Slate Stone - 'Grind Hustle'

Grind Hustle Download mp3

Slate Stone drops 'Grind Hustle' yet another kat from Texas spittin bout that grind. Beat furnished by producer 'Slim The Phenomenon'. The track grows on you after a couple of listens. Slate has a nice flow and delivery on this one. A handful of cliche similies but even still a few tough lines that can be appreciated. Check it out!

-Choice Live

True Hip Hop Returns To New York City

New York, NY, April 26, 2007 - Underground hip hop invades Club Midway on Saturday, May 12th. The show marks the triumphant homecoming of Metermaids, Broke, and Domer after a twenty city guerilla onslaught of America aptly named the "Unnatural Disasters Tour." After successful shows at SXSW in Austin, TX and the Viper Room in Los Angeles these emcees are back and set to rock the crowd in their homebase of NYC.

Metermaids (www.MetermaidsNYC.com) is an underground act that is poised to explode on the national scene. Their single "Don't Sleep" stormed college radio, peaking at number 11 on the CMJ Hip Hop Chart in a nine week stay in the top 20. Metermaids features two emcees: Swell, whose emotive and contemplative lyrics pair with the unique voice and powerful flow of Sentence to deliver a one-two punch of floor stomping hip hop. John Laird of music blog Side One: Track One says Metermaids "has some insanely catchy stuff that blurs the line between hip hop and indie pop in ways I haven't heard before."

Proder/emcee Domer (www.iamdomer.com) will perform as well in celebration of the release of his new full length album "Work With Me" on UK label Skipping Beats. Domer's innovative abstract hip hop features introspective, poetic observation paired with a hook laden, pop sensible flow. Domer's music has been heard on Nikebasketball.com and in Sony-Ericsson ads, starting on the 12th, you can take it home with you.

The brokeMC ( www.brokemc.com) is an award winning poet whose songs feature decorative articulate wordplay paired with futuristic un-conventional beats. Over the past five years brokeMC has been carving his name deep into the brick walls of the New York Indie Hip Hop scene. His distinctive flow and engaging live performance have quickly earned him recognition as one of New York's Elite MCs. This performance celebrates brokeMC's third independent solo release, "Make it better."

The evening will feature special guest Bisc1 ( www.bisc1.com) of Embedded Music. The New York Hip Hop phenom will bring his visceral explanations of the joys he gets from performing in front of an audience, honing talent at battles and open mics, and investing in his future via constant travel on the network of iron rails beneath New York City. C.O.N.C.E.P.T., Brooklyn emcee and founder of the Mindspray Crew, will open the evening and DJ Halo, Hip Hop taste maker of Connecticut radio stations WPKN/WPKM & WVOF, will spin the best of old and new school hip hop between sets.

Event Details:
Saturday, May 12
Club Midway (25 Avenue B btwn 2nd and 3rd Aves, www.clubmidway.com )
Doors: 8pm, C.O.N.C.E.P.T., Bisc1 & DJ Human?, Domer and DJ Halo, Broke w/ Iron Lion, Metermaids
$5 at the door.

For additional information on the "Unnatural Disasters Tour" or any of the acts involved please contact Matt Miller: matt[at]metermaidsnyc.com.

About Balanced Entertainment – Balanced Entertainment is a full service music and entertainment management company based in Brooklyn, NY.

- END -

Doing hip hop dirty

By JIM FARBER
DAILY NEWS MUSIC CRITIC

Don Imus wounded a lot of people with his infamous words. But there's one group he did wonders for - those hell-bent on blaming pop culture for every ill that plagues society short of restless leg syndrome.

In the two scant weeks since Imus' fiasco, somehow the conversation has moved away from the man who spoke the words of hate and on to those who make the music that millions love.

The way the protectors of the public good currently carry on about their favorite bogeyman - hip hop - you'd think popular music just reached some heady new peak of depravity in which the airwaves are awash in a non-stop bitch-ho spew.

Even people as sophisticated in these matters as Russell Simmons have felt forced to keep foes at bay by issuing statements that sound like a call for self-censorship.

Pardon me if all this strikes the music fan as more than a tad behind the curve. As someone who actually listens to all forms of popular music - as opposed to those who spend their hours just attacking it - I have to deliver some disappointing news:

Not only are we not submerged in some new Sodom, we're actually suffering through the most squeaky-clean phase in popular music since Pat Boone came in to shoo away all the sex and cool from the likes of Little Richard in the '50s. Let's look at the facts:

1. What was the biggest-selling album of last year?

It wasn't something with a title like "Bitch Betta Have My Money." It was "High School Musical," which doesn't even allow a word as alarming as "darn."

2. What brand utterly defines this era of pop culture as we know it?

Not Def Jam but "American Idol," a show so clean it squeaks louder than a room full of irked mice.

3. What are the two most popular albums of the year so far?

CDs by Norah Jones and Tim McGraw.

In music made by African-Americans, the latest trend isn't hard-core rap but sweet-faced teen pop, by artists ranging from Mario to Omarion to Ne-Yo (who will likely debut in two weeks at the top of the charts).

It's not that offensive songs don't exist. But those who scapegoat music, especially rap, have become so recklessly incensed that they find examples even where they don't exist. Syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin cited the humongous No. 1 single by MIMS ("This Is Why I'm Hot") as the epitome of a racist, sexist rant. But is it?

Indeed, you will find the word "bitch" in there, but it clearly refers to the act of complaining and not to any woman. And MIMS' use of the "N" word (crucially with an "a" at the end rather than an "er") beams with such winking affection and fraternal connection that only a die-hard racist could project hate upon it.

It's a measure of the ignorance about such issues, and the pressure out there, that Simmons felt he had to make his statement to begin with. His weirdly worded missive asks the recording industry, and radio programmers, to make sure none of the big three offensive "B," "H" and "N" words ever make it on the air. Sounds like a serious crackdown. But the co-leader of Simmons' Hip Hop Summit Action Committee, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, told me yesterday that these lines aren't directed at artists, who can write whatever they want. They're meant to make sure the industry's "clean" versions heard on public airwaves really are just that. (Some recordings marked as such haven't been so scrubbed, it turns out).

This parsing may appease the foes - at least for a while. But it's doubtful the issue will go away, and for a deeper reason than the haters expect.

