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inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Brand New Heavies @ Trak Nightclub

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Judging by the crowd at Brand New Heavies at Toorak’s Trak nightclub, Melbourne’s baby sitters must have been raking in the dough on Friday night. I’ve never seen a crowd like that at a funk event in Melbourne. The average age of the crowd was 40 plus, and although I’m no spring chicken myself, it was the oldest crowd I’ve been part of since Devo. Not that this is a bad thing; contrary, it’s great to see Melbourne’s mums and dads can get out amongst it and still know how to party!

The Trak is an awesome venue. The converted cinema is very large and open, very classy fittings and a crowd to go with it, and I was treated very nicely by the bar, door, coat room and security staff. I mention it because I’m the first to admit I’m a bit “street” (read daggy) I love my hoodies and trainers and couldn’t tie a tie to save myself. I did make an effort though to dress up a little, as I heard the Trak was a little exclusive, and although I still felt very under dressed, I wasn’t treated any differently by the staff or patrons; the same cannot be said of some clubs down the road on Chapel Street.

I arrived, checked my coat and got my first very reasonably priced beer. For a classy joint, drinks are really well priced! They even have waitresses who wander about and serve you where you stand, which is awesome. Electric Empire had done maybe one song by this time, and although I had never even heard of the Electric Empire before, their soulful rhythms and great sound has made me very interested in tracking down their album. They’ve got that smooth, sexy sound, similar to Curtis Mayfield or Al Green. The single Always was a highlight, as was the Latin influenced percussion solo.

DJ Eddie Mac played some great funk and soul classics, including the Bamboos, Gangstarr, James Brown and Jamiroquai. Much of the crowd were singing along happily, and running into people they obviously hadn’t seen in ages. It was a little like a really cool and classy school reunion.

Next up was Paris Wells. I thought this was an interesting choice of support act. Paris Wells is best described as a soul blues rocker. She has a fantastic voice on her, and her stage antics were quite amusing, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of a rooster as she strutted about on stage with her coiffed hair and feathered outfit. Some of her tunes were great. Let’s Get It Started (not a cover) is almost ska with its bouncy lyrics. Fuck Your Soul is intense. However, she just seemed a little out of place for the vibe of the night.

The Brand New Heavies came on after a brief interlude with Eddie Mac, and it was apparent right from the start the awesome sound we had for Electric Empire and Paris Wells was simply not happening for them. There was a problem with Simon Bartholomew’s wahwah pedal right from the beginning, and it simply didn’t sound right for the entire night. N’Dea Davenport also had difficulty with feedback from her microphone. This meant the band didn’t sound as tight as a funk band should, and to me it was a little disappointing.

This didn’t dampen the spirits of the band nor the crowd too much though. After all, this was the Heavies’ first ever tour of Australia, and considering they started in 1985 and first became popular in 1990 we’ve waited almost 20 years for this, and everyone was singing and dancing along and having a fantastic time. They did plenty of their hits, including Midnight at the Oasis, Mind Trips and of course Dream On. Jan Kincaid knows how to play the skins, and I always love it when a drummer takes lead vocals, whilst Andrew Levy looking funky in his sparkly top and dark sunnies shows why slap bass is the best way to play the 4 stringed guitar. N’Dea hasn’t lost any of her spunk either.

I was lucky enough to go to the Saturday night performance too, and although the crowd was a little younger, but not by much, the sound was perfect for the Brand New Heavies the second time around. They truly shone on Saturday night, and any disappointment was washed away. Highlights of the second show included the band’s solos, which were perfect the second time around, and the encore with the crowd chanting the refrain “whoa year” of their last song until they came back and did an unrehearsed version of Forever.

Sure, waiting 20 years to experience to see a band live can dampen even the highest expectations, and I’m not going to say Friday night was a dud by any means, as the band performed brilliantly despite the sound issues. But I was worried if I wasn’t impressed at the second show, they’d be another band who lost it as they aged. But that worry vanished the moment they came out for the second show, and I can honestly say the Brand New Heavies are one of those bands who are truly amazing live, and they’re up there amongst the greatest funk orientated bands I’ve seen.

