April 2009

  • Living Legends Say G&E!

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/30/09 8:46pm
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    G/EG/EAt the dawn of the '90s - which oddly enough was almost twenty years ago - Wu Tang defiantly stated that they were putting in work so that they're kids could have something. This wasn't to be a flash in the pan. The crew albums served as a sort of springboard for each member of the Wu to go off and work independently. And while some of those solo efforts range in listenability, there's not question as to whether or not they all made a dollar.

    Anyway, that's the east coast. And obviously, different parts of the world automatically yield different folks with different perspectives. On the west coast, Living Legends roughly approximate the thinking of the Wu Tang Clan. Of course, the New Yorkers have some major label support spurring on their success, whereas the LLC has eschewed any corporate support in order to control their own destiny.

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  • Alex B is a Nice Guy

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/19/09 5:33pm
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    The internets are a weird animal. Firstly, because without ‘em I wouldn’t have any idea who Alex B was or is. Secondly, he wouldn’t have been asked to make a mix for some web site on the other side of the world. Needless to say, though, we all benefit from this deal.

    As a member of the Pnuma Trio, AB works to get a group of actual musicians to create (or re-create) the sounds of some electronic technicians working out dance grooves. And regardless of my opinion of that, as a producer and deejay, AB works in different territory.



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  • Dox: Slingshot Hip Hop

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/17/09 12:12pm
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    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.

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  • Breaks: United Soul

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/16/09 11:40am
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    Of every soul and funk outfit from the ‘60s or ‘70s, the George Clinton axis of groups probably had as much to do with the development of sampling outta anyone apart from one Mr. James Brown. But the difference between the two – Clinton’s appreciation of psychedelic sounds and such – is the reason that he comes in a close second to Brown. It doesn’t matter really, but it’s interesting to think about.

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  • Print x Comic Books

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/15/09 7:22pm
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    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.

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  • Breaks: Archie Bell

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/15/09 5:36pm
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    The time frame around the hit and album entitled “Tighten Up” is pretty funny. Well parts of it. It isn’t funny that Archie Bell was drafted in 1967 after recording some of the cuts that would comprise this disc. And being shot in the leg isn’t really too funny either. But that’s what happened to Bell. And as he was convalescing a band member was able to hand the group’s single to a local deejay, who subsequently played it and found a rather receptive audience.

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  • The Syndrome: Kid Koala

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/13/09 12:24pm
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    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.

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  • Breaks: Kay-Dee (Vol. 02)

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/11/09 1:18pm
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    The funny thing about dug up funky related stunners from the late ‘60s and ‘70s is that not only do the selected b-sides have a pretty high rate of being cheesy, but even if they’re not, the rest of the full length album from these groups is liable to be just this side of awful. Also during this era of funk, soul and RnB, disco was wheedling its way into the music, making still uncovered gems all the more difficult to locate. Crate digging – digital or otherwise – is still more than admirable and more over fun, but the compilations that are put together often times fail to deliver more than average results.

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  • Omid x The Good Life

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/11/09 9:59am
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    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.

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  • Flying Lotus vs. Electronic Dispensations

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/10/09 5:00pm
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    I’m always just short of reticent to check out whatever discs, albums, releases or assorted ephemera are touted at the end of a calendar year. And a lot of the time this plan doesn’t really leave me wanting. Last year, though, I missed two pretty remarkable instrumental albums by relatively new producers. My bad.

    I’m always just short of reticent to check out whatever discs, albums, releases or assorted ephemera are touted at the end of a calendar year. And a lot of the time this plan doesn’t really leave me wanting. Last year, though, I missed two pretty remarkable instrumental albums by relatively new producers. My bad.

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  • Return of the Rhymefest

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/6/09 6:48pm
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    Prior to the feud between Charles Hamilton and Rhymefest, I had a middling opinion of the elder rapper. After hearing Blue Collar a few years ago I was of the impression that he could have created a much better record based upon the talent he displayed. And subsequent news, leaks, etcetera may have raised my perception of him a bit, but the constant bickering between RF and Hamilton just made me think that they were both full of nonsense.

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  • Mr. Lif Gets Prescient

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/2/09 6:53pm
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    As Mr. Lif continues his quest to get every aspect of American politics off of his chest, he’s seen fit to release a mix of greatest hits as well as a few tracks from his upcoming disc I Heard It Today. Slated to be released at the end of April, it seems that the time this album is ready to hit the streets could serve to give it an even more important position within the political discourse that hip hop as undertaken. I Heard It Today might not end up being a new age Public Enemy disc, but not too many things are.

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  • The Dead Zone: Charles Hamilton

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/1/09 2:39pm
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    Without the excessive discussion about the interactions of Charles Hamilton and Rhymefest, I probably wouldn’t have known of the younger rapper – nor cared. And while the internet dispute between the two seems to surpassed the ability of RF to capitalize on the free publicity, Hamilton has seen fit to release a few mix tapes – in addition to the slew of downloads he offered last year.

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  • Guru: The 8.0 Lost And Found EP

    By cobwebsandstrange on 4/1/09 1:57pm
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    Guru (Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited) is gonna be remembered in the future for a great number of things. In my mind, though, he’s the dude that coined the term ‘positivity.’ And while that doesn’t mean a whole lot seeing as I haven’t heard folks use the word too much, in the emcees determination to create something good out of hip hop, Guru’s worked with various groups in vastly different settings.

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