Afro Monk

It has been awhile since the last AfroMonk.com Exclusive. I received a collection of new tracks from the homie Guttstar recently and fell in love with one of the tracks. I first became familiar with Guttstar when I heard Kastle’s remix of his tune. After that I made sure to reach out to him and connect. Turns out he is another brother in arms in the SEO game.

His original sound was a lot more focused around the lush pretty dubstep/luvstep vibe. I’ve always enjoyed what he has done musically and finally got to see it live at Emissions this summer. Stellar guy. It makes me happy to see that despite his direction moving more towards the whole trap game that he’s still making tunes like Speaker Seduction. The track has that purple luvstep feel to it but has hints of trap and that new sound we’ve been hearing a lot of.

There’s a lot of new music come from him so be on the look out. There’s even talks of a split EP with G Jones but nothing set in stone. We will see what happens with that but I’m hoping that Afro Monk Records will be releasing that If you haven’t already checked out his collaboration with G Jones (Disko Rekah remix), I highly recommend it.

Nothing but Love and Respect goes out to the homie Guttstar and hope you all enjoy this exclusive tune <3

I consider Pressha one of the greatest strictly DJs out there in bass music today. The first party I ever planned and promoted Pressha played. Didn’t know much about him but my good friend Shilo assured me he was incredible. He showed up and totally blew me away. There aren’t many DJs who mainly only use Serato to play out and using Turntables that I enjoy. Ever since he came to Miami and crushed it for my WMC party we’ve kept in close contact. He really works hard and understands the importance of building a network and relationships in the music industry. There isn’t a line up in the NW that I’ve seen where it be a major event and not seen this man not playing at it. His network and ear for music is almost unmatched entirely but when talking solely DJ and not producing music there is no other I can think of besides Mihkal.

I’ve had the pleasure of kicking it with him out in Seattle and showed me around a bit during Decibel Festival. He’s a super chill dude who likes to party but also collects and plays dubs like it’s nobodies business. I know when I was focused more on putting out mixes that I had to beat Matt to the punch of releasing a mix because if not he’d probably be playing a lot of the stuff I’d be playing also. Now that I’m focusing less on playing out I’m glad that he’s still going strong and playing out and making a huge name for himself.

It has been awhile since we last kicked it but I’m really looking forward to getting to spend some time with him at Emissions this year. We’ll both be out there playing at it and if was still playing glitch-hop I’d probably have to check with him what he has planned because this guy always has the headie tracks that most don’t have access too. If you haven’t heard of this man and looking to become a DJ in this culture I highly recommend going back and looking to see the work he has put in. He’s the true model of what most DJs should be like…

Everything in Moderation Tracklist:
1.) Sugarpill – A Gift To
2.) Gladkill – Stay Awake
3.) Kastle – Walking Away Mc Armanni
4.) Goldrush – It’s when I miss all of you (Gladkill Remix)
5. ) Sugarpull – Say you want to
6.) Kastle – I Know (Bokator and Jock Styles Remix)
7.) Drake – November 18th (Stratus Remix)
8.) Sugarpill – Tanktop
9.) Minnesota – Roof Back
10.) Sugarpill – Cats used to harmonize
11.) Matty G – Back to the Bay ft.Ugene
12.) Ginuwine – Pony (Molecule Remix)
13.) Polish Ambassador – Space Leaf Dub (Gladkill Remix)
14.) Frequent C + kLL sMTH – Something for Everyone
15.) Guttstar – Waking
16.) Awol-Nation – Sail (Slim Thugz Remix)
17.) Paper Diamond – So Precise
18.) Chris B – Be Cool
19.) Oh Tebins – Tickle Parts
20.) Samples – Capture the Flag

NastyNasty aka Jasper has finally put a release date to his highly anticipated new Poison Flavored EP! I’m not going to lie and say that this is probably the best thing he has put out since The Reef. Jasper has been touring heavily in 2011 and yet still has time to put together one of the best EPs of the year.

This release contains some of my favorite songs that he plays. I can’t tell you how excited I was when a copy of Sweaty Bodies was in my possession. Sweaty Bodies is one of those tracks that I kid you not I listen to at least 5x a day (it’s unhealthy). Another track that I absolutely love that finally has an official release is Jelly. Every single song on this EP is incredible and completely approve. The moment I got a promo copy of this I put it in my phone and listened to it non-stop since it was the only release on my cell phone at the time. This most likely be one of my top 3 releases for all of 2011. Flawless.

Over the few years I’ve been part of this community I can’t help but say that Jasper is one of the best in the game. His dynamic range, unique style, and overall personality are unmatched. He’s one of those few people that can actually drop house music or juke and actually have me grooving (that’s huge). There are so many people who try to dip into a bit of everything but NastyNasty takes 1st prize for creating the best overall sound with every genre he takes a stab at. The best part about him is the fact that he’s actually one of the best people to chill with. Overall the guy is living life up and has a smile on his face. If you ever watch him play you can see NastyNasty come alive and pour out this explosive side to him. He has openly admitted that almost all the music he writes is about women which shows quite well. Jasper is just another guy like us who happens to make incredible music that has introduced him to a culture and scene that is quite unique. He’s the guy everyone loves and knows how to please any crowd he is given. Even today someone asked me what I recommend since nothing seems to really satisfy them lately and in that list NastyNasty was on the top of it. Be on the look out for another stunning release from Quitter (NastyNasty + So What).

I can’t tell you how honored I am to call him a friend. This summer I had the luxury of seeing him a whole bunch and feels good to know he’s a friend. Never will forget that moment he found me at Emissions and just gave me a hug and had no idea who it was at first but soon realized who it was. That’s when I knew that I had to be doing something right to get this mans respect.

NastyNasty – Poison Flavored EP
01: Sweaty Bodies
02: Jelly
03: Hyda
04: Legionnaire
05: Ghost Down

Grassroots California is a small indie company that sells custom hats. They have been gaining popularity in the underground bass community as they have a strong presence at music festivals. If you’re into festivals such as Wakarusa, Nocturnal, Emissions, SXSW, WMC, etc… you’ve probably seen quite a few of these hats.

I’m a huge supporter of the company as they help bring light to many artist and sports teams. They are well known for spoof hats for many popular teams. They have a special music line that features big names like Pretty Lights, Lotus, Big Gigantic, Fresh2Death, and many more. I personally sport the Miami Dubphins hat. I’ll be adding quite a few to my collection in the near future and have even been in talks with them for special Afro Monk hat for 2012.

Be sure to check out their website that features not only hats but accessories, t-shirts, pins, and more. Also if you’re out at any of the music festivals you’ll probably see a vending booth. Be sure to know your hat size before you head over there. I promise you that you’ll be wanting to buy at least a few and chances are they might be limited to a certain size since they’ve been gaining such popularity.

Also be on the look out for the possibility of a Grassroots record label…
Much respect and love goes out to the Grassroots California crew!

BUY: Grassroots California