Sweatshop Union - Makeshift Kingdom

Canadian hip-hop sensation Elaquent returns with the Green Apples and Oranges EP—another vibrant exhibition of ahead-of-the-curve production and musicianship from one of the great young producers in the game. Following his excellent 2012 EP Parallel, the Guelph, Ontario-based artist says he sees this new collection as a diverse, challenging attempt at furthering his skills as a composer.

“I wanted to flesh out certain ideas a little further and play with a few new synths I was testing out,” he explains. “Like most of my albums, all of the songs hold some type of meaning to me on a personal level, and I'm always challenging myself to express myself as honestly as possible with every record.

“All in all, I definitely believe more thought and effort went into this album,” he adds. “Furthermore, I was real happy to team up with a couple producers I have the utmost respect for on a pair of songs, in Esta (Soulection) and Budamunk (Jazzy Sport).”

In the past, Elaquent has described his own style as “wonky,’ highlighting his penchant for off-kilter rhythmic foundations and twisted samples of sounds and vocals that seem to buzz in and buzz out of frame.

“I think this one exercises a little more restraint, rather than keeping things sloppy just for the sake of being sloppy,” he says of the new EP. “All of the tracks are approached more like full songs than some of the earlier works. Definitely has its share of wonkiness though, but the focus of this album was to be a little more melodic than Parallel.”

Green Apples and Oranges definitely has its melodies in check (check out “The Official”) while maintaining Elaquent’s gifts for keeping fans guessing (“Treehome 94’” could make you go crazy). It’s infectious and catchy all right but this isn’t to suggest it’s no less challenging than the work he’s best known for.

“I think there are a couple songs that may surprise people, given what people are used to hearing from me,” he says. “I think people will see that I did try to experiment a little more on a few songs and I'm proud of the fact that I did step outside of my comfort zone on a few songs.

“I've always been very unapologetic regarding my sound, but I think a couple songs may catch a few people off guard,” he adds. “Nevertheless, I'll let the people be the judge.”

Elaquent - Alone At Last

Mr. Brady - Jewel Piece (feat. Blu, Johaz & Moka Only)

Montreal-based producers Boogieman and Samito collaborate in this electronic duo, crafting a genre they refer to as Ku-som; Up-tempo, bass heavy, experimental, analog dance music with high energy Portuguese falsetto vocals that are magically rhythmic and effortlessly melodic. 

Boogieman and Samito, released a debut single called Wasa Bibi (2020), and shortly thereafter premiered their live set with a performance as part of MUTEK Montreal edition 21 and a high energy hybrid DJ set at Piknic Electronik 2021. 

The Boogieman and Samito Mixtape was mixed by fellow Montreal native Lunice (Warp, Lucky Me), who applied his signature blowout low end and overall sonic mastery to the already massive sounding record.

Boogieman and Samito - Ri Chi Chi

Montreal-based producers Boogieman and Samito collaborate in this electronic duo, crafting a genre they refer to as Ku-som; Up-tempo, bass heavy, experimental, analog dance music with high energy Portuguese falsetto vocals that are magically rhythmic and effortlessly melodic.  The Boogieman and Samito Mixtape was mixed by fellow Montreal native Lunice (Warp, Lucky Me), who applied his signature blowout low end and overall sonic mastery to the already massive sounding record. 'Ri Chi Chi' gets a remix from UK DJ/Producer yourboykiran, as part of a series of remixes from the 2023 "Boogieman and Samito mixtape” release.

Boogieman & Samito - Ri Chi Chi (yourboykiran Remix)

Sweatshop Union - John Lennon

From the album "Harmonics Contrast" 
https://urbnet.bandcamp.com/album/harmonics-contrast

Auxx - Harmonics

Buy on URBNET

LMNO & Mr. Brady - Rearrange [from the album 25/8]

https://urbnet.bandcamp.com/album/magickal-weirdness

Magickal Weirdness

Moka Only - We Never Think

From the album Martian XMAS 2015. Now available @ URBNET.com/mokaonly & iTunes.


