Sunday, May 24, 2009

new blacks

I read a blog post about how BET and rap is turning into a minstrel show
http://naimarei.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/modern-minstrel-show/

The line that stuck out to me was "I want us to take personal accountability for how we are seen and depicted"

more than race, it is about preserving a genre and producing music that has substance meaning is conveying emotion about personal experiences

This evolution of rap music has created new subgroup of rap that is targeted to alternative audience. the artists like 3oh3 and MikeyWhiskeyHands who have the traditional look of a pop/rock or hardcore group except they also wear fitted caps, chains and rap. The catchy lyrics are about sex, money, alcohol, guns, and other material things like typical gangster rap music. The music is created for a myspace generation that has rock artists that have a look that easily distinguishes the type of music is produced due to the practice of perfecting your image via pictures on myspace. This also creates artists that play shows along with alternative and hardcore bands based on their image rather than the genre of their music. These types of artists will never been show with popular hip-hop artist or doing activities like freestyling.

themselves with dangerous criminals or partaking in the criminal activities rapped about. This allows for the same escapism suburban white youth sought in rap music, but with Overall, the new generation of 'scene kid rap' is completely unlike the term hipster-hop used for artists like Kid Cudi and The Cool Kids that look toward golden era hip-hop for inspiration. Scene Kid Rap looks toward gangster rap for inspiration without actually assocatingmusicinas that look like rock artists they like and a safer environment to see them like Warped Tour than a rap concert full of people with people of different demographics in an environment that has violent activity in some occasions. Not all of this music is bad, but it s proves how much rap has been ingrained into american cultue that is superceeds race, however when rap turns into ignorance its still resembles negativites that still exist in the
Lets face it soccer moms would rather like their teenage go to a concert for a skinny rapper with really tight pants and a lot of tattoos than a rapper with a police record and gang connections.







However black rapper are taking similar artists. It is becoming more common for a rapper to add verse to a popular indie or rock song. Usually there is no similar sound on the rapper's previous mixtapes or albums, but they show up on an artist's song once it become mainstream. Luckily, I can't group all rappers in this category, rappers like The Knux, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pharrell, XV, Team Robot, Vyle and Alex Ludovico have shown that they have musical interests outside the sound of rap music. These are the rappers influenced by classic hip-hop but have the ability to perform a huge festivals like Lollapalooza, SXSW and Cochella as on of the only hip-hop acts to a crowd that mainly listens to indie music.

MGMT [ft. Jim Jones] - Electric Feel (Remix)
(mp3)

Friday, May 22, 2009

the OTHER rapper in pink

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CHARLES HAMILTON?
From all the upcoming rappers,
I've heard the most MIXED REVIEW about Charles Hamilton

I think they're not ready for his type of music takeover yet

The now 21 year old rapper, Charles Hamilton was born in Cleveland and moved to Harlem at the age of five. He definitiely tries his best to represent New York to the fullest and is best known for his song "Brooklyn Girl. He is signed to Interscope and the Demevolist Music Group,
which was created in 2005 and is an imprint label on Interscope Records. He has been producing music for a long time, including the time he spent in The Lab at Frederick Douglass Academy, which is one of best college prep schools in Harlem. As a teenager he learned how to play lead and bass guitar and he also plays drums and the harmonica. His ability to play several instruments reflects his fondness for different types of genres that are uncustomary to the average rapper nowadays. Lastly, he has a fascination with the color pink and Sonic the Hedgehog. He says, "I always felt like there was no life without sound and Sonic obviously means sound, and hedgehog is buried underground. Which means that I'm buried into sound, music and it comes full circle, like a Sonic the Hedgehog loop." Charles Hamilton has numerous mixtapes and has a large following by hip-hop fans and hip-hop legends. Hopefully people will listen to his most skillful 16 bars and not just his most controversial.
via LA Times

