Los Angeles'  Troublemaker is one hardworking & talented producer/DJ. Born Josh Kouzomis, the artist has been honing his skills since the early 1990s when he started out as a college radio DJ and music director while at school in Ohio. After leaving college and returning to LA, he got an internship at punk label Epitaph Records where he gained invaluable inside music business and production experience.

This led to him co-founding the hip-hop/drum'n'bass label Celestial Recordings in 1998. Fast forward into the beginning of this decade and Troublemaker joined forces with fellow producer/DJ talent E. Moss to form the Backyard Bangers, whose eponymous debut track was a collaboration with Z-Trip on the Constant Elevation compilation from 2002 on Astralwerks. The Backyard Bangers released several wonderful recordings, including the CDs Get That Shit Outta Here, Pardon My French, and Spunkbubble, all through the Hollyrock label. Their great song “Road of Good Intentions” appeared on the Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. V.

As a solo recording artist & performer Troublemaker has remained incredibly prolific. He's toured with Z-Trip, recorded lots of original tracks, and done many more remixes of music by a wide variety of artists including Bonde do Role, Justice, Johnny Cash, Linkin Park, and Peter Bjorn & John. Download his inspired remix of their infectious hit "Nothing to Worry About" featuring Adam Tensta, U-N-I and The 87 Stick Up Kids on his website. Also there  you can check out Troublemaker's impressive discography including tons of remix projects. 

1) Q-Tip The Renaissance (Motown/Universal)

2) Common Universal Mind Control (Geffen)

3) 88 Keys The Death of Adam (Decon)

4) E40 The Ball Street Journal (Sic Wid It/Warner)

5) Atmosphere God Loves Ugly (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Thanks to Inti at Amoeba Music Berkeley for supplying this week's Hip-Hop Top FIve chart of the best selling albums of the week. As with both other Amoeba stores, the current Q-Tip and Common albums are both still selling steadily. So too are 88 Keys and the "Ambassador of the Yay Area," E40. In addition to the former Jive Records artist's first release through Warner, E40 is also one of the 40 odd artists featured on the fantastic new hip-hop rooted but musically diverse compilation N.A.S.A. The Spirit of Apollo on Anti (more on this release later). Not on this chart but still selling well at Amoeba Berkeley, as well as elsewhere, and coming in at a close number 6, is Kayne West's 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella Records). "I really like that album," said Inti from Amoeba, adding that, "It's a concept album and I always appreciate concept albums. And people are loving it and buying it."
 
This week's Top Five's newest chart entry, Atmosphere's God Loves Ugly, is in fact a reissue of the relatively slept-on 2002 release by the superb Minneapolis, Minnesota duo comprised of Slug (emcee) and Ant (beats). Atmosphere's stellar last album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (Rhymesayers) was the top selling hip-hop album at Amoeba Music for 2008. As time goes on and mainstream hip-hop gets more redundant and repetitive, it seems unique voices like Slug's (an intelligent, insightful emcee with a real gift for storytelling and flipping the script in a truly original way) over the dense innovative beats of Ant, rise to the top to get the attention they rightfully deserve.