Backstage at ROCK THE BELLS '09

This past weekend I hit up Rock The Bells Boston. My first introduction to Rock the Bells was 2 years ago in San Bernardino; 2007. The year some might consider the peak of the festival’s popularity and success thus far (wooing super-groups Rage Against The Machine and Wu-Tang Clan to the same venue and the appropriate super-crowds to cheer them on). Needless to say, things have kind of dropped off since then (something along the lines of “nowhere to go but down”).

However, this Rock the Bells was significant for me personally because it was my first time backstage. Trust me when I say, it was equally as humbling as it was underwhelming. There were the one-hit sensations, now fallen off, only really there for the groupies and the free brew. Case in point: the douche bag of the rap game Joe Budden. With his shirt off, of course; he’s on fire. Then there were the timeless, die hard musicians like Common, Talib, and (dressed first in an army jacket before swapping it for his Cleveland Brown’s Jersey) the Man himself, Everlast. Yet, no Rage. No Wu-Tang Clan (although RZA was there as always). The headliners were much more modest - Nas and Damian Marley.

That’s not to say there wasn’t ANYTHING fresh. There’s always something fresh at Rock the Bells. And they do usually do a great job of mixing it up year after year. This is probably what makes it the most sojourned modern mecca for hip-hop on the planet. MTV’s own breakout artist K’naan was there for example. (I think he makes my video below). Honestly, though, that was about it. I’m still waiting for the day we get the likes of Sweatshop Union, Unknown Prophets and our NH boys Granite State on the ticket. Maybe I’m dreaming.

Regardless of whether Rock The Bells 09 met my expectations, there were still highlights. And one of those highlights was sitting down in the green room with recently reunited duo Talib and Hi-Tek to reflect on their influences (when we asked Hi-Tek is favorite DJ/producer, the first name out of his mouth was Premiere - interesting) and on eternity. The Talib interview comes out exclusively on KarmaloopTV later next week so I can’t divulge too much.

Of course, it would be daft of me not mention how DOPE it was to watch Common and Talib perform from backstage. Check out the video below. Although, I advise turning OFF the sound - bass was out of control and my digital camera unfortunately doesn't come equipped with a limiter.

Forever Young

The Elitist Rebels are back at it again. Our holiday was sick, including a wicked 2-day Electric Daisy Carnival featuring a heavy world-class line up. Basspod rocked! Looks like summer's here to kick it for a while. Verbal is still finding his inner child down in South America somewhere. Last he checked in, man was posted up in Salvador for Bahia's Independence Day, bumping some Immortal Technique in the moment: "Viva La Revolución!" Once he's back in he mix, I'm sure he'll have some wicked material and insight into the massive culture popping off in Brazil and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere. But for now you'll have to deal with me.

First things first, the death of Michael Jackson has shocked us all and captivated our thoughts. EDC had some amazing tribute sets throughout the weekend. The remixes and clashments of his tunes exploded worldwide in literally every genre you can imagine. This man was truly an extraordinary musician and person. I feel blessed to have been able to live in the same era, and breathe the same air of such legend who will never be replicated. What's disappointing to me is the perception of Michael in the eyes of my generation (Gen Y Millennials). That's why I feel his London comeback would have been something absolutely amazing; a chance for a rapidly changing world to once again witness his incredible talent and energy, many for the first time. The perception of Michael to the majority of my generation portrayed the rather unfortunate circumstances of his later life. As a result, so many people in my age bracket, unknowingly caught up in media interest, quickly mocked or insulted this extraordinary individual based on baseless charges and slander.

It saddens me to think the message and soul of his music, which positively empowered million upon millions of people the globe over, will potentially be lost on rising generations who were not of age to have felt Michael's magic for themselves. Instead many will associate MJ with a series of confusion and circumstantial conflict within the man's tumultuous personal life. Like most of us, he just wanted to be a child again, hoping to recapture the youth he was never blessed to have. I'd like to end this post with the final stanza of Santa Barbara's poet laureate and my personal English professor, David Starkey. I'll also be following that up with Sway's touching MJ tribute. So big love for the King of Pop who must now kneel before the King of Kings. Today he will be laid to rest as the world becomes a little less special. Never to be forgotten and forever to live on. Michael Jackson, I hope you have finally found your solace. Rest In P.E.A.C.E.

"All that's left now is to take
your first step into timelessness,
that magical kingdom
you've longed for since childhood
where no one ever grows old."
--Excerpt from David Starkey's "Prayer for MJ"

Sway - The King Full Stop (Michael Jackson Tribute)

Regarding the Public:

Attention General Public: Bugout and Doug York are back at it again. One of my favorite hip hop groups, Granite State, has finally followed up to their 2006 debut release, The Breaking Point. I always wondered how their sophomore album would turn out, since the first effort took nearly a decade to finally bring into full production. A time span which would certainly allow for some polished up, fine tuning. Just three years later their 2^nd release, RE:Public, dropped in January. Let me just say, the breaking point has passed… now comes the flash floods, or whatever havoc when granite breaks limit.

The reason why Granite State has become such a solid force in my eyes is because they are the perfect example of what hip-hop is about. Just ordinary individuals making music to express themselves in hope of making a career as an artist. No glitz and glamour, no glorification of violence, crime or hate. In the 21^st century, when everyone is an emcee or producer, GS is a perfect example of the capable possibilities of young men making music for the love of the music, and doing it successfully. Granite State sets themselves apart by staying true to their reality while keeping it simple and relatable. A large portion of their songs are about the ins-and-outs most people face when moving at the speed of life. The first track gets right into the subtlety soulful, modern boom-bappin’ melodies the entire album explores.