Despite his success, Charles Hamilton has gotten into trouble for something he said about women just like his buddy Asher Roth. Link
Charles Hamilton got in an argument with his assistant and girlfriend Briana Latrise while conducting and interview and it turned into a rap battle. Briana is painter, photographer, and a cool blogger. In early April, Charles mentioned Briana on his blog and said, "As far as who I'm dating, when the time is right, we're airing it out. Briana Latrise is an AWESOME person to be around, and is probably the only female right now who DOESN'T stress me out. Which isn't to say she doesn't tell me the truth about things. If she doesn't like something, she'll say it. ESPECIALLY when it's something I am or am not doing. So don't worry about me having a "constant ego stroker". If anything, I have someone who is helping me enhance my interaction with people. I was already growing, and now I'm expanding." Briana incredibly rapped off of her Blackberry (Drake-style as she says) about how her relationship with Charles Hamilton is over because she was tired of arguing with him. Charles Hamilton came back with a freestyle with biting words about their intimate and sexual relationship. While rapping, Briana slugged Charles Hamilton with a punch when it seemed like he was going too far, which obviously sent him a message. I wonder if Briana is going to keep the two Charles Hamilton songs playing on her myspace page. But seriously, I think the feud will blow over and hopefully both rightfully deserving artists will get more publicity. Hopefully more attention will help the record sales of his much anticipated album, This Perfect Life, which will be released June 23rd. He previously released his first album with Interscope, The Pink Lavalamp, but it was a digital only release and it was available for free download in December 2008.
via The Spliff LA

Charles Hamilton -- The Pink Lavalamp (zip)

Charles Hamilton's response to the altercation:
One of my childhood dreams came true before I stepped into Fight Night 2009 (lol). I F*CKING RODE ON A PLANE WITH BRET "THE HITMAN" HART!!!

AWESOME!!!

Few words, mutual understanding of each other, a handshake when we got off the plane.

Can someone make a Bret Hart/Charles Hamilton/Sonic the Hedgehog .jpeg for me? A few different ones. I'm gonna make it the main pic on my blog.

The whole plane ride I had WILD questions for him. Didn't ask.

I don't think celebs like to be interviewed at random. Hence the public lashouts. I swear I need another Flip cam. Gotta start doing this blog interviews, dude!

GOT SOME QUESTIONS N1GGAS NEED TO ANSWER...

Nah...

GOT SOME QUESTIONS NIGGAS NEED TO ANSWER...

Aight as long as we clear. "You see me here, I run zShare..."

And apparently WorldStarHipHop. 5-digit number of views ALREADY?

So who wants to beat me up next? GUARANTEED FREE PUBLICITY!!! I think the diss tracks got old, so I'm looking for either a stabbing or a shoot-out next.

Whatever costs less.

Probably the stabbing...

OR... or...

You could download the album, like it, and buy it when it's in stores...

OR... or... or...

Has free music taken over the world?

Shouts to Danger Mouse.

~~Charles Hamilton~~
via Orgasmic Frustration/Hellacious Jubilation: The Charles Hamilton Blog


Briana Latrise's response to altercation:
We seriously have a sick, dysfunctional, high school relationship. But... It is what it is. Like I said earlier: I DID NOT MEAN TO DECK HIM. I was holding it back but the more I thought about what he said the more I wanted to hit him. Sorry Grandma. I felt justified, but the more I think about it now, it is an unfair situation for him: I'm a female so he can't hit me back with out a bunch of ppl talkn crap, and he still gets talked about if he doesn't hit me. We ALL know that if a woman feels she's man enough to hit a man, she's probably man enough to take a punch. I'm not sayin thats right eithe-

Matter of fact, let's say this:
Even tho it was a "rap battle" and that's the only reason he was going so hard...
I would do it again in a heart beat. Somebody's gotta shut the kid up sometime!!! But I got love for him tho.

