Hit & Run Hip Hop 3 Items

Beat Soup V3 is a two-part 61-minute mix by the legendary RAS G made exclusively for HIT+RUN. Take a glance inside the artist's mind during the magic era between his classic Brainfeeder debut release 'Brotha From Anotha Planet" (2009) and his banging Leaving Records debut "El Alyien - Pt. 1`" (2010). Features original RAS G tracks, as well as songs & snippets by CO.FEE, Samiyam, Dibia$e, Madlib/dilla, Ghostface Killah / Theodore Unit, Jonwayne, Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer, Frank Zappa, Young Black Preachers, ODD Future, Hudson Mohawke, GB, Funkineven, Fatima, DAM Funk, Prefuse 73, THE Nonce, Teebs, SUN RA & many more. Shout out to Lord Lanique Shabazz AKA Black SUN GOD THE EMPEROR...JR.

In 2008 I came across a box of 7” tapes at an estate sale in Altadena. The woman there said that they had belonged to her father and were “field recordings” of a turn-of-the century orchestra. It took me maybe another year to actually load them up and transfer them to the computer. When I did, what I found was an incredible documentation of indigenous folkloric music that was meticulously recorded and then later transferred to 2-track tape sometime in the 1960’s. The tapes were labeled “Contact Field Orchestra”-- a collection of field recordings that seem to date from sometime around the turn of the 20th century (possibly a little earlier). After transferring the tapes and cleaning them up as best I could, I discovered that due to the frequency range, they must have been recorded largely with hand-made piezo transducers of some sort. Some of the tapes were partially destroyed, so I found that I had to re-play or play over the songs as best I could to fill-in and augment the original ideas. I tried to stay as true to the original recordings as much as possible. I’ll admit I took some liberties with the EQ (perhaps too much...) and where applicable added a small amount of delay and reverb to accent the track. (Okay, and maybe a few electric guitars...sue me.) The result, I think, is an amazing collection of esoteric folk recordings of a mysterious band of San Gabriel miners turned musicians. Apparently having given-up after the gold boom, these folks stayed in what would later become Upper Mallard Canyon in Altadena -- living in the old Dawn’s Mine shaft, and crafting their own instruments from discarded mining equipment and whatever small guitars and banjos they had brought with them. The sound this orchestra created is like something out of a Jim Jarmusch film, and reminds me of an old Library of Congress or Folkways recording. The music itself is full of opposites -- hypnotizing and odd; meditative and jarring. It’s strangely familiar, but also distantly unrecognizable. Some songs are more minimalist in their approach, building up a rhythm with mbiras and percussion, while others seem to have much more harmony and tonal structure and almost Blues/Country feel. Either way, they had me hooked from the first bar, and I find myself returning to it again and again, irregardless of my heavy-handed noodling... I’m really happy to have discovered this, and I hope you are too. All the best, Damon Aaron / “Sounds like Tom Waits and Augustus Pablo smoking opium on the bayou.” - Kutmah

Jeremiah Jae (aka Black Daffi) is an experimental hip-hop artist born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He is a visual artist, producer, emcee and founding member of Black Jungle Squad, a music collective consisting of close friends and family. Early works by Jae dating back to 2007, display his unique style and approach to crafting his own version of “hip-hop”. The genre is one of many foundations the artist uses to communicate his range of styles as shown on previous self-released albums, compilations and collaborations (Holy Smoke, Oliver The 2nd, L’Orange, CohenBeats, PBDY), as well as praiseworthy offerings on Brainfeeder and Warp Records. With his newest solo album DAFFI, Jae expands on his production and speaks in the persona of his alter ego to express a darker side. The 16-track self-produced album was recorded in both Chicago and his Los Angeles home studio The Black Light. Contributions by fellow Black Jungle Squad brethren Oliver The 2nd (“Backpacks”), The Koreatown Oddity (“Figure Skating”), Busdriver (“In Da Zone”), Karenbe (“All Me”), and his legendary band leader and musician father Robert Irving III (“Nefertiti”) help carry the album to exalted heights and somber lows. It is with much merit for anyone to experience such a wide range of emotions, yet return to an even heightened state of artistry with such artistic beauty and grace. Jeremiah Jae’s DAFFI will be released with Los Angeles artist crew HIT+RUN assisting with the glorious double vinyl offering (plus 16-page full-color art book featuring stunning supplementary graphic work by Jae) with collectible one-of-a-kind screenprinted jackets. All of the double 12” vinyl of this modern classic include five bonus tracks (“Bells”, “Field”, “Harpoon”, “Know You” ft. Trent Truce, and a Jae remix of “Streetwatchers”) not available on the digital release.