You needn’t go see Obsessed tonight at your local cineplex. I’ll tell you what happens without seeing it… Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Prop Jay

I cannot get over the awkwardness of this sh*t. I mean it isn’t awkward in the sense they are all staring at each other. It’s just that Wayne on “The View” is just wacked out in general. We know he’s educated and that he can be well-spoken when he needs to be, but who is the hell is doing the audience profiling around that b*tch? Which members of “The View’s” audience is this supposed to cater to? Good for Wayne to Read the rest of this entry »

Props if you know him from Emanon, and if it wasn’t until Below The Heavens with Blu that convinced you of Exile’s musical genius, welcome. Since the early 90′s the Los Angeles-bred and buttered producer has been steadily building a resume of work few can rival. From underground 12-inches to commercial gems (think: Mobb Deep’s “Pearly Gates”), he covers all ground with a sound identifiably his. Not to be outdone by his works with other artists, Exile has two solo albums of his own: Dirty Science and his latest conceptual masterpiece, Radio. Sampled purely from the radio (yes, you read that correctly), the aptly titled album is his first purely instrumental endeavor and without the use of vocalists.

Yet, Exile is able to say more than most rappers choose to. He is a true master of the MPC, with turntable skills to match. An innovator. A visionary. Smart. Humble. Funny and for real with it.

If my words sound bold, check the facts, and without further adieu…

TSS: What was the first instrument you got your hands on?

Exile: The first instrument was an accordion. I was living in my Grandfather’s garage and he would give me accordion lessons. It didn’t really stick though.

TSS: Have you applied some of those lessons to your music later in life?

Exile: Yeah, definitely. That was my first time really learning keys, and I still play keys today.

TSS: What about in terms of beat machines?

Exile: It was actually tape loops first. I had one turntable and two tape decks and I would loop em up. I think it was the “Genius Of Love” sample (Hums beat). Rewind it and then leave a silent part. I’d do that for like three minutes, so I’d have a tape of that playing over and over with silent parts that I had to fill in. I’d play that and then fill in the gaps. So I could take a full loop, put it into the other cassette deck and play that. Then I would record on the other one and put stuff on top of it. I pretty much had infinite tracks.

TSS: Damn. How long were you doing that?

Exile: I did that for a couple of years and then eventually I got a push button sampler and a 4-track. That was when I first started putting out music. Making tapes and I even pressed it up on vinyl like that. Then I moved to the Roland MS1 and then eventually the MPC.

TSS: How are old were you when you were looping the tapes?

Exile: Eighth grade, but I actually started scratching on one turntable in sixth grade. I had one one of those home stereo component systems with the tape deck, radio and turntable up top. What I’d do was press the tape button down while hitting the phono button so it’d act like a transformer button. I used to scratch Star Wars records and stuff like that.

TSS: Since you were creating and cutting up sounds so young, when did the idea of being producer really resonate?

Exile: I always wanted to be a Hip-Hop producer and DJ. Ever since Junior High I knew. I used to fantasize, like when I was getting ready to scratch, I used to fantasize that I was at a KRS-One concert and Kenny Parker was sick or something and KRS would call out, “Can anybody DJ!?!” And then I would start scratching like I was on stage with KRS-One. I don’t know if that has to do with anything, but I thought I would let you know that (Laughs).

TSS: So it’s always been in the plans?

Exile: Yeah, I mean I know this sounds strange, but I used to think like if I had to make a record with just noises from my mouth, like a record label said that’s what you have to do, then I would do it. Again, I don’t know what that means (Laughs). I guess it just shows how much I really wanted to do it that I would just fantasize on some weird shit like that.

TSS: Was there a turning point in terms of your sound and productions? I ask thinking about the earlier mellow Emanon stuff to the “Algae” joint and the more upbeat or electric stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

Outasight – “Rollin Wit’ Me” Ep.9 (SXSW Edition)

I’m not gonna lie. When I first saw Outasight on stage with 6th Sense at their SXSW show, I thought he was the bartender or something just bopping around on stage. It only took a few bars for me to realize that Outasight was indeed the truth.

