Freddie Gibbs‘ journey to where he sits now in the music industry is incredibly telling.  Hailing from Gary, Indiana, the rapper comes from an area that is among the most notorious in the nation for it’s levels of impoverishment, violence, and crime.  Not surprisingly, his lyrical content is often fueled by tales of pimping, crack dealing, and murder.  Such subject matter clearly isn’t revolutionary for the rap game, but his level of sincerity and his approach to how he delivers it is something that has become increasingly rare.  Folded into “Gangsta” Gibbs‘ tales of street life are various reflections about topics as intimate as the death of his grandmother to the miscarriage of his child.  It’s this directness that really makes the listener feel like they can trust what is being relayed in the tracks.  Whether that means that you believe that he’s experienced what he’s detailing or simply believe that he Freddie will honestly kill your ass if you cross him, there’s an authenticity to his words, as well as with his delivery.  There’s an ability to verbally paint landscapes in a very matter of fact style that neither glamorizes or rejects the environments created.  It’s a quality that greats like Tupac used to possess; a feeling that the artist has become a rapper only because they have something to get out and needed a forum, not that they are simply trying to come up with something to say, because they were infatuated with the idea of becoming a rapper.  And the rising rap star definitely has plenty to say, as evidenced by the endless material that seems to pour out of him (including one full 81-track mixtape).  With one mixtape after the other, Gibbs has stayed true to his motto of “Str8 killa No filla“, by continuously maintaining a high level of quality throughout the ridiculously prolific amount of material that he’s released in such a short time.  Making most of his work available for free download, Gibbs appears to be in no danger of running out of new material , displaying more than a minor amount of confidence about his staying power or his willingness to continuously move forward.  Now, with his latest 16-track (17 w/bonus song) mix-tap, Cold Day in Hell, Freddie doesn’t miss a beat, providing another stack of grimy cinematic, gangster rap joints, absolutely free of charge.

Kicked out of Ball State (losing his football scholarship)  and, subsequently, being discharged from the military, Freddie was already quite familiar with rejection and disappointment by the time that he was dropped from his Interscope records deal.  Unfortunately, skill doesn’t account for much in the music industry and this is especially true with rap and hip-hop.  If anything, it’s considered secondary to the ability to mold and market an artist.  Gangsta Gibbs was a less than ideal candidate for such superstar grooming and, even after being released from his contract, he never bothered to conform or redirect his path into a more consumer friendly direction.  Being disillusioned with the current state of the rap industry -as many of us are- the Gary native took his cues from influences like Getto Boys, UGK,  and Three 6 Mafia, while calling out those who he believes are building their careers off of fabricated imagery.  This is one of the most, if not the most, refreshing aspects about Freddie Gibbs‘ approach to the industry; he cares enough about it to be disgusted by what it’s became and to openly voice his opinion regarding those who he believe are plaguing it.  For those of us who have wanted so badly to have a voice loud enough to express our own distaste for such topics as the directions that the industry has migrated into (some of us may have event started websites to fill that need), it’s nice to see Freddie Gibbs calling everyone out to their faces.  COLD DAY HELL contains plenty more in the way of that sort of confrontational content.

One of the rapper’s primary marks has been Rick “The Boss” Ross (aka: William Leonard Roberts II), a confirmed (and previously denied) former-corrections officer who’s career is based around and rests primarily on his persona as a drug dealing kingpin.  Recently signed to Young Jeezy‘s CTE imprint, Gangsta Gibbs continues to take shots at Ross‘ Maybach Music Group on COLD DAY IN HELL tracks like “187 Proof” with such lines as:

“187 ways to die, bitch, this the end,
6 niggas put 600 holes in yo 600 Benz“

and

“Ask Pill who the real, bet he mention (Gibbs),“

The second reference is obviously to MMG artist PILL, but the first one is directed at a track by WALE called “600 Benz“, which features label head, Rick Ross.  Over the years, WALE was really beginning to build a name for himself as a quality lyricist with well-received mix-tapes and tracks like “Rhyme of the Century” but, since signing with MMG, he has pulled somewhat of a 180, adopting an image where he raps about money, cars, and other ridiculous surface level bullshit.  It seems like the pattern is for rappers to get signed for their street cred and get paired with a club beat that overshadows the fact that they don’t really have any level of talent, whatsoever.  If they do have a sufficient amount of lyrical ability, the other option is for them to accept a high profile deal in exchange for adopting a new persona, which provides them with hype and material goods, in exchange for them abandoning any and all credibility.

For me “187 Proof” is a good example of what Freddie Gibbs brings to the table for a few reasons.  First of all, the song shares it’s title with a Spice 1 track and gives props to the music of Brotha Lynch.  Neither of those artists are likely to ever be referenced on a mainsteram rap track.  The lines, “2Pac ain’t back cuz he got set up and shot in the chest, Biggie ain’t either, so wont y’all gon let them niggas rest?” is a reminder that people really are still holding on to their images/memories as artists and, while still showing his affection for their work, Gibbs is instructing everyone to move on.  The reason that anyone is still clinging to those artists and their work so desperately, in the first place, is because there’s very little music of that caliber to cling to today.  I believe that Freddie Gibbs has hopes of returning that missing element to rap.  Most of all, nobody else seems to have the balls to call everyone out like Gibbs manages to and, if they do, they definitely don’t have the ability to back it up.  The title of the “187 Proof” itself is a solid play on words, for somebody that’s murder proof, whether it’s literal or simply from a lyrical standpoint.  I can believe in this dude, because I actually believes in what he’s saying.  If Freddie Gibbs represents anything to me, it’s about coming at shit hard without compromise and calling people out for weakening the idea of something that he believes in: rap as a legitimate artform.

“Cuz I’m 187 proof, streets or the fucking booth,
I speak a foreign language, I think y’all call that the truth,“

Last year’s track, “Oil Money” showed Gibbs working with one of his major influences, Bun B of UGK.  Cold Day In Hell provides another such opportunity, this time with a collaboration with Three 6 Mafia‘s Juicy J on the song “Str8 Slammin’“.  Even the opening number, “Barely M.A.D.E. It” begins with a nod to the Geto Boys classic, “Mind’s Playin’ Tricks on Me“.  Other appearances are made by a list of rappers including Young Jeezy, Freeway, and Dom Kennedy, with production work provided by such talents as J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Big K.R.I.T., Cardo, DJ Burn One, Block Beattaz, Beatnick & K-Salaam, etc.  Cold Day in Hell is just another opportunity for the adventurous Freddie Gibbs to continue testing the waters and, beyond this project, he continues to go in any number of directions, experimenting with an endless number of collaborators, including producer’s like Hi-Tek.  Whether you’re a fan of a particular hook or beat, or it’s not your bag, the 29 year old‘s lyrical abilities are difficult to refute.  I get the feeling that he’s one of those guys that could flow over just about anything that’s put in front of him.  Free mixtapes like this one are a great first opportunity to get acquainted with the artist and get a feel for what he’s all about.

Here’s the first video off the mixtape:
“Anything to Survive (Feat. Freeway)” with production by Beatnick & K-Salaam

Click here to view the embedded video.

Presented in collaboration with LRG clothing, the following information regarding Cold Day In Hell comes directly from the press release.

“Los Angeles clothing/media purveyor LRG has partnered with Gibbs for the release, making manifest Freddie’s creative vision in the album art and pending videos. The album cover features a disheveled marquee, a nod to Gary, Indiana’s tragic landmark, the Palace Theater as well as numerous crack-boom and blacksploitation archetypes brought to life by prolific LA graffiti writer and MSK affiliate, Augor. Similarly, the concept for the first video, the grimy “Anything To Survive”, is envisioned by LRG in-house production team Wood Works and Derrick Pike. Unwilling to merely just stamp a logo on the mixtape and call it finished, LRG is assisting in a non-traditional sense, helping to oversee the project by rounding out Freddie’s vision with their resources. The proof is in the product.“

In a recent interview with Source.com, Gibbs, had the following to say about his focus with the release:

“Just diggin’ into these mother fuckers chests, that’s all we doing.  Y’know what I mean?  I told mother fuckers we was gonna hurt some feelings with the Cold Day shit, so that’s what we plan on doing.  That’s the main objective.“

As far as people who continue to listen to shit that he considers whack, the rapper also offers the following advice:

“Quit bumpin’ that bullshit man…. God damn it man.  You know mother fuckers is tired of getting in your car and hearing that bullshit.“

To get Cold Day in Hell for free…

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Or simply listen to it in full right now

TOUR DATES:

make sure to catch Freddie a the following dates

EL-P (aka: Jaime “El Producto” Meline) is, arguably, one of the most important hip-hop producers of all time.  I use the term “arguably” because, I’m personally willing to argue that fact, if anyone really wants to get into it.  In the 90s, Meline started the highly influential rap crew Company Flow and released the doom-laden classic Funcrusher Plus (an extended version of their independently produced Funcrusher ep), the very first album ever put out by the then-upstart “underground” rap label RAWKUS Records.  Eventually, EL-P told RAWKUS to eat a dick and bounced, opting to form Definitive Jux, with the intention of maintaining an artist friendly label, helping to develop the artists’ careers while making sure that they received both the credit and monetary compensation that they were owed (something that he didn’t feel was happening with RAWKUS).  Using DEF JUX, EL-P went on to help make household names out of artists like AESOP ROCK and RJD2, while releasing 2 remarkable and highly innovative solo albums of his own.

A little over a year and a half ago, we posted an article which included a statement from EL-P announcing his intention to officially and indefinitely place Def Jux on hiatus.  Part of his main reasoning behind the decision was to focus on becoming an artist again, because all of the time and effort put into producing albums for others and running a label was beginning to interfere with his abilities to do so effectively.  The silver lining for Def Jux fans is that EL-P has been making good on that promise.  Since the announcement, Company Flow has reunited to perform Funcrusher Plus in it’s entirely for ATP in London (plus, a few other select dates),  Producto has released another mixtape, and even produced and/or appeared on tracks for artists like Killer Mike and Das Racist.  Seeing as the rapper/producer hadn’t released a proper solo album since 2007‘s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, the main question for a lot of us was when that was gonna happen.  That answer came back in August with the news that EL-P had signed to Fat Possum records for a 2012 full-length titled Cancer for Cure, and the free download of the sample track, “Drones Over Bklyn.“  Now a remix of Drones has arrived with an extremely well-known and recognizable sample; one that Meline never bothered to disguise in the slightest.  What’s more is that he’s actually openly selling it -albeit for for charity (Mr. Dibbs hopital fees)- without ever getting the sample cleared and, thanks to a new service known as LEGITMIX, he may not even have to.

This new remix, “RUSH Over Bklyn“, features a very blatant sample of the Rush classic “Tom Sawyer“.  That alone is a fascinating concept, because EL-P is known for digging pretty deep to pull out/use samples by more obscure artists like 1960s cult psych phenoms, Silver Apples and early electronic pioneer Raymond Scott.  There’s something refreshing about hearing him take such a classic sample of a rock epic as famous as “Tom Sawyer“, especially since it seems like one of the last songs that someone would be able to easily get cleared for use.  “RUSH Over Bklyn” is a great reminder that, if you’re good at what you do, it doesn’t matter if you use what would seem like an, otherwise lazy sample.  Producto uses a fairly straight ahead approach with the remix by swiping the infamous phaser blast intro outright and lyrically stomping across it, while still magically making it his own.

Obviously, sampling an already legendary track for a rap song isn’t the most revolutionary concept.  The groundbreaking aspect comes with the fact that, although LEGITMIX isn’t an entirely new process, no one’s really been willing to test out the copyright laws and use it in this manner; chopping up an uncleared track like this and then immediately trying to turn around and sell it.  Up until now, songs that have been created with “borrowed” material like this have been doomed to limited distribution -if any, at all- made solely to be spread amongst friends or for free mixtape downloads.  The LEGITMIX mission statement and software approach the idea of sampling and copyright laws from a really unique direction, more or less, circumventing the system and the need for clearance on copywritten audio material.  This is great but, until their ideas are actually put into practice, it’s little more than a theory and no one has been willing to step in as the guinea pig.  That’s where EL-P comes in.  And if he’s gonna test out the legality of swiping a samples, he might as well go really big and use one of the most famous rock songs of all time.  In fact, he goes so far as to unabashedly chop up Geddy Lee‘s vocals right into the song, as well.  Sure, it seems like a ballsy move, because… how can this actually be legal?

