DJ/producer Preservation – the long-time collaborator of Yasiin Bey (f.k.a. Mos Def) and one half of Dr. Yen Lo with Brownsville Ka – has unveiled “Rose Royce” featuring Quelle Chris from Eastern Medicine, Western Illness (May 29 / Nature Sounds). To craft this cross-cultural intersection of sounds, Preservation sourced all of the beats while living in Hong Kong, solely using Chinese vinyl he found in local record shops there. He then exported his beats to back to the U.S., to a host of rap’s great lyricists.

On “Rose Royce,” Detroit rapper Quelle Chris leans into Preservation’s chaotic beat, wrapping steadily over a constant swirl of a metronomic cowbell and a soft whirring organ.

Listen to “Rose Royce” featuring Quelle Chris BELOW

Quelle Chris is one of the many guests on the 13-track album, including Ka (Preservation produced two tracks on Ka’s just-released and widely praised Descendants of Cain), and Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, Roc Marciano, Tree, Billy Woods, Nickelus F, Grande Marshall, Navy Blue, Bronx veteran A.G., as well as Hong Kong’s own Young Queenz. The cassette edition includes a bonus beat tape featuring an exclusive track with Philly MC, Has-Lo.

Last week, Preservation unveiled the record’s first single “North Bridge,” featuring Navy Blue (aka rapper, skateboarder, model Sage Elsesser) and has since been covered by FACT, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgNqBpnNkgQ

The title of the album, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness references the solace found by Preservation while working in solitude in the East. This is the “eastern medicine,” which led him to create hundreds of beats at the time. The “illness” has a dual meaning that refers to the endemic issues of the west, as well as the ill talent of the MCs. Preservation lived in the historic neighborhood of Tai Hang and coincidentally in a building which was formerly the first western doctor’s office of the district.

Preservation’s two-decade career includes production work for Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Jim Jarmusch, K’naan, KRS-One, MF Doom, Jean Grae, Aesop Rock and many others. He has toured the globe as Yasiin Bey’s longtime live DJ and shared stages with Robert Glasper, Gil Scott-Heron, Shuggie Otis, Gary Bartz and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. His 2015 album Days with Dr. Yen Lo ranked #9 on Rolling Stone’s Best Hip-Hop Albums of that year, and his productions with Yasiin Bey include a number of tracks on the Grammy-nominated The Ecstatic, True Magic and the remix LP The REcstatic.

Eastern Medicine, Western Illness will be available digitally, on CD, vinyl, and a special edition double cassette.

Pre-order here: https://naturesoundsmusic.com/emwi/

Track list:
Dragon Town (feat. Young Queenz)
A Scholar’s Rock (feat. Grande Marshall)
Money In The Wild (feat. Tree)
Rose Royce (feat. Quelle Chris)
1-78 Capillaries (feat. Mach-Hommy)
Wan Chai (feat. Nickelus F)
North Bridge (feat. Navy Blue)
Lemon Rinds (feat. Billy Woods)
Medicine Drawer (feat. Roc Marciano)
Correspondence (feat. Your Old Droog & Mach-Hommy)
A Cure For The Common (feat. Ka)
Children Of Never (feat. AG)
Mouth Of A River (feat. Michelle Siu)