Friday, January 30, 2009

Chen Lo - The Ink Well Mixtape



Click Here To Download

Obama Loves North America's Team



The Pittsburgh Steelers, North America's Team!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A Winner's Take On Music/Life's Blood

A couple weeks ago a friend and I were discussing an older blog of mine on the death of physical media (iNightmare). It turns out that she was having a similar discussion with some of her friends. Well, to make a long story short our discussion along with her discussion led to a pretty cool blog piece that she wanted me to share with my readers . . . all two of you (Hi, mom & dad!). Anyway, here's a contribution from one of the coolest people I know . . .

Music Fades

By Fledgling Fashionista

When I first heard Kick, Push I was amazed. I had a burned copy in my car and seriously I listened to it on repeat for weeks on end without blinking. I’ll admit I’m a bit of an orchestra nerd. I played cello for many years and it’s still on my wish list of things to get myself. I fell in love with the strings and horns on the track so much that every time I hear the start of it, I turn up the volume. I get lost in the music of the song. It’s not the lyrics (nothing against them, however). It’s just the music.

Why did I love it so much? Maybe it reminded me of growing up the daughter of a DJ and tapping back into that love of music and feeling like I was a little girl in a basement full of records learning how to use turntables and a mixer for the first time. Maybe it made me realize, I’ve become an “oldhead”, that I miss ATCQ, Leaders of the New School, De La Soul, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Brand Nubian, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Kid N Play, Salt N Peppa, Eric B and Rakim, and a whole crew of others. I missed music and Lupe’s song took me back.

Back when I was in junior high and high school Friday nights meant come home, eat, change and head to the mall. The highlight of those evenings was going into Camelot Music and coming out with three cassette singles for $10. Sometimes I’d even have enough to buy a full CD or an EP from one of my favorite artists. I can clearly remember the bright yellow, long bodied, cardboard case of BBD’s Poison. I can recall the feel of the REM tape in my hand and my first exposure to The Roots through a CD single of What They Do. Growing up I had a world of music at my fingertips via my father, but there was nothing like having my own collection.

As I got older I would make bi-weekly trips to Record Exchange and build my collection with cheap used music. Now at 30 I’ve amassed about 400 CDS (minus the ones I had to sell to eat in college), but where are they? Sitting in booklets in my office. They are rarely touched outside of those I keep in my car. For someone with music so engrained in her blood why? Well first there were the mixtapes I made when I first discovered Kazaa. Next there was my 2gb Creative Zen, then the 32gb video Zen and now the 80gb iPod Classic. Sadly, for all the good memories I have attached to physically having the music in hard copy, I have become one of the many who download. That’s not to say I do not buy hard copies anymore, but the number has seriously dwindled. I can tell you on one hand the music I bought in store this year: The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley, Shine by Estelle, Rising Down by The Roots…I think that’s it.

Having my students write a paper this semester on where they stand on the issue of downloading made me look at my own thoughts. Do I consider it a crime? Yes I do. Is it a crime that can be stopped or properly punished? Of course not. The recording industry turned a blind eye to this phenomena for so long that when they did act their attempts were purely scare tactics and unreasonable. Me, along with many others, have had so many years and such easy access to filesharing networks, blank CDS and burners that the incentive to change is not there. There are a variety of reasons I download and I’m sure those reasons are shared by more than a few.



Just like I remember the look and feel of the BBD case from way back when, I still do love cover art and liner notes. I’m one of those people who have framed album covers in my living room, who remembers albums sometimes not for their track listing, but rather the picture they’ve left in my mind. I enjoy reading the thank yous and stories that those booklets contain, but convenience and a wide variety of musical tastes have severely disrupted that. Why convenience? Well until I moved to southern New Jersey last year the only available music was at Wal-Mart. I don’t want edited music and I certainly want my choice to extend past the typical blazin’ hip hop and r&b fodder, county and rock. There is such variety and Wal-Mart is not it. Now that I live near an FYE, the pull of LimeWire and my laptop have become too strong to resist because of years of use. I know I can get five blank CDs from Walgreens for $2.00 and next thing you know I have what I want in rotation in my car. I can indulge myself in that random Lil’ Wayne single or burn a whole Stevie Wonder mix in a flash.

Secondly, I wholeheartedly believe there is a lack of artist development. Of course as with everything there are exceptions to the rule and there are wonderful new musicians if you know where to look, but I’ve struggled in many debates to come up with my generation’s Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway or Nina Simone. Do we have one? I’m not really convinced we do. I’ve held conversations about how easily the word “genius” is thrown around in relation to musicians today. How do the artists that are popular now and even ten years ago stack up to their predecessors? Music is ever evolving, but I think I’m becoming one of those “I remember when” types and it’s funny that I look forward to the old school mix at noon. Why? Because I know if I was to buy one of those CDs I would be getting my money’s worth. There were stories and plots crafted into music in previous years that I think is lacking as a whole now. So I will continue to download that new Beyonce single or that Rihanna re-release because it’s about the single and not the album (or the career) as a whole.

So where does that leave us (or specifically me)? I will download the junk and buy the sustainable. I will always buy albums from those artists that I believe put out the best they can for each album, that go beyond working with the next hot producer, that are not changing their image or sound for the sake of sales, but rather evolving from something familiar to something cutting edge. I will continue to buy t-shirts and concert tickets.

As for the industry? Perhaps I would have more respect if they’d sued consumers for the actual cost of the songs and not for more than they can ever expect to collect. There is a possibility I would feel differently if the cost of CDS remained consistent with the quality of music, if there was more artist development, or better relations as a whole with those who fuel this industry. Maybe there is a change is coming with the downturn in sales over the last few years, but only time will tell. What I do know is that some of my fondest memories are based in music; I separate time periods in my life in categories of songs; and there are melodies that can bring tears, smiles or laughter within in the first few notes. Perhaps I have taken too much of a personal stake in these sound waves and beats, but it’s that important to me.

You can roll with this winner at FledglingFashionista.wordpress.com.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Colin Munroe - Will I Stay (Featuring Wale) [Video]



Will I Stay appears on The Unsung Hero Mixtape.

I Can't Wait To Say Hello To The Bad Guy!?!

I haven't been really excited for an album in a minute, but if even half of Doom's upcoming album, Born Like This, is as dope as the song that dropped online a few weeks ago, I will be requiring a change of pants!



Click Here To Download

Quasimoto Meets Kid Robot

Everybody's favorite . . . uh . . . whatever he is, Quasimoto, has been immortalized in vinyl (the other kind) by Kidrobot. Previously Kidrobot &
Stones Throw Records teamed up for a Madvillain figure a couple years ago.



The Quasimoto figure will be available in limited supply in both blue & yellow for $49.95 starting February 19, 2009.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Crate Diggin' With ?uestlove

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Cool Guys Always Finish First




Click Here To Download

It's Officially Black Christmas!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

50 Cent - I Get Money [Wikimedia Remix]



What made you decide to remix it?

Roscoe Wiki: I did it because me and my friend, who is also a producer decided to have a friendly competition for a remix of 50 cent's I Get Money.

May, I ask who was the comp?

Roscoe: His name is Lynn Jr. but I call him flamez you can catch him at myspace.com/lynnjrmusic.

What made you decide to just sing the hook instead of adding a verse or a few bars?

Roscoe: I honestly don't know. It really just felt right. I felt like I had already hummed throughout the verse and I felt that added a lot to it. I thought me singing on it would give it even more of my own flavor. With this remix I also felt that since the original I Get Money sampled Audio Two's Top Billin' it would be a good idea to put a little bit more of an old school feel into the track so with that in mind I even sampled drums from Top Billin'.

Now, was this done in a studio or at home?

Roscoe: At home, I do everything at home. Studios are extremely overrated. Why pay money for something you can do by yourself and get the same if not better results?

Click Here To Download

Monday, January 12, 2009

A Great Guy Says Good Bye

He was my favorite coach who's name wasn't Bill Cowher. It didn't hurt that Dungy was former Pittsburgh Steeler, who studied coaching at the foot of the greatest coach ever, Chuck Noll. He was the secondary coach and eventually defensive coordinator for Coach Noll from 1981 to 1989 before leaving to become Kansas City's secondary coach.

In 1996 he finally became a head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I instantly became a huge Bucs fan. I was happy to see Tony get the job, but I was kinda pissed that it had to be with one of the worst franchises in sports history. To this day, I think him turning around Tampa Bay is the greatest thing he ever did. I know he went on to become the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl, but turning around Tampa the way he did was insane. He set the table for them to win the Super Bowl the next year. He built a franchise, not just a team. To me, he technically has 2 Super Bowl titles.



What I loved most about Dungy was the way he went about his business. I am a huge fan of quiet greatness. He never said a word when he was consistently passed over for head coaching positions for years. He just put his head down and kept on producing great defenses. I see him in the same ilk as Marvin Hagler or Barry Sanders. Dungy's a class act and that seems to be a bit of an endangered species these days.

