[Video] Cadillac Duke: "Pop Out" (Remix)
If you've turned on a radio at any point in the past year or so around the Chicagoland area, you were likely to be inundated with the catchy bop-anthem "Pop Out" by local artist Katie Got Bandz that cemented her name in the Chicago scene with the radio hit. Fellow Chicagoan and LOD member Cadillac Duke gave the track a once-over in this re-done version of the track, aided by the steady hands of producer Don Hulio. Becoming "Caddy Got Bandz" for the song, the MC adds a delightful spin to the banger. With his Dirty Bruce project slated for an early 2014 release, "Pop Out Remix" may be just the thing to get the people talking. Bryan Lamb (FragD Films) and Wisam of Four Stars Chicago shot and edited the video below. Pop Out!
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[Video] Add-2 Toca Tuesday Freestyle
Chicago's own Add-2 has been consistently adding to the great year he's had already and the other day continued to do so, stopping by Shade45 to spit a freestyle on Toca Tuesdays. Riding over a beat set down by Tony Touch, the witty lyricist mashed together a healthy helping of rhyme scheme and wordplay to prove why he got a look from legendary producer 9th Wonder, who signed Add to his JAMLA imprint back in October. It's been exciting to see Add get his due, and to add another Midwest product to the larger hip-hop landscape. Check out the video of Add-2 going in streaming below and be sure to pick up his latest project, and his first as part of JAMLA, Between Heaven & Hell with Khrysis.
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[Trailer] Journey to the West
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From the mastermind behind Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle comes a modern spin on the legendary Chinese tale, Journey to the West. Written, directed, and produced by Stephen Chow, Journey to the West tells the story of Xuan Zang, a young demon hunter who conquers various demons, then takes them on as his disciples. Together, they journey to the West to face new challenges in a quest for Xuan Zang to atone for his past sins. Very apparent in this first trailer is Chow's penchant for absurdist humor, ranging from the obese woman in the trailer's opening scenes to the monk's enlarged leg towards the end. It's not for everybody, certainly, but it's definitely a good, funny spin on filmmaking.
Journey to the West will be available on iTunes/VOD and in theaters on March 7th, 2014.
McIntosh MT5 Turntable Is Top Notch
Collecting vinyl is a lot of fun since, on any given day, you can find a record you've been dying to own when you least expect it. It gets better when you can actually put the needle to the record and listen to the warm sounds coming out of your speakers. Here enters the McIntosh MT5 Turntable to make the experience of listening to your vinyl collection even better. It's the ultimate turntable and was developed so you can actually hear the music as it was intended. The McIntosh MT5 Turntable is a quality turntable, and the price clearly reflects that, coming in at around $6,500. If you're in the market for a turntable and want more specifics on the McIntosh MT5 Turntable, head on over to the company's website.
[Via McIntosh Labs]
[Video] Autre Ne Veut: "Counting"
Autre Ne Veut is one artist who has to be a little upset 2013 is coming to an end. The experimental 31-year-old R&B artist certainly got his shine this year, with widespread positive reviews for this year's release, Anxiety, which got the Pitchfork nod for Best New Music and a spot at their annual festival in Chicago and Gorilla vs. Bear named it their "Best Album of the Year, So Far" back in June. Finding himself atop many year-end lists, Ne Veut decided to celebrate by releasing this video for his song "Counting", shot for Yours Truly at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas. The mixture of the pure beauty of the building, coinciding with the pure, unabashed emotion of Ne Veut, makes for one hell of a visual experience, and one that makes the song more poignant as well. Check out the video below.
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[Trailer 2] The Grand Budapest Hotel
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The second trailer for Wes Anderson's "American Empirical Picture," The Grand Budapest Hotel, has hit the internet today. While the first trailer reintroduced the world to Anderson's quirky mind, this latest look at the film gives better context to the film's story and introduces the full cast of characters. As I've previously discussed, The Grand Budapest Hotel involves a dispute over a famous painting set against the backdrop of a 1920s European hotel. Anderson regulars Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, and others are joined by new Anderson faces Saoirse Ronan, Jude Law, Lea Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson, and more.
The Grand Budapest Hotel will be in theaters on March 7th, 2014.
[Mixtape] Clams Casino: "Instrumentals Vol. 3"
Clams Casino has been busy working with just about everyone in hip-hop since coming up with A$AP Rocky a couple years ago. Yesterday, the busy producer released his final, annual, year-end recap of work he's done with different artists. Kind of like his own personal, best-of list. The project is jam-packed with a slew of solid beats that littered the end of 2012 and early 2013, including tracks for Mac Miller, Rocky, Santigold, MF Doom and Jim Jones, along with several unreleased beats that found their way on the tape. Clams latest project was the HP "2-day Beat" project with Vic Mensa and several other artists that shows his rise into the corporate side of the music industry. Good for him. Anyway, check out some hot beats below.
1. Crystals
2. Hell (A$AP Rocky instrumental)
3. Cry For Me (unreleased)
4. Pull Me Down (Mikky Ekko instrumental)
5. LVL (A$AP Rocky instrumental)
6. Bird Call (Mac Miller instrumental)
7. Freeze (A$AP Rocky instrumental)
8. Haunt (unreleased)
9. Melthru (unreleased)
10. Bookfiend (DOOM instrumental)
11. Cold Feet (Mac Miller instrumental)
12. Wizard (remix)
13. Youforia (Mac Miller instrumental)
[Teaser Trailer] The Expendables 3
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The very first teaser trailer for The Expendables 3 was just released recently. While it doesn't give any hints towards the sequel's story or anything, it does highlight all of the big names attached to the film. While I've mentioned some of them in the past, nothing beats seeing everybody on the screen together. Joining previous Expendables such as Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, et al, are Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Kellen Lutz (really), amongst others.
/Film has a full synopsis of the sequel that you can read below:
In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.