Leimert Park's own Dom Kennedy drops a visual for a LAUSD-produced track off his latest mixtape, FutureStreet/DrugSounds. You may be familiar with BJ the Chicago Kid from his feature on Diz Gibran's Soon You'll Understand. Figured I would include the front and back covers for obvious (read: prurient) reasons. Download link for the tape below.
Arguably this summer's biggest hip-hop tour not named Rock the Bells rolled into Los Angeles this week. Headlined by Lil Wayne with supporting acts Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy and Jeremih, America's Most Wanted Tour definitely seemed like the must-attend for fans of commercial (read: radio-friendly) hip-hop. Taken together or separately, Weezy, Jeezy, Soulja and even the newcomer, Jeremih, have dominated the radio and the Billboard charts so far this year, much to the chagrin of many hip-hop purists.
Arriving at the venue, the Gibson Amphitheatre at the Universal Citywalk, at about 8:30, I missed Soulja and Jeremih. Each had turned in serviceable 10-minute sets, a middle-aged white woman sitting next to me who was celebrating her birthday told me. We were sitting in prime, $180 orchestra seats, with a great view of the stage. About 30 feet in front of us, Young Jeezy was two or three songs into his set. Jeezy's grizzled voice bellowed through the sold-out venue, providing the lyrics to anthem after anthem. Backed by three-piece horn section dressed in black with bandanas covering their faces, Jeezy was on point up until the last minute, when he walked off the stage just as his DJ cued up "My President is Black" (a song whose significance was overlooked at President Obama's inauguration, as I've written before).
After a 20-minute intermission, the man of the night walked on the stage in a black-and-silver L.A. Kings jacket and matching fitted and Adidas. Noticeably absent was Weezy F. Baby's notorious accessory, the plastic cup. With brighly lit big screen showing "Best Rapper Alive" and fireworks set off sporadically on the set, Weezy ran through his considerable catalogue of hits, most of them from last year's multi-platinum selling "Carter III." He didn't need to ask for crowd participation as the "A Milli" beat came on and Wayne shredded it into pieces with his trademark growl and off-color punchlines.
Although Wayne proved he was a bonafide rockstar, even plucking away at an electric guitar at one point, the highlight of the night came when Weezy introduced his proteges, all 10 or so artists affiliated with Young Money Entertainment. Although the absence of the biggest name of them all, Drake, and the vixen Nicki Minaj, was felt, when Wayne brought out Lil Twist, Lil Chuckee, T-Streets, Gudda, Tyga, Mack Maine and Shanell the night took an interesting turn.
Each artist performed a song or two each and more than held his - or her - own. There was something endearing about seeing Lil Wayne, one of hip-hop's biggest stars at the peak of his career, showing off what he believes is the next generation. For a moment, the Weezy on stage wasn't the ink-covered, most-blogged about for his two kids on the way, crazy genius of a rapper. Instead, it was Wayne the budding music executive.
As the night came to a close and Wayne and his troupe - including the newest addition, Omarion - took to the stage for "Every Girl" and a short Michael Jackson tribute, there was a feeling of grandiosity and celebration. The fans, most of whom documented the night with their cameras and phones, were captivated with what they were seeing on stage: a larger-than-life artist who was comfortable with putting others on.
So, first of all, I know I have been MIA for a minute and would like to take a quick minute to address that (in case anyone out there in cyberspace cares)... I recently started a gig at a major label and have been crazy busy trying to learn all the stuff that the gig requires. It's a position in Touring and Artist Development, which is rad, and means that I'll still get to be at a ton of shows, but a lot won't be hip hop. That also means that I'll have to use more discretion with the footage that I do post, but I plan on still putting together some footage for the artists that I have grown to know and love (pause)...
