9 songs I’m feeling right now (and where to get them).

new shit // October 28th, 2009 // 5 Comments

9 songs I’m feeling right now (and where to get them).

Every now and then someone will ever so gently remind me that I have tastemaking duties to uphold, since when I’m not bagging on rappers I actually listen to–and even often buy–music. With that in mind, I’ve decided that I’ll regularly point you to 9 joints that have the full support of my iPod, starting with

1. Diamond District: “Something For Y’all”

In The Ruff easily merks higher profile rap releases in 2009, and I’m not just saying that because Diamond District hails from DC like Yours Truly. No no no. Some bad Hip-Hop has come out of DC and will continue to, but there’s also a contingent of acts that actually know what they’re doing and consistently produce quality shit, namely those of the Low Budget crew. Kev Brown, who never fails to rep DC with his cadence and jargon, produces and guests on “Something For Ya’ll”, a new track off the official release of In The Ruff. It’s the perfect bonus track to what was already a refreshing release.

2. Jay Electronica: “Suckas”

Jay Electronica is long overdue for a proper release. “Suckas” uses a Dilla beat but, although they didn’t work on this together it was recorded before Dilla’s passing.

3. Missy Elliott (ft. Teyana Taylor): “Put It On Ya”

The chorus leaves something to be desired, as in, it almost completely obliterates the momentum. But maybe a skilled deejay can freak a proper re-edit. A snippet of this leaked many months ago and it goes hard. Hopefully Missy and the Neptunes will continue exploring their chemistry.

4. Ryan Leslie: “Never Gonna Breakup”

Ryan Leslie is an artist I continue to be on the fence about. The talent is there, but I feel like he’s holding back. However, within the framework of smooth shit that I can drop into a Soul mix (see this week’s podcast), this one does the trick.

5. The Jackson 5: “Get It Together (Regrooved by Umbo)”

Michael Jackson Regrooved is a project full of funky re-rubs by various producers released under GoodGroove Records. Umbo slightly updates the track, taking it from the early-70s to the late-70s with a backbeat that vaguely recalls Taana Gardner’s “Heartbeat.”

6. Janet Jackson: “Make Me (Moto Blanco Radio Edit)”

For a House remix, Moto Blanco’s “Make Me” sounds even more retro than the Darkchild original.

7. Camp Lo: “Boogie Nights”

Speaking of Janet, this latest Camp Lo joint produced by Ski actually samples “Anytime, Anyplace.” Another Heist dropped last week.

8. Oddisee: “Grey’s Anatomy”

Oddisee takes a break from the boom-bap and offers up a dope R&B instrumental off his Odd Autumn mixtape. Despite the name of the album on which it’s featured, the track has a summery feel and is practically begging for some Phonte or Anthony David vocals.

9. Royce Da 5’9″: “Shake This”

This track is old but since Street Hop recently (finally) dropped and I can’t shake this track, why not?

Special shouts to ConcreteLoop, 2DopeBoyz, Classic Drug References and This Is Tomorrow for additional intel.