After hours grooving…
1. Gangstarr – Full Clip
Just loved this album so much. Was a good time in music. One their best albums.
2. School Boy Q – Man of the Year
I like the sound and beat of this record. School Boy Q always comes with a big energy, so him over this type of track is going to make it off the hook.
3. Zion I – Coastin
Classic Zion I song, had to represent… plus people like me in that white suit LOL.
4. Flume – Holdin On
This song hits really hard and I like the way he freaked the vocals. Classic album also.
5. Jurassic 5 – Whats Golden
I was so excited to get a song like this by my homies J5. I could spin it in any type of situation with any type of crowd.
6. Queens Of The Stone Age – Go With The Flow
A wore this album in the ground. Every song classic. This just a crazy video… but you could pick any song off “Songs for the Deaf”.
7. Action Bronson – Shiraz
I like this dude a lot… he has a strong as vibe that reminds me of Ghost Face. This song is dope because of the sample and his flow.
8. System Of A Down – Chop Suey
Another hard ass classic album. System of a Down was hardcore rock with a message… you can’t beat that.
9. The Streets – Turn the Page
This album changed the way I was making music… was off the hook with the beats and flows. Turn the Page had me hooked with the beautiful strings in the back.
10. Mad Villian – America’s Most Blunted
Madvillian was just a super classic album. This was probably the biggest song on the album. Just liked how straight forward it was.
AMP LIVE ‘Headphone Concerto’ (Plug Research Records)
A concerto takes an audience on a journey in multiple movements through contrast between instruments. Only achieved by those who have mastered their craft, Amp Live has mastered his craft of programming producing and arranging through his decade plus catalogue with Zumbi as the acclaimed hip hop group Zion I and stellar remix and solo work.
Headphone Concerto is Amp Live’s long-awaited solo UK debut album and first via LA-based Plug Research. The carefully crafted album draws on his childhood playing drums in a Black Baptist Church and hanging out with the local skaters listening to New Wave in the Texan suburbs. He spent his formative college years in jam sessions that later informed his high-energy live shows. Early days in the Bay area cultivated a passion for experimental electronic music that crept into his hip-hop before it was trendy, even allowing the producer to remix several tracks from Radiohead’s seventh album In Rainbows.
Amp Live’s Headphone Concerto is the second solo release from the producer Zion I and his first project for Plug Research Music. Amp Live has worked with the likes of The Grouch & Eligh, Bassnectar, Fashawn, Myka Nyne, Mike G, Saint Timbre and many more.
Amp’s solo LP draws on all those memories and ultilizes every muscle in his musical memory. The result is something that has a bit of everything but defies conventional classification. The sweeping cello paired with the melodic synth on “Runback” and the orchestral strings that somehow coalesce with the flow of some of California’s best MC’s on “IHeartHipHop” both explore different facets and incarnations of love.
Ill Esha’s guest vocals swell up in an undeniable electronic rhythm on the infectious “are We Dancing”. Amp then finds transcendence on “100,000 Watts” via shuffle-inspired bass and fierce synth stabs, taking us on a journey through the abyss.
“Penny Nickel and Dime” challenges us to examine our relationship to money while bopping to some buttery jazz horns. “Hustle 360” extends that message with an understated groove and Povi Tamu’s strong yet delicate voice.
Through his knowledge of hip-hop, electronica, jazz and indie music, Amp weaves a sonic tapestry that ebbs and flows in movements. Each song has touches and flourishes from multiple genres and it will depend on the individual how each track is perceived. The cello may stand out more to those who have studied music, the drums may attract the hip-hop heads and dancefloor junkies might gravitate towards the electronic elements.
Through a blending of drum machines, live instruments, singers and rappers together, Amp Live is a modern day composer creating a concerto that is accessible for all.
AMP LIVE ‘Headphone Concerto’ (Plug Research Records) is out on 4th August 2014
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