Galaxy Sound Hip Hop 5 Items

Kaito, an out cold skater as well, has a couple of self-releases you can find on his Bandcamp page, which are solid & sound at home alongside his pop’s ( Todd Osborn) Ghostly International releases. This 7” EP outing spins at 33 1/3 to pack in as much as GSC can squeeze in & is straight up beatloverz heaven. What is impressive, for this old timer, is how clearly deep Kaito’s musical knowledge goes. He clearly has learned well from his father & all the good music he certainly has had at his fingertips. From Madlib to Os Mutantes to Fela Kuti to J Dilla & other artists who were not afraid to dig deep & unearth beats & melodies to tickle your fancy, Kaito’s tastes are as refined as anyone in the game. I know a number of the original source materials that comprise each track, but that I leave to you to dig out for yourself. Here I encourage you to open your eardrums & listen deep with your fav pair of headphones & let each track wash over you. From straight forward head-nodding hip-hop thumpers to beautiful Brazilian femme fatale vocals that lure you into the loop, to a Afrobeat driver that’ll break ya neck, to a mellow, soulful MPC hopper that will lovingly recall a Arlo Parks joint, to then closes out with a synth-laden spaced-out dreamy loop to end credits.

$1 Bin Breaks: Sakura (Edit) by Odetta / On The Hill (Edit) by Oliver Sain / Enchanted Lady (Edit) by Milt Jackson With The Ray Brown Big Band b/w Survival (Edit) by Annette Peacock / Sunrise (Edit) by The Originals / A Few More Kisses To Go (Edit) by Issac Hayes / Go On & Cry (Edit) by Les McCann | Galaxy Sound Company — Gsc45-041 | Very special hot-off-the-test-presses donut via the always on-point @galaxy_sound_company crew. This will be number 41 in their cop-on-site 45 series, set to be released in 2024. This time out we are treated to 7 “$1 Bin Breaks” &, as with many in the Gsc45 series, these are the sources of some of your fav hip-hop jams.

Side A: 1) “Sakura” by Odetta; Sampled in “Tried By 12” by The East Flatbush Posse

2) “On The Hill” by Oliver Sain; Sampled in “Tell Me” by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, “Day One” by D.I.T.C., “Young G’s” by Puff Daddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z & Kelly Price

3) “Enchanted Lady” by Milt Jackson With The Ray Brown Big Band; Sampled in “Dinnit” by De La Soul, “Escape” & “Carmel City” by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, & “Ijuswannachill“ by Large Professor

Side B: 1) “Survival” by Annette Peacock; Sampled in “Braggin' Writes” by J-Live, “Rules We Live By” by Lord Finesse, “Scientists of Sound” by Brand Nubian, “Kunta Fly Shit “by Ghostface Killah, “Video Game” by J Dilla

2) “Sunrise” by The Originals; Sampled in “Accepte Mon Concept” by 2 Bal 2 Neg' & “Guess Who’s Back” by Scarface, Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel

3) “A Few More Kisses To Go” by Issac Hayes; Sampled in “Tonight's Da Night” by Redman, “Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)” by Snoop Dogg, “Rough Life” by Shabba Ranks, “Is There a Heaven 4 a Gangsta?” by Master P, “B-Cuz I Got a Girl” by Nate Dogg, “The Life” by Alicia Keys

4) “Go On & Cry” by Les McCann; Sampled in “Tha Next Episode” by Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, “Runnin' Wit No Breaks" by Warren G, “No Pain” by Lords of the Underground

