Archive for July, 2011
[Event] Native Shoes presents the Mad Decent Block Party at Southstreet Seaport, New York City TODAY!
At Pier 17. That’s where I’ll be today. Should be CRAZY!
Listen to MaG – RefinedHype.com + Different Kitchen Present: MaG & the B-Sides in FULL
I posted the lead track last week but finally here’s the full album, RefinedHype.com + Different Kitchen Present: MaG & the B-Sides by Kitchen favorite, MaG. Here’s the background plug:
“I’ve been toying with the idea of putting out an unreleased project. It finally felt like the right time. Plus, having Refined Hype and Different Kitchen behind the project felt like a good fit. This is a collection of some of my older, unreleased (some unfinished) songs. Some didn’t fit certain projects; some were recorded just because I thought they sounded good. But, I”ll let you make that decision for yourself. For those of you who have never heard of MaG and want to get an idea of how I got to be where I’m at now as an artist, this may be a good starting point. For those who are somewhat familiar, this music should be new to all of you. Some of these joints are a little rough around the edges, but the message has always been the same: dope beats, dope rhymes, and a message to suit.”
Tell us (MaG and the Kitchen) what you think then check him and some of his previous music out online…
Roc vs. Wu: Battle of the Otis Redding – Try A Little Tenderness Sample Chops
Lot of chatter last week about the newly-leaked Kanye West-produced Jay-Z & Kanye West (now known collectively as The Throne??!) track, “Otis”. I was a couple days late joining the fray but, as I noted on Facebook, the track ain’t bad but I think I liked it better when Masta Killa chopped the same “Try A Little Tenderness” sample for his track with Raekwon & Ghostface Killah called “D.T.D.” So who used it better? Them Roc boys or the Wu? Click play below and let me know!
MP3 Download: Jay-Z & Kanye West (The Throne) Otis feat Otis Redding (Prod by Kanye West)
MP3 Download: Masta Killa DTD (Feat. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah)
And here’s the original track “Try A Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding for reference purposes:
MP3 Download: Otis Redding Try a Little Tenderness
[Event] The Weeknd Live in Toronto TONIGHT!!!
Apparently MAJOR cats from the US are flying in for this. You gonna be there??!
CLICK HERE for more details.
Amy Jade Winehouse: 14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011
From the moment I heard Amy Winehouse on the Nas-powered “In My Bed” on Trevor Nelson’s radio show and blogged about it seven years ago, I’ve been a fan of what was probably one of the most interesting and talented artists in the music game over the past ten years. As a kid who grew up appreciating mod-soul, British pop music and hip-hop, Amy Winehouse embodied all those aesthetics effortlessly. No mere pastiche or tribute act, she took the past and fused it with the now to blaze a creative and exciting new trail in music that artists like Adele have subsequently taken advantage of traveling.
But what started out as a semi-charming side-story, cute but feisty London Jewish chick with jazz-soul pipes par excellence likes her drink and to get into scraps (“She’s more rock n roll than most rock dudes!” I used to say), clearly and quickly became a self-destructive train-wreck that nobody seemed to have any idea how to pull the emergency brake on. Like Tupac before her, it was clear where this story was going to end eventually. That it came to this inevitable conclusion so much sooner than later doesn’t make it any less sad or even shocking.
Somehow I thought maybe she’d pull off a miracle and get clean but real life is… well, real. And now sadly, she is a part of an esteemed fellowship that no-one likely wishes really existed, The 27 Club and that is music’s and all of our losses. Truly, they broke the mold with that one there. Amy Winehouse, your spirit will be missed. May you R.I.P.
But as they, she will live on through her music so here’s a couple of my favorite Winehouse moments:
MP3 Download: Amy Winehouse In My Bed
MP3 Download: Amy Winehouse Love Is A Losing Game
[image via NME.com]