More Hip Hop DJ/Producer Coverage at DJs/Producers II
Hip hop dj and producer coverage continues in our DJs/Producers II category.
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Headlines to Your Site or Blog: Widgetbox MuseStorm Widget ProHipHop Network |
Hip-Hop News Plus Tupac Shakur Info |
Hip hop dj and producer coverage continues in our DJs/Producers II category.
Beat Battle Winner M-phazes
Congratulations to M-phazes, the Australian winner of the recent One Stop Shop Producer's Conference Beat Battle.
Bomb Squad Logo
The Bomb Squad, best known for their production for Public Enemy, have announced their first Bomb Squad album. I'm surprised they haven't put out an album before, since they've worked with so many people and have released their beats in a variety of forms, but it's on the way:
"After many successful years in the studio, the BOMB SQUAD is now gearing up for their debut solo album this time with Hank Shocklee and Keith Shocklee serving as the front men for an album that will feature a combination of futuristic live electronics, visuals and vocals. Hank Shocklee describes this new venture by saying, 'I want to be a hybrid of man and machine as opposed to being a performer that uses machines.'"
Apparently they're debuting their new effort at the Winter Music Conference in Miami Beach at the end of the month in preparation for the album release and world tour.
Respect The Producer: Best of Dame Grease Instrumentals, Vol. 1
Check the press release for the tracklist and purchase info for Respect The Producer: Best of Dame Grease Instrumentals, Vol. 1.
Plus:
"Grease's new venture is the website HipHopWorld.TV...Grease has inked a deal with Baby Grande to release his album "Goon Musik," which is slated to hit stores in May 2008."
Roland RZA/Forat Custom MV8800
Guitar Center, RZA and Bruce Forat have announced the "very limited edition" release of the Roland RZA/Forat Custom MV8800:
"This very limited edition machine was co-designed by legendary electronic pioneer Bruce Forat and RZA, producer/founder of multi-platinum hip-hop trailblazers Wu-Tang Clan. The Roland RZA/Forat Custom MV8800 also features original artwork by Forat and RZA, in a hand-painted pattern that is familiar to fans of the Wu-Tang with its nod to the "8 Diagrams" of the I Ching. The eight RZA/Forat machines go on sale February 28th, priced at $5999.00 each."
Buyers will get a "private" group workshop with the RZA. There's also a free Guitar Center Sessions event in Hollywood on the 28th.
About Bruce Forat from the press release:
"Bruce Forat has been at the forefront of music electronics for the last 25 years. Forat has personally customized drum machines and keyboards for top musicians including Prince, Dr. Dre, Jermaine Dupree, The Neptunes, Madonna Will.i.am, Lil' Jon, Snoop Dogg and more."
For more info:
RZA @ Guitar Center
Amp Live's Radiohead In Rainbows remix album, Rainydayz Remixes, is now available for free:
"While the Oakland producer/DJ acknowledges that he probably should have contacted Radiohead (who were not involved in the project) to seek approval prior to making his interpretations publicly available, an agreement has been reached between all involved parties and Amplive has been granted permission to release Rainydayz Remixes for free to the general public."
Rainydayz Remixes
www.onesevensevensix.com/amplive/index.html
Also from the press release:
"Rainydayz Remixes is composed exclusively of source material pulled from In Rainbows, re-envisioned by Amplive and complimented by vocal work from Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del The Funky Homosapien. The highly-anticipated Del track...is a hiccupping take on the devastatingly gorgeous, album-closing 'Videotape.'"
Videotape (Remix Ft. Del The Funky Homosapien)
www.onesevensevensix.com/download/AmpLive_Video_Tapez.mp3
Plus:
"For the next eight days, Amplive will release one Rainydayz Remix track every 24 hours via his iLike iCast, which means you can plaster these mixes all over your Facebook profile and beyond."
This is very cool. Thanks Amp Live and thanks Radiohead!
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Albums: Radiohead's In Rainbows No. 1 in US/UK
In Rainbows: Radiohead's New Album Pricing Induces Blogger Visions of a Beautiful New World
My two favorite DJ's, DJ Sara and DJ Ryusei, tore it up at a Grammys afterparty and one of my favorite blogs has their latest YouTube drop.
