I'm from Atlanta, baby, he from Savannah, baby

QUESTION: What are the hometowns of Big Boi and Andre 3000?
Answer: Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia

“Girls used to say, y'all talk funny, y'all from the islands?
And I'd Laughed and they just keep smiling
No, I'm from Atlanta baby
He from Savannah, maybe
We should hook up and get tore up”
-from “A Day In The Life Of Andre Benjamin”

A lot of y’all denied Sir Lucios Left Foot is hometown. They both rep the ‘A’ but Big Boi is from beautiful Savannah, GA. A city so beautiful I named my daughter after it.

Friday’s Q&A was
QUESTION: What famous graf artist and TV host was behind one hit wonders Crucial Conflict?
Answer: Fab 5 Freddy

Most of y’all got that one

no more public housing

R.I.P. Kenny Lou (K.L.) of Queensbridge representatives Screwball. He passed late last week after a fatal asthma attack. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. If you haven't already peeped it, check Robbie's tribute here.

NEWS 3/31/08

• The beauty of a forced conversation: For promotion sake, Common and Cedric the Entertainer sit down with BlackTreeTV and talk about their new movie, Street Kings, as well as politics (Obama!!!), hip-hop, and, um, acting: FAKE SHORE DRIVE

• The real reason why: The LA Times pulled it's Diddy-Tupac allegation story was because the documents the entire article was based on look to be very fraudulent. Geeze, do your homework... WCNC

• More acting: Cadillac Records, the upcoming bio pic that"explores the 1950's Chicago blues music scene which of course includes plenty of sex, violence, and the civil rights movement" has landed yet another artist. Since Beyonce is playing Etta James, it only makes sense for Mos Def to play Chuck Berry. WOOOHAH

three times dope

ONE: Wes reflects on Black kids in skinny pants, church music, the punk rock agenda, and how they all tie together in a neat little bow. HERE

TWO: Unique taps into the Nation of Gods and Earths - specifically via the teachings of the seminal Brand Nubian album, One For All. Ponders what Puba's crack skeezer may have chose as an alternative to skeezing. HERE

THREE: PAIRS™ PAIRS™ PAIRS™ HERE

NEWS 3/28/08

• Ahhh, 1994: It's so refreshing to watch this footage of a young Buckshot ripping apart the stage at the Jack The Rapper conference in nineteen-ninety-four, the year of hip-hop electricy. Watch. Enjoy. Remember here: THE MEANING OF DOPE

• The pontifications of Curtis: Listen to Fitty talk about his dud of an album, politics (yes, he talks about Barack), and his new video game. Oh joy. NAHRIGHT

• Remy Ma's fall from grace: If, like us, you haven't really been following the trial (and tribulations) of ex-Terror Squad member Remy Ma, this NYT article sums it all up pretty well (especially now that she's been convicted): NY TIMES

most dangerous

BODEGA TRIVIA: A two parter today; Who was the last member to join the final N.W.A. line up? And the addition of this MC precipitated the departure of what original member?
ANSWER: MC Ren; Arabian Prince

I always thought MC Ren was the best pure MC in N.W.A.
Cube was certainly the best total package and Eazy had the personality, but to a purist, the Villain MC Ren was the man. Ren was also the one who never had that solo fame, and never got to do Family films with Nia Long... but life goes on.

As for Arabian Prince, he was like the 5th Beatle to Ren’s George Harrison. Seems like the story goes that The Prince was a featured member of NWA until Cube came back from college. Then when Ren joined the group the Prince exited stage right. I do remember a solo cut on NWA and The Posse. Outside of that he's done some (recent) work with the homies at Stones Throw, but alas, I think he may will spend his days as a footnote in the annals of the world’s most dangerous group.

Swift Rock Ski

Yesterday's Trivia:
Question: Name two rappers (other than Common) known to have been romantically involved with Erykah Badu.
Answer: Andre 3000 and The DOC

If you're not a BODEGA member, and you'd like to receive our weekly trivia questions, sign up here... Trivia winners receive fantastical prize packs of glorious riches! CD's! Promo T's! Hip Hop!

some effed up sh-t

from an article by Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune

For the first time in almost 36 years, two state prisoners from New Orleans serving life for the 1972 murder of a guard have been moved from solitary confinement into a special dormitory created for maximum security inmates.

Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were moved from solitary into a maximum security dormitory Monday, said Angie Norwood, assistant warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Wallace and Woodfox had been in solitary since their convictions in the death of guard Brent Miller, who was stabbed to death at a time when the prison was segregated and a Black Panther Party chapter had been formed there.

Wallace and Woodfox, who with a third inmate were known to supporters as the Angola Three, have said their 36 years of solitary confinement at the prison amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Both are appealing their convictions. Both were serving time for armed robberies when the prison blamed them for Miller's killing...

read the rest of this report here

NEWS 3/27/08

• Oh, nevermind: The story the LA Times broke linking Diddy to Tupac's shooting in 1994 has been recalled. "The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used. We apologize both to our readers and to those referenced in the documents ... and in the story," said LA Times Editor Russ Stanton. Oops. HIPHOPDX

• Not so Good Life: Looks like Kanye didn't clear his samples. "Dayna Staggs (aka D’Mystro) is suing Kanye—and his record label, Roc-a-Fella—for copyright infringement. Staggs says that West 'didn’t obtain a license to use ‘Volume of Good Life’' for his tune, and points out that Kanye was 'only at the age of 6 or 7 years of age [sic]' when his song was written." Read here: TMZ

• New Graff: Just a few words about the latest installment from the Graffiti Research Lab: laser-guided, software enabled, light spray paint system that projects virtually-dripping messages on an interior wall of the MoMA. Watch here: GOTHAMIST

wack juice

"If someone told me that a film featuring Mos Def, Jack Black, and Danny Glover could have this little charisma, I would’ve thrown them down a flight of stairs. But [Michel] Gondry manages to take the collective powers of these actors, lock them in a room and make them sip tea"...

Candace L. reviews Be Kind Rewind. The movie gave her unkind feelings, and she will most likely not be rewinding it. Read her full report here

NEWS 3/26/08

• Not a Birthday Girl: The rumored first single off of The Roots upcoming album (Rising Down) was "Birthday Girl." Now it looks like the song is going to get pulled off the record and turned into some international single/iTunes exclusive. Probably for the best. NAHRIGHT

• Unreleased hip-hop jewels: There's this label out of Japan called Soundtable. They release rare, previously unreleased singles and records. Their latest offering, with only 300 pressings, is a 3-track EP from the G-O-D himself, Rakim. See the tracks/order here: SOUNDTABLE

• A little more Roots news: ?uestlove has also been busy finishing up co-producing Al Green's new album. Called Lay It Down, this will be Mr. Green's first album without the production guile of the one and only Willie Mitchell. The album is set to release May 27 and will feature "guest vocals from John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton, plus contributions from the Dap-King Horns, guitarist Chalmers 'Spanky' Alford and bassist Adam Blackstone." Read more here: BILLBOARD

the final tic

Crucial Conflict EPK... what better way to start your day?

NEWS 3/25/08

• Back! Almost...: The show that knowledged a lot of us, Yo! MTV Raps, will be back for the month of April. The show will air on TV and online, and will feature clips, interviews, and (probably) a new look. Let's hope they treat it right. HIPHOPDX

• And then there was one: Well, there might be one. Satellite radio companies Sirius and XM have gotten the nod from the U.S. Justice Department to merge. They are still awaiting a decision from the FCC before it becomes official. So much for a market driven by competition. ONSMASH

• Def Jam vs. NYT: An Island Def Jam street team was found postering lampposts by a New York Times reporter. Apparently, postering lampposts is illegal. So when the reporter told them so then started taking pictures of the street team in the act, it's no wonder his camera was shattered and his face punched a few times. This is, after all, Def Jam. Behold the behavior of the thuggish street team: NYT

simon says sue

For various reasons, little Black kids in New York have always had an affinity for what our creative friends in Japan spew out. Whether it be Cold War fairy tales about giant mutated lizards fighting giant moths, or robot lions piloted by nerdy White kids that form a super robot. Now it’s sneakers produced by reclusive designers and anime cartoons that resemble bad acid trips.

