This is the latest video from Ace accompanied by many of his fam from the LA underground meaning Project Blowed. I seen all the peops there…unfortunately I wanted to go but got sidetracked doing other uneccessary shit that I missed out on the que and shoot. Its good to see it all come together tho and show you how tight knit and tight LA is. Im proud to be apart of it….Big ups!

DJ Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies and
Buff1 of the Athletic Mic League
have joined forces to create a hip-hop monster
for all of our enjoyment and appreciation.
That benevolent monster is called Crown Royale.
This Q&A features the production half of the duo,
DJ Rhettmatic.

“Get It Up” • Download

∆: How did you and Buff1 meet?

“Basically, I met Buff thru the guys from Now On. They’re all from Ann Arbor, Michigan and ironically, they’re also from the Athletic Mic League. Now On moved to LA a few years ago and I would start running into them at a couple of events and whatnot. Buff would come out to LA and they would introduce him to me and that’s how we met.”

∆: When and under what circumstances
did the idea of Crown Royale form?

“Well, the idea of Buff and myself of working together came from the 2/3 of Now On: Jackson Perry and Dj Haircut aka Mayer Hawthorne. Around that time, Buff just dropped his 1st solo album and they were asking him what’s his next move. And at that same time I was starting to branch off doing production outside of my other group, The Visionaries.

A lot of people knew me more as Battle Dj/Turntablist and not for my production, though I have been doing some production for quite sometime. I actually gave a beat cd to Now On to do some work. Next thing I knew, Jackson and Haircut came up to me and said ‘we would like you to do an album with Buff’. I believe they did the same thing with Buff. He said ‘if I like the beats, I’ll do it’. He already got an in house production team with the Lab Techs: 14KT, Haircut, Vaughn T, etc… so he was spoiled. And those guys got slaps. I knew it was a go when he sent me the first song recorded and done. Luckily he liked my beats, LOL.”

∆: How early was “Get It Up” done?

“Late last year, and that was actually the first song. He recorded the vocals
first in Michigan, then we redid it when he came back to LA.”

∆: How did you guys come up with the name?

“It’s actually a funny story. At the time, we didn’t have a name for the project or group. During that same time, Magestik Legend, another dope MC/Producer from Detroit, wanted to do a group project with Buff. On Buff’s 1st album,
Buff would always wear a crown so Magestik wanted to name the group
‘Crown Royale’. Ironically, I was brainstorming myself with names and all
and I also came up with the name Crown Royale, and literally called Buff
the week after Magestik shot him the idea. And I didnt know that Magestik
hit him up for the idea. I was a fan of Magestik’s work but I never met him in
person, so it was crazy when Buff told me what Magestik approached him with.

Then later on, like 2 months later, Magestik goes to LA. We all met up at Fat Beats LA and during an instore Buff introduced me to Magestik. I really wanted to name the project or group Crown Royale, so we all had a pow wow with Magestik. By the grace of God (and us doing a lot convincing), Magestik was kind enough to let us use the name and in return, we have him on our album. And that’s how the name Crown Royale came about.”

∆: Wooow, lol. Being that Crown Royale is a duo,
what is one of your favorite hip-hop duos and why?

“Mine is GangStarr…..Buff’s is Outkast. But also, I love EPMD, Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Run-DMC, Low Profile… I don’t know, we can go on forever. You would have to also ask Buff that question, but i do know his favorite group is Outkast.”

∆: What’s a particular reason you can say about GangStarr?

“It’s easy. The DJ and the MC combo, Guru and Preemo. They’re a perfect example of a classic hip-hop group. Preemo is one of my fav top producers, as well as a DJ.”

∆: What are some artists and songs you’ve produced
that the masses need to be aware of?

