I just got in from having some drinks and i feel like reflecting tonight. I feel a great deal of gratitude for everything that i have been given and the friends i have, as well as the experiences that have been granted me on this path i have chosen. And i want everybody who has ever supported or encouraged me to continue this thing because it means a lot. Tonight i realized that there are so many things that i wouldnt have been able to see had it not been for this gift i have been given; no matter how big or small that gift is, it is a gift nonetheless, and i dont take it for granted anymore.
I now look at everyday i am fortunate to wake up and do something i love as a blessing, not something i earned, or something that is a quick phase in my life. it is what i make it, and if i choose to do nothing with it, then it will be nothing. but if i choose to love it and nurture it then it will grow and blossom–and i dont mean monetarily or in terms of shit like that. i mean in terms of what it is and the joy it brings to myself and others.
We don’t love flowers because of what they can do for us. We love them because of what they are. It would be selfish to do otherwise. so whatever role that my path plays in the role of others joy i fully accept and embrace. not because it makes me money or because otherse need me, but because that is simply what i am to them, and what i am to be.
This may sound like some drunken rambling, and i admit that i’ve been drinking tonight but feel my sincerity on this. Read the rest of this entry »
While i usually try to keep this blog/website pretty positive and upbeat, i couldn’t help but write something in memory of Teddy Pendergrass who died tonight/last night at the age of 59. For those who dont know, Teddy Pendergrass was a serious, serious, soul singer. He had one of those rare voices that could go from real smooth to real grizzly in a heartbeat, but right when you needed it to be.
When i heard he died tonight I was at the bar and his song “turn off the lights” immediately popped into my head. I will always have great memories of him and this song. I remember buying the tape that “turn off the lights” was on just to get that one song. Hell, i cant remember any other songs on the record, but “turn off the lights” was like 6-8 minutes long and made the purchase well worth it by itself. The wildest part about this song is that it wasn’t even a song i grew up on. My parents actually got busy to it. I just remember it being on around the house sometimes, and when i went thru my exploratory phase of R&B that song just took me there.
At any rate, I will admit that Teddy Pendergrass may be the first (of many) R&B singers that I actually stole lyrics from and used them on a girl:
This is something that i peeped a few months ago, and wondered why it didnt have that many views, but then i came to the realization that if it had more views it would have been pulled from youtube already. But as many of you know i’m a big fan of Radiohead (hence the Greenhouse Effect vs Radiohead CD), so it was cool to see this documentary that chronicled what they were going through around the time they released Kid A, which was a huge departure from their previous album which had almost universal critical acclaim. If you’re bored at work or a Radiohead fan like me peep it:
In last weeks issue of the Columbus Alive, The Electric Purgatory EP was chosen as the best local hip-hop release of 2009. If you’re reading this and haven’t heard it yet DOWNLOAD IT NOW you lazy bastard!! If you’ve already heard it and would like to help us spread the music to friends of yours please use the share button on the player to post it up on your facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. We do what we can, but its no secret that we can reach a lot more people if those who already know about it help us.
Thanks for the support. Part two coming soon.
p.s. If you would like to order the delux version of the CD, go HERE
Imagine enjoying nothing more than spending your free time amazed at how flowers look, how much joy your garden brings to you. Imagine the beauty that flowers bring to your life.
Imagine buying seeds, shovels, and all types of gardening tools. It’s nothing to you because you love flowers.
Imagine not wanting to see them die because they bring such joy to your life.
It’s beautiful, right?
Right.
Now, imagine that you love music…help me fill in the rest.
I’ve mentioned this on Facebook and on Twitter a few times before but this is the official announcement and flyer for it. Saturday January 30th, 2010 @ Carabar (115 parsons) in Columbus, OH. The line-up is Greenhouse (Blueprint & Illogic), Apocalypse Inc, All Eyes Path, and DJ Johnny Cashola on the turntables. We will also have a bboy battle earlier in the night and debut the “Cold Out Here” music video on the screen there. If you live in Columbus or the surrounding area we hope to see you all out!
