I spent a huge chunk of my early teens listening to Bob Marley. On my 17th birthday Marley’s box set, Songs of Freedom was in my gift pile. The last song on disk 1 is “Mr. Brown,” and this was the first time I ever heard it. Darker and maybe the only song in Marley’s catalog that can be described as “moody,” to this day it remains one of my favorite songs. In 2007 Dj Spooky, an artist I spent the majority of my early twenties listening to, turns out this moody, dance-y, funky remix.

“Mr. Brown (Remix)“ (play/download mp3)

“Trap Door” was originally released as the B-side on The Truth 12′. Later the mp3 proved to be a proper preview/teaser to Jake One’s first full-length, White Van Music, one of 2008′s stand out hip-hop albums. With tracks like this one, not to mention 22 other bangers, White Van Music maybe one of the top hip-hop albums of the decade. Fans of MF Doom I know you miss the days when it seemed like MF came out with an album a month. Comb though Doom’s catalog once again starting with, “Trap Door.”

“Trap Door feat. MF Doom“ (play/download mp3)

Bassnectar is a rockstar. When the intern at my office — who looks like he stepped off a Scorpions record cover — comes up to my desk asking if I like Bassnectar, you’ve reached ‘rockstar’ status. “Cozza Frenzy (Mega-Bass Remix)” is the quintessential Bassnectar sound: time-stretched vocals, massive basslines, warped horn samples, all laid on a foundation of chunky beats. You know a Bassnectar song is playing because his sound doesn’t tickle you, it engulfs you.

“Cozza Frenzy (Mega Bass Remix)“ (play/download mp3)

California reggae group Rebelution’s dreamy and catchy productions have been turning the ears of many Bay Area producers, including the ever prolific board master of Zion I, Amp Live. The marriage of Zion I and Rebelution makes for some of the freshest and most infectious hip-hop I’ve listened to in a long time. Commercial “urban” radio programming may be dominated with songs that feature the audio tune more heavily then the rapping, but Zion I shows true hip-hop fans that they can get down with many styles.

Zion I, “Many Styles (feat.Rebelution)” (play/download mp3)

Visit Rebelution’s website for all the intel.

Sharps is the latest member of Bay Area label Muti Music’s able roster of dubstep and future bass artists who are providing the framework for the future of electronic production. “The Growth” is a choppy, sinewy track, bursting with dubby textures. And “thumbs up” on the album artwork. Eighties after-school cartoons rocked!

Sharps
“The Growth” (download mp3)
from “Bad Sister”
(Muti Music)
“The Growth“ (play)

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