I’m taking a short break in this pre-NFL kickoff mayhem around the office to let you know about my newest musical finds. Granted, what’s new to me may not be new to any of you, but that’s what you get.
The first up is k-os, a hip-hop artist from Toronto. I got a track of his from an Astralwerks sampler CD that came with the last Fatboy Slim album I bought. The track is called The Love Song (iTunes Link). It’s a very cool track that mixes an awesome oriental vibe with a good beat. I’m looking into more of his stuff, but a buddy at work called him the “gateway to (Canadian) hip-hop.” I can see why.
My second new interest is Kanye West, which I’m sure everyone has heard by now. I come at it kind of from a weird place, though. The last mix CD I made (actually, the second to last) was mostly remixes of Shirley Bassey tunes and stuff from the Verve Remixed series. Nina Simone and Shirley Bassey are among my favorites and the remixes are awesome in their own right. Well, Kanye West’s latest single uses Bassey doing Diamonds Are Forever as the backing to Diamonds from Sierra Leone (iTunes link). It’s an odd song, because it’s serious for half of the song and then it devolves into the typical self-aggrandizing rap schtick when Jay-Z comes on. There’s a disconnect there that I can’t get head around, but I love the music and the blend of the rap with Bassey’s voice so there you have it. And Gold Digger (iTunes link) is a lot of fun, too.
I also got the new Black Eyed Peas album, Monkey Business, just for the fun of it.
Of course, I did just buy some Timberland shoes. Maybe that explains the hip-hop surge?