Our friend Troy Jamerson aka The Pharaoh Monch, defined his career (for better or worse) using the ill Godzilla sample on the smash ‘Simon Says.’ I always had mixed feelings about that record. I was happy to see Monch get some worldwide recognition, but I hated that kids would remember him as ‘the rub on your titties' guy. But such is the paradox of the music and entertainment business. You strive for the big hit and it becomes a blessing and a curse. (Remember “The Thong Song”? poor effeminate-to-the-point-of-androgynous Sisqo).

The story as I remember it was that for some reason the Godzilla sample on ‘Simon Says’ was never fully cleared. But it was still licensed to the Charlie Angles movie in 2000. If I recall correctly, Cameron Diaz was shaking her little booty - or was it in the closing credits? Somehow Sony who owns the right to the Godzilla property never turned on Hot 97 and was not aware of the jacking of their score. But where Hot 97 failed, the McG flop delivered. The suits got wind of it and brought the house down on the Pharaoh and Rawkus.

Not sure how bad the damage was, but calls from Sony Legal Affairs are not a call you want to get.

newsflash: it's spring again

Yeah it's still pretty cold out... but officially, technically, according to the calendar... IT'S SPRING AGAAAAIN. The tree's are budding, the daffodils are chillin', and the shoes, sweet jeezus the shoes!

NEWS 3/24/08

• And it feels so good: The legendary Juice Crew reunited at the A3C Festival this weekend in Hotlanta, GA. For those who were not there, worry not. The film is coming soon and nahright has posted video: NAHRIGHT

• Let Common put things in perspective: Guess who else knows Rev. Jeremiah Wright? C-O-Double M-O-N, that's who. He says of Wright and his church: "What I picked up from the pews...was messages of love. Anything that was going on against that love he would acknowledge and expose. He's been a preacher that's helped raise one of the greatest political figures in the world, and hopefully, the next President. He's also raised one of the greatest rappers in the world." Read more here: EURWEB

• More unnecessary remakes: John Singleton has signed on to direct the big screen debut of The A-Team. Yes, indeed. June 2009 look for not Vietnam soldiers, but Iraq war veterans Col. Hannibal Smith, Capt. H.M. Murdoc, Sgt. B.A.Baracus, and Lt. Face Peck to grace your local theater. Ice Cube and Woody Harrelson have been rumored to star. SOHH

they just do it better

OUTKAST featuring raekwon: ROYAL FLUSH


The first single from Big Boi's upcoming solo record Sir Luscious Left Foot

two cans = hurting

BODEGA™ contributor Amos Barshad goes in on the new Gnarls Barkley joint...

"Crazy" was a surprise, but it wasn't an accident. Yeah, Gnarls Barkley looked like another notch in Danger Mouse's Awesome-Collabo post—there was no reason to think the combination of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse would catapult the two to a next level stratosphere of popularity that nothing on their respective track records had ever hinted at; yeah, it was surprising. But it wasn't accidental—"Crazy" is a great hit song, odd, incessant, and still somehow replayable. And, perhaps most importantly for its mass appeal, devoid of much personality.

That's the catch with Gnarls Barkley. Their debut, St. Elsewhere, came out on an independent label, Downtown Records, but that album, like The Odd Couple (released by Downtown, distributed by Atlantic) is corporate radio ready, trafficking in the same generic milieu as Hinder or Alicia Keys or anything else that sells a lot of records. And there's nothing wrong—on the face of it—with Gnarls Barkley being a professionally executed, sterile act; it's just that the guys in this particular professionally executed, sterile act have a long and worthy history of messy, thorny music...

read the rest here...
plus a snoop doggy dogg review on the same page.

also, have you been taking your pairs?

NEWS 3/21/08

• Pause: The economy and its downturn has put a wrinkle in the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project. The office buildings and the residential towers are being pushed back in development because the market just isn't providing Ratner the funds needed to stay on schedule. The basketball stadium, however, seems to be unaffected. Listen and you can hear Jay-Z sigh in relief: NY TIMES

• The next step in being a rapper: First it was clothes, then it was energy drinks. Now it's online communities. Ludacris is planning to launch a music creation site and community this April called WE:MIX. Who next? XXL

• Pacific Division: Video number 3 from this "new" group from the Left Coast. Kinda a fan: NAHRIGHT

random jungle bros.

