Categories
Archives
America's Most Blunted
Category Archives: Hip-Hop Heaven
Myx Music Label disappears
Last Thursday brought an announcement of a new marketing company, Quality Control. QC* is the result of four individuals (Karim Panni, Kyle Pierce, Ian Davis, and Jonathan Kim) combining ideas, contacts, experience, and resources to form one like-minded company. QC* … Continue reading
Posted in Hip-Hop Heaven, News
Tagged Bay Area scene, hip hop is dead, indie rap labels, Karim Panni, Myx Music
3 Comments
R.I.P. Keith “Guru” Elam
I wrote this tribute to Guru for my weekly Rhapsody column, Rap is Not Pop. It was posted posted earlier today on the Rhapsody Music Stuff Place blog and its new Rhapsody Hip-Hop Blog. ————————————– Rap Is Not Pop: R.I.P. … Continue reading
Posted in Hip-Hop Heaven, News
Tagged 7 Grand Records, DJ Premier, DJ Solar, Gang Starr, golden-age hip-hop, Guru, rap is not pop
2 Comments
Jun “Nujabes” Seba, 1974-2010
In the midst of my Hamlet-like soliloquy I neglected to note that Jun “Nujabes” Seba died last month from injuries related to a car accident. The Japanese producer made over a decade’s worth of downtempo and instrumental hip-hop. My familiarity … Continue reading
Posted in Hip-Hop Heaven, News
Tagged Adult Swim, Five Deez, Hyde Out Productions, Nujabes, Samurai Champloo, Shing02
Leave a comment
Slum Village co-founder Baatin passes away
It seems like Slum Village, one of the most influential rap groups of the past decade, is marked by tragedy. Titus “Baatin” Glover passed away on Saturday, August 1 from mysterious causes. He was 35 years old. (A medical autopsy … Continue reading
Vibe’s demise
The apparent collapse of Vibe Media Group, and the end of Vibe magazine, is something less than a surprise. Rumors have circulated for months that Vibe may fold at any moment. The same rumors shadow every major newspaper and magazine, … Continue reading
P.B. Wolf’s Michael Jackson tribute
Peanut Butter Wolf posted three videos from his June 25 Michael Jackson tribute set at the Echoplex on the Stones Throw website. The second and third parts are really good, so I’m reposting them here. Check part two for some … Continue reading
Posted in Hip-Hop Heaven, News, Strange Games & Things
Tagged Michael Jackson, Peanut Butter Wolf
Leave a comment
R.I.P. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009. Rest in peace.
2Mex & LMNO mark Visionaries’ end
Last night, 2Mex sent out a MySpace message announcing the end of Visionaries. This may not come as a surprise to those who haven’t followed the group in a while (like myself); its last album, We Are The Ones (We … Continue reading
Hangar 18 is no more
Yesterday, Brooklyn’s Hangar 18 announced that it is breaking up. Hangar 18 was formed by rappers Alaska and Windnbreeze and producer paWL. The trio’s prior association with New York freestyle stalwart Atomz Family made it a perfect fit for Definitive … Continue reading
R.I.P. Charlie Cooper of Telefon Tel Aviv
Charles Wesley Cooper III of Telefon Tel Aviv, April 12, 1977 – January 22, 2009. The birds remind me of what remains.
R.I.P. Jax from Binkis Recs
On Monday, November 3, during a performance at Lenny’s Bar in Atlanta, Atlanta rapper/producer Chris “Jax” Thurston collapsed from cardiac arrest on stage. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead. He was 32 years old. … Continue reading
Camu Tao passes away from lung cancer
Camu Tao, the Columbus, OH producer and MC known for his work with Cage and various artists on the Definitive Jux label, passed away on May 25 after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 30 years old. Before … Continue reading
Tony Silver, director of Style Wars, passes away
Tony Silver, the director behind the seminal independent film Style Wars, passed away on February 1. Originally shown at the 1984 Sundance Film Festival (where it won a Grand Prize for documentary films) and on PBS-TV, Style Wars was the … Continue reading
The Procussions: 1998-2008
On January 17, J. Medeiros sent out a MySpace bulletin announcing that the Procussions have broken up. The Procussions — rapper/multi-instrumentalist/producer Stro and rapper/keyboardist/producer J. Medeiros — may be best remembered as one of the groups that anchored Rawkus Records’ … Continue reading
Pimp C passes away at 33
Chad “Pimp C” Butler, who with Bun B formed the Southern rap pioneer Underground Kingz, passed away suddenly this morning at the age of 33. According to Allhiphop.com, one of the first outlets to report the story, he was found … Continue reading
Scratch, Straight No Chaser RIP
This fall brings the demise of two venerable music magazines, Scratch and Straight No Chaser.
Many expected that Scratch, the better known of the two here in the States, wouldn’t last long. Originally launched in 2004 by Harris Publications, it was a failed attempt to capitalize on a burgeoning interest in hip-hop production, studio musicians and crate-digging. In some respects, it was a mainstream version of the same culture that Wax Poetics (launched in 2002) had already successfully targeted. But while Wax Poetics focused on "classic" hip-hop, soul, jazz and deep funk artists such as Pete Rock, the late Weldon Irvine and Roy Ayers, Scratch — which was launched with the help of several Wax Poetics editors — spotlighted the modern-day rap industry.
Straight No Chaser was founded by several veteran UK journalists, including a former editor at The Wire. From the start, its mission was to highlight the acid jazz bubbling around the world. Taking its name from Thelonious Monk’s classic song, it became a standard bearer for underground, soul-influenced beat music. Its cover subjects ranged from Madlib to Bjork, and from Jeff Mills to Meshell Ndegeocello.
Remembering James Yancey, one year later
February 7 would have been James Yancey’s birthday. Instead, one of hip-hop’s great producers died three days after his 32nd year on Feb. 10, 2006 and then achieved a most bittersweet triumph with two posthumous albums: The Shining and Donuts. … Continue reading
Funkstörung: 1992-2006
Funkstörung has split up. Chris de Luca and Michael Fakesch announced the group’s end through a statement posted on their website last month. "Whatever the reasons were: musical differences, personal problems, the distance of 700 KM between Rosenheim and Chris’ new place in Berlin – who cares … fact is we both agreed it’s better to focus on solo projects from here on out," wrote the duo.