January 26, 2009

{     Theophilus London "This Charming Mixtape"     }    

So I was heads-up'd today to a mixtape from a mister Theophilus London... Entitled "This Charming Mixtape", I was instantly intrigued by the cover's reference to Elvis Costello's classic "This Year's Model" and the title's reference to The Smith's also-classic "This Charming Man". Quickly downloading and queueing up the 18 tracks I was immediately reminded of my absolute favorite mixtape from last year, Kid Cudi's "A Kid Named Cudi" by the vibe and London's delivery.

The sing/speak/rap approach is perfect and exactly what I feel was the progression needed for hip-hop to move forward in '09, and I can honestly say that along with Cudi, Kanye's current efforts, the upcoming Kid Sister album, and a few others, '09 is shaping up to be the year hip-hop rose to near-'80s worthy pop perfection and I'm soooooo excited for exactly that to happen.

Back to the tape, London's stroke of influences is indeed broad, consisting of Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, The Ramones, Prince, The Smiths & Kraftwerk to name a few. This knowledge assists in pulling together samples and hooks from various recognizable sources like Glass Candy, Whitney Houston (via some Baltimore bounce), Amadou & Mariam, Bill Withers and many more. This shit is choice, don't miss!

Download: Theophilus London "This Charming Mixtape"