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Batucada Sound Machine Hit Australia

January 24th 2009 03:06
Batucada Sound Machine

New Zealand's 13 piece hip hop, funk, samba mash-up group Batucada Sound Machine are bringing their crazy Brazilian percussion based performance to Australia for a week long tour this February. As they explain, "Loosely translated, ‘batucada’ means percussive samba jam, which aptly summarises BSM’s musical roots. BSM began in 2003 when five passionate drummers met once a month in the dimly lit lounge bar of Galatos nightclub in Auckland to experiment fusing 'batucada' with more local beats and influences. Before long, a talented group of diverse musicians had joined in and the band had grown to 13 members".


BSM 2
BSM 2

With the individual members of the band involved in various solo and group projects outside of BSM, you might recognise some of them from earlier works, most recognisably in upcoming MC Hazadus showing his own style of soul infused vocals after years of fame in Che-Fu and The Krates.

If your able to make one of these performances then your in for a sweet night, and from what i've heard and seen in their performances locally and in Europe, you might need to get your boogie shoes on for this one.


Batucada Sound Machine will play:

Feb 12 @ East Brunswick Club, Melbourne

Feb 13 @ The Factory Theatre, Sydney

Feb 14 @ Canival In The City, Canberra

Feb 15 @ Becks Music Box, Perth

Feb 28 @ Music Mountain Matakana, NZ

You can check out more of Batucada Sound Machine at:

www.batucadasoundmachine.com

Really Long Link

...bs
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Posted By: James 2 - Category: Artists, News, Hip Hop, Funk, Tours
   


Zion I and the Grouch - 10 Fingers 10 Toes 10 lbs 10 oz

January 12th 2009 07:17
A few years back, I got tossed this album from an Oakland outfit called Zion I and the Grouch... I had seen a few of their tracks floating around, but had never taken a big, juicy bite.

My review of the album was glowing, especially since it appealed to an ol' grouch like me, surly and wrinkled after years of growing up with a style of hiphop now considered unfashionable.

And now, I'm weary of rappers trying to float an image that appeals to MTV and the pages of whatever novelty music mag is in fashion. Ice Cube is a children's entertainer and RZA is too tired to hold up the Wu-Tang Clan - I'm past my prime and I'm done trying.

That's why Zion I and the Grouch was so appealing, especially this track, "10 Fingers 10 Toes 10 lbs 10 oz", which is, essentially, about being glad to turn 30 and settle down and start a family.



To teenagers, this is explosive, scandalous stuff. Where are the drugs? The random killings? The brand identification? How are you supposed to know what to buy?

No, there's a sense of wise contemplation about this track, from the mention of the fact that he's glad to stick around, despite the fact that a lot of men in his community don't, to the simple, tranquil joy of the chorus, sung in Spanish.

It's because I, too, turned 30, this year, and it's with the same sense of contemplation that I'm looking forward to settling down... the same sense of exhaustion at the idea of going to a club and listening to music that no longer makes me feel like moving. Yes, it's time. Let's go, Grouchie.


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Videos
   


Trace the geneology of the Wu-Tang Clan

December 24th 2008 05:03
Wu-Tang Clan live 2007

It's a satirical piece from The Onion, but, like The Onion does best, there's an element of truth in the story:

Staten Island Historians Piece Together Wu-Tang Clan Geneology

"According to Wilburn, it took trained scholars hundreds of hours to parse out Wu-Tang's complex lineage, with experts in nearly every discipline studying the group's dope oral traditions, as well as its customary and often fresh style of dress. "

At one point, the Wu was so influential that they seemed omnipresent on the radio and MTV... hip hop kids were buying into the kung fu mythology so hard that the Clan even managed to put out a video game:



Of course, Wu-Tang delirium reached its apex when Ol' Dirty Bastard rushed the stage at the Grammys, announcing that Wu-Tang was 'for the children':



... he was one of a kind, a criminal poured into a business suit because of his insane skills on the mic. He wasn't built for this, and even though he wasn't the leader of the Clan, he was its most prized figure, the one that kept the attention on the Staten Island group.

When he died of a heart attack, after diving back into a huge pile of cocaine, that was probably the moment that the world turned the page on Wu-Tang. Let's go out on a Brooklyn Zoo:






*this image is from The Phoenix
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Pharoahe Monch interview

December 5th 2008 06:32
Pharoahe Monch wrapped like a mummy

Cocaine Blunts has a post on Pharoahe with a video interview with the man himself, something that we'd all like to see. I first heard about Monch recently, when I heard his sick cover of "Welcome to the Terrordome", bringing it up a notch, even though Public Enemy already lit that noise on fire.

That's this track:



Cocaine Blunts also has an embedded track, "Ghost Weed Acapella", recorded live this year.

Here's the interview with Monch:



This image is from rap.about.com, the album cover from Desire, Monch's second album, one that was initially ignored but made everyone go 'woah'.

Who is this reincarnated Egyptian pharoah? Do we pay tribute? Or just heed the cries of gun control and open the gates to the Terrordome?
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Kanye West's new album cover is a bizarre arrangement of nudes

October 21st 2008 06:03
Kanye West new album cover nude black afro lady
Kanye West seems to be working on a new album, one that involves organizing a large group of women to stand nude in a studio, looking grumpy, like the lady shown above.

The original of that photo shows her topless, with more naked ladies in the background.

Now, I've always been a proponent of looking at nude women, but this seems to be pushing it a little far. What is Kanye up to? Is he so worried that his tracks won't be able to hold our interest? Does he think the temptation of boobies and boom-boom is going to misdirect our critical views away from his rapidly cooling beats?

See all the naughty pictures at Kanye University!

Also included in the post is a direct link to his latest track, "Heartless".

I mean, first there was this "Flashing Lights" video, featuring knockout bikini model, Rita G, pulling Kanye out of the trunk of her car, after she does a little strip-strip.



...and now a battalion of naked women, standing there like they're waiting to be implanted with an alien host? Or are they replicants? In either case, my imagination is working far too hard.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Method Man is making a comic book

October 1st 2008 04:28
Method Man comic book
It's all about M-E-T-H-O-D. Man! The popular Wu-Tang member, Method Man, has been a best selling artist, both with the Wu and solo, has starred on The Wire, and is now turning his sights on a comic book, featuring himself as the leading man.

And why not? Wu-Tang birthed a sense of cool that was the disfigured child of a union between Kung Fu and comic books. They like comic books, I like comic books. We should all publish comic books featuring ourselves as the star. Mine would feature me being held captive on a space ship, crewed by beautiful space babes.

But enough about me - what about Method Man?

From PreFix Mag:

"It’s called Method Man of course, named after me. Except for Method Man is in a gang of murderers who are descendants of the first murderer, Cain. My character doesn’t want anything to do with that lifestyle anymore nut that’s the only life he knows. So, in the outside world, he becomes a private investigator. He just takes the cases nobody else will because basically they don’t think the cases are real because they deal with paranormal and occult things."

Hell, that sounds great. Method's comic book is the first in a series of Wu-Tang comics, with upcoming books by GZA and Ghostface Killah. If they get decent writers and illustrators, these could be fantastic comic books, and I'll buy 'em all. I just wish ODB would rise from the grave to at least add some element of eccentric psychosis to the mix...

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Diddy is a Sex Olympian

August 26th 2008 01:56
P. Diddy accepting an award at the MTV music awards
With all the controversy over the Olympics, it's easy to lose sight of the important things, like the actual events.

And there's so many events now that it's hard to keep track of them, too. For example, the 25m women's pistol shooting. That's an event?

Well, WIMB is reporting that New York Magazine had the foresight to ask P. Diddy which Olympic sport he would be best at, and he said:

""Who could have sex the longest," he told us in a soft voice and with a straight face, while looking into our eyes. "

Ah, yes, the long-distance hump-a-thon. I've heard that Diddy had to eat 10 000 calories a day to stay in shape for that.

Diddy will also be competing in the men's 50 m Cristal popping, the speed trials of turning his Glock sideways and the ever-popularfield event, making young female fans swoon and disrobe with merely a glance.

"Just so you know, that's supposed to be funny," he added as an afterthought. "Even though I am serious.""

I'm hoping that Diddy will appear on my cereal boxes anytime, now. I also want Diddy brand sex gear, machined by Swiss engineers for reliability and long-duration use. I may not be an Olympic-quality sexer, but, dammit, I'm going to try and win my own bronze medal!


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Nas plays Rush on Rock Band

August 8th 2008 08:39
Nas rocked out the East Coast with Illmatic, his seminal hip hop album that brought serious thinkers into the fold. Over time, sure, he lost a lot of appeal, but he's always been that guy. The guy that put out Illmatic.

When Nas goes on The Colbert Report, what do you think Colbert would ask him to do? Talk about hip hop? Perform a song? Introduce a cooking recipe book?

How about, play a little Rock Band.

And try to play a song by Canadian rockers, Rush?



Hell, I didn't expect that.

Should that post be on this site?

Ah, why not? Let's all revel in the intricate weirdness of the human taste for music. If you like Rush, Nas, rock out. Get freaky and rock the hell out.

How far can Nas take it? Do you think that, when he lived in the projects, he thought that, one day, he'd be playing video games on a show featuring a fake Republican on national television?

That last sentence shook me, too.

Can we get more rappers playing video games? And fewer gamers rapping?



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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Videos
   


Oz Hip Hop 101: The Hoods, The Herd and Urthboy.

July 14th 2008 02:11

Hip-Hop is such an American thing that it’s sometimes easy to forget that it happens elsewhere in the world. In a country where people have accents as annoying as Australia (let’s face it...) it may be tempting just to assume that it’s not likely that you’ll come across it and leave it at that.
There is though, one group who popularised Oz Hip Hop, that a number of people may have heard of; The Hilltop Hoods. An example of their work here:


Before the Hoods became popular though, there was another band busy blazing a path in Oz Hip Hop. This was the Herd. A group of nine members, including four MC, three beatspersons, and an assortment of instrumentation including piano accordion, clarinet, guitar and bass. Their songs used the full potential of Rap/Hip-Hop as a tool for social commentary, including songs such as Burn Down the Parliament. Behind the backdrop of the Conservative Howard Government, the Herd blazed an angry left wing lyrical flow of dissent.

Some quotes from their songs.

Sons and daughters wrapped in stars and stripes to keep 'em warm

77% of Australians are Racist; and if you were here, I’d say it to your faces.

Captain Cook was the first queue jumper

Len Hall Gallipoli veteran gently passed away thinking we learned not a thing; Played the Commonwealth cannon-fodder, his ominous words, that if he had to do it again, he'd fight for the Turks.

The Sun Never Sets is a favorite album of mine, from this band. Not only do they have the willingness to speak out politically, they’re not bound by the traditional constrains of their Genre. On the opening Track they speed up the beat slowly, following a Mandarin introduction, soon followed by rap verses in Chzeck and Spanish. Jane Tyrrell, female vocalist is featured regularly, and often with a sound closer to pop or folk that hip hop. Quite frankly, they’re not a textbook hip-hop band.

Here’s one of their songs;

herd
27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" allowNetworking="internal"> The Herd – Long Lunch

Another of the members of the Herd, Urthboi has had some recent success with his own projects. Here is an example of his solo work.

27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" allowNetworking="internal"> Urthboy – We Get Around
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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Artists, Hip Hop, MC, History
   


Paris Wells plays Melbourne

July 13th 2008 12:52

Thursday nights in Melbourne just got interesting thanks to Jam Packed Entertainment and Paris Wells.
In a city filled with artists and musicians it is unusual to stumble across one that stands out in the way Paris does, it seems however, that this kind of discovery is nothing new to her. Plucked from obscurity while working full time, Paris was chosen by Justin Timberlake in a public audition for his FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia towards the end of 2007, having previously played underground clubs in Melbourne to hundreds rather than thousands.

