2.06.2007

THE INFAMOUS...

So long blogger. Ninoy Brown is taking "Fear of a Brown Blogger" to its new home:

http://fobbdeep.com

Please update your blog roll. Expect the same content as here, but with additional commentary from another writer, who will simply be known as Mark.

2.01.2007

WINTER MADNESS


After all the overblown hype surrounding the "bomb" scare in Boston, I've come to the conclusion that many Bostonians are moronic.

While the city of Boston and other fear laden Americans might not share my cynicism on the matter, at least the two white guys being charged for wasting the resources of Boston are able to exhibit some humor on the situation.

I was really close to making the drive out to San Francisco to cop one of those Mooninite Aqua Team Hunger Force promo light boards just because they looked kind of fresh. Now I'm thinking of trying to come up on one to pay a traffic ticket.

Luckily, while the monetary situation around these parts aren't as nice as I would like, artists are nice enough to offer some of their works for free:

Since Adult Swim generates some of the same fans that Stonesthrow receives, why not share that Chrome Children Vol. 2 has been uploaded on their site for $free.99? Get it right here.

For those still in the mood for getting free shit, DJ Eleven has come out with a pleasing, yet melancholy, follow up to his Summer Madness mixtape with Winter Sadness, which can also be downloaded for nathan. (c/o Fader)

The remix to Nas' "Where Are They Now" have been popping up all over, but O-Dub kindly melded all three versions together into one mega-mega mix.

1.31.2007

POST 9/11 LIVING

The new face of terror

Interesting news today as Bostonians became a city of shook ones as a marketing scheme used by Cartoon Network to promote the upcoming "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie turned into a bomb scare.
BOSTON - More than 10 blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. Most if not all of the devices depict a character giving the finger.

Peter Berdovsky, 29, of Arlington, was arrested on one felony charge of placing a hoax device, and one charge of disorderly conduct, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

I find it odd how nobody noticed these things until today.
Turner Broadcasting said the devices had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston; New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Someone please notify the officials not to panic and that the urban invasion of Space Invader isn't taking the form of violent aggression.

*Oh snap, folks are on the ball when it comes to making a profit on this type of hysteria. I knew I should have made a trip to the Bay and driven around to get my hand on one.

THE MINSTREL SHOW

Celebration of Black Culture?

A day or so ago, my brother told me about a group of college students in Texas who decided to do their part in celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy on his birthday by dressing up in dressing up as stereotypical caricatures of African-Americans, with featuring Aunt Jemima, fried chicken, and malt liquor.

MLK Party at Texas College Called Racist

The students apparently did not know that dressing up in Blackface was racist. I guess this reveals how much ignorance is still prevalent in our country.

A graduate from Texas College who says he started the party is quoted as saying, "I know for sure that they weren't being racist. They were just having fun."

The typical response someone acquires when bestowed with white privilege. The idea of race never crosses the individual's mind, and exploitation of another racial identity becomes just another joke.

What makes this situation all the more shocking is that it wasn't just an isolated incident in Hobunk, TX, but also took places in other universities: Clemson University and University of Connecticut.

The Smoking Gun has pictures (which were posted on Facebook.com) of the parties:

Texas College
University of Connecticut
Clemson University

Somewhere MLK's body is slowly rolling over.

To answer Junichi's question, if this is the type of thinking that emerges from stereotypical representations on a cartoon for kids, then I fully support the Cartoon Network's decision.

ITS THE RETURN OF THE GANGSTA


Why is it that Andre only raps on other people's remixes?

First there was the remix to "Walk It Out", and now he's up on Rich Boy's remix to "Throw Some D's". And on both tracks, he shines far and above all the other artists, even though he comes off a bit weaker on the "Throw Some D's" remix.

Noz has some words on the topic too.

1.29.2007

SUPER DISCO HYPHY


DJ B. Cause, from 4 One Funk, has been doing his thizzness infusing hyphy acapellas over funky rhythms. I've always found the two to blend very well, considering the funkiness of hyphy, even though its beats wouldn't exactly place it in the same vein of funk infused rap that g-funk gave to us in the 90's. But hyphy is funky.

So, now B. Cause has unleashed a new mix, giving a disco sensibility to hyphy tracks with "Super Disco Hyphy"

Here's a couple tracks from the mixtape:

Federation - Hyphy (b cause lookin up to you remix)

The Pack - Vans (recurring spaceship re-chop)

The Team - Getting Hot (smerphie's furnace/synth re-mix)

The tracklisting for the rest of the mix:

MISTAH FAB - GHOST RIDE IT (VIDEO)



So, this is the MTV Jam of the week on MTV 2 (a channel that has progressively appeared more and more like MTV 1). Fabby Davis Jr looks to be getting some strong push from Atlantic so far, hopefully they won't pull a Little Brother on him.

On the video version, Sean T had to tweak the beat up a little due to sampling issues. Also, I found it funny was how they had to blank out "Get out the car."

I never really was a fan of the song, but I did appreciate its comedic value.

*I guess Pilly Wonka beat me to it.

1.24.2007

MIXUNIT.COM STREAMING MIXTAPES FOR FREE

SAN QUINN VIDEO - "HELL YEAH"


No direct YouTube clip, but you can check out the video in its entirety at San Quinn's Myspace page.

*Edit: The video is now viewable on YouTube.

The video's about a year overdue for those, but it will be a good look if it gets play on MTV or BET.

First this, and the video for FAB's "Ghostride It" getting MTV Jams airplay next week. The 2007's poppin' off quite nicely for the Yay.

On a side note, Bol, do some research before you speak, before you get ethered by Krish.

1.23.2007

ANDY GRIFFITH RALLIES AGAINST THE PATRIOT ACT

Some interesting words on the idea of warrantless domestic spying:



Who woulda thunk it? Sheriff Andy Taylor hates America and supports the terrorists.

1.19.2007

FREE DJ DRAMA AND DJ DON CANNON: THE CONSOLIDATED VERSION


By now I'm sure a majority of those following the blogging circuit now about the player hating move made two days ago by the record industry against DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon (who, according to the hard hitting investigative coverage of Fox Atlanta's news reporters, are indeed djs).

As of right now, Drama and Cannon have been released on bail.

Kelefa takes a closer look into the sub-culture of mixtapes.

Jeff Chang's take on how the mixtape game might be affected by new policies that the RIAA might put into place.

Davey D: Its not a war on mixtapes, but about inserting power.

Jay Smooth's made the crossover to the vlogging game; he tells the RIAA to stop snitching.

Different Kitchen offers more linkage to other coverage on the incident.

Hip-hop mixtapes have existed on a very blurry line. Its existence lies upon a symbiotic relationship of promotion for a full length album an artist may have released. And for dj's it is their way to market and expose themselves to the masses.

The "For Promotional Use" label that dj's slap on the cd's are usually placed there for legal reasons. We know for a fact that many of these "promotional only" cd's or tapes are sold, with money going inside the pockets of the artists who distribute the product that usually has the music of other artists.

The effects of this are striking, as online music stores, such as MixUnit.com, have taken mixtapes off their shelves. It will be interesting to see how this case unravels and if it will have the same deleterious effect upon hip-hop music and its artists as copyright infringement, in respects to sampling, has made.

In an era where I probably listen to more mixtapes than I do albums, I'm hoping if anything comes out as a result of this, it will be that artists find new and more creative ways to market, release, and create new music.