MACHINEDRUM – SXLND by LuckyMe Music Art Parties

LuckyMe is proud to present SXLND, the new 5 track EP from Machinedrum.

It’s been a great 18 months for Travis Stewart. Since we released his Many Faces EP in 2010 we’ve seen a succession of new hip hop, juke & 2step projects on labels Hot Flush, Planet Mu and of course LuckyMe. In Summer 2011 we released his underground smash Alarmaa which featured as part of Jackmaster’s FABRICLIVE 57 CD and tore apart Sonar Festival, clubs and Boiler Rooms alike. But now Stewart is back with Lucky Us for a project 2 years in the making – a sparkling take on Deep Chicago and Modern UK House entitled SXLND.

12” EP comes with Digital Download Card with exclusive Scuba Remix and cut-out Geisha inner sleeve.

Head over to thisisluckyme.com to Pre-order the vinyl copy now!

Tanya T6 – “Will You Be Home For Christmas:”

Getting ready for the holiday season, Tanya T6 just dropped her new single “Will You Be Home For Christmas” from her Holidays at Home EP. Honestly, would rather be listening to this than any Mariah Carey holiday jams, since they aren’t as fresh.

Check out Winstrong’s track “Fi Mi Nation” here.

Featuring Jah Dan, M1 of Dead Prez, Haiku De Tat (Myka 9, Abstract Rude, Aceyalone) and more.

Taking the lead where Mad Lion and KRS-One left off with his blend of Dancehall and Hip-Hop, Reggae artist Winstrong is stirring up the Bay Area, building a reputation as a moving, high-energy performer and recording artist. The South American born artist is currently set to release Ghetto Hymns (M9 Entertainment) and features Jah Dan, M1 of Dead Prez, Haiku De Tat (Myka 9, Abstract Rude, Aceyalone) and more.

Winstrong has been delivering his brand of “singjay” (a combination of singer and deejay) for a minute. After migrating to the US in his late teens in 94, he started recording at Conscious Sound Productions (Ursa Minor) with Benjamin Grand Depaux and later recorded a Jazz-fusion album Noble Nature.

His 2008 debut album, Eye of the Storm propelled the devout Rastafarian onto the national music scene. The single “Sounds of the Gun” (aka “Boom Boom Blah Blah”) solidified his place in the Reggae music scene. He has performed with and is featured on compilations with some of the industry’s best, from Capleton, Sizzla, Prince Malachi, Tony Rebel and Black Uhuru’s Mikal Rose to Hip-Hop artists Wu Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and the bay area’s own Delinquents.

Born Winston van Ewyk in 1971 in Paramaribo, Surinam, Winstrong was raised in a family of musicians. His mother was a schoolteacher who always took the time to sing falsetto around family and friends. It was her influence that encouraged Winstrong’s love of music. “My moms used to tell everyone, “Dis kid has something…watch dis…”

“After featuring Win on some mixtapes,” explains partner of west coast label JtheSarge, “I wanted to do a record with him. Sarge explains that he met Win through a mutual friend Ishi Dube of the Humboldt County Reggae Stars. “I’ve always been a serious Reggae and Hip-Hop head, so when Win wanted to a Hip-Hop record on M9, I jumped at the chance.”

Success in the arts comes from those who are inspired by their past experiences, but are able to connect with people by staying in tune with their current surroundings and present feelings. Tabi Bonney has experienced success by following this same concept, and continues the trend on his newest album The Summer Years. Drawing on his childhood experiences of traveling the world, growing up in D.C. listening to Big Daddy Kane, and working hard for success, Tabi is feeling very good about life in general and especially about music. The excitement, the parties, the women, and undoubtedly the hard work that we all experience during the summer have become everyday for Tabi. Therein lies the inspiration for the newest release by one of the nations capitals fastest rising stars. You are now entering The Summer Years…Bienvenue.

Tabi’s new album due out this September, is executive produced by the legendary Ski Beatz (Jay Z, Camp Lo, Curren$y, etc) who he was introduced to, along with Dame Dash, by a mutual friend from Facebook. Referring to this project, Bonney says, “It’s 100% produced by Ski. Dame Dash is putting it out, I’m just happy man.” Now that Tabi has bigger names behind him, he’s still not veering from being himself or representing D.C. As expected when any artist begins working with a new producer, The Summer Years will have fresh elements from Tabi’s previous releases, however his cosmopolitan experiences will continue to drive his music. “Sophisticated, futuristic boom bap” is how Tabi refers to the new sound. “This one is Hip Hop. It’s more lyrical and the beats are a little harder. I can go in either direction, but messing with someone like Ski, even though he has range too, we just got into that zone.”

