Ayatollah

Ayatollah is back with a new album that is set to drop soon. I first came across him when he released Listen back in 2005 or 2006 and his impeccable Now Playing that came out just before that. My favourite Ayatollah track by a mile is the intro to Now Playing, NAG Champa, which to me is the bedrock on which my hip hop collection is built, even though a lot of the hip hop records that I have came out before then. Pretty much every time I think of doing a mix, play on a radio show or play the first record at a night my mind is never very far away from NAG Champa, which isn't the worst thing in the world in all truth.



Anyway, Lamont Dorrell, for that is Ayatollah, is back with a new album entitled Louder and this cut Circulate showcases the man's soulful take on hip hop and beat-making that I love and respect so much, and judging by the musical luminaries that he has leant his touch to over the years I am clearly not alone. The record has a great groove to it, and if the rest of the album is as good as this we're in for a treat. I'm not sure if starting with the Bill Paul line, "Let The Dollar Circulate' is a homage to Dilla, who produced Spacek's version, or not but if it is then full respect to the man for referencing the greatest beat-maker of our time. You can play this as a loop as well and never get tired of it.

Ayatollah - Circulate