Moka Only - Take A Holiday

In 2012 i was called to produce a track for Craig G so i went to the studio with DVINE1 and came up with "Originality" (Ramblings of an Angry Old Man - Soulspazm) After being told by J.Rocc & Evidence i need to produce my own album, i took the advice. While already in the studio with DVINE1 working on LexneveL records we came up with "Motherboard" which consists of live instruments, no samples (except for "Deadication") i've been working with DVINE1 since the days of live 4-trk tapes, LBCC recording studios to the now "Motherboard". 

LMNO - Dedication [from the album Motherboard]

URBNET proudly signs Japanese beat maker/producer duo BudaMunk & ill Sugi and launches their new album Spirit of the Golden Era on March 25th, 2016. The release will be available on limited edition cassette and digital download.     

Budamunk & ill Sugi - Spirit of the Golden Era  The 90s were, in many ways, the golden era of HipHop music—a time when its expression was still pure and raw. BudaMunk is one of the rightful heirs to that golden era, and together with the younger Nasty Ill Brother Sugi (who has also studied HipHop's lineage) the two artists form an intergenerational sound that honors the soul of HipHop’s remix legacy. Excavating beats from the dusty depths of HipHop’s past, the duo refashioned forgotten beat-styles (like the “boom bap”) to vibrate once again in a manner that is very different from contemporary offshoots of the sound. The “boom bap” was never truly gone—it just fell out of style. But it has returned and found a new home in the aesthetic spirit, vision and composition of BudaMunk and Ill.Sugi. These beats will surely put the diaphrams of your audio equipment to work! 

Budamunk & ill Sugi - Amplified Frequencies [from "Spirit Of The Golden Era" album]

"Well, here goes... Magnesium Opium. Finally. There has been a considerable amount of folklore amongst longtime fans surrounding this album: “Was it ever completed?”; “why was it never released?”; “what's the story behind the title?”—that kind of talk. 

Let’s take a sec to look back: the early 2000s were an incredibly industrious time for myself and my peers in music. We had big rap dreams, busy schedules and bountiful ideas—all amidst what some would consider to be the “last big hurrah” of the music industry as we knew it. 

As for the nowfolk album, Ishkan and I had been recording music under the group, Moniker, since the mid-late nineties and had released two albums already: Style Gangstas (1999) and The Moon (2001). During the late fall of 2001, we hastily launched into a project called The Winter. We ended up shelving it, and at the start of 2002, decided to work on something we felt would be more substantial (a more updated nowfolk project, if you will). We worked on the album incrementally from January 2002 until June 2003. Around June, I had a conversation with a fan who told me of a crazy dream he had involving finding a “lost nowfolk album,” and in the dream he recalled the album being called Magnesium Opium. I told Ish about the dream, and we unanimously decided use it for the title. 

It's kind of amazing that we didn't have a real album title until the project was wrapped. That's unusual. As I mentioned previously, it was a very busy time and between my solo work and touring with my main group—I was swamped. 

At the end of June, my Adat recording system was destroyed virtually stranding the nowfolk album from being mixed and released along with many other solo projects. I know I've brought this up countless times, but it has to be rehashed to accurately tell the story. 

Anyway, all I had were very rough mixes on cassette and cd of “mag op”. I acquired new recording equipment and really didn't look back from that point plus Ish moved to Victoria in the fall of 200,3 and it ultimately slowed our nowfolk aspirations to a near standstill for years. When I finally acquired a replacement Adat lx20 unit a couple years ago, I began to unearth and mix mag op using my rough tape mixes as reference. Then, I reassembled the album chronologically in the exact order that we had recorded the songs. 

Now that URBNET has granted me the opportunity to release an album monthly for 2016, I knew that it was the perfect time to bring Magnesium Opium to the world. 

~~ Moka. February 15th, 2016. 

Nowfolk (Moka Only & Ishkan) - Put It On [from the album Magnesium Opium - 2003]

Canada-based hip-hop producer Elaquent returns with an 18 track release titled Less is More (Lo Definition) available now on URBNET with early streaming for 3 tracks. This 18 track release is available on cassette with exclusive bonus track Look In Her Eye -- and digital download. 

