Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes LIVE - Crowd Goes CRAZY!

Clip courtesy of The Underground Come Up. Shout out to DJ Sav One.

To say that the energy was tremendous last night at The Knitting Factory would be an understatement. The placed was packed, the audience on the main stage floor were human sardines. With a cap on the amount of people that could actually be admitted into the club, outside stood somewhere near 150 folks throughout the evening. A great night for Hiphop. A great night indeed.

Artist Of The Week - T-Weaponz

The name T-Weaponz, which is short for Tomorrowz Weaponz, is meant to represent the coming of a new era. That era would be one of Hip-Hop that is both pleasing to the ears and good for the soul and Psalmz, Ark and IzReal (pictured L to R) are the three emcees of T-Weaponz that are working hard to usher it in. Ark and IzReal are brothers and after meeting Psalmz while in high school the three of them decided to form a group and start recording together. Over the years the Brooklyn trio has received a lot of love from Mun2, as well as a number of other Spanish language media outlets. This week, however, we’re keeping things in English as I caught up with all three members of T-Weaponz to discuss their work, their thoughts on the segregation of Latin Hip-Hop from the mainstream, and their campaign to find "XtraOrdinary" women. Click here...

Plajia - Beating The Charms

Plajia - Beating The Charms (music video) from Plajia on Vimeo.

NOTORIOUS - Teaser

Shockwave on the basic beat

Artist Of The Week - Shock of Pleasure

Shock of Pleasure has to be one of the most aptly named groups in all of music. When their CD, it’s about time, was first passed my way, highly recommended by a trusted source, I had no idea what I was in store for. Within minutes my mind was, quite literally, completely at ease. I had been transported into the group’s downtempo / electro-lounge world and was, for the first time in a long time, relaxed. Lead singer Kelley Christian’s voice is both incredibly soothing and sensual and band members Robert Romano, Brent Irish and Josh Curry are phenomenal at creating a mood. I was hooked and wanted to know more about this group from Dallas, TX, so this week I caught up with Kelley (only woman in pic) and Robert (pictured far left) to find out all I could about Shock of Pleasure and their electro-lounge world. Click here...

Core Rhythm - 8 AM Bluez

Directed by Abe Heisler.

Funk Master Flex has words for R. Kelly

Hip Hop Dead (2005)

Hip Hop Dead (2005) from Elus on Vimeo.

The Getto Remix f/ Verse & Tunes

The Getto Remix f/ Verse & Tunes from Elus on Vimeo.

September 13th at Sidewalk Cafe

Nu Voices feat.

D-Cross
Shockwave
Adammatta
Zero Boy
Krussia
Grey Matter
Arjun
Cee Rock The Fury Anderson
Tah Phrum Da Bush
Conscious
Hyphen One
Semerock
Tzo
Breeze Evahflowin
MC Broke
Coolie High
Josiah
Frantic
Ill Spokinn
Jane Lecroy
Manny Oquendo
Marya Lawrence
Ja-tun
Malika
Menyu
DUV
Infinitee the Quadroon
Conducted by Kid Lucky

DJ Andreas spins the best of hip hop.

Kid Lucky's Hip Hop Café Birthday Cipha

10pm – 3am
Where Sidewalk Café 94 Ave. A (Corner of East 6 street And Ave A)
For more info contact Kid Lucky at beatboxerent@gmail.com OR visit www.myspace.com/acappellamc

Pikahsso PHUNKALINA Video Starring Robi Nickoli Forwards

Pikahsso yet again proves that creative folks do so still exist. They are not extinct as some have proclaimed.

Pikahsso and Tahiti @ 6th Annual TSMC

Bronze Nazareth Preps 2CD Set "Thought For Food Vols. 1 & 2

Over the years, countless Wu-Tang affiliated producers, emcees and collectives have emulated the blueprint laid by the Shaolin progenitors, however very few have achieved both the critical and commercial success of producer/emcee Bronze Nazareth. Now, with the "Thought For Food" 2 CD collection, Bronze further solidifies his widespread reputation as the front running successor to the "new-Wu."

Serving as the creative bedrock for multiple solo and group releases (including The Wisemen and the supergroup Almighty), Bronze is primarily renowned for his contributions to legendary albums from the
RZA, GZA/Genius, Killah Priest, Hell Razah, Ras Kass, the infamous Immortal Technique & many more.

With features from GZA, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Killah Priest, Hell Razah, Timbo King, Solomon Childs, Planet Asia, The Wisemen and many more, "Thought For Food Vols. 1 & 2" returns the listener to the
essence of the Wu-Tang experience: the rough and rugged yet soulfully poignant aesthetic that continues to serve as the hallmark of the Wu-Tang sound/legacy.

