sunbear did some work on day two of the festival. the bands were much better for day two’s festivities, but the inclement weather really put a damper (pun intended) on the entire day. constant drizzles, rain and mud coupled with a nice pair of shoes and jeans ruined by aforementioned weather conditions all helped with that.

however, seeing GZA perform the majority of liquid swords, kid sister, health, crystal castles (not pictured – was not allowed), harlem and why? made for a successful sunday at the normally pleasant festival.

hit the jump for the goods.

-grizzly

[why?]:

[harlem]:

[lucero]:

fun story: aj was in the pit taking pictures of lucero when he spotted…you know, the frontman (and the only member who ever mattered) of the ataris, mr. kris roe. turns out he was in town to catch lucero, gorilla biscuits, 7 seconds and glenn danzig. funny – i didn’t watch a single one of those bands. still, though. ilu kris roe. it’s safe to say you are one of weworemasks’ collective heroes.

[health]:

that’s some rockstar hair if i’ve ever seen it.

sassy.

[buraka som sistema]:

for the record, i had no clue who the hell this was, but the bass was so loud and homegirl’s hips had me on deck for 20 minutes.

[gza/genius]:

and here would by my #1 reason to attend the festival. GZA performed a good amount of liquid swords and did a few wu classics. (see: shimmy shimmy ya ya – more on that via sunbear’s review) the great thing about this was i actually measled my way into the pit with sunbear despite the huge lack of a pit/photo pass. needless to say, i kept my hands in my pocket at any given time i wasn’t throwin up Ws.

king khan on the guitar.

[kid sister]:

yeayuh. apparently it was a lot foggier than expected. it’s all good. pit for kid sister.

haven’t seen a doc marten in a while.

man, those dancers were weird as hell.

that’s all folks. stay tuned for the recaps.

-grizzly on behalf of sunbear.

I was sooo looking forward to this. In my mind this was already competing for the best release of the year. For good reasons. Imagine the possibilities. Inventive dubstep producers reworking the genius that is Rza. Imagine a dubstep take on C.R.E.A.M, Protect Ya Neck, The Ghostdog theme or really any classic Wu Tang material. And to have some of the worlds best rappers blessing these beats with classic verses. Rza, Ghostface, Raekwon, Method man, Ol Dirty. It could have been classic, it should have been a classic – as they said in the pressrelease:

“…many of the pioneers and practitioners (DJ’s and producers) in the Dubstep world came up in a time when Wu-Tang ruled the international airwaves. Unlike much commercial hip-hop, the immediacy of Wu-Tang’s sound spoke to many outside of the scope of the typical hip-hop fan, across oceans and at home. Their music and style helped to shape an emerging artform that hadn’t yet defined itself. Now, in 2009, as dubstep continues to grow, expand and encompass more styles and subgenres, the Wu-Tang sound is reintroduced into the mix, to spawn a new and unique musical crossbreeding, that is greater than the sum of its constituent parts”

It’s too bad then this isn’t really a Wu Tang album. The tracks don’t come from Wu Tang albums. Most of them come from Raekwons proteges Icewaters release ”Icewater: Polluted Water”, or the Bronze Nazareth fronted Wisemens release “Wisemen Approaching. You hear Rza, but it’s not from any Rza release but from Lord Jamars 5% album.  The closest you will get to this being Wu is some tracks taken from (the also quite weak) Wu Tang meets the indie culture Vol1, and a few tracks from Gza. There actually seems to be just as many rappers that have nothing to do with Wu Tang as there are actual members; Pimp C, Busta Rhymes and Three Six Mafia don’t really feel like Wu to me.

In some sense i suppose this could have been ok still.  Had they chosen the best tracks from the Wu-tang affiliates and lesser known projects it might have worked. Tracks with an actual Wu feel, perhaps more than just a third of a track that was actually produced by Rza. They didn’t. Ive actually heard most of these tracks before, some of them are ok, most of them are just your usual hiphop. Also few of the dubstep producers involed in the project seems to try and combine the two sounds. Most of the tunes, as far as i can tell, have little to do with the original. Which might be ok if they were given crap tunes to begin with. But they also have little to do with any type of Wu feel. As dubstep goes, it is rarely more than ok, it’s current to slightly dated, conventional, routine stereotype dubstep.  I thought there could be a risk of this happening if the producers didn’t make proper use of the source material. I didn’t of course expect the source material to be crap to begin with.

