He’s one of the most revered identities in the American hip hop scene, as a crucial member of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. He is Ghostface Killah, and he’s finally heading to Australia for his first ever antipodean tour!
Hailing from New York’s Staten Island, Ghostface took his moniker from the villain in seminal kung-fu film Ninja Checkmate, and early in his career was never be seen without a mask covering his face (so the story goes, he was concealing his identity as he was wanted by the police).
As well as featuring on Wu-Tang’s seminal 1993 album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Ghostface has also maintained a healthy career as a solo artist, dropping his first album Iron Man in 1996 and more recently The Big Doe Rehab in 2007.
For his debut visit down under, Ghostface Killah will be joined by fellow Theodore Unit artists Wigs, Trife, Du Lilz and DJ J-Love:
Tue Jun 23 – Adelaide, HQ Wed Jun 24 – Sydney, The Forum Thu Jun 25 – Melbourne, The Espy Fri Jun 26 – Perth, Metropolis Sun Jun 28 – Brisbane, The Step Inn Wed Jul 1 – Byron Bay, Beach Hotel
##Read lyrics before watching the video clip## Imagine it's one of those "read before scrolling down" type email forwards! ;) And watch the whole clip.... Trust me it's worth it!
[Chorus] I can't wait I can't wait 'til you get old enough I'm being patient But I can't wait 'til you get old enough So I can cutcha' So I can cutcha' up
You look so young But still look good The way the sun is shining on you And I would if I could Try to take a little piece of you and break you off But you're not quite ready I got to hold steady And try to control myself Cause if I start on you now there'll be nothing left I can't help it I guess it's just the way you smell You're growing up fast and quite well You're looking kind of thirsty Let me give you some water But not too much You know what? We oughtta Just move And get away from it all Cause if people see us together You know that they'll call the laws And try to keep us apart It's you and me from the start You got the key to my heart You taste sweet yet tart When I hit it But right now I can't get it But when you come of age We'll go our separate ways
[Chorus]
Some folks think I ain't right They try to label me But I can't wait to lay you on the table see When I'm in the mood I think of you Wishing that I can hold you while I drink a brew It's true a love like this never exists long As soon as you get grown I know you're gonna get gone In the wind somewhere But that's how life goes But for now let's take picture together uhh.. nice pose I'm tired of hiding I want everybody to see How we get along so happily You and me Need to go somewhere where the penalty lessens When they something like you in my possession I could leave you alone But I wouldn't feel right And if they lock me up for it We'll be still tight I know you can't write But I'll be back To pull you by the hairs and lay you in the sack
Oddisee's new Hip Hop Supergroup... Production bangs on a few beats, namely the title track. When is the day when Oddisee starts getting some shine for his beats i don't know?!?
He's back. After years and years (and years) of false starts and delays, our man Maxwell will finally drop a new album in 2009. Exhibit A is the official first single, "Pretty Wings," which was released online by Columbia Records this morning. The official release date for BLACKsummers’night, which will be Maxwell's fourth studio album (and first in eight long years), isn't until July 7, 2009. But judging by the first single, it'll be worth the wait. "It’s about the last relationship I had," Maxwell said about the song during a recent interview. "How you meet the person of your dreams but at the wrong time ... the song is a testament to what I wanted to say and say, to her."
Melbourne boy Daniel Merriweather has released the video for his first single of his debut album. I actually heard about this via Samantha Ronson's Twitter. Word to social media. Apparently dude did a duet with Adele too. Keen as on this album. This joint should smash it. It's essentially Brit-Pop but a real smart move for a first single.
Pro Juice is a weekly presenter driven online portal and television series about music, video and multimedia for ‘guerrilla producers’ that want to make, distribute and market their media. An ever expanding demographic, ranging from industry professionals to the legions of creative types who dabble in all forms of digital media.
Informative? Yes. Boring? No!
Pro Juice is fast paced, shoot from the hip, music video style programming. Professionally produced, but alternatively ‘pro-juiced’, original stories cut hard to provide informative and entertaining viewing. With a high use of bold design and new music, Pro Juice visually and sonically represents the medium it is dissecting.
Pro Juice is presented by energetic, creative and arguably humorous, music producer, Arlo Enemark. A natural entertainer and expressive speaker, he guides viewers through the various feature segments, interviews and tutorials.
Man... it may look like all we post about Drake a lot on themovementfam.com blog, but the dude just keeps poppin' up in the news!!
Drizzy Drake is making his name more recognized as days pass. He's been garnering attention, respect and accolades recently, and it seems that the future looks bright for the young, Young Money star, who is already rumored to be working with Just Blaze and Jay-Z. (Just between you and me, I'm a bit stiff in my pants...pause..)
