June | 2008 | Amalgam Digital Blog

I’m really like the idea of artists putting out free digital mixtapes to promote themselves. Most of these tapes are good material with borrowed beats. First up is Dom Kennedy (myspace.com/domkennedy) from Leimert Park, California. He has been rapping for about 10 years and says he got his start by carrying the torch from his older relatives and the culture they grew up in. His laid back flow and laid back beat selection makes it for perfect listening on hot summer days which was exactly what I was bumping on my hour commute via Boston’s public transportation to work.

Dom Kennedy’s 25th Hour

Next up is a younger artist by the name of Charles “Sonic the Hedgehog” Hamilton. He’s got DJ Green Lantern, which is one of my most admired mixtape DJs (because he actually DJs), hosting and mixing the tape. Nothing but good old metaphors littered throughout the tape, but he claims that he is not like Lupe Fiasco because you can understand his shit. I doubt hes coming at one of my favorite lyricists of all time, but theres truth in that, hes a little dumbed down version that you can just listen to straight thru and get what hes saying.

Charles Hamilton’s Outside Looking 

Charles Hamilton, The Game, and Kanye West Freestyle

"East, Midwest, West pt. 1"

Last night I was searching for some old school rap videos on YouTube. Today, we're spoiled being able to search for videos at the drop of a "left-click." Back in the day, hip hop fans had to hope and pray in front of their TVs in hopes to see videos from their favorite artists to be aired on rap video shows, especially the rare ones from underground hip hop artists. BET's and Much Music's show Rap City, Yo! MTV Raps, Pump It Up in (LA), The Box, Uncle Ralph's Video Music Box (NYC), and late night local public access shows airing these videos were like major events, with our VCR's "record" and "play" buttons pressed, and "pause" to edit the commercials and wack videos for your own VHS-recorded compilation. Videos from that time were like comic books or toys that hip hop heads traded, and also helped us figure out a true head’s knowledge and tastes. Some of these videos clips are really bootleg from their home-made editing, which makes them even more vintage artifacts.
Some of you reading this were either in kindergarten or elementary school when Arsenio Hall was at the top of the late night world in the early 90s. Aside from video shows, performing on his show made bonafide stars out of many of hip hop legends, and was integral in bringing rap music to mainstream audiences. This clip was from his last show in 1994, and hip hop's elite at that time gave him a memorable sendoff. This is the ultimate impromptu posse cut. The lineup freestyling in this is classic!

Trends of Culture were a group that had the early 90s East Coast that made you bang your head to their hard-thumping, boom-bap sound. If you're a fan of old mixed tapes and East Coast hip hop from that era, I'm sure you've heard this song maybe once or twice. OFF…and…ON!! [more]

Ok, surely Hammer was deemed as a sellout by many of his hip hop peers and fans. But this clip was from a time when Hammer was a respected hip hop artist in the late 80s when he first came out with his first album Let's Get It Started. You'll get a kick out of the dance moves in this. Not one of my favorite videos per se, but this was funny to watch in retrospect the days of when lycra biker shorts, steel-toe shoes, and pleated pants were cool. Like the name of this song, the hype man helps “pump it up” with comical and obnoxious screaming at Hammer and his dancers. (LOUDERRRRRRR!!!)

Ultramagnetic MC's was the legendary Bronx group that arguably wrote the blueprint for the subgenre of underground hip hop. Rising out of the late 80s amidst tongue-and-cheek and political rap tunes, their offbeat rhyme cadences, ultra-lyrical styles, and crazy performance antics was unheard of at the time. Their videos were no different. This video is for the song "Raise It Up" off their last album The Four Horseman with all four original members. This is back when it was cool to jump around with your posse in front of a fire-burning garbage can in the cold at night, almost as if “keeping’ it real” meant looking hardcore with hoodies, Timberland boots, and damn-near homeless. Being that Wild Pitch just re-released their catalog, they owe us a check for posting this!

Hello friends!  How are you?  If you’re at all like me, sometimes rap music
can be confusing.  I have spent many
sleepless nights trying to comprehend some of the lyrics of my favorite hip
hoppity songs.  Fortunately for all of us,
some benevolent angelperson decided to put together a list of
easy-to-understand charts and graphs that just make everything so much easier!  Yahoo!

[more]

Isn’t this super duper helpful?!?!?

Please, thank the kind souls at http://www.jamphat.com/rap/
for this rap song simplifier.

