April 2009

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> The quality of documentaries is dependent upon a number of different elements. Of course the subject chosen to document needs to be at least somewhat interesting. But, the person working the camera and editing the entire thing together needs to have some sort of empathy – not necessarily sympathy – for the subject matter or the people that constitute the characters. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]-->The delay between the release of a single track from Comic Books: Unlimited – “Superfriends” – and the rest of the proper disc was roughly three months. That’s a pretty long time in terms of internet releases. But while considering that, this release also calls into question what distinctions there actually are between mix tapes and albums released via the web. To me…there isn’t a difference. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> Whether good or bad, there isn’t a huge market for deejay albums. A brief resurgence of the medium sprung up during the mid to late ‘90s, mostly centered around various Los Angeles associated crews, but that didn’t last all too long. Of course, the folks who garnered a bit of press from that time have gone on to produce works for a great many top tier hip hop acts. But a resultant effect of that brief balloon of attention was that more outlets were created for deejays to release sample based music. And even with the troublesome copyright problem omnipresent, some pretty listenable discs have gone to press. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> Busdriver, apparently, at some point said something to the effect of, underground hip hop happened ten years ago – but he said that five years ago. So he meant the mid-‘90s. Maybe. The Gravediggas, Black Moon and other New York acts already had discs out for a few years by that point – and to me that really should be the demarcation point. 1991-92? Maybe.

Anyway, what Busdriver was specifically referring to – since he’s an Los Angeles dude – is the fact that the Goodlife open mic night began around ’93 or so. And without that outlet, the LA rap scene – or the west coast underground as a whole – just wouldn’t be the same. Read more