Banks & Steelz – Speedway Sonora [Audio]

RZA and Paul Banks have returned with the third single, “Speedway Sonora,” from their upcoming “Anything But Words” project. “I will say that’s the only song to me that reminds me of early Rage Against the Machine, and when I toured with Rage, Method Man introduced me to their music, and I fell in love with their whole style,” RZA told Pitchfork. “And I think that that’s the only song on this record that you could potentially say has any kind of rock/rap influence, and that’s because at that time when I was doing my lyrics, I kind of invoked the idea of my boy Zack.” Stream “Speedway Sonora” below.

Read more

Rhythm Roulette w/ MeLo-X [Video]

MeLo-X has been low-key and high-key killing it. Besides his DJ gigs as Electric Punanny with Jasmine Solano and his own growing catalog of free-form music, MeLo has been a huge part of Beyoncé’s last two tours and Lemonade. His production game has always been on point, lending itself to original beats as well as fresh takes on classic songs. So it was only right that we connected with the god at JW Records in Brooklyn to have him deliver some heat in our latest Rhythm Roulette. Equipped with the Marmalade riddim, the St. Michael’s Cathedral’s choir from Boston, an unopened Kitchner record, and his Rubik’s cube, MeLo-X crafts three separate beats and adds his own vocals to the last one. Each sound speaks to the diversity of music that MeLo has studied over the years and how he’s capable of spinning and coming up with his own takes on all of them. Watch the multi-talented artist put in work above and check out his site for his art in other mediums.

Read more