Put You On | Craze & It's Nate

Haven't done a Put You On post since my Shane Eli interview (check the interview and PYO post) and that was quite a while ago! Anyway. Below are this month's PYO candidates.

It's Nate

Recently on Twitter I was bantering about how much I love Dilla-esque beats and how much I wanted to see rappers from the UK drop a couple bars on beats similar to them. Well, lucky me. Almost instantly after I tweeted, I received a link to this track by It's Nate. With a wealth of talent and coolness, Nate describes his encounter with mystery girl, his attempts to woo her and the seemingly meaningless conversation that ensues. I just love it. It's most certainly a track you can vibe to and relate to. Nobody likes to listen to an artist they can't understand, right? June sees the release of his mixtape, so be on the look-out for that one. In the meantime, listen to the Lz produced track below and check out his Tumblr and Blog too.

Pointless Conversation

Craze

The thing I appreciate most in an artist has to be sincerity. Good rhyme-slingers spit from the heart and I honestly felt something when I heard What's Your Life Like from London based rapper Craze. Upon first listen, one might be instantly reminded of an early Mos Def (think Urban Thermo Dynamics circa 1994/95, their cadence is so similar, it's quite uncanny) but with a sharper ear you'll see the difference. Craze questions his listener about their lives while at the same time relating his own; observing his surroundings and future. The classic Crooklyn Dodgers, Return of The Crooklyn Dodgers instrumental certifies this track as 100% dopeness and as you all know, it's almost impossible to go wrong with such a timeless beat. Find more Craze tunes on his Youtube channel here.

What's Your Life Like

Put You On | Shane Eli

So this is the new feature I was talking about. My 'Put You On' posts will feature upcoming artists whom I've found interesting, exciting or whatever - and if I'm on my job, you probably wouldn't have heard of them yet! I come across new talent practically everyday (YouTube is my friend for sure) so each week I'll write up a quick paragraph or two on these artists I've been lending my ears to. Hopefully you'll discover something new! Anyway. Let me keep in moving. First up is Shane Eli.

Don't let anyone ever tell you Canada's best hip-hop exports are Drake and Kardinal Offishall because you'd be missing someone else. Rapper and producer Shane Eli, born in Canada but raised in Los Angeles released his debut album The Push last Spring and hopefully we'll see a lot more from him in future. “My influences are pretty diverse. The first albums I bought were Wrecks n’ Effect’s Hard or Smooth and Offspring’s Smash. I grew up in a household where my mom played everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Joe Cocker. It taught me to learn to love good music – not just good hip hop.” And those variations definitely show in his work. His debut album is an interesting fusion of synthesisers and  futuristic beats, most notably on tracks I'm Different and the song dedicated to her, her and her Baby You're The One - did I mention the whole album was recorded and produced entirely by him? Yeah and in his LA apartment too. Not bad. 

This month sees the release of Shane's second album I Can Do Better which houses singles I Love You (Kinda) and the most recently released When We Were Kings; the latter of which uses a chopped up sample of choristic oohs and aahs and excerpts from interviews with hip-hop luminaries 2Pac and Jay-Z. I reckon it'll be a solid effort, if his latest single is anything to go by. Here's hoping anyway. Take a listen to the aforementioned track below and be sure to download his album! (It was free... so it's okay. Trust me.)

When We Were Kings

Tracklisting

01. I’m a Winner

02. Taste of What’s to Come

03. Grey Area

04. I’m Different

05. Baby You’re the One

06. Happiest Regret f/ Kamilah Gibson

07. Push

08. Dear Music

09. We Mean Business

10. Knuckle Up

11. Haters

12. Poor Me

13. Swing Low

14. I Wonder

15. Departure

Download Shane Eli's debut here.

Twitter: @Shane_Eli

Website: shaneeli.com

Put You On | Monsieur Nov

For those of you who still think French music is all Édith Piaf, Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Hallyday, guess again. I present to you Monsieur Nov, the amazing French-Asian neo-soul singer all the way from Goussainville, Val-d'Oise. With a musical style somewhat reminiscent of Musiq Soulchild, Monsieur Nov maintains a cool, soulful flair in his Creative Recreation sneakers, tatts and geeky glasses - and not to forget this dude can really sing - check out track Trop Fresh from his 2008 debut album Sans Dessus 2 Soul. His latest album Groove Therapy (the only thing English about it, being the name) boasts awesome tracks such as Tous Les Jours, Tous Les Soirs (Everyday, Every Night), that has a slow, 'come-to-bed' vibe and BCJC (baskets, casquettes, jeans, cartonnes) an up-tempo number about staying true to oneself. His versatile, honest music is captivating and despite the language barrier his songs may pose for some, there is no denying that he's manifique! So get your translators ready guys because The 'Future is Nov'!