J*DaVeY

Back on track.  I just realized the last two artists I posted weren't big fans of the last letter 'e' in their stage names.  Enough of that crazEEnEss.

On the left we have Miss Jack Davey, her momma named her Briana Cartwright, and yes, she is rocking the undercut/mohawk hairdo.  I guess it's the style that all the cool, young ladies are rocking these days.  (haha just messing with ya Skrillex) (UPDATE: I wasn't the only one thinking it!  Look!)  The dude with her is Brook D'Leau, his momma named him Brook D'Leau.  Sometimes they do DJ sets together under the name Black Morris, but as a musical outfit they are J*DaVeY.  He is the producer and she is the vocalist.  That's where all the concrete definitions stop.  His beats are spacey, her voice is swinging, and she's got a sharp rap tongue too.  Their music infuses elements of hip-hop, R&B, electronica, rock, jazz, and basically everything else.

Here's a taste of their influences and the way they put their own spin on things:
Smells Like Teen Spirit (J*DaVeY Cover)

The song is recognizable, but they've definitely taken an iconic track and brought it into the new millennium.  It got support from Kurt Cobain's estate and from Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl.  This track is off their latest EP entitled Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mistapes, which is available fo' free at their Bandcamp site.  SLTS is the only cover on there; some of the songs do interpolate other tunes, but in true J*DaVeY fashion.

Other artists often employ Miss Jack Davey for her vocal talents such as on this track by Grooveman Spot off his excellent album, Eternal Development.
Grooveman Spot - What We Do (ft. Miss Jack Davey)

This is probably one of the chillest tracks I have ever heard, and one of my personal favorites.  It would warrant its own post, but I can't find out anything about this guy.  I do know he also goes by DJ Kou-G.  All the sites I've found are in Japanese so I'm not getting too much other info out of those.  Oh well, just enjoy!

The Weeknd - House of Balloons (Mixtape)

Distractions.  Sometimes you're all ready to get focused on one task, but then things start to pop up and get in the way (I'm looking at you guys, Facebook and Twitter).  You get sidetracked.  I had a whole plan laid out for my posts for this week; it was beautiful.  When I'm prepping to write about an artist, I like to listen to a lot of their songs throughout the day so I can decide what to post and to try and catch any revealing personal information from their lyrics.  The lineup I had ready before, though, is on hold for now because I was listening to something else.  I'm sure basically everyone has had their weekday plans run off track by thoughts of the weekend, but this time it was The Weeknd that got me.

There's a bit of mystery surrounding what The Weeknd is exactly.  From what I've read, it seems it is a one man R&B/Soul act, probably by the name of Abel Tesfaye.  I'm pretty confident that there's a team of others, though, that handled production for this project.  I do know that The Weeknd (God! I keep typing the third e) is based out of Toronto.  He mentions being 20 years old, but his voice is strong and confident and complements the tight production well.  Neither side dominates; there are times for each to shine.

Here's the opening track:
The Weeknd - High For This by The_Weeknd

On my first listen, it sounded like a super smooth and seductive baby-making mixtape.  That was fine; I listened all the way through without skipping any tracks, which to me is a sign of a really good album.  After I found myself hitting repeat a few more times, however, I realized there was a little more going on here.  Sure, the common love song themes are there, but they're presented at a much more primal level.  I use 'love' in the sense of instinctive, possibly drugged up, urges.  It delivers the rawness that Jeremiah, Enrique, and Trey Songz and Drake only wish they knew how to express.  It's subtle, yet forceful.  This isn't your pump-up, pregame music, it's your after hours, make bad decisions but-who-cares music, and it's best listened to in the dark.

This is the closing track and one of my favorites:
The Weeknd - The Knowing by The_Weeknd

Make sure to download all nine tracks off House of Balloons.
Bring the 707 out...

Blu

I'd like to introduce you to Blu, stage name of Johnson Barnes.  He's a rapper out of L.A. who has been rising in the underground hip-hop world since he started putting out music several years ago.  There are many shades of Blu; he has collaborated with a variety of producers and has recently begun producing himself.  The beats he rhymes over offer a wide variety of styles and genres ranging from gospel to soul to television and movie samples.  He also often incorporates vocal samples that use the word 'blue'.

Whenever I've got to get down to business on something, or if someone even says these words this song starts playing in my head:

Blu & Exile - First Things First (ft. Miguel Jontel)

This joint is off of Blu's collabo with Exile, Below The Heavens.  It was his debut studio album and helped him to earn HipHopDX's honor for Rookie of the Year in 2007.

Notice his rapping style.  His delivery is more similar to talking, but he still maintains the aesthetics of skillful end and internal rhyming.  A big reason for the critical acclaim he has garnered is his lyrical content.  Unlike many rappers, he tones down the braggadocio in preference of more grounded, everyman raps.  He's a young guy, but he's seen a lot of the world; he had NBA aspirations and helped raise his eleven siblings so he's got plenty of experiences to keep his music honest and real.

Blu - Jazz (Tribute Remix)

Here's his version of A Tribe Called Quest's classic track Jazz (We've Got).  It's hard to touch a gem like the original, but Blu manages to add his own shine to it.  He even has a Nas sample in there to say "True in the game as long as blood is BLU in my veins".

Star Slinger - Mornin'

Aaand we're back.  Sorry about the extended commercial break.

It's absolutely gorgeous outside today, let's all vibe out with some sweet tunes.

Star Slinger - Mornin'

Darren Williams (no relation) is Star Slinger, a young British DJ/remixer who has been generating a lot of buzz lately thanks to his feel good music.  Apparently, Donald Glover described his music as 'booty LSD'.  He definitely makes things drop.  He likes to compose mixes while laying in bed or right after he wakes up which is an attitude I can certainly relate to. 

I like to picture his process as similar to cooking muffins or something else delicious.  He lays down these really fresh beats, and then samples old soul or R&B records and kneads them into the track.  Once everything starts to rise together you get the same sense of anticipation and excitement you get right before you take something out of the oven.  The whole kitchen smells great and you just know that first bite is going to be heaven.  The drop comes and everything melts together perfectly, just in your ears instead of your mouth.

Here's the sweet video to Mornin'

Stream or buy the whole album, Vol. 1, here.

Man, I just can't get over how awesome the weather is today.