Gnawledge is proud to officially welcome a new artist to the family: the1shanti. Based in Brooklyn, the1shanti connected with Gnawledge during our 2010 Spring Tour and hosted our NYC label showcase. His new album Beautifulfeatures collaborations with Grammy Award winning British vocalist Imogen Heap, beatboxer Chesney Snow, and Gnawledge bredren Gnotes.
1970s cumbia tropical + 21st century hip-hop = Panama Doaba
TheFunky Isthmus Mixtape featuresinstrumentals produced by Gnotes for the upcoming Gnawledge EP Panama Doaba, mixed by DJ Canyon Cody with acapellas from Maluca Mala, Calle 13, Isa GT, Tego Calderón y más.
Produced by Gnotes with an Akai MPC 2000XL and a microKORG synthesizer, Panama Doaba features original Gnawledge hiphop remezclas of Panamanian calypso, funk and cumbia from the 1960s & 70s, sampled from Soundway Records 12″ vinyl compilations Panama! Vol. 1, Panama! Vol. 2, & Panama! Vol. 3.
THE FUNKY ISTHMUS MIXTAPE tracklisting
1. Papi Brandao Y Su Ejecutivos “Decidete Mi Amor” (Gnawledge Remix)
… con Maluca Mala ["El Tigeraso"] and Calle 13 ["La Jirafa"] 2. Papi Brandao Y Su Ejecutivos “Viva Panama” (Gnawledge Remix) 3. Papi Brandao Y Su Conjunto Aires Tableños “La Murga de Panama” (GN Remix)
… con Yaga & Mackie ft. Tego Calderón ["Fuego Fuego"] 4. Los Jimaguas “Los Dos Hermanos” (Gnawledge Remix)
… con Julio Voltio ["Mambo"] 5. Sir Valentino con Combo Esclavos Alegras “Masters are Gone” (GN Remix) 6. Alfredo Y Su Salsa Montañera “La Escoba” (Gnawledge Remix)
… con Isa GT ["Pela'o"]. 7. Bush y Sus Magneficos - Nana Nina (Gnawledge Remix) 8. Chocolate Caliente – Mi Guajira Inspiracion (Gnawledge Remix)
… con Black Point ft Sensato ["Watagatapitusberry"] 9. Beby Castor con Los Juvenilles “Llororas” (Gnawledge Remix)
For his upcoming album, Elemental Zazen worked with one of the greatest rappers of all time: CANIBUS. Produced by J. Ferra, “Hollow Heart” features dense, intelligent rhymes from two of the game’s most lyrically talented MCs.
“Hollow Heart” is the second song released from Elemental Zazen’s upcoming Gnawledge album Nothing to Lose but Change, which also features guest appearances from Jean Grae and Gnotes.
For the first single “Lockjaw”Elemental Zazen worked with Seattle producer Jake-One (G-Unit, Rhymesayers), a song which Zazen performed live at the recent Gnawledge hiphop show in Seattle.
Our 2010 Gnawledge tour visited Los Angeles, Boston, New York and Seattle from May 13th to June 5th. Betwixt official performances were curbside cyphers, neighborhood juergas and latenight house parties.
May 13th — Our first show (photo above) was a Granada Doaba improv experiment featuring 3 rappers, 3 flamenco guitarists, 2 hand percussionists and a dancer. Performing at Los Angeles’ historic flamenco venue El Cid, Granada Doaba featured acoustic freestlyles from Mandeep Sethi & Moses Soweto-Tsali, and a funky set by our good friends LoCura.
May 24th — We celebrated 6 years ofGnawledge in Bostonwith a party at Beat Research. The night began with an acoustic version of Buena Vista Social Club’s “Chan Chan” featuring Gnotes on guitar, Noni Kai on vocals and Afro DZ ak on trumpet (video above).
The show transitioned into a tropical bass DJ set from Canyon Cody, who debuted the newest Gnawledge album Panama Doaba. Read more about the Boston party at Wayne&Wax and check photos del amigo Zach Cole.
May 27th — TheGnawledge NYC Showcase featured 4 Gnawledge MCs and guest appearances from 3 New York locals. Hosted by Brooklyn veteran the1shanti [pictured above with Gnotes and Mighty Om], the crowd got rowdy for Nyle x Naysayers, a four-peice hip-hop band with a charismatic frontman (Nyle) and an amazing drummer (Isaac Teel).
