Hip Hop's topics - tribe.net

Saturday Oct 10th Defremery Park 1651 Adeline St. Btw 16th and 18th

2009-10-15T01:05:44Z

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173702874767

Host: The Living Word Project
Type: Music/Arts - Performance
Network: Global
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Time: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Location: Defremery Park
1651 Adeline St. Btw 16th and 18th
Oakland, CA

Life is Living is a FREE concert and caucus to affirm urban life through hip hop, intergenerational health, and environmental action. Activities will include:

*Music concert featuring Phroahe Monch, Kev Choice and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir

*Mighty 4 B-Boy Battle

*The 3rd Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle

*Youth town hall on health care sponsored by President Obama's non-profit wing, Organizing for America

* The Official opening of Town Park featuring Hood Games, a Skate and Bike competition

* Environmental Service Learning project with The Natural Builders

*Living Earth Mandala's by CommuniTree & Aaron Ableman

*Youth sports sponsored by the West Oakland YMCA

*Writing, Visual Art and Fashion Workshops

*Health screening for elders

*Eco-themed children's theater hosted by the West
Oakland Public Library

* Healthy Food/ Healthy Planet models presented by the Oakland Food Connection, City Slicker Farms, Food and Water Watch, and The People's Grocery

*Altar/Art installation themed "From Bobby Hutton to Oscar Grant" by Oakland artists eesuu, Susie Lundy, Khalil.Anthony, and Githinjie wa Mbire

*Music by Dj Sake One and Dj Leydis

posted in Hip Hop - 4 replies

And Now for Something Completely Different

2009-01-19T05:48:18Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ-FC3DLKwc

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

The original OG?

2009-01-18T16:29:42Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QveINMwkQ

Fa-fa-fa-fuck~!!!

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

'Busted' and 'Golden Chalice'

2009-01-06T00:53:14Z

Two new tracks featuring yours truly, a track called
'Busted'
by the saxophonist Woodnote produced by the mighty Dub FX, with a KP verse pon it http://www.last.fm/music/Kev+the+Poet+aka+KP+The+Hip-Hop+Bard/winter+of+woodshed/%27Busted%27+by+Woodnote+featuring+KP

and a collaboration between Bristol poets and Glastonbury MCs,
'Golden Chalice'
by Divine Collective, produced by J Rokka in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor...
http://www.last.fm/music/Kev+the+Poet+aka+KP+The+Hip-Hop+Bard/Exclusive+Unreleased+Demo+Dubplate%21%21%21/GOLDEN+CHALICE+by+Divine+Collective+produced+by+J+Rokka+%28Synchro+Edit%29

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Dr. Dre's DETOX

2008-06-12T16:10:59Z

What do you think are the odds of Dre ever putting that ghost album of his on the market before I turn 40?

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Computer Space Sauce

2008-06-06T06:53:09Z

Hey friends! It's xjordanary here with some free fresh new jams for your eager ears! I feel it's high time to quit being such a perfectionist hoarder of the music I create, and give as much back to all my beautiful friends and family as I can. This is the culmination of the last few creative months in one 34 minute mix of all original tunes composed by yours truly.
I hope you all enjoy, and have a hot n sunny fun summer!
Mucho Amor,
xjordanary
aka Bassobese

Click here to check out Bassobese-Computer Space Sauce:

http://www.bassobese.dj/index.php?&page=beats

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Hip-Hop Grammy

2008-05-01T18:06:27Z

I hate the fact that whenever it comes to selecting who's going to win Best Hip-Hop album in the Grammies, from the line-up, you can actually guess who's going to walk away with the crown. Is there anybody in here who ever doubted that Kanye wasn't going to pick it up this year?

Wouldn't it be nice if we were to have a more intricate Hip-Hop Grammy awards? We could have like: Best Hip-Hop Artist; Best Alternative Rap album; Best Southern-Rap Album & Artist; Best R n B/Hip-Hop Song & Album; Best Rap Song by Duo or Group ... etc.

What do you think?

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Longevity

2008-04-28T19:19:09Z

With props to the likes of LL, KRS-One, Beastie Boys, and a whole lot of others, in your own opinion, how long do you think it ought to be before a Rap artist can attain logevity status.

Or would it be on the basis of constant recording, airplay, and Billboard chart movement?

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Most Sampled Hip-Hop Artists

2008-04-28T19:12:24Z

Who or whom would you regard as the most sampled Hip-Hop artists. The ones whom most younger generation of Hip-Hopers keep paying homage to?

My first would be KRS-ONE.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

cross-post from 'AllHipHopHeads' tribe

2008-03-31T12:34:28Z

Click here to see orig. post(s):
http://truehiphophead.tribe.net/thread/f6c1570f-ab8c-4895-8fc7-0c595cbf95e4

== == == == == == ==

planet bboy screening dates

www.youtube.com/watch

www.planetbboy.com for details.

now playing in LA & NY:

March 21 - March 27
Location: Landmark Nuart theatre
Address: 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard

Screening times:
3/23 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00
3/24 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00
3/25 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00
3/26 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00
3/27 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00

San Diego update
March 28 - April 03
Location: Landmark Ken Cinema
Address: 4061 Adams Avenue. San Diego, CA

San Francisco update
March 28 - April 03
Location: Landmark Lumiere theatre
Address: 1572 California Street. San Francisco, CA

Berkeley update
March 28 - April 03
Location: Landmark Shattuck theatre
Address: 2230 Shattuck Avenue. Berkeley, CA

Irvine update
March 28 - April 03
Location: Edwards University Town Center 6 theatre
Address: 4245 Campus Drive. Irvine, CA

We thank everybody for their continued support. We hope to see you all in the theaters. Peace and much respect, the Planet B-boy team.

coming soon:
3/28 Washington, DC
4/04 Boston, MA
4/04 Chicago, IL
4/04 Austin, TX
4/04 Phoenix, AZ
4/11 Denver, CO
4/11 Minneapolis, MN
4/18 Philadelphia, PA
4/18 Portland, OR
4/25 Atlanta, GA
4/25 Seattle, WA
5/02 St. Louis, MO
posted by:

==================================

All you NYC headz:

It's playing right now (one week only) !!!

tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Lan...aspx

SUNSHINE CINEMA
143 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
Info: 212-358-7709

==================

Re: planet bboy screening dates Yesterday, 7:55 PM

from Benson Lee (the director) :

Dear friends and fans,

Due to the success of PLANET B-BOY opening week, Landmark Sunshine has extended screening dates in NYC. So it’s playing right now at Sunshine Cinema and we still need to get butts in seats this weekend MARCH 28-30 until next Thursday.

The director Benson Lee will be back for Q&A Friday and Saturday nights for the 7pm and 9:30pm shows. Please help us spread the word and tell your friends about the film!

Screenings :
Fri-Sat 12:00 | 2:20 | 4:40 | 7:00 | 9:30 | 11:45
Sun-Thu 12:00 | 2:20 | 4:40 | 7:00 | 9:30

Copyright © 2008 Utah Street Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Asian-Americans in hip-hop, my documentary idea

2007-11-15T03:21:53Z

Thoughts and feedback welcomed for this documentary idea I've had for a while....

http://people.tribe.net/le4life/blog/c735cc0b-249f-4f9a-936c-ba7e63edd7a0

another documentary I want to write and direct someday is one on Asian-Americans in hip hop. In honor of that, here are some of the artists who are contributing to the movement, with links to pics. Read more info at my myspace blog...
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=116932167&blogID=230602282&Mytoken=E7CA7B56-C9D5-45F7-8E889865FE15193512761076

The Invisible Skratch Piklz, pioneers of the team battle and winners (3 yrs in a row in the early 1990's) of the World DMC's. Member Qbert has long been regarded as the best scratch artist on earth, and Mix Master Mike became the DJ for the Beastie Boys. They disbanded in 2000 and are all working separately now. Qbert recently invented the QFO, a single turntable/mixer instrument.
http://www.djtimes.com/original/djmag/may00/images/F1-b.JPG
http://www.hiphopslam.com/news/g/022/phot_Qbert-QFO.jpg

Tyra from Saigon: composer, pianist, guitarist, and scratch DJ, one of the many fine ladies featured on Femaleswitfunk.com
http://www.femaleswitfunk.com/fwf2/bioimages/tfs.jpg

DJ Mike Relm. If you're ever lucky enough to catch him on tour, you'll be treated to some synchronized music and cinematic montage. The fuker sets up a live system where he has edited footage (mostly from random films) that he can manipulate when scratching his vinyl.
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/12/04/lv_clubland20c_at.jpg

Kid Koala, scratch DJ and downtempo producer. I just had to include him cuz I don't know many artists (much less Asian-American ones) who do his style of music.
http://image.listen.com/img/356x237/4/0/7/6/506704_356x237.jpg

Mike Shinoda got his claim to fame with Linkin Park, but then went on to form his own hip hop band Fort Minor, whose debut album featured a track about his Japanese-American family's internment during World War II.
http://www.rafu.com/images/mike_shinoda_2.jpg

Lyrics Born, MC from Berkeley/Oakland (hooray!!!) who has worked with artists and producers such as DJ Shadow.
http://media.musictoday.com/store/bands/926/product_medium/IVCD118.jpg

Native Guns = two MC's and one DJ. In addition to their collaborative album, they also do a lot of community and youth work. And they're in Oakland, yaaayyy!!!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e349/beatrock/c74d0ee5.jpg

Chad Hugo is one half of The Neptunes and one third of N.E.R.D. He produced his first song (Rump Shaker) with Pharrell Williams when they were both 18.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/collective/dnaimages/040319/nerd.jpg

If Solow is part of the Southern Cali-based crew featured in Hypen Magazine and the documentary Rize, then he must be a member of The Rice Track, one of the few (if not only) groups of Asians in the underground dance scene known as krumping.
http://www.krumpkings.com/images/bio/solow.gif

Several years back, Jin made his television debut on BET 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday competition and ended up beating seven consecutive challengers, becoming the show's longest running champion. He then got signed onto the Ruff Ryders label but his debut album flopped. He has been releasing albums with other labels since and continuing to win MC battles all over the world.
http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/vlimgdata/4562134332762.jpg

I don't know if these fools are actually with any record label, but if you find any of their albums or songs online (I'm sure they have a Myspace) you might get quite a laugh. Three Chinamen from NYC rapping about the perils of being Asian in America.
http://www.escapist.net/receptacle/images/notoriousmsg.jpg

The Far East Movement, sort of like Notorious MSG but not as much absurdity and they're probably more attractive too. Passionate lyrics about what it means to be Asian-American. They got their first track deal by being on the soundtrack for Fast & the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift.
http://www.theplatform2006.com/photo/random/GROUP1.jpg

Miss Info, radio personality and host who got into an argument on the air with her fellow DJ's at Hot 97 in NYC. The station had recently released a song poking fun at the tsunami disaster which had just struck Southeast Asia. Apparently, she was the only one there who thought the song was too racist and insensitive.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/silentkilla_911/Miss.jpg

Jeff Chang, Berkeley graduate and hip hop author/editor. One of his recent books Can't Stop Won't Stop has been hailed as the best scholastic/literary work on this music culture.
http://mcc.studentaffairs.duke.edu/images/cantstop.gif
http://www.giantpeachnews.com/news/db/archives/jeff_chang.gif

posted in Hip Hop - 10 replies

Your 7 Favourite Hip-Hop Album Covers

2007-11-15T03:01:14Z

All right ladies, and gents, let's hear your seven favourite Hip-Hop album covers. The ones that simply took your brethe away the moment you laid eyes on them, and that still do. Here are mine:

BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS - Any Means Necessary
Nas - Illmatic
PUBLIC ENEMY - It Takes A Nation Of Two MIllion ...
BUSTA RHYMES - E.L.E
METHOD MAN - Tical
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - The Low End Theory
THE FUGGEES - The Score

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Overated Hip-Hop

2007-10-31T14:04:30Z

I've never been much of a fan of 50Cent. I've always figured that much of his work are pretty much overrated and over-hyped via media publicity ... especially since most Hip-Hop artists are travelling the commerical route these days.

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Producer looking for lyracist - Male or Female - sample track provided - know anyone?

2007-10-28T01:42:13Z

First post here,

Producer out of the west coast, looking for a fresh hip hop lyracist, to collaborate with. Rawer the better, I need the material for my original production work.
Any takers or anyone have someone in mind?
Heres an example of the shit I make... looking for a short hook for the song,

http://www.puresolv.com/MM/MM-Yus...-be-ba.mp3

Marty Party

posted in Hip Hop - 13 replies

Check the Appleblim remixes...

2007-10-23T18:34:41Z

http://www.last.fm/music/Kev+the+Poet+aka+KP+The+Hip-Hop+Bard

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

When You Think About Hip-Hop

2007-10-04T16:44:31Z

Here's a trick question for everyone: whenever you sit down to think about Hip-Hop music and all the feeling you're apt to get from it, what comes to your mind: Sex, The Message, Freedom of Speech, Bling-Bling, Hedonistic Lifestyle ... etc.

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

dancin

2007-09-18T06:20:54Z

im a hip hop dance fanatic. any other dancers out there?

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

whaaaaaat?

2007-09-16T16:46:23Z

has anyone seen aesop rock promoting his new album 'none shall pass' on mtv??
is it just me, or is this completely bizarre and somewhat selling out on aesops part?
underground should stay underground, in my opinion.

