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Badass Movie Alert: Revolver

Could Revolver be the movie that returns Guy Ritchie back to form?

It better, because after the embarrassment that was Swept Away, Mr. Ritchie needs to get back into the game of making real films. This is the dude who made Lock Stock… and Snatch, for Christ sakes!

After watching the trailer for this flick, I'm at least assured that the man is back. First of all, it stars Jason Statham. Second, Andre 3000 and Vincent, “Big Pussy” Pastore play brothers (who'd thought?). And third, Guy was nice enough to cut that non-acting bitch Madonna's scene out of the movie, essentially restoring his street credibility.

The movie premieres in the Europe and the UK on September 22, but as of now, there is no US distribution deal. Check out the trailer here.

Tags: Mandrill

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New Little Brother Video

The kind folks at ABB Records dropped me a line today to let ya'll know that the new Little Brother video for the single “Lovin' It” is here.

The Minstrel Show drops on September 13th.

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Tags: Mandrill

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BREAKING NEWS: Bol Is a Gully Mofo

This is hilarious.

When thousands of readers of the September 2005 JUICE issue of VIBE magazine attempt to check out a URL listed in a story about hip-hop blogs - supposedly the URL of the author's own blog - they will instead be redirected to a page calling the author a “douche.”

The author of the story is hip-hop journalist kris ex, co-author of “From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens,” the autobiography of hip-hop artist 50 Cent, and a polarizing figure in the world of hip-hop blogging.

You can't write an article about hip hop blogs without including Bol and/or The Mindset Army. The dude is like the Don Corleone of the blogosphere, intruducing new terms such as “no homo” and “weed carriers” to the blog hood. Bol is not one to be messed with.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Mandrill

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Finally…Fiona!

After an abnormally long hiatus (due to varying factors) Fiona Apple's new album Extraordinary Machine is finally being released.

Thanks to an internet leak, the world got a taste of Fiona's latest work in the form of eleven tracks, which drew the interest of fans and critics. The album will have reworked versions of the leaked tracks as well as a new song.

In a short statement that was released yesterday (Monday) Ms. Apple said

“Now that my album is finally finished, I am very, very excited to have people hear what we did. I am so proud of it, and all of us who worked on it,”

She is however refusing all interviews.

Many fans have already heard the majority of the album. Though no one is sure who leaked the songs on to the internet, they certainly made an impact. Many listeners posted MP3 links on their websites. Others released the whole album. One Seattle woman even burned CDs and sent them out to fans who would pay for the postage.

Still for those of us who have not heard the album, the release of Extraordinary Machine is extremely exciting.

The release date has been set for October 4th.

Tags: Mandrill

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Hip Hop Summer

To me, it seems that my summer has never even started. Last summer I was always out at the club, whereas this season is definitely more low-key and subdued. But summer isn???t over until Labor day, so I still have time to post my favorite summer tracks. For your consideration:

• Memphis Bleek feat Jay-Z - “Dear Summer” - Okay, this is an obvious choice, and yes, this song has been blogged to death. But do I care? Hells no. This song, ladies and gentlemen, is an anthem, plain and simple.
• Black Eyed Peas (feat. Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo & John Legend) - “Like That” - What? This is Black Eyed Peas? And this song is on their new album, not some unreleased ish from 1998? Huh? I gave up over BEP after they added Fergie and did everything that they joked about in Behind the Front, but this track shows that this group still has a shred of credibility. (props to ej)
• Da Backwudz - “You're Gonna Love Me” - Personally, I'm getting sick of the sped up 70s vocal chorus (a la Kanye West), but somehow it seems to work here. This song has got the perfect mix of crunk and chill and its perfect to blast on your back porch while sippin' some sweet tea.
• Young Jeezy, Jay-Z and Fat Joe - “Go Crazy (Remix)” - Damn, the South is takin' over everything, just like Ian said. This song has been blogged to death as well, but still makes the list just on sheer Jay-Z star power. Honestly, I couldn't care less about Jeezy.
• 69 Boyz - “Tootsie Roll (Set It Off Remix)” - Before Crunk, there was booty. Remember when Booty music ruled the world? (That should be one of those VH1 Specials). The only reason I truly like this song is that it contains a sample from “Moments in Love” by The Art of Noise, which is one of the best. tracks. ever.
• Kanye West, Ludacris and The Game - “Where You At?” - Is it sad that the best song that Kanye West has produced is for a cell phone ad? And an obscure cell phone company too. Still, this is a hard hitting track, with some rap rock beats in the background to set off the lyrical stylings. Don't sleep on this track just because its from a commercial.
• J*Davey - “Mister Mister (Remix)” - I'm pretty sure that these guys hate us, and I'm not sure why. Still, I've been diggin' J*Davey since the beginning of time it seems, but their music always sounds fresh, even on the 5,000th spin. This new remix of Mister Mister is a mindfuck of synth sounds, some chopped and screwed vocals, and some other random ish that I can't explain. (listen here)

Any other songs you feelin' this summer? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: Mandrill

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Starbucking It All The Way To The Bank (Hopefully)

A new documentary film is in the works right now and it is similar to Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. I think.

Entitled Starbucking, the film by Bill Tangeman. follows a young man from Texas hell bent on visiting EVERY Starbucks. That's right. Every last one.

His name is Winter (seen above right) and his reasons for taking on this task may at first seem slightly vague. He calls himself an enthusiast and is doing this to be different. And well, it's definitely setting him apart from the rest of the crowd. His website has a list of all the stores he has already visited

Winter took time out of his busy schedule of answering TV and radio interviews to answer a few questions for The Couch Sessions.

It seems you've been going to Starbucks for a while. When did it first occur to you the you wanted to visit every one?

I was sitting at a Starbucks in Plano, TX, talking
about all the new stores in Dallas and how quickly the
company was growing, and the idea to visit every store
just popped into my mind randomly.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Mandrill

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Waist Deep in What?

Rapper The Game has been chosen to play the villan in an up-coming urban action flick. The up-coming movie entitled Waist Deep was written and will be directed by Vondie Curtis Hall, who also wrote and directed Glitter (You know…that Mariah Carey fiasco) The film will also star Tyrese, Megan Good and Larenz Tate.

The plot follows Tyrese as an ex-con who has to fight a gang who kidnapped his son during a carjacking. The Game is set to play the vicious criminal leader.

Tags: Mandrill

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Up and Coming: Miri Ben-Ari

She's heard all over The College Dropout. She's worked with everyone from Janet Jackson to Jay-Z. She's an Apollo Legend. You've probably even seen her onstage with Kanye and wondered 'who is that chick slayin' that violin like that?'

She's Miri Ben-Ari and she'll be dropping her own cd, The Hip-Hop Violinist, August 23rd (that seems to be the date for now - these things are always subject to change).

While this is Miri's first hip-hop cd, she's no stranger to the recording studio, having found success with her jazz releases including Sahara and Song of the Promised Land. The Israeli-born prodigy has already established herself as a respected and formidable jazz musician (being associated with Wynton Marsalis, who did guest duties on her second album, how could she not be?). Recent years have found Miri gravitating to hip-hop and r&b.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Mandrill

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News Update: August 12th

Hello and welcome to the Couch Sessions News Update…again…lots of interesting stuff happening so let's get started!

Pharrell Williams topped Esquire Magazine's second annual Best Dressed Man in the World list. Some others who made the list were Kanye West, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jay-Z, Donald Trump, Kofi Annan and former President Clinton.

Kimora Lee Simmons has pleaded guilty to a a traffic violation. She was charged last July with careless driving, eluding a police officer and possessing a small amount of marijuana after she was pulled over by a police officer.

Check out Brazilian Girls

Bow Wow (formerly Lil') debuted on the Billboard Top 100 Singles Chart.

Summer 2005 is the summer of the documentary. Movies like Murderball, The Aristocrats, and March of the Penguins have been the hot thing. Keeping up with the trend is The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. Release by ThinkFilm and opening on August 17th, the movie divulges into new evidence in the 1955 murder of the young black teenager.

And finally read about Operation Ceasefire a coalition of DC musicians and artists who oppose the war in Iraq.

Tags: Mandrill

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Nick Cannon Is Hilarious?

Maybe I'm from a different generation, but I don't really get what people see in Nick Cannon. One can also say the same thing with MTV nowadays. Shit, I'm even too old for VH1.

However, the brother gets some props for this new show called Wild 'N Out. Okay, so I don???t' know if the show is actually new since its been weeks since I've watched MTV. In fact, I don't know much about this show or its history at all. But for a channel which consistently panders to the lowest common denominator (Laguna Beach anyone?), I'm completely surprised that MTV has come up with such an original and funny show.

Yes, I said funny.

Wild N Out consists of two teams of comedians fronted by Mr. Cannon and a “A-List” celebrity. Said teams participate in several “freestyle comedy” improv events, with a battle rap at the end. Think of that show “Whose Line is it Anyway” with more street cred. Come to think of it, this show really isn't that original at all.

Like I mentioned before, I don't know if this show is gonna be a one off event just to promote Cannon's new album, or if this is going to stick around the MTV schedule. Who knows. It's just funny. Tivo this ish before Cannon pulls a Dave Chappelle.

Tags: Mandrill

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