On September 2nd, Hasan Salaam and Rugged N Raw will both be at Fat Beats NY performing and signing copies of their new albums “Children Of God” & “Truth Serum”.
The show starts at 7:00pm, don’t be late!!!
406 6th Ave, 2nd Fl,
New York, NY 10011
Ph: 212.673.3883
They've been major players in the indie rap game for 10 years, and Pumpkinhead, Block McCloud, and Mr. Metaphor finally drop their debut album as Brooklyn Academy. Unofficial fourth member Jean Grae drops in for a handful of tracks, as do guest producers like Marco Polo, Black Milk, Illmind and others...
On September 2nd, Brooklyn Academy (Pumpkinhead, Block McCloud, & Mr. Metaphor) is dropping their long awaited full length LP titled “Bored Of Education”.
To celebrate the release of their album, they’ll be at Fat Beats NY greeting fans, signing copies, and performing. Stop by at 5:00pm to pick your copy up.
406 6th Ave, 2nd Fl,
New York, NY 10011
Ph: 212.673.3883
"This letter is being written under the most dire of circumstances. Three young activists from the University of Minnesota have spent their entire summer working - unpaid - more than full time to put on an event known as "Ripple Effect", set to take place on September 2nd. At this point in time, they are approximately $40,000 dollars short in their budget, but instead of giving up - they are pushing ahead. They know that this event is worth the risk - which is why they need your help. The three of them have already singlehandedly raised over $25,000 dollars, but at two weeks out - a number of their funding sources have fallen through, so they are relying on your contribution. If they can get 2,000 people to donate $20 a piece - they will reach their goal."
To donate via paypal, click here.
(Ripple Effect). Beyond the Convention, Beyond Partisanship. A daylong festival propelling a new wave of progressive action outside the RNC.
September 2nd, 2008, 12:30-7pm
Minnesota State Capitol Lawn, St. Paul, MN
Featuring Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, Dead Prez, Wookie Foot w/ Matisyahu, Medea Benjamin (co-founder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange), Will Steger (arctic explorer and global warming activist), I Self Divine, B. Dolan and Prolyphic, Tru Ruts showcase, the Sustainable Living Roadshow, and more.
On September 2nd 2008, almost 10,000 people will gather at the Minnesota State Capitol Mall to engage in trainings, education, community building, music and art in the name of positive social and environmental change.
With the attention of the nation on St. Paul, RIPPLE EFFECT will go beyond the convention and beyond partisanship to further the already burgeoning global movement for sustainability, justice and equality.
Organized by Substance, a young nonprofit founded by three progressives in their early 20's, RIPPLE EFFECT will create partnerships with a diverse team of local and national organizations to provide a catalyst that will unite activists, engage youth and demonstrate positive action.
Editor’s Note: Hip Hop's involvement in the Obama campaign is not forced but the result of the awakening of a political generation that had nobody legit to rally around until now, writes NAM contributor Russell Morse. Morse is a New York based writer for New America Media.
DENVER -- I can remember very clearly where I was four years ago when I realized that John Kerry and the Democrats were going to lose the presidential election. It was the third night of the Democratic Convention in Boston, and John Edwards had just left the stage after his big address. Moments later, members of the Black Eyes Peas came on stage and started singing, Let's Get It Started (a more p.c. version of their hit Let's Get Retarded). It was such an absurd and contrived moment, partly because The Black Eyed Peas are The Monkees of Hip Hop, and partly because nobody on the convention floor was dancing. I knew Kerry had no chance.
The other night in Denver, however, I was at a rooftop DNC after-party watching Hip Hop veterans Slick Rick and Biz Markie perform onstage. The crowd was a young and colorful mix of delegates and supporters, sweating and cheering and dancing. At one point, Biz started to perform his hit, "Just a Friend," altering the lyrics to deliver a political message:
Obama, you got what I need!
You gonna be the President!
You gonna be the President!
Wild cheers went up in the audience, and I couldn't come up with anything cynical to say. In a perfect twist of fate, members of The Black Eyed Peas were there that night, too -- in the audience.
