SOULJA BOY’S NEW LAMBORGHINI CHAIN

Probably the stupidest thing ive seen on the net all day...
Money to waste...
And he wonders why people try to rob him...

Video: Slum Village Pay Tribute to Baatin

At Rock The Bells show yesterday, the remaining members of Slum village paid respect to Baatin. R.I.P.

Complex Presents: The Complete History Of Dead Rap Magazines

Before it was all about blogs, we used to religiously buy our favourite magazines every month to get all the latest news, reviews and features. Complex looks back at the hip-hop publications that are no longer with us...good to see they included a bunch of UK mags in their piece. Spotted over at Fat Lace.

Ghostface Killah-Michael Jackson Tribute @ Nokia Theater NYC 7/30/09

Ghostface paying homage to the legend that is Michael Jackson.
I wanted to see Ghost doing the moon walk tho!!

ABUZELONDON.COM

Abuze London is a clothing company that you should definitely be paying attention to. Their clothes are dope, original, as well as being well priced.

CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE HERE:

NAS - FILM (PRODUCED BY C-SICK

On April 11 Red Bull Big Tune made the leap from bass pumping clubs to the living rooms of 340,000 music fans during its American television debut on the BET network. The 30-minute TV show chronicled the adventures of 16 up-and-coming music producers as they embark on the final battle to determine once and for all who has ‘the big tune’ and who will walk away with the coveted title of Red Bull Big Tune Champion and a chance to collaborate with a well-known recording artist in Red Bull Studios.

When the final battle ended the crowd determined that the producer with ‘the big tune’ and the ultimate winner of the competition was 17-year-old Charles ‘C-Sick’ Dumazer of Chicago, Ill. In the time immediately following the final battle, C-Sick had a lot to contemplate. Who would he select to work with in the studio? After some deliberation he selected Def Jam recording artist Nas, one of hip-hop’s most profound lyrical poets. Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic, which many consider to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. His upcoming tour and album with Damian Marley has many on the edge of their seats.

NAS - FILM - DOWNLOAD HERE

VIDEO - JOELL ORTIZ - FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Nice concept for the video.

Raekwon Talks Caribana + House Of Flying Daggers

Raekwon is one busy man, doing promo all over the world. Check out this interview when he was recently in Canada. Only Built For Cuban Linx PT2 drops September 8th. I ve heard the entire album and let me tell you its gonna be one of the best albums to drop this year. Go out and support that!!

GHOSTFACE INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA YEE

DJ MK & SHORTEE BLITZ INTERVIEW

TAKEN FROM HIPHOPCHRONICLE, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT HIS SITE.

I caught up with DJ Shortee Blitz & DJ MK recently at the Kiss studios in Central London.

Firstly it was a pleasure and an honour to be able to sit down and interview these guys because Im a big fan of their work and what they have done for the culture.

In this two part interview I speak to Shortee & MK about the DJ’s status in Hip Hop. I speak to them about the impact on technology on the DJ craft which brought out a fantastic quotable from MK.

We also discuss the statement that the “bloggers are the new DJ’s”.

They give their view as to why few DJ’s now mix live.

I also ask MK why there’s a lack of mixtape DJ’s in the UK in compared to the States.

Shortee, MK & DJ Harry Love also school me on the creation of the Extended Players Family and The Funhouse (which you can now watch live Mon-Thurs 10pm-1am on ustream.com/tv/thefunhouse).

Catch DJ Shortee Blitz & DJ MK on Kiss (totalkiss.com) every Sunday nights on the Hip Hop show (trust me, they got some REAL Hip Hop on there).

DJ Shortee Blitz & DJ MK Interview Part 1



DJ Shortee Blitx & DJ MK Interview Part 2

R.I.P. Baatin Of Slum Village

DIZZEE RASCAL - TONGUE N CHEEK - ALBUM REVIEW

So a few days ago i went down to the Dirtee Stank HQ to be played the new Dizzee Rascal album, 'Tongue N Cheek'. Cage, Dizz's manager, played me the entire album from start to finish. So what was the album like? Is it possible that Dizz could smash it yet again with album number 4?

I'm a big Dizz fan and i wanted this album to be good, but i've known so many talented artists go from good to bad overnight, and theres nothing worse then sitting in a studio being played an artist's album pretending that you like it (optional fake head nodding).

The final track listing should be that of the one below, but it may change. There are 10 joints on this album. In the 70's and 80's, all the classic albums that came out were only 10 tracks long. Then once we stepped into the 90's, with the advent of CD's and double vinyl, the average tracks per album became around 17. Putting 10 tracks on your album is a bold statement. That's confidence. That's basically saying your album is the sh*t, and you don't need more then 10 tracks as they are all hot.

Here's the breakdown:

BONKERS

Needs no introduction. Dizzee's biggest tune to date. Smash.

ROAD RAGE

This track was actually recorded before the 'Road rage' incident you may of seen in the newspapers a few months back, in wake of an earlier incident when a police car crashed into his mini cooper, a few days after he passed his test!! The beat on this is too sick. Uptempo, Baltimore style...Aaron Lacrate (who produced this) definitely came through with a bass-heavy banger. Lyrically, Dizz flows perfectly on this track as he breaks down the joys of driving..."Beep beep, Coming through, move over, yeah YOU". Sounding good so far.

DANCE WIV ME

Another track that needs no introduction. This is the joint that put Dizz firmly into the pop mainstream. Catchy as hell, perfect for the summer, and who ever thought that the combo of Calvin Harris and Mr Rascal would be so dope. This got to number one for how long??? 6 weeks, something like that...Craziness...
I remember we performed this track at a festival in Belgium last year, just as it got to number 1. We bumped into Mike Skinner from the streets. Mike was trying to get Dizz to come out and party after the show, but Dizz explained we all had a early flight the next day. Mike goes "Come on man, you're only gonna get one number 1 in your career. Enjoy it while it lasts, and come out and party". Dizz looked at him right in his eyes and said "Are you mad, this ain't gonna be my only number 1". He was right.

FREAKY FREAKY

One about the ladies, over a nice smooth head nodding beat. Wow alot of different girls names are mentioned on this track, wonder if it's their real names? This track follows up nicely from dance wiv me, as we see the cheeky side of Dizz. "Naughty, but nice" as he would say. From what I remember Cage is on production duties on this one. Cage is a genius on production. One of the few producers in this country to have their own style and sound on lock, and he came through on this one. Another one for the tick box!

CANT TEK NO MORE

One of my favourite cuts on the album. He killed this one right here. Lyrically, this is amazing as Dizz gets political, and addresses the social evils of life today. Shy FX murked the production, and no this is not a drum n bass track, think more Hip Hop with a Reggae twist. The 1980 classic film 'Babylon' was the base for the samples on this cut, and to be honest I was happily surprised at how good this track turned out. Its refreshing as well to see Dizzee speaking about issues such as this, which shows that he cant be categorized. Another smash.

CHILLIN WIV DA MAN DEM

Track 6. Normally at this point, this is where most albums start to get a bit boring, but in the case of 'Tongue N Cheek' it gets better and better. Chillin wit da man dem is exactly that, a track about chillin with your mates. One of those days when your with your friends, it's summer time, the PlayStation is on and nobody has a care in the world. Laid back, catchy as hell beat. Good vibes all around, perfect for driving around in the summer time.

DIRTEE CASH

When the original Dirtee Cash by Stevie V came out when I was a kid, I hated that record, so when i heard that this was the sample on this track I was dubious. I was wrong. The sample on this actually works really well. A song about the recession that you can dance to is a good description. If you've been to see Dizz live recently you probably would of seen him perform this one. Another win.

MONEY MONEY MONEY

This is another one of my favourite cuts on 'Tongue N Cheek'. Dizzee goes in and kills it on this one, and shows why he's the best all round MC in the UK in 2009. This is a 'Tongue N Cheek' celebration of the joys of living large.
"I ain't Beckham, but you know I got the game plan...Dylan Mills or Dizzee Rascal, it's all the same man, still a name brand, and I ain't no part of no chain gang, call me Lewis Hamilton I got my own lane man, speeding down the motorway, my cars never been towed away, traffic wardens take my autograph, then walk away". The flow on this is ridiculous.
Dizzee also introduces us to a new word for the Hip Hop dictionary, "Anyhoo".

LEISURE

Wow. Another smash. Dizz gets controversial and talks about the meaning of "keeping it real" over a monster of a beat. Dizzee tells it like it is, “cos there’s no unity or honour among thieves and that’s a fact”, attacking self-defeating ghetto mentalities. Hip Hop at its finest, I love this.

HOLIDAY

The new smash, and hopefully his 3rd number one. A feel good record for the summer, which sees Dizzee hooking up again with Calvin Harris, and yet again the combo works. For me this is a classic pop record. It makes people smile and dance, whilst having the perfect balance of being a good record whilst being a little cheesy at the same time. This is the last cut on the album, which ends on a high.


THE ROUND UP

I didn't think Dizzee could top Maths + English, but after listening to this it seems that he has. This album is perfectly well rounded, keeping both the older fans happy as well as the new ones. The 3 tracks that we've already heard (Dance Wiv Me/Bonkers/Holiday) are definitely the most commercial stuff on the album and everything else is raw Hip Hop with a twist. What sets this album apart from others is the ability of Dizzee to kill it over such a wide range of sick beats, and being himself, at the same time of being different and breaking the mold. There are no fillers on this album, and come to think of it, there isn't a track on this album that is weak. Tongue N Cheek is a feel good album, which will have you dancing, head nodding, and thinking all at the same time. Big up Dizzee....another Classic!!!