Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape 3
The king of cloud rap is back with his third instrumental tape. This is seriously zonked-out material that geographically independent and is without question a product of rap’s internet age. I’m not feeling the beats on this project as much as I did on Clam’s last two tapes, but this is interesting stuff that is pushing Hip-Hop in new directions. (Download)
Flying Lotus – ideas+drafts+loops
Speaking of boundary-pushing weirdo music, this month Fly Lo let loose this 24 track mix (and he has said that there will be more to follow) and it covers a huge range of sounds and genres. There are foreign samples, unsettled jittery drums, a “Black Skinhead” remix and guest spots from a few of the premier members of the new rap underground. (Download)
Jahlil Beats – Legend Era 3
I have the same problem with Jahlil Beats that I have with Harry Fraud. He makes some really great instrumentals but he hands them out to mediocre rappers. This isn’t universally true, sometimes you’ll hear a hot verse over some of Jahlil’s music, but too often his beats are clouded by weak bars. At 40 tracks, this probably isn’t a project you’ll listen to all the way through, but you can pick some highlights out of here. (Download)
