By: Jordan Calvano

As the American EDM scene continues its contagion-level growth, the actual output—the tracks, themselves—are blurring the lines between genres across the board. One obvious and ubiquitous marriage is that of dubstep and hip-hop.

It’s difficult to find artists taking this sonic match as seriously as Zeds Dead and Omar LinX. The Canadian duo of DC and Hooks have been working with the fellow Toronto artist over the last few years to meld their powerfully dark aesthetic with his deep-throated flow and witty lyrics. They have released a string of incredible tunes independent of one another, like the bass shattering remixes by Zeds Dead of The Rolling Stones, The Roots, Massive Attack, and Blue Foundation. Similarly, LinX has hits with head-bobbing, groove-laden hip-hop tunes like “Don’t Know Me, “Little Moment,” and, “Dubbin Home.” However, these Canadians tend to put out their most roaring and energetic cuts when they align their budding musical talents.

Now, with their renewed and unified focus, the three artists take to the streets to create a musical revolution voiced by the free Victor mixtape.

Opening the seven-track mix is the nostalgic and fierce cut, “No Prayers,” which features a soulful sample that transitions into LinX’s in-your-face rhymes that are only becoming more refined with time.

Tracks like, “You and I,” and, “The One,” fuse memorizing female vocals, massive synths, and passive- aggressive lyrics that tell an emotive story of love lost.

Classic collaborations like, “Out For Blood,” and “Rude Boy,” have been around for a while, but fit perfectly on the mix due to their gangster swagga and ability to be played over and over again.

“Coffee Break,” receives the remix treatment in the form of two verses from LinX, adding to the already incredible funk and Aretha Franklin samples. “Jackie Boy 2.0,” brings back the song that started at all, yet adds a heavy twist that will make any listener begging for more Zeds Dead, baby.

Zeds Dead and Omar LinX are a hit. They strike with a fiery passion that “go” like peanut butter and jelly, iced tea and lemonade, or on a more serious note, like DJ Premiere and Guru of the classic hip-hop act Gang Starr. And if all that wasn’t enough we bring you an exclusive interview with DC of Zeds Dead.

JC: What lead to the decision to release a mixtape as opposed to an EP or album?

DC: We decided to do a free mixtape first because we wanted to expose our fans to what Omar and us had been working on. We’re going to follow up this mixtape with an EP, as well. We figured if we gave away the mixtape for free it would give people a taste of what we’ve been working on. The mixtape and the EP also have really different vibes. The mixtape is sort of a more hip-hop oriented hybrid while the EP is a little more traditionally electronic based. I wanna show people that we’re doing more then just rap on dubstep tracks; to me, it’s just exciting new music.

JC: What will the addition of Omar LinX to your live show mean for the Living Dead Tour?

DC: Adding Omar is great because it turns the whole performance into more of a show rather then just a DJ set. Sure, we still mix songs for the majority of the show, but when he gets up there and does his thing it turns into a crazy futuristic hip-hop, bass-heavy show. He’s not an MC in a traditional sense. He’s really a performer and I think once people see it live they come to understand that.

JC: What are some of your biggest musical influences?

DC: My earliest influences were the classic rock gods my parents listened to like Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and people like that. In high school, it was all hip-hop dudes, golden era stuff like 90-96 shit. Nowadays, it’s just everything, my ears are way more open to all types of music now so I just try and take everything I can in.

JC: You two have remixed a long list of well-known artists—from The Rolling Stones to The Roots. How do you guys decide which artists and songs you want to remix?

DC: Honestly, it’s just this sample-based mentality where if I hear something that inspires me, I mess with it. It’s like a drug I’m heavily addicted to.

JC: What is the goal of the Victor mixtape, and how does it differ in regards to your other releases?

DC: I think with Victor we really wanted to showcase our love for hip-hop and mix it with what some of the newer sounds were messing with. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. It’s got something for everyone in there.

Free Download Link: http://maddecent.com/blog/zeds-dead-omar-linx-victor-jeff012