this is me
Some genius made a mix of 600 songs that were released between 1990 and 1999 and blended them perfectly. I never would have though to put Mariah Carey over the I'm Just a Girl riff, or mixing Beck and Busta Rhymes, but it works. If you want to keep track of every single song used in the mix, watch the video. Otherwise, just hit play and let it take you back to the '90s.
Weezer has been an interesting band to watch over the years. I was a fan of their hits in the 90s and have followed their radio career casually ever since. In the last few years, they've released a few interesting albums, including a covers album, an album of Van Halen songs, and now an album backed by a 38 piece orchestra recorded on all analogue recording equipment entitled OK Human. You may not always like what they are doing, but you have to admire them for doing what they want. The album isn't exactly an album you can rock out to, but it is great background music to get you through the day. Listen to the album below or on Apple Music.
Weezer surprised fans today with a new album, Teal Album. This is not like any of their previous albums though. This is an album of all cover songs, 10 in total. The album is anchored by the cover of Toto's Africa, which has had a lot of success on the radio and internet over the past few months. I listened to this album on repeat throughout the day. While I haven't liked a lot of Weezer's more recent music, this album is really good. That are able to capture the spirit of the original songs, all while maintaining their guitar-heavy style that makes them immediately recognizable. The only song I'm not really a fan of on this album is their cover of TLC's No Scrubs. The cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean is probably my favorite on the album. Teal Album is available on all the major music services, such as Apple Music and Spotify. Check it out if you like Weezer, cover songs, or both.
One of my favorite artists over the past 10+ years has been Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne. I was first introduced to him in High School by my friend Leon. Since then I've been following his career closely and have been amazed at his success, including appearing on Forbes' list of most successful rap artists. I even interviewed him in person for a Midwest hip hop website while I was in college. This week Tech appeared on Tiny Desk Concert on NPR. Watch the video below. It's a pretty stellar performance.
Those who know me know that I love hip hop more than any other genre of music. I love when stuff like this comes across my screen. Check out this video celebrating 40 years of hip hop in 4 minutes. Hat tip Kottke.
Over 150 songs from more than 100 artists representing 40 years of hip hop all crammed into 4 minutes. It’s not a chronological history of hip hop. It’s rappers from different eras finishing each other’s rhymes over intersecting beats, all woven together to make one song.
The New York Times has a great article on Chuck Berry and his influence on music, more specifically rock 'n' roll.
Chuck Berry himself would be the first to admit he didn’t invent rock ’n’ roll, but he came to define it in a series of iconic singles made between 1955 and 1959.
Mr. Berry wrote almost all his hits himself, and he drew from the music he loved — from the blues and boogie to country and Calypso. The result was a hybrid sound that, in 1955, was just beginning to be called “rock ’n’ roll.”
Here, an audio guide to just a few of his revolutionary songs: what came before, and what came after. Listen to the sound of rock ’n’ roll being made.
Chuck Berry would play in St. Louis almost monthly up until a couple of years ago when he was in his late 80's. I made a promise to myself that that I would see him perform live before he passed. I never kept that promise and it's something I deeply regret.
Complex magazine has come up with a list of the best rapper for each year since 1979. It's crazy when you look through the '90s and see how much talent existed in the hip hop community. That fact becomes especially obvious when you start comparing the list to the 2000s - 2010s (Drake on the list multiple times, really?).
My personal favorite is, of course, Tupac.
1996 is a case study for every aspect of why 2Pac is so celebrated. He was a viable, competent artist in multiple arenas, and he had the discipline to incorporate his varied and conflicted missions into a single mantra. That savvy paid off in this year more than any other. It’s a shame that 2Pac’s ride had to end early, and on someone else’s terms, but the dedication to his craft that was on such full display in 1996 is why he’ll live forever.
You have to be of a certain age (late twenties and early thirties) to remember the awesomeness that was the ABC show Dinosaurs. If you're of the age, you remember how great the TGIF show was (though, I can't remember a single plot) and how dark it turned in the finale when all the (spoiler) dinosaurs were wiped out. If the finale left you sad, try watching this excellent mash-up of the show and Notorious B.I.G.'s song Hypnotize to cleanse your palate. It seriously is great.