The beautiful intro to the first track, Hectic, is a signal of the non-stop, sonic aesthetics to come, from producers such as Statik Selektah, Evidence (Dilated), and DC the MIDI Alien. Just as their debut did, RE:Public gets into the socially conscious element always present in Bugout and Doug York’s material. The larger difference this effort is a shift from their personal issues and how society affects them on an individual basis (as in Breaking Point), versus expressing their circumstances, and the issues that they deal with, as an idiosyncratic, micro-representation of society (as in RE:Public). Make sense? Probably not. Let the title speak for itself. RE:Public. Regarding the Public.

The two focus on a range of social issues. While maintain a steady, easy listening hip-hop vibe, they are able to address, rather simplistically, the complexities of class status and career, to addiction, misogyny and other social crises. The pair strikes an attitude of even balance in their verses, lying between dark, pessimistic and fateful tones, to critical deliveries of self motivation and individual empowerment. Even if barley visible, in the hazy distance, off the foggy New England coastline.

Under the Influence is a song about addiction using shadowy, chemical substance depictions as a metaphor for their music. The drug imagery, (such as needles) is well crafted to seamlessly allow for a ‘hip-hop addiction’ (I’m getting that popular picture of the turntable stylus sinking into some guy’s arm-- Guy: Your doing it wrong). However, I do believe the lyrics are a reflection of the artist’s own struggles with abuse at some point. I could be wrong, but coming from a person who has admittedly overindulged in toxic pleasures in my day, this track took me back to those hopeless moments of disenfranchisement that come with it. “I’m an addict-- need it all the time, always on my mind/ searching for that line, that I’m never gonna find.” Metaphorical hip-hop or true reflections of drug abuse, it continues to add to the social dilemmas presented throughout the album.

So far, it appears that I’ve excluded any particular characteristics differentiating the emcees Doug York and Bugout. That is primary because the two are so similar. Notable differences do exist; The Breaking Point gave us an individual track from each artist: What Up B?! and Out Of Site, Out Of Mind, were the solo features from Bugout and Doug York, respectively. Check them out to familiarize yourself bit with each artist separately-- they are both amazing songs as well. However talented in their own right, these two bolster one other. Together they create full length songs with double verses of granite-hard depth and substance, dropped by both emcees. I haven’t seen an emcee/emcee pair this strong together since Binary Star, which is quite ironic considering Granite State without a doubt shines most bright together.

Their mutually strong verses also share similar ideological outlooks on a wide array of issues. On American Beauty, GS explores the materialistic and beautification ideals in our society, often leading to vanity driven, self-obsessive qualities in our women. “They say beauty’s in the eye of the beholder/ She’s staring in the mirror, looking at herself all over[…] A material girl, living in a fantasy world.” Another example of equally outstanding lyrics is the shout out to all the “working class heroes.” Work is a blue collar tribute that reflects the everyday struggles of employment. This one hits hard in the current state of our economy at the moment. “Working just to make it up to upper management/ By the time I finally get there the jobs start vanishing/ Outsourced and laid off, where presidents get paid off/ This is the trade-off, we’re told to keep handling?”

Throughout RE:Public, Granite State makes a consorted effort to elevate their music in hopes of finally achieving stardom. Whether they’ve already done that or not (already receiving critical acclaim independently), is up to comparability I suppose. But I guarantee GS isn’t anywhere near satisfied with their current status, and with their talent I can understand that. Just some ordinary guys, putting in the extra work, to make some extraordinary music. These boys are making some serious moves, so check their steps don’t step on you now. Pure granite tends to be a bit top heavy, innit? P.E.A.C.E.

Link: http://www.granitestatemusic.com

Granite State - Hectic

Space Bass

As dubstep spreads vehemently worldwide, producers have moved away from the early intentions of the music to create stomping dance floor anthems. The early use of the music was to create a dark mood of deep effect. “Deep dubstep” became the nominal term to describe these musicians as the genre transgressed toward the dance scene. Burial, a pioneer who launched dubstep to massive notoriety in 2006, would fall under the guise of deep dubstep; albeit the reclusive producer is without a doubt in his own tripped out musical realm. Some people might also call it “ambient dubstep,” but I dislike that term for the false implications “ambient” can induce upon a genre, especially an inherently movable, dance style like dubstep.

When DJ Distance was selected to choose his replacement for last summer’s Generation Bass, he epitomized this transitional sentiment perfectly: “The reason I picked Cyrus for 2008 is because of his production style really. It’s original; it just stands amongst the stuff at the moment which is all kind of dance floor. His stuff to me just creates a space, and like an environment, which is what dubstep is all about to start out with.”

Whatever surrounding deep dubstep seems to create, that notion of building an environment with the music, similar to minimal techno, is the hallmark of that original dubstep quality. To note, these hybridized subgenre labeling for dubstep, are highly arguable. Dubstep is barley definable in its own right, still being at a relatively infantile, and extremely innovative and experimental stage. My personal use of such terms is simply to express a most universally precise assertion of my experience, in regards to these sounds, in hoping you can share my elation for what is currently being developed underneath the global barrage of bass-weight bangers.

Lately I’ve been listening to a similar sect of such environmental-shifting tunes, what I like to call “Space Bass.” I contrived the term to describe those ultramodern, cosmic auras being created within the scene. I first noticed it with Starkey’s Ephemeral Exhibits, released late last year. The Philadelphia-based producer demonstrates a rare ethereal side of his abilities, with a celestial journey into Low-Earth Orbit that would bring any astronaut on the International Space Station to a zero-gravity boogey. The outro-track, appropriately titled Spacewalk, would be a prime choice for a NASA selectah’s closing track to reload as the sunrises over the Earth, signaling the astronomical tomorrow has arrived and thus ending a literal ‘out-of-this-world’ party.

Veteran electro producer Anthony Rother’s just released, double-CD debut for the German-based Telekraft label, takes us further into the deep void of space bass. Staying true to his German roots, he maintains the 4/4 pace. The album, entitled My Name Is Beuys Von Telekraft, also seems to introduce us to an extraterrestrial alter-ego representing the dark side of Rother. Man takes advantage of lo-fi technique and mechanized vocals to create an extraordinary futurist, outer space environment. His relentless basslines release a cascade of high energy particles through the deep, empty ambiances like solar flares in the magnetosphere. That’s a serious warning for the biochemical damage your body may incur when this guy hits the set on an 800-Watt sub-system.

As technology continues to expand our knowledge of the universe, there’s sure to be more sonic output of cosmic expression, as music remains a primary outlet for the inquisitive questions and conditions of tomorrow. Today, deep dubstep is one of the few genres with the innate ability to encapsulate that vibe. So rock on, Earthlings. “Space Bass” has landed and comes in P.E.A.C.E.

Link: www.starkey-music.com
Link: www.datapunk.de

Starkey - Spacewalk

Conversations With St. Paul's Prophet...

Sitting down with the often hypnotizing Brother Ali in a dark green room, lit from above, at the House of Blues in Boston is undoubtedly an intimidating proposition. And not exactly another day at the office... What follows is my two part interview on KarmaloopTV with the self-proclaimed "street preacher" (also the title of Ali's next full length record due to drop this fall -- this part didn't make the cut, but apparently it was Sage who first gave him the name... interesting, I'd say between the two of them, they have enough oratory power to establish a new religion, maybe even found a new genre of hip-hop. In any event, check out the interview if you're in the mood for a little Ali-nlightenment.

Part 2


Part 1



Also check out Brother Ali's new music video "Good Lord" just released yesterday. Dope.



I'll post a follow up article in the next couple days, hopefully accompanied by a rebelelite.com exclusive "Part 3"... stay tuned!

American Memoriam

Picture: U.S. Capt. Alfonso Johnson. Afghanistan, 2009.

Today marks Memorial Day in America, a day when people openly face the reality of war. Whether remembering those who died yesterday for our freedoms or those facing the looming threats of tomorrow, your dedication and discipline will always be remembered and respected. Today the AP featured an uplifting article, with some hip-hop thrown in for excess elevation.

U.S. Capt. Alfonso Johnson, stationed in Afghanistan at the moment, keeps a synthesizer linked up to his computer to make hip-hop beats in his free time. His son Xavier, living in New York, used one of his father's tracks to rap a poem he had written when he was 11, expressing the bottled up feelings about his family’s wartime circumstance; an emotionalism shared by many families well beyond America’s borders. Capt. Johnson often views with pride the homemade video he and Xavier made together knowing that the music helps his son channel the emotions he feels at such a critical age in adolescence, when they can better sense the mortal risk they're parents are taking in combat than younger children. He said the ability of music "can help other kids express themselves, say things that they wouldn't say normally."

Regardless of the diverse opinions we hold about the current wars America's engaged in overseas, let's take this day to remember those who do their honorable duty to protect us from external threats. We also must not forget the numerous Afghan and Iraqi security forces who are confronted with these same issues everyday. These men have lost exponentially more personnel than our forces, yet we often perceive the burden as being on our shoulders alone. We must come together in this accelerating world of complexity and stop irrationally perceiving this deep situation as "us" v. "them." We need to properly analyze our actions independent of bias, ignorance or special interest to move our world forward. Change is inevitable, progress is not. It’s our world to grasp, all of us. The key is reaching out together. P.E.A.C.E.

Code Red - Give Me A Reason

Where Have I Heard That Before...

If you listen to as much hip-hop as we do then you’re probably familiar with the following predicament: you’re listening to your favorite artist’s new album but the track you're on sounds oddly familiar. The lyrics are dope... but... then it dawns on you: it’s the sample.
Obviously, hip-hop is a sample-based art form. Therefore, this kind of epiphany is nothing new to the hip-hop listener. From 2Pac’s Changes to Eminem’s Sing For The Moment, recycling music is the name of the game. But when two (or even three) of the artists your admire most cop the same sample the results can be polarizing. After all, you’re bound to prefer one over the other right? A previous loyalty to one artist might invoke distaste for a newly discovered group.I recently downloaded Wordsmith’s “The Pursuit of Harmony” off iTunes (get the album now if you haven’t already; shit is ill) and when listening to the track entitled Coalition I was sure I'd heard it before:


Wordsmith - Coalition


After listening to the song on loop 4 or 5 times in a frustrated attempt to identify exactly where the hell I’d heard the melody, it finally hit me: one of my all-time favorite groups, Sweatshop Union, used the exact same sample in their 2005 single God Bless, off “United We Fall”:


Sweatshop Union - God Bless


But the story doesn’t end there. The “original” is simply a sped up version of Füchse a track released in 1999 by German hip-hop group Absolute Beginner.


Absolute Beginner - Füchse


For all I know, this musical regression could go back even much further into the annals of hip hop history. But I think you get the point. What surprises me is the intolerance some people have when confronted with this sort of crisis of sampling. On YouTube there are accusations that Sweatshop Union “stole” the beat from Absolute Beginner. And I'm sure the avid Sweatshop fan might think the same thing when confronted with the Wordsmith track.


Point is, I didn’t drop the album and stop listening to Wordsmith. In fact, I found the parallel fascinating. It made me curious whether Wordsmith had heard Sweatshop’s track before recording his. Or, had both groups heard Absolute Beginner’s track independently.
In any event, the identity of all three of these songs rests very heavily on the melody in question. Indubitably, problems arise when an artist recycles a sample. Being labeled unoriginal and therefore ostensibly untalented can ruin an artists career. Look at Vanilla Ice.


That being said, the existence of multiple interpretations of a single piece of music is not necessarily a negative thing; in fact, it often times enriches the listener’s experience. The incredible thing about hip hop is its innate ability to breath new life into music that has been overwhelmingly played out.Hip-hop could be viewed as a perpetual revival of music beginning with the conception of an original melody or beat, and the subsequent evolution of that piece of music (each evolution documenting how an unique group in history related to that particular piece of music).

Don't get me wrong, Füchse is quality track (and you should peep the music video if you haven’t) but both the Sweatshop Union and Wordsmith variations keep the beat fresh. Then again, I’m a firm believer that in music, better to have too many options than too few. The more important thing to take away from this, perhaps, is that, as someone once said: “there are no original ideas left in this world, only ideas to be evolved.”

A credo, perhaps, for the modern artist. And becoming more-so.

Finally, a little something I found interesting in relation to re-sampling. The top 8 most “overused” samples in hip-hop history. Check it out: http://audio.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/8-most-overused-samples-in-hip-hop-histor

Voice of the Voiceless

It has now been 30 years since hip-hop's revolutionary inception gave the underrepresented youths of our society a platform to speak they're mind. A voice. And they spoke so fresh people actually began to listen. Against the powers that be, this music and movement infiltrated the mainstream of Western culture. It became quite convoluted along the way, but still largely retained that concept of pragmatic communication and progress. Now into its fourth decade, the music has expanded to almost every nation, inheriting its own unique characteristics and regional features. No matter how localized it became though, it always held that foundation of, and for interaction. It also seems to be more important in these places to those who don't have any other outlet.

The globalization of hip-hop has had a massive impact upon youths on all continents. Instead of effortlessly idealizing violence, both Israeli and Palestinian groups have used their music to support peace with justice, as well as break down the stereotypes associated with the Arab/Israeli conflict. Sometimes together. Nations suppressed under Soviet rule for so many years have embraced the ability to be heard, which is so evident in the vast swaths of graffiti throughout Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall is probably the most recognized graffiti hot spot of the 20th century. In Prague, I visited the Lennon Wall a couple days after Chinese forces killed 17 Tibetan protesters in spring of 2008. In bright-yellow splatter: "Free Tibet, Tibet Free, Tibet Free,"... over and over it read. The South Korean government supports their breakdancers as a way to the promote the country's social dynamism and tertiary sector. Members of the top two crews, Gamblers and Rivers, have been designated official ambassadors of Korean culture. All of these occurrences demonstrate the beneficial progress associated with hip-hop as it "glocalized" over the years.

Unfortunately, there are still many more problems to address and development to promote. And of course, people to be heard. It would be a nice thing if, with all those commercial agriculture and industrial technologies being sent over to the Third World, we could at least throw in a pair of Techniks and a dynamic mic. Along with those shipped cargo containers full of tons and tons of food aid and sanitation supplies, a few dozen cans of paint. You see, even though we're well aware of all the conflicts around the world, and are willing to offer our support to the civilians disaffected, we don't actually hear from them. Generally just the people representing them. As a result, the effects of these catastrophic events are softened, leaving us more inclined to desensitization. It's easy to watch troops shooting their guns all gung-ho and shit-- but it's a lot more difficult when the camera eventually turns toward the devastation of innocent lives. As a consequence, we aren't usually shown that perspective. If we can give all people a chance to express themselves with the dignity and respect as hip-hop allows, we'll see the reality behind these problems; impermeable to media interests. Only when we can correct our perception of the world, can we work toward correcting the world itself.

The reason I've brought this up is because this weekend the movement for the Invisible Children of Uganda is launching a rescue. The organization has created a documentary profiling Joseph Kony, the Ugandan LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) rebel leader, and the untold story of child soldiers under his reign. It speaks of the urgency to end the war and rescue these corrupted youths. The tragedy of this wartime phenomenon in many parts of the world is unimaginable to most of us, but all too real for those who live it.

In preparation for the rescue, I've been listening to Emmanuel Jal's "Warchild" LP. I came across this last year and was immediately mesmerized by Jal's story. Born in Sudan, after his mother was killed as a young boy, Jal was recruited into the SPLA (Sudanese People's Liberation Army) and trained to kill. After the fighting became so unbearable, Jal and some other children fled through the desert, some dying along the way and some forced into cannibalism. Jal was finally rescued by a woman named Emma McCune, a well-known British aid worker. She insisted he was too young to be a soldier, adopted, and smuggled him into Kenya. After enrolling Emmanuel in school, McCune died tragically a few months later. Although bittersweet, Emmanuel had still been blessed with new circumstance and opportunity.

Through music, Jal then concentrated his newfound lifestyle into correcting the errors still occurring in his homeland. VC2 contributor Nicole Wyche put it perfectly, "The poetic backbone of his lyrics translate nicely to spoken word which allows listeners to focus on the meaning and passion, rather than the entertainment value of the beat and melody behind the rap." The way he uses his music, and to the extent, really demonstrated to me two things. First, its showed me hip-hop's ability to encourage dialogue among people, especially those repressed or marginalized. I've always been drawn to that aspect of the culture, but seeing it being expressed in regards to such a severe situation as Darfur was mind blowing. Secondly, it showed me the life changing difference a single individual can make in kindness. As Kofi Annan once said, "Beneath the surface of states and nations, ideas and language, lies the fate of individual human beings in need, [whether that need is met] is just one test of our common humanity-- of our belief in our individual responsibility for our fellow men and women. But it's the only test that matters."



In closing, I would just like to reiterate that it only takes one person's simple act of effort, in good faith, to change someone's life forever. Please come out to support the Invisible Children Rescue and Global Night Commute on Saturday, 4.25.09. All the information you need to participate can be found at invisiblechildren.com. However, for unreleated reasons, I sugguest if you are to donate toward this cause, please hit up savethechildren.org. Emmanuel Jal's CD can be purchased at emmanueljal.org. Supporting this movement will enable someone, you, to speak for these innocent victims. These children, of all the muted hearts in the world, are truly the voiceless of the voiceless. Speak up. P.E.A.C.E.