In a recent interview with Joe Budden for JoeBuddenTV, Drake spoke up about disses and more.
After saying he was humbled by recent success, he added that he could not believe what he has achieved.
"I never thought it would come this far," he noted. Later, he added that he would never diss other emcees.
"Diss me, you'll never get a reply," he noted, saying he would never disrespect another emcee on wax.
He went on to address rumors of a beef brewing with Kid Cudi.
"They keep trying to create a problem between me and Cudi. I love that guy, man...I listen to his music."
Drake's success has taken off so much that he recently sold out a May 2, 2009 Atlanta show in just five hours. Courtesy of HipHopDx.com
Pure raw rhyming. It's hard not to appreciate such a long winding, rare breath paused verbal barrage that Cappadonna served up here in the classic 96' 'Ironman' album. Being lyrical doesn't always mean you have to drop knowledge, concept or cultured vocabulary. Sometimes the beauty of rhyming can be best seen in it's most simple form. 'Winter Warz' verse by the cab-driving Cappa aint' pretty, it's straight from the Staten Island ghetto. Check the hostility....
You heard of the rasp before but kept waitin for the sun of song, I keep dancehalls strong Beats never worthy of my cause, I prolong Extravangza, time sits still No propoganda, be wary of the skill As I bring forth the music, make love to your eardrum Dedicated to rap nigga beware of the fearsome Lebanon Don, Malcolm X beat threat CD massacre, murder to cassette I blow the shop up, you ain't seen nuttin yet One man ran, tryin to get away from it Put your bifocal on, watch me a-cometh into your chamber like Freddy enter dream Discombumberate your technique and your scheme Four course applause, like a black dat to dat You're stuck on stupid like I'm stuck on the map Nowhere to go except next show bro Entertainin motherfuckers can't stop O in battlin, you don't want me to start tattlin All upon the stage cause y'all snakes keep rattlin Bitch, you ain't got nothin on the rich Every other day my whole dress code switch So just in case you want to clock me like Sherry All y'all crab bitches ain't got to worry Can't get a nigga like Don dime a dozen Even if I'm smoked out I can't be scoped out I'm too ill, I represent Park Hill See my face on the twenty dollar bill Cash it in, and get ten dollars back The fat LP with Cappachino on the wax Pass it in your think, put valve up to twelve Put all the other LP's back on the shelf And smoke a blunt, and dial 9-1-7 1-6-0-4-9-3-11 And you could get long dick hip-hop affection I damage any MC who step in my direction I'm Staten Island's best son fuck what you heard Niggaz still talkin that shit is absurd My repotoire, is U.S.S.R. P.L.O. style got thrown out the car and ran over, by the Method Man jeep Divine can't define my style is so deep like pussy, my low cut fade stay bushy like a porcupine, I part backs like a spine Cut you like a blunt and reconstruct your design I know you want to diss me, but I can read your mind Cuz you weak in the knees, like SWV Tryin to get a title like Wu Killa Bee Kid change your habit, you know I'm friends with the Abbott Me and RZA ridin name printed in the tablet under vets, we paid our debts for mad years Hibernate the sound, and now we out like beers and blunt power, born physically power speakin The truth in the song be the pro-black teachin
Holy shit... I NEVER thought I'd see the day this dude would be on a show like this.... WTF!!!
Lil' Wayne sits down with the ladies of The View yesterday to talk about his childhood, tattoos (Can I read your face for a second? haha), his education, kids, drugs, his new album Rebirth and more. At the end he performs Prom Queen.
Wanna hear the best news I've heard in a hot minute???
Redman released his debut, Whut? Thee Album in 1992, while his partner in rhyme, Method Man, dropped Tical two years later. Well aware of how much things can change over the course of 15 plus years, the duo talked about appealing to a generation of fans who might have been infants when they first debuted.
"We're maturing,"Redman recently told the New York Daily News. "We evolved and learned a lot more from when we dropped the first album. And the shit we did in the 90's we can't do now."
Red described Blackout 2, which drops May 19, as a blend of old and new school. After releasing the singles "Ayo" [click to watch] and "Mrs. International," [click to listen] Method Man expressed his hopes for the group's sophomore effort.
"Honestly, I just want this [album] to be heard," Method Man explained. "That's all. If you listen to the song that we're doing for the video right now, it's like, ‘Is this a Redman and Method Man song?' It doesn't seem like we would ever make a song like this."
Despite having his feathers ruffled by an earlier Daily News report that he got high and forgot to pay his taxes [click to read], Meth says he and his partner also have plans to move forward with a follow up to the movie How High.
"We're pressing forward with 'How High 2,'"Redman said. "We shot the first one way under budget. We gave them money back and shot extra scenes! And the movie made money! So I don't know why they ain't giving us another shot. I'm about to go get $20 more million and shoot it myself."
