Whereas most mash-up artists come off as dudes holding up old pictures screaming “remember this????,” Second Royal’s Halfby comes off as a dude who invited all your cool memories for a really sweet house party full of dancey tracks and Four-Loko-fueled hijinks. The Kyoto producer has a new album, Leaders Of The New School, out in November and now we get our first peek at it courtesy of “Tommy Boy.” It’s a rap cut-and-paste, a flurry of MCs from over the ages being sliced into M&M-sized sounds and rubbing shoulders with someone counting in Spanish and Halfby’s always-bumping mix. Lil’ John pops in for a second but he’s gone almost as quickly – more persistent is that buttery organ Halfby brought to this block jam, a soulful partner to the at-times-reggaeton electronics going off around it. It’s a worthy follow up to The Island Of Curiosity collages like “Juicy” and “Mad Surfin’.” Listen below, or click Andre The Giant for the official info.
http://official.fm/tracks/300272