U-N-I with an installment from their debut street album, "Fried Chicken and Watermelon." No disrespect to the big girls...they need love to. Check out their album when you get a chance, and add them as a friend on Myspace! Watch out for "Love Supreme;" that album is fire! If you like Pacific Division, Dom Kennedy, Blu...you'll love these cats!
Every corner of the country seems to have its own style of hip hop. The East Coast has its grimy, street hustle, the Midwest became known for its rapid-fire delivery and melody, the South its hustling, dope, flossing, and club scene, and the West Coast made its mark with gangsta rap. But now the West, well, a certain area, is known for another style and sound all its own; HYPHY.
I know a little about the Hyphy movement because I was fortunate enough to work with CA’s own, DJ Vlad on his first documentary release, Ghostride the Whip, which tells the story of the Bay Area’s scene.
I’ve included the following mini-dictionary to at least get you up to speed with some basic words and phrases*.
Get Stupid/Go Dumb - To get hyphy – to be wild or free-spirited, or lose all your inhibitions Hyphy - Hyper, wild, or crazy Bay Area – the San Francisco Bay Area including cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with a few other, smaller cities Ghostriding the Whip - To get out of your car and dance along the driver’s side while the car moves along without you inside Gouda – money Ride the Yellow Bus - To take “going dumb” to the third level (i.e. to be very, very wild or free-spirited) Stunna Shades - Very large sunglasses Thizz or Thizzin’ - To be on ecstasy Yaddidamean – Do you know what I mean?
This is the trailer to Ghostride the Whip. Enjoy and get out to the nearest movie store and pick this up.
Innovator Series: Overtime with Gamechangers Sometimes it's OK to eavesdrop. Questlove of The Roots and Andre Iguodala, professional basketball player, inaugurate the Nike Sportswear Innovator Series with six short videos documenting them in their hometown of Philadelphia on the occasion of Questlove's Air Force 1 release. Chilling out in the privacy of Questlove’s music studio, stacked to the ceiling with LPs and miscellaneous drum parts, Iguodala asks him about designing the Air Force 1 “Nike Air Questo,” the wildest thing he’s ever done for a pair of kicks and staying in the game after 20-some years. It’s one of those conversations worth overhearing.
Nike has opened a unique retail installation in the heart of Hollywood at the Montalbán Theater. Starting in August and running until October 31st, the historic theater will play host to special programming by Nike Sportswear, and starting today, consumers will be able to buy select Nike Sportswear clothes and shoes from the space, including icons like the Windrunner, the AW 77 hoody, the Nike Dunk, Air Mad 90 as well as the NSW collection.
True to its legacy as the oldest functioning theatre in Hollywood, Nike Sportswear at the Montalbán will host film screenings every Tuesday night starting on August 12th with the L.A. premier of Beautiful Losers, a documentary film, which celebrates the spirit behind the influential DIY cultural movement. Other screenings include Adam Yauch’s Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and a special showing of the classic documentary Tokyo Olympiad. Additionally, the film programming experiences will be extended with themed workshops, where Beautiful Losers’ curator and director Aaron Rose will host “MAKE SOMETHING!!, a series of community and youth-oriented creative workshops that works with public school art programs and youth mentoring programs, The work created in each location will form a continually evolving exhibition, which will be open to the public to view. www.nikesportswear.com
This video was just launched a few days ago; it is good to see that there are still some artists that can make good music videos. Little X directed it; this video is hella fresh!
Suge Knight Arrested In Las Vegas August 27th, 2008
Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records is in a Las Vegas jail today after he was arrested on drug and assault charges.
According to the Associated Press, Knight, 43, is accused of “beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife.”
Knight was hit with multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, battery domestic violence and illegal possession of prescription drugs.
According to the report, Las Vegas police responded to a report of a vehicle striking a curb. When they arrived on the scene, Knight was found standing over his girlfriend with the aforementioned knife in hand.
As of press time, neither Knight nor his attorneys commented on the charges or the arrest.
Last night Poeticali Distherbd which features Connoisseur533's very own Marcus as 1/3 of the group opened up for Wu Tang Clans Killah Priest @ The Voodoo Lounge in downtown san jose. Needless to say they both had one hell of a performance. If you haven't seen them perform live yet or heard their music you're defintely missing out. Also Killah Priest dropped some classic gems on us.
check out myspace.com/PoeticaliDistherbd for more info. Poeticali Distherbd
This shit is crazy...K-Ci and Jo Jo from Jodeci were performing in Sydney, Australia last night drunk as hell. Look at what happens in the middle of the performance. This is another reason why...kids, do not mix a lot of alcohol and performing!
I just found this video a few minutes ago; this song is just in time to end the summer of right. Add this to your iPod for that weekend playlist. Andre 3 stacks and John L....SMOOOOTHHHHH! Download "Green Light": http://www.zshare.net/audio/174695629e6c7864/
Los Angeles has become a hotbed of talent as of late with new hip-hop acts such as U-N-I, Pacific Division, J*Davey, Dom Kennedy, TiRon, Inverse, Ayomari, etc. I have recently in the past year realized that the music that is coming out of LA (as far as hip-hop) are all being made by cats that are in my age range of 20-24 years of age. Here's a video from Dom Kennedy, "Watermelon Sundae." This is the complete summer soundtrack all in one song. The nirvana sets in as soon as the beat drops; what better way to portray the feel-good So Cal vibes of this song than having a video at a pool party.
Hailing from the Bay Area comes a female/male duo with the talent and charisma to take them beyond the heights of many Bay Area artists that have come before them. Gyrl Ab'strakt and DJ Cleve have come together bringing the fresh new sound of hip-hop that this generation has been lacking; substance. With their release EP, "Mr. and Ms. Pakman," they take the listener on a auditory vacation that lasts far beyond the seven songs it displays. This group is gearing to drop their debut full-length album soon and will be dropping a weekly exclusive song to add to your iPod to keep you bang your head. With 7 Daize, you can expect to hear something that the game has been missing for a long time, a true essence of clarity. The hip-hop without the preservatives and fillers is what 7 Daize brings to the forefront. When listening to their music, expect only the true sheer elements of hip-hop music. Be expecting to hear a lot more from this group in the near future.
I decided to be a little more philosophical this week in my writings by introducing to you all something I thought about at work when I was bored.
Conspiracy Theory: Rick Ross WAS a prison guard AND became a cocaine kingpin using his possible police connections* [author’s note: understand difference between police officer and corrections officer] as protection to conduct business and avoid arrest.
It honestly doesn’t mean anything to me either way. I just find it interesting that in a culture based on false images and characters that a possible “dark past” could danger a man’s career…which was based on profiting off of narcotic sales. Hooray for hip hop.
I want to give you all a summer relationship tip. I’m in a long-distance relationship (2 months passed, one more to go). One thing y’all need to be hip to is Skype. Make calls from your computer to any computer in the world free and you can use it to call from computer to phone for incredibly cheep, too.
Throw in a webcam, a few sexy outfits, and an empty room and you and your significant other can keep the fire going. Trust me.
If we were closer and this was a different type of blog I’d show you. Haha. Jodan desu! [Japanese for ‘It’s a joke’…my girl’s Japanese].
Also, being an emcee that had a show a week ago in Kent, Ohio, I can’t tell you how great it is to support your local artists. Summer is a great time to go out and check some local artists doing their thing. You might see the next [insert current performer] and get a chance to see some up-n-coming clothing and artists.
Radiohead is already a tremendously great band and Cee-lo and Danger Mouse adding their own version to this song makes it that much greater. I wish I could find the mp3 version of this.