It's not that the world actually is going to hell - at least not because of hip hop, anyway. It's because older listeners repeatedly forget that it's the right, and even the obligation, of youth to go too far, to be offensive, to push the bounds, to be young.

Their outrageous words have their place - and a more circumscribed one now than they did 10 years ago at the height of Death Row Records.

Those who are young - either in their bodies or just in their minds - understand the nods and winks that inform the words, the camp and contexts that lie behind them. Such codes help define a vital youth culture. Has everyone else forgotten that? Or were they never young to begin with?

jfarber@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/04/25/2007-04-25_doing_hip_hop_dirty.html

Breakdown FM: An Interview w/ Professor Michael Eric Dyson

Part 1

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Part 2

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Emerging Artist Nya Jade Launches the NYA Foundations To Support The Welfare of African Youth Orphaned By AIDS/HIV

San Francisco, CA (April 23, 2007) – San Francisco-based music phenom Nya Jade announces today the launch of the Nurturing Young Africa (NYA) Foundation, created to support the welfare of African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other circumstances.

Nya’s fundraising efforts for her foundation include a new jewelry collection designed in collaboration by Nya and the modern, sculptural jewelry design company RedStart Design.

Riding on the success of her recent song and music video release Live, Nya Jade aims to use her reputation in the music industry to increase awareness of disadvantaged children in Africa and to inspire her fans to reach out to them.

Through Live and the other songs on her debut album, My Denial, Nya Jade uses a witty and intuitive lyrical voice to comment on society and it’s ideals of contentedness. The newly released Live music video encourages listeners to “live for the moment” as it shows a young boy going through the motions of a corporate existence. As the video ends we learn the young protagonist is actually a grown man who fancies himself a little boy. Nya’s message explores the restrictions our civilized society places on individuals. Live is currently in rotation on VH1-Soul and BETJ.

But Nya Jade was pushing the envelope from the beginning. Early in her career, Jade was discouraged because the music industry seemed more a platform for self-marketing than self-expression. She founded her own record label, Katako Records, with the support of former Atlantic Records President Ron Shapiro to maintain her independent artist status as she launched her first album. In 2006 Nya Jade released her debut album My Denial, which almost instantly earned its place on VH1.com’s top 20 albums.

For further information on Nya Jade and the NYA Foundation visit www.nyajade.com and www.myspace.com/nyajade. Jade’s new video Live can be viewed on her Web page.

'Live' video stream: Watch

About Nya Jade:

San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Nya Jade has already drawn acclaim throughout the Bay Area for her unique music, a bold blend of sounds utterly unbound by genre, unified by Nya's passionate, perceptive vocals. As an entrepreneur, Nya is also at the helm of the new "do-it-yourself" movement in music and major national critics are taking notice. Born in the West African country of Ghana and raised around the world, this Stanford educated artist created her own record label to do music her way. The duality of working as both artist and record label head has made her an exciting person to watch in the ever changing landscape of the music industry.

A pre-med student until a life changing car-accident, Nya channelled pain and suffering into a determination to follow a dream. Graduating from Stanford with both a bachelors in Economics and a masters in Sociology Nya did a brief stint in the big corporate world. Still passionate about music, Nya secured funding from a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist to create her record label Katako Records. With her label in place, Nya set her eyes on A-List manager Ron Shapiro, former President of Atlantic Records and industry innovator. Armed with great management and her own label, Nya released her debut album, My Denial.

Cruising effortlessly through irresistible ballads, buoyant rock, and soulful pop symphonies, Nya's debut album "My Denial" stands as a potent introduction to a resourceful and gifted young artist. My Denial landed on Vh1.com's Top 20 Album's list and continues to receive industry accolades. Nya has opened for artist such as Dave Matthews and Maroon 5.

What People Are Saying:

"Young female troubadour worth keeping your eyes and ears on..." USA Today

"Soulful, Emotional music" John Schafer, NPR

"[Nya's] cool singing voice recalls Sade.....the latest voice of multicultural bohemian self-empowerment." LA Times

"Superb New Songstress!" VH1.com

An Intelligent Commentary: Cam’Ron on 60 Minutes

Now that Hiphop has become the fall guy and girl for teaching old ass Don Imus how to say “nappy-headed wench” oops I mean “hoe”, and for turning young girls and women into strippers so we can exploit them in our videos even though strip clubs and stripping predates Hiphop by at least 5000 years, and for introducing and making the word nigger popular amongst Americans of all ages, I guess the next logical step is to blame Hiphop for law enforcements agencies inability and unwillingness to solve the assaults, rapes, and murders in our communities…

As we all know by now rapper Cam'Ron appeared on 60 minutes with Anderson Cooper to discuss "Snitching" and the street "code of ethics." The interview plays out as if Cam'Ron and other black youth in America's inner-cities are the originators and inventors of this "Code of Silence" concept. It also gives off the misguided and completely false impression that this "Code of Silence" or "street code of ethics" is a precept or principle of Hiphop culture and the Black community in general. We can NOT let this manipulative and calculated interview go unchecked and unchallenged. Our community has a great range and diversity of opinions, ideas, and thoughts, but most people would never know this because the media only chooses to only focus on the pimp, thug, and nigga points of view. The overwhelming majority of our communities are filled to the brim with good and hard working people who would never willing stand on the side of fucking serial killers and drug dealing murders over the lives of their children. There are literally thousands of men, women, and children who stand on the front lines of this struggle every single day to fight the senseless killing that is destroying our communities. Please don’t let this man’s warped view of “ethics” speak for us as a group….

Now let me say this, if the black community does not understand that the policy makers of America; not those you elect to "represent" you, they are just decoration, but the real shaper's of American policy, make no distinction between what is Hiphop and what is BLACK.

The black community is being set-up for apartheid like conditions with Hiphop being used as the RED HERRING! This marshalling of the black community is being marketed in the same way that the war in Iraq was marketed, in that, the "evil" dictator "tyrant" Suddam Hussein was harboring "weapon's of mass destruction" or WMD's! When the real goal was control of Iraqi oil and strategic positioning in the race for global conquest!