With the recent inclusion of Bronze's beats on GZA's "Pro Tools" LP and Immortal Technique's acclaimed "The 3rd World," Bronze's cache and profile have been growing exponentially. "Thought For Food Vols. 1 & 2" provides an ample taste of what is and what's to come from this underground producer/emcee extraordinaire.

For more information and to sample tracks from the forthcoming 2 CD
set, please visit:
www.ihiphop.com/bronzenazareth
www.babygrande.com

Artist Of The Week – MarkmyWords

When one hears phrases like Nature of the Beast and Homeland Security images of a government gone wild with its power come to mind. According to Nature of the Beast emcee MarkmyWords, however, that’s not what his music is all about. Nature of the Beast is a duo made up of MarkmyWords and DJ Sinn and after checking out their album, Homeland Security, I sat down with MarkmyWords to find out what the real, very personal, meaning is behind their album's title. During the interview the Cali native also opened up about how being a skater helped him develop his love of Hip-Hop, and why he feels word of mouth is still the best form of promotion. Click here...

Bob James Interview

No artist lives in a vacuum.
Hey critic, you try and do this.
Great!
Thank you yet again underyourskindvd.

KutMasta Kurt Interview

More underyourskin goodness.

Seun Anikulapo Kuti Interview

Thank you underyourskindvd.

Runnin Outtah Time

Baba Israel and Yako 440 are joined by NYC dancers- B-boy RU of Kings of New York and Poppers Mike Supreme and Crazy Pop! Directed by Peter Blitzer

The Foreign Exchange - Leave It All Behind

Four years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut "Connected," The Foreign Exchange returns with their sophomore set, "Leave It All Behind."

Consisting of singer/songwriter Phonte and producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange came together via the online hip-hop community Okayplayer.com in 2002. After trading files through Instant Messenger for over a year, Nicolay (living in his native Holland at the time) and Phonte (a Raleigh, NC resident) completed their debut album before they ever met each other in person. The album, "Connected," was released in 2004 to positive reviews, and was praised by legendary DJ's such as Jazzy Jeff, King Britt, and DJ Spinna for its inventive mix of hip-hop, R&B, and electronica.

"Leave It All Behind" finds The Foreign Exchange much closer in geography (Nicolay has since become a resident of Wilmington, NC), but located much further from their hip-hop origins. The duo's second full-length is a dark, multilayered affair that features Phonte showcasing his abilities as an exceptional lead and harmony vocalist, while Nicolay extends his musical palette to include sprinklings of jazz, downtempo, and house. The lush, Darien Brockington-assisted "Take Off the Blues" picks up where Connected's sleeper hit "Come Around" left off, while the complex polyrhythms and dreamy synthesizers of "Sweeter Than You" are described by Phonte as "swing jazz for the next century." Marc Mac (of legendary UK production team 4hero), also contributes a string arrangement to the duo's glorious cover of Stevie Wonder's oft-forgotten 1991 gem, "If She Breaks Your Heart."

In addition to appearances from longtime FE affiliates Darien Brockington and Yahzarah, the album also features guest shots from producer/keyboardist Zo! and vocalist Muhsinah.

Tracklisting:

01. Daykeeper
02. Take Off The Blues
03. All Or Nothing/Coming Home To You
04. I Wanna Know
05. House Of Cards
06. Sweeter Than You
07. Valediction
08. If She Breaks Your Heart
09. If This Is Love
10. Something To Behold
11. Leave It All Behind

Release dates:

DIGITAL ALBUM:
-Streetdate: OCTOBER 7 2008

CD ALBUM:
-Double disc digipak incl. the album on disc one and the full instrumental version of the album on disc two. The instrumentals are exclusive to the CD release!
-Streetdate: OCTOBER 10 (EUROPE), OCTOBER 14 (US) 2008

VINYL ALBUM:
-Limited to 1000 individually numbered pieces with gatefold artwork
-Includes two bonus remixes not available anywhere else
-Streetdate: TBA

Artist Of The Week - Envelope

It’s no secret that I receive a lot of albums in the mail, so it takes a little something extra for me to really take notice of one based on its cover art. Enter Envelope’s full length collaboration with Blueprint, Shark Bolt!, an album that’s cover features a drawing of a man (presumably Envelope himself) being eaten alive by a giant shark. Sure, we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I had a feeling this CD was going to be an interesting ride. I popped it in and not only was it interesting, it was really dope, which is why this week I caught up with Envelope to find out how the album came to be and discuss everything from some of the theories people have on why he’s named Envelope to what his groupies are like. Click here...