Gnawledge performed a medley of new/old material from the last 6 years. Multi-instrumentalist rappers Gnotes and Afro DZ traded verses from their solo albums, and played flamenco guitar & trumpet in support of Boston soul singer Noni Kai, who showcased her beautiful voice during an acoustic Granada Doaba performance. Gnawledge was also joined on-stage by guest percussionist Duke Mushroom from Harlem’s Earthrise Soundsystem, an immensely talented musician who brought a goodie-bag of global drums and transformed the rap concert into a dance party.
May 28th — Our cumbia hip-hop remezclas Panama Doaba got heavy rotation in New York, where DJ Canyon Cody performed with Afro DZ ak and the1shanti at a Williamsburg house party (photo above). Produced by Gnotes, Panama Doaba explores the funky isthmus in the 1970s as a tropical bass follow-up to Granada Doaba. An unruly Brooklyn house party was the perfect way to unwind after our big concert, and it was our first chance to rock with Cumba Mela, an NYC global bass DJ trio that knows how to throw a damn fiesta.
May 29th – After playing with Gnawledge at Santos, Duke Mushroom invited Afro DZ ak to perform at the Globesonic show on the Hudson Pier (photos above). It was a beautiful summer evening for a free outdoor party, with more than 1,000 people dancing to 3 outstanding DJs (Derek Beres, Fabian Alsultany & Bill Braggin) accompanied by the impeccable percussion of Duke Mushroom and mighty trumpet ofAfro DZ ak (video below).
May 30th & 31st — DJ Canyon Cody got back on the decks at Love, a Greenwich club with an absolutely immense soundsystem, and then Bembe, a Brooklyn dance club with a reputation for hot&sweaty bootyshaking. Hosted by DJs Atropolis, Thornato and 2melo from Cumba Mela, the weekly cumbia convocation at Bembe is a superb scene, with passionate live drumming and a sensual dance crowd. Como un pez en agua, Canyon Cody kept the party jumping with help from the1shanti and Gnotes on the mic [photo below]
June 5th – After New York, Gnotes and Canyon Cody went back to Seattle for a Gnawledge rap show with Elemental Zazen and Irenic. Zazen — who recently leaked his new track featuring Canibus — performed his new song “Lockjaw” produced by Seattle-native Jake One (video below).
With the Spring 2010 tour done, Gnawledge will soon release Panama Doaba while finishing final touches on upcoming solo albums from Elemental Zazen and Gnotes.
Gnawledge rappers Gnotes and Elemental Zazen will perform together in Seattle on Saturday June 5th at the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery. Both artists will debut new material from their upcoming albums, which feature production from Jake One, Blockhead, Illmind, Kno, Eligh, JFerra and BSBD.
Since moving from Boston to Seattle, both Zazen and Gnotes have been working on their follow-ups to The Glass Should Be Full and Rhymes and Beats. Zazen’s album features collaborations with Jean Grae, Gnotes and Canibus — a track recently leaked at Potholes in my Blog.
Also performing will be Irenic, MC Premonition, DJ Chocolate Chuck and Canyon Cody. Tickets $5, show @9pm. Lo-Fi is located at 429 Eastlake Avenue East in Seattle WA.
We’re celebrating 6 años of Gnawledge in Boston with a FREE party at the Enormous Room with DJ Canyon Cody featuring live performances by Afro DZ ak (trumpet), Gnotes, (flamenco guitar) and Noni Kai (vocals).
Gnawledge @ Beat Research
Enormous Room (Central Sq.)
567 Mass Ave (Cambridge)
May 27th / 9pm-1am / 21+ / $0
RSVP @ Facebook
72 months young, we’ll be bailando al ritmo tropical with our Boston bredren at Beat Research, a free weekly experiment in party music hosted by Wayne&Wax and DJ Flack.
Gnawledge will host a label showcase in New York on Thursday May 27th at Santos Party House, featuring live performances by Afro DZ ak, Gnotes, and Granada Doaba.
Hosted by Gnawledge selector Canyon Cody, our 6th annual family reunion will feature a special guest appearance from Nyle with his live band The Nay-Sayers. Also performing is the1shanti [aka Brooklyn Shanti], dubbed the Indian Bambaataa by the Universal Zulu Nation.