Having seen D-12’s rift with Royce Da 5’9”, and David Ruffin’s with The Temptations before them, if you want to take the historical approach, break ups are nothing new to Slum Village. While they never officially broke up, the death of J Dilla and Baatin’s bout with schizophrenia prevented the group from making an album with all four members of what is arguably Motown’s longest tenured Hip Hop outfit. But, even after a hiatus of over three years, each member will tell you that the mutual love and respect is still there.
T3 has witnessed the ups and downs from day one. During a conversation with HipHopDX covering the many peaks and valleys of Slum Village, he explains how his crew has turned tragedy into a catalyst for creating what may be their best work yet.
HipHopDX: How far along is the album, and is there a release date? T3: There is a tentative due date for about June or May. The album is done for the most part. The music is a lot bigger and the lyrics are a lot better. It was mixed like that, and everything has that big sound. It’s still got some soul to it. It’s called Village Manifesto, and what we’re really trying to say is…I don’t know. We really talk about a lot. I really feel niggas stepped up their lyrical game.
One of the things we talk about it what’s going on in the economy. We had to address that even though we took our own approach. We’re really addressing what goes on in our everyday lives and what we’ve been doing in the last three-and-a-half years. People are wondering, “What y’all doing? Where y’all been?” They might have seen me doing something and Baatin and Elzhi doing something else, so we talk about that on the album. We also had a little bit of fun, ‘cause ‘Tin brought that fun factor back.
DX: So the rumor is that you guys worked with Focus and Marsha Ambrosius from Aftermath on the single? T3: Yeah that’s true, and it came out lovely.
DX: Were you planning on that, or was it another collaboration spawned by CalTroit? T3: You know, that Cali and Detroit connection has been going on for a minute. You can go back to “Forth and Back,” where Dilla was at the forefront of that. We’ve just been keeping it going since then.
DX: The industry is in a completely different space now, and the recession doesn’t help. What platform will this be released on? T3: If I had to guess, I would say mostly digital. But I don’t have no set details. We’ll let the label work out what they work out, and then go from there. It ain’t really about putting records in stores no more. That’s kinda old school, and most of the stuff is online anyway. I know I buy my stuff online unless I’m digging for old, old vinyl.
Majors are falling apart as we speak. There’s probably another 300 job layoff happening somewhere right now. We’ve got a strong enough fan base to push the music, so people can just be ready for whatever platform it comes out on.
DX: From an artistic standpoint, things are also going digital with a lot of Electronica and Auto-Tune being incorporated… T3: Yeah, but we always had a digital sound. Coming from Detroit, we always had that Techno vibe. So we always put a little bit in there, but we didn’t do a 180 and go strictly digital. We still try to keep it Soul, because I feel there’s a lane open to do what we do.
At the end of the day, I feel Slum Village always made good, lady-pleasing records. That means we know how to make a good single. We’ve got the kind of music that can touch a lot of folks, and it’s time for us to come back to the forefront.
DX: In line with that, do you think people will finally figure out what the Slum Village lane is? You guys talk about some grimy stuff sometimes, but you’re always lumped in with more “conscious” groups. T3: Yeah, but most of our boys are on that conscious tip…I guess you could say that. The music sounds like that, but lyrically we’ve always had a street edge to our music. We’re kind of the black sheep of that group. I don’t ever remember Slum Village doing a political song. But as long as you’re digging the music, I don’t care.
DX: T3 and Baatin went to school together, and Elzhi and T3 allegedly hooked up a management agreement over a slice of pizza. Do you think meeting in that organic sort of fashion plays a part in your longevity? T3: I think it does. Through the years, our chemistry together…we’ve been building this thing for a minute. We’ve been adding pieces to our Voltron for quite some time now. I feel like it’s getting stronger. The Detroit movement is getting stronger, and we’re just making great music. There’s a lot of cats doing their thing, and I feel like we started that. We’re at the forefront of that, and it’s something we’re just gonna keep pushing in the name of Dilla and Proof.
DX: In regards to your Voltron analogy, did pursuing solo projects change your approach to working together? T3: Yeah, it’s much different from when you’re doing your own thing. We’ve just been grinding, and it’s been a long time since we’ve come out with a record. It’s had to have been at least three-and-a-half years now. When I go off and do my Night Gallery project, which is still not out yet, that just enhances our skills for when we come back. When Elzhi goes off and does Witness My Growth or The Preface, it’s the same thing. When we come back, it allows us to bring more to the table when we combine as a unit.
And just bringing ‘Tin back is what really excites me about this new Slum Village album. Having Baatin back brings that rambunctious energy and that character that Slum had been missing. That’s really changed our perspective on how we did this album.