Lol

We are a sad, sad story. We just cross lines.
~RoKKi~
via Project Rehab: For The Artsy Cultured Junky
----------
TAKE IT TO THE STREETS!
WHO SAID HIP-HOP ISN'T POETRY

This is what I call, REVERSE Chris Browning








video platform
video management
video solutions
free video player

via AllHipHop.com

Charles Hamilton - 'Brooklyn Girls'


Charles Hamilton's interview with Current




by Chamelknee Street

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Labels are for cans. Warhol made cans art. Basquiat made art black

The new viral article that has been constantly been posted on twitter and peoples blogs is The Rise of The Black Hipster by Dayo Olopade. He subtitles the article, What happens when the hybrid hipster culture hits black America? I shouldn't be the one pointing the finger, because I am not an investigative journalist, but I think the writer failed to dig deeper and get into the psyche of these "new black hipsters" by learning about their perceptions of current black culture and their sense of racial identity. The way a person defines and identifies hipsters definitely differs, some people believe it is solely fashion and superficial, while other think one must fall into certain criteria regarding music, art, style (not fashion). In addition, it is a common idea that the African American community is last to catch on many mainstream trends because they choose to stick to the standards of the African American community. This is the reason why hipsters (or blipsters) are a minority in the black community. Luckily, I think most black people who are considered hipsters are genuine. This is because the hipster lifestyle is still not acceptable behavior by most black community for several reasons. Also, It takes a lot of extra effort to be interested in the music and fashion that is not pushed by black culture. But then again, some “blipster behavior” like skateboarding and skinny jeans may be a fad, but hopefully it will show young African Americans that options exists in life besides the drug/sex/violent lifestyle perpetuated in most rap and R&B music. However, I don’t not believe the blipster lifestyle is exclusive to the rock world. The very fact that it was brought to the forefront by innovative hip-hop artists like Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams shows this truth. When people look at the independent nature of the pioneers of hip-hop like Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul, Run DMC, and OutKast, one can see the same ingenuity as alternative, indie, electro and hardcore musicians. Simply liking a certain type of music will not make you a hipster, therefore it’s possible to have the lifestyle of a hipster when you are influenced by any time of music. I was most offended by the fact that the female author of this article failed to even attempt to get a female perspective of this issue. Olopade simply says, "we'll stick with men". Even though it may be easier to identify a male "blipster" based on a male-dominated stereotype. The females role is very important in a era where black women are primarily viewed as video vixens by the media. I have previously written that black women have struggled in an attempted to straddle the African American and the eurocentric sense of beauty and femininity. Hipsters of all races have changed these standards and have created an almost asexuality among females and men. I fail to get the understanding that the author understands why black youth chose to diverge from the mainstream.

This articles comes off as a piece on the newest fad, when in actuality it's lifestyle that people have been a part of long before Kanye began using autotune. Hipsters are not a new subculture that hit black America, they have always existed. People are not like scarves or certain types of pants. I believe it somewhat demeaning to African American adults who may be considered hipsters by outsiders, because they have decided to live an alternative lifestyle for several years and their life is not comparable to a surge of black teens buying skateboards after Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell.


Personally I prefer last summer's overly critical article, Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization from Adbusters. It explains more of a way of life than just a fad. It argues that this generation is a "lost generation" who are overly self-aware. Instead of treating hipsters as a new creature, it looks at the new breed created in the new millennium that lacks the true free spiritedness of its predecessors. The most poignant comment was that "symbols and icons of working or revolutionary classes that have been appropriated by hipsterdom and drained of meaning". This was striking, because this brought in class issues and gave an origin and explanation for many of the items people use to identify a hipster. It is arguable that hipsters must be well off and yearn for cheap beer in a suppressed attempt to like the less privileged. We will never know why some thing are considered cool, but I we should settle and say people like when things are cheaper and when things are not the same as the norm.

