Thirty Three Jones | Desktop Site
I've got two albums for y'all to download today. Both free, but each featuring artists from opposite ends of the hip hop spectrum.
First up, the latest mixtape from Cleveland dj Mick Boogie. Hooking up with January's flavor of the month, Alabama-based rapper Rich Boy, Boogie has just released The Premix onto the internets. Touted as a "label-sanctioned sampler," its pretty much like any other mixtape, featuring Rich Boy rapping over beats that have been jacked from various other albums. The only significant difference is that a record label is openly supporting the tape, giving clearance for all of the samples that were used. Its certainly a positive development in the post-DJ Drama era, but its a shame that Mick Boogie, who's put together some amazing blends on his last few tapes, couldn't find a more talented artist for the first of what he plans to turn into an ongoing series of RIAA-approved mixtapes.
The best track off of the mixtape: Rich Boy and Jay-Z - Get To Poppin' (Boogie Blend)
If you're so inclined, you can download the full mixtape here (sendspace link). Also be sure to hit up Mick Boogie's MySpace page.
The second free album of the day comes from [adult swim], the cartoon channel/terrorist organization, featuring artists from every backpacker's favorite label, Def Jux. As I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of Def Jux, but I decided to give Definitive Swim a shot anyway. I own a few cds from Murs, Cage and RJD2, and I still have an old cassette of Funcrusher Plus buried deep in one of my closets, but I just can't get into most of the music that comes out on the label. My rap nerd friends like to make the claim that the music is too complex for me to appreciate, but "complex" in the case of Def Jux too often becomes a code word for "wack."
I can't hate on the Jukies for releasing a free album, though. There's nothing on here that breaks from the traditional Def Jux sound, but I still found it surprisingly enjoyable to listen to. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you should go download Definitive Swim even if you aren't a fan of backpacker music. There's at least a track or two on here that mainstream hip hop fans will appreciate.
My favorite track off of the album:
Despot - Get Rich Or Die Trying
You can download Definitive Swim over at the [adult swim] website. While you're over there, you can also watch a video of the first single off of El-P's upcoming album, Flyentology, featuring Trent Reznor. I'm not really feeling the song (the beat's dope, though), but the video's worth watching.
3/1/2007 7:37:17 PM posted by Fresh