After 23 sessions since October of 2009, we’re retooling the Refuge concept and putting it on ice for a while. Stay tuned to this site for information on the next Refuge incarnation.

Thanks to everyone who came through to have a drink with friends, spend some quality time with progressive music, and occasionally party like it was your job. Shouts out to all of our special guests: Brett from Boundless, Zo!, Tamara Wellons, Erik Rico, Nicholas Ryan Gant and Stef Renee. We also had evenings devoted to exclusive presentations of projects by Anthony Velez, Silhouette Brown, Sade and Sergio Mendes.

I can’t leave you without another round of Refuge highlights from my last set. These are dedicated to everyone who loves what they hear enough to come up to me and ask for track titles. I appreciate that more than you know.

Suntzu Sound presents 1Luv – “Black Daylight” (Blakai remix)

You might recognize the Slope remix as the anthem for our beloved Daylight DC. Shouts to the Suntzu Sound famalam out in Seattle. Blakai (one of the INNUMEROUS Bugz in the Attic permutations) first wowed me on “Afrospace”. I dig their bruk’ed take on this.

Oddisee – “Juba May”

This raw, jazzy instrumental workout is a cornerstone of Odd Spring, Oddisee’s final installment of his four EP seasonal series. Dude can really do no wrong in my eyes, on the boards or on the mic.

Ty – “Little Star” (feat. Wreh-asha)

Yes, I’m always talking about how dope Ty is. That’s because Ty is dope as hell. No, that isn’t circular reasoning. The progression from Awkward to Upwards to Closer and now Special Kind of Fool has been very rewarding to follow with ’nuff bangers along the way. Ty’s been a Refuge pick before but I really can rock every joint from the last album consistently in sets.

Till Brönner – “No Fusion Generation” (Mark de Clive-Lowe remix feat. Ovasoul7)

Well before the Serato era, I was obsessed with collecting everything that Mark de Clive-Lowe put out. I ordered a couple of cd’s from his native New Zealand because that was the only way to cop them. And when I tracked down a new copy of this 12-inch, I felt like I won a prize. This was a Vibe Conductor staple for a long time. This tune ended up on a compilation of MdCL collabs, remixes and loosies so it’s not as hard to find as it once was.

GET IT NOW!

As I was listening to this, I felt a strong urge to don a Madness hat, some Nike boots and walk up and down Georgia Ave drop kicking wack rappers in the throat until the riot squad came to subdue me. I told Oddisee this, just in case someone would be needed to explain the situation to the reporters that would show up to cover the story. It just might happen. My alibi is prepared.

1st single: Who I Be

Diamond District Mini Documentary from Diamond District on Vimeo.
Filmed by T. Purnell for Packing Light Productions & Humble Monarch
Edited by Humble Monarch

Thanks again to the biggest Hip-Hop Hebrew in the game.

DC hip-hop: We take this rap shit serious.

Grim History:

[NPR: From Riots to Revival in a D.C. Neighborhood]

Transition:

Explosion of Joy:

WATCH:

LISTEN:

Album sampler
Download audio file (AveTo_AlbumSampler_15minutes.mp3)

PURCHASE:

Amazon
Traxsource
Groove Distribution

LINK UP:

Asahra Music
myspace.com/AvenueTo

And now, since all the cool kids are doing it, here are my joints…

Kardinal Offishall – Crookless Dodgers ft. Voyce (download)
Kardinal and Clinton Sparks’ Do The Right Thing mixtape got me so amped I almost threw a garbage can through a plate glass window. It’s so inspiring to me that cats like Kardinal, Skillz and others who I was checking for at the beginning of the early ’90s indie hip-hop explosion are making their presence felt stronger than ever despite the poor health of the industry. You’ve got breakout stars like Common who was in that same peer group back then but then there are dudes like Kardinal, one of the most underrated cats to spit and scarily, he’s still getting better.

Marco Polo feat. Large Professor – The Radar (Remix) (listen/purchase)
I slept on Marco Polo’s Newport Authority mixtape and his Port Authority album although he was getting buzz everywhere. My pile of “stuff to listen to” just got too big in 2007 and I never got around to it. I was banging his “Electric Relaxation” cover with J*Davey and that crucial joint he did with Masta Ace but he breaks fool with the sinister funk he gives Extra-P.

