BILLIE AND BLU

What I love so much about Blu on joints like this is, they just have so much soul and style. Even the way Blu is dressed in that pic featured in the vid, I'm really starting to dig that musician-type unique fashion. Same type of guys that walk around with an instrument and are found in backstreet jazz cafes can be seen wearing such hats and sporting such hair-styles and simple clothing. The style is of a similar mold to that carried by Akil and Adeline. If you're not too sure who either of them are, you're in for a treat pretty soon when I put you up on them.

This song in particular fills my mind with images of a 1920/30's-esque New York apartment window overlooking the city on a rainy day. I would most def be zoned out in my converted warehouse apartment, working to the sounds of Blu. Of course the scene is black and white and the silhouette of a grand piano can be seen blocking the light from the tall, grid leaded window, stained with rain drops. The people walk briskly down below with their black umbrellas or jumping inside their ford automobiles.
Papers filled with writing are sprawled across a workspace that includes a smoldering cigar, the smoke just about still rising.

This is the type of joint I love to hear while working and a song that would instantly add a style and sophistication factor to any apartment if I heard it upon entering. The owner would gain automatic respect from me. It's also the sort of vibe I would hope could be found in a Jazz or Blues club. It's actually a slight goal of mine to visit a Blues/Jazz club and sit in a dark corner observing the dark smokey scene, absorbing the ambience. All whilst quietly and slowly puffing on my over-sized cigar, and I don't even smoke. I hear there's a dope club in Barcelona, if you've heard about that one, get at me!

'Below The Heavens' assured that Blu is virtually a legend in my eyes, nah F that he is a legend! Blu is too exclusive to be considered 'hot' or similar adjectives. He assumes legendary status simply because he goes about doing his thing quietly, rarely being seen and cooking up absolute crack that, for the first few years usually goes largely unnoticed.
Blu actually has 1920's/30's inspired videos, but this is my 2p and Blu is someone that there need not be written a biography for, he's that legendary.

Blu and Billie, now that's swagger. All these fools out here talking about swagger but this is real swagger. These guys are the real cool cats. More laid back than the biggest weed head you know and runnin' with more style than than any of these fashion 'aficionados' out here today. Ride it out Blu...



Peace.

FIBA AND GLAMOUR

The Fiba World Championship is about to start real soon, therefore it's only appropriate that a little something is dedicated to ballin'. The USA has a pretty strong team this year so despite their being seeded 2nd behind Argentina, expect them to dominate. I've strayed away from basketball over the past year and in some way that may be partly due to my association with Hip Hop. It bugs me a little that ballers try and adopt this 'cool' and 'down' image through Hip Hop. No doubt the culture had a big influence on basketball as a sport. Baggy shorts and the swagger every player attempts to walk and talk with comes as a direct result of the Hip Hop culture. I think someone once said something along the lines of 'every basketball player secretly wants to be a rapper.' That may be a slight exaggeration but the sentiment is to some extent true. I'm getting tired of seeing ballers use this whole inner city, 'cool', 'hip' culture as a means of marketing, especially when many of these guys derive from the burbs just like everyone else. Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of many Nike ads and Nike clothing in general but, it bugs me when guys try and force a certain swagger on themselves just to come across like a cool cat. Marketing campaigns or ads that force a Hip Hop swagger on to a player purely because he's black will rarely come off authentic. I guess what I'm trying to get a here is that, most emcees in their youth wanted to be ballers. Yet once they make the big time as a rapper, that's it, they're content. Whereas most ballers that make it to the league, still idolise big time rappers, heck some of them go to the extent of making albums (no need to name names). The fact that all their money can build them a studio, doesn't equate to them producing a 5 mic album, unfortunately for them. I just think ballers in general need to pay more respect to a culture (hop) that gave the league it's street etiquette and cred. It added style and smoothness to the game, style that most players seem to think they were raised with or even created.