The music is just as unassuming as the artist– Deep and effective without being overly neurotic or self-aggrandizing. Read the rest of this entry »

Snakes on a Plane – The TV Edit

Earlier this week, I cursed while talking to my boss. What was weird about it, was that an apology prefaced the actual expletive.

“Oops, sorry. Shit.”

We laughed about it. And I still have my job. With that being said, censorship is a terrible thing.

Taking away the beauty and passion of profanity and replacing it with some some socially acceptable, flakey fake fluffy, Huxtablian dilution is like digitally replacing cigarettes in movies with celery stalks and toothpicks. It’s funnier than it is purposeful.

“But what about the kids? What about those of us who want to hear music or watch movies without the curses?” Read the rest of this entry »

Previously Posted — Mayer Hawhtorne & The County – “Maybe So, Maybe No” | Mayer Hawthorne’s Fave Five

This is some seriously soulful stuff right here. Like “Hypnotic” soulful. I kept pretty mum on 4/20, because those days are behind me, but this right here is my speed for those festivities.  The G.O.O.D. Music coalition hooked up for the lead single Read the rest of this entry »

9th Wonder & Puma linked up to produce a tailor-made pair of kicks for the Justus League producer. Details abound on the shoe and are exceptionally fly, but probably only wearable if you’re 9th, carrying his crates @ parties or related to one of his blood kin.

More images after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Nice little monochrome visual featuring Termanology & Co. from the If Heaven Was A Mile Away Mixtape (A Tribute To J Dilla) Mixtape. Read the rest of this entry »

Awww…Isabelle Du For PFF

Jay Leno Hospitalized; ‘Tonight Show’ Tapings Canceled [CNN]

Terrence Howard To Iron Man 2: Karma’s A Bitch [E!]

The Sweetest Revenge [Necole Bitchie]

Matisyahu and Dizzee Rascal Walk Into a Discotheque [Vulture]

Busta Rhymes Explains Back On My B.S. [RTNY]

Plies Talks About ‘Surprise’ Collaborations On Next Album [MTV]

Court: 2nd Amendment Trumps Local Gun Limits []

AP Poll: After Obama’s 100 Days, US On Right Track [Yahoo]

How Big Is Your World? New Rap [No Trivia]

Finally, A Realistic Fishing Pole Controller For the Xbox 360 [Gizmodo]

TOBE$ hit me up again. Since Flight School Vol. 1 was so lovely, he & DJ Yoda aka Sparkle Motion, are back to give you more pause. They return with New Jack City Vol. 1, taking things forward a few years from where Flight School left off. To the days of hi-top fades, parachute pants and doing the Running Man. Think Bobby Brown cruising for chicks in a 1989 Testarossa, and Mike Tyson riding shotgun with a white baby tiger on his lap.

Word up. Hit the break for the goods & big shouts out to TOBE$ for the materials. Read the rest of this entry »

Ask 100 people & you’ll get 100 totally unique opinions on 808′s…. For moi, it was very hit & miss. When it worked, it worked well. When it stunk, it was spoiled milk funk. On “Amazing,” it was roses and, in my Gemini mind, I feel like this was Read the rest of this entry »

Remember playing Street Fighter as a kid and figuring out the combination that would always beat your friends? For me it was the Zangief high-kick/low kick combo. My friends would get pissed using the age-old argument: “You’re just doing the same cheap move over and over again. I could win if I did that, but I choose not too.”

When I picked up the May issue of XXL, I heard the same argument from a group of New York MCs. The article was called “How Ya Like Them Apples?” and it profiles the disappointing careers of Joell Ortiz, Papoose, Tru Life, Uncle Murda and Saigon. A couple of quotes stuck out to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Borrowing Chicago slang, Mikkey japs out to this Premo concoction…and he simmers to a boil on this video blog he posted on his site to accompany the song. Mik updates us on his progress & problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Not sure what Ace Hood is previewing seeing that his album Gutta was released a few months prior. Ironically, I revisited it the other day and although 2.5 Cigs isn’t the most impressive of ratings, the glass-half-full approach will tell you there was some promise.

But while song structuring isn’t his strong point, murdering beats with his abrasive delivery is, so there’s a chance greater than 50% that The Preview will be worth your time. Read the rest of this entry »