Per Rev's request, a thread for Dark York because it really is that good.
Le1f is a queer rapper/producer from NYC (although, his queerness isn't the selling point, per se). He's responsible for the production on Das Racist's 'Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell', as well as a bunch of random #seapunk instrumentals.
Some of his earlier tracks are playable over at his soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/le1f/tracks - particularly of note is 'Born Underwater' which flips a gorgeous Erykah Badu sample.
His first mixtape, Dark York is streaming as of today at Fader, and gets released for download next week. A bunch of tracks on the mixtape are produced by ILM-favourites Nguzunguzu and a bunch of others are produced by his frequent collaborator Boody.
Probably one of my favourite rap releases of 2012 - spanning from twinkly opening-of-B.O.B. synths on ΩΩΩ to this awesome horn riff on 'Wut' to all kinds of other stuff production-wise. Rapping wise, he has a pretty broad spectrum - he goes from interpolating Nicki's bit from Bottoms Up on Bubbles to a string of dated tech/geek battle raps on 'Emulator' to more explicit queer stuff to.... rapping about being a mermaid on 'Fresh'. It's certainly weird at times, but it's worth a listen, even if I'm not pitching it properly.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 19 April 2012 03:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
Vocals are mixed a bit low, but he's got some quotables. My favourite moment right now is still on 'Yup', where he opens a verse with:
Fuck these white dudes / You know I love to fuck these white dudes
Also,
I'm not a gold digger / But if he wants to pay for brunch, cool Money money money
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 19 April 2012 03:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 19 April 2012 03:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
you can download it now: http://www.mediafire.com/?dbh7uoxw4p2rswj
― boss & toss (lou), Monday, 23 April 2012 20:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
this has died on my at ~136 out of 158 megs on two different networks. HE IS BREAKING THE INTERNET.
― fauxmarc, Monday, 23 April 2012 21:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
took forever for me to dl
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Monday, 23 April 2012 23:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
"infinity" and "wut" are the two stand-outs on one listen
that new mykki blanco track bangs though
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 16:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
yes, mykki blanco. i was thinking maybe this thread or another could be the nyc queer rap/neo vogue thread. zebra katz also comes to mind.
― life's rich pageant then you die (uptown churl), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
Homosexuality and Hip-Hop : The Gay Rapper Thread
thread of ballroom chants, vogueing beats, and associated cuntiness (MikeQ, B. Ames, Vijuan Allure, DJ Sliink, etc.) <--still need sliink removed from title
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
I haven't had a chance to dig back into this after playing it off the stream a week ago, but I already feel like it's one of the best this year off that one play.
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
i have to dl this, because that stream was not doing it justice sound quality-wise (hopefully it was just the stream).
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
still sounds a bit murky to me, but maybe that's what they're going for
― Number None, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
the 320 version now posted at the fader is still murky-ish but a lot clearer than the stream esp. the vocals.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 21:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
venus in furs, boys in nothing
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
I can barely hear what he's saying. I know it's part of the aesthetic but still...
― heiswagger (rennavate), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
Hm. I've been able to hear him fine on the download.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
The vocals are mixed pretty low.
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 23:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
TOO LOW. :(
― heiswagger (rennavate), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 04:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
I want to move to Dark York.
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 05:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
kk listening on my good headphones I can hear him adequately.
― heiswagger (rennavate), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 16:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
not sure what QPOC means but if anybody needs a free marketing strategy for their new bedroom witch house beats project i suggest you do a chopped-and-screwed tupac mixtape and call it SCREWPAC
― the late great, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 16:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
queer person of color
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 17:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
oh god i was hoping it was a typo and not an incorporation of that fuck-awful acronym
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 17:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
also is this what seapunk is? really?
at this point i'm pretty sure you can take any reference to seapunk as a joke ref to seapunk
unless it's in big media at which it's a joke ref to seapunk + big media
― fauxmarc, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 17:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
QPOC Shakur is the pseudonym he puts on his Twitter - I promise it's not my pun.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 17:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
Although, I think it's pretty clever.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/fashion/Seapunk-a-Web-Joke-With-Music-Has-Its-Moment.html
http://coralrecords.bandcamp.com/
― rusty_allen, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 18:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
i liked this (listened off the stream) - i can't really listen to 70 minutes of anything anymore and i wish the vocals weren't so buried but there are some bangers here
― y'tulip, y'pea-brained earwig (donna rouge), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 18:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
'dark york' kinda drags (no pun intended, eh) as a whole, but there are definitely some 6 or 7 great songs in it. the overall murky mastering doesn't help, also.
