DMC Champ, Dj Enferno, remixing songs with live instrumentation (not just turntables). Link (via)

Good collection of the late Godfather’s music and videos via online aggregator hype machine. Link

Can’t keep track of when Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 is dropping? This calendar may come in handy.

mysp*ce.com/raekwon

Link (via)

Saturday, December 30, 2006
Doors open @ 9pm

The Empty Bottle
1035 N Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622

Link

Tuesday, Jan 16, 2007
SHOW 9:00 PM
ADV $10
DOS $12

Knitting Factory - New York
74 Leonard Street
New York, NY 10013

Link

What’s up with you and videogames: From cartoons to movies and self-run record labels, you don’t have enough side projects going on already?

Yeah, man, I was asked to do the Def Jam: Icon game over a year ago. I had experience with the first two, and I was like yo, let’s do it. So they came down and scanned me and I got my special moves, then came back and did my voice-overs for story mode. I’ve actually been playing the game all day today - it looks great.

Seriously - you don’t keep busy enough without this shit?

Yeah man, it’s a lot we got on the plate. I’m just finishing up a movie - Who’s Your Caddy? - and now working on a solo record, finishing song titles, laying down cuts and things for that. Def Jam: Icon’s gonna be a good addition to the collection, and my kids are getting a real big kick out of it more than anybody.

So you’re a big videogame head, eh?
Oh yeah, most definitely. When you’re out here on the road, on the tour bus, you know that’s all you do: Just listen to music and play games. I’ve been gaming since I was like, you know, very young - Atari days.

Everyone’s favorite model is providing the sounds for the campaign behind Adidas’ new NBA Superstar Collection. 30 beats for 30 pairs of sneaks, one for each NBA team. You can download all the tracks on the site. To be honest, most of those kicks are straight up ugly but if I had to choose, I’d go with the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic or Toronto Raptors. Link

Link

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2006
Doors @ 9pm

Southpaw
125 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

LYRICIST LOUNGE, OKAYPLAYER.COM, FUSICOLOGY.COM, PIECES, DOTTED LINE RECORDS, PREMIUM GOODS, BEAUTIFUL DECAY. METHODS NYC & REMARCABLE ENT. PRESENT MEDINA IN MEDINA on the EVE OF EVE END OF THE YEAR HOLIDAY BASH!!

DJ RICH MEDINA PLAYING EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ALL NIGHT TO END THE YEAR RIGHT!!!
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY BASH FOR DANNY CASTRO OF LYRICIST LOUNGE!

Admission: Ladies $10 on the guest list
Fellas $12 on the guestlist

RSVP for the guestlist: loungelyricist@aol.com or mrmetaphor_bkac@hotmail.com

Pay your respect to the Godfather of Soul tomorrow at the Apollo Theatre. His last time on stage will be open to the public from 1-8pm. Link

Calle 13 - La Jirafa (White Lion Rec. / SONY BMG) - i like this video



In his article about Cuba’s ‘Rap Vanguard’, Marc Lacey of the NYTimes writes that HipHop’s popularity in Cuba is losing ground to Reggaeton. Additionally, the Cuban government’s Ministry of Culture has embraced the more dance-friendly music and the annual HipHop festival, which tended to include more politically active artists, has lost support from the people. It’s strange though, when I think of Reggaeton, especially the tracks I really like, I just think of it as innovative HipHop. But I have had people try to convince me Reggaeton is not HipHop and just some kind of Reggae in Spanish. I’m not buying it. 105.9 (aka 92.7) is actually the only pop radio station I can tolerate. Link (via)

Two box sets up for grabs. The email is info@e-q-x.net.

Oh yes, only two boxes made and one of these could be yours! And all you need is a little luck, cause we are asking for nothing more but your favourite Equinox song! Just let us know which track from our catalogue you like best, by replying to this email with “i want the box” in the subject field. The winner will be drawn at random from those that voted for the overall favourite title. There is only ONE vote for everybody of course. The winner will be announced early January.

