Respect Authority

Be Shareful highlights a band/musician/hip hop superstar number one in the game/whatever and offers free downloads of some of their music. The MP3s will be available for one week so get them before the RIAA gets me.

M.I.A.

Today’s Be Shareful tracks are a selection of sticks and stones and weed and bombs compliments of Sri Lankan hipster queen M.I.A. Specifically, I’ve chosen a number of “Paper Planes” remixes and mashups that are not only very good, but also distinct. Considering the song has permeated the inner membrane of America’s skull at this point, these tracks should provide a nice variety, not to mention show how much you really can do with just one song.

For those who gave up on popular music after Outkast’s viral “Hey Ya” infected the airways and subsequently, our every waking hour and even our fucking dreams, and don’t know who the hell I’m talking about — M.I.A. is a British songwriter, vocalist and producer whose music encompasses the most insane swath of genres since… I don’t know… ever? Combining traditional dance and folk styles such as soca and dappan koothu with modern hip hop, electropop, and alt-rock, M.I.A.’s music touches on themes of immigration, war, indie culture, pop culture, poverty, revolution, and personal relationships, amongst other things. To say the least, M.I.A. is a very diverse artist. Read More ›

This is the first “edition”, if you will, of a feature we’re going to be running regularly called Be Shareful. Be Shareful will highlight a band/musician/hip hop superstar number one in the game/whatever and offer free downloads of some of their music. The MP3s will be available for one week so get them before the RIAA gets me.

Low Budget

I’m a sucker for mashups and remixes, and have recently happened upon DJ Low B aka Low Budget, a Philadelphia based DJ who is known for putting out diverse mixtapes, and as half of the Hollertronix combo, the other half being Diplo of MIA’s heralded Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1 mixtape or the more recent Top Ranking, featuring rising star Santogold. Shit, talk about run on sentences. Anyway, Hollertronix produced 2003’s Never Scared, which the New York Times went on to name their top album of the year.

Low B’s mixtapes are frankly, hot fire, and full of surprising samples. He draws from a wide range of music, blending Baltimore club with dirty Southern rap and further peppering it with rock, pop and even disco. It may sound like a mess, and it is… but, and I never thought I’d say this, God bless this mess. Uh… I mean, the only thing that’s messy about Low Budget’s music is your face after you’ve heard it and are like, “Oh my god, that music is so crazy now my face is all messed up.” Read More ›