Fresh Selects » Fresh Kept Secrets

FRESH KEPT SECRET: yU presents… Charlie Ross – The Charlie Ross Project

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:48:07 +0000

Keeping in line with this last week’s theme, I’ve got even more DMV area hip-hop for you guys today – and this time its an exclusive first look into an emerging talent from the region. Charlie Ross is a producer/MC that holds true to hip-hop’s more raw and bare-boned boom bap days, while still pushing things forward for today. Charlie is originally from Midland, Pennsylvania but is currently based out of the DC area – however, the EP in question today, entitled The Charlie Ross Project, was actually recorded in 2007 when he was living out in Okinawa, Japan.

I was first put onto his music through a mutual friend, yU of Diamond District, who has been working on a project with Charlie as of late and also appears on the Project’s bonus track, “Nuthin Can.” Be on the look out for yU & Charlie Ross’ Done Deal EP as well as Charlie’s Crate Music beat tape – both of which are on their way in the coming months.

You can preview three tracks from The Charlie Ross Project before downloading the full EP below and hit me some with feedback by leaving a comment. Also, big ups to 00Genesis for providing the artwork.

Charlie Ross “The Sparkoff”

Charlie Ross “Lights Low (It’s Time)

Charlie Ross “Nuthin Can” (feat. yU)

DOWNLOAD: Charlie Ross – The Charlie Ross Project

STAY TUNED: Much more from Charlie Ross & yU coming here soon

FRESH KEPT SECRET: ADaD – Intro To ADaD Mixtape Mixed by DJ Tone B. Nimble

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:49:26 +0000

Here is the FRESHclusive premiere of the brand new mixtape from one of my new favorite MC’s, ADaD (pronounced uh-dod). Coming out of Chicago, ADaD has been making a name for himself as part of the All Natural, Inc. crew for years now, releasing both an EP and full-length release as one half of the group, Eulorhythmics, with producer Kenny Keys. Recently, he’s been making a lot of noise as a solo artist with The Unbenounced Mixtape – a free download project where he brings a whole new light to the Music From The Color Purple beat CD (which in itself was a free download, inspired by a certain Minneapolis funk pioneer).

I personally first heard of ADaD from Exile and DJ Day, who both went out of their way to recommend his music to me on separate occasions, coincidentally on the same night. So with my interest officially sparked, I checked him out only to be pleasantly surprised that he lived up to all that they were saying, and then some. ADaD is what I consider to be a total-package MC – he effortlessly flips an array of topics through countless styles and cadences, all matched with catchy, well-written hooks and a choice selection of beats. After immediate and endless replays of his mixtape, he has quickly cemented his place in a very small group of up-and-coming/current MC’s that I’m truly impressed with these days.

So, if you’re like me and are just now catching on to ADaD this late in the game (but yet still so early) – his latest offering, the Intro To ADaD mixtape is the perfect place to start. It serves as a smorgasbord of old, current and upcoming music of his, all mixed by All Natural’s own, DJ Tone B. Nimble. Included are tracks featuring original production from Black Spade and Kenny Keys, as well as ADaD’s fresh takes on familiar instrumentals by Dilla, Madlib, Exile and more. For further listening, I’ve also included a download link to the full Unbenounced Mixtape, courtesy of AllNaturalHipHop.com.

You can preview tracks from Intro To ADaD before downloading both that and Unbenounced below. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Also, special shout to my official Chicago connect, DJ Sean Doe (who also co-hosts Intro) for helping making this all happen and for supporting since day one.

ADaD “Blown” (prod. Black Spade)

ADaD “Bitch” (Black Milk beat)

ADaD “Get It”

DOWNLOAD: ADaD – Intro To ADaD Mixtape

BONUS DOWNLOAD: ADaD – The Unbenounced Mixtape

SUPPORT: Eulorhythmics (ADaD & Kenny Keys) – Extended Play on iTunes

WEEKEND BEATS #6: Hi-Res – 1080 Beats

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:39:56 +0000

Bringing the Weekend Beats back from a brief hiatus with the latest project from a rising Portland talent, Hi-Res. This batch, entitled 1080 Beats, picks up where last year’s Sittin’ Up In My Room left off with more laidback but still headnoddin & bump-worthy beats. I selected a few tracks from SUIR for both the Loose Joints mix and the FSR #1 podcast, so it was only right I bring you guys the next installment.

