Grand Theft Auto IV

The fourth go-round for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto dropped yesterday, pushing the boundaries of sex, violence, and sales. The game is estimated to break the record currently held by Halo 3, according to industry insiders, it's poised to make Halo 3 look like a small-time crook. Analysts expect the free-roaming crime drama to generate over $400 million in its opening week alone.

How big is that exactly? When it comes to video games, it's unrivaled, about a hundred million more than Halo 3 and closing in on the top film opening ever, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It pulled in a bulky $401 million in it's first week.

As far as ratings go, It's pretty much A+'s, 10/10's, and 5/5's all around. I Wouldn't expect less for a game that's been itching to have this kind of quality available to it. The franchise has been waiting for consoles to catch up to it's visions, and I think this time it probably has.

Of course with any GTA release, we have the "old folks" trying to drop it from stores. Claims that violent games cause children to act violent, (of course movies rarely get these claims) but unless there's another hidden sex game it won't happen. Although there has been some interesting happenings at the stores so far.

"Prior to the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, there have been reports in the United Kingdom of violence perpetrated against people waiting to buy the game. One man was stabbed while waiting in line to buy the game in Croydon on 29 April 2008. Some bystanders said that they initially thought the attack was a stunt pulled to whip-up yet more excitement for the eagerly anticipated title. In Leyland, Lancashire an 18-year-old man was mugged later the same day by two thieves who punched the victim to the ground and then kicked him, shattering his nose and jaw, before snatching the game and running away." According to the Wiki

Since this is a Hip Hop blog, the game also features some nice radio stations. Of course they have their talk radios, hard rock, and techno stations. But, in addition they have an Old School Hip Hop station with DJ Premier as the host. Oh, and some new crap station with newer radio "Hip Hop" songs. Station Guide (first two)

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I've been a fan of the franchise since it began, and I'll have to patiently wait this one out. Might play it at a friends or Best Buy for a quick minute, but seeing as I have no next-gen console, it's a nice wait until it comes to PC for me.

Rock the Bells 08

Tour dates and Artists just announced, the lineup features:

Main Performers:

• A Tribe Called Quest
• Nas
• Mos Def
• With special guest The Pharcyde

Select Dates/Smaller Acts:

• De La Soul
• Rakim
• Method Man & Redman
• Raekwon
• Ghostface
• Immortal Technique
• Dead Prez
• Murs
• Spankrock
• Kid Sister
• Spantogold
• The Cool Kids
• Jay Electronica
• Wale
• B.O.B.
• Kidz In The Hall
• Amanda Blank
• Flosstradamus

Hosted By:

• B-Real
• Supernatural
• Scratch

With possible lineup changes and possibly more to be announced.

Tour Dates:

• Sat 7/19 - Chicago, IL
• Sun 7/20 - Toronto, ON
• Sat 7/26 - Boston, MA
• Sun 7/27 - New York, NY
• Sat 8/2 - Miami, FL
• Sun 8/3 - Philadelphia, PA
• Sat 8/9 - Los Angeles, CA
• Sat 8/16 - San Francisco, CA
• Sat 8/23 - Denver, CO
• Sat 8/30 - Vancouver, BC

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Pretty good lineup this year, the only real disappointment for me is that De La won't be in my city.

Click the banner at the top for the official site.

Dizzee Rascal? HUH?

So I heard of some cat named Dizzee Rascal a while back, don't remember how but I was blown away by how weird the song I heard was. It was called "I Luv U" (scroll to the bottom of the post to play it.) I hoped that maybe I just heard the most terrible thing he ever put on wax. So, I asked a couple people that listened to him if they liked that song and sure enough they thought it was some hot shit.

Maybe I don't get it because I'm not from the U.K.? Maybe I can't get over the British accent to even give it a chance? Not trying to step on your toes about how you guys speak, just not used to hearing it in Hip-Hop. I feel like I'm alone here because he seems to be getting popular, but in my opinion the beat was shit, and his rapping was shit, couldn't even find a thing I liked.

So if anyone is feeling the same was as me, or can explain what makes him good, maybe point me in the direction of his good stuff, please leave a comment. I included the song, and the video for it if anyone doesn't know who he is, or hasn't heard it.