It's a feel good party here at ProHipHop. What a nice change of pace!
Over at VidRap:
Kids Scratch: DJ Sara & DJ Ryusei
Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ System
I can't really evaluate the Pacemaker dj system but do I know there's not nearly enough gadget porn here at ProHipHop!
Gizmodo has a hard to decipher video demo from Tonium's CES booth but the Pacemaker site has more interesting stuff.
Official Sites:
Pacemaker
Tonium
[Photo courtesy PRNewsFoto/Tonium Laboratories]
Commercial for Amstrad Studio 100 [Circa 1985]
This is a fun commercial from '85 for the Amstrad Studio 100 that combined a hi-fi stereo with a 4 track cassette recorder.
Via Grand Good.
Ill Doctrine: RZA and the Legend of the Replicator
Honestly, I hoped for something a bit more investigative than making fun of RZA but the Prince Paul endorsement at the end is kind of interesting.
The problem: RZA says he invented the precursor to an important piece of digital technology for which others receive credit.
He then tells a story in which he says he met the guy who had created the replicator, i.e. he met the inventor, and then went on to try to build a business around the invention that he didn't invent.
So RZA's own version of the story immediately contradicts itself and manages to obscure what may well be an interesting piece of music business history. Jay includes the key segments in the above video.
![Nine Inch Nails - Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D [CD/DVD]](http://www.netweed.com/prohiphop/graf/ninremixalbum.jpg)
Nine Inch Nails - Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D [CD/DVD]
Nine Inch Nails aka Trent Reznor is releasing an album of remixes from Year Zero on November 20th titled Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D.
According to the press release, Saul Williams has two remix tracks, gunshots by computer and survivalism.
And for those of you who prefer to do the remixing yourselves:
Purchasers can even reinterpret and remix Year Zero themselves. The CD package for Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D includes a DVD-ROM containing every track from Year Zero in multi-track format (Mac and PC). Perhaps for the first time, the master multi-tracks for every recording on a major album are being made available to the public.
The tracks are pre-formatted for Apple GarageBand and Ableton Live (Mac or PC); the DVD-ROM also adds the demo version of Ableton Live (Mac or PC) and generic WAVE files at 16 bit 44K that can be loaded into any audio editor. The package is 180 gram heavy vinyl in a deluxe six-panel gatefold jacket.
That's a very cool maneuver and, like Jay-Z's Black Album, some folks could use this to blow up in all sorts of interesting ways. I know the first time I heard of Danger Mouse was when he did that Grey Album mashup of the Black Album's acappella version and the Beatles' White Album.
Why shouldn't you be next?
Official Website to Debut Nov. 20th:
remix.nin.com
RZA breaks down the business of the Wu-Tang Clan in a rather amazing interview in which he discusses a lot of personal Wu-Tang business as well as his future plans.
At one point they're talking about ODB and it gets pretty heavy. The interviewer asks if he minds continuing and he says:
Of course this touches me. But we don’t have to change the topic, because nobody is asking me stuff like this.
"Nobody is asking me stuff like this."
Any U.S. hip hop journalists want to explain that one?
At the end he drops some pretty big dreams but I'm pretty sure we can count on seeing this one:
In a few years I want to make a hip hop movie. 8 Mile was already pretty good, but personally I was missing a bit more pure hip hop. I want to bring the culture to the big screen.
I'm not really quoting from the business aspects because there's so much in the interview that's quotable and on-target for ProHipHop that all I can say is, if you're wondering about Wu money, go read this interview.
Via Nah Right Lite.
The KeyInfluencer James Andrews is now blogging at Fast Company. He's off to a good start with a post titled The Digital Prophecy Of DJ Jazzy Jeff:
As a globetrotter Jazzy Jeff has first hand knowledge of what is happening around the world with the music business, evolving distribution shifts and consumers who love quality music. Around 7 years ago Jeff came home from a month long run of Asia and called me to say, "It's over for the record business" after walking by a street vendor who had rows and rows of MP3 discs for sale of any artist you could imagine. Jeff said of this experience, "When I saw my Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince entire collection for $5, I knew it was over."