Quagmire Goes Club



Thanks, Mad Decent!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Wiz Khalifa & The Jackson 5

I'm feeling these low tech videos, more & more. I guess that's one positive of the crumbling music business. Gotta love the dance moves! lol

I love this song. He reps Pittsburgh well, I just wish he wasn't so isolated from other dope artists.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

This Had Me DYING, This Morning!

I officially love Tracema. I swear no one can be this "up" naturally! lol

If Jerry Seinfeld & Fresh Prince Of Bel Air-era Will Smith had a comedic baby . . . that baby would've made this youtube video.

Yes, you read that correctly! :)



Also check out this classic. lol

Monday, January 5, 2009

Video Game Violence

I love his game reviews on X-Play. I would attend a lecture if he gave one. I like his sense of humor as well as common sense approach.



What do you think has had the biggest role in our desensitization to violence? What medium has the largest impact on children? Maybe you believe the media has no impact. Thoughts?

Friday, January 2, 2009

Street Fighter IV Collector's Edition



According to Kotaku.com the Collector's Edition will include:

A limited edition Ryu statue for the PS3 and a C.Viper statue for the XBox 360.

An anime movie that sets up the storylines in Street Fighter IV. It's a Blu Ray disc for the PS3.

For more details and to see the XBox 360 version peep, Collector's Edition Revealed.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

9th Wonder To Start 2 Record Labels in '09


This sounds like a nice start to 2009 if this actually comes to fruition.

Swiped from The Lawn:

2009th Wonder . . . and WHAT a run it will be......

Whaddup yall, its your friendly neighborhood 9th Wonder here. I hope and trust everyone had a fantastic NYE, and will have a fantastic 2009. 2008 has been a crazy one from a musical and personal standpoint for me. I found out that every brother ain't your brother, amongst other things, but as my pastor said last night up in the tabernacle....."don't look back".......

Over the last 7 years since Phonte, Big Pooh, and I first made our run for it(thanks Eccentric for NOT listening to us and giving Brainchild the jams to put on thejawn.com), it has been ONE incredible ride. From a Questlove endorsement, to tons of media cosigns, to nay sayers, to all the fans, Little Brother built a legacy that will always be talked about, debated upon, and everything else under the sun, but it definitely was a run for it. Individually we all made our run for it, and will continue to do so, still striving to create great music for your ears. I can honestly say fads have come and gone, but the premise of good music have stayed our mission throughout.


In the past I have NEVER been big on TV time, nor being "known" from a visual standpoint, which is a deal breaker for ALOT of artists. We as Okp's tend to forget that we as music lovers are the CRAZY minority. People see music and don't even listen, they will fall in love with the look before the music, which prolly makes up 80% of music buying Americans(we gotta see it to believe it, sad to say). Just as an experiment, I got a driver for my college homecoming this year, AND had someone call to ALL the parties to put me on a list plus 6. The response was soooo overwhelming, to the point where someone asked me "man, you really DID do a joint for Erykah Badu huh...." I got STRAIGHT to the side door, move out of the way treatment, in my HOMETOWN! I never have experienced that here.

LOL

Yep, thats the world we live in....sad sad sad....

So, I decided, I must embrace this 9TH WONDER thing to the fullest, NOT become an asshole, but to embrace more of the fact that hey....I DID produce for some of the biggest artists of our generation, on some very landmark records of their careers(thanks Jay, Mary, D-Child, Badu, and Luda). In order for me to catapult any artists of mine I must assume the full role of ARTIST, because the BIGGER the name 9th Wonder is, the BIGGER they can be. The playing field is even now, so no matter if you are on a major or independent, YOU control your own destiny these days.


Starting in 2009, and with the blessings of Egon, PBW, and Dru Ha, I will be launching 2 labels at once, The Academy/Stones Throw and JamLa/Duckdown. This will be my shot, to put more music into the atmosphere, with the artists that I believe have what it takes. They are not striving to be mega PLATINUM superstars, but instead to make a noise loud enough to create a fanbase, a following, and to make money. Each label will have 2 different agendas, and 2 different paths, with an attempt NOT to cross the streams(see Egon in Ghostbusters). I believe that internet has created SO many pockets and demographics that crossing the streams will not become a factor, and each artist can reach the EXACT audience they want to reach.

That's my run for it....along with teaching, social organization involvements, and of course THE TRUE SCHOOL CORPORATION, it should be pretty fun.......

So....thats it.....feel free to comment, love, hate........

Happy 2009th Wonder to you all....

Truly Yours,
9th Wonder

9th Wonder
CEO
JAMLA/DUCKDOWN
THE ACADEMY/STONES THROW
THE TRUE SCHOOL CORPORATION