Weekend Rewind: New Mixtapes From Flatbush Zombies & Brother Ali Posted by Lucas G. on 09/13/13 | Filed under Downloads, Mixtapes, Brother Ali, Weekend Rewind, Flatbus Zombies

Between DJBooth submissions, DJBooth features, my regular rotation, and any new music that drops, my week is jam packed with music. I’m sure Refined Hype Nation has a whole bunch of shit going on too, so it’s not always easy to sit down with a full project or mixtape and really give it a listen. Because of this, I try and devote each weekend to one mixtape or album, either something new, a classic, or something I missed.

I installed this policy a few weeks ago, and so far it has been a great way to add to my music collection and discover some new artists. I have been enjoying it so much, I thought I would share it in a new, weekly "Weekend Rewind" column where I share what my weekend soundtrack will be.

Part of this weekend’s soundtrack comes courtesy of Flatbush Zombies. The New York trio recently dropped a new tape, "Better Off Dead", and since I haven’t really ever given them a good listen, I thought this would be a good time to start. While I am familiar with their name, I really don’t know their sound at all. The only song I know is “Laker Paper” which caught my eye because of the awesome artwork. Judging from that cut, I am going to guess they fall under the category of ignorant brilliance.

While it might not be the most enlightened music, I get the sense there is more to them than your typical smokin’, drinkin’ trap-influenced artist. I don’t typically go for this type of stuff there is just something about “Laker Paper” that gets me; the content isn’t exactly original, but their style is definitely unique. It’s hard to judge a group off of just one song so maybe my preconceived notions are all wrong; I guess I will find out this weekend. If you want to listen along with me, be sure to download "Better Off Dead".

Now, one project in a full weekend is a pretty achievable goal, so why not shoot for the stars and check out another project from a totally different artist? We talked about it briefly last week, but Brother Ali and Jake One’s demo-style tape, "Left In The Deck", deserves its own conversation. As dope as "Left In The Deck" is, I don’t think it got enough attention. In my opinion Ali is a top 5 emcee and on this tape he shows why. He has one of the most original, powerful flows in the game, and lyrically he is second to none. "Left In The Deck" is especially noteworthy because it is an unpolished, unmastered tape. Ali wanted to give it a raw, gritty feeling so he held off on mixing and mastering it this giving it that demo sound.  Most emcees wouldn’t even dream of releasing a project with no polishing and bells in whistles, but Ali shines when it is just him and a beat.

Speaking of Brother Ali, if you are feeling especially ambitious, why not check out this old tape from TOR where he blends a few hip-hop classics—including a song from Brother Ali—with cuts from Sufjan Stevens. To this day it remains one of my favorite mixtapes ever.

That’s it for this weekend. Hopefully this gets you through another horrible, RefinedHype-less weekend. Don’t worry, we’ll be back Monday!

See Also:  Flatbush Zombies & A$AP Mob Take Some “Bath Salt” to the Face (Listen & Download)
See Also:  It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop: Brother Ali’s “Everyday” Video