Krs-One And Kid Capri Explain The Real Hip-Hop Network On Fox News / video

The Real Hip-Hop Network

KRS-One Democracy Rhyme & Discussion On Obama / video

Peace to Davey D.

KRS showed up as a surprise guest at a show hosted by Chuck D. He then proceeds to wreck shop and get seriously busy by rhyming about Barack Obama and Democracy. he says its good to have an African American in office but the revolution does not stop

NYOIL Talks About The Time KRS-One Threw PM Dawn Off The Stage / video

We should all know the story by now. KRS-One and his crew (Just-Ice, D-Nice, Kenny Parker, etc.) bumrushed PM Dawn during a show and threw him off the stage. Next thing you know, the instrumental for The Bridge Is Over comes on and KRS rips it. Also, NYOIL showcases some of his beatboxing skills. Link

KRS One, Prime, Que-Billah - Todays Lesson / video

Final video for this track we first heard a few months ago.

“You Can’t Be Rich And Continue To Make Raw Hip-Hop” - KRS-One

One statement in what could be a dissertation on marketing and commodification. Peace to Nigel D.

related:
Krs-One Explains Why He’s Not Selling Out, Authenticity Is The New Business Model

N.A.S.A. - The Spirit Of Apollo

We finally have an official title and tracklist and, most importantly, a release date. Still no cover art though. But hopefully it will be along the lines of the stills from the music video. Courtesy of Anti- Records.

N.A.S.A. LAUNCHES ‘THE SPIRIT OF APOLLO’ ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009

1. “Intro”
2. “The People Tree” (feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift of Gab,& Z-Trip)
3. “Money” (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip)
4. “NASA Music” (feat. Method Man, E-40, & DJ Swamp)
5. “Way Down” (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch, & John Frusciante)
6. “Hip Hop” (feat. KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre)
7. “Four Rooms, Earth View”
8. “Strange Enough” (feat. Karen O, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, & Fatlip)
9. “Spacious Thoughts” (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith)
10. “Gifted” (feat. Kanye West and others TBD)
11. “A Volta” (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank, & Lovefoxxx)
12. “There’s a Party” (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na)
13. “Whachadoin?” (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold & Nick Zinner)
14. “O Pato” (feat. Kool Kojak & DJ Bãboa)
15. “Samba Soul” (feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert)
16. “The Mayor” (feat. The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, DJ AM & Scarface)
17. “N.A.S.A. Anthem”

previously:
N.A.S.A - Way Down ft. Rza, Music Video By Sage Vaughn / still images
North America South America [movie trailer]
North America South America, An Ambitious Collaboration

KRS-One Talks About the 1992 Election With PBS / vintage video

“What I discovered looking at Hip-Hop was that we are already using quantum physics and don’t even know it” - KRS-One Live in Harlem NYC / audio, video + pictures

KRS-One speaks on Hip-Hop’s use of quantum physics, how he met Scott La Rock in the homeless shelter, the etymology behind the word Hip-Hop, hip-hop and Hiphop and a lot of other interesting topics. He also goes in-depth about the Hip-Hop prophecy laid out in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. It’s a really great listen. Audio and pictures below. Snippet video parts 1 + 2 after the break. Link

Download KRS-One Speaking Live in Harlem NYC / audio

Read the rest of this entry »

KRS-One Freestyling And Talking About “Criminal Minded” The Movie, A Project That HBO Was Supposed To Produce / vintage video

Another “what if” project, this one I never heard about. Videos courtesy of the homies over at The Meaning Of Dope. Part 2 after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

KRS-One Interview From Bomb-It Pt.1 / video

Spotted first @ NahRight. Upped by sp1200

Retro Jam 2008 with KRS-One, Rakim, Bobby Brown and Keith Sweat (10/2, 8pm)

The tickets are pretty expensive but I still might go just to see Bobby Brown rock. buy tickets

Thu, Oct 2, 2008 @ 8:00 PM

WaMu Theater At Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Dj Revolution Is King Of The Decks, Still Holding It Down For The DJ, Still Not Feeling Anything By Lil Wayne / Q&A

Besides holding it down for countless artists on the world famous Wake Up Show, Dj Revolution has been furthering the art of turntablism through his own records and contributions to a crazy amount of releases. He has always been an advocate of the DJ, providing lots of face time to the discussion of their role and the history of the form. His new album, King Of The Decks, is dropping September 16th. The first leaked single features KRS-One and is a reminder for you all of what a Dj is and what a DJ is not. Props to Noah and Will. Peace to Dj Revolution for taking the time.

