Rass Kass - Van Gogh (2001)

It's hard to tell whether Rass Kass really does see himself as a sort of Van Gogh given that his opinion of European culture is a matter of public record, but either way, if you dislike boastful "conscious rap" you may have a problem with this. If you find intellectual pretensions and a conscious rejection of gangster rap somehow inauthentic and you are a white liberal arts major, your problems probably run a lot deeper anyway. Not that there is something wrong with violent west coast gangster rap either, and apparently Rass Kass has recently embraced it anyway. The point is, some people just aren't allowed to have an opinion on this stuff.

This is a really clever, confrontational set of tracks that vary in quality, but which at least retain an overarching vision: that Rass Kass believes he is really fucking good. And he is, actually. Very good in fact, only less so on this album compared to others. Bootleggers seemed to this it was pretty good in any case, and this album was being widely circulated before it was meant to be released. Sopranos fans will recognize the excellent title track.

B

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Mega Man 9 Mega Post

Day 2 of Weaboo Week brings a plethora of Mega Man Downloads. Most Mega Man games have pretty great music (with Mega Man 2 probably being the fan favourite) but my main focus here is on Mega Man 9, a fairly recent entry in the series.

TSSF - RockMan (Mega Man) 9 NES Retro Soundtrack (2008)

The soundtrack of Mega Man 9 ostensibly emulates the 8-bit style of its NES predecessors, but ignores some of the subtle technical limitations of the console. This download is not the OST itself, but almost perfect recreations of every song using the NES sound format that have then been recorded using NES hardware.

Download (V0)

Random - Mega Ran 9 (2009)

Mega Ran 9 is a hip hop concept album that features backing tracks based on the game's music and an ongoing narrative inspired by the game's story. Absent from the download I've posted is the Splash Woman instrumental which was added for the digital release. If you really want it, head to Random's Bandcamp page, where the other two entries in the Mega Ran series are also available.

Download (VBR)

Various Artists - Chiptuned Rockman (2009)

Chiptune remixes of chiptunes. Lots of people thought this was a dumb idea, but not me! Some of these arrangements showcase ridiculous talent and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in getting into chipmusic. The source tracks for this span the entire franchise. Don't be put off if you don't know the original versions, but one track I think seriously benefits from familiarity with the original is virt's take on Tornado Man, so consider checking that track out in the Mega Man 9 soundtrack above before listening.

Download (V0)

OverClocked ReMix - Mega Man 9: Back in Blue (2011)

This fan-made remix album covers a wide variety of styles and genres. I don't adore everything on offer, but it outdoes the official Mega Man 9 arrange album massively. One track I think will appeal especially to readers of this blog is Morricone Man, which references Ennio Morricone's style along with some of his most famous melodies. Mazedude even includes some sneaky samples from the previously posted Morricone RMX (in fact, he was the one who introduced me to that album).

Download free from the official site. MP3 and FLAC and torrents, oh my!

OverClocked ReMix - Rockin' Sockin' Cinder Blockin' (A Concrete Man Remix EP) (2011)

This one's a mixed bag in terms of quality, which is understandable given that it was proposed, produced and released in the space of two weeks to address the absence of a Concrete Man remix in Back in Blue. The standout track for me is probably Concrete Heart.

Download (mostly 192)