Had to put our Bob Power feature on pause real quick... it'll be back in a (figurative) second. If you don't know what i'm talking about, worry not. If you do, all apologies.

Either way, enjoy My Jimmy Weighs A Ton.

NEWS 3/20/08

• A meandering Roots review: Those not familiar with the columnist who's responsible for the Village Voice's 'Status Ain't Hood', be warned. His reviews ramble and take way too long to get to the point. That being said, the review of The Roots Rising Down is almost worth it. Read it here: VILLAGE VOICE

• Is sample spotting bad?: If your favorite blogger posts all the original samples to your favorite hip-hop album, is that blogger hurting hip-hop? Or just exploring and collecting information? Read and comment: HIP HOP IS READ

• The vagueness of hipster rap: What is it? Who does it? What does it even mean? Is it harmful to the environment? We need answers here: NAHRIGHT

ladies first

The Rude Of Hip Hop by Tamara Davidson
I am an avid hip-hop fan who happens to be a young black female. In this day and age, it seems the title itself is a bit of a contradiction. I see hip-hop encompassing aspects that both elevate my identity as a black woman and completely demean it. Acknowledging both sides is the only way to be a lover of the art form. So I grapple with the contradiction that is being a woman who enjoys hip-hop.

For example, the concerts where I experience the music live and see the artist behind it. My five-foot-and-a-half frame is constantly at odds with the sea of men that usually frequent these concerts (I am so short I have to be near the front to see anything). Though I’ve had to get belligerent a few times with drunk men I’ve never felt unsafe at a concert. I am extremely aware of the hyper masculinity that is present in hip-hop yet I’m just as conscious of the artists I choose to see perform. So the shows I attend, the artists have clear respect for woman and this is prevalent within their music...

read on, and add your two cents here

NEWS 3/19/08

• Latest entry in the blogesphere: Wayne Barrow, the once manger of Biggie and now producer of the his upcoming biopic Notorious, now has a blog. So if you want to walk step by step through the production of this latest entry in the "Legend of Christopher," then bookmark this: WAYNE BARROW'S NOTORIOUS PAGE

• The G-O-D is back: New single from Rakim. Yes, indeed. It's called "I'm Back" and features Lil Fame from M.O.P. and produced by Fizzy Womack. Listen here: NAHRIGHT

• Premature Gnarls: So yeah. Gnarls Barkley's latest album, The Odd Couple, leaked last week. So, in response, Downtown Records released the record today on iTunes and will have stores selling it this week. Just another sign of the Internet running ish. HIPHOPDX

derrick x

by swift rock ski
Saw on the BODEGA™ news today a lovely post by Oh Word dedicated to the Great Datty X. First of all, spending time downloading Datty X tracks instead of working is why the internets were created. Thank you Al Gore.

When Brand Nubian dropped, everyone loved Grand Pu - but I always thought Sadat (or Derrick X as he was know then) was the star. "My physical is strong, but my mind is cock diesel.” I wrote that line down on a post-it note and stuck on my desk at the crib in the Bronx. I think I was also one of the 100 people who thought ‘Wild Cowboys’ was better than any post ‘One For All’ Brand Nubian record. Shout out once again to Dante Ross for championing that project.

So in parting I leave you with this pearl of wisdom from Sadat…

”Ah hell the great X has turned to king
Let the caged birds sing
And let the gauge take the stage
Life's a hard hump for the average man
Especially cause my skin's much darker than tan
Got damn, Uncle Sam you was in the gram
Now ya wanna front and act like you don't know about the fam
But I know what cha' doin' to me, ya can't win
Escape from New York don't bring ya ass back again”
- Escape From New York

Is he still locked up? (editor's answer: nope!)

mind i c mine...

You know who used to be real dope? Scaramanga.



No disrespect to the man. He's probably still doing his thing somewhere - collecting his chips from diehard german kids, or the hood scientists that exist deep in the caverns of city housing buildings across Brooklyn, still pledging strict allegiance to "the real hip hop". But the average head, much less the average joe, just ain't checking for the guy these days.