Listen: Dj Revolution - The Dj ft. Krs-One

Watch: Dj Revolution - King Of The Decks Episode 1

Bonus: Dj Revolution - Your Dj ft. Styliztik

Q&A

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

Quincy Jones

Someone you look down on

Steve Aoki

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Not Being dead is enough motivation for me

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

A slice of NYC pizza

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

If it is a house party, water, if it’s a club, the best imported beer I can find

Name a song you can’t stand.

Anything by LiL’ Wayne

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

Mozart, Bob James, and Public Enemy, It takes a Nation of Millions to hold us Back.

Life after death? Yes/No

NO

How do you hope to be remembered?

As one of the greatest all around Dj’s to ever touch turntables and a person who made a contribution to the culture

How do you hope you are not remembered?

As an asshole

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

Support real music, not the shit you hear on the radio. “KING OF THE DECKS” in stores September 16th

previously:
DJ Revolution Talks In Detail About Producing “The DJ” Featuring KRS-One
DJ Revolution - The Dj ft KRS-One / audio

KRS-One Meets Soulja Boy, They Talk Generation Gap. The Teacha Teaches, Soulja Boy Is Thankful / video

Talib Kweli - The Perfect Beat ft. KRS-One / video

Peace to Tunji Balogun for the look.

DJ Revolution Talks In Detail About Producing “The DJ” Featuring KRS-One

I wouldn’t mind reading a similar article detailing the making of Funky Piano featuring Crooked I and Bishop Lamont. via Remixmag

As soon as I heard the sample, I knew I had to make this track with KRS or not make it at all. In ’95 or ’96 he did a record called ‘The MC.’ This sample had a similar melody, so I knew I had to make “The DJ” with him. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even do any production on the track until I got in contact with him, and he told me his was interested. I have known him for some time, so getting a hold of him wasn’t that difficult. I got to work on the track and sent it over to him, and at the same time I talked to his assistant to set up a session at my spot.

What happened when he came through later that week was possibly one of the biggest highlights of my career. KRS sat across from me in my studio and interviewed me about the things I wanted to express in this record. We just talked, and while were talking, he was jotting down notes on some pieces of paper I had given him. Basically, he got me going, and as I rambled on about everything from digital DJing to the way most DJs on the radio or in clubs don’t really have the basic required skills to call themselves DJs, he wrote down what he needed. Somewhere into the conversation he started asking me to sum up all the things I had into phrases he used as the ‘tenets’ of being a DJ.

After almost an hour he said, ‘I think I got what I need. You can just let me be for a while, and I’ll let you know when I’m done.’ It was amazing for me to be interviewed by one of the greatest talents in hip-hop history and then have the result of that be put into a rhyme he wrote right on the spot in front of me. Then witnessing his recording process was another story in and of itself. The funniest thing is when he was getting set up in the booth, I checked out some of the notes he was writing while we talked. Most of the major words or phrases that he used as the basis for putting all of that shit together were written in graffiti. It was incredible. And every hip-hop producer wishes they got a chance to work with this dude. Getting DJ Premier to talk shit on the first chorus was a no-brainer. I felt like it needed energy coming out of KRS’s first verse and not scratching like I did with the second chorus. Primo wanted more time to talk between the verses, but I asked him to cut it to 8 bars. Premier is a good friend, and I really appreciated him adding some icing on the cake for me. People’s reaction when they recognize his voice on the track is priceless! ‘Is that Primo?’ I Love it.

