone marrow disease. James (J-Dilla) Yancey will forever be remembered as one of the greatest producers in Hip-Hop."

-----
From MTV.com

"Jay Dee, a.k.a. J Dilla, the Detroit producer and rapper revered by his peers for his work with A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village and Common, died Friday (February 10). He was 32.

Tim Maynor, Jay's manager since 1999, said he died Friday morning in Los Angeles, but he had no details on the cause of death. Dee, born James Yancey, had been battling kidney problems in recent years, but Maynor believed he had recovered.

"He was the best ever, and very underappreciated," Maynor said. "Dilla was very reserved, quiet, all he wanted to do was make beats, make music. It wasn't about the glitz and glory. He wasn't doing it for the spotlight at all. He's a dinosaur who will be missed."

"I am devastated at the world's loss of a musical genius of Charlie Parker proportions," Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots said. "Too often we bestow the 'greatest' title upon those who have the attention of the press and the charts and radio. But if you were to secretly ask the most praised hip-hop producers, if given a top three, who they fear the most, Dilla's name would chart on everyone's list, hands down. I am fortunate to have known this man. He inspires me to perfect my craft in every way. Dilla was and will always be my hero."

"Me and Jay Dee were very, very, very, very good friends," said D12's Proof, who got his first tattoo with Jay Dee, an "FC" for Funky Cowboy, their pre-Slum Village/ D12 group. "He produced my first demo. As a producer, he is one of the most influential producers ever, even up to Kanye West or Just Blaze. Jay Dee had a signature sound that a lot of people were influenced by. People will never understand his genius. It's a shame that he didn't get the light of a Dr. Dre or Timbaland or Neptunes, but he took more of a jazz-musician approach to the whole game. He was truly a mastermind."

As J Dilla, the rapper released an album titled Donuts just Tuesday and was scheduled to release another one, The Shining, in April. Maynor said he was also two tracks away from finishing a third release for 2006. "He never stopped working," he said.

In December, Jay toured Europe performing in a wheelchair, due to problems with his knees, Maynor said. When his manager suggested he postpone the trek, the producer said it was something he had to do. "Maybe he knew something we didn't," Maynor said.

Jay came to prominence in the mid-'90s producing tracks for the likes of Common, D'Angelo, De La Soul, Pharcyde and Busta Rhymes, as well as working as part of Tribe's production team, the Ummah, and in his own group, Slum Village.

"He was a trendsetter, the soul sound [in hip-hop] is really Jay Dee," RJ Rice, founder of Slum's label, Barak Records, said. "I don't know if he'll ever get credit for it or not, most people just copied him."

Jay was born and raised in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit, attending Pershing High School with his eventual Slum Village mates Baatin and T3.

"I'm f---ed up, my n---a just passed away," T3 wrote on his MySpace page Friday.

After recording 1996's underground Fantastic, Vol. 1, Slum Village signed to GoodVibe Recordings and released 2000's Fantastic, Vol. 2. After releasing Best Kept Secret under the alias J-88 the following year, the group returned in 2002 with Trinity (Past, Present and Future) featuring Jay in a limited role.

Dee left the group that year and released Welcome 2 Detroit, kicking off U.K. indie label BBE Music's "Beat Generation" series. He also formed a group with Madlib called Jaylib and released Champion Sound in 2003.

He spent 2004 working on a variety of albums, including Common's Be, as well as his underground instrumental "beat tapes," but also spent some of the year hospitalized.

"What happened was that the doctor told me that I'd ruptured my kidney from being too busy and being stressed out and not eating right," Dee told Urb magazine in 2004. "He told me that if I'd waited another day, I might not have made it."

"Sometimes that fixation can be a good thing and sometimes it can be bad. There'd be days when I wouldn't eat at all because I'd be in the basement working all day," he said in the interview. "This is definitely my second chance, my wakeup call. I still love the music, but I wouldn't put it first in my life. It's family first, and then everything else."

Proof said Jay always told him he was feeling fine, but the close friends seemed to only talk on the phone in recent years. "It didn't hit me until today, but I think he just didn't want his friends to see him in that light," Proof said. "He wanted us to remember him how it was."

[This story was originally published on 02.10.06 at 7:04 PM ET]

— Corey Moss"