There was a brief period though, just before the dawn of the blogosphere, when Scaramanga Shallah was a cogent piece of the independent hip hop puzzle - his specific brand of weirdo-rap no doubt shaded by his close ties with legendary New York scientifical rhyme lords GodFather Don and Kool Keith. At his best, Scaramanga's coded fashion raps tangled with the greatest of ease over a familiar boom bap sound scape. Lots of unintelligible slanguage, but enough good ol' fashioned b-boy strut to avoid nerd rap purgatory. Unfortunately, Scaramanga's immediate fate would be the same as so many other late 90's New York futurists. Label fall-outs, poor career choices, and the total lack of a female audience beyond the block, had to have taken their toll. An unwillingness to compromise, whether noble or just plain stubborn, tends to lead to your fading into obscurity - a sad truth realized (or not) by many a 'true-school' rapper.

Still, all that bullshit aside, Scaramanga used to be real dope.

NEWS 3/18/08

• The Wallabee Champ: Ghost is back. Sure, Big Doe Rehab didn't push as much as it was supposed to, but it was a great album. Now, Ghost is set to release The Wallabee Champ, a collection of b-sides and unreleased material. So have you're doe ready on March 25. See the track list here: HIPHOPDX

• Scott's a touch broke: Everyone's favorite Sunglass Hut employee/producer, Scott Storch, seems short on cash. So short he's selling his $20 million yacht, "Tiffany," for just under $1 million on ebay. What a steal!! LUXIST

• All things Sadat: When was the last time you listened to dude? Well take a long look and listen. Quite the list of mp3s and youtube videos are now available here (consider your day now occupied): OH WORD

the w(rap) party

CHRONOLOGICAL RAP!! BE THERE!!

window to the wall st.

The music business sucks but take solace in this my fellow entrepreneurs. At least you’re not Bear Sterns. After trading for $150 per share last year they just sold to JP Morgan for $2 per share. Let me do the math…carry the 2…divided by pi…plus 3 factorial… That means you sh*t is going down the tubes.

This is what you bastards get for trying to hustle poor white, black, and brown people out of the houses. However, I do like the fact the Federal Reserve bailed them out. Holla at dude to and tell him to send us 100 stacks for the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival.

davey p, all citee

One cool thing about Big Homie Elliot 'Spit Game' Spitzer getting his spot blown, New York will finally have it's first Black Governor. David Paterson - that's him on the far right in 1970 with his pops Basil Paterson, who later became the lieutenant governor of New York, and his mom Portia. Lil dude on the left may or may not be fam, we don't know. What we do know however by looking at this picture, it's obvious David was into some b-boy shit when he was a young buck. Look at that kid. He looks like one of the New York City Breakers. Davey P was probably catching tags on the 2 train, racking paint cans, bombing some black books between backspins - yo, I saw Times Square... politician's kids get it in, believe that.

NEWS 3/17/08

• Tupac was right: Here's the tag line for an LATimes article: "In 1994, Tupac Shakur was ambushed, beaten and shot at the Quad Recording Studios in New York. He insisted that friends of Sean 'Diddy' Combs were behind it. New information supports him." So it continues. Read on here: LATIMES

• Speaking of...: Maybe to balance things out, the NYTimes has an article about the upcoming Biggie biopic and says that the film "will avoid any overt attempt to assign blame for Mr. Wallace’s death while getting to the bottom of his character, his art and his considerable appeal." More to read here: NYTIMES

• Diddy's response: The mogul responds to the LA Times: "This story is beyond ridiculous and completely false...Neither Biggie nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself." ALLHIPHOP

review: buhloone mind state

a review of the classic by Ladies Love Cool Swift

As Kelvin Mercer, Vincent Mason, and David Jolicoeur said on the seminal 3 Feet High and Rising, three is the magic number. Buhloone Mind State was the third installment from the crew from Amityville and it was magic. It is their best album, lyrically and sonically.