Symbolically, Hiphop is the new “evil" tyrant of the black community responsible for creating and imposing prison, drug and gang "cultures" (symbolically WMD's) on unsuspecting black men, women and children! When the real goal is the complete isolation of an "unnecessary" population whose value and worth outside of the prison system seems to be coming to a rapid end. Please GET THE BOOKS "Who Needs the Negro" by Sidney Wilhelm and "The Celling of America" by Burton-Rose, Pens and Wright

Now, let’s get back to Cam'Ron and the code of “ethics”/silence "issue."

This whole concept of to snitch or not to snitch is NOT new and it certainly DID NOT originate in the Hiphop and Black communities. Cam’Ron’s stance is an exact copy of the police department's unofficial official position and commitment to the "Blue Wall" or "Code of Silence". The police never tell on each other and they will absolutely demonize, ostracize and in some cases attack any and all cops who have the courage to Step up and Speak up against police misconduct. This is the main reason for the creation of the Internal Affairs division inside the police department to investigate the criminality within its ranks. Cam’Ron should have been on 60 minutes flanked by 2 cops because they share the same “street code of ethics”. The media’s hypocrisy is numbing sometimes…

Here goes a brief breakdown of what I’m talking about…

The Blue Wall of Silence is the name coined to describe the perceived propensity of Police Officers to unite by limiting their cooperation with investigators when one of their own is accused of impropriety. Police officers refusing to testify against another police officer are instructed to give the "Standard Police Answer", that they can not recall anything that has happened.

A Code of Silence is when someone, usually with some sort of authority or power, but not always, witnesses or is privy to the knowledge of an illegal or embarrassing act, but puts comradely, or loyalty to the "unit" (which can be police, military, gangs, among other things) above informing the public, or proper authorities.

The code of silence is usually either kept because of threat of force, or danger to oneself, or being branded as a traitor or an outcast within the unit or organization as the experiences of the police whistleblower, Frank Serpico illustrates…Please read Serpico (Paperback) by Peter Maas and Eyes to My Soul: The Rise or Decline of a Black FBI Agent (Paperback) by Tyrone Powers

The purpose of this article is NOT to give Cam’Ron and his mentality an excuse for its irresponsible, insensitive, and reckless comments, all I’m trying to do is make sure that the Hiphop/Black community as a whole is not left holding the bag once again for the creation and practice of something that pre-dates it by a 100 or more years!

We have to step up and get control over our image or the media will continue to portray us as a gang of brutal ignorant savages who sit around all day and disrespect women and let criminals run rampant inside its community without a care in the world. Family this is a very fixable problem all we have to do is focus our attention and highlight the people in our communities whose views motivate black youth toward positive and intelligent attitudes and lifestyles. The media is going to do what it does regardless, but if we start reppin Intelligence like we repped ignorance these type of bullshit ass interviews won’t fuckin matter!

It’s No Longer Smart to be DUMB!

WISE INTELLIGENT

Proper
Education
Always
Corrects
Errors

Say it with a t-shirt...

$12.35

Tournament of Dreams starring Debbie Allen, Jayceon Taylor, Tony Todd and Carl Lewis.

STARRING

Debbie Allen (A Different World, Fame, Everybody Hates Chris)
Jayceon Taylor (The Documentary; Stop Snitchin', Stop Lyin')
Tony Todd (Candyman, Sleepwalk, The Crow)
Carl Lewis

ABOUT TOURNAMENT OF DREAMS

For some young adults, dreams may be all they have to live for, especially when living in the inner-city. TOURNAMENT OF DREAMS is a touching American journey that follows six young ladies on the Woodlyn High School Lady Cavaliers Basketball Team as they strive to achieve their dreams, while facing the adversities of life head-on. When the school's principal (Debbie Allen) is faced with the threat of having their basketball program cancelled, the team and faculty members must go beyond a dream and search for a miracle to save their program. After careful convincing and persuasion by his prodigy daughter, a former basketball star (Tony Todd) comes in as a new coach to take the team to new heights, not only on the court, but also in their personal lives. He guides the "Lady Cavs" to a winning season, but not before forcing them to bounce back from various adversities - peer pressure, grades, dating, sex, inter-racial relations, divorce and loss.

Tournament of Dreams is a dramatic and uplifting coming-of-age story. It portrays the unique struggles a group of young female athletes, their coach, and mentors face to save their high school’s basketball program.

Running Time: 88 minutes
Rating: NR
Genre: Drama

TOURNAMENT OF DREAMS DVD AVAILABLE APRIL 24TH Order Here
CodeBlack Entertainment / Tycoon International

The Lyrics Committee

About a week or so ago, rapper Young Buck made an appearance on New York's Hot 97's Angie Martinez's show to promote his new album "Buck the World", the first single of which is incredible (I love that record).

You know, it was pretty much your typical rap interview except for one revealing exchange in particular. This was when Young Buck spoke of a record addressing Police Brutality that unfortunately did not make the record? It was said in the interview that Interscope Records (home of Dr. Dre's Aftermath, Shady Records; Emenim, G Unit; 50 Cent, Loyd Banks, Young Buck; The Lox; Jada Kiss, Styles and Sheik, amongst others) has an official "Lyrics Committee."

Buck stated that it was this Interscope "lyrics committee" (more like committee of ONE person; Jimmy Iovine) that decided it best to leave the police brutality track off of the album. Their reasoning being, that they [Interscope/Jimmy Iovine] felt the record that portrayed violence against police officers could heighten the chances of a police officer getting shot or killed and that, Interscope did not want to be responsible in whole or in part for the death of a police officer. The interview went sort of like this:

Angie: There's this wild video on youtube that I just got a little clip of its called f the police
Buck: oh yeah, they wouldn't let me put that record on my album
Angie: too violent
Buck: They said it was too violent; Interscope
Angie: Interscope said too violent
Buck: they blamed it on the lyric committee, so I researched to see if it was a real lyrical committee
Angie: no they didn't
Buck: It was the lyric committee
Angie: they said the lyric committee said you can't put this out
Buck: So I went as far as trying to find out well who is the lyric committee
Angie: shut up
Buck: the lyric committee is in Interscopes building
Angie: is there really a lyrics committee, no
Buck: you tell me
Angie: nahh there's not, I'm telling you its not, that's your man Jimmy Iovine saying I don't want to deal with that

Now isn't this just fucking beautiful! A "Lyrics Committee" designed to monitor (read censor) lyrics of artist on the Interscope roster? The question I present to Interscope, the Hip Hop and Black Communities is, if Interscope sees something wrong with a rapper releasing a record addressing police brutality (because Wal-Mart won't except the record) due to fear of violence against police officers, why then is it common place to spend millions of dollars marketing the other 12 tracks on the rappers album that may heighten the violence in the black community against young blackmen, women and children????