Emmanuel Jal - Warchild

Santa Babylon 4.24.09

After a few years of progressive dubstep proliferation from West Coast DJs and producers, in core cities from Vancouver to San Diego, it was only a matter of time until this bass virus infiltrated the minds of the periphery. Santa Babylon may very well be the first all dubstep night in Santa Barbara. With enough exposure, this beautiful city can become an oasis for top bass artists around the world to showcase themselves between headlining events in S.F. and L.A.

Help add some diversity to the Santa Barbara dance scene and please come support this event presenting Ryan Organ (Portland) and local DJs at Muddy Waters. Even if your not familiar with the dubstep genre still come check it out. It's a very encompassing sound with many influences and approaches to its production. A music that will keep the hip-hop heads nodding, the ravers steppin' and the dubbed-out locs well.... dubbed out! Should be a night of distinction. Contact me or leave a comment if you would like more information. Big love for the 805. P.E.A.C.E.

Kulture - Steppin' Outta [Santa] Babylon

Still Grimey

These days grime music is at a provocative juncture. The more popular of the UK Garage offspring has encountered an identity crisis. The braced explosion many in East London expected to occur in the early 2000s never happened. The fuse put out by a British downpour of critics who couldn't see the commercial potential of the emcee-dominated 2-step music, and consequentially rejected it. However, no one doubted the ability of this untapped British talent; the likes of Lady Sovereign, Kano and Wiley's abilities were seminally realized on the world stage. As a result, grime artists began to expand their sound for more mainstream appeal while moving away from the "grime" label-- some abandoning it all together.

Just this past year the music's attention seemed to reach a climax. The advent of grime emcees appearing on 4/4 electro-house beats propelled these artists to commercial success. Wiley and Dizzee's hit singles last summer reached the top of the British charts. The "electro-grime" phenomenon was short-lived however, and grime receded back into the underground where it was born, where it thrives.

Now some cats are claiming "grime is dead" just as Nas' ill stated remark about hip-hop in 2006 (how can hip-hop be dead if Wu-Tang is forever?). As opposed to its transatlantic counterpart, when grime is favored in a good light, everyone's a grime emcee... but when viewed negatively, people jump ship. Perhaps those dark, guttural sounds of the late UKG scene, ushered in by none other than pirate radio stations, are the key to grime's success. Some music, often the best kinds until exploited, are destined for these depths, where real heads who can relate to and feel the music will always be waiting.

Durrty Goodz' newest 2009 release, "Ultrasound," is unabashedly dedicated to progressing those gritty displays grime originally became known for. But don't expect Durrty to accept any sort of underexposed, secondary role in the London urban scene. He's got the idea down for widespread success that the more well known artists at the moment don't fully grasp: That grime must be developed to that raw, abrasive sound in order to sustain a dedicated audience. He'll surely be felt from underground institutions who maintain a vast, global outreach within the culture. I first heard his Taz Buckfaster produced "Destruction" on Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Radio 1, well-known to showcase the world's top experimental bass music. This is the audience that matters.

Empowered-- not hindered-- by an authentic grime sound, Goodz' release is sure to cause a stir within various urban tribes. The production from a litany of artists is top notch. His lyrical ability is indistinguishable from the typical, ragga-rooted grime definition and it doesn't matter what kind of track you put him on. Just like his chart-striving counterparts using 'hip-pop', R&B and funky-house foundations for grime, Durrty does it too, but on the flipside of the ambiguous genre's influential spectrum.

Primarily with wicked dubstep tracks as well as straight bass raters, Durrty blazes throughout the entire album. He does rep one commercialized track but boldly uses it as a satirical chance to do away with the four-to-the-floor electro sound permeating the scene. Man absolutely shines on this one too, demonstrating his cross-over ability which he systematically chooses to avoid. As a result, one should not underestimate Goodz' versatility as an emcee, but understand above all else, he is a grime emcee. Like-wise D&B, dubstep, and the other legacies of UKG have far more of a linkage to grime in terms of culture and music than the "big money sound" engineering, which I believe has undermined, to a certain degree, the uniquity of grime's potential since the outset.

Into 2009, the 2-step offspring of UK Garage have contiued to innovate with appeal. With dubstep spreading like wildfire around the global bass circuit, and it's four-floor sister, bassline, gaining prominence as a more commercially potent, female-friendly dance music, its no wonder Goodz would stick to this route when all the other avenues on grime's road to exposure are faltering. Once this electro-house fashion passes, I'm sure you'll see more dubstep and other bass producers collaborating more frequently with grime artists. But right now it’s Durrty Goodz to keep your eye on. So cop the album, up that bass, and blast that shit. Grime is far from dead. It's well alive and ready to kick your fucking head in. You just got to know where to look. P.E.A.C.E.

D.G. - This Is What They Want (Produced by Joker)


Scope Durrty Goodz' "Ultrasound" (2009):
Link: http://www.ukrecordshop.com/item/durrty-goodz-ultrasound.html

The (Tobacco) Road to Progress

Regularly taking advantage of a vocabulary that boasts words like “synesthete,” “neophytes,” “attrition,” and “conflagration,” it’s no wonder that Common Market’s RA Scion has a reputation for self-assurance. Using his elevated lexicon as ammunition, MC Scion is leading the movement against the unsophistication and banality endemic in much of hip-hop music today. Most importantly, his lyrics remind us that the MC is poet and wordsmith before all else.