DX: I wanted to get in to that, because there were obviously some things said back and forth on the two albums he wasn’t on… T3: I can never get mad at ‘Tin! Baatin was dealing with some issues, but you’ll never hear me lashing back at him on any interview. And you never heard El lash out at him on any interview either. That’s just ‘Tin, and he’ll always be a part of the group. Even when he ain’t a part of the group, he’s a part. That’s just history, man. He’s always gonna be a part of what Slum Village stands for. I mean…
DX: True, but even families have their fights from time to time. Was there ever a point where you had to sit down together and address everything that happened? T3: Yeah, but it wasn’t even like that. It was more like, “‘Tin ain’t been doing nothing. I really want to see this brother come out and do his thing.” He worked on a couple projects here and there. But I felt like I wouldn’t have wanted us to do this album without Baatin. We talked about doing an album with me, ‘Tin, Dilla and El, but it never came about. So when Dilla passed, it was like, “Well, we gotta have ‘Tin as a part of the next Slum record.” And now we’re even incorporating Illa J as a part of this album too. I think we’re all family, and we’ve all come together to make great music.
DX: Not too harp on the subject of Baatin’s hiatus, but there’s a stigma in the Hip Hop community as far as dealing with mental and physical issues. Having been through Baatin's schizophrenia and Dilla's death, does that change your personal outlook? T3: Yeah, sadly that’s something that happens sometimes. People go through things, and most people don’t talk about it. We put it out there, especially El when he did “Reunion.” We just tell people the situations we’re dealing with, and we didn’t want people to be in the dark. I would never kick Baatin out of the group or anything like that. He was dealing with some issues, and he’s better now, so let’s make music. That’s all it boils down to.
DX: You brought up lyricism earlier, and there are two schools of thought about how you guys spit. Your detractors label you inferior lyricists, while fans call it a different style that uses the voice more as an instrument with different cadences. At any point did you feel compelled to step up the lyrics? T3: [Laughs.] No. I feel like people as a whole…we stepped the lyrics because that’s what we felt like. But I don’t ever want to pigeonhole Slum Village like, “Oh we gotta be the lyrical kings!” Nah, that’s not really what we’re about. We’re just about making great songs. If you want to go lyrical, we know Elzhi can just about eat up anybody by himself. He was that addition we decided to bring to Slum Village. But I don’t need that same judgment for Baatin or me, because you may not understand the creative stuff that we do. Baatin also sings, and I make beats and write a lot of the hooks.
When you think of emcees, you just think of rapping in front of a mic, and I’m more of a producer myself. I like to put the picture together, and Baatin is more of a character. He’ll give you different pieces with the way he does voices and adds visuals. A lot of people don’t understand that, or maybe they don’t even care about it, but it all forms together. I just think people need to quit judging things thinking, “This is how an emcee is supposed to rap,” or “This is what a rapper is supposed to do.” I guess that’s the nature of the game, so we’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing. There’s always gonna be somebody with something to say, so we ain’t really trippin’.
DX: So with these different elements you all bring to the table, how does it work when it’s time to hit the lab and make tracks? T3: Most of the time, me and Young RJ put down the foundation. Young RJ has always been a part of our movement since Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 2, because he grew up with us as a lad. [Laughs] It could be us two, or Kareem Riggins or whichever producer is handling it. But 85% of the time, I’m the one who starts it off. There’s times when El or ‘Tin has concepts or titles for the album and we usually add those. So I’ll set it off a majority of the time, and ‘Tin will come in and give it that flavor. Then El usually comes in to seal the deal.
DX: Let’s dig into some of the old stories behind Slum Village. Did the group’s name come from Phife Dawg’s verse on “Butter” ? T3: No, that was some dictionary stuff. Me, Wajeed and Dilla were looking for names. We put it together, and it was funny how Phife said it too, but we really didn’t get it from there. It was the first thing we sampled on Fan-Tas-Tic, so we really wasn’t mad about it. Originally we were the Slum Brothers, ‘cause this was when everybody was on the whole peaceful vibe with the African pendants. You remember the necklaces and stuff?
DX: Oh yeah, the leather, African medallions with the patch inside… T3: [Laughs] Yeah, but after that died out, we changed it to Slum Village. So that’s how that started out. But I feel like we are connected with Tribe, because Q-Tip was the first person to put us out there and go on record as endorsing Slum Village. So we’re definitely connected.
