DJ / producers Headnodic (of the Crown City Rockers / Mighty Underdogs) and EvLuv X have put together an hour-long mix of classic hiphop instrumentals that is the best I’ve heard in a very long time. Reminiscent of Mark Farina’s early Mushroom Jazz mixes, it’s a head-nodding blend of jazzy old-school beats. Truly essential – the kind of mix you can put on and let repeat for hours.
I just finished up my latest DJ mix. I was inspired by all the women who are heating up the international underground with a combination of MC skills and electro beats. As such, this mix is about them and not me, so I kept the mixing as minimal as possible in order to show off the tracks. Still, I think they all go together pretty well.
I recently found one of my most favorite “lost mixtapes” online – DJ Yoda’s classic “Jewbonics” tape, recorded in 1998 for Fat Lace Magazine. “Jewbonics” is one of Yoda’s first releases, coming after “Jews Paid” and “Jews Paid Too.” It’s not commercially available anywhere, and was never released on CD. Since then, Yoda’s built a successful career around his unique style of mashing up underground hiphop with obscure 80’s songs, random bits of dialog from 80’s cartoons, and comedy shows. Paired up with Dan Greenpeace, their “Unthugged” series have been in popular among UK hiphop heads.
…But in my opinion, “Jewbonics” is Yoda’s greatest work. Yeah, maybe it has something to do with the 10 zillion times I listened to the tape back in the day! I rocked it so much that the tape broke and I had to re-spliced it. Yet, even now I gotta say that Yoda’s turntable work on this mix outshines his later mixes. Plus, it features tracks and freestyles from MF Doom, Mr. Lif, O.C., the Aspects, Jurassic 5, and more. It’s funky, weird, and hilarious.
The rip I found online is pretty good, although it has some small glitches here and there. Having been recorded from the original tape, it’s still extremely iPod-worthy. Compared to the non-stop flow of mashup / remix hipster-hop DJ mixes popping up on blogs these days, this mix will hit you like a breeze of true creativity. Listen to this mix and it’ll make your head bob and put a smile on your face. Tracklist after the jump…