Mashing up such an array of genres makes pigeon holing an artist like Paris Wells extremely difficult, especially when you consider the explanations of 1st single Dat Du Dat thus far “It’s very raw, an infectious collision of funk, soul and primal pop. It's the musical equivalent of walking into a late night party just firing up for a second wind - sly funk grooves with clanging percussion and a squelching, ferocious bassline with Paris’ voice dragging through the seedy scenario."

Paris plays at Roxanne in July on Thursdays with alternating special guests, integrating styles as if she were a walking, breathing best of compilation. If your lucky enough to be around in July it is sure to be an enjoyable evening, if your not, go to www.virginblue.com.au

You can check out more of Paris at:

www.myspace.com/pariswells

"Roxannes" 2 Coverlid Place, Melbourne Thursday nights in July.
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Posted By: James 2 - Category: Advertising, Artists, Music, Tours
   


James Brown auction at Christie's

June 27th 2008 09:09
James Brown as a little kid portrait
You can buy your own piece of the late James Brown's estate, as Christie's is auctioning off momento's from the Godfather of Soul's illustrious past.

Buy yourself a jumpsuit, or an open collared shirt, then launch into the spilts while shrieking 'yeaaooow!'.

I saw James Brown (who is still catchin' mah beat down) in concert once, and it was a sad affair. For one thing, the crowd was there for the big name, and didn't seem to appreciate the music. Secondly, ol' James was not his usual bad self, unable to do much dancing or even singing.

Instead, a slender girl in a Star-Spangled tank top came on stage and busted a good move, on the good foot. Brown did not look like much of a sex machine that day.

It's not like when you watch old videos of him in his prime. He was an angry man, used to getting his way. Yes, that made him a monster, but, on stage, all those human trappings would fall away and his unique showmanship shone brighter than any number of American flags.

He sang "This is a Man's World", but hardly anyone paid attention to the rest of the verse, requiring a 'woman or a girl'; James didn't hear it either, even though it came from his own mouth.

Why would you want to buy one of his possessions? Well, Cocaine Blunts is linking to some fun stuff, including a letter signed "Mr. Viagra". That's a real sex machine..


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


Shad - I Don't Really Like To

April 28th 2008 03:52
Canadian rapper Shad and a Gorilla
My man Shad comes from London, bringing his Kenyan flavoured rhymes to the circuit.

Except that this cat is outta London, Ontario (in Canada), not the Clash's London.

Shad brings a sense of social responsibility to the hiphop game, using his albums to criticize the Rwandan genocide and cast stones at the commercialism of hiphop.

The Old Prince, released last year, won a Juno for Rap Recording of the Year, which is as recognized as you can get in Canada without being caught on an ice floe with a club.

James Goymour sent me this link, advising me that if this track didn't get me back into good graces with the rap scene, nothing would. A fine silver bullet, James. He also sweetened the deal by handing me a honeycomb sundae, which, though it might sounds metaphorical, was actually a honeycomb sundae.

Here's a fresh track, "I Don't Really Like To":


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Hip Hop
   


Biggie Smalls, 17, in a battle

April 17th 2008 22:02
Biggie Smalls Notorious BIG


Ah, Biggie. Where have you gone? The Notorious B.I.G. went by many names - Big Poppa, Biggie Smalls - but no amount of pseudonyms could protect him from his disastrous fate. Murdered in cold blood.

Immortalized, though. Between "Party and Bullshit" and "Hypnotize", Big Poppa left an unforgettable mark on hip hop.

We should remember, though, that he was a struggling kid at some point... this video of Biggie freestyling, apparently in a battle, on the streets of Brooklyn, reminds us of just how savage the man would be.



*this image is from this blog post
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Hip Hop
   


Ashkon in the Hot Tub

April 8th 2008 09:21
Ashkon Hot Tubbin'


Ashkon is a musician from The Bay that's brought down his latest single, "Hot Tubbin'", on YouTube and Myspace.