DX: True. Moving on to another album, in past interviews, you guys have said that Trinity almost didn’t get made. Considering all the obstacles you had to overcome to put that out, do you think it made you stronger as a group? T3: Hmmm…at the end of the day, I think so. But, if it was up to me, it never would’ve happened. I guess it was meant to happen, because that pressure made me become the leader of Slum Village when I didn’t want to be. It worked for us, and we did three albums after that which were mostly successful. Sometimes you don’t know what God has in store for you, and you just gotta roll with the punches. With that, I just had to man up and Trinity happened. There are a lot of things I hear on Trinity that I loved, and there are other things that have me going, “Ooh, that mix...” I really want to go back and redo Trinity. We can use the same music, but just redo the whole album over. It might happen one day. Believe it or not, that was our most commercially successful album; it sold the most records. It outsold [Fan-Tas-Tic] Vol. 1 and 2, which most people consider classics, so you never know.
DX: Yeah, I think a lot of people were pleasantly surprised with “Tainted” and both versions of “One.” T3: Oh yeah, we had the Dirty District joint. That was me and RJ in the lab making beats again. We did a lot of joints on that Dirty District album. We’re re-releasing that too.
DX: That’s good to know. Unless you’re grabbing it off of the Internet, that’s been hard to find. On a totally unrelated note, what are the chances of getting a big Detroit compilation together with Slum, Black Milk, Royce, Guilty and everyone else? T3: Yeah, I think so man. We’re always on each others' albums, but we haven’t put it all together. Now that everybody is getting their recognition, it’s time for that. We have talked about it. It’s not official yet, but it’s definitely something we’ve thought and talked about. Everybody’s doing their thing and everybody’s got records coming out this year. Since we’re all on the road, we might as well seal the deal on all of that.
It’s just getting people to split that deal. Doing the songs isn’t a problem, but the tour times don’t always match up with everybody on the road. And then, somebody has to take that cut. And in this economy—I don’t know. [Laughs] That’s the only thing slowing that up, so I don’t know about that just yet. Let’s get a couple more dollars, then we can all do it.
DX: Good point. Keeping with our tradition of random, Rap nerd trivia, can you explain the different cameos in the “Climax” video? T3: [Laughs] You know what? Everybody was excited about the album, and they wanted to be in the video. So we figured, “Well we know it’s a girl song, but we’re gonna put you in the video anyway.” That’s what we did, and that’s how we got ?uestlove and everybody else in there. ?uest was like, “Nah man, I don’t wanna get in trouble!” but we got him in there. I don’t know why they didn’t bring everybody into “Raise It Up,” because we shot those right after each other. Since everybody was family, we figured, “Okay let’s do it.”
DX: Between Gary Coleman, Simeon Rice and Saafir, y’all raised a lot of eyebrows. T3:Simeon Rice is kin to the label, he’s literally family. And Saafir? We were big fans of his back in the day.
DX: Word, you guys were up on that Boxcar Sessions album too? T3: Yes, yes, yes. That was like one of my favorite, obscure west coast rappers; he’s definitely one of our favorites. His style was just so different from everybody else’s. Author: Omar Burgess
First up, no homo on the pic. It's all I could find on short notice. Give a mufucka a break. :)
It's been a hectic month or so in The Fam. Bekah has been in and out of hospital (she's all good now), and now the homie DJ Grain is stuck in the hospital in Atlanta with some other shit. Goddamn. Nothing is serious, he's all good, just wanted to shout my boy out and hope you get well soon brother!!
Send some love to Grain by commenting this post, at djgrain1@yahoo.com, or hit up his MySpace (links to your right).
And to top that off, I ain't have the net at home right now (fuck a phone company) so the blog posts are finna be held down by the rest of the crew, yet again. Goddamnit.
The 'Lonely Stoner' comes through with another addition to his classy resume', "Dat Kid from Cleveland" Mixtape. Absolutely insane artwork yo!! Click pics to download.
I'm yet to hear this bad boy, but after I spotted this baby on www.2dopeboyz.com, I had to share :)
Once again, Drizzy & Weezy team up (pause) to bring us yet another extremely dope collabo from "The Carter Meets the Cartel II" due out soon. Looks to be aiiiiight!
As seen on our dude DJ Hyphen's blog, "The Audacity of Dope" www.theaudacityofdope.com, I had to share this 'coz the peoples need to know!!
Watch as T. Dot representative, "Drizzy" Drake don't even sing the hook/s to his mixtape joint smash hit, “Best I Ever Had” in this short clip.. like he has to!! The ladies are goin' bananas and screaming the lyrics throughout, and after Drake's trip to New York City last week, it seems as though he's going to blow the hell up sooner than later for the mainstream world of music. Damn.. lets hope he stays as dope, PLEASE!!
