Serenade Beat-tapes

  Cassette City is an album, not a mixtape -- and as most hip-hop full-length albums do, it costs money.  I mention this because I feel like a bit of a hypocrite, because my blog description at the bottom suggests free music will be common in my posts, and I'm starting out with a 0/1 hit-rate.  Still, there will likely be few constants in the blog, and I want that to be clear from the beginning.  Hopefully this first post will help to establish that.

Lushlife - Cassette City (2009)

  So... Cassette City... Old-school hip hop beats comprised heavily of turn-tabled horn sections and screwed-up vocal samples. This isn’t Houston’s chopped and screwed -- but Lush uses the same techniques to mess with the underlying samples and create a musical environment that sounds much more aged than a 2009 release should feel. Combine those beats with a confident and intelligent flow and you get a summer sound that makes me want to find a stoop to post up on and bump his music. The album is designed to be listened to as a whole - not because the songs don’t hold up on their own, but because the songs each line up with the album’s theme in a way that boosts each tracks individual appeal.

Standout Track(s) -
    Until the Sun Dies - Lush turns late 90’s folk singer Beth Orton into a soulful sample once he chops and screws the track.

Interesting Note(s) -
    The most notable credit on the album is Ariel Pink. Seeing as Ariel Pink isn’t well-associated with the hip-hop at all, it is a little fascinating to see him as the most well-known “featuring” credit. The song using him is quite good too, check out:
    In Soft Focus (Feat. Ariel Pink & Elzhi)

Spotify Link
Amazon Link