Initiative Radio Salutes Ralph McDaniels

Don't miss this historic as we salute and celebrate one of the most important people in the history of Hip-Hop - BHF host, Bodega mentor and inspiration Uncle Ralph McDaniels. Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie Salutes Black History Maker Ralph McDaniels Hosted by our own Wes Jackson Friday February 19th 9pm Bowery Poetry Club 308 Bowery NYC With: Homeboy Sandman, Children Of The Night, Prophit, Eric Sosa and more For more info email amck83@hotmail.com Or visit the Angela's site Still need some something to whet your appetite and make you go to the event? Then check this out: Angela McKenzie re-airs portions of her exclusive interview with Ralph MaDaniels along with commentary from a new generation of Hip-Hop artists and entrepreneurs; an interview with Kool DJ Red Alert, the man who bestowed the moniker Uncle Ralph upon McDaniels early in his career and shout-outs from other music industry insiders, including Wes Jackson. Take a listen and get on out to BPC on Friday. In

Friday on Brooklyn Bodega Radio – Live Bands in Hip-Hop. Why?

This Friday 1-4pm on www.pncradio.fm Brooklyn Bodega Radio with your host Wes Jackson The topic for this week is Live Bands in Hip-Hop. Why? ------- We talked about this briefly during the Hip-Hop Honors recap in discussing the debacle that was Onyx's performance. They performed 'Slam' with the live band that was disjointed and incohesive. It lead me to ask the question - 'Why did they do that?' 'Have they ever performed with a band before?' and the question I have been asking ever since it became in vogue, post Roots, to replace your DJ with a band - 'When did two turntables and a mic become so in adequate?' Thesis: Hip-Hop is at its roots electronic music. From the earliest days of Kool Herc, Hip-Hop has used technology as its creative foundation. Vinyl, turntables, drum machines, samplers, SSL boards. Not guitars, drums, and bass. There is a big difference sonically and conceptually between sampling 3 seconds of James Brown and having the JB's actually play behind you. The electronic transfer of the vinyl through an SP 1200 gives you a fundamentally different sound than the actual horn and rhythm section. Replacing the analog with the digital (the band for the DJ) will yield the same bizarre results as replacing the digital for the analog. Imagine James Brown without a band but rather with a DJ. Hip-Hop business has always been about finding the shortest route to success. Our history shows that every so often a trailblazer discovers a new formula for success. That causes a gold rush of copycats. You can see this from the Hip-Hop's first hit "Rapper's Delight" where Big Bank Hank stole Grandmaster Caz's rhyme and style. Think of all the EPMD, Nas, Das Efx, ATCQ, De La, NWA, Jay Z, Scarface, Wayne, Mos Def clones that populate the marketplace. The copies are rarely as sharp as the original. Ever since The Roots hit the scene artists, promoters, managers and A&R's alike have deduced that the 'Roots' model is the new path to success. From the outside it appears that all you need is Questlove to change the game. The reality that The Roots are a cohesive unit that have been together for years. The fact that Black Thought is an elite MC is lost. Too many believe that live instrumentation is the key to success; and even more arrogantly creative advancement. This shoving of live instrumentation down the throats of audiences 1) reeks of arrogance and elitism - the idea that you are more of a musician if you play a trombone rather than an MPC, 2) diminishes Hip-Hop's cultural routes by removing the DJ from the equation, 3) has deep soci-economic ramifications as if it progresses unchecked this thinking will create a barriers of entry for young musicians who cannot afford piano lessons or afford to attend Berklee or The New School. ----- Our guests: DJ Parler, Amenan Kouadio- Talent Buyer/A&R Brooklyn Bodega, Savannah Boogie Music and Song, Meghan Stabile from Revive Da Live Our Panelists: Jessica Estevez from iheartdilla.com, Dee Phunk, Nikon Kwantu

J57 Ft. Skyzoo “Lights Out” (Brown Bag Season Begins!)

BHF '09 Artists Brown Bag All Stars have been working hard. Here is what they've been up to.

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On behalf of my group, The Brown Bag AllStars, I would like to introduce you to "Brown Bag Season" which kicked off yesterday, May 18th!

Brown Bag Season is a marketing campaign we developed and have steadily been working on since back in November; During Brown Bag Season we will be leaking 2 - 4 brand new Brown Bag songs and/or video clips (Brown Bag in studio with artists, Fat Beats ciphers with us and other artists, etc) each week starting today and continuing all the way into September.

We began recording these new tracks back in November so that we wouldn't compromise any quality in the slightest...and now we're ready to officially unleash Brown Bag Season! Hope you enjoy the madness!

Here's a link to the first track:

J57 Feat. Skyzoo "Lights Out" (prod. J57, Cuts by Deejay Element) Download It Here

The Brown Bag AllStars Are: The Audible Doctor (Emcee/Producer) J57 (Emcee/Producer) KONCEPT (Emcee) Soul Khan DJ E Holla (DJ) Deejay Element (DJ) DJ Goo (DJ)

For more info check out their myspace, their blog, or email them:  bagtheinfo@gmail.com.

The Dopeshow

This looks like a BHF alumni reunion. No doubt! Not to be missed

Making History now

In celebration of the Obama inauguration join us at our panel discussion on Thursday January 22nd at The Brooklyn Historical Society. It is the first in our series entitled "Making History Now." MHN is about documenting history as it unfolds. Of course we look at history through the lens of Hip-Hop culture. We are more than excited to be launching this series during innauguration week and to be joined by an all star panel. Panelists include: Ralph "Uncle Ralph" McDaniels, founder of Video Music Box; Christina Norman, former president of MTV; Jason King, Artistic Director, Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at NYU; Alvin Blanco, Features Editor, Allhiphop.com; and Selam Mlugeta, Field Organizer for President Obama Make sure to come join us at The Brooklyn Historical Society, our gracious hosts. As always free beer courtesy of the good folks at Brooklyn Brewery Click here to RSVP

Bailout Fails

Yep...

The Senate on Thursday night abandoned efforts to fashion a government rescue of the American automobile industry, as Senate Republicans refused to support a bill endorsed by the White House and Congressional Democrats.

I am telling you this is not going to work. This is fundamentally unfair and the people know it. How can you make all these bad decisions and then refuse to keep bankruptcy on the table. That is the rule we all live by. And I am not with the liberals like Rachel Maddow who want to to turn this into a labor issue. The UAW has to take it on the chin as well. The talk of financial Armageddon didn't play out before and now 'I don't believe you.'