Felt - Styleetron

The Social Radio Show 11.4.09

We do hip hop, and you listen!

Scratch Session w/ Dj Qbert, The Gaslamp Killer, Free the Robots, and Nosaj Thing

LMNO & Yann Kesz Devilish Dandruff with Holy Shampoo "Neverstop"

Bizarre Says Fuck Haystack!!!!

Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek & 9th Wonder @ Manifesto Fest Afterparty

U-N-I "Pulp Fiction Part 1" feat. Fashawn

Raekwon in Amsterdam

Aj & Bigg Waxx The Social 10.7.09

Hieroglyphics "Battle Drum" from Marvel Vs Capcom 2 Mixtape

Masta Ace & Edo G - Little Young

Ghettosocks - Don't Turn Around (feat. Edgar Allen Floe)

Aesop Fable - True Guidance

Exile & DJ Day-D Train Routine in Amsterdam

This is one of the coolest videos I have ever seen. And to think Bigg Waxx and I missed these guys by 2 days! The performed this live in The Red Bull office in the red light district!

Ghostface Killa on Rap Retirement

RA the Rugged Man

Guru- Hood Dreamin

Talib Kweli + Hi Tek-Reflection Eternal -Back Again

Talib Kweli + Hi Tek-Reflection Eternal -Back Again-Vid Premiere

Rap religion: KRS-One to release Hip-Hop Bible

Rap pioneer KRS-One is the self proclaimed prophet of a new religion: Hip-Hop religion. KRS-One announced he will soon release The Gospel of Hip Hop: The First Instrument, a 600-page book that examines the spirituality of Hip-Hop culture. The Hip-hop artist and founder of the Stop the Violence Movement, KRS-One, aka Boogie Down Production’s “Teacha”, claims his soon to be released spiritual book is the announcement of a new Hip-Hop religion on earth.
"I'm suggesting that in 100 years, this book will be a new religion on the earth," KRS-One said of his new book, which claims hip-hop to be the world's dominant new religion.

KRS-One goes on:

Well, I think I have the authority to approach God directly, I don't have to go through any religion...
I can approach God directly myself and so I wrote a book called The Gospel of Hip Hop to free us from all this nonsense garbage right now. I respect the Christianity, the Islam, the Judaism but their time is up." To recap: KRS-One's book is the new Bible, it's going to be the best selling book on earth, and no matter what God thinks, hip-hop is the new religion of the world.

Ghostface - Baby feat. Raheem DeVaughn

Aloha to hip-hop from the Blue Scholars

Local hip-hop duo Blue Scholars are back with 12 tracks on an EP called "OOF!" It's a varied affair that may or may not sound like "hip-hop" to the average listener. There's cutesy reggae ("Cruz"), aerobics-paced synth pop ("New People"), and one minimalist experiment with tribal drums. No offense to the rhymes — which swing more than they used to — but "OOF!" is all about the beats. Six of the tracks are instrumental versions of the other six.

Geologic (words) and Sabzi (sounds) are known for pretty songs with positive social messages, but this time the Scholars deliver both with a twist: The lyrics are about Hawaii — where Geo used to live and the Scholars recently vacationed — and the backdrops are all over the place.

Physical copies of "OOF!" are available for purchase at Caffe Vita locations around Seattle, and also at Blue Scholars' "OOF!" EP release party at 10 tonight at 'Ohana Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Belltown, 2207 First Ave., Seattle; $5 (206-956-9329 or www.ohanabelltown.com). Coffee, sushi and hip-hop: What's weird about that?

Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers feat. Inspectah Deck, GZA, Ghostface Killah & Method Man

The Social Radio Show

Hip Hop @ its finest

Buddens wants to scrap Raekwon

Joe Buddens punched in the eye

Evidence and Fashawn 101 Barz Freestyle

TALIB KWELI documentary -"If Truth be Told"- Nonstop Movie Works

Evidence giving a sample beat from his up and coming CD "Cats and Dogs"

J Dilla feat. Havoc & Raekwon - 24K Rap Video

J Dilla feat. Havoc & Raekwon "24K Rap" from Dennis-Sean Baquiran Jr. on Vimeo.