Ski built the majority of the tracks for the album with Tabi in the studio and some of the rappers influence on the beats is clear. “On Jupiter” samples a song by Tabi’s father Itadi, a star musician in his home country of Togo, West Africa where Tabi was also born. Even without a sample from one of his father’s songs, Tabi is able to share his experiences and life in D.C. through his songs. Expanding on his development Tabi explains, “I know how to recall memories more maturely now. So even with a more hip hop sound working with Ski, I can reflect on, and bring out the influences I’ve experienced.” For Bonney, it’s all about “letting all of the different things I’ve done and seen in life come naturally; not forcing anything.”

The first single off The Summer Years “Parachute”, “is a real true story about being a guy and already having a girlfriend but running into to someone else that I like more, and then going with that person I like more” says Tabi. “Hip Hop & Love” (feat. Murs) is “about growing up on hip hop, and just remembering that first time that I heard hip hop music. An ode to what I grew up on.”

In 2006, after two years of teaching high school and a newly instilled discipline and work ethic provided by his previous endeavors, which included earning a Masters degree in Biology, Tabi Bonney released his debut album A Fly Guy’s Theme on his independent label Organized Rhyme. Tabi expressed himself the way he wanted to, with colorful use of D.C. slang and a unique delivery that radiated with people, just as it had in high school and college when he had 2 songs reach #1 on local radio stations. The first single off A Fly Guy’s Theme, “The Pocket” became the first song from a local artist to break through the glass ceiling formed by D.C.’s dominant Go-go music scene. Tabi’s self directed music videos were getting regular air time on national video channels like MTV Jams and VH1 Soul, but not because of big budgets or high profile features and co-signs. The videos were getting played because as Tabi explains, they’re “original and cool…As opposed to the same ‘you’re in the club poppin bottles.”

Like several other hip hop artists, Tabi has other business ventures including his video production company Cool Kids Forever, and clothing line Bonney Runway. Tabi has directed and produced videos for Raheem Devaughn, Wale and Go-go band Mambo Sauce along with the videos he’s directed for his own music. Tabi’s creative, international flair has seen him run (“Beat Rock”), rollerskate (“Syce It”) and bike (“Nuthin’ But A Hero”) his way through D.C., while the clip for “Cool and Fly” found him riding horseback in his birthplace of Lome, Togo.

“D.C. is a multi-layered city, and has so many cultures and nationalities that live here, that there are multiple ways to maneuver through it,” Tabi says. “So having these videos where I’m traveling through the city in different ways is a metaphor for that.”
 Building on the initial success of A Fly Guy’s Theme, Bonney released his sophomore LP, Dope, in 2009. The album, which featured singles “Cool and Fly,” “Duhh” and “Jet Setter,” is the first in a planned trilogy called Dope Meet Fresh…Fresh Meet Superstar. On 2010’s Fresh, the second installment of the series, Tabi evolved in a more musically sophisticated direction inspired by European pop acts like Lykke Li and Little Dragon, and the global accessibility of the Black Eyed Peas. The album came as Tabi’s career was taking off on a number of fronts. He had recently formed the CryBabies, a co-ed pop group with Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas songwriter/producer Poet Name Life and singer Niki Jean, and has now joined up with Damon Dash’s rising Creative Control collective on projects like Ski Beatz’s much hyped 24-Hour Karate School.

Annie Mac – BBC Radio1 (Guests – Sigma and Ben Westbeech) 10-07-2011

Annie Mac is kind of awesome if dance music is your thing.

Drake – “Trust Issues:”

The full version of this video is already out, but our love for teasers compelled this post.

International R&B sensation, Aziatix, have shattered the charts once again with their latest EP, Nocturnal, debuting at a solid #11 on iTunes R&B/Soul charts.
They continue their momentum, releasing a “Making of” video for their single “Slippin’ Away,” which currently has over 100,000+ views in less than a month. On top of that, they took their talents to Los Angeles showcasing their knack for performing in front of screaming fans to a sold out show. They’ve been making a lot of noise as of late and aren’t stopping anytime soon.

This is a new and interesting vibe to get from an R&B group. Aziatix are like the boy band of the future. After hearing the song “Slippin’ Away,” how could you say otherwise?

Got damn. Jimmy Edgar has this way of coming up with new sounds even though his existing sound is already exquisite and moving. We’re really hyped-up about this one.

CREEP feat. Nina Sky “You” (Jimmy Edgar Plastic Surgery) by jimmyedgar

Straight from Bad Boy Entertainment | A Sean Combs Company, here’s the trailer for Cassie’s “Make You a Believer.” Cassie gets feisty, showing a bit of side boob in this video while smoking her Capri cigarette.

Death of Auto-Tune, or D.O.A., is the song Jay-Z released in 2009 where he suggests that rappers should stop using Auto-Tune so much and that it will ultimately die. However, that hasn’t happened yet and we doubt it will happen, because the Digital Sound Processing (DSP) like Auto-Tuning is only going to become more popular with music because it creates new possibilities for musicians. However, notice the word musicians and recognize that it still takes musical ability to make something that becomes really popular: even if it’s auto-tuned.

