Flexing the mission statement of “Genres Unknown since 1998”, Deathbomb Arc remains one of the most non-indoctrinated labels currently active. Even the tag of “experimental” has an it’s complicated relationship with its roster. As weird as its gets at the Deathbomb Arc offices, founder and True Neutral Crew general Brian Kinsman is not too ingrained in his outlier associate’s explorations to overlook the Hot 100 rap singles charts. In that same respect, Kinsman’s admiration for 2015 rap professes an obsessive mining of mixtapes.
It’s long been the assumption that pop music and experimental music exist at odds. If not at odds then their interests rarely intersect. In listening to Kinsman’s two-part journey through 2015 the distant words of pop and experimental have opened up trade agreements. Hunter Hunt-Hendrix citing Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia as heavy influences on his Liturgy demos is as bizarre as Trina’s “Lean” (Drive You Home) embodying a Girl Talk-esque format that mashes the refrain of a Bill Withers classic into a hyper-trap sound celebrating a styro-cup of codeine and sprite. The hyper-referential methods of Trina’s “Lean” are mirrored to formula in DJ Paul’s “Lil Momma” and byLeikeli47’s “The Hit Machine” we’ve swimming in meta-streams. The artists within Kinsman’s mix work within the major label system, but their ears and tastes are attentive to the independent experimentalists. It begs the question: Are we headed to a genre-free future?
Kinsman offered the following words on his two-part dedication to 2015:
The end of year, when countless comments sections proclaim, “This year sucked for music.” A sentiment I never agree with. Every year is great for music. In a world this big, how could it not be? Of course, the tricky part is hearing even a small slice of all the music made. It is an impossibility, forcing us to rely on blogs, music sites, and friends as curators to the chaos. More layers of bias, but what can you do? Here at Deathbomb Arc HQ we’re just as fallible, of course. That said, no reason to not try and help protect music’s good name and honor with a couple hours of music from 2015 that we think was fantastic. We also think that all the music we released in 2015 is fantastic too, but this is just the music we had no business connection to. If you enjoy even one song, please comment below with, “This year sucked for music.”
The Deathbomb Arc mix tracklisting:
Part One:
[0:00] B Real, “All Black Everything” (ft. Snow Tha Product & Demrick)
[2:27] Juvenile “Mountain”
[5:21] Trinidad James, “H.O.M.E.” (ft. ILoveMakonnen)
[8:51] Boosie Bad Azz, “Gutta”
[11:50] T-Pain, “Let Ya Hair Down” (ft. The-Dream & Vantrease)
[15:25] Sweet Valley, “Big Blue” (ft. Juicy J & Soulja Boy)
[18:55] Liturgy, “Kel Valhaal”
[26:00] Project Pat, “Flexington”
[28:06] Raz Simone, Drake & Macklemore, “Platform”
[36:04] Trina, “Lean” (Drive You Home) [ft. T-Pain & Young Cash]
[40:18] Lil Silk, “Money” (ft. DC Young Fly & Fetty Wap)
[44:09] T-Pain, “Booty Butt Ass”
[49:05] The-Dream, “All I Need”
Part Two:
[0:00] Snow Tha Product, “What You Like”
[2:12] Soulja Boy, “High School”
[5:30] DJ Paul, “Lil Momma”
[9:05] Gangsta Boo, “Kill Bitches
[11:43] Leikeli47, “The Hit Machine”
[15:23] Lil Debbie, “420
[18:47] Soulja Boy, “Stuntin”
[22:34] Snootie Wild, “They Hatin” (ft. Lil Boosie)
[26:23] Reese, “Wanted”
[29:17] T.I., “Broadcast Live”
[33:08] Enya, “Echoes in Rain”
[36:23] Sicko Mobb, “Out West Chicago”
[39:09] Lil Silk, “Beast Mode”
[41:55] Future, “I Serve The Base”
[44:51] B.o.B., “We Still In This Bitch” (ft. T.I. & Juicy J)
