PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: ALGORYTHM

Click to Download Show Em Up

Von Pea - Show Em Up (Prod. Algorythm)


After posting The Stuyvesants a month back (an instrumental album with partner Darien Victor Birks), producer Algorythm produced this track off Von Pea's, So Motivational: The Most Skullduggery of Mixtapes.  He's been coming with solid production, plus he is folks.  Enjoy. 

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IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

Jay-Z - 99 Problems (Nick James Remix)


You may be wondering why I posted my "99 Problems" remix for my birthday?  Well, I don't have 99 problems but this song is one (Yes! that pun just happened).  This is my first good remix.  I made the "Encore" remix right before this but that song sounded like my old style of producing.  This remix solidified my trajectory as a producer.  Six years ago I created The Color Line and "99 Problems" was the first thing I played for my friend Wes.  I was in my 83 Celica with 15' inch speaker and when he got in the car outside Grass Valley Court, he immediately was juiced when I played it.  Ever since that moment I never looked back on music.

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RARE WONDER

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Mobb Deep - Quiet Storm (9th Wonder Remix)

I finally got around to turning on my desktop computer that I have neglected in the age of laptops at coffee shops.  I scrolled through my Hip-Hop folder and found an old 9th Wonder folder with remixes I haven't heard in a while.  I used to love his bare bones soul remixes like the Mobb Deep one above.  9th definitely was an inspiration when I started out remixing.  This collection isn't anything from The Listening or the Minstrel Show; it's plenty of rare songs you may have overlooked or didn't have because you weren't an avid downloader back in 04 (torrents and zshare wasn't even poppin back then).          

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THE STUYVESANTS

The Stuyvesants

I had the pleasure of finally meeting producer/wordpress beast Allan Cole (Algorythm, fthrwght) and blog guru Darien Victor Birks (Flwrpt) a few months back in NY.  Aside from being tech and design geniuses, these two can sure put together a quality project.  Inspired by 60s and 70s music, The Stuyvesants is a beat tape equip with 25 solid tracks.  This is one of the best beat tapes around.  You can tell that these aren't just tracks sitting in an old computer folder, but a collection of well mixed and well layered beats.  Also, the fidelity is dope.  The geek in me can't stop thinking about what effects Allan used to make the samples thick and heavy?          

Download: The Stuyvesants (Album)
Check out their site: The StuyvesantsShare

MY REMIX FEATURED IN TRUST YOUR STRUGGLE

My Bambu remix was used for a Trust Your Struggle video showcasing their new show, TYS Sa Pilipinas.  Check out low down plus Mikey's Blog (The Conscious Hustler):

Back with another video for ya’ll. Me and Borish from the Trust Your Struggle crew recently went by the Loyal Kaspar studio to shoot some opening sequences, motion graphics, and bumpers for the TYS Sa Pilipinas Tour that we are trying do this summer. I shot some behind the scenes footage while i was there. These guys are really dope, they had pizza, beer and fuseball waiting for us while we shot. Check out their site at Loyal Kaspar. They got some pretty big clients like showtime, HBO, Vh1 and Disney just to name a few. Loyal Kaspar provides non profits with some Pro-bono work as part of their comunity engagement which is DOPE! Our folks at World Up hooked up the oppurtunity for us. So I put this lil clip together from that night, enjoy!

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ODDISEE - DOPEST MIXTAPE OUT RIGHT NOW

He continually gets better and better!

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IN BETWEEN (EXTENDED MIX)

Here you go.  Sorry I didn't have it yesterday but I had tweak the vocal positioning (producer talk).  Enjoy.    

Download Siaira Shawn - In Between Extended Mix (Prod. Nick James)
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THE IN BETWEEN (FULL VERSION) COMING NEXT WEEK

On Siaira Shawn's new EP, The In Between, the song "The In Between" is broken up into an intro and outro.  I recently got the acapella to make it one full track as well as adding some instrumentation.  She performed it last night at PST and it was hot.  Expect it at the beginning of the week.

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KIWI - CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE REMIX

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Kiwi - Contents Under Pressure (Nick James Remix)


I made a bunch of remixes for Kiwi years ago and we never did anything with them.  Here's another one.Share

MADLIB SAMPLES

Just came across this.  Madlib is probably the king of samples.  This is the one though.Share

SIAIRA SHAWN - THE IN BETWEEN EP

I couldn't be more happy for my folks Siaira Shawn.  She has been putting in major work.  In a few days she is releasing her EP entitled, The In Between, which is a prelude to her debut album, The Outsider Inside.  I did the intro and outro as well as the album artwork.  Our track came out good but "Where You Are" produced by Will Bracy is my song right now.  When it drops I will have the link up.   