Brooklyn, New York has been the home of some truly pioneering talents in the realms of hip-hop. The concrete cracked and destroyed but yet still as strong as the culture that deprives throughout Brooklyn to scanning the cityscape of broken windows and brownstone buildings in the distance gleams like the true essence of hip-hop. These are the stomping and birthing grounds of some serious new emcee's. Fresh Daily and Mickey Factz are some of the names stirring quite a buzz not only in NYC, but throughout the hip-hop world. But, amongst this bunch rises a young cat, Nov Ganon, (also from Brooklyn) with the rapid-fire spittery and complex word play of a 21 year-old renaissance. I recently was referred to his Myspace to check out this cat's music, and was impressed by far. The electronic-infused production followed and complimented with the witty lyricism of Nov Ganon proved that this kid will definitely have the originality to stand alone in the music world beyond hip-hop. In the age where music fans are drowned and consumed with PlaySkool keyboard Nintendo-esque beats and kindergarten lyrics speaking of misogyny, jewelry, and drugs, Nov Ganon stands alone as an iconoclast going against the grain of conformity.
Ten years ago, when tattooer Horitaka traveled to Japan and sought out tattoo master Horiyoshi II with hopes of starting a back piece, he had no idea what he was truly beginning. "I wanted him to do my back piece, which is now finally completed, and we just hit it off," Horitaka explains. "If you had told me at that time that I would become an apprentice of his, I would have never believed you. The last 10 years have been magical."
Horitaka, 34, was born in Japan and raised in the United States. Thankfully, his parents taught him Japanese, which helped later in his study of Japanese tattoo culture and traditions. Enamored with tattoos, he started collecting in high school and eventually began tattooing in 1998 before landing his coveted apprenticeship. Now an iconic tattoo artist of his own right, Horitaka is a pioneer in the tattoo industry with eight published books and his own shop, State of Grace, in San Jose, CA . The shop's small, select staff specializes in traditional Japanese tattoo artistry as defined by their master, Horiyoshi II , who designated State of Grace as the only shop in America associated with his name. Horitaka embraces the mentality that tattooing is more than a mark on the body and he likes to think of the art as a philosophy. "We try to express a culture," he says.
The extensive collection of Horitaka's own tattoos almost completes a full bodysuit. "It's hard to say which one means the most to me. I think they all meant something at one time or another, most certainly when I got them. For better or for worse, it is a record of my life." A prominent part of his bodywork that stands out is the back piece inked by Horiyoshi II ; it's an image of the Japanese warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi on horseback, tattooed by both machine and hand.
"I've been fortunate to study with some really amazing people," says Horitaka. He shares that knowledge with his numerous books and involvement with conventions. "I just aim to do my part, things I can be proud of, in trying to protect the industry. For example, I can't stop all the lame-ass, corporate conventions out there, but I can be part of a good one in San Jose." Just don't expect him to have all the answers: "I am still an apprentice of Horiyoshi II and have been for the last 10 years. He's much more than a tattoo teacher to me. He teaches me about life."
Inked Magazine By: Jimmy Im, photos by Jonathon Sprague Date: 07-22-08
So there’s an internal fight between consumerism and being an artist?
Insa: Exactly. My new work, like the sneaker fetish stuff is deliberately trying to address the issue of consumer fetishism and the role of us as buyers and how driven we are to be represented by products. And the relationship between what we want and what we need. I don’t think it’s very healthy.
Isn’t it a tribal thing though –tattoos, trainers etc..
Insa: Yeah definitely. It’s a way of representing who you are through clothes and shoes but I think we’re in such a flooded market where you buy your way into cool. In most sub-cultures you should have to work hard to show you are part of that culture and not just buy into it. It’s like if you can afford to buy “this” pair of trainers then you are instantly cooler than the next guy who didn’t buy the really hot kicks, when no you’re not you’re just an idiot with money, it doesn’t make you any cooler…” (ATM.mag May.2008 issue)
I want to give you all a summer relationship tip. I’m in a long-distance relationship (2 months passed, one more to go). One thing y’all need to be hip to is Skype. Make calls from your computer to any computer in the world free and you can use it to call from computer to phone for incredibly cheep, too. 
