JOHNNYPLUSE: Load Up On Guns (2011) – Free download

JOHNNYPLUSE: Load Up On Guns (2011) – Free download
JohnnyPluse loads up on Nirvana samples for this cheeky breaks number...
…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

RANDA & THE SOUL KINGDOM: What You Need (2011) + tracklist

RANDA & THE SOUL KINGDOM: What You Need (2011) + tracklist
Second LP for this highly respected Aussie funk and soul outfit and it seems like Randa Khamis and The Soul Kingdom have been engaging in a bit of generic expansionism resulting in annexation of the surrounding territories of disco and northern soul whilst maintaining a firm grasp over their original funky dominion.…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DANNY SPICE feat. Craig G/ KEY FIGURES feat. Craig G & Mikey D: King Of The Beat/ Come Get Some (2011) + video

DANNY SPICE feat. Craig G/ KEY FIGURES feat. Craig G & Mikey D: King Of The Beat/ Come Get Some (2011) + video
Danny Spice drops a new beat of ominous but vintage-sounding head-nod and who should happen along with a few rhymes but former Juice Crew member and rap icon Craig G…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

WRIGGLY SCOTT feat. Jibberish: Twilight Empires (2011) – Free download

WRIGGLY SCOTT feat. Jibberish: Twilight Empires (2011) – Free download
Social commentary and groove? Believe! The return of Wriggly Scott and Jibberish…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

B-SIDE: Playa EP (2011)
B-Side's new EP on Ghetto Funk. All party. No bullshit.
…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

COCKNEY NUTJOB: Sicker Than Your Average (Ghetto Funk mix) (2011) – Free download
Bass-boostin', Biggie-featurin', freely-downloadable' action from Ramp FM's Cockney Nutjob …READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FREESTYLE RECORDS launch new website with Lack Of Afro ‘A Time For’ free download (2011)

FREESTYLE RECORDS launch new website with Lack Of Afro ‘A Time For’ free download (2011)
Freestyle Records promo their new website with a free DL of Lack Of Afro's A Time For…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

KOOL HERTZ: Whatta Joint EP (2011)

KOOL HERTZ: Whatta Joint EP (2011)
Kool Hertz on the ghetto funk/ b-boy frequency with his new EP Whatta Joint…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

JASMINE KARA: ‘In The Basement’ 45 (2011)

JASMINE KARA: ‘In The Basement’ 45 (2011)
RATING: 5/5
Acid Jazz in dope funk/ soul release shocker...…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FUZZBOX INC: Party People (2011)

FUZZBOX INC: Party People (2011)
Fuzzbox Inc. and Fort Knox Five try and house you...
…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DRUMAT!C/ ICEROCKS feat. T.R.A.C: Stay True (Nightime mix/ BBQ mix)(2011) - Blunted Astronaut Records

DRUMAT!C/ ICEROCKS feat. T.R.A.C: Stay True (Nightime mix/ BBQ mix)(2011) - Blunted Astronaut Records
Mid-nineties throwback blunted hip-hop out on wax this month from T.R.A.C. on beats from Drumat!c and Ice Rocks…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DUSTY TONEZ: Ghetto Maestro (2011)

DUSTY TONEZ: Ghetto Maestro (2011)
New ghetto funk bump from Dusty Tonez - it's all about the wobble. And the ragga. And the electro. And the funk.…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold (Mr Bristow) Remix (2011) – Free download

FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold (Mr Bristow) Remix (2011) – Free download
Got soul but need more wobble in your life? It’s your lucky week then – for it would seem that the Dancefloor Outlaws aren’t the only ones plundering seventies cheese for a ghetto funk makeover. No, DJ/Producer Mr Bristow is at it as well with this rather well done re-version of the 1970 Freda Payne classic and you can cop it for free off the player below. …READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DANCEFLOOR OUTLAWS: Disco Cakes Vol. 3 (2011)

DANCEFLOOR OUTLAWS: Disco Cakes Vol. 3 (2011)
Dancefloor Outlaws cook up a third batch of ghetto/ nu funk ‘disco cakes’ to fill that party snack gap. Opener Betty makes quite free with Ram Jam’s very un-disco Black Betty bam-a-lamming her into the twenty-first century with some quite rude bass wobble and Regukate’s appropriation of Warren G’s ubiquitous vocal gets its eighties soul on in the shiniest grey polyester suit way possible. More worryingly though, Snoop’s The One And Only (feat. Dre) sits alarmingly well …READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

WACK RECORDS 11: Smov/ DJ Kid Stretch/ Prosper/ The Breakbeat Junkie/ DJP(2011)

WACK RECORDS 11: Smov/ DJ Kid Stretch/ Prosper/ The Breakbeat Junkie/ DJP(2011)
Four new disco biscuits from Smoove and friends...…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

EVIDENCE: ‘You’ (prod. DJ Premier) (2011) video

EVIDENCE: You (Prod. DJ Premier) (2011) video
Hot on the tail of the Fashawn featuring Same Folks comes another video from Dilated Peoples emcee/ producer Evidence. You (for such is the track’s name) features a Premo beat that DJ Premier himself premiered on his radio show last week. Try saying that when you’re pissed. Actually for a Premo beat it’s a dead ringer for a Platform/ Expansion Team-era Dilated beat.…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