Strictlybutters is a music lover, DJ, skateboarder, cyclist, and sneakerhead. He is also a dad with a full-time career, who somehow still manages to go cratedigging on his lunchbreaks. Strictlybutters fully embraces that Danny Tanner "Full House" lifestyle and comes from the same small town that gave us Lyman Woodard. When he is not doing yardwork, making dinner for his daughter, or detailing his Jeep, he is upstairs in his lab making beats, cutting up the 1200's, or listening to music. Strictlybutters is meticulous in everything he does. Although he has been buying records since the early '80s and beat digging since '91, every record that he owns is a gem. His choice of weapon is the Mpc3000, Mpc2000xl, and Sp-303, and he only uses original pressings when making beats. He has also been skating and landing tricks consistently for nearly 30 years, has a half dozen rare '80s BMX cruisers that he rides no matter the weather, as well as a massive collection of kicks. Strictlybutters' love for hip hop began like most people his age who grew up outside of the vicinity of NYC... after seeing "Beat Street" and "Breakin'", he was hooked. He was heavy into breakdancing in '83-'84 and began listening to The Boogie's "Saturday Night Fresh" hip hop/electro show on 107.1FM-Saginaw. In '89, he started listening to the "Cultural Vibe" hip hop show on 88.9FM-Lansing, and it cannot be understated just how important this show was to him throughout the '90s. Also, throughout the '90s and even to this day, Strictlybutters would drive all over Michigan to hit up numerous record spots. If the record excursion took place on a Friday, it was a guarantee that he would end up in Detroit. Every Friday night between '95-'00, you could always find Strictlybutters somewhere in the crowd at St. Andrew's Hall while House Shoes and others would DJ. In the late '90s, Strictlybutters began to hang out with the Starving Artists Crew and would eventually become one of their DJ's. He provided scratches on their first 12" single in ’01 (“Four Square”), and on their "Up Pops The Sac" album in ’03 (“Intro”, “The Kick Clap”, “Up Pops The Sac”, and “96 West Ferry”). It was the time that he spent with the Starving Artists Crew that got him interested in making beats. Ever since '03, Strictlybutters has been making classic '90s hip hop beats for the fun of it, with no intention of ever doing anything with them… until now. In ‘20, he worked with Shepard Fairey (obey) and contributed a couple of Strictlybutters beats that were used in multiple promo spots for the New Deal x Shepard Fairey skateboard collection. And in ’21, Strictlybutters will be releasing his first 7” single on the Galaxy Sound Co. label, with more to come in the future!

Loud & Clear / N.O.R.E (Buttas Remix) b/w Cherry Blossoms (Love Notes Mix) by Strictlybutters | Galaxy Sound Co. – GSC 45-038 | Summer time vibes are here & @galaxy_sound_company is back at it with another sure-shot #hiphop donut via @strictlybutters. I got my hands on an advance copy of a limited-run test pressing & it is cut loud! Ya know ya will be boomin’ in ya, boomin’ in ya, boomin’ this in ya jeep!

Galaxy Sound Co. started taking these occasional fire #hiphopinstrumental interlude breaks from their 45 edit series to shine light on the Michigan skateboarder, cyclist, sneaker-head & bedroom b-boy beat maker Strictlybutters. With the 38th donut in the GSC 45 series, he is making his 3rd appearance on the label & it is another banger.

Side A1’s “Loud & Clear” is a straight-up, warm-up boom-bap banger. It effortlessly, teases along by MC royalty with a sweet soulful piano riff rolling along MPC delights. A joyful crowd is weaved through a familiar GWJ break calling you do get up & get down. A2’s “N.O.R.E. (Buttas Remix)” teases with a buttery-soul laced rework of with a snippet from Noreaga’s “SuperThug”. The only fault here being SB only gives us a taste at just over a minute long. More please.

Side B’s “Cherry Blossoms (Love Notes Mix)” is a killer joint in the vein of 90s hip-hop love jams, with the core sample being one of my fav sweet soul songs from Detroit, 1969’s “Maybe So Maybe No” by the New Holidays (Soulhawk Records 1008). SB lets this beat breathe to perfection, rolling fa-la-la-la’s that slide into a sexy outro.

PBS Nights (Star Hustler) b/w Turn. It. Up. by Strictly Butters | Gsc45-34 Galaxy Sound Co. | Even better, I love it when the always on-point @galaxy_sound_company takes a surprising turn from the edit game to drop another sure shot by Michigan beat maestro @strictlybutters. It’s the second release on GSC by the Owosso, MI skateboarder, cyclist & sneaker-head. He is a deep digging vinyl head, dad, & brilliant bedroom beat maker & now gifts us with another super sweet pair of hip-hop instrumentals. Side A’s “P.B.S.” recalls a 70s Public Broadcast Service afternoon with my babysitter aka the TV. Rolling piano & warpy keyboards over a tight drum break was a perfect soundtrack for me while walking my Detroit streets on a sunny afternoon. The vibe comes correct. Side B “Turn It Up“ bounces effortlessly and simply to do what Strictly Butters says, the sweet soul guitar riff will force you to turn the knob up to 11. So whatcha waitin’ for son?