Nappy Riddem | Hometown Sounds

Dec 20 2013

music, shows

Asheru – Mood Swing feat. Talib Kweli (Nappy Riddem Mix)

Hey DC, I got a hot joint for your Friday afternoon listening distraction. It’s great to see a tight-knit crew like the Fort Knox Recordings boys guesting, remixing and performing with each other, creating and maintaining one of the most interesting and cohesive scenes in the last few years. Saturday night H St. NE’s Rock & Roll Hotel hosts The Empresarios, Nappy Riddem and Asheru for a Winter Soulstice Party for the longest night of the year. To get you in the right mood, the Nappy Riddem duo of Rex Riddem and Mustafa Akbar updated Ash’s early 2000’s hit single Mood Swing featuring Talib Kweli into a drum & bass dance floor burner, and you can download and add this remix to your collection for free! Asheru is one of DC’s most underappreciated rappers, though that’s changing with the popularity growing of his full length album Sleepless In Soweto released last month. Tix are only $15, so grab them in advance and guarantee your Saturday night fun!

Here are the set times!
Doors 8 PM
Asheru 9 PM
Empresarios 10 PM
Nappy Riddem 11:30 PM

Tagged Asheru, Fort Knox Recordings, Nappy Riddem

May 07 2013

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music

DJ Mixes from Nappy Riddem & Fort Knox Five

If you liked yesterday’s DC DJ mixes, I’ve got even more for your listening pleasure today. The Fort Knox Recordings gang have two new mixes to get hyped about.
First up, Nappy Riddem blends reggae vibes with modern dancefloor touches on their latest mixtape, Angle It. Grab a download at their Facebook page and catch Rex Riddem & Mustafa Akbar live this Friday at the Black Cat opening for Violet Rocker.

If you need an introduction to Fort Knox Five, the new retrospective release 10 Years of Fort Knox Five will show you what you’ve been missing. Jon Hovarth and pals maintain a busy DJing and jetsetting schedule, and the monthly DJ mix series Funk The World showcase their distinctive and worldly tastes. My highlight from this mix is the FK5 Remix of Maria Juana by labelmates Empresarios, out later this month.

Tagged Fort Knox Five, Fort Knox Recordings, Nappy Riddem

Apr 17 2013

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shows, video

Nappy Riddem, Asheru & Fort Knox Five @ Tropicalia 4/20

TICKET GIVEAWAY BELOW!
420 party Sao Funky_ALT_1000
The fine folks at Fort Knox Recordings are taking over U Street hotspot Tropicalia Saturday night for the auspicious 4/20 celebration. In addition to the regular weekly Sao Funky DJ night by Fort Knox Five, Asheru and Nappy Riddem will provide the funk and hip-hop vibes to start off the evening early at 7 PM. The duo of Nappy Riddem, Mustafa Akbar and Rex Riddem, is well loved after their successful reggae and funk album One World Sovereignty. New material from Nappy Riddem is coming soon, including this track Rocksteady, performed earlier this year at Jammin’ Java.

Asheru is one of my favorite rappers in DC. His smooth delivery and deft lyrics always amaze. Most well known for the Boondocks theme song, the 4/20 show will feature a rare appearance by Ash’s full band The ELs. Here’s Ash collaborating with Nappy Riddem on the title track of their album.

This will be a fantastic night of music, and Tropicalia is the perfect spot to get down with the funk. The cover charge for the Nappy Riddem/Asheru show is $5, but we’ve got two guest list spots to give away to one lucky winner! Just leave your email address in the comments or like the post on Facebook, and you’re entered to win. The winner will be announced Friday afternoon, good luck!

Tagged Asheru, Fort Knox Recordings, Nappy Riddem

Jan 10 2013

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music, shows

Nappy Riddem show tonight at Tropicalia

New 14th & U hotspot Tropicalia is turning into a great spot to see both forward thinking DJs and live bands with world and reggae bents. Tonight they host Fort Knox Recordings artists Nappy Riddem, fresh of the release of a new remix package Angle It from their debut album One World Sovereignty. I featured the Dub Architect remix of DTA in this week’s Hometown Sounds podcast, and to celebrate tonight’s show the boys are giving away the new K. Sabroso Remix of Angle It.

Grab the download link at their Facebook page and come out to the party tonight!

Tagged Fort Knox Recordings, Nappy Riddem

Oct 04 2012

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Nappy Riddem live videos

Hometown Sounds faves and Fort Knox Recordings artists Nappy Riddem play a show Friday night at the new venue Tropicalia on U Street NW, with support from longtime local jungle & dub DJ Slant. The duo of Rex Riddem and Mustafa Akbar made a music video for the soulful track One World Sovreignty from last year’s self-titled album that we ran as our second music video of the day, and perhaps you missed it back then. Check out the Occupy DC influenced video featuring DC rapper Asheru.

Last month they recorded a few songs at their live show at Jammin’ Java in Vienna. Here’s the brand new & unreleased I Wish:

And Devil Needs A Bodyguard:

Check out this free show Friday and give a wet sloppy birthday kiss to manager extrodinaire 2Tuff Andy!
show flyer

Tagged Fort Knox Recordings, Nappy Riddem

Jun 14 2012

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Mustafa Akbar – Call Me video

DC music video of the day! Mustafa Akbar a.k.a. Mustabar is well known as a frequent collaborator with just about all of the talented bands on the Fort Knox Recordings and Eighteenth Street Lounge labels. He’s also the gracious host of the annual Mustock festival at his home in Lignum, VA. His project with Rex Riddem, Nappy Riddem, plays a show tonight at Monserrat House with local ska band The Chariots. But before it all, Mustafa Akbar put out a couple of soulful solo albums, and today’s video comes from his 2009 release That Day.

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