― rusty_allen, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 18:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
dark york is my favorite rap album this year cause it's the only one that a) says what's in my head and b) sounds like what i'm actually listening to in 2012
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Monday, 30 April 2012 23:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
"triple-omega"/"mind body"/"& gomorrah" is such an amazing opening stretch
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Monday, 30 April 2012 23:18 (1 year ago) Permalink
haven't listened to this yet but the title makes me think of
― dayo, Monday, 30 April 2012 23:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
Mind Body is so great.
But my favourite stretch is probably Wut --> Yup --> Fresh or Gimme Light through Fry Dem.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 3 May 2012 18:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
this is such a densely packed listen, it takes time to get into but it really keeps on giving - just noticed the aaliyah baby sample distorted and resampled on "fresh"
THIS IS FOR MY CUNTS WHO KNOW I CAME TO STUNT
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Monday, 7 May 2012 11:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'm in my castle, I'm king of the beach, I'm princess peach
― The Reverend, Monday, 7 May 2012 16:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
where was you in 95? where i was in 94.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 7 May 2012 18:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
Really digging "Lavandin" atm; real deep album.
― etc, Friday, 11 May 2012 14:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah, that's been one of my sleeper favorites.
― The Reverend, Friday, 11 May 2012 18:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
Seven songs in, mind = blown
― cinco de extra mayo (loves laboured breathing), Sunday, 13 May 2012 04:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'm an emperor when they see me in my new clothes
― The Reverend, Wednesday, 16 May 2012 01:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
wow this is like the loudest thing on my ipod. i like it but the mix + mastering makes it a harsh listen sometimes.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Tuesday, 29 May 2012 16:10 (11 months ago) Permalink
very dope show tonight. i danced very a lot. (and based on my short chat with him before he went on, he's a pretty nice guy to boot)
― they loooovin the crut (The Reverend), Wednesday, 13 June 2012 09:13 (11 months ago) Permalink
very
err strike the second "very" i mean
this is great! so many awesome little lyrical bits bobbing around in the murk
― rob, Friday, 6 July 2012 22:53 (10 months ago) Permalink
Important: All the lyrics (the actual lyrics, from what I can tell, so presumably le1f is responsible) are up on RapGenius.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 19:56 (10 months ago) Permalink
If those are the correct lyrics, I'm very disappointed to learn that the line "my twat is just a metaphor" was just a figment of my imagination. (n.b. that is totally what he says)
― chain the color of am0n (The Reverend), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 23:03 (10 months ago) Permalink
What does it say the lyrics are instead? I haven't had time to go through them all yet.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 23:58 (10 months ago) Permalink
"patois is just a metaphor"
― chain the color of am0n (The Reverend), Wednesday, 18 July 2012 01:07 (10 months ago) Permalink
oh and xp @ jer - it's lou.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 19 July 2012 18:07 (10 months ago) Permalink
something about the bass being too loud and then the mix being overcompressed to fuck, whenever the sub hits everything gets squashed in away that is oppressive/unpleasant to my ears. i'm not trying to be on some audiophile shit, i'm really not that picky in general but it's hard to get past here.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Thursday, 19 July 2012 18:17 (10 months ago) Permalink
man I kind of love that tbh
― that one guy (loves laboured breathing), Thursday, 19 July 2012 18:19 (10 months ago) Permalink
only on track 1 right now, but are his vocals always so buried in the mix?
― to welcome jer.fairall, pie is served. (jer.fairall), Thursday, 19 July 2012 18:22 (10 months ago) Permalink
frequently not always but that's what folks are complaining about. the 320 kbps free download is better than the stream. but you get used to it the more you listen.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 19 July 2012 18:28 (10 months ago) Permalink
Not saying this is what's happening in every case, but I think the fact that it's mixed more like a dance record than a rap record is throwing some people off?
