The Weekly Shift

ATTENTION SHIFTY NATION:

We are pleased to introduce you all to the “Weekly Shift”, a handful of musical selections from our crew recommended to you, via blog post, every seven days.

This weeks roundup explores some of the directions hip-hop has been taking in the last few months, from sampling techniques to original productions.

The first selection comes to us from rapper XV‘s latest mixtape, Popular Culture. The track, titled “Mary Kate & Ashley” ft. Freddy High and Sez Batters is actually the first available full version of “Bugg’N”, a track off of the highly anticipated TNGHT EP, a colloboration between Lunice and Hudson Mohawke, forthcoming via LuckyMe and Warp Records July 24th. We have all been waiting patiently for this EP to come out since the boys dropped the teaser mix on YouTube (not to mention the fact that XV and his crew go in hard on this one) so check out the track within the entire mixtape below and curb your anticipation for another couple of days…

The next track is an edit of Lil Wayne’s “Nightmares from the Bottom” by last week’s Get Shifty headliner LOL Boys . The boys chop the opening piano sample into a funky downtempo loop that fits magically with the one line vocal sample used repeatedly throughout the track. Very clean example of how hip-hop can be flipped into any form of Electronic music. After all, we in the same picture but we all got different poses…

This one is from DANCEiSM and Planet Rock crew member ASAA, and is a slowed down funky remix of the Shifty affiliate and Random Citizens head honcho Marvel The Gr8‘s track “She’s A Fox”. ASAA gives this one an authentic vintage feel by sampling “The Amen” break from The Winstons, somehow giving Marvel’s voice  a completely unique feel, without losing any authority in his delivery. Support the homies and pick up your free copy below…

The next one is a personal favorite and inspiration behind a recent routine I have incorporated into my DJ sets. WEDIDIT up and comer Ryan Hemsworth takes Waka Flocka Flame’s “Karma” and loops the contagious, energetically powerful hook around a delightfully peaceful instrumental that builds with the strength of the vocal as the track progresses. For some reason the beginning of this track feels like a newborn infant being introduced into the world…an infant that then grows up to become Waka Flocka.

To top things off, we bring you a track off of the latest Jeffree’s release from lyricist Pheo. Holding the same title as the EP, California Sex is a powerful display of what years worth of hard work and originality develop into; style and confidence. The beat is produced by Mad Decent’s hip-hop MacGyver, Derek Allen (of Lil Wayne Two Shots and The Airplane Boys Beau Monde fame) and is a well polished push into the future of hip-hop production. Along with a catchy hook, this track has all the right ingredients for those hot summer nights…

Stay Shifty,

NOLD