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Yearly Archives: 2007
Review: Dälek, “Deadverse Massive Vol. 1”
New Jersey duo Dälek collects several years of industrial experiments and metallic hip-hop into Deadverse Massive vol. 1, a rarities disc with some appeal for the casual listener. Continue reading
Hiero Imperium builds fall slate
Hieroglyphics is a famously close-knit crew. Its members — Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief and Casual — first united when they attended high school in the late 80s, and it’s been on ever since. Domino mentored them as they built their careers, and in 1997 they added Pep Love to the lineup. A decade later, the group remains unchanged.
Their record label, Hiero Imperium, has occasionally released albums by artists that aren’t Hiero crew. They released former Stones Throw homie Encore’s second album Layover in 2004; and Yay Area weirdo Z-Man’s Dope or Dog Food that same year. This year, however, will mark Hiero’s busiest year in regards to recruiting outside talent.
At the top of the list is Musab. Often credited as the man who helped build Rhymesayers (his 1996 debut album as Beyond, Comparison, was the first Rhymesayers album with national distribution), the Minneapolis veteran has evolved from a street-savvy backpacker to a game-spitting pimp. Literally. His third album, The Slicks Box, drops August 14.
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Tagged A Band Called Pain, Del the Funky Homosapien, Hiero Imperium, Knobody, Musab, Prince Ali
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MF Doom plays a few shows
Two years ago, MF Doom was everywhere. He was still basking in the success of his Madvillain classic with Madlib, and had released one of the year’s biggest albums, the Danger Doom banger with Danger Mouse. His early work for Fondle ‘Em sold on Ebay for hundreds of dollars.
Since then, save for the odd guest appearance (he recently produced a track for Hell Razah’s well-received Renaissance Child), the prolific Daniel Dumile has mostly disappeared from view. Dude may be a little eccentric, but he’s a savvy businessman, cutting off the product just when he was in danger of being overexposed. Now, instead of thinking "Dang, another Doom album?", heads are eagerly waiting the man’s next epic. When will Madvillain 2 come out? When will Def Jam finally allow Nature Sounds to put out Swift and Changeable, his album with Ghostface?
On July 24, MF Doom will re-issue his 2004 Rhymesayers album Mm…Food as an expanded CD/DVD package. Imaginatively wrapped in aluminum packaging like a candy bar, it includes a tour DVD, a sticker and a poster. New York zine Impose is also issuing a limited-edition 7-inch of Metal Fingers instrumental material. Finally, Doom is making a brief trip across the States. He’ll mostly stick to major markets, and half of the dates are on the Rock the Bells tour. Hopefull all of these scraps are just mere appetizers for a full course meal in 2008. How’s that for food metaphors? Tour dates are below.
Guru presents live Jazzmatazz
Let’s face it: Guru’s new Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 can’t compare to the original Jazzmatazz, one of the best albums to emerge from the acid jazz movement. And no matter how many times he claims it, his new collaborator DJ Solar will never measure up to DJ Premier, one of the greatest beatmakers ever.
But so what? Although not as popular as his early 90s heyday, the voice behind the mighty Gang Starr deserves to do his thing. It’s no smear on his reputation, which is secure. I’m not a huge fan of Jazzmatazz, but I’m always interested in what he has to say. Undoubtedly, thousands of others are, too.
Originally set to land in May, Guru’s Jazzmatazz presents The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Black to the Future drops via 7 Grand Records on July 31. Guests who pay homage include Raheem DeVaughn, Bobby Valentino, Caron Wheeler, David Sanborn, Common, Bob James, Damien Marley, Vivian Green, Blackalicious, KEM and others. Guru and Solar will hit the road to promote it, hitting theaters across this great land. Tour dates, along with a video for the first single w/Common, "State of Clarity," are below.
Strong Arm Steady get “Deep Hearted”
This year has seen a lot of onetime major label heatseekers, onetime prospects who rose from the lowly world of underground rap to tastemaker articles in XXL, resign themselves to dropping indie albums under vastly reduced expectations. Hip-hop acts (nor anyone else, for that matter) usually won’t admit that they’ve been dropped; they’d much rather assert that they left a label of their own volition. (Yeah, right!) Still, what to make of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Consequence, Raekwon and now Strong Arm Steady dropping albums on indie labels? What happened to the major movement each promised?
To be accurate, Strong Arm Steady is still on Blacksmith/Warner Bros., and are working on a major label debut for 2008. Perhaps I make an ass out of u and me when I assume that the West Coasters won’t ever get that title shot, especially since Blacksmith head Talib Kweli is in a career-defining battle to get his Eardrum out — once scheduled for July 31, it got pushed back to August 21.
But hey, let’s be positive. Strong Arm Steady’s Deep Hearted looks like a beautiful thing. Scheduled for release via Nature Sounds on August 28, the disc features guest shots from the Game, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Chamillionaire, Juvenile, Planet Asia, tha Liks and a gang of other rappers. Production is handled by DJ Babu, Madlib, DJ Khalil and others. But the spotlight is on Mitchy Slick, Phil the Agony and Krondon, three L.A. MCs who have been slugging it out since the mid-to-late 90s. Talk about patiently waiting! The track listing, along with a YouTube video for their single "One Step," are below.
The Roots work on new album, tour
Last month, Questlove of the Roots told Allhiphop.com that the band is working on its 10th full-length album, tentatively called Rising Down.
"We’re trying to make number ten as exciting as number one was, as exciting as number five was," he said. "I’m amped that not many groups get ten opportunities to make a statement. Not even Hip-Hop, just period. You can’t even count ten records from the same group, that much, maybe on a few fingers. We’re very fortunate, and happy, and we are definitely pushing our envelope again."
It’s great to read that the Roots continue to work on an album-every-two-years schedule, especially since 2006’s Game Theory was excellent. But their main role has always been as hip-hop’s certified road warriors that annually play 100+ concerts around the world. After wrapping up a summer jaunt in Europe, they’ll return to the U.S. under the auspices of thirtysomething entertainment/celebreality channel VH-1.
This particular package is called the VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors Tour, named after the channel’s hall of fame blowout. For those who have seen the band play countless times (like, uh, me), old school legends MC Lyte and Big Daddy Kane will bring some new flavor. Expect plenty of breakbeats and thousand-strong singalongs to "Ain’t No Half Steppin’." The tour is part of a U.S. journey that winds through several late summer festivals, and dates are below.
Little Brother gets back “Getback”
Somewhere in the midst of a typical MySpace "Tigallo" rant about the NAACP’s mock funeral of the N-word, Little Brother figurehead Phonte Coleman managed to share news on the group’s third album, Getback. He writes that it’s scheduled to drop September 25 on ABB Records.
"Anyway, for all the people who’s been askin, "Getback" is droppin 9/25 on ABB Records, and don’t worry, me and Pooh gon be sayin ‘nigga’ all thew that shit," he writes.
Unlike 2005’s The Minstrel Show, the new Little Brother epic will not be released via Atlantic, since the group and the label parted ways earlier this year. More updates soon.
Mumbles returns with “Transformations/Illuminations”
It’s been nine years since Matthew "Mumbles" Fowler (not to be confused with Mums the Word) paired with the great West Coast lyricist Aceyalone to create A Book of Human Language, one of the best albums of the late 90s independent era. Despite the acclaim it earned from the press, he chose to disappear into a long spiritual journey. He studied with the Indian spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and traveled to India, deepening his commitment to Hinduism.
The result of his travels is Transformations/Illuminations. Set for release on August 28 through Sound In Color, it reunites him with Aceyalone for three tracks. (In related news, Aceyalone is dropping his new album, Lightning Strikes, via Project Blowed on August 14.) The guest list for Transformations is an eclectic one, ranging from his father and uncle the Fowler Brothers; to labelmate and rapper Blu; to DJs Cut Chemist and Marvski; and Brazilian jazz singer Flora Purim. The sounds, inspired by Indian music and jazz, are more authentic than any of Timbaland’s kitsch. The track listing is below.
Embedded gets Iller Than Theirs
Brooklyn imprint Embedded Records — the small imprint owned by Definitive Jux label manager and DJ/producer Ese — comes back to life with a slate of fall releases after a year-plus silence marked by the occasional 12-inch single and/or EP and Loer Velocity’s Ready for a Renaissance.
First up is Iller Than Theirs. Due on September 18, Tone Tank and Krayo’s self-titled debut was produced by J. Howells Werthman, and features guest shots from Masta Ace and Cool Calm Pete. "Iller Than Theirs is a reaction to all things bloated & phony, boring & corporate, fancy & fashioned, dead & robotic. It is a barroom brawl of a record, honestly eccentric, wildly colored and just a little bit ILLER than the rest of y’all," reads a press release for the album. That sounds more evocative than anything I could come up with.
Junk Science, who’ve been making trips up and down the East Coast for a minute now, are equally dedicated to sparking barroom brawls. Their new album, Grandad’s Nerve Tonic, is scheduled to hit in October. Look for more projects from the Nuclear Family, too, including an album from Scott Thorough and a crew sampler. But first, the Iller Than Theirs track list, which you’ll find below.
Z-Trip goes “All Pro” on tour
By now, it’s well established that Z-Trip is the modern progenitor of the mashup, thanks to his groundbreaking 2001 mix CD with DJ P, Uneasy Listening. But you’d be surprised how few of the Music for Robots crowd that jock Diplo, Danger Mouse, Girl Talk, Donna Summer, et al give him props.
Oh well. Z-Trip’s got plenty of fans anyway, especially on the West Coast. He’s got a whopping 400,000 friends on MySpace — top that, Greg Gillis! And he’s got a new project, too. It’s his first since 2005’s Shifting Gears, and it’s for a video game, the forthcoming All-Pro Football 2K8. Z-Trip’s All Pro features guest shots from Chali 2na, Rakim, Aceyalone, Gift of Gab, Slug, dead prez and many others. Highlights include a revisit of Rakim’s "Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em" and a remix of Rush’s "Tom Sawyer," a prime cut for turntablists back in the day.
Z-Trip’s All Pro comes out July 31 on Decon Records. He’s also heading on the road to promote the CD: tour dates and track listing are below.
Jneiro Jarel introduces Shape of Broad Minds
After much MySpace hype, hard-working New York producer-rapper Omar Gilyard is debuting his latest creation: Shape of Broad Minds. The man known as Jneiro Jarel has assembled a supporting cast that includes Atlanta rapper Panama Black, Houston multi-instrumentalist Jawwaad and, schizophrenically, a few alternate Jneiro personalities named Rocque Wun and Dr. Who Dat.
The group’s first release is The Blue Experience EP, a teaser that hits July 17 and features the lead single "Let’s Go" with MF Doom. After that comes Craft of the Lost Art, a long player featuring guest appearances from Count Bass D, Lil Sci, Stacy Epps and Deborah Jordan. It arrives via Lex Records on September 4, and the track listing is below.
"It’s basically Jneiro Jarel plus," he told the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this year. "When you have one name, people expect whatever they’ve heard from you in the past. But if you go by these different aliases, they know to expect [different styles] from you."
Duck Down prepares for major revival
Nearly fifteen years after its launch Duck Down Recordings, the storied NY imprint founded by industry executive Dru Ha and Black Moon leader Buckshot, is poised to experience its biggest success since the days of Dah Shinin and "Leflah."
Duck Down has recruited Koch as its distributor for several upcoming projects. The first will be Casualties of War, a collection of outtakes from Boot Camp Clik’s 2006 album The Last Stand and tracks spotlighting the label’s roster. It’s scheduled to drop on August 14.
Rumors have swirled for months that Sean Price, one-half of Heltah Skeltah and the hero behind this year’s underground hit Jesus Price Supastar, will soon sign with Def Jam. While that has yet to pass, Price is preparing a mixtape, Master P, for release on July 24. He has also begun work on a new album tentatively titled Mic Tyson, and has formed a supergroup with Detroit rapper (and Stones Throw artist) Guilty Simpson and rapper/producer Black Milk. The trio hopes to drop an album before the end of the year.
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Tagged Boot Camp Clik, Buckshot, Duck Down, Sean Price, Special Teamz
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Now-Again compiles “Re:Sounds”
Now-Again Records is the quiet little brother of Stones Throw Records. Launched by general manager, DJ, and crate-digging superstar Eothen "Egon" Alapatt, it focuses on reissues of little-known funk bands from around the country. Groove aficionados love the imprint, but it doesn’t garner nearly as much publicity as the mighty Stones Throw.
While the casual Madlib-loving fan might not have much interest in prime reissues like Amnesty’s critically-acclaimed Free Your Mind or the much-loved Connie Price & the Keystones, he might go for the forthcoming Now-Again Re:Sounds Vol. 1. Set for release on July 17, the compilation features previously vinyl-only remixes (like Kenny Dope’s remix of Kashmere Stage Band’s "Super Strut Vol. 1") and new, deep funk-influenced cover songs by Edan, Koushik, Aloe Blacc, Guilty Simpson and many others. The track listing for Now-Again Re:Sounds Vol. 1 is below.
Panacea takes “The Scenic Route”
Last year, Washington D.C. duo Panacea gave a pleasant surprise in the form of Ink is My Drink. The album was part standard-issue backpack rap, but it had a wonderful dreamlike quality, like the musical equivalent of Margaret Brown’s Goodnight Moon, or a B-boy version of Carole King’s "Chicken Soup and Rice."
Producer K-Murdock and MC Raw Poetic will bring back its Christopher Cross-styled hip-hop with The Scenic Route. Set for release on September 4 via Glow-in-the-Dark (which enjoys a distribution deal with Rawkus), the sophomore disc takes Panacea’s panacean qualities to gauzy extremes, and soul dynamo Raheem DeVaughn makes an appearance. "It’s really dynamic this time around. I consider it my masterpiece," says K-Murdock in a press releae. "If you want to get away, but can’t afford the vacation, this is for you." The track listing for The Scenic Route is below.
Zeph & Azeem back Souls of Mischief
In the San Francisco Bay Area, DJ Zeph and Azeem enjoy enviable reputations. The former gets props as a crate-digger, club DJ and turntablist. The latter is an acclaimed spoken-word and performance artist as well as a dextrous MC who has collaborated with Anti-Pop Consortium and Michael Franti, among many others.
