So half a decade later, NYC Def Jux delight Aesop Rock has decided to release another solo album, this time on Rhymesayers , titled, Skelethon (cover art after the jump). Aesop is one of those rappers that probably helped forge the gap between kids who listened to Phish and backpack rappers, all white kids, but still. This first track , playing over the video, is called Zero Dark Thirty, which after a little search work, I found out comes from the military time 00:30 (thirty minutes after midnight) and is used to refer to a very early starting time. It’s also the title of a new film about the Osama Bin Laden raid scheduled for a 2012 release. That’s some great SEO planning Aesop! And another thing, seriously, am I the only guy out there who thinks that A.S.A.P Rocky was very much inspired by Aesop Rock when he came upon his moniker? Seriously? Aesop Rock v. ASAP Rocky?
Editor note: My favorite Aesop Rock track: Daylight
Professional athletes are often the envy of all hard working men. The notion of getting paid to play a game you love is a difficult pill to swallow. Across the board there are sure to be a plethora of justifiable examples of the ‘pay to play’ phenomenon. Some of these individuals are talented stars in their leagues, but lack the will to excel, some are plainly not working hard in the gym and collecting a check. However, for the chosen few, the superstars, sport is more than a game, it’s a divine decree. The two stars that come to mind when considering life beyond the game are Lebron and Michael. Simply put, Jordan is the most dominant player to have ever played sports in a professional setting. Lebron James is the closest thing we have to replicating the legendary entity.
When you’ve reached the level of global significance that these men have, it becomes society’s responsibility to document their tale. For Jordan, it was pretty much happening every other year during his NBA career, from Airtime to Michael Jordan: To The Max, Mike was commemorated. Peep a YouTube video thread of the Michael Jordan: To The Max in its entirety after the jump.
Lebron has been on a PR tour showcasing the premiere’s pf his documentary entitled More Than A Game. The documentary illustrates the story of Lebron’s precocious and mercurial rise to fame.
Lebron, never one to slip up when representing the urban youth, ensured that a relevant group of artists were featured on the soundtrack that accompanied this documentary. As is the case, the score is a fundamental part to any good documentary. Unfortunately, I find the soundtrack abhorrently lackluster, but enough NBA fans will appreciate the tracks, basketball fans have a predictably unique taste in hip hop.
When it comes to movies and documentaries I think of “The Show”, “Belly”, and “Shottas”. Even the Game’s “Belly 2″ which resembles melena more than cinema graces my Acer’s hardrive. So when coming upon a review of Ava DuVernay’s documentary “This is the life”, I was rather disinterested, obviously. Duvernay’s film delves into the lives of 50 young and rather unknown African-American artists who, in the 1990s, resisted peer pressure from the thuggery and G-Rap. In what appeared to be a void of artistic integrity, these Los Angeles artists sought and refined an alternative music movement.
The alternative movement in question was christened “The Good Life” because it originated out of a health food center in South Central called The Good Life Cafe. At this health food center a hip hop workshop type atmosphere was molded by B. Hall, owner of The Good Life Cafe. Good Life epitomized the lore of true hip hop, and no where was that more evident then on Thursday nights at Good Life. Aspiring MC’s braved the stage to perform one song in an effort to demonstrate their skills to the cafe audience. Not to be confused with a fluffy hip hop workshop that you may find at your local Learning Annex, at Good Life progress was everything, and development came with pressure. One example of the creative nature of up and coming artists was tested during Thursday performances when MC’s performed written songs, or free styled. However, if a performance was not up to par, the audience would begin a chant of “Please pass the mic!” and the rapper was forced to end the performance by passing the microphone to the next artist. Now that’s Gangsta! Figuratively of course.
I appreciate stories like this because history is everything. Without precedence we cannot build on this scene that many of us have come to devote a good portion of our lives to. Speaking of devoting time, all the L.A. zebra out there should go catch the flick @ the Downtown Independent on Main Street.
Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes Playing: At the Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles, (213) 617-1033
