I’m a huge supporter of these guys hailing from Cleveland and this particular mixtape made me laugh out loud as Twizz from KEYEL cunningly had me leave a voicemail message of inquiry to find out when this new mix would drop. They incorporated my rambling message about 8 minutes into the mix!

As always, they give us some of that 90s classic hip hop flavour filled with crate-digging samples and alternative sounds. The mix is all KEYEL music from 2006 to present. Check out the snippet below and download your free copy here!

Snippet from KEYEL Mixtape 2010

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A few months ago, I introduced you to a few guys from Cleveland who go by the name of KEYEL. Now branching out and doing independent projects, group member Twizz, has teamed with singer/emcee Phenom to form a group called Moonstruck. Seeding the market with their first single, “We Can Go,” (a free download) is a cool two-step tune with a nice mellow hook sang by Phenom and the two also rap on verses. I dig it. I urge you to check out Phenom’s Myspace; he has a Vikter Duplaix kind of vibe, against heavy bass lines and whimsical keyboards. KEYEL will be hitting us with a new project mid-January and are also working on a full album. Get your free download, and enjoy!

“We Can Go” by Moostruck (Click for DOWNLOAD)

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When I finally got around to listening to the KEYEL Mixtape (which became available for download Sept 24), I actually felt a wave of sorrow. Sorrow, due to the current state of the music industry, that artists have to “give” their music away, and KEYEL‘s mixtape is worth that $9.99 – if not more!

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, emcees Prose, Holy Moly, Pease, and DJ ESO work exceptionally well together. The mixtape is a culmination of classic hip hop and alternative sounds. Their first single “Mary Jane” which was produced by German beatmaker fLako, is a smoothed out tune with a nice melodic la la la la la. The real treat is actually on the mixtape, where the song extends to an additional minute and a half, with a dope funky music change and an Eryka Badu type harmony. Definitely sounds like a Mary to me!  “Hanging by a String” was produced by the eclectic Sa-Ra Creative Partners. Their beats have just enough Dilla inflection to make it their own, with fun flowing rhymes, cool outros, and inventive musical arrangements, which go beyond hip hop.

Download your copy of the KEYEL Mixtape Vol. 1; you will enjoy it!

KEYEL excerpt from “Mary Jane” on Mixtape Vol. 1

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“Alternative Jawn” prod. by Sa-Ra Creative Partners on Mixtape Vol. 1

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