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Archive for August, 2009

DJ Craze e DJ Klever @ Leoncavallo (MI) 19.9.09

August 27th, 2009 Comments off

september 19 2009 

The european tour of

DJ CRAZE (Miami, USA – 3 times DMC world champion)

DJ KLEVER (Atlanta, USA – 2 times DMC world champion)

+

DJ SKIZO  (Alien Army)

TOMMY TUMBLE 

DJ DP 

+

POW POW SOUNDSYSTEM (Germany)

other DJs 

 

Spazio Pubblico Autogestito Leoncavallo — http://www.leoncavallo.org/

Milano, Via Watteau 1 

Categories: deejaying, hip hop kulture Tags:

studio pics

August 27th, 2009 Comments off

grphx = thx 

Equipment list 

L to R (up): Akai MPD24 usb/midi controller, M-audio Studiophile BX5a monitors (2), E-mu SP 1200 drumachine/sampler (1994 reissue model 7030 with analog filters chip SSM2044), Akai s950 sampler (1988), Korg Mini KP dynamic fx processor, Toshiba laptop PC Satellite (XP os),  Lacie HD 1tb, M-audio Uno usb/midi interface.

L to R (down): Technics SL-1210 MKII turntables (2), Vestax Samurai PMC-05 pro D professional mixing controller, Dual hi-fi amplifier (class A), record crates, Sennheiser headphones, Montarbo bass amplifier, Yamaha natural bass subwoofer,  KORG microKORG analog modeling synth/vocoder.

Pedals (L to R): Boss digital delay, Boss RC-20xl loop station, Boss super chorus, Vox valve tone overdrive, Dunlop fuzz unit (Jimi Hendrix system), Dunlop crybaby wha-wha. 


click to enlarge 

QSU Looper

August 19th, 2009 Comments off

looper ufficiale dell’Università dello Scratch di DJ QbertQbert’s Skratch University

trailer

download — QSU Looper

—— 

fonte: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUz9CnVV1BM 

QSU – looper of the week demo vid.

Full article and download info here:

http://www.studioscratches.com/2009/0…

Looper Credit:

– All Artwork logos and symbols copyright Thudrumble and QSU.
– Graphic design, layout and code by Studio Scratches

More Loopers at:

http://www.yourlooper.com

Want a looper? Contact us for more info.

Happy scratching!

Categories: beat making, deejaying, flash looper Tags:

How James Brown Influenced Us

August 13th, 2009 Comments off

source: http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=566

How J.B. Influenced Us

By Mtume ya Salaam of http://kalamu.com/

Type "James Brown" into a search engine or a sample-source website and you’re going to get back pages and pages of hits.

So
many that you’ll initially think you made a mistake. But no, it isn’t a
mistake. James Brown samples are just that prevalent. James is listed
as The-Breaks.com’s number one most-sampled artist ever. And his total
sample count of 903 is more than triple that of the nearest contender.

It’s said that J.B. makes millions per year on sample-related royalties alone.

So why? Why did James Brown’s music have such a pull on all of us?

The answer is actually simple. It’s rhythm.

James
Brown, the maestro managed to turn his entire band into a rhythm
instrument. And by ‘entire band’ I don’t just mean the traditional
rhythm section of the drummer and the bass player.

Listen
closely to the horn riffs on "Funky Drummer" or "Get Up, Get Into It".
That’s rhythmic, not harmonic or melodic. Listen to the classic
‘chicken-scratching’ of the guitar on "The Payback." Again, that’s
rhythm.

By the late 1960s and early ’70s, the period
most-favored by hip-hoppers, J.B. was deep into his ‘New Super Super
Heavy Funk’ phase. Even his vocals were rhythmic. He chant, spoke and
grunted his way through nearly every record.

There was virtually
no attempt on J.B.’s part to actually ‘sing’. He’d eschewed melody and
harmony almost entirely to create symphonies of pure rhythm.

