I once made the statement that Nomadic Massive was single-act embodiment of international hip-hop, but Maga Bo just might make me eat my words. A DJ / Producer based in Rio de Janeiro, Maga Bo has recorded in Morocco, South Africa, India, and Senegal. In World Up’s Mixtape, Maga Bo blends traditional and contemporary sounds from around the globe, providing a diverse soundscape for hip-hop giants Saul Williams, Gift of Gab, and K’Naan, to name a few of the English speakers that I could detect. The mix, almost 62 minutes long, can be heard in its entirety on the player below:

mp3: “World Up Mixtape by Maga Bo”

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In other news, Flight 808 is growing every day! Whoddathunk it? That said, we’re looking to add a few more writers before we get into all sorts of trouble this summer. Really, all sorts; it’s going to be an exciting time. If you’re interested, there are opportunities to do interviews, short pieces, long pieces, whatever. It’d probably be more professional to figure out if my @ flight808 email addy is working, but I’m just going to leave my personal email address up here for a few days so people can get at me: tommyabu @ gmail . com

Think it over yo! More goodies coming up in a few days. Peace.

5 tracks from Flight808 are featured in the latest edition of iconocastic.com’s Hip-Hop podcast.

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Check out their other episodes as well. Good stuff.

I once had a nightmare in which I befriended an old, hairy clown from another dimension. Clad in nothing but a g-string and a sombrero, he took me on a mystical journey; we toured all that is good and strange in the universe. Towards the end of the dream, my Virgilian friend introduced me to a gully-ass, Andrew Bird/ Fred Rogers mutant. Granted, I have no idea what the real subject matter is on this track… but sonically? Shit is wild. One of the main perks of listening to hip-hop outside of the native language– in my opinion– is that the sounds and images they create for you are really all you’ve got to go by. No messages of peace and love, no tall tales from the block you didn’t even live on, no nada. Nothing but clowns and journeys.

mp3: "Manguaca"

“Mundo Egoista” is, on first listen, reminiscent of the work Stoupe of Jedi Mind was doing during his Spanish flavor phase. Yet while Stoupe was trying to emulate his South American, hip-hop brothers, AfroGueto was producing the real thing. I swear, this beat is so serious I can’t believe it’s not jacked. The trumpets are incredible– jubilant, crisp, – bonkers.

mp3: mundo egoista

“African Descendents of the Ghetto” is comprised of three emcees, a dj, and a percussionist. The group formed in ’98, and in 2005 percussionist Dudoo joined up and began to direct the music along a more loose and rhythmic path.

“Som do Afrogueto,” or “Sound of Afrogueto” (peep my ill Google Translation!) is less traditionally hip-hop than “Mundo Egoista”, but the instrumental makeup is more complex and in many ways more enjoyable. Harps, uh, weird ascending unidentifiable-noise-thingeys, you know, cool shit.

mp3: som do afrogueto

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Also, check out Mundo Egoista live. Small venue, but has far better audio quality than some of their bigger shows that have also surfaced on YouTube.

Hailing from Santos, Brazil, the Nuwisha project emerged in 2006 with the intention of breathing life into all facets of the hip-hop culture. In addition to bringing a particularly ill sound, Nuwisha (from the Aztec god “Many Skins”) is a partner in putting on workshops for the visual arts among other charitable efforts.

The self-titled track “Nuwisha” has a bit of a boom-twang-bap feel, if that makes any sense. Think Primo locked in a room for days, trying his best to make a beat for Chingey so the dude will let him out and get a meal. A little heavy on the space-age synths, but otherwise fresh and upbeat.

mp3: “Nuwisha”

Conversely, “e.f.c.” is on the mellowed-out tip. This is the type of track that makes me want to drive down the interstate at 20mph with my seat reclined, flicking off anyone who dares to honk at a playa. It also happens to be one of the most cohesive and downright laidback songs I’ve heard in some time.

mp3: “e.f.c”

Firstly, I’d like to welcome everyone aboard Flight808. Secondly, I’d like to swear on my great-grandmother’s grave to stop using such clever (see: irritating) flight wordplay. It’s even making me sick, at this point— “site launch” … “leave your tray table down” … “enjoy the ride,” etc. So, seriously, you have my word.

Our first featured nation is Brazil. Just a word about Brazil before we get into it—the emergence of hip-hop culture in Brazil was quite similar to that of hip-hop culture in the South Bronx, albeit several years later. In Sao Paulo, breaking caught on first, and later on b-boys became emcees. This was in the ’80s. Today, Brazil is perhaps best known in hip-hop circles for having what could be the most innovative (and straight ill) graffiti scene in the world.

To the music…