Run to the party, dance to the riddim

Sublime, The Pharcyde. "Doin' Time (Remixed By Marshall Arts)." Sublime (Deluxe Edition), Gasoline Alley, J.V., 2006.

A new month is here and the seasons be a-changin'. I'm in Portland this weekend and feeling the autumn weather, with the changing temperature, turning leaves, and rain puddles to splash around in your Wellies (a welcome treat coming from drought-stricken California). But I'm still holding onto that summertime feeling when the livin's easy, and this is just the jam.

Released in 1996, the original "Doin' Time" sampled jazz flutist Herbie Mann's "Summertime," recorded at New York's legendary club The Village Gate. 

Ten years later, the deluxe edition of Sublime featured a remix of the track by Marshall Arts, with rhymes from one of my favourite west coast hip-hop crews, The Pharcyde. Check out the video below featuring rare footage of the recording.

I do it for the thrill, for the rush

KAYTRANADA, Syd. "YOU'RE THE ONE." 99.9%, XL RECORDINGS, 2016.

Start your weekend off right with this banger, featuring those sexy, other-worldly vocals from Syd of The Internet and Odd Future fame. And those hand claps. 

Check out the below video, which just dropped earlier this week, directed by Shomi Patwary and made possible by the stellar Canadian entity MuchFACT. Stylistically, Patwary tells Pitchfork that the video "was influenced by the look of black sitcoms from the early 90s -- from Martin to Living Single and UPN sitcoms. The African prince idea derived from the plot of Coming To America."

This is how you hotline bling.

An hour later, sounds from Jamaica...

Mos Def. "Ms. Fat Booty." Black On Both Sides, Rawkus Entertainment LLC, 1999.

Off of his solo debut after collaborating with Talib Kweli on 1997's instant classic Black Star, this is one of my all-time most-spun tracks from Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey). 

That sample off of "One Step Ahead," one of Aretha Franklin's rarest recordings. Those rhymes that showcase Bey's rhythmic agility and lyrical dexterity.

Mos paints us a vivid picture of this woman he's chasing -- she's got all the right weaponry -- and takes us through their misadventures from the club to the bedroom and back again.

Is sugar and spice the only thing that you made of?

Neptunes make number one tune, yeah

Beenie Man, Mya. "Girls Dem Sugar (feat. Mya)." Art And Life, Virgin Records America, Inc., 2000.

Sim simma.

Written by Jamaican DJ Beenie Man, along with the prolific team of Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo (aka The Neptunes) who also produced, this song features Mya's angelic vocals and has that early 2000s reggae dancehall fusion vibe I associate with summers growing up in Toronto where island culture and music abound (see Caribana, Kardinal Offishall, Sean Paul, Barrington Levy). 

Zagga zow, ziggi zow, zagga, yeah, zaga zay za zow.

I want to give you some good, good lovin'

Bob Marley & The Wailers. "Turn Your Lights Down Low (feat. Lauryn Hill)." Chant Down Babylon, The Island Def Jam Music Group A Universal Company, 1999.

Remember when I said there ain't nothing like Bob in the morning?

Well, add Lauryn to the mix and then you've got some real magic.

I love that the below video, the top-viewed result when searching on YouTube, is ripped from Much More Music. My fellow Canadians (who remember music videos and music TV channels that actually played them) will know what I'm talking about.

Tell me stories and take me away

Q-Tip, Norah Jones. "Life is Better." The Renaissance, Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., 2008.

The opening of this track always transports me to a dreamy place, that funky baseline, the electric keys, those drum beats, and Norah's soothing other-worldly vocals.

"I'm so into your rich histories," she coos, "tell me stories and take me away." 

Q-Tip takes the bait and in the second verse goes into an incredible historical overview of hip hop, starting with "a man walked on the moon" and of course ending with the late great J Dilla. It's all a love letter to the genre's greatest.

Arrival of the Carnival

Wyclef Jean, Refugee All Stars. "Apocalypse." Wyclef Jean presents The Carnival featuring Refugee Allstars, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, 1997.

Friday vibes.

So I'm in LA and there are a bunch of tracks on which I'm ruminating and that I immensely feel a desire to share here, but I'm taking this opportunity to travel back in time instead.

