general, hip-hop

Gangsta Rap Coloring Book

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I stopped by Red Hot Robot on my way home from work Wednesday evening. Though the store didn’t have the Legends of Rap trading cards, the owner turned me on to the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book by artist Aye Jay of San Francisco.

With a foreword by J-Zone and afterword by Sacha Jenkins, the book features 48 pages of drawings of rap artists that you can color. Cypress Hill, Mobb Deep, Ice Cube, you name it. Apparently, the book has caused a bit of controversy as well.

But District Attorney Lynne Abraham calls the book a disgrace. “With all the terrible things happening, shootings, gang warfare, Mac 10’s, Tec-9’s and here is this company that is supposed to be a responsible company that’s totally unresposible, so I’m disgusted, I’m horrified.”

Well, I hate to tell District Attorney Lynne Abraham, but I think this is a great intersection of art, irony and music. Though I gotta say, I’m kinda nervous to even put a crayon to the book, even though Aye Jay has kindly left the last portrait blank for you: “Draw your own gangsta rap superstar here.”

If I were to color the pages, I’d probably have to start with the rendering of KRS-One from the cover of Boogie Down Productions’ By Any Means Necessary.

general

Tonight: Editors in Tempe (and odds and ends)

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UK’s Editors make their way to Tempe for a show at Marquee Theatre in Tempe with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV on Tuesday night. (Buy tickets.)

I interviewed bassist Russell Leetch and wrote a bit about it here. Favorite quote, after I asked him how critics differ in England and the U.S.: “We always get totally mixed reviews. We’re not one of those bands people wet themselves over like the Arcade Fire or LCD Soundsystem.”

Also, here’s a flier for the March 8 show I’m putting on with Source Victoria and Birdmonster, among others. Come on out, won’t you? (Click for larger image.)

Elsewhere:

Go to Aquarium Drunkard for an acoustic session with Radar Bros. frontman Jim Putnam.

Mr. Mammoth has a new Cadence Weapon track, Juliann Wilding.

I discovered Phoenix boys The Format are breaking up at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. Drag.

On the topic of Phoenix, Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World contributed to a song by Belgian electronic artist Styrofoam. Stream My Next Mistake at Styrofoam’s MySpace page.

Lastly, head over to Macktronic for some Cool Kids.

hip-hop, video

Meanest Man Contest: new video!

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I’m not one to often use exclamation points to get my point across (OK, maybe sometimes). But I think after watching the new video for Meanest Man Contest’s Throwing Away Broken Electronics, you’ll be pretty amped up, too.

What’s not to like about the video, directed by Greg Tuzin? Slow motion. Women in bikinis with boomboxes for heads. Destruction of electronics with baseball bats and sledgehammers. Women in bikinis with boomboxes for heads destroying electronics with baseball bats and sledgehammers. And, oh, the song is pretty dope, too (but you already knew that).

I asked Eriksolo about inspiration for the song: “I was cleaning out my house one day and I came across all this old gear that I used to make music on but was no longer really working right. It made me really nostalgic and sorta melancholy. But then it also felt really good to get rid of it.”

So if you ever wanted to do this, I think you’ll agree this video is the stuff dreams are made of.

Remember to pick up the track as part of a limited 7-inch on Gold Robot Records.

Curious about that sweet Gold Robot Records shirt Quarterbar is rockin’ in the background? Get it here.

hip-hop

Del the Funky Homosapien: Workin’ It

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del.jpg

I’m guessing (hoping) you’ve heard Bubble Pop, the first track off the forthcoming Del album Eleventh Hour, due out March 11 on Definitive Jux.

Without question, Del has provided one of the most unique deliveries and distinctive voices in hip-hop since he dropped 1991’s Parliament/Funkadelic-inspired I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Not only that, he helped usher his crew, Hieroglyphics, into an era of self-sustainment after his falling out with Elektra (and the rest of Hiero’s parting with Jive Records). Del’s work with Dan the Automator as Deltron, Gorillaz and even Dinosaur Jr. (Judgment Night soundtrack, anyone?) shows his willingness to work outside the underground hip-hop safe zone.

So it makes sense for Del to team up with another independent spirit in Def Jux. And it’s not totally surprising: Def Jux head El-P made a cameo on the track Offspring from Del’s Both Sides of the Brain.

Workin’ It shows Del in fine form, both on the mic and behind the boards. The sci-fi-esque raygun loop recalls something like Deltron while Del’s rhyme pattern is decidedly scaled back but tight nonetheless.

  • Del the Funky Homosapien | Workin’ It
hip-hop

New Lyrics Born: Hot 2 Deff

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I miss Latyrx. I’m not saying I don’t like the solo work from Lyrics Born, because I do. Let’s just say if you haven’t heard 1997’s Latyrx (The Album), there’s a major void in your collection.

