Support local artists, this week I included one from LA’s own Sunny Jackson. Happy Memorial Day weekend, leave your respective plantations and live a little.
Dom Kennedy – My Type Of Party
GLC ft. Kids These Days – Pimp You (Prod. Blended Babies)
House Shoes ft. Danny Brown – Sweet
* Local Artist
Because sometimes all you want is for an emcee without a preconceived notion of what it means to be successful in the game to make a video about their hometown in the Mid-West. Stik Figa’s talent versus ego ratio is extremely appealing, his ability to continue to push a sound that has a “no-coast” feel is a refreshing cleanse to the rap gene pool which has clearly gone incestuous. May guys like this live long and prosper, but not too much, stay in Topeka sir, it’s clearly working. Oh, and can someone tell me what “Flaudgin” means? Thanks.
I have way too much on my plate today for real coverage of pretty much anything industry related. However, I’ve been hyping this SL Jones release for the past month and a half. Yes, it’s finally here, and yes, it’s earwax worth leaving in your dome. My favorite track features personal fave Freddie Gibbs, but there is plenty of dope solo work by Jonesy on this one. Stream the track, download the album, get your ears dirty. I gotta go.
SL Jones – M.E.M.P.H.I.S ft Freddie Gibbs
So I leave the office for a quick walk around campus, and what do I stumble upon? A promotional concert by Bay Area duo Los Rakas. Surely here to promote their upcoming performance at UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival, it made for quite the lunch break. It does not get liver than this, they are literally still out in Bruin Plaza doing their thing. See you late gates at JRF this weekend.
A dope Atlanta based emcee with a spirit and voice that forces attention from those you know what’s up. We like her.
I was getting interviewed for a job this past year and everything was going well, my gut was celebrating, I had that in the bag, then, the question: “Can you tell me a little about your Twitter account?” Me? My Twitter account with its petty 500 something followers? My account that is my blogs identity more than it is mine? My Twitter account? Let’s just say it wasn’t “in tune” with that employers existential mantra, I was kindly thanked for coming in. Lesson learned. Everyone from professional athletes to politicians to high school teachers have suffered a similar fate, trial and execution by Twitter. When I loaded up my timeline this morning I was surprised to see a pretty controversial tweet with an accompanying Instagram picture from one of my favorite rappers out of NY, Action Bronson.
Granted, for a man who rocks the twitter handle “Gimme Dat Butt” as well as formerly “Young Uganda” among other outlandish monikers, it is by no means shocking to see the filter button off. However, the notion that he was compelled to tweet a picture of a “tranny” whom had just had water dumped on “its” head by his boy does raise eyebrows, mind that pun. As Twitter controversies go, there was a flurry of feedback and qualifications. Including the following few tweets:
The man stands behind his words, and hasn’t deleted any of the tweets or pictures, I commend him for that. You can follow the conversation here, many are hitting him with both positive and negative feedback, many of which he has chosen to retweet. Now many of you will say, this is not a story, just a blog looking for one. I suppose that’s the very question I am asking, is this a story? Suppose some backup guard on the Pacers drops a line about “trannies” in a random tweet this week, what type of repercussions would you expect? Clearly a reaction from the league, clearly a major news story with groups looking to lynch the culprit. Are rappers immune to said critique? Action B. is a likeable guy, I like him, you like him, many people consider him the current torch bearer for the NY rap game. It’ll be interesting to see who chimes in, but at least you know that you can. Free speech baby, free fucking speech.
UPDATE: Action Bronson shut down his Instagram.
Sleigh Bells are quite the power duo. The tandem consists of Derek Edward Miller (guitar) and Alexis Krauss (vocals), and for the past five years have had a meteoric rise in the world of significant acts. The Brooklyn based group finds themselves on the cusp of another successful year ahead, having dropped their album Reign of Terror in late February of this year, the feedback has been demonstrative. This album was a true collaborative effort between the two, drastically different from their first album together, Treats, which was admittedly solely written by Derek Miller with Alexis having just joined the group. Peep their new video off their latest project, titled Demons, a Pantera inspired feel featuring slow motion footage from live shows filmed at Sleigh Bells shows in Omaha, Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Houston.
Their live shows have punctuated their stellar reputation so far, ZIF correspondent Oliver Smiff wrote a descriptive piece of a Toronto show where they co-headlined with Die Antwoord a few years back, you can check that here. In the meantime, you can add this Diplo remix to your collection of audible treats, consider it a early stocking stuffer.