Event, inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Espionage – One Year of Operations – Feat. DJ Marky and MC Lowqui @ Hi-Fi Bar

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(14/09/2010)

One year on, and Espionage is still going on strong, and with Marky rocking the Hi-Fi bar it was sure to be a special night. And my lord was it good. In the words of many a junglist MC “OH MY GOSH!”

To kick off the night Dust and Fiend went back to back, and these two fine ladies know how to rock a dance floor. Sure, their set suffered from the Melbourne habit of people not coming out until the main act was on, but frankly those people are idiots for missing rocking up late. Playing a blend of cool liquid beats and then raising the tempo and deepening the bass to get bodies moving, their music was as exquisite as they are to watch.

But don’t knock me as a misogynist – JPS and Nam are pretty easy on the eyes too, although I think they’re sweeter on the ears, especially as they played some of my all time favourites, such as Drop It Down by Calibre, True Romance, and Alien Girl by D-Bridge (and thanks to the random who shouted out Alien Girl! when it kicked in… it would have been annoying me for days not knowing the name of this awesome tune!) What I especially like about JPS and Nam is they’re entertaining and play as real DJs – they tease tunes and play with the crossfader, even spin rewinds. They’re not afraid to have fun with the equipment or the crowd.

Speaking of fun, MC Lowqui was certainly entertaining, warming up his vocal chords and hyping up the crowd for Marky during the Operatives set… not that Marky really needs an MC to hype the crowd, as he does a damn good job at that himself. His stage presence is immense, and he throws the positive energy right back at the crowd with his antics. From air drumming, to blowing kisses to the girls, to scratching with his foot, to hooking up a telemetron (probably not be its real name – a little gold and silver scatchy pad thing that you scrub on to make scratches) to turning the turntables upside down to scratch, Marky is simply one of the most entertaining dnb DJs to watch.

And the music he plays is simply awesome. It’s all “party” music, from the salsa soaked beats of Marky’s own productions, to the old school sounds of Top Buzz and Prodigy, to the even older sounds of late 80s house (and here I reveal my age by saying I remember seeing that played in the late 80s!). Even his hiphop set is party material, designed to get the booty shaking with classics from Tribe, De La Soul, M.A.R.R.S, and Run DMC.

My notes for Marky’s set seem to be missing for the good part of his set (why does the note taking app on iPhone need an internet/phone signal – and why do I have no reception in the Hi-fi?) yet one there says it all – “Bukem”. This simply reminds me to note that Marky and Lowqui bounced off each other, each of them in step with one another as if they had been working in collaboration for years, like Bukem and Conrad do, and it was a pleasure to witness these two professionals working together. The next note says “Crowd Surfing”, and pretty much shows how much fun JPS and the rest of the crowd were having.

Event, inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

London Electricity @ Prince of Wales

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13/06/2010

I just got to get this out of the way first – my review is in no way a reflection of how the majority of punters obviously felt about London Electricity. London Electricity had everyone dancing and singing and cheering and waving their hands in the air. For those people, it could have been the greatest set they’ve ever seen, and if they were writing this review it could be very different. I honestly wish I felt the same way they might, but I don’t.

Because after seeing Klute last week, I thought London Electricity was predictable and average. The girly vocals and hiphop samples and cheesy basslines simply weren’t doing anything for me. I danced for a little bit, but never “went off” like I did at Klute. Although I haven’t heard that exact set before track for track, it is essentially pretty much the same every time he plays. It was simply all the big tunes London Electricity has released or remixed in the last two years, with some older stuff like a High Contrast remix thrown in for good measure.

I didn’t think very much of MC AD either. I mean, does every UK MC have to pit the Aussie states against one another? I know a few people who went to the Queensland show, and they felt pretty much the same as I did about the London Electricity set, so I find it difficult to believe the crowd was louder than Melbourne. I liked the nod to the Socceroos, although I was confused when London Electricity himself jumped on the mic to apologise for stuffing up. It was by no means a Groove Rider sized train wreck and I doubt 90% of the crowd there would have even noticed if he didn’t point it out.

I actually enjoyed Patch’s set more, and although the crowd had thinned by the time he came on, it just sounded better. Better selection, better mixing, better to dance to. And although I’ve had mixed feelings about MC Lowqui in the past, he really gelled with Patch. He did what an MC should – compliment the music. And Patch played True Romance, one of my favourite tunes ever.

