Archive for Something to View

Inside look at Wax Poetics Magazine.

A wonderful look at the connoisseurs behind Wax Magazine. For many producers and DJs Wax is an invaluable resource for exploring the music that has made hip-hop what it is. video jacked via spine.

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Nathan Rabin of the Onion A.V. Club Reviews "Confessions Of A Video Vixen"

ML readers know I’m a big fan of Mr. Rabin’s work. He recently started a great monthly feature at the A.V. Club called The Silly Little Show-Biz Book Club. Here’s a little intro to the series:

Reading has taken on a lot of unfair, unfortunate associations through the years. Through no fault of its own, reading has become associated with intelligence, knowledge, book-learning, libraries, colleges, librarians, and education. I’m here to tell you, that’s all a bunch of horseshit. To me, reading isn’t a pathway to self-actualization, or a magic ticket to a land of wonder and imagination. On the contrary, it’s nothing more than a way to waste time in the least productive manner imaginable. When I want to turn off my brain, I pick up a quickie celebrity biography or half-assed show-biz memoir instead of watching television. That’s why I am officially starting a new monthly feature, The Silly Little Show-Biz Book Club. It’s a forum to discuss the junk food of the literary universe: stupid, superficial pop ephemera destined not to outlast its fleeting cultural moment. When Axl Rose’s maid writes a lurid tell-all, I’ll be there. Wherever a half-assed boy-band has-been feels the need to sing out about his life in the pages of a ghostwritten memoir, I’ll be there. I will read all these terrible books so you don’t have to. It’s my latest attempt to transform the stupid, pointless shit I do in my free time into the stupid, pointless shit I am obligated do for my job.

His latest entry in the series is his review of Karrine “Super-Head” Steffans’ Confessions Of A Video Vixen. Here’s a brief excerpt from a passage about Karrine’s encounter with Fred Durst, with Rabin’s commentary in italics:

“Fred ordered five different entrées, just for himself. I was confused but I didn’t want to seem young and inexperienced, so I just watched his movements… He was grand, taking tiny forkfuls from each dish and repeating that move a few times. Then, just that fast, he was done, leaving the majority of the food behind. I was in awe. I had never really wasted food before, and right then I knew that one day I would be able to eat whatever I wanted, however much I wanted, and summon someone to take the plates away…With all of his tattoos, body piercing and worn way of dress Fred had an air of prestige. I silently hoped for him to want me.”

Oh, Durst wants her all right. For he is that rarest breed of man: the kind that will gladly accept a no-strings-attached blowjob from an attractive stranger. I similarly love how impressed Steffans is by Durst’s flaming douchebaggery. I just hope there was a malnourished orphan staring wistfully at Durst as he sent away plate after plate of food, more or less uneaten. He could have followed this performance by wiping his ass with a towel full of highly concentrated AIDS vaccine, then topped it off by urinating lustily into the water supply of an impoverished Indian village.

You should read his first article in the series too, a review of Rollin’ With Dre by Bruce Williams, an unauthorized account of Williams’ experience with Dr. Dre. Really funny ish.

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A hip-hop guide to Barack Obama.

Is it just me or has every picture of Obama recently been taken from this angle. Eyes reaching out to the future, full of hope, knowing how bad ass he really is. You should know, I am a fan of the guy. It seems like everyone is now a days. But my support is not just some ploy to be hip and edgy. I have substantive reasoning behind my political preferences. So here it is: My top ten reasons why Obama should be our president (Hip-Hop edition).

10. Because Vibe magazine nicknamed him B-Rock. Fuck, thats a cooler rap name than most of the ones real rappers have. Anyone deserving of such a title must have a little bit of charisma, a little bit of swagger. This might seem like a superficial reason to vote for someone, but, to be honest, any president that has been successful in diplomatic ventures has had a personality that people can connect with. We have seen over and over again that Obama has the ability to get people on to his team. At the very least he won’t come off like a total bitch (ahem, like Hillary).

9. Coincidence? I think not.

8. Because people like DMX should never be right. Not only is his comment appalling, but it reads like he was smoking crack while being interviewed.

7. Because any one of the following could easily be his campaign theme song: Jadakiss-We Gon’ Make it (fits his message of unity and comradery), Warren G-Regulate (see recent economic policies), and Ghostface Killah-The Champ (catchy new nickname?).

6. Because he has created a reason for even the hip-hop community to become political. If it takes the interest of Mos Def, Common, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, and Russel Simmons to make politics cool again, fuck it, ill take it.

5. I’m not gonna say that all the recent Hip-Hop related Obama music tributes prove anything about Obama as a candidate. But I will say this: nobody made shit for HIllary. Just a few highlights from recent projects:

eMC-Leak It Out (check the line: I’m a star risin like Barack Obama)

Coverage from Nah Right, here and here.

