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"
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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...
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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...
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Buckshot and 9th
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 9th
Wonder. At the time, Duck Down was down
and out, and Dru knew that getting a contemporary hero like 9th 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 9th on More...
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After 25
years in the game, a living legend returns to hold down the Festival.
For the
third straight year legendary VJ and Hip-Hop pioneer Ralph McDaniels will serve
as host of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival.
Uncle Ralph, as he is also affectionately known, has been hosting the Brooklyn
Hip-Hop Festival since it moved to Empire
Fulton Ferry
State Park in 2006. More
than just a host Ralph has been an ambassador for the Festival. "A student
of Hip-Hop will know that you cannot underestimate the importance of Ralph
McDaniels and Video Music Box. He saw the need to archive and document our
culture before MTV, and before YouTube. Without him I am not sure Hip-Hop as an
art form or as a business would be the multi- billion dollar industry that it
is. We are his children and the Festival is a continuation of the trailblazing
spirit manifested by Ralph and all of our other elders," Wes Jackson,
Festival Chair and
Executive
Director.
Uncle Ralph
is also celebrating 25 years of Video Music Box, his groundbreaking music video
show. In the 80's, Video Music Box was the only place to see music videos for
much of New York City.
Before Yo MTV Raps!, or 106th and Park there was one game in town, Video Music
Box. Video Music Box gave Ralph the platform to help launch the careers of Jay
Z, Black Moon, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS ONE, De La Soul, Leaders Of The New
School and more. In addition to continuing to host and produce Video Music Box,
Ralph also hosts "The Bridge" on WNYC. "The Bridge" focuses
on classic videos and interviews from legendary groups and artists.
The
Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival takes place July 10th - 12th Ralph McDaniels will be
hosting the Main Day at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park on July 12th
Tickets are available at Fat Beats NYC, Halcyon in DUMBO, Brooklyn and via www.brooklyn bodega.com, the
Festival's home site.
Currently rated 5.0 by 2 people - Currently 5/5 Stars.
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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...
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Dre |
Monday, June 23, 2008
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...
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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...
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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...
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Check out the new track from Vast Aire "The Man Without Fear".
Vast has a new album coming out called Dueces Wild on June 24.
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