The Pro Letarians: "Dream Catcher"
The Pro Letarians have a new track today that was featured on Sufjan Stevens new X-mas themed mixtape Chopped & Scrooged. The track "Dream Catcher" showcases a very versatile Pro Leterians, with a dope piano sample involved as well. The project features Kitty Pryde, Nicky Da B, and Busdriver, with production by John Dieterich of Deerhoof, Fol Chen, Son Lux, and more. Stream it here. Peep our First Look with The Pro Letarians & stream "Dream Catcher" below. Shouts to Pitchfork.
Doc x Chandler London x Camay: "Dedicated"
Doc Da Mindbenda & Na$im Williams are currently two of the most underrated producers in the local scene, so when they team-up to collaborate on a record, you know it will be something special! That's exactly what happened in "Dedicated". Doc, Chandler London & Camay all spit a verse around the concept of hard-work and commitment over a soul-sampled instrumental with a throwback feel to it.
Coffee With The Rza
The opportunity to have coffee with a genius, one of Hip Hop's greatest minds, doesn't come around too often. That very opportunity fell into my lap a couple weeks ago, on a cold and rainy October morning in the windy city. Rza was in town promoting his new film, "The Man With The Iron Fist", and sat down with me at the People's Lounge before starting a press junket at the Double Door down the street.
"The Man With The Iron Fist" is Rza's directorial debut, and a story that goes all the way back to his childhood in "Shaolin". His love for Kung-Fu flicks, a love that found its way into the very core of the Wu-Tang Clan, served as a driving force behind his new film. And it was his experience leading the Wu-Tang Clan, and his own career in Hip Hop, that prepared him to take the director's seat. He explains in the video below.
Shot and Edited by Andrew Zeiter. Read more from the interview here... Don't tell Jim Jarmusch.
Coffee With The Rza...
It pays to be early sometimes.
I had an interview with Rza yesterday. It was scheduled for 12pm at the Double Door. In the hours before the interview, it was raining outside, and a little cold. Perfect weather to not be doing interviews at the Double Door on a Saturday, especially when your apartment has coffee, old Law & Order episodes, and plenty of good refreshments (virtual wink-wink).
I got to the Double Door early, only to find that it was still locked. This was a surprise to all involved, as the people setting up this press day with Rza were outside the Double Door as well, umbrellas in one hand, cellphones in the other. They were nice too, offering me an umbrella, repeatedly thanking me for being early. It's cool, I said, my Saint Alfred Penfield jacket was all the protection I needed. After a couple calls to someone went unanswered, the production people moved to plan-b, scoping Milwaukee Avenue for a place where we could grab a few words with Rza, who was in town to talk about his upcoming film, "The Man With The Iron Fist".
People's Lounge provided what we were looking for. It was open, it was almost empty, and they turned off the music without acting like jackasses about it. We setup our equipment at a corner table by the window. A couple minutes later Rza walked in, and eased himself into the booth, ordering coffee with brown sugar. While I can't get into the details of the interview or the movie just yet, you'll have to wait til October 29th for that, I can say that speaking to Rza in the restaurant rather than the Double Door is a small detail that makes a big difference. The conversation flowed a little better, the room was a little brighter, and we captured a picture that is almost iconic given Rza's film and music history. I'm pretty sure Rza did a slew of interviews yesterday, and I'm sure they were pretty good, but none others at a window table with coffee and brown sugar.
It pays to be early sometimes.
Chief Keef's First Big Test Happens Tonight In NYC
For the last few months, Chief Keef has existed almost as a myth or urban legend. Confined to his grandmother's home due to being on house arrest, the 16 year-old has generated a million youtube views, brought the Chicago Hip Hop scene to the national Hip Hop scene, and caused an all-out bidding war, which was eventually won by Interscope. Visiting Keef's house during this climb became something like taking a field trip for Chicago media and out of town artists on some, "have you been Keef's yet? Oh, you got to see it."
He created a hit record in his living room, and instead of grovelling and thanking his lucky stars for a Kanye West remix to "I Don't Like", Keef and company accepted it like it was no big deal, just par for the course. His living situation created something of a bubble. People didn't call for him to perform or show and prove because he really couldn't. Keef's music was raw, and his living circumstances only made it more-so. In fact, I think that everything surrounding Keef is just as responsible for his success as the music is. No one really knew where he came from, how he got there, and he was only accessible if you knew somebody. He captured an energy, and showed people a side that is somewhat hard to look at when it comes to Chicago's youth. And for that, he is an immensely important artist for our time. He's all been something that has been all Chicago's, up until he signed on the dotted line. He's no longer just a Chicago guy, one of our best kept secrets.
The veil on Keef is starting to be removed. He's signed on to Interscope for a pretty large deal, one that includes his own headphones and movies. If you don't think they're are going to put his faces as many places as they can, you're wrong. They will. And soon. Tonight Keef will face the first real test of his budding career with a sold out show at SOB's in New York City. Keef is now in "The Mecca", where audiences love to send out of towners home packing, where they show up just to boo you. Ask OJ Da Juiceman how his first New York show went... If you can find him.
Keef and company can't let that happen tonight in NYC. They've got to be prepared for a crowd that asks, "ok, now what?" That's when they have to bring it. Everything he's been working for and thinking about for the past few months kicks off in full tonight, I'm hoping he's ready.
Mikkey Halsted Speaks On New Music and Outlook
"It's not about signing the deal," Mikkey Halsted tells me, sitting comfortably at SoundScape Studios. Mikkey is in town for a couple days, taking a break from recording in L.A. with the likes of The Legendary Traxster and No I.D. Halsted has been in Los Angeles since the start of 2012, moving his entire family out West to focus on new music.
"That's something I celebrated when I was 19 years old and I did my first one," he adds about signing a record deal. "That's something, 'oh man, we signed, we're on.' Naw, get on the schedule and come out," he says, reflecting on years of delays, setbacks, and label problems. After releasing The Dark Room independently in 2010, Mikkey laid low for a while, crafting new music with Traxster and No I.D., as well as Don Cannon and most recently, Young Chop. Mikkey will release the first batch of new music later this month in the form of his new mixtape, Money Making Mikkey Season. It maybe the first release, but it won't be the last. Mikkey told me that he has another mixtape dropping this summer with LRG, and we may even see one after that before the summer ends.
"We're trying to craft something that is going to take over the world. It's not something that I'm rushing. I'm about to give you guys great music," he says about his new material. "We're about to take this buzz to a whole other- Like, people thought I had a buzz two years ago. I'm about to take it to a whole other stratosphere. The quality of the music is going to be the reason behind the buzz. Not no other bullshit, not no gimmick, none of that. It's going to be the quality of the music. Is this rapper going to be the next one that can go down on the Mt. Rushmore of Hip Hop? That's what my goal is. That's what my goal has been from the beginning."
Mikkey also spoke to me about taking a chance when moving out to L.A., his take on Chicago's music scene, and even reconnecting with Kanye West. Look for the full interview coming soon on RubyHornet.com.
Prime's Top 5 Chicago Battle Emcees
Last week I was on a panel and Greg Corner of Kill Hannah and he asked me about the Chicago battle scene. I haven't really kept up with it in a minute, but it got thinking about Chicago's strong history of battle emcees. I decided to reach out to Prime, ne of our city's resident battle historians for an update, as well as a top 5 list of Chicago's best battle emcees. Prime runs down the list, which contains a couple locks as well as a surprise nod.
Check out Prime's List.
Instagram SXSW 2012
SXSW 2012 was my favorite Austin trips in a while. In 2010 we recorded Closed Sessions: ATX, and while that was an unforgettable experience, I never left the house and also didn't sleep. At all. Last year we released the album during our time in Austin, and while we did a really dope party with Yelawolf, Stalley, Outasight and others, the rest of it is a blur. This year, I went down there with really the only expectations to meet people, have some fun, help my students with their showcase, and throw another dope party with MTV2 Sucker Free. I was able to do all that and more.
On Thursday we hosted Digital Freshness ATX vol. 2. It was a party to announce the release of Closed Sessions Vol. 2, which will be dropping soon via MTV2 Sucker Free. The party featured performances from Jon Connor, Boldy James, Chance The Rapper, Rockie Fresh, L.E.P., ShowyouSuck, Tito Lopez, Hollywood Holt, The Cool Kids, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, YP, Scheme Rockwell Knuckles, Raekwon, and even Yo Gotti. Yup, Yo Gotti. It was a great time, and really great to see so many Chicago people celebrate with us in Austin. Smif-N-Wessun, G-Side, and even Mel D Cole came through as well. The re-cap video will also be up soon.
On Friday my students in AEMMP Hip Hop at Columbia College through a day party for their new album with Thelonious Martin. It went a lot better than I even imagined. No problems, no late artists, and a packed crowd throughout the day. After their party, I caught up with the homies of dubFrequency at the W, where I was able to meet and talk with 9th Wonder as well as the homies 6th Sense and Outasight.
While I didn't get to meet Andy Cohn of The Fader as I hoped, he did hook me up with a special invite to eat dinner with Nas and Steve Stoute on Friday night. That dinner and party was really dope, and shaking Nas' hand was a definite highlight of the trip. Steve Stoute is a visionary in terms of marketing and music, I was honored to be there. Also on Friday, I was able to finally meet Shake at the 2Dopehouse before I hit The Illmore where Mike Dean told everyone he could about my interview with him, and how it was one of the best articles he's seen written about his life and times. That was pretty fresh to say the least. The Fader Fort was where I spent Saturday, taking in the sun and the music before hitting up some other showcases and catching random stuff.
All in all, SXSW 2012 was a great experience. I have a ton of emails to catch up on. Check out some instagrams below from my trip.