Look out for much more from Hi-Res coming in the near future – including a collaboration EP with DaveNotti entitled The New Chill. More on that one coming soon. In the meantime, preview three highlights from 1080 below before getting the full download below. Leave a comment and lemme know what you think.

Also, huge thanks to Craig Sprecher of Adventures In Space for providing the artwork.

Hi-Res “He’lyin”

Hi-Res “Funkshuns”

Epp & DaveNotti “Thrilla (Hi-Res Remix)”

DOWNLOAD: Hi-Res – 1080 Beats

ALSO SEE: Hi-Res – Sittin’ Up In My Room

STAY TUNED: DaveNotti x Hi-Res – The New Chill coming soon

FRESH KEPT SECRET: Dolphin – Mono vs. Stereo Collection

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:01:30 +0000

Now this is a post I’ve been meaning to make since before I even started this site – and I finally think that the timing is right. Truthfully, Dolphin is still somewhat of a mystery to me. But I don’t think he’d have it any other way. I do know that he is an extremely talented solo artist (singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer) that has about 36 self-recorded full length projects to his name. I’ve heard and/or obtained somewhere around 8 or 10 or so of these, and each one is just as great as the next. Along with his solo work, he also leads an equally impressive full live band, The Airmath, and has also collaborated with artists such as Ge-ology, Waajeed/PPP, Spank Rock, Anti-Pop Consortium, Primus Luta and more. His sounds is what I image Prince would sound like if he had never signed with a label and did all his recordings at home, Cody ChesnuTT-style – but even that is a disservice to what it is that Dolphin does.

To better acquaint with that sound – I’ve got the Mono vs. Stereo Collection, which I think has a nice, concise starter kit for the world of Dolphin. Included here are five full length songs, giving you just a taste of what he has to offer. Here’s some more info on the collection, swiped from his blog:

“In 2005, PRPS Jeans of Tokyo Japan wanted a free promo to give away. At the time Dolphin was doing music for Akademiks and PRPS Jeans were an affiliate. He decided to put together five songs as a freebie and basically give them away for free. Two years later when he started Wardolphin.com, it doubled as one of the first albums to be up for sale. This EP is in no way the way it was originally intended to be heard, each song comes from a different album and it served as way to get people turned on to Dolphin and his many albums floating the internet. Dolphin gave me the marching orders to give yet another album… away for free. Wow. That being said, in the spirit of free music, free art, and a free mind… here is Dolphin’s MonovsStereo EP. Mixed by Earl Blaize.”

And I assure you – this is just the very tip of the iceberg. So dig on this for now and be on the look out for much more from Dolphin coming right here in the following weeks. In the meantime, leave a comment and let me know what you think of this one.

Dolphin “Light St.”

Dolphin “Gunnin’”

Dolphin “Deserve You”

DOWNLOAD: Dolphin – Mono vs. Stereo Collection

MORE INFO: More free Dolphin downloads available here

SUPPORT: WarDolphin.com Store

FRESHclusive ALBUM: Diamond District presents… yU – Before Taxes (prod. Slimkat78, Oddisee, Kev Brown, etc.)

Kenny Fresh — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:36:54 +0000

Today brings us the first ever FRESHclusive album, courtesy of DC veteran MC/producer (and currently best known as one third of the Diamond District), yU. The album, Before Taxes was first released as a 7 track promo EP a few months back, but available here for the first time anywhere is the full 16 song version of album. The majority of the project was produced by the 1978ers (yU & Slimkat78), but it also features some guest production from Kev Brown, Oddisee & Bilal Salaam. yU is also joined by appearances from Finale, Grap Luva, OP Swamp 81 (Bilal Salaam & Da’Nedra), his fellow members in the Remainz crew, and more throughout the album.

Both yU and Slimkat78 are two extremely talented artists who have been making moves for years now. If you like what you hear, leave a comment and let me know and I’ll be sure to bring you guys much more from both of them in the near future.

yU “Almost Time” (prod. Kev Brown)

yU “Thought About It” (prod. yU)

yU “BreakDown” (feat. & prod. Bilal Salaam)

