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Yearly Archives: 2007
Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow offer peaches and light
During the next several months, Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow plan to cement their status as the power couple of future soul.
Perkins, who also records under the name Declaime, is best known as Madlib’s homie from Oxnard, and the unique rapper/vocalist behind triumphs such as A Lil’ Light and Expressions. Meanwhile Muldrow’s full-length debut Olesi: Fragments of an Earth updated free jazz for the 21st century, and was one of the most talked-about underground soul albums of 2006.
Now the two are launching a new label called Epistrophik Peach Sounds. And while details on the label’s release schedule are a little sketchy, a few recordings featuring both artists will definitely drop during the summer.
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Tagged 2tall, Dudley Perkins, Epistrophik Peach Sounds, Georgia Anne Muldrow
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Marley Marl suffers heart attack
It’s been over a week since I’ve updated this site. Like I’ve said before, I sometimes get overwhelmed by the daily grind. For the handful of cats who regularly check out Plug One, as well as the hundreds of heads who have visited it recently, apologies for stepping away for a minute.
A lot has happened, most importantly Marley Marl’s heart attack. According to an Allhiphop.com story, Marlon "Marley Marl" Williams suffered a heart attack on June 5 and was transported to a New York hospital, where he is convalescing. For those that don’t know Marley Marl’s history, the 44-year-old musician is one of the greatest beat makers in history, one of a handful that is fully deserving of G.O.A.T. status.
Marley Marl’s latest release is Hip Hop Lives, a long-awaited pairing with KRS-One.
Decon preps “The Release Party” for Dilated Peoples
Decon Media, a New York-based creative agency and record label, has been issuing hip-hop related projects for much of the decade. Its highlights range from DVDs (Team Ice Cream Vol. 1, a video featuring Pharrell Williams’ Ice Cream Skake Team) and music videos (Common’s classic "1-9-9-9" clip) to audio/visual endeavors (the Hiero crew’s One Big Trip) to standard hip-hop compilations (the ongoing NBA 2K series) and artist albums (Aceyalone’s critically lauded Magnificent City).
This summer will bring a new slate of Decon Media releases. It kicks off with The Release Party from Dilated Peoples, a 3DM project. (3DM stands for Three Dimensional Media, the format Decon uses for its DVD/CD endeavors.) The DVD portion accumulates a decade of video footage featuring the L.A. vets, from their early ABB salad days to their Capitol years. The CD will include several songs, the first material they’ve issued since that Capitol deal ended last year. The Release Party drops on July 31.
Blueprint tours East Coast
Blueprint often gets slept on. For the past few years the Columbus, Ohio artist has put in major work, from running his own label (Weightless Recordings) and introducing talented rhymers like Illogic; to making instrumental albums (Chamber Music) and acting as the rapping half of Soul Position, the popular Rhymesayers group he shares with RJD2, as well as Greenhouse Effect.
While your average Definitive Jux-jocking fool probably doesn’t know who the other guy was in Soul Position, more than a few kids rocked out to 1988, his solid 2005 album on Rhymesayers. How else would he able to undertake his second tour in less than six months, one that includes several dates opening for Blowfly, and a few more on the huge Paid Dues/Rock the Bells jamboree?
"At the end of 2006 i told myself that i wasn’t going to tour in 2007 unless i had my new album finished," writes Blueprint in a May 17 post on his MySpace page. "Strangely enough my new album isn’t done and I’ve been touring. Partly because what i’m tryin to do on my next album is a little more ambitious, partly because i started messing around with some real estate stuff this winter and took 2-3 months off music, and partly because bills dont pay themselves!"
You can help ‘Print pay his damn bills when he hits your town. Tour dates are below.
P.O.S., K-os and MC Chris rock Warped Tour
For the past twelve years, the Vans Warped Tour has spread across America, bringing a mixture of mainstream punk bands eager to sell out and corporate sponsors eager to reach our nation’s impressionable youth. And each installment includes a few token rappers eager to expand their reach beyond the backpack nerds who normally attend their concerts. It’s like back in the 60s, when rock festival promoters would salve their liberal consciences by adding a few black artists to the bill.
As sucky as Warped Tour has become can — a tour that once prided itself on carrying one major sponsor (Vans shoes) is now backed by AT&T, for chrissakes — it can have a major effect on artists’ careers. Atmosphere, the Alkaholiks and many others can thank Warped Tour for ballooning their fan base. And we all know what Warped did for Gym Class Heroes.
This year, the 13th edition of Warped Tour will include Canadian musician K-os and Rhymesayers prospect P.O.S. (shown in photo) along with Adult Swim alum MC Chris on select East Coast dates among the hordes of emo nincompoops. (Okay, not all of the rock bands suck: Coheed & Cambria, Fishbone and Bad Religion will be there, too.) Tour dates are below.
Aesop Rock returns with “None Shall Pass”
It’s been four long years since Aesop Rock issued his last album, 2003’s Bazooka Tooth. In the interim, he’s kept busy with an EP (2005’s Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives), an installment for Nike’s +Original Run series (the recently released All Day Nike Original Run), an audio/visual project with artist Jeremy Fish (last year’s The Next Best Thing) and guest spots on several Definitive Jux and underground hip-hop joints. According to his press bio, he even completed soundtracks for two short films (though I’m having trouble finding out about that stuff).
So dude has been busy. Still, everyone’s been waiting for the album statement, particularly since Bazooka Tooth drew mixed reviews from fans and critics. So how will his sixth effort fare? All will be revealed on August 28 when None Shall Pass hits stores via Definitive Jux. The title track was recently leaked to the Internet, and hey! It’s pretty dope. That bodes well for the new album. Track listing is below.
Galactic heads “From the Corner to the Block”
Remember when Galactic announced that it was collaborating with several rappers on a new album? Well, the New Orleans jazz-funk-jam outfit has completed their new project, From the Corner to the Block. The album is set for an August 21 release via Anti- Records.
For those who haven’t heard Galactic — and I’m one of them — From the Corner’s stellar guest list should encourage you to introduce yourself. Lyrics Born, Mr. Lif, Chali 2na, Boots Riley from the Coup, Juvenile, Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Ohmega Watts and Vursatyl from Lifesavas make vocal appearances. N’awlins legend Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, the Soul Rebels Brass Band, Trombone Shorty and Nino Moschella are among the non-rap participants. Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman produced the album.
As part of the world-spanning jam band scene, Galactic will stay plenty busy over the summer, making appearances at numerous festivals (including Bonnaroo). For a preview of From the Corner to the Block, check out the track listing and tour dates below.
Review: Phat Kat, “Carte Blanche”
For his second album, underrated Detroit vet Phat Kat brings a solid collection of raps alongside beats by J Dilla, Black Milk, Young RJ and others. Continue reading
Review: Sa-Ra, “The Hollywood Recordings”
After nearly being shelved indefinitely by Sony, Sa-Ra’s debut finally gets released on Babygrande. J Dilla, Erykah Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Talib Kweli and Capone-N-Noreaga drop in and pay their respects to the future soul avatars. Continue reading
The Plug One Q&A: Lifesavas
In the latest Plug One question-and-answer session, Vursatyl from acclaimed Portland group Lifesavas talks about Gutterfly, God and the Decemberists. Continue reading
Massline spreads through the West
Massline Media may be the most surprising indie label to emerge this year. With little more than persistence and quality music from its founders — Gabriel Teodros, RA Scion, Geologic and Sabzi — the Seattle crew has netted positive reviews in major publications such as Rolling Stone and fomented support from the world’s true school believers. Call it the little label that could.
"MassLine’s philosophy rejects the notion of art for arts sake, acknowledging that cultural arts is a hammer with which communities can reshape society," reads the bio on Massline Media’s MySpace page. "Through the medium of Hiphop music, combined with grassroots community organizing and a DIY ethic, we use music not simply to entertain, but to educate and empower."
Massline currently enjoys a distribution deal with Rawkus. Its next release will be Blue Scholars’ second album, Bayani. Before it drops on June 12, however, the Massline crew will embark on an extensive tour, completing several concerts throughout the western United States. Featured on the bill are Teodros, who released his critically acclaimed Lovework in February; Common Market, which dropped its self-titled debut last year; and Blue Scholars. Tour dates, as well as the track listing for Bayani, are below.
Kanye West comes closer to “Graduation”
Well, it’s not even the end of May yet and the hype machine is revving up for Kanye West’s much-anticipated third album.
According to Island Def Jam via an MTV.com report, West’s Graduation will drop in September of this year. A Billboard.com story reported that a teaser cut produced by DJ Toomp, "Can’t Tell Me Nothing," has already leaked online in snippet form. Other anticipated cuts include "Homecoming" with Coldplay leader Chris Martin (who the New York Times’ Jon Pareles memorably called "the most insufferable band in rock") and "The Glory."
As if the prospect of dropping another mega album wasn’t enough, the most arrogant man in hip-hop is claiming major credit for two upcoming opuses, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III and Common’s Finding Forever. (West’s work on Common’s first single, "Say Something," has already found major favor with the bloggerati.) Apologies for my snarkiness…but when you’re confronted with someone as supremely talented and confident as West, you’re going to make sure he meets the bar. Regardless of how good it is (or isn’t), though, I have to admit that West gets a ghetto pass for life for dissing President George W. Bush on national TV.
Styles of Beyond brings “Rocket Surgery” to Projekt Revolution tour
Rap-friendly metal band Linkin Park is preparing to release its third full-length album, Minutes to Midnight, and has already announced an itinerary for its summer-long Projekt Revolution. Amidst a horde of emo bands is Styles of Beyond. "We’re the only rap group on this sucka, so feel free to break out the Running Man, Roger Rabbit, or the Chicken Noodle Soup while we’re rockin’!!" wrote the band in a May 10 MySpace post.
That’s all fine and good, you might say, but what’s up with the f***in album? According to an April 10 post on SOB’s MySpace page, the group has finished their forthcoming album on Linkin Park rapper/producer Mike Shinoda’s Warner Bros.-distributed imprint, Machine Shop Recordings.
"We are just about done with the album and we’ve finally picked a title (drum roll please…) ROCKET SURGERY. Cause hip-hop ain’t brain science," writes Ryoji Shinozaki, who manages SOB member DJ Cheapshot’s boutique label Spy Tech Records. He goes on to write that Rocket Surgery will come out in June/July, but an official release date is still pending.
Serius Jones preps debut, addresses hip-hop haters
In recent years, every major catastrophe has brought a response from the rap community, a hastily-assembled track that comments on current affairs. The 9/11 attacks brought Wu-Tang Clan’s "Rules." (Around the same time, Sage Francis dropped his classic "Makeshift Patriot.") More recently, last December Papoose answered the Sean Bell police shooting with "50 Shots."
The fierce generational and societal debates surrounding hip-hop music and culture, which is lately reaching a fever pitch, already yielded a brilliant track from Killer Mike last year called "That’s Life." Serius Jones’ recent salvo, "Can’t Stop the Game," doesn’t compare to Mike’s fiery verses. But it does address Don Imus’ recent comments against the University of Virginia, which inadvertently (and some might say unfairly) started all the madness.
"If you think hip-hop is dead, then you got it confused/I know you done got the scoop if you watching the news/Some ugly-ass white dude named Imus just got exposed/Calling young black girls nappy-headed hos/Got caught and trying to blame what we do/Bitching up, like, ‘Well the rappers are saying it, too’/Now all of a sudden the media wants to make us the scapegoat/Yeah, we off the slave ship but we in the same boat," he raps.
"This song speaks on the overall state of Hip Hop," says Serius Jones in a press release. "There are so few representatives speaking on our behalf, so I felt obligated to make a song to blast on those who always try and blame Hip Hop for society’s problems. I feel that Hip Hop is an easy scapegoat for people like Imus who are racist by nature. Oprah definitely has something against rappers. She should be focusing her energy on changing the system which corrupts the youth mentality instead of trying to redirect our art form. The solution is for influential older Black people to listen and understand the youth, instead of trying to attack, ban us and censor our voice. Listen to the voice instead of the words, or you will never understand it."
Talib Kweli schedules “Ear Drum”
After nearly a year in delays, Talib Kweli finally has a release date for his third solo album.
Ear Drum is set for release on July 24 via his Warner Bros.-distributed imprint, Blacksmith Music. It features production from Kanye West, will.i.am, Madlib and former Reflection Eternal partner DJ Hi-Tek. The album title, says Kweli in a press release, represents "the image of the ear and of the drum, which are powerful enough by themselves, but put them together and it’s an instrument in your body that helps you hear. They’re also two very simple, yet powerful words. I wanted to focus on finding a sound that makes you move, and that’s where the word ‘eardrum’ popped in my head."
A lot is riding on Ear Drum for Brooklyn’s finest. Ten years removed from his "Fortified Live" debut with Reflection Eternal (yes, it’s been that long), many people in the music industry have written Kweli off, asserting that his time has passed and he’ll never break through to a wider audience. That may be the reason why a solid single released last year, "Listen," failed to connect. It was a strong single, but too predictable.