I said in my review of Klute I expect the unexpected in dnb, but I was unexpectedly disappointed by London Electricity. Sometimes when I look at my reviews I seem a little too critical, and it may be the case here, but I do my upmost to be honest in my reviews, and honestly this is the first time in a long time I’ve been dissatisfied by an international’s dnb set.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Gift of Gab – Escape 2 Mars

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I’ve been sitting on this review of Gift Of Gab’s solo effort Escape To Mars for a while, much to itm’s chagrin. I’ve been umming and ahing about what to write about this release for over a month. I’ve listened to it many times, and I’m still completely at a loss to explain how I feel.

On the one hand this is a great album. It’s well produced, and Gift of Gab is an amazingly gifted rapper, with a flow like no other MC and a passion for writing thought provoking lyrics. He’s been consistently brilliant both one record and in live performances. From the earliest tracks on Solesides to guest starring on rock albums, he’s always delivered incredibly well.

But to be honest, my problem with this is that’s to be expected, and I was looking for something beyond what I’ve come to expect. I’m not going to make any ridiculous claims like he’s lost his touch or phoned this in or reached his peak, because he hasn’t. I simply had high hopes for this outing, and it simply didn’t help me reach them. For someone new to Gab’s style, they’re going to love it, but for a fan of his for a long while, I suspect they may feel it’s treading too familiar ground.

There’s nothing here which challenged me to think differently of Gift of Gab. Even with Del and Brother Ali, two of my favourite hiphop MCs of all time, joining Gab on Dreamin’, there’s no big “wow” factor to any of the songs. They’re all cool jams, but nothing leaps out and grabs me like Alphabet Aerobics or Make You Feel That Way did.

And the reason I’ve been so reluctant to complete this review is because I don’t want anyone to read my opinion and not buy the album. There is a heap of praise from numerous places plastered on the cover and the press release, and I don’t disagree with any of it. It’s simply one of those albums you have to listen to in order to make up your own minds.

inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Klute @ Roxanne’s Parlour

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05/07/2010

I just realised I’m probably the worst person to review dnb gigs in Melbourne. Back in the day, I used to know all the big tunes, and could muddle my way through a review of a set with no worries. These days however, things have changed. But unlike before, I’m enjoying reviewing these events more, simply because I’ve come to expect the unexpected.

Before Klute came on, Joe Seven was playing some glitchy minimalist dubby drum and bass, stuff which intrigued me as it straddled that line between breaks, dubstep and drum and bass. It was an interesting selection for a set before Klute, whose style is widely regarded as pure drum and bass, and although I didn’t jump around like a mad bastard to Joe’s set, I did really enjoy the sounds he was putting out. One tune in particular stuck with me – it sounded as though it sampled Future Sound of London’s Papua New Guinea.

By the time Klute had started Roxanne’s had a sizable amount of crew ready to bounce, and bounce they did. Kicking off with a melodic track, the deep deep bassline kicked in and got everyone a little more vocal. Following on with growly basslines and then a rolling almost old school track, then bang into hard dnb. Although I don’t have Klute’s new album, many of these tunes sounded distinctively Klute, and the crowd reaction was also distinctively Klute – lots of cheering and lots of people dancing like mad bastards.

I tried to check out the “red” room too, but there were very little people in there, and every time I did I could hear the slammers Klute was playing, so never lingered for long. Klute continued on, lifting the crowd with the melodic amen breaks than slamming down the hard tunes, keeping the crowd pumped throughout. It was a reminder of just why Klute is one of my favourite dnb DJs – he’s not technically brilliant with tricks and showmanship, but delivers a solid dancefloor set that rocks the party every single time.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Ozomatli – Fire Away

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Sneak Attack! That’s the best way to describe Ozomatli’s fifth album. I listened to it once and have to admit wasn’t really impressed. Expecting tracks like 1999’s Cumbia De Los Muertos or 2004’s Believe, the album opens with the typically Latino fun sound the band generally push, called Are You Ready?

And I was, but not for the rock and roll inspired Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah and the slow ballads of Love Comes Down and It’s Only Time. It wasn’t what I expected Ozomatli to sound like through listening to their previous albums, and especially after catching their live show a few weeks ago.

