Big Tone & House Shoes "Big Shoes" (Album Stream)

BIG SHOES deals in legacy. The legacies we inherit, carry on or betray, and the legacies we leave behind for others. House Shoes and Big Tone know about legacy. The Motor City titans came up in a time when Detroit Hip-Hop experienced a super-bloom of creativity and innovation. In their own ways, they took on a mantle for the city and it’s music scene. They bled for it. They lost friends and pillars of their city. Then, they grew up and created families of their own. Still, they’ve pressed on and continued. Tone and Shoes have been friends and collaborators for a lifetime. BIG SHOES is a chronicle of their experiences, together and alone, carrying out the heavy and heralded legacy of being a Detroit musician. This reconciliation of the pain their journeys have faced includes a recognition of the growth brought about as a result. BIG SHOES is also a family reunion, with a litany of guests, witnesses and friends. This isn’t a Hollywood tale of triumph, it’s a bittersweet story of blessings and baggage. Our protagonists don’t end the album in loud and garish opulence, they complete a cipher. Where they began dealing with the weight of the lineage they carry on, we leave the story with our two auteurs in control and at peace with the patrimony they’ve built--and continue to build. BIG SHOES is fully produced by House Shoes with Big Tone handling the mic, with family appearances from Denmark Vessey, Blu, Quelle Chris, Jimetta Rose, 87 and MoSel. Listen...

HouseShoes "Magic 2018 Wrap-Up (Non Rap)" (Mix)

"Wrapping up 2018 with my favorite non-rap shit from beats to soul to jazz from around the globe," says Houseshoes. I think the days of "tastemakers" are long gone (for the most part) but for those who have been around long enough, there are still people in the industry who are human algorithms; they weed through all the music out there to bring us the best of the best in their niche. Houseshoes has certainly earned his spot with his unique ear, connections and due diligence. With that said, here's his mix of tunes featuring the likes of Drugs Beats, Black Milk, DJ Spinna, Stro Elliot, Ghost McGrady, Tall Black Guy, John Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, and lots more. Dig in below...

HouseShoes "Magic 2018 Rap Shit Wrap-Up" (Mix)

Broken into two parts, HouseShoes has shared a mix of his favorite rap tracks as a wrap-up for 2018. Trusting his ear and ability to get his hands on stuff I may not be up on yet (especially out of Detroit), I'm always open to what HouseShoes has to offer, and it's always on point. The wrap-up includes tracks from PRhyme, The Alchemist, Freddie Gibbs, Vic Spencer, Westside Gunn & Conway, Roc Marciano, Jamal Bufford, 14KT, Estee Nack, Denmark Vessey, Illingsworth, Dibia$e, and so much more; you have to dig through it to appreciate it. Listen to Shoes' best of 2018 mix below...

Happy Born Day, eLZhi! + Scattered Pictures

A Happy Born Day shout-out to the good homie, eLZhi; one of the greatest lyricists and storytellers in all of Hip-Hop! In a career that dates back to the 90s, the Detroit spitter recorded tracks with DJ Houseshoes in '98 that would become the 'Out Of Focus' EP. (It was re-issued on CD in 2011, you should own it.) 'Scattered Pictures' is one of my favorite tracks, as well as 'S.A.R.A.H.,' and the storytelling on 'Boomerang Slang' is impeccable! It was long-rumored that Houseshoes had given the DATs to J Dilla to remix before his passing, and ultimately, it was Dilla who asked eLZhi to step in and become part of Slum Village and gave him his international debut on 'Welcome To Detroit' in 2001. As part of Slum Village, eL's verse on 'Keep Holdin On' always stood out to me as one of their most slept-on joints: "And deep inside my bones I'm believing that my poems that I'm reading is the songs to my freedom." From his 'Witness My Growth' double-disc mixtape, the 'Euro Pass' Tour CD, 'The Preface' and 'The Leftovers (Unmixedtape),' these releases along with his work with Slum further cemented his place among the very best of the industry. In 2011, eLZhi released 'Elmatic;' a critically-acclaimed homage to Nas & his hometown in Detroit that was flawless from start to finish. After some controversy involving his 2013 KickStarter campaign, he returned last year with 'Lead Poison,' which answered many questions surrounding his mindstate and some of the inner battles he was facing during its recording. The quality of the final product was enough to silence any detractors. A little perspective to close this out: "Words are powerful things. If very real emotions are behind the words, I think they can manifest things. So, if there's something I won't rap about or don't address, it's only because I don't underestimate the power of those words." (MetroTimes). 

