Eklips - Beatboxing Through Hip Hop History

French beatboxer Eklips does a brief history of Hip Hop in 4 minutes (above). Beastly.

Sabzi Releases Nearly All Of His Instrumentals!

Sabzi Instrumentals (Vol. #1-6)

This year, one of my favorite producers Sabzi (Blue Scholars & Common Market), decided to one-up Santa by putting out nearly ALL of the instrumentals from tracks that he's ever released and giving the joyous news of this gift on Christmas day. Now I can't think of a better gift than music (you can never have enough, right?) and so I share these beats with you too. Hit the link above for six streaming volumes of Sabzi's instrumentals mostly from his Blue Scholars and Common Market albums and all of the volumes have a very different style/feel. So hit them all up, rock out and nod away. All of the volumes can be purchased on the cheap and include the original names of the tracks, which are as creative and exotic as the beats they represent. Stream volume #5 below (pictured above) for a savory taste of beat heaven.



For more info on Sabzi, see my first post about him HERE.

Video: The Funk League - On & On Ft. Sadat X

Continuing on from last post with some more international producers comes The Funk League, a production duo from France consisting of Hugo and Soulbrother Suspect that originally met while DJing a monthly breakdancing party in Paris. These two vinyl collectors really know something about capturing a funky break and putting it in its place. Just hit up the video above for a jazz-funk-hip-hop inspired fusion track off their soon to be released album "Funky As Usual" (worldwide release on January 24th). The track features Sadat X spitting an up-tempo narrative of his upbringing in the NYC hip hop culture over two decades ago. The video is unlike any I've ever seen for a hip hop track, using a healthy dose of arts & crafts and creativity to create a fluidly entertaining scenery. I'm really looking forward to hearing the album in it's entirety. Until then, keep yourself entertained with another track by The Funk League below.

Album: SoulChef - Here & Now (2011)

Purchase Here

Damn, here's another stellar find. Straight from the New Zealand producer SoulChef's beat kitchen comes a jazzy and groovy collaborative album featuring a different dope underground MC on nearly every track. The 10 track album is filled with fluid beats and rhymes that will have your head bouncing on one track and contemplating on the next. But one thing remains clear throughout the entire work, it's pretty solid. From the laid back Pete Rock-reminiscent tracks like "We Gon Turn It Out" and "Take" to the driving steady baselines and drums of "Never Been In Love Like This" and "Dreams", this album delivers impressive production...and the rhymes are nothing to gloss over either, although you are highly likely to do so the first listen through as the beats draw you in. 

Enjoy.