Home
PRODIGY, ''Nickel and a Nail''
''As a young gun, I was like, 'They can't stop me,''' raps Queens MC Prodigy on this cut from his new solo album Return of the Mac. ''Now I'm all grown — obviously they ain't stopped me.'' In reality, his career hasn't gone nearly that smoothly. Since the '90s ended, P's releases as part of the once-great duo Mobb Deep have been exercises in diminishing returns. This song, however, delivers the candid street talk and dusty, sampled soul that got the Mobb heads nodding back in the day. Here's hoping the old Prodigy is back for good. (Buy it on iTunes)
SA-RA FEAT. TALIB KWELI, ''Feel the Bass''
The enigmatic trio known as Sa-Ra has attracted growing underground buzz in recent years with a wide-ranging style that blends genres including hip-hop, funk, and electronica. On this advance track from their full-length debut (out April 24), Sa-Ra's trippy production transports conscious-rap stalwart Talib Kweli's familiar flow to fresh, exciting places. (Stream it from Kweli's website)
YACHT, ''See A Penny (Pick It Up)''
Jona Bechtolt — one half of indie rock lap-pop act the Blow — strikes out on his own next month with I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real, his third solo album under the name YACHT. This teaser track is bursting with the same boundless enthusiasm that made the Blow's Paper Television a blog hit last year. No one combines giddy bubblegum melodies with clinically precise programming quite like Bechtolt. (Download it from YACHT's website)
BALKAN BEAT BOX, ''Digital Monkey''
This pair of Israel-born Brooklynites sees their wild, mashed-up music as a tool for achieving peace in the Middle East. They just might be onto something: Who wouldn't want to drop everything and party after hearing this track's dizzy mix of klezmer horns, electro beats, and dancehall toasting? (Download it from BBB's label)
THE INNOCENCE MISSION, ''Brotherhood of Man''
Twenty-plus years after forming in southern Pennsylvania, this indie-folk trio is still humbly forging onward. Their just-released 10th album, We Walked In Song, is full of pure, plain acoustic lullabies like this one. Give it a listen and you'll agree that the band can consider its titular mission thoroughly accomplished. (Download it from EW.com)