Anyway, that really has nothing to do with Lyrics Born’s new album – called Everywhere At Once and due for release April 22 on Anti. It just makes me long for the days of the fluid back-and-forth verses with he and Lateef the Truthspeaker. Ah, memories.

On this new track, Hot 2 Deff, Lyrics Born calls on MC-for-hire Chali 2na (seriously, what artist hasn’t he made a guest appearance for?) for an upbeat tune that mixes a club-happy beat with LB’s smooth, nearly breathless flow.

  • Lyrics Born (feat. Chali 2na) | Hot 2 Deff
hip-hop, remix, sports

Everything Flows (Cadence Weapon remix)

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superextra.jpgI’ll admit it: I don’t know who Super Extra Bonus Party is. They described themselves in an e-mail as “Dublin-based noise-merchants.” Bonus points for being Irish (I am a Murphy, after all).

But what really caught my eye was the fact that one of their tracks, Everything Flows, was remixed by Cadence Weapon, a favorite in these parts.

The remix comes from the new Everything Flows EP, available digitally and on blue vinyl here, where you can also hear the original version of Everything Flows.

  • Super Extra Bonus Party | Everything Flows (Cadence Weapon remix)

Speaking of Cadence Weapon, he’s here (at the Rhythm Room) on March 17 with Born Ruffians, just a few weeks after CW drops his newest long-player Afterparty Babies (Anti).

Check out the first single off Afterparty Babies, if you haven’t already.

  • Cadence Weapon | In Search of the Youth Crew

Last time Cadence Weapon was here, he was rockin’ a Charles Barkley Suns jersey circa 1993. Looks like he’s gonna have to get a Shaquille O’Neal jersey now. I mean, WTF? I’m not sure this is a good idea for the Suns.

general

Incoming: Birdmonster + Source Victoria, March 8

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I announced this show, which I’m helping curate, previously, but the venue has moved. We are official now: Source Victoria, Birdmonster and Traindead on March 8 at Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. No cover (as always at Yucca). 21 and over. Remember, Yucca is a cash-only bar.

Bring your friends. And their friends.

general

Nada Surf: I Like What You Say (acoustic)

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nada_lucky.jpg

I love Stinkweeds. It’s the one record store in town that will sell albums on Monday that are due out Tuesday.

Such was the case yesterday when I bought the new Nada Surf album, Lucky. Even better, it came with a four-song bonus disc: Whose Authority (acoustic); I Like What You Say (acoustic); I Wanna Take You Home (feat. Juliana Hatfield) and Everyone’s On Tour. See? There really are benefits of still buying a CD (get it at Barsuk). And I haven’t even devoured what looks to be an intriguing set of liner notes.

Remember: Nada Surf at the Clubhouse on March 17 (via Stateside Presents). That same night is Born Ruffians and Cadence Weapon at Rhythm Room and Living Legends at the Brickhouse. Good lord! But now I see Sea Wolf is opening for Nada Surf, which could tip the scales in the favor of that show. You really can’t go wrong at any of them.

Check out the Nada Surf ecard, which has the Whose Authority video and in-studio clips.

UPDATE of the utmost importance!:
Happy 5th birthday to my niece Quinn! I can’t believe it. She was pictured on this blog in 2005, when she was 2. Of course, she’s not reading this (but her dad might be). Time flies, and I cannot believe Niece No. 1 is already 5 years old (and the big sister of two more beautiful girls). I am sure that big things await Quinn, who was a major reason I moved back to Phoenix (from Texas) in 2002 — and I’m so glad I did. Happy birthday, Quinn-o!

hip-hop, remix, video

Arrested Development: Miracles (Metamorphosis mix)

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Credit: twovital.com

I’m hesitant to post a remix of a track when I’m guessing a majority of people haven’t even heard the original. But in case you missed it, Arrested Development (no, not this one) came back last year with the appropriately titled Since the Last Time, the group’s first release in more than 12 years. Mr. Wendal. Tennessee. Yes, that Arrested Development.

Like you might expect, Arrested Development – specifically, frontman Speech – spends a good portion of the first few songs getting reacquainted with the listener. On Miracles, Speech raps: “But 10 years later / back in the game / come on, push up the fader / if you believe in miracles.”

It all makes for an interesting quandary: Is the group just a piece of nostalgia for us now or can AD be relevant again? I guess there’s no right answer, but I think about some of the hip-hop groups that reunited recently – Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest (however briefly), etc. It seems these comebacks could possibly spoil whatever legacy was left behind.

That said, Since the Last Time (available on eMusic) is hardly some one-off piece of fluff. The messages of unity, peace and pride are still there, a natural continuation of 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of… , the album that put Arrested Development at the forefront of hip-hop (and pop music, for that matter) in the early ’90s.

I gotta say, it’s nice to have them back.

  • Arrested Development | Miracles
  • Arrested Development | Miracles (Metamorphosis mix)

Video for Miracles: