Dam-Funk brings the funk to a few needy souls. But will the white kids listen? Look out for a cameo by Nite Jewel.

Directed by Henry DeMaio. From Toeachizown, in stores now.

Here is a speculative list of ten 2009 hip-hop albums. All of these titles are scheduled to drop sometime during the next 12 months. I omitted some perennial “coming soon” titles (Madvillainy 2, 9th Wonder’s The Wonder Years, Ghost & Doom’s Swift and Changeable, Big Boi’s Sir Luscious Left Foot and others). Not to say that they’ll never come out, but we’re moving on now.

Hudson Mohawke’s debut album (Warp): This may be the most hotly-anticipated of the electronic/hip-hop crossovers. Warp has a good track record of signing underground sensations who go on to record their best material for the label, with Autechre, Prefuse 73, Boards of Canada and Antipop Consortium being among the many examples. (tentative release date: Spring ’09)

Zion-I, The Takeover (Gold Dust Media): I’ve heard this album, and I can safely say that it’s Zion-I’s best to date, maybe as good as those cassette EPs they used to release back in the day. But will fans and critics give them their due recognition? People who don’t live on the West Coast tend to sleep on/underrate them. (release date: January 27)

Willie Isz, Georgiavania (Lex Records): Khujo and Jneiro Jarel have been leaking tracks from their forthcoming collaboration for the past several months. Some have sounded impressively soulful and reflective (“In The Red”), while others have sounded tinny and strange (“Gwan Jet”). It seems as if all the leaks — many which you can hear on Willie Isz’s MySpace page — are meant to get listeners comfortable with their unusual sound before the full-length drops. At the least, it should be an adventure.  (tentative release date: late February/March)

Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal (Warner Bros.): There’s some speculation whether this will come out now because Kweli’s Blacksmith management has split with Warner Bros. But I think that Warner Bros. still wants him on the label — it just didn’t feel like pushing Blacksmith’s underground slate (Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady) to the mainstream. Kweli’s last album (2007′s Eardrum) was pretty good, and Hi-Tek is long overdue for a breakout year. Keep your fingers crossed that Warner Bros. doesn’t let this one rot on the shelf. (tentative release date: TBA)

Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love (Ubiquity): Sa-Ra’s 2007 debut was a patchwork of old singles and leaked tracks, detritus from their stillborn deal with G.O.O.D. Music/Sony. It sounded like leftovers. This upcoming affair should be much more fresh and cohesive, provided that blogs don’t leak the whole thing first. (tentative release date: spring ’09)

Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon (Fool’s Gold/Downtown): I wasn’t feeling this song at first, but lately it has resonated with me. Kid Cudi (pictured above) seems to have found a way around the auto-tune nightmare that has ruined rappers’ impulse to harmonize; it’s not exactly Cold Crush Brothers, but memorable nonetheless. An openness to electronic styles like soulful house could make this an intriguing debut. (tentative release date: TBA)

Dam-Funk, Toeachizown (Stones Throw): Dam-Funk is another dude who has leaked MySpace joints for many months now. He’s already released a few 12-inches, as well as an edition for Stones Throw’s Rhythm Trax series. But I expect Toeachizown to be a head-scratcher on par with James Pants’ Welcome. When I first heard that album, I disparaged James Pants for making a good demo tape. It was faint praise. Almost twelve months later, I still can’t stop thinking about that album. (tentative release date: Spring ’09)

Antipop Consortium, Flourescent Black: It’s been over a year since the four members of Antipop announced they were reuniting, and still no word of when the album will come out, or even which label will release it. (However, they’ve performed several NYC shows.) I imagine something will drop before the next edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties takes place in September; APC are scheduled to make a key appearance there. (tentative release date: TBA)

Charles Hamilton debut album (Interscope): Sonic the Hamilton’s album will most likely be a highly commercial mix of styles meant to entice hipsters, backpackers and teenyboppers alike. The question is, will he get the formula right? (tentative release date: TBA)

Mos Def, The Ecstatic (Downtown): Since his classic 1999 solo debut Black On Both Sides, Mos Def has concentrated most of his energy on his acting career, with fantastic results. Though not yet a lead actor, Mos has scored meaty supporting roles in critically acclaimed films and box office hits. Unfortunately, he’s subsequently used his music to indulge his artistic whims, making for meandering and unfocused albums like 2004′s The New Danger. At the beginning of 2008, he announced that he was teaming up with Kanye West (who also made beats for The New Danger), perhaps a sign that he wasn’t going to fuck around this time. Whatever The Ecstatic turns out to be — another classic or another mess — it should be interesting. (tentative release date: Spring ’09)

