Mixtape Monday: Dubstep edition

From the Dubstep Dossier to Future Grooves, TGRI Online is committed to bringing you the newest, cutting-edge sounds in bass-heavy music. Still, we sometimes take for granted the fact that the world at large isn't as familiar with Rusko, Skream and the like as we are - even if they will be soon.


Seemingly with that in mind, DJ D Painter's latest podcast - recorded live from Jamaica - is titled "Dubstep for Dummies." Rather than a history of dubstep, the podcast is perfect for the uninitiated: dubstep of the moment, including remixes of "Forever" and "Womanizer" and a few recent essentials ("Innocence," Sub Focus' take on "Hold On"). Quick and to the point, "Dubstep for Dummies" is the perfect gift for that bass-less somone in your life.



D. Painter Podcast 04 track list:

01. Ctrl Z & Freestylers ft. Navigator - Ruffneck 09 (Excision & Datsik Remix)
02. Drake & Eminem - Forever (Nero Remix)
03. TC - Where's My Money (Caspa Remix)
04. Jakes - Warface 2010
05. Benga ft. Eve - Me N My (Up In The Club)
06. Crookers ft. Kelis - No Security (Rustie Remix)
07. Diplo ft. Lil Jon - U Don't Like Me
08. Liquid Stranger - Mission AD
09. 12th Planet ft. Juakall - Reasons (Doctor P Remix)
10. Ladybox - Cookies Fly (12th Planet & Flinch Remix)
11. Britney Spears - Womanizer (Borgore Remix)
12. Nero - Innocence
13. Rusko ft. Amber Coffman - Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)


While D. Painter drops the 101, Jess Jubilee's recent mix for Dubspot is a masters class in dubstep, UK funky and future grooves. The Nightshifter/Flashing Lights basshead mixes in can't-miss tracks by Ramadanman, Kingdom and Ikonika, along with a brilliant transition from LOL Boy's "123" to Brick Bandit Tim Dolla's "Number Advisory." It's like a twisted Sesame Street lesson.



Dubspot podcast episode 9 - Jubilee track list:

01. Kyla – Daydreaming (Lil Silva Remix)
02. Dj Shaun – D – ALien Spaceship
03. Mujava – Source of Drums
04. Bambounou – Nappy Head
05. Distal – Apple Bottom
06. Ramadanman – Work Them
07. Canblaster – Clockwork
08. DJ Donna SummerxGucci Mane – Fighter (Jimmy 2 Times Aw Man Blend)
09. R1 Ryders – Hydraulic
10. DJ Bigga – Boeke Anthem
11. Untold – Anaconda (Guarachero Refix)
12. Roska – Squark (Guarachero Refix)
13. LOL Boys – 123
14. Tim Dolla – Number Advisory
15. Blondes – Spanish FLy (Brenmar Remix)
16. Kingdom – Fogs
17. Baobinga – Ride It (Untold Remix)
18. Ikonika – Aqueous Cream
19. Jubilee interview

Mixtape Monday: Mad Decent Monday Edition

If record labels were elementary school students, Mad Decent would have the most interesting "what I did on my summer vacation" presentation. Between quadrupling their annual Block Party and releasing mixtapes weekly, Diplo and family are doing big things before they pack it up and move to Los Angeles. Here are two recent mixtapes from up-and-coming talents on the label.


Like MIA and Santigold before her, Maluca's Mad Decent mixtape serves as her entree onto the underground scene. While those two found Wes Gully behind the boards, Maluca's China Food is expertly mixed by Paul "The Other Pauly D" Devro with a "past, present and future" theme in mind.

China Food fills the void left after we heard the fiery merengue of last year's "Tigeraso" but not much else from the Dominican chanteuse. Between samples of "Fire" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" are house-inflected tropical tunes like "Jungle Violento" and "Loca." Devro curates one helluva tape, letting Maluca flex her Kelis muscles on the moody "Hector" and "Flourescent Beige." Definitely cop this one, for the low, low price of your email address.


Along with moombahton, this summer has been defined by the resurgence of noise pop, especially the sun-soaked and weed smoke variety. Bands like Wavves, Best Coast, and Surfer Blood have led the way with fuzzed-out pop songs that hint at nostalgia and beach vibes. Po Po (brothers Zeb and Shoaib) mine similar territory for Mad Decent.

