Freak Something Saturday With Decca

Cool Album Art and Packaging: Records, Cassettes, CDs Then Nothing [Gizmodo]

Three Athletes You Want On Your Side In A Fight [Our Kitchen Sink]

Best Buy Breaking Into Movie Downloads? [NYT]

All Day I Dream About Skateboarding [Dallas Penn]

Flesh-N-Bone Ordered To Stay In Jail [Contact Music]

Help Make Bol’s Weekend [Byron Crawford]

Chavez To Obama: ‘I Want To Be Your Friend’ [CNN]

Is Oprah The Beginning Of The End For Twitter? [MTV]

Personally, I avoid Lil’ Wayne affiliated projects and artists, figuring that eventually what’s out there will trickle down to me through Young Money’s domination of Hip-Hop for everyone under 25. I do this because, frankly, my Weezy like/dislike ratio for every song he graces is also under 25. In a world of oversaturation, Young Money’s the King of the shotgun approach to music. Read the rest of this entry »

You know Twitter’s popularity is at an all-time high when rapper’s start making songs jams about it. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at your service supplying twelve minutes of music for today’s Daily Funk.

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Cannonball Adderley – “Tensity”

Still brimming with the Star Power from his last outing, Pistolvania’s finest — Wiz Khalifa is ready for takeoff with his Flight School mixtape. Get lifted after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

I know Tanya Morgan.

I was one of those hooked ever on their music since 2006′s Moonlighting when I stumbled upon them & The Strange Fruit Project. I was asked to review both The Healing & Moonlighting around the same time & I had the hardest time mentally separating the two trios. I liked The Healing; I loved Moonlighting and it stuck with me. Since then, Donwill, Von Pea & Ilyas have made it a point to continually release music, making their presence heard & felt as a collective and as individuals via mixtapes, EPs and performing.

When I see this “virtual tour” to the fictional Brooklynati, I love it even though Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no season like the post season and this rings especially true come time for the NBA Playoffs.  Around this time of year basketball heads nationwide crowd around TV’s to witness the best players in the world go at it. The Associations Spring classic has yielded some memorable moments: most of them being at Patrick Ewing’s expense in the 90’s.  But in all seriousness, the Playoffs provide drama, suspense and possible conspiracy theories worthy of a best selling novel.

The playoffs also call for self proclaimed basketball experts to foretell who’ll take the chip along with proposed sweeps, dark horses, and flops in between. The Crew’s resident basketball heads decided to throw in their 2¢ in on how the rounds will play out.

So read up and don’t get mad when you find out we’re right.

Eastern Conference

Read the rest of this entry »

“But, Damn, a n***a tote. More guns than roses, foes is…shaking in their boots.”

You can count on Stall & Dean to always have some relatively obsucre combo that is quite coppable.

Case in point. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Jesse H.

And what a journey it was.

While I may be in the minority in proclaiming that the RZA has a slight edge over Premo as the best producer of all time, the impact of the Wu debut is a monstrosity that we’re finally beginning to fully understand the magnitude of. Especially from a production standpoint, it’s remarkable to reflect on the 36 Chambers revolution in sound. With a dense, layered and inconceivably dark sound, RZA progressed from the gentle skipping of four-measure Hip-Hop loops to an uncertain, iron-booted journey down a corridor of horrors. A dimly lit hallway bubbling with uncertainty and squawking with warnings of potential danger. Lyrically, the record obviously speaks for itself as well, but with respect due to all the dense metaphors and advanced wordplay, the RZA’s boardwork is the reason the album is still talked about so fervently today.

What’s my evidence? Well, check the El Michel’s Affair’s new tribute to the RZA, Enter The 37th Chamber. With the disc, the nine-piece live band presents a bold new re-imagining of RZA’s unique vision, recutting several Wu-classics in a live band format. Read the rest of this entry »

I really don’t have a reason to post this.

In fact, part of me feels the need to ask for forgiveness for posting a shirtless picture of another dude. But when it comes to Todd Shaw’s music, there is no Read the rest of this entry »

Brooklyn native Skyzoo amassed a solid production team (9th Wonder, Illmind, Khrysis, Jake One, Statik Selektah) and grabbed several notable, fellow rhymesayers (Talib Kweli, Rapper Pooh, Maino, Wale & Naledge) to put together what should make for a good listen. Back cover & download link after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Sincerely Yours, Cecily, For Pretty Face Friday

Pirate Bay Loses Case [Gizmodo]

Enjoy Stephen A. Smith While You Can – He’s Got About Six Weeks Left At ESPN [The Big Lead]

YouTube Boosts Full-Length Movies, TV Show Lineup [Yahoo]

Now On/Buff1/14KT: Live In Essen Germany [Kevin Nottingham]

Prefix’s Guide To Record Store Day 2009 [Prefix]

illRoots Interview With Oren Yoel [illRoots]

Payola: Once A Dirty Word, Now The Basis Of Internet Radio [Guardian]

The Wire Bible [Kottke]

Frank151 x New Era Toronto Tempers Fitted Cap [Strictly Fitteds]

Top 10 Worst Athletes to Ask for Financial Advice [Real Clear Sports]

Nike SB April ‘09 Apparel & Accessories [CtotheJL]

Dart’s Rant Of The Day: Hype, Lies & Corporate Co-Signs [Poisonous Paragraphs]

As you all should know by now… I’m J. “Cupcakin’” Nash’s biggest fan.

Although this video isn’t as new, up-to-snuff or exemplary as J.Nash’s latest feat, “Sex You Down Pt.2,” it’s pretty much his most Oscar-worthy performance to date. “She Still Gone Be My Wifey” is high-octane drama from start to finish. And because I’m still unclear — after having watched it many, many times — what exactly happens in the storyline, I’ll outline for you what I believe to be going on. Without this guidance you may be forced to watch it multiple times yourself… so consider this me sparing you.

Outset — Mom comes home, blue folder in hand.
00:14 — J.Nash: “Pshh… Get inside.” Read the rest of this entry »

Like Gotty ™ said, all Funk music isn’t ancient history and some people are still creating it. Orgone is one such group and I actually stumbled upon them while taking in the Scion Live Metro Series, where they opened and then backed the likes of Bun B, Skillz, Buckshot, Special Ed & a few other acts. The group kills live and really defy genres,  as the amount of slashes needed to describe their music would make Kordell Stewart have to pick a new nickname. Read the rest of this entry »

With “Rollin” serving as appetizer, Big Sean links up to with Mick Boogie to dish out the main course, UKNOWBIGSEAN. No major appearances from his G.O.O.D. Music compadres however, Sean’s out to prove he got the juice all on his own. Read the rest of this entry »