MF Doom

Dale Edwin Murray: Hip Hop Heads

Keeping with the theme of portraits, heres another fun project provided by London illustrator Dale Edwin Murray who issues his personal take on some of todays most popular hip hop artists in a playful collection of portraits. Check out artists in the likes of Jay and Yeezy, Pac and Biggie, MF Doom, Snoop, etc.. Pics after the jump. For more of Murray's projects visit his personal site here.                      

Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions (Free EP)

Mayer Hawthorne and the good folks over at Stones Throw Records have just released a brand new free EP of cover songs. Download link is available below as well as a little background on each record from Mayer Hawthorne. Enjoy!

1. Work To Do This one features my live band, The County: Quentin Joseph on drums, Topher Mohr on guitar, Quincy McCrary on piano, and Joe Abrams on bass. It was recorded live in a radio station studio somewhere during our Winter 2010 US tour. The tapes recently surfaced, but nobody can remember exactly where we were. The song is originally by The Isley Brothers, and that’s the only version I was familiar with until we started playing it in our live shows and people would come up to us and say “hey, loved your cover of Average White Band!”. 2. Don’t Turn The Lights On My favorite track from Chromeo’s latest LP. On the surface it’s an electro-funk, dance floor filler, but underneath is a brilliant love ballad with lyrics that reminded me of something from Tyrone Davis. Dave1 (of Chromeo) told me the song is about a guy who falls in love with a ghost, so I wanted my version to have an eerie, ghostly feel to it. Quincy McCrary played the creepy piano solo at the end. 3. You’ve Got The Makings Of A Lover Textbook Northern Soul from a little known Dallas, Texas group called The Festivals. I was digging for records in NY with my homey DJ Kurse, and the shopkeeper played the 45 in the store. Both of us immediately ran up to the counter and said “yo! what is THAT?!”. The original version was recorded in the late 60s, and the mix isn’t very good. I wanted a version that I could bump. Quentin Joseph played the drums and we recorded them at Sam Beaubien’s studio in Detroit. That’s Sam playing the trumpet as well. 4. Fantasy Girl This song was written and composed by an amazing man from Pasadena named Steve Salazar. He was born with a heart condition and passed away at the young age of 27. Before he died he recorded one incredible album of demos in the mid-70s with a band called Shorty’s Portion. Peanut Butter Wolf found a copy of the album and I loved it so much that he gave it to me (thanks Wolf!). The vinyl had a handwritten note tucked in the sleeve that was addressed to anyone who could help the band with management, a record deal, radio airplay, etc. I’d estimate there were less than 300 copies pressed. That’s my Dad playing pedal steel guitar and Topher Mohr shredding the guitar solo on my version. 5. Little Person Jon Brion is not from this planet. He penned this song for the soundtrack to Charlie Kaufman’s film “Synecdoche, NY”. I didn’t get the film at all, but I really got the soundtrack. The original has only female vocal and piano, but I always heard a larger arrangement. Hubert Alexander played some of the piano and I did everything else. 6. Mr. Blue Sky This one also features my band, The County, and was recorded live, in one take, in a tiny makeshift tent, at a festival in Dour, Belgium. Here’s the video from that recording session…

Download: Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions

New Doom Oz Tour Dates

Fuck the rumors Australian rap fans... DOOM's tour of Oz is good to go! Having overcome recent illness the show is back on the road. There have been a couple of altered dates, however all tickets will be honored at the new shows. Check below for the updated tour schedule and make sure you don't miss your date with the metal faced one! 29th March Sydney, Australia **RESCHEDULED SHOW – ORIGINALLY 23rd MARCH – ALL TICKETS FROM ORIGINAL SHOW ARE VALID** 31st March Sydney, Australia Oxford Arts Factory 1st April Brisbane, Australia Hifi Bar 2nd April Melbourne, Australia Espy Hotel 3rd April Melbourne, Australia Espy Hotel **RESCHEDULED SHOW – ORIGINALLY 24th MARCH – ALL TICKETS FROM ORIGINAL SHOW ARE VALID**

Thom Yorke and MF Doom collab

Radiohead's Thom Yorke, fresh off his band's new "The King of Limbs" release, may have another project in the works -- this time, a collaboration with underground rapper MF Doom. The two collaborated back in 2009, when Yorke created a remix of the rapper's "Gazzillion Ear." According to a recent interview with Australia's 3D World Magazine, Doom was quoted as saying, "we'll probably end up doing a whole record together but right now its just preliminary shit". Well seeing as something is in the works stay tuned, i'll make sure that we have it first for you guys to listen to.