This summer mixtape, originally recorded for their tour with Sleigh Bells, showcases the experimental garage rock the duo is known for. While most of the tape is noisier and less complete than first single "Bummer Summer," it's still a good placeholder until their fall debut drops.

Mixtape Monday: Drag the lake

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." Inscription at the Gates of Hell, or another post about drag and witch house? You decide! Today's Mixtape Monday takes us to the darkest reaches of the Internet, with new mixes from Salem and the sick folks behind (the NSFW) Put.A.Spell.

Download Salem - I Buried My Heart Inna Wounded Knee

Salem's I Buried My Heart Inna Wounded Knee is a nearly-unlistenable mix of Goth crunk - and I mean that as a compliment. There's no tracklist, but would one really make a difference? Salem drags and screws tracks until they are barely recognizable ghosts of the originals; mixing in the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" is brilliant. Salem continues to make the i-dose version of purple drank. Their debut full-length King Night is set for a September 28th release, and this mix should stave off the tremors until then.

Put.a.spell (what I'll be calling the force responsible for these mixes, since they're only labeled with the quintessential witch house symbol ‡) recently released two equally disturbing mixes, Summus Exussum Ervum and Beasts in Drag.

Download ‡ - Summus Exussum Ervum

Summus Exussum Ervum, which roughly translates to "burn the high weeds," touches on everything cold and industrial. From Throbbing Gristle to Fever Ray, the mix is the perfect soundtrack for your next invocation or ritualistic sacrifice. Compared to Salem's mix, it is practically Top 40.

Download ‡ - Beasts in Drag

Beasts in Drag is more crunk than Goth, relying on drag versions of Gucci Mane and Playboy Tre (from the Adult Swim x Beaterator ATL RMX album), among others. As the mix closes, it fades from GR†LLGR†LL's gloomy "Lollipop" cover "Slowlickin" to "If You Are But a Dream," by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the bluesman best known for "I Put a Spell On You." That inclusion alone shows that the musicians behind drag and witch house have a sense of humor, even if it is sick and twisted.

Mixtape Monday: Hip hop edition

Paradoxically, Freddie Gibbs is the future of hip hop because he is its finest throwback. Hip hop is full of backpackers in rose-colored glasses looking for "Golden Age" rappers. Instead, Gibbs' finds in gangsta rap something resonant to a 28-year-old from Gary, Indiana who has literally fought for all he has. With last week's release of the Str8 Killa No Filla mixtape and an EP of the same name tomorrow, Gibbs continues to demonstrate why he's the valedictorian of XXL's Freshman Class.

Download Freddie Gibbs - Str8 Killa No Filla Mixtape

The mixtape features unreleased cuts and new heat from the EP. Tracks like "Face Down" and "In My Hood" are unrelenting trap music with Gibbs' trademark style. On the 90s g-funk of "The Coldest," B.J. the Chicago Kid plays Nate Dogg to Gibbs' Dre; on "Best Friend," Gibbs mans the chorus himself. The tape closes out with "Slangin' Rocks," where he goes even deeper into rap history.

The lead single on the EP, "National Anthem," finds Gibbs in full Tupac mode, even going as far as including a "fuck the world" chorus. He switches between a syrupy flow and a staccato double-time, and as usual, he's deft at both. To Gibbs, thug life isn't a choice, it's a fact of life. Being good in the game - dealing, pimping, killing - is something you do because you have to stay alive. He's a realist and a pragmatist, and like Tupac before him, he isn't afraid to get political. A perfect example is the clip for "National Anthem," where the question is, 250 years later, has anything changed in America?

Has it really been two years since Ron Browz, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana asked us to "pop champagne?" Time flies when you're living large, like the rappers on this mix by The Rub's Cosmo Baker. Baker continues his History of Hip Hop series with a look at 2008, when Weezy was pushing a million units in one week instead of a DOC mop.

Download History of Hip Hop 2008 by Cosmo Baker

2008 was a fun (if frivolous) year for hip hop. Baker expertly mixes the highlights for over 100 minutes of pure bang. No one has swagga like Cosmo, so don't miss him at U Hall this week for Red Friday.