Asheru Blue Black
Dear You

Athens of the North serves up something of a lovely curveball here with their first-ever beat tape. It is the work of Scottish beatmaker and hip-hop producer Jaisu, who has long been a friend of the label. He crafted this record in his studio in Niddrie from beats already put out on the Athens label. In loading up his MPC with such great source material, he was always sure to serve up some great sounds and so it is - these are lived-in, real, raw beats that have lo-fi fringes, soul vibes and a certain sense of timelessness that stands each track apart. Dooooope!

Almost a decade on from his classic album ‘Noi No’, NYC’s Madteo runs amock on Honest Jon’s with nine tracks of groove graffiti, scrawling on disco, hip hop, house and garage styles with inimitably thrifty, freehand tekkers. Mixing deadly cool and charmingly frazzled dance tracks in his patented rug-cutting fashion, this is 'club music' but with an abundance of detail and chicanery that will come to light with headphones and home listening. It's batshit crazy, bargain-bin yahtzee and absorbingly brilliant.

It's been 17 years since Danger Mouse's last hip-hop album - the epic collaboration with the late great MF Doom. A production legend, DM has worked with many greats, from Gnarls Barkley to the Gorillaz. This time he links up with Philadelphia's rap extraordinaire Black Thought (frontman for the Roots, alongside Questlove) for his first Hip-Hop jawn since 2005, Cheat Codes. Unsurprisingly, it's a total triumph, full of rich beats and samples where Black Thought can lay down endless bars without a chorus. A proper treat of old school sensibility with new school edge. Features verses from MF DOOM, Run The Jewels, A$AP Rocky, Raekwon, Joey Bada$$, Conway the Machine and more... what more can I say?