Damn, Ali spit better off the dome than most rappers do with their writtens. Well, wait…maybe they aren’t even writing and that’s the problem. Anyway, Ali [hip-hop talk] gets it in [/corny] with Mr. Peter Parker on B96 in Minneapolis over a medley of beats. His problem with “Grindin'” is funny, cause that’s exactly the issue the Clipse have every time they drop that song in concert. Something about the way it comes in just isn’t right. Anyway, Ali ripped this. Seattle people: remember Ali will be at Jake One’s release party at the War Room on October 6th. Be there.
Chyea. The boys from LA flew out to the Chi and while out there, linked up with the homies from Ruby Hornet for an excellent edition of their “Freestyle In The Park” series. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of acapella verses, but wow. Like, BeYoung, and Mibbs murdered this and actually spit some ish off the dome, which is pretty refreshing these days. “they say they looooove it.”
Erykah Badu linked up with OKP and the homies Tunj and GregTheDude to talk about her inspirations, her live performance, and her music. She also talks briefly about her next album, including plans for a Bilal/Andre 3000 duet!?!?! Chyea.
It would have been hilarious if he said “nazi” instead of “not see.” Ok, well maybe just to me. Anyway, no idea what this is from, but it’s great. I literally grew up on Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, so Will is one of my all-time favorite people. Next time I’m at the club (which won’t be soon if you know me), I’m breaking out the MiB dance. Stop me.
*crosses fingers that scientology rumor isn’t true*
(if you prefer YouTube, go here. Part 2 will be up in a few days)
Here’s the footage of T.I.’s Bumbershoot performance that I grabbed from the stage a few weeks back. The festival’s “Hip-Hop 101” main stage at Memorial Stadium is always one of my favorite events of the year. We’ve been lucky enough to introduce people like Lupe, Wu-Tang, Kanye, Atmosphere, Pharcyde, Common, Talib, and A Tribe Called Quest and watch these artists deliver incredible shows from just a few feet away. It’s really dope to watch ’em rock a huge venue like this and although T.I.’s crowd was a bit smaller than past years, this was another great experience. I’m not a huge Tip fan, but he killed it.
My favorite moment was definitely at 18:40, when he talked to the crowd about voting and then, with phenomenal swag, told Drama to drop “What You Know.” That might be my favorite T.I. record, [Kanye] Toomp killed that ish [/Kanye].
I’ve been meaning to post up the footage I grabbed from our Bumbershoot Festival here in Seattle a few weeks ago, but I’ve been slacking. Once I saw Eskay toss up my T.I. video, I figured I should get on it haha. Here’s the first clip, where Keyshia Cole runs through some hits from her catalog on the main stage at Memorial Stadium. I can’t say I’m a huge Keyshia fan, but she has some joints I really dig (namely “(I Just Want It) To Be Over” and her hook on Diddy’s “Last Night”).
I’ll make a separate post with the T.I. footage, which is better quality and far more interesting, imo.
Yes, yes y’all. It’s finally time for the Seattle stop of the Red Bull Big Tune (an event that originated here with my people J. Moore, Vitamin D, Jake One, DV-One, and Marcus Lalario) and here’s the itinerary for the week:
Monday, Sept. 8th: Red Bull Big Tune Kick-Off (flyer)
The War Room
722 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Featuring DJ Maseo of De La Soul and special guests
9pm, 21+, $5 cover
Tuesday, Sept. 9th:Â Educational Outreach – Producer workshop with Jake One & Vitamin D
Vera Project
305 Harris Street, Seattle, WA 98109
4pm – 6pm
Free and All Ages
Red Bull Big Tune Film Premiere (flyer)
Screening and Live performance by Brainstorm of Dyme Def with special guest DJ DV-One
Nectar
412 N. 36th Street, Seattle WA 98103
9pm, 21+, $5 cover
Wednesday, Sept. 10th:Â Youth Workshop with “Aim for Peace” program
Buttermilk Studios
1108 13th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
4pm – 5:30pm
Free and All Ages
Thursday, Sept. 11th: Red Bull Big Tune In-Store featuring Black Milk & Elzhi
GOODS
1112 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101
4pm – 5:30pm
Free and All Ages
Friday, Sept. 12th: Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle (flyer)
Beat Battle and special performances from Elzhi & Black Milk
Neumos
925 E. Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
8pm, All Ages, $5 cover
The latest “Freestyle In The Park” edition from the homey Alex at Ruby Hornet features the oft-slept on Mass Hysteria crew. The above clip is from Gee Field and any verse with a McCain diss, a RIP shout to Big L, and a Comiskey reference gets my approval. Hit the jump for the verse from his partner in rhyme, Mike Treese.
3RD UPDATE: The interview Vimeo clip appears to be working at the moment. If it stops, please use the YouTube link right underneath the video. The live footage has been removed at the request of the label, sorry. Holler @ me if there are any problems.
Last weekend, the lovely Ms. Janelle Monae came to Seattle and we had the pleasure of sitting down with her for an interview on Sound Session. If you’ve somehow missed her huge (and well deserved) buzz all over the net, she’s a singer from Kansas City, Kansas, by way of New York and Atlanta, who broke into the industry with Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon label. After debuting on his Got Purp, Vol. 2 compilation, she linked up with the other half of Outkast, Andre 3000, and appeared on 2 songs from their Idlewild project. She then released the first part of her Metropolis mega-series, The Chase Suite, only to re-release the Special Edition after impressing Diddy at a live performance enough that he immediately signed a partnership with her.
Janelle sat down with us to talk all about her background and inspirations growing up, how she connected with Big Boi and Diddy, the intricate storyline behind Metropolis, and much more. You can either watch the interview above, or, as I would recommend, download the broadcast quality audio feed below (complete with one of the songs off Metropolis).
Even at such an early stage of her career, Janelle’s live show is legendary so I shot some footage from her concert at the Nectar Lounge later that night. Watch the clip below to see her run through songs like “Violet Stars Happy Hunting,” “Many Moons,” “Smile, “Sincerely, Jane,” and “Lettin’ Go.”
EDIT:Â Video has been removed at the request of the label, sorry.
Go see this woman when she comes to your town, she’s incredible. Seattle people: Janelle will be back on October 3rd at the Showbox opening for Jamie Lidell. Be there.
As mentioned previously, Little Brother rocked the Key Club in Los Angeles last week and the homegirl Mariko recorded some dope clips of their performance. Above is the insta-classic, “Step My Game Up” (complete with a hilarious intro from Phonte), and videos of “Lovin’ It,” “Nobody Like Me,” “Extrahard,” and “Sirens” can be found here. I can’t wait to see LB at Rock The Bells this weekend…
