Recently in The Exchange Category

You know the deal. This week's Exchange theme is Where I'm From: artists from your hometown (or as close as possible).



The Playlist:
Jen | Hip-Hop - Dead Prez
Panama | Kryptonite (I'm On It) - Purple Ribbon All-Stars
BK | Lifted - John Legend feat. J. Ivy
Sam | Heard It All Before - Sunshine Anderson
George | Don't See Us - The Roots
Liz | Orange County Girl - Gwen Stefani
Eyejammy | Everyday (Rudebwoy) - Kardinal Offishall feat. Ray Robinson
Marcia | I'll Bet You - Jackson 5
OJ | How to Survive in South Central - Ice Cube
Cye | Geen Verschil - U-Niq feat. Feis & Yootha
Ouxu | Insomnia - Pete Philly & Perquisite

Cop it:
Stream it on Muxtape & also available for download at Rapidshare.

About My Pick:
"Orange County Girl" is on Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape. I can't say this is my favorite Gwen track, but it fits the bill for this issue of The Exchange. Gwen and I are both from Orange County and the song is about OC so what more could you ask for? I may be originally from New Mexico, and (currently) live in Los Angeles, but I'm just an Orange County Girl living in an extraordinary world.

Tustin, stand up.

By the way, if you ever refer to Orange County as "The OC," you're a n00b. It is and will always forever be called "OC." Don't believe everything you see on TV.

Gwen's from Fullerton/Anaheim. If you really want to get hyperlocal on me, then check out Ill Phaness and his Strollin Wreckless crew. Ill Phaness is a friend of mine who lived across the street from me and we went to high school together. The (first half of the) first music video below was shot on my block. The second video was shot at my high school.
Buddy P, C-Sharp, Ill Phaness, & Kaliber - Active (Music Video)

I have been slippin on my pimpin, slackin on my mackin. Two Exchanges have dropped and I haven't updated my blog with the new stuff. So, this will be your double header. Be prepared.

The Exchange 006: R.I.P.
Songs by the dearly departed


The Playlist:


About My Pick:
I love 2Pac. He was the first rapper I really became a fan of, and I think this track was my first favorite from him. It's thoughtful, and came at a time when people were giving gangsta rap a hard time. I miss 2Pac.

----
The Exchange 007: BIG
Favorite tracks by or featuring Notorious BIG.




The Playlist:

Another week, another Exchange drop from the crew. This week our theme is JORGE!, because today is George's birthday!

The Playlist:

The new Exchange is up for the week. Let's pretend we were out on holiday last week. The theme is Summertime: tracks that make you think of summer.
Sam | ATLiens - Outkast

Listen Here:
Stream it on Muxtape
Download from Zshare

The Story Behind My Pick:
For the record, George and I must be separated at musical birth because I was going to pick the track he chose for this release (this keeps happening with us). I pretty much grew up in a household where secular music was never allowed, so my earliest favorite song was 1991's Summertime.

I remember I was at my grandparent's farm in New Mexico for the summer (as usual), and four of my cousins from Texas were also staying there for the summer. [Sidenote: don't ask me why my grandparents took in five grandkids for three months, but we were on a farm with lots of animals so there was tons of space--and work--to do.] I was introduced to secular music by my cousins, and Summertime happened to be the jam of the summer. I remember we spent a lot of time collectively listening to this track, memorizing the lyrics (knowing all the lyrics to a song was the ultimate form of freshness) by writing them down and arguing about what the Fresh Prince really said in that one line in the middle of the third verse.

However, since George took my first pick, my second pick is Motownphilly by Boyz II Men. Both tracks were released that summer, so Philly was reppin hard. I don't think we had satellite television, but I distinctly remember sweating the music videos for these songs. All five of us would crowd around the TV and study every move and scene, especially Motownphilly. I am pretty sure we put together a dance routine to Motownphilly as well. We used to do shows all the time for my grandparents, haha.

Those were the days. 

Another week, another deck from The Exchange crew. This week our theme is Touch, giving you the songs that make you want to reach out and touch that special someone.

The Picklist:
George | Put it in Your Mouth - Akinyele
Marcia | Crown Royal - Jill Scott
Ouxu | Crush on You - Lil' Kim feat. Lil' Cease
OJ | I Pop - Trick Daddy
BK | If I Had You - Frankie
Eyejammy | I Wanna Do Somethin Freaky To You - Leon Haywood
Sam | Feel Like F**kin - Plies
Jen | Seems Like You're Ready - R. Kelly
Liz | Slowly - Tank
Cye | G-Spot - Wayne Marshall

Don't Take My Word For It:
Download the stack.
Stream it on Muxtape.

About My Pick:
"Slowly" by Tank. I love Tank. When Jamie Foxx came out with his last album, I said it sounded like a Tank album. Come to find out they're BFF's of some sort. Force of Nature was my album jam for one of those summers in college. I am a sucker for an R&B man singing his heart out, and Tank came through for me with this track. I might have to give Force of Nature a spin today!

Welcome back for the second installment of The Exchange (explanation here for the late folks). This week our theme is Teenage Love Affair.
The Playlist and Who's Who:
George | Can We Talk - Tevin Campbell
Liz | My Heart Belongs to You - Jodeci
Eyejammy | She's Playing Hard to Get - Hi-Five
Kate | Treehouse - I'm From Barcelona
Ouxu | Crazy Love - Brian McKnight
Panama | Let's Chill - Guy
Cye | Knockin the Boots - H-Town
OJ | Kissing You - Total
Marcia | Computer Love - Zapp & Roger
Blazey | Playground Love - Air
Jen | Weak - SWV
Sam | You're Unbelivable - EMF

As always:
Download the set here
Stream the set in your browser over at our Muxtape

About My Pick:
I went for My Heart Belongs To You by Jodeci mostly because of the passion. Every vocal on this track is pure passion. I love that about love, and about love songs. Granted, at the time this track was released I knew nothing about love (this is arguably the case now, as well!), but it was definitely one of my favorite songs to lip sync late at night, in the dark, in my bedroom, with my headphones bangin.  

Today I am happy to introduce to you a weekly podcasting-ish/mixtape collabo project that I am apart of. It's called The Exchange and it's composed of me and 11 of the freshest people on the Internets. Every week we pick a theme, submit a track, and put it all together for you and yours.

Who are the 12 Freshest People On The Internets?
Glad you asked. For the record:
Sam
Marcia
Kate
Ouxu
Cye
Eyejammy
Jen
OJ
Liz
Panama
Brandon
George


Why is it called The Exchange?
Because it's a dope name, and because we are all friends (and/or friends of friends) strewn across the world but we all connect digitally, daily, in many different locations online.

What's the first edition?

Say My Name.

What's the tracklist, and who chose what?
Sam | Jazzy Belle (remix) - Outkast feat. Babyface
Marcia | Black Stacey - Saul Williams
Kate | Helen - The Cave Singers
Ouxu | Mary Jane (All Night Long) - Mary J. Blige
Cye | Saigon Meets Just Blaze - Saigon
Eyejammy | Mona Lisa - Slick Rick
Jen | Renee - Lost Boyz
OJ | Makeba - Aceyalone
Liz | Poor Georgie - MC Lyte
Panama | Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
Brandon | Adam - Me'Shell Ndegéocello
George | Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole

Where can I cop your freshness?
You can download the zip file here. When Muxtape gets some Ack Rite, we'll have a link for you there.

ETC.
Big thanks to Marcia and my superfly homegirl Jen for organizing and executing this for everyone.

That's it for this week. Go forth and listen.