The Very Good Agency

Ya Heard? Mayday!

Welcome to the first installment of “Ya Heard?”, a weekly look into music that you may not but definately should have heard. Each week we’ll look at an album or two that you might not have heard before. There is an absolute multitude of hip hop, jazz, funk and soul out there, often meaning you have to wade through the crap to find the gems. Hopefully this little piece will save you from that process. This week we look at Mayday!, and the Michael Jackson inspired mixtape from Mark Ronson and Rhymefest.

Hailing from Miami, Florida, Mayday! bring it all on their debut self-titled album. Mayday! are essentially a live band made up of MC Bernbiz, keyboardist/producer Plex Luthor, bass guitarist Primo and DJ/perccusionist Gio. They’re known for their energetic live shows in the Miami area, and the overnight sensation that their video for “Groundhog Day” created on youtube (over two million views in the first two days!!).

if you’re interested, there’s an article here that featured in the New York Times about the overnight youtube sensation they created.

Plex Luthor creates their sound utilising synths, infectious keyboard loops, rockin old-school beats and some funky samples, resulting in a fusion of upbeat lyric-driven hip hop fused with rock and a touch of the electronic. And Bernbiz slays it on the mic, particularly on standout tracks ‘Chasing Ghosts’, ‘Watchin Me’ and, of course, ‘Groundhog Day’, where he is joined by Cee-Lo, of Gnarls Barkley fame, and DMC legend DJ Craze. The album is very much a mixture of styles, jumping from the insanely catchy and infectious ‘Groundhog Day’, to the chilled vibe of ‘Nothin’, which features Devin the Dude.

MAYDAY! featuring Cee-Lo & DJ Craze

I came across this album completely by accident, while actually browsing Drum n Bass albums. The album cover had a sticker on it that said it would appeal to fan’s of Outkast, Gnarls Barkley, A Tribe Callled Quest and The Gorillaz, something that instantly appealed to me. After just a quick listen I knew exactly what the sticker meant and I bought it on the spot. Its become one of my all-time favourites, and remains on high rotation to this day, nearly a year and a half later.

Check out more tracks on their myspace at:

www.myspace.com/firstdayofmay

Ya Heard?

The next album that should be brought to you’re attention can actually be downloaded for free! Its essentially a mixtape, and a highly entertaining one at that.

British producer Mark Ronson, known for his work with Amy Winehouse, has teamed up with up-and-coming Chicago Rapper, Rhymefest, to make a tribute album to his pop idol; Michael Jackson.

Due to the obvious issues surrounding clearing samples taken from MJ‘s work, ‘Fest and Ronson had no option but to release this for free. And there certainly is a lot of material sampled here; Ronson uses outtakes from Jacko‘s original studio sessions to create banter between the albums two hosts, with priceless results.The album is built on earlier Jackson solo material, as well as stuff from the Jackson 5 era, and includes the obvious Jacko hits such as “Billy Jean”, “Thriller”, “ABC”, and “I Want You Back”.

The album starts of with MJ beatboxing and Rhymefest rapping overtop, before escalating into a full on funk hip hop cresendo which launches into the first track, ‘Can’t make it’. The second track, ‘Get up’ is one of my favourites; featuring Wale, the two MCs trade verses with effortless flow over a banging uptempo beat, and then mixing straight into ‘Dancin Machine’, in which ‘Fest effortlessly rides the song’s massively funky opening horn section and let’s the Jackson 5 rock their original hook.

Already well impressed with the state of the album so far, I was stoked to find that the quality continued, with the next track, ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ featuring Talib Kweli being one of the albums best. Ronson steps up with production duties on ‘Foolin’ Around’, where ‘Fest rhymes about the in’s-and-out’s of cheating over a simple loop from The Jackson 5‘s ‘Don’t Let Your Baby Catch You’. Further highlights include ‘All That I’ve Got’ , with Ghostface making an appearance, ‘Higher’, and, of course, the final track, ‘Man in the Mirror’.

And the skits, which I find can be to the detriment of the album, are hilarious! Ingenious use of outtakes and samples from interviews and studio sessions result in entertaining interactions between ‘Fest and MJ, including a priceless moment where Jacko appears to have farted in the studio. Ronson himself can’t resist, dropping a skit where MJ mimics and laughs at his English accent, as the Producer try’s to interview him.

As far as mixtapes go, this has got to be my all-time favourite, and definitely in my top couple of albums for the year so far. Click here to download and enjoy

That’s it for now, keep your eyes peeled for the next edition of Ya Heard? soon.

…Crack

Tags: DJ, hip hop

Sweatshop Union – Water Street

After rocking crowds across North-America on tour for months, award winning Canadian Hip hop collective Sweatshop Union are about to release their fourth album ‘Water Street’. The group’s socially conscious, politically infused lyrics cover topics from the “War on Terror” to the plight of the economically disadvantaged, combined with sweet sounding mellow highly musical beats. Formed in 2000 when four politically-minded Vancouver based rap acts (including Innocent Bystanders) and a solo artist pooled resources, they put out their debut album “Local 604” in late 2002. Since then they have gone on to sell tens of thousands of albums worldwide, and win many Canadian and International hip hop awards and tour extensively with acts like Swollen Members and Jurassic 5. The band states on their website that they intend to “delivery a deeper more meaningful sound into the conscious of the masses” in a time when “hip hop music remains soulless and simplistic in the eyes of the mainstream”.

Sweatshop Union – Try

The groups official website with its looped sounds, odd sheep logos and animations is worth a look, you can listen to two tracks off the new album, including “Itchy Rock” an instrumental scratch track and the infectious new single “Gold Rush” which rallies against aspects of our consumer culture that encourages obsessions with expensive name brand clothing. So not only can you listen to some really nice melodic tunes and smooth independent beats; you can think about how the world is controlled by economic interests that use commercial hip hop to promote unnecessary consumption. But you don’t have to.

