Ming & FS

Some of my favorite DJs ever. Super creative stuff, always a good listen and is the best music to play video games to, especially Super Mario Galaxy. I really like their album Human Condition but all of their stuff is really good.

In an effort to extend the existing boundaries of urban music production, Ming + FS fuse the best elements of U.S. hip hop, U.K. drum and bass, Detroit electro, and Bay Area turntablism to create their very own ‘junkyard’ style. If you could combine the two-step beats of Ed Rush with the downtempo sensibilities of Peanut Butter Wolf and the scratching and transforming abilities of Q Bert, the result would be close to the sound of Ming + FS.

Hailing from Connecticut, FS is a respected hip hop producer and a highly sought-after remixer who has worked with Coolio, Brandy, and Channel Live of the KRS-One Posse. New York native Ming completed his degree in electrical engineering and audio production at the University of Miami. Together, the two opened their Madhattan recording studio and label, and in no time were remixing the likes of Spooky, OmZone, and Terra Deva. After acclaimed releases on Madhattan, Ubiquity, and Jungle Sky, Ming + FS caught the attention of San Francisco’s Om Records.

Hell’s Kitchen, their debut full-length on Om, is a wild, funk-heavy journey through the boundless terrain of electronic sound and acoustic virtuosity. From the bass-heavy, scratched-up, guitar-infused opener, “Hell’s Kitchen,” it’s obvious that the Ming + FS trip is going to take the listener a lot further than the average beat-driven sound. The pair constructed every sound element on the record — from the programmed beats to the live Fender Rhodes keyboards — and completed all production in their Hell’s Kitchen-based Madhattan Studios. Ming + FS have since released “The Human Condition,” licensed to Deep Concentration 3, and featured on their ‘01 full-length of same name. -Luke Magnuson of epitonic.com

From Oakland To Shaolin

Sick mixtape I found a while ago by DJ Phonetic that I listen to a lot. There are remixes, blends, interviews, skits and a couple of rare/official Hiero and Wu-Tang collabs. This CD was first given out in front of Rock The Bells 2006 in Concord, Ca.

DOWNLOAD>> From Oakland to Shaolin

01. east-west connection - rza (intro)
02. get the fame - gza
03. feel the crowd - gza (skit)
04. around my block - a-plus, shake da mayor & o.c.
05. chi to ny - raekwon, ghostface & inspectah deck
06. know where we from - gza (skit)
07. killa hills to oaktown flats - rza, opio & pep love
08. life of pain - opio, a-plus & tajai
09. i ain’t no joke - opio & method man (skit)
10. bring the reign - method man, tajai & lauryn hill
11. not too alarming - cappadonna, pep love & del
12. round ii - casual & odb
13. fool me twice - a-plus, tajai & odb
14. underground wars - rza & ghostface
15. bent back & cobra clutches - ghostface (skit)
16. killa anthem - masta killa, killa sin, killah priest & ghostface killah
17. listen up - tajai & casual (skit)
18. oakland hitmen - tajai & casual
19. del & wu-tang o.g. track
20. garbage vs hip hop - rza (skit)
21. off the head - inspectah deck & method man
22. on the real - del & odb
23. rap ass nerd - pep love (skit)
24. check ya mate - ghostface, method man, rza, odb & goapele
25. beauty scar - o.c. & tajai
26. close minded - casual (skit)
27. casual & wu-tang o.g. track
28. dont need labels - opio (skit)
29. ice walkers - gza, method man & res
30. go f**k with redman - del (skit)
31. funk doc & mef tical - method man & redman
32. protect ya third eye - del, casual & tajai
33. weed golden rules - method man (skit)
34. how high pt. 3 - method man 7 opio
35. lost ya mind - u-god & z-man
36. different raps - tajai (skit)
37. triumph since 93 - souls of mischief
38. my introduction - gza & odb
39. how to kick it - rza (skit)
40. whatever comes - gza & del
41. how to make cream - raekwon, inspectah deck, method man, toure
42. got cream? - tajai, a-plus 7 method man
43. del & wu-tang o.g. track #2
44. hits & misses - del (skit)
45. nine-three uzi bros. - wu-tang clan
46. final thoughts - method man, tajai, gza, odb & phesto (outro)

Rza

This one’s for my buddy Spliffard, and whoever else loves the Wu. My favorite track is ‘grits’.
DOWNLOAD>> Rza - Birth Of A Prince