Unfortunately, when the duo teamed up, the resulting Rise Up (issued on Om Records in May) didn’t make much noise outside of the West Coast. It’s like that sometimes…not every artist, no matter how talented, gets to go national and blow up. But next month, the rest of the country — or at least the eastern seaboard — will get a chance to see what it’s missed when Zeph & Azeem opens for Souls of Mischief, and then throw down at the annual Scribble Jam bonanza in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dates are below.
The Plug One Q&A: Cut Chemist
In a wide-ranging dialogue, influential turntablist Cut Chemist discusses The Hard Sell, the third and latest edition of his funk 45 concert series with DJ Shadow. He also talks about his upcoming projects, and notes the demise of his former group, the late great Jurassic 5. Continue reading
Necro bombs Sounds of the Underground
Every rock festival and/or tour needs its token rappers, and the Hot Topic-sponsored Sounds of the Underground junket is no different. But only a sick and twisted individual would choose gore proponent Necro to represent the hip-hop generation to the suburban ‘tweens and mallrats.
Then again, perhaps Necro fits right in amongst Gwar and Every Time I Die. "Metal has shown me a lot of love as a rapper. I don?t get nearly the same love from the hip-hop community," he writes on the Headbangers Ball blog. "In hip-hop, it seems everyone is out to stab each other in the back. Metal is more about music and musicians and the love for riffs and creativity. I have met most of the hip-hop legends and they don?t compare to the coolness of metal legends. But I have always considered myself both metal and hip-hop. I don?t see why there is a separation when both art forms started out super underground, rebellious, and original, and most of the world hated both."
True school summer park jams jump off in NYC
Forget what you think you heard from Nas, Oprah Winfrey, Al Sharpton or Master P. Real hip-hop is not going to die. It may fade away from the mainstream, but who cares? Real heads know that living, breathing culture — DJ’ing, graff writing, B-boying and MC’ing — has thrived both in and out of the limelight for decades, and it doesn’t need a backup dancer spot in a Christina Aguilera video to survive.
Summer park jams in New York are as old as the art form itself. This year, event promotion/publicity company Tools of War has teamed up with various sponsors and local politicians to throw a series of parties that not only bring the elements together, but feature many of the classic artists that helped birth hip-hop. Participants range from founding fathers Grandmaster Caz, Grandwizzard Theodore and Kool DJ Red Alert; to golden age heroes Lord Finesse and Steve Dee; and newer jocks such as Egg Foo Young. All of the events are free and family friendly.
Del returns!
On October 16, legendary West Coast hip-hop artist Del the Funky Homosapien will release The 11th Hour. The long awaited album is his first solo recording in nearly seven years — ever since 2000’s Both Sides of the Brain.
Obviously this is historic news. One of the titanic figures in alternative rap, Del has been largely quiet since 2001, when his Deltron 3030 project and his guest appearance on Gorillaz’ "Clint Eastwood" single brought him mainstream attention. A few random guest spots (notably Push Button Objects’ "360" single and Handsome Boy Modeling School’s White People) along with the occasional tour is all that’s been heard or seen of him.
Much more details on The 11th Hour, from a proper track listing to a massive fall tour with Devin the Dude, will be released in the next few weeks. For now, however, Del is embarking upon a short "Calm Before the Storm" tour to warm tings up. Those dates, which come from a MySpace bulletin Bukue One sent out this week, are listed below.
Rock the Bells, Paid Dues rock the nation
As expected, the Rock the Bells festival — which built its reputation in 2003 by featuring the last live appearance of the complete Wu-Tang Clan (RIP Ol’ Dirty Bastard) — has expanded from a two-day blowout to a summerlong holiday.
This year’s bill includes the mighty Clan (who will hopefully finish their 8 Diagrams comeback before heading on the road), Nas, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, David Banner, Immortal Technique and Jedi Mind Tricks. Freestyle phenom Supernatural and beatboxer legend Rahzal host.
As an added bonus, Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill and UGK will appear on select dates. Rage and Cypress Hill are slated for Rock the Bells shows in New York, San Bernardino and San Francisco. Every concert date will include numerous special guest performers.
Meanwhile, the previously announced Paid Dues Festival is gearing up for its own national jaunt. Felt (Atmosphere and Murs), Living Legends, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Cage, Mr. Lif, G&E (the Grouch and Eligh), Hangar 18 and Luckyiam.psc. Just like Rock the Bells, Paid Dues will be brought to you by Guerilla Union, in association with rapper/executive Murs 3:16.
For those who want to attend Paid Dues and Rock the Bells, the two processionals will unite for one massive showdown on June 28-29 in New York and August 11 in San Bernardino. Book your airplane tickets now.