Intricate, versatile rhyme schemes and mellifluous alliteration collaborate to give Scion a unique, if mesmerizing, flow. What’s more impressive, his lyrics offer, at once, the best of both worlds for the hip-hop listener. On the one hand, he challenges the astute to keep up with his unyielding sentence structure, while on the other hand he invites the less ambitious to go with the flow and get lost in the verse. But no matter your disposition, you’ll immediately feel the vibe. Although DJ Sabzi deserves a lot of credit here, bringing to the table sonorous, jazz-infused, easy-listening beats that come well-equipped with heavenly synths, flutes and keyboards to make certain your finger stays on repeat.

On the track Swell, from Common Market’s latest album, Tobacco Road, this duality is apparent in the run-on style of Scion’s writing and delivery: “beat entreat a seeker, teachin’ leadership/ group ‘em through the groove, spike the meter, weaker needles skip/ like defeatist-types, see the sign, retreat, this hype is evil/ might it be what I perceive is aiight’s.” If you’re not careful, it’s easy to get consumed by the internal rhyme and lengthy syntax (this is where many listeners get dismayed; in the first line alone every word rhymes at least one syllable). This makes delivery more difficult, and therefore more laudable, but it can also have the effect of hindering an MC’s ability to successfully communicate his message.

Indeed, critics have voiced that Scion focuses too obsessively on the sound of his sentences, rather than the message, which, they say, is watered down or confused by the constant echoing of syllables and the tendency to string together discordant sentence fragments simply for the sake of maintaining the most aurally pleasing flow. Where this criticism is appropriate for an artist like Aesop Rock, who’s lyrics often come across as unassimilable and largely nonsensical (although impressive sonically) Scion manages to keep his writing substantive.

Let’s face it, every MC is occasionally guilty of sacrificing the clarity of their sentences for the sound of their words. It comes with the territory. The voice is, after all, an instrument. But for the most advanced MCs (and Scion’s one of them) it’s also a tool. And it's a tool fully utilized on Tobacco Road. Almost every track possesses a wealth of wisdom waiting to be uncovered. On the track 40 Acres, Scion's tone is at once cautionary and accusatory: "Hustle grand, seen a demand for organic/ In toxicity limits – infinitely more panic/ they're resorting to importing plants from other planets/ It cancels out the importance of the advantage."

Many of his other lyrics share a similar indignation. One of the best, if most incendiary, tracks on the album, 40 Thieves, acknowledges, and perhaps admonishes, the denigration of society by way of deception and exploitation: "From the makers of placebo, a trio pushed/ To ameliorate the feverish, deceivinest looks/ for thieves and crooks booked up in the state's prison system/ It's marketed disregarding of the rate of recidivism."

And here I can't help but point out one of the more ingenious lines penned on the album: "Thoroughly bred equine, bet he try and cover the spread/ Vignette, butter and bread truck – must've been something I said/ Cinnamon sugar on my raison d'etre." The multiple double meanings and bi-lingual wordplay here are excellent examples of why Scion should be placed in an echelon all his own. I can only hope he succeeds in ushering a new generation of like-minded talent.

In the meantime, I'm hugely digging the ground swell of socially conscious, linguistically complex hip-hop coming out of the Pacific Northwest, especially from MassLine. And I think it’s safe to say you can expect a lot more down the Road from Common Market.

And for those interested, all of Scion’s lyrics are posted on the group’s website (http://www.commonmarketmusic.com/lyrics.html). Check out the track below for a taste.

Common Market - Swell

Artist Feature #1 - Evil B

I have always admired the art of Jungle/Drum & Bass emceeing for the unique dissension from its hip-hop rapping and ragga toasting roots. Drum & Bass emcees use the idea of the voice as an instrument of sound to the extreme, with heavy and rapid, quick-rhyme word play in perfect chaos with the up to 160+ BPM tempo the music can demand.

The flow is generally seen as a compliment to the music rather than a primary role, as we see in Hip-Hop and Grime. It's a beautiful art form which disengages the ability of the emcee to use his verses as a poetic message, even if the verse has plenty of subject matter. Now I'm not saying the artist is incapable of reaching the audience with words. But, in my experience, it's usually about the artist using his energy to elevate the reception of the music; especially at those breaks preceding a wicked drop that wrecks the dance floor. In this respect, the emcee becomes under appreciated as an artist, reduced to a 'hype man' for the selectah.

It seems a new breed of emcee has exploded onto the D&B scene with a force of changing that. Evil B has returned to the roots of his career after a decade away. During that time span he was hard at work conquering the UK Garage/Grime industry operating as B Live (Evil B-->B livE). Collaborating with reggae star Elephant Man and Craig David, B Live gained widespread success. In 2007, he decided to return to Drum & Bass as Evil B. With an inventive approach to the undying scene, involving Garage overtones, Evil B has breathed new energy into raves.

On my last day in Britain for 2008 I was given a Drum 'N' Bass Arena podcast matching up veteran DJ Kane and MC Evil B. It seems Evil has come to change the perceptions of the D&B artist. By using a cutting-edge style, he's garnering quite a reputation. His slowed down, grimey flow allows him to employ metaphors into his on-the-surface party raps. Evil uses Kane's tracks to explore a variety of topics; his explosion on the scene, to gangsterism infecting the industry, to sex, death and the under appreciation of his art form.

The beginning of Kane's intro track, the Original Sin remix of ShyFX's "Raa," Evil emphasizes his unique stage presence. "Yo I crept up behind them/ Dum, Dum, D-Dum Dum/ The crowd knew it was my lot from the first rap/ A new style you ain't heard about/ Out in the streets they call it murder!" Evil B's flow immediately demands attention. His delivery makes no effort to hide his UKG influence, enabling him to generate a completely new style I had never heard before. As opposed to most D&B emcees, I felt I could maintain a constant connection to what he's saying, instead of a connection to the typical, fast-paced word flow in harmonium with the music.

