Beantown
My dude Chan had a show in Boston featuring some of the best R&B/Soul singers from the asian Community. Vudoo Soul and Ailah represented hard on the vocal tip and the evening included a special guest performance by Mastu Wu of the YG FAMILY. The largest Hip-Hop label in Korea.
Chan(Dynasty Muzik) with some female fans after the show.
Vudoo Soul, Masta Wu, and Ailah
GO DJ, Phille Blunt doin his thang
In My B-Boy Stance
Nigo warming up the crowd this past Saturday Central Park, NYC
Tokyo's Finest reppin' for everybody back East, Central Park, NYC
Where Brooklyn At? Big Homey standing in the middle goes by the name Born of Young Black Teenagers, a group that were the one of first succesful white Hip-Hop acts. DJ Scribble of MTV Fame was even a part of the group.They had a huge hit with "Tap The Bottle", use the almighty power of Google to understand this Hip-Hop history lesson.
Now he runs a tatoo shop on Bushwick Ave, Brooklyn
Blokka Blokka !
We Fly High
Capo Status, had an interesting chat with Jim Jones and Frekey Zekey of Diplomats. Where's Camron? A deal with 50 Cent?... All coming soon !!
The Goonies are on call
Near Bowery and Bond
One in the pooper and one in the air.
TJ(Royalton) and Deena(Aloha) get right off Pixy Dust
Tokyo Music Festival '07
Rich The Barber displays his art on his walking model.
Bape Yall need to sponsor this kid!
Red Alert held down the turntables
Star Trek!!! Roscoe P Coldchain and DJ Uppercut tore the place down
Fight The Power
Public Enemy number 1; Chuck D, Professor Griff, Terminator X, and of course Flavor Flav were the four young brothers that formed the most powerful and dangerous group in Hip-Hop history. White America was terrified of everything Public Enemy stood for, minorities in this country were actually speaking the truth about what was going on in their communities. Not only that but, they were no longer just going to sit back and watch their people and culture be destroyed, FIGHT THE POWER!
A glimpse into the world of Mikey Fresh
Big Ups to Ace, holding down China Club every Thursday with FunkMaster Flex on the One's and Two's.
Jenny passed on NYC, and decided to stay in her studio apt. right on Venice Beach.
"Ain't Got no Money.... Yeah"
Pop bottles, like they all free....
Riding The Iron Horse
San Gennaro
The Feast has been going on in Little Italy for some time now. For all those not familiar with what the Italians call the San Gennaro Festival, it's basically a free for all of food, drinks, deserts, games, and the biggest gathering of strange ass people. Don't get it twisted, it's not just nice middle class Italian families and washed up mobsters eating zeppoles and hot sausage; the freaks all come out of the wood work for the feast. Go check out Mulberry Street and see for yourself.
Art in Live Motion City Hall Park, NYC
Akari is sick wit it. I respect graphic designers and all, but the physical part of creating something with your own hands, and not with a click of the mouse is a throwback in the digital age, Bobby Digital for all your analog cats out there.
Oooooh, look what just moved down the street from me. Flight Club is now only a 2 minute walk from my crib, not good. The temptation now lurks right around the corner. Shout out to H to the... for walking out after 5 mins and saying "well I'm not really into sneakers like all you, so I'm gonna go eat sushi".
Manchild
The streets will take your innocence young, ask anyone who truly has been through the stories that your hear your favorite rapper rhyme about it. There isn’t anything glamorous about doing a bid or getting cut in the face. From starring in TLC’s “Waterfalls” video, spitting on tracks with Wu-Tang before puberty, not to mention roles in Hollywood movies to being thrown right in the middle of a street war, and subsequently being locked up all while the opportunities of fame and fortune dwindle in palms reach. Ask Shyheim what his life’s like… freestyled with Biggie and Tupac in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden, recorded a banger with Big L… son what?! Shy’s home and ready to get back into it. Bottom Up is the new movement!!!!
Near the Brooklyn Banks on the Manhattan side.
Straight Outta of Tokyo son!!!!
Youthful Essence
Get Em
LunchBox told me he bagged an "18 year old" at last year's San Gennaro Fesitval, but didn't stay with her becuase she had a kid.
Termanalogy and crew at his mixtape release party... Boston stand up!
Peace to Sandra and Miki, We're coming to Amsterdam very soon.
So fresh and So Clean
BET's Top 5ive
Congrats to the rest of The Urban Post Staff, our feature aired on BET's Top 5ive yesterday. Check out the link http://www.bet.com/static/the5ive/ Make sure you click on the Sept 12th show. Can you recognize that Asian?
