Beat Meet: The Barely Legal, Sore Assed, Mate Devouring, Witchy, Royal Edition

That's right, kids. It's time, too. Beat Meet.

My apologies for the sporadic posts of late. Damn real job, getting in the way of the glamorous life of an unpaid music blogger. If one of you readers wouldn't mind telling my clients to slow the fuck down so that you can get your daily dose of Terribleness, well, that would be just swell.

We start things off with a bit of futuristic funk from Bradford, England. Hourglass Sea combines ass wobbling synths and pounding drums with 8-bit goodness. Is that Mario copping some coins as i get my groove on? It just might be, sir.

mp3: Teenager (Hourglass Sea from his Sound Cloud)

Speaking of futuristic funk, i can think of no more apt description for the work of the Philly/LA crew, Bossasaurus. I suppose i could point out that they're boss, which certainly would be better than calling them a bunch of sore asses, but i may be losing my point here. Let me sum it up this way--if George Clinton's Mothership needed a group to play their interstellar, designer drug fuelled space raves, Bossasaurus could have the gig on the strength of their latest, Lacerta, alone.

mp3: Special Deal 4 U (Bossasaurus from Lacerta)

Ye olde submission inbox has not disappointed since our last Beat Meet. Yet another case in point comes from Mantis Power. Potomac, Maryland's own sent us a track, which got me digging around on his Band Camp, which led me to this beast he did sampling Lil' Wayne's "A Milli." By utilizing a slower, less frantic beat, MP showcases both his skills as a producer and sheds new light on the lyrics. Well done, son.

mp3: Sands ft. Lil' Wayne (Mantis Power from his Band Camp)

While we're on the topic of kick ass production making use of existing vocals, how about this Aaliyah remix by Jus' Like Music's Klaar? The groove is slowed and chilled to almost witchhouse proportions, and the end result is syrupy good, assuming, of course, you like syrup.

mp3: One in a Million (Klaar Remix) (Aaliyah from Klaar's Band Camp)

And as a Prince junkie, i would be remiss if i did not include this pretty stellar set by DJ Dredd. Dredd hosts regular Prince parties in DC, and this is in recognition of that. Some nice gems to be heard in this hour-long mix.

mp3: Genius Mixtape (DJ Dredd from his Sound Cloud)

Artist Profile: Lil' Wayne

Apropos of nothing beyond me having watched VH1's Behind the Music on Lil' Weezy last night, here's a sampler of Lil' Wayne tracks for your Saturday enjoyment. For a cat that doesn't write down any of his rhymes, he's surprisingly spry on the mic. i think my favorite part of the show, however, was his explaining about the two bullet fragments still in his chest following an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 12. i'm paraphrasing here, but he used words to the effect of "I've still got two pieces of metal in my chest, too close to my heart for the doctor's to remove. It's cool, though, they ain't moving around or nothing. I mean, unless I get caught in an electro-magnetic field or something."

Indeed, sir. Indeed.

mp3: DOA (Lil' Wayne from No Ceilings)

mp3: my way (jj ft. Lil' Wayne from let go/my way)

mp3: Jump Up in the Air & Stay There (Erykah Badu ft. Lil' Wayne and Bilal from New Amerykah, Part Two (Return of the Ankh) Bonus, Web Track Only )

mp3: I Feel Like Dying (Flying Lotus Remix) (Lil' Wayne from Brainfeeder Website)

mp3: Robo Tussin (Flying Lotus Remix) (Lil' Wayne from Brainfeeder Website)

mp3: A Milli (Lil' Wayne from Tha Carter III)

From the Ladies

We've been getting so many submissions recently, i've been trying to divvy them up into digestable, bite-sized pieces for you ravenous mp3 gluttons. Today, dear friends, we shall be focusing on...The Ladies.

Aw yeah, that's right, little momma, The Ladies. Sugar, spice and everything nice, indeed.

Allow me to first introduce one Miss Geo. Hailing from Rhode Island, she describes her music as "a mix of indie pop, new wave, and electro." To my ears, there's an unmistakable trace of Juliana Hatfield, a la In Exile Deo (though she hopefully eats better), as well as slight shades of the Smashing Pumpkins. Don't think of her as a grunge throwback rip-off, though, as she does an admirable job of creating a sound all her own.

mp3: Hooked (Miss Geo from The Story)

mp3: Broken Wrists (Miss Geo from The Story)

Then there's Melissa Bel. The 20-year-old seems to fit nicely in that space generally occupied by the likes of John Mayer. Fortunately, she's got the underlying white girl funk power you hear in voices like Joss Stone's to back her up. Nothing like a little soul to kick your act up a notch.

mp3: We All Lose Our Way (Melissa Bel from Brave)

mp3: I Wish You Would Kiss Me (Melissa Bel from Brave)

And as our superstar of the day, the one, the only Funk Mistress herself, Erykah Badu. Have you caught all the goodies she's been putting out there lately? Followers of her Twitter feed already have their copy of "Jump Up in the Air (Stay There)" with Lil' Wayne, an Internet exclusive, as it were. Shortly thereafter, she dropped "Window Seat" from the upcoming New Amerykah pt.2: Return of the Ankh. Release date information is sketchy, but March 30 is the "maybe" date given. If it's half as funkalicious as Part One, this mother funker will tear the roof off. Hell, if it's half as funkticious as the first video from the CD, it's going to bring it on home.

mp3: Jump in the Air (Stay There) (Erykah Badu ft. Lil' Wayne from New Amerykah pt.2: Return of the Ankh)

mp3: Window Seat (Erykah Badu from New Amerykah pt.2: Return of the Ankh)

More Free Mixtape Love

i hope to get another post up later today, but i'm totally blown away by what i'd call some rather glaring omissions from some of the "Top 10 Mixtapes" lists i've been seeing. i'm pretty sure it's my self-appointed duty to do what i can to enlighten the masses, no? As always, props to those that helped me find this stuff in the first place.

Heads noddin' and bobbin' shout out to the incomparable Berkeley Place for heppin' LET to "LE DA SOUL: 20 Years of De La Soul" from GetRightMusic.com. i've professed my love for those D.A.I.S.Y. lovers here before, so imagine my delight finding a mixtape of some up and comers rapping over De La beats. Very, very nice.

And, of course, yet another tip of the kangol to Passion of the Weiss for introducing LET to both Danny! and Flying Lotus. i've already waxed rhapsodic on Danny!, so let me take a moment or two to do the same for Flying Lotus. The fool is a space-age DJ that sounds years ahead of the game. When he gave away those Lil' Wayne remixes earlier this year, i figured he'd done enough to keep the masses happy, but then he goes and releases a 10-year retrospective mixed by the Gaslamp Killer. Sweet Bippy, this is some incredible stuff.

(Ed. note: i hope LET readers are checking out those aforementioned blogs with undying loyalty, so my apologies to those that are and see some repetition of topics. However, it's always good tuneage, so don't be so damn pushy.)

mp3: Pease Porridge (Mick Boogie & Terry Urban ft. Phife Dawg from LE DA SOUL: 20 Years of De La Soul)

mp3: Fa Fa Fa (Danny! from Where is Danny?)

mp3: Robo Tussin (Flying Lotus ft. Lil' Wayne)

mp3: A Decade of Flying Lotus (Flying Lotus remixed by Gaslamp Killer)