Change. The shift of one state of being to another, typically in the conviction of an individual to adhere to a set of ideas or personal decisions. Conviction being typically static, and change being typically a movement. This contradiction is why change often doesn’t happen as quick as we would like. Often change happens only as we give up our beliefs that hold the most conviction, and in my experience these are the fears. Wouldn’t it be a monstrous shift if our deepest convictions were that of love and knowledge of self. Unlearn cynicism.

I’ve been a J-Live fan for a long time. I appreciate his atomic bomb approach to obliterating the stupidity upon which so much of hip hop and rap is built upon. As an (sometimes, all the time) educator, the passion to teach is self evident in his rhymes, probably only second to his passion to question the status quo. This is one of my favorite J-live songs. Force feeding information through the ear holes.

Makeout: J-Live – Schools In (don lowed)

—-

Pos being one of the best Emcees ever, and J-live being an equal educator… I’ve been meaning to post this song for a long time, but since Sean Sean threw me some Oddisee, I’ll throw this one back.  Thanks.

Makeout: J-Live – The Upgrade ( ft. Posdanous And Oddisee) (don lowed)

I wasn’t sure how todays fingerbanger was going to come together. But from nothing comes something? Or it was always here.  So here’s what was always here.

Anyone who knows anything knows that Sadat X has one of the best flows in hip hop. And it’s no surprise that djnodj is always on the look out for anything his voice blesses, even in the 2010 where diggin’ in the crates is sometimes more akin to diggin’ a grave. So let me say that this song is a dumb hot piece of head nodding B-Boy inspired funk goodness… and I suddenly am recalling what it was to feel good about hip hop.  Breaks from Suspect & Jackson J, buy the hot wax from Favorite Recordings.

Fingerbanger 1: The Incredible Funk League Feat. Sadat X – On And On (don lowed)

—-

Well aged fat beat, Knowtoryus from 1996.

Fingerbanger 2: Knowtoryus – Revenge Of The BombercladJoint (don lowed)

—-

Jazzy breaks from a Pompougnac favorite, Dublex Inc. with something to settle out to; don’t get it twisted.

Fingerbanger 3: Dublex Inc – Twisted Like A Pretzel (don lowed)

—-

Dear 2010+,

bring back the horny horn. Thx – P.tone

Mathematik with the 98 late heat.

Fingerbanger 4: Down To Erf – Learn To Earn (don lowed)

—-

I don’t have a clue where this came from, and I haven’t found anything else from Dead Jazz Heros, so if anyone has a clue, please enlighten us. Aside from that, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out the premise behind Mr.Fusion, and well… maybe you dig, maybe you don’t.

Fingerbanger 5: Dead Jazz Heroes – Mr. Fusion (don lowed)

—-

Conversations with Walt Whitman from mustardcuffins on Vimeo.

Over / /End / /Out / / P.tone / /

Get out your love and stomp your stray dog feet around in the loam of your land, and it’s all your land.

Throwback: Alton Ellis – African Descendants (don lowed)

Throwback: Leroy Sibbles – Express Yourself (don lowed)

Throwback: Dennis Brown – No Man Is An Island (don lowed)

Another Corey Daye track, this time, fully flared. Maybe my personal favorite track from her. From the Heat and Wheat crate comes this dusty dungeon disco danger banger. I love those guitars.

Dryhump Champion: Cory Daye – Green Light (don lowed)

I couldn’t find a picture of a walrus in my wallet, but I did find this picture of a shark with half a man for a tongue. A liminal being, like an underwater centaur. Quite ingenious, as he can grab fish with his hands and then haul them into the sharks belly to be cooked with some butter, lemons, and a delicious herb rub.

On the other side of this line, is the band Baby Walrus, made up of 3 men, are in fact sans a walrus appearance. Despite their stance on not looking the part of their name, they make good music… as if there is anything else to do in Nebraska.

Makeout: Baby Walrus – Ghostish (don lowed)

Pandas are big in music these days. Must be their mating habits that lend to a build up of tension, and artistic expression. Bad Panda dropped this Growsound guy into my email a while back and I sorta slept on it, because I got caught in a submarine, smuggling yogurt covered almonds into Russia. It’s a short story with a long ending, but I’m happy to say, Growsound has arrived. But will he live up to the hype? Or better yet, will his hype man wear neon? All fantasticness aside, Growsound is well on his way to mastering the slow build. Thats the greatest compliment I can give, because it takes maturity to not want to hit the nail with a sledgehammer these days. The sampler beat sound isn’t new, so comparisons to beats and such are over with in my opinion. So I’m going to skip comparisons. Oh, and download 8 more growsound songs here.

fingerbanger 1: Growsound – Wet Highway (don lowed)

fingerbanger 1.1: Growsound – Home Break Pt. 2 (don lowed)

—-

I know all the indie hater comparisons, and yes this fits them all, so you can go preach to the choir of cool kids somewhere else. The real deal here is that this fits them all. Here is what indie rock was once, with spoonfuls of homestyle productions sound, kicks, hooks, and flicks, jooks, and the warm arty drone. Thunder$troke for those that still like that shit.

fingerbanger 2: Beaten Awake – I Shot The Mayor, Not The Deputy Mayor (don lowed)

—-

The earth revolves around the sun, just as the illest hot ass funk beats revolve around Malcolm Catto, and The Heliocentrics revolve around an unrecognizable genre of spaced out advant-afro funk jazz stuff… Did I mention the drums? Vast Aire is perfect on this song. More here.