3 Feet High… is the most important as it opened hip-hop to a new chamber that focused not on male bravado but on pure unadulterated creativity. As Pos says ‘Fuck being hard, Posdnous is complicated,” from “In The Woods.” The second offering, De La Soul Is Dead became too caught up with fighting the hippie label and lost its way at times. And for a dedicated De La fan like myself the rebuke was unnecessary. By the time the guys plus poppa Prince Paul got into the studio for a third time they had hit their stride. Read more...

a3c is the place to be

Our friends down in ATL are gearing up for their 4th Annual A3C Hip Hop Festival (sound vaguely familiar to someone ELSE you know?) that boasts a crazy lineup, a series of events including panel discussions, b-boy battels, a producer contest, and the REUNION of the Juice Crew. We're a little jealous, but can't help but support quality music and a festival doing it's thing. If you're in ATL next week, make sure to swing by. Tell whattup to Andy and James while you're down there, tell 'em the Bodega sent you.

www.a3cfestival.com

NEWS 3/14/08

• Lots of news in one place: SOHH are our peoples, they always deliver the breaking news. Take this headline for instance: Fat Joe Vs. Prodigy, Dipset's Scarf Unravels, "Snoop Dogg Called Me Ugly," T.I. Flips Out Under House Arrest. Guess I can skip the NY Times today. SOHH

• Sensual Seduction makes a good soap opera name: Snoop D oh double G will be making an appearance on One Life To Live performing two songs from his latest album, as well as remixing the show theme song. Next ring tone anyone? HipHopDX

• Go All Out: New video for BCC's Buckshot and 9th Wonder's collab, with a Cameo from Charlie Murphy. NahRight

king heroine & friends

• COLD CRUSH FOUR "5 4 3 2 1 HAVE FUN"
• FEARLESS FOUR PROPLEMS OF THE WORLD
• BAD BOYS FEAT. K-LOVE INSPECTOR GADGET
• WORLD FAMOUS SUPREME TEAM HEY DJ
• DJ WHIZ KID + THE JAZZY 5 LIVE AT HARLEM WORLD '81
• LIQUID LIQUID CAVERN
• JONZUN CREW WE ARE THE JONZUN CREW
• MAURICE STARR ELECTRIC FUNKY DRUMMER
• BOOGIE BOYS YOU AIN'T FRESH
• ROCKMASTER SCOTT & THE DYNAMIC 3 REQUEST LINE

NEWS 3/13/08

• More Westwood: So vintage it's delicious: "This week we’ve salvaged an extra late-night Westwood session as a bonus but before that Marley and Westwood are joined by Roxanne Shante live in the studio." Read more and download the mixes here: FATLACE

• KRS still talks in 3rd person: KRS One talks about the new business model and how doing deals with Nike and Smirnoff isn't necessarily selling out. Of course, he says all of this while referring to himself in third person. Someone needs to help this dude. GRANDGOOD

• Wale has a home: The DC MC just signed a deal with Interscope, so congrats are in order. He also has inked a deal with Mark Ronson, a DJ-turned-producer whose resume includes Ghostface Killah, Saigon, Rhymefest, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Christina Aguilera. Stepping things up a bit, isn't he? ALLHIPHOP

who wu'd have thunk it?

fragmented thoughts on wu stature: by swift rock ski

When the Wu first dropped, I would have never expected Ghost to be the last one standing.
I thought Rae was forgettable when I heard ‘Protect Ya Neck', I drank the Kool Aid put my money on Clifford Smith aka Cheese Wagstaff aka Tical aka Method Man. The reality today is Method has not had many hits at all. Not nearly as many as it once seemed destined.

I knew the GZA from the Cold Chillin record, and ODB obviously jumped out at folks.
Rae may have the best solo with Cuban Linx, although a case can always be made for Ironman and Liquid Swords...
RZA has got to be the richest.
Masta Killa and U-God are just as random as you probably thought they would be.
Deck as well, although I always thought he was second only to the GZA for pure written rhymes...
But it is Starks who has the most hits.

Regardless, they're still the most dominant crew ever in the game.
That is all.

party like it's 99 cents

TONIGHT at GalapAgos Art Space in Brooklyn... The homie CHE GRAND along with IHMDJ! & VILLAGE SLUM presents... GRAND'S 99¢ STORE PARTY featuring performances by SPEC BOOGIE, ELUCID, SANKOFA, and the almighty TANYA MORGAN!! RSVP: grand99centparty@gmail.com peep the flyer above for more details...

BELOW: A few joints offa Che's The Fixtape - you can download the whole shabang on the kids myspace page...

