THE RETURN OF SOUL BOULDERS

Soul Boulders 2 has arrived, and it more than lives up to my ridiculously high expectations. As defined on the original mix’s packaging, Soul Boulders are slow, funky soul burners. Volume 2 hews closely to that theme, and incorporates some slightly left-of center ‘real-people’ moments that keep the listening experience lively. Revered Bay Area DJs and collectors DJ B.Cause and Matthew Africa have perfected the soul mix formula: Forgoing unnecessary intros and drops, assuring the songs are obscure without being rare for rarity’s sake, keeping the mixing minimal and letting the songs speak for themselves. Some tastefully chosen covers and forays into gospel broaden the sonic palette without distracting from the mix’s purpose. SB2 gets the Nerdtorious seal of approval! – Nate LeBlanc

Purchase the mix HERE or if you’re in the Bay Area wait until the physical copies arrive at Groove Merchant. Below are snippets off Soul Boulders 2 put together by B.Cause. “Part 2 in a series of carefully selected and mixed soul jams – for serious connoisseurs and casual listeners alike.”

Matthew Africa has been by Nerdtorious, read his post HERE. B.Cause will be dropping by with a guest spot soon, stay tuned!

Action Packed Rhymes.

“Amuse bouche”, “duck prosciutto” and “Tunisian olives” are a few things Action Bronson raps about. The Albanian chef / Flushing, Queens rapper has been on a rampage with his Dr. Lector album and more recently (and more impressively) his Bon Appetit…Bitch mixtape.

The first thing that strikes you is the voice– he sounds like Ghostface, a lot like Ghostface. Dude can’t help but be born with the same voice as one of the best to ever do it but the comparisons are indeed merited. In fact, he could distance himself a bit more (Wallabee references aren’t helping). Having said that, his approach is different too; he’s a bit less sporadic, less funnier than Ghost altogether while his culinary nods do add a different (pardon the pun) flavor to his rhymes. Plus, the gritty NY production hits hard, an aesthetic that fits Bronson’s agressive blunt smoking, women chasing narratives.

His career is on the upswing and we dig what we’ve heard. Check his newest work, Well Done (produced by Statik Selektah), out next week. Stay tuned for an exclusive food related Q&A with Bronson coming soon!

For now, peep “Not Enough Words” off Well Done in stores next week.

Dawn’s Arrival

Adrian Younge’s awaited second project, Venice Dawn, Something About April comes out this week via Wax Poetics Records. We’re fans of Adrian ever since he came correct on the Black Dynamite OST, producing, playing, composing and arranging the score and original music. Adrian (and his band) have been touring the US, bringing live show madness to audiences ever since. Peep our in-depth, exclusive interview with Adrian HERE and take a listen to “Thunderstrike”, a track off the new album which features Shawn Lee, the legendary Dennis Coffey and others.

“Thunderstrike” off the upcoming Adrian Younge presents Venice Dawn Something About April

* FREE download of Adrian’s Venice Dawn teaser EP (all original compositions) HERE