Brown Bag Allstars

Amsterdam Trip

Busdriver - Me-Time (Themselves Remix)

Black Milk Broadcast: R.I.P. BAATIN

Reef The Lost Cauze & Blak Madeen - Level Of A Devil

Hip-Hop: a Young Man’s Game?

Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA was wise beyond his years when, nearly two decades ago, he drew from the kung-fu movies that had imprinted his youth to put a stamp on his nascent Staten Island ensemble. He set them up for life--financially, for sure, but in another way too: The most heroic figure in kung-fu flicks is arguably the "old master," the seasoned fighter and thinker who's learned to harness his reckless energy and skill and who's gotten better with age. His existence defies the notion that youth always reigns supreme, something RZA and his comrades well understand.

Hip-hop, as we've all been told, is a young man's game. But some of the Wu vets—closing in on or passing the threshold of 40—have taken that "old master" role to heart, crafting work in recent years that stands with the best of the Wu-Tang catalog. There's Ghostface Killah with 2006's exceptional Fishscale and its worthy follow-up, 2007's The Big Doe Rehab. Method Man, ably assisted by Redman, offered up this year's satisfying comeback, Blackout! 2. And then there's Raekwon, who, judging by the recently leaked "Surgical Gloves," will soon have another killer platter on his hands, the forthcoming RZA-helmed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.

But it's the Abbot himself, RZA, who's been the sharpest of late. To wit: His acclaimed Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2, Afro Samurai, and Afro Samurai: Resurrection soundtracks, the last of which, released earlier this year, features a collaboration with Sly Stone. Last year's Bobby Digital (one of RZA's alter egos) disc Digi Snacks is spotty overall, but the good stuff is really good—dark and gritty. The supremely underrated 2007 Wu-Tang album 8 Diagrams was virtually a RZA solo joint. And most recent, the unexpectedly vital-sounding Wu-Tang Chamber Music was executive-produced by RZA, who also provides rhymes and beats.

RZA, who celebrated his 40th birthday on July 7, is in an especially cheerful mood when reached by phone. "I'm feeling super-positive, yo; I feel really energized," he says. "You know, life is strange 'cause you never really know when it begins or ends. But when you find yourself, when you know yourself, I think that's when life really begins. And I feel like that's what I achieved. I feel like I'm me, I know who I am, I'm happy to be here. And I'm not that old! Knowing myself and being myself, I haven't been that for many years. I been on the earth twice as long as I've known myself."

This clarity, RZA explains, came to him at the end of 1997. Coincidentally or not, that was the year Wu-Tang Forever arrived, marking the end of RZA's famously dictatorial—and ultimately successful—"five-year plan" for the group's hip-hop domination. It was also around the time when director Jim Jarmusch began floating the idea of having RZA score his 1999 film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, effectively launching his lauded career as a soundtrack composer. The producer/MC says that the focus and discipline that came with that epiphany have allowed him to tackle myriad projects simultaneously, everything from music to his burgeoning acting career (he's got a significant role in Judd Apatow's new dramedy Funny People) to his WuChess Web site.

Of course, RZA's got a cinematic martial-arts analogy to illustrate this point. "There's a kung-fu movie called The White Lotus, right, and at different times of the day his weak spot was a different location," RZA says. "So if you came and attacked him at 1:00, you had to attack him in his balls. If you come at 3:00, you gotta get him in his forehead. The point of the matter is, throughout the day all of our energies change, and I believe that as an artist, to balance yourself, you gotta find those times when it's best to do different things. As an example, yesterday, the first thing I did was exercise in the morning. And then by midday I started making beats. And then when dusk came and shit, I just started playing a little bit of chess along with my family. And then we did a table read of my new script, and then after that I made some more beats. And then, while everyone was kinda doin' nothing but talking nigga jokes and shit like that, I walked away from the conversation and spent 30 minutes at the piano practicing my scales. If I wanna do all this shit, I gotta practice and train at the right times and make it happen."