C.R.A.C. - The Piece Talks

Genres are sooo played out. There was a time when artists were designated to these restrictive little boxes that label execs and consumers constructed for them and in most cases artists stayed in the lane ascribed to them. But as these boundaries break down and more musicians take to the indie route—free of pressure to crank out a hit—these classifications have become obsolete. Enter Blu and Ta’Raach collectively known as C.R.A.C. (pronounced crass not crack) who on their debut The Piece Talks pretty much flip genre classifications on their head then, point and laugh at them.

“Buy Me Lunch” and “Love Don’t” are both perfect examples of the genre-bending music I alluded to above. Not one bar is rapped on the high tempo, syrupy “Buy Me Lunch” which brings to mind thoughts of Andre 3000’s “Hey Ya.” While rapper Blu can be found crooning the chorus on “Love Don’t.” Not to worry though he maintains his rep as a word-flipping fool. On “Buy Me Lunch” Blu also lays down a tightly woven introspective verse with the following: “trying to slow it down/trying to handle biz/really it’s a blessing that I ain’t got kids/but I got 11 siblings so it’s like I got kids/and really if I did in the last few years/I wasn’t handling my biz/kind of like Nas when he dropped Illmatic/and MC Serch walked away with his masters.” Partner Ta’Raach takes the abstract route rhyming freely hopping from topic to topic.

Just when you settle into the groove created thus far, The Piece Talks morphs into something different using comedic skits to bridge the transitions between moods. “Pop Dem Boyz” has Ta’Raach and Blu aggressively attacking Ta’Raach’s (who handles all of the production on this album) looped sample and light drum work. Some memorable quotables are delivered by Ta’Raach who rhymes “Rock/Raach city is a crew full of weed and pistols/turning over trash/I didn’t mean to diss you/but if the Air Force 1 fits then it’s you.” Half-way through, the album hits a steady stride with the high point of the album, “Mr. Big Fizz.” It’s an ode to those big willies who pop big shit but live the opposite. Both emcees take turns using slick wordplay to describe “pop ass, jive ass big wigs.” “Mr. Big Fizz’s” is complemented well by the lounge-like feel of “Chill” which then flows seamlessly into “Hello?!” From here, the album cruises until its conclusion.

The Piece Talks definitely provides you with an assortment of moods and sounds which is good in that you get mad variety. But that also means if you latch on to one particular sound you’ll be disappointed by the end since this musical journey hardly visits one destination more than once. Regardless, The Piece Talks is the type of humorous, fun record that’s missing from Hip Hop right now reminiscent of the feel you’d get on a De La Soul record. The album is a drastic departure from both emcees’ solo work so if you’re looking for the next Below the Heavens exit left but if you’re looking for something dope that’s in total contrast to what you’ll find on the pop charts The Piece Talks is definitely worth checking out.

Check it out here

Personal Favorite Tracks:
"Respect" is a nice track with a dope beat.
"Love Don't" is a nice cross-genre mix.
"Pop Dem Boyz" creative up-tempo song.
"Activate as Well" is a mellow Dilla sounding beat.

4/16 Vids of the Day "Free Speech- Everything is Different Now/LTRYT"

A couple years ago I somehow stumbled upon a producer by the name of RoBlvd's Myspace (if I remember correctly) and he had this video on there. I fell in love with the song, and decided to dl a Free album that he and others had just released. It was called "Laffy Taffy Rots Your Teeth" and it featured the two videos below. The album can still be dled at http://www.ourteamisfresh.com/home.htm (downloads,then scroll down a bit). Be sure to check out the artists and whatnot while you're there.

Free Speech- "Everything is Different Now" Produced by RoBlvd.



Free Speech- "Laffy Taffy Rots Your Teeth Intro" Produced by RoBlvd.


Hopefully they get some exposure soon, because I've been wanting them to catch on for a while.

Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons...

On April 22, Slug & Ant drop their newest creation "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold." Personally I can't wait, I loved You Can't Imagine and the EP's in-between kept me somewhat satisfied. This being their 6th album (first since '05) puts them in the lasting category for me.

