It seems only fitting that I dedicate my annual Memorial Day Mix entirely to Baltimore club music, since Baltimore's house-derived strain of rap music has been on the cusp of national notoriety for months now. If you're not familiar with Baltimore club, consider this a quick primer. The selections lean toward the obvious, with infamous old cuts like "Hands Up, Thumbs Down" (from the late, lionized DJ K-Swift) and "Jiggle It" (the Young Leek track Snoop killed an interloping New Yorker over on "The Wire") mixing with newer regional hits like DJ Punish's "Meet Her at Baltimore" and Emynd's "We Don't Give a..." and capped by DJ Class' likely crossover hit "I'm The Ish." For a deeper immersion into the genre, start at Baltimore-Club.com.
When possible I've included links to streams and legal downloads. Enjoy, and happy grilling.
1. Mz Streamz - "Tear It Up" (OnSmash)
2. DJ Punish - "Meet Her at Baltimore" (YouTube)
3. K-Swift - "Hands Up, Thumbs Down" (YouTube)
4. Rye Rye ft. M.I.A. - "Bang" (MySpace stream)
5. Young Leek - "Jiggle It" (Playlist.com)
6. DJ Sega - "Seg's Theme" (Imeem.com)
7. Emynd ft. Young Chris - "We Don't Give a..." (sanctioned Sharebee download)
8. Aaron Lacrate - "B-More Moons"
9. Blaqstarr - "Bang Hard" (YouTube)
10. DJ Class ft Kanye West - "I'm The Ish (Remix)" (YouTube)