Evil is critical of the current state of negativity affecting British youths. He addresses this on the second track, a Kane mash-up of Die & Break "Gettin' There" & Reprazent's "Trust Me," utilizing metaphor in his flow. *A young mum from Hackney/ Told me she got problems with her son/ He's a fan, can I talk to him? Done/ So I told him the story of my life and he took it/ And that's putting innovation in your son/ Look-- Oi, Oi! Am I still employed?/ It's a metaphor for joy I gave to the boy.* After the metaphor Evil openly reveals that it was so. He's challenging the listener to go beyond the sound of his voice and take his words for value with critical thought and poetic interpretation. With his innovative, down-tempo execution, Evil's delivery seems to be a D&B equivalent to GZA with the versatility of Method Man.

Evil continues to addresses negative aspects of society, such as gangster themes affecting the culture. Before Kane commences a new track, Little Punk's "Die," Evil puts the issue in the spotlight. "There's a whole new generation of actors going on-- now I don't feel that shit." Kane lays the tune as B commences his wit to dispel the notion of gangsterism within the Drum & Bass environment. "Ultra gangster, ultra gangster/ Every emcee has become ultra gangster/ The real gangsters, they think your all wankers."

Even as Evil takes the lyrical ability of the D&B emcee to a different level, he still maintains the important rave vibe throughout the entire set. Over Angel's "Gun," Evil entices the his audience to have a good time. "Never experienced things like this/ You can experience things like this/ A little bit of belief, you chief/ Come on, pick your face up/ No body's tying your lace up/ the world owes you shit/ you got to take what you want, like its a stick up." Even with his fresh, slowed-down style, Evil proves his ability to spit traditional D&B "militant tones," often displaying them in switch-offs with his other raps. In Chase & Status' "Music Club," Evil B rides the entire track with trigger quick lyrical bullets riddling into a dope James Bond melody.

Evil gets sentimental at one point of the podcast, which is extremely uncharacteristic for a hardcore dance music. Before the tune starts, he demonstrates his reservations about doing this track. "I didn't really want to take it to here, and I've been in two minds for doing exactly what I'm about to do. But I'ma send this one out... to all the Drum and Bass family," including close friends Billy S. and Ryan Walsh as well as Daddy Dread, who was lost tragically last year. Over High Contrasts' floaty "If We Ever," Evil is still able to maintain a rave vibe while unleashing the most uplifting lyrics I've ever heard in any dedication track:

"I know that your gone Dread, but this ain't goodbye/ I know you've elevated to the big rave in the sky/ We met a few times and for that I feel glad/ But here's a little secret why I don't feel sad/ Cause I'm sad for your fam and sad for your little man/ But, sometimes we follow the path of God's plans/ When I say Dread, I walk past and just smile/ Cause Dread's bought a ticket to the best rave in a while."

Beautiful. He connects the song and audience with a mantra any British bass-head will rock out to: "From the rave to the grave, I'll die a Junglist!" His ability to hold subject matter such as this in his tracks, while still appealing to the raver crowd, demonstrates Evil's ability to create something new in the instrumental dominant Drum & Bass formula. Following his "R.I.P. Fallen Soldiers" song he goes into another track with crafty shout-outs to other artists, showing his intimacy with the D&B scene.

Evil B's re-entry has ignited the scene with his new style. Perhaps this will allow the D&B artist to become a more dominant figure in the DJ/MC relationship. It further allows listeners like myself, who aren't overly engaged in the D&B scene, a chance to experience the art of emceeing in a different light. A light in which Hip-Hop or Grime cannot. With a fast rising fan base over the past year, Evil B is accelerating to the top, many of which are calling him the new #1. Whatever his reception within the scene, Evil should definitely be given credit for venturing into uncharted waters to reveal a new, ground breaking style. Within or outside D&B, Evil has elevated the meaning of what an emcee is capable of creating. He also breaks down the genre labeling which are attached to an emcee. Continued exposure to stylistic approaches like Evils may provide more cross-over collaborations of different rap genres. Such versatile applications to different types of urban music will unify the culture which is often segregated by style-specific principles within each genre. Check out the full set and track list from DNBA below. P.E.A.C.E.

* - denotes the transcription corrections offered by Evil B in response (see comments below).


Picture: MC Evil B.

01. Raa – Shy FX/Original Sin Remix – Digital Soundboy
02. Gettin There – Die & Break – Clear Skyz
>>> Trust Me – Reprazent – Talking Loud
03. Gun – Angel – 2 Dope
04. Music Club – Chase & Status – Ram
>> Hush Hush Tease
05. Special – Drumsound & Bassline Smith – Technique
06. Equinox – Taxman & Heist – Ganja
07. Frost Bite – Pleasure – Co-Lab
08. D For Danger – Original Sin – Playa’z
09. Little Punk – Die – Clear Skys
10. Watch The Skies – Bone Shaker/Heist Remix – Sudden Def
11. Will We Ever – High Contrast – Hospital
12. Line Dance – Vital Elements – V2E
13. Unbeatable Ninja – Zero G – XS Records
14. Flash Point – Die – Clear Skyz
15. Ohm – ? – ?
16. Killa’z Don’t Die – Hazard – Playa’z
17. Nitrous – Bad Company/Dillinja Remix – BC
18. Decibel – Original Sin – Playa’z
19. Swamp Thing – Sub Focus – Ram
20. Gold Dust – Fresh – Breakbeat Kaos

Partying in Pakistan

"A look at the underground youth scenes of Karachi, Pakistan."



Found this interesting. A VC2 producer gets a glimpse into the widespread effect of underground youth cultures popping up around the world. I especially liked the absolutely beautiful DJ Mad and her comments about the scene from her view. "It's only for kids who have been to raves, been to clubs, and have experienced the music and like it. It's not for the masses."

