I’ve said it before and I’ll say it over and over, Blueprint is an MC who is still cinematic like Jet Li, and that was said from Printmatic himself.
As the man is about to hit the road with Atmosphere and release an all new set of music, Blueprint has put together a compilation that gathers what he feels is some of his best material in an album simply titled The Best Of Blueprint. He’s making it available for free, which you can download by right clicking this link (85.31mb).
If you’re finding it hard to wait for his next proper album, don’t worry. It will be titled Adventures in Counter-Culture and will be released through Rhymesayers. If you want to catch him on tour opening for Atmosphere, click here for tour dates to see when he’ll be dropping rhymes near you.
When Atmosphere goes on tour, they create music that you can purchase only at tour stops, and the group will be releasing two EP’s, To All My Friends and Blood Makes The Blade Holy. The To All My Friends tour will feature Blueprint, Grieves, Budo, and DJ Rare Groove, and will begin next week:
09.08 – Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theatre
09.09 – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Riverside Theater
09.10 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
09.11 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater
09.12 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
09.15 – Bozeman, MT @ Gallatin Co. Fairgrounds
09.16 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
09.17 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
09.18 – Spokane, WA @ The Knitting Factory
09.20 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
09.21 – Bend, OR @ Midtown
09.22 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
09.24 – Chico, CA @ Senator Theater
09.25 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
09.27 – Arcata, CA @ Arcata Center
09.28 – Sacramento, CA @ Sacramento State University
09.29 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
10.01 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
10.02 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
10.04 – Rapid City, SD @ Dublin Square
10.05 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Sioux Empire Fair Expo Hall
10.06 – Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
10.07 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
Until then, here’s a brand new Atmosphere track, “Freefalling”, that you can download for free. Dig In (5.73mb).
In the early days of hip-hop, including the first few years after the release of “Rapper’s Delight”, no one ever talked about the music and its creative community with the word “science”. Dropping science and wanting to discuss said science didn’t come until later, it was all about fun, wanting to dance, hear good music, and being thrilled with an exchange of rhythmic wordplay. 30 years after “Rapper’s Delight”, Paul Edwards has come up with a book that discusses that rhythmic wordplay in a very comprehensive book called How To Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC (Chicago Review Press).
When I was growing up, I would often hear naysayers talking about how “it’s just talking” and “that crap isn’t going to last another year”, and even when it became a billion dollar industry, it seemed people were more in doubt that something as simple as talking over music became such a success. What How To Rap does is look at the vocal and lyrical aspects of hip-hop, specifically the role of the rapper, the MC in a way that has never been properly discussed or considered worthy of discussion. What Edwards does is look at some of the MC’s in hip-hop and ask them questions on everything from breathing techniques to songwriting structure, the art of understanding the mastering the recording studio, to taking your skills to the stage. These were things many rappers simply did from observing and listening, so to have a book like this with all of the trade secrets, which weren’t really secrets, but simply information no one thought was “scholarly”.
The section I enjoyed talked about the relationship between the MC and the producer, and how a rapper should have a role in how their song is sculptured from start to finish. As a producer and as someone who made failed attempts at rapping (and I did it because I wanted to share what I was writing, but in a musical fashion), that relationship between MC and producer is an important one because a lot of MC’s think that they can get thrown a beat or track and magic will happen. The producer, specifically a good or great producer, can turn an ordinary beat into that magic you’re looking for, understanding how a song is arranged and how to fully utilize your voice, along with understanding the recording studio and available technologies. It doesn’t get too deep into technical jargon, but you’ll go away understanding the role of the producer as more than just the guy who knows obscure funk or can play three chords on his Casio.
Depending on who you speak with, the current era of mainstream hip-hop is either devoid of music or devoid of hip-hop. How To Rap truly takes it back to the essence and finds meaning to what has never been accurately define, to read what was previously unwritten is something that is very much of value not only amongst hip-hop, but anyone who makes music and wants to know if the music is much more than rhyming “frog” with “log”. A lot of people think it’s that simple, and it may seem like a good portion of today’s music is based on that philosophy alone. A lot of people who call themselves MC’s should read this, so they’ll understand their craft a bit more and create better music. As a guidebook, it will not turn everyone into overnight Rakim‘s or Buckshot‘s, but it will be added ammunition for those who take to the music and honor it as an art form.
Last week Friday, a Twitter friend tells me that nine minutes before he sent his message, DJ Shadow made an announcement that he pressed up a limited edition of a 12″ single that would be a mere preview of what’s to come from his forthcoming album. To make it even more interesting, the 12″ single would be made available for free, with only one record for each customer. With nine minutes passed, there was no way I could score a copy, and when I visited Shadow’s website with the record offer, it stated all records were sold out. However, there was a statement which stated that some carts might be emptied, so there might be a chance to obtain a record. I primarily use the Firefox browser but it didn’t work, no matter how many times I refreshed. I switched browsers (Opera), and in a minute, a cart popped up and I clicked. Boom, copy obtained. An hour later, I was sent a receipt indicating the record would be shipped that day, which meant since Shadow HQ and I are on the same coast, I would get that record on Monday.
It’s (only) Monday…
My copy of the 12″ single arrived today, and the cover is a trip. It’s an illustrated cover, and I believe each of the 100 covers sent out were individually drawn. No credit to the artist, but my edition looks like a cross between the small white box on the bottom of the back cover of Led Zeppelin II
and a freaky, hairy testicle, along with a little mouse on the upper left that looks like it’s waving. The record itself is thick (180g perhaps) and on blue vinyl, spinning at 45rpm for optimum sound quality. Matrix reveals the record was mastered at Abbey Road. Nice.
The music is what you want to know about, right? This is incredible. For the two songs, the days of Endtroducing aree long gone, as if he’s found a comfort zone to play with between stages of Psyence Fiction, The Private Press, and The Outsider. If you’ve listened to anything he has done in between albums, the mixing, sampling/chopping style, and soundscape textures should come as no surprise, as he has always played around with moving to new places.
“Def Surround Us” is an uptempo track that has a slight Goldie/Roni Size feel, imagine Shadow if he was doing Timeless and “Share The Fall” in the mid-90′s instead of “Hardcore (Instrumental) Hip-Hop”. The song goes through a lot of moods, from loud to delicate, and just as I felt it was about to fade into the distance, it comes back. When the choir comes in at around the 4:58 mark , it’s chicken skin inducing. As the song fades out, it seems to show hints of “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt” and “Giving Up The Ghost”, as if a bit of musical continuity is at play.
“I’ve Been Trying” features male vocals and is on the mellow melancholy side a la “Six Days”. To my ears, Shadow has always been subtle in how he uses his samples, not only to make great sounding songs, but to convey messages that are only meant to be known between him and his intended target. “I’ve Been Trying” is a love song, or at least a song with a romantic tone, and you can listen to it as if you’ve been driving on an endless highway and you’ve tuned into a frequency unknown. The music comforts you, and you share the warmth of that dedication, along with the fading warmth of the sunset. It’s that kind of song, like a Zabriskie Point-type of excursion but without a building exploding at half speed.
Shadow has always went out of his way to try something new, even when fans have wanted him to hang on to the sounds they were i(e)ntroduced with. This is music from a producer who has progressed from a mere lover of hip-hop, obscure beats and samples to someone who has developed into someone firmly in control of the way he manipulates sound, in whatever context he feels. Even when it may sound like he’s in total control, there’s that desire to scratch that itch and find new things to remedy the situation. It was journalist Paul Morley who called his group, Art Of Noise, “a spanner in the works”, and that has been Shadow’s unspoken motto for twenty years.
Don’t call it a comeback, DJ Shadow has been here for years, but musically, someone will answer in sample form and say “it’s the awesome return of Uncle”. Josh, that is.
This is by a relatively new artist who goes by the name of Ro Spit (no relation to Dub Spit, and he says what he does is “Too Easy”. Is it? Fill me in.
