Jules Chaz to release “Toppings” – first ever Hip-Hop release for Mathew Jonson’s Wagon Repair label
21 tracks of fuzzy downtempo bliss, punctuated by finely sliced and diced snippets of Hall and Oates, Julee Cruise, reggae and bangra samples, with cameos by Cobblestone keyboardist Danuel Tate and fire-spittin’ emcee Ishkan.
***Free download of CD track “Blak Lodge”***
www.rephlektorink.com/kits/JulesChazBlakLodge.mp3
Hip Hop purists, make room in your crates under “Baroque/Blunted Beats” for Jules Chaz. You may have never heard of him and Google certainly won’t help, but the man’s street cred weighs a ton. After playing in various bands around British Columbia, cruising around the world on a ship and supporting the celebrated Cobblestone Jazz crew over the last 15 years, one of Canada’s hardest working and most talented DJs, musicians and producers has finally stepped up to release a CD under his own name.
Making up for lost time, Jules Chaz’s eagerly-anticipated debut “Toppings” on Wagon Repair drops in the fall and features 21 tracks of fuzzy downtempo bliss, punctuated by finely sliced and diced snippets of Hall and Oates, Julee Cruise (“Blak Lodge”), reggae and bangra (“Saysumthin”) samples, with cameos by Cobblestone keyboardist Danuel Tate (“Yes I Do”) and fire-spittin’ emcee Ishkan (“Could Happen”). Handcrafted at home, while his five year-old son slept, and at a decked-out studio he shares with Tate, the album represents Chaz’s favorite work from the last few years, what he considers to be the jazz of today. Perhaps confounding critics and marketers who would simply file him under “Laptop Hip Hop”, he clarifies, “I like screwing with analog gear. I don’t use a laptop. The guys in LA are more electro and laptop-ish but this fits right in there.”
Lending support to Chaz’s conquest of the alternative Hip Hop scene is none other than Moka Only, perhaps Canada’s premier beat maker and emcee. Moka included him on his recent Martian Xmas compilation and doesn’t mince words when it comes to praising Chaz, even though they only met in December 2009. Early support has also come from king-making internationalist Gilles Peterson, who has played “Yes I Do” on his BBC radio show. The most significant support naturally comes from Wagon Repair, a record label better known for its quirky techno. The shift towards Hip Hop testifies to their confidence in Jules Chaz. After all, the man has created over 300 tracks to date and his prolific output shows no sign of waning.
Presently, Chaz can be found holding down a selector residency every other Sunday at Tyger Dhula’s Mint lounge in Victoria while working on more material and plotting a tour. “I would include some more reggae stuff, maybe bring DJ Nature Boy from my neighborhood who can toast. I really want to work with more Jamaican vocals over some dirty beats.” Curious tastemakers, don’t sleep. Now that Jules Chaz has emerged into the limelight, he is not re
Hip Hop Producer REL!G!ON Inks a deal with Planet Asia
“Get Rel!g!on” is the current rally cry surrounding the latest hip hop producer, who’s already began dazzling artists and record labels with his skilled creations and innovative beats. Utilizing a fascinating mix of live playing and assorted sampling, the young producer from Vancouver, British Columbia is generating buzz in Canada as well as the U.S. Rel!g!on is already releasing his own material, as well as working with other artists to build his reputation as a bona fide hit machine in the hip hop game.
Released in January 2010, his first official release, Revelationz I garnered positive attention from reviewers and fans across the web. Featuring heavy hitters such as Chuck D of Public Enemy as well as Planet Asia and Moka Only, Rel!g!on’s first record was nothing short of an instant hip hop success. His inspired, imaginative tracks laid the foundation for ultra skilled MCs to spit their finest rhymes and create memorable, catchy songs.
Born in Ottawa, Rel!g!on grew up listening to his father’s musical influence, which included a variety of instruments, singing, and an extensive record collection. Fascinated by keyboards and organs, the fledgling hip hop perfectionist began experimenting with records and a Casio SK 1, beginning the journey of honing his incredible skills. While he started with an old keyboard and entertaining diss tracks about his high school classmates, Rel!g!on rapidly progressed into a respected producer working with artists from Vancouver to New York.
The future is bright for Rel!g!on, as he shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, with a number of impressive projects currently in the works for hip hop fans across North America. He produced two tracks on Planet Asia’s upcoming record Black Belt Theatre, which also features Raekwon of Wu-Tang, DJ Babu and Evidence of Dilated Peoples, Ras Kass and many more. Rel!g!on will also be at the helm for Planet Asia’s entire next full length, slated for 2011. This summer will also see the anticipated release of a collaboration record between Rel!g!on and one of Pittsburgh’s finest MCs, Jasiri X and New Orleans rapper/producer Dain. Check out his MySpace page for music videos and streaming audio, and Facebook for the latest information and updates.