― chain the color of am0n (The Reverend), Thursday, 19 July 2012 19:30 (10 months ago) Permalink
i need to listen to more of this but "wut" is rad as fuck.
― This clam, stranded on someone’s floor, is trying to dig itself (forksclovetofu), Friday, 20 July 2012 23:56 (10 months ago) Permalink
v glad that he's put the lyrics up
can't watch the video
mixtape keeps on giving
it seems "seapunk" in the thread title is understandable putting people off (INCLUDING ME tbh), can we delete it? it makes me cringe
― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Saturday, 21 July 2012 09:53 (10 months ago) Permalink
Don't delete it until we've found out what "seapunk" is!
― that one guy (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 21 July 2012 11:34 (10 months ago) Permalink
― chain the color of am0n (The Reverend), Saturday, 21 July 2012 11:50 (10 months ago) Permalink
Been googling it on and off for the past couple hours and am now searching southern Michigan for a place that sells turquoise hair dye.
― that one guy (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 21 July 2012 15:00 (10 months ago) Permalink
so long as his lyrics still include lines like "i'm such a mermaid that I stay in your waves"
and "i'm banji, i'm foamy, i'm kunty believe me"
and as long as he keeps producing gorgeous instrumentals that sample erykah singing 'i was born underwater' i will continue to jokingly include him in #seapunk
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Saturday, 21 July 2012 15:48 (10 months ago) Permalink
Yeah all that stuff just makes me love it more tbh.
― that one guy (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 21 July 2012 15:57 (10 months ago) Permalink
damn, I just realized no one had posted "Born Underwater" itt
http://soundcloud.com/le1f/boody-le1f-born-underwater
― chain the color of am0n (The Reverend), Saturday, 21 July 2012 18:45 (10 months ago) Permalink
song (wut) is pretty cool. he has mad swag and i like his rapping mostly but his double time flow is srsly cringe.
― hardhouse banter (tpp), Sunday, 22 July 2012 21:11 (10 months ago) Permalink
Yeah. My one critique is that sometimes his fast raps are a little forced and out of sync with the beat. Especially on Wut.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Sunday, 22 July 2012 22:35 (10 months ago) Permalink
damn, mind/body
― I dont even know that I think this sucks per se (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 31 July 2012 04:50 (9 months ago) Permalink
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/30/160324187/guest-dj-pulitzer-prize-winning-author-junot-diaz
― fauxmarc, Tuesday, 11 September 2012 14:21 (8 months ago) Permalink
New EP out today with Boody, featuring early banger Sweet Tea and also SODA which has an amazing video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6herO1dIc4s#!
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 19 November 2012 19:58 (6 months ago) Permalink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6herO1dIc4s
argh.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 19 November 2012 19:59 (6 months ago) Permalink
there
― thraeds of life (The Reverend), Monday, 19 November 2012 22:59 (6 months ago) Permalink
Thanks, rev!
Anyway, it is the greatest and the EP is pretty great too.
Apparently the 12" vinyl opens with 'Born Underwater', that amazing track Boody & Le1f did that flips a Badu sample.
Also, the final mix of Sweet Tea on this EP gets rid of all the verses and just leaves the chorus and bridge in place - the rest is instrumental
The verses reappear on the Cedaa Remix but it's weird to not hear them after getting used to them on the demo for so long.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 19 November 2012 23:17 (6 months ago) Permalink
the Mike Q/Divoli S'vere Ha Mix of Soda is also pretty great.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 19 November 2012 23:18 (6 months ago) Permalink
"Soda" wtfthis rules
― billstevejim, Saturday, 1 December 2012 23:18 (5 months ago) Permalink
loving this ep
― these bitches is my sons and i make dad jokes (The Reverend), Saturday, 1 December 2012 23:36 (5 months ago) Permalink
also this jubilee (one of my favorite djs right now) mix opens with the cedaa remix https://soundcloud.com/heartymagazine/jubilees-space-heater-mix-for
― these bitches is my sons and i make dad jokes (The Reverend), Saturday, 1 December 2012 23:38 (5 months ago) Permalink
<3 this boody track that dutty artz just put out: https://soundcloud.com/xlr8rmag/boody-guap
― have a sandwich or ice cream sandwich (Jordan), Saturday, 1 December 2012 23:52 (5 months ago) Permalink
late pass but "Soda" is great. Love the video too
― that's the way to choke a jiving spirit (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 2 December 2012 04:33 (5 months ago) Permalink
just saw him last night <3 <3 <3 played for an hour at 1 am and it was breathtaking. so many jams. endless jams. so much dancing. so many people.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Sunday, 2 December 2012 21:30 (5 months ago) Permalink
recently came around to this guy... don't have anything to say but he is kind of a genius and should be a pop star
― flopson, Saturday, 12 January 2013 23:26 (4 months ago) Permalink
― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, April 24, 2012 6:27 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Dude's new mixtape, Fly Zone, was supposed to be out January 21, but just got pushed back to the 28th.