Buckshot and 9^th
Wonder / The Formula (Duck Down) 

Author’s Note: The following review appeared in the May
2008 issue of The Source.  However,
although I attempted to reward The Formula with 4 mics, my editors thought
differently, and instead gave it 3.5 mics. 
I’m still cool with my people at The Source, but I did want to make it
clear that the version of this review that ran in the magazine was tweaked to
make it less glowing.  This was
especially embarrassing since the new Rick Ross album appeared in the same
Record Report, also bringing in 3.5 mics. 
As far as I’m concerned, if Rick Ross earned 3.5 mics, then Buck and
Ninth deserved 5.  Anyway – here’s my
review in its original form:

A few years ago
Duck Down Records co-owner Dru Ha cold called North Carolina chipmunk soul maestro 9^th
Wonder.  At the time, Duck Down was down
and out, and Dru knew that getting a contemporary hero like 9^th to
kick his artists some beats could help them secure a new distribution deal. 

As Dru had hoped,
Boot Camp’s ensuing Durham
field trips resuscitated the label.  In
addition to the horn-pumped soul candy that Sean Price and Smif-N-Wessun walked
away with, Duck Down’s North Carolina
sessions yielded Chemistry – a full
album with 9^th on [more] every beat and Buckshot clocking mic duties.  But while their debut project was better in
theory than in execution, the pair’s formulaic follow-up suggests that their
creative connection has since evolved. 

Buckshot excels
over the type of raw and dusty vinyl jacks that 9^th was famous for
unearthing with Little Brother, and on The
Formula Boot Camp’s BDI Thug competently rides wholesome rhythms.  Tracks such as “Only For You” and “No Future”
showcase the most mature thematic content of Buckshot’s career, while cuts like
“Here We Go” prove that the little man is still smooth enough to sweet talk his
way behind an Amish virgin’s panties. 

There’s not a
single weak song on this album, beginning with the cherubic reggae-tweaked
“Intro” and ending with the nostalgic Motown-touched “Man Listen.”  That said; fans need not listen further than
track two for The Formula’s
resounding message: it’s a “Brand New Day,” and Buckshot woke up on the right
side of the brain.

Honestly, I hate to admit it but I’m kinda siding with Soulja Boy more than Ice-T on this one. Although Soulja Boy could’ve gone about it in a little bit more of a mature, he definitely drops some real talk at the end of his tirade. Ice-T is not just going around complaining about the Golden Age, but making personal attacks towards another individual instead of working on making positive changes himself. I also gotta cite a video blog that Bow Wow put up about haters:

Instead of wasting your time complaining about others you should be doing something! Kanye West also sides with Soulja Boy in his latest blog entry:

“Soulja boy is fresh ass hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is sposed to be. He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song. He had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep [more] it real rappers that ain't even relevant, recycling samples trying to act like it's 96 again and all they do is hate on new shit? Niggas always talk about the golden age but for a 13 year old kid, this is the golden age!!! That song was so dope cause everything he said had a hidden meaning… that's Nas level shit… he just put it over some steel drums which is also some Nas shit if you had the 2nd album cassette with the bonus track "Silent Murder" on it. In closing… new niggas get ya money$$$$$$$$$$ Keep this shit fresh and original…. ain't no fuckin' rules to this shit and that's what real hip hop is to me.”

Now I agree with most of that up to the part where he compares Soulja Boy to Nas. That’s just trifling Yeezy! I think the biggest thing that Soulja Boy brings to hip-hop is most definitely NOT his lyrical talent, but he does bring back the fun aspect that was so celebrated in the Golden Age and the entrepreneurial spirit of making shit happen for yourself. Other than that, his music is garbage.

Ice-T’s Initial Attack:

Soulja Boy’s Response:

Ice-T and his Son’s Response:

Why hello there, my name is Dre and I am the most recent
face of the Amalgam Digital bloggers. If you look to the right hand side of your
screen you can scan over my bio and get to know a little bit about me. Recently
I had a great opportunity to interview Doug Cohen the president of the Flud
watch line. Check them out!

 Doug is a down to earth guy and very true to his
passion. In the past he made a huge impact on the DJ world with his event
TableTurns in NYC. I was very impressed with his story and now he’s brought his
passion into the world of exclusive urban accessories. I happen to have a part
time job at a costume jewelry store and when I first looked over the line I was
pleasantly surprised to see that this stuff is fresh and nothing like you’ve
ever seen before. His top seller the TableTurns named after his popular DJ get
together is one of the most attractive. If I was a DJ I would be running my ass
down to Karmaloop to get one asap, it’s a [more] perfect complement to the profession.
To take it all one step further every watch is under a Benjamin. I’m sure in
this state of the economy most of us can’t just go out and blow our wallets on a
Movado or Rolex. If you can, do you have a girlfriend?