Personally, I am not a fan of the label 'hipster'. I think it is primarily used in contempt by people who are not interested in the same things as the so-called hipsters. In this sense, people use the word to bring distance to themselves and not very perceptive. The word is also used to emphasize the superficialness in others actions, however I prefer the old standby term ‘poseur’. In a negative or a positive light, I always considered a person who is called a ‘hipster’, a person who is at least knowledgeable about the music they like, not only the music that television or radio pushes on the masses. In addition, I consider them people who will set the trends for everyone else, but they begin this soon to be trend at a time when it may be considered weird.

The article, The Rise of the Black Hipster ends with, “blipsters are proof that everything old is new again”. However, I believe “blipsters” are people who believe in new creation without fear. Even though old fads like acid wash are making a comeback, free thinkers are experimental and create things that have never been seen by the masses. There is nothing wrong with being influenced by the past or people you consider cool, but a problem only exists if you continue to do things that make you feel uncomfortable only to feel accepted. Everyone craves to be accepted, but you will only feel truly welcomed if you are always yourself, because you will not commit actions under the fear that you may make a mistake and you and do something that is not to the liking of others. In addition, if you mindlessly follow trends, you will completely lose everything that makes you special and unique. This will cause you to find yourself surrounded by people that you are not alike and you will feel very alone.


read Rise of the Black Hipster HERE

read Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization HERE

by Chamelknee Street

Drake = Jonas Brothers

Drake is like the hip-hop version of The Jonas Brothers
he's fashionable
he's attractive
(Joe Jonas is attractive to me, what can I say)
he had a huge preteen following at one point
he makes girls swoon
he has multiple talents


Anyway, Drake, Drizzy, or whatever you call him, has released a new mixtape.
It is not all new material, but it includes gems like 'Overdose on Life', which is a song featuring Travis McCoy (of Gym Glass Heroes) and Mickey Factz.


The Empire & Drake - The Drought Is Over:
Friends With Money Mixtape
(rar)
via The Smoking Section
Mac users, open rar files with UrarX

Track List:

1. Drake Speaks
2. Good Night, Good Luck
3. Uptown (Original) (Feat. Bun B & Lil’ Wayne)
4. Drake Speaks
5. She Just Wanna Dance (Feat. Trey Songz)
6. Overdose On Life (Feat. Mickey Factz & Travie)
7. I Want Dis 4 Eva (Feat. Lil Wayne & Nut Da Kid)
8. Friends With Money
9. President Freestyle
10. Get Like Me (Feat. Lil Wayne)
11. Still Drake (Feat. Trey Songz)
12. What I’m Thinking Right Now
13. Girl Let Me (Feat. Belly)
14. Every Girl (Feat. Young Money)
15. Closer To My Dreams (Original)
16. Successful (Feat. Trey Songz & Lil’ Wayne)
17. Smile (Feat. Voyce Alexander)
18. Can’t Hide From Love Freestyle
19. Cannon Ball (Feat. Colin Monroe)
20. Best I Ever Had
21. Take You Down Freestyle
22. Enjoy Yourself (Feat. Slakah The BeatChild)
23. November 14th (Chuck Inglish Remix)
24. I’m Goin In (Feat. Lil’ Wayne)


by Chamelknee Street

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

New Orleans Your The Best

Sadly New Orleans isn't as lucky as other cities like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles to have many major artists to come to the city. So when it does, there is always a large turn out an a lot of support. This past Friday, two major shows were going on. Drake had a show at Tulane University and at the Howlin Wolf there was a full lineup including The Knux, Curren$y, Tyga, S.O.U.L Fresh and Team Robot. Both shows had a very good turnout and even though Drake fans had a wait a long time for their main act to show up, fans at both shows left happy because of surprise guys like Lil Wayne and Trey Songs or the fact that they were able to see successful artists from their hometown in such an intimate environment. After scouring the internet I only found videos of Drake, Tyga and S.O.U.L. Fresh. If any videos of The Knux, Curren$y, or Team Robot are posted, I will show them here as soon as possible.


