I’m back and my paws are shaking!

For those of you expecting a Benny Hill type opening to commemorate this return, go jump in a lake. For the rest of you, to be honest, I have no idea who you are anymore. This used to be a boutique “urban culture blog” with a daily following of about 250-500 readers known to house an eclectic array of exclusive and public content, much of it driven right here at ZIF.  I (being me, as in the editor, the maestro, king lion) proceeded to take an extensive sabbatical, specifically to Canada where I worked on some  more “organic” projects. I’ve recently come back, and found this blog popping off with about 90 hits an hour, with a high of 8800 daily hits at one point last week. Who you are I have no idea. Perhaps our primordial and exclusive Machine Gun Kelly content really started to drive traffic this way after his recent (much deserved and anticipated) success. Actually I looked, and it’s not really about him, shit, apparently this blog has a plethora of content in more demand than Los Pollos Hermanos chicken in Albuquerque. Well, let’s cut to the chase here, what about ZIF now and tomorrow? The one thing I can say with some brevity is this: this blog will become something it has never been, an accurate reflection of how I, yes, I, truly feel about the cultural content that we are inundated with everyday. It won’t be about our other writers, our sponsored artists, or our desire for you to be a loyal reader. This rebirth if anything will be defined by a strict commitment to my taste. Consume accordingly.

*note: for new readers, be sure to check the interviews on our site, I’ve always found that to be one of our strongest suits.

*note 2: I may migrate this to another platform, but not till I figure out how to move gigabytes of crap. Also, artists can still submit work, just know, no more hall passes.

ZIF Video Of The Week: T.R.A. a.k.a The Rhyme Animal (of Empire) – The Realness (2011)

T.R.A. a.k.a The Rhyme Animal (of Empire) – The Realness (2011)

►

For those of you who may be late ZIF bloomers, my Toronto connection may seem random and contrived. But the Dot is very much a second home for me, and for anyone who questions that, I got bredren in Parkdale that can attest. Though the city is known for their Island roots, dancehall and reggae are not the only genre’s in town. With acts like Empire, made up of a gauntlet of relative unknowns who do nothing but spit hot lava, there is little doubt that hip hop is alive and well up North. This dude T.R.A. is one of the lesser known of the crew, which to me says that this group is making moves. Be sure to check out their last projects which had boom bap classics sprinkled generously throughout both albums.

As for T.R.A.:

With the first song release “The Realness” Produced by Amir Da Terrorist and mixed by Canada’s top Hip Hop engineer Michael ‘Blaow’ Plante, T.R.A Tha Rhyme Animal is starting the introduction to his collective of songs he has prepared for his new album “Writing My Wrongs” which is due for release this Summer. Look out for new songs and videos from T.R.A in the near future, get SARS 8 The New Strain coming Feb. 2011

Concert Review: Die Antwoord / Sleigh Bells

Die Antwoord/Sleigh Bells

Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

July 20^th, 2010

Proving that the hybrid-music era is in full swing, Sleigh Bells and Die Antwoord brought their co-headlining tour to the Phoenix in Toronto, Canada Tuesday night and a frantic crowd was there to greet them.  Products of the new wave of genre-defying acts, both projects have taken elements of hip-hop, electro and various other musical influences, and crafted a style uniquely their own.  Following in the footsteps of recent successes like The Go! Team and M.I.A., as well as countless lesser-known genre-breaking pioneers, both Sleigh Bells and Die Antwoord have infused the musical landscape with rich and colourful offerings that appeal to a vast spectrum of fans.  In a world where selling records is inexplicably harder than selling needless and expensive gadgets, one has to admire their creativity in broadening an audience.