I’m sure you’re wondering…well if it’s under a hundred
bucks the  quality probably isn’t that great…as was I, but after the
interrogation Doug assured me the quality is prime and that all of those watch
companies out there just like to nickel and dime. Flud just wants everyone to
have an equal opportunity at looking fly. Hey.. can’t complain with
that. 

Check Out Doug Cohen Keeps The Tables Turning with
Flud in the Amalgam Digital Interview section.

*Dre*~    

Before
Sean Paul became the international mainstream's poster boy for dancehall music,
those of you who grew up during the early to mid-90s may remember there was a
dancehall king named Supercat that tore up the hip hop scene. He was loved by
hardcore hip hop fans for his lightning-quick delivery, roughneck-rudeboy
style, bombastic bass-heavy tunes, and by women for his boyish, gentleman-like
looks. The deejay ("MC" in dancehall music) was a forerunner in a
fleet of artists, including as Shabba Ranks, Inner Circle, Chaka Demus, Patra, and Mad
Cobra, who were integral to dancehall and reggae music's explosion into the
mainstream during the decade. Arguably, the careers of a then-upstart named
Biggie Smalls and former-Uptown exec Sean "Puffy" Combs benefited
tremendously and took off from Supercat's success in the hip hop and dancehall
scene in the early 90s. In 1993, Combs had just started Bad Boy Records and was
featured with then-upstart Biggie Smalls on the song "Dolly My Baby"
(remix). (Side note: Diddy sounds really
corny and weird with his attempted hardcore-raspy voice to match his fellow rap
peers of the day)  Also, Biggie's
verse also his one of his first few ever released on record.Combs used his and
Biggie's verses to advertise [more] Combs' new company. (Sidenote: the other rapper on the track is Scoob. Where's he been?
Probably working with Brooklyn troubled teens
and making gospel songs at the local A.M.E. church. Nuff respect Scoob!)   

If you
are too young to remember Supercat from his heyday in the early 90s, then you
may remember him from his collaboration with Sugar Ray in their 1995 smash hit
"Fly." Ever since the success of that single, where has Supercat
been? The last time I spotted the 90s "Don Dada" of dancehall was in
a 112 video for a song in which they tried to ride the coattails of Sean Paul's
success. They featured Supercat for their aimlessly attempted dancehall-style
song in the early 00s (I can't remember
the name of the song, which is a great example of how forgettable it was).
If you saw the video and have music industry knowledge, you would have figured
that perhaps 112 didn't have the budget money to pay for a top-selling
dancehall artist to collaborate during their label contract dispute between Bad
Boy and Def Jam.
I guess they had to resort to the dancehall has-been for some credibility for
their attempt to stay relevant in the game at the time. It's a shame that they
had to get Supercat to resemble and sound like Sean Paul, and Sean Paul pretty
much owes mounds of respect and artistic debt to Supercat for his own success.
Yet, I digress. Just for that, for all you 00s-decade high school graduates
that may have never heard of him, I'm giving Supercat the props he damn well
deserves. So if you know about this man, and you're a Gen Y-er like me, then
take it back to your junior high school dance days, have a ginger beer, and do
the butterfly dance to Supercat's all-time banger "Ghetto Red Hot."  All
o' the massive, Ahhhh rudebwooyyyyy SINNN!

Supercat:

Dolly My Baby

Ghetto Red Hot

[Editor's note: Unfortunately these youtube links are disabled so we couldn't embed them but they're classic and you should check 'em out] 

Hello my brethren,

How are you? (I hope you’re keeping it funky fresh!). I’m not usually big on nostalgia but it just so happens that I’ve been talking to a lot of old friends recently (going back as far as a 3rd grade crush), and I was thinking it might be appropriate to tell you a little bit about me. Raise your hand if you want to read the random opinions of a complete stranger! (See?) So let’s get to know each other. I was born in Ireland, but my dad’s job is crazy so I ended up living in England, California, and Singapore. I didn’t live in Ireland long enough to pick up the sweet accent, so I have been mildly bitter for about as long as I can remember. In 7th grade, I became profoundly self conscious about my love of Blink 182, and somehow that led to me becoming obsessed with Rahzel from The Roots. If you don’t know, Rahzel is the reason for living and the only indisputable evidence towards the existence of god.
Please listen to this, this is one of the craziest beatboxes I have ever heard (DJ’s vs. Beatboxers). I literally listened to this song multiple times a day for over a year straight. I think it may part of the reason why I rock so hardcore. (Rahzel VS DJ Skribbles)

[more] 
Because beat boxing holds a special place in my heart, I need to put up a few more that set my heart aflutter.
(Beatbox Recipe)

(If Your Mother Only Knew)

Thanks for listening baby birds, I will regurgitate more good stuff for you same time next week.

Be well,

Conor