The duo has been doing a series of videos to promote the album entitled "Atmosphere's Paint it Gold (1-7)" which can be seen here. Pretty interesting Q&A with the two, and Slug's entertaining personality keeps it lively. Along with that a song off the album called "Guarantees" has a video as well (look below). Although the song has no percussion, something about it really hits me. If this is the attitude, and mood the album's going to have then life will be handing us gold, no painting required.



The album Tour is already set, but seems a bit on the short side, so hopefully a leg will be added. Dates are as follows:
April 2008
22, 23 - Chicago, IL - The Metro
24 - Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
26 - Boston, MA - The Roxy
27 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
29 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

May 2008
2, 3 - Austin, TX - Emo's
5 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theater
6, 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
8, 9 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency
12 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
13 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
14 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
16 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
17, 18 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre

There are two versions of the album which can be pre-ordered as of now, one with no gimmicks, and one Deluxe (25,000 made) with a 40-page hard cover children's book written by Slug as well as a DVD.

Here's the tracklist:
1. Like the Rest of Us
2. Puppets
3. The Skinny
4. Dreamer
5. Shoulda Known
6. You
7. Painting
8. Your Glasshouse
9. Yesterday
10. Guarantees
11. Mesmorized (B Rock Remix)
12. Wild Wild Horses
13. Can't Break
14. The Waitress
15. In Her Music Box

and the link to Pre-order from Undergroundhiphop.com


Atmosphere (Slug + Ant) - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (DELUXE EDITION) (CD + DVD + BOOK)

4/13 Vid of the Day

Lupe Fiasco's new one- "Paris, Tokyo"



Just found it.

Common's New Album "Invincible Summer"

As some of you might know Common has plans for a new album to drop in June. How he managed to find time inbetween his acting gigs I don't know, but "Invincible Summer" (not sure why he named it the same thing as k.d. lang's album) is dropping soon. In this interview with HipHopDx Common tells us a little about it.

DX: You working on the next album after Finding Forever?

C: Yeah, the new album is called Invincible Summer. It will be out in the later part of June. The music sounds new. It’s really developing. I’m really happy about it. It feels good. It’s not really heavy. The Neptunes are producing a lot of it. Also a producer named Mr. DJ [is on the project]. He did a lot of work with OutKast. He did “Bombs Over Baghdad” and “Ms. Jackson.” These cats are really giving me some new, fresh sounds. I’m taking it somewhere vocally that I haven’t been before. I’m enthused. I’m really excited. I think it’ll be a great summer album. I wanna make people smile and enjoy life. As much as I wanna make them think, it’s important that they smile, too.

When he says the music sounds "new" I shudder a bit, scared that Electric Circus sounded "new" as well. Common and the Neptunes don't quite mesh when I try to imagine it in my head, but hopefully they surprise me and it comes out sounding good together. Mr. DJ is a good addition, seems like he could fit Commons style, and I'm glad that he's trying to take the lyrics to new heights, go behind what he has lately. Not that it's been bad, but nothing mind-blowing. Sounds like it has the makings to be a summer joint I pop in.

DX: So, there will be a couple of club tracks in there?
C: When I went on the Kanye West Glow in the Dark Tour in Europe, I was overseas and just saw people partying overseas. Seeing the music that they were partying to was just a good feeling. I was like, “Wait, none of my songs are being played over here!” What am I missing in my music repertoire? You never stray away from [positive] music. You always need music that’s uplifting and conscious, but you also sometimes wanna relax and party. At a party, you might not wanna hear those things at that time.

A lot of the backpackers and underground heads may not like the sound of "club tracks," but unlike other people I can see Common giving us something that bumps, but still having that sense of lyricism and completeness behind it. As far as Europe goes, I would much rather have him feeling mainstream Europe stuff than the stuff they bang in clubs here. It could be a little on the odd side, but he could pull good, creative things out of it.