In a warehouse... Brooklyn, NYC
He's doing a concert tonight with 50 Cent as part of 50's "every borough tour". Can you guess who it is, by the blurry pic? I caught up with him at a signing of "Def Jam's Vendetta" video game. I distinclty remember cracking up, when he shouted " Somebody play me vs. Jay-z, so I can whoop that ass". The newest member of G-Unit, the street's are talking. (Not really, mostly just the internet thugs out there, lol)
Desire
Hip-Hop anthems seem to be a thing of the past, the songsthat I'm hearing on the radio these days just don't do it for me. Realistically, the songs in question do nothing for the artist. A million ringtones sold doesn't say anything about your talent as an emcee. Hold down a full album then talk shit. Stop with the funny dances and say something with substance.Phaoroahe Monche's new album is the truth.That's what I desire.
Backstage at Canal Room, yes Pharoahe can still freestyle his ass off.
Though I don't really want to mention 9/11, living a block away from the World Trade Center- gives you the true feeling of the tragedy that took place here. I can't explain it. As far who sold more Kanye or 50?? who cares?!@#$
Rap is the new WWF!
Catch me in every borough.
Filthy Rich Barbershop in Woodside Queens. They just don't do 'em like my man Rich. This kid is an artist with the clippers.
Brooklyn Stand Up, made a quick stop at the Rocksmith Headquarters in Dumbo. Check for The Source and Rocksmith to do some major collabs very soon. This building is home to about 3-4 of the major brands running the quote, unquote "street wear" industry.
A sneak peak at the fall collection and some legs.
What a character, ran into Max Perlich aka "Dooley" from one of my favorite movies Blow. He's the one that gets George knocked at the end.This guy had stories forr days jail, groupies.. you name it, who would of guessed that he shopped at Supreme.
The Legend
Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, many claim the title but only a few can really hold true to the claim. The internationally known, locally respected trio of Run Dmc have broken down doors and crossed all barriers, making it possible for average cats from hood to become stars. The Hip-Hop community may never forget about the unsolved murder of Jam Master Jay, but the two remaining emcees have been dedicated to staying relevant and keeping the Run Dmc name alive. I will never forget my sitdown with DMC.
Mikey: We just heard some joints from the up-coming album, what inspired you to put out another record?
DMC: I went Japan in support of my last album, Thugs, Checks, and Rock & Roll. The Japanese are really cool because they love you for who you are. They ain’t gonna say “we love Wu-Tang , if you don’t do that we ain’t which ya.” So I did like 50 interviews when I was over there, all 50 interviews it went like this I sat down in the room and they would all go “Are you OK”, every single one of them. I’m thinking “why do yall keep asking me that so nonchalantly”. Then one of them held up the album and said “there’s a lot of crazy stuff on there”. They wanted to know why I went solo, so I always come from the point of where I’m at, “ I’m DMC, Hollis Queens, I go to St. Johns,” whatever I was doing I was rapping about. I told them there was a lot of emotion in that album Jay died, my father died, there’s a war in Iraq, I just found out I was adopted, suicidal , so I wrote about those things because even when I found out I was adopted like I was telling Run and Jay when he was alive. They were like “So”, but you don’t know this is groundbreaking. This was changing my life, and I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I was in that place alone, so I wrote the album because I know their kids out there foster kids, orphans, even adopted kids that’s thinking “my mother threw me away, I’m worthless”. I looked at my situation because before I even got to that point of finding out I was adopted, I was asking myself, “am I here just to be DMC?” After all the success with Run Dmc, I got to the point where I realized damn I done did it all. It’s no point for me to be in this world anymore. Then I found out that missing piece to me, and I wanted to write about that. The very last journalist asked me before I left Japan, “ Is there anything you would of done differently on your 1st solo album?” and I replied “Yup, I would of made some more fun records because I don’t want people thinking that Checks, Thugs, Rock & Roll is me from now on. I came home, and decided I gotta do an album that’s different. I wanted to take it away from the way it is now, a feature on every song on the album, a known producer – nothing against the producers but they got 4,5 producers that’s producing everybody, that’s cool. For me though there’s no evolution and growth, we stuck in a rut right now. So the motivation for me is it is possible to do an album like Raising Hell, Momma Said Knock You Out, Paid In Full but the problem is Hip-Hop ain’t dead. (Whispers) Nobody’s doing it right.
Mikey: I noticed on your intro, you said “If you think Hip-Hop is dead your dumb”, Nas just released his album titled Hip-Hop is Dead, do you think Nas is Dumb?