WINNING • produced by Big Nan

SNARK TALES • produced by The Beatmaker

MAKE YOU A STAR • produced by Aeon feat. Donwill

NEWS 3/12/08

• Preme's got more work: The legendary DJ Premier can now add a new name to his long list of clients: Eminem. Who knows how this is going to come out: HIPHOPDX

• A virtual book of graffiti: Subway Art is a book by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant from 1984 and has somehow been scanned and posted to the net in a very snazzy way. Flip through its pages (more like click through) and remember why you used to try and steal cans of Krylon. ISSUU

• It's been a while: RZA, finally, is back at the interview table. He, and only he, gives amazing answers to overly stupid questions. Watch. Enjoy. Get Learned: YOUTUBE

illdoctrine

A dope lil clip from the 101-Rappers-In-A-Room show the other night, courtesy of Jay Smooth and The Illdoctrine. Masta Ace and AG go the composed verse route and come out shining, the kid Craig G opts for the 'off the dome' approach and comes off swinging at Supernatural. Still? Come on Craig that was 35 years ago homie.

Peace to Elliot Spitzer. 3 G's to fu-k himself!

NEWS 3/11/08

• The casting wave continues: So yeah: maybe Nas as Kool G. Rap in the Juice Crew biopic The Vapors. But what about Talib Kweli as Scott La Rock? It sounds like a done deal. Hear it here, along with some info from Talib about Blacksmith TV and his feelings toward the Nets moving to BKLYN: RAPSEARCH

• "Yeah, well I've got him ON my album": All these artists making songs about Obama, well Q-Tip has Obama on one of his songs. It's off of his upcoming album--his first since the experimental Kamaal The Abstract--called The Renaissance. Also, a Spike Lee appearance is rumored. SOHH

• Mom Dukes: Dr. Dre’s mother, Verna Griffin, is set to release her second book, Long Road Outta Compton: Dr. Dre’s Mom on Family, Fame and Terrible Tragedy. Read the story of the Left Coast's most influential producer from the point of view of that producer's mother. An excerpt: “I could remember my boys standing outside having a friendly conversation when, all of a sudden, I’d…see the police with all of them spread-eagle up against the police car. This harassment was for no obvious reason except they saw black boys grouped together, and presumed to be up to no good. It was then I realized that the lyrics were just stories about things that were actually happening.” XXL

i ain't mad at nascar

by Swifty

Yesterday was a slow sports day. NBA is still boring. No Lacrosse. March Madness is about to start but I have no idea what’s going on. I made a New Year’s Resolution to not be so ignorant and that applies to sports.

I had vowed to stop making fun of track and field and went to the Milrose Games at the Garden. And I must say I have newfound respect for men and women, boys and girls running around a rubber track at crazy speeds. So forgoing the redneck jokes, on Sunday I decided to fulfill my promise to try and figure out the appeal of NASCAR. I think I get it. There is a tremendous amount of strategy that goes into it. ‘Just go fast’ is not enough. Plus it seems like the trick is to cheat without getting caught. They say football is a game of inches but not like this.

Loose an oil cap and that buys you .00008 seconds. And that’s all you need to win. So call me Brad Daughtery. I ain’t mad at NASCAR

the mourning after

BEWARE: possible spoiler below
If you are like us, you're still solemnly digesting THE WIRE series finale. Waves of meloncoly, nostalgia, joy and pain have been surging since the rolling of the final credits. Most in our particular viewing party found the final episode satisfying, if not for a couple of specifically unfulfilled story-line wrap-ups (no Avon appearance had some folks heated, while others argued his time was up the moment he handed over the connect...)

Any way, we're not gonna get too thorough here in analysis (maybe a two-cents is in order soon) but we will say for now, the finale mostly made sense - each character's fate seemed the natural progression in his or her life, as we had come to know them throughout the previous seasons. Sounds simple enough, but consistent storytelling is what made The Wire so damn good. Maybe the best complete series ever on television.

Here are some reviews of last night's show:
• The Chicago Tribune 'The Wire' Comes Full Circle...
• Salon Hot Off The Wire
• The New York Times So Many Characters...
• The Baltimore Sun Thoughts On The Wire Finale
Gotta love that The Sun is the only one of these that's blatantly negative. Too perfect!