SOHH's Player Watch present Play-N-Skillz with some basic business advice for producers heavily emphasizing relationships:
1. STAY ON YOUR GRIND
2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
3. DON'T BURN BRIDGES
4. BE AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
5. KEEP YOUR EAR TO THE STREET
A nice interview from '96 with DJ King Britt is well worth your time. For one thing, you can get a sense of how dramatically the dj's role has changed in the last decade in the eyes of marketers and labels:
BD: Have DJs been overlooked in music culture?
KB: Yeah, DJs have been overlooked as vital keys in getting music broken, period. Without the DJs playing in the clubs, people aren't going to hear it. The radio doesn't dictate anything anymore because they play the same songs [repeatedly] because the [program directors] don't have any balls. They just play what will get them more advertising dollars and they are not really down on educating and playing good music. Nothing gets broken on the radio anymore; the underground clubs is where the entire buzz begins.
DJ King Britt also shares "Top Five Things a DJ Should Do When Mixing at a Party":
1. Keep in eye contact with the crowd and don't get caught up in your own mix.
2. Have a varied selection and remember that music is about emotions.
3. Know your records. Know where your breaks end and begin.
4. Represent.
5. Learn about the DJ culture. Know the musical history and understand that it is not about just spinning records.
As nutty as things get, it's the basics that will help see you through.
Promo Video for Traxxpad: Portable Studio
Here's a fun promotional video for the Traxxpad: Portable Studio:
turns your PSP (Playstation Portable) system into a music studio. The power of a drum machine, sequencer, mixer, and sampler is now portable!
Video features Zion I, Mistah FAB, Lyrics Born with Zion I's Amp Live on the Traxxpad.
Interesting piece by Gillian Reagan in The New York Observer on Trust Fund D.J.'s:
many [trust fund] D.J.’s are getting their gigs simply because of the celebrities they know, the socialites they date, the promoters with whom they schmooze or their namesakes—and not necessarily their talent or skills.
So far nothing unique about trust fund djs. They sound like the range of artists we're used to getting stuck with. And they certainly have their con artists among them:
"D.J.'ing is incredibly hard to break into without connections," said D.J. Todd Mallis, who has residencies five nights a week at top-notch clubs in the city, including Marquee on Thursdays and Bungalow 8 on Tuesdays. Mr. Mallis, 26, taught an introductory course at Scratch D.J. Academy, the Jam Master Jay–founded amateur-D.J. school, on how to break into the business. “I lied and said to make a mix tape and get it into the right hands,” he said.
And there's some stuff on page 3 about not so famous djs who do it for the love, etc. and that's why they probably moved to Williamsburg in the first place since they're all keeping it real over there.
It's funny but I bet a lot of people will diss rich kids for using their money and connections to get gigs when they'd be much less likely to diss an artist whose label is doing the same thing with what is ultimately the artist's money.
Via Different Kitchen.
Sa'id - BeatTips Manual
Sa'id has released the 4th Edition of Beattips Manual: Some Insight on Producing Hip Hop-Rap Beats and Music:
In the latest edition of his book, Sa'id dissects the dynamics of Hip Hop-Rap music production, and the business aesthetics that surround it. The book includes 20 interviews with top producers and music insiders, including DJ Premier, The Heatmakerz, EZ Elpee, DJ Clark Kent, Steve Sola, D.R. Period, J Hatch, Reefa, Bangout, Minnesota, and True Master.
Official Sites:
BeatTips
Sa'id at MySpace
Available from Amazon:
Sa'id - BeatTips Manual
The Other Side Los Angeles w/Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf
On April 10th, a new CD/DVD series called The Other Side from Time Out travel guides adds an edition on Los Angeles with Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf:
The fifth installment in the Other Side series features critically acclaimed rapper/producer Madlib's personal audio tour of the City of Angels. Highlights of this genre-bending mix include the eclectic/outrageous jazz consciousness originator - Sun Ra Arkestra, 60's psychedelic blues quintet Outlaw Blues Band, legendary reggae drummer (Burning Spear) Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Jamaican record label head/DJ Producer Prince Jazzbo, and Madlib's own tunes- as Beat Konducta (solo) & with collaborator Jaydee (Jaylib).