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Commericializing Hip-Hop

2007-09-09T17:12:15Z

It's ironic in a certain way that Hip-Hop is practically the only music genre at present where much of the artists are so concerned with selling records. The fact that most artists now only strive for how much platinum/gold status their albums can grab rather than concentrate on the message they have to deliver. Is it all for the good?

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Lines From Your Favourite Artist

2007-09-09T09:24:40Z

Here's something I'd like us to play. Choose one of your favourite Hip-Hop artist/Group, and write out five of your most memorable lyrics from any of their albums/songs that you so much enjoy. Here are mine, coming from Nas:

1. "I'm like Scarface sniffing cocaine, holding an M-16, you see with the pen I'm extreme."
- New York State of Mind
2. "I carry the cross that helped you afford that plasma screen."
- Nazareth Savage
3. "All I need is one mic."
- One Mic
4. "I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death."
- New York State of Mind
5. "I gave you power, I made you buck wild."
- I Gave You Power.

posted in Hip Hop - 4 replies

Favourite Rap Genre

2007-09-06T19:20:07Z

So many genres to choose from, I'd like to know your two favourite. For me, it's Gansta Rap, and Political Rap.

posted in Hip Hop - 15 replies

What's BEEF!?!

2007-09-01T18:32:50Z

Everybody loves a good beef going on between two heavyweight artists, though much of what goes along moves between deep-seated hatred alongside valued public exposure and an assured increase in record sales. Which was a favourite beef and tell me who you feel won the fight.

Mine will always be that of 2pac vs. Jay-Z, Nas, Mobb Deep, Notorious B.I.G. & Bad Boy Records. The winner everly was 2pac, even in death.

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Who Wants BEEF!?!

2007-08-28T17:05:35Z

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

sf rock the bells

2007-08-15T06:27:44Z

there is a large possibility i might have to sell my (amazing) rock the bells ticket for this saturday in san francisco.
i looked on craigslist and ebay and tickets are going for over 200.
im willing to sell mine for 120.
if anyones interested, let me know.

thanks.

genevieve.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/satisfymys0ul/1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Hip Hop Vote Goes to Kucinich

2007-05-10T23:46:58Z

http://rap.about.com/b/a/258155.htm

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

REPRESENTING JAXXX-VILLE, FLORIDA, GOSSIPIN!

2007-03-24T02:03:42Z

this is my boi, flyi dcg, the mix tape king ...and his new video, "gossipin"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXWen-Ix334

check it out

posted in Hip Hop - 7 replies

NEW TRACK AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

2007-02-18T23:16:01Z

Here's a rough preview of my newest track from my upcoming album.
http://www.lovehiphop.com/publicize/DownloadIT.mp3

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks for listening.

posted in Hip Hop - 5 replies

Download The Catalyst Sampler

2007-02-17T00:27:04Z

Its been brewing long enough. Time for the taste test

Download Link - http://avanturb.com/news/?page_id=42

Read More About It - http://avanturb.com/news/?p=38

I'm saying... 2007 is right around the corner.

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Real Hip Hop

2007-02-17T00:14:40Z

Check out my friend Castro:
www.myspace.com/castrothevillan

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

www.rapspace.tv internet rap contest theme: PEACE deadline DEC 24th

2006-12-09T09:05:12Z

Hey peeps,

I want to show you some of my new raps and possibly get some votes from you to win a contest. Here's what's up. As far as I know the producers of Zed TV (cbc) got bored so they stared rapspace.tv. It's like Youtube.com for rappers. All the recordings (audio/video) on the site are recorded live directly into the site and onto the www, including my 8 raps and 3 beatbox videos.

I have one titled 'Vote 4 peace Santa Claus'. I would love for you to vote, rate, and drop bombs (you'll see) on any/all of my vids (this helps rappers get noticed in the heard), but I would really appreciate a bomb and a double click on the 'off tha hook' vote meter on my Santa Claus freestyle. This will all make sense when you see the page below.

Please contact me with any questions at all. The contest closes Dec 24th. Right now I'm 5th. Tell me what you think;) Thankyou.

So easyjust click the link below and of course check out other people's raps, beatboxes and more:

http://rapspace.tv/member/mike-sheehan/video/vote-4-peace-santa-clause

for fun,
Mike
--
www.beatboard.org

The Beatboard is a Youth Leadership, New Media and Contemporary Arts Education Organization operating in BC Canada and beyond

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Remembering Jam Master Jay

2006-10-30T20:36:33Z

Four years ago today, Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) of RUN DMC was gunned down in his Queens, NY recording studio.

I remember when I heard the news I cried (probably the only time I had for anyone involved in Hip Hop who I didn't know personally). I really can't listen to old RUN DMC songs now without feeling a little shook.

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Akons new album Konvicted

2006-10-21T19:08:35Z

Anyone else digging this?
I actually really like it. A few songs I could do without but yeah. He's dope.
I always loved Locked Up and even had it as a ring tone on my cell phone for people calling to buy dank.
but I never listened to his first album.
may go looking for it now.

p.s.
Yeah it isn’t out till next month? But you can find it.

posted in Hip Hop - 4 replies

The Fringe Presents The Feed

2006-10-10T17:14:09Z

he Fringe kicks off its monthly “ExtraCentric” party
Local 7-piece hip hop band, The Feed appear at Poleng

WHAT: the Fringe arts collective presents designed to “bring culture to the counterculture”
WHO: the Feed (live 7-piece hip hop band set) www.feedersunite.com/
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: VJ Dr. FX (www.drfx.com)
DJ SUPPORT: Motion Potion (www.motionpotion.com), Mycho Cocoa, Dylan Mack, Big Dolla Bill
WHEN: Saturday, November 4 2006 | 10pm till 2am
WHERE: POLENG LOUNGE | 1751 Fulton St @ Masonic | 415.441.1710
GENERAL INFO: www.fringecamp.com
PRESS INFO: Robert Kowal | rob@sffunk.com | 415.971.4527
TICKETS: $8 adv/$ 10 d.o.s. at www.sunsettickets.com

DETAILS: For over 2 years, the Fringe Collective has worked to “bring culture to the counterculture” merging the underground “burners” with a variety of artistic projects pushing music forward. Beginning November 4, the Fringe will host a ExtraCentric, a monthly showcase of live music and djs aiming to merge the crowds and blur the lines.

On November 4, the Fringe presents THE FEED, an organic hip-hop group from San Francisco, combines classic hip-hop, old school rap, rock n' reggae, with jazzy flava and a twist, to create their original "new school" mix. THE FEED's ingredients are two Emcee's (Mr. Jei and Wojtek), bass (Mike Courtesy), drums (B-Swayzee), keys and sax (E-Harmony), violin (Homer Sta Bone), and turntables (Bass Ackwordz). The debut album, titled the Edible Album, is available now from Studio Ho Records. http://feedersunite.com

Other entertainment includes visuals by V.J. DR. FX, a breaks/hip hop set in the backroom by Fringe resident MOTION POTION. The front room features DJ sets by Fringe residents DYLAN MAC (hip hop), BIG DOLLA BILL (mash ups) and VICTOR VEGA (electr-house)

ABOUT THE FRINGE: Though the Fringe came together through the Burning Man Festival, it has since grown into a full-time art collective dedicated to promoting evolutionary music. The Fringe has hosted a multitude of live acts on the playa including BLVD, Hamsa Lila, Albino, Firefly, Blu Sirkut, Burn, and Skin. They have also hosted legendary groundbreaking Djs at their various fundraisers including DJ Icey, Mike Relm, Bassnectar, Bassbin Twins and Allgood Funk Alliance. The Fringe residents are, video artist Dr. FX. live acts BLVD (http://blvdblvd.tribe.net/), the Ritual and Ted Schram and DJs Motion Potion, Mycho Cocoa, Victor Vega, Big Dolla Bill and Tim Dietz. More info can be found at: www.fringecamp.com or www.thefringe.tribe.net

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

married in Mexico! Electro/DnB/Hiphop 10/22

2006-10-09T21:47:21Z

Come celebrate the joyous, non-legally binding, union of Susan and Rebecca (even if you don't know the brides) with wedding cake, acrobats, house music, breaks, drum n bass and electro.

Feat:
Qzen
Sharon Buck
Braulio
Lachlan

Element Lounge
1028 Geary Blvd
SF CA 94109
21+ w/ id
$5 all night

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Luda on mtvU

2006-10-05T13:47:30Z

Check out Ludacris being featured on mtvU’s the House Band:
http://www.mtvu.com/music/house_band/

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

best song of the century

2006-10-04T20:47:09Z

the new song by outkast: Morris Brown

anyone beg to differ? mind you...i LOVE marching band rock. ;)

posted in Hip Hop - 11 replies

Ecstasy in Bay Area hip hop

2006-10-04T02:40:33Z

Well, after weeks of procrastination, I finally finished the first draft of this goddamn presentation. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about this conference, but I'm glad I don't have to stress over it again until the day comes closer, although feedback and merciless criticism is welcome if you have the patience to read through the whole fukin thing and actually write me a response.

Hyphy Off Thizz: Ecstasy in the Oakland Hip Hop Scene
http://www.leshengliu.com/Speeches%20Hip%20Hop.html
A Presentation at the Harm Reduction Conference
Marriott Oakland City Center Hotel, CA - November 9-12, 2006
Hosted by the Harm Reduction Coalition, HarmReduction.org

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

references to Doncarlione

2006-09-26T18:56:43Z

Why the hip hop references to Doncarlione ?

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

talib kweli

2006-08-16T16:52:06Z

hes playing in santa barbara for 15 bucks at a TINNNNY venue! yay!

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Rock the Bells

2006-08-03T13:53:19Z

To all Hip Hop fans, this Saturday is Rock the Bells Festival IV, in San Bernardino, CA. My friend Chor Boogie (aerosol artist) will be presenting his artwork of ODB to the Wu-Tang Crew. For more info check out the website www.rockthebells.net

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

baby b boy

2006-07-17T20:15:46Z

http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/48411/

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

House of Stormz Studios Presents BRING IT! Featuring MEDUSA

2006-07-05T21:29:12Z

Saturday July 8th House of Stormz Studios and Frontline Riddims
present BRING IT!
A Grand Opening and Promo Release Event

Featuring The High Priestess of Hip Hop MEDUSA (Feline Science/LA)
Performing with one of the bays hottest bands THE PARK featuring members of BUCHO!

Join us as we breathe life and spark momentum into one of the most progressive production studios and hippest event spaces in Oakland!

MASTER OF CEREMONIES:
J.B.RAP (Deep Dick Collective/Naked Souls Artist Alliance)

PERFORMANCES BY RECORDING ARTISTS:
Aza (Herstory/The Playground/Frontline)
Syra (DJ Alpheta/Frontline/LIP)
Seneca (GIVING TREE)
Galen (Cov Records)
TZ Money (Frontline)
MC Taurus (Frontline)

DJ’s:
Jamin (B.I.G./LIP)
Discovery (Livingroom/Rise)

EROTIC PHOTO’S and URBAN ARTWORK BY:
REFA 1 (Oaklandish)
and
J.R.S. (Everywhere)

From the producers of LIP: An All Grrrl MC Battle and FLEX Drum’n’Bass, we bring you the bays freshest new talent in a slammin’ new space.
WITNESS! AS WE UNLEASH A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH...
1439 105th Ave. @ E. 14th St.::Oakland
Doors @ 10pm:: $8 Before 11pm/$12 After::21+ W/ID
INFO: alpheta@grrrlbattle.com

posted in Hip Hop - 5 replies

Happy B-day Tupac!!

2006-06-16T17:22:03Z

2day if Pac was still alive, he would have been 35 years old
<Keep Ya head up!>

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

lookin for more hip hop artists that id dig.

2006-06-15T21:14:15Z

anyone out there whos into alot of underground like apathy ...celph titled...louis logic...atmosphere...well in that fact...pretty much anyone on rhyme sayers...immortal techinque...cunninlynguists....stuff like that.....get at me about artists...and if you havent heard the names i just listed and u like raw ass lyrics full of metaphors and shite...peep them out...beats are tasty as well.

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

UNSIGNED ARTIST LOOKING FOR A PUBLISHING & DISTRIBUTION DEAL!!!!

2006-06-08T15:54:30Z

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY WORK.....

SOME OF MY MUSIC
@ www.myspace.com/desiremcneish

WORK PRODUCED BY ME FOR THE ARTIST BLAYDEZ
@ www.myspace.com/blaydez

MORE OF MY PRODUCTION WORK (BEATS)
@ www.myspace.com/beatfacory

ALSO CHECK OUT MY DOCUMENTRY
@ www.myspace.com/urbanstreetsdvd

IF YOUR ABLE TO HELP ME IN ANYWAY.....

