“List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.”

1. james reese & the progressions - "let's go (it's summertime)"
from the carolina funk compilation. it's the first song i thought of, and it really has become the defining instrumental for me relating to hot fun in the summertime. the percussion and organ lay down the foundation, but it's the horns that really carry the song. just some let your hair down type stuff. it's what you play on your way to the bbq or your alternate summertime jump-off... {amazon}

2. n*e*r*d - "everybody nose"
i liked the song from the moment i heard it on gilles peterson's show a few months back. i was at work and my ass couldn't stop switching back and forth in the chair. it was straight up involuntary. the bassline and sax squeal are just ridiculous. all together, everybody: "all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom..." {amazon}

3. james pants - "ka$h"
unquestionable funkiness from spokane, wa. this guy's kind of the man of the hour right now and the talk of the stones throw roster, and with good reason. this is the song you point to in order to justify the buzz behind him. it's a combination of a number of things: the waterdrop sound accenting the repeated chords, the joyous tambourine shaking around ecstatically, the soulful vocals singing lines like "how the hell else am i gon' get weeded?" it's neptunes for people who don't like the neptunes. imho, two minutes plus of warmth-infused perfection. and james is just getting started... {stones throw}

4. flying lotus - "robertaflack (feat. dolly)"
static-filled like the vinyl of yesteryear, but futuristic in harmonics and production, stephen ellison has made THE album to beat with los angeles, a brilliant fusion of hip-hop and experimental electronics. nephew to the late, great alice coltrane, best believe he has done auntie proud. "robertaflack" has been that never-ending head nodder in my mp3 player, the constant rewind joint co-signing every introspective moment i've had during the spring and continuing into the summer. as the beat cradles you in its arms, singer dolly poses a few questions: "are we allowed to make brand new beginnings? do we need to know where the journey starts?" and even though i know the answers won't come soon enough for me, the pastpresentfuture sounds of flying lotus continue to ease my mind and shape my summer. {amazon}

5. cadence weapon - "in search of the youth crew"
he's an mc outta edmonton, and this cut reminds me of how much i miss going out dancing, especially the outdoor parties during the day in and around new york city. if you can hear in your head someone spitting rhymes over the filtered house of daft punk or cassius, then you're more than halfway there. "the youth crew's BACK!!!" {amazon}

6. soul messengers - "our lord and savior"
from the recently released soul messages from dimona compilation on the numero group label. picture a group of brothers and sisters from detroit and chicago making the trek to dimona, israel and immersing themselves in black hebrew culture, then singing praises through a soul/funk/jazz/psychedelic musical construct. if the picture's hazy in your mind, sampling this cut will make it plain. uptempo, fierce, and sho' nuff funky, borrowing the vocal melody from "na na hey hey hey (kiss him goodbye)," this is unbridled disco dancing its way out of the sanctuary onto a grassy hillside, giving itself all the room in the world to get on the good foot in the name of the Lord. if i were still spinning live, i'd use any excuse to drop this cut in every dj set. i live to dance on top of bassbin speakers to stuff like this. quoth his honor james brown: GOOD GOD! {numero group}

7. jackson conti - "papaya"
from the sujinho record, a collaboration between otis jackson jr. a.k.a. madlib and drummer ivan "mamão" conti of azymuth. this is a proper latin jazz record that dropped just in time for summer road trips and days at the beach. "papaya" is ten minutes of breezy sunshine, walking on sand that doesn't burn your feet while drinking your favorite chilled beverage. fyi: this album proves once and for all that madlib is so much more than a beatmaker, but a producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire... {turntable lab}

tagged:
chyll will
dj drilla
core rhythm
christina
bazooka joe
hired gun
jeff hinz