There are a few exceptions; Chimpos horror sundtrack remix of “Cinema” is dark and creeping, the Rouge Star remix of “New year banga” has some great distorted 80’s style synths and Scubas remix of Street Corners at least touches on the Wu sound. But the only one to succeed a 100% is Soroka, who takes on three tunes at once; Pencil, My Piano and Firehouse. This is a masterpiece, Wu-tang strings and horns blend seamlessly with dubstep rhythms and basslines. When Ghostface drops a verse it sends shivers down my spine. It really shows what an amazing album and collaboration this could have been, and regrettably wasn’t.

I don’t know what happened here. Perhaps Wu-tang didn’t feel comfortable giving their good tracks to dubstep producers. Perhaps it is some kind of attempt to gain some interest for Icewaters and Wisemens quite unexceptional albums. I don’t know, all i know is someone fucked up, big time.

Alaska In Winter

Lucero

Bankrupt and the Borrowers

HEALTH

Crystal Castles

GZA

Kid Sister

The Black and White Years

Neiliyo

The Riverboat Gamblers

Brian Posehn

The saga continues… Wu-Week… Wu-Week. Building off of what I said the other day, I can count on one hand how many artists/groups/crews/labels had a run like the Clan did between ‘93 and ‘97. Even without selling the most records or doing most of what’s required of an artist to have today, they had a stronghold on hip-hop.

However… I feel like sometimes, their impact on the game has been somewhat underrated. Sure, they get all the praise and accolade in the world by their mega-devoted diehard fans. But Wu-Tang stans ain’t nuthin’ ta fuck wit’, and some of those dudes can even convince themselves to listen to Masta Killa for an hour straight, so that doesn’t count. By people outside of that contingent, it’s been swept under the rug just how many things Wu brought to the table during their peak. I don’t know if muh’fukkas conveniently forgot or have neglected to recognize it, but let’s talk about it…

Granted, Wu’s impact was more on the East Coast than anywhere else, but it was every bit as strong as Death Row’s was on the West around the same time. One thing that stood out about them is that they were bigger than just a great group- they were a group comprised of members that stood on their own and dropped their own solo projects. In addition to attacking with 36 Chambers, the solo albums that followed were all must-haves. From Method Man to Ol’ Dirty Bastard to Raekwon to GZA to Ghostface, anyone who was a fan of Wu-Tang made it a point to catch all of those albums when they dropped. Shit was like collecting action figures.

Wu-Tang established a level of brand loyalty with their fans that not many groups had before them. Even a group like Public Enemy at their height couldn’t get people to cop Terminator X or Sister Souljah’s shit. But the Clan was giving instant credibility to anything that came out with that “W” bird symbol attached to it. On top of the group and the individual projects, they even had a “B-team” that were able to gain their own listeners strictly by affiliation. Wu fans would at least give artists like Sunz of Man, Shyheim, and Killarmy a listen on the strength of being Wu.

Influence-wise, there’s a lot of artists who might not admit it today, but Wu had (in RZA’s words) “everybody changin’ their muh’fukkin’ name”. When Raekwon’s Cuban Linx dropped, and every member busted out with the “a.k.a.” shit, I can’t count how many people followed up for the next two years or so with some kinda alias. Nas was “Escobar”, 2Pac was “Makaveli”, Biggie was pushin’ the “Frank White” shit hard, AZ became “Sosa”, Fat Joe was “Don Cartagena”… it was a trend that everybody hopped on. Anytime an album features a skit that told rappers to stop bitin’ their shit, and rappers continued to bite their shit, that speaks for itself.

And it wasn’t just the artists in the biz. There were just as many aspiring artists who were damn near practicing copyright infringement. I know from my own encounters, B-More had more than a fair share of groups with 7-10 members that all had aliases. They’d always have these obviously Wu-inspired names like the “Disciple Assassins” or some shit, and hook-less songs with titles like “Left Ventricle” and whatnot. If it was like that here, I can only imagine how it must have been in New York and the surrounding areas. Just like all the other greats had their share of descendants, Wu-Tang definitely had theirs.

If it seems like I’m almost ready to credit these niggas with starting civilization, I ain’t goin’ that far. I just acknowledge that there’s a lot of things that weren’t goin’ on before Wu-Tang did it. RZA’s production at times stretched the guidelines of what could be sampled, while everyone else was either sticking to jazz or funk records. Then there’s the terms like “cream”, which may have been an everyday word around their way, but became an everyday word in hip-hop after “C.R.E.A.M.” dropped. All that “doin’ deals with Dominicans/eatin’ pasta with the Sicilians/coke connects in Bolivia” shit niggas were rappin’ about? Yeah, them. I could even talk about how Meth had dudes wearing gold fangs and wristbands and motorcycle gloves and shit, but y’all get the point.

With Wu-Tang, it was mostly all about the music. But inside of that music, and all the things that came with it, the whole game got affected in one way or another. There’s a lot of crews to this day who talk about having a “movement”, but theirs was shown and proven without the propaganda and slogans. That “Wu-Tang Killa Bees, we on a swarm” shit wasn’t just a slick-sounding catchphrase, it actually went down like that.

Method Man “Method Man (Remix)” (1993)

Ol’ Dirty Bastard feat. Method Man & Raekwon “Raw Hide” (1995)

GZA feat. D’Angelo & Inspectah Deck “Cold World (Remix)” (1995)

Raekwon feat. Ghostface Killah “Rainy Dayz (Remix)” (1996)

Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, & Cappadonna “Winter Warz” (1996)

Cappadonna “‘97 Mentality” (1997)

The RZA “Tragedy” (1997)

Wu-Tang Clan “Triumph” (1997)

-D!

If you’re a fan of the Wu, you gotta get this.

Written by RZA himself, this book explores diverse matters ’bout the group in a very simple and honest way. From their early years and the way they tried to combine different philosophies and skills from the 9 rappers, their uprising and spread in the American music industry, to content explanations of the most famous  lyrics and stories from live performances and recording sessions.
RZA tells us about his work process, how he produced the beats for the first album and how he “controlled” the group in the first years, asking them to commit to the project and working to combine the different members of the Clan in the tracks by understanding the different personalities and how their rhymes connected.

But more than a  book about the Wu-Tang Clan, this is a book about RZA’s vision of life itself. It’s much more introspective than I was expecting and delivers knowledge ’bout his youth years, ’bout how he discovered the whole Shaolin and Kung-Fu stuff…the guy literally talks about almost everything you can imagine that is related to Wu-Tang or himself, even chess techniques are explained and drug consume is brought down to a science.

This is a book full of knowledge, that I absolutely recommend to anyone that has had the slightest contact with the Wu-Tang Clan and has found them amusing by any reason. After reading this book you will understand why this is the most genius rap group that ever existed, and no, it’s not because they have the Genius (GZA).

AMAZON LINK

Meterhead released an Official Remix EP package that contains three powerful tracks featuring great stuff from the Black Lips, Acid Girls, and Wale.  This is the first release in awhile for LA-based Meterhead.  He’s been keeping pretty busy by working on a number of various side projects, some we may even hear of in the coming months.  Keep an eye out for this man.  One would hope that these recent releases represent his new awakening into the culture and keep him from returning to the dormant lifestyle he was living.

Wale feat. Lady Gaga – Chillin’ (METERHEAD Remix)

Acid Girls feat. Frankmusik – Wake Up (METERHEAD Remix)

Black Lips feat. GZA. – The Drop I Hold (METERHEAD Remix)

1. Inner Circle – State Of Da World [Shanachie 2009]
2. James McMurtry - Live In Europe [Lightning Rod 2009]
3. Lyle Lovett – Natural Forces [Curb/Lost Highway 2009]
4. Monsters of Folk – Monsters Of Folk [Shangri-La 2009]
5. Various Artists – The Biggest Reggae One-Drop Anthems 2009 [Greensleeves 2009]
6. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 [EMI 2009]
7. Robert Earl Keen – The Rose Hotel [Lost Highway Records 2009]
8. Various Artists – Jah Live Riddim [Joe Frasier 2009]
9. International Observer – Felt [Dubmission 2009]
10. Roseanne Cash – The List [Manhattan 2009]
11. Various Artists – Penthouse Showcase Volume 4 [Penthouse 2009]
12. Various Artists – Penthouse Showcae Volume 5 [Penthouse 2009]
13. Kiddus I – Green Fa Life [Makasound/Makafresh 2009]
14. Breakestra – Dusk Till’ Dawn [Strut Records 2009]
15. Danny Malone- Cuddlebug [Township Records 2009]
16. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon: The End Of Day [Dream On/G.O.O.D./Universal Motown 2009]
17. The XX – xx [Young Turks 2009]
18. Various Artists – The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2009 [Greensleeves 2009]
19. Muse – The Resistance [Warner Brothers 2009]
20. Ghostface Killah – Ghostdini Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City [Island/Def Jam 2009]
21. Various Artists – 5: Five Years of Hyperdub [Hyperdub 2009]
22. Gossip – Music For Men [Columbia 2009]
23. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You [Columbia 2009]
24. Chuck Fenda – Fulfillment [VP Records 2009]
25. Omar Perry -  Can’t Stop Us [Makasound/Makafresh 2009]
26. Tribal Seeds – The Harvest [Tribal Seeds 2009]
27. Toddla T – Skanky Skanky [1965 2009]
28. Masta Ace & Edo G – Arts & Entertainment [Traffic 2009]
29. Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons – Bend In The Road [Dualtone 2009]
30. Q-Tip – Kamaal The Abstract [Jive 2009]
31. Doveman –  The Conformist [Brassland Records 2009]
32. Dawes – North Hills [ATO 2009]
33. Kris Kristofferson – Closer To The Bone [New West 2009]
34. Mark Knopfler – Get Lucky [Rerprise 2009]
35. Takana Zion – Rappel à l’ordre [Makasound/Makafresh 2009]

Corey Woods (Staten Island, NY, 1970), mais conhecido como Raekwon, é um rapper americano. Faz parte do Wu-Tang Clan, um coletivo de rappers novaiorquinos que apareceu com força no cenário hip-hop em 1993 com seu álbum de estreia, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).  Sem compromisso fixo, o Wu-Tang reúne-se bissextamente para gravar, deixando seus integrantes livres para desenvolverem suas carreiras solo. Depois de 93, os discos do Wu-Tang foram Wu-Tang Forever (1997), The W (2001) e 8 Diagrams (2007). Raekwon lançou Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, seu primeiro disco solo, em 1995. O disco versa sobre tráfico de drogas e crime organizado, usando a máfia italiana como metáfora. Sua carreira solo seguiu com Immobilarity, de 1999, e The Lex Diamond Story, de 2003. A segunda parte de Only Built… estava prevista para sair em 2007, mas brigas com o produtor RZA, acertos com gravadoras e questões de direitos autorais postergaram o lançamento do disco até setembro de 2009. Only Built 4 Cuba Linx… Pt. II mantém o mesmo imaginário da primeira parte, apenas com os personagens mais velhos e poderosos. O disco conta com a presença ostensiva de Ghostface Killah e de outros companheiros do Wu-Tang, como Masta Killa, Method Man, GZA e RZA, além de outros rappers, como Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, Slick Rick e Suga Bang Bang, e inclui produções de J Dilla, RZA, Dr. Dre e Pete Rock, entre outros. (RG)

* # *

Vejam só: era para eu estar aqui, falando de como Jay-Z é consistente e tecendo loas a The Blueprint 3, o esperadíssimo disco do rapper que, apesar dos deslizes, ainda continua sendo o nº 1 do mundo. Mas bastou uma audição para perceber a inconsistência do disco, notável por algumas canções memoráveis mas repleto de faixas ralas e burocráticas, com performances daquelas que se esperam de um R.E.M. (hoje) ou de um Ronaldinho Gaúcho: com cetro, trono, mas sem coração ou realeza. E qual não foi a surpresa ao notar que, no mesmo exato momento em que as expectativas em torno do franchise “Blueprint” diminuíam, aquelas em torno de outro franchise cresciam. No mesmo 8 de setembro de 2009, Raekwon finalmente lançou sua tão esperada continuação para Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, sua estreia como artista solo em 1995. É quase covardia comparar um disco com o outro: toda a pressão e a tensão criativa ausentes de um disco competente mas moroso como o de Jay-Z são rapidamente encontráveis nessa volta à forma de Raekwon, seja pelas produções homogeneamente nervosas e carregadas de dramaticidade soturna, seja pelo estilo vocal agressivo e desafiador do rapper e de seus colaboradores, em especial Ghostface. Se Jay-Z é a pompa do tapete vermelho, Raekwon é o perfeito artesanato da porta dos fundos (ainda que, graças às vendagens com o Wu-Tang, seja igualmente um milionário), trabalhando não com o objetivo de fazer cada faixa reluzir como ouro, mas lapidando-a a fim de que ela dê vazão a toda fúria e senso de ameaça que o artista se põe a exprimir. A diferença é entre um rapper popstar que se assumiu como popstar e um rapper popstar que consegue a proeza de manter-se rapper.

A persistência de Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. 2 talvez seja a característica que mais caiba elogiar, no cômputo geral. O disco não tenta nenhuma proeza ao atualizar o som do Wu-Tang ou o do primeiro Only Built…, todo produzido por RZA. Ele não oferece uma novidade suplementar: apenas mantém corajosamente a confiança em seu estilo e utiliza-o com 100% de sua capacidade, tanto nos trejeitos sonoros – até as vinhetinhas da série de filmes dirigida por Lau Kar-Leung estão presentes! – quanto na energia presente em cada batida e cada intervenção vocal. À persistência discográfica se acresce a persistência no tipo de composição: o disco corre por 70min mantendo basicamente o mesmo pique, fornecendo de forma sistemática beats pesados e samples exaustivamente repetitivos, sem escapatórias como refrões pra cantar junto, vinhetas de alívio ou mudanças de atmosfera que tornem a audição mais fluida. Linx Pt. II ouve-se muito bem como um todo, sim, não por sua fluência, mas por sua consistência e pela eficácia de seu ataque relâmpago.

“House of the Flying Daggers”, tirando noise rap e crossover, é uma das coisas mais pesadas até hoje em matéria de hip-hop. A produção, excelente, é do saudoso J. Dilla, mas pelo opressivo ruído de fundo lembra uma das produções de El-P do começo da década, para seus próprios discos ou para o Cannibal Ox. Dilla também participa com outra monumental faixa, “10 Bricks”, adaptando seu remix para “The Red”, e com “Ason Jones”, uma emotiva homenagem ao Wu-Tang falecido Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Outros destaques são “Penitentiary”, com um grave marcante cortesia de BT, e “Surgical Gloves”, com batida de Alchemist. O mair desafio que o disco impõe é o inicial. Dada sua consistência sufocante, é possível que o ouvinte se sinta repelido pelo clima rascante. Mas, uma vez familiarizado e inteirado do estilo e da sonoridade do disco, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II faz um ataque certeiro e não deixa nenhum detrator vivo. (Ruy Gardnier)

* # *

É impressionante a persistência do Wu-Tang Clan e de seus membros em reafirmar sonoridades e temáticas que marcaram o grupo desde seus primórdios, nos nem-tão-longínquos-porém-já-requentados anos 90. E curiosa a forma como em cada álbum essa fidelidade se transforma em uma música geralmente poderosa e convincente, que conjuga apelo comercial com experiências sonoras não muito radicais, mas ainda assim notáveis. Neste segundo álbum de Raekwon, severamente postergado por razões diversas, as premissas permanecem: os mesmos temas, as mesmas sonoridades. E por que não dizer: os mesmíssimos envolvidos. Talvez a resposta para tamanho rigor resida paradoxalmente no trabalho em equipe que faz com o álbum conte com 13 produtores e rappers até não poder mais… Ora, o que há então de tão envolvente e persuasivo que nos mantém presos aos 70 minuto de hip hop pesado e ameaçador, apesar de momentos em que nem a expressão déjà vu dá conta? Bem, tentarei aqui palmear algumas respostas breves, visto que em alguns momentos na vida o inconsciente fala mais alto que a razão, e o gosto (a nossa parte mais reacionária…) se entrega sem pedir mais… Pois bem, em primeiro lugar o instrumental seco, massivo, repleto de referências nem sempre identificáveis e barulhos que podem soar incômodos e excessivamente repetitivos. Sobre este aspecto, sugiro as faixas “House of Flying Daggers”, produzida por J Dilla, e a soturna “Black Mozart”, produzida por RZA, ponto alto do álbum por conta da utilização da melodia composta originalmente por Nino Rota (dizem que há controvérsias, cartas para a redação…). Segundo, a habilidade dos rappers envolvidos, desde a turma do Wu-Tang, onde destaco o flow de Method Man e, sobretudo, Ghostface Killa, ambos dando aula de rima e suingue na faixa “New Wu”. Para finalizar, a excelência na produção, comum aos trabalhos do grupo. E o que dizer mais? Não sei, não há nada que possa ser dito que não esteja rigorosamente previsto nas fórmulas tradicionais do grupo, mas devo notar também que em poucos álbuns de hip hop contemporâneo encontramos tanta energia como na sequência “Surgical Gloves”, “Broken Safety” e “Canal Street”. Nem nos últimos de Jay-Z e Beastie Boys. Ah sim, e marra né, muita marra… (Bernardo Oliveira)

* # *

GZA, RZA, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Allah Mathematics, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, Erick Sermon, Alchemist, Jadakiss, Styles P, Cappadonna, Dr. Dre, Mark Batson, Slick Rick e Busta Rhymes. Dos produtores e rappers convidados para Only Built for Cuban Linx… Pt. II, alguns são parte do coletivo Wu-Tang Clan, fundado no início da década passada (quando viveu seu ápice), enquanto os restantes são de contextos próximos – mais precisamente o hip-hop costa leste anos 90. Pois tudo no último álbum de Raekwon remete a este período de sucesso e ebulição criativa do rap americano: desde as participações até os samples, as batidas e as letras.

De algum modo, Only Built for Cuban Linx… Pt. II é um disco que celebra o passado: embora tenha várias faixas produzidas pelo falecido J Dilla (a grande coqueluche dos novos produtores americanos e ingleses), não disfarça tal impressão, já que utilizar bases de Dilla é também rememorar o pretérito e exaltar o estilo único e inimitável de um artista morto – da mesma forma que não poderiam faltar várias homenagens a Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Mesmo que esse anacronismo represente um problema para Raekwon e a trupe do Wu-Tang (os discos solo de seus respectivos membros parecem mais um trabalho coletivo que individual), toda a força do álbum reside na obstinação ideológica do rapper (e do grupo) e na renovação de fórmulas antigas. Basta ouvir “House of Flying Daggers”, “Sonny’s Missing”, “New Wu”, “Penitentiary”, “Broken Safety” e “10 Bricks” para notar como os raps continuam urgentes, as batidas frescas e os samples inventivos. Se o hip-hop na sua forma mais “tradicional” (digo isso, pois excetuo os hibridismos inovadores proporcionados por Flying Lotus, Madlib, SA-RA e alguns produtores britânicos, que também se inscrevem no hip-hop) não consegue ir muito além de Lil Wayne e kanYe West, então só o Wu-Tang, com todo o seu vigor e astúcia, pode salvar – Wu-Tang forever. (Thiago Filardi)

We’ve got a very hip-hop heavy update today, thanks to the large grouping of artists in the G-J area.

Our work music of choice at the moment: Austrian Death Machine. Never listened to them until today and what a shame that is. I already joked that we should sell off our entire stock and only sell ADM’s albums.

GZA Genius – Pro Tools
Heliocentrics, The – Out There
Hepcat – Scientific
Hot Water Music – No Division
Immortal Technique – Revolutionary Volume 2
Iron Maiden – Somewhere Back In Time
J-Live – The Hear After
J Dilla Jay Dee – Donuts
J Dilla Jay Dee – Ruff Draft
J Dilla Jay Dee – Welcome 2 Detroit
Jaylib – Champion Sound
Jay-Z – The Blueprint
Jedi Mind Tricks – A History of Violence
Jedi Mind Tricks – Legacy of Blood
Judakiss – The Last Kiss

New DVDs:

Alkaholiks, The – Beer Goggles
Boys Night Out – Dude, You Need to Stop Dancing
Coalesce – No Business in this Business Archival DVD Volume 1 (4xDVD)
Flogging Molly – Whiskey on a Sunday (CD + DVD)
Gogol Bordello – Live From Axis Mundi (CD + DVD)

New CDs:

Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal (2xCD)
Flogging Molly – Whiskey on a Sunday (CD + DVD)
Gogol Bordello – Live From Axis Mundi (CD + DVD)

Mit Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) hatten die neun Mitglieder des Wu-Tang Clans 1993 eindrucksvoll widerlegt, dass zu viele Köche den Brei verderben. Zwei Jahre später kredenzte Chefkoch Raekwon Only built 4 Cuban Linx… und zeigte damit welchen Flavour seine ganz eigene Suppe hat. Das Werk zählt zu den absoluten Klassikern der Rap-Geschichte und gilt wegen der vielen Referenzen zu italienischen Gangsterfilmen als Geburtsstunde des oft kopierten “Mafioso-Rap”. 14 Jahre später erscheint nun Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II, das allein vom Namen her noch nicht von allzu großer Innovation zeugt. Natürlich drängt sich da die Frage auf, ob man einen Klassiker überhaupt fortsetzen sollte. In diesem Fall definitiv ja! Schon Popa Wus Weisheiten auf das Gänsehaut-Sample Mellow Mood der Einführung bringen vielmehr Kinoatmosphäre als herkömmlichen Audio-Sound ins Wohnzimmer. Das vorab veröffentlichte Comic-Video zu House of Flying Daggers hätte ohnehin seinen Oscar schon verdient. Wenn Inspectah Deck alias Rollie Fingers, Ghostface Killah alias Tony Starks, Method Man alias Johnny Blaze und GZA alias Maximillion als Gangster-Besetzung dann allesamt noch in ihre Wu-Gambino-Rollen schlüpfen, um über den pulsierend-zirpenden Streicherloop von J Dilla zu rappen, herrscht Feierlaune in den 36 Gehörkammern. Die weitere Produzentenliste liest sich wie ein Spaziergang auf dem Walk of Fame der Beatbastler: Pete Rock, Marley Marl, Dr. Dre, Alchemist, Eric Sermon und natürlich RZA alias Bobby Steels. Dennoch ist zu spüren, dass Raekwon alias Lex Diamonds hier den Regiesessel alleine platt gesessen hat. Passgenau und szenisch korrekt, befindet sich jedes noch so verspielte Interlude genau an der richtigen Stelle. Wie schon OB4CL – das vom Cover und Booklet detailverliebt nachgeahmt ist – lebt die Fortsetzung vom Wechselspiel der unnachahmlichen Reimtechniken von Lex Diamonds und Tony Starks. Die betont melodische Soundkulisse ist mit Smokey Robinson, Margie Joseph, The Dramatic und Bobby Womack wieder stark von Soul-Samples der 60er und 70er Jahre durchtränkt. Mit New Wu hat OB4CL2 auch eine waschechte Clan-Hymne, die mit simpler Genialität verdeutlicht, wie der Wu-Tang Sound im neuen Jahrtausend klingen sollte. Ason Jones ist eine würdevolle Hommage an den verstorbenen Ol’ Dirty Bastard, auf dem slow-arrangierten Have Mercy trifft Raekwon seinen Doppelgänger Beanie Sigel. Weitere interessante Features auf der 24 Titel starken Scheibe stammen von Slick Rick, Styles P, Jadkiss und Busta Rhymes. Ein anspruchsvolles und abwechslungsreiches Konzeptalbum, das nicht nur ein würdiger Nachfolger des 95er Meilensteins ist, sondern das bisher beste Rap-Album im Jahr 2009.

Andreas Margara (10. Oktober 2009)

Peep the Snake Style Bloodbath at 3:30.

1000 Styles is the rawest artist ever.  I think i’m gonna eat a dead cat right now.

Stop being sensitive.

-LaRoushe

You can always count on The Hood Internet to deliver an amazing mash-up. Well, technically, I guess this isn’t a mash-up; it’s a remix. GZA approached the boys in The Hood Internet, asking them to do their thing to Mando Diao’s “Dance With Somebody” so he could lay down some original verses over it. They obliged. Cadence Weapon was involved too, somehow. No matter what happened, the result is a damn good remix. Very catchy. Listen to it below. Thanks to people over at Pitchfork for providing the song for your listening pleasure.

Somehow we’ve missed the last couple of emails from Meterhead but luckily I did a bit of an inbox clear out recently, just one of those things that as to be done from time to time and got their mail about the Official Remix EP pretty promptly after. These guys are actually getting better and better, here is my prize pick of the E.P or if you like you can download the whole thing right here

Wale Ft: Lady Gaga – Chillin’ (Meterhead Remix) YSI

Black Lips Ft: Gza – Drop I hold (Meterhead Remix) YSI

only musics:

3. “Love Lust” by King Charles

4. “Well Now” by Jesse Rose

5. “July Flame” by Laura Veirs

6. “Who Do You Love” by Museum of Bellas Artes

7. “Die Young” by The Danks

8. “Shelia” by Atlas Sound

9. “Havin’ My Baby” by Think About Life

10. “The Darkest Side” by The Middle East

11. “MY KZ, UR BF” by Everything Everything

12. “Blinking Pigs” by Little Dragon

13. “Swim (To Reach the End)” by Surfer Blood

14. “The 215″ by Ross D

15. “Birds of a Feather (Remix ft. GZA)” by Mocky

16. “You Got Me Wrong” by Aloud

17. “Mystery” by Lake Heartbeat

18. “We’re Gonna Fight” by Pennywise

19. “Where Nobody Can Find Us” by Katsen

20. “Red Lipstick” by Skint and Demoralised

21. “Victorian America” by Emily Jane White

22. “Words” by Ketch Harbour Wolves

http://jeffmix.com/

Een leuk plannetje van Pink Eyes, de zanger van de band wiens naam niet kan worden uitgesproken. Het geld dat Fucked Up heeft gewonnen met de Solaris Music Prize wordt gebruikt om een nieuwe versie van Do They Know It’s Christmas op te nemen.

Geen George Michael, Paul Young, Simon LeBon of Boy George dit keer, in de nieuwe versie zijn Fucked Up zelf, No Age, Vampire Weekend, TV On The Radio, Yo La Tengo, GZA, Feist en M.I.A. te horen, als alles volgens plan verloopt.

Het binnengehaalde geld is dit keer niet voor de arme kindertjes in Afrika, maar voor vermiste vrouwen in Canada. ‘Het idee bevalt me wel dat marginale indierockers samen komen voor een doel dat gemarginaliseerd is,’ aldus Pink Eyes in Vulture. ‘In het origineel zat een soort kolonialisme, alsof het Westen even dat arme Derde Wereldland moest helpen. De goede doelen die wij willen helpen zijn juist het slachtoffer van dit soort kolonialisme. Mensen die jaren zijn onderdrukt, zijn vermist.’

O, en van Pink Eyes mag zelfs Bono nog meedoen.

As our departure for Austin on Friday draws closer those of us going to FunFunFun Fest (and those of us tagging along for the ride) will be filling you in on what/who we plan/want/are going to try to see at the fest. So please take a look at the list, maybe it’ll lead you in the direction of something you might of missed.

1. Death

By now most of you have read/heard/watched the story about this Detroit band, how they were Bad Brains before Bad Brains picked up instruments, how if they would have changed name they would have cleared the first brush for punks trail. What you haven’t heard is the music, which is fucking great, all pointed lyrics, machine gun drums and driving bass lines charging forward with no regard for where it ends up. I can’t wait.

Death- Politicians in my eyes

2. Brian Poshen

No lie this guy is easily one of the funniest stand-ups making the rounds, and his career being buoyed by his fantastic work on the Sarah Silverman Show means he’s able to score high profile gigs like this. Let’s be honest his work based on heavy metal genre is hilarious, and adding in a festival filled with music, he should be full of great material.

3. GZA

“I represent from midnight to high noon/I don’t waste ink, nigga I think” Nuff fucking said.

Mando Dia- Dance with somebody ( The Hood Internet with GZA and Cadence Weapon)

4. Les Savy Fav

No gonna lie, I’m just hoping to get one of those patented Tim Harrington festival haircuts.

Les Savy Fav- Dishonest Don Part 2

5. of Montreal

The last time I saw of Montreal live I managed to spend $100 on shots, had three girls dance on me 5 feet away from a girlfriend I had broken up with less then three days before, I witnessed a group of roughly 50 girls decide “Fuck it, let’s all grind on each other”, and woke up passed out in the girls bathroom. Needless to say, I’m expecting a lot from these guys.

of Montreal- Cato as a Pun