Though he's doing solo shows this summer, Wu-Tang Clan still figures prominently in RZA's future recording plans, despite the toxic internal dissent that surrounded 8 Diagrams. Hip-hop headz will recall that some members of the crew wanted to go back to the sparse, hard-hitting, sample-based attack of 36 Chambers rather than follow RZA's recent fascination with elaborate, esoteric soundscapes that often incorporated traditional instruments.

"I think the generation of musicians now has come up with hip-hop all on their brains," RZA explains. "I remember doing interviews in the early '90s, and I was like, 'Hip-hop can't be played by a band.' Nobody could play this shit 'cause they couldn't figure out the off-pitchness, the weird chords. But now they got it to a level where they actually can do it. The funny thing is, on Chamber Music, the same guys who complained the most about [8 Diagrams]—Rae and Ghost—are all over the album rhyming over live instruments."

From RZA's perspective, that whole bitter episode is a thing of the past, and the Wu brotherhood is intact. These days, digs are delivered with far less venom. "Raekwon seen me the other day at Rock the Bells, and he's chillin' with the nice clothes, the nice jewelry, lookin' cool. And there comes RZA, nappy Afro and an army suit on, so he was like, 'You're on some G.I. Joe shit, nigga!' Muthafucking right, nigga, that's exactly what I'm on. But don't sleep on what I do, everything I do. Watch me. I'm on time with the world and pop culture."

Atmosphere aiming for the stratosphere

by SARAH HOYE

Never mind the struggling economy. Whatever life gives them, one Midwest hip-hop duo is making lemonade.

"We have no idea that there is a recession going on," said Slug (a k a Sean Daley), one half of Atmosphere, during a recent phone interview from a Chicago parking lot. "We're doing better now than ever. Maybe we are an enigma, or maybe people should consider going independent."

The Minneapolis emcee recently wrapped up a European tour and a few music festivals Stateside with bandmate and DJ/producer, Ant (a k a Anthony Davis). For an encore, the guys who put the Twin Cities on the hip-hop map are traversing America on the final leg of their When God Gives You Ugly tour. It stops at St. Petersburg's State Theatre on Saturday.

Labelmates Eyedea & Abilities — who released "By The Throat," their first album in five years, in July — are also on the bill, and could easily show-up the headliners, Slug said.

"For all we know, they might come in and make us look like some preschoolers," he said. "It could go either way. They could add to it or totally blow us away."

Atmosphere may make the indie-label route look easy, but Slug insists success is hard work.

"I'm not stupid. I know that I don't rap as good as some other rappers," he said. "We take what we got and work it. We will sacrifice fun to get the job done."

Sometimes getting the job done includes lifting up and collaborating with artists around you. Since joining forces in 1993, Atmosphere has worked with and promoted other emcees and turntablists who they forged friendships with and respected as artists.

"Truth be told, when we started out we didn't know what to envision. We never could have looked five years ahead," Slug said. "We put music out for people who we cared for as people, but as it grew we took that same model and applied it."

The formula works.

Today they continue to own their own indie record label, Rhymesayers, with more than a dozen artists. The label signed Grammy-winning rapper and producer Michael "Evidence" Perretta this summer.

As for their own musical output, Atmosphere has released six studio albums, including last year's "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That S*** Gold."

No matter how much success the duo tastes, Slug remains steadfast in his commitment to give whatever he can back to the hip-hop community.

"Literally, KRS One and Chuck D saved my life. I am forever indebted to those dudes, and to this culture for the direction it sent me," Slug said. "And for that I will always be a student of this."

LA COKA NOSTRA RECRUITS THE ALCHEMIST

JR & PH7 - Top Rank (feat. Black Milk & Guilty Simpson)

Wu Tang Lego

Wu-Tang Lego: Da Mystery of Chessboxin' from davo on Vimeo.