Tyga at Howlin' Wolf


S.O.U.L Fresh at Tulane University

via TrafficTV

Drake at Tulane University













via Youtube

Drake preforming 'Brand New', 'You The Best', and 'Uptown'

DRAKE BRAND NEW| YOU THE BEST| UPTOWN from Ally Bee on Vimeo.

Drake preforming 'Sucessful'

drake sucessful Live from Ally Bee on Vimeo.

Drake preforming 'November 18th'

Drake-"november 18th" from Ally Bee on Vimeo.


Drake preforming 'Every Girl'

Drake- Every Girl Live from Ally Bee on Vimeo.

via Ally Be


NEW MUSIC
fam-lay ft. pharrell- Get that work up (mp3)
Kid Sister - I'll House You (Reebok Classic '09) (mp3)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Leaders Of The New Cool

My favorite info service, TWITTER, now has something called Trending Topics, which informs you about the most twitted topics of the time.

So who are the "trending artists" in hip-hop right now?

the most blogged about
the most twitted about
and hyped about artist on campuses



Big Sean

Big Sean hailing from Detroit is one of the newest artists on Kanye West's GOOD Music record label.
He met Kanye West in 2005 and had his song 'Getcha Song' featured on Kayne's mixtape, since then he has also worked with Pharrell Williams. His first mixtape, Finally Famous Vol. 1 was released in 2007 and his second mixtape, Finally Famous Vol. 2 was released this past April. His album, Finally Famous is planned to be released this year as well.
Big Sean - Supa Dupa (mp3)
Big Sean - Who Knows ft. Mike Posner (mp3)
Big Sean -- Finally Famous Vol. 1 (mixtape) (zip)
Big Sean - U Know Big Sean Finally Famous Vol. 2 (mixtape) (zip)

Drake

I feel like Drake is the most hyped artist right now. I think he definitely has the potential to crossover into an arena where all types of fans will like him. I first heard of Drake in the spring 2008, when I heard his verse for 'Overdose On Life', which also features, Travis McCoy and Mickey Factz. After hearing him spit, I knew the kid was a true MC. My research showed me that he was Jimmy (kid the the wheelchair) on the popular Noggin teen show Degrassi. I then download his 2006 mixtape release, Room For Improvement and his his 2007 mixtape Comeback Season. Since then he has released Heartbreak Drake and So Far Gone, which has gained the attention of the mainstream audience. I have noticed that there has been a little change in his sound over the years, but I know he will become SUCCESSFUL if he stays true to who he is. When I think of Drake, I think of a attractive young guys, who hails from Canada, but in greatly influenced by Houston rap and artists like Lil Wayne and Trey Songs. Drake has managed to gain suburban teenage fans who know him from Degrassi and urban fans who know him from the songs he has been featured on with Lil Wayne. It is rare to see a young artist with such a broad following before releasing an album. Drake is a triple threat because of his singing, rapping, and acting, which he all does very well. If he could also dance, he would be the male Beyonce. lol
Drake -- Take You Down (mp3)
Download all his mixtapes at the mixtape section on the right

The artists above are all talented, but I am always most impressed when an artists has talent and originality. This because a lot of people can lyrical skill, but it real artistry when you can make your music your own.


So here is my list of upcoming musicians who will "change the game":

Kid Cudi
I'll make this brief, because you probably have heard of his name, but you haven't heard of ALL of his music. He was made popular, when Crookers did a remix of his single, Day n Nite. In 2008, he released the mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi exclusively at 10.Deep's website. In April he released Dat Kid From Cleveland. As the title of the mixtape says, Kid Cudi is showing the world that good hip-hop comes from places in the midwest besides Chicago. He chooses to rap over all times of beats like LCD Soundsystem, Ratatat, and N.E.R.D without name dropping to gain popularity. Kid Cudi is a breath of fresh air to the rap game, from his Justice x Surface 2 Air leather jacket, to his lyrical content to his remixes. Kid Cudi is not a one his wonder, he is just wondering why you haven't tried to hear the rest of his amazing music.
His album, Man on the Moon, will be released August 25th

