Rakaa: "Crown of Thorns" featuring Aloe Blacc
Rakaa's solo album drops 7.20.10 and here is the title track off the LP, "Crown of Thorns" featuring Aloe Blacc. Aloe is going to be in Chicago on June 17th as part of our Digital Freshness series at The Shrine. Cop pre-sale tix for the low right here.
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[Interview] DJ Premier: Even On My Bad Days...
What do you write about DJ Premier that hasn't been written before? His technical skills as a DJ is the stuff of urban myth, and his influence lives everyday in every city in clubs, basements, and bedrooms where DJ's study and mimic his moves. Talk about his production? Come on! After starting a groundbreaking career as part of Gang Starr, Premier's production is often used to define a style of beats and rhymes meant to connotate the truest forms of Hip Hop culture and music... "I want a Premier type of beat," is something every emcee has said at some point in his or her career.
"Some people do it for the corporate reasons, I do it for the cultural reasons and that's the difference," Premier told me last week after arriving in Chicago after a brief tour of Europe. "I'm corporate too in certain avenues, but not when it comes to sacrificing the culture and compromising my views... If that ends up being the case, you can count me out and let somebody else take that gig."
After 22 years of gigs, DJ Premier is still a highly sought after DJ and producer. His Chicago set at The Shrine last week was sold out, and counted Pharrell of N*E*R*D amongst its audience members. Aside from his skills, Premier's longevity can be attributed to his passion for Hip Hop, something he said has led him to study the culture devoutly. He knows his history as well the moves of young guns such as Drake, Wacka Flocka and others who have captured Hip Hop's spotlight.
"I applaud all of them for even wanting to do Hip Hop as long as they respect their elders and they respect the culture, go on and do what you want to do," he says about Hip Hop's rising stars. "We all have different audiences that we touch and I will never knock an artist on the audience they attract... At the end of the day, we're all doing a service to the culture. There are consequences that will come down the line if you don't do it right, and they are consequences that will haunt you financially to where you could completely disappear and you can't even do it anymore," he adds, issuing a warning that is more matter of fact, than some kind of threat.
We caught up with DJ Premier last week while he was in Chicago to play The Shrine's 1-year anniversary party. He shared knowledge about what's kept him going for more than 22 years, why he'll never stop, why there's never any dirt on his name and why even on a bad day, he's still the nicest. Read the full interview on the next page.
Things I Learned From Lollapalooza's Schedule
Lollapalooza has made two announcements prior to today. First they announced the headlining artists and supporting bands. Then they announced they were expanding. Today they announced the schedule. Here are some things I noticed.
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Muthaf**ka We Rollin'... Kanye, Common, and Lupe In Chicago
Damn... I wanted to go to this... Kanye West is hosting the second annual S.H.O.W. for High School kids. Last year's edition was pretty f**king awesome. I had a front row seat, and got some stage daps thrown my way. This year this were kept very hush hush, and got a boost as Kanye was joined on stage by Lupe Fiasco and Common. The pics from The Chicago Tribune, but I found them on LupEnd, and Mike Waxx also got a shot. Props to all of them, and sidenote, I hate you all... haha... Check out another pic below.
Aziz Ansari Is Smoother Than Diddy?
If I was ever going to have a "smooth-off" it would most likely definitely probably have Diddy and Aziz Ansari... Did you get it? Anyway, Aziz and Diddy participated in this new ad campaign for Circo in which they battle to see who is the smoothest with funny consequences. In related news, I have tickets to see Aziz Ansari in Chicago on June 16th, so I got that going for me. See the video below.
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Elvis Costello and Others Pull Out of Israeli Gigs
I was watching the news on Memorial Day. It was night time or sometime in the afternoon, I don't quite recall. I was tired from the Memorial Day activities, and I was zoning out. I woke up pretty quick when news broke about the Israeli Military's raid on a flotilla carrying activists and aid to Gaza. The video looked like something out of a movie, Israeli helicopters flew over the ship, and paratroopers descended and all hell broke loose. In the end, nine activists were dead. Israel said that the siege was justified and necessary, that the boat was not just carrying human rights activists looking to bring much needed aid, but was disguising weapons as well as those wishing to bring Israel harm. My first thought after being awakened from my slight slumber was , 'f**k, not again!'
For those that don't know me personally, or know much about me, I was born and raised in Chicago, IL. I am 28 years old. And I am Jewish. It's the last piece of my identity that is perhaps the most complex, as well as loosely defined. I actually tried to figure it out, really figure it out, and dedicated my senior year of college to a thesis about Jewish Identity entitled from Moses to Sandy Koufax: How Religion and Culture Intersect To Form Jewish Identity Amongst College Students. It was a long title, and a great experience, but I digress. My Jewish identity is more confusing to me when Israel gets involved. I think it was a few years ago when I told someone that it feels kind of like when you play on a team and disagree with your coach, but when it comes down to it, he is still your coach and it is still your team... Well, it gets harder to keep believing that every time Israel does something like this. It gets harder to justify Israel's actions, and some of what they do appears to be in great conflict with the ideals and beliefs that led to Israel's formation. But, this post is not meant to be my take on Israeli politics and statehood, or about my own feelings about Israel, which are complex and at times contradictory. It is about moves by some in the music world to cancel their scheduled concerts because they don't want to be affiliated with Israel's actions.
Elvis Costello is one such artist who pulled out of concert dates. He joins The Pixies and The Gorillaz, who also withdrew. Costello released a statement on his website entitled "It Is After Considerable Contemplation" in which he said,
Donnis: "Aquemini Freestyle"
He is bumpin' Passion Pit... Dope. Donnis is dropping a new mixtape tomorrow, and on Thursday he will be in Chicago for Digital Freshness at The Shrine! Get your tix for that right here. Atlanta to Atlantic... Shouts to Lyor Cohen.
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Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: "Bright Lit Blue Skies" Video
More from the band with the awesome name that I stumbled upon a while back... Ariel Pink premiered their new video "Bright Lit Blue Skies" on GorillavsBear today. Check it out below.
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