Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated ‘In Search Of Stoney Jackson’, Strong Arm Steady leak the storming lead single ‘Best Of Times’ . Featuring a hook from the ever soulful Phonte of Little Brother, the creeping bassline and crunchy drums remind you why you fell in love with hip hop in the first place. Catch this download quick – on the B-Side is the non-album track ‘Follow Me’, featuring grimey Madlib production and discussion on – you guessed it – Twitter.
MP3 DOWNLOADS:
STRONG ARM STEADY – BEST OF TIMES (CLEAN) (PROD BY MADLIB)
STRONG ARM STEADY – FOLLOW ME (CLEAN) (PROD. BY MADLIB)
L.A rap veterans Krondon, Phil Da Agony and Mitchy Slick are Strong Arm Steady. Amongst the most admired groups on the West Coast, they boast associations with many of its luminaries: Xzibit, The Alkaholiks and Dilated Peoples, to name three. With Stoney Jackson, their sophomore LP, they step onto the Stones Throw roster with that rarest of indie rap honours: an album 100% produced by Madlib.
Established as a collective of like-minded artists, SAS pared down to three to record their 2007 debut Deep Hearted. On Stoney Jackson, named for an American actor and dancer featured in Michael Jacksons Beat It video, Krondon and Phil take care of most of the vocal duties alongside an array of top ranking guests, including Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson and Phonte of Little Brother.
There is something undeniably organic about ‘In Search of Stoney Jackson’, something that just feels right. There are the classic elements of the genre of course: chopped soul strings, sprinklings of film dialogue, and discussions of the finest weed in the West. But there is something more the effortlessly ethereal, unquantifiable hip-hop sound that is written in to its DNA.
Madlibs production follows no rules or genre boundaries. Crafting beats that scuttle around the peripheries of the hip-hop genre, he tempers his love for the avant-garde with the raw boom-bap sound cherished by rap fans. Its a fine start to the year for a man who has over a dozen releases scheduled (including the long-awaited follow-up to 2004s Madvillainy with MF DOOM). Yet this isnt a Madlib show: in Strong Arm Steady he has found a group of lyrical foils to weave together a long player worthy of his beats. Stoney Jackson sets the bar high for hip-hop in 2010.
Some Other Posts You May Enjoy:
