2. A Very Tennessee Christmas
3. New Years (New Tears)
4. Winter Skit
DOWNLOAD FREE THROUGH BANDCAMP
1. Resurrection 2. A Very Tennessee Christmas 3. New Years (New Tears) 4. Winter Skit DOWNLOAD FREE THROUGH BANDCAMP Comedic Hip-Hop? OoooohK. Whoever Awwwwdiculous are, they seem to want to do the Hip Hop version of Rock Opera (they call it "Mob Opera"). Whatever. We're offering you up this "Winter EP" from January 2010 for the track "New Years (New Tears)" which is, if nothing else, an original take on the changing of the calendar, rather than just one more version of the usual suspects (not that we won't give you as many of those as we can find, too).
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Saw this on Christmas A Go Go a while back. They had it in with some other funk singles from Bandcamp. But this wasn't the kind of funk I was expecting. I suppose I should've taken the clue from the name Rage Against The Manger (obviously a play on Rage Against The Machine). This is Rap Metal, and Rap Metal Christmas songs are just cool! Not that I can think of another one off the top of my head. And not just Rap Metal...but Rap Metal Parody! I don't know anything about the band, though the page is tagged Hershey. Could be Pennsylvania. Could be chocolate. But they're damn good at this. With lyrics like "Jesus Was Born So We Could Shop For Life" and with a nod to Chanukah and Kwanzaa too, I hope they'll be back around with more Anti-holiday cheer next Christmas. "Christmas In The Name" is just one song on an 8 song eponymous EP. Having waited on this one a bit too long, the band has run out of credits for free downloads from Bandcamp. But have no fear, you can download the EP free through megaupload. Gummy Soul was originally a radio show--or a concept for a radio show--that Nashville producer Walter Clark had weekly on WRVU. The concept was playing only the very very best of old school R&B, Funk, and Hip Hop. In time, Gummy Soul developed into a small record label helping to further the careers of a select few modern day Hip Hop artists. This Christmas track, "It's Christmas", features the aforementioned Mr. Clark, Amerigo Gazaway, and Kurtis J. Stanley. It's Hip Hop, tru dat, but it's got the grit and soul of the old school. Heck, if only for the Barry White intro, you should probably download "It's Christmas", free at Bandcamp. Hat tip to Christmas A Go Go for finding this one earlier this week. British producer, MC, and rapper Wiley is part of the new millennium wave of hip hop artists in the UK who built their followings largely through pirate radio stations. Because everybody's always looking to slap labels on things, the style Wiley uses is generally called "Grime" which is a minimalistic, somewhat off-center sound that incorporates elements of hip hop, punk and Jamaican Dancehall. Wiley's roots are in Trinidad, so Dancehall is likely something he's familiar with. "Cheer Up, It's Christmas" is a track from Wiley's coming album, "Evolve Or Be Extinct", and he and his label have made it available as a free download through Soundcloud for the season. Cheers, mate! It's not always easy to tell when a Hip Hop download is "free and legal" because, well, that's just the way it is. An awful lot of Hip Hop tunes get picked up and spread through the 'Nets (yes, that darn New Jersey basketball team). But when the artist is directing you to the web sites where the free downloads are via his Twitter feed, you kinda have to accept that he's given his blessing. Sterling Simms is an R&B artist--born in Philly, raised in Atlanta--and his debut record "Yours, Mine & The Truth" was not the chart burner he'd hoped for (though, artistically, it was a fine first effort). A lot of the reason for the album's under performance resulted from a lack of support and promotion from the label. Sterling moved on, has a new label, and is readying a new album, "Time Capsule", for release next year. Sterling got some assistance on this one from Marsha Ambrosius. "Nothing For Christmas" is a righteous jam, mixing in many of the old standards as well as clips from "A Christmas Story". And when the song even tosses in some "Christmas All Over The World" (the Sheena Easton song from "Santa Claus, The Movie", well that's when I knew for sure we had a winner. It's definitely something you can bop and sway to. And it's got the spirit of Hip Hop Christmas in it. Go download it, yo, via HulkShare. 1. Wishlist 2. Snow Business 3. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas 4. Christmas Is Coming 5. Humbug! 6. My Christmas Prayer DOWNLOAD AT BANDCAMP The master of 8-bit Hip Hop, Random (aka MegaRan) dropped "A Very Random Christmas" over the Thanksgiving Weekend. It may take a minute or two to reach you, but it's actually kind of infectious. Random's a Philly product who cites everyone from John Coltrane to Bob Dylan to Bach ("the next big thing") as artists he loves. His Rap tends to be positive and fun, no Parental Advisory required. For Christmas, Ran sampled "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to lay down his beats and, for the most part, it really works well.