fingerbanger 3: The Heliocentrics Feat. Vast Aire – Sirius B (Remix) (don lowed)

—-

Q-Ball & Curt Cazal reprezent like box cutters.

fingerbanger 4: Aim feat.Q’n'C – The Force (don lowed)

—-

here’s one from deep in my crates of secret sauce recipe 709^4 and I’m bringing it out because the more you give, the more you get. Shuffling in at 150 Lbs. & Hugs,  from Planet Lovetron, and the Droop CApone himself…. Dr.Oop!!! This song solidified Dr.Oop for me. Squander Horse put him into the I’ll buy anything he makes category. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot out there to get. So I saver it. I strongly urge everyone check out the song Hueman Nature of the Beast on his Myspace, becasue it goes directly into the where the fuck can I get this song category… oh 7″… you don’t say…a pressing of 300?…. Import only??? …

Dr.Oop…. please make more music!

fingerbanger 5: Dr. Oop – Lbs. & Hugs (don lowed)

—-

Overtly///Ended//Outtro//P.tone

Talking with a 6-year-old about Martin Luther King Jr. day is super easy if all that is said is, don’t judge people by the color of their skin. Simple because we can see skin, which is also it’s downfall, being that it is easy to distinguish. The second part of it ( the content of their character part) is more difficult. Mostly because as we are raised, we’re told what to do by our parents through rules without much explanation of reason. Rules that are hopefully are made out of wisdom, and not fear, but who knows. Wisdom is hard to impart, because it has to be embodied by the owner. Talk in allegories, parables, and examples only get you so far when trying to teach someone that their own character is more important than the character of others. On the other hand, fear is easy to impart. And so prejudice becomes a judgmental fear easily imparted. While content of character is knowledge of self, and hard to teach as a rule, because you cant teach it, it has to be learned by the owner. So the question becomes, how then can we teach content of character? I think if we can, its only by example. In part by parental example, but to a greater degree, by societal example. We like to think that adults and parents have a great influence on kids, but really its their peers. What we see as our peers is often what we aspire to imitate. Teaching a unity among fellow humans is made more difficult when our media takes a bow to the lowest common denominator in all instances, dramatizing and creating conflict to build false importance.  Drama is not exciting, nor self righteousness entertaining. Until we value self knowledge, and content of our OWN character above that of entertainment, and the false excitement of drama, we will continue to focus on the color of skin, and not the content of character, among other things deceiving.

Throwback: Gregory Isaacs – Nigger (don lowed)

—-

Throwback: Rodney Trotter – Space Nigga’ (don lowed)

—-

1. Planet Asia pays homage to the the one and only the ruler, Slick Rick by busting out a flow so flossin’ I’m thinking of starting a petition to get the two on a song together. 2. Its ill. Production by Chops.

Sacklunch: Planet Asia – Niggarachi (don lowed)

Tunawax is the 2010 intercontinental dryhump champions. But rather than hold it over your heads, we’re giving back…Finely picked dance tracks to go cotton to cotton with.

Shake it Down. Peach Citrus. Apple Pear. Attack.

Dryhump Champion: Laidback Luke & A-Trak – Shake It Down (don lowed)

Makeout: In-Crowd – Mango Walk (don lowed)

RF Butter Buttered Tory (http://robertbluemke.tumblr.com/)

I haven’t done a fingerbanger in forever here… but I’m coming through today. Its Friday.  I’ve got some good shit today too. Or I should say, good to me. Thats really what we do here. Post things that we find and like. Finding things is the best part. I’m pretty sure, the discovery is if we’re listening. Not just to music, but to the way things feel. Like… bang. Truth is, bangers is what I got. Bang.

Up, Bustle & Out has been a long time love of mine. Back in the day I was NinjaTune-ed in. This is from the Master Sessions II, a disc that had been in the secret stash until it went missing during the coup of Grete Kali. I really don’t know what happened to it, but it’s worth a mint in awesomeness.

Fingerbanger 1: Up Bustle & Out – Barrio Beats (don lowed)

—-

Abstract Rude has a firm place in my book of completely Hit or Miss artists. To the point that I’m struck with the potential idea that there is in fact two Abstract Rudes, and only one of them is musically inclined. Fortunately this is that one. Good song for the betterment of all in all places.

Fingerbanger 2: Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique – Musically Inclined (don lowed)

—-

Double inclined today. Sick song from a while back that should get its dues. Put that wax on the table.

Fingerbanger 3: Wax Tailor – Positively Inclined (Berry Weight Remix) (don lowed)

—-

Burhorn brings some old school-ish trip hop flavor in a much needed way. This song bleeds that 90’s aesthetic that felt so rooty and good like it was sealed in a capsule and just dissolved in a cup of hot water to remind us that there is such a thing as staying true to the soul. Next thing you know, were going to see videos celebrating culture and positive vibes in your neighborhood. Bring back ROC. And support this movement if you can… Buy on Amazon. Mole Website.

Fingerbanger 4: The Burhorn – You Will Never Know (The 2 Germans Remix) (don lowed)

—-

Holy hot shit. This makes my heart flutter and my stomach jump. I’m in love. Not even kidding a little.

Fingerbanger 5: The Lions – Think (About It) (don lowed)

—-

Over./.End./.Out./.P.tone