“Hmmmmm…….. let’s see….. Divine Styler ‘Triple Irons’ (WordPower 2), Aceyalone ‘Keep Rappin Keep Spinnin’, Aloe Blacc ‘Find A Way’ (B Ball Zombie War comp – Stones Throw)… I’m trying to think… RBX ‘Stop That’. Pigeon John ‘Freaks Freaks’. A lot of stuff are like b-sides and album cuts, I wouldnt say obscure but you would have to know the artists. But I worked with alot of cats that people know. I have alot of stuff that hasnt come out officially yet or it’s in the vault. Let me see…Trek Life ‘All Times’ (Price I’ve Paid)”

∆: Did you produce “E=MC5″ (Key Kool & Rhettmatic
feat. LMNO, Ras Kass, Meen Green & Vooodu)?

“Yeah, that was my 1st official record.”

∆: That was my shxt.

“Word? Thanks. I did that on the SP1200.”

∆: Word. From producing songs for artists to producing a full album,
what is your approach? In particular, your approach for producing a full album.

“Hmmm…that’s a good question. In terms of producing an album, I would try my best to make the album flow from beginning to end. Make it interesting like a good mixtape. Try to make it have sometype of continuity. I would put it together like i was putting a mix routine together. It has to make sense. And in terms of the beats, it varies. When i give a beat to an artist, I either would have an idea or concept or I would just let the artist dictate what he or she wants to write, whatever emotion the beat elicits from that artist. And when it comes to adding scratches, I either ask the artist whats the title or the concept of the song, and I would go base it off of that idea. Unless the artist have something in mind, then that makes it a lil bit easier.

Btw… all you rappers out there that think it’s easy to put a scratch hook together… no, it isn’t. That takes time. Diggin for records, listening to records, writing down phrases, then working on putting it together, then tryin to record the scratches until we get it right. Djs/producers are very meticulous. Just like for emcees that want to get the best take and their best rhymes out there. Us dj/producers are the same, for the most part. I just wanted to add that….LOL.”

∆: Word! What’s on the horizon from DJ Rhettmatic?

“Hmmmmm…..It seems I got alot on my plate now. Well, of course,
the Crown Royale debut album on Myx Music Label in early 2010.
I also have another project that I do with Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill.
It’s a DJ/Percussion combo. I actually finished an ep with Frank Nitty
(Frank N Dank). I’m doing a producers’ album with J-Rawls
of Lone Catalysts. I got a 10″ single that I did with MED
that The Do-Over is putting out in 2010.”

∆: When you say a “producer’s album”, what do you mean?

“J-Rawls and myself will be doing production together and we will be having artists on the album rocking over the instrumentals that we produced. We already have a song with Trek Life & Kam Moye aka Supastition, Renee Neufville from Zhane.”

∆: Damn, dope.

“Yeah, it’s been an off and on project. We recorded already 5 songs,
we just haven’t had the time to work on it. And of course my work with
the Beat Junkies. Beat Junkie Radio, our NIGHTLIFE events… and maybe, one day, a group album (which we’ve been saying for the last 10 years….LMAO!). Mix cds…etc.”

Massive Thanks To DJ Rhettmatic For Participating In The Q&A!
Be sure to check out Part 2 tomorrow with Buff1!
Big Up!

∆

Aceyalone ft Treasure Davis

myspace.com/aceyalone

“So what we have planned here tonight was something a little bit out of the norm.”

This is what I call a ‘warm’ video, the type to throw on when you’re cooking breakfast on a Saturday morning. A throwback to times when all you needed to produce a good video was a gang of your friends and a BBQ. Naughty By Nature videos stand out in my mind the most, they were always just wildin’ out with the crew. As for Aceyalone, well, this video is off his album that came out March of this year, titled “Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones”. The album peaked at #144, yikes! But then again, Acey is an old timer, nowadays putting together an album for retail is an accomplishment unto itself. But seriously, how old is Ace? Freestyle Fellowship is sounding archaic right now, and he has the only Wikipedia page I’ve come across without a birth date! All I know, is that if you pause the music video at 1:16, homie looks older than father time. Decent track, tight video, enjoy.