For KRS’ vocals, I used a Rode NT2 mic that I refuse to give up. Still sounds great with the right person after a long time. After getting them recorded, I stacked a Waves DeEsser, A Renaissance 4-band EQ and a Renaissance Compressor. It’s what I’m most comfortable with and again its not too much tweaking. I feel like if you have to mess with the vocals too much, then they got recorded wrong in the first place. I had some light delay and reverb on KRS main tracks, as well. He did two background tracks and laid down a crazy bridge that I might decide to put on a remix or a version for the special edition DVD.

Previously: DJ Revolution - The Dj ft KRS-One

About Green Label Sound, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo, The Cool Kids And Corporate Influence

image by Mike Sutfin

Hey there ladies, Gs and Gents (not to suggest that ladies can’t be Gs, or Gs can’t be Gents for that matter, but lets not go there right now). So, yesterday morning we received a friendly announcement with respect to the recently launched marketing campaign / music label, Green Label Sound. Sponsored by Mountain Dew and ultimately helmed by parent beverage and snacks company PepsiCo, GLS is being presented as a “program designed to help up and coming artists”. Their first release features The Cool Kids on an exclusive track called Delivery Man. Of course, The Cool Kids are smart enough to realize that questions of selling out would immediately be raised so included within the press release is their perspective (defensive much?) on the project. Here it is:

“We entered into the Green Label Sound program because we saw it as an opportunity to put a song out to the whole world with the backing of something that everyone grew up on,” said Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids. “Mountain Dew is not trying to push their product through music like everyone else; they just wanna support music. … And with us tying to set up our new record without a record company, Mountain Dew gives us an unexpected helping hand to get up those steps.”

Mikey Rocks of The Cool Kids added this. “Green Label Sound is giving artists like ourselves an opportunity to get to a different scale than we were previously on. The program gives us a further reach than we would’ve had on our own, but we still get to keep the same creative independence that we like to have.”

Here’s the thing though, it seems to me that the exact reason Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) created the program is, ultimately, to push their products. How anyone could think otherwise is beyond me. As pointed out by Wired Magazine’s recent, slightly critical, report, PepsiCo has a long history of using artists as spokespersons (missing from this list are a slew of rappers including Ludacris, Kanye West and even the The Notorious B.I.G., see: Pepsi Freestyle). Just because they are getting more sophisticated with their marketing programs, trying to pull instead of push, does that mean their goals have changed? The reason for their existence, the means of their survival, is to sell soda and potato chips to youths and young adults between 12 and 30 years of age. This should not be clouded by their sponsorship of artists, performers or anything else, hip-hop or not. But let’s for a moment consider the possibility that The Cool Kids really think the motivation behind GLS is altruistic in nature, are we to expect from them a music experience which, as they state, maintains creative independence? You know, it might just be possible. Forgiving for a moment that their cover art looks like a Mountain Dew can, the Delivery Man song actually doesn’t seem to have anything to do with soda. But what about when you attend a show? Or when you visit the website? Well, that’s another question.

Placing my personal conflicts with soda, high-fructose corn syrup and fast food aside, I have no strong objection to artists that align themselves with corporate sponsors, unless they front or rationalize the ultimate objective. That’s straight up bullshit. I can get beyond (or I should say, I don’t spend the time to dwell on) the fact that when an artist partakes in a corporate exercise, they are implicitly ok’ing the product, but don’t tell me that its all about the music, it never is. Inglish and Rocks are not known (as far as I know) for their anti-corporate stance or pro-health lyrics, so I don’t hate on them for this. But let it be known, in the same way marketers are becoming more subtle and sophisticated with their techniques, consumers are also becoming more aware. Even though companies, as KRS-One puts it, are beginning to recognize that authenticity is the new business model, consumers are also awakening to the fact that lifestyles can not be packaged, and products don’t become more acceptable through affiliation. We still don’t believe the hype. And I hope, somewhere deep down inside, the artists don’t either.

All about the music mp3 link: The Cool Kids - Delivery Man

DJ Muggs and Planet Asia feat. KRS-One - Top Shelf / audio

This track won’t be on the upcoming “Pain Language” album so listen up now. Link

see also:
Pain Language (Dj Muggs and Planet Asia) - That’s What It Is
Pain Language (Dj Muggs And Planet Asia) - 9mm / video
Dj Muggs And Planet Asia Project [teaser video]