I'm away from home (not far) but still miss my main squeeze. This song always tugs at my heartstrings, since the first time we listened to it together, we thought it would be our last time together.

Fast forward twelve years, and we are still together, stronger than ever. The universe works in mysterious ways, and if you believe in love, you can move mountains (and everything in between).

Happy Friday, and let love rule. "Oui, oui, y'all, yeah."

Also, can we just take a minute to appreciate a time when Clef and Brandy were kickin' it at the Grammys together (and he could use that as his alibi)?

 🎶 He tried, he said you just robbed a gas station // "Who me? Not me! It couldn't be // I was at the Grammys with Brandy // Didn't you see me on TV?" 🎶

PIU PIU

Kaytranada, Shay Lia. "Leave Me Alone." 99.9%, XL Recordings, 2016.

Hot off the heels of a big win at this year's Polaris Music Prize -- a seriously vaunted award in Canada -- Kaytradana has created a masterpiece, introducing a younger audience to that Haitian kompa vibe and its dangerously danceable percussive rhythms.

Here's a #TBT for you...

I first met Kevin Celestin (aka Kaytra) five years ago when he and his brother, Louis, nervously registered to perform at Hip Hop Karaoke in Montréal. Looking a spitting image of Kid 'n Play with their backpacks and snapbacks, as soon as they stepped on stage, you could tell these kids were destined for greatness. Their nerves dissipated, raw stage presence took over as they fed off the crowd's energy, and I can only imagine they were hooked from there on out.

The self-styled "Celestics" returned to perform at HHKMTL several times (throwback videos below, pardon the audio quality) sometimes as a duo, other times a solo act, and often with their larger crew.

In the years to follow, the Montréal beats scene, affectionately called "PIU PIU music," took off (check the documentary), Kevin would proceed to work his ass off, make killer beats, tour the world, meet some legendary folks in the music industry, and produce one of my favourite -- and now, award-winning -- albums of the year with 99.9%.

Music that'll bump for a thousand years

Blackalicious. "Make You Feel That Way." BLAZING ARROW, MCA RECORDS/QUANNUM PROJECTS, 2002.

There's just something about this track. The triumphant horns, that baseline, those lyrics, MC Gift of Gab's soothing voice, the rhythm that keeps humming along.

I can't help but feel positive when I give it a listen. And those who know me know it's on heavy rotation.

Recently I had a chance to see Blackalicious perform at Oakland's classic jazz venue Yoshi's. Gift of Gab has been battling the effects of kidney failure since 2012, with frequent dialysis, and while you could see the toll it's taken on his health, he is still one of the most prolific and talented MCs. His "verbal dexterity and lyrical eloquence" is simply unmatched and a treat to witness live.

A San Francisco treat just like some Rice-A-Roni

People Under The Stairs. "San Francisco Knights." The Next Step, Om Records, 2001.

We've been experiencing a bit of a heat wave here in the Bay Area lately and the past few nights have been seasonally warm ones, so this song feels appropriate.

PUTS is without a doubt one of my favourite acts to see perform live. Their energy, enthusiasm, and pure love for the crowd is palpable and simply infectious. I first got to see Thes One and Double K perform for their homecoming at LA's classic El Rey Theater on the heels of 2011's Highlighter tour, and have seen them twice since then, more recently at the Independent for their November 2014 #THANKSGIVEBACK show and last November at the Fillmore. (Keeping my fingers crossed for November PUTS shows becoming a new tradition).

And that guitar riff? It's from a 1967 recording of "San Franciscan Nights" by Gábor Szabó & The California Dreamers (originally penned by Eric Burdon & The Animals), off the Wind, Sky and Diamonds album. Give a listen to the full track below, or skip ahead to the 2:17 mark.

Pull another record from your sleeve

Mild High Club. "Skiptracing." Skiptracing, Stones Throw, 2016.

Observer described this track as a "pop-noir fever dream." I couldn't agree more. This one puts me right into the mind state of a hazy, lazy pastel-toned afternoon in Palm Springs listening to Steely Dan around the pool without any cares and all of the cocktails.

Mild High Club are on tour in the US and Canada now, catch them if you can.