Beats, Rhymes, (& the love of my) Life - Pipomixes
SP-444 - Mixed by Pipomixes
I saw this J. Rocc video (youtu.be/Hpmkd6Je4b8?si=KpEQUTGEoQyxQOJN) on 404 Day a few years back and got inspired. Mixed some beats from one of the 404 kings (Ras G), blended it with acapellas and drops from the 444 rapper, ran it all through the 404 efx machine, and then added some stony spices. Here you go.... Enjoy
SLO(W)TOWN Tape - Pipomixes
Motown themed mix filled with classic Motown joints, their sampled interpretations, and top shelf mixing like they just don’t do anymore.
4:O (Standing in Line at the SV Show)
I met Omega:NYC in June of 2000 while standing in line at Slum Village’s “Fantastic Vol 2” album release party/concert. As I’ve mentioned before, the El Rey Theatre was 70% full at best that night. All the Dilla Stans of the last 20 years were nowhere to be found that evening. In fact, Dilla was also nowhere to be found at the show.
At that time, O had just moved out to LA from his native NYC. He had yet to move his turntables and records out here and was reduced to using pause tapes to communicate his musical fix.
I was standing behind him in line by pure chance. Like a typical New Yorker, he was wearing his backpack filled with a stash of pause tapes ready to play for a deserving ear. The bouncers told him his backpack wasn’t allowed inside the venue. I agreed to hold his spot in line while he put his backpack in his car, and we were friends from that moment forward.
He invited himself over to my house the next day as soon as I told him I had a pair of turntables. Though I had been deejaying for years at that point, I was on the verge of quitting and selling my turntables when I met O. I was wack and wasn’t getting any better. Keep in mind that this was pre-YouTube and being able to watch all the tutorial videos that are now available to anyone who wants to learn.
O coming over to my house for the first time changed everything for me. For the first time, I could actually see a dope DJ do their thing and get a look behind the curtain. From this point forward I started to improve and ultimately master my instrument.
O was the essence of Hip Hop, and he was the essence of NYC. He gladly shared all his knowledge with me and I soaked it all up. Some people can draw. Other people can play the piano. My instrument is two turntables, a mixer, records, and knowledge of music. I have Omega:NYC to thank for all that. For the last 25+ years, my turntables have been my therapy.
As playlists replaced the mix(tape), the only ones left listening to mixes became fellow DJs (not a very large audience). In the end, mixtapes have always been a FUBU (for us, by us) type of thing. More specifically for me; I always made my mixes with O in mind. I knew he’d be the only one to notice all the subtleties. I knew he’d be the only one who would call me to say things like; “that blend you did at 3:14 was fire! How’d you do that?” He was like a proud father.
O died in February 2024 after a one year battle with pancreatic cancer. With his passing, I didn’t just lose one of my best friends; I lost my love for music. Instead of music being a refuge, it became a source of pain.
This is my tribute mix for O that I finished a few months ago. It’s filled with all sorts of musical inside jokes between us that only he’d understand. I’m going to provide some linear notes in a few weeks explaining all the song selections and their respective meanings. For now, I’ll just let the music do the talking.
It’s a shame O will never hear this mix because it was made for him. It took me way too long to make this. 2024 was the most chaotic year of my life and O’s passing made it all the more difficult for me to seek refuge from that chaos in music.
As I started to heal from the wounds of 2024 toward the latter stages of the year; I slowly worked my way back into my home studio and back onto my turntables. This mix isn’t just a thank you letter to O, but it’s also proof of my healing.
R.I.P. Omega:NYC:
Future Shock
As promised, another mix released into the universe that was collecting too much dust. Last mix I'll release in 2024, and then I'll start 2025 (late January) by letting go of the tribute mix I made for Omega:NYC (RIP).
The O tribute mix (Standing in Live at the SV Show) is actually the most recent mix I've made (completed two months ago). I'll follow that up with more mixes from the vault, followed by some new mixes I'm putting the finishing touches on.
As far as this "Future Shock" mix: it's a Death Row mix, stoned-out, with extended multi-track blends. Some of the blends are so in pocket that the untrained ear probably won't even hear the blend. As always, a lot of effort went into creating this mix. Hope you enjoy.
91 Fix - Mixed by Pipomixes
Stoned-out mix where all the songs blended together have some common element (shared sample, vocal drop, lyrics, etc.). Multi-track mix blended to the level of the 91 Rebels.
Blended Blunts - Pipomixes
Sitting on way too many mixes. Life got in the way a little bit, but that's no excuse for not releasing the mixes collecting dust in the vault. Many more on the way. Hope you enjoy.