NEWS 3/10/07

• Nas = Kool G Rap?: Remember a few months ago we told you about The Vapors movie? To refresh: it's a movie about the life and times of the classic Juice Crew, executive produced by Big Daddy Kane. There have been a ton of rumors about this flick, like David Banner playing Biz Markie, which is not happening. The latest, however, is Nas playing Kool G Rap. Hmmm? Interesting: WOOOHAH

• Prodigy is, yes, blogging: You have to login to HNIC2.com to read it, but basically P puts a ton of names on blast and asks us, the readers, if we really like them and their music. He seems to think it's impossible. Read a snippet here: NAHRIGHT

• Hold the Yayo: The mother of the 14 year old kid slapped last year by 50 goon Tony Yayo, is leading a protest against a court assigned literacy promotion featuring the G Unit rapper. Tony Yayo promoting youth literacy? What was that judge smoking?? HIP HOP DX

random ramsey lewis post

No he didn't die. Just thought we'd shout him out on the strength. Hang On Sloopy is one of the most annoying songs ever, but Ramsey manages to swing that bitch with the greatest of ease. Salute!

NEW TWO CENTS! Carl Williams on The Nets

NEWS 3/7/08

• The laugh money makes: Interesting perspective on the how cash in the music industry is running up-hill and how rappers are adjusting, like Lil Wayne and Fat Joe: RAWKUS

• In case you missed it: The Halftime Show 10 -year anniversary show was the other day and if you missed the 101 guest emcees and producers, you're in luck. The show in its entirety is posted here: GRANDGOOD

• Wedded bliss: So Papoose and Remy Ma are going to get married this summer. Wow. Sounds like a reality show waiting to happen. ALLHIPHOP

instant classic

New Wednesday night jollification, courtesy of Uncle Ralph and Lil Petey Rosenbouig

badu revu

BODEGA™ contributor Candace L on Badu's latest offering:

There’s a lot more than hair bouncing around Erykah Badu’s head. Three songs into her latest release, New Amerykah, she declares music the most powerful influence in the world, goes on a mission to reclaim her 42 Laws from Big Brother, and shouts out Louis Farrakhan. She may be the only contemporary artist finding the happy, yet slippery, medium between socio-political commentary and funky soul music. Even when using a nearly identical sample of RAMP’s “The American Promise” for her opening track “Amerykahn Promise,” Badu avoids derivation, breathing a fresh spirit and a touch of humor to the anti-brainwashing sentiments you think you’ve heard before.

Read on here...

NEWS 3/6/08

• He has been chosen: "Brooklyn rapper Jamal “Gravy” Woolard has been chosen to play slain Hip-Hop superstar The Notorious B.I.G. in the upcoming movie, titled Notorious." Oh, and Diddy will star as well. Of course. ALLHIPHOP

• Seizure inducing: Gnarls Barkley has a new record coming. And, wow, it doesn't sound much different. So what do they do? Make the video for their first single trigger epileptic seizures. Honestly. This cannot even be shown on MTV: ON SMASH (watch the whole thing and, yes, that's Justin Timberlake)

• Tony Silver, R.I.P.: Tony Silver, the documentary director of Style Wars, past away last month. He was 72. NY TIMES

actually that is your job

by swifty

Sitting here watching the returns on Super Tuesday Part 2. First of all, if I ever see Joe Scarborough on the street I may just snuff him like Nate Robinson vs. Carmelo Anthony.
His complete disregard for the role of journalists is shameful. All day he has been pushing Hilary while disparaging Obama with the stated goal that Republicans would rather run against Hilary. And he, a hard core and somewhat disgraced, former Florida Congressmen is to little surprise supporting the candidate who is polling weaker against Old Man Winter.

Second I read the following quotes in the Brooklyn Paper from the Congressmen from where I work and live in Brooklyn:

Congressman Ed Towns has explained that he has no intention of straying from his support of Mrs. Clinton. “The district might have gone for Obama,” Mr. Towns said. “But the state went for Hillary. And no matter what, she is the senator from our state.”

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, in a statement, said she “is a committed superdelegate to Hillary Clinton.” She added that her role as a superdelegate is not simply to follow the lead of her constituents.“Superdelegates have the unique responsibility to balance the needs of their district, state, party and country,” she said.

I want to point out to these elected officials that your job is to represent the people, not go off the reservation and do your own thing. From wikipedia - The bicameral Congress came from the desire of the