Any requests? Hit up the comments section and let us know!
In 2005, shortly after my album 1988 came out, i was on the Scribble Jam tour with my dude DJ Raregroove, Mr. Dibbs, and Glue. The tour ended in Portland, OR but instead of driving back with everybody else, me and raregroove decided to spend a few days in Portland kicking it and then fly back to Ohio later that week. Considering everybody else on the tour was gonna be trapped in a bus for 2 or 3 days in route to Ohio, getting drunk everyday and kicking it in portland seemed like a much better option. So we played darts, went out, dug for records, and while i was there i recorded a song with my fellow rhymesayers brethren Grayskul. The song is called “Blueskul” and its produced by Coley Cole.
It was intentionally slated for their second album Deadlivers, but the song didn’t make the cut. Considering I hadnt heard the song since i wrote and recorded it (and had never heard a version with Greyskuls verses on it), i was was pretty happy they sent it to me last week. Either way the song is now 5 years old and since nobody has really heard it i figure i would give it to you all.
I hate when I’m in an almost empty restaurant and somebody sits at a table that’s not at least two tables away from me.
Even worse is when they sit at a table that’s one table away from me and sit in a direction facing me. It makes me feel like they’re watching me eat, or that every-time I look up I look like I’m watching them eat.
If I go to see a movie at a time when its not busy it bugs me when people sit anywhere near me. I’m a firm believer that if there are less people in the movie than rows in the theater, everybody should have their own row, and one row apart preferably so nobody has to hear anybody Else’s dumb ass comments or have somebody kicking the back of their chair in an empty ass movie.
Hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy have announced plans for fans to fund their new album – but also take a share of the revenues. The band are working with SellaBand to raise $250,000 in individual donations of $25. Fans chipping in will get a numbered copy of the album, but also a share of the profits – although exactly how this will work hasn’t been announced at the time of writing.
“SellaBand’s financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse,” says Public Enemy’s Chuck D. “It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there. The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to coming to create a new album with fans first, already on board.”
Public Enemy are the first established act to benefit from SellaBand’s new business model, which now allows artists to hold onto their publishing rights, and raise money in different ways to the scheme originally proposed by the site when it was targeting just unsigned artists. The band are one of the more experienced when it comes to digital, having been one of the first to release music as MP3 files.
“Working with Public Enemy is an incredibly exciting way to take the European success we’ve built over the past three years and offer it to stateside bands,” says SellaBand CEO Johan Vosmeijer.
And then part two of the story this:
Caption: Chuck D of ‘ Public Enemy ‘ performs Coachella Music Festival 2009 – Day 3 Indio, California …. Rap legends PUBLIC ENEMY are on their way to achieving a fan-funded album - they have pulled in donations of $50,000 . Last month , the group agreed a deal with SellaBand, an online fan funding engine, which gives devotees the chance to …
This is part of the new era we live in, where major labels are getting pushed away (and rightfully so), and artists are working directly with the fans that supported them from day one. I think it’s pretty fresh, but I would like to see what you all think about an artist going directly to their fans to fund their album. Is it here to stay? Will it only work for certain acts? Would you ever help your favorite band like this?
I’m gonna admit right off top that I’m a big fan of Prince. Musically, I think he’s one of the geniuses of our era, and business-wise I think he’s done some amazing things that struck big against the major-labels and also set himself up to be a real powerplayer as an idependent artist (which is he is right now).
But all that aside, I finally bought the Purple Rain DVD the other day, and I’ve gotta say it was well worth the purchase because of the 2nd DVD that comes with it. There’s a few behind-the-scenes type of extras on the DVD that really shed light on some of the process and making of that album and movie that I would have never thought of. If you’re a fan of his, definitely cop it. I’ve watched the bonus DVD twice already.
