On the surface this was going to be a really weird, esoteric mixtape featuring my immense love of African drums and the strange places they are currently showing up sonically, in other words, a fairly pretentious listening experience. After starting to put together the tracklist for this, I realized that if I didn’t open up my scope to all the music I truly love, I wasn’t going to be doing justice to the full influence that various African and Caribbean music has had on music and pop culture since the black Diaspora of the 19th century spread previously unknown arts all across the globe. As technology has evolved, so has access to sounds such as dancehall, highlife, juju, and samba that previously only the most devoted of crate diggers and musicologists were able to find. I guess more than anything this mix is my dance-oriented love letter to the people who are currently taking risks from the same old dance music and slowly pushing unfamiliar sounds in a new way.

Appréciez S’il vous plaît!

Live From The Pan-African Musical Reclamation Dinner After Party by DJ Kid Lightning

If you’re looking for anything to “shuffle” to, there is a lot to choose from in this compilation. One thing I like about this album is that even though there are a lot of songs, it doesn’t get too repetitious, considering that it’s electro/techno/house. In my opinion these genres tend to get a little redundant. These DJ’s know how to change it up a bit right before one would tend to get bored, for the most part.

James Pants

Welcome

Stones Throw Records

Ratings: 3.5/4

I need a pair of roller skates because James is blessing us with his fohnnnnnk! Ever since I bought the single “Ka$h,” he’s been added to my props list. His style of music makes me think of the cartoon “Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?”.  For those unfamiliar with Pants, you can expect a mix of electro, post-punk, hip-hop breaks, funk synths and low volume vocals throughout this album which features 16 tracks of cosmic beats. The production style stays on the Stones Throw, à la bedroom production; that won’t disappoint.  Each tune gives you a taste of nostalgia while moving future forward. If one were to ask how to describe the album Welcome, I would say birthday parties, roller rinks, ice cream trucks, outdoor barbecues and smoking a spliff in the park in 1986.  Most of the tracks run from two to three minutes, so your attention span will never go into la-la land but…you’ll find yourself there anyway! Trust— it’s a good thing!  Tracks I most enjoyed were “My Tree,” “Theme from Paris,” “Good Things,” “Ka$H” and “Crystal Lite”—the last two featuring the soulful vocals of Deon Davis.  Welcome is as delicious as an order of Wing Stop fries. Seasoned heavily and sticks to you.