The sudden, shocking relevance of Hip Hop in presidential politics can be attributed to a number of things. Most obviously, the Democrats have nominated a black man as their candidate. But I don't think that's it. The party looks a lot different than it did four years ago. The faces in the convention hall and the streets of downtown Denver are noticeably younger and more diverse than they were even four years ago.
On the second day of the convention, I found myself in an event hosted by the College Democrats of America called The Hip Hop Caucus. If you're like me, you are surprised to find out that the Democratic Party even has a Hip Hop caucus. The event was, kind of predictably, boring, over-intellectualized and self-important: kind of what you would imagine a Hip Hop class at UC Berkeley to be. The event attracted a number of curious attendees, though.
A group of black teenagers sat in front of me. They had come all the way from New Orleans to the DNC to share their experiences in the wake of Katrina. They came to the Hip Hop caucus expecting something different and I watched them as they melted in their chairs, rolled their eyes and sucked their teeth through hours of oppressive academic analysis from podium-banging blowhards.
One speaker made a point worth mentioning, however. He said that Barack Obama would be not just the first black President, but the first President of the Hip Hop generation. I thought about the significance of that for a while: this is not a tired, old black politician who grew out of the civil rights movement; this is a multicultural man who was barely out of his teens when Grandmaster Flash dropped The Message.
In the past year, several artists have come out with songs in support of Obama's candidacy. Nas built a hit on his new album around a sample of Tupac Shakur's famous line: "And though it seems heaven sent, we ain't ready to see a Black President."
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Obama said he listens to Ludacris on his ipod. Encouraged by that revelation, Luda wrote and performed a song called "Politics", endorsing Obama, while calling Hillary an irrelevant "bitch" and saying John McCain belongs in a wheelchair and not The White House. As funny as it was, Obama learned that having the support of the Hip Hop community can be a mixed blessing.
A notable exception, of course, is mogul Russell Simmons, who early on endorsed Dennis Kucinich. He has also been critical of Obama for his condemnation of derogatory rap lyrics, saying the candidate should "reform the conditions of poverty," not the lyrics of rappers.
More recently, Simmons finally gave his endorsement of Obama late in the primary season, calling him a "spiritual inspiration".
The important point here is that Hip Hop's involvement in this campaign is not forced. It's not a Sprite commercial or a Scion concert. It is the result of the awakening of a political generation that had nobody legit to rally around until now.
The streets of Denver are lined with vendors selling Obama t-shirts. It's similar to what I've seen this year in cities across America: Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco. It used to be the only portraits you saw on the chests of young people were Scarface and Tupac. Now the image on the glittery, XXXL t-shirts you see on the smiling and optimistic faces of the Hip Hop generation is a presidential candidate.
The godfather of a musical form nurtures, sets the bar for, and innovates that form. Afrika Bambaataa did, and continues to do so as a grand marshal of hip-hop and turntable legend. Bambaataa (a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee), who formed the Universal Zulu Nation of rhymers, DJs and break dancers, was one of the first to release hip-hop culture on the world. For those who question whether the state of hip-hop is deteriorating, check the technique (yes, it's an old phrase, but it still applies)—it's all good.
Why do it now: Because there will be a lot of history spun on these turntables
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: Smart Bar at Metro,
3730 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets: $15
21 & over
Doors: 10pm / Show: 10pm
Back with another exclusive from one of the hardest working independent artists in Hip Hop, Wordsmith called "First 6 Months" produced by Nu Revolution In-House producer Capish. This track documents everything that Word's experienced for the first part of 2008!
Watch out for Wordsmith flooding the streets and online in 2008 with a whole host of new projects including the follow up to his successful mixtape with HipHopDX & his collaboration album "Bridging The Gap" with the legendary Chubb Rock!
Today is the 45th anniversary of
Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic
"I Have a Dream" speech.
(NY Daily News) Spike Lee has sharp words in Denver: Don't tell Spike Lee that Barack Obama isn't black enough. The "When the Levees Broke" director says criticisms like those DJ Chuck T made last week on MTV are "crazy." The rap producer, who calls himself "the Malcolm X of hip hop," said, "[Obama] has proven he's willing to turn on anyone just to be President. He's not black, he's biracial! And he wasn't even raised by black people ... Barack doesn't embody the values and characteristics we as black people are raised with."
Lee begs to differ. "First, I go by the ‘one-drop rule,'" he said in Denver, where he has come to see firsthand his man accept the Democratic nomination for President. "One drop [of black blood], and you're black. The truth is, every African-American is biracial. Go back far enough, and you'll find the massah was in the slave quarters."
What's more, Lee countered, "You can't be black and go to Harvard Law School? You can't be black and be articulate?"
Lee also "respectfully disagrees" with Jesse Jackson, who threatened to castrate Obama for publicly chastising missing black fathers. "You can't hide that stuff," Lee told us. "Single-parent households, high-school dropouts. The statistics are there for everybody to see. We have to confront that head-on."
And what does Lee think of Obama's new running mate, Joe Biden, the man who said Obama wasn't ready to be President, even if he was the first "clean" African-American candidate?
"Look," said Lee. "Biden was trying to be the nominee then. If Barack's cool with him, then I am. And Joe Biden can be the muscle guy" who can tussle with John McCain.
Some have suggested that the unflappable Obama should show more muscle - and more passion in his speeches.
"The stereotype is that all black men are angry - that if he's not angry, he's not passionate," mused the filmmaker. "I don't believe that."
Lee was honored by the Creative Coalition at a party at the Mezcal restaurant, where he was joined by Alfre Woodard, Kerry Washington, RZA, Alan Cumming, Matthew Modine and Tim Daly.
He told the gathering not to celebrate - yet.
"Don't be like the New England Patriots - think that you just have to show up," he preached. "The Republicans are going to try all kinds of hijinks. Shenanigans. Trickery. Flimflam. They'll try to hornswoggle us, bamboozle us. It's not a done deal!" (source)
Veteran Bay area emcee Del The Funky Homosapien just released his eight solo album 11th Hour earlier this year. As the Hieroglyphics front-man works on upcoming projects, he has premiered Del’s Leak Pack Volume 1. The volumed released include various rare and unheard recordings throughout Del’s 17 year career of releasing music and prior. The first volume is available for free download. Each collection comes without tracklisting, adding to the releases’ mysticism.
Download
EDGAR ALLEN FLOE PRESENTS: "THE ROAD TO STREETWISE" MIXTAPE
RARE AND UNRELEASED EDGAR ALLEN FLOE TRACKS, WITH PRODUCTION FROM 9TH WONDER, KHRYSIS, J WHEELS, BLUNT, AND MORE
FREE DOWNLOAD COMING SEPT 8, 2008!!!
TRACKLISTING:
1) 9th Wonder Intro (prod. J Wheels)
2) Settle The Score (Floe Verse)
3) Raw Live (Floe Verse)
4) I Don't Know Why (prod. J Wheels)
5) The Dirt (w/Mal Demolish of The Undefined - prod. Erv)
6) This Is Your Life (w/Mal Demolish of The Undefined - prod. Blunt)
7) End Zone (prod. Blunt)
8) The Swag (prod. Aksim)
9) Money Money Floe Floe (Floe Verse)
10) Arkitekz (Floe Verse)
11) Confessions Under Fire (feat. Mal Demolish & Cazmere) (prod. Khrysis)
12) Walk These Streets Alone (w/Mal Demolish of The Undefined) (prod. Blunt)
13) Shine (prod. 9th Wonder)
14) Monumental (Floe Verse)
15) Show You Right (Shonuff) (prod. Blunt)
16) Your Eyes (prod. Prov P)
17) Live Live (prod. TymE)
18) Pressure (prod. Rick Gunnz The General)
19) Mercy (prod. 9th Wonder)
20) Untouchable (prod. 9th Wonder)
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