WARMER MIXTAPES #1219 | by Angel Del Villar II [Homeboy Sandman]

Photo by Gavin Thomas

 1. Stevie Wonder | Knocks Me Off My Feet
This is my favorite song of all time. The rest of the songs on this list are songs that I think are amazing that I presented in no particular order and I would have a different 9 if I wrote another list tomorrow, but Knocks Me Off My Feet is the real #1. It wasn't always that way. Chaka Khan's I Know You, I Live You had been my all time #1 for years, but when I discovered Knocks Me Off My Feet everything changed. I ran it all day for 2 or 3 days straight. And then all day here and there for many days afterwards. The bassline behind where Stevie says but there's something 'bout your Love, is the most amazing 3 seconds in all of Music History as far as I'm concerned. You're not boring me, Stevie. You're not boring me at all.

 2. Michael Jackson | The Lady In My Life
This is my favorite Michael Jackson song of all of the abundant amazing Michael Jackson songs. I recently went through a heavy Can't Help It phase, but Lady In My Life remains the title holder.

3. Big Boi | Royal Flush (feat. André 3000 and Raekwon)
Technically this is a Big Boi song featuring Rae and 3 Stacks, but as far as I'm concerned if 3 Stacks and Big Boi are on the same track then it's OutKast. My favorite verse of all time is Mos Def's verse on Thieves In The Night.  André 3000's verse on Royal Flush is not too far behind. It's easier to run the streets than walk in the sand. Wow.

4. Anita Baker | Sweet Love
Remember when Rihanna came out with Umbrella and you may have been like that beat is hard, somebody needs to use that for a Rap record?... Sweet Love is the original slow jam with a hard ass beat, but it's infinitely smoother. And no disrespect to anybody, but Anita is in a whole 'nother category as far the vocals. DOOM, being the genius that he is of course, sampled it for Hoe Cakes, which was brilliant.

5. Ornella Vanoni | L'Appuntamento (Erasmo Carlos & Roberto Carlos' 'Sentado À Beira Do Caminho' Cover)
I first got hooked on this after it was featured in one of them Ocean's movies. Ocean's 12 I think. I thought to myself, I'm rhyming to this, case closed. Never did get around to having Sosa chop it to create an instrumental though. One time I did write an entire rhyme over the words and everything, à la Ghostface, about how I used to play ball in parks all over the city. Never recorded that rhyme though and now I have no idea where that rhyme book is. However I've listened to this song so many times with the intent to do something more than listen that in the meantime it has become one of my all time faves.



6. Open Mike Eagle | Qualifiers
We the best mostly... Sometimes the freshest rhymers... We the tightest kinda... Respect my qualifiers. Does anyone know of a hook fatter than that? I do not.

7. Carly Simon | Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
My father had The Spy Who Loved Me on videotape when I was growing up and I watched it probably 80 or 90 times (actually I think I'm going to watch it tonight for old times sake)... Jaws was such a great villain and I loved the scene with the Sphinx. I loved the whole movie. When Roger Moore is in the futuristic life boat with the bombshell Russian spy at the end and this song starts playing and the windows close when the rescue team finds them... That may be the fattest ending to any movie ever. This song is so potent. SOUL.

8. Esther Williams | Last Night Changed It All (I Really Had A Ball) 
I'd already heard the dozen Hip Hop records sampled from this song and earlier this year when Sosa and I were on tour in Europe he spun it during one of his opening sets. After that I made him spin it before I came out every single show. Last show of the tour, in Dublin, he spun it before I came out and right after I finished. What a jam.

9. Fiona Apple | Every Single Night
My sister has been an avid Fiona Apple fan for a number of years, so last fall I surprised her with tickets to see her live at the Beacon Theater. My sister had played this song for me on her mp3 player and it stood out from the others as particularly creative. After seeing it live I was blown away.

10. Roberta Flack | The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Peggy Seeger Cover)
My girlfriend Priscilla and I first heard this song at a dance recital at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in NYC. We went there to see Khi's mother Rohnie perform. One of the pieces was a man and a woman acting out a beautiful slow loving emotional performance to this song. I was mesmerized and made sure to keep the program so that I could YouTube the song when we got home. The next morning Priscilla and I had an argument that was based very much on my own issues. I felt off all day. That night we made up and I held her in my arms as we listened to this song on YouTube and we felt so in Love with each other that I think we might have been glowing.