Burn some blunts. Blend some blends. Slow it down. Hear how it ends…
86 Accord Coup - Mixed by Pipomixes
Titled "86 Accord Coup" because that is the car my brother had as he would drive me around before I was old enough to drive. I was fortunate to have a brother who was not too embarrassed to allow his little brother to tag along while he would do all the "cool" things 18-22 year olds do. All the music in the mix was music that would be regularly played in his car as he would drive me around. My brother was never a big music guy, but he had a BMG subscription at the time where he'd get random CDs every month of an eclectic array of music. That's how I recall hearing PE and the Beatnuts for the first time. Our neighbor died and left the car to my brother. We never figured out why. Fast forward 6-7 years where I decided to take the car out alone and teach myself how to drive stick. The car did not survive that day lol My brother is still mad at me about that. Enjoy the mix!
Tres Campeao - Pipomixes
World Cup is now underway. Brasil's first game is Thursday. I don't enjoy the WC. For me, it's a month of suffering that only ends well if Brasil lifts the cup at the end. I've been fortunate enough to experience that twice in my lifetime (94 and 02). The other WCs have lead to heartbreak and depression for a few days. Brasil is a favorite to win every WC per usual. However, being a favorite and lifting the copa are two different things. This isn't a WC mix, but there are drops from the 70 WC because Brasil 70 is considered the greatest team ever. Mix is actually inspired by Quasimoto. With Adventures of Quas; Madlib basically made an album mixing his favorite things; records, Sun Ra, and Melvin Van Pebbles. I took the same basic elements and added my favorite thing; Brasil futbol. Enjoy
Anderson Hunt Tape - Mixed by Pipomixes
Went through my vinyl collection and put aside everything that couldn't be found on any DSP; stonied it up; and then made a funky 4-track mega mix.
Psychosis - Mixed by Pipomixes
Tripped-out movie scenes. Tripped-out beats. Tripped out blends. Enjoy.
Standing Next to Zero - Mixed by Pipomixes
The word zero came into the English language via French zéro from the Italian zero, a contraction of the Venetian zevero form of Italian zefiro via ṣafira or ṣifr. In pre-Islamic time, the word ṣifr (Arabic صفر) had the meaning "empty". But, there is not emptiness within the dimensions. There is the solitude of understanding the infinite possibilities between zero and one.
Dub Version - Mixed by Pipomixes
Spent quite a bit of time traveling through dimensions of dub throughout the pandemic. Always from a hip hop perspective; expect traditional dub joints by the greats mixed/mashed/blended with dub versions of rap joints that used to be quite common on 12" B-sides throughout the 80s/90s. There's always a "sound" in my head that I'm chasing. I'll probably never capture that sound. However, this mix might be the closest I've come to grabbing that elusive rascal.
Dimension: Just Be Dope (SCM) - Mixed by Pipomixes
Let's keep the SCM theme for the week.
A dimension where music is made just to create, with no finish line. The only goal is to just be dope. Sometimes the goal is achieved. Sometimes it's not; but it's always pursued. Respect to House Shoes and what he's built with Street Corner Music.
Dimension Interludes - Mixed by Pipomixes
1. an intervening period of time.
2. something performed during a theatre intermission.
There are no intervening periods of time in the dimensions, only space. There are no theaters. Thus, no performance during theatrical intermissions. There are only dimensional interludes. Not before. Not after. Interludes where Sun Ra raps over boom bap. Where St. Ides commercials blend with Knx. Where skits are the attraction over sonic beds. Where Biggie tells Freaky Tales over Dilla's Freaky Tales. Interludes that seamlessly bridge the gap between the absurd and musical divinity.
Dimension: Introspection - Mixed by Pipomixes
Impossible not to be introspective as you're traveling through the dimensions. Fortunately for all my dimension travelers; the universe has provided this soundtrack for your introspective pleasure. All tracks were mixed while traveling the dimensions; so pardon the psychedelia. May your dimension travels take you to a place where you sound more and more like yourself.
Dimension: Space Base (r.i.G.)
Ras G entered the dimensions a year ago. Perhaps he never left. Ras was always on some other ish. For all of us stuck in the Third Dimension, he is very missed.
Dimension 4B - Mixed By Pipomixes
Dimension 4B is a place where dusty records and cocaine serve as currency, but both are finite. Yet, both can be reinterpreted and looped with infinite possibilities. Instead of consuming cocaine to get high, it's sprinkled over records for increased dust and crackle. Instead of listening to records all the way through, they are looped and slowed. There is no beginning, and there is no end. There is only Dimension 4B; where doughboys and loopdiggas rule as kings.
Enter the Dimensions - Mixed By Pipomixes
"Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself."
- Miles Davis
There are three known dimensions; length, width, and depth. Most physicists maintain that ten dimensions exists within the universe. The unknown dimensions contain all possible futures, and all possible pasts. The Dimension Mix Series is the quest to discover all possible futures, and all possible pasts; musically. The journey to sound like myself. Enter the Dimensions.