Jonathan Davis has been rapping from almost as long as I’ve been alive and his career is currently in it’s 21st year. Two decades of relevance is no small feat in the rap world, and Q Tip has pretty much done it all. Hell, he even dropped a verse in that Deee-lite song “Groove is in the heart” although that might not be what he’d like to be remembered by.

He also converted to Islam sometime in the 90’s and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. I know right? This track called Move is a perfect example of how Q Tip has both changed and stayed the same since his days with A Tribe called Quest and I just love those horn beats. I found this great picture of Q tip and Erykah Badu so I just had to throw in a Badu related song as well. Granted it’s a cover done by My Morning Jacket but she is much better to look at.

Q Tip – Move (zshare)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

My Morning Jacket – Tyrone [Erykah Badu Cover] (zshare)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It’s been a few years since I’ve considered listening to Cursive, I’ve heard about them through friends for quite a while but never took the extra step to actually listen to them. I finally did that yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. Maybe because my ears have lately been over saturated with hip hop or perhaps I’m just out of my mind. Dorothy at Forty is an aggressive kind of track that I think might be about being middle aged and dealing with mediocrity.

By the looks of it most of the members are over 30 and approaching middle age so maybe that explains the theme. Either way it’s a lot of fun and it’s been a while since I’ve heard a band that makes a lot of noise without being obnoxious and that’s exactly what Cursive is for me. A successfully loud and noisy band. The second song is a little more chilled out but has it’s louder moments also. Both of these songs are from their last album Happy Hollows which was released in 2006 but they have a new album coming out in a few weeks (March 10, 2009) called Mama, I’m swollen.

Cursive – Dorothy at Forty (zshare)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Cursive – Into the Fold (zshare)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hate all you want on the man, Steve Aoki knows how to throw a party. That seems to be where most people have settled over the ongoing debate over his legitimacy. Throughout ridiculous tales of stolen laptops and hotel parties, it’s pretty easy to dismiss Steve as vapid celebrity. This publication, will officially stand behind Aoki in an effort not to take ourselves too seriously. I think Steve understands that. Anyways, here’s a remix of control by Metro Station he did not too long ago. Show up. Dance. Don’t hate.

HGHLY TGGBL Presents
Steve Aoki
Duvall
8$ before midnight
2$ vodka drinks b4 midnight

Metro Station – Control [Steve Aoki Remix] (zshare)

DavidChoe 

This week I spent a lot of time at work digging through streaming mixtapes for something fresh. I ended up on the Mad Decent blog listening to The Heatwave on Kiss and instead I found some older Outkast track that seems to be very under hyped and under appreciated. Don’t worry I also have something new, but sorry nothing blue. Of course, its a Kanye West track. He doesn’t seem to be able to resist leaking a new song every week. Here is a very 80’s very auto tuned Robocop. The track listing for 808’s and Heartbreak is also out.

1. “Welcome to Heartbreak”
2. “Heartless” – 3:30
3. “Love Lockdown” – 4:31
4. “Robocop” – 3:53
5. “Anyway”
6. “Streetlights”
7. “Say You Will”
8. “Real Bad News”
9. “Amazing” (featuring Young Jeezy)
10. “Tell Everybody That You Know” (featuring Lil Wayne)
11. “Coldest Winter” – 2:48
Outkast – The Art of Storytelling Pt 4 (zshare)

Kanye West- Robocop (zshare) via EastofLA