A rap tape - really?

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Yes.... on this edition of la moda mixtapes i try my hand at a rap mixtape. this one finds me at the junction of violence and consciousness, objectification and praise. i love hip hop, but i dont always like what i hear or what i see. and yet... there are those instances in which i want to hear the nihilism, i want it in my life. tough days at work are made that much more easier by a little NWA on the way home. this mix is about my inner struggle with a form of art that doesnt always love me back. parts old school, experimental, on the fly, and autobiographical, i hope you enjoy this trip with my inner spirits... the good and the bad.... the sacred and the profane... puts some diamonds and rubies on the cover yo, it'll sell a million copies....

at the clay studio

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i was at the clay studio with my wife. she was making glaze. i brought in my gear and i made a mix. art begets art.

hustle uptown

Whoa. It's been a minute since I posted a mix on the bloggy-blog. Holding down a 9 to 5 and raising twin babies has been a LOT of work, to put it mildly. Thankfully Mo has been holding it down on the podcast front. But I haven't stopped digging....still searching for the perfect beat. I've been trying to focus what little energy/free time I DO have on the monthly residency I'm throwing called Uptown Hustle at the Enormous Room in Cambridge (Northeast peoples, definitely mark the first Thursday of every month on your calendars). Been pushing a very disco/funk heavy future-retro vibe. Some might even call it "nu-funk" (shit, I call it nu-funk when I'm trying to come up with copy for the flyers).

I probably shouldn't say this, because it makes me sound old, but I remember when "nu-funk" was called "big beat," and before that when it was called "funky breaks," and before that when it was called "trip hop." (...and before that when it was all called acid jazz!) Before magazines needed micro-genres to sell issues, everything that wasn't house/techno or "jungle" was called "trip hop." (shit, no one reads magazines anymore. damn I sound old...) You could find Coldcut next to Mondo Grosso next to Metro LA next to Massive Attack. And it was all in the "dance" section of Tower anyway. Ah, simpler times...

Anyway, since I been feeling nu-funk since before it was called "nu-funk", I figured it was time for me to put together a proper mix to promote the night. A sampling of the sort of disco-dripped, funkafied future retro sound that I've been steering towards as I've taken the helm of Uptown Hustle while Mosart212 is doing his bid upstate. In honor of Todd the Rocket's guest appearance on August 5 at Uptown Hustle, here's a promo mix for everyone who just wants to break a sweat on the dancefloor. Don't try to play this mix sitting down....

Mantisounds - Hustle Uptown by Mantisounds on Mixcloud

mantisounds - hustle uptown

1. bill ben & baggio - pusherman

2. wu-tang clan - c.r.e.a.m. (dj moneyshot's travesty mix)

3. totalcult - brown feeling

4. afrika bambaataa & the soul sonic force - planet rock (dj ayers vs jay.soul remix)

5. fort knox five - the spirit of '75

6. fendaheads - sunrise

7. pale the kid - the doll that made the dice behave (rory hoy & lebrosk remix)

8. maelstrom & nap-z - mash the peas (post life the rat disorder mix)

9. funkanomics - last night a dj saved my life

10. jem stone & j.c. - disco daze (disco mix)

11. oasis - wonderwall (dvw remix)(dj ark rerub)

12. michael jackson - don't stop (dmndays re-edit)

13. grateful dead - shakedown street (tommie sunshine & figure brooklyn fire edit)

14. santigold - brooklyn we go hard (shovit gt mix radio edit)

15. donna summer - bad girls (sonicc remix)

16. michael jackson - get on the floor (summerheadz main mix revamp)

17. harvey mason - groovin' you (morsy mix)

18. rockets - golden strings

19. stardust - music sounds better (kid massive mix)

20. earth wind & fire - let's groove tonight (gogobizkitt remix)

21. brothers johnson - stomp (only children edit)

22. prince - I wanna be your lover (dimitri from paris re-edit)

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sick in the head

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hey kids... i am sick... i have been 1. working like a madman 2. travlin 3. doing "gigs" - it was inevitable that i would get sick. i want to give an extra special big shout out to BEAT RESEARCH and DJ AXEL FOLEY for inviting me to rock out in boston. being there reminded me how much i love and miss the snobby, elitist, yuppified east coast!

well, the fact that my body isnt having any more of my shenanigans, and i feel like total crap is shitty for me but awesome for you. here then is a mix i made entirely from my bed. last year when i got sick i created "sickasadog" but back then i was seriously fucking dying, so the mix itself had an air of slow death, a wake-like atmosphere if you will. this time around i am sick but not in that fearing for my life or sanity sort of way, more like, in an annoyed, crampy, nauseus, irritated, bored, itchy, sort of way. the jams on here are a little lessed subdued than the on "sickas..." but they do keep the spirit of contemplation alive.

a note about track lists: for those of you who have not noticed i have stopped including track lists for my mixes. its not that i do not want to give credit where credit is due, but it seems to not really do much of anything. at this point the mixes are a middle of sounds, dialogue, edits, blends, and effects, leaving many to wonder - where does one song end and another begin? that has been my goal since day one. to mix something so perfectly that the whole thing becomes ONE song, one long, elaborate movement. i hope you have been enjoying the mixes thus far, and as usual i hope you like this one. i am now on my way to the bathroom to throw up the soup i had for dinner. i love you. good night.

no pants kinda weekend...

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hi. i tired to wear pants as little as possible this weekend. i also ate a lot. i also drank a lot. i turned off my phone on friday and have not checked it since. the grind begins again tomorrow. but for this afternoon its sweet tunes and beer. enjoy the new mix!

no wire hangers, ever!

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no re-do's ever.

hit record and let go.

no wire hangers.

boston blackie vol.1

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i had an epiphany in boston. trying to get back to my zen. the days when i was calm and understanding. focused and unfazed by the ugly truths. i want to go back to when i understood there was fakeness in the world, this knowledge inspired me by the day, but did not keep me up at night. it was my second and third wind. i am working my way back there. walking my way back slowly but surely.

welcome to the boston blackie saga... enjoy volume 1...

Boston Blackie : Activist Supreme! by lamodamixtapes