Belgian emcee GUS (a.k.a. the Great UnStoppable) presents the Manu Dewan-directed music video for his I.N.T.-produced new single “Talk It Over”, featuring vocals from Lucinda Slim and backing vocals from U-Gene. A force on the Belgian hip-hop scene since 1991, GUS first stepped out as an artist alongside talents like Krewcial and Moiano, recording and performing across western Europe. He was the first official recording artist on Belgian label Brick 9000, dropping his solo debut “Word to the Wize” as well as work with his collective DHL. GUS has opened up for De La Soul, The Pharcyde, Black Eyed Peas, Common, The Roots, Bilal, Jill Scott, The GZA, The Game, Xzibit, The Last Poets, Black Star ( Mos Def & Talib Kweli), Tony Touch, Cash Money, Craig David and Beck, and has collaborated with DJ Grazzhoppa, I.L.L., Versatell and more.
Several months after opening shows at Los Angeles’ Roxy (video) and San Francisco’s Low End Theory (video), Fatlip, Slimkid3, J-Swift, L.A. Jay and Delicious Vinyl have taken Bizarre Ride Live - the performance that recreates The Pharcyde’s classic 1992 debut Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde onstage – from Canada to Japan to Singapore and back (video). Bowing to popular demand, they now announce their return to Europe for a series of summer dates across England, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Italy, France, Holland and Germany. Original Pharcyde emcees Fatlip and Slimkid3 combine with Bizarre Ride producers J-Swift and L.A. Jay as well as former Wascals emcee K-Natural, blurring the lines between a straight up hip-hop show and a theatrical performance. Expect animated hip-hop, energetic raps, bright colors, b-boy throw-downs, magnetic visuals, a heavy dose of humour, and absolutely everything in between. Bizarre Ride Live commemorates the 20th anniversary of Delicious Vinyl’s release of the LP Kanye West calls his “favorite album”, re-released as a 3-CD deluxe edition (view here), and revisited by UK deejay Chris Read for his Wax Poetics-sponsored 20th-anniversary mix, which blends many of the alternate versions found in the deluxe edition (listen here). Since embarking on Bizarre Ride Live, the crew have been featured on District MTV (watch interview here), Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds’ Juan Epstein podcast (listen here) and the Tim Westwood show (watch here).
Milwaukee emcee/producer/musician Klassik presents the Xavier Ruffin-directed music video for “Forever Whatever”, the second single from his album In The Making. Two years after his father inspired him to pick up the saxophone, a young Klassik was being mentored by sax legend Berkley Fudge. By high school he was touring Europe as a professional jazz musician and experimenting with beat production programs like Fruity Loops. A couple of years later he dropped out of the University of Wisconsin to pursue music. Since releasing In The Making, Klassik has won ”Solo Artist of the Year” 2012 for the 88.9 Radio Milwaukee Music Awards, “Rap/Hip Hop Artist of the Year” for the 2013 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards, Milwaukee Magazine named the first single “Anything” (watch video here) as the “Catchiest Song Of The Year”, and the album spent 15 weeks on CMJ’s Top 40 hip-hop charts. ”Life is about rolling with the punches and finding the silver lining in everything,” says Klassik about the song. “Staying positive is how I stay afloat in the midst of the darkness, so all the negative, at the end of the day, is forever whatever.” Klassik is slated to open for Talib Kweli at this year’s Summerfest.
Southside Chicago rapper Chi City presents the Kajmir Beats/Klay Dots-directed video to “Early Morning Dreams”, the Kajmir-produced single from his new album My Untold Story, featuring Kid Daytona and Ronnie Martini, as well as production from Dreamcatchers, Traksounds and more. With over nine underground tapes bearing his name – his last being 2011′s Who Is Chi City – Chi has collaborated with Cory Gunz, Mullyman and has toured with Philadelphia Freeway, Mickey Factz, Mikey Halsted and Daytona. He was crowned Coast To Coast’s Indie Artist Next To Blow and has performed at the BET Artist Showcase and ThisIs50.com’s Independent Fridays. He has ghostwritten for B.O.B., Diggy Simmons and G.O.O.D. Music affiliates. The idea [for 'Early Morning Dreams'] came from me wanting to tell about how so judgemental and backwards most people are, and how the thought of having everything can make some people really lose everything in the same process,” says Chi.
New Orleans producer/deejay Quickie Mart presents his new single “Spectacle”, available free on his Soundcloud page. “Spectacle” comes on the heels of a slew of releases from Quickie Mart’s Beatport imprint Super Mart Produce, among them tracks from bass artists Partymonster, Computa Games and Rroid Drazr, as well as his remix of New Orleans bounce pioneer Ricky B’s classic “Shake Fa Ya Hood” (video). Last year Quickie Mart released the Space Monkey Radio EP, a collection of artist-approved dubstep remixes of songs also including rapper Freddie Gibbs, California ska-funk outfit Slightly Stoopid and singers Shyvonne and Justina which debuted at #4 on the Beatport charts. In the last two years alone Quickie Mart has released four volumes of the Haze Diaries mixtape series with rapper Gotham Green, featuring Freddie Gibbs and Planet Asia. Visit Quickie’s Soundcloud page to get an advance stream of his upcoming Royal Records remix of “Robomonster” by
Producer AF THE NAYSAYER presents “Imagerial Denouement”, his new single featuring Myka Nyne of Freestyle Fellowship. A tribute to the late Japanese producer Nujabes, Reserved Records has released “Denouement” on limited-edition 7″ vinyl. A native Californian, AF now splits his time between Lake Charles, Lousiana and New Orleans, where he has become a mainstay of the city’s burgeoning electronic beat scene. The cover is a painting from artist Wes Sumerall, and the single was mastered by Richard Simpson, responsible for work with the Monkees and David Bowie. ”Originally ‘Denouement’ was just an instrumental, made before Nujabes death,” AF explains. “The title is a play on words of his song ‘Imaginary Folklore’. This song was my tribute to Nujabes, because he has such a large influence on my work.” Reserved Records is offering the digital version and a choice of the vinyl or a poster of the cover art for a special price at their Bandcamp page. The digital version is also available on iTunes.
“‘Imagerial Denouement’ reminds me of a mix between Roy Ayers and something I would hear at a Herb Kent Steppers ball. Very mellow but very danceable at the same time.” -Mr Echoes of The Opus
After great success with their first compilation album, The Best of Both Offices, founded by Young Sav + Steve O, are preparing to release the second installment of the series April 16th. Spearheaded by Immanuel Smith of BOBO, the project will once again feature A-list and up-and-coming artists alike, starting with the first project single “Weight.” Produced by Harry Fraud, “Weight” comes courtesy of Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose and guest appearances from N.O.R.E. and Smoke DZA.
16-year-old emcee Y-Roc presents “Now In Charge”, a song over DJ Premier’s “Supa Star” beat, made famous by NYC duo Group Home’s 1995 album Livin’ Proof, which Y-Roc rhymes over in full for his forthcoming mixtape Resurrection Of The Livin’ Proof. Picking up musical influences from his father’s record collection, albums like Reasonable Doubt, Low End Theory and Doe Or Die inspired Y-Roc to step to the mic, releasing the Word Is Born EP a few months back (listen here). “The inspiration behind Resurrection Of The Livin’ Proof actually came from listening to the Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg Morning Show on Hot 97,” explains Y-Roc. “They were having a DJ Premier tribute mix on his birthday and they Peter said that if an up and coming MC would just rock over the whole G roup Home album and was able to really pull it off, than they would be out of here. So that’s were the whole idea and inspiration to do it really came from.” Resurrection Of The Livin’ Proof drops May.
Los Angeles-based rapper Brian Ashton presents the Muttjob Movies-directed video for “More, Money, Power”, his Matt Mega-produced new single. “More” features vocalist Lil Ms of Los Angeles funk/hip-hop collective The Milky Way. Born to an African-American father and a Canadian Jewish mother, Brian heads his own label, Palmside Entertainment, dedicated to exposing the talent in Palms, the Los Angeles neighborhood he calls home. “The song’s meaning relates to how the world operates”, Brian explains. “The ones with money get to reap the benefit of its power, such as more clothes and more girls. My meaning behind “More, Money, Power” is to make money doing what it is you were set on this earth to do. I know talented people working harder and making less than people that aren’t nearly as talented. I know extremely talented people that are struggling to get by on a daily basis. I’m tired of the struggle and those that abuse what power they have.”
