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For its fifth release, Blackalicious has created a record of such sonic depth and breadth and lyrical ambition that it can proudly stand alongside the work of Bay Area funk fathers Sly Stone and Shuggie Otis, or hip-hop classics like Outkast's Aquemini, The Roots' Things Fall Apart and Gang Starr's Daily Operation. But The Craft is not nostalgia for some "golden era" that never existed, it represents state-of-the-art hip-hop with an expansive worldview. From its opening, the sublimely orchestrated Stereolab-esque suite of "World of Vibrations", The Craft moves from peak to peak-including the Prince-ly rush of "Powers", a sinuous funk summit with George Clinton on "Lotus Flower", and the seductive meta-futurist soul of "Automatique," which features special guest vocals from Floetry. The Craft reveals one of global hip-hop's best-loved crews achieving another artistic breakthrough. "It's my favorite of all of our albums," says the Gift of Gab. "I think that it's our best album."
This dance moves in the video from this internationally-renowned Punjabi-influenced hip-hop crew evokes the early work of Michael Jackson.
Directed by Mazik Saevitz Featuring...John Yancey Common Will.I.AM Black Thought Talib Kweli Karriem Riggins Frank N Dank Styling by Las Vegas based Fruition (www.fruitionlv.com). James "Jay Dee aka J Dilla" Yancey was born and raised on the mean streets of Detroit?s east side. Little is known of his musical upbringing, but he has most definitely become one of the most talented, innovative producers of our time. Gaining inspiration from listening to Whodini?s ?Big Mouth? back in the day, Jay tried his hand at making beats by using the ?pause? and ?record? buttons on his tape deck. After learning to work an MPC-60 back in 92? from Amp Fiddler, J Dilla was on his way to becoming one of hip-hop?s illest beat makers. After hooking up with two high school friends, T3 and Baatin, they formed the crew called, Slum Village (circa 1988), and Jay started to polish his rhyming skills to match his dope production. As Slum Village began to show themselves in Detroit and around the east coast Jay was also busy getting his production noticed by other artists in the music industry. One thing led to another and by the end of 1996, Jay Dee had produced joints for the likes of The Pharcyde, Keith Murray, Busta Rhymes and De La Soul. After hearing Jay?s ill productions Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) brought him in to lend his expertise to their 1996 release ?Beats, Rhymes and Life?. Jay Dee became one-third of the ghost production team now known as the Ummah, which included Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed. That year also saw the first release from Slum Village with ?Fantastic Vol. I?, a classic hard to find item. A chance meeting with Janet Jackson led to his 1997 remix of the chart topping ?Got Til? Its Gone? single that paired Janet?s smooth vocals with Jay Dee?s intoxicating drum kicks. Now dabbling in other music genres, Jay went on to lace beats for artists like Macy Gray, D?angelo, N?Dea Davenport and Erykah Badu. 2000 was a stellar year for Jay Dee, with his group Slum Village finally releasing their critically acclaimed ?Fantastic Vol. II? through Goodvibe Recordings, he also received notoriety with many other acts. With the now defunct Ummah production team non-existent (breakup of Tribe Called Quest in 99?), J Dilla became a member of The Soulquarians, which includes Ahmir ??uestlove? Thompson (The Roots), James Poyser and D?angelo. Jay produced a substantial amount of Common?s 2000 release ?Like Water For Chocolate? and contributed to D?angelo's Voodoo album. In 2001 Jay Dee released his first solo effort entitled ?Welcome 2 Detroit? (BBE Records). The ?W2D? album showcased a few emcee?s from the Detroit area, but also showed the versatility of Jay Dee and his craftiness. This 16 track ensemble of lyrical tracks, classic ?instrumental? covers and bouncy grooves solidified Jay Dee as one of the illest producers of his era and beyond. Other albums that followed included Jaylib (Jay Dee & Madlib) as well as an instrumental series at Bling47.com and production of 2 songs (Love is... and It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)) on Common's recent 'Be' album. J Dilla leaves behind a body of work which will be loved and rediscovered for years to come. His most recent album "Donuts" was released on February 7th, the day of his 32nd birthday. Two other projects, "The Shining" (BBE Records) and "Jay Love Japan" (Operation Unknown) are completed and will be released in 2006. Other production work has been completed for artists Madlib, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, A.G., Visionaries, Truth Hurts, Phat Kat, MF DOOM, Skillz, and Frank N Dank.
"Hustle and Flow" trailer no. 2
A 30-something Southern hip-hop artist and hustler enlists a cross section of the local community to help him realize his dreams of making a record. When he hears that a superstar rapper is coming to town, he gets ready for the hustle of his life.
