Sleeves and Surprises//i've fought fevers with bed sheets

Pure hip hop. Go on, get lit for me - I've been too sick for spliffs.

Gonja Sufi - Ancestors (produced by Flying Lotus)
what sloooooow haze. when that organ kicks in, it kills me. i think it killed sufi as well, his voice sounds on teh verge of breaking the whole track through. scoped this album from the awesome download blog neu musical express, go there for the latest in weird, spacey, hazy dazy beats.
//hiphop.hazy\\


Jaylib - Follow Me
the late-great jay dee with the still-great madlib, from jaylib outtakes, the track features madlib's mc persona quasimoto, high pitched voice and stinging vocabulary that always adds to the jams. this is one of those hip hop jams that just feel good to walk to, so get on the weapon of choice and turn the sound way up to get the bass moving your feet. your strut just woke up, and it's mad chillin'.
//hiphop.stonesthrow\\



Eminem - I'm Having A Relapse (freestyle)
i have a hard time believing this is a freestyle, but fucking hell it's solid, whatever it is. this is the m&m i fell in love with back when the marshall mathers lp dropped, and the dude i forgot about when he kept putting out records after that. mtv killed this boy, ate him up and spit out his heart on trl. his latest album is still shit, but thank god for this radio broadcast that first streamed this jam. listen to the lyrics, his flow, and the beat, and try to think of any other mainstream rapper out there who can impress like this guy can. the rhythm is flawless, eminem owns this production and i'm so sorry he's been shit at everything else he puts out.
//rap.freestyle\\


J-88 - The Look of Love (Two Fingers Remix)
if you dig amon tobin, then dig on this production. heavy, uplifting, dancey and stone worthy. there were a number of other two fingers bootlegs that surfaced before their record came out, which saw missy elliot and busta rhymes get the tobin production treatment, and i strongly recommend you look for those cause they are hot.
//hiphop.electronica\\



Starkey - Bounce
dubstep's take on t.i.'s 'shoulder lean,' and it works so well. i first heard this dropped by tobin on a boat circling the statue of liberty, and i finally found again this spring. crank up the bass for christ's sake and get your durty souff on. it goes on for awhile, so get ready for a follow up to mix out of this jam, preferably during the 'lean' bridge.
//hiphop.bass\\



BIG UPS:
Conquering Animal Sound:
bells, light guitar, sparse drums and lo-fi melodies make up excellent folk-friendly atmospheres. the sounds must come from daydreams and cold slumbers, because listening to their music inspires me to find a cave in a wooden area and hibernate - with their music looped in surround sound across the stone ceiling. download their mixtape for free and scope their myspace, where you can listen to their track 'Where The Wild Things Are,' my favourite from the group. if any of you are near the edinburgh area, make sure you check them out live at the wee red bar on the 8th of august.
free taste: Conquering Animal Sound - Your Friends:Conquering Animal Sound Mixtape

Your Friends, Conquering Animal Sound from James Scott on Vimeo.



Richard Heeks:
an otherwise uninteresting flickr find, heeks has a set dedicated entirely to capturing a shot of a soap bubble as it bursts. it's amazing the effort he puts into this, and the results are breathtaking. there are some shown below, but to follow his attempts at getting the perfect bubble burst, please go to his flickr.

The Snare Bear:
dubstep that's all about the bass (ain't it all?) with a particularly unique repertoire of samples that keep the jams fresh even past the four minute mark. watch out for 'Raptor,' sampling Jurassic Park, and 'Liam's Gonna Take Your Soul' which has that awesome speech from you-know-who in Taken. what makes these jams good is the how varied the bass gets - none of the repetitive one liners that a lot of dubstep tracks have succumbed to. this kid focuses on what gets the subs groveling.
Free Taste: The Snare Bear - Liam's Gonna Take Your Soul



i've suffered too many fevers, too many cold sweats, too many rough dreams
that have kept me from seeing off those i love


- tgrs
(photos by pdhw)