RHYMESAYERS & CARHARTT: Mix competition (2011)

RHYMESAYERS & CARHARTT: Mix competition (2011)
Ah – the mixtape, still with us despite the lack of tape. So not actually a mix ‘tape’ then - more just a digital mix. Now vinyl’s one thing (and I, for one, applaud its refusal to die) but I’m not even going to pretend I miss tape. What a shitty old format. It stretched, it got chewed up, if you held it too close to a magnet it got wiped – yes, a mixtape was a delicate thing back in the day and once created it was surrounded by enemies. Back to the present and now all you do is connect a cable or two, hit a couple of commands on your laptop or something…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

WORDPLAY MAGAZINE: Relaunch September 2011

WORDPLAY MAGAZINE: Relaunch September 2011
One massive disadvantage of the digital revolution is that it wasn’t really practical to do your reading on the toilet - at least until iPads and the like came along – and even now you still wouldn’t want to swat a fly with your tablet – unless you’ve got bare money to spare like some sort of thieving investment banker. Thus those who like a quiet read about hip-hop have had to do it online or else shell out for Yank mags (I said ‘Yank’) like Vibe and The Source. Enter Wordplay Magazine…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

CHART – September 2011

CHART - September 2011
(NEW) 1. DJ Duct feat. The Regiment – Breakout

100% B-boy crack …READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DJ DUCT feat. THE REGIMENT: Backyard Edit pt. 4 (Detroit Session) (2011)

DJ DUCT feat. THE REGIMENT: Backyard Edit pt. 4 (Detroit Session) (2011)
The man from Japan, DJ Duct heads to Motor City USA for a hook-up with hip-hop crew The Regiment and comes away with Backyard Edit 4. Essentially this is the kind of vinyl-only, ultra expensive, limited-edition Japanese import on a format that’s dying on its ass (the 12”) that common sense tells you not to bother with. The thing is, where this is concerned, common sense doesn’t know what the fuck it’s talking about. Less a record than b-boy crack…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

THE BLACK KEYS: ‘Blakroc 2’ update and video

THE BLACK KEYS: ‘Blakroc 2’ update and video
The Black Keys are legends and so are the rappers they worked with on their first rap/ rock project Blakroc so it’s a pity that what they came up with was a bit of an ‘also ran.’ Still, Carney and Auerbach and friends are back soon for a second crack of the whip with Blakroc 2 – so who knows – maybe things will get rectified. When I heard the music the ‘Keys had recorded for the original project I just kept thinking that what would’ve been better was if producers had just chopped and sampled already existing Black Keys tracks for the various MCs to rip over. In my head, that’s what Blakroc 2 will be. The fact that…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS: Breaks From The Border (2011)

THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS: Breaks From The Border (2011)
The New Mastersounds have been recording quality instrumental funk (often in the Meters or funky Grant Green tradition) for over a decade now, occasionally hooking up with some of the best vocalists of the contemporary scene. Presumably bored of the casual ease with which this has been accomplished they had a crack at a couple of new angles on Breaks From The Border. The first of these was recording the album in Texas (hence the LP title) – no great hardship admittedly – and the second was for members of the band to do vocals. So how did they get on? We asked the monkeyboxing.com tea lady (she’s a very funky woman) to give us the rundown…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DEEP STREET SOUL: Look Out, Watch Out (2011)

DEEP STREET SOUL: Look Out, Watch Out (2011)
RATING: 5/5
Whoop, whoop! Watch out - Australia’s Deep Street Soul return with even more garage and fuzz in their funk than before with this double whammy. It seems like they might’ve hooked themselves up with something of a permanent vocalist in the form of appropriately raucous-voiced May Johnston who lets rip on the uptempo title track of the DSS’ forthcoming second LP Look Out, Watch Out. As with their last 45 the flip is soul sister vocal too and Greenbacks-girl Shirley Davis is back with a mighty cover of soul king Clarence Reid’s Masterpiece…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DIRTY DUBSTERS / BLEND MISHKIN: Screechy Dan EP (2011)

DIRTY DUBSTERS / BLEND MISHKIN: Screechy Dan EP (2011)
For their third release Irish Moss bring us the Screechy Dan EP featuring veteran NY toaster Screechy Dan of Kenny Dope-produced Boomin’ In Ya Jeep fame. It’s a six tracker which is a lot of screeching, I think you’ll agree – but is our man Dan up to it? Does a bear shit on the Pope? Of course he is! Actually, in reality it’s two tracks with a brace of remixes apiece. Dirty Dubsters provide ridiculously heavy dub weaponry on Gift Of Dub is a super heavy slice of dub reggae with punishing snares and a tempo switch about halfway through which gets a dnb rerub from Run Tingz Cru and a breaks makeover from DJ Wood. If possible, Athenian dub maestro Blend Mishkin then ups the ante with…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM