Memphis Bleek Jay-Z Diamonds In Da Ruff
It's Alright / The Doe

The fourth solo album from NYC's Tony Simon, The Music Scene comes nearly six years after his much-loved Ninja Tune debut Music By Cavelight. In addition to his solo instrumental work, Simon's made a name for himself producing tracks for the likes of Aesop Rock, DJ Signify and Murs among many others, but he undoubtedly has an ear for threading together standalone works from manipulated samples. Apparently, on The Music Scene, Simon found himself more able to elaborate on his compositional approach thanks to his use of Ableton, which saw him shunning the more traditional sampler-driven approach to beat dissection in favour of heavy layering. Ecclecticism lies at the heart of this record, and each track seems to usher in a new multi-dimensional collage, finding an early peak with the crashing drums, grainy brass and soulful electric piano phrases of 'Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer?". Keeping with the eclectic theme, for a brief moment 'Pity Party' features a spot of whistling that evokes the intro to The Scorpions' 'Wind Of Change', but then it's a track that seems to switch persona repeatedly throughout its four or so minutes. Further standout moments come during the Four Tet-like folk-hop of 'The Daily Routine with its scrunched acoustic guitars and string samples and the exploitation movie referencing 'Hell Camp', which offers timelessly bluesy, trip hop style beats and progressions.

Our favorite villainous watch-slinger is back with the the 3rd instalment of his "On High Alert" collaboration series released with Tuff Kong Records. This third volume spans six songs just under 20 minutes, enlisting past collaborators like Boldy James, Pink Siifu, Flee Lord and Meyhem Lauren as well as the likes of Kool Kieth, Kool G Rap, CRIMEAPPLE, Mooch and Rigz contributing to the series for the first time. The project is short but undeniably sweet with instrumentals that flawlessly meld old school boom-bap sensibilities with hypnotic and semi-psychedelic touches. When paired with the other two installments, Real Bad Man creates an insular sonic world that taps into hip-hop history and experimentation. All three are well worth the hour total of listening time.

New album from KNOWSUM after his acclaimed album at Melting Pot. Between hip hop and experimental music, one approaches the sound identity of Koushik, LIKE... Between relaxation and an unprecedented talent for song writing KNOWSUM surprises again. This new album is released on the Berlin label MONEY SEX, the collaboration between Max Graef, Glenn Astro and Delfonic.