6:04 Mixtape #14 Curated by Jason Swartwood
The links between hip hop and the early 20th century high modernist art movement called Dada are evident. To summarize, both began as reactionary movements and, at their cores, the primary ethic of both is make something with what you have directly in front of you. Dada certainly began as more politically oriented, nonetheless, I view these movements as cousins. Even their names draw attention to how closely related they are. Whether or not this is coincidental is a more grandiose discussion.
This playlist is not a playlist for hip hop traditionalists. The traditionalist should continue to listen to tapes and cds and mutter in their sleep about how hip hop is not what it used to be. Each song on this playlist has dropped in the last decade. Each song is a staring point for listeners to explore the catalogs of each of the artists presented. There are no one hit wonders on this list. In fact, I would argue that a few of these artists, specifically Death Grips and Clipping. have two of the more “important” music catalogs of this young century. As always, please feel free to form your own opinions
What follows is a brief description of each song.
Clipping. “Nothing is Safe”: Really one of my favorite songs of the century. I haven’t heard a song that really taps into the vein of the current sociopolitical climate in the way that this song does.
Death Grips: “Artificial Death in the West”: Mc Ride, the frontman of this group, is always a challenge lyrically. This song is one of their more easily digestible and straight forward tunes. Please explore, this band has volumes to offer.
POS x Dwynell Roland x Busdriver, “Pieces/Ruins”: Really an exploration of nostalgia. What happens to the places that we lived growing up as we get older.
Jpegmafia x Freaky: “I might vote for Donald trump”: advanced level troll. This fucking beat though, it will obliterate your face if played too loudly.
El-P, The Mars Volta, “Tasmanian Pain Coaster” : El-P has been in the game since the mid 90’s and continues to mangle the envelope.
Mach Hommy x Quelle Chris, “Chiney Brush”: a sort of ode to emotional detachment from two of my favorites.
Chris Crack, “Hoes at Trader Joe’s”: probably the mc with the best sense of humor in the game.
Danny Brown, “Monopoly”: a game changer. Periodtttttt.
Armand Hammer x Busdriver x open mike Eagle, “New Museum”: All four of these artists have catalogs that deserve extensive exploration. I’ve been lucky enough to see all four of them live.