For this week’s #bottomrightcorner, we handed it over to none other than the Manyoba BOY$! Made up of Lesotho-born Big Space and British expat Jumping Back Slash, Manyoba BOY$ are the most swanking South African underground house and techno producers around; they got white meat and dark meat like a chicken and together they bring the Manyobane$$! We asked them to choose five of their favourite tracks, and so without further ado… Presenting the Manyoba BOY$’ #bottomrightcorner!

Bob James – ‘Nautilus‘
 

 
Bob James is a jazz keyboardist and producer who is recognised as one of the pioneers of smooth jazz. His silky tunes have awarded him two Grammy trophies and a lifelong legacy among jazz’s elite. He was also member of Fourplay – a jazz supergroup that spent numerous weeks at the top of Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart when their debut self-titled album released in 1991.

James’ tracks have had a profound resonance in hip-hop circles, with numerous rappers sampling his work. For example ‘Nautilus’, taken from the album One, can be heard echoing through the heavy beats of Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Follow the Leader’, Run-D.M.C.’s ‘Beats to the Rhyme’, and Ghostface Killah’s ‘Daytona 500’.

Alaska – ‘Alaska‘
 

 
Alaska embody South African music culture in the kwaito rhymes they’ve spilled through local airways over the last ten years. The five-piece group is made up of Lucky Mlakana, Thabo Tsotetsi, Les Ma-ada, Andrew Moloisane, and Sphiwe Pica. Their music brims with socially conscious lyricism which resonates in a variety of African languages – isiXhosa, Sesotho, isiZulu and Sepedi to name a few. The group originated in Soweto, and the track ‘Alaska’ is taken from their first album, Cool As Hell.

Kenny Larkin – ‘Northern Lights‘
 

 
Kenny Larkin is a ’90s techno banger. The Detroit producer has been described as ‘massively influential’ on the rise of techno in both Europe and America. To many who run in techno circles, Larkin is a household name. In the early 2000s he embarked on a career in comedy – fitting as he sometimes goes by the moniker, Dark Comedy – but 2012 saw him return to the dance floor sounds.

‘Northern Lights’ is a track that was produced in 1995. The song is a cool, laid-back, house-like showcase of techno in the ’90s. For all the youngsters who missed the ’90s age, take a listen.

Virgo Four – ‘Let the Music Play‘
 

 
Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis are Virgo Four. The duo, also known as Ace & the Sandman, salute their hometown, Chicago, in their Chicago house sounds. Chicago house is much like the smooth dance beats of electro house, except that it’s based and created in The Windy City. Their career was short-lived with only three records released, but Virgo Four’s music helped reverberate the beat of house through the streets of Chi-Town. ‘Let The Music Play’ is a silky, jazzy sample of Virgo Four’s electric old-school flavour.

Wu-Tang Clan – ‘It’s Yourz‘
 

‘Machine gun rap for all my niggas in the back’ – the first words of It’s Yourz’ say it all. Wu-Tang Clan are street rap invigorators who powered through American hip-hop airways throughout the ’90s. The crew is made up of a dizzying group of talent in RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late ‘Ol Dirty Bastard. They are widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential acts to hit the hip-hop scene and have garnered both critical and mainstream success.

The New York-bred group became famous for their story-telling rhymes which challenged social injustice, promoted Black Conscious, and defended the hustle of those running on the periphery. Their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), placed them at the zenith of hip-hop triumph, with tracks like ‘C.R.E.A.M’ championing their arrival to the rap world.

‘It’s Yourz’ reflects the group’s focus on the harshness of the world by highlighting that regardless how insignificant man may feel; the world still belongs to us.

LINKS:

Manyoba BOY$ – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter
Big Space – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter
Jumping Back Slash – Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter

words: Raeesa Pather
images: Manyoba BOY$

Audiophile 021 – Triola EP

soundcloud.com/audiophile021/

With Triola, Cape Town-based DJ/Producer, Audiophile 021, offers a meandering journey full of rich and textured sounds. The EP was released on the 25th of June on the Triplefire Music label.

The XX – ‘Angels’

clashmusic.com

In case you missed it, The XX were the biggest new thing in London when they burst onto the scene back in 2009. Their debut album was all soft beats and groovy melodies over which Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim would whisper sweet nothings to each other. Since then the young members have been doing their own thing, most notably beat-master Jamie XX’s remix album of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here. This new track features the nocturnal lovesickness that was the motif of their debut and precedes the September 10th release of their new album, Coexist.