Jonathan Sturgeon writes about the new Wu-Tang album
The CD is housed within two nickel-silver boxes that were hand-carved by a Moroccan artist and his team of ten workers over three months; there is only one physical copy of the album in existence; all digital versions have been destroyed; and bidding starts at $5 million. And we learned yesterday that Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will remain under copyright until 2103 — that’s 88 years.
and listening party
“The irony of it is that we did it for the fans,” said the album’s producer, Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh, who is himself a Wu-Tang superfan. He infamously dogged RZA so persistently that he became — loosely, controversially — a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
I was thinking of Wu-Tang’s fans as I arrived at MoMA PS1 several minutes late. I had been told in advance that no recording devices would be allowed in the museum, including computers or phones. This of course meant a long line, but it gave me an opportunity to see who would be attending this once in a lifetime exhibition. I saw Ebro Darden (the programming director of Hot 97), Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture), a handful of familiar faces from the art world, and a gaggle of confused “fans” who had won tickets from Power 105. Invariably, intensely, hilariously: the radio fans smelled like booze. And one of them inexplicably mispronounced RZA, “R.Z.A.”
I like Wu-Tang, but this stunt isn't about the fans.
Today is National Good Day Day. What is National Good Day Day, you may ask. Well, my dear friend, it is a day we celebrate every year in honor of the most perfect South Central day ever observed, on January 20th, 1992.
Murk Avenue breaks down the clues of Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" to pinpoint the exact day the song took place..
CLUE 1: “went to short dogs house, they was watching Yo MTV RAPS” Yo MTV RAPS first aired: Aug 6th 1988
CLUE 2: Ice Cubes single “today was a good day” released on: Feb 23 1993
CLUE 3: ”The Lakers beat the Super Sonics” Dates between Yo MTV Raps air date AUGUST 6 1988 and the release of the single FEBRUARY 23 1993 where the Lakers beat the Super Sonics: Nov 11 1988 114-103 Nov 30 1988 110-106 Apr 4 1989 115-97 Apr 23 1989 121-117 Jan 17 1990 100-90 Feb 28 1990 112-107 Mar 25 1990 116-94 Apr 17 1990 102-101 Jan 18 1991 105-96 Mar 24 1991 113-96 Apr 21 1991 103-100 Jan 20 1992 116-110
CLUE 4: Dates of those Laker wins over SuperSonics where it was a clear day with no Smog: Nov 30 1988 Apr 4 1989 Jan 18 1991 Jan 20 1992
CLUE 5: “Got a beep from Kim, and she can fuck all night” beepers weren’t adopted by mobile phone companies until the 1990s. Dates left where mobile beepers were availible to public: Jan 18 1991 Jan 20 1992
CLUE 6: Ice Cube starred in the film “Boyz in the hood” that released late Summer of 1991, but was being filmed mid-late 1990 early 1991 and Ice Cube was busy on set filming the movie Jan 18 1991 too busy to be lounging around the streets with no plans. Ladies and Gentlemen..
The ONLY day where: Yo MTV Raps was on air It was a clear and smogless day Beepers were commercially sold Lakers beat the SuperSonics and Ice Cube had no events to attend was…
JANUARY 20 1992 - National Good Day Day
My favorite jazzy hip hop group, Bop Alloy, released a new EP for the holidays. The album comes as part of their Kickstarter stretch goal for the last album, Another Day in the Life of. The new album is entitled Winter Breaks and can be downloaded from their bandcamp page.
According to the site, ‘Winter Breaks’ compiles 6 sonically vintage Hip Hop tracks. Producer, Marcus D handles the live instrumentation mixes masterfully while infusing jazz, soul and a pinch of Afro beat samples. Lyrically, Substantial touches on the personal, social, and economical effects of the Holiday season, using thoughtful lyricism, wit, and a variety of flows to paint a different portrait of Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s.
Best of all, it's name your own price (but support good music and throw some dollars their way).
Def Jam is 30 years old this year. Yes, 30. Rolling Stone sat down with co-founder Rick Rubin, returning to the very dorm room in which he started the label 30 years ago, to discuss how Def Jam began.
For more on the historic record label, check out Russell Simmons' (co-founder with Rubin) book Life and Def or The Men Behind Def Jam by Alex Ogg. Both are great reads.
This performance was from a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it. It's pretty awesome (as are all their performances). They cover everything from The Simpsons, to Dragnet to Game of Thrones. I wonder how long it takes to choreograph something like this.
One of my favorite films of all time is Ghostbusters, celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year. Screencrush has the inside story of the cameo-filled music video for Ray Parker, Jr's song Ghostbusters. The cameos, featuring the likes of John Candy, Al Franken, and Chevy Chase, among others, are pretty random. You can watch the music video below.