Special mention has to go to the Hip Hop version of "Twas The Night Before Christmas". Back in the day, all the early hipsters had a crack at Clement Moore's iconic poem, with Babs Gonzalez' "Be Bop Santa Claus" likely being the best known and Phil Moore's "Blink Before Christmas" likely being the best. Why not Hip Hop? I won't give away the ending but I loved it when he grabbed Santa's pipe and said "No Smoking". Now that was cool. The rhymes are fresh, the beats are all fly. Sure as hell surprised me. And you know I don't lie. There's actually a limited edition hard copy (to 100) available, which will include instrumental tracks. But the download is "name your price" and Random encourages you to enter "0", though tips are gladly accepted. Merry Christmas, yo. 1. Maoz Tzur - Craig Taubman 2. Pass the Candle - Michelle Citrin 3. Tzur Chayenu - Josh Nelson 4. Fire - Yael Meyer 5. I Have a Little Dreidl - Joshua Nelson 6. Hanerot - Pharaoh's Daughter 7. Scottish Niggun - Rabbi Menachem Creditor 8. Hanukah Gelt - The Klezmatics 9. This Light Tonight - Elana Jagoda 10. Rock of Ages - Rebbesoul 11. New Light - Naomi Less 12. Ocho Kandelikas - Alberto Mizrahi 13. Mi Yimalel - Craig Taubman 14. Hanerot Halalu - Mare Winningham 15. Suri Goali Yah - Hillel Tigay / Year 1 16. B'Rakhot L'Hanukka - Milken Archive 17. Shehechianu - Craig Taubman 18. Honika Electronica - Smooth-E FREE DOWNLOAD AT AMAZON Amazon again, so soon?
We had mentioned on the front page, a day or so ago, that Craig Taubman of the Craig & Co. label, had put together a nice little package of Hanukkah tunes that he might--might--make available for FREE for a limited time as he did with his High Holy Days collection earlier. Sure enough, here it is. "Lights, Vol. 2: A Hanukkah Music Sampler". People often lament the lack of good Hanukkah music for mixtapes or whatever. Well, there is music out there, but you just have to look a little harder sometimes. And, with alternate spellings and whatnot, there simply isn't a Hanukkah search term that's as all inclusive as "Christmas". Well, there's some excellent stuff here--much of which I worked hard to locate on my own over recent years. Craig's done all the work for you. Don't be a schmuck! Download it already! Not only are there some good pop, rock and folk Hanukkah tunes here, but you'll have a better idea of who and what to look for in the future. My personal favorites on this set would include Craig's own version of "Maoz Tzur", Michelle Citrin's "Pass The Candle", "A New Light (Or Chadash)" from Naomi Less, and I've been groovin' on this new one from Yael Meyer since the other day. Or maybe the comedic rap of Smooth-E is more what you're looking for. Whatever. It's in there! Just a little taste, huh? A Bisel Eppis? Eat, eat. It's good for you. I think it's pretty well established that I'm not a big fan of "goof". But this one was kinda funny and I can see the mixtapers loving it. Didn't catch any bad words when I listened (can't promise they aren't there--things do sometimes slip past me). And, anyway, it's free...at least for a week. A.P.T. is striving to be the Weird Al Yankovic of R&B and Rap. He bills himself as the Prince of Parody. "Christmas In Paris" is a parody of Jay-Z and Kanye's "Ni****s In Paris". It's already up on iTunes. But, for the week, A.P.T. promises this one will be free through his web site (you'll find the link directly below the video there). So check it on the vid and then go get it. It's there for you to be had. 01. Overture [prod. RMB Justice & Gerald Walker] 02. Christmas Everyday [prod. Chemist & Gerald Walker] 03. A Merry Good Christmas [prod. Slot-A] 04. I Want It All (Feat. JusMoni) [prod. Cardo] 05. I’ll Be Home for Christmas [prod. Chemist] 06. All I Want For Christmas Is Zoe Saldana… [prod. RMB Justice] 07. My Name Is Gabriel (The Annunciation) [prod. RMB Justice] DOWNLOAD AT DJBOOTH ARTIST WEB SITE GERALD WALKER ON FACEBOOK Gerald Walker is an Alt Rapper and Hip Hop artist from Milwaukee. Walker has only been releasing music and mixtapes since 2009, but he's built a substantial reputation and following through the Internet. Part of the new paradigm in music is the independent release of albums, or "mixtapes", through sites like DJBooth, where the jams can be streamed or downloaded freely. This allows beginning or emerging artists to get their music out to a large number of people to both see how listeners react (through ratings and comments) and to establish a baseline following upon which to build. It's also a place for DJ's and radio programmers to go and find the latest beats for their audiences. Those who wish to support the artists may do so through donations or by purchasing higher quality files. It's a really cool concept, all in all. When it comes to Christmas, Gerald seems to have a fondness for the Peanuts characters and the music of Vince Guaraldi. You can hear that influence even in Walker's original Christmas music which, it should be said, is truly excellent. Even if you're not a big fan of Rap music and Hip Hop, you should at least stream some of Gerald's Christmas music at DJBooth, because it's very melodic and soulful with just a touch of that Vince Guaraldi jazz to it. You can download "It's Christmastime Again, Gerald Walker" for free or you can get the Premium download for $4.99. The premium download also includes Gerald's 2010 Christmas EP "A Gerald Walker Christmas" which, oh by the way, you can download freely (albeit at a lower bit rate) at Gerald's Facebook page. 1. Prelude 2. A Gerald Walker Christmas 3. Keep Me Going 4. Christmas Isn't Just a Day, you know, It's a Frame of Mind 5. Walker of The Bells (Bonus) |
The FREE ListHere we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations. Archives2010 Free List Categories
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