Features the likes of Freestyle (of Arsonists), Copywrite, Vakill, Visionaries, Braille, C-Rayz Walz, Hangar 18 and others. Link, Tour Info (.pdf), Tour One Sheet (.pdf)

THE THREE OBJECTIVES OF THE SAVE DARFUR TOUR:

EDUCATION
Since 2004, genocide in Sudan has claimed the lives of 400,000 men, women, and children. 2 million live in makeshift tents without clean food or water. The systematic killing continues, while the global community sits largely comatose in the face of this atrocity. The problem is not necessarily apathy; rather, it is lack of awareness of the situation. The tour will educate an incredibly receptive audience about the devastating state of Darfur through perhaps the most universally understood and empowering language: music.

100% FUNDRAISING
Every last cent of money raised by the tour will be directly donated to non-profits in place to supply aid to the refugees of the genocide. The money will be donated in the name of the tour sponsor(s), which can serve as a 501(c)3 tax write-off, if desired. Sponsors of the tour also receive innumerable promotional and advertising benefits with their contributions.

CALL-TO-ACTION
It is time to take action. Time to reject passively accepting the situation in Darfur. Time to realize that we have the power and responsibility to save the lives of hundreds of thousands that need our help. Time to create the type of world, free of violence, in which we want to live. It is time to stand up and make the most of our ability to Save Darfur.

1.16.07 New York, NY @ Galapagos Art Space
1.17.07 Baltimore, MD @ The Sonar
1.18.07 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
1.19.07 Washington DC @ Club 5
1.20.07 Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop
1.21.07 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
1.22.07 Indianapolis, IN @ Spin Nightclub
1.23.07 Lansing, MI @ Michigan State University
1.24.07 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
1.26.07 Bellingham, WA @ The Nightlight Lounge
1.27.07 Seattle, WA @ TBA
1.28.07 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
1.29.07 Eugene, OR @ Taboo
1.31.07 San Francisco, CA @ The Elbo Room
2.01.07 Fresno, CA @ TBA
2.03.07 Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
2.04.07 San Diego, CA @ The Knitting Factory
2.05.07 Phoenix, AZ @ Porter’s Club UCSD
2.06.07 Las Vegas, NV @ TBA
2.07.07 Orange, CA @ Memorial Hall

Great article by Ann Powers, LA Times staff writer, discussing the hype-machine that music blogs and the interweb have become. Among other things, she goes into the abundance of content now easily accessible through these sites and the growing difficulty of differentiating between the “real critical interest and the momentary attention of Web surfers.” As Dj Sickamore, newly appointed A&R for Atlantic Records, points out to Powers, the machine doesn’t always work and it shouldn’t be the end all marketing outlet solution for artists. Especially for uninteresting (so-called) hiphop artists like P.Diddy. Speaking of Sean (it’s ok, I can refer to him by his first name, he sent me a personal message), maybe his PR team’s campaign would have fared better if they concentrated on getting him to attend open mics, as per Sickamore’s suggestion, (even though he has publicly recognized he’s not a rapper in the past) instead of sending bloggers personal messages about the names he chose for his newly birthed twins. I’m sure that’s interesting to People Magazine and all but do we really need the subject line “What Do You Name Royalty” clogging our inboxes? Am I alone in this? I appreciate the attention from Warner Music Group, and as duly noted by Powers, we bloggers love to have our egos stroked. But c’mon? A fringe, mostly undefined, anti-social blog like grandgood is sensitive to being confused as a gossip blog. I know, I know, what really bothered me was the few moments when I thought I had a growing personal connection with Bad Boy and fam, only to have my bubble bursted when I googled the subject and saw I wasn’t the only blog with the exclusive content. But what can I say? I have very sensitive sensitivities. If you’re going to stroke my ego, stroke it the right way (yeah baby). Give me some real love. And by that I mean, if you’re going to try to be one of those “professional rainmakers” that Powers notes in her article, try to learn a little bit about your portfolio of blogs before sending mass emails. Make believe you kind of understand them and their audience. It will ultimately lead to your benefit and success. Link

excerpt1——————
Three-quarters of the publicists I surveyed supply MP3 files directly to bloggers. Digital media marketing firms focus entirely on servicing the Web. Bloggers need content, and often enjoy the recognition. “Bands such as Birdmonster, Cold War Kids and Sound Team are relentlessly marketed to bloggers, just this never-ending stream of e-mails from flacks,” wrote the Queens-based writer Matthew Perpetua, who pioneered the MP3 blog with his Fluxblog, in an e-mail. “It’s depressing that all you need to catch on among the newer MP3 blogs is to barrage them with PR emails.”

