Retro coming right back at you loyal readers/leechers.
Now, if I can think of anyone that appreciates the old school as much as I do, it'd be Frank the Tank. This man is the epitome of a dude refusing to come to terms with the issue of his own mortality. His denial results in a ruined marriage and bouts of depression. But he was better off without that bird of a wife.
The result of returning to his roots? A drinking jedi master, womanizer of drunk college broads, restoring his "Red Dragon," and a legend at the biggest newest fraternity on campus. And in all reality, what heterosexual male can't nod his head in approval? In turn, I salute Frank, and with that comes another post dedicated to the older folks who refuse to grow out of their musical niche.
If anyone can carry the torch of Frank the Tank, it's gotta be DJ Neil Armstrong. I admit, I jumped on this bandwagon pretty late, but I'm all the happier that I've found his work. In his earlier mixtapes, he used old pictures of his childhood as cover art. The good ole days, when you could find something new out about life every day. Before the cynicism of a cold reality sets in as an adult. He's trying to bring that nostalgia back into us by blessing the tables with timeless blends of old soul, and new instrumentals. Or hip hop classics, and sampled classics. He flips the script in ways annoying radio/mixtape DJ's could only have wet dreams about.
DJ Neil Armstrong - Bittersweet
Gotty™ originally put me onto "Bittersweet," one of NA's more recent works, as he knew I was DEEP into the soul centric music. It tells the story of a relationship, broken up into 7 sequences, with interpolations of movie quotes thrown in there to drive the point home: Boy Meets Girl, Patiently Waiting, Till The Breakadawn, Every Waking Moment, Pain, Letting Go No Holding Back, and Back In The Saddle. Soon as I gave it a spin in the ipod, I was hooked. This man is seriously a master with song placement and digging in the crates for quotes and classics. He may not be scratch-heavy on the tracks, but noone really wants that on a soul-laced mixtape to begin with.
Not so much of a fan of old soul? Carry on to Filthy, Original, 2Original, or Nonstop. Blends of hip hop and the songs the artists sampled from are put together to put together a duet of sorts. Seamless transitions are what I personally think make these mixtapes great. This mofo has me singing along to damn near every song that comes on.
DJ Neil Armstrong - Filthy
DJ Neil Armstrong - Original
DJ Neil Armstrong - 2Original
DJ Neil Armstrong - Nonstop pt 1
DJ Neil Armstrong - Nonstop pt 2
Now, it may seem like I'm riding dude a little hard, but I feel he's definitely slept on as an artist on the tables/tapes. But there's a reason he's gotten shoutouts from Vibe and Rolling Stone. He doesn't roll with 5th Platoon for nothing. So, give his records some spin and enjoy it as much as us at Smoking Section have. And a BIG BIG BIG shoutout to every who's helped me out, your work does not go unappreciated.
DJ Neil Armstrong - Extraordinary
DJ Neil Armstrong - Sweeet
DJ Neil Armstrong - Smoove
DJ Neil Armstrong - Warmfuzzy
DJ Neil Armstrong - Rocafella Holiday Mix (Unreleased. BIGUPS SNOOP!)
Retro Out
The Almighty 5th Platoon
No Stray Shots today folks. This man deserves a post of his own.
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