Why did not the "lyrics committee" come to the same conclusion when listening to lyrics that portray violence against young black males who work, go to school, and live on these same blocks that the police officers patrol? Ladies and gentlemen of the INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY, this is the nature of the beast with which we are dealing!

When we consider the fact that it was Jimmy Iovine who posed on a cover in the 70's with the words "Rock & Roll Niggers" painted on his chest, we get a greater understanding of this beast.

Here, we have a mainstream rapper attempting to address an issue that not only affects himself but the entire community. A political issue, if you will, and his Major Label tells him that that song is NOT going to make the final cut of his album. They made a principled stand which reveals without a doubt that they completely understand the power of this music, and its ability to influence and motivate its audience (positively or negatively), and they will NOT support lyrics and songs that promote an atmosphere of violence and intimidation directed at the police department. Do you see how fuckin insulting, hypocritical, and dangerous this is. We have to organize our efforts to take away their power to choose what’s best for our community to see, hear, and experience!

It has always been my position that the black rapper is NOT allowed to address or lend his voice to any issue that confronts the community from which he comes, knowing that if he did, like Don Imus, he would lose his major corporation sponsorship, i.e., his contract!

The black rapper runs the risk of losing his recording contract if he dare engage his demographic in anything that resembles intelligent dialogue? And yes, I do mean, the black rapper. In the event that the black rapper would have written the song MOSH (Emenim; anti war record), he would have been dropped from his label faster than Jimmy Iovine can say "Rock & Roll Nigger!"
Black and white America must understand this very pertinent point; BLACK PEOPLE DO NOT CONTROL THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANYTHING IN AMERICA; nothing! Everything from the food on his table, clothes on his back, roof over his head, education in his head, to the drugs and alcohol on his corners, is controlled by others who are not black!

So, what is it that makes us believe that the BLACK rapper is responsible for the distribution, diffusion or dissemination of the music and images (positive or negative) that you hear and see on MTV, BET and or Clear Channel Radio, etc

The fact that Major Labels have "lyrics committees" is evidence enough to show that multi-platinum, gold, and wood selling rappers are NOT even responsible for the subject matter that is or is not allowed on his or her own album, let alone the distribution of this subject matter! The artist can make a song about anything from life to death to love to lust and everything in between, but the records companies and their lyrics committees make the final judgment on what get pressed up and sent to Wal Mart, Target, and the like.

Now let me make this final and crucial point crystal clear before I bring this to a conclusion. As artists we must and should be held accountable for what we say and do on wax and video, our words and actions have a profound impact on our communities whether we know about it or not, but we should not be held responsible for which of our records get major or minor video or radio airplay. That decision is in the hands of the radio and video stations and their parent companies. They decided that Little Brother was too “intelligent” for the B.E.T. audience! They made the decision not to promote any rappers whose music would motivate black youth toward positive attitudes and lifestyles. Do you really think Immortal Technique, Wise Intelligent, Little Brother; Public Enemy etc…took themselves off the radio and video shows? Corporate America and their entire support system made the decision to make the thug, pimp, hustler, and drug dealing rapper the face of Hiphop culture by placing him or her on the cover of every mainstream magazine around the world! The rapper is but the most visible part of this sick and twisted daisy chain of events…If you have the heart to make a move against Snoop than have the heart to ride heavy on Jimmy!

The point of this article is not whether there is really such a committee at record companies that scrutinize the lyrics of rap artists. The point is that the major record companies do, as evidenced by the aforementioned incident, ultimately decide what lyrics the rapper can or can not put on his or her album.

It's no longer SMART to be DUMB!

WISE INTELLIGENT

PROPER
EDUCATION
ALWAYS
COUNTERS
EXPLOITATION

BUY Wise Intelligent's new album "Blessed be tha Poor?" The Un-MixTape NOW at our Official website...

www.intelligentmuzik.com

Also check us out at... www.myspace.com/wiseintelligent

IT'S NO LONGER SMART TO BE DUMB!

Jazz&Justice - DC Emancipation Day

Voxunion Media
Jazz & Justice
WPFW 89.3 FM wpfw.org (live stream)
April 16, 2007

Today we discussed DC Emancipation Day and its international implications with our guests Rick and Michelle Tingling-Clemens. We also heard music from Gil Scott Heron, Jayne Cortez, DJ EuRok, NYOIL, Head-Roc, Eddie Kane, Freddie Hubbard and more. We also heard clips from Dr. James Turner of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University. Download the clips below and visit voxunion.com for the stream/download options and much more.

Part 1: Download Here
Part 2: Download Here

Mistah F.A.B. readies his highly anticipated release, DA BAYDESTRIAN

San Francisco, CA, April 16, 2007 - Although Mistah F.A.B. has endured much scrutiny in the national press over the past few months for his single, “Ghost Ride It”, he prepares himself for his upcoming release on Faeva Afta/SMC Recordings this May with DA BAYDESTRIAN.

Recording his album - DA BAYDESTRIAN in record time, the release will also feature FAB's infamous DVD, “The Freestyle King” as a bonus as well as a “Yellow Bus Pass” to download his breakthrough album “Son of a Pimp” for free. FAB explains why he decided to add extra features to his album, “"I'm puttin the Bonus DVD and free download of 'Son Of A Pimp' in there because that's the album that got my buzz crazy in the Bay. We're sayin' DA BAYDESTRIAN is the prequel to Da Yellow Bus Rydah so I wanna give you as much of me to get you ready for that."
DA BAYDESTRIAN will feature production by Rob-E, Sean-T, Traxxamillion, Young L among others and guest appearances from Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, Fabo from D4L, Mesy Marv and Spice 1. FAB's next track off the album, “Get This Shit Together” has already been leaked on line and has been popping up on West coast radio stations. FAB wants everyone to know, “DA BAYDESTRIAN is for all the fans that's been waiting for the last two years for something new. It's a project that's gonna rep the Bay to the fullest no strings attached and show everyone there's more to me than just goin' dumb. People forget that I really spit and think that all I do is ride Da Yellow Bus".
Never one to slow down, F.A.B. is already back in the studio working on his major label debut, “Da Yellow Bus Rydah” being released on Atlantic Records, "I know everyone is like what's up with the whole Atlantic deal? Yes, Atlantic is goin' to drop "Da Yellow Bus Rydah", DA BAYDESTRIAN is just the in between process. The music business is crazy. I'm puttin my heart into it, so to all the fans just be patient and post up at the bus stop".
DA BAYDESTRIAN is being released on Faeva Afta/ Thizz Nation/ SMC Recordings and will hit streets May 15th.

Getting Schooled on Mistah F.A.B.

Born and raised in Oakland, CA, FAB encountered his first taste of fame when he entered The Source Magazine's “Unsigned Hype Freestyle Battle” in 1999 and placed 3rd. This brought him to the attention of a local
Bay Area based label - Straight Hits, who signed him in 2001. FAB released his first underground album with the label in 2003 entitled, “Nig-Latin”.

Bay Area legend, Mac Dre took notice of this fledgling rapper and enlisted him as one of the original members of the Thizz Nation. With the backing of this renowned rapper Mistah F.A.B. released “Mac Dre Presents Mistah F.A.B. - Son of a Pimp” in 2005 featuring the huge regional hit - “Super Sic Wit It” featuring E-40. The single ends up taking the Hyphy movement in a whole different direction, with the song lyric - “I do the dummy, retarded, and ride the yellow bus”. The Hyphy movement revolves around “acting a fool” and FAB took it one step further with these lyrics.

The song and the album propelled FAB to regional stardom. Soon every artist in the bay area started calling, wanting him to guest star on their albums. He was also featured on the MTV special, “My Block - The Bay” which caught the interest of many major labels - FAB decided to roll with Atlantic Records.

It is not unusual these days for an artist to be signed to two labels at once. After negotiating with Atlantic, the Bay Area giant, SMC Recordings was able to secure a deal with Favea Afta Ent and FAB as well for the independent release of DA BAYDESTRIAN. Will Bronson, Co-Founder of SMC speaks on his longstanding business relationship with FAB, “FAB and my history is crazy, we pretty much came up together. To be involved in this album and everything FAB's got going on- as corny as it sounds- is beyond business, this shit is personal, but that's the way independent music should be."

Pastor Troy Addresses Recent Police Shooting In North Carolina

New York, NY, April 16, 2007 - The senseless murders of officers Sean Clark and Jeffery Shelton in East Charlotte, NC on March 31st was a horrible tragedy. Thankfully police have apprehended and charged a suspect, Demeatrius Montgomery, with two counts of first-degree murder in their deaths.

Through reports from the media and police, It has come to the attention of hip hop artist, Pastor Troy, that the police speculate that the suspect was possibly listening to his single, “Murda Man“ shortly before the shooting.

The fact that Pastor Troy's music has been linked to this terrible heartbreak is very unsettling to him.

“My condolences go out to the families of officers Clark, Shelton and the family of the suspect. This album came out in 2005 and through out my career I have never been involved in an incident like this. It is ridiculous to blame Demeatrius Montgomery actions on my music. We don't know what he was going through”.

Although this tragedy occurred, it is irrelevant that the suspect listened to rap music before the shooting.
Even more unsettling, it seems that the media are helping the suspect by trying to establish a defense for him in this murder and excuse his actions. Stating that he drank brandy and listened to rap music before the shooting seems almost like the blame is being put on the alcohol and the music and not on the individual who committed this atrocious crime.

It is troubling that the media continues to associate Pastor Troy's name to this crime. Troy wants peace for the families involved and has asked that the media stop linking his name to this horror in the press.

For more information, please contact Erin Burke at erinburkepr@aol.com/erinburke@smcrecordings.com

Tisch Junior, Hip-hop Star

As a fair-haired hip-hop artist from Minneapolis, Minn., Tisch junior Chaz Kangas has endured his share of unflattering physical comparisons. His appearance - likened to Napoleon Dynamite, Chucky (the homicidal doll or the rugrat, take your pick) and the brothers Hanson - is an easy target during rap battles. But name-dropping Carrot Top is seldom successful at unnerving the three-time champion of SinSin's Off-the-Head Game Show battle.

"In battles, it's all in fun," Kangas said. "I've performed at Zulu Nation meetings, I've performed at Black Watch, a large west coast movement. And so if I was doing something incredibly wrong based on my appearance, I would have been stomped out for it several times by now, which I haven't."

A two-year absence from the barber's chair has given Kangas plenty of time to build his track record on the open-mic circuit. When the 20-year-old cinema studies major is not working on his third album, which he hopes to release independently later this year, he's building his reputation at open mic nights and battles across the city. One of Kangas' career highlights includes opening for Louis Logic, J-Zone and The Juggaknots at CBGB's final hip-hop show before the legendary Bowery venue closed because of skyrocketing rent costs.

Other hip-hop artists say Kangas' potential is evident.

"He has that spirit that hip-hop was born with," said Conscious, a New York-based emcee who founded FreeHipHopNow.com. "I think he's confident, he's got a lot of skill and talent, and I think he's just going to get better as he continues to do it. He's the kind of person who's trying to work on getting better and being better, because it never ends - as an artist you will continue to grow, and I think he realizes that."

Outside of the clubs, Kangas is part of group of rappers who are taking their performances to an unorthodox venue: the subway. Trains, platforms and stations have long been home to panhandling musical acts, but the Hip-Hop Subway Series goes for something more "organic" and doesn't look for handouts. Responding to the commercialization of hip-hop, Beatboxer Entertainment began organizing bi-monthly gatherings in which up to 50 hip-hop artists board the rear car of train and freestyle with feverish enthusiasm as the train crosses different boroughs and takes on new passengers. The artists usually represent elements from the full spectrum of hip-hop, including emcees, dancers, beatboxers and singers.

Kangas said he's been participating in the series once a month for about a year because it highlights an important yet overlooked facet of hip-hop. "There's plenty of open mics or different spots for just rapping around the city, but [the Subway Series] is really one of those last bastions of just getting together and just freestyling," Kangas said. "It's being able to, for lack of a better word, improv and work off of things another person has said, and just keep it in that constant momentum. You have all elements represented - I've seen people break dancing on trains. I've seen people do graff writing on the train, but not in a matter of vandalism. I've seen people beatboxing on the trains. It's really hip-hop in its purest form, and it's what draws me to it."

Freestyling in the compressed space of a subway car enhances the intimacy between artist and audience, Kangas said.

"They're really a one-of-a-kind, and each one is different, too," he said. "It's such an addicting one-of-a-kind thing, and the beauty of freestyling is always that spontaneous reaction from the crowd and the fact that [it's] this crowd - I mean you're on a subway, they're not going to be looking at anything else except for maybe the new Metlife ad, which really is not that much of a source of entertainment."

Whether on the subway or the stage, Kangas said he just wants to build his foundation and do his part to help hip-hop, which he said is lagging behind other genres.

"One rap album that came out last year went platinum within the 12-month span of 2006, where by comparison Dane Cook went double-platinum," he said. "Something's not adding up."

In the future, Kangas hopes to be able to influence new rappers to look to their past. "I'd love to form some sort of label that would have a concentration on re-releasing classic, out-of-print albums," he said, "because one thing that hip-hop's been really criticized for is that we're a genre of music where kids don't often look back to what's come before and they just focus on the now."

Kangas actually credits his Midwestern hometown for grounding him with a diverse understanding of hip-hop.

"The beauty of Minneapolis is, when I came up, our hip-hop scene was still, like, really forming," he said, which brought a diversity of acts to the city's first hip-hop generation. Kangas said listeners can detect this background in his own music. "I'm not comparing myself to Prince at all like this - which is easy for somebody from Minneapolis to do - but I see myself in sort of the position where he was 25 years ago, where I'm just a student who studied so many different areas of recent music for so long that I find that it allows me to really create something truly unique."

Fellow hip-hop artists say that one thing that Kangas has on his side is respect for the genre and craft. "He's a good dude, and I think he has hip-hop's best interests in mind," Conscious said. "He doesn't claim to be the definition of hip-hop. He just says he's a piece of the puzzle, just like Conscious is a piece of the puzzle."

Chaz Kangas will perform at NYU's Gentlemen of Quality Talent Showcase on Friday, April 13 at the Kimmel Center's Shorin Auditorium, room 802. Admission is $3.

Chaz Kangas will be going on tour this May with Louis Logic and The MINDSpray Crew.

Real underground hip-hop

Beatboxer Entertainment, a New York-based production company, organizes the Hip-Hop Subway Series in an underground venue. Literally.

Twice a month, usually on Sundays, about 50 hip-hop artists pour into the last car of a subway train and showcase their talents, which could be rapping, beat-boxing, break-dancing and anything in between. The performers don't look for compensation, just a new audience and opportunity to change dominant stereotypes about the genre.

Conscious, who works with Beatboxer Entertainment, said the Subway Series aims to change the misconceptions surrounding contemporary hip-hop.

"We have a culture that's being called dead, and we have a lot of things going on to change the way people perceive us, and this is way of doing it in the spirit of hip-hop, of making something out of nothing," Conscious said. "Why not show another face, another side, and use it as a springboard for artists - to give people a chance to network with each other? It's creating a progressive energy, and it's not trying to get commercial approval or get bank or anything for it."

Before boarding the train, organizers urge the crowd not to respond to antagonism from commuters, though they stress that such reactions are rare if anything.

Bill "Mr. Freespirit" Malpartida Jr., a 31-year-old computer technician, participated in his first Series event on March 25.

"This is a very positive thing going on that shows hip-hop can't be all negative," Malpartida said. "We get together, have fun - that's all that matters."

Commuters enjoyed the show as Malpartida and about 45 other artists performed on the Bronx-bound D-train that night.

"It's the way it's supposed to be without all the negative elements going on," said Brian Ellis, 36, a Lower East Side resident originally from Harlem. "This is what hip-hop is supposed to be: just rhyming off the top of their heads and laying beats. And it's every nationality: You've got from Asian to Middle Eastern and white. It's not just out in the hood, it's world-over. ... This is what you call a hip-hop melting pot."

- Barbara Leonard, staff writer

Don "I Mus" say F*CK YOU!

Yes, I do believe that Don Imus and his buddies should have their old asses kicked, but, I'm more concerned about the "black" American "leaders" (Jesse, Sharpton), "black" TV/talk-radio personalities, etc. saying "dumb" shit like Hip-Hop is the reason for Imus using the term "Nappy-headed hos", etc., etc.

While driving my seed to school earlier this week I heard Steve Harvey, a very intelligent brother whom I admire, say, while addressing the "Imus-issue", that the Hip-Hop community has to stop disrespecting our women by calling them bitches, hos and the like.

This INTELLIGENT point of view is not to address the erroneous assumption that Hip Hop is responsible for terms like "nigger", "bitch" and "Nappy-headed hos" being in the American vocabulary, Davey D (www.daveyd.com) has already written a MUST READ article entitled "Is Hip Hop Really the Blame for this Don Imus Thing?, dispelling this baseless idea.

The purpose of this article is to say that, yes, there are rappers who use such terms as bitch and or nigger in their recordings, but, for every rapper that uses these terms their are 10 who don't! I'm asking the question, why is it that all ten of the rappers we hear on mainstream radio, and see on mainstream video, ironically, those who use such language? And why is the view represented by these "TEN" rappers made to be the view of the HIP-HOP COMMUNITY?

I challenge Steve Harvey, Michael Baisden, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Don Imus and any one else on radio and/or television who subscribes to the idea that Hip Hop is to blame, to take these 10 names (Little Brother, Wise Intelligent, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Public Enemy, Brother J, NYOIL, Talib Kweli, The Coup, or Paris) to the program directors of the stations that you work for and ask them why are we NOT playing ANY rappers with messages that oppose the nigger, bitch, gangster ideology that dominates mainstream music media outlets including but not limited to Radio and Video?

It was BET who unashamedly told us that Little Brother was "too intelligent" for BET's target market? The target market of "Black Entertainment Television" is, as far as I understand it to be, the BLACK community? So, in the opinion of BET, the black community is not "intelligent" enough to understand the views of a group of young black males who decided to go to college while pursuing their careers as rap artists simultaneously? But, the black community is ignorant enough to understand the story of a stripper named "Diamond" who dances at "The Players Club" to pay for her collegiate education, a movie where "bitch" and "ho" is the primary dialogue (This movie gets as much rotation as Young Jeezy on BET)?

It was from white America that we get the word "Nigger", it is from white America that we also get the term "Nappy-headed wench." All of these terms have been kept alive by Hollywood in movies like "Mandingo", "Drum" and or "Farewell Uncle Tom." But, today you're telling me that black rappers taught old ass Don Imus these words? Don Imus' old ass got these words from his father's father; not Hip-Hop!

Hip-Hop is not responsible for the diffusion of negative portrayals of Black people in America, Hollywood, the Music Industry, Major Radio/Video Broadcast Stations have been, and continue to control the images responsible for shaping the attitudes and lifestyles of Americans for decades now. If, the major outlets for Hip-Hop art are not controlled by the "Hip Hop Community" well then the Hip Hop community does not decide what does or does not get played, and therefore, cannot be responsible!

Thus, we have TEN rappers signed to and in rotation at any and all of the aforementioned Major Corporations and all of them represent the same view of the black male in America; the drug-dealer/gangster/convict turned rapper. Never do we hear those views that represent the anti-thesis to this destructive image; views that are in great abundance in every "hood."

I challenge Steve Harvey, Michael Baisden, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, etc., ad infinite, to demand that the media corporations who write your checks balance their radio/video play-lists by adding 10 rappers into the rotation whose views are uplifting and motivate black youth toward positive attitudes and lifestyles. Until you find the fucking balls to challenge this MACHINE, your views on the symptoms created by the MACHINE are NOT welcome!

Failure to confront the root causes of the problems we face as a people is really the true FAILURE!

Please pick up the book…….

“The Name Negro It's Origin And Evil Use”…by Richard B. Moore

PROPER
EDUCATION
ALWAYS
COUNTERS
EXPLOITATION

WISE INTELLIGENT

For more information about Wise Intelligent and Intelligent Muzik please contact Born Free at bornfree9@hotmail.com / 484-478-1378

www.myspace.com/wiseintelligent
IT’S NO LONGER SMART TO BE DUMB!

Here goes a very very very small list of rappers and albums that they either totally refused to play or criminally marginalized on commercial radio…

Food and Liquor…………..Lupe Fiasco……….2006
Blue Collar………………Rhymefest……..2006
Blessed be the Poor? The UnMixtape…………Wise Intelligent………..2006
Like Water For Chocolate…………..Common…….2000
Electric Circus………….Common…………2004
Amethyst Rock Star…………Saul Williams……….2001
Saul Williams……………Saul Williams………..2005
Sonic Jihad….by Paris……..2003
Heroes of the Harvest………..Arrested Development…….2002
Among the Trees……………Arrested Development……….2004
Since the Last Time…………..Arrested Development…….2006
Rebirth of a Nation…Public Enemy 2006
New Whirl Odor…Public Enemy 2005
Revolverlution…Public Enemy 2002
There’s a Poison Going On…Public Enemy 1999-2000
Enters the Colossus………Mr. Lif…………..2000
Emergency Rations………Mr. Lif…………2002
I Phantom…………..Mr. Lif………………2003
Mo' Mega…………..Mr. Lif……………..2006
Mind over Matter………Zion I……….2000
Break a Dawn…………Zion I………….2006
Almost Famous…………Living Legends………2001
Creative Differences………….Living Legends……….2004
Classic………..Living Legends…………2005
Dead Prez Presents M-1: Confidential…2006
Can't Sell Dope Forever by Dead Prez / Outlaws…2006
Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape, Vol. 1…by Dead Prez…2002
Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape, Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin'…by Dead Prez…2003
RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta…by Dead Prez…2004
Let’s Get Free…by Dead Prez…2000
The Leak Edition, Vol. 1…………John Robinson……….2005
The Leak Edition, Vol. 2……….John Robinson………..2006
Coming Forth By Day: The Book of the Dead…………Scienz of Life………..2000
Blaxploitation Sessions………….Scienz of Life……………2006
Exodus into Unheard Rhythms…………..by OH NO………….2006
Black Star…Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)…2000-01
Black on Both Sides…by Mos Def…2002
The New Danger…by Mos Def…2004
True Magic…by Mos Def…2006
Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought…Talib Kweli…2002
Quality….Talib Kweli…..2003
The Beautiful Struggle…Talib Kweli…2004
Right About Now……..Talib Kweli…..2005
Liberation…………Talib Kweli/Madlib…………2007
Things Fall Apart….The Roots…….1999-2000
Phrenology……The Roots……2002
Game Theory……The Roots….2006
The Sneak Attack………KRS ONE………….2001
Spiritual Minded……..KRS ONE………….2002
Prophets Vs. Profits……….KRS ONE……..2003
Kristyles……………….KRS ONE………….2003
Keep Right……………….KRS ONE………2004
Life……………………..KRS ONE…………2006
Exit………..K-OS…………..2002
Joyful Rebellion…………K-OS………….2004
Atlantis: Hymns for Disco………K-OS……..2006
Break Glass…………. Polyrhythm Addicts……..2007
Quality Control……….Jurassic 5….2000
Power in Numbers……..Jurassic 5…..2002
Feedback…………Jurassic 5………2006
Nia…………Blackalicious………2000
Blazing Arrow…….Blackalicious…….2002
The Craft……….Blackalicious…….2005
Later That Day...Lyrics Born……….2003
Same !@#$ Different Day…….Lyrics Born………2005
Attack of the Attacking Things………Jean Grae……..2002
The Bootleg Of The Bootleg EP……….Jean Grae…….2003
This Week……Jean Grae…………2004
The Listening………Little Brother……….2003
The Minstrel Show……..Little Brother………2005
Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition……….Murs……….2004
Murray's Revenge…………..Murs……………2006
Donuts……….J Dilla…………2006
The Shining……….J Dilla……….2006
Music, Magic, Myth……….The Last Emperor………2003
Internal Affairs……….Pharohe Monch……….1999-2000
Revolutionary, Vol. 1………..Immortal Technique……..2000
Revolutionary, Vol. 2…………..Immortal Technique………2005
Fire in the Hole………..Brand Nubian……….2004
The 5% Album…………Lord Jamar……2006
Experience & Education………Sadat X………..2005
Black October……….Sadat X…………2006
Self Destruction………I Self Divine………..2005
Reprogram……..The Boom Bap Project…….2005
Operation: Doomsday……….MF DOOM………2001
Vaudeville Villain………….MF DOOM………2003
3rd Eye Vision…………….Heiroglyphics……….2001
Full Circle……………Heiroglyphics………….2003
Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump…………..De La Soul…………2000
AOI: Bionix……………..De La Soul…………….2001
The Grind Date…………….De La Soul…………….2004
A Long Hot Summer………..Masta Ace……………..2004
Mirror Music…………..Woodsworth………….2004
The Platform……………Dilated Peoples………….2000
Expansion Team………….. Dilated Peoples………….2001
Neighborhood Watch………… Dilated Peoples………2004
20/20…………….. Dilated Peoples………….2006
Party Music………The Coup…………2001
Pick a Bigger Weapon………..The Coup………2006
Blue Scholars………….Blue Scholars………….2004
Prointelpro…… The Dope Poet Society…………..2007
Stay Human …. Michael Franti…………..2001
Songs From the Front Porch: An Acoustic Collection…………..Michael Franti………..2004
Everyone Deserves Music………….Michael Franti……..2003
American Me……C L Smooth…………..2006
Is Clueless……….Pigeon John……….2002
Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister…………….Pigeon John………….2003
...And The Summertime Pool Party……….Pigeon John………..2006
...As Iron Sharpens Iron………. The Procussions………..2003
5 Sparrows for 2 Cents…………..The Procussions……..2006
The Healing……………..Strange Fruit Project………2006
Starr Status…………Kenn Starr……………..2006
I Do What I Do…………….Kev Brown……………2006
Trinity (Past, Present and Future)………….Slum Village……….2002
Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)………..Slum Village…….2004
Slum Village…………..Slum Village……………..2005
Balance………….Akrobatik…………2003
Body of the Life Force………….Afu-Ra………..2000
Life Force Radio……………Afu-Ra………….2002
State of the Arts…………….Afu-Ra…………..2005
Black Dialogue……………..The Perceptionists………..2005
The Lost Freestyle Files…………Supernatural………..2003
S.P.I.T…………………….Supernatural………….2005
Temptations………………..Freestyle Fellowship…………2001
To Whom It May Concern……………Freestyle Fellowship……….2002
Accepted Eclectic……………… Aceyalone……………2001
P.A.I.N.T………………….. Abstract Rude…………….2001
Making Tracks……………….Abstract Rude………….2002
Making More Tracks…………..Abstract Rude……………..2004
Coup de Theatre………. Haiku d'Etat………….2003
Haiku d'Etat……………. Haiku d'Etat………………2004