Truthfully,
trying to take a brief look into the world of J.B. is like trying to
write a brief history of the universe, but we’re going to give it a
shot anyway. To keep the job manageable, and keep this post down to a
readable length, I’m going to limit the list to five and keep my
comments brief. So here, in reverse order, are hip-hop’s five favorite
J.B. breaks ever.

 

5. (Tie.) "Blow Your Head" – From Fred
Wesley & The J.B.’s Damn Right I Am Somebody (Polydor, 1974)
& "The Grunt" – From The J.B.’s Food For Thought (Polydor, 1972)

For
me, these two tracks from the J.B.’s – the Godfather’s backup band –
were the jaw-droppers. Even back when my musical diet consisted of 95%
rap and 5% reggae, I’d heard enough classic soul around the house to
know my hip-hop heroes were rapping over lifted loops.

Those
next-century-sounding ‘sirens’ from Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of
Millions To Hold Us Back
? Straight outta "The Grunt." The eerie, Big
Brother-ish keyboard whine from "Public Enemy #1" and "9th Wonder" That
would be the intro to "Blow Your Head".

If you’re familiar with Golden Age-era hip-hop and you haven’t heard either one of these, you’re in for a surprise.

Times Sampled (according to The-Breaks.com): 33 each

Overall Rank on Top 20 ‘Most-Sampled’ List: N/A

Mtume’s
Picks: Public Enemy – "Public Enemy No. 1", Ultramagnetic M.C.’s –
"Ease Back", Digable Planets – "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)"

 

4. "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" – From In The Jungle Groove (Polydor, 1985) (Originally issued as a single in 1970)

The
actual groove is too hyper for anyone except, say, a Big Daddy Kane,
who visited and revisited this sample several times during his career.
For everyone else, it’s all about the guitar line, which is remarkably
funky and upbeat, yet at the same time, strangely ominous. I first
remember hearing this sample on K.R.S. One and Scott La Rock’s classic
boast/tribute/threat "South Bronx".

Times Sampled: 59

Overall Rank: #12

Mtume’s
Picks: Boogie Down Productions – "South Bronx", Original Concept – "Can
You Feel It?", Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo – "Poison"

 

3. "The Payback" – From The Payback (Polydor, 1974)

Any
revenge song that includes a line like, "I don’t know karate, but I
know ka-razy" can’t be half-bad. Throw in a bassline for the ages, a
guitar line that’s about as addictive as nicotine and some serious funk
coming from the drum kit and it’s another classic. "I’m a man," J.B.
says. "I’m a man. And I’m a son of a man".

What about the soul sisters in the background?

Times Sampled: 65

Overall Rank: #9

Mtume’s Picks: L.L. Cool J – "The Boomin’ System", Ice Cube – "Jackin’ For Beats", En Vogue – "Hold On"

 

2. "Funky President (People It’s Bad)" – From Reality (Polydor, 1975)

This
one has been chopped up so frequently and so completely, that it’s hard
for me to hear it as an actual song. For someone with hip-hop ears
"Funky President" sounds more like a megamix of rap breaks than it
sounds like a musical performance by an actual band. How’s that for
weird? A sample source that has been sampled so much that it starts to
sound like a mix of samples.

Times Sampled: 100

Overall Rank: #5

Mtume’s Picks: Eric B. & Rakim – "Eric B. Is President", Ice Cube – "Jackin’ For Beats" (again), Das EFX – "They Want EFX"

 

1. "Funky Drummer" – From In The Jungle Groove (Polydor, 1985) (Originally issued as a single in 1969)

Number
one by far. And, I can say with certainty that the 182 records listed
on The-Breaks.com are only the tip of a very large, wide and deep
iceberg. Remember, The-Breaks lists only verifiable samples and nearly
all of them are from the world of hip-hop.

But like the ‘Amen’
break, the break from "Funky Drummer" has become ubiquitous enough that
it is no longer always thought of as an actual sample, and its use
certainly isn’t contained to hip-hop.

These days, the James
Brown beat can turn up anywhere: commercials, pop tunes, movie
soundtracks, random NBA dancers’ halftime routines, embarrassingly bad
Madonna/Lenny Kravitz records, literally anywhere.

The "Funky
Drummer" break may have began as a fragment of a song, but it’s become
an integral part of the soundscape of the modern world. The thing is,
someone had to play that beat. That someone is James Brown’s main man
and master funk drummer Clyde Stubblefield. With the possible exception
of the ‘Amen’ break’s G.C. Coleman, Stubblefield is probably the most
unwittingly prolific session musician in the history of recorded music
itself.

Times Sampled: 182

Overall Rank: #1

Mtume’s
Picks: Run-DMC – "Run’s House", Ice Cube – "Jackin’ For Beats" (why
not?), Sinead O’Connor – "I Am Stretched On Your Grave"

 

When
you consider that rap music in its essential form is nothing but vocal
rhythms (MCing) layered over drum rhythms (DJing) with no melody or
harmony, it shouldn’t be surprising that hip-hop and James Brown would
fit so well together.

In fact, the Godfather of Hip-Hop himself,
Kool DJ Herc has been quoted as saying that if it weren’t for James
Brown, there would no such thing as hip-hop. All I can say to that is
‘amen’. (No pun intended.) This one’s for you, J.B. Rest in Peace!

Mtume
ya Salaam is a published writer and an expert on contemporary Black
music. He lives in New Orleans, USA and can be reached at
mtume_s@yahoo.com
Please e-mail comments to comments@thenewblackmagazine

Tayari Kwa Salaam Says:

Hush mah mouff! It’s James Brown!

Little
did I know bout how much he meant to hip hop. I mean, I know he is an
influence, but to the extent you’re reportin here . . . damn!

 
Youngblood Says:

Funk
is a process; a process changing one’s perception of self in time and
space. One of the greatest songs in the history of popular black music
is James Brown’s sixties soul classic, ‘Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m
Proud’. Never before had any popular entertainer captured the mood of
Black people.

 
It was The Godfather dancing under the white
hot and exacting glare of television light. Adorned in black silk papa
humped and slid, leaving sweaty images of obsidian Jesus on the back of
his shirt and shinning images of Blackness in the national
consciousness. They hated James. We loved him. As we raised our voices
in song a dark cloud of polution also billowed as hundreds gathered to
burn James’ records. Now they love him. And We hate to see mug shots of
him on every national news telecast and tabloid; hair laid to the side
‘processed’ like unfortunate strands of genocide. Good song though!

SLURP. I succulenti gusti delle disconnessioni cerebrali in ciclo

August 12th, 2009 Comments off

Nuovo (in reatà è uscito da qualche giorno) looper fresco fresco (è il caso di dirlo!) prodotto da Blacky|B del collettivo Looperatoritaliani.

Il titolo è tutto un programma: "SLURP. I succulenti gusti delle disconnessioni cerebrali in ciclo" (!!!)

download link: http://www.blackyb.com/slurp/slurp.html (vai alla pagina con le varie versioni: .swf, Mac e PC)

ottimi beats per lo scratch, futurismo gotico… il looper si può ascoltare all’indirizzo qui sopra direttamente nel browser web (ovvero quella cosa che ti fa leggere le pagine su infernet).

un salutone a Blacky

(^o^)/

listone looper Looperatoritaliani:

http://www.djbla.com/music/looper/listone.html

listone swf — http://www.autistici.org/2000-maniax/looper/looperatoritaliani%20swf%20philes/ 

The G-Style

August 12th, 2009 Comments off

Tracce tratte dall’LP di Ice-T "Home Invasion" (Rhyme Syndicate Records, 1993), uno dei miei album preferiti. Stile impeccabile, rime zozze e beat micidiali. Questo album si può ascoltare migliaia di volte senza annoiarsi. I beat sono prodotti da Aladdin, Ice, SLJ, Donald D, Evil E, LP, Hen G, Trekah… cos’altro potrei aggiungere? Ascoltate e stop.