International attention is currently focused on the current state of Pakistan with unease. With negative media associations involving terrorism and conflict within the Muslim world, different perspectives on life and culture should be portrayed more often. Doing so will enable us make better informed decisions before acting upon attitudes and policy which can affect an entire nation of people. We may just realize we aren't so different from one another. P.E.A.C.E.


Picture: Rave in Egypt, 2008.

Dawn of a Union

Big ups Verbal, for finally making this happen. I would like to add a few things on top of your opening statement. First, I'm inclined to state that we're designing this forum to intentionally set itself apart from other hip-hop blogs, forums and other networks. Our aim is to focus on the universal qualities that make hip-hop so influential in people’s lives, the world over.

Although most recognize hip-hop culture as a vastly expanding, powerful phenomenon, most also regard it as a product of the popular music which grew out of 1970s NYC. Hip-hop was foremost, an incubating cultural movement before the music was even labeled so. Hip-hop culture came into being from the fusion of new artistic forms of expression taking place in the same moment of time and spatial interaction. These arts were expressed by a particular urban, underprivileged, minority-based youth who really didn't have another outlet. The graffiti artist -- the culture's visual expression, the b-boy -- the physical expression, the emcee -- the literary (poetics) and linguistic representation, and the DJ -- the musical representation are the core elements of hip-hop culture.

The fusion of these artistic mediums into a powerful sub-cultural movement would eventually have massive, global implications. The consequential social, economic and transnational cultural trends it would spark, has in my opinion, not occurred to this level since the artistic revolutionaries of the Italian Renaissance from the 14th-17th century. Forget Billie Holiday, this was the real Harlem Renaissance. By "renaissance" I'm not talking about something such as the revival of black arts as associated with the New-Negro Harlem movement, but far more encompassing; a shift in the understanding of our world through human expression. These art forms have evolved on their own right, driven by the hip-hop movement, to transcend racial, ethnic, religious, gender, political, socio and economic barriers and break them down to realize our true potential as creative individuals and communities alike.

Now, I'm not trying to make this a history lesson, as most of you taking part in this initiative will undoubtedly already know the origins. Our goal is to approach hip-hop at an academic level. I'm not talking about the study of the music and culture during your American Black Studies 101B class or whatever. Hip-hop has become universally appealing and accepted on a global level. Although there are perpetrators who would like to say hip-hop is only for “black culture” or should be “exclusive” to American society. Unfortunately, these people-- who often have great talent and contribution to the culture-- do not fully understand it. It's like saying the principles of the 18th century Enlightenment are to be understood and adopted only through the eyes of “white Europeans".

You must not blame these individuals for their perspective of what hip-hop is, their simply traditionalists who belong to a progressive culture. After all, if you’re an underprivileged black youth growing up in NYC during the 90s, then of course you’re going to believe hip-hop was made just for you. I'm not suggesting these perpetrators don't understand themselves or the communities who fostered them from within the culture. However, what I am saying is this: I'm a white, middle-class Californian. And hip-hop was made for me. And in the words of Jay-Z, "If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack."

That said, our emphasis for this new, innovative hip-hop environment is to promote the true ideals of the magic which brought hip-hop into our lives. Many will argue (even myself on occasion), that hip-hop has become so commercially diluted that it holds no identity of the founding principles of free expression. Furthermore, it's true those artistic ends have continued to progress so as to be removed from their original form. For example, breakdancing moves incorporated into contemporary art performances in modern dance are often seen as breaking from the culture.

These natural effects of a world-wide, mass cultural movement are expected and shouldn't suggest the culture is disintegrating. These branch-outs into other aspects of society should also be respected. I for one would be delighted to attend a ballet recital (with a pistol to my head), and see a manipulated form of pops and locks mixed in with spinning, pink tutus. The degradation of the music into a materialistic and commercial form has allowed formerly underprivileged, minority youths to capitalize on their situations and make something for themselves. Respect.

Now, obviously I'm not advocating this approach. I certainly do feel that the mainstream commercialization of hip-hop is in some way killing the culture I love, or at least hindering its potential as a mainstream music. This is based on the negative perceptions people outside the realm of hip-hop observe, so they naturally assume the entire culture is based on these corporate, profiting ideals (or the violent/misogynist propagations of the 1990s commercial rap scene).

The beautiful thing about the polarization of a unique and independent culture into the mainstream of society is its ever-blossoming underground movement. For every weak emcee broadcast on MTV preaching "bitches n' bling" with a little mic clipped on his collar, there's 10 more in basements around the world staying true to the culture by simply doing what they love. Those people are hip-hop. Those are the people we're trying to provide for, with a world-wide network for free expression, creativity and knowledge. So, for all those revolutionaries out there pursing your passion for hip-hop, in contrast to whatever social restrictions or perceptions people may label upon you, remember you’re a rebel in an elite culture. And your thoughts and input are always welcome here. Rebel Elite United. P.E.A.C.E.

Please see comment below for clarity on possibly misinterpreted remarks.

You know how we do. I mean, you probably don't know how we do, but you bout to find out..

Welcome to the club. Today marks the beginning of a unique, if bold endeavor.

The goal: bringing together like-minds from across the globe into a cyber-sphere of free thought and even freer expression. The subject? Hip-Hop. This site's intended for the education of anyone who lives and loves the music and the culture, from the dj to the b-boy, from the graffiti artist to fashion designer.

Over the coming months we expect this blog to evolve into a living document, a hip-hop encyclopedia devoted to defining and cataloging the ever changing world surrounding the music, the lifestyle, and the industry, documenting what hip-hop means to the people most invested. We want to find out how that meaning has evolved and still evolves as hip-hop leapfrogs from one continent to another, taking on new, fresh styles and spawning regional distinctions.

In the end, we hope to give advocates a destination where networking is not only possible, but viable. Let the project get underway!