DX: Common, why didn’t you mention Kanye’s name as a producer for this new CD?
C: With Kanye, point blank, I’m on G.O.O.D. Music. We’re always going to collaborate. If he’s not producing it, he’s gonna executive produce it and say, “Yo, Rash, we need to do these things with it.” He’ll always be a part of it, but right now he’s focusing on getting his tour together, this Glow in the Dark Tour. I always go with the flow of things. This is what I’m doing for this album. On the next album, Kanye and I will be working on it with some other new artists. But I think this will give it something fresh and it’ll give it more spice when Kanye and I get back together. Who knows? He may do something for this album, too, because I’m not finished.

Kanye of course will be part of it, but I think it's a good change after two albums to have Kanye being more of an over-seer (lol) than making the tracks. While not bad, Kanye's on some other shit right now, that I don't see mixing with Common too well either. Overall I think he'll bring good ideas to the table.


DX: What are your thoughts about artists who strictly record for the purpose of selling ringtones?
C: For me, a lot of rappers have come from places where they didn’t get to appreciate the artform. They didn’t feel Hip Hop when it was just so pure and it was like a thing of just fun. It wasn’t about business. Now they approach Hip Hop from a business perspective. It’s much more than that. You gotta let the art be the art and let the business take care of that afterward. Of course, I’m not one who approaches music and goes into the studio saying, “I’m going to make this so it can be a corporate song. This is going to make this person’s ringtone.” I’m not really a supporter of that, but if a person chooses to do it and that’s what they want their career to be, that’s for them. I’m thinking more from a longer term and just being an artist and an actor.

Glad to hear that, if Common had said anything else right there I would have been real dissapointed. The interview also talks about Com writing children's books, his probable role in a Justice League movie, and his other acting ventures so check it out.

Theme Song: Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince- "Summertime"

Kobe Jumping Over Car Commercial

Aired for the first time last night during the Lakers/Clippers game. Seems to be catching a lot of attention and buzz around the internet. I'm a Lakers fan so of course I like this. The one question I have is...why in the hell, out of all the Lakers....would ge get Ronny Turiaf? Pretty sure that's him...but that has to be my least favorite Laker...not sure how that combo happened.

When asked on TNT how they did the commercial, all he gave was "It's Hollywood baby." So, as if we didn't guess it in the first place, it's fake. All in all good commercial though, nice way to catch some attention, plus I've always wondered if I could do this.

Theme Song- House of Pain "Jump Around"

Rising Down Album Cover

If you haven't seen it yet the Roots have a quite interesting album cover. It is based after an old drawing, this drawing is entitled NEGRO RULE. and it pretty much sums up the feeling of the Confederate Union towards the newly freed slaves and
the idea that if given power they would reek havoc and chaos on the country.

In a description of the original picture, it is said to be "a vampire that hovers over North Carolina, clutching a white womanhood and manhood with its hairy claws." Because of the mass outnumbering of slaves over slave-owners in those days. The "white men" and/or "crackas" figured that if freed, they would be able to easily take over. Below is the O.G. pic.




As to direct links between the albums meaning, a few seem obvious, but I haven't researched in-depth, or listened to the whole album. Nonetheless, props to The Roots for going controversial, i expect no less.

Theme Song- Roots "False Media"

4/10 Vid of the Day

Black Thought Freestyle circa 92
quest on the beat (no surprise there)

Bobby Digital is Back

Bobby Digital, the futuristic character created by Wu-Tang front man "The Rza", is celebrating his 10th birthday.

For this occasion, the multi-talented artist is dropping Digi Snax, a Bobby Digital project in using the alias 100%. Along with the album he's planning a national Digi Snax tour to begin in june. Fans haven't heard an entire Bobby Digital project since 1998's Rza as Bobby Digital in Stereo.

A soul/funk live band Stone Mecca, which supposedly shows up on the album, will also join Bobby on stage.
Digi Snax hits shelves July 1.