SEND ME A MESSAGE OR LEAVE A COMMENT

HOLLA

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Eminem and Fifty Cent

2006-05-22T22:41:50Z

Maybe it's just me, but I lost almost all respect for Eminem, as a rapper and a businessman, when he brought in Fifty. I was a huge fan of Eminem, I mean I hate anyone who's hyped up but I really loved his music, especially the serious stuff. When he came out with Fifty, I was disappointed and felt kinda betrayed. I mean Dr. Dre, one of the greatest producers ALIVE, gets together with an amazing artist like Em, and the best they can do is Fifty Cent? I mean his beats knock and his little flow can be catchy but it's commercial gangsta mainstream hip hop. And that's apart from all the rumors about him being, ironic considering his first single, a wanksta. And to top it off Eminem is going around saying, "Fifty Cent is my favorite rapper." He's using his influence to dupe all his fans into making him money, nad not even with his own music! So I'll still listen to Eminem and nod my head, but I haven't bought any of his albums since and I'm not a fan like I used to be.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

giving away free LADY SOVEREIGN tour tix(w/THE STREETS

2006-05-22T02:35:58Z

win tickets for LADY SOVEREIGN IN A CITY NEAR YOU.....

go to this link to start.........

http://www.streetwise.com/promo_v2/index.php?promo_id=25&tk=dimens

LADY SOVEREIGN TOUR DATES:
tour dates and the day contest ends for each of the cities
A pair of tickets will be given away in each city to the winners.

6/07/06 Showbox Showroom & Lounge Seattle, WA
6/08/06 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
6/09/06 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
6/10/06 Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
winners will be selected on monday, june 5, 2006

6/14/06 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO
6/16/06 La Zona Rosa Austin, TX
winners will be selected on monday, june 12, 2006

6/21/06 Avalon Ballroom Boston, MA
6/22/06 Spectrum De Montreal Montreal, QC
6/23/06 The Phoenix Toronto, ON
winners will be selected on monday, june 19, 2006

6/27/06 Webster Hall New York, NY
winner will be selected on Friday, june 23, 2006

8/4-6/06 Lollapalooza, Chicago
winner will be selected on Tuesday august 1, 2006

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

is someone gonna contest KRS??

2006-05-16T13:24:46Z

What is the Temple of Hiphop? A Hip Hop ministry, A Hip Hop archive, a Hip Hop school and a Hip Hop preservation society (M.A.S.S.).

What is the Temple of Hiphop's function? To nurture and protect Hip Hop's cultural development.

When did the Temple of Hiphop begin? In 1996 when its founder KRS-ONE announced publicly; "Rap is something we do; Hiphop is something we live!"

What does the Temple of Hiphop teach? Ancient spiritual truths through the culture and language of modern Hip Hop. We teach average "rap fans" how to be true Hiphoppas. Our teachings are based upon the philosophy that education should assist You in becoming a better YOU!

What is the vision of the Temple of Hiphop? To establish Hip Hop as a legitimate international culture of peace and prosperity. We envision a full-service Hip Hop city someday.

What does the Temple of Hiphop believe? We believe in GOD! We believe that Hip Hop is God's response to our suffering. For us, Hip Hop is solid proof that God is real and that God loves us! Yes, God loves Hip Hop! For us, Hip Hop is indeed the "Promised Land".

What are the basic principles of the Temple of Hiphop? Health, Love, Awareness and Wealth (H-LAW). As a temple we are governed by the principles of the Hiphop Declaration of Peace and we are guided by the Gospel of Hiphop.

What are Hip Hop's nine elements? And why? Breakin, Emceein, Graffiti Art, Deejayin, Beatboxin, Street Fashion, Street Knowledge, Street Language, and Street Entrepreneurialism. As nine elements Hip Hop is capable of being lived; not just performed. For us, Hip Hop is a sustainable lifestyle; not just music.

HIP HOP APPRECIATION WEEK MAY 15TH-22ND 2006

Welcome to the Temple of Hiphop

www.templeofhiphop.org

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Ecstasy in the Bay Area hip hop scene

2006-04-25T17:20:13Z

What's up everyone!!! During Christmas and January, I got the chance to hang out with and assist music writer Rachel Swan for her research on ecstasy use in Oakland/Bay Area's hip hop scene. The article is great. Try to read it when you get a chance. I am featured towards the end of the piece:

EastBayExpress.com Cover Story, March 15, 2006, by Rachel Swan

It's a frigid December night in West Oakland, and the sky is as black as slag. Rain pours down in thick, oily sheets, sweeping all kinds of detritus along the road. Outside Soundwave Studios, people are loading band equipment into their vans, or huddling under the awning to smoke cigarettes and listen to the rain. That's when a car swerves by from out of nowhere. It lurches haphazardly down the block, careening so far to one side that one of the smokers flinches. The driver does a tremendous B-movie turn that makes her brakes squeal and then pulls up in front of the mortified onlookers. She rolls down her window and smiles apologetically. ¨We were thizzin',¨ she later explains.

The driver, Brittany, and her passenger, Michelle, plan to drop into a liquor store before stopping at Mingles Martini and Champagne Lounge for ¨Jeans and High Heels,¨ a weekly hip-hop party sponsored by Thizz Entertainment. True to the night's theme, the two are indeed thizzin' -- meaning, in hip-hop patois, that they're high on the drug Ecstasy. Brittany's car is cluttered with fliers, one of which advertises Thizz Entertainment's forthcoming New Year's party. Blending garish neon lettering with lurid hip-hop iconography including a "booty poppin'" contest complete with an illustration of said booty, it's a stunning example of how Ecstasy has been plucked out of the hippie-rave community and repackaged with a flashy hip-hop veneer. In the center lies a picture of the cover image from the late Mac Dre's CD Thizzelle Washington, which shows the rapper in his '70s polo shirt, aviator glasses, and Afro 'do, busting a disco pose in front of a backdrop of psychedelic colors. The Thizz Entertainment logo appears at the bottom in hazy, pixelated letters, as though to convey the feeling of fuzzy disorientation that comes with an Ecstasy high.

Granted, these promotional materials stop short of directly merchandising Ecstasy. Yet it's clear that Thizz Entertainment is capitalizing on the drug's popularity. B.M.R. Slim, who promotes "Jeans and High Heels" along with a host of other parties, credits Mac Dre for coining the word "thizz" -- a term that would come to define a new hip-hop subculture. "It's about feeling yourself," Slim says. "If you listen to the music, you'll understand."

Brittany and Michelle would certainly agree. Barreling down 7th Street, Brittany screeches through a red light into a rain-slicked intersection and nearly collides with another car. Both vehicles skid dangerously, but Brittany seems unconcerned. "It was his right of way, but he didn't have to be driving that fast," she clucks. She turns up the heat and switches the radio dial to KMEL, the Bay Area's dominant hip-hop radio station. The DJ is playing Mac Dre's ubiquitous "Feelin' Myself," followed by a sequence of visceral up-tempo numbers that includes Mistah F.A.B.'s catchy "New Oakland," which contains the line High off purple, only thizzin' off a pill. Indeed, the song sounds as if it was written in a moment of intense bliss: F.A.B. is shouting screwball rhymes over a rickety beat that could be a recording of cowbells and hubcaps being clanged together. The mood is infectious. "Oh, I'm feeling my thizzle now," Brittany says.

Over the last couple of years, more and more people have been feelin' their thizzle. These days in hip-hop clubs, the dancefloors are a morass of swollen pupils and puckering "thizz faces." Pills were changing hands when the Team -- whose hit song, "I'm on One," includes the lyric Lil' weed, lil' Ecstasy/Lil' Rémy with some lil' bitches next to me -- performed at San Jose's Ambassador's Lounge last fall. In November, a girl lounging on the waterfront deck of Zazoo's Restaurant in Jack London Square bragged that she'd been thizzing for four days. If you type "thizz" into the "display name" search box at MySpace.com, you'll get no fewer than 120 pages, one of which is wallpapered with images of Ecstasy pills. And that's not counting all the variations on the theme -- like "Da One N.A.S.T.Y. F.R.E.A.K.," who lists his general interests as "dancing, reading, thizzing, smokin', drinking, and long walks on the beach on a pill like wahhhhh yadastand?"

A whole new crop of slang terms has sprung up from the Ecstasy craze. According to San Francisco Bay View writer Apollonia Jordan, "thizzing" could also be substituted for "zoning," "bustin' your head," or "stuntin'." Pills are "stunnas," a word used liberally in hip-hop to signify anything of material value. And Ecstasy references are common coin in rap lyrics: Twista's rap ballad "Girl Tonight" includes a verse beginning Make her feel like she popped a pill, got her feelin' Ecstasy/Took her to the bedroom, about to make her an overnight celebrity. Meanwhile, in 2005, the Hunters Point emcee Guce released an album whose back cover illustration depicts two outstretched palms filled with white, purple, and lime-green tablets. The title? Pill Music: "The Rico Act" Vol. 1.

Ecstasy has become enmeshed in the social F.A.B.ric of hip-hop. It is figuring into its sexual politics and amplifying some of the scene's sleazier values. Ravers may be content to cuddle and suck pacifiers, but intimacy in hip-hop clubs tends more toward bumping and grinding. Put Ecstasy in a space where everyone is freaking to Ciara's "My Goodies" or Ying Yang Twins raps that tout the godlike powers of male genitalia, and the drug starts reflecting the psychology of the space.

"If you're taking Ecstasy at a hip-hop club, you're going into it knowing you're in a setting where people are gonna be picking up on each other," says Michie Duterte, a researcher at the Institute for Scientific Analysis, a San Francisco nonprofit that studies drug policy, among other topics. Indeed, one guy who popped his first pill at a Fillmore show featuring the Team and Mistah F.A.B. spent a good portion of the night hanging out in the lobby, languidly staring at girls and mumbling about how he wanted to take someone home and make it pop off. In Dr. Dre's "Let's Get High" -- a song that's already five years old -- sex, Ecstasy, and machismo are all part of the program: Yeah -- I just took some Ecstasy, ain't no tellin what the side effects could be/All these fine bitches equal sex to me, plus I got this bad bitch layin next to me/No doubt, sit back on the couch, pants down, rubber on, set to turn that ass out. The story is nothing new; we're already accustomed to hearing rappers bluster about all the fine bitches they've spiked. But now Ecstasy is part of the plot.

Not everyone in hip-hop is popping pills, however. In fact, some people are condemning them. Crack may be on the decline, but it's wrought enough damage on black communities to make most people gun-shy around any other illegal substance -- even a "designer drug" typically festooned with a spiffy logo and a nice neon patina. Confronted with a new drug epidemic, many folks are paranoid of being rubbed raw all over again.

"From what I know, thizzin' has something to do with drugs," insists DJ Lash, who presided over the now-defunct "Jeans and High Heels" party nights at Mingles. "I don't support no thizzin', if it's used as far as drugs. It's just slang, as far as I know." A local underground emcee summed up everybody's fears while driving through West Oakland's Lower Bottoms neighborhood on a recent Friday night, his car radio blaring KMEL's street-oriented hip-hop mix program On the Block. Listening to a string of standard-issue turf songs that sounded like updated Stagger Lee boasts spat over teeth-chattering Pro Tools beats, the emcee sighed audibly. "All the songs are about how many pills they're pushing," he observed. "Ecstasy is the new crack."

Actually, it's not. UC Santa Cruz sociology professor Craig Reinarman, an expert on drugs and drug policy, explains that since crack is a fundamentally different drug than Ecstasy, the analogy is "overwhelmingly self-limiting." He writes that there is zero evidence of any criminogenic effects, and almost no evidence of danger at the dosage levels ingested by the vast majority of users. "Crack is a one-to-two-minute rush that's extremely intense, followed by a fairly intense low," Reinarman says. "People who are hooked on crack engage in increasingly violent behavior. But that's not true of Ecstasy. People use Ecstasy to have five to six hours of bliss."

Granted, not everyone buys into the idea of rave culture being tender and harmonious. Officer Keith Graves of the Livermore Police Department says he's spent several years patrolling the Bay Area's underground rave scene, where he's pretty much the only guy not dangling a pacifier or rainbow Mardi Gras beads. Graves laments that a lot of school dances have turned into mini-raves with light shows and heavy house music. "I've arrested cheerleaders, cops' kids, and kids who have stature in the community for using this type of drug," he says. The officer admits he's freaked out by the sight of so many kids shedding all their hang-ups.

Still, there's no evidence that the behavior Graves has observed has become a problem on the order of crack. Tina Bray, the nurse manager at Oakland's Highland Hospital, says Highland is still a heroin and cocaine shop. Ecstasy hasn't yet shown up in the emergency room. In 2003, the latest year for which data has been released, the Drug Abuse Warning Network recorded 91 deaths resulting from "drug misuse" in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont region, most of which involved a combination of several drugs. Forty-eight of those deaths involved opiate use, 27 involved cocaine, 26 alcohol, 22 antidepressants, and 20 stimulants. None involved Ecstasy.

In other words, Ecstasy isn't quite the new crack. But it's definitely not the old Ecstasy either.

Of course, try saying that to people who saw the best minds of their generation lost to a drug that all but decimated urban neighborhoods across the United States. Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, director of the reform-minded Drug Policy Alliance, confronted such fears last year when she was interviewed in conjunction with a story entitled "Ecstasy, the New Crack?" that aired on KMEL's Street Soldiers, a popular black upliftment program. Rosenbaum had never dreamed that one day a string of angry radio listeners would be badgering her to explain why Ecstasy was causing violence in the black community. She certainly wasn't prepared to see her two decades of research experience so thoroughly questioned and challenged.

Rosenbaum had always thought of Ecstasy as a sensual, lovey-dovey drug -- nothing like the hardcore, speed-oriented substance callers were describing that night. It seemed as if everyone had a gripping personal testimonial about "somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who took that stuff and went on a rampage." People spoke of friends who'd "fallen victim to the epidemic." One person who was interviewed asserted: "I'm sure that it got to do with the government flooding our community and it being coordinated," echoing the spurious conspiracy theory that suggests the CIA intentionally spread crack cocaine across black America via Los Angeles.

As the stories wore on, Rosenbaum grew increasingly rattled. "They were generally very antidrug, and they really wanted horror stories," she recalls. "It was such bullshit that it was hard to even listen." All this sermonizing struck her as both alarmist and facile. "Meth, crack -- maybe," she said. "But Ecstasy? You got it wrong."

Rosenbaum had first encountered Ecstasy back when it was identified by its chemical name, MDMA, and hardly known outside of small circles of Deadheads and yuppies. Few of them went dancing all night or took more than a single dose every few weeks or months. Rosenbaum certainly had never heard of anyone popping a pill and doing a drive-by. Barring the possibility that human brain chemistry had evolved dramatically in the last two decades, the thug drug she was hearing about that night surely wasn't the same little feel-good pill she'd started researching in 1987.

When the radio show ended, Rosenbaum called Sheigla Murphy of the Institute for Scientific Analysis and asked if her organization had ever found a link between Ecstasy and violence. Murphy said she'd seen no such correlation. Most Ecstasy experts in the academic community still perceive it as a sensual, even salutary drug -- the stuff that Deadheads, candy-ravers, and self-help devotees take so they can give each other rubdowns and talk about their feelings. Asked if Ecstasy ever induced aggression or bloodlust, UC Santa Cruz professor Reinarman also sided with Murphy and Rosenbaum. If Ecstasy truly is the new drug of choice for black urban youth, he said, "I would be very surprised if you went into hip-hop clubs these days and didn't see less edge, and more glow."

In fact, we are seeing a little more glow. Around the time that Ecstasy hit the Bay Area hip-hop community, the music shifted in tone: Rappers who once sounded nihilistic or dark and psychological suddenly became bubbly and infectious. The Bay's famously cheeky E-40, who made his name with raps about being a rugged individual who could work around the system, is now best known for "Tell Me When to Go," a call-and-response number that sounds like the "Hollaback Girl" of hyphy, an often-vapid style of up-tempo club-friendly rap. E-40's new approach goes hand in hand with the "movement" mentality and cult of brotherly love that's sweeping through Bay Area hip-hop. Once atomized and aggressive, MCs are now juvenile and boisterous, gamely talking up their DJs, promoting ginseng energy drinks, and getting down with their mostly teenage audiences.

To top it all off, they've traded the self-centered, go-it-alone gangsta rap-style of the 1990s for an evocative "we" voice. Consider Oakland's Mistah F.A.B., whose "New Oakland" anthem is all about fraternizing and romping around town: I is down with thizz/Reppin' the Bay, cuz you know it's town biz. But F.A.B. wasn't always a guy next door. His sophomore album Nig Latin featured a wrenching autobiographical song called "Worries," on which the emcee talked candidly about crack addiction in his family, his brother's incarceration, and his father's untimely death from AIDS. When F.A.B. signed to Thizz Entertainment last year, he started spitting out lighter, commercially friendly club bangers -- rattle-trap, boom-and-slap beats coupled with slangy, percussive rhymes that err more on the side of levity than gravitas, and are peppered with references to "purple and a pill." Currently, the artist's most popular lyrics are about not having a charger for his cell phone, or getting so drunk and hyphy that he's kicked out of the club. Short on substantive content, the lyrics are quite catchy nonetheless: Last fall a toddler jumped onstage during one of DJ Backside's "Blockyard" barbecues at Moses Music and started singing F.A.B.'s "New Oakland" almost verbatim. F.A.B. seems to be getting a lot more mileage celebrating drug use and "going dumb" than he did when he was decrying crack use: These days he's played on KMEL all the time.

But a lot of people in the hip-hop community see Ecstasy in a totally different light. When Youth Radio's Leon Sykes appeared on KQED's Forum the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, he cited the popularity of "designer drugs" as one obstacle in promoting nonviolence. In a 2004 San Francisco Bay View article, "Ecstasy: Ruining the Future of Our Community," staff writer Jordan also compared the Ecstasy fad to the crack-cocaine epidemic that plagued her mother's neighborhood in the '80s: "Ecstasy has hit our communities just like crack hit back when my mother was a teenager," she wrote, adding later, "We need to realize that this drug is bad, and whoever brought this into our community had plans on ruining the future of the black youth who reside in these communities." Jordan even attributed the recent spate of violence in hip-hop clubs to the exhilarating effects of Ecstasy. "I think Ecstasy is another reason why so many people are being violent nowadays and not thinking twice before they do something," she wrote. "When you're zoning, you don't care about no one else's feelings but your own. Let's put it this way: It feels so good, makes you wanna slap yo momma."

But since Ecstasy is still new to the hip-hop community, there's very little quality control around the drug. Many people aren't even sure what it's going to do to them, or how they're supposed to feel when they're on it. Even the mode of ingestion is different; whereas ravers tend to take E with other uppers like speed or cocaine, most people in the hip-hop community seem to mix it with alcohol and weed, which changes the effect.

Perhaps most importantly, much of what they're taking isn't really Ecstasy. A lot of dealers are getting away with just selling whatever. Earth Erowid, who works at the pill-testing laboratory EcstasyData.org, explains the incentive for dealers to adulterate their product: It's cheaper. By cutting the drug with caffeine or speed, they're able to spread a little bit of Ecstasy a long way, thereby reducing production costs. Erowid attributes the mass-produced, impure character of Ecstasy to changes that have occurred in the market since the drug became illegal in 1986. In the 1980s, Ecstasy was a cottage industry run by small-scale producers, most of whom were either students, employees of pharmaceutical labs, or chemistry buffs with a garage setup. But after the DEA outlawed Ecstasy, Erowid believes that organized crime took over, driving out the mom-and-pops with economies of scale. "The mixing of different illegal drugs into a single distribution stream is one of the classic effects of prohibition" and results in "mixed, unregulated markets," Erowid wrote in an e-mail interview.

Duterte of the Institute for Scientific Analysis guesses that Ecstasy passes through three or four hands before it gets to the consumer. In other words, most users don't really know what they're taking, and most dealers don't even know what they're selling.

If you're not sure what you're taking, then you definitely can't foresee how you'll react to it. Bay View writer Jordan ended her anti-Ecstasy screed with an anecdote about a friend whose family called the police when they saw him hallucinating on "bad" Ecstasy: "He was talking to himself, answering questions that no one had asked him, and he even got naked and tried to put himself into a small paper bag. When he was finally released from jail he had an assault on an officer charge along with resisting arrest."

While some observers are obviously tempted to suggest that Ecstasy was planted in the black community specifically to make people revert to violence, more likely the reason people are freaking out is that they're taking whatever-the-fuck and thinking it's Ecstasy. But Jordan was definitely right about one thing: The culture of Ecstasy is changing dramatically as the drug transitions from white and Asian rave scenes to black hip-hop clubs.

Smuggling drugs into San Francisco's 1015 Folsom club isn't extremely difficult, but it's still nerve-racking. Like most large venues in the Bay Area, 1015 installs two bouncers at the door; one for patdowns and bag searches, the other to check ID. But no amount of fortressing is enough to discourage Javier, who follows a strict personal rule of never popping pills until after he gets inside the club. "I've had too many experiences of standing in line high out of my mind, and then crashing at 3 a.m.," he explains.

On a Saturday night in early January, Javier goes to 1015 to catch a show featuring the German DJ Talla 2XLC. He brings a large entourage: several cohorts from the trance scene, plus a few hip-hop heads -- including an emcee named Pablo -- lured to 1015 by the promise of really good Ecstasy and anorexic white girls. Musical tastes are still a bone of contention: Driving across the Bay Bridge, Javier and a friend sit in front bumping propulsive, atonal trance music, while a hip-hop head in the back issues threats of launching a "hyphy jihad." None of this fazes Javier, who steps in the club at the witching hour, ready for the night to begin. "I always wait until midnight to take my first hit," he says.

Once everyone passes the security check and enters the dizzying never-never land that is 1015 Folsom -- three floors of strobe lights, junk-your-trunk beats, and gyrating bodies -- all conflicts evaporate. Even some of the hip-hop heads concede that after watching DJ Talla perform, they are ready to lock horns with anyone who denigrates trance music: Look, try this shit on designer drugs, man. Talla's set is an incredible swirl of sensations. Laser projections and video streams turn the walls into a giant matrix of amoeba swirls and splashy comic-book colors. Slinky women in Catholic-school skirts and fishnet tops dance on either side of the stage. People in the audience bob their heads in intense concentration, flashing glow sticks and gazing at the DJ with giant doe-in-the-headlights pupils. And Talla is the centerpiece.

The DJ's job doesn't look that labor-intensive, but nonetheless, he has the entire audience in thrall. "Talla's sets build on each other," explains Javier -- an assessment that makes sense to someone under the influence of Ecstasy. The sounds come in layers, with each new beat crosshatched onto the one before. Every time Talla makes a slight modulation in the tone or rhythm of his music -- in trance lingo, a "break" -- he points an admonishing finger at the audience, as though preparing everyone for something really momentous. And when the break comes, the crowd heaves a collective sigh of deliverance.

Trance is an intensely visceral form of music; its low, throbbing beats and tweaky, repetitive tones are designed to amplify your Ecstasy high. The effect is both sedative and euphoric, causing people to dodder around smiling and hugging each other. Le Sheng Liu of DanceSafe -- an organization that promotes drug awareness in the rave community -- says he first gravitated to the scene because it exuded so much tenderness and sensitivity. "I grew up listening to hip-hop -- and when I say hip-hop, I mean Top 40 radio music," he says. "The rave scene seemed radically different. It wasn't about looking sexy, trying to show off your money, or being better than the next person."

Michelle, who started taking Ecstasy at raves and eventually migrated to the hip-hop scene, remembers how her old raver buddies would dress up to express their personal credos: The most flamboyant accessories were angel wings, pacifiers, and charm bracelets that read "I love you" or "I love E." The night she popped her first pill, Michelle found a California ID on the dance floor and spent hours looking for its owner. "I finally found her in a crowd of three hundred," she chuckles. "That was a little too generous of me. I could have just given it to the front desk."

Those kinds of parties still exist, but they're much harder to find these days. Javier expected to see a lot of people at a Terra Gallery trance event featuring DJs from Germany, Holland, and Britain, and was disappointed when virtually no one showed up. The scene at a recent weekend-long Love Parade benefit at San Francisco's SomArts Gallery reflected the current demographics of the rave community. Friday night's kickoff party reeled in a crowd of teens and young adults who looked like ravers of ten years ago: They wore button-up Adidas pants, had shocking pink hair, and spent a lot of time hanging out in the parking lot, huffing from aerosol cans. But the following night's show -- which featured the darker, artier trance music subgenre "psi-trance" -- attracted a much older crowd of Burning Man types and SOMA loft yuppies sporting new tweed coats or text messaging into their T-Mobile Sidekicks.

Now that ravers have grown up and their music has gotten on the radar, the scene appears to have splintered. Parties that used to be held in abandoned buildings or graffiti'd industrial warehouses are now situated in licensed, commercial venues where drugged-out seventeen-year-old techno fans must mingle with the well-heeled. The demographic and vibe of these above-ground parties is often nothing like the underground rave utopias of the mid-to-late '90s that Le and Michelle remember.

On the night DJ Talla performs at 1015, the club seems conspicuously meat-market-ish and largely reflects a Top 40 sensibility that Le says he reviles. People floss their midriffs and bling jewelry; the women try to look sexy while the guys front like ballers or mack daddies. The trance devotees are relegated to a small pocket in the basement, where attendance is sparse throughout the night. Meanwhile, most patrons gather upstairs on the ground level, where they are treated to a numbing hip-hop and reggaetón soundtrack that could have been ripped directly from Wild 94.9.

A little past 1 a.m., when DJ Talla is just picking up steam, a fight breaks out in the back of the room. The DJ tries to ignore it, even after a small army of security guards is dispatched to tear the guys off each other. Though he manages to look pretty oblivious, Talla isn't able to stave off a creepy feeling that's beginning to percolate through the room. Some of Javier's cohorts see the melee and are more transfixed by it than by the trance DJ himself. Pablo turns to the girl next to him and whispers, "Hey, if anyone messes with you, tell me. I'll kick their ass."

She grins and elbows him in response: "I'm feeling myself," she says. "Are you feeling yourself, too?"

"Yeah," he says, quoting Mac Dre, hip-hop's most famous Ecstasy enthusiast. "I'm in the building."

Meanwhile, DJ Talla's fans tiptoe toward the stage, perhaps thinking that by huddling close together they'll seal themselves off from the outside world.

A few weeks later, a 29-year-old man will be shot to death at the very same club.

Twelve hours after leaving "Jeans and High Heels," Brittany was still thizzin', but no longer wanted to be. She sat at home smoking blunts and watching TV, letting the hours vaporize. "I just wanna know if this is actually crack or something," she said.

