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Hip-Hop

You Tube of the Day: Kev Brown Splicing Eddie Floyd

This ish is crazy. Motivation to us aspiring producers out there.

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The Couch Sessions Podcast 009: The Banned in DC Podcast

MP3 Download: Special BANNED IN DC Podcast

So if y'all didn’tknow by now, The Couch Sessions is sponsoring two rock shows at DC9 next week. For once, we're ditching the “hip-hop” moniker and focusing on other aspects of the “urban” music genre (I'm doing a writeup about African Americans in the rock scene that should be on this site and Blogcritics soon). This special podcast features music from the three bands playing on Tuesday, April 18th. I'm gonna do another podcast for the Sunday show which is April 23rd. Check it.

Oh, and if you're gonna be at the show, pop me an email, cause we definitely want to meet some of our readers.

MUCH THANKS TO MISS HIPSTAH AND SLACK REPUBLIC FOR PUTTING THIS SHOW TOGETHER.

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Rock/Alternative

You Are Not Some Deep, Game Changing Artist…

I just want to give a quick PSA to all frustrated rock stars and shy white girls. I understand you need a way to “vent” and “express yourself”, but can we save the failed attempts at coffee house stardom and backroads bar high life and not pick the an acoustic guitar? I definitely respect anybody who can really get down on an acousitc and twiddle those things something mean. Its a tuff instrument just to pick up and I respect that.

BUT…..there seems to be a music industry practice that frustrated former rock stars/boy band members/shy white girls turn to the acoustic guitar to find themselves. No people thats called growing up.

See I’m always seeing/hearing somebody on some street corner in their best John Mayer voice trying to do their best Mayer impersonation. STOP IT! Dudes at my high school (yes i said dudes) used the acousitc guitar strictly as a means to pick up women. I’m talking 3rd string fullbacks up to drama geeks cats.

Bottom line: If you pick up the acoustic guitar after the age of 10, do us all a favor and put it down.

Have a nice day.

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New Heavies in June

Just when I was about to ready a “Whatever Happened To…?” post about the Brand New Heavies, I've just learned that they'll have a new album, Get Used to It, out in June…and yes, N'Dea Davenport is back with the band.

This is good. Yeah, Siedah Garret held it down and did her thing when she fronted the band on 1997’s Shelter, but real Heavies fans were missing N'Dea (her own eponymously titled solo album was…well…it left something to be desired).

The first single from the set is due out in May.

Tags: Mandrill

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Hip-Hop, New Music

Another Rapper Gets Shot….Eh

By now you know that Proof of D12 was shot at a Detroit nightclub this morning and reports are that Bizarre might be seriously injured as well.

My reaction…..eh. I know that Proof has held it down in the Detroit rap scene well before Em got famous, but I still can’tfind any sympathy for this dude. When Dilla died, I stopped and paused for a moment. When Busta’s security guard was killed I paused too. But with Proof? Nothing. I just continue to sit here and type and drink my coffee. I don’thave any reaction to the dude’s shooting other than….eh. Have I become so desensitized to these “rap beefs” that I just don’tcare anymore?

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Hip-Hop, House/Electronic, Negroclash!

Gnarls Barkley Sneak Preview

Gnarls Barkley posted a 30 second sneak peek at their new video for their song “Crazy” on MySpace. Check it out.

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

I personally think it looks amazing. I'm psyched to see what the rest of it is going to look like.

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Crunk/Hyphy, Hip-Hop, What Ever Happened To?

Whatever Happened To……..Nappy Roots?

Nappy Roots - “Rewind”
from DJ Envy - Purple Codeine 2

Are the Nappy Roots still reppin’ for Kentucky, or just Kentucky Fried Chicken?

I remember when I heard Nappy Root’s, “Awnaw,” on the radio. This was during that whole crunk invasion and at the time it was good to hear something from the South (is Kentucky the South?) that didn’tmake an attempt to blow your speakers.

Unlike the overly snyth hip-hop beats that were coming out of the Dirrrty at the time, Nappy Roots utilized a more bluesy, organic, production setup. Most people describe Nappy Roots as Outkast from Kentucky. Their major label debut was downright revolutionary, and the group was nominated for MTV Music Award, American Music Awards, and a Grammy.

Then, after all that fanfare, they released Wooden Leather. It was good….not as good as Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, and their leadoff single was lacking. Still, the group kept the same formula as their previous effort (their first two albums weren’t as refined as their Atlantic debut), and Wooden Leather was good enough to go gold.

Still, after that, the group disappeared. Their Atlantic Records site is still up, but makes no mention of a new album, or any new production work. I don’t even know if they are still signed with Atlantic or not. If anyone has updates, let a brotha know.

Update: Okay, so I wrote this post about 3 months ago and it was never published. Little did I know that Nappy Roots appeared on a DJ Envy mixtape (which was sittin’ on my hard drive since this summer), with their track “Rewind”. Hot track. Download it.

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More Than Music

So after a 4-5 month search, this past Friday I was finally able to pick up Behind the Beat. Now this isn’ta book detailing the beat making process nor does it have deep, entrenching stories about how certain songs were created. This is a picture book for studio/producer nerds such as myself. I'm happy.

The home studios of producers ranges from Dilla (R.I.P.) and Dan the Automator out west to DJ Spinna and tons of cats on the east coast. Not just limited to the good ol USA, Behind the Beat also features the home studios of producers in the United Kingdom and Austrailia as well.

This serves as inspiration: to see how some cats have next to nothing to make beats and to get conformation its more about what you do with what you have than having every piece of equipment that guitar center has for sale. This also is a good look for the coffee table, as it sparked discussion this weekend when I had guests over about all things production.

Bottom line: COP it.

Tags: Mandrill

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Hip-Hop, House/Electronic, Remix

Q-Tip + T.I.

Q-Tip + T.I. - “Why You Wanna” (Mick Boogie Remix)
from ????

I was gonna sneak this track into a Podcast, but didn’thave time. Ian beat me to posting this track on the internets, so I can’tsay that its a “world premere,” but its a tight track regardless. I think this track may be a mash-up, and not an “official” release, but it got me thinking that a T.I./Q-tip collaboration might not be that bad of an idea.

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Lift Up the Doors Open Trunk, Open Hood

I see that these buls already covered it, but I'ma give y'all the uncut raw.

Honestly this jawn is cool. Like I’ll definitely bump it for a minute, bump it basically highlights dudes ability (or inability) to flow. That is clearly the area that P needs to work on the most. Dude definitely has some slick lines and uses charm to get by so he wins there, but he almost has that Kweli syndrome of trying to fit as many words into a bar as possible.

The RE-Up gang is on here as well and they are cool, but don’tspit that anything phenomenal, but its a good look. The beat selection here is damn good. Everything from RZA beats to West Coast classics is rocked without any problem. Dude is definitely a fan of the music and his selection here shows.

Basically if you can’tfind this in your local barbershop don’ttrip cuz I'm sure the album is right about the corner, but if you can give it a listen. I’ll be skating down U St. listening to it.

Tags: Mandrill

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