As part of AllHipHop’s goal to bring the fans closer to the artists, region by region, they are launching campaigns city by city to bring out as many artists in that specific region or city as we can to get exclusive content that no other website could bring you.
AllHipHop’s Dallas Red Carpet Welcoming Event featured guest appearances from Big Chief, Big Tuck, Bone, (Def Jam), B Hamp, Dorrough, Fat B, DJ Mike “5000” Watts, Play-N-Skillz, Treal Lee and Prince Rick (Mr. Collipark’s new artists), Slim Thug, Trae the Truth, Tum Tum, Young Black and their Texas Breeding Ground Artists Big Hud, Double A and Thugged Out. Most importantly they brought everyone out as planned, and kept the peace.
A few years ago, Brooklyn native and Kanye West collaborator, Talib Kweli did a brief stint on tour in China. Accompanying him were an eclectic band of heathens who’s engraving on the plate of their 2 Grammys reads, “Ozomatli.” As close quarters living oft goes, that mangle of musical madness sparked a friendship which has culminated into the battle of beats before me, better know as Red Bull’s Sound Clash.
The School of Seven Bells’ Ben Curtis said it best when rattling off a list of inspirations: in so many words, Silver Apples was the band that was doing some of the most progressive and radical things in music, and decades ahead of bands that pride themselves on being so ingenuous nowadays. They were one of those groups that successfully wove together elements of hippie, flower-power music, psychedelia, Moody Blues-esque, symphonic prog-rock.
And just to throw you off, there’s some random samples from commercials and shows and dead phone lines as well thrown into that mix, if for no other reason than to simply drive you mad and confirm with absolute certainty that there has never been, and will never be, a band like Silver Apples. As the group’s sole composer, New Orleans-born Simeon Coxe III says, “They didn’t have any synthesizers, so I had to make one.”
He did — mostly out of spare parts laying around, McGuyver-style.He’s worth checking out now on Red Bull Music Academy Radio, if only to hear reminisce on the days before there were Ensoniqs or Korg Workstations and this guy had to build it out of nothing. Coxe eventually picked up and moved to the NYC. And after witnessing Dave Bartholemew and Fats Domino live in concert at the tender young age of 15, Coxe was For English buffs like me, haha, the band’s name is based on The Song of the Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats.
When you are one of the first bands to play a 3 day festival, like Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, you have to have something unique to win thin crowd over to your stage. Luckily for the Russian Band, Debauche, who launched the Bingo! stage @ 10:45 am Friday, they thought ahead and brought a few burlesque girls to entertain. The atmosphere was appropriately very French Quarter meets Comrades meets the bright light of day.
This week I learned a new word to add to my (already impressive) vocabulary: smang (smash + bang). Where did I learn such a wonderful word, you ask? From this, so horrendous it’s amazing song / video. Just sit back and let it happen…
They are known as the “photo inept”, identified by the lack of quality images on their blogs/Facebook/Twitpics. iPhone’s Hipstamatic – as well as any simple photo-editing tool – is their best friend. They try to pass off head-chopping as “intentional” and red eyes as “arty”. Beautiful images are a happy accident, akin to winning on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
But novices rejoice – you can hone your skills at the Levi’s Photo Workshop, running now through December 18th. Not just for the individual who salivates over a 1920s Leica Compur, the temporary community space in Manhattan’s Soho is hosting an array of exhibition openings, parties, lectures and educational workshops centered on photography. Vintage cameras, a professional photo studio, and a variety of photo printers (like my fave, the t-shirt screening Zazzle Apparel Printer) are all available for use by pros and amateurs alike – the space is open to everyone. Bumbling photogs, don’t stress – workshop employees are there to help with your gear, set-up, and printing.
So last week was the CMJ Music Marathon (more commonly known as just “CMJ”) here in the NYSheezy. Established in 1980, CMJ (“College Music Journal”) is an annual, week long music festival held in various venues throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn for selected artists and bands to, essentially showcase their material for industry people, particular those with a focus in the college markets.
The Red Bull Space was the talk of the town on Thursday night with the invite only Cut Chemist album release party for Sound of the Police with special guests DJ Spinna, Telephoned and Jasmine Solano. Cut Chemist was solid and did not disappoint although I have to say, Jasmine Solano was the highlight for me personally. She’s remarkably talented; has such a great energy on stage; plus the fact that she hosts a monthly party called “Electric Punanny” is rather punchy (and awesome).
“I wanna be relatable to the average person instead of trying to be the superhero rapper with a cape,” says up-and-coming rhymer Moe Green from his home in Vallejo, California.
Green (a.k.a. Gregory Carter) admits that his raps used to be all about the get-money lifestyle, but his perspective now as a twenty-something has noticeably broadened. On his recently released debut, Rocky Mavia: Non Title Match, this MC raps precisely about the random facets of his life not so much as a storyteller but as a line-for-line lyrical technician.
Prior to my visit to the “Original Vintage Fashion Expo”, now in its 22nd year and counting, should I be ashamed to quip that I could not have told my Pucci from my Gucci? Or be stunned by the fact that my favorite plastic, polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, had a wicked street following under the jewelry moniker Bakelite? Nah. But amazed was I that some of you lovely women would drop $7,500 on a bag made of goats, as long as it carried a tag reading- Louis Vuitton: Suhali L’ Extravagant . OMfG!