DMC: No, no, no before Nas even said that kids 10 years ago were saying it. I was here in New York and I went to Chicago, the Bay Area - the backpackers, the freestylers, the underground movement they been saying that shat since after we came out. I’m not saying nothing is good, but it’s just not creative and innovative. It’s not inspiring, making you go home and say “ Man I gotta figure out a new flow and make a new beat.” I made that intro poem probably like 6 years ago. So when Nas came out with the album, I was already going around saying it as a joke. I would go host open mics and spoken word contests, “DMC kick a verse, kick a verse” and I wasn’t just going to kick some bullshit. I used to call it “This poem is no disrespect to Nas” because it was so current and I would get a standing ovation. People been saying Hip-Hop is dead for over 10 years now. Hip-Hop isn’t dead, people just ain’t doin it right because if the music industry ends tomorrow…Hip-Hop was here before we even ever put it on record, it’ll still be here. It will never die.
Mikey: I really liked the fact that you used one producer for the entire album…
DMC: That’s what it’s about, we sat down and just vibed, and just put out hit after hit.We didn’t due the same thing twice. I hate when they say you gotta make a radio record, the radio rap records used to get played on the radio was because they were dope, not because they fit a formula, now it’s “Let’s get out the Hip-Hop check list, do you have your bitches and hoes check, do you got your 24’s and spinners check, do you got your tattoos check; Muthafucka there’s no blueprint to Hip-Hop. I used to say that about Jay-Z when I used to do lectures and I would hear “Why you hating on Jay-z”. No, I said it about KRS-One too, and he said it before Jay. Ain’t no fuckin’ blueprint to Hip-Hop!!!! Are you insane??? It is it what is in you. Run DMC didn’t put Hip-Hop in people, we took what Hip-Hop people already had and took it out of them. You can’t tell me your pushaman five years ago, then 5 years later you still pushaman, I’ll listen to it, settle for it but rappers need to get off that bullshit because the things that you’re saying is detrimental to the survival of the generation behind you.
Mikey: Right, so it’s a lead by example type of…
DMC: Yesssss, my motivation for this album is just to say “As long as I’m alive Hip-Hop ain’t dead/I’m kick this one off the top of the head ever since of the day I walked this way, It’s gonna be here to stay. Right now we only getting certain images as concepts. See the pusha, thug, stick-up kid, drug dealer, thugged out that’s a part of our community in Hip-Hop. The guy that works 3 jobs to get that range rover and the diamond watch is part of the Hip-Hop community too. I’m DMC and I went to St. John University- a straight A catholic school kid. I never shot a gun, went to jail, sold a drug and I’m king of this whole shit. We are forgetting about that. It’s not even from the point of where their thinking “yea it’s not cool to be positive and go to school, that’s not Hip-Hop. Muthafucka it’s more Hip-Hop than anything!!! The Gangstas will tell you. I don’t want Hip-Hop to be like it was back in the day, I want it to be better because it can be!!!!
When I used to walk around in these streets and people would be like “you changed my life, keep doin what you do”, I would hear things like that all the time and yea I was kinda lost for a minute. Then I made Checks, Thugz, and Rock n’ Roll, staring getting the letters and e-mails DMC thanks you for making the Suicide record, and the adoption record and so on. I knew that I had to keep making music. With this cd, I realized something if the guys of this generation aren’t going to do it. I have to do it. For me Nas made the statement, Hip-Hop is Dead. He put built a house but he didn’t fill it with furniture. Listen to his album it’s Nas, you respect that but it didn’t excite nobody to the level where they would make change. The key to any game is longevity, some even go as far as to say “your only as good as your last hit”. Still able to pack a venue anywhere in the world, Run DMC have never fought for the king of New York but instead took the place as the “Kings of Rock’. Dmc summed up everything very quickly by saying, “ we did this tour in Germany and a reporter said to me “15 years ago I asked you where you wanted to be in 20 years and you said I’ll be here in Germany doing another tour, I’m that guy and your back just like you said !!!!”. That goes to show you how far I’ve really come."
A visit from Blitz.
As things winded down this week, I was blessed with the chance to chat with New York Emcee Blitz The Ambasador. Orginally, from Ghana this African Transplant has spent the last decade making a name for himself on the underground circuit. Rocking with legends like the blastmaster himself , KRS-One, Blitz is the new wave of artists that here to bring the music back. There isn't much more to say, if you like music with substance that still enables itself to consist of hard rhymes and beats, Blitz is the Answer.
Collie Buddz first Source article ever written by yours truly, "When Collie Budd come around"
Don't Quit Your Day Job...