PLEASE ADD ON AND RE-POST!

ALSO PLEASE SEND THIS TO Steve Harvey and Michael Baisden...WE WANT TO SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND BUILD!

'Slanguage' - Core Rhythm Performs Live At Vox Pop

Core Rhythm performs 'Slanguage' from his album "Nat Turner Reloaded" at Vox pop during the album release party for Tah Phrum Duh Bush's single, 'Phlatbush'... Saturday April 7th 2007

"Slanguage - Core Rhythm" length: 03:58
play HiFi (mp3) download (4.56 MB)

The Nobody Hole (Album Trailer)

Conscious & Core Freestyling During NYC Hiphop Subway Series

Short clip of Conscious & Core Rhythm freestyling during the NYC Hiphop Subway Series. BBE, Free Hiphop Now, Open Thought, Media Clectic, Say Word Entertainment, Spitmatix

Favorite Flatbush Artist is Releasing Local Anthem and Gearing Up an Onslaught to Push for a Performance Slot Alongside Big Name Acts at the Wingate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Felipe Jackson
Office: 718-826-2240
Email: BookTah@FilthyClean.com

Favorite Flatbush Artist is Releasing Local Anthem and Gearing Up an Onslaught to Push for a Performance Slot Alongside Big Name Acts at the Wingate Park Summer Concerts

Brooklyn, NY April 4, 2007- Local favorite Tah Phrum Duh Bush (Tah From the Bush), who is well know for his skewed perspectives and anti-generic style, is releasing three re-mixes to his local anthem “Phlatbush” (Flatbush). This is the spark off of a movement to sway the organizers of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Park to finally have a local act open up one of the concerts in the summer of 2007.

Who better to do it than Tah with his song that hails the town “Flatbush” that hosts the concert series? The release party/concert for the “Flatbush Phlatbush Remixes” will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at Vox Pop, 1022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY 11218. 8 PM until Midnight (Show starts with opening acts at 9pm). We will be petitioning the people of Brooklyn to support Tah in his quest. 37 Deep Television (BCAT) will be filming the event and is in full support of Tah’s efforts. Various media sources have been invited and have shown interest in supporting Tah’s pursuit and will be present. Local celebrities have been invited as well.

We are inviting all media sources local, national and world wide to support Tah in this highly attainable goal. We are also calling on the Brooklyn Borough President to support Tah as he mentions in the song “Y’all need to tell Marty Markowitz to give me a call or a page/ so I can Rock this joint at the Wingate Park Summer Stage… Where we at? Flatbush!”
For further information visit www.TahOnline.com.

For press and press pass inquiries please or contact Felipe Jackson at 718-826-2240 or BookTah[at]FilthyClean.com
###

Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time

World's Fair is pleased to announce that "Jarvis" is available on American and Canadan shores now - as an enhanced CD with the bonus track “Running the World” plus the video for “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” at domestic prices.

In case you missed the excitement last week when Jarvis announced on Jarvspace that he is looking for bands to open his US shows! For the rest of us, we'll just have to buy tickets.

Read the interview at Pitchfork. Spin the whole album at AOL Spinner

Jarvis on EW, Rolling Stone, Nylon, Spin and even WSJ - click here for all Jarv audio, video, photos, scans, articles, etc.

CONNECT: Jarvspace World's Fair