Fresh off of the release of his instrumental album, Yen Dollar Music, Vol. 1 (via ProducersIKnow.com), the multi-talented East Point, GA native Yamin, formerly known as DJ AmDex, presents the Derek “Zero” Evans-directed music video for “Yamin”, his self-produced single from his debut solo album Yamin, out now. “This song was done in the spirit of self-actualization,” Yamin explains. “The bigger picture is that the world is filled with people who have been displaced due to war, slavery, and scarcity brought on by both. The chorus is a mantra for all of us who understand what that feels like, yet refuse to lose ourselves in the storm.” Features on the new album include John Robinson (Scienz of Life, DOOM, J. Rawls), Boog Brown (Mello Music Group), Chopp (The Smile Rays, Dillon), Blc Txt (King I Divine), Gotta Be Karim (Black Spade, Do For Self). “Gone Today, Here Tomorrow” features a cameo from DT, Yamin’s partner in rap duo Clan Destined, whose third LP Self Titled, received 5 out of 5 stars on CreativeLoafing.com (read the review here). The “Yamin” video follows on the heels of the video for the album’s first single/videos “Yamintro” (watch here) and “Never Leave” (watch here). Yamin produces all but two songs, which are handled by fellow ATL producer Illastrate. Yamin is available at yaminsemali.bandcamp.com.
The career of Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Carl Palmer – named one of the ten greatest drummers of all time by Rolling Stone – has taken many exceptional twists and turns over the last four decades. He sold fifty million records of progressive rock as one third of British ‘70s supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, proving complex, cerebral music can go mainstream. His subsequent work with Asia cemented his legacy as the drummer with the golden touch, and his use of gongs and tambourines established him as a maverick among rhythm keepers worldwide. It thus follows that Palmer has taken another step beyond the limits with “Twist of the Wrist”, a collection of 200 limited-edition fine art pieces created in collaboration with notorious Los Angeles art team SceneFour which employs innovative technology to transmute Palmer’s playing onto canvas.
Since his youth in his native Birmingham, drums have been Carl Palmer’s life, having played with some of music’s most iconic groups like Atomic Roost, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Asia, and of course Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was with Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that Carl would become regarded as a drummer’s drummer, gaining worldwide fame through a sophisticated melding of progressive rock, classical music and electronic on some of the most successful albums ever released in the progressive rock genre. Palmer also took ambitious creative turns along the way, like starring in The Solo, the acclaimed 2010 art film by Andrew Cross.
Selling briskly since its February 1 release, “Twist of the Wrist” comprises 11 pieces of which 200 canvases exist, ranging in dimension from 30″x18″ to 60″x 33″ and designed to be affordable to art and music buyers alike. Boasting names like “Tank”, “Infinite Space” and “Endless Enigma”, Carl worked together with SceneFour throughout 2012 to create the pieces, which feature elements from his classic gong performances and showcases various classic rhythms in Carl’s catalog and how they translate visually to canvas. The collection even proved instrumental in the naming of his current tour, which he dubbed “Twist of the Wrist” in conjunction.
“Twist of the Wrist” is one of several innovative projects from Scenefour (scenefour.com), the art team specializing in the conceptual and design of collaborative artwork with musical icons. The RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Bootsy Collins of Parliament/James Brown fame and Chuck D of Public Enemy are just a handful of Scenefour’s collaborators, whose work can be seen in their 2011 book Come Together published by Edition Iconix. “Twist Of The Wrist” is the newest addition to their “Art Of Drums” series, which also boasts collections from Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, Guns N Roses drummer Matt Sorum, Jose Pasillas II of Incubus and Jane’s Addiction stickman Stephen Perkins.
Murs and 9th Wonder present the Hobostewd-directed music video for “What Up Tho”, a cut from their new album The Final Adventure, out now. Adventure is Murs and 9th’s final album together. The iTunes edition include two bonus tracks, while the iTunes deluxe version includes the bonus tracks and all of the instrumentals. Murs recently released This Generation, his collaboration album with Cali rapper Fashawn, both currently on the road together for a series of US shows. This year’s installment of Paid Dues, the indie hip-hop festival Murs spearheaded several years ago, is all set for March 30. Slated to perform are Trinidad James, Talib Kweli, Juicy J and more.