Pharoahe Monch – Welcome To The Terrordome (listen)
See my comments on Kardinal. Pharoahe is one of the greatest lyricists hip-hop has EVER seen and Desire is a snapshot of his abilities on a still rising trajectory. I dare anyone else to try to cover a P.E. classic better than this.

Kokayi – Know Us Mayne (listen)
Another theme in this list is that DC artists are still knocking out amazing music while toiling in obscurity. This banger off of Kokayi’s solo album (purchase) is a DC anthem for all of us who have loved him for years and a great introduction to his humor, grit and unique vocal character for those just coming aboard.

DJ Roddy Rod – Take In Stride (listen/purchase)
I tell him this all the time but it’s really not fair that Roddy can cut it up on the decks, bust rhymes, knock out ill beats AND create multimedia with the best of them. Get a load of him starring and bopping about in his self-directed video for this joint. I’d be hating if he wasn’t as genuine as he is talented. His bonafides go waaay back to remixes with mid-’90s R&B producer All-Star and multiple releases from New England’s finest Maspyke. He’s also been repping for the D(eecee)M(aryland)V(irginia) for the last few years and we’re more than glad to have him and his phenomenal Blunt Park Sessions album. He doesn’t only do retro-futuristic b-boy music either. Check out Cuba After Market for Roddy’s uptempo electronic side.

Oddisee – All Because She’s Gone feat. Phonte (listen/download)
Again… DC STAND UP!!! Just google him. The Halftooth releases, the Foot in the Door joint. Cop all of it. This cut here is a special treat from exclusive material available on another one of those fortuitous developments of the modern underground scene, the free mixtape. I couldn’t pick a favorite song off of the phenomenal Getback album so it’s great that LB slides into this top 10 in the form of Phonte’s contribution to this Oddisee track.

Q-Tip – Work It Out (listen)
Q-Tip’s journey has been chronicled a lot over the last couple years but it doesn’t get any less inspiring. Tribe’s amazing legacy, a crucial solo album, personal upheaval in the loss of his home to fire and two albums scuttled by major label buggery. Through it all his own music has been following an ever more pleasing path down a road of organic instrumentation over crunchy beats and Tip’s trademark charisma. Some folks frowned upon the club treats on Amplified but as a DJ who traffics in the art of moving butts, I welcome all the smart, slick dancefloor jams I can get. If “Work It Out” is any indication, Tip will continue to oblige.

UGK – International Players (feat. Outkast)
I tend to highlight the underdogs and the overlooked but even though this song and its stellar video got all the shine it deserved in ‘07 I couldn’t leave it out in favor of a more obscure pick. It’s just too good. Andre 3000 is back in the rhyming game full force and this joint speaks to what lurks deep in the hearts of men, high-minded and ignorant elements alike. Rest in peace Pimp C.

Rich Brown – So Many (MDCL Remix) (listen/purchase)
This is the pick that will not only preserve your sexy but enhance it. Your pheremones will increase in potency just by listening to it. If you play this in the car on a first date you might get laid. At the very least you’ll score huge brownie points and send your companion scrambling to write down the title and wondering how you got to be so cool. I’ve long been a big fan of Mark de Clive Lowe but I’d never heard of Rich Brown until this cut busted me upside the head (thanks for the tip, Jamil). Then I played it for like a week straight in my iPod. Haven’t dropped it in a live set yet, I don’t want to be responsible for any public indecency.

4Hero – Something In The Way (listen)
The Play With The Changes album accompanied every road trip I took in 2007. The repeats on this cut in particular would have popped the tape or broken the rewind button in the old cassette days. The release of every 4Hero album is an event. The anticipation I had for this record was only eclipsed by how smitten I became with this one gem in a collection of sparkling jewels. Changes indeed, the chord progressions are what really slay me every time. Loving you too, Bembe.

• Honorable Mentions
DJ Jazzy Jeff – My Soul Ain’t for Sale feat. Raheem Devaughn
Blu & Exile – Cold Hearted feat. Miguel Jontel
Karizma – Twyst This
Restless Soul feat. Zansika – Everytime
DJ Spinna – Dillagence feat. Phonte of Little Brother