Kid Cudi -- Plain Pat & Emile Presents a KiD named CuDi (mixtape) (zip)
Kid Cudi -- Dat Kid From Cleveland (mixtape) (zip)
Kid Cudi -- The Anthem Mixtape The Best of Kid Cudi (w/ music, video, pictures and wallpaper) (zip)

via Cudi Fresh


Hollywood Holt

As a resident of Chicago, I could never forget to mention the Hollywood Holt. This dude doesn't try to be anyone but himself. That means he is a breakdancing, moped riding, four-finger ring wearing, tatted up rock star who loves to juke them hoes. This summer he is touring with Lady Sovereign and Chester French and in the past he toured with Kid Cudi.

Hollywood Holt -- Hollywood (mp3)
Hollywood Holt -- Throw A Kit On That Bitch (mp3)
His mixtape, Holt Goes To Hollywood is no longer downloadable, but you can still hear all of his tracks online.




Ninjasonik
Hailing from Brooklyn and expressing it to the fullest, Ninjasonik is a hip-hop group who has a punk rock lifestyle. Ninjasonik is the group that tours with REAL punk rock bands. They have shows with the same face to face contact as a basement rock show, they crowd surf all the time, and they even skateboard and drink Sparks. They also have songs about their extremely tight pants and their love of art school girls. They have released the Tight Pants EP on Brooklyn's Cheif Records and are constantly releasing new songs on their myspace page. So check out their music, check their twitter and go to one of theirs shows, because they are a force to be reckoned with.

Buy The Tight Pants EP HERE
Ninjasonik -- Tight Pants (mp3)
Ninjasonik -- Negative Thinking Tight Pants (mp3)
Ninjasonik -- The Mix 1 (mixtape) (zip)
Ninjasonik -- The Mix 2 (mixtape) (zip)


via Ninjafahkinsonik Youtube Page


Theophilus London
Theophilus London is another artist that proves that Chicago's biggest competition for having LEADERS OF THE NEW SCHOOL is Brooklyn artists. He is the type of artist that makes you forget completely about what genre of music you are listening to, until you are woken up by his fierce rhymes and flow. Theophilus takes MCs to a new level by using classic beats in a very unconventional manner. He recently modeled the Fall '08 line for the popular streetwear brand, Rocksmith and is known for having his own unique fashion style.

Theophilus London - JAM! (mp3)
Theophilus London - Leader of the New School (mp3)
Theophilus London -- Jam! (mixtape) (zip)
Theophilus London--This Charming Mixtape (mixtape) (zip)









Travis McCoy
He is currently the rapper/lead singer of upstate New York's Gym Class Heroes, which is a band that had a lot changes in the way that they sound since their first independently album, ...For The Kids came out in 2004, whether is is personal "maturity" or industry influence, the group has went through a lot of transformations. However outside of his main project, Travis McCoy has had several impressive side projects over the years. One project is Bernie Allen with DJ Sie-1, who produced the mixtape, Who Is Bernie Allen. The other is Tequila Mockingbird with Nicholas Scimeca (partner of the successful music oriented Angel & Kings nightclubs). Besides his work with others, he is venturing out on is own with a solo career and he already has a deal on T-Pains record label (whom he toured with this past winter).

Travis McCoy -- Can't Wait feat. Stress (mp3)
Travis McCoy -- Let's Get In On (mp3)
Bernie Allen -- Who Is Bernie Allen (mixtape) (zip)
Tequila Mockingbird -- Snowglobe (mp3)
Gym Class Heroes -- ...For The Kids (1st GCH album that is not sold in stores) (zip)



