Shadeleaf has been somewhat over-represented in our review section over the last year. It’s for good reason, and you should prepare for many more. thatmanmonkz continues to give a clinic in modern A&R with Shadeleaf’s eighth release, “Ricky” from DJ/producer Caserta.
The A side is devoted to the slow and druggy Deep Mix and the sublime “Jeep Mix,” which sounds something like the entire history of downtempo and chill hip-hop collapsed into 6 minutes. This is a very fine jam, one for the riders, the lounge lizards, the skate kings and roots moguls who need some new ammunition for their heads.
Two mixes are on the flip from Kon and thatmanmonkz himself. Kon’s mix rivals the Jeep mix in its relentless devotion to chilling you the fuck out. The bass here is pushed so high, throbbing like a hypnotic pulse and you’re going to have to catch your breath when the vocal breaks loose like a soul migrating from one plane of existence into the next. The voice samples (is it safe to say where it’s from? It should be obvious from the title, but let’s… not) really add some flair to this – it’s by two of the best that ever polished off an R&B hook and Kon uses the material to perfection.
thatmanmonkz delivers the most percussive and hardest mix of this delicate concoction – a deep and funky rework. Music isn’t a competition, or shouldn’t be, but with this stellar material you better bring your A game and thatmanmonkz – the remixer as well as the label owner – certainly does.