Now, onto what I thought was the most interesting bit of information about the making of the album:
First, there were over 100 songs recorded for the album, and if i remember correctly there are only 9 or 10 songs on the actual album. This in itself i find very interesting, particularly because when it comes to classic albums we always tend to think that the artist just did 10 songs and all of them were great, but this is hardly the case. In fact, the more i research older albums, the more i find the opposite to be true. It seems like almost every truly great album has a story about a ridiculous amount of songs being recorded for it, as opposed to that artist just being “on fire” at that point in time, did 10 amazing songs, then turned into the label like “here’s this classic, let me know when it goes 10x platinum“, lol. Read the rest of this entry »
For those that have been into hip-hop as long as I have, the “KRS-ONE vs PM Dawn” incident is one that will always be near and dear to our hearts. For those that may have never heard of this incident, basically KRS-One didn’t appreciate the super-soft, pop stylings of PM Dawn (who was set to perform his #1 hit at the time) and emerged at one of their shows to a) push them off stage and b) commence to rocking said show in their spot. No matter how you look at either party, this story is legendary and honestly the type of thing I wish emcees of my generation had the balls to do. Unfortunately, if this happened today KRS would be labeled a “hater”, and ridiculed for not lettin PM Dawn “get money”. Funny how things change, huh?
Well at any rate, apparently Blacksheep was also playing on the show that this incident happened at, and in this interview Dres talks about the events leading up to it and the actual incident. His entire recount of the incident is priceless and definitely worth checking out.
Also, if you’ve got the time here’s a great interview from Kenny Parker of Boogie Down Productions about the incident from uncut.com.
I remember a few years back when I was on tour with Eyedea & Abilities, DJ Abilities and I were having a talk about sampling and hip-hop. And how the creators of many classic hip-hop songs were masters of sampling, and their knowledge of records was just crazy. Read the rest of this entry »
A few weeks back i saw a fellow-artist post a status update on his facebook page saying something to the effect of “wait,you mean to tell me that i spent all this time getting my myspace page looking good and now its a dead?!” and as an artist i feel his pain.
So, I figure that instead of blogging and trying to share my perspective I would ask everybody a question, and see if you all can give me your thoughts on what happened to myspace? Or better yet, what your personal story is as to why you don’t visit it as much anymore? It doesn’t have to be anything long, a couple sentences or paragraphs would work. I’m just curious about everybody’s experience.
Braylon Edwards cant catch. If you’ve watched the browns play any of the past few seasons you know this is a fact. He drops a lot of balls he should catch, and every now and then he catches something amazing that makes you think that maybe (just maybe) he really should be their #1 receiver. Read the rest of this entry »
Ok. By now everybody has seen all the shit about Kanye’s antics at the MTV awards show. Some people are saying fuck Kanye, and they’ll never buy his records again. Other people are saying that it was all entertainment and think it was scripted. Myself, I think Kanye is easily the most entertaining and polarizing figure in music right now, hands down. He is to this generation of hip-hop listeners and press what KRS-ONE was to the generation before that; a figure so immensely talented, yet so willing to say and do bizarre ass shit all the time based on whatever their ego was feeling that day. They’re not driven by money, or fame, or any of that shit; Kanye West, just like KRS is pretty much about whatever satisfies his ever-growing ego. But that’s another topic that I’m sure is up to debate.
But I’m writing this not to talk about that, but to talk about how yall lost and how MTV won. I’m sure you’re thinking “what are you talkin about print? how can i lose when i never played?”. well let me school you on how you lost youngin, because some of the best loses have come from people who didn’t even know they were on the field to begin with.
“He saw them striving–and suffering and getting gray–over things that seemed to him completely unworthy of this price: over money, over small pleasures, over a little respect. He saw them chiding and insulting one another, he saw them bemoaning pains that the shramans smiled over and suffering from privations that a
shramana did not feel“
The above quote is from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.
