One of the greatest mashup albums of

*ALL TIME*

is now free on Bandcamp!

This freeEP is starting to show up around the nets.  Wild, man, wild.  Here’s the explanation from bandcamp:

In 2006, during a stint out west to promote his then new movie, Sacha Cohen, (aka Borat) met Daniel Dumile, better known as Zev Love X, or MF DOOM. Their blazing freestyle ciphers and mutual love of Purple Kush led to an impromptu recording of Doom’s ‘My Favorite Ladies’ verses (see Herbalisers’ Something Wicked…album) over a beat Borat had made back in ’05 with Kulki Boolchek, a Khazak producer. Later that year Doom ventured east, and recorded three more gems with Cohen at the castle of Rudolf II in Prague, renowned for its stone acoustics. DigDug bought the master off a based-out gypsy in East Oakland and the rest is history! **Please FREELY DOWNLOAD THESE GEMS**, as they have been labeled ‘Degenerate Music’ by the Putin administration and the whole album is banned in the greater East. Censorship will never extinguish true heat!

Tracks:

1. Bing Bong Bing
2. Dedicated To Love (feat. Samantha Alexes)
3. Rescue Khazakstan (feat. Aretha Franklin)
4. So Good To Me
5. Tower of Ears (feat. Diana Ross)

link.

• Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has a free, new Madvillain track!  MF Dooooooooooom!  They also have a free Bonnie Prince Billy song, and they’ll have more each week.  Or you can just get it right here: Papermill.

• The NJ Underground writes about The NJ Pop Punk revival Tour, and offers a free compilation, here.

• Wow.  I never thought my kids would see the day when The Rolling Stones, ACDC, and a Marley all had albums in the Billboard top 20.

• Go here to learn about why rappers hold their guns sidewayze.

• I don’t support the vandalism, but I do support this sentiment.

• This guy says he’s a Republican for a buncha reasons that don’t even makes sense . . . I’m not saying I’m anti-Republican, but self-righteous hypocrites drive me crazy.  He says:

* I believe in freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. But prominent Republicans like Pat Robertson and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann openly ridicule the Muslim religion and attempts by the Obama administration to hire Muslims.

* I do not believe in big government; and * I believe higher taxes are part of the democratic agenda and lead to a dependence upon a large government.  But the Bush administration grew government more than any administration since FDR (he created a whole new Cabinet-level Department!), and he also raised taxes to a higher per capita rate than Bill Clinton and spent way way waaaaaaaay more money!  At the same time,  Obama has delivered the biggest tax cut since before Ronald Reagan, yet workers are worse off than ever.

* I believe government control of the healthcare industry will destroy the best healthcare in the world; and * I believe that a large standing army is the best deterrent to violence in the world today.  Yet increases in the budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs–Government-run healthcare–are always supported by Republicans (and in fact VA health care has been found by independent international review agencies to be the best run large health care system in the world).

* I believe that marriage has always been and should always be between one man and one woman.  Yet Republicans in Congress divorce at a higher rate than Democrats–and many of them get re-married.

• Is it too soon to note that Gary Coleman died of a stroke?  Get it?

• I love the idea for this post–”popscurities“….

• The Rolling Stones get the Covered in Folk treatment.

• Cover Me has wisely left Blogger before Blogger killed the site.  Update your bookmarks, and check out the terrific new look.

• Keane-My Shadow (Danny Dance remix)

For a complete collection of great pix like this, go here.

Music interpretation:

Meatgrinder (Four Tet remix)-Madvillain (direct dl)

I’m almost afraid to publish this, since I know I’ll get all kinds of grief about it. Before you comment on what a dope I am for omitting Graduation/Fishscale/Speakerboxxx/etc., please read the title of this post again. Only independent releases were considered. But this did include street albums and mixtapes.

Another point: I debated whether to segregate out rap records, and decided to do so only because I haven’t seen too many bloggers writing decade-rap lists, so I thought this might help fill a void.

Okay, now you can tell me how little I know about rap and what a hater I am and blah blah blah. You bore me. Of all the rap albums that came out between 2000 and now, these 15 moved me the most.

Period.