Still an impressive video from Will.I.am

4.

I’m just basically spillin’ out my emotions to the world. ‘Cause rap [politics] is about emotion. And I want you to feel what I’m feelin’, ’cause that’s what it’s all about.”-Ludacris

Great minds think a like.

3. The dude has a fucken twitter. ML likes twitter. ML likes hip-hop. You can’t deny that logic.

2. Because he’s repped by Spank Rock. “Coke and wet bitch guns nigga, Obama!” from “Coke & Wet” off YoYoYoYoYo. You might hear “holla” not Obama, but I guess thats just an untrained ear for ya.

Spank Rock-Coke & Wet

1. The number one reason: this speech. Expounding on the realities of racial injustice and inequality in this country is historical for a politician, but its just another day in the life of an emcee.

Anyway, those are some thoughts, as well as some tunes. What do you guys think? Who should be the nominee?

See Also: The guy that should probably fill that OTHER Presidential spot (not DefJam)

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Cooking With Jazze Pha.

Emanuel Lewis! We cover Coolio’s cooking show, so why not Jazzy Phizzle’s cooking show? He needs a hypeman if he wants to match up with Coolio’s show, IMHO.

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Good Hip-Hop + PUMA=Dope YO! MTV Raps Gear.

We don’t post much about fly sneaker/clothes around here but we know it when we see it. Given how much we’ve been posting about YO! MTV Raps’s 20th anniversary lately, I thought I’d highlight the awesome PUMA/YO! cross marketed gear that’s been coming out. This isn’t everything, just my favourites.
First, the Dre & Ed Lover kicks:

The Big Daddy Kane Puma Clyde:

The Shan sneaks:

The YO! MTV Raps hoodie:

Puma put together a nifty little flash site to promote this line of sneakers and threads. You can see more of the Puma/YO! clothing line there as well as read some bios of the rappers and DJs promoting the line. It also measures its loading percentage by “freshness”, which gets a lot of points in my book.

I’m aware some of this is old, but I still think this is pretty dope.

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Watch Bush’s War.

 

Two nights ago I was flipping through channels and I caught Frontline’s Bush’s War on the local PBS station. Now I’m not a big PBS watcher or anything, I can’t even recall the last time I watched something on there, I tend to prefer Smack DVDs. But for whatever reason this really caught my eye (having a soft spot for good documentaries probably had something to do with it). No matter if you are for the war or not, republican or democrat, this is a very comprehensive & insightful look at all the various war strategies that the US has tried and overall everything that has happened in the War in Iraq so far.

You can watch it online here.

Baltimore Sun on Bush’s War.

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Duck Down Messes With Maxim Magazine

Via Bang The Box

How many magazines must get dissed? Duck Down Records, making light of the whole Maxim/Nas/Black Crowes review controversy, has volunteered two of their upcoming albums to be reviewed without actually being heard. A little more info:

Disclaimer:
In light of the recent allegations made against Maxim Magazine by the Black Crowes and Nas for printing LP reviews of their respective forthcoming albums without actually hearing either of them, Buckshot/9th Wonder and Kidz In the Hall gladly volunteered their upcoming albums to receive the same treatment. We would also like to invite Maxim to attend any Kidz In The Hall and Buckshot and 9th Wonder show, or any of our artists in general– attendance is of course only optional!!
These mock-ups are by in no way intended to attack Maxim Magazine’s credibility, or incriminate them in any manner; it’s all in good fun!
Kidz In the Hall and Buckshot/9th Wonder Plead With Maxim Magazine To Review Their Respective LP’s Without Hearing Them!

The mockups are too huge to embed, so I’ll give you links. Spoiler: there’s a lot of jokes about how intimidating Sean P is. This is classic material; feel free to save it for April Fools.

“The Formula” Maxim Mock Review/ “The In Crowd” Mock Review

How about previewing the albums yourself and forming your own opinion?

Buckshot & 9th Wonder ft Talib Kweli & Tyler Woods – Hold It Down

Kidz In The Hall – The Blackout

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Remix Tuesdays : Camp Lo

 

I’m back from my hiatus to resume writing again and of course I needed to write a new instalment of the weekly Remix Tuesday. I had to take some time off from blogging. I had a huge amount of school work and just didn’t have the time. Shouts to Buhizzle for keeping this feature going while I was gone, along with the rest of the ML crew for holding down the fort.

Today I’m covering a classic by Camp Lo, the Bronx-based duo of Sonny Cheeba & Geechi Suede. “Black Nostaljack (AKA Come On)” was the third and final single released off their still-great debut Uptown Saturday Night.