A Miles Davis biopic has been floating around Hollywood for years, but has never been made. With movies like Walk the Line and Ray hitting theaters, I thought for sure the film would be made. Mile Davis is one of the most influential musicians in American history, after all. Sadly, the script has been sitting idle after several false starts. Not anymore. Don Cheadle (in a role he was born to play) is now turning to Indie GoGo to help get financing for the film.
So why a movie about Miles Davis? Cheadle writes
I want to tell a story that Miles himself would have wanted to see, something hip, cool, alive and AHEAD.
I’ve taken my marching orders from Miles’ mandates (“Play what’s not there.” “Fear no mistakes. There are none.”) and focused in on a very specific point in his life to explore his relationship with his muse, his voice, his fears and challenges to come out of his silent period and return to the music. I'm hopefully making a movie that tells a story many people can relate to, jazz fan or not.
MILES AHEAD is not just about the music. It’s about what we all face at one time or another in our lives; questions about who we really are, what we have to say and how will we say it. How will we ultimately be defined and who gets to say so?
Watch the campaign video below. You can support the project here.
God, I hope not.
Ben Shepard has launched the “Kanye 4 Mayor” campaign. The initiative includes a website, Kanye4Mayor.org, that features several pages of explanations on why Ye would be the best successor to Chicago’s current leader Rahm Emanuel. Shepard believes “Mayor West could lead a movement to make it the best city in the world.”
In open letter to Kanye, Shepard points out four main issues he feels the citizens of Chicago need addressing by a new administration: failing schools, a sub par transportation system, excessive shootings, and an undemocratic police force.
If Kanye ever becomes mayor of anything it will mark the fall of America.
It's been 8 years since one of the best groups in hip hop called in quits, but Jurassic 5 is back... sort of. They recently released a new song and video in preparation for their first US tour in 8 years. The song is entitled The Way We Do It and was produced by the late Heavy D. Watch the video below.
As an amateur historian and hip hop aficionado, I found the research of what day in history is actually Ice Cube's "Good Day" fascinating. Murk Avenue breaks down the clues of Ice Cube's It Was a Good Day to pinpoint the day.
CLUE 1: “went to short dogs house, they was watching Yo MTV RAPS” Yo MTV RAPS first aired: Aug 6th 1988
CLUE 2: Ice Cubes single “today was a good day” released on: Feb 23 1993
CLUE 3: ”The Lakers beat the Super Sonics” Dates between Yo MTV Raps air date AUGUST 6 1988 and the release of the single FEBRUARY 23 1993 where the Lakers beat the Super Sonics: Nov 11 1988 114-103 Nov 30 1988 110-106 Apr 4 1989 115-97 Apr 23 1989 121-117 Jan 17 1990 100-90 Feb 28 1990 112-107 Mar 25 1990 116-94 Apr 17 1990 102-101 Jan 18 1991 105-96 Mar 24 1991 113-96 Apr 21 1991 103-100 Jan 20 1992 116-110
CLUE 4: Dates of those Laker wins over SuperSonics where it was a clear day with no Smog: Nov 30 1988 Apr 4 1989 Jan 18 1991 Jan 20 1992
CLUE 5: “Got a beep from Kim, and she can fuck all night” beepers weren’t adopted by mobile phone companies until the 1990s. Dates left where mobile beepers were availible to public: Jan 18 1991 Jan 20 1992
CLUE 6: Ice Cube starred in the film “Boyz in the hood” that released late Summer of 1991, but was being filmed mid-late 1990 early 1991 and Ice Cube was busy on set filming the movie Jan 18 1991 too busy to be lounging around the streets with no plans. Ladies and Gentlemen..
The ONLY day where: Yo MTV Raps was on air It was a clear and smogless day Beepers were commercially sold Lakers beat the SuperSonics and Ice Cube had no events to attend was…
JANUARY 20 1992 National Good Day Day
Of course, it's not that easy. Someone else has already set to disprove the day of January 20, 1992 as being the Good Day.
One of my favorite underground hip hop groups over the past couple of years has been Seattle-based Blue Scholars. If you don't know much about them, they are a duo comprised of producer/DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic. They produce really good socially conscious hip hop. Some of the themes that appear throughout their albums and EPs include struggles between socioeconomic classes, challenging authority and youth empowerment. Recently they announced that their forthcoming album, Cinemetropolis, would forgo a traditional record label release. Instead, they are signing to "the people."