Here are some tour dates and locations.
Tue-Jun 10, 08 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
Wed-Jun 11, 08 Austin, TX - Emos
Thu-Jun 12, 08 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
Sat-Jun 14, 08 Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Sun-Jun 15, 08 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Tue-Jun 17, 08 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
Wed-Jun 18, 08 Phoenix, AZ - The Brickhouse Theater
Fri-Jun 20, 08 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
Sat-Jun 21, 08 San Francisco, CA - 1015
Mon-Jun 23, 08 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
Tue-Jun 24, 08 Seattle, WA - Showbox at the Market
Wed-Jun 25, 08 Vancouver, BC - Richards On Richards
Fri-Jun 27, 08 Calgary, AB - Sled Island Music Festival
Mon-Jun 30, 08 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Tue-Jul 1, 08 Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
Wed-Jul 2, 08 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
Fri-Jul 4, 08 Ottawa, ON - New Capital Music Hall
Sat-Jul 5, 08 New York, NY - Webster Hall
Mon-Jul 7 08 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Tue-Jul 8 08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Theme Song: RZA - "B.O.B.B.Y."

Vid of the Day

Wu-Tang 8 Diagrams Trailer



never heard someone said mutha fuckas as many times as odb at the end

Pizza at Primo's Vol. 1 Mixed by DJ Jaycee

A nice Primo mix by the Apphilliates' DJ Jaycee. A nice blend of Primo joints, with some dooubles of some without going overboard.

Pizza at Primo's Vol. 1 (download)

1. Intro
2. Credit Is Due - Gang Starr
3. Peer Pressure - Mobb Deep
4. Eazy’s Daddy
5. KRS One Attacks - KRS One
6. Higher Ground - KRS One
7. Outta Here - KRS One
8. Unbelievable - The Notorious BIG
9. I Put A Spell On You/Kick In The Door - The Notorious BIG
10. Mr. Byrd/NY State Of Mind - Nas
11. NY State Of Mind pt.2 - Nas
12. Shelley
13. Come Clean - Jeru The Damaja
14. Danger (DJ Premier Remix) - Blahzay Blahzay
15. Mr. Jamal
16. The Shit Is Real (DJ Premier Remix) - Fat Joe
17. Brother James
18. Words I Manifest - Gang Starr
19. Fred And Them (Arena Interlude)
20. Flip Da Scrip (Premier’s toot da horn mix) - Da King & I
21. Marlena
22. Bob
23. Take It Personal - Gang Starr
24. The Queen
25. Yes Y’all - Heavy D & The Boyz
26. Go Back Home
27. D’ Evils - Jay-Z
28. Fergie Ferg
29. The Next Level (DJ Premier Remix) - Show & AG
30. S.O.U.L.
31. Roll Call - M.O.P.
32. Joe And Nem’
33. Da Bichez -Jeru The Damaja
34. Brown Skin Woman (interlude)
35. 1, 2 Pass It - The D&D Allstars
36. Bring It On - Jay-Z
37. Mr. Adderley
38. The Place Where We Dwell - Gang Starr
39. Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers
40. Ease My Mind (DJ Premier Remix) - Arrested Development
41. Together Again (DJ Premier Remix) - Janet Jackson
42. The 6th Sense - Common
43. Marc
44. Boom! - Royce Da 5′9
45. The One And Only - Snoop Dogg
46. Joe And Nem’ Again
47. Words From The Nutcracker - Gang Starr
48. Chef
49. Supa Star - Group Home
50. Full Clip (interlude)
51. Platinum Plus f. Big Daddy Kane - Big L
52. Trader Vic
53. Mass Appeal - Gang Starr
54. F.A.Y.B.A.N. - Screwball
55. Mathematics - Mos Def
56. Outro

Vid of the Day

Eddie Murphy/ Rick James- Party All The Time



Notice Rick's sexy blonde hair

Vid of the Day

Common- Resurrection
from Common's best album :)

Del The Funkee Homosapien: Eleventh Hour

Review

It’s been eight years since we’ve had a good taste of Rap’s favorite West Coast leftfield don, Del The Funkee Homosapien. The last time he made our heads spin was with his previous solo album, 2000’s Both Sides of the Brain and the futuristic collaboration project Deltron 3030’s self-titled release with Dan The Automator. This time around on Eleventh Hour (Def Jux), he brings his trademark voice and spacey wordplay to a release that loses a few points in the production department.