However, on subsequent listens, I started to really enjoy the album. It’s catchy as hell, and although it’s not completely in your face all the time party Latino, the blend of influences from 50s rock to Latino funk to hiphop music is great to listen to, even with their overtly political lyrics.

Gay Vatos In Love, a song about being open about being gay, is a prime example of what I mean. Although it’s quite overt in its lyrical content, the 50s styled rock ballad will have you humming on the bus. It’s Only Paper is a different take on the theme of money changes people, and here Ozomatli argue if you change into an asshole because of money, it’s your fault because of the choices you make, because after all money is just paper. Likewise Malagasy Shock, inspired by lead singer Raul Pachecho’s electrocution on stage in Madagascar is life affirming fun.

There are other tracks which were more like what I expected. Elysian Persuasion is funky as hell. The Louie Louie inspired Nadas Por Free is a lesson of fun in Spanglish, and Caballito would be perfect in a Loony Toons cartoon featuring Speedy Gonzalas.

After my initial shock, I find that I’m not disappointed in the album at all. In fact, I think the variety here increases my appreciation of the band substantially, and I think they pull off the different styles successfully without demeaning themselves or the music.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Fabric Present Elevator Music Vol 1

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Fabric bills this CD as “Bass music” or “dubstep” and wax lyrical about the sweet 140 beats per minute and act like this is all something new and exciting. However, if this CD was released 5 to 10 years ago, it would be labelled simply as “breaks”. And this is because breaks is such as wide genre, almost as indefinable as House, and certainly a lot more mutable than say DnB or Trance.

But, for whatever reason, breaks isn’t “cool” anymore, so dicks like the A&R people and promoters at Fabric along with journos who have to stamp their opinion on everything, have to come up with some other new terms to sell this music to the kids. Not like any of them buy it – I knew people who torrented this CD as soon as they heard about it. And it wasn’t because they’re into this music, but because it’s Fabric, and Fabric’s mixes are held in high regard.

So, yes, Fabric can sell as a brand, so why do they need to go further and break everything up into little sub-genres? I get that selling records is harder than ever in this day and age, but this tired splintering of music into smaller and smaller segments is not doing the industry any favours. It’s segmenting the audience, and moreover it’s making the audience dumb. People define music as dubstep, then suddenly people only like dubstep? That’s ridiculous!

Additionally, the music becomes boring and trite. Dubstep had been around for what, three years now and already the majority of it is full of RnB samples and remixes of popular commercial tunes. I mean there’s at least two Riverside remixes and probably more I simply haven’t had the misfortune of hearing! Motherfucker indeed!

Luckily, this CD has some decent tracks on it. Some of it is kind of housey. Some of it is kind of techy. And some of it is kind of dubby. And none of those terms are real words and I am putting my foot down and refusing to use them! Just get this album, listen to it and enjoy the music on it without putting any labels on it.

The producers who worked on these tracks probably started out with a formula, and for whatever reason their tunes didn’t stick to that. Hats off to Fabric for collecting all of this on one CD and getting it out there, but they shouldn’t pretend like they’ve discovered this wonderful new sound. It is breaks, no, it’s not even that – it’s electronic music – and in all its glory, so let’s stop pissing about with all these other genres and terms and get back to simply listening to and enjoying good music.

Event, inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Andy C @ Hifi Bar

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When I first moved to Melbourne one of the first shows I went to was the traditional Andy C show on Australia Day eve. I had a fantastic time, as the HiFi bar was ram packed and Andy C lived up to his name of “the Executioner” as he simply killed it.

This year, I was more than a little surprised to turn up and find the HiFi bar almost deserted. There were maybe 40 people there, grooving away to Keir’s dark and rolling beats. I really like Keir, but I felt the overall vibe of the majority of his set was just a little too moody for 11pm. It didn’t make people want to wander to the dance floor, with most standing like wallflowers, and although it was filling at a steadier pace, this made the room seem sparser than it was. But like any good DJ Keir recognised this, and shifted things up a bit towards the end, playing much more dancefloor orientated stuff which finally got people out onto the floor.