“All You Ever Knew” by Now On is a song that will be of interest to Slum Village fans. The song came out two years ago, but the video is making the rounds.
The idea of having a Rakaa solo album might seem daunting, especially for some hip-hop fans who may be diehard supporters of Dilated Peoples but are uncertain of any solo project. If you are a Rakaa fan, you don’t have to worry about this one being a disappointment, or at least I wasn’t worried.
Crown Of Thorns (Decon): I mean look at the title right there. Is it a metaphor to suggest that he knew and expected to be put up on a metaphorical cross, to risk exposure and ridicule, or shameless praise? Or is it a means of honor? Regardless of how you read the title, it’s an album where the man known as Iriscience is able to keep one foot on the side of that “real hip-hop” but another to continue on with a more accessible side that Dilated Peoples attempted to do with their last album. By being accessible does not mean he’s trying to make sellout music, whatever that may mean in 2010. What you do hear is someone who knows he can’t remain true to one person’s view of what hip-hop should be, but one must be diverse, just like Rakaa himself.
I’ll put it this way. While the attitude that Kanye West has shared in his music is nothing new, there’s a bit of that swagger, sans ego, in some of Rakaa’s delivery, and the thing about it is that it works. When he hits us up with some dope rhymes over incredible beats, it does not sound dated one bit. There’s an old school feel, without a doubt, but it’s very much in the now, the same way Slug (of Atmosphere) and Blueprint do it. You still have the top notch clever rhymes, there’s still the deliver you know and love, that one that may have made him your LL Cool J or Rakim or KRS-One.
I’m from the school where rappers were heroes because we honored their voices, rapping techniques, and level of intelligence, we were down with the flow from someone in the know. While Rakaa is someone perhaps too humble to call himself a hero, he is someone who takes pride in what he does and shares that with the world. To rock the mic means not only wanting to be heard, but knowing you have the capabilities on how to be heard. There’s a level of confidence on Crown Of Thorns that comes from someone who knows and loves what he’s doing, and the one thing I love about the album is that he sounds like he’s having fun. A perfect representation of what hip-hop music is.
Last year around this time, you were not able to say what I’m about to say in the second sentence. Grammy-nominated Foreign Exchange will be returning with their third album, Authenticity (+FE Music), which is said to be a deeper exploration into what both Phonte Coleman and Nicolay Rook have wanted in their sound as FE.
The album will be released on CD and MP3, and yes, as double vinyl. I’m very glad FE are choosing to keep the vinyl light alive, so vinyl junkies, so some support when the album goes on sale October 12th.
This song, produced by 9th Wonder, is from Actual Proof‘s self-titled EP due out next week Tuesday. The video was put together by the guys at Pricefilms, keeping things close to home with that North Carolina connection.
These guys should not be confused with the jazz Actual Proof from Charlotte, North Carolina.
You probably have heard of the news that Actor Laurence Fishburne has a daughter named Montana, who claims that Kim Kardashian is a role model of hers because she was able to do a sex tape and become more popular than before. As Chippie D, Fishburne wants to go for it all, to the delight and disgust of many.
Here’s a music video by porno performer Brian Pumper (a/k/a B. Pumper) featuring Fishburne as a dancer. Since high definition video tends to let everyone see everything, the fact that she is indeed shaved is not the issue, it’s the fact that no one tried to touch up the boil scars on her ass. The hook of the song sounds like he’s singing “oh, anus shave/oh, anus shave”, which could spark a unique phenomenon if interpreted as such. In today’s musical climate, this will either become as popular as Ray J., or become as moving as a Traci Lords 12″ single or Hyapatia Lee‘s cover of “Telephone Man”.
thisisjohnbook: @Tahj_Mowry What kind of record/vinyl collection do you have? Was doing a search here and was surprised to see your posts pop up. Inform. 2 months ago from web
thisisjohnbook: RT @vosp20: My Uncle has given me a box full of old Northern Soul vinyl records today for keeps. My ears will be in heaven tonight! 2 months ago from web