New Sweatshop album dropping soon!

You can check out more from Sweatshop Union at:

www.sweatshopunion.com
www.myspace.com/mysweatshopunion
…Yossarian

Tags: hip hop

Sam Sparro

I first saw Sam Sparro on Rove a couple of weeks ago wearing some rather swanky, shiny, purple shoes and I superficially thought someone with such taste must be worth a listen. I was therefore not surprised or disappointed to learn his music is indeed as funky as his fashion sense. Sam Sparro’s debut self-titled album is a naughty, neon explosion of new wave, pop, electro and funk held together by one of the best voices I’ve heard belonging to a white guy. Let’s be honest, this album is not exactly profound; the kind of album to get drunk to and perhaps do a bit of glow-stick dancing (not a common pursuit for me of course, but music is about self expression, right?) Sparro set out to create an album of pure escapism and has achieved just that showing shades of Prince, Jamiraquoi, Stevie Wonder and Daft Punk along the way.

Sam Sparro – Cottonmouth
If you’re unlucky enough to have been listening to the radio in the last couple of months you’ve probably already heard Sam Sparro. The mainstream friendly single ‘Black and Gold’ has been receiving huge air-time and provides a welcome blip on an otherwise barren pop landscape. Not since Robyn’s self-titled album reached our airwaves last year, have I so enjoyed such mainstream fodder. Unfortunately, ‘Black and Gold’ will likely be chewed up and repeatedly regurgitated until your ears bleed, but hey, the nature of the beast. On the surface the track appears to be your standard love song, but is actually an ode to the man upstairs and when you learn that Sparro plied his trade by accompanying his father, an accomplished gospel singer, on tour, it’s easy to see where this huge, soulful voice was honed.

Sam Sparro 21st Century Life

Born in Australia, he moved to Los Angeles when he was ten and has drifted between there and England
ever since (no doubt there will be various claims staked on him because of this.) He writes, performs (you’d hope so) produces and arranges all his own music and even goes so far as to contribute his own artwork and the odd, funny behind-the-scenes video to YouTube. Sam Sparro obviously has a very fluorescent future ahead of him but this album is not perfect, there are a couple of tracks that are just too small for his big voice. ‘Waiting for Time’ has tried to take a darker tone, but ends up just dreary in comparison and I couldn’t suppress a snigger on the track ‘Clingwrap’ which actually says “you must have thought I was your snack, cos’ you’re sticking to me like clingwrap”?! That’s not to say he isn’t afraid to tackle the tough issues. Anyone ever afflicted with the dry-horrors will appreciate the concerns of the mock-rap track ‘Cottonmouth.’ In all seriousness though, when Sam Sparro gets it right you won’t be able to turn it off. I have been humming songs like the opening track ‘Too Many Questions’ and second single ‘21st Century Life’ so incessantly that I’ve been getting funny looks on the tram. “I want my music to take people out of their own life and make them feel happy and feel that they are more than they think they are, whatever that is. The world is not as ordinary as people want you to think it is. If the music can make you forget about your stupid job and your bills and your relationship problems for half an hour, I’m happy with that.” Well said Sam, where will you and your shiny shoes take us next…

You can check out more of Sam Sparro at:

www.myspace.com/samsparro

www.samsparro.com

…Alesha

Soul Brothers – Martin Luther & Cody Chesnutt

There isn’t an enormous amount of soul musicians around these days, thankfully though, if you dig around for a while you will find artists like Martin Luther, and Cody Chesnutt.

Martin Luther of Rebel Soul Records plays a sweet mix-up of soul, rock, blues and funk, also often collaborating with underground hip hop artists like The Roots & Questlove. He explains of himself “My music is just soul music, but I attach “rebel” to it because my music is revolutionary. I want you to evolve from your day to day thinking that most music being played on the radio doesn’t encourage or inspire you to do. Therefore my music has some sort of rebellious attitude about it”

Martin Luther – Daily Bread

Cody Chesnutt first came to recognition with suitably titled debut album “The Headphone Masterpiece”. Probably the most refreshing element of his music is his ability to cross so many styles, era’s, and topics , from sweet gospel to modern pop, and everything in between including his alter ego; the voice of male bravado. With at times deliberately simplistic music, Cody’s poetry always manages to carry any tune he creates solidly. Speaking on where he is today “Cody has been living life in its momentary expression as a husband, a father, and a student of God. Life has been his muse, his wife; his child, the earth, wind, and the sun are his text book”.

King of the Game
Cody Chesnutt – Directed by Michel Gondry

You can check out more of Martin Luther at:

www.rebelsoulmusic.com

and Cody Chesnutt at:

www.myspace.com/codychesnuttmusic

Tags: Gospel, hip hop, Soul

Roots Manuva – Slime and Reason

Get ready to witness the fitness, as the man of style and substance brings us more of his razor sharp wit and musical mastery. News has just come out that UKhip hop artist Roots Manuva will be releasing his fifth album early September 2008. The man from South London, otherwise known as Rodney Smith, responsible for such gems as “Run come save me” and “Colossal Insight”, has been quiet on the musical front since his last album came out in 2005, “Awfully Deep”.

Roots Manuva – Again and Again

Roots Manuva is an MC with great lyrical skills and abilities, who also produces much of his own material. You can hear new tracks from the album “Slime and Reason” on his official website and watch the new singles “Again and Again’ and “Buff Nuff”, already avaliable on youtube. Both songs have interesting videos that should appeal to fans of both cricket and ice cream.

You can check out more of Roots Manuva at:

www.rootsmanuva.co.uk

www.myspace.com/rootsmanuva

…Yossarian

Tags: hip hop, Roots