THE TOP 15 INDIE HIP HOP ALBUMS OF 2000-2009

15 (tie). D.J. Cinema and D.J. Mello-The Commission (a.k.a.-B.I.G. and Jay-Z, The Album that Never Was) (2005-Mixtape) and Bobb Deep-Queensbridge (200?-DJ Swindle). These are both “blends,” but they’re the two best blend tapes I’ve ever heard. You can still get Bobb Deep for free here, and I’m sure if you dig around datpiff you’ll find The Commission, too.

14. Dangermouse and Jemini-Ghetto Pop Life (2004-Lex). Find better beats. I dare you.

13. DJ Muggs and GZA-Grandmasters (2005-Angeles). Tough and rugged, this is RZA and Muggs at their finest. And they didn’t need a major label to do it!

12. The Coup-Pick a Bigger Weapon (2006-Epitaph). A duo that is consistently challenging, raw, conscious and hilarious. The Public Enemy for 2000s underground rap.

11. Brother Ali-The Undisputed Truth (2007-Rhymesayers). It breaks my heart that this one didn’t make it into the top ten, especially since I voted it best rap album of the year in 2007, but I had to be honest and Ortiz edged Ali out. But just barely. A rare example of an intelligent, challenging rap album that also has great beats and flow.

10. Joell Ortiz-The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (2007-Koch). Big Pun lives!

9. Masta Ace-A Long Hot Summer (2004-Yosumi). Was Ace done by the end of the 1990s? No f-in’ way. He also gets my vote as one of the most important rappers of the entire decade. Just sayin’.

8. Atmosphere-Lucy Ford:The Atmosphere EPs (2001-Rhymesayers). My favorite Atmosphere release, hands down. Slug is a champ.

7. Joe Budden-Mood Muzik 2: Can It Get Any Worse? (2002-DJ On Point). Joey! It’s . . . It’s . . . It’s that on top MU-zik!

6. Lil’ Wayne-Dedication 2 (2006-DJ Drama). Not a huge fan of Weezy, but this mixtape is undeniable.

5. MF DOOM-Operation Doomsday (2008-Metal Face). Dumile is on the list twice, and both in the top 5. You got a problem with that?

4. Clipse-We It 4 Cheap Vol. 2 (2005-Mixunit). In Volume 1, Clipse released a world of anger about issues with their label, but in Volume 2 they hit a groove I’ve never heard them hit before or since. They took over great beats and made them their own. Check out “Hate It Or Love It,” “The Corner,” and “Daytona 500,” and tell me the Clipse versions aren’t as good as the originals.

3. Lupe Fiasco-Fahrenheit 1:15 Vol. 2, Revenge of the Nerds (2006-Mixtape). I’m picking this one, but really any of his pre-official-release mixtapes are great. I loved his first album, published on a major label, but his second one, “The Cool,” left me cold. Fastest burnout in hip hop history.

2. 50 Cent-Power of the Dollar (2000-Mixtape). It’s trendy to hate on Fiddy these days—and with good reason. He hasn’t done anything worth listening to in years. But the power of his first street album is undeniable. It was so good, it got Columbia records to sign him and then force him to change everything about himself that made this album so good in the first place.

1. Madvillain-Madvillainy (2004-Stones Throw). MF DOOM also got my vote for most important rapper of the decade, based on the consistent quality and groundbreaking nature of all of his official releases and collaborations. He seems never content to do the same thing twice. As for Madvillainy, even some of my rap-hating friends dig it.

Look above you. Yeah, that’s me with an MF DOOM mask. It’s not like I’m gay for him or anything, I just admire his genius. He’s easily my favorite rapper of all time. And now, he’s released a “best of” . . . Kind of.

