When Shad and Skratch Bastid get together, success is certain. Their latest offering is “Fam Jam,” a mild, honky-tonk groove that samples a Jay Z line from “Otis,” and features some thoughtful reflections on how Canada’s demographic diversity came to be. Shad also takes some time to reflect on his own story, noting the identity conundrums that spring up when one grows up in a foreign land while still trying to maintain ties to the motherland.

The video is fairly festive, but even it has its somber moments. Watch below and mark your calendars for October 15, the release date for Shad‘s next LP, Flying Colours.

And if this is a bit too heavy for you, Shad‘s song “Stylin” packages his thoughtful rhymes in a more digestible (“head-noddable”) form.

The post New Video: Shad – “Fam Jam” (Fe Sum Immigrins) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

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DJ Skratch Bastid and Grandtheft have given us another track to add to our summer twerk playlists. Their new remix of Jay Z‘s “Somewhere in America” uses a sped-up version of the Hit-Boy beat with a new bassline and samples from other classic booty poppin, twerk- themed jams. As the song says, “All the Miley Cyrus‘ around the world, this shit’s for you!” But even if you’re not a Miley Cyrus fan, this song is definitely a must have for any summer rump shaking session.

The post New Music: Dj Skratch Bastid X Grandtheft – “Miley” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

As contemporary hip-hop fans bob their heads to today’s unprecedented influx of fresh female femcee’s, they are easy to forget the soul, funk, and disco sirens who paved the way for black female musicians. Fortunately, to rescue comes acclaimed Canadian producer, DJ Skratch Bastid, here to remind us of hip-hop’s roots and bless us with sounds from the past’s most talented, trail blazing, songresses. His new project, “Soul Sisters Stand Up,”  pays homage to wonderful women of the mid 60s and 70s who brought the jams, long before the likes of Lauryn Hill or Missy Elliot. In a collaboration with fellow producer The Gaff, the duo concocts a masterfully mixed, choped-and-screwed compilation of classic hits by an array of powerfully empowered female vocalists from the golden era of soul.

Dj Skratch Bastid describes his project as “a snapshot of love, pain, happiness, oppression, strength, struggle, and more from an era when records were the primary outlet for these voices.These messages are driven home by the beats and grooves from what is undeniably the funkiest decade in music history.” Of course, Bastid and Gaff enhance the funk by adding carefully executed scratches, routine turntablelism, and conjoining Hip Hop tracks. In effect, they are able to highlight the the already- outstanding performances of Aretha, Diana, Davis, Levette, and Drew  to create a mixtape that is, dare I say, flawless.

The post New Music: DJ Skratch Bastid and The Gaf — <em>Soul Sisters Stand Up!</em> appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.