The Antlers – ‘Drift Drive’

pigeonsandplanes.com

2009’s dark and lo-fi Hospice was the breakout album for the Brooklyn-based trio, which they followed up with Burst Apart, one of the best albums of last year. The new single conveys the feeling of aquatic sedation that seems to be the theme behind their new 4-song EP, Undersea, which will be coming out on the 24th of July.
 
 
 
 

Meursault – ‘Flittin’’

sndcdn.com

‘Flitting’ is the new single from Meursault’s third album. They make the sort of heartbroken melodies leaning towards the folk side of indie rock that makes a lazy comparison to Frightened Rabbit easy and quite accurate. There’s a coarse honesty and melancholy in this song that cuts into you like a hot gulp of of whisky. Their new album, Something For The Weakened, was released on the 16th.
 
 
 
 

Errors – ‘Relics’

aaamusic.co.uk

Have Some Faith In Magic was an early contender for my favourite album of this year and in the months since its January release there hasn’t really been anything to knock it from its perch. Now we have the montivagant ‘Relics’ as a precursor to their new mini-album New Relics, with an ETA scheduled for October.
 
 
 
 

Dirty Projectors – ‘Gun Has No Trigger’

2020k.wordpress.com

The last LP by Brooklyn-based indie band Dirty Projectors, 2009’s Bitte Orca, showcased the band’s eccentric and experimental leanings. After a collaborative EP with Bjork in 2010 their new album, Swing Lo Magellan, is coming out on the 9th. The new LP finds them at their most accessible yet still offering an array of interesting sounds. ‘Gun Has No Trigger’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

The Stone Roses – ‘I wanna Be Adored’

lyrdb.com

The reformation of Manchester legends The Stone Roses has been big news for nostalgic fans  and backwards-looking music magazines. However, to someone like me who was born in the same year as their famous 1989 debut a big reunion like this looks like more ageing rockstars are willing to kill their legacy and pick its bones clean. Cynicism aside, this reunion is something that means a lot to thousands of fans and makes this as good a time as any to remind ourselves why, more than fifteen years after they first disbanded, they are still adored.
 
 
 
 

Ill Skillz –  Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2

ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com

Cape Town hip-hop trio Ill Skillz exhibit the ego, pride and partisan attitude of hip-hop, but with an explicitly South African heritage. Their 8-track album Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2 is available as a free download from their bandcamp page.
 
 
 
 

Big Space – Brown Bag E.P

facebook.com/pages/Big-Space

Big Space is from Cape Town. Aside from beats, he also shares some words on his SoundCloud: ‘I could just name drop all the famous people I’ve worked with who are waaay more famous than me but that would just be stupid. I make house music but I don’t make house music. I don’t think a lot of people like my personality but its okay… I love everyone. I also have an adopted cat and an E.P. coming out this summer on BOMBAADA records’ ALSO, I WILL STILL FUCK SHIT UP. CHENIN NON BLANC BABY! BOURGIE BOYZ!’ (Big Space, SoundCloud)
 
 
 
 

The Wave Pictures – ‘Eskimo Kiss’

imgur.com

The Wave Pictures make guitar music that’s familiar yet invigorating. The prolific London three-piece follow up last year’s excellent Beer In The Breakers with their new album Long Black Cars, from which ‘Eskimo Kiss’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

Joey Bada$$ – 1999

pigeonsandplanes.com

1999 is the debut project from Brooklyn’s 17-yr-old Joey Bada$$. This 15-track mixtape features members of his Pro Era crew – a collective of 18 rappers, producers, graphic designers and studio engineers – such as Capital STEEZ, who makes an appearance on track four – ‘Survival Tactics’. From A$AP to BadASS, NYC keeps rolling out that old school hip-hop grit
 
 

Killer Mike – ‘Big Beast’ (Feat. Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)

musicya.net

The rapper Killer Mike (born Michael Render) released his sixth studio album called R.A.P. Music, produced by Definitive Jux’s El-P (Jaime Meline) and released by William Street Records. Spin mag’s Christopher Weingarten says it perfectly: ‘A child of the ’80s and a student of the Internet, Killer Mike is as exciting and wildly unclassifiable as hip-hop gets: New York noise and country shit, nods to when rap was punk and crunk was pop, Ice Cube before he needed hooks, David Banner before he needed to whisper, and Willie D before he needed anybody.’

Images from: soundcloud.com/audiophile021/; facebook.com/pages/Big-Space; aaamusic.co.uk; sndcdn.com; clashmusic.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; wordpress.com; lyrdb.com; imgur.com; ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; musicya.net