It's getting easier and easier to find great acts on the web... blogs and web media is funnelling down into a several good sources with enough reputation to build an audience. Hopefully, the gatekeepers have enough taste and integrity to deliver the really excellent music.

This is not excellent music. This is not a hot track.

What this is, instead, is a satirical R&B song that sounds like it was damn fun to record and film the video!


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, R&B/Soul
   


"Cappucino" by The Knux

March 27th 2008 03:19
The Knux
Two brothers from New Orleans, producing their own tracks - that's The Knux, a hiphop duo that's been compared to De La Soul.

Their first music video is "Cappucino", and the reviews have been favourable, except for some bloggers who criticize the lyrical content.

The brothers had a bit of misfortune when Katrina hit:

"Just as their recording came to a standstill the Knux were met with great misfortune: Hurricane Katrina. “We never evacuated when the hurricanes hit,” says Krispy, “But for whatever reason when Katrina hit we left with our mom to go to Dallas for the weekend. When we were driving back to New Orleans on the Monday all the cars were going the other direction. The radio wasn’t working, so we had no idea about the flood ‘til someone flagged us down and told us that we weren’t gonna’ be allowed into the city.” After a week of the entire family sleeping in their car, they relocated to Houston and found an apartment. “Man, we lost everything, our whole apartment building burned to the ground, says Krispy. “So we were grateful that everyone was okay, but we weren’t happy to be in Houston.”"



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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists
   


2007 was the year that hyphy died

January 30th 2008 04:20
Keak da Sneak
Well, I don't know. I don't dig hyphy all that much, though it'll probably enter Australia on crates of smuggled cane toads.

Nation of Thizzlam has a post looking back on 2007, predicting that it was the last year that hyphy would make a stand.

Check out the post for some sweet samples from the latest albums from Husalah and Keak Da Sneak, getting good reviews from the site, although they question Husalah's wisdom in talking up how good-lookin' he is:

"All you have is a stripped-down (beatboxed?) beat and Husalah's inane rants about how gorgeous he is (on a side note, this is weird shit for a rapper who must know he has a primarily male fan base, and is about to go to prison. Just saying"


A great point on the post: The Worst Slang of the Year:

"One word: Wet. That it has become acceptable for hetero dudes to say they are "wet" when they mean to see "fresh" or "well-dressed" or whatever the fuck is upsetting, to say the least. Worst offender: Mistah FAB. "I'm wet, so wet, I'm juicy/ n---as love me like Ricky love Lucy". I could have lived without that one. It's too bad Mistah FAB doesn't have Cam'ron's ear for gay innuendo, he might have said "no homo" a few times, or just left that god-awful line out of the hook of the first track of his first wide-release album. Just saying."

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Hip Hop
   


Freeway - Still Got Love video

November 19th 2007 01:22
Freeway is a Roc-A-Fella rapper from Philly that keeps his long Iman beard in spite of the Haterade coming down on American muslims.

Him and Beanie Sigel were tight back in the 80s, and formed a group called State Property. Since then, they've been hard working, though Freeway seems to have avoided that Ruff Ryders feud thing, and kept his mouth shut about Kanye West.

Still, when these boys get together, they make the good stuff:



(found on TSOYA)
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artists, Videos
   


NEM-S-ISS Can't Deny it

November 5th 2007 04:09
NEM-S-Iss


Hey everyone it's DUB from Rlow music and i am here to let everyone know about the hot new artists out of canada NEM-S-ISS. And the whole list of other artists that bring that heat. We caoming from CANADA EH and we cant be stopped...Link me for any details that you want and watch out for that CANADIAN HEAT...
THANKS

DUB
Your text goes here
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Posted By: chris 6 - Category: Advertising, Artists, Hip Hop
   


Blog Top Text

November 2nd 2005 21:16
For Hip Hop dance classes in Sydney, check out my dance studio D2MG Hip Hop Academy

Post Summaries:
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