"I've put out many albums. My sound has evolved quite a bit over the years. More layers, more complexity, more structure, more synths, more experimentation... but sometimes the beauty is all in its simplicity. I always liked to say in the past and still say it today: perfect is boring. Human beings are flawed. So let's embrace it. Less is more." - Elaquent 

Less Is More

Elaquent - Dear Lord [From the album "Less is More (Lo Definition)"]

urbnet.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-of-the-golden-era

URBNET proudly signs Japanese beat maker/producer duo BudaMunk & ill Sugi and launches their new album Spirit of the Golden Era. The release is available on limited edition cassette and digital download.

Budamunk & ill Sugi - Spirit of the Golden Era  The 90s were, in many ways, the golden era of HipHop music—a time when its expression was still pure and raw. BudaMunk is one of the rightful heirs to that golden era, and together with the younger Nasty Ill Brother Sugi (who has also studied HipHop's lineage) the two artists form an intergenerational sound that honors the soul of HipHop’s remix legacy. Excavating beats from the dusty depths of HipHop’s past, the duo refashioned forgotten beat-styles (like the “boom bap”) to vibrate once again in a manner that is very different from contemporary offshoots of the sound. The “boom bap” was never truly gone—it just fell out of style. But it has returned and found a new home in the aesthetic spirit, vision and composition of BudaMunk and Ill.Sugi. These beats will surely put the diaphrams of your audio equipment to work!

BudaMunk & ill Sugi - Friendly Vibrations

https://mrbrady-producer-emcee.bandcamp.com/album/speechless

For many years, Mr. Brady has been a staple in the hip-hop game, and has consistently found ways to reinvent himself and stay relevant. Many know Mr. Brady solely as an Emcee from albums such as Dirty, released via Battle Axe Records, or from his work with super collective Deep Rooted. What many fans might not know is that this multi-talented artist also uses his abilities to create the roots of his art. With just about every release of his own, Mr. Brady holds the feat of handling a majority of the production, which is what lead to the inevitable and much welcomed release of his instrumental studio album, Speechless. 

Producing for the likes of Diamond D, Blu, and Aloe Blacc to name only a few, Mr. Brady effortlessly hops behind the boards with his signature grit, raw, and soulful sound. Speechless is a primarily sample chop based 22-track opus, emitting hard-hitting drums and wobbly heavy basslines, designed to wake you out of slumber, with resonance that emanates throughout your entire body. From start to finish, Speechless is more than a listen, but rather it is a journey, full of evoked emotions and feelings straight from the heart of Mr. Brady's soul. On a record where Mr. Brady remains speechless, we undeniably hear him, loud and clear.

Mr. Brady - Are You Ready

Moka Only’s latest album Concert for One, is set for release on September 1st 2017 via URBNET. As the follow up to his 2016 ’12 for 12’ opus, Concert for One delivers with such admirable tenacity, something that fans are accustomed to from the powerhouse artist. Notably so, this full-length twenty-track album features a guest collaboration from Detroit’s own Dank (from Frank n Dank), and artwork from Montreal’s Vanessa Malo (Instagram: @vnilla_art). 

Daniel Denton is something of a super hero. An iconic artist in Canadian hip-hop, based out of Vancouver, performing musical feats under any one of his mysterious aliases. Guised as Ron Contour, Torch, or most notably, as Moka Only, his delivery is consistent and unmatched. He is an acclaimed underground champion, and a true storyteller with an unfathomable collection of stories to tell. 

Moka works as a multi-faceted artist, and has been writing, producing, and creating relentlessly since the late nineties. He has celebrated acknowledgment through a 2015 WCMA rap recording of the year nomination, and three Canadian Urban Television nods. As Co-founder of the collective rap group Swollen Members, a name that Moka recalls, with tongue in cheek, coming up with while “…sitting in a Denny’s”, and “…because I liked the double entendre”, his successes garnered him Three Juno Awards, Seven Platinum Plaques, and Seven Muchmusic Video Awards. He has also collaborated with legends such as MF Doom, J Dilla, and Grand Puba, and has toured internationally with artists such as Tanya Morgan and ILLA J, only to name a few. 