via 2dopeboyz


Tyga
He is Travis McCoy's cousin and is an hip-hop artist on Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment and also Decaydance Records, which mostly supports alternative bands. The fact that Tyga is signed to two very different record label shows that he is a very unique rapper and that he has the opportunity to do things that have never been done before. He is best known for his song, 'Coconut Juice', which features Travis McCoy. I read a YouTube comment for the video, that said
it was confusing for Lil Wayne to be in the video because Tyga was a 'rocker', which meant he couldn't be a rapper. It is very rare for someone so mix up a rapper with a rock musician, so I was impressed to see he achieved such a mix up. Tyga shows his fans that your image is unrelated to the musical content you put out.
Buy his album, No Introduction HERE
Download all his mixtapes at the mixtape section on the right

via 2dopeboyz


Shwayze
Shwayze is hip-hop musician from Malibu, California that connects hip-hop with alternative music. Shwayze is technically the name of a solo artist, but all of his songs feature Cisco Adler. They are best know for their song, Buzzin and they had a MTV reality show with the same name. When people think of California hip-hop, they think about the gangster rap of Oakland and Longbeach, but Shwayze makes music that goes with the laid back side of California is that usually represented with more rock artists than hip-hop. Shwayze's first studio album, Shwayze, got a lot of attention and reached to the 10th Billboard chart position. It rumoured that their new single 'Rock n Roll', which has been remixed by Kanye West and The Knux will be on a new album titled that will be released in May.
Buy the self-titled album, Shwayze HERE



via Rah Almillio twitpics

The Knux
Hailing form New Orleans but commonly associated with Los Angeles, The Knux takes their individuality to a whole new level. Best of all, its not superficial by any means. This can be told from their music, they ability to play instruments, their associations with people like Steve Aoki, and from personal conversations I had with the guys. These fellas are no joke. This is the type of hip-hop group that can name their favorite old-school hip-hop artists, punk rock bands, indie bands and the biggest house and Drum n Bass songs without blinking an eye. They talk about they're real life experiences and even throw in New Orleans references that might seem esoteric to some fans. They have opened shows for Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Nas, The Roots, Shwayze and The Cool Kids; and now they're finally headlining their own shows.
Buy the album, Remind Me In Three Days HERE


Curren$y
Truthfully, I have never been a fan of many artist that come out of the south. Its not like there's not a lot talent, because it definitely exists. But the rap that is usually produced isn't my cup of tea. In a recent live interview I saw Curren$y conduct with 2cents and Crescent City Radio, he admitted that in past he tried to be a person that wasn't himself and now he's finally being himself. Now I know this is a line that commonly quoted by artists of all genres, but I believe it from Curren$y. I can tell from his lyrical content to the people featured on his NEW album. His first official album, This Aint No Mixtape, features fellow up-and-coming artists like Mickey Factz, Trademark Da Skydiver and Amanda Diva. Until now, Curren$y was known for his MANY mixtapes like 'Independence Day', 'Life At 30,000 Feet', and 'Fast Times At Ridgemont Fly'. The song that really sold me was 'Modern Day Hippie' from the mixtape, Fast Times At Ridgemont Fly. It's a quality song that he used the term 'hippie' and not an overworked term like 'rocker'' to express his individuality. Hippies were known for being nonconformists who took drugs and that's a simple way to describe Curren$y. Curren$y is the type of rapper than you'll randomly see in New Orleans at Fresh Prince night at The Republic or at Streetwear Sundays. He was also featured in 10.Deep's "Nineteen Ninety-Now" lookbook for their Spring '09 collection. To New Orleans he's a common face, but in the future I know his music will be known all over the place.

Download his mixtapes HERE
Buy his new first official cd, This Aint No Mixtape
HERE



omg what a coincide?
THE KNUX, CURREN$Y AND TYGA will performing TOGETHER
in NEW ORLEAN'S HOWLIN WOLF ON THIS SATURDAY MAY 9 AT 8 PM.

