The Spirit of Apollo by N.A.S.A. - Excellent

"What do David Byrne, M.I.A., KRS-One, RZA, Tom Waits, Chuck D, Seu Jorge, Gift Of Gab and George Clinton all have in common? They make up just a small portion of the artists featured on the new God-sent collaborative album constructed to save humanity: N.A.S.A.’s “The Spirit of Apollo.”"

-mndaily

Over the past few months, pacman has posted some of the main singles off of this album (Gifted, Hip H0p...). The Gifted song had me hooked instantly - the electronic bubble-synth beat layered with the catchy verses delivered from some of hip hop's popular names is always stellar combination (one of the reason's Ratatat's remixes albums are so good). I didnt realize that the album had been released until i read the album review in my schools newspaper.

In case you were wondering, N.A.S.A. is a two DJ group, one from LA and the other from brazil, giving their name as North America South America (or N.A.S.A. for short). N.A.S.A. seems to have the whole producing thing figured out well, their songs incorporate some of the wildest synths (they sampled the dial-up internet connection sound- which was every single porn watching middle schoolers worst enemy a few years back - in the beginning of Wachadoin?) with classic instruments (including electric guitars, flute-sounding things, and some a wicked fretless bass sound in Strange Enough). Many songs (including Hip Hop and There's A Party) show N.A.S.A.'s versatility in their production style; they take a break from their synth-based style and make the songs sound like it was straight out of the year 1999. Their sample selection is noteworthy too, and their bass heavy drum breaks would fill out a party quite nicely. 

N.A.S.A.'s beatmaking skills is surprisingly matched by their skills to find awesome artists to rap/sing over their songs (N.A.S.A. doesn't actually sing or rap in any song). Some of musics biggest (and up-and-coming) names are featured on this album, including M.I.A., Kanye, George Clinton, The Cool Kids, Method Man, Ghostface Killa, David Byrne of The Talking Heads, RZA, Old Dirty Bastard, Chuck D, KRS-One and Z-Trip. This list is impressive, and far from comprehensive.

The album is a must buy/download/rip/whatever-you-do-with-your-music.

If you are down with music piracy like I am, download the album for free here.