Now, back to business.... Above is a video featuring Jin, former BET Freestyle Friday grand champion and Ruff Ryders recording artist who is now one of the most popular artists in the genre worldwide. The purpose of the video is to show users first hand how to use the one-of-a-kind MyCypher technology to join the global hip hop movement and the world's first global open mic - If you can spit, or just have something to say, get on the mic and say your piece... And, below, is a video of Jin actually testing out the app and spittin' in Cantonese - can you keep up???
MyCypher.com has launched the online Cypher! The site allows users from all over the world to battle in real time online. Kick your freestyle or favorite bars into the interface and your rhyme is posted instantly to the Cypher where the whole world can listen, rate and respond. It's an easy way to get your music out there and find, battle or collaborate with MCs around the world.
You can even spit your verse from your phone after you register it with the application. Check out the tutorial below, along with Jin doing his thing in Cantonese. Register for and use the application here.
Every Friday for the next couple of weeks, we will be releasing a bit of interview and performance footage from the release party that we co-hosted for Nobody Famous'Order Up! Vol.3: Chicken & Waffles album a few weeks back with HiPPNOTT Records, ManUp Management, Stunna Liquor, and Mocha Soul Clothing.
This first installment features Famous and HiPPNOTT founder Kevin Nottingham discussing how they were linked up and the road to the release of this record.
Again, thanks to everyone who came out and to the homey Matt for editing this piece!
I'm really diggin this dude's versatility right now and can't wait to hear his debut! B.o.B.just dropped his video today for the track Put Me On. Check the details I snagged from Shake:
Bobby Ray teamed up with Reebok on a unique reinterpretation of A Tribe Called Quest's classic Bonita Applebum in celebration of the Reebok Classic Remix collection. The track - entitled Put Me On - is available for download exclusively to customers who purchase styles from the Reebok Classic Remix collection, at Foot Locker stores nationwide (or just be a dopeboy).
So, I have been pretty busy during the course of my first few days at a major label, and as such, the blog has been suffering a bit. However, I do have some interesting stuff to relay along in due time...
But, for now, peep the homey El Prez's newest video for the track Floss Angeles featuring the FCC . I had to miss this shoot but heard it was a blast and the preview I saw of the video looks super fly! Here's what Prez had to say about the project when he pushed me the link:
A long time in the making, but well worth the wait, here's the new video from Inglewood CA Rapper, El Prez- "Floss Angeles", featuring Convinced, Dale Danja, DNEZ, Chris Focus, and C-San. It's presented by The FCC(Fresh Coast Collective) and Ek5obition Clothing(ek5obition.com) and directed by Reggie Reagor for DRG Films.
Off his upcoming project, "Animal Style!", a (2)DopeBoyz Presentation in conjunction with IM-King Clothing and more, rapper El Prez is giving people a taste of what LA has to offer with the perfect soundtrack for the summer. Produced by Axel, "Floss Angeles" features fellow FCC rappers Convinced, Dale Danja, DNEZ, Chris Focus, and C-San, who along with El Prez, act as "guides" for these Hip hop tourists...consider it "how to survive in south central" 09!
The homey Nobody Famouspushed this to me a few days ago but I've been pretty crazy with the holiday weekend and starting a new label gig on Monday... This track is from Protonand is called Fuck the Economy. The joint was produced by Atlanta production team SMKAand is the first single off their upcoming The 808 Experiment: Vol 2. Download the track here or stream below...
I know I was beating people over the head with info about this event, and despite a few minor hiccups, it turned out to be for good reason - Nobody Famous and the rest of the performers put on a killer show and the weather couldn't have been better. I ended up stuck behind the bar for a few hours, which was actually a ton of fun, so the homey Marcus Fort handled the footy for me - Many thanks! Here is a short recap video featuring performers Wax, El Prez, Jarell Perry, and Dasha that I cut together - the song in the video is the intro to Famous' new album called Electric and featuring Dasha and Jarell Perry. I think this song is a smash!
Thanks to everyone who came out, and keep a look out for more footage coming soon on MyCypher.com.