So, today The Gregory Brothers dropped their auto-tuned up remix of the eHarmony cat lover’s–aka Debbie’s–video. It’s pretty awesome. Check it out below. Also, Lil Wayne just dropped his r&b jam a little over a month ago, which involves a lot of auto-tuning as well.

So, we hate to say it Jay-Z, but your influence in the music business isn’t so strong that you can shutdown the use of a DSP effect entirely, or even make its use less popular.

JNATURAL’S LOVE IS ON HIATUS

Executively produced by southland icon Aceyalone, J Natural’s debut LP Love Is On Hiatus is a rousing, jazzed inflected hip-hop album. Following in the tradition of uncompromising and strong emcees like Jean Grae and Medusa, Love Is On Hiatus features Aceyalone and Abstract Rude. Production is by San Diego beat maker Jeff Wonder.

Raised in Los Angeles, JNatural’s immigrant parents were strict but also so busy with careers in the medical field that they left her in the care of her grandmother and aunt. “They were very musical and wonderful story tellers,” JNatural recalls. Negating the cliché that all-girls Catholic high schools are breeding grounds for wild girls, JNat says that there were major benefits to not having boys around to distract her, not the least of which was that she learned to speak her mind.

It was around high school when JNat tried her hand at turntables and discovered SLAM poetry. By college, JNatural and her friends were staying up late night dissecting the lyrics of Freestyle Fellowship, Living Legends and Hiero and scratching out rhymes of her own.

In 2005 during a chance meeting with one of her icons Aceyalone at a Medusa show, she slipped him her latest CD. “He called the next day and asked me to come in to the studio to record and be part of the (SIS)tem, an all female group he was putting together.” In 2006, JNatural teamed up with producer/photographer Jeff Wonder to produce her first globally distributed project Escape From Babylon. In 2008 she released Sex Lies and Sextape mixtape, mixed by DJ Ray Ray Raw and featuring The A-Team (Aceyalone & Abstract Rude.)

All the while, JNat continues to develop her career in fashion. She was designer for Roxy/Quiksilver and the Director of Design for Fox Womens. She recently founded her own design consulting firm called. Currently, she is VP of Design and US Sales for U&K Fashion Ltd, a china-based fashion group.

MeLo teams up with Dr. Woo once again to bring smooth, sensual and eye capturing visuals to the musical landscape he has created. In this piece we step inside the dance studio with three talented females as they create an interpretive dance to MeLo’s Heartbeat. “Heartbeat” is a remix of Quadrons original track “Average Fruit” and is featured on MeLo’s timeless mixtape “More Merch.” An alternate remix version can also be purchased on iTunes.

MeloXtra.com
Twitter.com/Meloxtra

Great song / video.

A song that describes you.

NEW YORK, May 25, 2011 | You’re invited to Tanya T6′s YouTube Interactive Listening Party to hear the entire “PIECES” EP.

While technology quickly progressed, many useful innovations such as YouTube and Facebook, revolutionized our lives and the way we do business.

The landscape of the music industry is continuously changing and so must the artists. R&B singer/songwriter Tanya T6 has etched out a path for herself within the entertainment industry and continuously raises the bar and is definitely making her mark in the music world.

Tanya states, “As an artist it is my responsibility to be consistent and show continual growth, I have a passion for this, it’s not just an occupation for me”.

Tanya’s second single “Fly Away” from her EP “PIECES” has been well-received by radio, internet websites, blogs, and tastemakers.

The EP “PIECES” is currently available at iTunes and Amazon.com.

“Fly Away,” the single, is available at iTunes and other digital retailers now.

Join the Listening Party Here.

The faster computers get and the faster Internet connections get, the faster we have this need for instant gratification. It’s all about getting things immediately. It’s all about not getting something that’s a week old, not getting something that’s a couple days old, not even getting something that’s 12 hours old. Getting something that became available several hours ago and was uploaded from anywhere in the world, like a country in Europe, and now you’re listening to it.

And you’re doing it for the cost of your Internet connection. That’s one way that technology is influencing music and changing the face of music as we know it. Because, with that, everything changes: the nature of the competition and what determines the music we listen to. That’s that.

So, with SoundCloud, you have to know who you’re looking for. You have to know what artists you like, but anyone who’s truly interested in music is going to have some sense of artists they want to hear more from. In this case, today, the artist we wanted to hear more from is Jimmy Edgar. And it’s superior to putting in a Jimmy Edgar station on Pandora, because there’s no way you can get anything that’s this recent from Jimmy Edgar on Pandora. Sure, there are some older songs mixed in with some newer songs on SoundCloud. Who knows, maybe Jimmy finished these songs months ago, but the bottom line is, they’re available now: starting eight hours ago, 14 songs dropped in a four hour period on Edgar’s SoundCloud. It’s life-changing, really. You can hop in the car, and go on SoundCloud with a smart phone and search for Jimmy Edgar. Bam. New music on the car stereo. Simple as that.