desert rap
Holy. Crap. Now Z-Trip is no newcomer to the hip-hop scene-- he's been putting his heart, soul, blood sweat and tears behind bringing a full-on hip-hop education to the masses with every set, mix CD and live show he's done. Not only that, while he didn't invent the mash-up, he certainly gave it street cred in the DJ/battle world around the same time or before groups like Soulwax were hijaaking pop tunes with similar techniques. However, what really stands out about Z-Trip is the fact that he's been a Bambaata-like figure to the current generation of hip-hop; the dude pulls the most funky, killer breaks out of places you'd never, EVER look for them. Current masters of the game like Diplo and the Hollertronix crew are perfecting the art form, but in my opinion, Z-Trip really was one of the pioneers, mixing breaks into carefully carved slices of pop tracks and giving you a wild ride in the process.
So it's no surpise that this track fucking blew my mind. The emcee work comes courtesy of Soup from the Jurassic 5, giving it a familiar left-coast styling laced over top that makes it easy to get down to. But even Soup's solid performance on the mic doesn't come close to outshining the real star of this single: Z-Trip's ungodly production. I listened to the instrumental 5 times in a row last night. That breakdown! Those guitar riffs! That 110% bangin' drum loop with the almost sitar-like stretched guitar chord resonating in the background! This track has me as psyched over this LP as 12-year old boys are when they discover boobs.
The single is out now, and can be purchased [here]. you can also download a whole slew of mixes, and the LP, Shifting Gears comes out on Hollywood Records and will be in stores on April 26th. And jeezum god I can't wait.