FREEBIES: erykah vs. jill (devil's pie mixtape)

Devil's Pie, a bi-weekly party at San Francisco's Namu Bar formerly hosted by DJ Phatrick, got some new ish in time for the holidays:

download.

Treat yourself.

Black Snake Moan

Two reasons to watch for Talib Kweli's latest project, Idle Warship:Res and Graph Nobel.


The two genre-bending female artists have revolutionized music (at least for me) over the past decade. First, there was Philly-based Res' hit record How I Do (Geffen, 2001) which was exclusively written by Graph and "discovered" by Santogold. Then there's the fact that both women have struggled through industry bullshit to keep putting out good music. Even though How I Do was critically acclaimed enough to become an indie hit, it suffered from label mismanagement and didn't get proper marketing or radio airplay. Last spring, Res released her second album, the self-written Black.Girls.Rock, through the online music service Scocap on her myspace page.

After moving from her hometown of Toronto to Los Angeles, Graph has been in the studio with everyone from Dr. Dre to MobbDeep, but still hasn't been able to release her own album. Instead, she teases her fans with some of her best music that's only available through live streams on Imeem, like these goodies I've been fawning over for almost a year:







So while it's still weird as hell to see Kweli in a sexually explicit club joint like Black Snake Moan, it's fucking great for Black music that three artists are redefining the boundaries of rock, hip-hip and soul. Not to mention that the publicity is going to great for Graph and Res:



Idle Warship "Black Snake Moan" from The ICU on Vimeo.

FREEBIES: jay-z & fela kuti: nigerian gangster

since jay's last two albums have already been mashed up with practically every conceivable musical legend, it was only a matter of time before dj mike love's Nigerian Gangster took the internets by storm:

download.

FREEBIES: dahlak: commencement mixtape

this is wayy late, but i've gotta post some good shit on the new blog.

fresh off their natural electricity tour with the hi-life's, ill-lit's dahlak released commencement: a kanye west tribute about a month ago. check it:

download.

FREEBIES: goodnight, goodnight: cunninlynguists & maroon 5

kno, of cunninlynguists, just dropped it.

download.

yo

test

...Living in the memory of our song.

Okay, so this post might get me banned from the playground, but I'm really feelin Mariah tonight....

The Singing of our National Anthem

I wish I'd been more timely with this.

A few weeks ago, jazz singer Rene Marie fused the melody of the "Star Spangled Banner" with the lyrics of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" when asked to perform the national anthem at the mayor's annual state of the city address in Denver, CO.



Brilliant. Beautiful and brilliant in both concept and execution. Of course, Rene Marie's performance has been met with quite a bit of hostility and criticism. The language around this is telling. Said Mayor John Hickenlooper of the performance:

"We all respect artistic license and support freedom of expression," he said. "But in a tradition-laden civic ceremony . . . making a personal substitution for the national anthem was not an option. We asked for 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and that's what we expected."

That shit's deep. He talks of "freedom of expression"--a constitutional right that is so evidently conditional and expendable. There are so many historical and contemporary examples of this that words like "irony" or "hypocrisy" don't even begin to cover it. Next, he talks about a "tradition-laden civic ceremony"... and I can't help but think of the legacy of commodity slavery that built this nation...the system that gave this country enough autonomy to fight for independence from England in the first place (and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air). And I think, why isn't that a "tradition" our nation ever cares to remember?

And suddenly Rene Marie's "substitution" is "personal." To me, her actions were SO beyond a personal substitution! Here, she has put the "(White) American National Anthem" into conversation with what is often considered the "Black (American) National Anthem." Her artistic choice here is so much bigger than just her. Her art is some century-spanning, race-bridging, powerful-ass work!

So though she will never read this, I have to say: Thank you, Rene Marie, for your voice, for your messages, for your art. I hear you.

Moving Mountains

The following quote showed up in my facebook news feed a couple of weeks ago:

“Getting over you is like trying to move mountains. I just can’t do it.”

Possibly influenced by Usher’s new song, I cannot deny the cheesiness of the quote. But there’s a reason why I am writing about it in a blog post almost two weeks later. It is probably related to why Usher is so much richer than me. Huge numbers of people relate to “cheesy” expressions of emotions. Combine that with the catchy and sometimes outright dope beats and dance sequences attached to the words and it isn’t too hard to understand why it sells (I am defining "cheesy" as lines that would cause a roll of eyes at best if used in face to face conversations).

What I am trying to get at in this post is 1) why is it that hallmark-ish expressions of emotion have such a wide audience (Chris Browns With You was in the top ten for god knows how long, and no its not just teeny boppers listening to that stuff) and 2) Why do so many people above the age of 14 vehemently deny and even hide their enjoyment of this music (I KNOW I am not the only grown ass person with a guilty pleasures playlist on my ipod). Any answers? Confessions?

Obviously, this entire post is driven by the non-selfless goal of not only justifying the existence of said playlist, but trying to understand the fact that reading that quote made me want to pick up the phone, call my long time on-again-off-again ex/best friend and declare that* “trying to get over you is like moving mountain. I just can’t do it. And I wouldn’t go as far as saying when im with you, I don’t need money, I don’t need car’s cause we both know that’s a dam lie. But I need air air air. So … what you wanna do do do? Now its me and you, you, you. Make a move?”