DOWNLOAD: yU – Before Taxes

ALSO SEE: Diamond District – In The Ruff

TRACKLISTING: Before Taxes tracklisting & credits after the jump

yU – Before Taxes
1. Before Taxes Intro (prod. Slimkat78)
2. Beats&Rhymes From March 25 (Kick Styles) (prod. yU)
3. Almost Time (prod. Kev Brown)
4. Thought About It (prod. yU)
5. BreakDown (feat. & prod. Bilal Salaam)
6. Corners (feat. I.Q.) (prod. yU)
7. The Up & Up (prod. Slimkat78)
8. Close (feat. Isabella Banneker) (prod. Slimkat78)
9. Fine (prod. yU)
10. Lunchin’ (prod. Oddisee)
11. Native (prod. Slimkat78 & yU)
12. Memory (feat. ERK) (prod. yU)
13. The Rock (prod. Slimkat78)
14. InTheReign (feat. I.Q. & Omun) (prod. yU)
15. MmHmm (instr) (prod. yU)
16. Brainwash (feat. Grap Luva, Finale & OP Swamp 81) (prod. Slimkat78)

FRESH VIDEO: Slakah The Beatchild “Enjoy Ya Self”

Kenny Fresh — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:32:17 +0000

New video from Toronto-based singer/producer, Slakah The Beatchild, for the “Enjoy Ya Self.” The song is the self-directed, second video from his debut album, Soul Movement Vol. 1, which is out now both online and overseas through BBE, but will finally be seeing a proper North American CD release on May 26th.

You might also remember Slakah from producing and directing the video for Toronto singer, Ayah’s “Believe.” Her album, 4:15 actually dropped today, so be sure to support that one as well.

DOWNLOAD: Slakah The Beatchild “Enjoy Ya Self”

SUPPORT: Slakah The Beatchild – Soul Movement Vol. 1 in stores now

FRESH KEPT SECRET: !NSiDE presents… Simo

Kenny Fresh — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:24:16 +0000

With the recent boom in bedroom producers and “next generation” beatmakers – it has become somewhat overwhelming to wade through all the over-designed MySpace pages and endless bleeps, blurps & unquantized drums in hopes to find some real worthwhile artists these days.

And without turning this into yet another rant, there’s also been an oversaturation of uninspired remixes or updates of old classics going around too. Luckyily, I think today’s selection goes against both of those stereotypes.

It comes from Simo, an up and coming producer based out of Korea, who can make off-kilter, glitchy, left of center beats but still manages to retain a sense of melody and rhythm to them. He also shows on “MaCheA” that he can breathe new life into one of the most over-done soul standards of all time – which is really no small feat.

Simo is part of a new Korean collective, called !NSiDE, which I definitely think we’ll see making some waves in the near future. So keep an eye out for more from them coming soon and, in the meantime, let me know what you think of these tracks.

Simo “w o r L d !”

Simo “Orbit”

DOWNLOAD: Simo “MaCheA”

STAY TUNED: Keep up with the latest from the !NSiDE blog

ARTWORK: !NSiDE art by Kay Shin – see more here

FRESH VIDEO: Ayah “Believe” (prod. Slakah The Beatchild)

Kenny Fresh — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:06:35 +0000

New video from rising Toronto talent, Ayah, for the track, “Believe.” This song has been a favorite of mine for over a year now – I believe I first heard it on her MySpace page, then Waajeed selected it on the first Bling47 Radio episode, and then Ayah later released it on her free download Problem Woman mixtape. And now the song is the lead single from her forthcoming debut album, 4:15, which appropriately drops on April 15th.

“Believe” was produced by Slakah The Beatchild, who also directed the music video. Slakah has an album of his own out, last year’s Soul Movement Vol. 1, on BBE - so be sure to check that one out as well.

You can watch the video and then get a free download of the track below. Credit due to Soulbounce and Rappers I Know who both beat me to the punch on this one.

DOWNLOAD: Ayah “Believe” (prod. Slakah The Beatchild)

SUPPORT: Ayah’s 4:15 in stores April 15th

WEEKEND BEATS #2: devonwho – WaVES

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:47:39 +0000

For the second installment of my new Weekend Beats series, I’ve got the latest from the homie (and possibly the #1 FS commenter), devonwho. This latest offering, the WaVES EP, mainly consists of some recent highlights from his ever-changing MySpace player, but he also threw in some all new exclusives as well. Included in the EP are five instrumentals, a track each with both singer/Fresh Kept Secret gradute, Suzi Analogue (who also did the artwork), and also one of the nicest MC’s currently residing in Portland, Theory Hazit, and also a white label remix of Frank N Dank’s “Shut It Down.”

So thats about it – let the WaVES be your weekend soundtrack and lemme know what you think. Also, be on the lookout for much more from devonwho coming soon to both right here and elsewhere. You can check out three streams from the project before you get the free download below.