D.R.U.G.S Beats "The Gift: Volume 10" (Instrumental Album)

DRUGS, whose name is attributed to the addictive properties and high potency of his music, hails from Fayetteville, NC. He first began experimenting with music at the age of thirteen. While he was in high school he began analyzing beats and searching for his own future source material to make beats from. This was DRUGS’ beginning as a beatmaker/producer. From the mid 00’s to now, DRUGS honed his craft and eventually sold beats professionally to notable artists like Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Big Boi, Ludacris, Marv Won & Fattfather. In previously writing about DRUGS’ beats on Medium last year, I famously said “These beats make me want to sell crack rock on a skateboard while wearing Iron Man’s armor in a school zone during recess. I heard some of the jawns on this cat’s SoundCloud and I made ugly faces to rival Tyrone Hill pre-sneeze. These slaps make me want to run through multiple plate glass windows like Master P at the end of the If I Could Change video. He has taken his influences and succeeded in using them to create his own unique style”. - HouseShoes

J Dilla "The Diary" (Album Stream)

The Estate of James Yancey has revived J Dilla’s longstanding company PayJay as a functioning imprint to release Dilla’s long lost vocal album, The Diary, in conjunction with Mass Appeal Records. Initially intended for release in 2002, The Diary is the final batch of unissued material that Dilla had assembled for release during his lifetime, lending crucial insight into the producer’s prowess and thought process in the period leading up to his break with the major label system and the extremely fertile period that followed (which encompassed the making of the canonical classics Ruff Draft, Jaylib, and Donuts). The Diary features vocal performances by J Dilla, Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Kokane, Frank and Dank, Nottz and Boogie, over production by Dilla, Madlib, Pete Rock, Hi-tek, Nottz, House Shoes, Supa Dave West, Bink! and Karriem Riggins. Rest In Peace, J Dilla. Listen below...

Elzhi "Out Of Focus" (EP Stream, 1998)

In 1998, Elzhi recorded a number of songs with Detroit hip-hop artist DJ Houseshoes with DJ Rios. These recording sessions yielded material that would become the Out of Focus EP, but the project was abandoned due to personal obligations and a lack of distribution options in Detroit. During the mixing process, DJ Houseshoes passed the DATs onto Dilla (R.I.P.), who allegedly intended on remixing the whole album before his passing. In late 2000, Elzhi acquired Dilla's master tapes and provided his close friends with CD's of the Out of Focus EP, plus 3 extra tracks. With a few CD's out in the open, the EP eventually leaked onto the Internet under the name "Unreleased Solo Project", but many CD's sold or distributed under this title are mislabeled with inaccurate track-listings and credits. The project was re-released in 2011 on his official website with a 27-minute bonus track showcasing verses from past features. Dilla asked Elzhi to take his place in the group Slum Village because he believed in Elzhi's gift and Dilla was battling Lupus. Please listen to this phenomenal EP below...

Finale "Bits & Pieces" (Promo Mix)

DJ House Shoes put this promotional mix together in advance of Finale's latest Mello Music Group release, "Odds & Ends." A refresher course for those familiar, and an introduction for those who may not be caught up on Finale's catalog. In true House Shoes form, a few exclusives are thrown into the mix for good measure. Get into this Detroit sound below, and be sure to support the new LP via Mello Music Group. Peace to Finale (and Invincible; I've always wanted a full LP from them!). If you haven't heard Finale's album, A Pipe Dream and a Promise, please do the knowledge immediately!

House Shoes "The King James Version" (Chapter 1)

"This is a lovingly and expertly constructed journey through the building blocks of Dilla’s beats – the dusty OG vinyl grooves that he sampled. From the basis of a Frank-N-Dank cult favorite, through that of a Fantastic SV moment, to Donuts’ irresistible ingredients, Shoes’ thorough work shines the light on his friend’s ear for a sneaky loop, his affection for perfectly imperfect chops and his knack for extracting the soul from a forgotten musical fragment and making it something altogether new, something his own. Long Live King James" - Chairman Mao. (Released last year.)