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Monthly Archives: March 2007
Hieroglyphics kicks off ten-year anniversary with comp, tour
It’s been a decade since the Hieroglyphics crew, quickly recovering from a series of failed major label deals, regrouped to form one of the most lasting and influential imprints in hip-hop. You can’t talk about the West Coast without mentioning Hiero and its crew of ace MCs — Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief (A-Plus, Phesto, Opio and Tajai), Casual and Pep Love. (And you can’t forget producer and label manager Domino, either.)
To celebrate 10 years in the game, the mighty Hiero family have lined up a series of special projects. First comes Over Time, a compilation of B-sides and rarities. It actually dropped last Tues., March 20. Next up comes a spring jaunt featuring Souls of Mischief. The quartet will hit several East Coast and Canadian cities, wind through spring music festivals such as Signal Fest and A3C 2007, and pair up with underground vets Zeph & Azeem and Icon the Mic King, and Bukue One on select dates.
A-Plus will drop his solo debut My Last Good Deed on May 1. Finally, this may be the year when we finally get a new Del album.
El-P launches world tour
March 2007 belongs to El-P. Whether it’s for getting into that silly beef with Rawkus, drawing rapturous acclaim for his brilliant I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, or debuting his Abu Ghraib-inspired video for "Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)" on the New York Times website, El Producto has been all up in the national conversation.
If you get El-P’s MySpace bulletins, then you must have turned green with envy from reading tales of sold-out shows in New York, Austin, Miami and San Francisco. "Well god damn. every show sold out. every show off the motherfucking charts. sf burned to the floor boards last night. sold out crowd on a sunday night. something is happening here, and it feels good," he wrote on a recent post.
But after a quick trip to Europe, he’ll return to North America for an extensive tour. He toured for nearly a year and a half in support of 2002’s Fantastic Damage, so it’s certain that everyone who wants to see him will get their chance. No word on who will support him as a show opener, but Aesop Rock held him down on recent dates.
Sage Francis prepares for cross-country assault
Last week, Rhode Island warrior-poet Sage Francis announced the itinerary for his national tour supporting Human the Death Dance. To liven things up, he’s assembled a proper band that includes Anticon rapper/producer Alias on synthesizers and MPC, guitarist Tom Inhaler and multi-instrumentalist Dilly Dally.
Better yet Buck 65 will be one of the tour’s opening acts. Much like Sage Francis, the Montreal rapper apprenticed with Anticon earlier in the decade. He has since evolved into a strange Tom Waits-like storyteller with a huge cult following, even though most of his work is only available in this country on import. Spoken word poet Buddy Wakefield fills out the bill.
Human the Death Dance, as previously noted, drops May 8 on Anti-/Epitaph. Sage has prepared a few appetizers: he created a short video for the track "Clickety Clak"; the YouTube clip is below. He’ll also make a few in-store appearances around the time the album is released, then wage a full-scale assault later in the month.
Kid Koala travels to U.S.
Heads up, DJ fans: Canadian mixologist Kid Koala is returning to America for the second leg of his tour promoting 2006’s Your Mom’s Favorite DJ. More specifically, he’s headed down to the South, Midwest and other "secondary markets" so all the kids who have never seen him can watch him crab scratch Charlie Brown records.
Although it’s only a 13-city tour, Kid Koala is taking his sweet time, spreading out the concerts over a month. That won’t earn any comparisons to road warriors like Rhymesayers, but it should allow him to return to Montreal every week to draw more cartoons.
Consequence offers refund for new album
Haven’t we seen this before? Last year, Rhymefest responded to snarky remarks about his underperforming debut, Blue Collar, by posting a compelling essay about SoundScan sales and their irrelevance when it comes to good music. (Unfortunately, the memorable essay has since been removed from his MySpace page.) He has since stepped his game up by seeking out unlikely-but-platinum-certified producers like Lil Jon for his forthcoming follow up, El Che.
Now Consequence is trying to do the same thing. Last week his decade-in-the-making debut, Don’t Quit Your Day Job, bricked by selling a measly 7,490 units and htting no. 113 on the Billboard album charts. (In comparison, Blue Collar sold around 15,000 copies and reached no. 61.) In subsequent interviews, he has offered to give fans a refund if they can’t find a song they like on Don’t Quit Your Day Job. He then directed people to his MySpace page for further details.
I visited Consequence’s MySpace page, and all I could find was a bunch of YouTube videos and a message board stuffed with spam. Where’s the refund information? I want my money back for that wack-ass album cover.
Review: Evidence, “The Weatherman”
The LA rapper-producer from Dilated Peoples crafts a surprisingly solid debut, thanks to a key assist from longtime homie and co-executive producer the Alchemist. Continue reading
KRS-One and MC Shan announce “Hip-Hop Lives”
Over a year after the announcement, KRS-One and Marley Marl have set a release date for their historic collaboration. According to an Allhiphop.com news item, Hip-Hop Lives will drop via Koch Records on May 22.