There was only one sure way to find out. I decided to buy two pills from Brittany's dealer and test them myself. I purchased them at the bargain price of $10 apiece, which is conspicuously cheaper than the $20 per pill rate prevalent at the UC Berkeley co-ops in 2002. Nobody is quite sure why the price has dropped so much in the past four years. At any rate, I called Le and asked to use his DanceSafe pill testing kit.

Le lives in the same East Oakland apartment building where he grew up, a three-story brick tenement that also houses a Vietnamese noodle house and a DirecTV shop, both plastered with posters advertising the Lunar New Year celebration in Reno. Inside, Le's apartment is warm and clean. Piercing solution and citrus toothpaste clutter the bathroom sink, and there's a low-backed divan in the living room. The kitchen is stocked with a variety of herbal teas, and the walls are decorated with posters depicting all the different strains of several drugs, including Ecstasy. The afternoon I stop by, Le is lounging in the living room wearing baggy warmup pants, a Puma jacket, and flip-flops. He has three or four piercings in each ear. He has laid out a table with all the paraphernalia DanceSafe typically uses to test pills at parties: a jar of pens, a bowl of condoms, earplugs in sealed baggies, a sound meter to test the decibel level of the speakers, a thermometer to test the room temperature, stacks of splashy, laminated fliers with information about every recreational drug found in the club scene (plus one on heatstroke and one on protecting your hearing), and a drug testing kit consisting of three reagents -- Mecke, Marquis, and Simon, which change color when combined with Ecstasy; speed; the psychedelic 2CB; and DXM, an opiate found in many over-the-counter cold medicines. The test can tell if your pill is completely fake, but won't indicate its purity or how much Ecstasy you're taking.

We decide to test my pills with the first two reagents, since that's all Le has on hand. The pills look a little suspect: one is pink with darker speckles, and not even totally round -- Le murmurs that it doesn't look as if it was pressed properly. The other is blue with multicolored speckles and a horizontal line pressed into one side. Neither has a logo. Le takes a ruler and measures them. The pink one is 8 millimeters in diameter and 5 millimeters deep; the blue is 8 x 4.5 mm. With a razor, he carves a tiny sliver of the pink pill onto a plate and smothers it with a drop of the Mecke reagent. After a couple seconds the pill fragment turns blue and then black, indicating the presence of Ecstasy. This would be a normal reaction, except that Le detects spots of pink in the puddle whose presence he can't explain. "It might be from the speckles," he guesses. "I've never seen a speckled pill before." The Marquis reagent also indicates Ecstasy, though again with strains of some unknown substance -- this one produces tiny yellow dots in the reaction. The blue pill is no better: Combined with the Mecke, it tests positive for Ecstasy, though the reaction glitters with tiny yellow and pink dots that defy explanation. Likewise, the Marquis reaction turns up Ecstasy-positive, but flecked with yellow spots.

Although the tests aren't very reassuring, the sight of two virginal Ecstasy pills lying before me on Le's coffee table is difficult to resist. I decide to take the pills. I cut them in half, take half of the pink one, and wait 45 minutes. When nothing happens, I take half of the blue one, too.

Having taken my fair share of Ecstasy in college, I know how warm and fuzzy it's supposed to feel. And I expect only the best -- especially after Brittany's gushing review. So I wait. Another half-hour passes. Then I start to feel flighty, though the sensation is no more intense than a caffeine rush, or two glasses of red wine on an empty stomach. My palms and the soles of my feet are sweating. Le is bumping a fizzy techno soundtrack on his stereo, and I demand that he switch over to the hyphy mix on Wild 94.9 -- after all, I want to feel myself. When we can't settle on the appropriate background music, I decamp; I catch a BART train at Lake Merritt and sit in a corner of the car by myself, feeling twitchy. Within two hours of having taken the pill, I'm morbidly depressed. Officer Gates had said something about "Suicide Tuesday" being the day that every raver comes down from his Ecstasy high. I'm not exactly ready to slit my wrists, but I can see why some people have called Ecstasy "crack for the malcontent."

We decide to try again. I buy two more pills from the same dealer, and this time they look more legit: they're light blue with Christmas tree logos, and measure a healthy 8.5 x 4.5 mm, although they still have speckles. I send one to a Sacramento lab to be tested with a mass spectrometer, which determines the relative amounts of certain substances, including caffeine, ketamine, methamphetamine, and ephedrine, but not the actual quantity of each. On its Web site, EcstasyData.org explains: "The DEA has made an unpublished administrative rule that licensed labs are not allowed to provide quantitative data to the public, reportedly for fear of providing 'quality control' to dealers and suppliers of black market products."

I take the other pill to Le's house. Once again, the Mecke and Marquis reactions both reveal Ecstasy. Without giving the matter much thought, I decide to pop this pill, too.

This one's a little better. An hour later I feel light and floaty; I'm gnashing my teeth, listlessly watching rodeo footage on TV, and trying to fraternize with Le's fellow trance scenesters -- albeit without much success. A few weeks later I check EcstasyData.org and find that my pill is one part Ecstasy, one part diphenhydramine (best known as the antihistamine Benadryl), and one part phentermine (a speedy diet pill).

I want my forty bucks back.

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Hottest New Group!!!

2006-04-19T18:57:56Z

this is the best group to come out since Wu Tang!!!
check them out:
www.myspace.com/blakkdiamondcutz

posted in Hip Hop - 9 replies

beatbox

2006-04-14T19:53:25Z

What yall think:

you no im really a lover of old school hip hop .me and my people was argueing who would win in this battle. Biz marky or Dougy fresh . This is a hard one,I repeat who would win in a beat box battle i wanna no

oh and yeah, i posted this in a couple hip hop tribes--dont get mad...

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Check out my new tracks

2006-04-12T20:58:31Z

Here's the link.
http://www.lovehiphop.com/publicize/

Peace

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

andre nickatina aka dre dog

2006-04-04T10:59:00Z

he is tha shit what do u think

posted in Hip Hop - 8 replies

Lil' Coner

2006-04-04T00:39:55Z

Ok so my students have me hooked on him. I love all the ole school beats and the ability to have fun with his lyrics and not telling me about all the MF that he's stabbed or shot. Don't get me wrong he still some but it rocks!

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

RIP J-Dilla

2006-02-28T10:59:31Z

key producer that passed away recently. one part of Jaylib, also part of slum village, did work with Tribe, pharcyde, De La Soul, D'angelo, BUsta Rhymes. he will be missed!!

posted in Hip Hop - 4 replies

50 Cent - the Paris Hilton of Gangsta Rap

2006-02-28T05:17:08Z

I was thinking about 50 Cent today and it occurred to me that his career marks an interesting moment in the history of Hip Hop music. We can see in his career, I think for the first time, a Gangsta Rap Pop star.

Of course, there have been POPULAR gangsta rappers before (Snoop Dog), but this is the first time I can think of we have a POP gansta rapper. A pop artist is someone whose success has nothing to do whatsoever with their craft - it's purely a cultural phenomenon.

As far as I know, no one outside of Interscope has ever seriously pretended that 50 Cent has any skills as an artist. He's flat, his lyrics are unimaginative, brutal, and boring ("hotter than a tea kettle"?). He just seems like a big, dumb asshole. I mean, look at "In Da Club". It's supposed to be a party track, but it sounds like he and his crew are coming to kill you. He's completely tone-deaf.

So why all the hype? I think he's the Paris Hilton of rap. Like Paris Hilton, the big deal about 50 is that he's a big deal. There's really nothing more to him than that, but that doesn't stop kids from spending their hard-earned dollars on his tracks. He looks the part, he has the necessary history, people are willing to invest in it.

posted in Hip Hop - 7 replies

busta and the shooting

2006-02-19T17:20:23Z

people shooting and killing each other--DAMN.

any thoughts on the busta's body guard ( Israel Ramirez) and this whole gig?

posted in Hip Hop - 12 replies

Audio Hustlaz Radio

2006-02-09T08:09:13Z

On Sat, Feb 11th we'll be airing the first installment of Audio Hustlaz Radio- a mix of talk, new music (new tracks from Gunslnigers II!), and a whole lot of bonghits. It's hosted by B Real, J-Turner, and Dougie "Not So" Fresh with upcoming episodes including Eric Bobo and Fredwreck.

Check out http://www.brealonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3920 for air times and more info.

While you are in the forums, check the Audio Hustlaz logo design contest posted by B Real. Winners will have their logo used on all Audio Hustlaz releases and products and will win autographed copies of both Gunslinger mixtapes and a shirt or tanktop.

Lastly, check out the new site at www.brealonline.com and sign up for the mailing list. We'll be adding alot of new shit to the site- videos, live radio broadcasts and much more so sign up and we'll let you know as soon as we add the new goodness.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

DJ Drama

2006-01-14T09:45:03Z

Y'all wanna laugh your ass off???
Check out the two links below...

1.) Hot 97's Loud-ass blow-hard (dj?) FUNKMASTER FLEX makes an attempt to diss one of the Orig. Rocksteady Crew, DJ extraordinaire SPINBAD from Power 105.

2.) The outcome is plain ugly!!!

Funkmaster Flex talks mess about Spinbad on the air, 'cuz he's all talk:
http://www.spectremusic.com/jess/flexdisses.mp3

And here's the response from Spinbad --
I wish I could see the look on FLEX's face... he got it handed to him!!!
http://www.spectremusic.com/jess/spinresponds.mp3

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Instrumental Albums

2006-01-13T17:13:57Z

What is your favorite instrumentals album?

Mine has to be Three Six Mafia’s instrumentals Volume 1 and 2.
Very chill with a deep evilness and mellow beat.
Great to sleep to.

Also I am digging this Necro instrumentals album.

What’s your top picks?
Albums that are downloadable or buyable.
Not a song from one album or something.

posted in Hip Hop - 11 replies

HIPHOP CLASS

2006-01-05T20:56:06Z

Hey yall!!
Happy New Year...
If your looking to start the new year off in a healthy way come try my hip hop class!!
Its open to all levels and anybody is welcome!
Every Tuesday night @
De Moolam 7:30-9:00pm
848 Divisidero
San Francisco, Ca 94115
You can check out the flyer on my page...
Hope to see there!!!!!!!!

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

cunninglynguistics???

2006-01-05T20:54:31Z

I'm looking for these 2 albums specifically:

- southerunderground
- sloppy seconds

I have Will Rap for Food.

FOr anyone that likes underground hip hop that totally rules lyrically, grooves and beats, get some Cunning.
They are fucking amazing.

If anyone can hizzook me up with those 2 albums...I'll be soooo happy!

posted in Hip Hop - 3 replies

Those comical Rapper Guys...

2005-12-28T02:41:34Z

This is pretty funny...

http://www.abcdrduson.com/media/Fat_Joe%5BF.Bonura_-_abcdrduson.com%5D.mov

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

new post

2005-12-13T08:20:42Z

Wazzup yallz
posted a lil original ditty on my blog yesterday, not getting a lot of response so i figured id see what yall think if you gotta minute stop by...
I did the beat in Hip Hop Ejay 5 in about 2 hours plus an hour revision, wrote and recorded the lyrics in about 3 hours with a couple hours of editing, used Acid 4.0 for laying the vocals on the beat...
curious what ya think...

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

THE FRINGE: That sound is not Santa on the roof

2005-12-08T21:04:25Z

Ho Ho Holy, Hip Hop Heaven!
The bumps in the night you are about to hear are NOT.
let me repeat, are NOT Santa's sleigh on the roof.

It is Fringe Benefits@Nickies this Thursday in San Francisco
(A.K.A the Fringe's $5 super dope hip hop extravaganza)

We are blessed with a very special guest this month, DJ Zeph from the Future Primitive crew!!! If you don't know you will. Zeph's sound is musically daring and super dope funky fresh. This night is not to be missed if you are a hip hop fan.

Also on the decks are

Motion Potion (Fringe) mixing up dat funky stuff with enough booty shaking beats to make everyone jiggle like a holiday jello dish.

and myself Big Dolla Bill (Fringe)
I am going to be throwing down the illlest, strangest mix of mash-ups and hip hop I have ever played. You genre bending music fans will have your minds bent for sure.

Hip-hop, happy people & you, what could be better...

460 Haight, SF
21+ free before 10pm only $5 after.
Funds go to support The Fringe a group of music freaks dedicated to bringing live and evolutionary music to the playa and beyond.

Spread the word cause you know how much fun we have together! Please invite your friends who want to flirt and dance their asses off with our friends.

This is our last Fringe Benefit @ Nickies for the year, And what an amazing year it has been for our crew. We have grow from "who?" to "wow!" in the past year! Congratulations all you freaky Fringester's for getting some major press for all your hard work. The Chronicle article (back of Sunday's Style section) only proves what I have know all along. You good-vibe party people make everyone feel giddy and happy to be alive. I look forward to gathering once again before we all disperse for the Holidays ahead. My feeling is that the New Year is going to be even crazier.

Thank you so Fringing much for all your support and hard work. See you on the dance floor!

-B

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

SF Bay area open mics/battles

2005-12-01T18:53:32Z

Where is the good underground shit happening in the Bay Area?

peace~
B

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

good article on ladybug mecca from digable planets!

2005-12-01T08:08:55Z

http://www.latinrapper.com/featurednews35.html

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

make love for 50 Cents

2005-11-29T16:52:04Z

Just when you think he's bottomed out and can't get any more stupid....

