The Paper Box NYC

She's the nicest person we know in NYC. LITERALLY when you run into her and have a little "hello, hello" exchange, it's lovely – like tea time. Recently on tour with Wiz Khalifa as his official DJ she's bringing us a few tracks tonight. We champion her for her genius videos with Va$htie, and for the fact that she had a party called Electric Punanny (a name that is painful and exciting all at the same time).

MeLo-X is an Emcee, DJ, Producer, Audio Engineer and photographer from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY. MeLo-X is renown worldwide for not only his own music but also for custom Remixing of current classics. MeLo is known for bringing a new approach to all of his work and has released a wide range of music projects from remixed albums with original production to custom blends over studio and live performances. His remix of Maxwell's Grammy Award winning album BLACKsummers'night, reached a worldwide audience and was the topic of the day for many blogs and traditional press outlets. Maxwell himself, raved about the remix over Twitter so much that Sony Music purchased it for use during his world wide tour. MeLo's mixtape Mustafa's Renaissance was praised by industry influencers and tastemakers alike. All of this buzz, led him to a performance in London for Gilles Peterson's Summer Bubblers Showcase as well as performances in premier NYC venues such as SOB's, The Blender Theater, Webster Hall and more. His remixes and original music hit Londons BBC 1Xtra and several online radio shows as well as dozens of blogs. In 2008- 2009 MeLo supported up and coming artists, Mickey Factz and Theophilus London as their tour DJs and in late 2009 to 2010 he was once again asked to tour with Kid Sister on her worldwide tour.

In the past year, Brooklyn DJ/producer Dre Skull has done an incredible amount. He executed and produced an entire album with dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel; called Kingston Story, the record shot to the top of dancehall charts from iTunes to island radio. He was tapped by Major Lazer to help produce the upcoming Snoop Dogg album, recorded in Jamaica, Los Angeles and New York. Somewhere in the midst of this madness, Dre Skull found time to release singles with dancehall heavy-hitters Beenie Man and Popcaan, and soca chart-topper Machel Montano. The next few months will see the release of another Dre Skull riddim featuring some of dancehall’s biggest names, followed by a single with rapper-of-the-moment Pusha T. Few producers so effortlessly travel between the worlds of hip-hop, dancehall, and electronic dance music, but Dre Skull creatively connects the dots between various elements of urban underground music and culture. In the tradition of Rick Rubin and Don Was, he’s a producer who sees beyond categories, creating clever combinations that push musical boundaries while also moving the dancefloor. Raised in the East Coast’s underground freakout punk scene (alongside the likes of Lightning Bolt and Paper Rad), Dre Skull has developed a unique aesthetic that mixes high conceptualism with pop accessibility – it’s a vibe that has made the world’s tastemakers sit up and take notice. Dre Skull has been featured by magazines such as XLR8R, Clark, Fader, Tsugi, and Vanity Fair, and his music has been championed by DJs including Annie Mac, Sinden, Switch, Drop the Lime, Diplo, Stretch Armstrong, Max Glazer and Hot 97’s DJ Enuff. He continues to hone his craft and up the ante, whether traveling to Kingston to work with the hottest up-and-coming reggae stars, jetting to Japan to play the latest super-club, or working with the industry’s hottest top-liners in New York and L.A. The perfect realization of Dre Skull’s singular vision is his Mixpak Records label. Founded in 2009, Mixpak is an outpost for Dre’s original productions and the work of respected artists from a variety of scenes. Just a short sampling of Mixpak’s roster includes Dirty South rappers Lil’ Scrappy and Sissy Nobby; Japanese all-girl punk band Hard Nips; tropical bass producers Poirier and Schlachthofbronx; and cutting-edge house dudes Dubbel Dutch and Mele. With a legion of projects planned until the end of the year and exciting new signings and remixes in the works, the mysterious Mr. Skull has many more surprises up his sleeve. Tune into the magic.

Dubbel Dutch is impervious to the crutches of genres, though a student of many of them. An accomplished producer of cosmic tone poems and club anthems from the abyss, many claim his now-classic Throwback 12” on Palms Out Sounds saved their lives–or at least taught them a lesson in modern retrofitting. A chemistry of pre-hispanic shaman cries, YouTube videos of American microcosms, and 90s UK rave flyers make up his aesthetic, one which is not often associated with the Lone Star State. On Hymn, his debut EP for Mixpak, his methods havenʼt changed, but rather have become more refined. --- Dave Quam