Category Archives: music discoveries

From My Brother's iPOd to Your's

Anybody who knows me knows I’m always on the hunt for new music. It’s a past time that I share with my little high school freshman brother who’s got a penchant for booming bass, beatboxing solos, and songs about my girl leaving me and, damn, I’ve got an icebox where my heart used to be. A couple days ago, I introduced him to M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” and he went bananas. “I love her beats,” Geoff said. Later that day he added that song to his MySpace profile and recorded it on his cell phone. (OFF TOPIC: Ever since the promos for Pineapple Express came out, “Paper Planes” has been everywhere. Power 106’s been blasting it plus various remixes including my personal favorite, the one with Bun-B and Rich Boy. Check it.). And don’t get me started on Matisyahu. We were listening to the Live at Stubb’s album in the car when number 7, “Beatbox,” comes on. Geoff’s ears perk up and he goes, “Who is this?” Matisyahu. “Oh.” We get home and he Googles away “matisyahu.” Needless to say he was very surprised but impressed upon discovering the man behind the mic.

Anyway, I just hijacked Geoff’s iPod to see what he listens to for a good wind me down or wind me up. Here are my favorites, some of which may bring back high school dance memories:

And, of course,

Enjoy.

Big Things Poppin'

So I’m back in L.A. Do you know what this means? Quality radio! And by quality, I mean better than D.C.’s radio options. I’m not one to hate but let’s be real. It’s L.A. However, Kane, I do miss you and your “War of the Roses” segment.

My hip hop radio stations here blast the hyphy which is just delicious and I think DJ Spinderella is still holding it down at 100.3 Awesome. I miss Steve Harvey preaching it to the choir in the mornings, though. Sniff. At least I can catch Morning Becomes Eclectic from now on so I can get my indie fix. Haha. Oh, and Love Songs on the KOST with Karen Sharp kills me every time. Love Songs on the KOST is equivalent to Delilah After Dark. Love dedications and all that mushy shit. I love when people request songs like “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

Recently, I discovered Roscoe Umali after hearing his song “Live It Up” on Power 106 (Where Hip Hop Lives!). I’m all about representing (He’s a Los Angeleno and Filipino so there you go) so here’s a YouTube link for your listening pleasure. His debut album is still in the works and features the likes of E-40, Talib Kweli, Murphy Lee, and Dead Prez. Production talent from Amil G and DJ Khalil. Not too shabby at all.

Remix with Pitbull and Sinful

Check Out Onra

Onra is a Paris-based hip hop producer. His backstory schtick: He traveled to his Mother Country of Vietnam, collected and brought back old Vietnamese pop records, and then used them as samples over catchy hip-hop beats. The result is Chinoiseries, an album of short instrumental hip-hop songs. The best part about Chinoiseries is that you can hear the crackling vinyl. I love that!

I recently found out about Onra through surfing the wonderful world of “Random Active Muxtapes.” Thank you Muxtape user, samuraispy. I have no clue who you are but you’re on my favorites. Holler.

Back to Onra. I’ll be honest, I’ve only downloaded three tracks from the album but I’ve heard samples of all the songs on the album and intend on downloading the rest. “The Anthem” is my favorite. I must have listened to that damn song a good seven times in ten minutes (Totally possible – it’s not even two minutes long!) today. He’s got two other albums out with Quetzal and Byron. Listen to sample songs on Onra’s Myspace. They’re quite good. Definitely worth giving a try if you’re looking for something different from the T-Pains and Flo-Ridas. Although, I have a guilty spot for that bunch too.

Mash Up

I’ve been putting Spinto Band’s “Oh, Mandy” on repeat for the past 24 hours. Specifically, a version you can find here. There’s a little shout out to Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s.” I love how it creeps up on you almost inconspicuously. I definitely had one of those, “Whoa, hold up. Wait a minute. Let me rewind. What? That’s hot!” moments. Anyway, I just had to tell you.