Eternia featuring Jessica Kaya: "Love"
In celebration of March's Women's History Month, Canadian hip-hop recording artist Eternia examines the prevalence of violence against women in Canada and around the world. Eternia is drawing from the third single "Love" released from her Juno-nominated album "It?s Called Life" to raise awareness for Amnesty International's campaign to Stop Violence Against Women. This sensitive and critical issue is portrayed through the music video for "Love," which features guest vocals of Eternia?s sister ? Jessica Kaya, and which is slated for release in Canada, Australia and select US markets throughout March 2006. "In their lifetime, more than one in three women around the world report being abused or suffer from other forms of violence," explains Eternia. "Love" is the most personal and meaningful song I have ever created; it illustrates the struggles of physical and emotional abuse my mother suffered at the hands of my father, while having to raise us. Many women endure abusive relationships, thinking that is the only way to survive and raise their children. "Love" is my way of expressing a mothers' ultimate sacrifice for her children." Non-profit organization The 411 Initiative For Change (411), uses musicians as the media to engage and educate young people on pressing social issues. 411 facilitated this collaboration between Eternia and Amnesty International. "Amnesty International is the world?s largest human rights organization," explains 411 Executive Director Tamara Dawit. "Artists, like Eternia have the unique humility to use their prominence in bringing awareness to issues of importance to young people. With just over half of the women in Canada reporting having been victims of at least one act of violence since the age of 16, this is an issue of great importance to Canadians." Amnesty International has more than one million members around the world ? which includes thousands of Canadians; ? who are putting pressure on decision-makers to stop violence against women in families, communities, and war as well as violence tolerated by government authorities. "Each person can help stop violence against women, but only if we speak out," asserts Eternia. "I hope that I can inspire other young people to affect change in their communities." Eternia has rocked rhymes from crowded subway cars in the Bronx to shows across Canada, the US and Australia. Following a slew of successful singles, videos and feature releases, her first full-length, It?s Called Life, came out in Canada and Australia in October 2005.
In 1994, Mos Def along with his younger brother DCQ and his younger sister Ces, formed the group Urban Thermo Dynamics. UTD first graced the scene with the underground classic track "My Kung Fu". They soon thereafter followed up with the now classic "Manifest Destiny" single, which gave them notoriety among the wider hip-hop masses. Both singles where to lead up to the release of the group's debut album, Manifest Destiny. Though the group was signed to Payday Records, the album never saw an official release. Soon after the group was released from Payday, Mos Def and DCQ formed Medina Green and released the Rawkus Records underground mega-hit Crosstown Beef. Later, Mos Def recorded with Talib Kweli as Black Star, which took his underground notoriety to soaring heights. Mos Def's commercial popularity spawned with his hit gold debut solo album, Black on Both Sides. Now commercially available for the first time is the UTD Manifest Destiny album via Illson Media (imprint founded by DCQ). This hip-hop classic is filled with dark and melodic bass heavy production from Diamond D. and Showbiz. The album features the timeless songs: 'My Kung Fu', 'Manifest Destiny', 'Moon In Cancer', and 'Like That'. This album is a must have for all fans of classic and quality Hip-Hop. In conjunction with the release of the UTD album, Illson Media is re-releasing Medina Green U Know The Flex Mixtape Vol. 1. The CD features the new Medina Green tracks: 'Cats Copy', 'Pump Da Pump', and 'Slow and Tender'. As well, the project features the hard to find Mos Def tracks 'Beef' and 'Excellence'. U Know The Flex features production from Hi-Tek, Minnesota, Supa Dave West, Geology, and new comer Mike B. The Mixtape also features appearances from Illson Media artists Ali Shine, Magnetic, and Young Kash.
Paul Oakenfold featuring Brittany Murphy: "Faster Kill Pussycat"
A Lively Mind is Paul Oakenfold's second artist album and his second for Perfecto Records. Of course, every single one of his mix albums and projects have involved a high level of artistry, so perhaps a little explanation is in order... Paul Oakenfold has long been one of the most important--if not the most important--name in modern club culture. People who don't know that much about DJ culture or the music itself are familiar with Oakenfold's name and what he represents. Of course, many people who think they're unfamiliar with Oakenfolds music actually may have heard it often, thanks to appearances globally on the radio and TV featured in commercials supports mega brands such as Coca-Cola, Toyota, Motorola and Saab all which ran throughout 2005, not to mention his contributions to hit films such as Swordfish (which Oakenfold scored), The Matrix Reloaded and Michael Manns Collateral. In fact, when the superstar DJ sold out the Hollywood Bowl a couple of years ago, many pundits viewed the events as definitive proof that dance culture had finally arrived in America--a force as powerful as any other in modern pop music. Still, when he works as a DJ and/or as a remixer and releases mix CDs it's not a total expression of this Grammy Nominated artists musical creativity. Thus, A Lively Mind features 12 new songs composed and created by Paul Oakenfold. A work of love and passion, its been three years in the making. Bunkka, his debut artist album featuring the hits Ready Steady Go and Starry Eyed Surprise, was released in 2002, sold over a million copies worldwide and went Gold. "I'm an infant in the 'artist' world, weaned and ready to blossom," jokes the composer. "I still primarily believe that songs are the way to move forward in my musical world, which has always been very instrumentally-based. So coming up with great songs takes time. And, naturally, I'd jump from making the record to working on cues for films or doing a couple of remixes and then I'd get inspired and jump back into it. Some of the tracks have been reworked many times over to find a comfortable arena for me. "Plus, even though there are 12 tracks on the CD, I've recorded quite a few more. It wasn't a process of seeing what I could come up with and that's what's ended up on the album. There was a lot of tooing and froing until I was happy with the record". By his own admission, however, Oakenfold is not a singer. Bunkka featured such guest vocalists as Perry Farrell, Ice Cube, Tricky, Nelly Furtado, and--in what would turn out to be his final recorded appearance--Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A Lively Mind continues the tradition of employing unique vocalists. "Faster Kill Pussycat," the kickoff track and first single, is perhaps the most unique and somewhat shocking of the album when it comes to guest singers. The song--which started life as a rock tune but now might best be described as reminiscent of a young Madonna at her very best--features the astounding singing talents of... Brittany Murphy. Yes, that Brittany MurphyEminems girlfriend in 8 Mile. The femme fatale in Sin City. The actress-turned-diva was recommended to Oakenfold by a mutual friend Oakenfold claims, by the way, to be totally unfamiliar with Russ Meyer's cult classic film, Faster, Pussycat, Kill Kill. "I was looking for a different genre and a different feel and something just original for me," explains Oakenfold. "I knew I wanted a girl vocalist but also someone who's not known as a singer. It had to be someone from a completely different world than mine. It ultimately seemed that film was the right place to look because I was venturing more and more into that world. But even more importantly, I needed someone who could sing--who could really, really sing--and Brittany Murphy fit the bill." The world of film--or at least of Hollywood--influenced another of the albums stand out tracks, this one featuring vocals by modern hip-hop great Pharrell Williams. Inspired by the four years the London-Raised Oakenfold has called L.A. "home," the track is titled "Sex 'N Money." "It was actually an idea I came up for my last record that didn't make it because it was to hip-hop back then and I already had enough hip-hop songs on that album," says the writer. "So I shelved it and then later came across it while hunting for some old stuff. I liked the lyrical connotations of sex and money, thinking if anything, it's more relevant to today. "It's a song about how soulless the Hollywood party scene can be. Ive been in situations where people are introduced to me and then they spot a celebrity, standing nearby, and they disappear, literally mid sentence. So the track is really Hollywood in a nutshell for me--it's all sex and money. We deconstructed our original track and rewrote it for Pharrell, in a way that's melodic and hypnotic and just keeps coming back at you in waves." Other vocalists include two artists signed to Oakenfold's long-running Perfecto custom label--Spitfire (who performs on "No Compromise" and "Feed Your Mind") and Ashley of the rock band Bad Apples (who adds his vocal talents to "Vulnerable"). And then theres one who can only be described as a true living legend. Grandmaster Flash, the man who gave birth to the whole hip-hop movement in the early '80s with his classic "The Message," joins Oakenfold on "Set It Off." "Flash and I have long talked about making a track together hes the godfather! So it was truly an honor to work with him. I don't think there's another DJ I would actually make a record with but I really liked the idea of the guy who arguably started the whole DJ thing being on my record. And I liked the idea of our worlds colliding and our sounds clashing. That's why the track is a