Dope Acey snippet I came across on Vimeo after the jump

]]> http://hiphopwired.com/2009/10/21/aceyalone-featuring-treasure-davis-cant-hold-back-video/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:48:41 +0000 dummyhhwchuck http://hiphopwired.com/2009/10/21/aceyalone-featuring-treasure-davis-cant-hold-back-video/

Album: Inner City Griots
Year: 1993
Quality: VBR V0

BTYF will be there, come out at chill with us and get your shout outs on camera!

• via AlienNationRadio •

A blast from the past or a message from the future?
Here’s an obscure video from Project Blowed general Aceyalone
from his terribly underrated classic Book Of Human Language.
Masterful scrolls spoken over high definition beats.
Enjoy.

Come on out and get your cameo on at the videoshoot and barbeque for Ace Ones new video “The Can’t Hold Back” going down near chinatown August 30th…

Click to RSVP ..limited 3 guest

My Dark Horse Music Picks for Rap

• Black Milk
• Aceyalone
• Zion I
• Blue Scholars
• Dilated Peoples
• Main-Flow
• Pharoahe Monch
• Cage
• Esso
• Buckshot & 9th Wonder
• N’Telligence
• Speech Debelle – The Key
• Jake One
• Brother Ali

Love Mad Men. I’ll digress before I socio-politically rant off topic. The best advertisement for any show is the opening credits — Mad Men being advertisement does this brilliantly. A taste of the what before the so what …

Why watch Mad Men? Why Tweet? I don’t know, probably because everyone else is doing it; but, you just do — if you don’t like it, stop doing it. If you don’t like it, you don’t get it — but you’ll probably keep doing it because you want other people to think you get it.

Again, digress.

Our world is a mad mad ad world. Note the colorful, illustrative, detailed, skyscrapers portraying an idealized fantasy. No windows on these buildings, because you cannot see into the machine, you cannot see beyond the curtain to the Wizard of Oz. However these advertisements that tower above your reality, they are all you see as you come crashing down. Don Draper, the man behind the machine has no face. He has no identity beyond what he does — he is whatever you imagine him to be, and yet you don’t even know he exists. You live in his world the he creates, you are the product of a person who isn’t. The world is the canvas of an ad executive. To a man that is a mystery, the world reflects his ambiguity; the result: chaos created when perception is the reality. It’s all smoke and mirrors, it’s all smiles and veneers. That dream they create though — in the midst of all the chaos it creates — that portrayed ideal is “The Best America Has to Offer” it is “The Gift That Never Fails.”

Most apropos of all is the song — the theme — “A Beautiful Mine.” What a beautiful mine it is in which we live, just awaiting the explosion. What’s more American than fireworks, who cares how quickly you burn out as long as you burn bright?

Watch this space: the show is pretty much amazing

Sidenote: As a product of mediated modern society, I like shows where I can align myself with a character; Mad Men is not one of those shows. (Unless you count the one girl who worked at the grocery store, went to campaign on the Mississippi Delta, and dated Don’s colleague). Mad Men has not too many black people — to my mom’s disdain. However, that’s the necessary authenticity in a show built on the subtext. The opening scene featured a subtle dialogue between Don and an older black waiter, I’m not going to explain the scene because you should watch it for yourself. The scene though, sets the racial premise of the era and the series that will follow; the dialogue catalyzes Don’s Lucky Strike campaign, and career as far as we know. Personally, I think there’s a little nudge nudge to the Elvis theory.  The black characters Mad Men does have, are there for a specific reason — they play roles that blacks played in the fifties. They have jobs that fade into the background, but what they say, how they say it, and their points of view are those of people who see the world for what it is — not what Don Draper presents it to be. For the record though, I was a fan of Titanic. If it had black people just to be politically correct, that’d be borderline — and by borderline I mean, straight up and down — ridiculous.

Poster for "This Is the Life: How the West Was One"; image courtesy of needledrop.net

I recently saw the documentary This Is the Life: How the West Was One, which, as folks like Olu Alemoru have noted, did a huge service to music history by documenting the little-discussed but influencial Good Life scene. Emerging out of an open mic night at a veggie/vegan restaurant called the Good Life in South Central Los Angeles during the late 1980s, the scene came to fruition in the early 1990s, forming outreach programs like Project Blowed and getting lots of talented folks on the mic and behind the wheels of steel in the process.

Heavily influenced by jazz, artists at the Good Life could not swear and priviledged improvisation and complex, imagery-laden rhyme schemes over route memorized rhymes about money, guns, and bitches. Oh, and if you weren’t on point, you got booed. Especially if you were Fat Joe, who was forced to pass the mic.

At times, artists associated with the scene competed with commercial hip hop artists or got signed to major labels (most notably Jurassic 5). Emcees like Volume 10, Ganjah K, and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship saw more successful acts like Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Bones Thugs-n-Harmony swipe their phrasing, content, and style. Sometimes the scene was alluded to in early 90s television shows like Fox’s South Central. For the most part, the scene, which was perhaps more politically in line with the Native Tongues movement, was eclipsed by gangsta rap and the tiresome and deadly East Coast-West Coast beef.

Fortunately, director Ava DuVernay put together an invaluable documentary so that the artists of this scene (many of whom, like Jurassic 5, Cut Chemist, Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, and Myka 9, among others, are still recording today) can tell their own story in their own words (for her story, I highly recommend this interview). Also included are contemporary artists who were influenced by the scene (most notably Busdriver, who is easily one of my favorite rappers recording today).

My only big complaint is that, while there are women in the scene who are interviewed for the documentary, they really only get fifteen minutes to talk about their work and then spend the rest of the time talking about how much they admired — and sometimes had crushes on — many of the male MCs.

But that said, there were women in the scene who made awesome music. I’d like to highlight a few of them now.

Figures of Speech – a duo comprised of Jyant and Eve (Ronda Ross and DuVernay). So breezy and jazzy and also strong, smart, and in command. So rhythmically intricate yet so in sync and so in tune with one another. And also, I’d argue, so clearly feminist. I only wish I knew about them earlier. You can listen to a live recording of “Alpha Omega” here.

Medusa – assuredly familiar to those who’ve seen Rachel Raimist’s Nobody Knows My Name, a wonderful documentary about women in hip hop that looks at emergent MCs, dancers, and producers. Ms. Moné Smith is a warrior — fierce, fearless, not one to mince words or suffer fools. An inspiration who is still recording today.

T. Love – also familiar to those who’ve seen Raimist’s documentary (indeed, her song “Nobody Knows My Name” provided the film’s title). Poised, poetic, and uncompromising. In addition to rapping, she has also does a considerable amount of freelance writing and has run her own label.

T-Love; image courtesy of kalamu.com

B. Hall – there’d be no Good Life without the proprietrix of the Good Life, a veteran activist and city organizer and an advocate for local youth. She’s also the enforcer of the no profanity policy, because wordsmiths shouldn’t have to swear to create art. Someday, I hope she gets a street named after her.

It’s crazy how most people nowadays don’t even talk to their homies from high school. I don’t know if it’s because my crew never grew up but we’re the exact same as we were when we used to bump this album driving around looking for places to skate, drink, chill, etc. Here’s one of my favorite songs from Aceyalone’s “All Balls Don’t Bounce.”

Click Here

What to look forward to the weekend after Rock the Bells, L.A.? Catch not only one , not two, but THREE very siiick shows happening on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday! 

1st up on Friday is a revolutionary’s dream at the “Freedom For All” show with Immortal Technique taking over the stage at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, along with Chino XL, Diabolic, and Mystic. Must be 18+

On Saturday night, take it back — wayyy back — to the 90’s at “Fresh Fest” with Whodini, Naughty By Nature, 2 Live Crew, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, and Slick Rick at the Nokia Theatre at the L.A. Live in Downtown L.A. 

After a lazy Sunday, you may wanna head over to Zanzibar in Santa Monica to check out  ”The Lions Den”, complete with Aceyalone, kick it with Mystic once again, Dudley Perkins, LMNO, Non Human Intelligence, Ablaze, and Ignite. Must be 21+

… Because on Monday, you know it’s back to the grind! 

Mistah F.A.B.

-Mistah F.A.B. grew up in North Oakland where he attended Oakland Technical High School. He is signed to Bay Area rap legend Mac Dre’s label, Thizz Entertainment and Atlantic Records.  F.A.B. has worked with many top Hip-Hop artists including Paul Wall, Too Short, Mac Dre, Dem Hoodstarz, E-40, The Pack, Turf Talk, Traxamillion, Zion I, & the Grouch. He has also battled numerous well known rappers such as Jin and Royce da 5′9″. Mistah F.A.B. states his name is an acronym for “Money Is Something to Always Have FaEva Afta Bread.”  His discography includes 2003: Nig-Latin, 2005: Son of a Pimp, 2007: Da Baydestrian, & 2009: Da Yellow Bus Rydah. Recently the Bay-Area resident has been involved in the “Justice for Oscar Grant” movement & recorded the song “Oscar Grant III (My Life).” F.A.B. came through the 141 Club in Modesto on March 6^th.

-Shock G, Chopmaster J & Kenny-K formed Digital Underground in 1987 &

Shock-G from Digital Underground

 in 1989 their song “Doowutchyalike” became an underground hit. Sex Packets, their 1st album, was released in 1990 & “The Humpty Dance”, (by Shock G’s alter ego “Humpty-Hump”) hit #7 on charts. DJ Fuze, Money-B, & 2Pac joined the group in 1991. In 1993, Shock-G produced 2Pac’s platinum singles “I Get Around” & “So Many Tears.” Shock also co-produced Pac’s debut CD, 2Pacalypse Now. Under the alias “Piano Man”, Shock G played the piano, synthesizer, & organ on all the D.U. albums & many 2Pac tracks. Under the alias “Rackadelic” (his graffiti tag as a youth), he did all the D.U. album cover illustrations, cartoons, & comic strips. Shock G also co-produced & rapped on fellow Oakland group The Luniz’s platinum album Operation Stackola in 1995. He has also worked with Prince, Bobby Brown, Saafir, & many others. Shock was in Downtown Modesto on March 19^th at the Fat Cat.

Daz & Kurupt (Dogg Pound)

- Kurupt & Daz have enjoyed successful careers as both solo artists & as the group Dogg Pound. Starting with the glory days of Death Row Records the Long Beach MCs have worked with West Coast legends like Daz’s cousin Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Xzibit, 2Pac, DJ Quik, & Ras Kass.  From 2002 to 2005 Kurupt & Daz parted ways, dissed each other in songs & interviews, then in 2005 reconciled their differences at a West Coast unity event hosted by Snoop Dogg. Individually, Kurupt Young Gotti & Daz Dillinger have put out at least a dozen albums each, as The Dogg Pound they have released 10 albums, including “Dogg Food” & “Cali Iz Active.” They are currently working on a new project with veteran producer Pete Rock. The duo put it down LBC style on April 10^th at the Palladium in Downtown Modesto.

-Aceyalone is a founding member of the Los Angeles Hip-Hop super-group Freestyle Fellowship, one-third of the group Haiku D’Etat (with Mikah 9 & Abstract Rude) and The A-Team (with Abstract Rude), & also one of the co-founders of “Project Blowed” the L.A. underground Hip-Hop performance space. Acey the Faceman released 2 albums with the Freestyle Fellowship, To Whom it May Concern… & Innercity Griots, His solo albums include All Balls Don’t Bounce 1995 & A Book of Human Language 1997. In 2000, The A-Team released their first album as a duo, titled Who Framed the A-Team? Then came Accepted Eclectic in 2001, Hip-Hop and the World We Live In 2002, & Love and Hate in 2003 followed by Magnificent City, collaboration with producer RJD2, & the CD Grand Imperial. Acey has also gained national prominence by being featured on numerous 2K Sports games. Aceyalone blessed the Central Valley by performing on April 18^th at the Partisan in Merced.

Steve Lehman is a composer/alto saxophonist living in NY. I first saw him as part of Anthony Braxton’s 12 + 1tet at the Iridium in 2006, and since then have really gotten into his music. His writing is very complex, but clear enough to be easily digestible. He also has a knack for coming up with great concepts and translating them clearly to an improvised setting. On his latest album Travail, Transformation and Flow Lehman leads an Octet of musicians (featuring Ten Questions alum Tyshawn Sorey and former VCU’er Mark Shim) through a set of music derived from studies in spectral harmony. There’s a great description here, and it sounds complicated, but the resulting music sounds amazing from start to finish. Also, the album features a cover of GZA’s masterpiece “Living in the World Today,” and what collection of spectral harmony music would be complete without it!

Check out his music here

For more on the man himself, go here

1: What got you into creative/improvised music making, and what keeps you there?

When I first heard Charlie Parker’s music, at age 10, everything
changed for me. I definitely had one of those thunderbolt moments that
so many people seem to experience when hearing Parker’s music for the
first time.

For me, making music and performing music is about connecting with
other people, finding out about myself, and trying to find some sense
of meaning as a result of my own experiences and my shared experiences
with my colleagues and everyone else who feels they can relate to the
music I’ve involved with.

2: Breakthrough album(s) and Why?

There are hundreds of albums that have been incredibly meaningful to
me and taught me a lot about myself and the possibilities for what
music can be. A few that immediately come to mind…

1. Charlie Parker – Walkman Jazz Compilation
2. Dexer Gordon – Homecoming (Live at The Village Vanguard)
3. Aceyalone – Book of Human Language
4. Jackie McLean – The Jackie Mac Attack Live
5. Michael Finnissy – String Trio
6. Anthony Braxton – Fall 1974
7. Evan Parker – Monoceros
8. Gerard Grisey – Les Espaces Acoustiques
9. Mark Shim – Turbulent Flow
10. Antipop Consortium – Tragic Epilogue

3: How do other art disciplines affect your work?

This question is hard for me to answer. I think when I’m inspired by a
filmmaker or an artist it usually has to do with formal design and
structure. Sarah Sze and Julie Mehretu are two visual artists whose
work often has a lot of resonance for me. Their work is so expressive
but it also seems to privilege meticulous attention to detail and
technical expertise.

4: Favorite Film(s)?

My wife is a filmmaker, so I’ve seen a ton of incredible films thanks
to her. A handful that I seem to keep coming back to…

Killer of Sheep
Blazing Saddles
Cache
Jackie McLean on Mars
La Promesse

5: Favorite Film Score(s)?

I love Neil Young’s score/playing for the Jim Jarmusch film “Dead Man.”

6: Favorite Fiction Reading?

Edward P. Jones
James Baldwin
Aleksandar Hemon
Herman Hesse

7: Favorite Non-Fiction Reading?

It’s rare that I get to do non-fiction reading that isn’t music-related…

The New York Times
The New Yorker
The Economist
The Wire
Music Perception

8: Favorite Guilty Pleasure Music?

I’m too old to be embarrassed by any of the music I listen to. I do
love to play NBA Live 2008 on my PSP (Playstation Portable) which is
definitely something of a guilty pleasure…!

9: Favorite Under Rated Musician(s)?

A few that come to mind…

Arthur Blythe
Michael Finnissy
Stanley Cowell
Freddie Waits
Fats Navarro
Saafir
Kevin O’Neil

10: Recommended Artist(s)/Shout Outs?

Too many to list. This time around I’ll give a big shout out to the
amazing Paris-based percussionist/composer Karl Jannuska. If you don’t
know now you know.

On the 26th January at the Producers Bar, Dialect supported Aceyalone with DJ Snair and Funkwig on the cut and beat. Social Change jumped up during the intro to go back and forth with mad flows and free throws.

Then it was over to Dialect who worked the growing crowd with his display of ferocious dialogue over grimy Inkswel and Stratus production. When it was time for another jam Funkwig busted out a beat and Social Change jumped back up for the collaboration track “First Class Lyric”. Dj Snair was straight killing it on the Ones and Twos.

Aceyalone took to the stage later in the night and entertained everybody effortlessly. This guy didn’t even break a sweat and was busting out raps that would break most emcees rib cages. Thank you to Acey for coming back to Adelaide and showing all who represented exactly how it is done. To everyone that fronted on this show, you missed a master mic controller. Pity the fool.

Social Change is now working on recording the tracks for the upcoming projects and is fired up for shows booked late February such as FUSE Festival and the Double or Nothing gig with Adroit and Pagen Elypsis.

This is a big post around five of my favorite images from each event that I shot…the first event began at 8am and was the first round of the flyfishing competition. This first event took place on grass rather than water making it a bit of a challenge to make some interesting pictures, but considering what it was I feel like I turned lemons into lemonade. The next event was a mountain bike race. This event made me realize how out of shape I was, the competitors had to do four laps and I needed every lap to try and get different images. From the bike race I covered the finals of the bouldering competition then had to go over to the aceyalone concert and get photos of that. It was easily 12 hours of shooting and I was tired afterward but I was happy overall with the images from today.

I wish I had made a post about this sooner! This weekend in beautiful Northern Arizona will be the Good Times Festival, up at Pine Mountain Amphitheater. I’m extremely excited to get out of this heat and enjoy an amazing afternoon / evening of hiphop and digital basslines. I’ll be riding up with a few friends, and hopefully we get a campsite sorted out. We were a little late at getting our shit together, but I have a few friends who are going that already have campsites.

Main headliner, as you can see from the flyer, is Bassnectar. Local crew the Drunken Immortals will be there, my good friend Terra, the Crusher Sound System crew and a whole lot more.

If you are coming through AZ and are up north, try and get to this show. Tickets were $32 pre-sale, I’m no sure how much they will be at the gates. Doors open at 12pm, but I won’t even be heading up till sometime early Saturday morning. If you’re up there, say hi!

http://www.goodtimesfestival.com

(Photo – Amalia J. Nickel)

Live Review: Haiku d’Etat feat. Myka 9, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude w/ guests
May 8, 2009
Berbati’s Pan, Portland, OR

Mykah 9, Abstract Rude and Aceyalone – Mike, Aaron and Eddie respectively – brought every possible permutation to the stage as Haiku d’Etat, The A-Team and The Freestyle Fellowship rocked it for hours.  For a mere $13, incidentally the same price as a double vodka and Redbull at Berbati’s Pan in Portland, fans were treated to the profound, the profane and the prophetic lyricism of L.A.’s finest. [read more]

Awww – nothing like the taste of the first new stock update for the new site! All of these records were purchased within the past month or so and nearly every single one is completely new to Nerd Alert! Working from A – Z, here we go:

2Pac – The Don Killuminati – The 7 Day Theory
7 Seconds – New Wind
7 Seconds – The Crew
7 Seconds – Walk Together, Rock Together
9th Wonder & Buckshot – The Formula
Abstract Rude – Rejuvenation
Aceyalone – All Balls Don’t Bounce Revisited
Aesop Rock – Bazooka Tooth
Against Me – Original Cowboy
Aggression – Don’t Be Mistaken
Anchor Down – Steel to Dust (Orange Swirl)
Architect – Music 2 Write 2
Atmosphere – God Loves Ugly
August Burns Red – Messengers (White)
Devil Eyes – Rip My Heart Out