On Monday, Nov. 16th, Raphael Saadiq will be performing at the Showbox Market and he’s bringing with him one of the dopest, up and coming singers out there, Anjulie. Because Anjulie and her folks are so cool, she’ll be kicking it with us on Sound Session live in studio the night before. And since we’reso cool, we’re giving you a chance to join us as well.
If you and a guest want to meet Anjulie, sit in the studio throughout our radio show, and take home a signed copy of her self titled debut, all you need to do is email me – DJHyphen@gmail.com – the answer to this (incredibly simple) question:
What province in Canada is Anjulie from?
That’s it. Contest ends Friday at 10am. I’ll be selecting one person to receive a pair of passes to join us, Anjulie, and the other winners we got on the air Sunday night. Good luck!
Easily one of the darkest moments in human history, but Tewz, a dope producer from Chicago, turns it into a moving piece of art. Here’s his description:
I shot this video in Japan during the Summer of 2009. All of the archival footage was shot entirely from the video monitors in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum at the exact location where the first atomic bomb was dropped. I developed the Super 8 film entirely by hand in the bathroom of my apartment on Grand in Chicago, Il. The music was created from 45’s I purchased in Japan during the same time.
Here’s the first video from Supastition’s Kam Moye’s album, Splitting Image, out now on Myx Music Label. There’s a lot to be said about being content with the little things in life and realizing that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I think you understand this more and more with every day that passes and at 27, I see this so much clearer than I did at, say, 22.
See, even though this video plays off an established theme (Saved By The Bell FTW), it’s still more entertaining than Hype’s big budget production below. But anyway, how popular are you?
I have mixed feelings about this song and video. First off, since switching to a job where I see hundreds of music videos a week, I’m afraid Hype’s clips just don’t do much for me these days. Perhaps he was at his pinnacle when I was younger and I was easily impressed by the old super glossy, big budget videos he shot, but I haven’t seen anything from him lately that’s absolutely wowed me. This one is cool visually, but nothing too special and I see more innovative clips every day at the office.
Secondly, you will never, ever…[old school Jay] eva eva eva eva [/old Hov]…look cool/hard playing the piano in a video. So while Alicia is quite possibly the hottest girl out there right now, I still think the piano shots look hilarious. I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl, you just can’t try to look cool in a video while playing the piano. Sorry, just how it is.
Lastly, this song is overrated to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but it seems like everyone is trying to make it some epic, classic record. Sorry again, it’s not. The beat is cool, but not great, and there’s a horrible glitching sound in the loop from where they cut off the tambourine that comes around every time and annoys the hell out of me. Jay’s lyrics are dope, but that sing-song flow gets old real quick and makes for boring repeated listens too. Being one of the best songs on Blueprint 3 doesn’t mean it’s an incredible record. It just means it’s not “Forever Young.”
I think this is a classic case of the music industry being a bit too NYC-centric. With a lot of the labels, magazines, websites, and TV stations centered out there, they automatically assume what’s big in NY should be big all over the country (and the world). NYC isn’t the center of the hip-hop universe anymore and just because this record is a great anthem for them, doesn’t mean it’s going to resonate with everyone else throughout the country. Or if it does, not nearly to the extent they think.
It’s kinda like when XXL pressed up this cover:
There’s no way in hell…in 2009…that cover ever should have been made for a national publication. None of those artists are remotely hot or popular outside of the Northeast. I’d say 90% of people who listen to hip-hop on the west coast don’t even know who Freekey Zekey is, let alone like him. Anyway, I get a similar feeling when I hear all these magazines, TV hosts, and label dudes tell me how classic “Empire State Of Mind” is.
If you’re from NY? Sure. Bang it.
If you’re not from NYC? It’s cool, but it’s not a classic hip-hop record and nowhere near one of Jay’s best.
This might be the most beautiful music video I’ve seen in a minute, and I watch a ton at the day job. I don’t believe Shad and the homies are using this as an official music video, but it would get my vote. Great stuff.
Grab the EP this track is on right here and NYC folks better not miss Shad’s first performance in the Big Apple:
For those who aren’t aware, the talent in Seattle is crazy right now. One of my favorite releases of the year, local or national, was Fresh Espresso‘s Glamour, and Rik Rude & P-Smoov just enlisted Grynch, Macklemore, and Gatsby for the remix. Video by Stephan Gray. Bananas.
If you aren’t familiar with Sene, you really need to get hip. Luckily for you, he’s about to drop his full project with Blu handling all the production (you didn’t know Blu got beats?), ADayLate&ADollarShort, and here’s the first bit of visuals for it. I’ve been bumping the album recently and it’s great throughout. Blu did a great job crafting a consistent sound and Sene’s style is actually real similar to Blu’s on the mic. Highly recommend y’all cop it…