Coins is the lead single, dropping some time this week. Production by Drippin & Souldrop.
"Coins is like a gay brick squad song"
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Tuesday, 15 January 2013 04:22 (4 months ago) Permalink
that's kind of otm
http://www.thefader.com/2013/01/23/stream-le1f-coins/
― The Reverend, Thursday, 24 January 2013 04:48 (4 months ago) Permalink
re-listening to Fresh, oh man! is that the fucking jam
― flag posts in the dust (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 24 January 2013 05:19 (4 months ago) Permalink
shit. forgot to post it here.
yeah. really like it so far. not LOVE but like.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 24 January 2013 05:49 (4 months ago) Permalink
yeah. I like it more than "Wut", but I never liked that one as much as a bunch of other people and that was never one of my favorite songs by him.
― The Reverend, Thursday, 24 January 2013 05:52 (4 months ago) Permalink
i mean, i love wut, but it's not my favourite. (yup, & gomorrah, gimme life, fresh, bubbles, my oozy, EMULATOR)
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 24 January 2013 06:01 (4 months ago) Permalink
i was just gonna write yup and then realized how many i loved.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 24 January 2013 06:02 (4 months ago) Permalink
wut blows up a dance floor tho, which is important.
have you heard the new cakes track?
http://soundcloud.com/bloglin/cakes-da-killa-goodies/
― The Reverend, Thursday, 24 January 2013 06:11 (4 months ago) Permalink
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Tuesday, January 15, 2013 4:22 AM (1 week ago)
http://www.thefader.com/2013/01/28/download-le1fs-fly-zone-mixtape/
― etc, Monday, 28 January 2013 20:16 (3 months ago) Permalink
been posting about it on twitter/tumblr/etc.
all pretty great stuff on first listen. vocal mix is up front esp. compared to dark york. less experimental in some ways but gets weirder as it goes on.
might love dark york more but i'll be playing this a lot.
plenty more nerd stuff, including lots of x-men and avatar: the last airbender references.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 28 January 2013 20:50 (3 months ago) Permalink
favourite line the first time around is a rakim-via-eminem flip:
I am whatever you say I am / Stop worrying about how gay I am / Or how gay I’m not / Does my shit not knock? / Are my people getting tipsy til they piss the pot? - Airbending
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 28 January 2013 20:53 (3 months ago) Permalink
and 'airbending' is built around a wiley sample <3
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 28 January 2013 21:06 (3 months ago) Permalink
"Pocahontas ft. Kitty Pryde (produced by Drippin)"
Hrrrm, Hercules ref instead of the expected The Little Mermaid one, heh.
― etc, Monday, 28 January 2013 21:18 (3 months ago) Permalink
Couldn't get through Dark York due to the mixing on the vocals (though "Wut" made my various 2012 singles ballots), but this new one sounds pretty great on first listen. The Kitty Pryde track is a definite highlight.
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Thursday, 14 February 2013 18:09 (3 months ago) Permalink
I still can't comprehend people who see the vocal mix on Dark York as a bug rather than a feature.
― The Reverend, Thursday, 14 February 2013 18:39 (3 months ago) Permalink
New one's cool but doesn't have anywhere near the same "omigod what the fuck is this?" factor as Dark York let alone hearing "ΩΩΩ" in contextless isolation on soundcloud a year earlier.
― The Reverend, Thursday, 14 February 2013 18:42 (3 months ago) Permalink
Yeah, finding it difficult to get excited about. I've only given it one listen.
― MikoMcha, Thursday, 14 February 2013 19:19 (3 months ago) Permalink