Dub Kweli

Link to the download

Mash ups. When they are good, they are very very good, and when they are bad they are Franz Ferdinand vocals laid over an Public Enemy beat so peeps in Camden can actually dance to it. However, there are some true classics out there; personal favs include The Grey Album by Danger Mouse (The Beatles' White Album cut with Jay Z's Black Album) and The Kleptones' A Night at the Hip Hopera (Queen tracks mashed up with Hip Hop (Yes it really does work!)), both 2004 releases.

This one is a bit younger (2010), but in the spirit of trying to bring you free downloads both past and present, it is a goodun. Our Mashupist is a man like Max Tannone, and if you ain't guessed yet, he very ably lays Talib Kweli tracks over some crucial roots music. Most mash ups works cos they blend elements of two quite difference genres, but good hip hop in the form of Kweli's ever-tight vocals and some nice heavy Jamaican riddims seem like they always belonged together. I always wondered why more straight up hip hop isn't backed by reggae music, some UK hip hop does dabble in it, for example. Maybe it's just that ragga, with that fierce snappy toasting just kinda queue jumped it, but with a quality mix like this, you wonder why it doesn't happen more often.

Max Tannone has cut up other artists in the same vein, includes Jaydiohead (Jay Z and Radiohead), Ghostfunk (Ghostface Killah vs African funk and highlife) and Mos Dub (Mos Def and reggae). All of which are very listenable, but while they sound awesome on paper, the mixing is a little clinical with not much interaction between the two mashed up tracks, leaving them sounding not quite as fresh as Dub Kweli, which is why I brought that one, in particular, to your attention. Enjoying listening to Kweli banging on your eardrum.