The original rocks an smooth loop of Curtis Mayfield’s “Tripping Out”, and is produced by Camp Lo’s primary producer Ski and Ill Will Fulton. I can’t tell you too much about Fulton as a producer; I think he was an in-house Roc-A-Fella Records producer at some point, judging by his Discogs entry.

You can listen to the original sample below:

Ski and Fulton slightly sped up the intro of the Mayfield song and looped it for that amazing bassline and stuttered guitar. The horns from about the 30 second mark are interspersed at intervals into the main loop. Some nice strings pop occasionally as well. The backing track provides the perfect instrumental for Geechie and Cheeba to floss their blaxploitation-era slang steez over.

Of course, the song becomes even better once you hear it in the context of the music video:

 

The video sees the group joining an episode of Good Times, (a la Weezer’s video for Buddy Holly), complete with a cameo from JJ Walker! I really want one of those leather caps. Look for the cover of Uptown Saturday Night appearing as a painting in the Evans’ house.

Geechie Suede’s opening verse is one of my favourite Camp Lo verses, simply in terms of enjoyably surreal imagery (is there any other kind of Camp Lo verse?) :

Now here we are star apport a sarsparilla
I’m the Don Ezetti on the Veric Express
We got the Imperio and vino just for the keeper
And yes he be the Cheeba
And yes I be the Sueda
So gimme zigga zigga
And we can get with Kiki
The seventh heaven cloud is for my kufi and dashiki
So you see me on the upper
But it’s always the Lowa
We make it Hollywood cuz diamond crooks is takin’ over

Now, here’s where the remix comes in. The chorus of the album version of the song goes like this:

If you from the BX connects nigga
Nigga come on
If you from the BKs souffle nigga
Nigga come on
If you from the cherry QBs nigga
Nigga come on
If you from the NY you fly nigga
Nigga come on
Nigga come on

In the radio edit (used for the music video), the title of Nas’s next album in the chorus is replaced by “sugah”, which actually works pretty well without seeming forced. And a melanin-deficient individual such as myself can participate in the chorus!

But the radio edit evidently wasn’t enough for Ski and Ill Will Fulton, because they remixed the radio version for it’s own 12′, the one pictured at the top of this post. The remix is amusingly titled the “Xenobia Mix” , presumably for the removal of the n-word in the chorus.

The Xenoboia remix takes most of the original beat, but seemingly beefs up the bass and drums. It replaces the funky guitar line from the original with some ill layered strings. Rather than immediately starting with the beat, the song begins with only the aforementioned strings. Geechi and Sonny go through the modified chorus once, backed solely by the string sample. Just as the chorus finishes, the beat kicks in with that thick bassline and the strings drop out. The strings are integrated into the beat for each chorus and appear again in the outro.

I like them both equally, but it’s amazing how much of a difference the strings make in the remix. Ski deserves more credit for skills behind the boards.

The original “Black Nostaljack” 12” featured a remix produced by Kid Capri on the b-side, that beatjacks Run-D.M.C.’s “Beats To The Rhyme”. The remix features new verses from Camp Lo, Reverend Run and Kid Capri. It might considered a bit of a stretch to call it a remix; the only thing that remains from the original is the chorus, which is shouted by Rev. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Capri remix without him adlibbing over it.

The Lo actually sound pretty good over the Bob James’ sample. “Nautilus” never gets old, does it? You can listen to it on YouTube for comparison’s sake.

Listen to all the versions and let me know which is your favourite in the comments.

Black Nostaljack (AKA Come On)

Black Nostaljack (Xenobia Mix)

Black Nostaljack (Kid Capri Mix Tape Remix ft.Kid Capri & Rev Run)

BONUS BEATS: I would be remiss to not mention Dan Love’s excellent 2-part interview with Camp Lo producer Ski. Read the first part of the interview here at From Da Bricks, where Ski talks about making Camp Lo’s first album, among other things.

Props to Twelve Inchers for the hookup on the Xenobia remix, along with the image at the top.

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Pete Rock ft Redman- Til I Retire/ Best Believe

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ibtb1NfXls[/youtube]

Real Hip Hop is in the muthaf#%king building! PR brought the heat with this one! And Red? What else can you say? It’s Red for christ sake! You know what? I feel good! I feel so good that I’m gonna hook ya’ll up with some goodies. You can thank me later now. And by the way, I’m back. It’s good to be home!!! Read the rest of this entry »

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Three Thug Mice.

A cartoon that features voice work by RA The Rugged Man & Kool G Rap?? Forget Nick Jr., all ML kids will be raised on this.

Check it.

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