Yeah, it’s another one. And no, when I started this “Mixtapes I Don’t Hate” shit I never thought it would become this regular of a feature. But the sheer profuseness of original, diverse “mixtape” projects hitting the scene seems to me like a fantastic indicator of just how healthy Hip-Hop is as an artform. And seeing Hip-Hop so vibrant makes me feel good about the genre, better in fact that I’ve felt about it in a long-long while.
Brooklyn-based DJ and producer 100dBs, who’s made a handful of previous appearances here has been a big part of that. His 2007 LP The Adventures of the One Hand Bandit and the Slum Computer Wizard with emcee Ryan O’Neil was one of the best albums of the year and an easy addition to my list of favorite Hip-Hop records of the last decade. His Aphex Twin mashup project and a Shawn Bell verdict protest mix earlier this year weren’t half bad either.
Before all that though he released a “re-mixtape” called Brenner’s Breaks where he blended well-known acapellas over his original productions and mixed the resultant homegrown remixes up with exclusive tunes. As the astute reader might deduce, Brenner’s Breaks Volume 2, his new mixtape project, is the sequel. It boasts another sixteen tracks of expert sample-craft laced with surgically precise scratches & cuts, glitched-out vocal samples, familiar acapellas and original verses from a host of collaborators.
Fresh-faced bi-coastal femcee Sirah (whose Clean Windows, Dirty Floors EP was a hit with me and m. Cody) spits alongside Hicoup about the virtues of their respective homebases over a jazzy piano loop on “Log Island and Jersey.” Resin-coated Reggae samples lend some hazy skank to the remix of “NYC Burn” and “Lord Have Mercy,” an island-flavored cipher featuring Count Bass D, Ryan O’Neil and Kerosene. And emcee Tense finds a middle ground between P.O.S. and KiD CuDi, flowing and crooning over an upempo thump with a super-heavy bassline on “So High.”
Forget the rappers though, this is supposed to be 100dBs’ show, and it’s on the remixes of beloved classics that he really has to prove his mettle.
His take on Masta Ace’s “Jeep Ass N***h,” with pounding drums, a high-pitched Far-East melody and M.O.P. vocal bits, doesn’t disappoint. His rework of De La Soul’s “Stakes Is High,” with a descending bass-hum, muted horns and a huge swingin’ drumkit worthy of late ’90s RZA, is even better. When he tackles an actual Wu tune, Ghostface’s “Mighty Healthy,” he goes in another direction, pitting its Divine Force-inspired boasts against uplifting keys and bouncy, downtempo drums. And a makeover of MF Doom’s “My Favorite Ladies” set to rumbling drums, thick bass programming and chilly synths is appropriately Vik Vaughn-esque. But the big surprise is a minimal, “Funky Drummer”-looping remix of Currency, Lil Wayne and Remy Ma’s “Where Da Cash At,” which will murder car systems with it’s monstrous bass bump.
If you want to get in on all the remix action yourself 100dBs is such a good sport that he’s put an acapella of “Long Island and Jersey” up for download and wants you to put your own spin on it. It’s a contest, and there are prizes to be had (more information here), but the deadline is August 17th, so you better get crackin’ if you want to enter!
If the length of time it took DJ Mekalek, DJ and producer for Providence/DC/LA-bred Throwback-Rap trio Time Machine, to put together our second featured mixtape is any indication of his working pace he’d probably miss that deadline. Seriously though, he spent the better part of two years compiling wax, culling samples, making beats, mixing records and laying down scratches for his 45-minute Mek’s Party Mixx, a free download he’s giving away via the Glow In The Dark Records website.
Like everything else Mek and his Time Machine cronies have done, it’s a throwback to a different era. An era when if a DJ made a mixtape it featured actual mixing. An era when a mixtape was literally a cassette tape that you couldn’t skip around track-by-track but had to listened to linearly. Of course, you can’t download a cassette, so what Mek did was release the mix as one big continues MP3, no separate tracks, no cue marks, just 45 minutes of layered mixing and raw DJ skills.
The amount of time and care Mek put into this mix really does show. Dude kills it throughout, with an array of original beats, an eclectic mix of genres, left-of-center track selection and clever, well executed blends. One of my favorite sections comes around the fifteen minute mark when Mek transitions from spaced out Disco mixed with breaks in a pseudo-BMore style into an ominous, downtempo breakdown accented by bits of vocals from Three 6 Mafia’s “Stay Fly.” Another one comes closer to the end of the mix and features The Crystals‘ Phil Spector-penned and produced classic “And Then He Kissed Me” stretched over a bone-crunching break.
If that sounds like Girl Talk had he come up in the dusty-fingered days before laptops and Pop-Rap, you might be on to something. But what you really need to get on is that Glow In the Dark website so you can downlaod Mek’s Party Mixx and have something really tasty to serve the guests at your next function.
On another decidedly more depressing note, I’d be remiss if I closed this post without thanking Soul legend Isaac Hayes who passed away suddenly at the age of 65 this weekend. The enjoyment he’s given (and will continue to give long after his untimely passing) both myself and his countless legions of other fans with his composing, producing, recording performing and acting over the last four-or-so decades is a priceless gift to be cherished for all time.
Thank you Mr. Hayes, for everything.
You will be missed.
42 Comments
Colonel K
Permalink
100DBS has released what is quite possibly the finest album of the summer. It’s concise, well sequenced and an enthralling listen from start to finish.
On the real, who knew that reggae, electro and hip hop could sit so comfortably on an album released in 2008.
Don’t sleep
-Colonel K
Isbjerg
Permalink
Really nice review..
If you feel like it, there is an album or two on my blogspot - A JayZ/Bill Withers remix album and an VA : Remix1Masse album with fire for days..and a whole lotta otha stuff
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