50 Cent Wants You To Feel The Love

50 Cent is planning to create a vibrator of his manhood - so his female fans can pretend to have sex with him. The sexy rapper is desperate to release a line of condoms and waterproof sex toys designed to excite his female fans and make them feel closer to his idols.

The Get Rich Or Die Tryin' star said: "I need to make a 50 Cent condom and motorized version of me, which will have to be waterproof so you can utilize it in the tub.

"Blue is my favorite color so it will probably be blue. But I don't know how big." He is quoted in Britain's Mirror as adding: "But I want to do something like that, to create something popular and exciting for women." Meanwhile the 'In Da Club' hitmaker, who recently branched into the movie business, is planning to extend his diverse career by launching his own publishing house.

He hopes his latest business venture will give so-called 'street fiction' a higher profile.

A spokesman for the company, G-Unit books, said the 2007 project will focus on the gritty themes covered in 50 Cent's music.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Cocaine Blunts & Hip Hop Tapes

2005-11-27T22:06:09Z

Check this out:
http://www.cocaineblunts.com/new/

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

So this site has been making the internet rounds lately. Some weird japanese dude has collected several hundred varieties of blank tapes. Now as bizarre of a hobby as this is, it really is a quite beautiful sight and strikes a chord with me. I think when people visit this site they tend to remember the "Cocaine Blunts" thing, thinking i was some punk kid cracking drug jokes. In actuality, the true relevance of the name is drawn from the more conspicuous modifier and hip hop tapes. That's why we chose the name. Tapes to me are more hip hop than anything in the universe. That's my one element right there. The rap tape. Fuck KRS and whatever his temple tells you. You could do seven windmills while rapping and leave a hand style on the cardboard box beneath you, but if you've never worn out a cassette you need to get the fuck out of here and go to a rave or something.

In the mp3 blog press frenzy a lot of writers compared the phenomenon to making a mixtape and that's just not the case. As much as i love what technology has done for the dispersion of music (such as providing me with a venue to wax like this), it will never come close to the hand to hand distribution of a really good pause/mixtape. it pains me to think that the youth of this and future generations will never know what it felt like to have to tape new songs off the radio if the album hadn't drop and you either couldn't find or afford the cassingle. They'll never fret over getting everything perfect on a mixtape for or about a girl you had a crush on, they won't know third generation hiss or cross their fingers in hopes that the drop outs won't be that bad after rerecording over a tape for the sixth time. They'll never shove tissue in the top of a wack retail tape to record some good shit, or have a song cut off at the end of the side and have to rush to flip over the tape to get the rest of it. ipod playlists are heartless beasts in comparision. when i look through the tapes on that website i have a rush of good memories. here just a few things that come to mind when i see specific tape designs. Bear in mind, I came up in at the tail end of the cassette generation. I'm sure someone like Phill Most could tell you some stories about tapes that'd put mine to shame. But here goes:

the classic. i can distinctly remember little dude noz frantically scrambling for one of these to record the radio premier of snoop dogg's "what's my name" and when i couldn't get the first 30 seconds or so, i had to wait around for like an hour with my finger on the pasue button for them to play it again. that was my first official rap prerelease fervor, and nothing since then has quite matched it. shit was crazy. i think i can at least partially attribute that to the cassette era, downloading an mp3 wouldn't have taken a fraction of that effort and i probably wouldn't remember it. It's not like I'll ever be sitting here reminiscing about watching a file transfer bar stall at 99% on a cipher divine download.

the first. back around '93ish i had my first pause tape exchange with the homie h***y g*****, who made this tape, sloppily labeled 'the shampla'. it was mostly songs that he boosted from his older brothers collection to look cool - shit like shonen knife and nirvana b-sides. but man that opened up the floodgates for exchanging music like a motherfucker.

the retro. these were my old mans tapes, he had a handful of them in a drawer (actually i think he had the 60 minute version) and i used to boost them from his desk drawer to record on. i don't think he even noticed, dude did not give a fuck about music. i once interviewed my great uncle max for an class project on the depression and recorded it to one of these.

the random. i have no idea why i remember this so vividly, but i had a tape of a local metal band on one of these. it was somebodys older brother's group or something. the band was called darkness (real original, huh?) and they sucked. but the tape was titled 'best of darkness', which i always thought was funny. i wonder what their worst was like.

the classy. these were my top choice in high school, even though i couldn't afford them all the time. my backpacky ass used to tape bahamadia's b-sides on 103.9 on one of these on friday night, listen to it all week and then tape over it at the end of the week. i could get maybe three runs before it was so distorted i'd have to cave and crack the seal on a new tape. i have no idea why i was so into that shit at the time, it was always like "tonights guest is breeze evahflowin, try to keep it clean". i guess i had to take what i could get, since i only sorta lived close enough to get wkcr stretch & bob, and i eventually gave up staying up late on thursdays only to fight with the fuzz. but when they went to hot 97 on sunday nights for a few months before the split i would also record those. that was the first place i heard eminem. i think i still got the tape with the original version of 'my name is' somewhere. before they forced him to take all the anti-gay lines off.

and there's probably one or two people reading this right now that have a project blowed tape i recorded on one of these and mailed to them.via a rec.music.hip-hop trade.

these tapes suck but for some reason i had a lot of them during the time when i was an aspiring dj. there are a lot of wack baby scratches mixed down to these joints. and even before that, there are some recordings of me doing trainwrecks on one turntable. my parents preamp was such where you could hold down two channels at once and create a crude mix.

i've currently been using these. (that's my own scan, homie on the japanese site isn't this deep). they're not the best quality, but a friend gave me a box of about 100 of them, so i'm not complaining. of course now if i want to make somebody a tape i have to ask them if they still listen to tapes first. and usually the answer is 'no'.

posted by noz

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

new Talib Kweli

2005-11-27T03:58:33Z

anyone got any comments about the new talib kweli? I enjoyed a bunch of the tracks off it, especially Ms Hill.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Lyricists vs. Emcees

2005-11-20T16:44:33Z

"MC's can only battle with rhymes that got punchlines,
let's battle to see who head rhymes
Instead of Flow for Flow, let's go Show for Show
Toe for Toe... Yo, you better act like ya know!"

-- KRS-1

I agree! I often feel animosity towards successful emcees who's only real talent is the ability to cut-down their opponent. I mean, take them out of a Battle Rap scenario, without their quirky lil' "snap raps", and they are garbage. Let's see ya talk about something other than the size of your ego.

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Portland - LANGUAGE OF PAN-ZEN

2005-11-16T23:43:40Z

LANGUAGE OF PAN-ZEN
Friday 18 November
Holocene 1001 SE Morrison
Door @ 8:30, Show @ 9 pm
$5 - $15 admission
with DJ DONNA SUMMER, MICRO-RITMIA, TRY MY CABBAGE, RUDEMENT, SOMETHING'S BURNING, DIRTY PANDA, SYNCHRONICITY FREQUENCY, TO-KA-GE, and MURK VISUALS

Each year, the EnterActive Language Festival sets aside one night to invite the most creative electronic musicians in our community and beyond to help us shake the hardness off our asses in an evening of wild, sweaty dance music (in an experimental vein, of course).
This year's guests of honor are:
WFMU's legendary Jason Forrest (aka DJ DONNA SUMMER), returning from an extended stay in Germany to show off his East Coast inspiration;
and, from Mexico, Zorn collaborators and electronic maestrae MICRO-RITMIA performing a live set along with Bay area pianist Thollem Mcdonas.
On the local tip, further dance party action and ambient backroom swirls will be provided by the steadfast soldiers of the Pan-Zen Konspiracy Nettwyrk, including the world premiere of Billy Neenos' new solo project SOMETHING'S BURNING.

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

will you just AMEN to how FUCKED UP this is??

2005-11-15T07:25:08Z

http://www.flickr.com/photos/firewall/38725768

posted in Hip Hop - 7 replies

corrupt conglomariachinos!!

2005-11-15T07:15:25Z

Why is it that the big moneymakers in the hip hop industry are also the people who are corrupting it? Is it because society is so much a drag that you need to listen to some shit to get your anger out. Or is it because they put so much money into their artists with advertisement and rigging the charts that people follow it.i must belive in the latter. I for one do not support commercial hip hop. There is too much hating involved in it. Did it start out because of the mc battles. I mean that’s supposed to be fun and all but where is the positivity in this, one person wins one person loses. Hip hop should be all about respect, I mean that’s what I thought was a major factor of hip hop. The basic elements of hip hop are the mc, which also means you can freestyle, writing (graffiti), b-boyism, turntablism, and beat boxing, where in these elements is it to say to brag to everyone how great you are. I mean Bill Gates is a powerful rich man , but he is not in your face bling blinging like the cash money rappers.. Of course he is not a rapper, but he does have the money. I can look at him and respect him for what he’s done without him telling me that. Why can’t jay-z or Ja-rule talk about something else other than hoes cash and whatever crap they feed into your heads. Is it because they have no proper education. Many youths today expect to be a rap star without a proper education. To me it’s all luck because jayz, jarule dmx 50 cent or any other widely commercialized hip hop artist is straight rhyming bullshit. I mean is it the image they portray? Or is it the record labels telling them to put out a certain message because they are getting paid for it. Another words why be a sell out. Hip hop artists should keep it real. I would never sign a contract and have another write for me unless I support the views of the writer. I mean where are all the poets, we need them to step up and write some lyrics. I believe the record labels are targeting our youth with these lyrics for a reason. This whole record industry reminds me of the slave trade. In most cases it’s the white man telling the rapper what to do. When I look at Eminem I think as him as the savior of hip hop. Hes telling it like it is without giving a fuck about anything. Hes white and hes being run by Dr. Dre who is black. He can damn well freestyle, maybe better when shrooming, but damn what happened to him, did he sell out to mtv. I don’t think so, he’s taking advantage of it. Just recently he dissed the Source magazine ( I dont blame him) at the summer jam 10 fest. He was mocking mtv when his song I forgot which but he was the boy wonder in that video. He was saying that mtv aint shit without him. I think hes right for at least mtv, mtv2 is another story. Maybe one or two videos in an hour is good. Shit what ever happened to the videos on mtv. Eminem is comedy. Anyways I was assigned to do some research on how some major players in the hip hop industry came to be. Puff daddy was the main concern because he is the top of his game, yeah right. Russel simmons I could care less about,his new tv show platinum sucks. He may do yoga but he shouldn’t be represented by it. From an open letter to the
major hip hop heads that I seem real in this game like the Rza, Dr. Dre, Snoop, tony draper, mike dean, Master P, E-40, Khayree, JT The Bigga Figga, Lynch, c-bo, cellski, Black C, 11-5, UDi, CWH, Enhancer, TC, Sean T, MIke Mosely, Sam Bostic, Snoop, Antonio reid,and all major figgas that I think deserve more respect than some other folks out there. These guys have been there for their homies and they are doing there thang straight outta thier trunk or backyardz for that matter. citywide!!

ANYONE FEEL ME LIKE THAT D-MOE ALBUM

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

cloak n dagga: Canibus and Phoenix Orion

2005-11-14T09:12:53Z

hey there Canibus and Phoenix Orion just put out a new album..

www.headtraumarecords.com

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

New Release from The Roots

2005-11-09T19:24:48Z

The Roots have dug into their vaults for a new release, a two disc set caleld Home Grown!: The Beginners Guide to Unerstanding The Roots, Volumes 1 & 2. This is a special release for fans and new listeners alike, that includes rare and unreleased tracks, remixes and unreleased instrumentals. [check out one of the new tracks at http://www.blackmedina.net/mbmsvr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=9&PHPSESSID=7de431b3ec13370645f839a1899d19e6]

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

DangerDoom (Danger Mouse / MF Doom / Adult Swim)

2005-11-08T19:15:52Z

The best MF Doom album so far! If you are even slightly familiar with MF Doom, buy it and don't download it. I downloaded it and then bought the 12" LP and found out some of the tracks are different (mp3) and that the LP had better tracks than the downloads. I heard a rumor somewhere that there might be a GhostDoom album? Anyone else heard that?

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

feedback on backmedina.net

2005-10-18T19:16:27Z

here once again to get feedback on the latest posting of my online magazine (http://blackmedina.net). changed the format a bit. please check it out, and let me know what you think.

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

Hate to admit it, but...

2005-10-15T18:45:18Z

The new Lil Kim album is nice. I don't know about Source Magazine 5 mics nice (and, uh, fuck Source anyhow), but my opinion on her as a lyricist has changed considerably with this most recent release.

And what are the rest of y'all listening to right now?