Here’s how LEGITMIX describes both the use of their service/software and how it works with EL-P and this particular project”

“When a consumer purchases “Rush Over Bkyln”, the browser-based Legitmix software searches their computer for the “Tom Sawyer” track. If they don’t have it they can purchase it from Legitmix or any online music store. With a few mouse clicks, the Legitmix software recreates on the binary level “Rush Over Bklyn” on the consumer’s computer using their copy of “Tom Sawyer”. The price of “Rush Over Bklyn is $0.70 plus the retail cost of the “Tom Sawyer” track (if the consumer doesn’t have it).“

as well, as…

“Normally, “Rush Over Bklyn” would have been leaked on the Internet or left on some dusty hard drive. Now with Legitmix, El-p can sell his creative work and generate new sales for Rush. For this pioneering releasing, El-p has chosen to help out a friend in need and is donating all proceeds from the sale of “Rush Over Bklyn” to a fund established for the legendary DJ/producer Brad Forste aka DJ MR DIBBS who is battling liver disease. As hospital bills rise, El-P and Legitmix hope to relieve the burden of family and friends that a half a million-dollar debt can produce.“

So… basically, as I understand it, you’re not technically buying a song with a sample of RUSH‘s music in it.  Instead, you’re actually just purchasing the ingredients or framework around the sample, minus the sample.  From there, the song is being generated on your computer by using a copy of the sampled song that you already own with the LEGITIMIX software, as it incorporates and processes the corresponding segments into that framework to create the same finished product of the song that you want which is featuring that sample.  The reason that RUSH, or any other band being sampled, would benefit financially from this, is because, if you do not already have that sample of their track, you’ll need to purchase the song from the artist, so that it exists on your computer and can be siphoned and mixed by the LEGITIMIX software.  The software just takes what it needs from the copyrighted songs that you already own in your digital library to fill in the necessary samples to recreate the tracks with your own computer.  It’s a lot like that Eighties movie KidCo, where the kids create a highly successful company selling manure and, after their corporate rivals try to get them audited by the IRS, they win the case by convincing the courts that they shouldn’t have to pay taxes for the feed that their parents already purchased and paid taxes on, all over again, just because it’s been processed through the excretion of the horses they own.  In this case, your copy of “Tom Sawyer” is the feed and the LEGITIMIX software is the horse’s digestive system.  At least, that’s what I’m gathering from reading these explanations.  This is a concept that could only ever work in the present digital music-based age that we live in.

With “RUSH Over Bklyn,” EL-P and LEGITIMIX are setting a precedent and could be signaling a huge shift in the manner in which sampling and music copyright laws operate.  By formatting the system in a manner which the sampled artists themselves are making money, this could pose a win win situation for all parties involved.  Of course, it’s only a matter of time before someone does something like sample a hardcore Christian artist with the intention of creating a demonic, beastiality, murder ballad to insult and offend them with the use of their own music (feel free to use that one.)

We encourage everyone to listen to the track below and then to go purchase it from the link which will be provided below.  Not only will this show support for the LEGITIMIX project as a whole, but all of the proceeds will go directly to help with the medical bills accrued by Meline‘s friend/fellow-producer Brad Forste (aka: MR. DIBBS).

Here’s what EL-P, himself, has to say about his participation in the project:

“I did this because I think it’s an interesting idea and approach to the sample clearance issue. Most importantly I hope this raises awareness and money for my good friend, collaborator and hip hop legend Brad Forste aka DJ MR DIBBS. He is suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and (like so many of us) uninsured. He has racked up almost a half a mil in hospital bills after just one month, and he needs help. All proceeds from this song go to him.“

Check out “RUSH Over BKLYN” below.

To purchase the track and help out MR.DIBBS, please use THIS LINK.

DONATE TO PAYITFORWARD2MRDIBBS

http://www.facebook.com/pages/PayItForward2MrDibbs/231083543618198

To donate with PayPal click “Send Money” and the email address: hellkitchen@netzero.com. The email address belongs to Kristin Rose. She is Mr. Dibbs’ wife. For those who don’t use PayPal you can send a mail check or money order payable to Kristin Rose. Address envelope to: Brad Forste 4830 Poplar St Cincinnati, OH 45212

CITY ARTS FEST 2011

OCTOBER 20-22

(buy tix)

These days, the festival format is pretty much dominating the live music industry.  Not only is it a reflection of a financial necessity to redirect focus on the performance element in an age where recorded material is pirated to such a degree that “consumers” actually expect the product to be free of charge, but the idea to corral multiple artists and genres to present them like an audio smörgåsbord mirrors the desires of the growing demographic who listen to mp3s on shuffle and have come to rely on immediacy, expecting to have the ability to switch between any number or variety of options with no more than a simple finger swipe on their ipads.  The 90s had one primary standout festival, the touring Lollapalooza; now resurrected as a yearly one-off that doesn’t move from it’s static location in Chicago.  That model was mimicked with a more streamlined focus for the female-centric Lilith Fair (97-99, 2010), by the jam band revival set for the H.O.R.D.E. Festival (1992-98), and with the punk  fueled Warped Tour, which has opened it’s arms to a slightly more eclectic lineup -along with extreme sports- in more recent years.  There was also a couple of attempts at multi-day fests like Woodstock, but… I think we all know how that turned out.  Once Coachella started to really get rolling at the turn of the millenium, Bonnaroo picked up the formula on the other side of the country.  Then, slowly (and then, quite a bit more rapidly) the multi-day festivals with huge varied lineups really began popping up all over the country.  Rothbury, Wakarusa, Treasure Island Music Fest, ACL, Vegoose, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Outside Lands, etc. etc. etc….  The tours weren’t traveling as much anymore, so the people began to.  And what about those that can’t travel?  Well, if you won’t have a handful of festivals rolling through your city throughout the year, then I guess every city’s gonna have to throw a shit ton of festivals themselves.

Here in Seattle and the greater Washington area, we’ve already had the Sasquatch! Festival, The Capitol Hill Block Party, Bumbershoot, and Decibel Fest, this year, with the Earshot Jazz Festival scheduled for next week.  Last year, the folks at City Art Magazine decided that wasn’t enough and came up with the brilliant idea to launch the city-wide Heineken sponsored CITY ARTS FESTIVAL.  Not only did they toss yet one more festival into the already overflowing pile, but they also had the nerve to do it in the Fall, in an attempt to drag out the “festival season” which had, by all intents and purposes, already officially ended.  Summer’s over.  People are going back to school.  It’s getting cold, especially here in this city.  Is another music festival really fucking necessary?  Well… I’m not gonna waste my time with rhetoricals.  Instead, I’m just gonna explain why, in fact, it definitely is relevant, by pointing out some of the factors that set it apart from the others and make it a unique experience, while bringing attention to particular elements, performances, and artists that might be overlooked.

The BASICS / This Year vs Last

Modeled after other city-wide festivals like Austin‘s SXSW and Portland‘s Music Fest NW, the CITY ARTS FESTIVAL welcomes over 175 different artists to appear at more than 20 of Seattle‘s top venues.  Last year’s festival showcased performances by acts like Belle and Sebastian and Cat Power in such classic and beautifully majestic theaters as Benaroya Hall (home of the symphony) and the 5th Ave Theatre (est. 1926; originally hosting vaudeville acts).  That’s one main difference/benefit of City Arts taking advantage of all that the city has available; you’re generally not going to able to experience these acts playing in these environments.  This year is no different.  The main issue with last year was that it was the first year and with that comes a lot of learning.  At times if felt a bit scattered and more like a bunch of disconnected events, rather than one unified festival.  We covered the fest last time and, as someone who dealt directly with organizers, I can guarantee that kinks have been worked out and that this year is already running exponentially smoother.

Wristbands & Individual show tix

Unless you’re only planning on catching one event, our recommendation is to pick up the 3-Day All-Access Wristbands.  They are only $69 and cover access to any of the events throughout the entire 3-Day festival.  My only real concern with buying wristbands at festivals like this is how functional they truly are.  What I mean by that is, if there are conflicting acts that I was hoping to see scheduled at the same time or if my pass would limit access to an event that had reached it’s occupancy limit.  Last year, there was more than one event that was standing room only and festivals like Bumbershoot have always had occupancy limits which makes it incredibly easy to get locked out of the very shows that you bought the tickets for, in the first place.  This years City Arts Fest, on the other hand, is not only holding extra spaces for every event to, pretty much, guarantee that wristband holders are not prevented entry, but they’ve also done an amazing job with the schedule to avoid as many conflicts in that respect as possible and there is even a dedicated line for wristband holders.  Not to mention that for every wristband that you purchase, you’re automatically entered to win a Hawaiian vacation for two, through Alaska Airlines.

Broke as a joke?  There are actually a handful of City Arts Fest events that are completely free to the public.

SUGGESTED EVENTS:

There are obvious big names that people are going to want to check out.  These are the names that many people are buying the tickets for in the first place, so we don’t really feel the need to tell you to check out someone like ROBYN w/Yacht at the Paramount.  Then there are acts like CRYSTAL CASTLES – incidentally, scheduled late enough to check out after the Robyn set- who, although we “recommend”, are playing so much this year that their appearance at CAF isn’t one of the factors that truly adds to the uniqueness of this particular festival.  Mudhoney is always solid and worth seeing again, but as a local act, there will always be opportunities to check them out in the future.  Then there’s the one thing that really makes CAF a festival like no other: the focus on various forms of art.  This isn’t just another music festival, that simply includes the word “arts” in the title because it’s named after the goddamn magazine.  It’s actually a festival that, beyond music, also features discussion panels, visual art showcases, and film.  Here’s a heads up on a few events and exclusives that we feel that you should know about…

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CHARLES KRAFFT

(Visual Art)

CULTURE CLUB: VISUAL ART CURATED BY FREE SHEEP FOUNDATION

Thursday October 20

FRED Wildlife Refuge

FREE

Curated by the Free Sheep Foundation, the Fred Wildlife Refuge will be showcasing the work of local Seattle low brow legend Charles Krafft and it’s completely FREE to attend.  We recommend hitting this up, even if you didn’t purchase a ticket or plan on going to any of the rest of the festival.

Originally working as a painter in the more traditional sense, Krafft redirected his focus into ceramics, approximately 2 decades ago.  Juxtaposing  traditional methods of blue & white tin glaze Delftware pottery from the Netherlands with his own, often crass, social commentary, the artist invented what he refers to as “Disasterware“.  Beginning with his own parodies of ceramic collector’s plates -substituting flowers and fields for horrific imagery and that of historic tragedies- he eventually moved on to create everything from ceramic figures of grenades, automatic weapons, and swastika windmills.  His other big trademark comes in the material that he uses for the products itself.  Creating his own clay body called “SPODE“, the sculptor makes his own bone china containing human remains, by mixing in crematoria ashes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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MAN MAN: Live Laser Show

(music, visual/performance art)

Saturday

October 22

Laser Dome

Doors10:30 pm

$18 adv / $22 dos

All Ages

Dressed in his trademark white polo and tennis shorts attire (headband optional) with white smears of facepaint framing his mustached  snarls and grunts -not unlike a 70s Lord of the Flies porn-star version of John Mcenroe- MAN MAN frontman, Honus Honus (aka: Ryan Kattner), leads his multi-instrumentalist troupe through howling performances fueled with the tense cleansing energy of a ritual sacrifice.  Part Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits, part shambolic Captain Beefheart blues, part all-out tribal drum circle, and part something that’s all their own, the Philadelphia quartet has made a name for themselves through these explosive live shows that mix the spooky macabre vibes of a haunted house with the salvation of a baptist church ministry.  Recently, a more futuristic element of synthed-out blaster zaps have been swirled into the mix, evoking imagery of hovering UFOs blowing up dishwashers and other scattered household appliances in an abandoned junkyard.

MAN MAN isn’t new to the festival game -they’ve played Coachella, Bonnaroo, etc.- but, their performance at City Arts should be different than any before.  This time, they will be one of only 3 different CAF acts to perform in the Pacific Science Center ‘s laser dome accompanied by a live laser show!  Given the unique nature of the event, we don’t know exactly what to expect.  What we do know is that you probably won’t want to miss it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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COLOR ME OBSESSED:

Replacements Documentary

(FILM)

Price: $6 – 10

All Ages

In the middle of seeing all this music and art, why not take a moment to head over to the North West Film Forum to check out a movie?  It will give you a nice break, allowing you to sit down in a less crowded environment and change up the monotony, while still being engaged in the festival.  Our suggestion is Gorman Bechard’s newest film, Color Me Obsessed, a documentary about the pioneering 80s rock band, The Replacements.  I love a good documentary and can pretty much watch one about anything, as long as it’s made well, but sometimes, directors feel like the subject will carry the film all by itself and phone it in pretty hard.  One thing that I generally appreciate is when someone works to redefine the structure of a doc; to find and take a new approach to the format.  Color Me Obsessed promises to do exactly that, building a film around a subject that never actually appears in the film at all.  The following information -taken from the press release- should help to explain:

“Bechard has been a diehard fan of 1980s rock icons The Replacements for nearly 30 years, and Color Me Obsessed is a movie about that fandom. Unlike other music docs, there’s no concert or other footage of the band in the film—in fact, Bechard has still not met a single Replacement. Their music appears nowhere on the soundtrack. Instead, the film engages fans like Dave Foley, critics like Robert Christgau, and other musicians like Colin Meloy and Lori Barbero to talk about this iconoclastic, deeply influential group and their music. It was Bechard’s way of making a movie about his favorite band that anyone who’s ever had a favorite band can relate to. And if he picks up a few new fans for the Replacements along the way, even better. “

There are additional showings on the following 2 days, as well as a later 9:30pm screening on the 21st.  The reason that we recommend this particular Friday 7pm show, however, is because it keeps your schedule open and allows you to attend another CITY ARTS FEST exclusive later that evening.  The showing gets out at approx. 9pm but, if you scurry just a few blocks down Pike St. and over to the Comet Tavern, there will be an All Star tribute to the Replacements beginning at the same time (9pm) and running until 12:30.  That show is $8 for single tickets and will feat. members of The Fastbacks, The Cops, Virgin Islands, Kinski, Fort Union, Concourse d’Elegance, Cataldo, Kyle Bradford, Ben Fisher, Gabriel Mintz and a special appearance by John Roderick.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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BUILT TO SPILL

(music)

The first time that I was supposed to see Built To Spill was in 1995.  The show was $8 and the opener was HEAT MISER, a band featuring Elliot Smith and Sam Coomes (Quasi).  I had the tickets, but I didn’t make it.  I saw them later that year at the Mercer Arena (now the Opera House) as part of the Bumbershoot festival, instead.  Believe it or not, the Bumbershoot tickets were even cheaper than the other ones, back then (we still sneaked in).  The last time that I saw BTS play was last November in Olympia at the Capitol Theater, a place that is both featured in the Built To Spill LIVE (2000) album booklet and a venue that frontman Doug Martch personally told me that he’s never been able to get a good sound out of.  That show resulted in a reunion of Martsch and K Records founder, Calvin Johnson‘s (Beat Happening) 90s collaboration, The Halo Benders.  It was a benefit and they came all the way out to play that show at a venue they weren’t even very fond of, based on the simple request of a family who’s young daughter was suffering from cancer.

I’ve been seeing BTS shows for the last 16 years (half my life) and in the last decade and a half, I’ve spoken to Doug a handful of times.  These conversations and quick interactions have been in places that vary from the green room at the Crystal Ballroom to sitting out on the sidewalk at night, post show on the streets of Olympia.  Whether we were discussing the possibility of arranging an interview for the site or it was back when I was just some 16 year old kid standing outside of the, now-defunct club, RKCNDY, he’s always been the same equally approachable, humble, and personable guy.  It’s that unpretentious realism that comes through in the music.  The last time that I talked to him in person was in ’09 after the band played a free show on the UW lawn.  He told me that he was in town recording their last album There is No Enemy.  There is some talk that he may be coming to town this time for a similar reason.  This City Arts performance will actually be the one and only U.S. Built to Spill show for the entire year.

I’ve seen Built to Spill so many times, at this point, that it would be hard to count, but it’s one of those rare bands that have burrowed itself into my life and, as cliche as it might be, have provided the soundtrack to so many different stages of it.  It’s interesting when you consider how big Elliot Smith became or bands like Modest Mouse, who not only use to open up for BTS in those early days, but have admitted to owing an insurmountable debt to Doug Martsch‘s work for their own existence.  Martsch, on the other hand, has always stayed a steady course, avoiding any fanfare, and simply offering up consistent work on a consistent basis, for the last 2 decades.  As one of the greatest indie rock bands of all-time, it’s ironic that their consistency is something that may actually play against them being celebrated more than they are, at this point in their careers.  People love a reunion /comeback and I have to believe that, if they had disappeared in the 90s like other groundbreaking acts such as Pavement and the Pixies, they would be getting even more recognition for what they’ve provided to the music world and people would be losing their goddamn minds over them playing a show right now.  BTS have just gotten stronger and tighter over time, as they add more and more to their repertoire.

If you haven’t seen them in a while, you’re likely to find something completely different the next time that you do.  They had a phase when they were busting out reggae versions of Elton John‘s “Daniel” and ending their show’s with 20 minute dub versions of “Cortez the Killer” (Neil Young).  A couple of years ago they began playing the M.I.A. hit “Paper Planes”, live.  When I caught them in Oly they played “Ripple” (Grateful Dead).  The first time that I ever heard a Daniel Johnston song was actually through their version of “Some Things Last A Long Time“.  Somehow, all of their covers sound almost too perfect.  Even the music of others is reinvented and takes on a completely new life through the filter of the Idaho 5-piece.  Everything they do seems so effortless, that it’s easy to forget how great they still truly are.  If you haven’t seen them in a while, this will be a perfect opportunity to remind yourself of just that.  If you’ve never seen them live, then this is a definite must see.  If they are, in fact, recording a new album in town, there’s a good chance they’re gonna premier some new shit at this show, as well.  They usually do.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Daniel Barrow:

Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry

(Visual/Performance Art)

I’ve never seen the full extent of what Daniel Barrow does as an artist, but there’s one thing that I can pretty much guarantee: you’re not likely to get the same exact experience anywhere else.  There are a handful of things that I do know about him:  He’s from Canada, he’s the 2010 Sobey Art Award winner, and he’s supported acts that range from Miranda July to Antony and the Johnsons.  I also know that he is an illustrator and that he likes to bring his artwork to life by animating full stories in real time in front of a live audience.  The equipment that he uses includes a simple CD player and overhead projectors.  To picture a man narrating a story that’s accompanied by drawings on sheets of acetate projected onto the wall, can sound a bit antiquated, but, based on the imagery that we’ve seen, the work is quite impressive.  Somehow, the combination of his illustration style and the method of delivery don’t feel dated, current, or futuristic.  Instead, they seem to exist is some fantastic alternate universe.  This year,  Daniel will be appearing at the City Arts Festival to present one of the stories/worlds that he’s created titled, “Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry“.

The following press release info should be able to explain what he does better than we can:

“Barrow has developed an intimate mode of ‘manual animation’ using the antiquated technology of an overhead projector. From a position amongst the audience he recites live narration while manipulating layers of transparencies in continuous motion. Accentuated by interference patterns and sleight-of-hand trickery, Barrow’s hand –drawn images contrive an absorbing tale of comic book grotesques. “Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry” is a bizarre confessional detailing the grand but hopeless scheme of an estranged garbage collector and failed art student.”

“Unloved and rejected by society, the protagonist begins a universal art project in the form of a telephone directory of ‘profound and intimate insights’ to chronicle the lives of those around him. As he snoops through the windows and waste bins of fellow citizens, his survey is rendered futile by a maniacal killer who follows in his wake, picking off subjects one by one. Invoking introspection, pathos and dark humor, this award-winning performance piece is accompanied by an unassuming Beach Boys-inflected score recorded by Amy Linton of The Aislers Set.“

The following footage is not of the show that Barrow will be presenting at the festival.  It’s from another one of Daniel‘s pieces called, “Learning to Breathe Underwater“, but it should still provide a quick glimpse into what this guy is all about and what can be expected by anyone that makes their way to check him out on Saturday the 22nd.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Freestyle Fellowship

(hip hop)

In the late 80s – early 90s, the West Coast managed to carve out their mark on the hip hop world through the introduction of gangsta rap groups like N.W.A. Around this same time, there was a little South Central Los Angeles health food center known as The Good Life that began hosting weekly workshop-style open mic nights.  The Good Life was somewhat of an epicenter for talent to grow at the time and that environment helped to birth a good deal of future “conscious”/”back pack” rap legends.  The Pharcyde came out of that area and time period and was connected to that scene.  The Good Life crew, specifically, retained a heavy focus on freestyling and some incredibly talented battle MCs came out of those open mics (ex. Otherwize took the title over Eminem in the 1997 Rap Olympics).  Jurassic 5 was born out of those Good Life open mic sessions, as was the entire Project Blowed collective and compilation (feat. rappers like Busdriver and Abstract Rude).  Both part of the Good Life scene and members under the “project blowed” canopy, was a crew by the name of Freestyle Fellowship that incorporated live jazz elements, toyed with scat-like vocal deliveries, and caused some immediate quakes in the rap scene that are still being felt to this day.  Over time, FF members split off to pursue solo careers of various success (Mykah 9 and Aceyalone, especially) and, although certain members may have done work with each other over the years, a proper Freestyle Fellowship full-length hasn’t been released since Temptations in 2001.  Even the 2001 Shockadoom Ep was originally recorded in the nineties.

After all this time, Freestyle Fellowship has finally reunited with the lineup of Mykah 9, Aceyalone, P.E.A.C.E., Self Jupiter, and DJ Kiilu Grand, and are releasing a new album called, The Promise.  In all honesty, the “conscious” rap movement is one that I lost patience with years ago.  Everyone wants to come across as deep, but are far too overt with letting the listener know how “conscious” they are, instead of simply delivering mind-blowing and thought provoking material.  Freestyle Fellowship is the type of crew that has always been focused on the actual craft of their art and whatever labels and/or honors that were bestowed on them came after the fact.  If you’re seriously into hip hop and continue to eat up some of the conscious rap trash that’s being spewed out these days, you owe it to yourself to hit up this show.  After all, these are the guys that these lesser artists are imitating.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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CLICK HERE to check out the full schedule

CLICK HERE to view a pdf grid of the entire festival

Quite a few weeks back, I received a Facebook message from a friend of mine that read, “I just saw this and it immediately seemed like something I should post to your wall.“  Accompanying that comment was one of the most surprising videos that I have seen in a long time.  It’s true that there’s always gonna be new footage of some random goon snapping off their leg grinding a rail, a toddler stealing a car, or some ignorant bastards blowing shit up that they didn’t intend to blow up, but this was different.  It wasn’t a pet with a box on it’s head or even of one mock playing an instrument -let’s face it, Youtube is the America’s Funniest Home Videos of the new millenium.  What I was sent was a simple music video.  It didn’t have amazing special effects or a groundbreaking, elaborate storyline, either, and it wasn’t some young new tween talent to discover, who will inevitably get signed by someone like Ellen Degeneres or wind up starring in some traveling Broadway fiasco.  In fact, the production quality looked budget as fuck and the “vocalist” of the “group” was anything but “accessible”.  Even more surprisingly, it was a rap video; a genre that seems all too content with riding auto-tune until the wheels fall off.  The surprising part was that this track felt real, both in intention and in delivery.  Shiny chains, ridiculous wealth, and terrible pop hooks are like drinking gallons and gallons of warm milk, these days.  The sheer fact that what I was witnessing was the antithesis of that, might have been enough to draw me in at first, but after researching more and more and discovering more and more about what the creators, DEATH GRIPS,  have to offer, I can easily say that this crew is producing some of my favorite shit right now, hands down.

The title of the video was: “Death Grips – Guillotine (It goes Yah)” and both the visuals and audio were beyond raw.  The footage was of a thugged-out-looking cat with a wild Kimbo Slice beard and tattooed forearms, rolling around in the passenger seat of a nondescript sedan, while the driver apparently filmed him.  Patches of the frame were missing like that data-moshed Chairlift video, but instead of being stacked with alternate/overlapping coding, it looked more like the blotches from a bad green screen effect were filled in with the noise created from poorly functioning bunny-ears on an old shitty black and white TV set.  The beat was sluggishly drawn out with pockets of crater-deep thumps and accented with the occasional robotic glitch.  The lyrics were delivered aggressively in less of a cadence than the sporadic urgency of a junkyard dogs warning barks.  This dude looked so bugged out that it felt like he was the type of guy that could lose his shit at any moment.  He looked both paranoid and in control… or… maybe it was more like how feeling paranoid might make someone try to take control.  It was as if someone had video-taped him going through one of his psychotic rants and built the beat around it on an old 4-track tape recorder, after the fact.  “Who the fuck made this?!“  I didn’t know, but it was just good enough for me to go on a quick mission to find that out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Tie the chord kick the chair and your dead – yah…”

“…Head of a trick in a bucket
Body of a trick in a bag
And thrown in the fire like fuck it
Gotta burn it before it goes bad….“

Considering the lyrical content and having no other material to go on, I realized that the quality of whatever else DEATH GRIPS had to offer -if anything- could go either way.  The horrorcore genre can often play itself out quickly, sounding way too cartoony and overly ridiculous.  With a video that looked like it was filmed on a busted outdated Hi-8 camera, I could have just as easily assumed that the project was old and/or that I wouldn’t be able to find much else, except that the end of the video was labeled with the words “Ex Military Mixtape (April 2011)” and the website “thirdworlds.net“.  The site didn’t hold much information and absolutely nothing in regards to the background or members of the project.  What it did have, however, was a tab that said “Ex Military Mixtape” which featured a full-soundcloud stream of all of the tracks and a free download of the entire album.  That would do.  I downloaded it from the site, uploaded in to my ZUNE, and then went to sleep, planning to listen to it throughout the following day.

Song one of the mixtape begins just like Jane’s Addiction‘s debut studio effort, Nothing Shocking, with the bassline to their opening track “Up the Beach“.  However, it is made substantially more ominous by layering audio from an old Charles Manson interview on top of it.  Admittedly, I identified the interview sample immediately, even before recognizing the unaltered bassline… (honestly, not sure if I should be proud of that one or not).  This introduction is incredibly effective and establishes a few things about the project.  One is that they know how to sample.  These days it’s easy to deny/forget that Jane’s Addiction were ever worth a shit and much harder to remember when they were.  This is a dark and classic intro and, without altering it, DEATH GRIPS manages to make it their own.  So much so, that I feel that I’d now have trouble listening to the original track without expecting to hear the notorious psychopath claiming that he “runs the underworld” and “rolls the nickels“.  Manson‘s rant in the opener also establishes that shit’s about to get dark and, whether intentionally or not, it helps to address the constrictions of the music industry and to the adherence to any structural limitations outside of ones own creative visions.  The chant of “I am the beast I worship” throughout the chorus doesn’t hurt to make that point either.

