Metal Lungies

Tomorrow night MTV’s Total Request Live pulls the plug on its 10+ year existence with a reunion of sorts. Both artists that were a big part of TRL and former hosts are scheduled to appear. Honestly, I’ll be tuning in- I’ve always had a soft spot for the show, it was the thing to watch when I got home from Middle School in the late 90s. I had the 1-800 number programmed into the speed dial of our home phone…and damn it I was psyched when I got to request an Eve video (before you say anything the other option was 98 Degrees, ok?) with Carson, street cred be damned. I was also lame enough to record the moment of glory that was my call-in on VHS. Other than that some of my best personal memories were the EMtv special where Eminem took over the show, Noel Gallagher being high out of his mind during his appearance, and the Spankin New Music week which had 2 Rage Against the Machine performances around the release of The Battle of Los Angeles. Hopefully I’ll recall some more from the finale.

The finale airs on this Sunday on MTV at 8pm.

Read the full details of who is scheduled to appear, reminisce with a 60 second recap of TRL’s history (including Tyra calling Kanye “Kane”) and a clip of Outkast Andre 3000 performing Hey Ya live on TRL, all after the jump.

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You know we mess with Nardwaur, so its pretty much a must we throw up Nardwuar’s latest encounter.  He meets up with Common in Vancouver and knowledge on everything from early Chicago rap to Mongolian BBQ with Dilla is discussed, check it out. Spotted at 2DB.

As I watched the latest installment of Joe Budden TV where he is shopping for a jacket in the Bronx Harlem (edit: sorry it was late!), the store seemed familiar. After racking my brain filled with random hip hop nonsense, I realized It is the exact same store Jim Jones shopped at & documented a few years back. Looks like Jim Jones got a better deal (not even calcualting inflation!!). Jim Jones shopping savvy> Joe Budden. Watch and compare for yourself:

New video for the track off 808s & Heartbreak. Cell shading FTW.

Note: I know I’ve been barley around, but I returned from CMJ week to a dead Dell laptop, I’ve moved on to a mac so posting from my end should be picking up.

I come bearing gifts. The homie Mulatto Patriot just passed me this heater off his album Sonic Visuals. The beat is real paranoid and he’s got Razzy on some sinister ish. I’d be blasting this right now, but my roommates are sleeping.

Download: Mulatto Patriot – Audio Terrorist (feat. Ras Kass, Casual, Prosper Jones)

I shot some questions at Mulatto too:

ML: How did you first get into hip-hop?

MP: My longtime friend DRIP (R.I.P.) introduced me to hip-hop in the 90s. The first show I went to had Common Sense and Guru on the bill. It was one of the greatest memories of my childhood.

ML: What’s poppin in the Chicago scene?

MP: Chicago has many great artists putting in work. Just to name a few Pugs Atomz, Awdazcate, Decay, Primemeridian, Astonish, Longshot, Wes Restless, Seal Fresh, Verbal Kent, Chekk Famous, Q-Billa, etc…

ML: Where’d you get the name Mulatto Patriot from?

MP: The De La Soul Song “I am, I be”. I am Mulatto and I be for America.

ML: Any MC’s you’d really like to produce?

MP: Common (Sense), Black Thought, Dice Raw, Slug, Phie Dawg, Mos Def, Talib, Busta, MFDoom, Murs, C-Ray, EL-P, DEL, Rakka, Evidence, Cee-Lo, wordsworth, JSands, Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, E. Badu, Jill Scott, Method Man, Redman Man, Ludacris, Mad Skillz, Styles P, KRS1, Nas, Pharoahe Monch and any MC that puts on a dope show.

ML: Were you in the studio with everyone on the album or did they mail in verses?

MP: 75% of the Vocals on the album I recorded @ my studio.

ML: Anybody particularly impress you in the booth?

MP: Everyone brought their own flavor and that’s one of the things I like most about the Album.

ML: Hardest part of getting the album off the ground?

MP: Having to keep telling my family and friends “I’m in the studio, we’ll get up on… scratch that, I’ll give you a call when I’m free.”

Sonic Visuals is now on sale at iTunes (US, Europe, AUS, Japan), Amazon, Rhapsody, and other major digital distributor joints.

Major shouts to Mulatto Patriot for hooking it up! Tracklisting and the video for his single "Cadillac Vinyl" after the jump.

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Via Eskay by way of Rafi

The duo perform “The Matrix”, followed by Pharaohe performing “Let’s Go”. The energy level here is crazy, and the live band is tight. I gotta see them live, seriously.

Speaking of which, Black has a few live shows this month posted to his MySpace:

Nov. 6 – @ Revival, Toronto, Ontario – with DJ House Shoes & Elzhi

Nov. 8 – @ Sonar, Baltimore, Maryland

Nov. 15 – @ The Knitting Factory, L.A., California

Nov. 18 – @venue TBA, Atlanta, Georgia

If you haven’t already, check out our Alchemist Beat Drop, featuring picks by DJ Premier (!) and Black himself.

I haven’t posted some DC related shit in a while, so here goes- I’m gonna get everyone on the team a copy of this. This probably needs a pause.

Via Nah Right

Three of my favorite rappers bullshitting at Budden’s house. Royce really never takes his shades off, huh?

There’s more at Budden’s YouTube channel.

I got an email a few days ago from Chicago emcee Nico B promoting this EP he put together. I don’t normally post stuff by people who don’t reach out to me directly, but this album is ill. Sabada Gigante is Nico’s tribute to salsa legend Hector Lavoe, produced entirely by DJ Noble. The beats are dope, all based around Lavoe samples, and Nico is pretty nice on the mic, although he does quote classic lyrics a bit excessively at times (lemonade was a popular drink in the 90s and apparently still is!) Can’t forget that fantastic album cover either.

I got into salsa pretty recently through the great Willie Colon compilation, A Man & His Music: The Player, and I’ve been wanting to flip salsa samples for a while. This EP is a breath of fresh air and very welcome on a shitty winter day, highly recommended. You can stream tracks off the tape at Nico’s MySpace too, if you’re not sold.

Download: Nico B – Sabado Gigante EP

Let me leave you with Hector singing “Periodico de Ayer” in 1978:

Good  news via AllHipHop

Phife Dawg’s long fight with diabetes recently took a new turn for the better, as the Queens native finally received a kidney transplant.

The new kidney comes after a waiting period of over two years, which saw Phife endure problems performing live and a dramatic weight loss through his dialysis treatment.

Originally diagnosed with diabetes in May of 1990, Phife admitted to not taking care of himself by eating the worst types of food for someone with his condition: fats, sweets, and alcohol.

By 1992 the Tribe member started to be debilitated by the illness, with his blood sugar level reaching fatal levels of near 1000 mg/dl, well over the normal 80-120 mg/dl.

The fight finally came to a head with Phife being put on dialysis in 2000.

In 2002, he was hospitalized after the condition continued to worsen.

Now with a new kidney, Phife’s illness with hopefully improve dramatically, giving the legendary Tribe member renewed physical energy.

Glad to see Malik’s health is improving. Hope “A Milli” paid for some of this. Below: A pretty dope Phife solo shot -too bad it’s a Tip diss. One of my favorite Hi-Tek beats.