The UK is typically a few steps behind when it comes to hip hop. Can you blame them, much like West Coast rap during the early 90′s, it looks at NYC for inspiration, the effect is somewhat watered down. However, when it comes to the sound formerly known as “grime” that has evolved much like hip hop has recently in the U.S. into a hybrid sound encompassing anything from heavy dubstep bass lines to melodies usually attributed to indie pop, one can say they are en par like their golfers. Kano was at one point the only artist worth following in the UK ”hip hop” scene, and really that came with an asterix on account of his grime roots. Clearly that is not the case anymore, plenty of acts out of England right now, however, Kano is still dishing out damage in the vanguard.
He turned 27 years old today, mighty young for a guy charged with holding the Grime/hip hop/ whatever you want to call it flag for the UK. He drops a new track titled “Wavy” produced by Newham General’s Footsie on DJ Logan Sama’s show tonight, if it’s anything like their last leak (above) it’s worth tuning in, I say mind your P’s & Q’s.
Sleep dropping out of weekend eyes and the news dropping doesn’t bode well for some of those who rely on the Internet for music and money – the Recording Industry Association of America won a victory over music downloading when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum who has a $675,000 verdict against him for downloading and sharing 30 songs online. The case will not be dropped, and neither will the amount of the penalties, which seem to be too unusually cruel to be constitutional. Mr. Tenenbaum may have been counting on FB stocks to take a monstrous leap and help him pay those bills, but the social media brand has opened its second day on the stock market with reports of a 13% drop. FB founder Mark Zuckerberg also dropped his bachelorhood Saturday by marrying his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan. His bride is reported to like, “cooking and soft things,” a statement which makes me annoyed at the Associated Press. For existing.
Other things that dropped and sound unfortunate? Whitney’s last single. Call me what you will, but I will choose to remember one of my favorite vocalists of all time pre-Bobby only. A time before American Idol and all the fake extras that never did suit Ms. Houston in my opinion strung throughout a track I won’t Celebrate to. Ever.
Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks – Celebrate
Drop me a line or drop a comment on this post if you feel the need.
Been dealing with idiots who happen to be older than me. My appreciation for the elderly is waning. Here’s some fucking sonic youth you geriatric has-been.
38 Spesh ft. Styles P – Support
Curren$y-Capitol (Feat. 2 Chainz)
Fly Moon Royalty – The Birthday Song
SL Jones x DJ Burn One – Dope Man
Donna Summer died today after a battle with cancer. RIP
I work hard for the money, and everytime I do this classic track playing on repeat inside of my head makes me feel just a little bit better about it.
Before I was a Pissed Off Pussy, back in the days when I was just a kitten I admired Ms. Summer’s style in her 1984 release Cats Without Claws. The album was a part of my mom’s album crate and although it didn’t do well on the charts, it inspired me to willingly embrace unique styles and Donna’s huge voice.
Donna worked hard and we will miss her. A few producers worked hard so you can enjoy an updated take on her classic disco sounds. Much respect to Donna Summer and her musical legacy. She was a voice for women and their plight and she was a goddess on the mic.
Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money (PakTraxx DubStep Remix)
Donna Summer – She works hard for the money (DjPaRe Remix 2008)
People who live in Los Angeles are very familiar with the phenomenon of classic “LA” figures that stand out for whatever eclectic reason and exist as a landmark within the city. Whether it’s that jogging guy in Silverlake (whom I believe passed somewhat recently) or the guy in the suit selling pies at Crenshaw and Jefferson during rush hour, there is an essence about the city that is punctuated by its characters. For Angelinos who listen to hip hop and care about the local artistry, an emcee by the name of Verbs is pretty hard to miss. He’s one of those guys who you will see everywhere, literally. Identified by his trademark red stocking cap and his denim vest with a plethora of pins, you can catch the man riding his bike around Leimert, or attending pretty much every event of note in the music scene, the man gets around. Well, apparently he’s able to sneak out of the city and get some work in after sharing the stage and performing with his crew The Swim Team at Paid Dues Music Festival 2012, VerBS released his single from his forthcoming The Progress EP 3: Manifest Awesome. This song contains samples of Janelle Monae, Mayer Hawthrone, Electronic composition by KnockSteady’s very own Duke Westlake. Next time you see the man, give the man a pat on his back for his efforts, maybe a bottle of water too, drink more.
VerBS – Happiness (prod. Duke Westlake)
Also check out a very “Verbsesque” video featuring visuals by VerBS Shot by the good dudes at Original Knockoff.
