What Is Love?

According to El Perro Del Mar née Sarah Assbring (that's her government; I couldn't make that last name up if I wanted to), whatever love is, it definitely ain't pop. This isn't the first EPDM album we posted, and I've been jamming this one since it hit the internets last year, but considering the type of day I've had, I felt that this drop was appropriate. If you bang with Lykke Li, you'll appreciate this fellow Swede. (They collaborated on this album as well.) Click the album cover to download. Disfruta.

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If you're in Philly, be there. If you're not, well... why aren't you?

Boom Bap E-flat

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I'm in a fit of productivity right now so you get to reap the bennies (no Franklin). My homie Brother Price hit me up today to remind me that I been loafing on posting his last mixtape. Homey's got his hand in a couple projects as well as a couple features on The Paxtons next mixtape The Manhattan Project (you'll be hearing more about that--TRUST), but this is an accomplishment in and of itself. In case you lack any type of inferencing skills then you can put the piano pedals and the MPC together... piano hip-hop. Yeah, like Nas's "NY State of Mind" or Jay-Z's "Feelin' It"... yeah that real ish. You can stream the whole tape here, but why do that when you can just download the whole tape? So yeah, get to clickin'!

Sorry Jane

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So, Janelle Monae's latest opus leaked and Janelle asked her fans not to download it. Why? Prolly cuz she thinks if we download it we won't actually buy it (which is probably true), but honestly if we don't download it, we prolly won't buy it either.

The archives can tell the story of my adoration of Ms. Monae. Her song "Peachtree Blues" was featured on the very first Real Niggas Light Candles and, short of stalking her TMZ-style, I posted much of her music for the consumption of internet fiends the world over, thus helping to raise her capital as an avant-garde artist worth paying attention to. I'm not taking sole credit for her success, but I am saying that without these here internets, I doubt she'd be worrying about people bootlegging her album right now. We stoked the flames of what was a local phenomenon and helped her take her show from the AUC stage to stages all over the country.

When I saw her in Philly back in '08 with The Roots and Santogold (as she was still known at the time), so many ppl came for the sole purpose of seeing Janelle without even knowing any of her music. How'd they even know that she was worth seeing? Where'd the buzz come from?

Internet bootleggers.

Call it internet Reaganomics, but the trickle down effect left the streets wet with anticipation for the new-age, post-modern heir apparent to Erykah Badu. We lamented her label woes and came out in droves to support any stage she stepped her saddle oxford-clad feet on. So I'm a lil disappointed that my twitter timeline had a request from Ms. Monae asking us to not download her album.

Isn't that why you're in the position you're in now? Isn't that where all that show money came from? Iunno, I expect it from label execs who are still trying to figure out what QWERTY is, but not from someone whose claim to fame was a high speed lane on the information superhighway. An android should know better than to fight against technology. Ask Cindy Mayweather.

Rant aside, I'm still gonna cop the album (and I'm staunchly against the practice of purchasing anything that can be gotten for FREE). And I honestly think her other fans will too. It's the nature of grass-roots artists such as herself--her fans feel invested in her and want to see her win. It's why we voraciously downloaded any and every megabyte of music we could find of hers, why we paid our hard-earned money to watch her razzle and dazzle on the stage like a fireball of talent. It's why we told somebody to tell somebody to tell sumn bout it.

So download while the link is up (and before the google bots delete it). Disfruta, and if you feel so inclined, cop it on May 18th. She'd appreciate it.

Magnetic North

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Jamie Lidell's latest. Dude is so talented, I don't think he knows what to do with himself. His music is blue-eyed R&B/Soul, but done by someone with a possible crystal meth addiction. Sometimes it works out great. Other times you're left wondering if he checked himself out the Betty Ford clinic. Either way, I support it, and you should too. Get to clickin'. Disfruta.

Listen To BJ

BJ The Chicago Kid - Aight

I'm happy to say that the subgenre of panty-droppin slow-jams is still alive and doing purrdy damn well. Chuuch is in motion. Disfruta.

Blame The Blow

Thank Ms. 808sandcupcakes for motivating me to dig this one up off my hard drive. Many moons ago, I dropped a single by Coco Sumner, progeny of seminal British rocker Sting. It wasn't as slept on as I thought, since I find myself running into people here and there who think the track is just as dopamine as I thought it was when I first heard it. Still, not enough people are familiar enough with her nor her music. So late last year, ya boy made a mixtape of singles and demos by the raspy contralto as an introduction before her major-label debut this year, but I never posted it. (Sad to say, it's not the only project I neglected to post, but I digress...)

This mix has 13 tracks that capture the startling breadth of the 19-year-old singer/songwriter. I wish I could write like her when I was that age. (Shit, I wish I could write like her now, at 25.) It's pop, but in the best sense of the word (because it's smart too). And regardless of your aural predilections and aversions, you're gonna fuck with this one. Disfruta.


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and btw, her first single is out too.

Open Mic

I'm a recovering undercover over-lover

Recovering from a love I can't get over

Recovering undercover over-lover

And now my common law lover thinks he wants another

*sigh*

And I'd lie for you

I'd cry for you

And pop for you

And break for you

And hate for you

And hate you too

If you want me to

Ah, oooohhh...

I'd pray for you

Crochet for you

Make it from scratch for you

Leave out the last for you

Go to the store for you

Do it some more for you

Do what you want me to

Yes I'm a fool for you...

I'm a recovering undercover over-lover

Recovering from a love I can't get over

I... recovering undercover over-lover

And now my common law lover thinks he wants another

And I'd lie for you

And cry for you

And pop for you

And break for you

And hate for you

And I'll hate you too

If you want me too

I gotta do...