The event is called the Grand Expo Benefit Concert. It will feature The Knux, Tyga, Curren$y, Slang Angus, S.O.U.L. FRESH, Team Robot and N.O. Capo. The host will be Wild Wayne from Q93 and Force Feed Radio and Dj Spin will dj. The Howlin Wolf is at 907 SOUTH PETERS in New Orleans, Louisiana and it will be extremely packed. All proceeds of this benefit will go to the 7th Ward Neighborhood Center, which helps restore New Orleans' 7th Ward. The event will also have free giveaways from Nike SB, Crooks N Castles, Married To the Mobb, Fresh Produce Daily and Fat Kids With Cake.

Before the show, The Knux will be on channel 6 at 9:30 am for an interview, then they will be PEACHES RECORDS for a meet & greet at 2pm. After the show, there will be an afterparty at The Republic (
828 South Peters St) with special guests The Knux, Tyga, Curren$y, Drake, Dee-1, Team Robot, S.O.U.L. Fresh, Scooter and Detroit.

Drake will also be in town that day and even though I LOVE his music, I would rather see a show where everyone on the bill is really cutting edge, from the main acts to the the local acts like Team Robot (with Cypher and Lu Smith) and S.O.U.L FRESH.

Cypher -- Forty Four Tours (mixtape)
S.O.U.L FRESH--I Don't Want To Grow Up (mp3)



TEAM ROBOT
S.O.U.L. FRESH








Photos via STICKYFINGERZ


Melknee the RnR Ninja

Monday, May 4, 2009

GONE FISHING

THE NEWEST INSTALLMENT FROM THE COOL KIDS IS HERE

After an extended 6 hours, the much awaited mixtape Gone Fishing was released on their website, coolxkids.com
and for those mac users who have problems opening rar files, use UrarX to open the file

DOWNLOAD THE MIXTAPE

DOWNLOAD THE DESKTOP IMAGE


Me and Mikey present: "When Fish Ride Bicycles"


The Cool Kids worked with Don Cannon for their new mixtape
Gone Fishing

IT WILL BE RELEASED on their website on MONDAY, MAY4th
and according to Chuck Inglish's twitter, it will be at exactly 6AM


So get ready to wake up early like your about to buy a pair of Yeezys at Leaders
Their first studio album, When Fish Ride Bicycles will be in stores
December 29, 2009


Tracklist
1. Introduction to Ice Fishing - Produced by Chuck Inglish
2. Hammer Bros - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
3. Champions - (Produced by) 1st Team All State (Don Cannon & Chuck Inglish) (mp3)
4. Gold Links - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
5. Cinnamon - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
6. Premium Blends feat. Shorty K. - (Produced by) Mikey Rocks
7. Stepback (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
7. Jump Rope feat. Tennille - (produced by) Don Cannon & Mars of 1500
8. The Last Stretch feat. Jahda - (produced by) Chuck Inglish
9. The Art of Noise interlude
10. The Light Company - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
11. Popcorn - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish (mp3)
12. Wise words from GLC
13. Pennies (the updated rosters Remix) feat. Special Guests - (produced by Chuck Inglish)
14. Broadcasting Live - (Produced by) 1st Team All State (Don & Chuck)
15. Takin A Break - interlude (produced by) Don Cannon
16. Tune up - (Produced by) Chuck Inglish
17. Weekend Love interlude
18. Summer Vacations (Produced by) Don Cannon & Mars of 1500
19. Wise words from GLC cont.
20. Knocked Down (Produced by) 1st team All State (Don & Chuck)


Videos leading up the the album release




Friday, May 1, 2009

would you rather have 100% from a follower or 10% from a leader

Air Yeezy x Leaders 1354 x J Sakiya x Kanye West

Chicago's premiere streetwear store, Leaders 1354 teamed up with the creator of Kanye West's book, Thank You & You're Welcome by J Sakiya to make a special edition shirt that perfectly matches one of the Air Yeezy colorways (it even glows in the dark). The name of the shirt actually comes from a line of Kanye West's book. The shirt retails for $45, which is cheap compared to it's matching shoes, and it will be sold throughout Chicago.
Everyone outside of the windy city can buy it at
the Leaders 1354's website
via Fake Shore Drive