After weighing all options for the release of our third full-length studio album, Cinemetropolis, we've decided to forego all traditional channels and return to the independent approach that made Blue Scholars who we are. No record label. No marketing and distribution deal. No middlemen. No bullsh*t.
Instead, we're going to sign a deal with the people. Specifically, you.
An industry-standard release leaves very little to the imagination or creative diversion. A set amount of singles, videos, and a tour, constantly negotiated by a contract that dictates the "life cycle" of an album. Thing is, Cinemetropolis is our most ambitious release yet, and we don't want to stick to the script.
Our philosophy has always been to create our music and our media with creative freedom while still being able to sustain and grow ourselves. And at this point, we don't believe that the tired music industrial model is necessary for people to pick up what we're putting down. We don't need to compromise our vision by ascribing to the "deal." We believe the power of word-of-mouth far more than industry-induced hype, recognizing that it's been the support of our fans and not what we've signed that have gotten us where we are.
With your support, we'll be able to release Cinemetropolis to you directly. Those who pledge in this campaign will receive the digital album weeks before it's actually released in June, and will get special exclusive-to-Kickstarter swag, not to mention be the first people to find out about when our Cinemetropolis singles, videos, and merch gets released.
Check out their Kickstarter video.
So, they group has created a Kickstarter page. Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. The premise is simple, donate money and receive stuff. What you receive from Blue Scholars depends on how much you donate. You can see the different levels here. Blue Scholars is definitely one of the most creative groups out there. You should kick in a few bucks and help them out. When you think about it, you'd be spending $10 for their album on iTunes anyway. Why not send it directly to them and get the album for free before it's released? Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Personally, I'm glad to see more and more musicians using Kickstarter. It definitely helps show that their music is appreciated and allows the musician to cut out middle men and release directly to the fans that support them.
This is probably the oddest post title on my site. For those who don't know what it means, they are the names of the artists behind three of the best albums of the year. In a time where it seems really good music is hard to come by, I consider myself blessed to come across three awesome albums that all came out within just a few months of each other. I almost experienced music overload. What makes these albums even better is that they are nothing alike. For those who say all hip hop sounds the same, I challenge you to listen to these three albums and tell me that afterwards. There is something for everyone on this list. I'm not going to give detailed reviews of the albums, I just want to talk about why they are great and why you should buy them. First up is Kno's Death is Silent.
For those unfamiliar with the name Kno, you might recognize him as the excellent producer behind the group CunninLynguists. Kno has largely stayed absent from the mic on the last couple CunninLynguists albums choosing to hone his production skills to near perfect quality. Death is Silent finds Kno's trademarked sample-heavy production painting a dark backdrop over the best lyrics we've heard from him to date. The only problem with the album is that sometimes the rapping doesn't live up to the excellent composition behind it. Also, this is a much darker album from what we've previously heard from CunninLynguists, so be prepared to get sucked in to a dark place (which isn't a bad thing as you feel like you're part of a really good story). I really can't describe what this album is, other than close to being perfect. This is one of those albums that you can turn off the lights and listen from beginning to end over and over and over. Each time you listen you pick up on something new. It's an experience that will never end. Make sure you pick up this album now.
The next album is from QN5 newcomer Kokayi. To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of Kokayi before his signing to QN5. He was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 51st Annual Grammys, but I've not watched the Grammys in years (and really don't intend on starting again). He joined QN5 in April of 2009 and I've been waiting to hear something from him ever since. Was the wait worth it? Yes! Kokayi's Robots & Dinosaurs is undeniably one of my favorite albums to come out in years. What sets it apart from other hip hop albums is that Kokayi is able to meld genres to make an amalgam of good music. He's hip hop, he's rock, he's soul. This album contains something for everyone. If you are a fan of good music, you will love this album. Best of all, you can order a Paleo-Pack of his album that includes a bunch of goodies to go with the fantastic music or you can listen and purchase the digital album here.
The last album on my list is a side project from Substantial. The album is called Substantial & Marcus D are Bop Alloy. The album can easily be defined as Jazz Hop. It is a great album utilizing the smooth flows of Substantial on top of excellent Jazz production by Marcus D. This is one of those albums that you can sit back and listen and get lost in the music. You would think this duo would have been making music together for years, but that's not true. This is their first album together and if all their music together is this good I hope there will be many more albums in the years to come. Not to say anything bad about Substantial's previous works because they are all good, but I think this is his best to date. He has definitely evolved as an emcee and this album shows it. If you're a fan of Jazz and a fan of hip hop, make sure you support the artists and buy their album.