Consequence has experienced an almost Christ like resurrection. The emcee that had heads thinking he was a new member of Tribe in 96’ off the strength of his numerous guest appearances on their acclaimed Beats, Rhymes, and Life LP. Consequence has joined forces with one of the most influential producers of the 90’s and who still to this day continues to help with the evolution of Hip-hop. Kanye West has helped reinvent the careers of artists like Common and John Legend. A relationship that started from a chance meeting, “ I met Kanye back in 2002 through one of my producer friends 88 Keys. You know him and Just blaze were in-house producers for Roc-a-fella at the time, and he had moved out to Newark and was demo-ing records for College Dropout, he didn’t have a deal as an artist yet. 88 had called me one day about this record that they were working on and 88 knew me from way back when, with Tribe and all that. So he called me up, one thing led to another, I just went out there, and we got it in, you know just really developed a friendship and shit. We were just chopping it up, Kanye was like “What happened I feel like I’m looking at a ghost”, you know what I saying,” Consequence says in best Kanye impersonation.
Cons isn’t naïve to the pitfalls of being affiliated with such big names. Consequence had the streets talking when Beats, Rhymes, and Life was released but was quickly brushed under the rug when the group broke up in 1998.“Well, nah you know I just took my time with it. I just got tired of going to A&R’s asking for fucking money and shit, like “Yo what’s the deal, you feeling this, I got shit with this dude and that dude”, you know at the end of the day the only thing an A&R is going to do is get my music to who I wanna get it to and that’s the people at large, so like I was thinking I might as well put out these records that I got and see how people feel about em’. Cuz if people is feelin em’, I’m a go past the A&R anyway. And if they not feeling em’, I got more work to do. So I was blessed enough where I put the 1st mixtape out and they put it on Mixtape Monday, magazines were showing me love, so I knew I was ready to do the album” explains Consequence
Consequence is like A Tribe Called Quest’s little brother, no not 9th Wonder, Big Pooh and Phonte. Just a younger, reincarnation of the conscious rhymes, ill flow, and a nostalgia of the “old New York” that just can’t be found on television or radio. In reality, Cons is actually Q-Tip’s younger cousin, so you can see where the influence comes from. Still digging to find inspiration, “I really be listening to classic albums just to get inspired to do my next album like the Purple Tape - Raekwon, 1st and 2nd Biggie albums, Mobb Deep 2nd album, you know I just keep that shit in my head.
The Urban Post is the first official newspaper dedicated to all aspects of urban culture covering every aspect of the city life. we are celebrating the success of our first issue which debuted in New York City last month and will now be printing bi-weekly. Check us out at a newstand near your or log onto www.TheUrbanPost.com. Look for your boy on The Urban Post feature that will air on Bet's Top 5.
Yankees Baby...
That Time of the year... again
Sept, is finally here, so that means the start of another semester of college complete with all nighters, nights I can't remember, and of course freshman... haha. My 10 day adventure in LA really gave me a break from all the hustle and bustle of New York City. There's something about Cali that really let's you relax and enjoy your work. Business meeting, dealing with promoters, making sure yoru artists are happy, man it just easier out west. I think it's the weather, women,and of course the trees.
(Me, Kev Nish(Far East), and LS)
Big ups to Far East Movement, The Oddibles, Dumbfounded, Izreal, 3 Strykes, LS, and Chan who all defintely repped their set and tore down the Tangiers Lounge in Hollywood. Anytime you can get a bunch of Hip-Hops acts performing together without incident, it's always a beatiful thing.
Any trip to LA wouldn't be complete without hitting up the boutiques on Fairfax Ave and La Brea Ave. You've got Supreme, The Hundreds, Diamond Supply, Flight Club, and now Alife all on the same street. The essence of downtown Manhattan lingers in the air.
This is my version of what heaven looks like....
It does feel good to be back in New York though, I missed the pizza, the noise, and that crazy bum from my block that always asks me to buy him orange soda. Anyway, get ready for a blog filled with Hip-Hop guest apperances, general crazines,and a lil azn flavor from your boy Mikey Fresh!!!
Back To New York
They don't call it LaLa land for nothing. After spending the last 10 days of my lifeon the left coast, I am finally on my way back East. California is amazing, beatiful weather, plentiful women, and of course the infamous In-N-Burger. If you don't know what I am talking about, I suggest you book a flight to Cali ASAP. My trip was everything I'd hoped for, I really took advantage of this time to network with all those working in the Hip-Hop and "Street Wear scene in LA. The folks in Sunny California are really hospitable when treating their out of town guests.Uppp... there boarding my flight, ( I'm writing this from the Hi-Fi section of the LAX airport terminal. I will give you an extended summary of my trip, complete with pics and vid as soon as I get back to the rotten apple, Big shout out The Oddibles, Far-East Movement, Catch Music, 3 Strikes, Izreal, Stand up Comedian Danny Cho, and Debt Stock Clothing.
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