Sweatshop Union Present Three New Albums This Summer
Veteran Canadian rap icons Sweatshop Union and Canada’s preeminent hip-hop label URBNET are pleased to announce a new partnership which will see three brand new Sweatshop Union releases on URBNET this summer. The three “Sweatshop Union Presents” CDs will be released in Canada on June 15 and in the United States on August 10th.
Sweatshop Union began as a progressive-minded hip-hop co-operative in 2000 and has been enlightening the Canadian hip-hop landscape with their ace combination of perceptive lyrics and neck-snapping beats ever since. They have been extensively touring Canada since 2001, the United States over the last four years and have been recognized in Urb Magazines next 100 for 2009. Comprised of several west-coast hip-hop groups, 2010 sees the crew organizing efforts to concentrate on their bread and butter — moving the crowd while rocking the microphone.
Pigeon Hole, down with the Union since day one, make a strong bid for hip-hop relevance in 2010 with their brand-new full-length “Age Like Astronauts.” Fortunately for listeners, Pigeon Hole’s ten years on the scene have failed to mellow the duo of MC/producers, who proudly refuse to be pinned down to any specific genre or sound. Their music runs the gamut from boom-bap hip-hop classicism to ecstatic psychedelic freak outs — sometimes on the same track. “Age Like Astronauts” features songs with D-Sisive, Moka Only, DJ Itchy Ron and Mos Eisley of Sweatshop Union.
Another charter member of Sweatshop Union returns on June 15 with the release of Dirty Circus’ debut release “Alive And Well.” Years in the making and anticipated by fans for almost as long, “Alive And Well” is meticulously constructed as a tribute to the golden years of hip-hop when beats and rhyme reigned supreme over image and bling. After 10 years and five albums with the larger Sweatshop Union collective, Dirty Circus’ Metty and Mos bring it all back home with deep concentration on this effort, curating beats by West Coast luminaries such as Swollen Members’ Rob The Viking, Chin Injeti and features collaborations by Geo from Blue Scholars and cuts by Rhettmatic. Joining the fun on “Alive And Well” is a virtual whos-who of stunning independent rap talent, including Bootie Brown from the Pharcyde and Canadian underground hero Shad K.
“Sweatshop Union Presents: The Trillionaire$” is the third new CD to drop on June 15. Constructed as both a critique of capitalism run amok as well as a paean to the good life to which we all strive, The Trillionaire$ is hip-hop satire at it’s highest level. Produced soley by Metty (twice nominated for a Juno with Sweatshop Union), The Trillionaire$ is a collaboration between Metty and respected west-coast scene veteran Evil Ebenezer, and features cameos by underground legends Josh Martinez, Frank Nitt from Frank N Dank and AWOL ONE, among other notables.
Still going stronger than ever, Sweatshop Union and URBNET are pleased to announce three brand-new releases by Pigeon Hole, Dirty Circus and The Trillionaire$ this summer. All three full-length will be released on CD and digital June 15 in Canada and August 10th in the United States.
The Nope – Rain All Day (Radio)
In an era where most hip-hop artists claim to ‘break new ground’ or ‘challenge the boundaries’, yet more often than not only deliver on diluted retreads of stale rap clichés, Canadian/American duo The Nope (Psy of the Oddities and Moka Only) offer a different approach: they drop all pretence of treading new waters. As The Nope emcee Psy shares, “We’re exactly the same as every other music group you’ve ever heard before. So, prepare for absolute boredom.” For once, a rapper tells the truth.
The Nope is at best reactionary, their subversiveness a mere academic contrivance. Purported Dadaists, Psy and Moka Only claim to be “anti-everything,” crafting songs about “whatever we feel at the time.” And with tracks like “Mickey D’s”, an opus on eating at the imperialist Golden Arches chain three days in a row while recording, or another entitled “Chant’n'Sing”, where Moka confides that, after airing woman troubles, “I can understand why some of yall want to pee on ‘em man,” the claim of speaking what is on their mind in unguarded fashion is not to be questioned.
Yet, I don’t know if it is to be lauded either, even if it makes troubled RnB crooners sympathetic. Sometimes naked honesty can amount to a case ‘When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong’, rather than a nuanced artistic declaration. Though, in fairness, how a listener views the duo depends on whether he or she takes The Nope serious. The Nope creates feel-good nonsense, mood-music hearkening to a bygone era when acts like Ultra Mag and Y’all So Stupid had a rightful place. And Psy and Moka’s talents shine, regardless of whether their gifts are realised on material of any depth or significance.
Instead, Moka’s soulful off-kilter production and Psy and Moka’s playful lyricism and nimble rhyme-schemes recall the creative lightheartedness of early-to-mid 90s hip hop, except without Jurassic 5 or Ugly Duckling-like anachronism. Written by: Daniel Saad
https://urbnet.box.net/shared/static/uj9b7p6dom.mp3