What San Diego producer and emcee Mr. Brady may lack in name recognition he certainly makes up in credibility. Since 1995, Mr. Brady has been making beats, starting labels, nurturing hip-hop collectives, and releasing albums under his own name. His latest LP, Labor of Love, provides a telling snapshot of his signature style: a predilection for the conscious, early ’90s sound which favored jazzy, soulful samples and a more relaxed lyrical flow.

On “Catch,” Mr. Brady welcomes fellow west coaster and Stones Throw artist Aloe Blacc into the mix–not to sing, as he’s been making his mark lately, but returning to his earlier roots as a rapper. The partnership makes for a cozy fit, with the net effect especially reminiscent of one of our other favorite hip-hop artists as of late, Versis.

As the track draws to a close, Blacc remarks about wanting to “take the hip hop game back over” and “clean it up,” and really, the genre doesn’t get much cleaner than the sound of “Catch” with its mellow loop and easy groove. It’s sexy, too, in a way that little hip-hop is these days, with Blacc’s verses hugging those musical curves.

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Longtime One Track Mind readers will already be familiar with Chicago/Detroit hip-hop duo The Cool Kids from their guest vocals on 2009′s “Awesome” by The Bloody Beetroots. Lately, the rappers have teamed up with the Green Label Sound project (which has previously worked with Chromeo, Holy Ghost!, Solid Gold, and Theophilus London) to release a pair of free digital singles: “Delivery Man” and today’s song, “Bundle Up.”

“Bundle Up” is the descendant of the early Def Jam aesthetic that made early hits by Run D.M.C. and LL Cool J so distinctive; a minimalistic, raw loop hammers away in the background providing the song with a crunchy beat. The Cool Kids add to this base sparingly, relying predominantly upon an 8-bit synthesizer riff and their own call and response vocals. It shares the same general feeling that made Clipse’s “Grindin’” so compelling nearly a decade ago (and really, if someone said that The Neptunes were behind the production on “Bundle Up,” no one would have reason to doubt it).

When examined through this lens, “Bundle Up” is also illustrative of hip-hop’s increasing comfort mingling the genre’s traditional template of sounds with the increasingly pervasive influences of contemporary electronic music. Of course, that is more about things coming full circle than it is a matter of horizons expanding–after all, the Zulu Nation was down with Kraftwerk before Kanye was cool with Daft Punk, and early hip-hop artists frequently found themselves at home on dance music labels–but one need look no further than the charts to see how rappers like Kid Cudi and Lil Wayne have warmly embraced recent trends from the electronic world.

In that sense, “Bundle Up” really does feel like an updated take on “Grindin’;” a little more synthed-out but with the same great vocals and dirty beat.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

The Bloody Beetroots “Awesome (feat. The Cool Kids)”

Nitty Scott, MC “WORK (Grustlin’)”

Theophilus London “Humdrum Town”

Chicago duo The Hood Internet are known throughout the blogosphere for their maddening mashups of hip-hop and classic pop tunes. However, they are hoping to change that perception later this year with the release of their first album of entirely original compositions. With that record in the works, the pair have released a single that finds them halfway between their old reappropriation and their future creation: a cover of the xx’s “VCR” with completely fresh production.

For the task, The Hood Internet are flanked by a trio of young talent. Elizabeth Harper (vocalist for former OTM spotlighted band Class Actress) handles the choruses on “VCR,” with rising rapper Freddie Gibbs tossing in some new verses and Ninjasonik‘s Telli lending his talents as well. Together, these four forces combine to breathe a lot of life into the xx’s composition–originally a sleepy, mid-tempo tune.

In The Hood Internet’s hands, “VCR” retains some of its moodiness but the dirge-like qualities of the original are supplanted with bursts of enthusiasm, particularly during Gibbs’ sections. The reworked version is carried along by a simple drum machine beat, wobbly synthesized bass, and a cowbell so assertive and in your face you’d think it was lifted from a Beasties cut.

By The Hood Internet’s standards, “VCR” isn’t necessarily a party track but it does have the sort of vitality you would expect from one of their productions. Whether or not this augurs a wider breadth of emotional range on their forthcoming LP remains to be seen, but it certainly bodes well for their reintroduction to listeners.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

Chiddy Bang “Sooner or Later”

CREEP “Days (Azari & III remix)”

Crystal Castles “Not in Love (featuring Robert Smith)”

Longtime readers are already familiar with A-Trak‘s masterful DJ skills and trailblazing approach to mixing electronic dance music and contemporary hip-hop. This past week, the Canadian turntable whiz lent his remixing skills to this new cut from Atlanta rapper Donnis‘ brand new (and free) Southern Lights mixtape.

If there is a rapper worthy of A-Trak’s skittering, synthy treatment, it’s Donnis. His verbal dexterity have made him an ascendant star within the hip-hop community on the strength of just few mixtapes and last year’s Fashionably Late EP. Donnis surrounds himself with even more good company on this track, including fellow Atlantan Pill, best known for his 2009 mixtape ode to the drug game of his Pink City neighborhod, “Trap Goin Ham.” (Just as another hometown hero, Li’l John, managed to turn “Yeah!” into a catch-phrase, Pill has similarly turned the innocuous “Okay then” into his calling card.)

The music production here speaks for itself but the titular lyrical concern is a refreshingly lighthearted and offbeat one. Sure, it falls squarely within the most longstanding rap tradition–namely swaggering braggadocio–but the fact that it is about sunglasses makes it more of a bedfellow to “My Adidas” than “Black and Yellow.” It also makes for some pretty funny lines from all four vocal contributors, as when Donnis brags “I spend high notes like a high school choir sings / To have them admiring.”

And then, of course, is the hilarious absurdity of the chorus:

I’ve got Ray-Ban vision
I wear ‘em when I’m whippin’
I wear ‘em when I’m fuckin’
All my women think I’m trippin’

It’s goofy and cocky and best of all, it’s catchy as hell with a beat perfect for your Friday night.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

The Hood Internet “VCR (featuring Elizabeth Harper, Freddie Gibbs and Telli)”

Thavius Beck “Go!”

A-Trak “Trizzy Turnt Up”