Once a regular on the pages of MB, Cretan producer DJ Tzinas has been absent for a while and the world had heard nothing of his reggae-inflected party breakbeats for, bless my soul, seven years! That was until this bad boy dropped into the monkey’s inbox the other day. That would be Old-Fashioned Way then, an upbeat reggae riddim underpinned by cavernous boom-bap
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Tag Archives: Free download
DJ TZINAS: Old-Fashioned Way (Free download)
THE ROOTS: Silent Treatment (MR BOOM Dub Mix) Free download
Worried you’re too old for a stocking? Fear not as Mr Boom gets his Santa on to ensure everyone gets some free Yuletide action this year in the form of his latest remix. That’ll be his take on The Roots’ hip-hop/ neo-soul nugget Silent Treatment off their 1995 LP, Do You want More?!!!??! on which Roots MC Black Thought bemoaned his – er – lack of action. Maybe he would’ve have got
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ROGER RIVAS: Cool Mood (Ltd. Vinyl 7″)/ Free download
You know how Happy People Records occasionally likes to release a cut by latter-day reggae organ legend Roger Rivas of The Aggrolites/ Night Owls fame? Well here’s the next one – Cool Mood. That’ll be an instrumental Studio One style rocksteady number then will it? Laden with organ parps and riffs as is Mr Rivas’ wont? Certainly will. Wonder what’s on the flip? The A-side versioned in
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SLICK RICK: Children’s Story (RHYTHM SCHOLAR 70s True Crime Streetmix) Free Download
Rating: 
Now here’s a little something that needs to be heard – a stupid fresh remix of Slick Rick’s cautionary gangster tale Children’s Story by master remixer Rhythm Scholar. The original is an ’88 classic which despite the accelerating use of samples at the time, still featured drum machine beats and a replayed bassline from Bob James’ Nautilus. Rhythm Scholar on the other hand re-
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ROGER RIVAS: 10 Plagues (Vinyl 7″) + Free download
Rating: Keyboardist Roger Rivas goes full Jackie Mittoo on his latest 45 10 Plagues on a label long known for being a guardian of the retro reggae sound – Happy People Records. The track effortlessly conjures the ‘sound of ’69’ with its upbeat organ groove and is arguably the best solo effort yet from the man also known for his work as keyboardist and founder member of L.A. ‘dirty
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MALANDRO NINE FIVE: Return Of Rondo b/w Adrian’s Wall (Vinyl 7″) + free download
Spaghetti Western-themed early reggae? Somebody’s been listening to The Upsetters and it turns out those somebodies would be Jorge Pezzimenti of The Loving Paupers and Agent Jay of The Slackers who drop sweet double-sider Return Of Rondo/ Adrian’s Wall evoking that ’68/’69 era when rocksteady was morphing into early reggae. It’s not just the name of A-side Return Of Rondo
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JSTAR: One Time For Your Mind (JSTAR Under Arrest re-rub) Free download
Jeez – it seems like forever since there was a free download to post about on monkeyboxing but here one suddenly is – and what a one – from JStar no less. Back in the day before DJ Maars and Tom Showtime appeared on the reggae hip-hop mashup scene, there were JStar and Shepdog who practically wrote the guide book on the subject. And now here is JStar returning to that arena with
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DIZZY DUSTIN & PANDAMONIUM (feat. forty MCs): The Drop Cypher (Free download))
It is true historically, that at times, MB post titles have verged on the lengthy – it’s one of the perils of adhering to a format – but the monkey draws the line at mentioning all forty emcees featured on the Drop Cypher besides Ugly Duckling rapper Dizzy Dustin. For where Dizzy’s esrtwhile colleague Andy Cooper has made a name for himself dropping as many syllables as he can in
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MR DORIS & D-FUNK/ DICE NZ/ CHUGGIN EDITS: Slightly Transformed The New Year Giveaway 2021 (Free download)
In a new year spirit of generosity, the Slightly Transformed Records label kicks off 2021 with its aptly-named Slightly Transformed New Year Giveaway 2021 featuring today’s second trio of edits (this time freely downloadable!) courtesy of Mr Doris & D-Funk, Dice NZ and Chuggin Edits. First up is Doris & D’s rerub of Raptivity by old school legend Ronnie Gee which, despite lacking
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BRONX SLANG: The Bronx Kill Mixtape (Free download)
Rating: Having judged the middle of an ongoing pandemic not quite the best time to be releasing an LP, Bronx Slang – a.k.a. Jerry Beeks and Ollie Miggs – nevertheless unleash more hip-hop commentary from the frontline with their straight dope Bronx Kill Mixtape. And it is a veritable verbal broadside against the racist hate, oppressive brutality and catastrophic
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