UPDATE: And just added – after the jump are some videos of Devon’s live set at Othello & Theory Hazit’s night @ Biddy McGraw’s here in Portland. The set includes Devon playing some of his own beats along side tracks from 14KT, Hi-Res, Oddisee and Dibia$e.

devonwho “Peppajack”

devonwho “Finder”

devonwho “About You Redux (dev’s LODB Mix)” (feat. Suzi Analogue)

DOWNLOAD: devonwho – WaVES EP

WEEKEND BEATS #1: Daru – Spirit Drumz Pt’s 1 & 2

BONUS VIDEO: devonwho live videos after the jump

QUAZEDELIC: “Searchin” (prod. Ms.One) + SoundScannerz The Resume preview (feat. Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, Redman, etc.)

Kenny Fresh — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:11:54 +0000

I’ve got some huge exclusives from West Coast funkateer, Quazedelic for you guys today. For those who don’t already know, Quaze is a producer/singer/rapper whose best known as one half of the multi-platinum production duo, The SoundScannerz (with Josef Leimberg) and is currently a member of Georgia & Dudley’s Epistrophik Peach Sound crew. He was also a touring member in Snoop Dogg’s live band and has produced for everyone from Snoop & 213 to 50 Cent & Cam’Ron to even X-Clan & Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Quazedelic is currently working on his second solo album, The Arrival (2012 A.U.), dropping on EPS this summer. The album is going to be half self-produced, with the other half of the beats being (wo)manned by Ms.One (or Georgia Anne Muldrow to the sleepers). To give you a taste of what to expect from that album – I have the official premiere of the first single, “Searchin’ (Xpecoseconds),” produced by Georgia, along with the instrumental version of the track below:

Quazedelic “Searchin’ (Xpecoseconds)” (prod. Ms.One)

Ms.One “Searchin’ (Xpecoseconds)” (Instrumental)

But before you can fully understand the future, you need to first know Quaze’s past. As part of The SoundScannerz, Quaze completed a major compilation album, The Resume from 2007 which had an insane line-up but never saw the light of day. So you already know that I had to do some digging & pull some strings to see what I could get for you guys. And what I was able to put together was a folder containing a FRESHclusive non-album track (“Hold On” feat. Snoop Dogg), 4 never-heard-before snippets (feat. George Clinton, Redman & Method Man, Angie Stone and The Emotions!!!), and also 2 more full-length non-album tracks that were previously leaked by DubCNN (so big up to them for those).

You can check the tracklisting of the preview .zip here, cop the download below that, and also check the full Resume album tracklisting after the jump. This is a little bit outside of the type of tracks that I normally post, so let me know what you think.

The SoundScannerz – The Resume Exclusive Preview
1. Quazedelic feat. Snoop Dogg – “Hold On” (FRESHclusive NON-ALBUM TRACK)
2. Snoop Dogg & The Emotions – “Life” (DubCNN.com exclusive)
3. Quazedelic feat. Redman & George Clinton – “I Ain’t Trippin’” (DubCNN.com exclusive)
4. Snoop Dogg feat. W.C. & Quazedelic – “This Life” (EXCLUSIVE SNIPPET)
5. Redman & Method Man – “Wait A Minute” (EXCLUSIVE SNIPPET)
6. Angie Stone – “Special” (EXCLUSIVE SNIPPET)
7. George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars – “Congratulations”

DOWNLOAD: The SoundScannerz – The Resume Preview

SUPPORT: Quazedelic’s The Arrival (2012 A.U.) album coming soon on Epistrophik Peach Sound

AFTER THE JUMP: SoundScannerz – The Resume full tracklisting

The SoundScannerz – The Resume (3rd Door Records, 2007)
1. Snoop Dogg feat. Boki Loc & Quazedelic - “Harem So Chicc”
2. Suga Free - “Chirp It”
3. Kokane feat. Jayo Felony - “Pain Killaz”
4. Snoop Dogg feat. W.C. & Quazedelic - “This Life”
5. 50 Cent - “Gunz 4 Sale” (Throwbacc Mixtape Mix)
6. Redman & Method Man - “Wait A Minute”
7. Nate Dogg – “Dolla Bill” (From The “Waist Deep” OST)
8. George Clinton - “Dodi” (Radio Friendly DJs)
9. Angie Stone - “Special”
10. Quazedelic & The Electricc Chuuch - “Dopeundamynuttz”
11. The Emotions - “Life”
12. LaToiya Williams - “Thoughts Of You”
13. George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars - “Congratulations”
14. Quazedelic & Josef Leimberg - “Outro”