G-Style

info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyme_Syndicate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice-T

"Home Invasion" LP youtube playlist — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFrJ7G_Lwlc&feature=PlayList&p=A0FAD64965534799&index=30

Categories: beat making, deejaying, emceeing Tags:

THX graffiti

August 5th, 2009 Comments off

THX 1138 graffiti collection (2000-2009) – click on the images to zoom – clicca sulle immagini per ingrandire:

 

WC 2004 collection —  http://www.autistici.org/2000-maniax/foto%202008/wc%202004%20collection.rar 

WC 2005 collection — http://www.autistici.org/2000-maniax/foto%202008/wc%202005%20collection.rar 

—— 

THX 1138 outlines (1993-2005) – click on the images to zoom – clicca sulle immagini per ingrandire:

2000 maniax letters logo

ded 2 WCC masters: Wave – Edua

Categories: graffiti writing Tags: ,

Embracing hip-hop

August 3rd, 2009 Comments off

fonte: http://www.washblade.com/2003/9-5/arts/feature/hiphop.cfm?page=1 

Embracing hip-hop
A homophobic atmosphere pervades the hip-hop industry, but some say the stigma is slowly fading

Rappers Common and Eminem are tied for the second most mentions on a list about hip-hop artists who have used anti-gay lyrics in their music. But on a recent track titled ‘Between Me, You & Liberation’, Common soberly tells of a friend coming out of the closet to him, and the emotions he experienced while listening. (Common photo by AP)

Sep 05, 2003 

By: RYAN LEE

VISITING “DA DIS LIST” — an online archive of homophobic hip-hop lyrics — it’s easy to see how today’s most dominant urban music genre can be perceived as anti-gay. Compiled by an e-mail listserv known as Phat Family, Da List is littered with lyrics ranging from subtle put downs (“Niggas hate you, they ain’t paying you no attention / In a circle of faggots, your name is mentioned”) to menacing threats (“Your faggot ass better stay to dancing / don’t even look at me, I might break your jaw for glancing.”)

“On the surface, hip-hop is extremely homophobic,” says James Peterson, an English professor who teaches courses on hip-hop at Penn State-Abington, north of Philadelphia. “But beneath the surface, there’s a lot of interesting things going on. It’s an extraordinarily complex social interaction [between gays and hip-hop].”

THE PHAT FAMILY list comes with a disclaimer advising that the 37 examples of anti-gay language on the site don’t come close to representing the complete body of homophobia found in hip-hop lyrics.

“Hip-hop is very anti-gay, and how unfortunate that is,” says Tori Fixx, a Minneapolis gay rapper preparing to release his third album, “black.out,” this month. “It’s sad because there’s literally no respect for these people — us — at all in the music.”

From its inception, hip-hop has been branded as being misogynistic and homophobic, perceptions fueled largely by the hyper-masculine lyrics and personas of mainstream artists.

A bedrock element of hip-hop over the past three decades has been emcees battling one another, searching for the most degrading verse to defeat an opponent. One of the least original forms of dissing another rapper is to challenge his manhood by calling him a “fag.”

“Some of that is homophobia, but because it’s such a masculine culture, gay terminology is used to denote any kind of negative,” says Peterson, who also is media coordinator for the Harvard University-sponsored Hip-hop Archive Project. “It’s not necessarily being explicitly anti-gay.”

Many gay rap fans are “linguistically savvy enough to know that some of these terms are not targeting them,” Peterson says.

Fixx partially agrees.

“If an artist calls another artist a punk or a faggot in a song, then moves on, then that’s just beef with that person,” Fixx says. “But if the artist is mentioning punks or faggots as a whole and is discussing or promoting violence of any kind, that’s different and one should be offended and stop supporting that artist.”

THE OUTRIGHT PERSECUTION gays experienced in hip-hop has diminished considerably, according to Reggie Thomas, a promoter at Club 708 in Atlanta who has been promoting black gay clubs for the past 12 years.

“Some of the earlier stuff mattered because it was specifically directed toward the gay crowd,” he says. “But it’s really not a big issue now because the artists may say something, but it’s not as harsh as it used to be.”

Nevertheless, the majority of hip-hop artists — particularly males — are keeping their gay fans at arms’ length.