I know a couple of serious ballers and they seems to think it's their right to walk, talk and dress a certain way purely because they are basketball players. They may even from time to time look down on someone of perhaps a different race or stature to them, when in fact that person knows more of Hip Hop culture and 'swagger' than they do. I just don't understand why. If they don't know jack about Hip Hop as a musical outlet or culture, then why in the hell do they feel they have to act 'cool' 'laid-back' and 'down' with Hip Hop fashion? What because they're Black or Latino? They'll never be as 'cool' (I've used that word a lot here) as their favourite rappers. Maybe they should just stop acting like groupies and do themselves since a whole bunch of young men and women look up to them. Hip Hop is a movement all on it's own, and all though I think to an extent it's ill that basketball has assimilated Hip Hop elements in to the sport both on and off the court, it's just merged a little too much for my liking. To the point where basketball players who are doing quite well for themselves, I'm talking college players etc.... think they can converse with me, or even try to school me,on a Hip Hop level. Fall back, a ball and some baggy shorts won't tell you the difference between Lupe and Lil Jon. Shout outs to all the honest Hip Hop head ballers though!

For The Love of The Game from Nice Kicks on Vimeo.

I was once the kinda guy that would be right up on videos like these. Shot nicely with a quality (in this case HD, goddammit I need one) camera and with the cleanliness that only comes with a Nike styled commercial. New York City is usually the perfect setting and the music is always on point if not inspirational. Yet this type of layout seems to be wearing a little thin. It's tedious to hear players constantly talk about how they 'made it,' especially when quite often there's some huge glamourisation occurring. 'The basketball court was my escape' is a favourite or, 'Practice would finish, but I'd stay behind to run suicides' another. This is all well and good and I may be coming across like Uncle Pessimistico here but I feel, to a certain extent kids are being misled. Sure when you reach the final stages of basketball (or any sport's) adolescence - that time when you have to decide if you're going to pursue this as a career - that's when things should start to become really serious. For me, if you're not walking around with a ball everywhere, constantly playing in the house and literally playing (unwittingly practicing) all the time, then the sport isn't for you. You won't make it. What D.Wade and Melo are describing in their up-bringing is not a tenacious work-ethic (although in certain player's cases it is), it's a love for the game matched by few others. Constantly going out to the courts wasn't done in an attempt to 'get better,' at least not until they were way in to their teens. No, at first this was just subconscious love for basketball. Too many kids believe that if they go out and shoot so many shots a day then they can really make it. That mentality is a bad sign already. Fact of the matter is, if you have to consciously think about going to a court and shooting at such a young age then you could be destined for failure. It's impossible to continue and exceed at something you have to force upon yourself. Unless you're born 8ft tall, it's likely you'll need to really love this game in order to pursue it as a career. However this leads on to understanding whether you really do 'love' the game. If a basketball movie or clip inspires you to go out and play, you know those 'Ahh I feel like playing now, man' moments you get because you just watched some of the best in the business? Yeah that's not a good sign. Most athletes would actually be annoying the person they are watching the film with because the movie actually made them feel like bouncing or kicking a ball around, while it's still playing.
Moreover on the subject of being mislead. Adverts make courts and pitches look so fresh. Documentaries make childhood courts of and towns of the superstars appear so nostalgic and dope. Yet these shorts films and still frames can't depict the less alluring aspects to such venues. Michael Jordan's boyhood backyard court is a great example. MJ grew up playing there right, so I bet a bunch of people would love to have had such a court after seeing the tattered yet mesmerising hoops on 'Michael Jordan To The Max' and 'Come Fly With Me.' People forget about the wind that would have graced that out-door court. The untrue bounce they would have received from the grass. Oh these things hit home when people venture to such places and realise it's the same as any other court, so they get pissed off. 'The movie made me wanna play but the skills I tried to re-create didn't look anything like the movie....crap!' Don't think playing on such a court is what made MJ so great. Your skills on the same court would develop very differently to his because at the end of it all, you are two different people. Similarly don't think playing at Madison Sq. or Rucker Park will automatically raise your game. There's still a 10ft high ring, backboard and 23 somthin' feet 3 point line.



So to conclude this awful ramble; this whole basketball-inspirational-glamourisation type thing that's been going on in advertising for a good while now is somewhat scarily misleading to young kids. Yes it's great to hear success stories of players working hard for their dreams but that's just it, 'their' dreams. They were lucky enough to have a passion as a youth that pays a ridiculous amount of cash-money as an adult. If it's your passion fair enough, work to get it, but look deep down and discover whether it really is what you love doing, or simply like doing and continue to do so because that's what you always have done. If you have a mind and actually have interest in discovering other things in this world that stray from the path of basketball or football or tennis, then maybe you should follow that calling. Professional sports are often such that, until you make it and create some time for yourself, there's no time for other hobbies or serious interests. Many will argue that this is why football players and ballers are usually a little on the dopey side. A knowledgeable mind (not intelligent, the most intelligent person on Earth could have litte knowledge whatsoever) is a curious mind. From my experience, not a good trait if sports is your thing. Focus will inevitably be lost when it's discovered that there's more to the world than the rectangular piece of asphalt you stand on and the 'Spalding' engrained leather in your hand.

Remember that sometimes players like to make a fuss and story over exactly how they 'made it' because sometimes it's hard to just state that 'I made it' plain and simple. Notice how a number of famous figures do this kind of thing. It's almost as if they try and make out like they're more special than they actually are. 'I was always trying to find out exactly how things worked,' or ,'He used to sit all day and write comics and feature length movie scripts,' or 'Basketball was my escape from the streets.' Those type of sayings are all well and good, perhaps some are even 100% true. However they mislead the young in to thinking these folks had no normal upbringing, as if they were never just normal kids once. They'd rather give some little anecdote about how they're mother or father instilled in them life lessons that got them where they are today. Many parents do such things. Instilling work ethic and drive in to children is common among all good parents. So don't go constantly looking for these movie-romantic, Hollywood moments in your life in the hope that you can one day talk of similar stories. Life a is lot less glamourous in the present than when it is being recounted in the future, so be thankful for what you have and do what you love. If it leads to fame and fortune, then and only then, can you come with the bullshit stories of the blog being your escape from reality, photographing dramatic stills of a solitary chair in a room with a single computer hiding the less enchanting aspects to the room itself.

Well that was a tad depressing. We need a mood lightener next.

SABADO DOS BRASILEIROS....

This Saturday forth shall be known around these parts as 'Saturday of the Brazilians' or 'Sábado dos Brasileiros.'

Basically what I've been running across lately is crazy number of Brazilian tracks that are just too dope, funky, fresh and every other positive adjective in the book. So fly are they, that I feel compelled to share these tracks with the world. Just the other day I rediscovered some of this year's Samba tracks that were the soundtrack to individual Samba schools at the Rio Carnaval. Although those songs and chants hold personal memories of my visit to Rio, I think many will agree on the overall 'head-nodding' and 'crowd participation' desire brought upon any listener. Hearing those catchy chorus' and infectious drum beats is a great way to wake up on a Saturday morning. Those tracks will get their play at some point but to start things off, I'm actually gonna come at you with something a little more mellowed out. I did a short piece on the Singer/rapper Curumin and his backing band just over a week back. UK readers and football fans will most likely recognise his song, 'Gurreiro' from one of the many Nike 'Joga Bonito' adverts.

Anywho, this song right here is entitled, 'Vem Menina.' My Portuguese is no where near perfect or even good, I can't pick up on most of the lyrics however I can pick up on the fact that it's about a girl. 'Menina' is a girl and 'Vem' is to come. In a nut shell the girl is putting him through a spot of trouble and hassle, meanwhile he's telling her things he wants to do with her.

The thing I'm really diggin' about the track is the little guitar rift. Simple guitar rifts are apparent in a lot of Brazilian music. I hope to be able to produce ill rifts and interludes like that one day, seems like something that's just cool to know how to do. Being able to pick up a guitar and sporadically churn out a little rift like that automatically brings a smile to people's faces and adds a little rhythm to the room.

What's more, the verse Curumin spits after the listener becomes accustomed to his soft-spoken, smooth lryics, is somewhat of a surprise. Though his flow is ill and the verse eventually turns out nothing short of dope. I've got a thing for how a singer or emcee re-enters a track after an instrumental interlude, it can either turn out brilliant or horrible. The artist has to latch back on to the beat and ride it out perfectly. Freddie Gibbs does it well at the start of his 'Flamboyant' freestyle while Biggie was a master of the craft. Curumin pulls it off well here at around the 3 minute mark. Let me stop talking now and proceed with the audio.

Curumin - 'Vem Menina'

Be sure to check out the album this track derives from, 'Archados e Perdidos' for more dopes sounds from this man and his crew.

A NEW CHAPTER....

Probably should have titled this post a new book, since my writing is now going to be on display in a completely different place and format to what I have going on over here. What I'm mean by that silly attempt at some metaphorical blah blah yackidy smackidy, is that my (up to date) musical and Hip Hop inclined posting can now be found over at www.thewordisbond.com
Jose and the guys over there have got a great thing going on already which hopefully I can add to in some small way. The blog itself is somewhat of an underground Hip Hop specialist blog, though don't be too surprised to see other mediums and genres thrown in the mix. I challenge you to feast your eyes upon the first page and kick-back as you gradually and unknowingly get drawn in to reading 5-10-20 pages deep. It's pretty damn addictive. In the short time frame of the blogs existence and my reading of it, the number of artists the folks over there have put me on to is somewhere in double figures. There's plenty of lesser known great music out there that may be a little difficult to find. These guys are here to point you in the right direction.

Make sure you check it out, you never know, you may discover your favourite artist of tomorrow.

PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF.....

The past few days have been a little hectic to say the least. I know I promised some post material on Tunisia while I was out there but I decided early-on that it would most likely be easier to accumulate everything and present it once I got home. If I'm being honest, I'm actually fairly annoyed at myself. I enjoyed my time out there seeing fam and just taking everything in. It's always a healthy break from life and western culture in general. Though what has annoyed me is my not taking opportunities that were clearly presented to me. There were so many ill pictures to be taken but I flopped. The fact that I'm runnin' with part Tunisian blood and brown skin means that I can easily pass as a local. Therefore I (stupidly) become a little embarrassed when it comes to taking pictures of locals, landmarks and views. Over the past few years I've become somewhat of a regular visitor anyway, so maybe it's that fact lingering in the back of my mind that stops me from acting like a complete tourist. You could say in the same way that we as natives of our respective cities, don't go around taking pictures of domestic landmarks. I've seen Big Ben a whole bunch of times though have never been compelled to have my picture taken with the big guy.
Alas, it shouldn't be too long before I'm back in the South of Tunisia (which I'd like to add is far more beautiful than the North, both the people and the landscape) again. It's been decided already that a face project is to be conducted. Tunisia is such a mixed country. Near enough every civilization has been through that small land at some point. With the exception of the East Asians and Natives of the Americas, the likes of the Egyptians; Romans, Greeks, Nubians, various West African kingdoms, the Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese and more have graced Tunisian soil. The people themselves reflect this wide mix of genetics in a similar way that Brasilians represent such genetic variation. Tunisians all appear slightly different. Some with curly hair, some afro, some more asian in appearance with straight hair, some middle eastern looking. Therefore I found it captivating just people-watching at markets or on the beach. Old men with straw hats and faces leathery from decades exposed to the African sun sit playing chess or drinking coffee. These guy's faces would just make for some fresh black and white photos, unique in appearance, I can picture the results now. Seeing the troubled faces and searching expressions of the guys sitting behind counters with bodies of animal meat racked up above them. Men grouped under trees that serve to shelter them from the heat reigning down on them. All fascinating stuff that I plan to capture on my next visit. Hopefully if my French improves then i can actually explain to people what the hell I'm doing.

So you can expect to see over the next few posts, a little information on local customs and people. Though I'm going to try and stay away from talking about the country itself too much, as any info I give can most likely be found on our good friend Wikipedia.
Let me adjust back to this English keyboard, weeks on a jumbled French keyboard has messed with my fingers. Apologies in advance for any typos I don't spot. Let the posting commence!