Support the new in the Bay.

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SLOW DOWN REMIX (FIXED TIMING)

Click to Download Fixed Version

The incomparable DJ Phatrick informed me that the timing for Slow Down is off so I fixed the acapella being ahead by an eighth note.Share

AFRICAN DRUMS

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Freeway - African Drums


Yo I gotta make beats like this all day!  This personifies what I'm trying to do with production.  Jake One is so consistent lately.Share

I WILL POST ANYTHING SKI BEATZ

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ROCKY RIVERA

I've been meaning to post something about Rocky Rivera's new album, especially because I produced on a song on it!  Bambu hit me up almost a year ago asking me about a beat I sent him while he was recording his album, Exact Change.  He almost used the beat to "I Am Gone" but chose "Crooks and Rooks" instead.  He asked if Rocky Rivera could use it and I was more than happy because I really wanted this beat to see the light of day.  So many rappers passed on this so I'm glad she got it.  Let me know what you think and don't forget to buy the album.  Good raps plus good production.  Thank god there is a female emcee bringing an edge to the game.  Shout out to 6Fingers, Fatgums, Dex Beats, Keelay & Zaire, and CZA.  Congratulations Rocky Rivera (I always want to say EyeASage).    

Rocky Rivera - I am Gone (Prod. Nick James)


Buy the album here: iTunes

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PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: DJ TOOMP (AGAIN)

Only listen to the beat in the beginning of the video (the interview is whatever).  Madlib and Jake One have both sampled this but Toomp kills it.  I love when he samples because his drums + horns + synths on top of the sample always sound amazing.Share

PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: ODDISEE

Oddisee has been around for a minute but has recently branched out and expanded his production.  He has been releasing seasonal instrumental mixtapes that showcase his talents beyond just beat making.  I'm feeling his new direction.  Check it out, it's free! (as always with anything on this website) 

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PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: DJ TOOMP

Breaks down how he merges hardware and software in his production.  I unfortunately rely on software.  It's more economically feasible, but once you get your ASR, MPC, and mixer, you are pretty much set.Share

NICK JAMES - THE NAS REMIXES

Well folks, it is finally here. 16 remixes of one of Hip-Hop's best lyricists of all time, with two bonus remixes.

BACKGROUND:

This project was never intended to be what it has become. About five years ago, I started remixing songs as a way to practice that art of mixing and song structuring. Doing this has allowed my music to not sound flat. Aside from my hard beats with soft melodies; build-ups, transitions, and drops have also come to characterize the strengths of my music. So, years ago I would remix the best artists for practice. First it was Jay-Z, then Nas, then Kanye, Slum Village, E-40, Mobb Deep, Lupe Fiasco, Eminem, even Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Doing this allowed to me test the musical dexterity of my tracks. Thus, over the years I have complied numerous remixes. I've remixed almost 100 songs of major artists basically for fun.

In December 2007, I remixed American Gangster, appropriately titled, American Producer. I finished the project in 5 days. No one heard the full project until it was released. After it's release, two close friends of mine became even more excited with my skills as a producer. These two people were Chris Muller (Cplusjewelry) and Rolando Brown (Parrellel MVMT). Chris relentlessly promoted the project with good friend Brain Ingram and Rolando thought of future projects he could assist me with.

In January 2008, Rolando approached me to do an exclusive mixtape for his company. After months of trying to finish the project, we shelved it. Since I had a couplple new Nas remixes from the Parallel Project and Nas remixes from past years, I simply wanted to complie those and provide a free download for people who enjoy music.

What ended up happening was a couple of weekends in the Fall of 08 making remixes for the project. After I made "Purple," I remixed "Ether," then "N.Y. State of Mind," and then "Flyest Angels." I made these four in one weekend and it created a new enthusiam around a project I was on the fence about. I took a few more weeks to create brand new remixes. The rest is history. Enjoy.

SPONSORS:

Parallel MVMT and Cplus Jewelry sponsored this project. Parallel MVMT, a cutting-edge artist management and business consulting agency and Cplus Jewelry, an innovative jewelry company catering to the sensibilities of the Hip-Hop Generation.

GET THE PROJECT:
http://www.mediafire.com/?hgztykzyojiShare