Local rappers in Atlanta turn down opportunities to perform at Club 708 so often, Thomas says he’s stopped asking.

“They’re not going to do it because of their reputation,” he says. “They won’t do it anytime they know it’s a male gay club.”

This stigma against gays in hip-hop is a by-product of a general discomfort with gays among some African Americans, Fixx says.

“What many people don’t realize is that homosexuality is not accepted in the black and Hispanic communities,” he says. “Being that hip-hop is predominantly made up of black and Hispanic artists, homosexuality won’t be accepted or respected in the music any time soon.”

WITH FIVE SONGS each, rappers Common and Eminem are tied for the second most mentions on Da Dis List. But a second disclaimer on the list seems to speak directly to these two artists.

“In the interest of fairness,” the Web site states, “it should be noted that some of the more blatantly homophobic quotations are from early in certain rappers’ careers, and do not necessarily represent the artists’ current views on homosexuality.”

Eminem curried a certain level of forgiveness for his early anti-gay lyrics when he performed with gay pop star Elton John at the Grammy Awards in 2001, although Eminem was still boycotted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The outspoken rapper likely learned from previous victims of organized gay protests — from Donna Summer to Dr. Laura — that it’d be better for his career to avoid homophobic lyrics, says Lisa Cox, founder of “Girls in the Night,” a lesbian party circuit in Atlanta.

“He’s changed his tone and turned it down a lot,” she  says. “The gay market is extremely powerful and can make or break any artists.”

On his latest CD, “Electric Circus,” Common seemed to repent for the anti-gay lyrics he regularly spewed on his first four albums, including, “Homo’s a no-no, so faggots, stay solo” and “I’ll turn you into the artist formerly known as You gay ass fag.”

On the track titled “Between Me, You & Liberation,” Common soberly tells of a friend coming out of the closet to him, and the emotions he experienced while listening.

“So far we’d come, for him to tell me / As he did, insecurity held me / ’Til his spirit yelled help me,” Common rhymes. “How could I judge him? Had to accept him if I truly loved him / No longer, he said, had he hated himself / Through sexuality he liberated himself.”

Common’s reputation as a street-turned-bohemian artist grants him a creative license to explore issues others are afraid to take up, according to some hip-hop experts familiar with his work.

Although his conscious lyrics may not appeal to younger listeners, Peterson said Common’s new direction about anti-gay lyrics is “a big turning point.”

“I think it teaches the mature fan base about how things work, and that’s what we need: We need to see our artists mature and we need some things explained,” Peterson says. “I think it’s a great story to tell and it’s really a model for a lot of artists out here on how to evolve and grow.”

LESBIANS HAVE MADE even more headway into hip-hop, probably because of the girl-on-girl fantasy endorsed by even the most anti-gay artists, according to Cox.

“Back in the day, we couldn’t get an artist to do a girl party to save our life,” Cox says. “But now we have earned the respect of the recording artists and they recognize they have to embrace all of their fans.”

“Girls in the Night” recently was scheduled to play host to a party at BarCode in downtown Atlanta featuring Big Gipp from the rap group Goodie Mob. Female rapper Da Brat was to perform at another club.

When New York-based gay rapper Caushun began appearing in urban magazine articles and on MTV, it seemed barriers around hip-hop were about to be torn down.

But two years later, little has changed.

“The media focused on his title, not his music,” Fixx says. “No music surfaced, so I think that hurt us more than it helped. It’s almost like the media wanted to make a joke about it, and they missed the boat entirely.”

Caushun was thrust into the position of spokesperson for gays, something he was not ready for, Peterson notes. Yet despite the rough start, Peterson, Thomas and Fixx agree that it is just a matter of time before an openly gay rapper emerges, becomes successful, and puts another dent in the stigma.

“Once one gets out there, it will become like the Eminem thing — the ‘white rapper syndrome,’” Fixx says. “Everybody will be trying to grab the next big thing.”

—— 

Phat Family web site — http://www.phat-family.org/

Categories: hip hop kulture Tags: