This gem’s been on the back burner for two years! Ouch. I started a post on General Elektriks back in August of 2005, the year his debut album came out. I remember the label pulled the MP3s, and since we like to play nicely with others, I pulled the review (crying, all the while, on the inside, gettin’ all emo). Since then, Quannum has partnered with a solid digital distributor, ioda promonet, and the goods are back! This is such a great album. French-Brit, and current resident of Berkeley, CA, RV Salters, is General Elektriks, a man with an impressive quiver of vintage keyboards and the playing skills to go along with it. Smooth ‘n’ easy grooves made for lazy summer afternoons. Quantic said it best, “Like the Beatles in a pub brawl with the Neptunes.” And as a bonus, plenty of the Quannum crew make guest appearances on the album. Two-years-old, but packaged with stay-fresh beats. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Looks like General Elektriks will strike again early next year. He’s been busy with his other project Honeycut.
Northern State, while not typical of most bands, does have a typical experience: little band writes some good stuff, tours like crazy, goes big, gets written up in Rolling Stone and Spin and the rest, gets signed to a major label, tours some more, then bolts from said major label and gets back to doing their own thing. These ladies from Long Island have been working with Chuck Brody (Shitake Monkey) and the Beasties’ Adrock on their new album, which has them moving from hip-hop to a more Luscous Jackson-like vibe. New songs can be heard at their myspace site, but check out this oldie with the best ever rhyme from Prynn about her Native American ancestory.
It’s not quite lunchtime here on the West Coast and I’m oh, so ready to belly on up for some comfort food courtesy of 
Remember back on Saturday when I posted 
Matt, aka Gigahaw, reminded us of The Coup, the Oaktown rap duo who are best known, unfortunately, for “
Mr. Lif has made a name for himself as a dry-witted, raspy-voiced MC whose favorite topics tend toward the sociopolicical. No change here with his latest solo album, Mo’ Mega, as he rakes the current administration over the coals without flinching. Lif is equally skilled at, though less famous for, is more playful braggadocio as evidenced on his collabo with 
It must have been a sign when I recently found a tape recording of an interview I did with Dr. Octagon (aka Kool Keith) circa Dr. Octagonecologyst. This is the same tape that provided such reliable mix drops as “ain’t nothing smellin’ in jazz” and the Doctor’s bizarre verbal recreation of “greasy” beats. I don’t have downloads of the interview outtakes, but I do have a track from The Return of Dr. Octagon due out later this month. My man’s still at it. Some ‘notherworld production and lyrics to match. He can, to quote Rakim, “take a phrase that’s rarely heard, flip it…now it’s a daily word.” Oh and say kids, who likes remixes? Cause we got ’em, from 
After a dozen years of being a team player for LA hip-hop legends Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, turntable maestro Cut Chemist is about to follow in the footsteps of his cratedigging buddy, DJ Shadow, and drop his major label solo opus. If these two tastes are any indication, this joint’s gonna have both range and flavor. “The Garden” features deft cuts, lush instrumentation, and lilting Brazilian vocals. “Storm” is classic Chemist: a wicked b-boy playground wherein top-shelf underground MCs Edan and Mr. Lif run amok like schoolkids. In fact, Mr. Lif drops the line our eight-digit 3hiver Sean has been waiting his whole life to hear: “opposable thumbs don’t mean you can get dumb” — WORD! The Audience’s Listening hits June 13 . Meanwhile, fiends like me will have to wear these tracks out and seek the occasional comfort of my 
While trying to track down info on a record that I’m hooked on, 
The Rhyme Inspector Percee P!! I can’t think of another living rap artist to build such a massive rep on just a handful of solo tracks. Fortunately, he’s always down for a collaboration, such as this percussion-crazy track with Four Tet. He’s also allegedly working on a solo album (produced by Madlib!) due out…well, it was summer of 2005. So the single “Put It on the Line” on Stones Throw on Wax may have to last you a while.