Written for Passionweiss. I organized this feature and there's
plenty of other great sounds ranging from Blaxploitation soundtracks to
electronic so check them out.
This mix defines my winter tastes pretty well –
grumpy old and new raps combined with soul and funk. While I’ve been listening
to beats and rhymes since before the Willennium, booty-shaking riffs and smooth
grooves are something I’ve only properly investigated in the past few years.
However one has inevitably led to the other – Kanye is a big Curtis fan,
Three-6 Mafia put me on to Willie Hutch, and RZA blessed his crew with several
Stevie Wonder samples.
Many of these classic tracks contain some form
of social commentary relevant to whatever era they were recorded in. This makes
them both uplifting and gritty, which is a lot like the season where you are just
as likely to spend all night in a toasty bar as you are to get hail flying
diagonally into your face on the way home. Push play and pray for summer.
Also as per last season’s mixes, thanks to BJ
Beatson and Aaron Frank for helping me put these together. Link after the jump.
Tracklist:
1. Big L –
Danger Zone
2. Vince
Staples ft Schoolboy Q – Back Sellin’ Crack
3. Joey Fatts –
Picture Me Rolling
4. Jay Z –
Can’t Knock The Hustle
5. Boldy James
– Optional
6. The Beanuts
ft Big Pun and Cuban Link – Off The Books
7. Elzhi –
Memory Lane
8. Big Pun –
Punish Me
9. Droop E ft
Nite Jewel and J Stalin – ‘N The Traffic
10. Willie
Hutch – In and Out
11. Curtis
Mayfield – Wild and free
12. Stevie
Wonder- Living For The City
13. The
Manhattans- New York City
14. Marvin Gaye
– What’s Happening Brother
15. Curtis
Mayfield – We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue
16. Kool and
The Gang – This Is You, This is Me