Gold Panda - Clarke's Dream

If you've been following Digital Drop you'll know that from time to time I like to hit you guys with something that isn't Rap/Hip-Hop well today is one of those days. You guys also know how rare it is that I post instrumentals at all, so with all that in mind enter "Clarke's Dream" from UK producer Gold Panda. I won't get into the details of way I like this track, I just do, simple as that. This is just here for your listening pleasure as a suggestion from your favorite anonymous blogger. I do want to link it all back to Hip-Hop though, I only know who GP is thanks to Pitchfork and more importantly Curren$y all because of this legendary piece of footage here. 

"All I know is..."

PARTYNEXTDOOR - Her Way

OVO's PARTYNEXTDOOR follows up "West District" with his latest sporadic single "Her Way" as per the usual with PND it's mostly melodic mumbles over a chill beat. No word on if this is from an upcoming project or when that'll come other then this. 

[Video] Flying Lotus - Phantasm ft Laura Darlington

Track sixteen from Fly Lo's 2012 album Until the Quiet Comes gets the visual treatment from director Markus Hofko who crafts a video just as unique and odd as its creator.

Plue Starfox - Persian Rugs (Glitch Edit)

Plue Starfox is an absolute mad genius. If you follow him on SoundCloud you'll know that he is prone to sporadically drop songs, remixes and even whole projects. Today I bring you his awesome glitch edits of PARTYNEXTDOOR's anti-friendzone anthem "Persian Rugs".

"Hey...listen!"

SZA - Childs Play ft Chance The Rapper

Songstress SZA liberates "Childs Play" featuring Chance The Rapper, who was rumored to have material with TDE's leading lady earlier this year. Although I've heard multiple artists use XXYYXX's "About You" and am actually tired of hearing it, I have to admit this take on it is pretty refreshing. With additional production from Dae One, SZA's smokey mesmerizing voice sounds amazing and Chance cleans up the end of the track with a few nice bars. All in all a short track to get the blogs buzzing and wanting more. Z drops April 8th.  

Louseph Bruise Em' - Overboard ft Kendall Elijah

Louseph Bruise Em' has never been afraid to step out and experiment when it comes to his music but his latest drop "Overboard" just might be his most unconventional. Backed by some melancholy production from frequent collaborator Steve Dreez, Lou and Kool Klux Klan's Kendall Elijah speak on love lost and moving on. Be sure to keep a lookout for Lou's Give Me Happy which drops later this year.

mattVISTA - Vignettes ft Smokei Grey & Moonlight Mask

Fort Washington native mattVISTA has come along from when I first heard him way back in 2011, his sound has evolved since then moving from a electronic hip-hop base to more of a acoustic ambient base at least for this track "Vignettes". Which is unlike anything I've ever heard from the DMV area, Matt truly is in a league of his own. Most producers have the ability to switch up their sound but this is a true example of being versatile, a absolutely great track.

BADBADNOTGOOD - CS60

Toronto Jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD released "CS60" the latest single from their upcoming LP III. BBNG has been one of the most creative musical acts in recent years and if their third album sounds anything like this that trend will continue. 

Manuel Fresco - Andromeda

Producer Manuel Fresco is back with his latest track "Andromeda" and as you can probably guess from the title it features a space theme. I have to give props to dude he sent me this track a while back before it was finished and I definitely didn't think it would end up sounding like this. This honestly might be my favorite track from him. Fresco remains to be one of the few producers I actually enjoy listening to and a promising one at that. Every time I hear something new from him it's always an improvement over the last, not too many artists I know can do that. Be sure to check out his debut project 19 and look for more material from him in the future.

High Class Filth - Filth Y Moi II

It's been a year since I've had High Class Filth on the site, mostly due to me and my loafing, the homie has definitely been busy. After dropping the excellent Perfect Nudes Forever back in May, Filth kept busying by releasing a few tracks in between the months and landing his first album placement on A$AP Ferg's Trap Lord co-producing the track "Cocaine Castle" along with Subdaio, you can say 2013 was a good year for the young producer. Filth looks to build upon that success and start the New Year off strong with the follow up to last years Filth Y Moi.

On FYM II it's pretty much the same formula as the last, however after using Toro's first two albums Causers of This and Underneath The Pine, this time around Filth mainly uses tracks from Chad's latest Anything In Return. Which is a pretty big task in itself seeing how that album gained a lot critical acclaim and ended up in the Top 5 of most Album of The Year lists. If anything it shows just how much confidence Filth has in himself and his abilities.

As I stated earlier most of the material is taken from 2013's Anything In Return the tracks being "Cake" "Rose Quartz" "Harm in Change" "Grown Up Calls" and "Never Matter" leaving "Talamek" as the sole song sampled that's not from the album. I must say I hold this album in high regard and Filth did every track justice, especially "Rose Quartz" which is my favorite. I was both hoping and worried that Filth would pick that one to sample but he definitely killed it. After seeing what he was able to accomplish last year I'm excited to see what 2014 has in store for Filth. I know one thing that I can always expect when it come to him and that is great music, for me as a fan, that's more than enough.

Download or Stream below:

[Album Review] Akoko - CAT•A•RAPS

Way back in February of last year I got hip to Akoko through their excellent collaboration with SIR E.U simply known as "Thee Hipókolypse" featuring some crazy lyricism and great production from Plue Starfox. Akoko comprised of Sugg Savage and Sloane Amelia, is a group based in D.C. and one of the best acts from the area which already features great talent (if you follow this blog, something you'll know). I type this next sentence fully aware of what I'm stating and I stand by it.

Akoko is the female version of Outkast.

Hopefully you haven't exited out of the page and are still reading this, if so thanks if not...well...I guess you really can't see this so...yeah...back to what I said. As I got further and further into CAT•A•RAPS I couldn't help but think this over and over. Sugg and Sloane not only match the legendary ATLiens in terms of chemistry as a duo but also in creativity. If you haven't seen any of their videos I suggest you stop reading and do so. See what I mean? They aren't the typical "I'm a boss ass bitch. My pussy good. 5 Star Chick" that most female rappers seem to be. Just like how Andre and Big Boi aren't typical "My nigga, my nigga. Cars, clothes, bitches" rappers. They're both different but it doesn't come off as forced to stand out it's just natural. 

One of the most overlooked things in Hip-Hop now is track chemistry, in today's Hip-Hop collaborations are rarely about genuine respect for other artist's craft but about a quick cash grab. Even today's music groups are more of collectives, just a bunch of artists behind one brand but not really a music group. Akoko is a group. The ladies flow and trade off each other perfectly, their chemistry is one of the main things that made me initially make the comparison.

With that being said I've already spent too much time on the subject and I want this to be a review of CAT•A•RAPS not them as a group. To get to the project itself, barely released before the New Year, it definitely was one of the sleeper hits of 2013. I had high expectations after hearing them initially and I can say that after hearing the full project they were definitely met and even exceed at times. 

I knew coming in that CAT•A•RAPS was going to be different but I didn't expect what I ended up hearing. To call this a rap album would be incorrect, it's more than that. Combining elements of Neo-Soul, Electronic, Alternative and even some Reggae CAT•A•RAPS transcends the genres to become something truly unique. Sloane and Sugg never sound out of element either, whether clever wordplay, viscous bars, rapid multi syllables flows or even beautiful harmonizing they can do it all and well. 

I don't want to bore you with anymore reading (there is already a lot) I try to keep these short but this review was different. 2013 was a great year of music and finding Akoko and CAT•A•RAPS are among my personal highlights. There isn't much else to say other then listen and hopefully you enjoy CAT•A•RAPS as much as I do.

Standout Tracks: A++, Deadly Venom, Dogma (The Sparrow), No Offer, Royal Flush, The Blair Witch Project & Thee Hipókolypse

FINAL VERDICT

+ Excellent lyricism

+ Great track presence 

+ Multi displays of high level emceeing skill

+ Creativity

- One or two lacking tracks

9/10

[Beat Tape] Louseph Bruise Em' - STUCKinTheSeven

Louseph Bruise Em' aka Latin Lou aka Young Lou is back with a all new beat tape entitled STUCKinTheSeven around twenty minutes long and apparently made all while stuck in a basement. Lou proved he has the ability to create excellent production in no time back when he collaborated with SIR E.U on HÜLAGÜSH (which was made in less then 24 hours) and this project further cements that. Featuring only instrumentals, aside from a few drops from the immaculate Dookie Armstrong, 50 Cal. and a preview of a song from his upcoming project Give Me Happy. From random DJ Paul vocal samples (great song choice Lou) to what I believe has to be the song that plays in Heaven's elevator right around the twelve minute mark and those unorthodox sound patterns that we've come to expect from Lou it's all here stuck in the seven right along with Lou. To wrap this up, in what has since become a tradition, as I always say good shit Lou and I hope you make it out that basement my friend...you deserve it.

Stream & Download below:

[Video] Toro Y Moi - Rose Quartz & Say That (Live Performance)

Toro Y Moi stopped by the Jimmy Kimmel Show last night and performed "Rose Quartz" and "Say That" off his latest album Anything In Return. If you haven't checked out the album yet, do so, it's my favorite non Rap album of the year.

SLK - Ride

SLK (pronounced Silk) is an alternative-soul singer based out of London, her debut single "Ride" is her introduction to the world. With some production courtesy of Embody, SLK croons over the dark melodic atmospheric vibe of the track and with a uniquely strong voice compared to today's light hush R&B princesses, SLK is sure to standout. 

[Submission] Timmie - Aura

Arkansas producer Timmie recently dropped his album Aura and while short in duration it is an enjoyable listen. Aura's best quality is the trance like state you fall into listening to it, all eight tracks really flowed cohesively together. Credit to Timmie for that. I normally don't enjoy purely instrumental albums but this one is really nice.

SZA - Teen Spirit (prod. WondaGurl)

TDE's leading lady SZA dropped her first track "Teen Spirit" under her new label featuring some excellent production from fellow up and comer WondaGurl. I wouldn't mind hearing more collaborations between these two in the future. Between her, Isaiah Rashad and the Black Hippy crew TDE is looking like one of the most talented labels in the game.

Tourist - Stay

Every now and then I like to switch it up on Digital Drop and give you something behinds Hip-Hop/Rap, I recently came across this joint while on SoundCloud and it's pretty dope. It's a track called "Stay" from London producer Tourist the track itself is very minimalistic sans a vocal sample and a synth melody. I personally don't like electronic music all that much but this is definitely nice. Check it out and let me know what you think.

SNDCLSH - THIEVES

SNDCLSH the duo of DJ Lupe Fiasco and DJ Sky Gellatly recently dropped their second single "THIEVES" which features production from SNDCLSH and DJ Kue. Lupe harmonizes well and delivers vocally, with great production and a catchy hook don't be surprised if this is all over the radio. 

[EP] Louseph Bruise Em' - SHANGRILA

Producer Gawd, Louseph Bruise Em' is back with SHANGRILA another instrumental EP and if his words hold truth his last. Lou stated on Twitter that he will start focusing on rapping and producing together, hopefully this is a sign that his album A W H O L E will drop soon. Back to the tape though, it is Lou once again expanding his sound and experimenting successfully I might add. Most impressively flipping Annie Lennox's "No More I Love You's" recently used in Nicki Minaj's "Your Love".  I've literally run out of ways to describe Lou and his skills, so just listen and form your own opinion. Be sure to check out his other instrumental tapes TRIP and Como Sea and look for his album A W H O L E to drop sometime this year. As always, good shit Lou.

Stream below and/or download.

[EP] Cocaine 80s - The Flower Of Life

Cocaine 80s, a collective of artists such as Common, Jhene Aiko, James Fauntleroy II, Kevin Randolph, and Makeba Riddick, recently put out their fourth project The Flower Of Life. Featuring an alternative vibe this project isn't for everyone but if you enjoy alternative R&B/Hip-Hop I'd recommend you give it a listen.