Beatski stepped up next, dropping one of my favourite tunes ever – the Nu:Tone remix of Lenny Fontana’s Spread Love. This got more people up and dancing, and he continued the vibe for a while as the HiFi got more and more packed. I’ve not seen Beatski before, and enjoyed what he played. Safire stepped up after him, and played some wicked tunes, although like Beatski, didn’t play much that I knew. I generally appreciate hearing stuff I don’t know, but this time I felt so out of touch that I’ve decided I need to get out more!

MC Lowqui jumped on the mic for Safire, and really helped hype the crowd. I must admit I’ve not been too keen on Lowqui in the past, but the times I’ve seen him recently, he’s really impressed me. I know there’s a conception that Melbourne people don’t like MCs, but Lowqui knows when to hype and when to chill which is perfect for this city. By the time Safire finished the HiFi was full, but not uncomfortably so.

Then Andy C stepped up, with GQ on the mic. Oh my gosh! Many DJs lay a claim to being the best, but it is my professional opinion that Andy C is better. First of all, he plays dancefloor tracks that get everybody moving. Second of all he plays on 3 decks, superbly mixing 3 records in time, with his now infamous double drops which amplify the intensity of the already frenzied dnb tempo. Thirdly, he plays all vinyl. None of this time coded, played off PC which has been keyed and bpm matched beforehand stuff – just straight up practice, skill, and knowledge of his music.

Andy dropped some amazing tracks, mixing Konflict’s Messiah with Trace’s Babylon, teasing Racing Green under Jenna G’s In Love, and even dropping fresh stuff like the new Pendulum track. GQ would call out for rewinds, and Andy would spin back both records; drop one, then the other, and the crowd would cut sick every time. Andy had just as much fun as the crowd, waving records about, clapping, waving hands and dancing along with everyone.

There is one thing that annoyed me about this night – the fact that more people don’t head out to see someone like Andy C. Everyone is so caught up in their own scene, they rarely go out of their way to see good DJs out of their preferred genre. I’m positive if more people saw Andy C play like he did at HiFi over the last two years the “Top 100 DJ polls” so many websites and magazines run every year, Andy C would be rated much higher. He certainly deserves to be.

Event, inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Lil John and Wu Tang Clan @ Festival Hall

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31/10/09

I must admit it; I’m not too familiar with Wu Tang Clan. Don’t get me wrong, like everybody else I love Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) and I know the odd solo effort from Red & Meth, Ol’ Dirty and RZA, but I’m not the biggest fan of their new stuff. And as for Lil John, I’m convinced he’s an elaborate joke conceived by Dave Chappelle, Andy Kaufman style. But I love heading out to live hiphop gigs because of the energy and vitality hiphop has, and with an opportunity to see nearly all of the original Wu Tang Line up on stage together, I couldn’t miss out.

Rocking up at around 8 o’clock, I was greeted by a rather small crowd being entertained by a DJ playing newer hiphop and R&B. There was some 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes which was cool, and some of those annoying auto-tuned rappers. I simply can’t understand why people like this overused and tacky effect on hiphop, and it appears I’m not the only one as I heard one angry girl exclaim rather loudly “what is this shit!?”

Then this weird looking white guy jumped on stage and started screaming into a microphone. He kind of looked like a hairier version of Sammy Hagar, and he thought he was way more hardcore than he actually was, and introduced Lil John. Now, as I mentioned, I’m not the biggest fan and actually think he’s a bit of a joke, as I can’t understand how anyone can make a career out of using the same lyrics in every song. Sure, I like getting fucked up as the next person, but I don’t make an effort to mention it in every conversation!

But I’ve got to hand it to Lil John, he can certainly move a crowd. He played many of his hits like Let’s Get Crunk, Crazy and Put Yo Hood Up, more than I care to admit I know, and I was surprised that by the end of the set it was almost like listening to dance music, with fast beats and an intense energy coming from Lil John and his DJ. Colour me impressed! Unfortunately crazy white guy also jumped around on stage like an idiot for most of his set, swilling booze out of a bottle and spitting it on everyone, seeming to piss everyone off including Lil John.

After his set the previous DJ stepped up and started playing some old school classics like Check Yo Self, Momma’s Gonna Knock You Out, and Let Me Clear My Throat. The venue had filled up quite substantially by now, and it was getting later and later and Wu Tang still weren’t on, but most people were enjoying themselves singing along to the old school. The DJ dropped some Michael Jackson and even Regulate by Warren G. and Nate Dogg, which had cheers from my mate but had angry girl whinging again.

