i’m right here. and i ain’t goin’ nowhere!
i’ma spazz if i want to. the new album is looking like a masterpiece. and is that shae rapping on the second verse!? crazy. let’s get it. shout out to herfection and 2dopeboyz for keeping me current. click the giant brain (or the link, for those who don’t like clicking the giant brain) for the jam.
ricardo said he needed it in his life…with commentary. so here you guys go.
my man richy ross the boss over at lateboots hit me with the crucial update about the world’s greatest musicians:
N*E*R*D will be at the store on Tuesday May 13th from 4PM to 6PM signing their exclusive Billionaire Boys Club N*E*R*D T-Shirt. The T-Shirts will be sold at the NYC Flagship Store(456 West Broadway - 212-777-2225) on Sunday May 11th starting at Noon. Limited quantities available, get there early! Once the t-shirt is purchased you can take it with you or leave it at the store. You will receive a numbered ticket as well which will allow to get your shirt signed on Tuesday. Pictures with the band will be allowed as well.
yzr. how much do these shirts cost though!? somebody let me know. looks kinda plain to me.
whatever. it’s memorabilia. really, i just wanna be there.
that guy with the cool hair is DC’s own tabi bonney holding a shirt that my homies over at clockwise clothing created for the DMV area. that’s dc, maryland, and virginia for those who may not know. and it made me think. who runs the DMV? diddy runs the city, but nobody runs the DMV. not that we’ve had enough commotion in the area to have one person that can hold the entire area down, but i was just thinking. we aren’t atlanta or the new age cali or detroit, and that’s why we get cised off just a lll’ fame, like my man in the picture said. we ain’t had much yet.
i feel like the music scene is about to blow, a little bit. kinda like houston did a couple years ago. everybody realizes it, too. sickamore, the former A&R of atlantic records, is scouting DMV talent like r. kelly does girl scouts. and he’s doing great work. the roots just made a go-go influenced track (”rising up” feat. wale, in the previous post), and it’s vicious.
they know the deal. only thing missing is people in the area knowing about the music. the only household names in the area are the man above, and wale. nobody in the DMV can agree on who else that can perform from the DMV. and some people, like j. holiday, don’t rep the area enough for us to embrace them (i’m just tryna keep it real. more people know he’s ethiopian than that he’s a DC representer!). that’s a problem, so that’s where i’m stepping in.
all media outlets have seen the potential we have in the industry, but we can’t just stop once somebody gets on tv or has a song on the radio! we gotta get people on the same page, and let them know we got artists here. the first step is to get the DMV to realize the talent.
so i made this thing:
i created this particular muxtape with the hope of increasing the friendly competition amongst the artists in the dmv. whatever it is, if it’s hot, it’ll make the muxtape. is it biased? probably. but my ear is good, and if you like good music, you’ll appreciate the choices. it’s like a battle of the bands: best 12 tracks (in no ranking or particular order) every month get recognition, while those who didn’t make it work harder so next time, they get on it.
click the tape or the link to jam it, and let me know if you like. spread the word if you’re from the area…i want to see this thing on every blog in the DMV.
think you should be on this joint? don’t like what you see? whatever you wanna ask, send it my way: modi@dctobc.com.
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is it crazy that i’ve seen the roots in concert twice, and i still want to keep seeing them?
of course not. you know why? it’s because black thought could be my favorite MC i’ve ever seen perform live, besides lupe in atlanta and rakim/common (they tied, but are both extremely ridiculous!) at that park in brooklyn last summer. plus, each band member has a crazy vibrant personality. did you see the lead guitarist make his guitar cry last time!? and don’t forget about ?uestlove! the only drummer who has a library worth of vinyl. IN HIS HOUSE.
i got the new album, rising down, in the mail yesterday from an undisclosed source.
yes, i took a picture. everything from the album art to the concept to the actual tracks is vicious, young. DC’s most powerful mover and shaker wale is on the joint, too, which is like the cherry on top. and yes, me and quinn had him on the radio show last month. for like 2 seconds. but hey, we tried.
the two videos released definitely do some serious justice to hip hop, cuz i swear i was about to abandon the genre and have discobelle as my home page, young. check the joints out below.
the roots - rising up (feat. wale & chrisette michele)
wale kills his verse. DC heads, listen for black thought’s subtle go-go reference(s) during his verses.
i’m just sayin’ tho.
the roots - get busy (feat. dice raw, peedi crakk & dj jazzy jeff)
peedi crakk steals the show in my eyes, definitely his best flow since “fall back”. plus, i kinda like the way the video is shot. it’s like “the office” gone wrong. matter fact, i’m bout to go watch that show. but uh, roots & erykah badu will be at constitution hall on may 14th and 15th. both shows start @ 8, and i’ll be at both of the joints with my squad. see y’all there.
UPDATE: the duke came with some HEAT. busta and spliff star rhyming over the “get busy” beat.
download: busta & spliff star - “get busy” freestyle
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did i ever tell you guys that the guy above was my landlord?
ok, let me explain. if you’ve ever seen the best show on TV, the wire, you’d know that gbenga akinnagbe (silent “g” in the first name) portrays chris partlow, arguably the craziest, most intense character in the show.
he’s like me. kinda. he’s from montgomery county, maryland. he grew up about 15 minutes from my house. he’s also nigerian, as i found out when he called me after replying to his craigslist ad for subletting an apartment. he started speaking to me in yoruba, because he knew my family was from that part of nigeria just by reading my name in an e-mail. when he discovered i didn’t know what the blood he was saying, he laughed and we got down to business. a week later, i was furnishing his extra large 4-bedroom jumpoff.
like i said, i found his apartment on craigslist. it was listed in washington heights, home of the haze/dominicans/arroz con pollo on every corner. 163 and broadway, man. me, austin p., mufaro, and henry arias had to pay rent to this guy on the first of the month, for june, july, and august.
you watched that clip? now you know why rent was never, ever late.
