Tuesday, January 31, 2012

De La Soul - "We Made It (Skit)"

New De La. Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present: First Serve. April 2nd. On Duck Down Records.

Goddamn that label has everyone worth talking about it seems.

Here's a video from one of the skits which serves as a teaser for the album. I know you probably don't like skits. Well, just remember that De La Soul and Prince Paul pretty much invented the skit on their debut album to further a theme and turn an album into something more cinematic. It was a bunch of other rappers that ruined it with their uninspired bullshit in years to come.

Who has two thumbs and can't fucking wait for this album??

De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 present First Serve -- The album out April 2nd. Watch the 'We Made It Skit' from the animated world of De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 present First Serve. The video follows our heroes Deen Whitter and Jacob 'Pop Life' Barrow from their early days of laying down demos and mixtapes to hitting the big time, signing to Goon Time Records. 


Friday, January 6, 2012

The Jean Grae Experience

Here is something I've been wanting to post up here for a while. As you can tell from all of the posts about her music, I'm a big fan of Jean Grae. And, I'm not the only one. Jean has a LOT of fans, each one more passionate than the last. And, it's a good thing to see because her music is sooo dope. It sucks to have mainstream nobodies hogging all of the attention because of dollars rather than skill.

I love talking Hip Hop with people on Twitter. You never know when you'll come across someone who appreciates the art the way you do. Aisha Behar is someone I've conversed with a lot, and when I saw some of the photos she took at Hip Hop shows, I knew I had to share them with my circle as well. So, she sent a few my way. Below is a short write up about what it was like for her to be in the audience for a Jean Grae show (a treat I have yet to experience), and some photos she took while there enjoying herself. If you like what you see, you can follow her on Twitter @EeeshISDope. Enjoy.


I mean I really don’t even know where to start. A Jean Grae show is unlike any other show I’ve ever been to. I had the pleasure to catch Jean Grae a few months ago in L.A. at the Airliner when she was touring promoting her ‘Cookies or Comas’ EP. What I liked most was that she makes everyone feel as if we are all friends. In a packed venue, it was still a very intimate show. She even makes sure no one takes pictures during the performance, so that you can actually enjoy the show. 

The majority of the songs were from ‘Cookies or Comas’, but some of the songs were songs I had never heard, off the upcoming LP ‘Cake or Death’. With any other performer I probably would’ve been a little turned off; due to wanting to hear songs that I knew so I could sing along. However, with Jean songs it only makes me even more impatient to listen to ‘Cake or Death’. Shout out to Mr. Len her DJ he is amazing as well. 

She’s a witty, sarcastic, classy, intellectual, asshole. Who brings with a vodka filled water gun on stage, performed the entire time with a cigarette behind her ear, taught us how to two-step, and actually spent time with fans after the show. What more could you possibly ask for? The Jean Grae Experience is awesome! Enjoy the pictures I captured from this amazing show.






Apollo Brown & OC Announce Trophies



I've been a fan of OC for a long time. Probably 15+ years. He's one of my favorite MCs and someone I always bring up when discussing the most slept-on in Hip Hop. He's definitely slept-on, though among serious heads he's considered a legend. Apollo Brown hasn't been on my radar for too long, maybe a year or two, but his production is amazing - refreshing, original, and a mix of sounds and genres that's purely Hip Hop in the end. Doesn't that sound funny?

Apollo Brown and D.C. producer Oddisee are two of my favorite beatsmiths right now. You can find both on my Best of 2011 list (scroll down). Brown shows up in the "top 25 albums" section for his collaboration with Hassaan Mackey, Daily Bread; and in the "songs" section for a track with Oddisee rapping called "The Times". OC shows up on the DJ JS-1 album with a song dedicated to DJ Roc Raida.

Today it was announced that Apollo Brown and OC have completed a joint album together entitled "Trophies", which is sure to make my top albums of 2012 by year's end. Needless to say, I'm excited. The release date is March 27, 2012.

Below an instrumental from Brown's Clouds project, which later became "The Times" after Oddisee recorded vocals, and the OC/JS-1 song I mentioned earlier called "Life" which I happened to be listening to this morning before reading this news.