A veteran of the New York underground rap scene, Nyle has 3 free albums and one of the coolest live hip-hop music videos I’ve ever seen:
Granada Doaba — with jazz trumpeteer Pete Shungu and flamenco guitarist Sean Dwyer — will feature vocals from Baltimore rapper Mighty Om and Boston soul singer Noni Kai. Also performing with Granada Doaba will be special guest percussionist David “Duke Mushroom” Schommer from Earthrise SoundSystem.
Gnotes and Afro DZ ak will perform songs from their solo albums [Rhymes and Beats & Elevation]. Gnotes will also debut new music from his upcoming album Conflicts and Interests, which features collaborations with Devin the Dude, Blockhead, Eligh, Metaform & Ilmind.
Flamenco hip-hop fusioneros Granada Doaba will be playing with LoCura on Thursday May 23th at El Cid in Silver Lake [Los Angeles, CA]. Our bands last performed together in San Francisco to a sold-out 500 person crowd at The Independent on Jan 9, 2010.
LoCura is a SF/Oakland band that shaped their sound traveling through Spain, Cuba, and Morocco. Their distinctly Californian style of Rumba Flamenca brings together ritmos caribeños with west-coast funk & hiphop. The band’s veteran crew includes hand-percussion, bass, flamenco guitar and kit drum, along with Spanish vocalist La Kata. They played at SxSW 2010 and will be performing at the Joshua Tree Music Festival on May 15th.
Granada Doaba rapper Mandeep Sethi (video below) will be joined by special guest Moses Soweto-Tsali(NuAi Tribe) and belly dancer Joanne Terry. Hosting the early evening show is DJ Canyon Cody, who just performed with LoCura at the Elbo Room in SF in April, and will be on tour with the Gnawledge crew in Boston (May 24th @ Enormous Room), Manhattan (May 27th @ Santos Party House), Brooklyn (May 31st @ Bembe), and Seattle (June 5th @ Lo-Fi).
EARLY SHOW! Thursday May 13th … doors at 7pm, Granada Doaba at 7:30 and LoCura at 8:30. The show will be over at 9:30pm sharp. El Cid is an ALL-AGES venue so bring the family and have dinner at the restaurant while enjoying the performances. El Cid is located at 4212 Sunset Blvd. Tickets $8.
DJ/producer Chief Boima just released Techno Rumba, his debut EP of original material on Dutty Artz. A regular blogger at Ghetto Bassquake & WMFU, Chief Boima is “a leading expert on all seven kajillion different types of African, Carribbean, and American dance jams,” known for his DJ residency at Baobab Village in San Francisco.
The official release also features 2 additional remixes by dj/Rupture & Matt Shadetek and Que Bajo/ZZK producer Uproot Andy. Currently based in the Bay, Boima connected with Gnawledge back in January (after our Granada Doaba concert at The Independent) and invited us to remix Techno Rumba.
Produced by Gnotes, our remix is part of a new gang of global bass music from Gnawledge (eg here and here), more of which DJ Canyon will be debuting at Beat Research on May 24th in Boston and Bembe in Brooklyn on May 31st.
Boima also released a great promo mix for “Techno Rumba” which explores the pan-African diaspora of “rumba” — an amorphous term that represents more of a feeling than a singular rhythm. Also, make sure to grab Chief Boima’s preview remix EP African by the Bay and his Descendents United mix.
Cumbia — mostly associated w/ Colombia nowadays — originally came from the funky isthmus of Panama. Our newest Gnawledge remix project Panama Doaba brings hip-hop back to 1970s panamanian cumbia, with production from Gnotes and Canyon Cody.
The original “Llororas” was written by Venezuelan singer Oscar D’León in 1975 and became a huge hit across Latin American. Our remix samples a Panamanian cover version by Beby Castor con Los Juvenilles, from the Sally Ruth 45 (SR161), later re-released by Soundway Records on Panama 3.
We’ll be playing a bunch of our new Gnawledge cumbia remixes @ Beat Researchin Boston w/ Wayne&Wax on May 24th, and then @ Bembe in Brooklyn w/ Cumba Mela on May 31st.