FAVELA PT.1

The Favela is a major part of Brasilian cosmopolitan culture whether Brasil's wealthier natives like it or not. The people, sounds and creativity that the hillside and outskirts shanty towns exude in abundance add a different dimension to the great cities of Brasil.
I'm going to talk about the Favelas of Rio De Janeiro in particular here, simply because that's where my experience lies.

Upon arrival in the 'Cidade Maravilhosa' (marvelous city), it's hard not to notice - especially when taking the 'REAL' bus from the airport - the slums that surround the 'jewel' of South East Brasil. These are perhaps the worst of all Favelas in Rio receiving less attention from the Government and police forces. This is in large part due to their being out of sight and touching distance from the hoards of tourists that grace the wavy tiles of the Copacabana and Ipanema strips each year.



Hey asshole! Read some more...

CURUMIN

The writing of other post material and certain undercover work is moving slow today so forget the reading and writing for a second and press play. 'Malandro', to the best of my knowledge, is like a trickster, little rascal or rebel, however you want to put it. 'Tudo bem' is of course 'alright,' 'you good' etc..

Curumin - 'Tudo Bem Malandro'

DID I JUST BUST A LIL....

While the ungratefuls complain on Twitter, Lupe is giving the fans what they want regardless of label bitchassness. Well at least a snippet of what they want. I feel for the man somewhat. He could have what turns out to be another 'Food And Liquor' case on his hands, and I would hate to see the watering down of this forthcoming album just to satisfy some business folk.

Lupe Fiasco - Go To Sleep

WIFEY MATERIAL PT.2

I'm feeling a trend continuing here from the original Janelle Monae post. What this title and post will now be dedicated to will not necessarily be the most 'beautiful' women on Earth. Instead, it will be following suit of my like for Janelle Monae. That being a Woman's style, intelligence, uniqueness and god damn cutie-pieness. All that, deems them wifey material upon picture-proof only. No 'damn she's sexy' chicks here. Simply 'damn she looks like marriage material' straight off the bat without even talking to her. From this post onward, posts like these require no further explanation. If you can't understand why I have chosen a particular lady for this accolade to top all accolades, research her a little and find out why before complaining.

I digress. So now I proceed with, Allyson Felix.







Peesh King.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT. IT'S ANNOYING...

Well dam, ha ha, my god. Tyson most definitely won that battle.

Some say I'm a hater for not jumping on the whole Usain Bolt is King bandwagon. Here's what i have to say:

I don't not like Bolt. I just want Asafa to win the major championship he has always deserved to win. Plus I don't like the fact that all of a sudden, everyone is a bolt dick-rider and loves Athletics now just because he's in it. The 100m has been exciting from day 1 before bolt came along. All the batty-oles comin' up to me saying crap like 'It's so weird man, Bolt just came outta no where'....not really, he went to Athens where he was knocked out in the first round. He went to the 2007 world champs where tyson kicked his ass in the 200 and won the double PLUS he had to work his way up the Jamaican schools National Championships....basically, he put in work, don't act like he grew up on a farm and was retardedly running after a chicken one day when an olympic coach happened to walk by and say, 'Hey son, you're pretty fast' next thing you know he's in the bloody olympics. I'm sick of retards man, people in general, they don't read or look in to anything before they open their mouths. If some one's gonna try to enlighten me on athletics or football or basketball or America or Palestine or Africa, please make sure you've actually read up on it before trying.

Athletics is best viewed live. More so than any other sport. When you see these athletes up close you actually begin to comprehend just how quickly they're moving or how high or far they're jumping. Only one youtube clip, that I'll link to at a later date, has ever given just a glimpse of this speed across ground. The T.V does the sport no justice at all. Everyone has pre-conceived ideas based on their own ability. 'Sure these guys are fast but I mean, they're not going to be light-years faster then me as, I'm pretty quick.' No. Trust me. These guys are professional athletes for a reason. Some 6 and a half billion people live on the face of this planet and those 8 who stand before you made it.
It bothers me that people act as the mainstream media does and simply only take the sport at face value. If Usain Bolt and the 100m has interested you that much, watch it more often. Don't be an idiot and say you don't like athletics, that's ignorant. It's those same type of people who will do the same thing to a sport or activity you love. I know it annoys certain basketball players when people get caught up in the Jordan or Lebron hype, rockin' the clothes yet knowing nothing of basketball. Same thing. Just dig a little deeper, you may surprise yourself and actually like what you find and see.

People aren't interested in gaining more knowledge or information on a particular subject that's out of their comfort zone. They just wanna see ill shit and move on. If what Usain or any other athlete did is that ill it makes you wanna; rock the t-shirt, become a member of the facebook group, like the facebook fan page and talk about it the next day at school, uni or work, then why not follow the sport a little?...Instead of being someone that claims knowledge on a subject or simply hops on the hype and fad surrounding Usain Bolt.

THE THROWN IS OPEN...

The last few Athletics seasons have been mind-blowing for any long-term fans of the 100m. Maybe not as exciting as previous seasons including the likes of Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene along with their rivals. Though nobody can deny from a stop-watch perspective, there's never been better.
I've wanted to do a post on Athletics since I started this blog and I even touched on the sport at the beginning. Though it comes today almost as a direct result of Tyson Gay defeating Usain Bolt in Stockholm last night.

What this pic doesn't show is the comfortable distance Tyson won this race by

It was bound to happen sooner or later, although it may come as a shock to people who don't follow the sport dead regularly. Let me try my best to break this down quickly, since these things (me) always have a habit of going on and on....

YE RETURNS...

Word on the title. It's funny how in Hip Hop circles Kanye is more often than not referred to as Ye. Whereas among the commercial fans and 'Rap' websites he's known as 'Yeezy'....Yeah, we didn't jump on that whole 'eezy' hype being added on to names. Snoop made it big, you just killed it.

Kanye's latest offering is set to drop sometime in October, but who really knows when it comes to this guy. I'm not really a fan of the obnoxious idiot. It bothers me that he thinks he's the only person that puts heart and passion in to his music. It bothers me more, that rather than just bragging about being great like most rappers do, you can honestly tell this man thinks he's only a hop-step and jump away from God himself.

However, all that being said, I am a fan of the man's music. The title of this post wasn't aimed at highlighting the fact that Kanye is back with a new album. Instead it was meant as reference to Chi-town's beat aficionado returning to his style of old. That being, heavily soul-sampled beats with straight forward lyrics, at times heartrendingly emotional, at others blatantly arrogant. A style that Ye has made his own. No Kanye's not the best lyracist in the game -there's even rumours of ghostwriters - nor on the whole does he make the best albums. Though his powerful beat selection is always ill and when accompanied by raw passion (in abundance), there's no denying the classic Hip Hop sound of his music.

Word is filtering through that this year he may be joined by RZA, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier on the producing side of things. If that's the case, someone tell this man to pass a note to Nas instructing the idiot to follow suit. Hopefully what that line-up also means, is that the electro/techno sounding beats he's been using over the past couple of albums are now dead. For me, that totally ruined his music and the music of others that blindly followed the trend (Usher), 808's was just horrible. Not Hip Hop at all. A statement you may reply to with, 'There's more to music than just Hip Hop you know!' Yes, you're right there is. But I look to Kanye for Hip Hop. If i wanted alternative or electro, I'd look elsewhere. Think Anthony Hamilton trying to rap when there's already millions doing it better.I know Ye was being creative and 'ground-breaking,' trying to push boundaries, but the bottom line is, the music was type turd.

It's a joke that Jay-Z made a song called 'Death Of Auto-Tune' co-produced by Kanye, the King of using auto-tune. Many people don't know this but the pair actually made an auto-tune song together until Kanye came up with the idea of doing an 'anti' auto-tune song. This was furthered by removing all auto-tune tracks from Blueprint 3. The fact that he even had them on there just shows you Jay-z's lack of integrity. And I like Jay some what, but he has lost all integrity as an artist. He's a business man, not a musician. If he thinks going against the grain (current trend) like that will gain attention and make him a quick buck, he'll do so. But then he'll go straight to using an auto-tune song on his next album, that's what he's like.

Despite being based on that ridiculous egyptian chain he rocks,
this is live.

Anyway, there's been much debate about the covers. Personally I think the two I've pictured here look real clean and fresh. They would transcend time, still looking dope in decades to come. But unfortunately there have been other images noted as possible selections. Though those look a little photoshop cartoony or straight up corny. I like the faded minimalist approach to colours on these ones here.

I hope Kanye's fans way back from College Dropout and Late Registration days, love this album. I hope it caters to them. Ultimately I hope fans of 808 and wack Hip Hop in general hate this album. Infact it would bring me great pleasure to know that they do. However with losers like Drake featuring (must be hard when you know Kanye's only featuring you to raise publicity. Ha! you know Drake's the type of guy Ye would have cursed out back in the day) along with Niki Manaj, it's sure to appeal to the lame crowd also. The track list I've seen looks a little disappointing. He's doing that thing I mentioned before that i hate, which is including a million featuring artists on you're own album. I bought you're album to hear you, not them. Take heed from Illmatic and only use one, at most two features. That being said, Mos Def, Common and Phonte look set to feature so, that may just counteract the onslaught of 'ewww' we'll hear from those previously mentioned.

Am i expecting any less hedonism, hubris, extravagance and overall egotism?.......Of course not it's Kanye.

Some videos just leaked of 'the making of power' and the album itself, go google.
EDIT: I discovered during the writing of this post that those two covers were made by 'Casso,' a kanyelive forum member. Good shit sir.

Peesh.

GOLD!

This post links to the last in that I heard iFFy did a freestyle over the 'Starstruck' beat! But I can't find that shit anywhere, which is annoying coz that beat is just ridiculous.
The production to it and the song itself comes from the self-titled album of my latest infatuation, Santigold (formerly Santogold, I know right, I barely noticed either)...

Click read more for tracks and info...

Feelin' iFFY...

I stumbled across an iFFy (formerly known as feRRis Lo) song accidentally late last year and have been bumping it ever since. It only occurred to me a few months back that I should probably try and look in to his music to see wasup. He seemed to fit the kind of 'alternative music' trend my ears have been taken to of late. Here's the track that had me hooked. You may recognise the dope beat from the N.E.R.D song 'Thrasher' of 'Fly or Die.' Pharrell and the team ripped that joint but iFFy more than does it justice. Hint, bump it loud for full effect.
iFFy - 'Feelin' iFFy'

N.E.R.D - 'Thrasher'


iFFy has been making waves for some time now through his work with Vans and the singles he drops every now and then. Putting out freestyles here and there has made sure his fans stay hooked right at the point of deserting him. My bad on the throwing of links at you, but I just downloaded this joint right here that proves his versatility and overall illness reaches far beyond just rhyming and hot beats. He can sing too, and make songs with substance that everyone can relate to...
iFFy - 'It's Not Meant To Be'


So while I was away travelling I got wind of the album 'Songs of Love and Madness' that iF finally got around to releasing. Listening to it now, it has got some nice cuts, though you'd be wrong to expect the entire album to sound like that 'Feelin' iFFy' track. On first listen, it sounds like good background music for chillin' and working. There's definitely some nice beats on there such as the '1+1=2' piano loop. I think I'm right in saying he produced everything himself on this album. That seems to be the way a lot of up and coming artists are going nowdays, no surprise really, shit is cheap! However, his producing skills are equal to his rhyme skills and no one would know the skills of a 'big name' producer haven't been acquired. iF makes use of some nice samples, peep the 'Fifth Dimension' Sunshine and Reakwon beat in particular.

I'll revisit this after i've had a thorough listen but overall right now, I'm diggin' this. Most def worth a download, especially when it was released for free in the name of good music and your listening pleasure.

DOWNLOAD






Peace, peep the post to follow this one.