Michael Schmidt

It appears Kid Cudi has taken enough time off from being a hipster on HBO to make some music. This time it is a collab with Chip Tha Ripper using a soundsystem of the LCD variety. If you’re wondering who the angry man at the start of the song is, that is an excerpt from the 2009 Christian Bale tirade on the set of Terminator Salvation. Along with that song here’s something from Mark Ronson featuring Q Tip and MNDR.

Mark Ronson – Bang Bang Bang (MNDR & Q Tip)

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Kid Cudi – All Talk (feat. LCD Soundsystem and Chip Tha Ripper)

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For anyone who heard the new M.I.A. track Born Free and saw the video (below) and thought it a harbinger for the direction her music was about to take, listen to this. Her new(er?) single XXXO could not stray any further from Born Free and I am more than pleasantly surprised. I’m certain that there is some reasoning behind Born Free being introduced before XXXO as if the order had been reversed, we would certainly be inundated with people crying foul over the new radio friendly club sounds of XXXO. This is exactly what M.I.A. does best and I couldn’t be any happier with it, so here you have it. The Born Free video and the XXXO single here in one place.

M.I.A. – XXXO

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Julie Williams

After nearly three years of single leaks and audience titillation, the new Big Boi album is a few months away. The latest leak from the album is the track shutterbugg which uses an interesting vocal effect which may or may not have been achieved using a talkbox.

Big Boi – Shutterbugg

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The Adventures of Bobby Ray is the first full studio album from Bobby Ray Simmons who has been releasing mixtapes under the name B.o.B. since 2006. There are a number of fairly radio friendly songs on the album including Airplanes which features a very pop driven chorus by Hayley Williams. Other collaborators include: Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Eminem and Rivers Cuomo. As you may have guessed “The Kids” borrows from the Vampire Weekend single and is so far one of my favorite songs. The song Magic really gives you the sense that Simmons was having fun with this album. The song starts with synthesized guitar sounds while Cuomo sings a pretty standard Weezer inspired chorus until his voice gets a record scratch effect and the hip hop element becomes obvious.

B.O.B. – The Kids [Feat. Janelle Monae]

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barbara vidal

It’s been a while since I have heard from Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim and now Brighton Port Authority, but this mashup by White Panda combines the 1999 hit Praise You with Outkast’s Roses, Rosa Parks and Da Art of Storytelling: Part I with a delightful result. By the way we are STILL waiting for those three Outkast albums to come out… the Big Boi solo album I believe is due out in May.

Outkast vs. Fatboy Slim – Praise Outkast [White Panda Remix]

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Tomorrow is the last day of the year 2009 and everywhere you look there is media telling you what the top 10 everything was. This song might not make any of those lists but it’s got that nice casual flow that Kid Cudi excels with. The Vampire Weekend instrumentals work really well too. Let’s hope no one’s New Year’s eve ends as abruptly as this song does.

Kid Cudi feat. Vampire Weekend – Cudderisback

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After a generously extended holiday break, this blog was reminded about the true meaning of Christmas via the excellent selection of Hip Hop featured on the Montreal CKUT program the Lion’s Den. For those of you in Montreal, you can find CKUT at 90.3 FM on the radio. For everyone else you can hear and download the archives of the show here. Some of my favorites from last week’s show included the track “I’m Ill” by Red Cafe feat. Fabulous and a Euphoria from Rakim. If either of these songs strikes you as an odd choice of soundtrack for the holidays, then you’ve already missed out on having a hip hop christmas or hanukkah but now you’re more than ready for 2010.

Red Cafe Feat. Fabolous – I’m Ill

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Rakim – Euphoria

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Chiddy Bang is making a lot of noise on the mixtape circuit with their newest tape The Swelly Express. This reboot of the Sufjan Stevens song Chicago is particularly indicative of the Philly hip hop group’s ability to produce more than just your typical hipster mashup. If this is the direction hip hop is moving in, we can all rest easily.

Chiddy Bang – All things go (w/ Sufjan Stevens)

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Good things always happen when Wale and Mark Ronson get together. Look for a post on the new Wale album “Attention Deficit” coming soon.

Wale – 90210

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Just a heads up that Gonzales will be performing this Saturday in Montreal at Excentris. For those who were at his last show at La Tulipe, it’s not a surprise that he’s playing a movie theater. For those who need a glimpse of the theatrics of a Gonzales show, check this ridiculous video of Feist and Gonzales doing a rap at Trash in London.

Get tickets here.