Who can forget the brilliant concept track 'Stray Bullet' featured on Organized Konfusion's second album; ' Stress: The Extinction Agenda, released in 94'. Nas may have created his own more polished 'I Gave You The Power' concept a couple years later, however i always felt there was something decidedly more disturbing and sinister about OK's verses.... "I'm coming for you little girl"
Verse One: Pharoahe Monche
Let the trigger finger put the pressure to the mechanism Which gives a response, for the automatic *bang* Clip to release projectiles in single file forcing me to ignite then travel through the barrel, headed for the light At the end of a tunnel, with no specific target in sight Slow the flow like H2O water Visualize, the scene of a homicide, a slaughter No remorse for the course I take when you pull it The result's a stray bullet Niggaz who knew hit the ground runnin and stay down Except for the kids who played on the playground Cause for some little girl she'll never see more than six years of life, trif-le-ing When she fell from the seesaw But umm wait, my course isn't over Fled out of the other side of her head towards a red, Range, Rover, then I ricochet Fast past a brother's ass, oh damn, what that nigga say 'Aww f**k it', next target's Margaret's face *bang* and I struck it Now it's a flood of blood in circumfrence to her face and an abundance of brains all over the street Shame how we had to meet *bang* Dashin, buckin, greet by f**kin family They follow behind me in a orderly fashion Bashin through flesh I'm wild Crashin through the doors of projects hallways to deflect off of the tile I'm coming for you little girl Once inside I shatter your world Swirl, no more dreams no hopes when I spray You better pray, to the Pope or the Vatican Before I go rat-tat-a-tat again I'm mad again brother somebody's mother will be sad again but, whose blue skies will turn grey from the attack, of the Mac-11, I'm a stray, bullet
Verse Two: Prince Poetry
Gun balls of fire, I'm travelling at higher speeds to proceed to penetrate flesh, hitting the splint after splitting the chest of a Queens fiend Age of pagers shredded to pieces from the Glock 9 and it's hollow tips, it releases the polices in back of the ambulance Blood loss as I shift across your chest Arrest, rupture, I mess up ya, slasher shall I bust ya liver, faster, blood pours *bang* Now it's up to the master, boom, as I crash open the doors Thank me for spraying the operating room The body still consumes me, doc had to remove me Mmm lord, why do they use me? *bang* I'm takin individual for keeps Hobbes so peep the cops, in the ghetto bustin shots for props And when I hit, sh*t *bang bang bang bang* Soon you forgets-me-not Cops tried to explain to his pops what I done I flip up the hollow tipper and I'm not the one And as a human I'm the surprising one Prince Po I flow the ripper, either way you never, ever know how I'm coming Metamorphasizing, rising in turbulence Condensed into a bullet, pull it, now I'm making moves With no sympathizing, uhh, so take a hit nigga, sprint *bang* Onto the scenario, I'm at a party with O A lot of honies parlay and the DJ's playin the Fudge Pudge flow Five niggaz come up in the club for a rub [Yo O peep it, oh sh*t O duck (oh shit!, oh shit!) *pop pop pop pop pop* *woman screams*] Another hit, another struck Here comes Mr. Stray Bullet Five, the tip, getting my jollies from the screams of the ripped in your chest, then I flip Nip your liver, blood flowin like a river Money starts to shiver then I give a delivery of burns Bruises fake shoes is your renaissance No response your moms is out cold Figure I'm bigger takin your heart nigga at twenty years old Stray Bullet
K-Os the constantly evolving rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and all round proprietor of good music has just released his latest album Yes!
While not as commercially accessible as Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, K-Os seems to have dipped back to his hip-hop roots a little more in this release while still keeping the eclectic mix of genre-blending that has helped made a name for himself through his previous releases.
Yes! is more of that K-Os you know and love and if you DON'T know K-Os by now, you may want to contact your local TV station or ISP because there is clearly a problem with the services being provided.
Check out his video for 4,3,2,1:
And peep the stand-out track (in my opinion) I wish I knew Natalie Portman:
OK, Nate Kane AKA Nathan Mathers, brother of Hip Hop star EMINEM has been busted for a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Now, either this is Nate just being Nate or he's trying to pump up his bad boy image in order to further his fledgling career, you know, appeal to those in his target market or pretend audience.
Actually that's not fair, Nate actually has a few tracks out on his MySpace page, he's on Twitter and probably on Facebook too! His stuff is respectable, I mean he's having a go and good on him for trying..although his flow sounds somewhat similar to that of his famous bro, and I suspect their may be some ghost writing coming from big Em himself to add that authenticity. What I really want to hear is the HIP HOP NEPOTISM Unearthed Project, where by all the other non famous, cousins, hangers on and other wanna be Hip Hop stars that have a name to help them platform from..
I see Nate Kane at the top, what we really need is the Donny Wahlberg and Nate Kane remix album with guest spots on the album from Fonsworth Bentley and K Fed (yeah just when you thought it couldn't get any realer, Kendra from Girls At The Playboy Mansion spits a '16' on the bonus track with Joaquin Phoenix!).