My love for you

Chopped and screwed for you

Pay the rent for you

It's true it's true

Poor Badu...

Thought I was through with you

Guess I'm a fool for you...

-Exeunt-

Janelle Monae - Tightrope

My former-future-wife's latest.

At the Speed of VV

I had the honor and privilege to catch British import VV Brown last week when she opened up for Little Dragon at Johnny Brenda's. She came out in a watermelon-print dashiki jumpsuit on top of a flourescent bodysuit, with a kente cloth church hat, a mini-megaphone, and a single drum mallet. (It sounds wrong, but trust me, it worked. All of it.) And oh, the girl can sang.

I'll admit, her live show is better than the album, and there are definitely songs that deserve more plays than others, but a few not-so-good apples don't spoil the bunch. Plus, it's not like you're paying for it, right? So get to clicking.

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Insert Signature

I'll admit, I didn't take Dom Kennedy seriously until I listened to Futurestreet/Drugsounds. 25th Hour didn't do it for me, plus my first memory of Dom is from my days back on NT when he was catching internet beefs over variant Jordans.

Needless to say, Dom's come a long way. Futurestreet/Drugsounds was easily one of the best and most complete rap releases of 2009 and it easily created anticipation and momentum for From the Westside, With Love, which dropped today. I never got around to posting FS/DS (or Best After Bobby for that matter--damn, ya boy been loafing), so I hope this will make up for that oversight. Get to clicking that album cover to download and disfruta.

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Ya Feel Me?

An appropriate song/video for a sunny weekend.

Less Is More

It's only 4 tracks, but sometimes that's all you need. "Like That" is like that, as is "Less is More." Click that album cover to download. Disfruta.

Don't Stop

One of the greatest R&B records of all time. #liquortothecurb for Static. Derby City stand tall.

Players Get Chosen

Dom Kennedy - Choose Up

New music from the black Kennedy. Disfruta.

Teedra, Teedra, Teedra

This brand new mixtape dropped on Valentine's Day at her website. In case you didn't pick it up between now and then, you're welcome. And if you don't know who Teedra Moses is by now, spoon your eyes out--but not before you download this mixtape and press play. Click the album cover to download. Disfruta.

Snowmageddon Cookies

Blizzards and mo' blizzards. Entertain yourself.

If this was '92?

Definitely my favorite track off Dom Kennedy's Futurestreet/Drugsounds. (My iTunes playcount for "Menace Beach" is at least double that of any other track off FutureStreet.) That beat and them verses is bananas and plátanos--respectively, of course. In my humble opinion, Dom quietly dropped one of the hottest (and most marketable) rap mixtapes of '09.


An old interview about the track:



dopeitsdom.com

Breathing Underwater

press play.

Real Niggas Light Candles

If you follow me on twitter, then you might've had this since last weekend. For the rest, I give you what is the culmination of a pretty busy year of RNLC mixtapes. First I'd like to thank all the people who've let me know how much they appreciate these joints. It's been infriggingcredible. Whether in person or over the internets, your support motivates me.

After rushing out 3 mixtapes between February and April of '09, I wanted to take some time with this one. Seven is a pretty important number to me, and for a while, I contemplated retiring the series after this edition. (Not gonna happen, RNLC8 is well on its way.) Still, this one is especially personal. 2009 hasn't been very kind to Mr. Garr--a lot has gone awry. (Why else do you think there've been so many of these emo-mixtapes? They're my therapy.) Accordingly, these songs speak to the emotional rollercoaster I've been riding for the past year. Hopefully you guys don't mind riding shotgun. Just make sure you buckle your safebelt.

Those of you who got the early leak off twitter were blessed with a single track mixtape with no tracklisting. Now you can finally know wtf you were listening to. As always, I tried to provide a healthy mix of tracks and artists you know and others I think are worth knowing, along with those you might know of, but may not really appreciate like I do.

Well, enough of the preliminaries. It's the seventh time around, you should know the routine by now. Turn off the lights and light a candle, cuz that's what real niggas do (just ask Teddy Penderazzdowngrass). Click the album cover above for the single mp3 version (I personally prefer that one), or scroll down below the tracklisting to get the single mp3 and the split-track version. And to my fellow bloggers and twitterati, feel free to repost and retweet for the masses. Your support is always appreciated. And don't forget to leave a comment or hit me on twitter with your thoughts--good, bad, or anything in between. Now get to clickin'. Disfruta.

Tracklisting:
1. "In My Room" - The Beach Boys
2. "James" - Camera Obscura
3. "Starting All Over" - Jeremih
4. "Giving Everything Away for Free" - Daniel Merriweather
5. "Terr et Tiwa dorment" - Alain Goraguer
6. "Dedicada a Ela" - Arthur Verocai
7. "A Forest" - Nouvelle Vague
8. "Too Long" - Yael Naim
9. "Penny's Confession" - Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program
10. "Auburn And Ivory" - Beach House
11. "The Artist" - Jagat Skad
12. "You Have Cum In Your Hair And Your Dick Is Hanging Out" - Palace
13. "Master Sigh" - Andrew Bird
14. "Human of the Year" - Regina Spektor
15. "Galvanize" - Cryptacize
16. "Doctor Blind" - Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
17. "The Strangers" - St. Vincent
18. "Fly" - Nikki Jean
19. "Visions" - Stevie Wonder

Real Niggas Light Candles 7 - single mp3 (twitter leak)

Real Niggas Light Candles 7 - split track