technical glitches

this whole thing could use a much better organization scheme. i'll be working on that for a bit.

in the meantime, MF Doom is on tour, Rock the Bells is coming up, and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 still isn't out yet.

The new Wilco album is pretty cool though.

Props to Guerilla Union

These guys have been keepin shit together with their Rock The Bells festivals over the years, and this summer is no exception. Anyone into hip hop has by now heard of the monumental festival featuring the Wu Tang Clan, Nas, MF Doom, Pharoahe Monch, the Roots, Public Enemy (!), and a shitton more, but how many people are really paying attention to the business that's going on around the scene?

When Goldenvoice puts on festivals (ahem, Coachella) they make the performing artists sign a contract saying that they can't play their own show in neighboring cities (Los Angeles) for like, a month before AND a month after the festival. Now, some will try to tell you that they are covering their asses to make sure that people who just want to see, say, The Arcade Fire, will come to that one day of Coachella, and to a certain extent, that's spot on. But, to another extent, it's completely fucked up. The artist is basically prohibited from making any money from shows leading up to and in the aftermath of the big event.

I've seen a lot of awesome shows popping up on the west coast recently that indicate that Guerilla Union doesn't have this policy with the artists performing at Rock The Bells. For that, I give them mad props. Yeah, I coughed up the dough for one of those overpriced VIP packages for McCovey Cove parking lot, and I'm gonna have a great time. But, I'm also gonna have an incredible time seeing MF Doom at the Independent on the Thursday before that shit goes down, and if I'm feeling particularly frisky (see: not broke or too hungover), I'll probably catch Public Enemy back here in Santa Cruz at the Catalyst on Sunday.

This makes sense for a tour that is going across the country at a slow pace (LA->SF in a week? that's a long time!), but I'm pretty convinced that if it was another company handling things, it would not be allowed, and then MF, Chuck D, whoever, wouldn't be getting as much money as they otherwise could be, and many fans who didn't hop on to the sold out show soon enough can still get a little fill of what they like.

Now if only you guys dropped Ticketmaster as your ticketing company...

Don't make me get oldskool...

This is another one that's been a while in the making. Dizz dropped Showtime only a year after Boy In Da Corner (the same year in the US), but Maths & English took him a few more years to put in the bag, and it definitely shows. While Rasket maintains his signatures Logic synth-layered style, he is also progressing forward into new territory. Like, for instance, sampling James Brown.

In terms of his first album, the production sounds a lot more traditional-hip-hop, but there are still psychedelic nuances, wonky synths, sweeping filters and wandering delays. And it's still gangster. I'm pretty convinced that the "hi-hat" sound for the opener "World Outside" is the sharpening of a large butcher's knife. People say he's getting Americanized or whatever, but I don't see Pharrell or Kanye doing this sort of production. Sure, it doesn't quite sound like grime anymore, or whatever, but it sounds good: it sounds different enough to be a progression, yet the same enough (maybe even just in attitude) to be familiar.

If you've yet to venture into Dizzee Dizz territory, I'd probably suggest Boy In Da Corner first, but if you've been following along with things so far, Maths & English is no surprise. 4 stars from allmusic, but they tend to be off on this sort of shit. There's no review, and there's not even a state-side CD copy of the thing, you have to import it. Thankfully CDUniverse has it on the cheap (for an import).

At this point, I feel a bit redundant. Everything I've written is about music I've been digging. What's my excuse? I don't listen to music I don't like? I dunno.. maybe. Not enough radio, or promotional cds, or something. Anyways, listen to Dizzee Dizz. Summertime....

A Monarch minus the A&R

I'll admit, I've only Pharoahe Monch work I've really really listened to before Desire is The Extinction Agenda, but fucking hot damn. I just snagged that self-titled joint and Internal Affairs off of the albumbase, and will probably take a trip to the record store when I get out of this sweltering paradise called Oáhu.

Desire is the return of the heart and soul to hip-hop. It's funky, fresh, original, and damn refreshing. I didn't even know I was waiting for anything, but this is what I've been waiting for. The album is chock full of lyrical genius ("I'm the poetical pastor/ Slave to a label, but I own my masters", etc). I've been doing some reading, and dude's taken 8 years, either brainstorming or working at a steady pace (or waiting for labels to figure their shit out). Regardless, the time and effort certainly shows.

Desire is well put together, sonicly cohesive, and just generally well-produced. Only three of the joints are labeled as containing samples, and even those do well to keep the sample as just another voice in the mix (complementing original drums, bass, and other voices). Not to say that sample based composition is is any less work or less artistic, but you can almost feel the days they spent in the studio working on this shit.

I read the allmusic review, saw that Ryan Schreiber gave it a "best new fad" tag, --- ok, --- I just paused and read the review. They quoted the same line as me (except they misquoted it, adding a "still", ha) -- Anyways, Brian Howe gave the new !!! album an 8.0 and this shit a 7.9, which is so fucking arbitrary, but it still means I can't take him seriously. In a nutshell, if you're into hip hop, you'll probably dig this album. If not, it may turn you on to some new shit. I think it's the best release of the year so far.

Get commenty with the shit, allmusic and Howe aren't down with the Public Enemy cover, but I think it's pretty dope. Sure, Monch isn't Chuck D, but the instrumental is fresh, and he added a verse. So say what's on your mind... or does nobody read this shit yet?

Boot Camp Clik ain't nothin to Wu Tang. Soundcyst motherfucker, get to know how we do things

I know it came out in January, but I can't get enough of this album. The beats are a bit more relaxed and soulful than Monkey Barz, but Ruck delivers big time. Dude's flippin' shit crazy, making new words ('respecognize'), and bringing the soul choir to boot. Some production by 9th Wonder, and a lot by dude's I've never heard of (but have probably heard) before but probably should have.

My buddy maintains that it's not as gritty or street as Monkey Barz, but I only really feel that in terms of the beats, and even then, it's shakey. Jesus Price definitely doesn't sound like Monkey Barz in terms of sonic quality, but shit, doesn't everyone always say they like artists to progress? P's still the brokest rapper you know (and now he's lettin you know he slangin that crack rock after the show). Guest appearances by Rock (fuck yea), Buckshot, Steele, Sadat X (!), Skyzoo, and a bunch more.

Basically, there's not a bad track on the record, and it's full of those bomb Sean P stanzas. So fuckin' get it already.