That's all for now peeps, stay tuned for the next rant from MiLK!
Keeping things varied as always on The Movement Fam Blog, I stumbled upon this release from MC/Producer Blueprint recently on the web. Posing at first as short 27 minute EP of instrumental B-sides...It proved much more than that.
First a little background on Blueprint, he is the founder and owner of Weightless Recordings and is also signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment. He is one half of the group Soul Position with producer RJD2, and a member of the rap group Greenhouse Effect. He is also a skilled freestyler and came in second place in the Scribble Jam 2000 freestyle competition.
So now to Sign Language, where Blueprint melds some delightful downtempo drums coupled with eclectic jazz & soul samples, guitar riffs, classical piano keys, mexican horns, and everything else under the sun of vinyl!
Look out for his knack for picking a good vocal sample throughout this release. Best highlighted on track 2: 'Time Management Rebuild' where he lays down a beautiful Middle Eastern or possibly Asian female vocal to perfection.
If you appreciate the beauty of a well crafted instrumental with a little more to it than a 9th Wonder beat, or feeling like a bit of change up from the lack of quality new Hip Hop releases in 09 so far, then definitely download this.
Following from The Movement Fam remix competition, the homies Trav Williams and Kevin Nottingham got their Trav Williams/Illmatic remix joint crackin', something which Elzhi recently 'bit' lol. So it's all finished and ready for download, and it's a banger!
Peep the links and info after the jump.
"OK, so I caused a bit of a stir last week with that Trav Williams vs. Elzhi post, but it's all good. IllTravis is officially ready for release.
Over the course of 10 weeks, producers from all across the globe came together to help create a vision... a vision to recreate a classic; to pay homage to *Nas*' 1994 debut album *Illmatic*. *Trav Williams* came to me with this idea in the fall of 2008. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to hold a beat contest on the site and get everyone involved. As one of the five judges, I can say that picking the beats wasn't easy, but in the end I think we all gave Trav some great material to work with. Trav quickly went into the studio and here you have... *IllTravis*.
From Trav: Before anything and above all I got to thank all the winning producers for thier hard work and effort and all the producers that submitted for even trying, you are appreciated. G.C., S.2, DJ Qvali, Tokyo Cigar, JLH, Digivillanous, EvolveAudio & Natown Legend, you are respected.
Now...let me say this; this project ain't about "blowing up" off *Illmatic*; this project ain't about who don't like it; this project ain't about controversy; this project, just like all my shit, ain't about money; this project is something that I been wanting to do since my *Illmatic* tape popped on the school bus on a hot ass day many Mays ago. Realistically, I got a bucket list and this was on it. So I did it and before I grow up too much I hope to check a few more things off the list.
Needless to say, I hope y'all dig it. But I make music for people that want to hear what I want to hear, so if you don't dig it, then you ain't one of them people. But if you dig it, dig it; good look.
Tracklist:
1. The Exodus 2. Meditation [prod by G.C.] 3. Life's The Shit (feat. Pee Duble) [prod by Tokyo Cigar] 4. Mechanics [prod by G.C.] 5. Quarterlife Crisis [prod by Digivillainous] 6. Claustrophobia [prod by JLH] 7. Light it Up [prod by EvolveAudio] 8. Dedicated [prod by DJ Qvali] 9. Bootleg Cable [prod by S.2] 10. Super Ill [prod by S.2] 11. BONUS - Walk Wit Me [prod by Skidmatik] 12. BONUS - Something New [prod by 20 Keys] 13. BONUS - Zoom [prod by Keenan] 14. BONUS - Victory Lap [prod by Keenan] 15. BONUS - Clockwork [prod by G.C.] 16. BONUS - You Gets Done (feat. Pee Duble) 17. BONUS - Nobody Knows Me (feat. K Hill) [prod by Keenan]
On Sunday in Brunswick St, I had the pleasure of running into and hanging with Hugo 1, a very talented and humble MC from the UK, who now resides in Melbourne. We seem to have a few mutual friends and we got talking, great guy. Checked out his MySpace, which has some of his recorded material (Hugo is a predominantly freestyle MC). Peep the videos below - these are all piss takers but they're hilarious, definitely worth a look. Big ups, Hugo!
So, as I said the other day, I managed to catch David Icke live in Melbourne. This is his third trip to Australia, but the first since I've been aware of his work (around 6 years now). The guys at Truth Movement Australia put the show on, and it went very, very well. They're bringing out Peter Joseph (the man behind Zeitgeist) in the near future so we'll keep you posted on that.
David entered the Melbourne Convention Centre around 40mins late to a rapturous applause and standing ovation - I've never seen anything like it. He was even given flowers at one point, which really shows how important his work is to people. His opening comments were classic Icke - he spoke about when he arrived in Australia, he was asked to go to a small room and sign a contract about his 'character' and how he will vouch not to arouse 'discord'. That was the joke of the day, classics.
The day was split into three parts - the first covered the basics of human consciousness and the world we live in, mainly to set up the more meaty parts of his talk. This was brilliant - my favourite part was when he spoke of Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist who had a stroke and her right brain remained conscious. Watch the video below for her amazing story.
David went on to speak about the hierarchy of power, Barack Obama's role in everything, briefly touched on 9/11, and he even went into his infamous reptilian theory, which I love. He was seen off the stage with yet another standing ovation, and I dare say the people of Australia would welcome him back any day. Click on any of the images to go to David's website to read more about his work.
I was lucky enough to get to see David Icke live in Melbourne yesterday (hence no blog post). Wow. It was amazing, just as expected. David's infectious energy and passion for his work was extremely present, as the 1500 people deep crowd gave the man a standing ovation upon his entrance and exit from the stage; the information was presented impeccably, and as tired as I was from a hard weekend's partying, I was interested the entire time.
I'll do a proper wrap up after this weekend when I put some of the photos up. To give you a taste of David's work, check the clip below. Brilliant.
This is an oldie but a goodie. The homie Iyae did this little blend back in 2006, so it's a tad old and his skills done stepped up since then but it's still freshhhhhhhhh.
First up, peep the video of Nas and Damian Marley performing at a recent press conference. My man Micnificent tells me that Nas and Damian have recorded an album together and are about to release it. Why the fuck didn't I know about this? I just did a little wee in excitement. More news as it comes to hand.
Originating from the beautiful reggae island of Jamaica, Sashia has relocated and now resides in the UK. The recent years have seen her growth and maturity in the modeling industry with her recent signing to Femelle, one of the UK's leading Urban Model Agencies. With her portfolio boasting an ever expanding array of shoots and assignments with video features including Tinchy Stryder's 'Rollin' and Millionaire Boyz’ 'She's a Hustler', Sashia is heading for nothing but success. An independent, reliable, focused yet easy-going individual Sashia goes for what she wants. With her Barbie-Doll figure, sensual looks and bubbly personality Sashia brings glamour, professionalism, and diversity to every assignment.
If you thought Tracy Morgan's character on 30 Rock was an embellished version of the man, check this out, if only to see him sprawled out on the news desk impersonating a pregnant woman.
Wow. So Theory and myself were flicking through Canibus videos on YouTube and we stumbled upon this video of David Icke speaking on 'blueprint rap'. I was shocked and extremely surprised to find this candid and genuine take on modern Hip Hop from a white British man - generally, folks in David's demographic don't get Hip Hop in any shape or form but he understood it to the heart of the culture.
Also, I'll be seeing David Icke speak in Melbourne this coming Saturday so I'll blog my ass off about that over the weekend.
That was my initial reaction when my boy Ocka hit me with the link to the six videos below. Turns out Dante Ross is the behind-the-scenes dude responsible for signing some of Hip Hop's biggest artists ever, including De La Soul and Brand Nubian. He went from A&R at Tommy Boy to producing songs for artists such as Cypress Hill and Slick Rick.
Then he flipped his style in the mid-90's and was partly responsible for the 3x platinum Everlast album 'Whitey Ford Sings The Blues' and then... get this... the 20x platinum Santana album 'Put Your Lights Out' (scoring himself a couple Grammys in the process).
The videos below are part interview, part history lesson and part fucking around - but always entertaining.
This remix album has been out for a while now floating around various review sites and blogs on the net. Seriously dope concept which adds another level to Joe Budden's grimey, thug intellects and similarly dark, haunting Portishead soundscapes which need no introduction.
You might recognise Ill Poetic from his various productions for Blueprint, Illogic and Wordsworth to name a few.
Vocals's from Budden's Mood Muzik 3 perfectly mashed with Portishead fantastic Third album of last year, plus a few other classic beats.
Whoa. This is ridic. The homies Tanya Morgan (with DJ Low Key) rocked a killer set this year at SXSW, and not only do you get to read about it, you can download the whole damn set, AND watch the video above with Blu. Don't ever say we don't do shit for y'all. Oh, and TM's new LP 'Brooklynati' is out May 12th. Boomcakes.
For all contact, booking and info on The Movement Fam artists (Cee & Bekah, Notion, Tommy Gunnz, theory, Micnificent and DJ Grain), and for production enquiries for Infinite Archetype (Iyae), hit up:
Cee - ceefeezy@gmail.com
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