Me? Umm, in constant rotation this week:

*DangerDoom - "The Mouse and the Mask" (possibly better than Doom's collaboration with Madlib a few years back)

*Immortal Technique - "Revolutionary Vol. 2"

*Cage - "Hell's Winter" (in my top 5 favorite Hip Hop albums of 2005, easily)

*Sage Francis - "The Known Unsoldier: Sick of Waging War" (worth the album price for "Makeshift Patriot" alone)

*Buck 65 - "Talkin' Honky Blues"

*Ultramagnetic MC's - "Critical Beatdown"

posted in Hip Hop - 6 replies

Why Can I - Propagating (r)evolution - speaking out

2005-10-13T07:07:17Z

Cross post - http://tribes.tribe.net/r-evolution - join up!

check out my latest blog for an audio version of this lil poem.......
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or http://gqmoney.com/whycanI.mp3
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[Chorus]

Why can I
See two sides to an issue
Why can I
Hate you but still want to kiss you

Why can I
Feel one way but think another
Why can I
Hate but still be a lover

Why can I
Discuss without resolution
Why can I
Believe creation but trust evolution

Get this straight
The only thing I hate is fear
It makes us weak
draw near Children

I seek to be strong
I want us all to get along
To sing the same song
And along the way

We gotta (learn to) play
Nicely
Start thinking for ourselves
Timely and acting wisely

the way things are
I’m staying tense
My back’s against the wall
I’m in defense

I’ll never relent
Breaking down pretense
I’ll try to stay calm
Violence doesn’t make sense

Pain has got me
Going insane
But I’m fine
I’ve got no one to blame

Some things I see
Seem like they can’t be changed
Like children starving
And babies that go unnamed

So what’s the deal?
Now is the time
to get real
So what am I going to do

Rob and steal
Until I can shapeshift reality
I’m listless
Until I can provide these kids with a meal

[Chorus]

Why can I
See two sides to an issue
Why can I
Hate you but still want to kiss you

Why can I
Feel one way but think another
Why can I
Hate but still be a lover

Why can I
Discuss without resolution
Why can I
Believe creation but trust evolution

[Dan – Verse 2]

Why can I use these eyes
To see two sides of every story
All the lies I see through
And I aint hear to prophesize
id be too scared of what I’d make
with the lives of these fools

and all the struggles and the times of people
they place their blame on Christ or evil
these ignorant dudes thrive on these truths
and never see you and I as equals

now I’m writing I wait for this world
to realize that it’s finally a fake
it’s just you listen to me
then you call me an atheist
talk philosophy bitch
and see how insane he gets

see most people they don’t want to be tested
they don’t really want to see whats underneath their own chest
its like the lesson that you learned
but you kept it repressed
and never let it surface
so your left with worthless regrets

so see its only a song
its only a lyric
but if you listen to it closer you might actually hear it
then if you listen to it closer you might actually fear it
so don’t listen too close cuz I don’t want to damage your spirit sincerely

[Chorus]

Why can I
See two sides to an issue
Why can I
Hate you but still want to kiss you

Why can I
Feel one way but think another
Why can I
Hate but still be a lover

Why can I
Discuss without resolution
Why can I
Believe creation but trust evolution

[Verse 3]
It’s not black and white
But the fight is clearcut
And the edge
Is as sharp as a knife

Pick your side
The tide is rising
Bringing to bear events
That might not make sense

They don’t tell
All we need to know
It’s up to us to organize and realize
We reap what they sow

Lives are being lost
And the battle has just begun
You might not think it’s important
Until it affects #1 (but)

The battle’s in your face
Freedom’s are restricted
and money’s plundered
while you’re kept in your place

I hear one thing
But I see it totally different
I scream and yell
But no one seems to listen

We’ve got to organize
We’ve got strength in numbers
And I don’t mean hundreds
But Millions

Did you vote
And did it matter?
Unless we change the system
No one will ever listen

It’s on from now on
Facing the future with unity
Mind body and soul
Is the key to victorious evolution
{whisper - The evolution begins with you}

posted in Hip Hop - 4 replies

New Glitch Hop Mix From Kraddy

2005-10-10T20:38:28Z

For all the lovers of glitch, this mix is for you.

It includes tracks from Kraddy, SOTEG, Lawgiverz, Lorin, edIT, and Jnr Hacksaw.
Glitch hop remixes and tweaky breaks that will infest your brain with nanospiders.

www.kraddyodaddy.com/audio/kraddy_livemix.mp3

Here's the tracklisting:

bellydancer : lorin + kraddy
conscious : kraddy
next episode rmx : kraddy
mos beautiful : kraddy
faux show : kraddy
dangerous rmx : kraddy
get ur freak on : edIT
akbar beat : soteg
property : kraddy
forgot about dre rmx : kraddy
godzilla : kraddy
ocill8 : jnr hacksaw
end of six : soteg
tunnel : lawgiverz
no turn unstoned: jnr hacksaw

Go to www.kraddyodaddy.com to join my mailing list
_______
Also be sure to check out all the artists on the mix - they all do some damage to the synapes:

SOTEG :: www.blessrecords.com ::

Lorin :: www.bassnectar.net ::

edIT :: www.myspace.com/edIT ::

Jnr Hacksaw :: www.jnrhacksaw.com ::

Lawgiverz :: www.trigger.uk.net ::

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

new Black Eyed Peas

2005-10-06T15:29:20Z

how do y'all like their new album Monkey Business? i like it

posted in Hip Hop - 15 replies

know what irritates me?

2005-09-21T12:01:28Z

is all those fuckin intros to dope raps of guys or girls talkin about bullshit or just NOTHIN that you care to hear before the REAL shit plays...

you know, that blah blah shitt thats some idiocity. but jayz can get away with that shit alright i guess..

posted in Hip Hop - 9 replies

underground remix of Kanye West's song "Gold Digger"

2005-09-16T16:46:26Z

i don't know who put this song together, but it's awesome.

http://ia300804.eu.archive.org/0/items/George_Bush_Doesnt_Like_Black_People/GeorgeBushDoesntCareAboutBlackPeople.mp3

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

50 Cent

2005-09-09T02:44:45Z

Is 50 Cent really the snitch that alot of people in NY claim he is

posted in Hip Hop - 8 replies

George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People

2005-09-08T23:26:45Z

MP3 download:
http://www.fwmj.com/plex/media/thelegendaryko/George%20Bush%20Doesnt%20Care%20About%20Black%20People.mp3

Five days in this motherfucking attic
I can't use the cellphone I keep getting static
Dying 'cause they lying instead of telling us the truth (...)
Screwed 'cause they say they're coming back for us, too
but that was three days ago and I don't see no rescue(...)

Swam to the store, tryin' to look for food
Corner store's kinda flooded so I broke my way through
Got what I could but before I got through
News say the police shot a black man trying to loot

From here:
http://www.fwmj.com/plex/

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

okayyy

2005-09-06T22:56:17Z

does anyone in this tribe have opinions on hip hop or anything to say regarding hip hop except how cute a rapper is????

posted in Hip Hop - 5 replies

WHO'S BETTER...LIL BOOSIE,WEBBIE,MIKE JONES,PAUL WALL,B.G,CHAMILLIONAIRE,BEELOW,OR JUVENILE?

2005-09-06T04:20:45Z

HOLLA BACK WITH YOUR ANSWER!

posted in Hip Hop - 15 replies

favorite rappers?

2005-09-03T02:29:26Z

???????????

posted in Hip Hop - 41 replies

Oz hip hop

2005-08-31T08:42:37Z

Now I know this is a US based site but I just wanted to know if you guys have heard any of our stuff. Not because I'm one of those fanatically patriotic people who thinks we should listen to Oz hip hop just because it's not American... And believe me, there are plenty! I just happen to think that a lot of it is really worthwhile, in fact more than that, some of it really kicks ass! I guess I'm just curious as to whether people in the US even hear Aussie hip hop, and that sort of thing. Some examples are the Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso, Mnemonic Ascent, Lyrics Born, Lyrical Commission, the Herd, Delta, Bias B, Scribe (has his moments!) and more that I can't think of. Anyway...

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Fri. nite, NYC?

2005-08-18T15:00:06Z

Anyone know of anything positive goin' on tomorrow (Fri.) night in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
Takin' a friend out who's new to the city, and also a sick hip-hop lyricist - wanna show her what's up...

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

George Vreeland Hill

2005-08-17T18:46:15Z

Just saying hi.
(I just joined this group)
http://groups.myspace.com/beat

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Kamaal the Abstract

2005-08-15T15:22:51Z

Heard it? Know where to find it?

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

michelob is supporting up and coming mcs...

2005-08-11T18:23:09Z

y'all should check this out. it is good to see that someone isn't following the leader and just putting their support behind any crap that comes across their desk. Michelob is giving away free mp3s on their ultramix site until September. They change the tracks you can get every 2 weeks or something, so check it NOW because the artists change. I made a couple of playlists on the site, and they came out really well. Technology is really crazy! Anyway, support the next wave of music. hey, maybe if enough people go to the site, they'll keep doing it.

peace,
biz

posted in Hip Hop - 2 replies

FlipSyde

2005-08-04T23:27:25Z

Has anyone heard them yet?

Torrent search it. "we the people" is the album.

pretty cool.

sorta Linkin Park like but more hip hop sound to me.

The main MC is from Oakland and I think they are all from the Bay Area.

I started hearing them on Live 105 many months ago and now I see their comercials on VH1. So I guess they are blowing up.

http://flipsyde.com/ = website

but I would torrent search em.

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

High Hip Hop

2005-08-04T17:23:26Z

Alright now that I have your attension, I'm lookin' for hip hop with good intensions.

Who do you listen to with lyrics that are as high as the artists? Present, political, conscious lyrics is what I seek. Love to listen to hip hop with a righteous message, like what the Beasties are doing now, Lauren Hill, Heart Life and Soul, and others. Tell me what artists are putting forth sick beats without lyrics that make self respecting women sick. Give me somethin' that is conscious and not just ego and disrespect to other artist and women. I'd like to have more women in hip hop too. This is my first post to this tribe and want to see how deep your love of deep music be. Thanks for sharing good musical flow.....

posted in Hip Hop - 15 replies

Need Help - Rap Lyrics Song Structure

2005-08-01T00:57:14Z

Need Help - Rap Lyrics Song Structure

Where can I find how it is defined the musical structure, chorus, rhyme counting etc so I can arange my lyrics for songs ?

Thanks.

qb

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Trying to make some waves... looking for instrumentalists...

2005-07-30T23:43:36Z

Check out my latest two blogs and comment - hate if ya like no matter, they are borrowed beats :) ...

Any instrumetalists out there ready to serve it up for the world? hit me up...

posted in Hip Hop - 0 replies

Montreal Shout Out !

2005-07-27T16:56:01Z

Anyone here from MTL ?

qb

posted in Hip Hop - 1 reply

Eminem - curtains?

2005-07-27T00:35:00Z

I guess I shoulda known from the cover of Encore....

http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/encore15e_20050715.htm

The end of Eminem?

Latest tour and CD could be rap superstar's last, insiders say

July 15, 2005

BY BRIAN McCOLLUM
FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER

On Eminem's new summer tour, a tense video storyline is woven through the Detroit rapper's show. Following a montage of visuals encapsulating his vast celebrity -- magazine covers, TV footage, limos, crowds -- the star is seen alone backstage, aiming a loaded pistol at his image in a mirror before turning it toward himself.

RELATED CONTENT
# WHAT DO YOU THINK?: Should Marshall Mathers retire the Eminem persona while he's still on top of the rap game?

# The hints that he is quitting

# Tracing the success of Eminem

# Retirements that didn't last

# PHOTO GALLERY: From Marshall to Eminem
The climax is abrupt: With the gun to his temple, Eminem pulls the trigger. The screen goes black.

When the dressing room eventually fades back into view, the audience sees that the rapper sits unharmed; the gun has misfired. Eminem looks into the camera.

"This is how you go out with a bang, baby!"

At a casual glance, it might come off like the latest shock attack in a career defined by controversy. But dig a bit deeper and you'll come upon a revelation even more startling, one that has been known only to the artist's closest friends and associates.

Marshall Mathers is ready to get rid of Eminem.

Here's what it could mean, say those close to the rapper: When he steps off the stage Sept. 17 in Dublin, Ireland, he will have made his final concert appearance. "Encore," his slyly titled 2004 release, will stand as the final Eminem album. The reign of Eminem, and his alter ego Slim Shady, will have been voluntarily vanquished.

It wouldn't be a mere name game, in the hip-hop fashion that let Puff Daddy become P. Diddy, or the fanciful indulgence of a superstar toying with personas, like Prince. Nor would it be some gimmicky farewell stunt, say hometown friends and professional associates, many of whom asked not to be named in this story, citing sensitivity about the issue deep within Eminem's record label and management camps.

What it would represent, say those friends, is a dramatic life shift for a celebrity grown weary of public commotion -- and an artist who feels trapped by musical expectations.

"Em has definitely gotten to the level where he feels like he's accomplished everything he can accomplish in rap," said rapper Proof, Mathers' right-hand man onstage. "He wants to kick back and get into the producing thing."

Detroit producer Jeff Bass, who won an Academy Award for cowriting Eminem's "Lose Yourself," said while he won't rule out the possibility of further solo albums from Mathers, "the Eminem part of his career isn't going to be at the forefront anymore."

If Mathers is truly set to shake things up, exactly where he goes from here is unclear. He's not doing interviews this summer, and his spokesman at Interscope Records in Los Angeles declined to comment. Manager Paul Rosenberg said there's been "no official decision" about the future. But he acknowledged that some kind of recalibration is likely, adding that Eminem's latest multiplatinum record is "certainly the cap on this part of his career."

Others by his side, from business partners to fellow rappers in D12, say Mathers is ready to embark on a path like that of mentor Dr. Dre, who upon reaching his 30s eased away from the microphone for a successful career as a producer and star-maker.

Such a move by Mathers would shake the tectonic plates of pop culture. At 33, he is now the best-selling hip-hop artist in history and is, by many standards, the globe's biggest music star.