Fast-forward to 2016, a truly remarkable year for Moka, in which he continued to progress and expand his creativity. Released via URBNET, Moka gifted fans with his 12 for 12 project, a mammoth musical feat that saw him putting out one album every month, for the entire year. Each album curated from a palette of anecdotal quips, time hops, and relativity. 

“I do them. I do songs”, Moka expresses. “They are mere moments of my ‘artness’ in this current antigravity of 2016, where we are all becoming disengaged and averse to actually being present. Can we reset ourselves and get back to soul power, please? It is my only true wish. My wish for the feeling to feel feel-able again in this music life or whatever surrounds it” 

With countless years of accomplishments under his belt, Moka may flaunt the traits of a musical superhero, but he has never been one to disappear into the night. Moka embodies what today’s artists strive to attain, that is to say, the experience, the wins, the brain power, and the absolute creative will that fuels him. This hero is nowhere near done.

Concert For One

Moka Only - Crinkle Jazz

Moka Only - Right There

Moka Only - Just Some Vibes (feat. Dank)

Moka Only - Featuring Drake

Moka Only - UnU

Moka Only - Hi

Moka Only - Concert Intro

Teppei Sano, or EYTREG (8-reg), as he is better known by in the music world, is a Japanese beat maker, born and raised in Niigata, Japan. He currently resides in Toyko, and has actively been releasing music since 2015, including a 28-track retrospective compilation with Inner Ocean Records, and as part of Fuzzy Scope’s “Earwax Shelf Life” project. EYTREG’s music is an extraction of jazz, soul, RnB, and trap music, with inspiration and cues from legendary hip-hop predecessors. His unique method of restructuring these genres and sounds results in the innovative creation of something that is his very own. 

EYTREG’s latest full-length record, One’s Hidden Agony, is set for release on February 16th, 2018, via URBNET. The album features 20 tracks and is available for pre-order through the URBNET shop, in digital format and as a limited-edition cassette.

One’s Hidden Agony

EYTREG - frntw

Stream: https://song.link/album/ca/i/1092428528
URBNET: https://bit.ly/2G94uy8
Fat Beats: https://bit.ly/2IUmFto

Budamunk & ill Sugi - Spirit of the Golden EraThe 90s were, in many ways, the golden era of HipHop music—a time when its expression was still pure and raw. BudaMunk is one of the rightful heirs to that golden era, and together with the younger Nasty Ill Brother Sugi (who has also studied HipHop's lineage) the two artists form an intergenerational sound that honors the soul of HipHop’s remix legacy. Excavating beats from the dusty depths of HipHop’s past, the duo refashioned forgotten beat-styles (like the “boom bap”) to vibrate once again in a manner that is very different from contemporary offshoots of the sound. The “boom bap” was never truly gone—it just fell out of style. But it has returned and found a new home in the aesthetic spirit, vision and composition of BudaMunk and Ill.Sugi. These beats will surely put the diaphrams of your audio equipment to work!

Budamunk & Ill Sugi - Quiet River

Moka Only - MR MEGAHUSTLE (feat. Plug2)

NICKELMAN - LANDSCAPE

Toronto musical collective HMLT share new single “Stay" (feat. Joyia & Kei-Li) via URBNET

HMLT, pronounced “Hamlet”, are a Toronto musical collective with a rotating roster of burgeoning artists. Produced by Corey Wong, the forthcoming project titled Need You, will be available on August 9, 2019. Need You is an album that focuses on the importance of collaboration and the need for community. 

“I could not have completed this album without the help of my friends and fellow musicians" says Corey, "it was a humbling experience that taught me the importance of collaboration. This album is 2 years in the making and I am thankful for everyone who is a part of it.” 

The eight track record houses vocal and instrumental features from artists such as Joyia, Kei-Li, M.I. Blue, and Desiire to name a few. Their combined talents leave us with a timeless, reminiscent, and nostalgic sound. It is something new, yet comfortably familiar. The album cover photography is done by Melissa Alcena and the art direction and design by Erich “Heinz” Rigonan.