My apologies for the lack of blogging over the past 4-6 weeks. Its not that I dont have things to blog about that i don’t think are interesting, its more that lately all the stuff i want to write about is about music. It’s very rare that i really wanna write about music and share perspectives or philosophy. I tend to think that me blogging about music can come off pretentious or arrogant.
And the entire reason i have been wanting to talk about music so much is because over the past 6-7 weeks i feel more dedicated to music than i have the entire 7 years that this has been my job. I literally have been doing almost nothing but music, and have been more happy about doing it than ever. I honestly feel like such a lucky person just to have the chance to do this job, that when i put things into perspective it made me feel like i hadn’t been working hard enough.
And as wild as this may seem I can honestly say that for the first time in my career, I want to be great. I want to do great music. Not just be dope, have fun, get pussy, make money and all that shit that comes along with doing it for a living. I really want to commit myself to it, and take it as far as my talent can take me. But with that ambition comes a LOT of commitment, which is where i am now. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m somewhat drunk so i don’t even know where to start this one, but I think i will start from last week. Last week Ron (Carabar owner) was like “Al, i dont ever tell you to come to specific shows, so take me seriously when i ask you to come to this show next week…tuesday. Faggot is playing.” So i remembered it but still forgot today until around 1130 or so. At any rate, I showed up and just missed Dead Sea play, who happen to be my favorite live act in Columbus. Matt Minor from Teeth Of The Hydra’s new band (whose name escapes me) played next, and since i was ordering drinks i can only claim to have heard about 75% if what they were doing, but it sounded good.
But its time to cut to the chase. Which is this band Faggot. Ron warned me about them but words cant really explain this kinda shit . you have to be there. Either way, this show tonight might have been the most amazing show i have seen in my entire life. This band Faggort kicked so much ass that it was worth being in the middle of the mosh pit just to fully understand what was going on. Read the rest of this entry »
Had server problems last week that kind of took me out of the rhythm of blogging, but I’m back now. This week i will pick up where i left off. I figure i would start this week off with some music. Everybody has a youtube channel except me, so now I have one. I haven’t quite figured out what I’m gonna put on mine yet, but i figure posting one beat every week couldn’t hurt. So here is the beat of the week for this week:
Every now and then a brotha gotta take some time off, so that’s what I’m doing. Dipped out Saturday morning to beautiful Vancouver B.C. and have been loving it. I’m about 3-4 blocks from Downtown, and the same distance from the beach. Spending a week someplace like this is pretty fly. Everything is pretty much walking distance and I’ve been lampin hard as fuck drinking beers enjoying life, skydiving on everybody. The people here are extra nice.
This blog is basically to explain that although i didn’t blog yesterday, it was simply because I’ve been doing the vacation thing and my internet connection has been sketchy to say the least; this is what happens when you bootleg somebody else’s shit i guess. I’m taking pictures and I’m gonna blog about my observations of Vancouver hopefully over the next couple days.
Hope all is well with everybody.
if any of you are from vancouver and know of any cool events or dj nights going on this week let me know.
As a person that makes beats, part of the job involves spending hours listening to old albums for things that are interesting enough to sample. I have thousands of vinyl albums at my house that range from rock, to classical, to soul, and everything in between. But i will keep it completely honest with you–I find that sitting and listening to records for hours on end to be the worst part of making beats. Its also kind of tiring because you have to pay attention all the time, because if you don’t you could miss one really amazing sample.
At any rate, I was listening to an artist named Harry Chapin today. I was actually in another room letting the record play, not even paying attention when the most amazing and rediculous song I’ve heard in a long time came on. The song is called “30,000 pounds of bananas”, and yes, the song is actually about 30,000 pounds of bannanas. The song is so bugged out that i had to record it and upload it so you can hear it. Its basically about the adventures of a dude driving around with 30,000 pounds of bananas in his truck, and its completely bizarre. It’s one of those songs that leave you shaking your head in amazement and confusion at the same time.
