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)
“Robin Hoods Of The Ghetto”
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.