When Wu Tang did finally take the stage, they were greeted with thousands of people cheering with the W up in the air. Dropping straight into Protect Ya Neck, the place got live as fuck. RZA, GZA, Raekwon, UGod, DJ Mathematics, Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa were all jumping around on stage, and I’ve got to say the energy of seven big MCs is electrifying. I’ve always been impressed by the likes of the Beastie Boys and Jurassic 5 when they all rhyme together, but that’s all about harmony. Wu Tang was all about spitting powerfully into the mic, and they eclipsed the music in some places with the sheer intensity of their rhymes. There was a little bit of feedback at first, but this was quickly corrected.

They dropped hit after hit, like Wu Tang Ain’t Nothing To Fuck With, and Clan In Da Back, as well as the various MCs “solo” stuff, like RZA’s You Can’t Stop Me Now, which had me screaming like a girl because I love it so much. They also did a tribute to Ol Dirty, getting everyone to put their lighters / phones in the air, and dropping I Like It Raw and Baby I Got Your Money. There were quite a few tracks I didn’t know, but I didn’t care either, because they had me jumping around like a loon anyway.

The end of their set was a little weird. They played stuff off their latest album, which I don’t think many people knew, and I felt there was a real drop in energy from the Clan. Unlike other concerts which end with a bang, this one simply petered out. There wasn’t an encore either, although it felt like the Wu wanted more as they just kind of meandered on stage taking in the applause. There was a great sense of disappointment from the crowd when the lights came on, that’s for sure.


I had no expectations going into this concert, and I had a hell of a good time listening to music I don’t go out of my way to normally experience. I was surprised at Lil John, and blown away by Wu Tang. Admittedly I was a little disappointed by the ending – I wanted them to come out and do some more amazing music, but I’d thoroughly recommend even if you have a passing interest in Wu Tang to go see them next time, because they’ aint nothin to fuck wit!

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

People Under The Stairs – Carried Away

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People Under The Stairs deliver their 7th studio album, Carried Away, and the album begins with a sample that tells us pops and pills and academics aren’t enough anymore, and they need the “hard stuff”, dropping into Step Off, a head nodding jam which is fairly typical of PUTS. The rhyme “Last album were funny but this ain’t no joke, nah who am I kidding we’re still having fun” pretty much sums up the whole album.

Whilst Check The Vibe, Hit The Top and Listen are all pretty standard PUTS fare; laid back and breezy, 80 Blocks From Silverlake and Down in LA celebrate life in Los Angeles. It’s all about the parties, the BBQs, the bitches and the brews. Come On Let’s Get High features a sweet soul sample singing the title, and ends up with Double K telling all the rappers who claim they smoke don’t smoke like he – braggadocio at its finest. The duo bring their raps to the forefront on the classic oldschool sound of Beer, stripping it down to the bare minimum, not only with production but lyrical content too, punctuating the notion this guys really love their beer.

There are the funny tracks, like Creepshow about the guys stalking women, and Teeth about being abused in the dentist chair. My favourite is Letter From The Old School, with the guys rapping like Melly Mel, responding to a letter from Double K, which ends up with the PUTS guys threatening to put on a Luther (Vandross) fest.

There’s a couple more serious tracks here too. My Boy D tells the story of a kid who couldn’t get into college, so deals drugs – a common story “especially if you listen to some Ice T songs”. The title track will carry you away, with its dreamy beats and acoustic guitar, recalling the 90s hiphop sounds.

But the standout track has to be Trippin’ at The Disco. It’s up there with Tuxedo Rap as one of their greatest. With its sing along chorus and floor stomping party jam featuring 70s high hats and bass guitar, it sounds like something which could be dropped by Krafty Kuts at 2am in the morning to get the crowd live.

I think Carried Away is their best since OST. In fact, it’s one of the best hiphop albums I’ve heard all year. The reason I like it so much is because it’s oldschool in the truest sense of the world. Thes One and Double K deliver dope raps over awesome crate dug funky beats, interspersed with funny skits and wicked samples. It’s a happy, upbeat, party vibe album that’s sure to be dropped at BBQs everywhere this summer.