Brooklyn-based Sleigh Bells opened the show with an intense strobe-heavy performance.  Tearing through tracks from their debut album, “Treats”, multi-instrumentalist Derek Miller and charismatic vocalist Alexis Krauss pumped up the crowd with their brand of electronic post-hardcore dance punk as Miller played blistering distorted guitar riffs and Krauss took control of the stage.  Signed to M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. Recordings imprint, the beloved Pitchfork buzz-band had their work cut out for them, living up to the hype generated before their record even hit the shelves.  They did just that, proving that an act relying on predominantly pre-recorded music can produce a scorching live set and connect with an audience in ways most bands would only hope to aspire to.  Beginning with their album opener “Tell ‘Em”, Sleigh Bells gripped the audience and plowed through their 45 minute set in the blink of an eye before anybody had the chance to exhale.

With the venue brimming with ZEF gear, it wasn’t hard to tell that the crowd was primarily there to see Die Antwoord.  Consisting of Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek (not to be confused with the Cincinnati-based producer) – though DJ Hi-Tek was replaced at the show with his cousin Vuilgeboost due to Tek’s fear of flying – the Cape Town trio are a testament to the power of the internet.  With no physical album yet released, they packed the Phoenix on the strength of their viral music videos and digital debut, “$O$”, which was originally available for free on their website and is currently awaiting a proper release on Interscope (those too eager to wait can download the “5” ep on iTunes which collects some of those tracks).  The crowd was frothing at the mouth for the performance, evidenced by a steady stream of stage diving encouraged by the band while Ninja himself took the plunge towards the end of the show.  Die Antwoord kept the energy at a peak level throughout, eschewing some of their more down-beat tracks in favour of their harder-hitting work, alternating between old school hip-hop, U.K. grime and a warehouse rave without missing a step in their hour-long set.  The fact that a hybrid hip-hop act from South Africa who don’t always rap in English can come to Canada and sell out a show is a victory of the modern wired world; that they can then leave the crowd begging for more is a victory all their own.



Sleigh Bells

Friday Free Joints

Download: Canibus – Melatonin Magik

Download: Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi – Tightrope

Download: Lil Wayne ft Ludacris – I’m Going to Eat You Alive

Download: Peter Jackson Ft. Treach – Certified (Produced by Classified)

Download: Yelawolf ft. Prynce Cyhi & Pill – I wish (remix)

I have seen you in the movies

When I think about Canada, music and intelligent thought, my thoughts turn to Neil Young*.

*The verse chords to Ambulance Blues are Bert Jansch’s “Needle Of Death” transposed down a whole step (rather than playing C-FMaj7-Am-G7, you would hit Bb-EbMaj7-Gm-F7), the song that supposedly directly inspired the NY penned “Needle and the Damage Done”). A Studio version of this can be found on the out of print “On The Beach”

When I think about half-ass freestyles, Drake might be first up:

Random Throwback (Ottawa Edition): Senators X Belly

Throwback to the future, retro jerseys are the wave of the eventual. It has been a trend for almost a decade now for retro jerseys to be used as an alternate jersey in all 4 major U.S. sports. Now it’s getting to the point where the primary jersey for a team is either a throwback or designed with a retro perspective. The Ottawa Senators jersey above is designed by a Senators fan on a mission to get the retro look of the early 20th century squad to replace the current jersey choice. There are about 1000 signatures on a petition to make the jersey transition happen, which is so Canadian it’s not even funny. In my extensive experience I’ve found that Canadians are hella apolitical and lack passion to a certain extent. Hence, Canada lets the U.S. dictate their domestic policies, however when it comes to hockey, look out!

Ottawa rapper Belly would be all about rocking the Senators jersey, unfortunately they don’t make it in a XXXXL yet. Belly is another exhibition of Canadian misplaced passion. The rap scene in Canada can be very unique, much of that is due to the strong Carribean roots that Afro-Canadians have. Patois and Jamaican lexicon combined with a Dancehall and Soca base can lead to some dope Canuck rap. However, Belly is a sure shot example of what goes horribly wrong when Canadian MC’s attempt to co-opt the steez of their American counterparts. Not exactly balling, not exactly gangsta, not exactly lyrically talented. Belly just wears the costume and hopes for the best, talk about a worthy petition, how about a petition to replace Belly’s pens and pads with Slimfast shakes and fruit bars?

MPFREE: Belly ft. Snoop Dogg – Hot Girl

T-Dot is 4th largest city and it’s all FAMOUS

The Canadian hip hop scene is one that has struggled to produce a true success story. Although there is plenty of hype behind Kardinal Offishall in the States right now, the fact is Kardinal WAS a Toronto rapper that had his moment in the Northern sun, and then sold out to make wack music and appear as a judge on a Much Music version of The Apprentice. Having fully exhausted his market in Canada, Kardinal linked up with Akon and started to market himself a little differently. This transition for Kardi is very much a means of forced acculturation and compromise. Peep the old Kardi in a classic T-Dot jam, back when he still repped it right:

Even though the Ol Time Killin/Maxine music video got love on BET back in the early 2000′s, it did not translate into a plethora of offers from down south. In Canada, whether it be music or most other things, if you want to truly break through the ceiling of mediocrity, you must secure a meaningful U.S. customer base. This unfortunate industry fact has led to a very familiar pattern being established, whereby rappers from Toronto and elsewhere in Canada are forced to make an arduous career choice. On the one hand they can embrace their colloquialism and localize, or they can do what everyone in the world tries to do; copy or emulate American music. For Kardinal it took a series of songs with Akon, Lady Gaga, and Keri Hilson for him to become somewhat of a household name. Sometimes you have to lie with dogs to wake up with a record deal. 

There have been a myriad of rappers to try and rep the Dot in the national scene, Choclair, Saukrates, Rochester, and Belly have all had some success dipping into the U.S. market. But for the most part their efforts fell flat as U.S. hip-hop heads smelled a fallacy. There ain’t no such thing as halfway crooks, or in this case halfway New Yorkers (Toronto thinks of itself as a lil NYC). In ironic fashion, Toronto rapper Kid Famous aka Famous has set his goals high. And in this case we may have a Toronto rapper that actually has the means to translate himself to the U.S. market without compromising his integrity. Famous has certainly got skills, however, it is the aggressive manner in which he has marketed himself through social media that distinguishes him from past MC’s.  Famous has an extensive network of audio, video, and image content littered throughout the net. He reminds me a lot of  WALE, both in style and in their viral marketing campaigns to become successful rappers. On that note, peep the two videos of Famous in this post, also peep the free track download, and of course his website links. I tip my New Era to Famous, the hungriest artist you never heard of, stay strong and don’t compromise for nobody. 

http://www.myspace.com/thekidfamous

http://irapnow.com/

DOWNLOAD:

Famous – I RAP NOW EP- Ain’t No Use

  

Support this article on Stumble. Click away

 

 

Toronto gives birth to the future of Viet Rap

Welcome to the hood bloodclot

In North Toronto there is a hood. Like many hoods “Jane & Finch” is infamous for its thuggery. Unlike many others it is as diverse as the United Nations. I have not being big upping the T-Dot at all, and for that I apologize. But here’s some love for a young Vietnamese cat called Andree Right Hand. His ability to dip into melodic verses in Vietnamese and back into the world of lexicon that I appreciate is extremely respectable. Andree comes from the “worst neighborhood in Canada” AKA “Jane & Finch”. Growing up in world that mirrored BedStuy more than a few of the 5 boroughs provided Andree with the environment to become a product of.  The fusion of traditional Vietnamese values and Toronto-Jamaican thug culture is bound to produce the unfrequent. The special part is when the rarity aspect of the art is outweighed by the talent that is manifested. Only then does the scarce transform into the exceptional.  Does Andree Right Hand do that? I don’t know about that, but he is hella young and determined, so is Jane & Finch.  

Get all the AZN and Toronto pride you can handle at Andree’s Myspace right here.

 

Support this article on Stumble. Click away.