Blazed & Confused Tour 2009

Snoop Dogg, who will spend the first two weeks of May on the road with his crew in support of his forthcoming album, "Malice in Wonderland," considers Slightly Stoopid "his nephews," musically speaking, according to a press release.
"Ya'll just make sure ya'll tune in because Snoop Dogg and Slightly Stoopid, we gonna be rippin', rockin', flippin', floppin', hippin' and hoppin' in a 'hood near you," the rapper said in a statement.
Reggae-influenced punk-rockers Slightly Stoopid embarked on their first headlining run of US amphitheaters last summer and will continue supporting their 2008 album, "Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid," this go-round. The record, which marks the group's ninth release, includes outtakes, rarities and "brand new studio joints," according to the band's website.
Stephen Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, dropped his solo debut, "Mind Control," in 2007 and watched it climb to the top of Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart. His first single from the effort, "The Traffic Jam," was later remixed by Snoop Dogg and dubbed the "Traffic Main Answer."

Evidence backstage @ Rock The Bells

Beastie Boys feat Nas New Track

This track came off of their newly postponed album Hot Sauce Committee


Link

Gloves off MC Battle

DJ Quik and Kurupt: the future sound of hip-hop

Does hip-hop need saving? It's a question that is asked each year. The latest attempt to throw down the gauntlet came courtesy of Jay-Z, who decried the "softening" of the genre in Death of Auto-Tune. The single fell flat for a number of reasons, partly because it was the sound of a man buying too fully into his position as an elder statesman of the genre, forgetting how he built his own career on production gimmicks. Not only did Death of Auto-Tune come off like a grandfather shaking his walking stick at kids messing up his lawn, but the song's vision was so underwhelmingly small. Jay-Z devoting a lead single to bitching about a production trend is more of an indictment of hip-hop than any number of T-Pain hits.

However, there was a kernel of truth in his premise. The genre is in as rude health as ever, if you look in the right places. Southern-rap pioneers UGK's final album, UGK 4 Life, for example, is a record that is by turns thoughtful and exuberant, a fitting memorial to the deceased Pimp C. And there are up-and-coming talents such as Gucci Mane (goofy charm and deceptively clever rhymes), Pill (gritty tales of Atlanta life) and Nicki Minaj (clipped precision meets surrealist similes). But equally, there is a lot about mainstream hip-hop that is increasingly wearying. From unimaginative grabs for crossover success to the disproportionate hype around soft-serve hipster rappers with little to say and no compelling way to say it, such as Charles Hamilton and Wale.

This is why an album like DJ Quik and Kurupt's BlaQKout is so refreshing. Almost entirely unanticipated by critics and tastemakers, it's the dash of cold water in the face that Jay-Z so dearly wanted to provide, the antithesis of every major-label album bloated and blighted with trend-jacking crossover attempts and senseless guest appearances. Clocking in at just 40 minutes, it's a tight, fat-free, perfectly sequenced exercise in discipline that starts out jaw-dropping and, if anything, gets progressively more outré. Each of its 11 tracks blows your mind with a minimum of fuss: there are no attention-seeking gimmicks on BlaQKout, merely immense amounts of creativity and cojones.

Abstract Rude - Thynk Eye Can f. Aceyalone & Myka 9

New Video by abrude, this mans grind is amazing.

Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz Preps Solo Debut

"This solo record isn't a matter of being unhappy with Jedi Mind Tricks or me needing to satisfy my ego," he said via statement. "It's just an artistic challenge that I've wanted to tackle for awhile now and the timing is right."

The album will be released this year through Enemy Soil but no finalized release date has been established as of yet. His first single, "Drag You to Hell" is already out. Paz is currently on tour with his group JMT's Hell Awaits Tour with Esoteric and Reef the Lost Cause.

Kid Cudi, Common, Lady Gaga, Kanye West Make Her Say Music Video

Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch Diagnosed with Cancer

Jedi Mind Tricks in Las Vegas

Blast from the past ya'll! Jedi Mind Tricks was in Vegas last year and I caught this video of Jus Allah rejoining the crew!