After “Guillotine” is a track called “Spread Eagel Cross the Block” and, like most of the shit that DEATH GRIPS is offering up on this release, it reveals itself as more and more brilliant the more that you listen to it.  The first thing to mention is that the base of this song, unexpectedly, floats on the dusty methadone cloud of Link Wray‘s classic instrumental surf groove, “Rumble“.  As for the lyrics, they seem to be about exactly what the title would suggest, some skanky hoodrat.  The slut that he’s talking about is music itself.  “I fuck the music. I make it cum.  I fuck the music with my serpent tongue.”  This isn’t the first time that someone’s taken to addressing the decrease of quality hip-hop by relating it to a chick that disrespects herself by geting around too much -Common did it with his classic “I Used to Love Her” back on Resurrection (1994)- but the approach here is noticeably different.  Plus, Common hasn’t put anything respectable out in forever; that guy’s complete trash these days.  DEATH GRIPS don’t offer a lament for dead hopes or guidance for a musical artform that has lost it’s way.  Instead, they just tell everyone to get the fuck out of the way, so that they can handle their own business.  They might reanimate certain structural elements of rap, but they’re perfectly happy with letting that zombie corpse mob around and vomit blood on everything.  When they put mommy in the pet cemetery, they don’t expect her to come home to read them bedtime stories and make them a home cooked meal; they expect her to be wielding a bloody kitchen knife and fall face first through a glass coffee table, while maggots eat through the back of her rotting skull.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This raises another important point: conscious rap isn’t only dead, it barely breathed as a fully formed, full term creature in the first place.  When you have people that have fancied themselves as intellectuals folding under their whole marketing angles to rap about parties and money, that’s the first sign that something’s wrong with your movement.  For me, the label of “conscious” rap is an issue in itself, because the implication is that, if you listen to anything else, you do so out of ignorance.  The reality is that most folks who are content with labeling themselves as “conscious rappers” don’t really say much more than most gangster rappers these days.  In fact, most gangster rapper’s don’t even rap about gangster shit anymore, either.  They rap about havin’ thangz and living in neighborhoods next to CEOs and plastic surgeons.  Conscious rappers basically just tell other people to be “conscious” and listen to “real” hip-hop, but, far too often, they don’t really offer anything of detailed substance.  More so, they just talk about how they are about to say something deep, just like how some rappers would rather rap about how they have skills, instead of simply demonstrating them.  DEATH GRIPS comes at everything hard with the knowledge that what they’re creating comes from a real place, being enough.  “That’s right it’s all mine.  It’s all mine never was yours.  Like how you wait in line.  While I walk straight through the door.“  In reality, they’re not walking through the door, so much as they are kicking it off the fucking hinges.  These guys are making their own entrances.  Nonchalantly knocking out walls that happen to be in their way, they just keep moving forward like a pack of mangy wolves.  This work is cinematic as all get-out and the final product paints such dark visual landscapes and evokes such raw emotion that it doesn’t need to waste it’s time talking about key grips and lighting structures behind the scenes.  We’re making a movie here folks, not holding a board meeting; creating imagery in the same way that a classic novel would.  If it’s working right, the texts become pictures and the words become more than just sound.  To quote Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, “Don’t think, FEEL.  It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. If you concentrate on the finger you will miss all that heavenly glory.”

The album continues to mix in the most unexpected samples and venture into incredibly varied territories, while never feeling overly contrived or having its fluidity suffer.  Just throughout these first 3 tracks, DEATH GRIPS has already presented sounds that touch on the demon rap equivalents of stoner sludge metal, post-apocalyptic dubstep, and the musty lo-fi of projects like Dirty Beaches.  “Lord of the Game” starts with the glitchy, rapid reggaeton vocal hiccups of an M.I.A. track and pairs it with a sample of “Fire” from the notoriously macabre, Arthur Brown.  The anti-police sentiments in “Klink” ride on a sample of “Rise Above” by Black Flag and outros with The Castaways‘ solitary hit, “Liar Liar“.  The ending blends smoothly into David Bowie singing the words, “so softly a supergod dies” from the end of his song “Supermen“.  This is the beginning of a standout track called “Culture Shock“.  The Bowie sample wafts in and out of the industrial clanks and hydraulic warps that can only be likened to the soundtrack of a factory dedicated to the production of cybernetic war machines.  Also weaving in and out of the track is audio taken from a video message by a group of energy channeling light-workers who call themselves “Galactic Federation Of Light Ashtar, Sheran and Intergalactic Fleet“, who are instructing listeners to transcend their conscious minds, access their inner light and chakras, and letting them know that they “need to vibrate higher“.  The lyrics also refer to the current and future infiltrations of technology on our human vessels and psyches.  The music drops out at the end and, as the sample continues to speak about ascending to the 5th dimension, it segues into the brief 43 second instrumental “5D” that’s basically just a Pet Shop Boys loop from “West End Girls“.  Without warning, “Thru the Walls” abruptly drops in with it’s ridiculously heavy Reggaeton thumps and lyrics like, “Feel my fists push black holes.  Through your bitch ass decor“.  Earlier track, “Takyon (Death Yon)” further addresses scientific phenomena and the transcending of time/space/light, while launching off with the words, “Triple six, five, forked tongue.  Subatomic penetration rapid fire through your skull“.  These tracks -along with those lines in particular- provide a great example of the type of grimy, bleak, futuristic, demonic, murderous, environments painted on Ex Military.  There are moments that evoke imagery of desolate anarchic Beyond Thunderdome wastelands or the dark sleek back alleys of Blade Runner, but it isn’t as simple as a one-dimensional space rap effort or even a release about the end of times.  This album is just as much about modern day poverty, desperation, and empowerment as highlighted in films like City of God or even on classic rap releases like Straight Outta Compton and Enter The WU-Tang: 36 Chambers.  It’s definitely not a release that can be solely identified by elements of “consciousness” and spiritual elevation or even gangster rap, porno rap, or horrorcore, but aspects of each are present.  It’s the way that everything seems to have been effortlessly melded into one unique vision, the likes of which don’t really resemble anything that I’m ever come across.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I listened to Ex Military over and over for weeks, never knowing much more about the project than the music it birthed and the image of the frantic vocalists in the video.  After pulling espresso shots all day, this is the type of aggressive shit that I like to blast throughout a place of work, the minute that I lock the doors.  One night when the head roaster had stayed late, I was closing with the album cranking through the speakers.  He kept asking me questions about the release and I didn’t have many answers to give.  “It sounds like some grimy hood shit.  I’ve been guessing that it’s from somewhere like Detroit.“  He didn’t think so.  It reminded him of the grime music that he’d heard, so he was convinced that it was coming from somewhere in the UK.  For me, it sounded more like the “acid raps” of Detroit rap pioneer, Esham who -beginning at the age of 13- helped to pioneer the horrorcore and rap metal genres with his doom-laden beats and lyrics about hallucinogenics and Satan.  The more lo-fi elements and blunt, honest vocal delivery were reminiscent of the old homemade Southern Rap tapes, where you could hear some reckless thugged-out bastard like Tommy Wright III openly threaten to murder someone on a track, while providing detailed directions to their mother’s house.  The one other region that came to mind was Sacramento, with Black Market Records in the 1990s and Brotha Lynch Hung‘s baby eating, subterranean, hardcore gangster rap classic Season of the Siccness.  He couldn’t help himself anymore, so the roaster went in the back to check the internet and see if he could find out more.  When he came out, he told me that he couldn’t come up with anything substantial about the group, other than the fact that he was wrong about the UK affiliation.  The project did in fact come out of Sac-Town and involved “someone by the names Zach Hill“.

For those who don’t know the name, Zach Hill is one of the craziest drummers alive right now.  Among other projects, he is known for making up 1/2 of Sacramento‘s experimental, high-octane math rock duo, HELLA and supplying the hyper-technical rhythm’s that are interwoven with Marnie Stern‘s guitar shredding on all 3 of her releases.  Hill‘s inclusion on a recording is generally something that’s immediately noticeable, but this album is different.  After learning that he was affiliated with the project, however, it wasn’t overly surprising.  His production can be heard through some of the more unorthodox time signatures on the mixtape and, in the past, Hill has even gone to the length of paying tribute to the Brotha Lynch classic by posting his own remixes of tracks from Season of the Siccness.

Even less surprising, however, was the discovery that DEATH GRIPS was coming out of Sacramento. At the age of 18, I spent the summer of 1997 living in and around the state’s capitol; primarily out of a 1980 Datsun 510 wagon.  A lot of LSD and pizza were eaten in dirty trash-ridden parking lots and everything seemed to have a consistent film on it, during those muggy heat-drenched weeks.  Along with Season of Da Siccness, albums like Xorcist – recorded over the phone from Sacramento County Jail by fellow Black Market recording artist,  X-Raided, while he was awaiting a murder trial; of which the prosecution’s case was based heavily on the detailed lyrical content and a murder weapon featured on the cover from his previous release- were still a major source of pride, in heavy rotation among the Sac-Town youth.  We watched films like High on Crack Street, smoked unreasonable amounts of bammer, and made low-quality 4-Track recordings in random apartments.  On the first of the month, droves of welfare recipients would line up to collect their checks at a spot that was located next to a little shop that almost exclusively sold shirts with images of cholo clowns and the Virgin of Guadalupe cruising in low riders.  They would immediately go next door to cash in at the same pizza joint that we would record upstairs in (they accepted food stamps).  A man with a wadded up newspaper offered to spread the dead gnats around my windshield with some watered-down, budget glass cleaner, for a small fee.  Regardless of where we were, there always seemed to be a shopping cart within shoving distance.  Word was that Shock-G (aka: Humpty Hump) lived in the area.  A kid we knew bought me some Wiener Schnitzel for picking his ass up, after he got into a meth related ordeal.  Another guy that we crashed with sometimes would randomly get into any parked, shitty Honda‘s and unsuccessfully try to steal it, without warning, no matter where we went.  We walked in a group to the local mini-mart to buy a copy of High Society that promised images of nude Spice Girls.  The whole town had the aesthetic of a busted television.  Grit in my teeth, a rock in my shoe, thick unwashed jeans,  denim lint in metal resin-caked weed pipes, pizza grease, 2-liters of generic soda,  layers of sweaty skin rubbing off in my dirty palm, and a 3-legged dog drinking the malt liquor that had been poured generously into his bowl. I’m aware that this is, most likely, no more than a poorly rounded impression of an area, stemming from limited reference and chemical-based nostalgia from 14 years ago, but that’s how I remember it… and I swear that I can feel that residue smeared all over this mixtape.  For something that’s only been released in a digital format, there’s something remarkably tangible about this music.

Earlier I implied that, after viewing the “Guillotine” video, I needed to know who made the music for it, but it turns out that wasn’t entirely true.  All that I really wanted was to know was where I could hear some more, because, after getting my hands on the 13 track mixtape, the actual individuals behind the music became immaterial to me.  I didn’t continue my search into their background, rather opting to delve deep into the fruits that their focus and energy had yielded.  I’m not so sure that DEATH GRIPS would prefer to have their work received any other way.  Everything from its title to the anonymous weathered figure on their equally weathered cover art, feeds into the same damaged, yet resilient energy behind the release.  Like an aimless, mentally unstable soldier set loose in a society where everything that he’s been trained to do and his primary purpose have not only been rendered obsolete, but forbidden, the tension rests under the surface of the tracks and personal identities take a back seat, being misplaced and smothered by a complex intermingling of energy, abstract pseudo-realities, and thick emotions.  Still, regardless of how unnecessary the actual names of each singular participant are, or the fact that there is no mention of their identities on the site, it would be irresponsible to insinuate that Zach Hill is the primary driving force behind DEATH GRIPS, because he’s not.  He’s just the most recognizable name.  Based on my current understanding, the crew is a total of 5 members deep, with Hill providing production work along with founder/producer, Flatlander [also responsible for directing all of the crazy low-budget videos that they've been consistently churning out] and co-music/video producer, Info Warrior.  The other 2 names that have popped up in correlation to DEATH GRIPS are Mexican Girl (featured prominently on “Lord of the Game”) and the most public face of the operation, MC RIDE.

The troupe represents themselves as a collective, concerned more with the collective results of their collaboration than in hyping the members individually.  Regardless of their respective roles, MC RIDE is the one spitting out the vocals, the one whose face is appearing in videos, and the one who’s position as the “voice” of DEATH GRIPS (in the most literal sense) will garner him the most individualistic praise or critique.  As for the aptness of his adopted moniker, the MC does manage to unwaveringly absorb whatever chaotic assault is thrown at him beat-wise, and ride it out admirably.  But RIDE isn’t a  Twista or Busta Rhymes style rapper, skipping along with each break and agilely surfing on any twists in the instrumental.  It’s much more like he has dug his heels in, while everything -including a few kitchen sinks- is dumped down all around him in clusters, like jacks or a collapsing metropolis, “à la Inception.  Somehow, without any recognizably intentional assimilation on his part, the music actually feels like it has adapted to RIDE, as opposed to the other way around.  Like a less conflicted and much more ragged version of Magneto or Darth Vader, the rapper plants himself firmly as the eye of the tornado, while a dust storm of shrapnel, rusted appliances, noxious fumes, rotted animal carcasses, and wire-frayed/short-circuiting gadgetry swirls around him in a curiously controlled suspension.  This electrical storm of sound both engulfs and magnetically clings to RIDE‘s verses like static.  Even moments which may come across as disjointed, sporadic frenzies, gradually unveil themselves as much more aware and as calculated production elements, upon additional listens.  It’s as much focused, highly-concentrated moonraker beam as it is scattered buckshot.  It’s raw, but that doesn’t make it lazy or ignorant.  There are no accidents here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My enthusiasm for DEATH GRIPS and Ex Military is simple: the project and release epitomize much of what the major purpose of this site is, altogether.  My desire to create a forum for us to help highlight projects, conduct interviews with artists, etc. goes hand in hand with the obsession to find new music, film, art, and information, while maintaining an awareness about how many people/sources have introduced us to such things and the assumption that there are others out there who are on a constant mission to unearth any new, innovative and/or quality work that may exist out there.  Far too often, both media and general enthusiasts are forced to settle on something that falls short, but edges out the majority of the other offerings just enough for it to be hailed as a “triumph” or the “future” of the genre.  Rarely, if ever, are such bestowments warranted, if only comparatively to the other more obvious trash being produced.  It sounds so cliche and disingenuous, but it’s with much forethought that I feel that I can honestly make the claim that I’ve never heard anything quite like the music coming from this Sacramento 5-piece.

Being a sample-based release, featuring a black man with an “MC” title screaming lyrics over the beats, will undoubtedly find Ex Military being filed under the general category of “rap“, but once one tries to narrow things down any further, that’s when things become a bit more murky.  “Hardcore”?  Maybe.  The term is generic enough to encompass a lot of things and this album is definitely “hardcore” something.  Ironically, as the album successfully avoids simple categorization, it also offers up some of the most effective elements from any of the genres that it seems to defy.  It’s too well rounded to be a straight up gangster rap album, but there’s definitely some hood shit on here.  It’s not a straight ahead horrorcore album, riding extensively on Freddy VS Jason style dramatics, either.  Instead, there are some legitimately frightening moments on the release that seem to cut a lot deeper than movie makeup and blood packets.  It’s not a Space Rap album in the typical sense, offering up imagery of neon, split level New York flat tops, floating hover cars, laser gats, and da club as a modified space station.  The futuristic references on here are often as technical and scientific as they are bleak.  Perhaps that’s what really helps set it apart from most hip-hop releases that you’re going to come across, the lack of steam-cleaned, chrome-plated imagery.  It’s cinematic, sure, but it feels more like a gritty documentary than a script that’s been raped to death through the manipulation of hollywood producers, product placement, CGI, merchandising, and auto-tune.  With all of the cooks in the DEATH GRIPS kitchen, there is a surprising cohesion in this work.  Even I Want It I Need It (Death Heated), the one song on this album that IS about getting fucked up at the club, samples the early Pink Floyd cut, Interstellar Overdrive, mentions a slew of drug references that are not typically brought up on a hip-hop track (DMT, LSD, MDMA ), and is more about trying to hold your shit together than having it together.  Clearly, the violent content, occasional sexism, and lack of remorse, would never find Ex Military being embraced as a “conscious” rap album, or even a backpack rap effort.  It’s too intense.  However, at the deepest level, there are moments that actually outmatch the heady, spiritually focused, new age, bike riding, tree planting, Mother Earth warriors at their own game.  When DG gives nods to energy and spirituality, they do so on an accessible level that doesn’t feel contrived or pretentious.  In fact, it actually makes you consider what they’re saying, as opposed to simply hoping that the purchasing of their MP3s and the throwing up of your hands for “real hip-hop” will operate as a suficient moral equivalent to carbon offsets .  Perhaps, even more impressive is the fact that it, somehow, doesn’t feel like a conflict when DEATH GRIPS are singing about murder, rape, or drugs shortly afterward.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I live in Seattle, a town that some would say has a strong hip-hop scene.  Most of the people who would say that are actually from Seattle.  I, on the other hand, am not one those people.  The latest, and arguably biggest, hype is a group called Shabazz Palaces, featuring Ishmael Butler (aka: Butterfly) of Digable Planets fame.  After the rough reception of Butler‘s post-DP project, Cherry Wine, his career wasn’t looking as amazing as it could have.  Early hype for Shabazz Palaces spoke of how Butler was keeping his identity shrouded in mystery, how the album had “leaked” via a few select outlets (the biggest local outlets available, mind you), and how the new project was so “innovative” that it marked the “future” of Seattle hip-hop and the entire rap scene in general.  Days after the first local performance came (the first week of last year) it was already mentioned on the front page of THE STRANGER, which hailed it as the best show that was destined to happen all year.  I was at that show, wasn’t permitted photography access, and received no response to review a copy of the CD.  Hiding your identity is simple -the Residents have been doing it for 40 yrs- and the show was mediocre at best.  Their music has a few interesting elements to it, I suppose, but their approach comes across a little forced and a little too Allen Payne from CB4.  Their biggest flaw is that, instead of simply representing themselves with their music, they’ve marketed themselves as some new revolutionary, groundbreaking force and they haven’t come close to living up to it.  Whether it’s underground, party, gangster… whatever, acts tend to paint themselves into corners that they can’t get out of.  It happens with all forms of music and art.  I’ve heard a little of the work by Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and, at first, it seemed intriguing.  Unfortunately, I’m not that well versed on their material.  I’ve heard great things but, after listening to the Tyler the Creator album, Bastard, I wasn’t impressed.  The lines between vulgarity, humor, and delivery got blurred too much and he came across sounding like a kid telling bad poop jokes and his comments about murdering women just seemed like they were there for shock value.  MC RIDE, on the other hand, comes across as a legitimate threat and that’s a testament to his ability to present himself as genuine.  Another rapper that has really impressed us over the last year or so is Freddie Gibbs.  He offers a more straightforward approach to vivid 2PAC style gangster rap, with a solid cadence, remarkable lyricism, and, for the ridiculous amount of music that he’s been able to release in a short period of time, it all seems to be quality stuff (“All killer, no filler“).  He comes from a legitimately rough background and openly takes offense to people like Rick Ross who he claims are full of shit and appropriating that lifestyle.  Gibbs‘ music works, because he knows his role/strengths, is true to his identity, and focuses on being the best at delivering just that.  Part of DEATH GRIPS‘ skill-set involves their ability to move seamlessly from one approach to the next.  Lyrically, they are a completely different animal, but they’re able to provide the same realism and potency of a Freddie Gibbs, while incorporating more unorthodox aspects that can often make lesser groups come across as gimmicky or simply misguided.

So… does DEATH GRIPS represent the” future of rap”?  I’m not even exactly sure what that means, but I know enough to know that, if people are constantly asking questions like that, then it’s clear that they have been hungrily awaiting something new.  I’m also aware that I’ve been hoping for something different and interesting to come along, but I’m not sure that I was really expecting it to happen.  So, perhaps better questions to ask would be if these guys are actually offering up something new and if what they’re offering is something that’s worth while.  My answer to both of those questions is a “definitely“.  OFWGKTA has also been labeled with the “future” of rap title, and I think that might be more accurate.  At the very least, I can see kids beginning to adopt similar subject matter as the young Los Angeles rap collective.  That’s not to say that their imitators won’t be exponentially worse.  The real innovators might kick down doors, but they can’t be concerned with the future of a genre, only with forging their own paths, and with their own personal growth and resiliency.  For example, I’ve yet to see another WU-TANG Clan come through, because they are impossible to clone and, if anyone tries, it would just look incredibly corny.  EL-P is another very unique voice that I have tons of respect for, but elements of his “sound” only spread because of the amount of production work that he’s provided for other artists, both on his own label, as well as for Rawkus before it.  Comparisons will be drawn between EL-P and DEATH GRIPS for their gritty futuristic elements, left field approach to beat making, and their crate digging enthusiasms -for the song “Deep Space 9mm“, EL-P sampled the song “Water” by cult 60‘s experimental, electronic psych duo, Silver Apples, for chrissakes!  However, while the DEF JUX label-head is more of a story teller, unfolding scenic details while he hovers in a low-key spaceship over an urban cityscape at night, DEATH GRIPS almost feel more like they are down in the filth, slightly less focused with foresight or hindsight and spewing more about immediacies.  How do you imitate something like that, without sounding like an imitation?  It’s not as much about the physical sounds being created, the subject matter being addressed, or even the samples and structures that are present, as much as it is about the overall feeling being emitted through this crazy collage of ingredients.  The, otherwise disjointed, pieces of the jigsaw click together so well that any borders virtually dissipate.  It’s like one of those digital mosaics, made up of thousands of tiny pictures of Max Hedroom, shotguns, drunken vagrants, sensory deprivation chambers, junkyards, and radioactive mutants.  There are some old-school Sixties samples and futuristic elements in the mix, but neither terms like “throwback” or “future of rap” seem to play much into the agenda of a group like this, who appear to be more focused on creating something much more original.

You’ve just read through another overly lengthy piece that began with the original intention of throwing up a very short post and a download link.  For me, the most difficult stuff to describe often proves to be the most compelling and the most satisfying.  Still, even with all of the rambling and over explanation, no one can really describe the group better than the sentiments expressed through their own music.  Their disinterest in leading a new one-dimensional rap movement or being redundant  is laid out nicely on the track “Known For It“.  Not only does it contain a sample of “De Futura” by French jazz/prog outfit Magma (a group that invented their own language, as well as shaped their own genre, “Zeuhl” and helped influence early black metal), but the following lyrics as well:

“Keep em guessin endlessly
Never let em know where your headed
King of the unknown cloaked in mystery
How ta show em they don’t mean shit ta me“

Something else that really epitomizes their work for me are the following lines that finish off the song “Lord of the Game”:

“…Don’t waste my time even one more time
When you know that shit is whack
Don’t make me remind of you of the last time you
Said you’d never go back.

Fuck where you’re from,
Fuck where you’re goin,
It’s all about where you’re at“

With most of us spending the majority of our existences focused on the preparations for some future event or living in the wake of some past triumph or tragedy, I don’t feel that it’s overly absurd to make the claim that we rarely ever exist in our own time.  We were young once and one day we’ll be even older, but, although our bodies are currently and slowly decomposing as you read this, oxygen is also entering into your system, feeding your cells, and rejuvenating your life force.  It may not be living up to your anticipation and it won’t likely resemble much more than a shadow of itself once it hits the history books, but RIGHT NOW is happening, regardless.  If nothing else, it’s refreshing to hear a project created by people in the moment; swooping up the shrapnel of the past, mixing it with the technology of the present, and creating something that’s genuinely new, which reflects it’s own image.  If there’s one concept that DEATH GRIPS has left for me with Ex Military it’s simply that they exist.  It doesn’t work as a bad reminder that we do, either.  Go create something.

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Death Grips – Exmilitary by deathgrips

TOUR DATES:

Death Grips have recently started playing out and Zach Hill has been bringing his drum kit along for the RIDE.  Make sure to catch them if you live in one of the select locations

AUGUST 5th
Santos Party House
New York, NY

AUGUST 20th
MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY
Premiere Event Center
Los Angeles, CA

SEPTEMBER 23rd
POP MONTREAL FESTIVAL
Club Lambi
Montreal, Quebec

On September4th of 2009, we spent the night at Seattle‘s NEUMOS, attending a performance by two previous Monster Fresh interviewees, Daniel Johnston and Kimya Dawson.  Kimya was asked to open the show by her past collaborator -Daniel appeared on her 2004 album, Hidden Vagenda (K Records)- and even had Johnston briefly sit in behind the drums during her set.  Long-time clean and sober, the all-ages friendly Dawson made the extremely rare exception to perform at the 21+ event just to have the opportunity to appear with her old friend once again.  She did, however, bring along a handful of members from her all-ages, no experience/tryout necessary, community-based Olympia Free Choir, to accompany her on stage for a few songs (including, “We Are The World“).  One track that Kimya performed independently was a brand new one that had yet to be titled, at the time.  Back in February, that song resurfaced with dark, choppy piano thumps and heavy boom-bap hip-hop percussion under the title “Miami Advice“.  The added depth of this new studio-produced version was further increased through vocal contributions by the Free Choir and a much more unlikely collaborator… Aesop Rock.  Last month, I got the opportunity to see Kimya perform the track for the first time since hearing it at that Seattle debut nearly two years ago.  Not only was she joined by her new rapping cohort, this time, but it was also one of the most all-ages friendly venues that anyone could possibly hope for.  In fact, the event was casually titled as the “Aesop Rock/Kimya Dawson Slip & Slide Picnic/Potluck Thing.“

A week before the “potluck thing” went down, I was sitting at home pissed off and agitated.  Recent unwarranted conflicts, expecting a new baby, alternate employment responsibilities, and flaky ass bastards were stressing me out.  By the time June hit, these factors had piled up and I was on the verge of blasting Venetian Snares over repeated viewings of Falling Down, while huffing gas through a rag and drinking Four Loco with a crossbow.  Basically, I was getting so wound up that I was about to break like a Canal St. Rolex.  My sister called me and suggested that I go to Olympia with her and my 6-year old niece to be part of a music video shoot that Kimya had invited them to.  I had lived in Oly for about 6 years, but had only returned once in the last five 1/2 years; and that was to see a Built to Spill show/Halo Benders reunion.  Based on the urging of my sister and my baby’s mama -both of which strongly felt that I needed to leave my apartment for a while- I agreed to put the site on hold and head out of town, but with no intention of being involved with the filming or any community interaction.  Once there, however, I quickly found myself removed from a sullen lump in the corner and into an active and carefree participant.  Even more surprisingly, I actually felt extremely relaxed and happy.  Without divulging too much about the yet-to-be-released video, I can say that it was created for “Solid and Strong“, a song which will appear on Kimya‘s new album, Thunder Thighs, now being self-released in October.

Although “Solid & Strong” isn’t one of them, Aesop Rock will appear on a handful of tracks for Thunder Thighs and the duo is working on a more official combined effort, also slated for release later this year.  In addition to those projects, Aesop is also scheduled to drop a solo LP this year, the first for him since 2007 ‘s None Shall Pass (Definitive Jux).  This year operates as a return of sorts for Kimya, as well.  In 2009, she released an album as a member of The Bundles and the year before saw her dropping the childrens album ALPHABUTT, but she hasn’t offered up a proper straight-forward solo effort since the pre-Juno Soundtrack release, Remember that I love You (2006, K Records).  She’s done plenty of touring, but the lyrical content of the upcoming release should provide a bit of insight regarding her perspectives on life since the birth of her first child and after gaining such a sudden burst of widespread attention via the Grammy-winning soundtrack to the Academy Award winning film.  As for Aesop,  in February of last year, founder El-P announced an indefinite “hiatus” of sorts for Def initive Jux, the label that had been releasing his material for the last decade and majority of his career.  I feel that it’s safe to say that both of these artists have voices that many have been waiting to hear from again, but I also feel that it’s safe to say that each of their particular fan-bases generally stem from very different demographics and that the idea that their creative returns to the forefront would also involve them working together, came as quite a surprise to each of those respective groups.