Phat Kat tours with Slum Village
In a great Q&A interview with Allhiphop.com, Detroit MC Phat Kat says, "Everybody wanna jump on the bandwagon saying, ‘Dilla was this and Dilla was that.’ My whole thing is, why motherf**kers didn?t say that when he was here?" Hopefully kids won’t make the same mistake with him. As a longtime homie of the late production great, Phat Kat formed an early group with J Dilla, 1st and Down, and later collaborated on the awesome 12-inch, "Dedication to the Suckers" b/w "Nobody Cares About Us." Predating the Eminem hype, Phat Kat is one of the Motor City’s true spitters.
After releasing his debut album, The Undeniable, to little fanfare in 2004, Phat Kat is returning with a better-promoted release. Due on Tues., May 8 via DJ Design’s Look Records, Carte Blanche has prompted a monthlong, nationwide tour alongside homies Slum Village and Illa J (younger brother of J Dilla). DJs Dez and Design provide backup. Tour dates, as well as the video for Phat Kat’s lead single "Cold Steel," are below.
Lupe Fiasco cools out in the studio
Even as he prepared to drop the critically acclaimed Food & Liquor last September, Chicago phenom Lupe Fiasco told anyone who’d listen that he wanted to quickly follow up with another album. Now, according to a Billboard.com news item, the Muslim rapper is heading into the studio to work on a new project called The Cool.
While Lupe gave away few details, he says he wants to collaborate with Pink Floyd (is it Roger Waters or the David Gilmour-led trio?) and hopes to have the album out by October 31 via his Atlantic-distributed imprint 1st & 15th. I’m always skeptical of release dates, especially if an album isn’t complete, but it would be nice to get another Lupe Fiasco joint this year. Meanwhile, what’s up with the Gemini album?
While you wait for The Cool, you can see Lupe procrastinate with a handful of summer gigs at various national festivals. Tour dates are below.
LA Symphony tour West Coast
Whenever I think of L.A. Symphony, my mind turns to their underground hit with Fatlip way back in 2001, "What You’d Say?" That turned out to be the group’s biggest moment, right before their record label (Squint Entertainment) went under, their big album (Call It What You Want) got shelved and they got shipped back to indie-land.
Thankfully, the Christian rap group kept persevering, dropping albums like 2005’s Disappear Here and spreading the word. On May 6, they launch a West Coast tour and, as usual, it includes as many churches as nightclubs. Solo rapper GiO accompanies them on each date. Hey, Christians need good music, too. Tour dates are below.
Beastie Boys bring “The Mix Up”
According to an article on NME.com, the Beastie Boys’ new disc is called The Mix Up. The Brooklyn trio’s seventh album will hearken back to the classic Check Yo Head-era, and utilize live instruments instead of the sample-heavy big beats of more recent works. With luck, it will be as good as Check Yo Head, which many consider the Beasties’ finest hour.
"We play instruments on the whole album, as opposed to sampling. There’s more rock on there. If you know us you can trace the influences and they’re no completely surprising. Someone who listens to us casually might think ‘What the hell are these guys doing?’," says Mike D in the NME.com story.
In a subsequent news item on Pitchfork.com, Mike D described The Mix Up as "an instrumental album. There are no vocals, no samples. We played everything. But as different as that might be from To the 5 Boroughs, it’s equally different from instrumental songs we’ve done before, like the ones that were on The In Sound From Way Out! That was kind of one direction and this one [has] different influences, like Public Image Ltd., Gang of Four, the Slits, Killing Joke." The Mix Up hits stores on June 26.
El-P and Brother Ali storm the album charts
In the past two months, Brother Ali and El-P stormed the Billboard album chart, scoring top 100 debuts in their initial weeks.
El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead landed first week sales of 11,000 upon its March 20 release, good for a number 78 showing. Brother Ali’s The Undisputed Truth also did well, moving 10,781 copies and hitting number 69 upon its April 10 release. Brother Ali’s success is even more surprising considering it got a fraction of the press attention afforded El-P’s opus. But hey, you can never discount those Rhymesayers fans.
"UH OH… THIS WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN," wrote El-P on his MySpace blog. "ISWYD has entered the BILLBOARD top one hundred at number 77. of all albums of all genres. something is happening out there."