The publicists feeding the machine don’t disagree. “Are blogs really an independent medium to express a voice?” one pondered anonymously. “It’s hard to know what’s genuine, or what is being paid for. One of my employees was given a free phone from Virgin Mobile just as a ‘gift,’ because he blogs about music.”

And so the old vices of the buzz business — skilled seduction and possibly even bribery — have penetrated the supposedly free space of the Web.

“Some bloggers genuinely write about what interests them, because they’re crate-diggers,” said Glenn Peoples, who runs the music business blog Coolfer.com from his home in Nashville. “But bloggers don’t always mention the extent to which they are comped and courted. About two years ago, I started noticing quotes from blogs on publicity one-sheets. All of a sudden, indie labels were like, ‘This is our press.’

excerpt2——————
“Diddy had the most brilliant new-media campaign, and it didn’t work,” said Sickamore, an A&R director for Atlantic Records who made his name in the competitive world of hip-hop mix tapes. “He had a crazy incredible YouTube campaign, MySpace updates, but people weren’t that interested. When you say, ‘I’m the man, I’m so cool,’ that’s not enough. It’s about being on the scene.”

In hip-hop, the physical connection — with a neighborhood, a city, an arena full of fans — prevails. Though there are many excellent hip-hop-oriented blogs, MP3 downloads can’t make a rapper’s reputation. “Hip-hop is not a blog culture,” said Sickamore, who himself blogs on the XXL magazine website. “It’s more like the political world. You have to shake hands and kiss babies. Go to record stores, do open mikes and build that buzz.”

Ten canadian dollars is a steal for a Trag show but I have a feeling that if they feel the need to put “inflation at door” on the flyer, you’re very likely going to end up paying more. Link

DECEMBER 27 >> A-TEAM ENTERTAINMENT Presents >>
TRAGEDY, FREDRO STAR, DJ SCRAM JONES, and more… >> Queensbridge ICON, veteran MC, TRAGEDY KHADAFI blesses Windsor with an intimate performance @ Dirty’s Lounge (576 Oulette Ave, Windsor ON Canada). $10 advance tockets still available >> contact me or any official A-Team Representative. Admission charges subject to increase at the door. >> ALSO, MY BOY, LORD QUEZ birthday and A-Team is droppin’ a special set!!

After years of taking jabs at one another in their music and interviews, Cormega and Nasty Nas publicly squashed their beef tonight at Nas’ Nokia Theatre performance. The crowd was pretty hype as is when Nas was performing his classic song One Love but then, unexpectedly, as N was spitting one of his famous lines - ‘What up with Cormega?’, the music stopped and guess who walks onto the stage? Cormega strolls out, gives a pound and then the two begin to perform Affirmative Action. After having his membership inexplicably deaded from The Firm over a decade ago, fans finally got to see Mega Montana shine on this song. First, Nas and Jay-Z hug-up publicly. Then, I hear about this KRS-One/Marley Marl album. And now this. Big ups to Cormega and Nas for letting bygones be bygones. I wonder if Nas approached Corey or the other way around? Link

New film/documentary by Byron Hurt looks interesting. Screening and post-screening panel discussion first week of January in SanFran. It will be aired on PBS, as part of the Independent Lens series, on February 20th. Here’s the trailer. Link (via), trailer (loads .mov)

January 9, 2007
05:30 PM - 07:45 PM

Venue Information
San Francisco Public Library | Koret Auditorium
100 Larkin St. (Civic Center)
San Francisco, CA 94102

HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes takes an in-depth look at representations of manhood, sexism and homophobia in hip-hop culture. This groundbreaking documentary is a “loving critique” of certain disturbing developments in rap music culture from the point of view of a fan who challenges the art form’s representations of masculinity.

The Door Lounge
508 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10018