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i’m in the house right now. laying in my parent’s bed, watching kobe and the lakers rock kirilenko and the jazz. and it’s the 3rd quarter…looking something like this:
good grief. remember when everyone in the world hated kobe? he was public enemy #1…a rapist in the eyes of the WORLD. now he’s the NBA’s mvp, rockin’ bammas and stuff, young. and he’s even a family man. don’t believe me!?
told ya. easily the best player in the league. swag is similar to MJ’s. i’m calling the lakers champions right now, by the way. their starting five is ALL scorers.
can we talk about home though? damn. i finally made it. 3 suitcases, a backpack, and a U-Haul (thanks, marcel) later. first thing i did? burned some CD’s for the stereo downstairs, because i’m home alone like macaulay culkin. i have the entire house to blast the most bass-heavy joints i have in the iTunes. then i hit the diner. and tomorrow morning, i’m picking up grand theft auto IV from that best buy on rockville pike. then i’m done for the week. i heard the game is so good, you start walking around in real life, acting like you’re the main character. chappelle told me.
oh boy. nyc on friday to peep the apartment in brooklyn. holler at me if you’re around for the day. 3 days til glow in the dark tour in DC, 4 days til the glow in the dark in VA beach. yea, i got two ticket joints. let’s get it. i would bless you all with music, but i’ma leave it to my homies at 2 dope boyz. they got all the good stuff, anyway.
the game is 93-83 @ the end of the 3rd, with the lakers up. we aren’t losing this game. yea, i’m a lakers fan. cali trip? in a few weeks. whose tryna make the move?
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Glow In The Dark Tour: Vegas ‘08 from thisislavie on Vimeo.
swagger jacked from c’est la vie. tell me i’m dreaming! i’m actually not even about to watch the whole thing, because i want to be surprised. but for those who need to see what kind of trippy, galactic experience the tour actually is, here you go. you better like it, or kanye will ROCK YOU. no joke.
and speaking of the glow in the dark tour, n*e*r*d snippets from that seeing sounds album are leaking. i saw this crazy microsoft zune ad, and they featured one of their new joints, “spazz,” throughout the entire commercial. since i don’t care for the zune, i’m just giving you the track.
download/listen: n*e*r*d - spazz (snippet)
might as well give you a live performance of it, too.
N.E.R.D. Live At The Levi’s/Fader Fort from The FADER on Vimeo.
this could be the jam of the month. though wayne has dropped some weak $#!t recently, he merks this track in the first verse. and then again at the end. listen to the machine gun/money machine line. crazy. i’ve never even said merk, but it’s the only way i can describe it. even uses that t-pain voice box, too. and we already know bun b-da keeps it forever trill, for real. click here, or on the underground king himself to get the track.
and what’s up with this guy being one of the last rappers alive on rap-a-lot records? devin the dude left a few months ago, and now trae announced his departure this morning. i thought that was a historic label, man.
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what is a boppa? DC and houston heads should know, but if you don’t, or you’re not from those areas, click here for some definitions. and don’t say i didn’t warn you.
my man vince (who gives a mean shape up @ his barber shop) put me on to these guys. i don’t know who they are, but the song is both ridiculously inappropriate and catchy as ever. “boppas, boppas, boppas, boppas…”
good god. the big guy can rap a lil bit tho. and where did they find those little girls to dance for them? in fact, how old are they? high school age!? so happy i didn’t go to laurel high.
4 and a half minutes broken down:
0:10: “ey dea. it’s me again. ya boy marv-o.” his swagger is incredible. he ever so slightly rocks from side to side.
0:26: the introduction of the peanut gallery. my favorite is “steven jackson, action jackson.” but do you all see marv-o’s arms up on his homie in the middle!? he’s just maxing and relaxing. but it is still ridiculous. so
0:33: “y’all already know the rules, so we ain’t gon’ waste no time on that.” that’s what marv-o just said, right? then he proceeds to tell us the rules. he can’t make up his mind!
0:59: eli is hyped. but he’s not even about to rap. but he still pumps both of his arms like he’s about to bless the beat. good grief.
do i even need to say how classic envy’s flow is?
1:10 and 1:14: this is where it gets intense. envy calls eli a cripple. TWICE! and eli’s cool with it!
1:37: envy’s haircut is similar to boosie. but just like 30 times worse. find him a barber, immediately.
2:03: marv-o’s boo (yea, the dude he felt up 26 seconds deep in the video) gives a ridiculous pose. like, a “check me out, check my swag, i’m the man” type joint. but it’s so weak, and the camera doesn’t cut away. so he just looks extra lame.
2:10: envy is confused as to how eli curses twice and is still able to rap. marv-o tells us that any cursing will get you disqualified instantly.
2:17: eli has realized his dilemma and promptly stops flowing. i don’t think i’ve seen anyone this nervous. the music even stops at 2:26, and eli has to think of something, quick. oh boy.
2:48: eli gets right back at it, with a series of “yeaa” noises like a gucci mane or a jeezy impression. i won’t even tell you how good each of his lines are, just listen to it.
3:36: eli curses again, and is so hyped. they end the competition right there, and put a heart-shape over eli. why? i don’t even know. good grief.
oh boy.