Southern California Leisure Life
Off of his debut full-length CD, You Are All I See, “Playing House” by Los Angeles based musician Pat Grossi (aka Active Child) represents a much-needed R&B revival in independent music. The How To Dress Well assisted track is a glimmer of hope in an indie music scene overwhelmingly dominated by an exceeding number of Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective copycats. Though this is a far cry from the Jodeci’s and Keith Sweat’s, it is a step in the right direction and a breath of fresh air.
You can’t say we weren’t expecting it. The Odd Future crooner and overall R&B songwriting legend-in-the-making Frank Ocean is going hard in the paint right now. Never mind the two huge guest spots on one of the year’s most highly anticipated hip-hop records (Kanye West & Jay-Z‘s Watch The Throne), the New Orleans native is now the R&B and pop community’s figure-at-large at the moment with all eyes fixated firmly on the 23 year old. To somewhat satiate the hoards of now-salivating fans & on-lookers, two new creatively composed videos have been released. From his intensely popular mixtape, nostalgia,ULTRA, is the fittingly beach shot video for “swim good” as well as a bizarre, heavily imagery-driven video for the recently leaked “Thinking About You.” Videos for both tracks as follows (with downloads after the jump):
Last year, a virtually unknown collective of music nerds and filmmakers burst onto the electronic scene with a mind-blowing remix of “Who Knows, Who Cares” by Los Angeles indie band Local Natives. Over the course of the next few subsequent months, Breton (attributing themselves also as ‘bretonLABS‘) dropped a few more gems and racked up some credits on some fantastic music videos. Now, in the final quarter of the 2011 year, the British band are prepping for the release of their debut record and have released the first single, “The Commission.” Watch the video and stream the track, along with the aforementioned Local Natives remix below:
Breton – the Commission by bretonlabs
LOCAL NATIVES / Who Knows Who Cares – bretonLABS RMX by bretonlabs
Some fresh Los Angeles hip-hop for y’all on this fine Labor Day weekend in the form of Evidence‘s new single, “You.” Teaming up with renowned producer and rap purist extraordinaire DJ Premier, the Dilated Peoples affiliate hits it home with the sort of instant classic made for kicking back. Stream the Cats & Dogs track here:
Los Angeles beat king Exile has recently teamed up with LRG to bring you his entirely self-produced Into To The Outro. If you’re a fan of modern hip-hop, you should already know what to expect from the veteran; solid and crisp, no filler instrumentals usually accompanied by hand-picked emcees of decent caliber. Spitting over some of the tracks: Fashawn, Blu, MF DOOM, Bun B, amongst many more. 4 TRK MIND, Exile’s latest full-length record is set for release on October 4.
Download Intro To The Outro here (Mediafire).
Singer-songwriter John West has developed into a veteran and recognizable figure of the Los Angeles independent musician circuit for a long while. Honing his low-key, R&B-influenced sound over the years, the newly signed artist is known to many as a mainstay of the Hotel Cafe and performing street-side at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. On the new single “Lovely,” West enlists the help of one-half of Virginia rap duo Clipse, intertwining his smooth vocal delivery with Pusha‘s surprisingly complementary and unabrasive flow. Keep an eye out on this one, West is set to blow up with his major label debut due shortly out this summer.
Here’s a collaboration between L.A. rapper Snoop Dogg and digital rockstar behemoth collective the Gorillaz that sounds like a b-side from last year’s hit album Plastic Beach. Listen to “Sumthin’ Like This Night” here:
Though West Coast g-funk pioneer and recording artist Nate Dogg passed away last night, his memory and music will live on. Head over to Alf Alpha’s blog for a retrospective of the musician’s career highlights.