Since debuting their live show to enthusiastic and positive reviews at San Francisco‘s Noise Pop festival last February -not to mention and in store for the closing of artist, Alex Pardee‘s ZERO FRIENDS shop in L.A.- the duo has gone on to perform together at SXSW and a string of tour dates throughout the month of May.  Also featured on these bills have been Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz, who, along with Aesop Rock, form Hail Mary Mallon, a trio that just dropped their debut album Are You Gonna Eat That? (Rhymesayers) on June 7th.  Kimya, Aesop and crew had a show scheduled just 4 days after, on Saturday June 11th, here in Seattle.  Quite a few days prior to that, however, I received a Facebook invitation from Kimya to an event taking place at her home in Olympia for the day after the show.  On the days up to it’s lead up, the title of this event was changed a few times, until settling on the sufficiently descriptive, “Aesop Rock/Kimya Dawson Slip&Slide Picnic/Potluck Thing“.  No booze.  No drugs.  It was a family friendly environment where the artists would perform, people would bring food, and relax in Dawson‘s backyard.  There would also be access to Slip ‘N Slides, along with a huge inflatable bouncy castle and inflatable slide that the hostess had rented.

Based on the way that my previous trek to Oly had served my disposition, I figured that I needed to head up for this and, along with my lady, my sister, and my niece, I did just that.  Things were pretty much just as described.  There was a table with food and the huge aforementioned inflatables, the absurdity and girth of which I had underestimated.  The back deck was set up as a small stage and, when we arrived, Hail Mary Mallon was already performing on it.  It began to temporarily drizzle and a few of the people in attendance helped hold a tarp over Big Wiz to protect him and his equipment from the elements.  Eventually, Aesop called out for Kimya to join him to perform some tracks on the “stage” and, when she finally did emerge, her clothing was completely drenched and smattered with grass blades from using the Slip ‘N Slides.  She did a set next, which in turn, also featured appearances by Aesop.  While playing one of her songs solo, a little girl was noticeably knocking away at a toy piano, so Kimya invited her to come up and play/sing along with her.  The music officially ended after an entertaining closing set by Clyde Peterson of Your Heart Breaks.  Kimya‘s parents were there, as well as her husband/musician Angelo Spencer and fellow K-Records recording artist, Arrington de Dionyso (Malaikat dan Singa).  I had a chance to talk with her father, who is awesome, and it was great to see some friends that I hadn’t seen in a while, such as Alex (aka: Doc Hollywood) of Hollywood Kill Krew.  Aesop and Kimya‘s voices/styles work surprisingly well (pretty much, seamlessly) together and it was really nice to have such a chill and open event to attend.  My neurotic nerves could probably use things like this a lot more often, so we appreciated the invite.

The potluck/show worked as a brief break before the crew had to head out of town for more tour dates, but Kimya still made time to throw something up on her Tumblr page, regarding the event, not long after.  The text from that post (featured below) gives a bit more insight into what purpose and meaning that the potluck truly held for her.

“Every summer for years my parents and I would have backyard jamborees in Bedford Hills, NY. House show potluck BBQs that were so much fun. As things started to get crazier, and more people knew who I was, people would sometimes say to me that I wasn’t going to be able to do that anymore- just invite people to come to my house.

Well, I still can and I still do.

And it’s still awesome.

And my parents still come and hug everyone and hang out.

And now I have buddies like Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz, and Clyde Petersen (Your Heart Breaks) to help me bring the fun.

And now there are inflatables.

It’s up to you to pump up your own heart.

Get it real big.

Then let everyone in.“

Check out the following slide-show/photo-set from the event, below:

RAEKWON

Nectar Lounge

Seattle, Wa

May 08, 2011

A week ago, quick posts started showing up all across the internet, informing us that, “Gil Scott-Heron is dead.”  In recent years, the legendary poet/musician had struggled with fairly public substance abuse problems and had triumphantly returned with a his first full-length of new material in 16 years with last years, I’m New Here (XL recordings).  Although the title track was a cover song from the 2005 album, A River Ain’t Too Much To Love by SMOG (aka: Bill Callahan), it’s inclusion on the album and, perhaps more significantly, as the album’s title, were clearly decided upon for profoundly personal reasons.  With lyrics like “no matter how far wrong you’ve gone, you can always turn around” and the titles of such other songs as “Me and the Devil“, “Running“, and “The Crutch“, it was evident that Heron was turning to more introspective subject matter than such politically driven classics as “The Revolution Will Not Me Televised” and “Whitey on the Moon“.  Often referred to as “the godfather of rap,” Heron‘s last collection of new material came with the album Spirits in 1994 and contained the lead-off track “Message to Messengers“, which criticized the direction of hip-hop and what he saw as superficiality and destruction of/within the artform.  Just as I’d like to view I’m New Here as his last big statement before his death, his warnings and pleas to the hip-hop community were one of his last big statements before his extensive gap in productivity.  Around this time, another album called, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was really beginning to pick up steam.

Released just a few months prior to Spirits, the Wu-Tang Clan‘s debut album went on to set the rap game on it’s ear and leave a permanent dent in it’s foundation forever.  Whether it was the change that Scott-Heron had hoped for is difficult to say.  They were still rapping about gold, murder, and drugs, but they were also bringing an undeniably cinematic element to their tracks, showcasing a new level of craftsmanship, and placing a hefty amount of importance on lyrical content.  The first wave of Wu-Tang member solo releases solidified their permanent spots as instant legends with classic after classic after classic being released.  The second wave of solo releases was less successful and members like U-God and Masta Killa fell further into the background.  The power of the 9-member Clan was their versatility and, once the “Killa Bees” had scattered, both their individual strengths, as well as their individual areas of potential weakness, became more pronounced.  Out of those original few, I gravitated towards GZA‘s highly lyrical Liquid Swords, an album that has maintained a consistent spot in the running for my favorite rap album of all time.  Others, who are more drawn to Raekwon‘s mafioso-themed gangsta rap, would argue that his first solo album, Only Built For Cuban Linx, may be superior.  One thing is for sure, they are both classics and, while Gil Scott-Heron most likely would have identified more with the  intellectual approach of GZA and Liquid Swords tracks like the Killah Priest-penned, “B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)“, it would be hard to deny the purpose or relevancy of RAEKWON “the Chef” presenting a vivid outlook on the drug game that ultimately sucked Scott-Heron into it’s depths.  After finally getting the opportunity to catch RAEKWON live last month, it would also be hard to deny that, even at this point in his career, he is still an incredibly vital figure for the rap industry that exists today.

When I heard that RAEKWON was performing at the Nectar Lounge, I did a bit of a double take.  Even after confirming that the advertisements were actually pertaining to that RAEKWON, I still had some skepticism.  The first issue was that the Nectar Lounge is only a few blocks from my home.  Most people wouldn’t see that so much as an “issue” as they would a convenience but, considering that things don’t generally come together that smoothly for me, it might have been a sign that it wasn’t really gonna go down.  Next was the fact that Nectar isn’t a very large venue and their calendar can be rather inconsistent.  It’s a small space and holds just as many themed DJ/dance nights as anything else.  The final and main factor that made me a bit skeptical is that the members of WU-Tang are notorious for bailing out and canceling shows.  I tried to see Inspectah Deck once at Chop Suey and the show ran all the way up until his start time, before they finally admitted that he wasn’t gonna arrive and gave out refunds.  Ghost Face has canceled at least 2 consecutive shows in the area that I’m aware of.  After successfully seeing GZA live a few years ago (read review here) and considering that I wouldn’t even have to travel outside of my own neighborhood, it seemed like a no brainer.  If RAE didn’t show up or the show was terrible, I could easily just walk back home.

I got there early enough to catch opener Havi Blaze.  As for his delivery, he was actually surprisingly solid, unlike most openers, so things were looking up.  Next came another local rapper, Fatal Lucciauno.  I’ve seen some clips of him in the past and was hopeful, but I was not feeling his set in the slightest.  He’s a stocky figure that moved around the stage awkwardly trying to get the crowd involved.  At one point, he started a rant about Tyler the Creator and Odd Future, calling them Satanists and introducing an unnecessary religious angle/tirade into his set.

It was pretty obvious when The Chef‘s gigantic tour bus finally rolled up in front of the small club in the neighborhood of Fremont.  DJ Swervewon had been providing beats for the openers, but the new DJ was now up on stage taking the helm.  Once the phrases “Son” and “Word is bond” came out of his mouth, there was no question that he was part of RAE‘s crew.  Everyone was finally getting optimistic.  This guy explained that the headliner would be coming out soon but, before he did so, they wanted to introduce an artist that had been signed to Raekwon‘s label.  I honestly wasn’t impressed and it was beginning to drag the fuck out.  I felt bad for us in the crowd, but I didn’t feel great for the DJ who had to hold off the mob either.  After that unannounced MC went through a few more songs than expected, the DJ had to keep spinning tracks at an extremely inopportune time in the night.  The flyer said 8pm.  It was easily already past midnight and we were listening to pre-recorded music.  “Raekwon’s on his way, ya’ll!“  Then, another 10 minutes or so of records,  “Raekwon’s almost ready ya’ll!“.  Finally, after what seemed like forever and what felt like something that might inevitably end with another cancellation, RAEKWON finally entered the stage.  The Wu-Tang legend distributed super dramatic, gaudy posters that featured an image of himself restrained with thick gold chains in a crumbling metropolis.  Basically, it’s the type of image that I would have jokingly produced of myself.  A stack was handed to the front row, who passed them back, distributing them like science tests.  Everyone was sharing; this could only happen at a “gangster” rap show in Fremont.

The ridiculous posters wouldn’t have meant shit after all of that wait, if RAEKWON didn’t really bring his “A” game, but he did.  Seeing a seasoned performer of his caliber, after waiting through that entire lead up, was impressive and the superiority of his skill level was beyond noticeable.  Kool Keith is another legendary rap figure that is notorious for not showing up for scheduled appearances.  I’ve seen a show in which Keith left the stage dead empty between the previous act and himself for a full hour, only to come out and talk shit about the lack of skill in his opening acts.  Keith did deliver at that performance, but in recent years, and his last performance especially, he has fallen off hard.  He doesn’t really engage the audience and he basically phones it in.  At a Seattle show in February -advertised as a live performance of Black Elvis: Lost in Space in it’s entirety- Keith had a goofy young white kid without rhythm come out and spit a few bars off of the album, before proceeding with the same random segments of the same random tracks that he performed the last time that I saw him 3 years ago.  The rap game is arguably even much worse than it was in the early Nineties when Gil Scott-Heron was complaining about the state of the industry.  The volume of genuine new talent has been dwindling at an alarming rate and many of the veteran rap stars have either stopped performing, fallen off terribly, or have died.  RAE made the point of giving props to recently deceased contemporaries like Nate Dogg and GURU, but the most impressive part was that he proved that his own passion for his craft is still very much alive.  WU-Tang are not only innovators from the past but, based on what I’ve experienced, they are still very entertaining live performers that take pride in their craft and are passionate about forming a tangible bond with their fanbase.  What they are not is the type of “entertainers” that are content with simply going through classic tracks in medley form, saying very little, and walking off the stage unaffected.

I hadn’t planned to write a review of this show and still don’t plan on getting too much further in depth.  Even when I began typing this piece, it was simply going to be a post of a short photo set (featured below), but there is a few things that I wanted to make clear about what could be expected from a WU-Tang solo show in the year 2011.  The first is that, although you might have to wait for it to kick off and you might be leery about attending one, you’ll be glad that you made the effort.  These guys are still skilled and they still tear the shit out of the venues, reminding you why you liked them in the first place, while giving you new reasons to come out and see them.  It isn’t like seeing the 80+ year old bluegrass legend, Earl Scruggs propped up to play the banjo for nostalgic reasons (super depressing stuff, by the way).  Another thing to point out is that RAEKWON is still producing some fresh worth-while material, as evidenced by his 2009 sequel, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II.  He doesn’t limit himself to new material or even to classic tracks either.  The show blended a good variety of new with the old and, much like the GZA set that I experienced before, he shows that there is a tendency to do a song or two of their WU-Tang cohorts that aren’t performing with them.  Perhaps the most important thing to bring attention to, however, is that, although the Rap world is flooded with terrible bullshit, huge stadium shows, and flashy nonsense, it’s still possible to attend an intimate club show by one of the most cinematic and resilient MCs from a crew with, arguably, the greatest collection of lyrical talent ever and still have it come off impressively, even in the year 2011.

