aaaah the kingdom of croydonia, i know it well
You Can Take The Cracker Out Of Croydon is out now. Enjoy
danger, mickey, mighty, rasta.....
It looks like The Mouse Outfit have taken their sound to new places since the superb Escape Music (which is still in regular rotation on my Sennheisers) was let loose upon the masses. The visuals are superb and brings back memories of me salivating over the Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott clips of late Golden Age origins. Enjoy!
so polish it then!!!
The Triple Darkness roster has been amended somewhat but the effect on my neck is still the same. It aches from all the bloody head nodding! I didn't see any album details fellas. I do hope that this is not a one off. Enjoy!
the 1970 team rule but the '82 boys were more entertaining
This is nice, very nice and regardless of my lack of understanding Portuguese any decent head will recognise that there are plenty of syllables on show so dudes got skills.
a masterful display?
For those that don't know, Mastermind is the quiz shows quiz show. Regardless of the case some might put forward for University Challenge, in my view it is the pinnacle of 'Boffindom'. BBC's iPlayer, far from being simply a catch up service, is a haven of undiscovered and quite superb programming. Radio 1Xtra is (like it or not) at the forefront of the UK's mainstream 'Urban' movement. But was putting the three entities together to bring about Hip Hop Mastermind my beloved genres dulling down, or certification of Hip Hops universal mainstream acceptance?
Part of Hip Hops attraction to most of its fans is it's edge. The rebellious "you can't tell me what to do" attitude that, in varying degrees of concentration, permeates every aspect of its existence. It was a way for (most of) us to get rid of our anger and frustration and angst. It was a way to build a connection with friends. It still is all of those things for a huge number of the worlds population. Yet, as much as it brought parts of 'my music' to a larger audience, I couldn't help but feel that something about Hip Hop Mastermind.... something I couldn't quite put my finger on, didn't sit right with me.
bone thugs: foe tha love of $?
$10,000,000 (£6,120,000). Let me write that in words... Ten Million Dollars aka Six
Million One Hundred and Twenty Thousand pounds. That's a very big number. Too big a number for the average person on the street to even contemplate seeing at on a bank statement, let alone spending. Of those of us that are in a position to have that kind of money available, there is a reason you have it and i suspect you'd be loathed to just fritter it away. To those of us to whom spending seven or eight figures is deemed as something of a frivolity or an investment. there aren't many of us about and even less of us that would spend such a vast amount of money on a piece of modern music. So the question is, who exactly are Bone Thugs N Harmony expecting to go the distance for their soon to be final group release, E.1999 Legends?
The obvious comparison to make is with Wu Tang Clans Once Upon A Time In Shaolin project. Both camps are Golden Age legends and their impact on Hip Hop culture simply cannot be overestimated. With their latest plan in mind however, the differences are stark. The gaping chasm in the marketing, concept and handling of the media is there for all to see and you have to question where on the announced arena tour Bone intend to find a single, multi million dollar investor. They no longer enjoy anywhere near the status they were once privy to and I suspect that any record labels looking for a licence to print money will not be applying through their management.
strange bedfellows
I am a huge fan of all things Kashmere and all thngs Zygote. For two such otherworldly Hip Hop entities get together the outcome can only be a thing of strange, eerie beauty. peep the evidence and enjoy!
the wait is over
braz knuckles
Luca Brazi is a ridiculous talent with an equally ridiculous album out now (and it only costs a fiver). Do not sleep on this guy.... at all. Dying Proof is available from all good downloady type places now.
oh he of the sharp tongued persuasion
I love the different approach to Ed's newer offerings and this is no different. If there is an album to come I am most definitely involved. Enjoy!
applegate (aka the great u2 freeness debacle)
A possible 500 Million downloads with 33 million users having already made their presence felt and just over 2 million individual downloads (at the time of writing). Arguably the worlds biggest band's latest release could, theoretically, find its way onto enough iphones, iPads and iPods to cater for the aural guilty pleasures of the entire population of the EU. It could turn out to be a feat of epic proportions, of modern musical wizardry, a remarkable showcase of the Apple marketing machine at work as well as affirmation of U2s global standing, with one gaping flaw. A substantial proportion of those downloads weren't requested in the first place.
In their wisdom infinitum, the marketing geniuses (sarcastic double finger wag on each hand) from both camps have decided that, pre retail release, U2s latest opus, Songs Of Innocence, will be made freely available to any of us mere mortals who happen to hold the 'I gods' in almost as high esteem as the man himself, for a limited time of course. However, rather than putting them at the forefront of media goodwill (a la Mrs Shawn Carter) quite the reverse has happened. And to think, I always thought that U2 were quite cool (I come from Hip Hop stock, forgive me).
full circle
Hello again people, some things never change. it’s painfully obvious that I have left my partner in ©rhyme to fend for himself for quite some time. I guess spreading your wings isn’t always all its cracked up to be. It seems that, although many sites love posting the equivalent of regurgitated tabloid fodder, very few have an opinion on what goes on in and around the industry as a whole. I must big up On The Come Up TV (and Allen Siema) for bucking that trend and giving me another avenue for my thoughts and other like minded sites do exist but an extended hiatus has given me time to re-evaluate my choices. When its all said and done I should never have neglected this blog in the first place. I can post what I want without recourse (to an extent). And I don't just mean Hip Hop. Music these days is all about cross genre collaborations and stepping outside of your comfort zone. It's only appropriate that i follow suit.
We have some great Ideas for this site and without giving anything away, if things go according to plan then hopefully we will be on the radar of a few more heads. We shall see. Aaaaaaah, it feels good to be home!
p e a c e
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