On The Other Side Los Angeles DVD, Stone's Throw label supremo Peanut Butter Wolf is your personal guide to LA's sights, sites and sounds. The DVD also features an in-depth interview with Peanut Butter Wolf on 10 years of Stone's Throw as well as videos from several Stone's Throw artists.
I peeped the video samples and wasn't really drawn in at the moment but I've had great experiences with Time Out travel guides (sweet Amsterdam, I miss you so!) so I'd definitely check out the whole thing if I was going to cities covered in the series. However, an edition like this that's potentially very special may also do well with fans of Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf.
Video Samples:
Food ~ Accomodations ~ Nightlife
Available from Amazon:
The Other Side Los Angeles w/Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf
The age of the celebrity DJ has given rise to the necessity for the "celebrity D.J. manager."
CNN Interviews Disco D About His Biz
URB took a brief look at the career of Disco D [David Shayman], a hot young producer who took his own life last week. In addition to his work with famous artists from Usher to 50 Cent, Disco D was championing artists from Brazil and both promoted the rap group BRAZA and "oversaw the marketing for aLeda, a line of transparent rolling papers" from Brazil.
Hustle Harder Production Trailer 1
On the dshayman YouTube channel are a handful of promos and music videos including these two production trailers for the yet to be released biz oriented documentary about Disco D called Hustle Harder:
HIGHLIGHTS: Studio Equipment Configuration > Acoustic Treatments > 360° Beat Production Workflows > Ringtone Production > Remixing > Disco D Pro Tools Sessions on ROM layer of DVD > Choice Samples bounced from Disco D's catalog of beats > Disco D MPC Sequence Data > Live - Disco D Biz Negotiations > Managing Business Affairs > Strategies for Success > and an inspiring glimpse inside the life and times of David Shaymen aka Disco D aka Gringo Louco!
Hustle Harder Production Trailer 2
Here are some of the responses to this loss from folks in the Detroit area. Please forgive the no doubt accidental confusion regarding Disco D's age from a writer who obviously cared:
'Disco D' remembered for his edge and grit
Adam Graham, Detroit News
Disco D dead at age 26
Kelley L. Carter, Detroit Free Press
Dave Shayman, aka Disco D ‐ Dead at 27
Robyn Vincent, The South End
Related Coverage:
Real Detroit Weekly ran a nice Jay Dee bio and discography after his passing last year.
I was recently interviewed by Gearwire's Joe Wallace about ProHipHop and hip hop business.
I just read it and I'm kind of second guessing some of my reponses but it all looks accurate so I'll confirm that's what I said! Feel free to cross examine me in the comments.
Thanks to Joe Wallace who says Gearwire is planning on including more hip hop interviews in the future but is already a fine place to check out if you're a gearhead.
Peep this two-parter with Digable Planets dj King Britt:
DJ Gear: King Britt On Torq, Digable Planets, And The Vinyl/Digital Connection
King Britt - The Gearwire Interview (Part Two)
Also at Gearwire:
Online Marketing 101: Julie Blake's Advice For New Bands
iPod Nano Commercial Featuring Cut Chemist's The Audience's Listening
I just got a note from Warner Bros. Records Publicity informing me that the new Apple iPod Nano commercial features the title track off Cut Chemist's recent release, The Audience's Listening.
Another remix contest is happening at the Creative Commons project ccMixter following the recently closed Copyright Criminals contest. This time, instead of remixing voiceovers of folks like DJ Spooky, QBert and Public Enemy, you get to work with a Fort Minor track in the Fort Minor Remix Contest. You've got till May 6th to cement your spot in history.
Link via Hypebot.
In an article about Jermaine's Dupri's surprising lack of nomination for Producer of the Year at the Grammys, he confirms what Tamara Palmer discusses in Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop, that strip clubs are like research centers for many Southern producers:
The strip club, Mr. Dupri earnestly explained, serves as his de facto research lab. Here, he said, where skirt hems are high and inhibitions are low, he is better able to assess what really makes a crowd move, and to discover new music. "In the strip club, the music is more grimier than what you hear on the radio," he said. "It's like a D.J. in New York playing a mixtape."