The record came out in 1974 so I’m sure my man was on some sort of psychedelic drug when he wrote it, and everybody around him must have been just as high to let him actually put it out. So my friends, here is Harry Chapin “30,000 Pounds of Bananas”. Please do yourself and listen to this song immediately, especially if you’re having a bad day.
I would probably have roaches if there was actually food to eat in my house. I think my house is where roaches go only if they wanna lose weight. Read the rest of this entry »
When you think about people stuntin and flossin, the images of rappers making it rain, and episodes of MTV cribs come to mind. But I would like to reintroduce you to a man who was putting all those dudes to shame in the 80s, Ted Dibiase “The Million Dollar Man”. Read the rest of this entry »
when i was younger i used to get into fights. not all the time, but from the the time i got into 4th grade up until 9th grade i definitely remember getting into at least one fight per school year, and getting suspended because of it. the wildest part was that i rarely ever fought anybody my size; it was always a kid who was bigger, and way more brolic than me. Not that i’m big now, but i was definitely a skinny kid. being the youngest of four didn’t help matters any either, because i cant remember EVER winning a fight against my older siblings.
i remember my mother used to tell all the time me that my mouth was gonna get me in trouble, and she was right, because almost every single fight i got in was because of some smart shit i said. whether that was unapolgetically laughing at a joke somebody else told about a kid twice my size, or just mouthing off to a kid that i knew i shouldn’t be mouthing off to, my mouth constantly wrote checks that my fists weren’t prepared to cash. there were plenty of times when the kid who was bigger than me just looked at me as a easy victory because i was smaller too but even then i’m sure i could’ve probably avoided the entire thing by keeping my mouth shut.
at any rate, now that i’ve grown up what i noticed about fighting is that it always involves a great deal of anger and rage; moments where somebody basically loses control and does something to somebody that they probably end up regretting the next day. so i’ve always felt really uncomfortable with my anger. and truthfully i’ve overcompensated by appearing more relaxed and composed than i really am sometimes. but all that leads to is not having an outlet to vent that anger in, and anger without an outlet is a very bad idea.
so this december i had the wildest idea to just buy a heavy bag and some boxing gloves. i set it up in my basement and now whenever i get frustrated with how a day is going or somebody is an asshole to me I just throw on the gloves and hit the bag. I know you’re probably thinking “al, what’s the difference, your still upset and punching something? and that’s not good”
Last night we were supposed to play a show in Cincinnati at the Gypsy Hut. The lineup was myself, illogic, dj rare groove, and mr. dibbs. Needless to say the show didn’t happen, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. I will rewind a few days and bring everybody up to speed.
I was gonna write about how my attempt at not drinking went, with details about how each day with or without drinking went, but it seemed to be pretty boring as I was writing it, so i deleted it. Instead I’m going to simplify it like this: Read the rest of this entry »
For all my people in columbus that fuck with classic hip-hop, and don’t have plans this saturday night, please come check out the new monthly event that I’m starting up:
I was at the bar Saturday and told a friend i was gonna take a week off drinking and his response was “that’s it? a week ain’t shit, anybody can do that“. I replied with “cool, then you should do it with me“. He thought about it for a second then went silent. Then he asked me to do a shot with him. Read the rest of this entry »
The lead singer in the Columbus band called Psychedelic Horseshit is interviewed in the washington post, and there are so many funny (and completely correct) quotes in this intervew I have to post it here. While their music isn’t for everybody, this interview is, and you don’t even have to know anything about them to appreciate it. I wish more hip-hop people would do interviews like this. Shit, maybe I might when my next album comes out. Read the rest of this entry »
I would like this to be a place where interaction and commenting is as easy as possible, and have decided to use Facebook Connect to do so. That way you don't have to create another profile / password here. Once connected you can comment using your facebook ID. Thanks!
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