“Unexpected Guests” will not be for hardcore fans, but if you don’t have everything Metal Face ever did, if you’re curious, or if you’re a dabbler, you NEED to get this record.  It’s him with, as you’ve probably guessed, a bunch of guests.  Tracklisting after the jump, and a taste:

1. Fly That Knot (Talib Kweli Feat. Doom)
2. Sniper Elite (J. Dilla & Doom)
3. Yikes Scienz of Life (Feat. Doom)
4. Sorcerers (K.M.D)
5. Da Supafriendz (Vast Aire Feat. Doom)
6. Quite Buttery (Count Bass D Feat. Doom)
7. ? (DOOM Feat. Kurious)
8. All Outta Ale (The Prof Feat. Doom)
9. E.N.Y. House (Masta Killa)
10. Bell of Doom (The Prof Feat. Doom)
11. My Favorite Ladies (Doom)
12. Street Corners (Doom Remix) (Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, & GZA)
13. Angels (Doom & Ghostface)
14. Fire Wood Drumstykx (J. Dilla & Doom)
15. The Unexpected (Babu Feat. Doom and Sean Price)
16. Project Jazz (Hell Razah, Talib Kweli & Viktor Vaughn)
17. Black Gold (John Robinson)
18. Bonus Track: I Hear Voices (Live) (Doom)

“When I’m doing a DOOM record, I’m arranging it, I’m finding the voices …. All I have to do is listen to it and think, Oh shit, that will be funny. I write down whatever would be funny, and get as many ‘whatever would’ funnies in a row and find a way to make them all fit. There’s a certain science to it. In a relatively small period of time, you want it to be, That’s funny, that’s funny, that’s funny, that’s funny. I liken it to comedy standup.”

MF DOOM, from “The Mask of Doom: A Nonconformist Rapper’s Second Act,” from last week’s New Yorker Magazine.

If Kurious’s new album, “II,” sounds old-school, he can be forgiven.  The Harlem Latino has been around since the 1990s . . . When he released his first album.  He’s been affiliated with the likes of MF DOOM, The Beatnuts, Pete Nice, KMD, House of Pain, 3d Bass, Del The Funky Homosapien, MF Grimm . . . It might be easier to ask if there’s a ‘90s underground rap legend who he didn’t mix with.  And yet it’s taken a decade-and-a-half to put out a sophomore album (the follow up to 1994’s “A Constipated Monkey”).  Does he still have skills?  Yes.

In fact, he hasn’t changed much.  Track one, “Back with Vic,” is basically a turntable showcase for producer Vic Padilla, supported by Kurious’ verses.  It’s also the most interesting track, beat-wise.  These are old-school beats, and old-school rhymes that rely more on vocabulary than profanity, more on retrospection and nostalgia than bling or banging.  Of course, the must-have track here is “Benneton,” featuring MF DOOM and MC Serch.  To my knowledge, those two haven’t played together in a very, very long time.  And they reminisce, with DOOM gratefully thanking Serch for that MC’s role in his career.  Couple this with the chipmunk Journey wail, and you have a gold star single, one of the best of the year.

“Rain On Me” samples The Who’s, “Reign O’er Me” (these samples can’t be legal), and it’s a solid track as well.  Another one of the standouts, particularly since it’s a love song—a form of rap usually reserved to LL Cool J or silly crap.  Kuri sends shout outs to loved ones and victims of molestation—that’s something you don’t hear often in hip hop.  As he says, “I ain’t sugar coating shit.”  He’s also got a song on here about family (“Mysterious”), and on “Prosperous” he replaces the idea of monetary riches with those of fatherhood, advising that rap should “make kids more intelligent,” and confessing that he takes the trash out every week and apologizes for the stupid things he’s done in the past.  Kurious Jorge is back, and his album is a great reminder that hip hop can have meaning, and can be optimistic at that.

Benetton Kurious with MC Serch, M.F. DOOM and Kadi Amin

BONUS: KLASSIC KURIOUS

? (Questionmark) MF DOOM and Kurious from Operation Doomsday (one of the best indie rap albums of all time)

The funniest thing about mash-up album Nastradoomus is that there’s actually an Amazon page for it.  Weird.

This is a pretty rare mash album of MF Doom and Nas.  That’s right, the dude who says hip hop is dead and a dude who I think may actually be dead.  Cool, huh?  But if you don’t like these artists, you’ll hate this.  If you do like them, you just might dig it.

Track listing:

Come and Get Me

Family

Hate Me Now

Last Words

Life We Chose

Nastradoomus

One Love

Project Window

Shoot Em Up

Street Dreams

If I Ruled the World

ZIP!