Although the sound could be much better, I feel that the following video still reasonably demonstrates these points.  The first song featured is “Rock ‘N Roll” from his latest release, Shaolin VS Wu-Tang and the clip ends with a version of the Wu classic, “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit” from 36 Chambers.  In between the tracks, RAE makes a point to express his viewpoints about the necessities of quality beats and substance of lyricism in hip-hop.  He might still be rapping about crack and murder, instead of political injustices in the vein of Heron, but his influence, depth, and artistic ability are undeniable.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out the following photo-set: (click images to enlarge)

In recent years, the art of the mashup has continued to gain more and more prominence in the music world.  Actually, “art” is probably not the most accurate term to use, considering that it has reached a point of excess in which endless amateur Youtube “deejays” are willing to forcefully press together anything that they feel might get them even the slightest amount of attention.  Generally, it’s all about the gimmick and, unfortunately, there is far too often next to no focus on creating anything of substance.  Like I said, it’s all about quick attention and the sheer novelty of seeing if you can layer somethings like a Beyonce vocal over a track from The Man Machine (hmmm….not a bad idea).  If you think about it, the idea really isn’t all that original in the first place, because stacking tracks is the basic concept behind beat juggling and, although there are genuinely some really good tracks to come out of this genre, most of these mash ups just eliminate the requirement for any skills on the tables.  Another thing that has helped to over-saturate the mashup game is that a large percentage of the people creating these things prove to be one-notes.  If you want to hop in with something to grab attention and then step things up from there, that’s one thing, but if you have little more to deliver after that point, it’s pretty much like telling the same joke over and over again.

With all of this being said, it’s is definitely true that something will occasionally comes through that’s actually worthy of the attention. Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton gained enough notoriety from The Grey Album (2004) to launch an entire career.  The main difference is that he’s proven time and time again that he could back up the hype and that he was much more than just Jay-Z and Beatles samples.  In fact, after EMI flipped their shit over his unauthorized use of the Beatles catalog and there was an internet-wide refusal to comply with their cease and desist orders from offering the project online (aka: “Grey Tuesday“), a permanent mark has been made on the entire music industry and the legalities regarding sampling rights.  Although Burton‘s otherwise innocent “art project” has prompted endless others to pursue the same route to launch careers of their own, it’s unlikely that most of them will ever achieve much and, even when a “successful” mashup does make a lasting impression, it’s rare that anyone remembers who created it.

One of the most impressive mashups that I’ve heard came at the beginning of last year and was created by a producer by the name of Tom Caruana.  Not surprisingly, the project also consisted of a-capella rap vocals being stacked over Beatles cuts.  The surprising part is that it was actually incredibly listenable.  To craft his 27-track Wu-Tang VS Beatles project Enter The Magical Mystery Chamber, Caruana focused much more on the overall sound of the product and on creating something brand new from the components that he was using.  The producer doesn’t come across as being too concerned with using the most recognizable samples just to create that “Oh shit!  I can’t believe he mixed those 2 together” factor that most mashups thrive on.  Instead, he seems to realize the true benefit of the artists’ material that he’s working with.  For both the Beatles and the Wu Tang Clan, the benefit is that each of them have huge catalogs of work to pull from and, even more importantly, they are huge catalogs filled with great material.  Unlike Dangermouse‘s infamous entry into the mashup world, Caruana doesn’t limit himself to blending a single album from each of the artists, but rather pulls from all areas of their work and careers.  This isn’t just a blending of  The Magical Mystery Tour and Enter the 36 Chambers; much of the vocals are pulled from the endlessly impressive WU-Tang solo projects from over the years, Beatles solo projects, and even samples from the Beatles covers by other artists (She & Him, Ramsey Lewis, etc), to cover even more territory.  So… if this project original hit the web in January of 2010, why are we discussing it a year later?  Well, it appears that it has returned and with a pseudo-official release, no less.

The announcement came from the official WU-Tang clan Facebook page(s) just this morning that the WU themselves would be releasing the “special edition” mix tape.  What’s so “special” about the edition exactly?  It doesn’t really say.  The cover art looks pretty much the same as that of the release that was posted for FREE on TeaSeaRecords.net last year (now removed), with the major difference being the addition of a label reading “for promotional use only” and the words “presented by Wu music group” across the top.  There is also no track listing featured, but the assumption is that the audio is the same. What we do know is that this release is a hard copy being marketed as a “collectors item”.  According to the Facebook post, the release is limited to only 500 copies.  However, as I type this, that original post seems to have been removed from the Facebook page, as well.  The real point here is that the WU themselves have clearly embraced the project and are officially and publicly stamping that label of approval onto the mixtape by offering the release themselves.  Considering that Masta Killa punched journalist, Cheo Coker in the head over some caricatures of the Wu Tang members that accompanied his Feb. 1994 article in Rap Pages, the Clan seems to have become a bit more welcoming of the interpretations on their work from others over the last decade and a half.  Then again, Joe Budden just got knocked in his skull by a member of Raekwon‘s entourage as recently as 2009, so maybe their reactions are generally just hit and miss (pun intended).  Most likely, they are just supporting this mixtape because it came through as quality and, being one of, if not THE, greatest and most innovative rap crew’s in history, it was something that was easy for them to appreciate.

Here’s the blurb featured underneath the order page on WUGotcha.com:

We know you know we know, it’s actually awesome. Some fellow named Tom Caruana teamed up with some fellow from Wu Music Group took Wu-cappelas from various songs and solo albums and put them over new productions made vaguely from Beatles samples and Beatles covers samples and some shit that couldn’t possibly be Beatles samples but must be and made a memorable Mix-tape. Thankfully, his pilfering of Liverpool’s finest is barely recognizable, except for Ghost’s “Mighty Healthy” which is now Pretty Toney rapping directly over Paul’s singing (This is great) and dirty skank. If anything, Caruana holds pretty true to RZA and co.’s original mood, if not making Shaolin sound a whole helluva lot more different than it actually is. This shit is a mosdef classic, collectors edition Mix-tape.

Again, the hard copy of this album can be ordered HERE.

If you’re interested in picking one up, I’d try and jump on it quick.  Otherwise, you’ll be purchasing it with a huge markup through ebay.  If you’re wondering how they can sell something like this with all of the copyright issues involved, they’ve gotten around it by doing a couple of things.  The first is the disclaimer stating that the album is “for promotional use only” and the second is by having their $8 fee referred to strictly as a “Shipping and Handling” charge.  $8 for shipping and handling is actually pretty reasonable, but be aware that when you go to pay for it, something’s fucked and you will actually be charged $8 for the album and another $8 for the shipping, coming to a grand total of $16.

Again, the main reason to purchase pay for the shipping of a hard copy of a “special edition” like this is for the collectability of the item.

For those of you who just want to listen to the fucking thing, we’re providing a link to the download of the “un-special” original addition HERE.  (Wu-Tang: please do not punch my face.)

And here is the back cover art/track list/sample info for the download
(click image to enlarge):

This morning I followed a facebook post of a tweet of a link that was originally a blog post by beat maker/producer Blockhead.  The post was on his blog Phat Friend and, since I never knew that the blog existed and since I instantly liked what I saw him doing with the site, I decided to browse around and scope out what else he had going on.  What I found was crazy as all get out and is something that I have a feeling will be everywhere by tomorrow.  In fact, as I type this, it’s already spreading like swine aids.

Beyond an embedded video, all that Blockhead‘s post said was “I just saw this and I really have no words.  Just watch“.  That’s probably all that needs to be said but, as anyone who has read any decent amount of content on this site knows, I always have words.  This time, however, I’ll leave them until after the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This video was directed by Martin Usher and James Davis of Live That Life Productions and it is one of those rare Youtube parodies that is actually pretty awesome.  Unfortunately, this parody is bound to spawn endless sub-parodies because, no one can ever leave well enough alone.  You can follow James Davis on twitter at twitter.com/theejamesdavis.

Although this video is hilarious alone, it’s probably important to know that it is actually a parody of the video for “Hard in Da Paint” by Waka Flocka Flame.  If you are like me and you aren’t even interested in keeping up with a lot of this newer MTV rap bullshit, then you might not know of Waka Flocka.  I, admittedly, didn’t know who the fuck he was until after the fact, but this will definitely bring even more added attention to his career.  From what I’ve gathered, he is the son of Gucci Mane‘s fired manager Debra Antney.  As for his name, I still don’t get it or why he’s running around at the end of the original video screaming it out and sounding like Fozzy Bear.

Here’s the original  (I wonder which one will sell more on iTunes?):

Click here to view the embedded video.

You may not recognize the man in the image posted above, but his name is Micheal Larsen.  If you don’t recognize the name “Micheal Larsen“, it’s probably because he was better known under his moniker “Eyedea” and as the mc-ing half of the hip hop duo Eydea and Abilities.  Wearing a T-shirt, cardigan and converse, along with his unkempt mane and facial hair, he often resembled a variation of Kurt Cobain more than a highly gifted battle rap champion and underground hip-hop icon.  Unfortunately, Larsen suffered a similar fate to late Seattle-based legend, losing his life far too early.  On the plus side, the similarities don’t end there, as he was also able to leave a huge impact on the world before his untimely demise at the tender age of only 28 years old.

Last Sunday October 17th, tweets and facebook posts stating that Larsen had passed away began popping up everywhere.  These yielded two separate reactions from those that read them.  The first was the obvious shock and remorse that anyone would have when a respected artist and/or peer passes away.  The second, however, was a different kind of disbelief.  In the past, Larsen’s been known to wear black T-Shirts with the phrase “EYEDEA IS DEAD” printed on them in white text.  This raised some confusion and a great deal of hope that the announcements of his death may, in fact, have been a hoax.  Of course, as we all know now, the late vocalist/writer/artist’s expired body was found by his mother, with an official cause of death yet to be announced or determined.

We don’t usually post press release straight up and “as is”, but, this is one of those rare exceptions.  After receiving 2 nearly identical press releases from the publicists for Eyedea‘s former label Rhymesayers Entertainment, it’s clear that the amount of information provided through them is both necessary and already formatted in the best possible way.  Along with details about Larsen‘s public wake, there is also  information regarding donations and tributes.  The end of the post also features various statements about Micheal‘s from close friends, label mates, and collaborators, including his mother, P.O.S., Brother Ali, Murs, Abstract Rude.

Before all of the somber details and information, we’d like to help introduce those unfamiliar with EYEDEA to a sample of the man’s life and work through the following 2 videos.  The first is an interview conducted with Larsen by the website FreestyleMadness.com back in 2008.  The second is a video of the song “Smile” by Eyedea & Abilities, which I feel really showcases the way that Larsen lived his life and highlights where all of the positive statements below originated from.

There has been way too much similar news this year and our positive wishes go out to his friends and family.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Remembering Micheal “eyedea” Larsen

On Saturday, October 16, 2010, Rhymesayers Entertainment  lost our beloved friend, family member and artist Micheal “eyedea” Larsen at the age of 28.  Eyedea, who was most notably known for his music with Eyedea & Abilities, Oliver Hart, Face Candy and Carbon Carousel, was an artist in its truest form. He will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. In the days to come, we feel the focus should be on Micheal’s life, music and legacy.  Let’s celebrate his life, remember his music and never forget what he has given us all.

We miss you. We love you. And, you will not be forgotten.

Micheal “eyedea” Larsen 11.09.81 – 10.16.10 R.I.P.

All donations can be directed to Micheal’s Mom, Kathy Averill:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JV8PPC8RE66MU

Public Wake:

Micheal “eyedea” Larsen Memorial

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010

Public: 7:30 – 10:00PM

Location: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Minnesota Grand Ballroom

Address: 11 East Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55101

Sending Flowers: If you are interested in sending flowers for the memorial, all deliveries must be made to arrive on Thursday, October 28, 2010. Please make deliveries to arrive prior to 12:00PM CST.

Send to: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Minnesota Grand Ballroom, c/o Micheal Larsen Memorial, 11 East Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55101.

A Celebration of the life of Micheal “eyedea” Larsen

Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Location: First Avenue Mainroom, 701 1^st Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Doors: 5:00PM

Ages: All Ages

Donation: $20

Tickets will be on sale: Monday, October 25, 2010 at 5:00PM CST

Tickets will be available at Fifth Element, 2411 Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55405. For those of you that are not in the Twin Cities area; a limited amount of tickets will be available online at Etix.com.

There is no guest list. All donations will go to the family of Micheal “eyedea” Larsen.

RSE Radio Tribute:

Join us this Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 9:00PM – 11:00PM CST on RSE Radio to remember our dear friend and brother Micheal “eyedea” Larsen.  We’ll be playing music and sharing memories with some of Mikey’s peers.  We would love to hear from all of you that loved and supported Mikey’s art over the years as well.  If you would like to share a special memory or experience you had please leave them at: www.twitter.com/rseradio , www.facebook.com/rseradio or radio@rhymesayers.com and we will be randomly selecting your comments to read on the air throughout the night.

You can tune into RSE Radio at 90.3FM in Minneapolis, 106.7FM in St. Paul or online at www.rhymesayers.com , www.facebook.com/rseradio or www.kfai.org

Quotes:

Dear Son,

Always remember that where ever you go and what ever you do my love will always be with you.  I knew before you were born that you were going to affect the world. I didn’t know how or with what gift, but now I do.  You have given me the most joy, trouble, happiness, and pain. Now it’s time for the rest of us to step up and be the humans you know we can be.  All my love,

-Mom

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Mike was the closest friend I ever had. He was as caring as he was brilliant and was a true prodigy. I am honored to have been in his life and to have created with him and help spread his messages. He was a great human being and he will be missed.

-Gregory Keltgen (Dj Abilities).

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I met Mikey when he was 14 and he was so full of energy, but so focused for his age. I have always been amazed at his knowledge and thirst for life being so young.  On more than one occasion, I have had to remind myself how young he really was while we were all coming up.  He was such a special individual, he mastered everything he touched and wanted to touch everything.  He was the most free person I have ever known and he approached life like a scientist, wanting to dissect all of her meanings so he could share them with others.  Mikey had an amazing spirit and a truly gifted mind and all of us who were blessed to experience this immediately became better people.  This life couldn’t contain my friend and so he’s moved on to his next journey, but I know he’ll forever be in our hearts and minds pushing us to live life to the fullest, be better and be free.

-Brent Sayers (aka Siddiq aka Stress)

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My friend, my brother. I do not know who I would be without your influence in my life. You challenged me without tearing me down. You pushed and encouraged me to be a better person. You had my back even when I didn’t have my own back. Your words, thoughts, and ideas impacted me in ways that I probably haven’t fully realized yet. You made me laugh and cry. You made me look and question. Thank you for everything. I love you Mikey.

-Sean Daley (Slug)

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I traveled many places for the first time with Mikey, and always remember how he would wake up in the van and say, “Man, this looks just like St. Paul.” All those first tours, Mikey was under 21, and the only way I knew it was the “X’s” on his hands each night. He was always older than his age to me. When I moved to Minneapolis to work with Rhymesayers 10 years ago, Mikey had a huge impact on my decision to make that leap of faith. He gave me the courage and a purpose. There were many days away from home that we spent together, and those times have helped define who I am today.  He always inspired me, challenged me and made me laugh. Anytime, I’m on the road and drive into Columbus, St. Louis or Pittsburgh, I’m going to think, man, this looks just like St. Paul.  I will always remember, always love and always miss Mikey.

-J-Bird

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I never thought that I would become best friends with the person I looked up to the most, but I did.  When I first met Mike, he asked me what I was doing with my life and waited with open ears for my response. Although my answer was unclear and although I was unsure, he wasn’t and he made sure that one-day I would see in myself what he could already see in me.  I vividly recall his rollercoaster metaphor. He always said, “regardless of what labels you use to define yourself and no matter what you do with your time, you will always experience the same ride.” Micheal had more influence on me as a human being than anyone ever has and I assume ever will. He taught me how to listen to myself and to others. He taught me how to acknowledge my true desires and to face my attempts to escape. He taught me how to express myself.  He pushed me, but never too hard; he was a gentle friend.  He was never too busy to just be there with me when I needed him.  Of all the questions I still have for him and for all the unfinished business we will never get to complete together, I know one thing. I know that he wanted everyone to hear his message and I will make sure that that happens. I love you Mike .  May your love live through me.

-Christopher Keller (Kristoff Krane)

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Eyedea – One of the hardest working people I know. From breaking to rapping, playing the piano, guitar or freestyling, it didn’t matter he put his entire soul into it. He taught me a lot about being a musician.

-Felipe Cuauhtli

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I started performing with Eyedea & (DJ) Abilities as their ‘hype-man/back-up vocalist’ in 1997 when we were all still in high school. I was hugely influenced by such talented and passionate artists and even back then I knew that Mikey was special and would leave a lasting impact on music or whatever he decided to do with himself. Mikey always pushed the boundaries of what was accepted as truth and commonplace and was always reaching for something greater. He made everyone around him better because he had such a confidence and charisma about him that it was infectious and impossible to ignore. The only comfort I can take in his passing is knowing that where ever he is now, he’s doing just fine because he never had trouble making friends or finding his own path.

-Alexei “Crescent Moon” Casselle (Kill The Vultures, Roma Di Luna)

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Eyedea was a precious soul. We’re better artists for working with him and better people for knowing him. He added so generously to our lives and his passing leaves an empty space in our hearts. His spirit will forever be entwined in our life changing moments. Thank you, Mikey for sharing your light with us. We love you so very much and your music, insight and laughter will never leave us.

-Brother Ali

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How do you sum up the career and life of a brilliant writer and musician in three sentences. I can do it in one word, Mikey.

-Casey O’Brien (Bassist in “Carbon Carousel” and “Face Candy.”)

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Miss you Mikey like I miss being a kid. You’re one of my favorite people ever and I can’t thank you enough. I promise to hold your brave, humble, searching, empathetic, hilarious spirit infront of me and press it back into my chest when it feels empty. Sleep tight brother.

-Jeremy Ylvisaker

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I was always inspired by Mikey’s focus. I always knew he was a true artist, one to be revered. He was constantly pushing boundaries. He was the kind of artist that always made me wonder, what’s he going to come up with next. I will always love and remember Mikey for being my friend. No one made me laugh like he did. I truly enjoyed his presence and I’ll miss him dearly.

-Sab

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Mikey was the 15 year old kid sleeping on my couch at Scribble Jam, slaying MCs 10 yrs older than him. There was nothing anyone could do. I’ve never met a more supportive mother in my life than Kathy. Kathy is the shit.

-Mr. Dibbs

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Mike was always himself. He taught me how to be more myself. I’ll always remember him.

-Joe Horton

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Micheal is one of the most supportive, encouraging, and positive people I’ve ever met. He is a creative genius who has accomplished so much in his career; but that is all secondary to the fact that he treated people with such kindness and fun energy. He is an optimist, who lived his life being extremely considerate, thoughtful, and generous to those around him. Micheal will continue to be a roll model to me for those reasons.

-Michael Gaughan

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Eyedea was the purest artist I have ever met. An all around amazing human being. Great rapper. And a better friend.

-Murs

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I was able to become good friends with one of my heroes. As the years went by I started to forget him as a famous musician, and grow to love him as my friend. From time to time I was reminded of his impact on the world through him interacting with fans all over the country. A lot of people are going to miss “Eyedea”, one of the most important hip hop musicians ever. I will too. But more than that, I will miss my friend Micheal.

-Michael Stangler

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As only Mikey could, he found a way to burn a candle on three ends. As a friend and as an artist he pushed every boundary he walked, and did not hesitate to show you who he really was underneath his skin. I will sincerely miss him, and would not trade all the riches in the world for all the conversations and experiences I shared with him. Artist and Friend,

-Louis N. LaPierre

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I will always remember laughing constantly whenever he was around.  He had a great energy about him that didn’t allow you to take yourself too seriously, ever.  If you were spazzing out about something really minor or trivial, he was the kinda dude that wouldn’t really react to it the same way. He might just start laughing or crack a joke to break the tension and make everybody else laugh.  Then you would see that you were over-reacting and calm down–without him ever really telling you to calm down.  I always admired that quality about him.  He never got caught up in the stream, no matter how powerful it was. He always did his own thing.

-Blueprint

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Mikey was an artist in constant transition. If you blinked and missed a moment of brilliance he’d be sure to fill you in on what you missed. Now that he can’t be here to do that we will gladly do it for him. With the heaviest of hearts.

-Sage Francis

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Micheal was sincerely the most inspiring and extraordinary person I have ever met in my life. His fearlessness in expressing himself so authentically in so many different ways has profoundly impacted me as both as an artist and as a person. I will always love you and miss you, Mikey, thank you so much for believing in me.

-Cody Foster (Sadistik)

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Eyedea helped me become a better musician and Micheal Larsen helped me become a better person. He will be missed by family, friends, and fans. The beauty of his life is that many of us are all three.

-Cole Policy

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Mikey was a challenge. To everyone. And to himself. His challenges seemed to bring him great joy and give his life meaning. If challenge is what life is all about, he lived several full lifetimes in the short while he was here. Mikey certainly challenged me and I’m eternally grateful to him for that. He was one of my favorite people in the world and I’ll miss him very much.

-Rich Terfry (Buck 65)

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Lets say you’re standing outside of a bar with a circle of friends having a cigarette before the next band starts.  You might be approached by someone who’s been dealt a difficult hand in this life, and they ask you for change.  Maybe that day, hard as you usually try, you can’t muster the energy to engage with that person, to be present. To my knowledge, Micheal Larsen never had that day.  Maybe he didn’t have change, but he always had an open smile and treated anyone he met, no matter how briefly, like a human being… with as much right to life and basic human respect as he held for himself.  I miss you, Mikey.  I promise I will carry the fire.

-Michael Lewis

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Micheal Larsen was the best teacher and friend I’ve ever had.  He was a living muse.  He inspired countless people to become bigger and better individuals.  He is the only person I know that has dozens of people who say he is their best friend and those people went on to create beautiful things hoping to make him proud.  I am proud to call him a best friend and proud to have created art with him and for him.

-Austin Dufault (Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream)

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In life we are blessed with opportunities to cross paths with individuals whose souls are greater than what the body can contain. From this body is pure inspiration. The motive to do. The sheer will of desire to get from point A to Z, and all points between. We have lost a great body of being, however, what we had and what has always been is an energy that will live forever.

-Will Jenkins

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Eyedea was a brilliant visionary who wore his soul outside of his body and kept his heart on his sleeves at all times. He was on a constant evolutionary quest for truth, justice, love, peace, and the overall existence of life and our roles in it. In the spirit of John Coltrane or Malcolm X he wasn’t afraid to change trajectories mid flight despite what anyone said embracing contradictions and tension like a lost but found soul mate. To him the process and the product was the same, he was creative expression personified. I didn’t always understand him or his vision but I always felt him. He has returned to the essence in a more powerful form helping us think outside of the boxes we place or are placed in front of us. He taught us what freedom really meant and what it looked like in action and for that I am forever grateful.

-Chaka M’Kali (I Self Devine)

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Mikey, thank you for all the help, honesty and insane laughter. I will read every book you told me to. Thank you for the constant inspiration, whether to be the best, or destroy best as a concept. You never stopped progressing. You lived as art. You were a good friend, I miss you.

–Stef Alexander (P.O.S)

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Mikey always struck me as a person that said exactly what he felt like saying in a well thought out way.  Be it in the battle scene, on his albums, or in regular conversation.  He’s one of the few people I saw start a conversation with a stranger on a plane and talk to them comfortably for hours.  He will be extremely missed.

-Toki Wright

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Eyedea was definitely thee MC from the Midwest (other than Juice) who earned our (the West Coast’s) respect for the Midwest indie rap scene thru battling in the underground circuit and shining on countless freestyle sessions heard live on stage, on nationwide radio and in street circles…I witnessed it, having had the pleasure to compete against him in Scribble Jam, watch him slay the HBO Blaze battle, then tour the USA with him on the same bus having freestyle sessions every night with some of the best MCs – his rise was true…his impact on Midwest indie rap was and still is enormous…we all saw him evolve musically from just a dope battle MC to a full fledged heart pouring artist with Abilities at his side; as an artist, i’ll always remember him as having a true passion for exploring the bounds of his creativity; but most of all, as just Mikey – he was a great friend to have, to talk to and chill with, and he always ALWAYS showed mad love, respect & acknowledgment for the Goodlife / Project Blowed family so it’s nothing but eternal love for our friend and brother from another mother…rest well my friend…rest well….

-Abstract Rude

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Anyone who carries leadership qualities always has my utmost respect. I truly feel he was a leader. So many others were so much closer to him to already know this firsthand, but if I could sense it from a distance, it must’ve been so potent to those up-front. In the few days after his passing I can tell what a dent he has left in people’s hearts by the amazing words written to describe his genius ways on & off the mic. I salute you Eyedea.

-Evidence

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I first met Eyedea in 1997 when he came through a radio show I was working at. He was just 15 or 16 then, but already seemed more passionate and creatively curious than most.  In the years to come, it was my privilege to call him a friend. Mikey had a great sense of humor, an unshakable confidence in his art, and a mind that was always looking to push forward.  He worked unbelievably hard, constantly trying to find new ways of expressing himself in the most honest and spontaneous way possible.  I’m so proud to have known him, and I’m heartbroken to have to say goodbye so soon

-BK-One

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You never expect to hear that a friend has passed. Not someone so young, so talented, an artist at heart. I can still hear the enthusiasm in his voice, the passion for what he was doing. He is a true inspiration to anyone struggling to find their own voice, and then speak.

-Skye Rossi

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To be idle is a short road to death, and Mikey was never idle, so it is with great distress to me that my friend is gone. To think of him as a new ancestor, an old friend and a brilliant artist is appropriate, and that is what I’ll do.

-Psalm One

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He was fearless, groundbreaking, hilarious, and a warm…true friend who I had a GREAT respect for. 1 of the people who paved the way so others could do what they do. All love from me to him & K. Can’t say RIP cuz to me he’s still here, just in a higher form.

-Onry Ozzborn

Freddie Gibbs‘ stock continues to rise with his latest video “Oil Money” off of the recently dropped Str8 Killa EP.  We’ve written about the Gary, Indiana-native before and, even more specifically, about the Str8 Killa EP, but it’s hard not to repeatedly address the rapper’s work when the updates continue to be this intriguing.  Our first post about Gibbs featured a live video of his performance during the SXSW music festival earlier this year.  Just prior to that, we also posted a clip of The Black Keys performing at the same festival.  Now, with the release of “Oil Money“, we have a chance too hear what Gibbs and Black Keys guitarist/vocalist, Dan Auerbach sound like on the same track.  For anyone familiar with BlackRoc, last year’s collaboration between The Black Keys and Rocafella records, Auerbach‘s latest foray into the rap world will be far less surprising.  In fact, the blues rock duo of Auerbach and partner, Patrick Carney actually produced some of the most refreshing hip-hop beats in years.  A similar soulfulness is definitely exhibited through the keys and in Auerbach‘s vocal work on this latest Gangsta Gibbs offering.  While The Black Keys‘ frontman prominently appears on the chorus for “Oil Money“, he doesn’t physically appear in it’s video.  The following video does, however, feature appearances by Chip Tha Ripper, producer/rapper Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids, and long-time Freddie Gibbs influence, Bun B from the Houston‘s legendary UGK crew.

Click here to view the embedded video.