fromthedeepends - 1994 and Anitta

I’ve been coming across a lot of really dope fresh and independent hip hop and trap lately. fromthedeepends is definitely one of the standouts to me. 1994 was my first introduction to their work, with a really mellow and laid back groove, but a seriously thoughtful and technical flow throughout.

Anitta comes with a very different style, vibe and lyrical content. This one is much more focused on the flex and the complimentary pursuit of who I can only assume is Anitta. The Titanic reference tossed in was pretty great, and the whole track is dope from start to finish.

Also, both of these are up for free download, so grab them and put them in rotation, there’s nothing stopping you.

-KJ

FromThx L - Thx L Vol.1 EP

FromThx L reached out to me and put himself on my radar a little while back when he was putting out Who Am I?, which impressed me. Since then he’s come back with quality content with FWY and now with the Vol.1 EP. All 3 tracks have distinct flows and sounds, and feature different producers behind each beat ( RK, Black Mayo, TraxxHitmaker). The bars here are also tight, catchy, and reflective. Don’t sleep on this EP, and keep an eye on future work on Apple Music, Spotify, or Soundcloud.

-KJ

Johnny Utah - Skytop Garden

Sometimes a slightly drunken phone message makes the perfect intro to a fun and funky jam. Johnny Utah proves this in spades on Skytop Garden, released through Nice Guys Records. This is a jam, trust me. Have a listen below and I doubt you’ll disagree.

If you want purchasing or other platform streaming options, click here.

-KJ

Soft Eyez - Cup Noodles

Perfect for some Sunday relaxation, Effortless featured a beauty piece from Soft Eyez who brings a jazzy piano vibe and tosses a laid back beat down to round it all out. The warbles and echoes in the piano track keep you guessing a little as to what’s coming next. This is a short little jam that will make you want to repeat a few times through. You can also grab a free mp3 so you can loop it to your heart’s content.

-KJ

Anfa Rose - Come Clean

I came across Anfa Rose back in December, with his track I'm Good, which is also a heater if you haven't heard it yet. Following up his last single In and Out and his last longer release She Been Waiting II is Come Clean. I would say clean beats and heartfelt bars characterize most of Anfa Rose's body of work, and this is no exception. 

Shoutout to Palétte music's Youtube channel for uploading this:

-KJ

Lanzo x Yclept Insan - bloom.

With the Labour Day weekend here in Canada, we might as well call this one the Mellow Mid-Week post, but nonetheless we've got something chill and fresh for you today. Lanzo and Yclept Insan have dropped this little number entitled bloom. on Natural Selection just this morning. If you're into visuals as well, the Youtube video is here.

bloom. is a quick 2 minute hip hop jam, but when you have something this good, 2 minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven... there are some really interesting sounds in this one, with Lanzo and Yclept Insan obviously experimenting (successfully) with some ambient and off the wall sampling. It's all brought together with the simple hip hop break and the synth providing a the melodic portions to the track.

I haven't found anything in terms of release just yet, but enjoy the stream below.

- KJ

MORRT - Adore U

MORRT is back today with another free download follow up to his 3AM EP, Adore U. This is a funky sample-based piece fusion of a number of styles from hip hop to funk to house in the way only the producer from Derbyshire can. Clocking in at just under 3 minutes, it's short but oh so sweet. The horn section and vocal sample throughout really set the stage for the whole track with a nice summery vibe.

Seriously, this one is downloadable straight from the player below, so what are you waiting for? Follow MORRT on Soundcloud and grab all his other free downloads, or pick up his latest offering on iTunes - Dive Right In.

- KJ

JAHKOY - Still In Love (INSTRUM Remix)

INSTRUM has brought some serious deep house summer heat to JAHKOY's Still In Love, remixing the original into a hybrid of R&B, Hip Hop and Deep House.

From the first heavy but warm chords coming through, you know you're in for something great. With the first buildup coming early and the melodic bassline dropping in all before the one minute mark, the remix evolves quickly, but not abruptly. The original lyrics from JAHKOY are still very prominent, but the overall vibe on this remix is ready for the summer beach party or club. Overall, it's a super warm and catchy dance edit that you need to get into your music collection.

INSTRUM has released this as a free download as well, with the download being a full 320kbps extended mix.  If you've gotten this far and still haven't downloaded it, I'm not quite sure what you're doing. Did we mention it's FREE? Get on this.

- KJ

Soulstruck - Messy Bed w/ MKSB

For your Mellow Monday evening, we have a little hip hop instrumental gem from Soulstruck and MKSB. It also describes the state of my bedroom 99% of the time. Messy Bed features some funky instrumentation on the keys and guitar, with a swingy, laid back broken beat bringing it all together.  Have a listen, and enjoy the rest of your Monday night.

- KJ

Pools - Woods and Trails

If you haven't heard of Pools yet, you need to get yourself a Soundcloud account - as that seems to be where Pools has gained the most traction (Pools also has twitter and instagram accounts, but neither come close to the 13,000+ followers on Soundcloud). I came across Pools a while back as there was early support from Louis The Child, and I am glad for that.  There has been a ton of quality material on Soundcloud, though there are very few tracks that extend even past the 2:00 mark.  The short track length is partially what kept me from posting much of the material before, but definitely check the previous material.  They're all great productions, albeit short on time.

Woods and Trails is another example of this, clocking in at only 1:46.  Even in that short amount of time though, there are some really great places explored, with a really mellow and chilled back soundscape and an interesting vocal sample. It's got a bit of an electronica/hip hop vibe to it, but it's hard to pin down.  It seems that all of Pools' work has a strong experimental vibe to it, which is quite refreshing.  Check out the body of work available here.