Del starts off strong with album opener “Raw Sewage” where he flows over a horn-infused West Coast throwback complemented by some scratching that harkens back to the mid 90’s. He quickly reminds us why he doesn’t fit in to Rap’s currently bloated braggadocio mold, and instructs us that he’s simply here for a good time (“Salutations, now you face it / A real D-E-L / I don’t feel bigger / Up here on stage / Man I keep it real with ya / I’m here to entertain y’all / Let’s play ball”).

Del is in his comfort zone on tracks like “Hold Your Hand” which has the Bay-Area MC flowing over a sunny G-Funk beat. On album closer “Funkyhomosapien,” Del finishes off correct when he pairs his obscure couplets with a next level beat that sounds like a cut that should have made the Deltron 3030 release. It is a perfect example of how Del’s left-field subject matter and laid-back persona when combined with future-funk production results in a worthwhile selection.

If there is a bone to pick with Eleventh Hour, it’s that the beats could have used a shot in the arm("Bubble Pop," "Foot Down," "Slam Dunk"). Del handled the bulk of production himself; with a few assists from cats like J-Zone, Opio and KU. It remains a mystery why he didn’t take advantage of the production skills available to him from Def Jux label mates El-P and Blockhead.

All in all, Del’s latest effort is a great soundtrack to those lazy, hazy summer days ahead of us. Hyphy this isn’t. It’s a throwback/fast forward Rap attack mixed with a little crazy. Go on try it. You might just like it.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/reviews/archive/2008/03/28/19531452.aspx

My Take

(All this from first and only listen.)
Raw Sewage starts the album off good, makes me want to listen.
Bubble Pop seems a little light for Del, but it was a good track.
I liked last hurrah as well.
One thing that I wonder as I listen to the production is why Del didn't go elsewhere for it (not a fan of slam dunk). I know he's never had the most amazing stand-out production, but the beats seem very mediocre. They sound like they have the potential to be put over the top, but they're missing something.

As far as lyrics go, Del is still Del. No conformity (thank god he hasn't jumped onto Hyphy.) No flow switch-ups here, it's still "scientist" Del bringing the rhymes that take you a minute to decipher.

Who knows what I'll think after playing it a couple times, cause I wasn't a huge fan of Alarm my first listen, but we'll see. Worth hearing, but nothing mind-blowing first time around.

Vid of the Day

Gangstarr- Full Clip

Just Blaze Interview

Is there any one artist out there that you would give free
beats to?
Free beats? I don’t know. I mean, it’s not always about the money, but I can’t think of anybody.
To give somebody beats for free, it would have to be an independent artist who
doesn’t really have the money to pay me and I haven’t heard
any new artists that I would give a beat away to like that.
Obviously if you’re a major artist then I don’t have to give
you a beat for free, if you’re broke or have a low budget, we
can work something out if like you.

You can look at what I did with MF Doom. With the "Cookies
(Remix)” I just called Doom like, ‘Yo, I gotta beat for a
remix. Let's do it real quick.’ The stuff I did on Stones
Throw, I didn’t really charge them for that. That was like, ‘I
like your movement and I like what you are doing. I know that
you don’t really have the money to pay me like that. Let’s
just do some work together.’ I did that with Saigon at first,
like, ‘Take these beats and see what you can do with them.’ It
wasn’t like, ‘It’ll cost this amount of money.’ Sometimes you
just have to go in there and make that music. Money will come.


I know you’re a big MF Doom fan. Would you ever do any work
with Doom in the future?
If anybody could ever find him for more than five minutes.
Every time he turns up it ends up being an imposter. I don’t
know. Egon at Stones Throw said that he’s actually popped up
and he’s ready to work. It’s a possibility. Who knows. When I
was ready and I was really gung ho about it, he went into
hiding for a minute, which he does from time to time, even
from his closest friends. Even they can't find him. It’s not
in the plans, but plans change.

I remember Saigon telling me you played him some MF Doom
music. He had heard about him but he had never heard him. I played
him the remix I did and he didn’t get it. (laughs) But to be
honest, when my man Dave first played me Doom, I didn’t get it
either. I was like, ‘Turn this off!’ I didn’t appreciate it. I
didn’t like him until I heard the Madvillain bootleg, which
came out maybe a year or two before the actual album. I heard
that stuff around the same time when I met the dudes from
Stones Throw. That’s when I was like, ‘Wow.’ The beats were so
dope.