Hip-Hop Lives marks a coda to a legendary beef between one of hip-hop’s greatest MCs and one of its greatest producers. With beats by Marley Marl, who had just made his mark with Roxanne Shante’s "Roxanne’s Revenge," MC Shan released his seminal "The Bridge" in 1986 as a tribute to the two’s Queens hometown. KRS-One, then a fledgling MC in Boogie Down Productions with the late Scott La Rock, answered with "South Bronx." The two went back and forth — MC Shan dropped "Kill That Noise," and KRS-One put out "The Bridge Is Over," one of the greatest dis songs of all time. The two camps have long since patched up their differences.
Review: J Dilla, “Ruff Draft”
Ruff Draft is the first of what will undoubtedly be several reissues, retrospectives and compendiums of posthumous material by the illustrious late producer James “J Dilla” Yancey. Continue reading
Traffic Entertainment reissues Strong City catalog
Crate diggers rejoice! Afrika Bambaataa’s onetime right-hand man the Original Jazzy Jay is teaming with Boston distributor Traffic Entertainment to reissue the entire Strong City Records catalog.
For hip-hop nerds, Strong City is one of the primary yet unsung labels behind the mid-80s East Coast renaissance, a crucial period in rap’s development as a viable music form. Classic Strong City titles include Masters of Ceremony’s (Grand Puba’s pre-Brand Nubian group) Dynamite (later issued on 4th and B’way), Busy Bee’s "Suicide" and (Diamond D’s first group) Ultimate Force’s "I’m Not Playing" (subsequently issued on Uni).
The jewel of the crown is Ultimate Force’s only album, I’m Not Playing. Never before released, it will come with an extra disc of acapellas and instrumentals for all you Serato jocks.
Posted in News
Tagged Original Jazzy Jay, Strong City Records, Traffic Entertainment
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Nas tours North America
Last fall, when the music industry’s systemic problems finally came home to roost in the form of catastrophic album sales and weak, uneven albums, Nas’s Hip-Hop is Dead was a small glimmer of sunshine. Unlike Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, the album didn’t trumpet its values through heavy-handed advertising campaigns and glossy singles. It was dense and complex, full of conflicting emotions left open to interpretation. And in the end, the audience responded positively, proving that hip-hop culture isn’t a junkyard for pop culture (as some contend), but an art form capable of insights as profound as any other.
Next month, Nas is taking his revival act on the road. It’s called the "One Man, One Mic, One Night" tour, and kicks off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 31. Tour dates are below.
Columbia Pictures shuts down Mistah F.A.B.’s ghost ride
Anyone who saw Mistah F.A.B.’s video for "Ghost Ride It" could see that it would attract trouble. I mean, dude was driving around in a Delorean, just like Bill Murray and crew in the movie Ghostbusters. And the car was outfitted with a logo eerily similar to the Ghostbusters logo.
Well, on March 12, according to a press release issued by Mistah F.A.B.’s publicist, Columbia Pictures demanded the video be pulled from MTV (which frequently showed it on MTV Jams) as well as other television and Internet properties. According to the press release, the video drew 600,000 views on YouTube before the cease-and-desist action.
Subtle journeys with TV on the Radio
It’s been a week since I’ve updated Plug One with a news item. That’s what happens when the real world steps in. As a mostly one-man operation, I try to keep things popping on a semi-regular basis. Sometimes that doesn’t happen.
Coincidentally, I pretty much missed the boat on Subtle’s artistic success with Astralwerks. The group’s major label bow, For Hero: For Fool was one of last year’s most acclaimed albums, and they’ve toured behind it for several months now. Still, this is the first time I’ve posted about this project. Even their dates opening for the equally indescribable TV on the Radio already kicked off last month. I’d like my late pass now!
Pigeon John does North America
As a welcome addition to the Quannum family, LA rap vet Pigeon John seemed poised for great things last year. But too few took the time to spin his solid platter, Pigeon John and the Summertime Pool Party. Too bad, as it was one of the brighter spots last fall. Jay-Z’s got nothing on this guy.
Those unexposed to the talents of Pigeon John will have ample opportunity this spring. He will roam all around North America. He’s playing with hip-hop bands, he’s playing with indie-rock bands and he’s performing at a few Christian music festivals. He’s even hitting a few towns twice. Clearly, he wants to rap/sing a song for you.
if you haven’t seen Pigeon John perform, you’re missing out on a rousing experience. The guy, to use a phrase oft-associated with Rakim, can reach your grandmother. And bring the kids along…he does a profanity-free show!
Introducing Def Jux prospect Despot
If you don’t follow Definitive Jux closely, you may have missed the news that a new artist, Despot, joined the label last year. (I sure did.) For the past year, he has worked on his debut recordings for one of the biggest underground rap labels.
At some point he’s scheduled to release an EP, Hooray for Me, later this year. In the meantime, he’s dropped two singles, "Crap Artists" and "Homesickness," and a track for the recent Definitive Swim ("Get Rich or Try Dying").
You can get familiar with Despot when he hits the road with New York rhythm duo Ratatat. For those who don’t know, Ratatat is strictly guitars and drum machines. Decent stuff. The tour begins in mid-March and lasts through early April.
Review: Ta’Raach, “The Fevers”
Formerly known as Lacks, producer/emcee Ta’Raach has studied with Slum Village and other Detroit deli-ticians. His new album, The Fevers, maintains the hip-hop slanguage pioneered by J-Dilla. Continue reading