Beats, Rhymes, Life

Today is a slow day, literally nothing has hit my proverbial desk that entitles a sole post. Here are some stories floating around that almost made the cut.

1. Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver Desean Jackson raps on stage with Freeway in Lancaster, PA

Rappers want to be ballers, ballers want to be rappers. Desean Jackson has dabbled with rap before, having been featured on a Gillie Da Kid track with fellow Philly pro Lou Williams of the Sixers. Guess they rap better than Freeway can ball, just a healthy hypothesis.

2. Black Star rock the Bonnaroo house [Picture thread]

Black Star duo Talib Kweli & Mos Def aka Yasmin Bey reportedly put down a classic show at Bonnaroo this year. Check out a series of dope pictures from that set via G4Mikey. Man, do they look ancient.

3. Two different beefs were highlighted at the BET Awards red carpet interviews. Machine Gun Kelly commented on his bubbling feud with Yelawolf and A$AP Rocky went in on his former producer slash homie SpaceGhostPurrp. 

Memorable quote from A$AP: “F him, f— him, straight up. He’s one of those cats, like a lot of guys just hang around me, try to build hype, and when they dip off, start throwing dirt on the young on the blood”

Memorable quote from MGK: ”I love him, man. You gotta respect your elders, and he’s an old man so I gotta give it up, I respect all grandpas around the world doin’ it big. Salute.”

4. The usually flamboyantly braggadocio 2 Chainz reveals overly simple album art for the upcoming Based On A T.R.U. Story. 

 The album is due for an August 14th release, rumored to have collaborations with Kanye West, Drake, Rick Ross, Ludacris, and your momma.

5. Coachella may be leaving Indio, threatens city that 2013 will be last show.

I’ve never gone, but people who have seem to be pretty torn up about this. I doubt it will leave California and may in fact move closer to Los Angeles which would be selfishly sweet. Check the Times for the story.

Santigold, still got it?

Santigold is the buzz of the day , having leaked her album Master of My Make-Believe for streaming here.  After giving it the run through, I must say that I am excited about the diversity in production. Yes, Diplo has production on it, how could he not? However, production from Switch and Q-Tip complement her well, and I expect her to further diversify production in her next project. Still a little too predictable for me, and as you can see (below) at Coachella, I don’t know how well this will translate live. Buzz of the day though, so everyone will have their say.

Cover art after the jump…

Holograms Killed The Live Performance Star

I’m sure people there loved “seeing” ‘Pac, just not as much as greedy corporate music suits loving the idea of paying an artist one flat fee, then sending the performance around the world via an e-mail.

In other Coachella news, I heard that this (below) was the track most overplayed by deejays, maybe the world isn’t coming to an end.

P.S. the world is coming to an end, ask @hologramtupac

Nate Dogg WILL perform at Coachella 2012

Legendary G-Funk hook specialist Nate Dogg passed away at the tragic age of 41. That will not be stopping him from being on stage this year at Coachella, performing with Dr. Dre during his respective set. I repeat, those of you attending Coachella this year, be sure to catch Nate Dogg on stage with Dr. Dre, epic no? Not really, it’s called a hi-tech hologram broadcast, and Mariah Carey did something similar last Christmas when she was broadcast  via hologram during a Christmas concert in five different locations in Europe at the one time. I’m still not sure how that works, considering they would be sourcing video from a past Nate Dogg performance, rather than what Mariah did, which was recording a performance engineered for hologram broadcast. But hey, Dr. Dre asked for it, I’m assuming HP will be abiding. Learn the science here.

Brochella

This video of a sloshed Coachella patron has gotten more hits (1 million +) than attendees to the massive 3-day desert concert (approx 87,000). One’s gut reaction may be to say that that’s entirely silly; that it’s ridiculous that documenting a trashed frat brother should garner more attention than a bill that featured the likes of Jay-Z, Gorillaz, Faith No More and many more. But, the truth is, this video kind of sums up the concert perfectly. Sure, you come for the music but you stay for the chance to act a donkey under the desert sun’s crippling rays, with the pretext that you’re on a “spiritual desert pilgrimage.” Keep in mind that beer is $8 a cup and judging by this guy, the children of the beer garden purveyors should be all set for college, fee hikes and all.

Coachella 2010

Whoa, has Zebra is Food been around for over a year? I guess it has because I remember reviewing the Coachella lineup last year too. We didn’t even get the site a cake, what deadbeats we are. Anyway, this year’s the lineup is on the esoteric tip, as the festival tabs rap’s–all things considered, yet arguable–GOAT to headline. Friday also sports DJ Lance Rock, whom you’d know if you had kids and were sort of hip. Also playing are Little Dragon and Grace Jones. Day two is the most orthodox and formulaic day, with a Brit-pop mainstay Muse headlining, as well as Faith No More (SF represent). Finally, day three is climaxed by the Gorillaz, a group that doesn’t even exist in our flesh-bone-muscle-centric world. Their past bangers have included guest spots from Del the Funky Homosapien, Pharcyde, Dennis Hopper and Dangermouse, so it may be a ridiculous throwdown if they bring out any of their animated allies.

Last year, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Knux were the illest. As usual, I’ll give you the pretentious-as-fuck recommendation: yes the bands that are playing are pretty dope, but when it comes down to it, just being in the usually-desolate desert is pretty sublime*and when the sun sets and mollifies the 107 degree heat, I have never seen prettier weather.

*“Sublime” is a good word. Fuck that shit band for using it.

2009: Year Of the Potty-Mouth

Wow! Between Lil Wayne’s declaration “I just wanna fuck every girl in the world…”, DMX’s “Fuck You Bitch” and now the Knux’s “Fuck You” 2009 is shaping up to be a year soaked with a lack of subtle expression. Nevertheless, these New Orleans Via LA real-life brothers, rap as well as play their own instruments. Their album Remind Me In 3 Days was a sleeper hit and now they’re getting ready to drop another one. Snag “Fuck You” here.

Lupe MPFree-asco

I’ve always been a bit torn about Lupe Fiasco. I think he’s a decent to above-average rapper but he’s always seemed a tinge gimmicky and obsessed with appealing to skateboard kids. However, his performance at Coachella reinvigorated my interest. The temp was about 107 and the entire desert was understandably lethargic, but Lupe exploded on the stage. Rap is often criticized as losing validity when performed live but Lupe dispelled that. His set was backed by a full on band and he leaped around stage like Tarzan. It was chaos. Therefore, I’m fairly stoked about this new track “Shining Down.”

Clipse Heads West

I was really stoked to see Clipse this weekend at Coachella; I had a good spot and everything. Unfortunately, they canceled last minute. And even more lacking in fortune, is the fact that the venue had no chairs to help supplement a riot. Bummer. Anyway, Kanye and Clipse just dropped “Kinda Like A Big Deal” from their forthcoming album, Til The Casket Drops. This banger was supposed to descend for download on your ears today through Clipse’s blog but they seem to be having trouble so listen to a low-fi version below, or a higher-grade at Kanye’s blog. Also, stay tuned for my Coachella wrap-up, now in the works…

Zebras at Coachella

if you’re in the area, come say hello!

Coachella=Rap Music

First off, let me big up my fellow LionStarr founder, and editor of this blog, a Mr. Paul Glanting aka PeD. Not only is he a genuinely pure soul, he also has a knack for identifying good music, better than all you readers (all 14 of you).

Ok, so big time disclaimer aside, I would like to add my own take on Coachella. Now for the record, my exposure to indie rock/alternative, or whatever the hipsters choose not to call it, is minimal. It’s like this, I know who The Killers are, kinda, I know who Franz Ferdinand is, kinda, and I kinda know who MSTRKRFT is. Does that count? No! I do believe that I indulge in what can be described as an”eclectic”composition of music. But I reserve my dogmatic speak for discourse related to Hip Hop, specifically gangsta rap. Why? Because that’s what I know, it’s what I’ve immersed myself in for over a decade, and it’s my consumption of choice. I’ve listened to hundreds if not thousands of mixtapes, and purchased many LP’s, vinyl, CD, mp3. I have all of Tribe on vinyl, and I own every mixtape put out by DJ Scream. I knew who Lil Wayne was when most of you were finishing up your fantastic voyage with Coolio. Put simply, I know rap, hence I have an opinion about it, and it’s worth something.

Over the years I have wasted countless hours of my life debating with my fellow college and high school friends about the integrity of rap music. It was usually met with some cliché Caucasian claptrap (alliteration is so white). Realizing that I do not get these hours back at the end of my life, I made the sensible decision to detach myself from these fruitless conversations. But Coachella and festivals like this have reminded me of an old frustration that I have really not let go up until now. These types of Super Festivals are perpetuating the myth that the only laudable rap out there is intellectual/backpacker/conscious rap. You know what I’m talking about, the type of rap that can be blasted in the car whilst your father tells you he “kinda digs it” as he points out the instrumental value of Jurassic 5’s sound. Excuse me for a second while I use my air sickness bag.

Ok I’m back, and ready to emphasize my point with more poignant facts. Take a look at the hip-hop acts being showcased at Coachella this year. Here they are in no particular order: Lupe Fiasco, The Clipse, Atmosphere, Public Enemy and People under the Stairs. Many of you may be able to draw distinctions between these groups, and that’s because they are distinctly different. However, they do mold into what can be best described as a palatable meal for White America. At some level groups like this have a similar type style or message, and that message is, “we may come from the hood, or maybe we don’t, but either way, we’re into you guys liking us.” What compounds this problem is the fact that when these consumers come across the likes of 50 or T.I. they think of some song about being in a club with Rihanna. That’s because they have never copped a Whoo Kid mixtape or banged Urban Legend in their Cayenne. On the real this phenomenon makes me sick, but I’m over it for two reasons. One, I’mma do me, and bump these crackers with their notions of hood grandeur. Secondly, I know the genuine reason that the aforementioned rap acts enjoy a mutually gay relationship with the 21^st century hippy is that they are not consumed by those that count. In other words, to quote 50, “they don’t bump Ja Rule in the hood.” And People Under the Stairs doesn’t get bumped in my Infiniti, I guess I’m too busy polluting my soul with irrelevant garbage. Ignorance is bliss hippies, enjoy your bohemian connection to rap, it won’t last.

Lord of the Flies at Coachella

I dig this time of year; it’ a time when everybody’s inner-music nerd shoots out of them like a swarm of cockroaches in the light…….the Coachella lineup is here. I Certainly nothing mind-blowing but solid nonetheless. A friend told me that he rarely cares who is playing the legendary festival he just enjoys escaping to the desert. I agree. It really does have a pilgrimage type feel to it. I had a special VIP pass last year (and hope to get another this year) which really enhanced the event; sneak in alcohol and such, it’s really like running around like a wild animal for a few days, which is something everyone should do at some point in their life.