Other releases to watch for: MF Doom (Lex), Mr. Lif, I Heard It Today (Definitive Jux, April 13), Thavius Beck, Dialogue (Mush?), J. Medeiros, Friends Enemies Apples Apples (Quannum), Nosaj Thing (Alpha Pup), new Themselves album (Anticon), The Cool Kids, When Fish Ride Bicycles (Chocolate Industries), Evidence, Cats & Dogs (label TBD), Finale, A Pipe, A Dream & A Promise (Interdependent Media), Danny! (Definitive Jux)

Next year, Stones Throw promises to offer its most exciting slate of artists since 2006. Like that groundbreaking season, which brought classic recordings from Oh No, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Aloe Blacc and the late J Dilla, 2009 will find the L.A. label mixing forward-thinking hip-hop with ecletic, genre-bending sounds. So far, Stones Throw’s upcoming projects include albums from Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Savath y Savalas, Mayer Hawthorne & The County and Dam-Funk.

First up will be Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s Old Money. A few years ago, the lead guitarist for the Mars Volta might have issued this album on his now-defunct label, Gold Standard Laboratories (GSL). Instead, Old Money is coming out on Stones Throw. The label issued a digital version on November 10; the CD and vinyl version will reach stores on January 27.

Here’s a description from the press release:

The album fits comfortably between the guitarist’s monumental work with The Mars Volta, and his prior rock-based solo releases such as 2007′s The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange. Loosely based on the concept of exploitative industrialists and, well, their old money, the album presents a 10-track collection of concise rock compositions, which range from progressive to psychedelic to downright funky. Many of these sounds could easily be at home on a Volta record proper had they meshed with Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s vocals; Rodriguez Lopez has hinted that this record was a potential follow up to the 2006 Volta release Amputechture until he changed his musical direction.

If Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s appearance on Stones Throw came as a surprise, Scott Herren’s upcoming project for the label makes perfect sense. Since turning Savath y Savalas from a moniker for self-produced wintry folktronica into a full-fledged band of musicians that mixes Spanish Catalan songs with electronics, Herren has struggled to find the right home for the project. He criticized Warp Records for inserting English lyrics into the CD booklet for Apropa’t, the group’s 2004 debut. A follow-up for Anti- Records, Golden Pollen, came out in 2007.

Herren made the announcement on his Prefuse 73 MySpace page. “Now ‘SAVATH y SAVALAS’ have a new home at: STONE’S THROW records,” he writes. “There will be more ‘official’ announcements via www.stonesthrow.com but I thought that I’d just state the fact that it’s the first time this particular project has ended up in the right hands, with the right intentions – I don’t think we could be more happy, positive and relieved!!!!!!”

Detroit-to-LA producer DJ Haircut has signed with Stones Throw for a new project under the guise Mayer Hawthorne & The County. Before then, Haircut was best known as a member of Athletic Mic League. He broke the news on his MySpace page in October.

For those that don’t already know, I’ve recently inked a deal with Stones Throw Records for a solo Doo-Wop / Soul project called Mayer Hawthorne and The County. What started out as sort of a joke for close friends and family, has suddenly and unexpectedly become something very real. I’m honored to be working with such a well respected label with such an amazing history of releases from heroes like J Dilla, Madlib, MF Doom, Guilty Simpson, Aloe Blacc and others. It is both exciting and daunting.

I’m roughly half-way through recording the first album and I hope to have it finished by the end of the year. I’m playing a lot of the instruments and singing all the vocals myself so it takes a while!

In November, Stones Throw issued a limited-edition (1000 copies) 7-inch single, “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” b/w “When I Said Goodbye.” The A-side quickly drew praise from U.S. and overseas tastemakers, including Mark Ronson and Gilles Peterson.

Last but not least, Los Angeles DJ/producer Dam-Funk should finally release his debut album, Toeachizown, sometime next year. Dam-Funk’s productions replicate the black music lexicon of the early to mid-80s; they’re synth-heavy and atmospheric, and owe a debt to producers such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (circa S.O.S. Band), Slave, Cybotron and James Mtume.

Fans have expected Toeachizown since Dam-Funk’s “Sidewayz” appeared on the first Chrome Children compilation in 2006. He has since produced a few 12-inches for the label; a contribution to Stones Throw’s ongoing Rhythm Trax series is due later this month. Here’s how he explains it:

The concept is based on the early 80′s Jive/Zomba label ‘Rhythm Trax’ releases, which were recorded with DJ’s, break dancers, poppers, synthesizer, & drum machine affectionatos in mind. The ‘originals’ are highly collectable nowadays in the wax digging community. These LP’s consisted of nothing but BPM groves. No titles. This time around, we’re flippin’ it and going with minimal titles. The D-F edition is based on colors, resulting in each song being named simply after…U got it…a color.