About this Playlist
The latest tunes sent straight to the hoof’s stables (well e-mail) to feed his healthy appetite of tasty top quality music, sent from the artists themselves, DJ’s, producers, managers, record labels and publicists.
The best in rap and hip hop, the playlist has a distinctive sound, from established and new artists, looking to the future but with an eye on past, the hoof grew up with hip hop and the sounds of the golden age, strong rhymes and funky beats, old school flavour with modern high quality production.
The track is taken out for a run on the gallops to test it’s endurance, with only the most hoof shaking sounds making it onto the playlist.
The latest hoof shaking tunes
The Allergies – Utility Man ft Andy Cooper
Where To Start With Allergies on Spotify
You can do it if you put your back into it: The Allergies and Andy Cooper are back at it once again with another prime slice of funky hip-hop, topping a fine 2021 with a final chance to get stoopid fresh from their 6 Music Album of the Day ‘Promised Land’.
Riding a super slick double bass groove and neck snapping drums, LA hip-hop legend Cooper flips fearsome rap styles, pitching his case as the ultimate go-to gun-for-hire M.C. It clinches B-Side banger status as the flip to ‘Going To The Party’ featuring Lyrics Born, available as a 7″ sureshot early 2022.
On their latest full-length, producers Rackabeat and DJ Moneyshot dig deep into their souls, as well as their record collections, serving up a day-glo blast of super positive sampledelia that’ll have you smiling from ear to ear. Built from scratch during lockdown, each song offers up a world to lose yourself in, free from any dark clouds. This is their ‘Promised Land’, and everyone is welcome to bask in the sunshine.*
The Allergies on Bandcamp here
Tall Black Guy & Ozay Moore – MUD
Tall Black Guy & Ozay Moore blend hip-hop, funk, and soul on their undeniably catchy and inspiring new single, “MUD,” featuring contemporary gospel artist Sean C. Johnson.
In building his foundation for the track, TBG brings a live-band feel to “MUD” with ample hits of brass, rich organ strokes, and his signature neck-breaking drums. It’s the perfect canvas for Ozay to spit bar after bar about his come-up both as an artist and a man, getting “addicted to the crates” and “chopping samples onto floppy disks.”
More than that, though, “MUD” is about respecting the processes, disciplines, rituals, and philosophies that lead to progression. The mud is the substance by which we make something out of nothing. It’s a powerful message from Ozay and his collaborators, especially Johnson, who blesses the track with a soulful, sing-along chorus about “building castles in the mud.”
Mud is taken from the LP ‘Of Process and Progression‘ it’s a perfectly balanced combination of hip-hop, jazz, and soul from longtime collaborators Tall Black Guy & Ozay Moore, who continue to push themselves creatively after a collective more than 30 years in the game. On each and every track on this LP, the duo beautifully blend Golden Era boom-bap with modern sounds to deliver something altogether timeless and inspiring.
As soon as the title track opens the project, these two lay the groundwork for what’s to come with funky production from TBG and introspective, personal raps from Ozay. They carry that same creativity and passion throughout OPAP, from the thoughtful meditation of “NuPwr” through to the uplifting anthem of “Make It Like this.”
Even better, they carry on the tradition of showing love to those who came before them with a slew of hip-hop Easter eggs. “Viberite” absolutely oozes the best work of early ‘90s A Tribe Called Quest while featuring newcomer KUMBAYA, and TBG flips a Fat Boys sample on brassy banger “Stick ‘Em.” And then there’s “Runnin’ Away,” an all-out revamp of The Pharcyde classic, and the old-school back-and-forth raps of “Har Hanz” featuring Ohmega Watts (of Ozay’s former crew, Lightheaded).
There’s just so much to love about OPAP, an easy candidate for one of the year’s best releases, regardless of genre. Both TBG and Ozay have been on a tear these past few years with their respective careers, but it’s safe to say they’re reaching a new peak together with this release.*
Tall Black Guy on Bandcamp here
Alias Molombo ft A-F-R-O – All About
US-Heavyweight-Rap-Champion A-F-R-O teams up with producer Alias Molombo from Germany for this collabo “All About…” A-F-R-O, known for his work with R.A. Rugged Man, Jedi Mind Tricks etc. delivers top notch lyrics to a sample based classic Rap-Beat, that bumps your head. Alias Molombo is a producer from Germany (Augsburg) who was infected with the HipHopv virus as a child in the late 8ßs. After buying the first sampler he quickly had first successand produced numerous albums for local bands. The level of awareness grew steadily, the credits now extend to Hollywood. He always remained true to his sound asthetics: popping drums, dusty samples and vinyl.*
Alias Molombo’s Loop Department here
Bronx Slang – Just Say No
Where To Start With Bronx Slang on Spotify
Mad as hell and not willing to take it anymore, Bronx Slang offer the ultimate response to what the world is trying to peddle. ‘Just Say No’ hustles the status quo out the picture with funk fit for a king or kingpin, a classic uptown fanfare for a celebratory ticker tape parade. Far from offering high fives, Beeks & Miggs tag team with another state of the nation supply of both questions and answers, promising to “represent with no embellishments”. Fight for your right, shut ‘em down, ‘Just Say No’.
Bronx Slang, Jerry Beeks and Ollie Miggs yield not to evil as the calls for golden age purism grow louder. They offer a solid gold guarantee of being able to “pickpocket your playlist, shoplift your pop hits / and show you how gritty hip-hop can get”. “If hip-hop is dead, then it’s a brand new start” – welcome to a resurgence straight out the Boogie Down Bronx.*
Josh One ft Demetrius Rhymes & Eighty Bugg – What’s Going On
Producer/DJ Josh One has pushed the boundaries of hip-hop, trip-hop, downtempo and house for over two decades. The award-winning producer is responsible for countless underground classics and platinum remixes working with artists from Blu, Aloe Blacc, Sean Paul, J Dilla, Keith Murray, Shana Halligan, The Pharcyde, Fitz & The Tantrums, Nappy Roots to Goapele. Renowned for his prolific range of genre-blurring and groundbreaking productions.
* edited versions of text provided by labels/publicists.