Scott Storch may or may not be dating Paris Hilton but he is producing her debut. Interesting note from this NY Times piece. Storch "said he produced 80 tracks last year, charging anywhere from $80,000 to $90,000 a song, the going rate for A-list producers."
Of course, Storch also produced at least one track for Heather Hunter and, though he's obviously living large, you wonder if he ever got $2 million for a track.
Though hip hop remains a male dominated musical sport, next month brings the She's My Dj! female turntablist competition to New York. Female djs will battle for supremacy on the turntables at SOBs. Among the judges of She's My Dj! will be Kool DJ Red Alert.
More info on She's My Dj! at Femmixx.com.
Though not a major announcement, I think it's indicative of hip hop's growing presence in higher ed that Boston's Berklee College of Music has added a hip hop production course to their online curriculum.
The course will be taught by Mike Hamilton, a "Berklee grad and assistant professor . . . who has been producing, writing, recording and performing music for more than 20 years, was a member of the late-night band for the BET television show, Live from LA, where he wrote and produced hip hop pieces for guest artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Warren G, Method Man, P. Diddy and Mystikal."
Hamilton states:
"By studying interactively to create striking hip hop sounds with the right effects, EQ and mixing styles, I feel the graduates of this course will have that critical edge over the competition."
The course is available through Berkleemusic.com as one of their Online Courses for Producers. However, registration for Hip-Hop Writing and Production ends on the 15th, so you better hop on it if you're interested in this round and have at least $795 for noncredit registration as well as the prerequisites:
"MIDI Sequencing Basics course or equivalent skill set, along with a basic understanding of music theory."
The course is intended to teach you the following skills:
"Use writing and production criteria to analyze and recreate hip-hop songs
Program your own drum beats and loops using Propellerhead's Reason software
Create bass, guitar, keyboard, and horn parts for hip-hop arrangements
Use proper mic placement and production techniques for recording rap vocals
Apply hip-hop mixing and mastering techniques to your songs"
You know, education is big business and we're just at the start of hip hop's appearance in educational settings. However, I find it interesting but unsurprising that hip hop has already made a strong appearance in community youth programs, dance programs, education about other topics for little kids programs and college lecture/discussion courses but is barely present in actual music performance programs. The reality is that music departments are some of the most conservative settings in higher ed and the likelihood of hip hop ever having a strong presence is rather small, though I think we will see more courses such as this one in for-profit educational institutions.
Shawn Prez, CEO of Power Moves, Inc. a marketing and promotions company based in NY, has started the Power Call, a weekly conference call with guest speakers in which club and mixtape DJs discuss a wide variety of topics. As DJ Irie of Miami’s 99 Jamz says:
“The intimacy in this call, keeps it moving. Everyone is heard. People actually pay attention. Anything anyone brings up becomes a topic of discussion. It’s not all about what record is gonna be hot, it’s about things that matter in our industry—it goes across the whole spectrum of things that matter to our culture.”
Oddly enough, the Power Moves Inc. website doesn't seem to have any info on the Power Call. Try emailing info@powermovesinc.com if you're interested in participating.
Paul Wall is crossing the rap/rock divide by chopping and screwing The Transplants' new album which, though these guys are contemporary punk, has a number of hip hop artists involved, including members of Cypress Hill, Elevated Peoples and the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
Earlier this month, BallerStatus.net interviewed Paul Wall who discussed Screw music, clarifying that "just because you slow something down, DOES NOT MEAN IT'S SCREWED!" Actually, he discusses a number of artists but, more importantly for our purposes, he talks about doing street promotions as a teenager:
"When I was 14, that's when my life changed because that's when I got really heavy into street promotions. I worked and did a lot of stuff for Def Jam and stuff for Cash Money, before they signed their major deal. But, doing the street promotion, a lot of that was me just learning and working the game because I was always taught and my mother always embedded in me, that if you work, you're going to get paid. If you don't work, you're not going to get paid and no one was going to give me sh-t. So I took that aspect and worked, worked, worked. I built up reputations with different store owners being that I was doing retail promotions and different DJs being that I would service them with records. When I brought them the new Jay-Z record, they remembered me like, "What's up." I built those relationships up. . . I still took that job with pride, worked it to the best of my ability and it gave me respect within the industry to what I was doing: building up relationships and rapport with different record labels or producers."
Swizz Beats is concentrating on being omnipresent with work on albums by Eve, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Ruff Ryders plus way too many singles to mention. As if that wasn't enough, Swizz Beats has multiple business ventures including exotic car dealerships, clubs and a line of Pro-Keds called the Swizz Beats Music Shoe.
Diversifying madly in his own way, Snoop Dogg extols the value of mastering the business game and sounds like he's on a messiah trip:
"Everybody depends on me in the rap world. If we need a West Coast connection or a link, or if we need a universal sound, call Snoop — he'll save the day. . . But I wanted to be able to say that, businesswise, people were calling me on that same level ... if we need to promote this or sell this, let's give Snoop a call because he can do it like nobody else can; he'll save the day. And then what I did from there, I learned how to take other people's mechanisms of promoting their stuff through me as opposed to promoting my own stuff, as far as getting Snoop DeVilles, SnoopDeGrills, Snoop Doggy Dogg biscuits, Snoop Dogg record label, Snoop Dogg bubble gum, Snoop Youth Football League — everything that's just Snoop, because I want to do my own thing now. There's so much that I want to do. I feel like I'm the Magic Johnson of rap. You know, Magic was great on the basketball court, but he's bigger as a businessman."
Joseph Patel has a nice piece on the development of chopped & screwed music from DJ Screw to Michael Watts to David Banner. It's nice in that it traces a little more of the evolution from cassettes to the current releases of chopped & screwed albums as followups to initial releases from major labels.
Although Patel says that no one's sure when DJ Screw first slowed or screwed tracks, DJ Screw actually discusses this on the dvd, Soldiers United For Cash, from which the still photos for the MTV article are taken. According to Screw, he was messing around with the turntables and started slowing stuff down when somebody in his crew said, if you put that on tape I'll pay you for it. Screw identified that as the originating moment. And, in fact, he made a tape for his friend that led to making screw tapes on a regular basis.
DJ Screw also discussed the eventual creation of the Screwed Up Records & Tapes shop in Houston. Basically, more and more people were coming by to get him to make tapes, which he made individually. It got so busy that he then gave a specific time in the afternoon or evening when folks could come by. That led to lines of cars outside his house and the cops coming by to see what's up with what they thought was a dope dealer. So Screw had to start the shop which is apparently still in operation.
And who said history was boring?
Swizz Beats discusses his work on Cassidy's I'm a Hustla, on the remix with Mary J. Blige and on why he's still sampling Jay-Z.
Swizz also provided some of the production for Young Gunz' upcoming album Brother From Another.
DJ Shadows' '96 release Endtroducing is reappearing in an expanded edition on June 7th.
I'm in the middle of a big project that I have to complete then I'm planning on sleeping, a novel thought! So ProHipHop will be a bit delayed.
The syrup reference relates to the increasing attention paid to the influence of DJ Screw, the late Houston producer who introduced the practice of slowing down all or sections of songs as a remixing technique that produces an otherworldly effect that some consider an aesthetic equivalent of the effects of drinking cough syrup that contains codeine. Actually, people usually just mention the cough syrup but my general understanding without having checked out the scene directly is that it's usually mixed with soda, candy and alcohol in a disturbing sounding concoction called lean or syzzurp.
I doubt that the Jolly Rancher or Sprite folks will be aiming for any product placement on Mike Jones videos but keep an eye peeled for soda bottles being waved around in videos like it was Cristal. By the way, I'm about halfway through the low-budget documentary about DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click, Soldiers United for Cash, that was recently released on dvd. It's got some interesting stories and the opening gives you a nice sense of the fact that Houston, like much of East Texas, really is part of the South.
Checking out the interviews with DJ Screw just got me more interested and I'll follow up later with the story he tells of how he started selling mixtapes. Screwed Up Records & Tapes is now online and you can track the influence through the many new Hip Hop Albums that follow the initial release with a chopped, screwed and/or slowed version. I'm looking forward to checking out more early stuff but, for now, I'm just happy seeing this unique aesthetic hitting the national stage. However, I don't expect syzzurp mixer to be rolled out nationally for at least another year or two.
Available from Amazon:
DVD - Soldiers United for Cash.
Pitchfork has an insightful interview with Diplo, a Philly dj who first won attention for his involvement with Hollertronix. Diplo's fascination for new sounds has led him to the dirty south, UK grime and Brazilian Baile funk and often to the sources for material not otherwise available.
Diplo discusses doing a hip hop mixtape with M.I.A. that was mishandled by her U.S. label. He also discusses some of the flak he's gotten as a white guy who follows his ear rather than any particular scene's guidelines. Diplo's interesting in his own right but also because white artists are becoming a real presence in hip hop as djs and producers in a way that runs far deeper than their fairly limited success as mcs.
Pitchfork also recently ran a brief intro to UK grime via influential recordings.
Rajeev Bajaj, the creator of the proengineering educational rap cd Geek Rhythms, now has a blog called My Experiments With Music. My advice to Rajeev, put your full name in some obvious places, like on your blog and on your website, and also consider some highly visible links back to your website from your blog and, oh yeah, try linking to your album from your blog in that right hand column near the top. It will help sales.
Canhead interviews Disco D who's provided beats for 50 Cent among other accomplishments. Official website: Disco D.
There was something about PROMOCOPY I couldn't quite get until I read this explanation:
"My goal with this blog is to create a check to what I see as some really disturbing trends in independent music promotion. I remember a time not too long ago when most indie labels I dealt with did all their promo inhouse. The rise of PR companies catering to indie labels in the last several years has been phenomenal, and lot of the people working in this sort of indie PR space are coming from very commercial environments and have brought with them some of the sell-at-any-cost ethos common to popular marketing. I'm just trying to remind people that Indie can mean something in terms of character and credibility and respect for an audience."
However, I kept checking back because it's industry related and Oliver Wang recommended it. It's mostly an indie rock thing which means you will get some of the standard rappers that indie rock consumers tend to dig cause that's the promotion P. will encounter. Plus, at least when viewed on my aging computer, there's no margin so it's kind of annoying to read.
I really want to get caught up on the impact of DJ Screw. Any recommendations for classic releases, whether it's Screw's mixtapes or cds by related artists, will be greatly appreciated. Plus, if you ever checked out his shop, please send me stories:
prohiphop(at)netweed(dot)com
Last year's Funkmaster Flex Super Series Invitational, a hip hop infused auto event, will be the subject of a "racing reality special" called The Funkmaster Flex Super Series to be aired this weekend on Spike TV.
The St. Louis production duo TrakStarz, who've worked with all sorts of artists including Chingy, have signed an agreement with Blackground Records that will result in multiple releases from TrakStarz Records, including an album by the duo.
Up and coming producers Rock Bottom were surprised to discover that two of their tracks made it onto R&B group Allure's album Chapter III. Though they were never told the tracks were to be used, the inclusion has given them entry to the big time.
It turns out that Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame was into hip hop long before he entered the rock rap domain. In addition to work with LP plus the recent collab with Jay-Z, Shinoda has been focusing more on beatmaking and getting advice from artists like Black Thought and Common. Shinoda's production credits include a track for Chali 2na's solo album.
Though brief, Wired's interview with Afrika Bambaataa is a fun take on the history of hip hop.
In contrast, Rap News Network has an interview with DJ Quik who plans to release a new album in a few months that will be distributed by Warner Brothers. The interview includes his thoughts on beefs, working with Suge Knight and the transition from gangsta rap as an act "when rappin’ was fun" to the shift that he experienced with the death of Biggie Smalls. As DJ Quik maintains, "It still ain’t as much fun as it was before those people died."
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