Winter Mix #7: Jimmy Ness' "Grumpy Soul"

Jimmy Ness wants a PS4 for Arbor Day.

This mix defines my winter tastes pretty well - grumpy old and new raps combined with soul and funk. While I've been listening to beats and rhymes since before the Willennium, booty-shaking riffs and smooth grooves are something I've only properly investigated in the past few years. However one has inevitably led to the other - Kanye is a big Curtis fan, Three-6 Mafia put me on to Willie Hutch, and RZA blessed his crew with several Stevie Wonder samples.

Many of these classic tracks contain some form of social commentary relevant to whatever era they were recorded in. This makes them both uplifting and gritty, which is a lot like the season where you are just as likely to spend all night in a toasty bar as you are to get hail flying diagonally into your face on the way home. Push play and pray for summer.

Also as per last season's mixes, thanks to BJ Beatson and Aaron Frank for helping me put these together.

Download: ZIP: Winter Mix #6 -- Jimmy Ness' Grumpy Soul (Left-Click)

 

1. Big L - Danger Zone 2. Vince Staples ft Schoolboy Q – Back Sellin’ Crack 3. Joey Fatts - Picture Me Rolling 4. Jay Z - Can't Knock The Hustle 5. Boldy James - Optional 6. The Beanuts ft Big Pun and Cuban Link – Off The Books 7. Elzhi - Memory Lane 8. Big Pun - Punish Me 9. Droop E ft Nite Jewel and J Stalin – ‘N The Traffic 10. Willie Hutch - In and Out 11. Curtis Mayfield - Wild and free 12. Stevie Wonder- Living For The City 13. The Manhattans- New York City 14. Marvin Gaye - What's Happening Brother 15. Curtis Mayfield - We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue 16. Kool and The Gang – This Is You, This is Me