Stay (feat. Joyia & Kei-Li) (Digital Single)

HMLT - Stay (feat. Joyia & Kei-Li)

SOVIETS is a collaborative project between veteran producer Chaix (of Beta Frontiers) and seasoned MC Jeff Spec (of City Planners). “Sea Shells”, their first LP, combines Chaix’s to-the-point, grimy production with Spec’s gravel-inflected, intricate rhyming. The duo needs no co-signs, as this boom-bap slug fest vouches for itself.

SOVIETS - Lesson One

Mo Moshiri is an MC, songwriter, and producer. He is perhaps best known however, as one of the founders of the seminal west coast hip-hop group Sweatshop Union. Together they recorded several albums, performed hundreds of shows, earned Juno nods and WCMA wins, and helped pave the path for the new generation of artists making waves. 

After a healthy hiatus, Mo is back from deep space and feeling rejuvenated. He wants to talk to YOU about everything! Or maybe just vibe. 

The 11 songs on the new album Can I Tell You Something? are a potent blend of true-skool hip-hop and global bass music with intelligent and passionate rhymes, and melodies that stay with you. A majority of the production on the album is handled by long-time friends Mo and Rob the Viking, who have been working together since they were both in their teens. In fact, it was Rob who showed Mo how to make beats 20 years ago! Working together again was a very natural and powerful combination, which translated into the well crafted record before us. Together, they recorded at the Chamber on Vancouver Island.

Mo Moshiri - Wake Up

Vancouver based artist Daniel Denton is an iconic part of Canadian hip-hop. Performing musical feats under any one of his mysterious aliases, (Ron Contour, Torch), Moka Only is consistent and unmatched in his delivery. He is an acclaimed underground champion, and a true storyteller with an unfathomable collection of stories to tell. Moka Only’s release, Patina (Instrumentals), is a showcase of Moka’s signature smooth, jazzy hip hop beats. The eleven-track self-produced LP is now available as a digital release via URBNET.

Patina (Instrumentals)

Moka Only - SENSE N' DOLLARZ (Instrumental)

Pigeon Hole are two Vancouver Island based producer/mc's with a constant evolving sound and ability to crank out next level music. Their output as members of Sweatshop Union is evidence of leaps in style, delivery and approach from album to album.

In 2010, Pigeon Hole released their critically acclaimed debut LP, Age Like Astronauts. Using the MPC 2000, they pieced together a mix of samples, analogue synths, live instruments, and sharp lyricism - their debut outing spoke to listeners from the opening note to its final fade out.

The audio translated to the stage, sending Pigeon Hole on a ruthless touring schedule, annihilating audiences across North America. Along with Sweatshop Union their energetic live show invaded the festival circuit, notably Shambhala, Rifflandia, as well as the world-renowned SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.

Chimpblood, the groups second offering, delivers a sound so powerful it’s impossible to ignore.

Trading in their original blueprint for a heavier bass-driven electronic sound, Pigeon Hole attack with all new artillery. Chimpblood thrashes over a foundation of grimey synths, sampled and chopped over machine gun drum programming, 808s, and massive bass. An epic hybrid of music that will make you feel like you can levitate.

Pigeon Hole - Wolf Pack

Sweatshop Union are heavyweights of North Western hip-hop, and have earned a reputation as the hardest working collective in the region. Having performed over five hundred shows internationally, they have changed the perception of what live hip-hop can achieve.

The group’s most ambitious record to date was the 2011 award winning Bill Murray EP, ( Western Canadian Music Awards’ Hip Hop Album of the Year ) and brought a whole new level to their steadily growing underground following. Building on this they are releasing another full length studio album this spring and have a ton more touring throughout all North America in 2013!

Sweatshop Union - L.A.M.M.

Toronto Record Label. Roster: Boogieman & Samito, Anzola, Korea Town Acid, OBUXUM, Nickleman, Swamp Thing, Sweatshop Union, Def3, Dan-e-o, Moka Only, Elaquent. http://www.urbnet.com

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