Anuther Wale Mixtape?

So anyway, Wale is obviously on the Weezy job-track which means putting out a ton of free mixtapes, doing his fancy 8 bars for a trillion people, and then fiiiiinally releasing a mediocre album somewhere down the road.

This, his third mixtape, features artists like Black Thought, Daniel Merriweather, 9th Wonder, and Peter, Bjorn, and John. Unfortunately, it appears to not be the solid gold of the last mixtape, and we'll have to fast-forward past people like Lady Gaga and Duffy. But, whatevs, I ain't gonna hate, free is a good recession-minded price. (Click the cover to download)

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

Just laid my ears on K.I.G's Head Shoulders Knees and Toes (& the subsequent Wale version - DOWNLOAD THIS), and thought I better share. I knew this song as the popular (and oft-covered) Ghanaian call and response song Che Che Kule, and I am glad to see that it is back and still making the crowds move in this new UK grimey- dancehally-afro-housey current club hit.



And as a bonus, here are some Ghanaian school children doing their version. :)

Daniel Merriweather - Change

So as far as I can tell, Daniel Merriweather's album is a definite go for the new year. I've heard about four tracks of the album and there's finally a video for one of them; I figure this is the lead-off single here, Change. This track is not exactly my favorite thing, but I love me some Wale and Daniel Merriweather is one of the mostly solidly talented and goodhearted dudes I've ever met, so I'm hoping all this will chart and everyone will be happy and rich and nice and invite me to dinner sometime.

Black Milk

picture credit

OKSG hipped me on Black Milk last week and I begged him to post about the dude...but he lagged and lagged so I, the great big sister that I am, have taken on the responsibility.

There are the Black Kids, Black Crowes, Black Lips, and countless other white groups with black in the title but no one black to be found. Black Milk ain't that; he is a solid brother and a quality producer from one of the most unappreciated cities in hip hop (Detroit) who he has worked with the likes of Frank-n-Dank and the great J. Dilla. Black Milk's new album Tronic is a nice look (definite Wale vectors, in my humble opinion) and should definitely be picked up. Take on that responsibility, would ya?

Here's one of my favorite tracks from the album: Losing Out (feat Royce Da 5'9)

Tawiah

"It’s a conversation I have with a lot of people ’cos a lot of people say that if a white person does soul music then its like 'yeah, oh my God, it’s so soulful'. But if a black person does soul music, it’s just like 'ummm, okay'. But for me, I try not to think about the politics, or have hang ups about being black and having a soulful voice. I just try to write honest music and let it do as much as it can do. I am just doing my thing, man.’ For now – before too long, it’ll be everybody’s thing." - Tawiah


For some reason I was asleep on British soul singer Tawiah, despite the fact that she was endorsed by the venerable Gilles Peterson, was collabo'ing with the likes of Mark Ronson and Wale, and holding it down as an important part of the current East London soul scene. I just didn't bother to check her. Frankly I was a little turned off by her overly wacky fashion sense. But by some pleasant stroke I ended up downloading her bpm presents session on the Brownswood Podcast feed and I am quite enjoying it and her and looking forward to more. Big ups to Ghanaian girls making it happen!



Tawiah - Broken Heart

Lil Wayne - The Carter 3

So possibly one of the best/most-anticipated albums of the year/decade/millenia Lil Wayne's The Carter 3 just "leaked". I am not saying download it. I am not saying DON'T download it. I'm just sayin'......

On another note, I have been listening to that Wale mixtapenonstop, and MAN that album is like an epic film. I laughed, I cried, I jumped out of my seat and danced. It's an EXPERIENCE. Feel free to download that free download. You'll even find Lil Wayne on there!

Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

You know you are a geek when you set your Google Calendar alerts a few weeks in advance to remind you when to download a mixtape....OK, let's not even talk about it.

Wale is one of the top TOP MC's in the game (I gotta stop saying the game, I feel so generic, will think of something else...) at the moment. Hailing from DC and of some of the finest West African extraction, he is doing BIG HUGE GIGANTIC things (a track with The Roots, a remix feat Lil Wayne, a crisp new contract with Jimmy Iovine) and is only going to go higher. Don't get left behind folks. One day you'll tell your grandkids you were there, downloading that mixtape ahead of the curve, watching the phenonemon unfold.

Download link here.