If this is indeed a final bow, Eminem will join a special society of pop icons: the ones who went out on a high note. It's a small and exclusive membership that includes the Beatles, Sam Cooke, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana -- artists who, by choice or fate, quit while they were ahead. They're the ones who left stories with clear beginnings and ends and legacies that never risked getting spoiled.

"Why not bow out while you're on top?" said Proof, speaking last Friday inside his tour bus at Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio, second stop on the Anger Management Tour 3.

"Marshall is very smart about this stuff," said another musical partner. "He knows the danger of being at this level, where there's nowhere to go but down."

Within the star's tightly insulated Detroit circle -- a small group of long-trusted friends and collaborators -- the signals began to emerge during sessions for his latest record. This was it, he told them. The last album, the last tour, the last sprint through the thicket of public hysteria.

"We didn't go into this for the celebrity thing. We were never looking for that," said Mark Bass, brother of Jeff Bass. Mathers is signed to their production company, 8 Mile Style, which landed the rapper's deal with Interscope.

"As much as he caters to his fans, this has always been about putting food on the table," Mark Bass said. "And he knows the right thing to do to make sure that happens. If that's moving into producing 50 Cent and the other new artists he's handling, then that's what it is. He's a smart guy. He knows what he's doing."

In November, Eminem unveiled his mind-set for everybody -- and nobody caught on. His new album was titled "Encore," complete with a cover photo that showed him taking a bow. For his fourth release since his 1999 breakout, Eminem had chosen to announce the end of the show.

"I was actually pretty shocked when no one picked up on the concept," said manager Rosenberg.

Maybe the audience was still too noisy to notice. "Encore," his first solo effort in more than two years, was the most anticipated album of the season, generating wall-to-wall hype on its way to the obligatory critical kudos and No. 1 debut. Eight months later, sales are nearing 5 million.

The new concert video, with its metaphoric killing of Eminem, merely extends a concept already sketched by Mathers.

Buried in the "Encore" album notes is a line that reads, "To my fans ... I'm sorry," adjacent to an image of a bullet. On the album-ending "Encore/Curtains Down," he delivers his closing stanza accompanied by the sound of gunfire: "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming out -- peace! / Oh ... I almost forgot / You're comin' with me / Ha ha! Bye bye!"

As "Encore" promotional plans were mapped out, sources say, worried advisers convinced the rapper to leave it at that, to resist further tip-offs that "Encore" was the end: Why chain himself to a pledge he might not want to keep?

Any fears would be understandable. Even in an industry often accused of nearsightedness, the short-term publicity bang of a retirement announcement wouldn't trump the loss of the decade's biggest seller. Since 1999, Eminem has sold more than $1 billion worth of records. So much was on the line for so many, from the global executives at Universal Music to Mathers' local team of writing partners. Though Mathers remains under contract to Interscope, he can't be forced to deliver another record, based on music industry precedent established by California courts.

Extensive discussions did precede the album's release, said Rosenberg, but the decision to withhold a farewell announcement was driven by Mathers himself.

"He didn't want to seem like one of those guys who's playing a trick on his fans, or playing with their heads," said Rosenberg, pointing to the on-again-off-again retirement of hip-hop star Jay-Z. "It's part of the same struggle he goes through in his music -- 'How much of my inner thinking should I be putting out there?' "

But if this really is it, why now?

Friends say several factors have converged to create the transformative moment: a growing weariness with the media spotlight, a related drive for solitude and family time, and a savvy recognition of the links between credibility, age and the limited shelf lives that come with pop stardom. But musical motivations top the list.

Over time, Eminem's own songs have alluded to his frustration at feeling creatively cornered by public expectations. You don't need a decoder ring to get the message: "I've created a monster / 'Cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more," he rapped on the chart-topping 2002 hit "Without Me." "They want Shady / I'm chopped liver."

"Marshall feels like he's said everything he can say as Eminem," noted one insider. "The idea that he intended this to be his last record is something that everyone on the inside circle has known for a while."

"At this point," said Mark Bass, "he's a producer."

Mathers will likely devote increased time to "guest appearances and working on other people's stuff," said Jeff Bass. "The songs I've been writing with him are being placed on other artists' albums now."

2002 was a career peak for Eminem. Three top-10 albums. Box office success and critical acclaim for the film "8 Mile." A subsequent Oscar for the song "Lose Yourself," which spent three months at No. 1. Behind the scenes, he was taking increasing command of his own production work while beefing up his Shady Records roster of artists, including soon-to-be sensation 50 Cent.

Even amid the whirlwind of '02, Mathers rarely spoke with the media. But in an interview that December with the Free Press, he hinted at a day when his rapping appetite might wane.

"When it does for me, as far as rap goes, as far as being the front man, I'll still be doing music," he said. "Which is why I'm trying to build my clientele, so to speak, and producing. People have a hard time recognizing that, looking past the fact that I'm a rapper."

Summer 2005 was already shaping up as a crucial moment in the Eminem story, a time of transition for both his career and the broader pop-culture realm where it operates.

Few pop artists hold on long to the double aces of creative vitality and commercial clout. It's just not the nature of the pop-music deal, which rarely delivers that winning hand in the first place -- let alone allows it to be played several times in a row.

Eminem has now been front and center of American culture for nearly seven years. The Beatles were there for six.

That he's pulled off such a feat within this era, within the realm of rap, makes the dynasty that much more remarkable. Both the 2000s and hip-hop favor the chew-'em-up, spit-'em-out mentality. Together, they're nearly lethal to longevity.

"The public is certainly fickle," said Howard Hertz, the rapper's Bloomfield Hills attorney. "But when you've got an artist with such enormous talent, it tends to rise above the crowd in terms of staying power."

For a figure who remains perched atop the music world, Mathers has kept a startlingly low profile these past three years. No U.S. tour, one solo album, few forays into the big-media spotlight. In an age of surplus celebrity, prone to information overdose, Mathers and his advisers have approached the game carefully, cautiously. They've played it Prince and Bob Dylan style: Seclusion feeds the mystique that feeds the public demand.

Even when Eminem seemed everywhere, he was rarely anywhere outside his familiar daily orbit -- namely, his Oakland Township manor and the Ferndale studio where he records much of his work.

Since a pair of gun incidents in 2000 that led to probation -- and accompanying drug testing -- Mathers has reshaped his personal life, toning down his wild side while toning up in the gym. In recent years, he has largely managed to avoid tabloid headlines, which have been left to focus on the perpetual legal troubles of his ex-wife, Kim Mathers. In stark contrast to fellow Detroit star Kid Rock, who also hit big in 1999, Mathers is the bane of gossip writers across the land, conspicuously avoiding the late-night, out-on-the-town scene.

It's an interesting study in restraint for a guy who made his name with a loud mouth. Of course, when you're as big as Eminem, the physics of fame works both ways, and public demand also can force seclusion. When the world grabs at every piece of you, saving some for yourself can take hard work.

On the evening of Detroit's fireworks last month, Eminem made a rare appearance to perform a song at a downtown rooftop party. His brisk entrance and departure were waged with presidential precision. Staffers snapped crisp orders over headsets; bodyguards jammed into tight formation; a Department of Homeland Security dog team sniffed for bombs. And that was just in an otherwise deserted parking-garage stairwell.

On his way out of the party, a crowd surged toward him, armed on an autograph mission. One lanky teenager was among the lucky few to get a CD signed as Eminem stopped briefly to indulge the group. The scrawled name wasn't enough; the young man had found his opening.

"I had to meet you, man," he hollered desperately, hands still stabbing forward for a touch. "I've been waiting to meet you, man. I had to meet you!"

Eminem nodded vaguely as his security staff prodded the rapper toward the exit. Five years after discovering that he could start alone at one end of a shopping mall and wind up surrounded by 500 people when he got to the other, Mathers still seems uncertain how to handle the crush of attention, so much of it intensely personal.

His 1999 debut, recorded when he was a virtual unknown, was packed with standard hip-hop bluster about dominating the world. Just 15 months later, "The Marshall Mathers LP" found him wrestling with the reality of explosive celebrity. On the song "Stan," he tackled it head-on, condensing the complexities of fame, the blurring of private and public life, into a narrative about an overzealous fan.

It was the first big sign that Mathers wasn't going to let the public snatch him up and have its way with his psyche. While insiders say he relished the popularity, which served as a figurative middle finger to any former doubters, he also developed a kind of bunker mentality, seeking sanctuary as he retreated from the celebrity circus.

Rosenberg concedes that some fans have been frustrated by Mathers' detachment, an isolation that is aided by one of the most unyielding media policies in modern entertainment. But the manager defends the choices, pointing out that Mathers has already revealed more than most public figures, via his emotionally raw music.

"In a sense, he feels like, 'Hey, I'm giving y'all enough already,' " said Rosenberg, a Detroit native now based in Manhattan. "There's a strong dichotomy between what he puts on the table with his private life through his art, and what he wants people to see in public. He exposes exactly what he wants to expose. Everything else, as far as he's concerned, is private."

Central to that quest, said Mark Bass, was simply remaining in the Detroit area, deliberately avoiding the frantic entertainment centers on the coasts.

"If we'd stayed out in Los Angeles, this would all have happened a lot quicker. He might be gone already," said Bass. "I really think the best thing is that he stayed here -- that he stayed home."

Privacy has been a growing priority for the rapper, who reunited late last year with his ex-wife. Friends say he is now happiest at home, where the couple tend to their 9-year-old daughter Hailie, Mathers' 12-year-old niece Alaina and 2-year-old Whitney, Kim Mathers' daughter by another man.

Mathers has come to dislike travel, and though his breezy demeanor at last week's Columbus concert was perhaps the loosest he's ever appeared onstage, he had to be cajoled into tackling this tour, scheduled to complete its U.S. leg Aug. 12 at Comerica Park.

But looming over all else, say some on the inside, is a fear that Eminem could be musically spent. The making of "Encore" proved particularly tough, as Mathers searched for new ways to cover the stock Eminem repertoire: feuding with Kim, battling the establishment, cleaning out his family's emotional closet -- all the familiar fare that has defined his public character.

"This was a very difficult record for him to make," said a source in Detroit. "Marshall really struggles to write for himself now, to speak through the voice of Eminem. He knows as well as anybody that there comes a point where you risk beating this thing to death."

There's an old cliche in the music biz: You've got your entire life to write your first record; after that, you're at the mercy of the annual cycle. If you're among those who score riches and fame, you may find yourself straining to stay connected to an audience whose world you no longer inhabit.

Some artists try to confront the dilemma with stylistic twists and turns, a craft mastered by Madonna, another Detroit-bred star. Most, though, just plow ahead, resigned to steadily dwindling relevance.

What's rare is quitting before the erosion gets a chance to kick in. It requires a distinct kind of foresight, the kind that might belong to someone with an acute self-awareness -- the kind that might be second nature to someone who spent his formative years as a white outsider seeking legitimacy in a black cultural form.

"Marshall isn't young anymore," said a staffer with Mathers' hometown operation. "Throughout these six years, he's always stayed one step ahead. Now it's knowing that he's at an age where teenagers might be ready to move on to something else."

No matter how it goes down, no matter what the rationale, fans are likely to be blindsided if 2005 is the last call for Eminem.

In Columbus late Friday night, concertgoers streamed out of the amphitheater buzzing about the Eminem set they'd just seen, a spectacle featuring some of the highest production values to hit a hip-hop stage. Against a three-story backdrop layered with balconies and intricate lights, Em and Proof delivered 90 minutes of music punctuated by confetti showers and pyrotechnic flash.

But if anyone had picked up on the night's underlying angle -- Eminem's potential career finale -- it wasn't obvious.

Greg Thomas, 24, had made the trip from Ann Arbor, the work of a die-hard fan with a $90 seat down front. He had watched the onstage video and heard the "Encore" songs. But he hadn't connected the dots. The notion that this could be it, the end, left him in disbelief.

"That would be horrible," he said. "Eminem is the one who unites everybody. Look around you here. He brings together white, black, Puerto Rican, Filipino, everybody. If he were to give it up now, who would take over?"

Fans will always have their CDs. Around Detroit, though, an Eminem exile would directly alter the lives of those who have been part of the ride, enjoying everything from steady work to million-dollar paydays.

The members of D12, rappers who played barren Detroit dives with Eminem long before they accompanied him in sold-out arenas, have already begun preparing for the shift -- founding their own companies, taking on outside production work, recording solo albums and scheduling solo tours.

Backstage in Columbus, Proof reflected on the past as he looked ahead to a future that might find Mathers "doing some raps now and then."

"He's been like a gift and a curse at the same time," said Proof, who on Aug. 9 will release "Searching for Jerry Garcia," the debut album for his new Iron Fist Records. "He's the biggest rap artist of all time, so he overshadows everything -- not just me personally, but all of hip-hop. Now I've got a chance to get my label really cranking."

It was an affectionate comment, echoing the sentiments of many in the Shady sphere. Whatever the personal impact of an Eminem fadeout, those closest to Marshall Mathers say they would marvel in respect, admiring what could be the brashest move of all by a friend who has long pushed the envelope.

"I would envy him for it," said producer Mark Bass. "Who knows if he'll make another album. But he's worked hard -- he's been at the top because he's worked hard. If he makes a break, he deserves to get a break."

posted in Hip Hop - 5 replies