* Don’t worry I din’t do it. I din’t rreeaally wanna do it anyway. See question 2).

the song that saves your day.

so im kind of losing my mind.

im in the midst of finals, trying to get done with major projects at work, and on top of that trying to get ready to leave tommorow for a vacation.

i was listening to pandora at work. and this song came on. it took me back to a beautiful carefree summer in california.

thank you blackalicious.

Yes We Can

A group of stars headed by the Black Eyed Peas will.i.am made a music video dedicated to electing Obama. The Obama campaign says they had nothing to do with the creation of the video.

There are quite a few people in it: Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Adam Rodriquez, Kelly Hu, Adam Rodriquez, Amber Valetta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger and Nick Cannon.

Thoughts??


Look out for more election coverage soon!

AAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWWWWW

i was in this bar called no parking last night, its in washington heights -check it out if you have never been, at the least, its simply an alternative to chelsea- and the dj played this song. it was one of those songs that you just have to move to... the beat, the tempo, the sound, it just speaks to you. taking you to a place where all that matters is the music.

this song will always take me back to nights in oakland, luka's to be more specific, and the people i love there.....

we love stealing, sharing music, heres a link for it on ZSHARE

A Taste of Honey

New Erykah Badu single, "Honey"
New album to drop in February 08
In the mean time, enjoy the single...

relax yourself and let the sugar Lo flow

this is my break before high work/study mode.
wish me luck

enjoy Camp Lo's Coolie High

Friday Inspiration

Reggae artist I Wayne has one simple philosophy: Life. His debut album, "Lava Ground" is an expression of just that, life in Jamaica in all its nuances-the love, the poverty, the struggle of it all.

Life: peaceful, non-destructive existence is the core of his new album, "Book of Life." I Wayne in his own words:

Just appreciate life as it is and praise it. I'm against anyone who wants to change that. When one wants to tear up the Book of Life, they mess with the elements, the universe. Scientists are killing to make millions and giving false information. Just love life as it is and don't try to destroy. We need to care for life more. We can't have too much love for material because then we disregard life. I'm trying to keep it simple and real, just sharing some of what life has taught. I'm not here to force anyone but to share some of life's knowledge--just being 'naturous.'

Check it out. You just might like it.

Dear Hip Hop

This one is for Jay.



Bridget Gray's Letter to Hip Hop
Find more about this artist here.

My favorite part:

Now unless I'm dreaming I could have swore, right after you called me a "bitch" you called someone else a whore, and at this point I'm trying to process a few things. What were the original words to that song and you want me to do WHAT with my thong? And I'm trippin' cause nobody is acting like anything is wrong. After all the anthem for the new millennium was "big Pimpin". And it all seems a bit surreal, cuz when I was dancing around I didn't know the damage my soul was going to feel. And there are times I'm still compelled to move, but I swear to you it's that old school groove that plays above the lyrics, beacuse if the music wasn't there I definitely wouldn't hear it! I thought Hip Hop was supposed to be a means of poetically expressing yourself but it seems these days you'd say anything to get your C.Ds off the shelf.

Talk about Pride

On a lighter tip, Goapele had a baby! Talk about keepin' that on the low. She had a baby girl last month and named her what else but Bahia, which in Portuguese means "The Bay". Talk about Bay Pride! Go 'head girl, and for all of you fans or dying-to-become fans, she's playing for free at Stern Grove on Sunday in San Francisco.

Jamz for Jay

on her day!
Happy Birthday!

For you,
A few jams to get your head bobbing on this beautiful day of your birth!
I'm a few hours early, but I won't have my hands on a computer till late tomorrow afternoon.
May you live in love today and always!

New Common

Yup







It still common, but the i dunno about the lily allen component...

Brasilintime - LA Premiere

Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 7:30 pm
The Egyptian Theater
6712 Hollywood Boulevard; Los Angeles, CA 90028
General: $10.00. Senior & Students: $8.00

From Wax Poetics:

Follow a group of North American percussionists (Paul Humphrey, Derf Reklaw, and James Gadson) and DJs (Cut Chemist, Babu, J.Rocc, Madlib, DJ Nuts) as they scan the sebos in Sao Paulo, in search of golden nuggets of Brazilian music. Sebos is Brazilian for "used record stores," and the protagonists in Brasilintime undergo a revealing journey through piles of aged vinyl, rediscovering classics such as Jorge Ben and Trio Mocoto, Tim Maia, Tony Tornado, and Azymuth, among others. This visually stunning documentary also features interviews with and performances by legendary percussionist Wilson das Neves, Joao Parahyba aka Comanche, and Ivan "Mamao" Conti. Directed by B+ and Eric Coleman.

The schedule:
July 17 :: Movie Premiere @ The Egyptian Theatre
July 18 :: Photo Exhibition Opening by B+ & Coleman @ Turntable Lab LA
July 19 :: The Concert! @ The Mayan :: Featuring: Paul Humphrey, James Gadson, Derf Reklaw, Babu, J.Rocc, Cut Chemist, Madlib and direct from Brasil João "Comanche" Parahyba, Ivan "Mamão" Conti & DJ Nuts.

Buy tickets here.