- KJ

Flamingosis - Newski Album

It's no surprise that freshdrops has been feeling what Flamingosis has been putting out for some time.  I don't think there has been much material put out on his Soundcloud that we haven't posted, so why stop now?  The producer from New Jersey just put up a collection of 15 tracks that simply hadn't been released anywhere as of yet.  There may be a few tracks in here that sound familiar, as they've been included in some of the Friday Care Packages earlier in the year.  

Though the album spans a larger length of time between the earliest and most recently produced tracks, they all are recognizably Flamingosis, with his flare for meshing everything from Jazz, Swing and Funk into his Hip Hop beats.  This is all up for download from his Bandcamp Page here for just $7.

As if the 15 track album wasn't enough this week, Flamingosis also released an awesome Biggie remix, as a free download from his Soundcloud page. All you have to do to grab this is hit the download button in the embedded player here.

Also, if you haven't picked up the Kahunastyle album that was released earlier this year, get on it here.  It's also a free download.

- KJ

Gravez and ELHAE - Call Me Back

Atlanta artists Gravez and ELHAE teamed up to bring you this emotional hip hop and rnb jam called Call Me Back. I won't go to hard into lyric analysis, as you can tell where they're coming from just listening to the track. Think calling the ex. In any case, this track is a beautiful blend of production and vocal prowess alike in the style.

Call Me Back is up as a free download, scoop it here.

- KJ

falcxne - Tams

What's more relaxing than listening to a Canadian weather report with a smooth, funky and jazzy backing track? If you didn't have anything that fits this description before, it exists now, and it's pretty mellow.  Canadian producer falcxne got a bit experimental in sampling the news for his most recent free download Tams. Check this funky jam out, and hit the download button if you're feeling it.

And in case there was any doubt as to just how Canadian falcxne is, take into consideration that he put out two albums that are up as name-your-price on Bandcamp called Timbits and Timbits II. There are few things more Canadian than that!

- KJ

Harrison - Music To... Make Summer Love

Toronto producer Harrison just dropped a summer mix for i-D over the weekend for their "Music To..." series. Harrison's is entitled "Music To... Make Summer Love", and is aptly named for the music that is in the mix.  Packed with groovy, funky, summery music, this has everything from dreamy reworks of pop jams to funky nu disco and house tracks to hip hop and rap.  No download or tracklisting on this, so you'll have to use your ears, memory, or maybe Shazam to ID your personal gems from the mix. I know there are some Harrison originals along with some tracks from Jafunk, Geotherory and a Royce remix, but I won't ruin your track searching adventures.

Stream and enjoy the full mix below.

- KJ

JNTHN STEIN - Float ft. G.L.A.M.

JNTHN STEIN has recently teamed up with Oakland artist G.L.A.M. (Good Lyrics And Music) to put together Float. The lyricism in this has a strong current culture emphasis, as it seems to be a commentary on contemporary artist development and the internet culture. In terms of genre, the piece itself is tough to classify, but has definite elements of trap and hip hop as well as future beats. The vibe is an interesting mixture of chill and heavy, with a quite unexpected and really cool switch up at the end, moving the track into yet another genre descriptor with house elements coming in at the switch up.

Float was released through alaya. as a free download, so if this one is enjoyable to you, grab it through the shopping cart button in the player below.

- KJ

Friday Care Package - May 1st

- KJ

The Kount - Kount Edition 2

Toronto based producer The Kount has just uploaded Kount Edition 2, an EP of 4 edits. This is some really funky stuff on here, with an experimental blend of disco, hip hop, soul and electronica. My favourite from this EP would have to be The Kount's edit of FKJ's Lying Together with its laid back vibe and late onset synths. These elements paired with the percussion and tight vocal chops give it both a laid back and tight feel at the same time. But really, it's hard to find fault with any of the tracks on the EP - all 4 are thoroughly enjoyable.

The Kount has also gone through and made a bunch of his older work available as name your price/free, so browse through the albums on his Bandcamp page and pick up what sounds good to you!

- KJ

Rihanna - BBHMM (FAB & Alo Lee Cover)

Pop fans rejoice, we're posting another version of a top 40 track today. Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money has been covered and remixed in a collaboration between French producer FAB and vocalist Alo Lee. Though the lyrical content remains very much in tact, Alo Lee puts her spin on them and makes the demands for payment with sweet and smooth delivery. The backing track sends this cover/remix in another direction from the original, with mellow sustained synths, a subtle but effective bassline and assorted broken beat percussion.  

This version is an understated but very enjoyable take on Rihanna's hit, and FAB has uploaded it as a free download.  Grab this and while you're at it, check out the other quality remixes Fab has done - almost everything on FAB's Soundcloud is up as free downloads.

- KJ

Friday Care Package - April 24th

-KJ

Flamingosis - About A Week Ago // Gas Pedal

A couple chill hip hop jams coming in for Mellow Monday this week, from an artist that we've featured multiple times before - Flamingosis.  Both of these tracks are remixes that have been reworked to have a completely different feel from the originals, and into that funky, jazzy and loungey hip-hop flavour that is Flamingosis' specialty.

About A Week Ago... is a remix of Bobby Shmurda's Hot N*gga, which is a pretty heavy gangster rap originally - but the rework turns the vibe into a much more laid-back jazzy hip-hop jam. The original lyrics still flow without much editing aside from the tempo.

The second track is a remix of Sage The Gemini's Gas Pedal.  Again, this puts a really fresh groove on the original - Flamingosis keeps the lyrical content, and simply weaves a whole new backdrop that they are presented against. Similarly, this rework brings in some grooving guitar licks and brings that signature funky hip-hop sound.

Both of these are up for free download, so pick them up and add them into your collection of summer jams.

- KJ