The stuff that I didn’t like was the Viktor Vaughn stuff. I
didn’t like any of that stuff at all and that’s what my man
was trying to push on me. I still don’t like that stuff and
it’s mostly because of the beats more than anything else. But
when he’s got some good beats, he’s money. It’s definitely a
personal thing. Sometimes the ’93 in me just wants to hear
somebody who has dope rhymes over dope beats without a
contrived hook or anything like that.


You’ve worked hands-on with the most commercially-successful
artist ever yet you’re a huge underground head.

I like what I like whether it’s mainstream or commercial or
whatever. I like a lot of underground stuff, but also to be
honest with you, there’s a lot of new stuff going on in the
underground. I have no idea what a Brother Ali or a Slug or
Atmosphere sounds like. The thing about me is I like what I
like no matter where it comes from. That’s not to say that I
don’t like those guys, but I don’t know their music. I’m not
the type that’s just like, ‘I'm gonna listen to these guys
just because they're underground or something.’ I spent the
last few days in my house analyzing the similarities and
differences between Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand. I just
sat in my house and listened to them for the past two days. I
didn’t even listen to any hip-hop except for this one beat CD
Madlib gave me five years ago. I just like what I like.

As far as the underground thing, I think people just use that
as an excuse. The term “underground” used to refer to the fact
that you haven’t broken through to the mainstream yet or you
weren’t necessarily conforming to the mainstream. It wasn’t a
style of music. It was just where you were at as an artist,
like, ‘He’s underground. He hasn’t broken through yet.’ Now
it’s “What kind of music do you do?” “I’m underground.” How is
that? How are you an underground artist? What do you do? Do
you rap underground? Shut up.

A lot of times people are underground because they’re wack.
They haven’t broken through and they probably won’t because
they don’t want to be the norm and they don’t want to have any
rhythm in their music and they want to go over people’s heads.
It’s like, ‘The lyrical syllable mineral is vital to the nth
degree of polyphonic rituals, inskimmittable!’ Shut up! You
probably won’t cross over and have any success outside of the
success that you’ve had.

There is no such thing as an “underground style”. Not when I
was coming up anyway. It was a place where you were at, like,
‘Right now we’re stuck in the underground but we’re trying to
break through.’ That’s what rap’s greatest heroes tried to do.
Big L used to be at the radio station with who? Jay-Z. Big L
was one of the underground heroes and him and Jay would go and
do the Stretch circuit and all of the underground radio
circuit. That was the thing. In the highlight of New York’s
underground scene, people were making good hip-hop but they
still had their eyes on the prize. I think what it turned into
is that people trying so hard to go against the establishment
that they’re turning into scientists. I don’t know. They go
over my head...and I’m a smart dude.


http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=justblaze


My Take

Seems like a real down-to-earth guy to me, helping Stonesthrow and all.
It's funny the way he talks about his DOOM experince, because that's pretty much how it happened with me too. I remember hearing these "out there" rhymes and just bein like wtf? Then I heard the Doomsday track and i decided to hear more.
Personal favorite DOOM album: Madvillainy (never was much of a Vicktor fan either)

As far as his definition of "Underground," I agree with him for the most part. I think a lot of times people do end up grouping underground together like it's some genre with standards. As for his views on it being just a break-through to commercial success...eh... I think he makes a good point, and a true one. But, sometimes I'd like to think that there are people out there that are just happy with underground, and not wack. Maybe I'm living in a fantasy...

All in all, I like JB's Music, I liked the fact that he was Star Wars fan since I am as well, but I now know for sure that he's good his head on straight, and hasn't been twisted by the industry.

Theme Song:
KRS-One- Underground

Vid of the Day

A personal favorite of mine

DJ Shadow- Midnight In a Perfect World

Vid of the Day

Kanye West- Homecoming

Hip Hop Kicks

While browsing dunks today I found some of my favorite artist's dunks.











Personal Favorites would have to be the DOOM's the inside just tops it off.

I also leave you with
http://www.smouch.net/lol