little more electronic than some of the others. It's a perfect blend of both our elements." A perfect blend could also be the perfect phrase to describe the cohesiveness of A Lively Mind a title which means an active person, says its creator. Balance was the key on this one, and the artist believes that this album may strike with a larger audience than Bunkka, an album that tended to alienate a small portion of his large audience. "What I set out to do on my last record was probably one step ahead of the game," he says in retrospect. "The dance world or electronic world was expecting more of a DJ record and I wanted to make a record that was more out there. Direction is hugely important to me--to have a balance. And I felt like maybe I'd lost a bit of balance on Bunkka. So this record is a lot more up-tempo, a lot more focused, and a lot more comfortable in the electronic world than the last record was and yet it still has a variety of flavors." In fact, some of the titles and themes on the album have a direct correlation to that electronic and dance world, both lyrically and title-wise. "Save The Last Trance For Me" is, of course, a play on words from the Drifters' classic "Save The Last Dance For Me." His critics get their comeuppance in "No Compromise." And the instrumental "Amsterdam" pays tribute to a city that plays host to the biggest dance scene in Europe. Of course, on some levels, it seems almost absurd to think of Paul Oakenfold needing to get "more comfortable" in anything involving the electronic world. After all, the guy helped invent that world. His mark can be seen and heard in everything from the early rise of hip-hop to the birth of the "Madchester" scene. Oakenfolds career began in London, when he began DJing in small clubs around the West End. His rising reputation led to a job as an A&R rep at the UK-based Champion label, where his first signing was Will Smith (still part of Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince). His second? Salt N' Peppa. Not bad for a novice record exec. After stints at Profile and Def Jam (where he perfected the talent scouting skills that would eventually lead him to start his own Perfecto label in 1991), he returned to DJing. Oakenfold changed European youth culture throughout the late '80s and early '90s. He was one of the first DJ's to have a residency on the Island of Ibiza, leading to both a new sound and a yearly festival. He also started regular "Balearic" club nights in London, attracting a crossover audience and remixed legendary bands such as The Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays (whose Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches album was produced by Oakenfold and his production partner Steve Osborne, becoming the biggest album of the band's career). His pivotal role in the Manchester scene was Oakenfold's visa into the rock world. Over the next several years, he, along with Osborne, remixed tracks by legendary bands New Order, The Cure and Massive Attack. In 1991, he first worked with U2 remixing "Even Better Than the Real Thing" and "Mysterious Ways" from their Achtung Baby album. It was the start of a long partnership with that band. He was the DJ on their historic ZOO TV tour and later remixed the band's "Beautiful Day," a number one hit for U2 on the U.S. and U.K. dance charts. Over the years, he's remixed tracks for everyone from Madonna to Elvis Presley to Justin Timberlake to Moby to Snoop Doggy Dog. He's the first electronic artist ever to be in the Guinness Book of World Records--for being the biggest DJ in the world. He's the only DJ to have a display case in the Hard Rock Cafe's Rock & Roll Museum. 2003 also saw Paul perform a concert on the Great Wall of China. That same year, not only was he honored with the UK's "Pioneer of Dance Music" award, which was presented by Queen Elizabeth herself at the "Pioneers of the Nation" celebration," shortly after Oakenfold had played the Nelson Mandela-organized South African AIDS benefit concert alongside Bono, Peter Gabriel and Beyonce Knowles. Oakenfolds mix compilation Another World (Perfecto) sold over 500,000 in the U.S. alone making it the biggest selling DJ compilation. He's also one helluva cook, having graduated from culinary school before beginning his journey in the music world. Now comes A Lively Mind, a totally new and fresh venture and perspective, musically speaking, for the artist. The album is just the beginning of an amazing 2006 that will find Oakenfold working on the scores of at least three new films--as well as remixing a number of singles including Madonnas new record Confessions of a Dance Floor and a track from the legendary Burning Spear. At the same time, the Perfecto label is releasing debut albums by the aforementioned Spitfire (who Oakenfold compares to a young Anthony Kiedis) and the London-by-way-of-Los Angeles Bad Apples. Then there's the U.S. and European tour that will follow the new albums release.
From Latin hip-hop artists, Pablo Bachata. Ponmelo ahi que te lo wa partir! Que te lo wa partir!
Workforce: "Best Foot Forward" (live)
Workforce rips the stage at the Monkey Bar, with Hawl Digg blessing the Mic and Dirt E. Dutch behind the wheels. This is a must see! Workforce is a HipHop group that consists of a producer (Dirt E.Dutch) and an Emcee (Hawl Digg). They started making music togther a few years ago. They've been working in the lab and creating a buzz ever since. They've rocked at the Lyricist Lounge and Opened up for De La Soul. They are contributing to the Connecticut HipHop scene and are ready to explode, so be on the lookout!
Barry Adamson, One Be Lo, Mobius Band
Crossfade TV checks out new tracks from former Bad Seed bandmember Barry Adamson, Detroit hip-hop artist One Be Lo, and electro-indie outfit Mobius Band.
