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5.10.10
Vado | Large on the Streets
Big L left a profound legacy on hip hop and a larger one to Harlem. Vado pays due respect to his Harlem brethren in Large on the Street. Slime Flu drops next week. HUH!
In case you missed it, the Ebonics reference on the 3rd verse.
17.9.10
Vote TwentyTwelve
TwentyTwelve artist Eric Giddings (WebbieG) is entered in the Artisan Series put on by Mark Ecko's Complex Magazine and Bombay Sapphire. The series is inspired by Russell & Danny Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. If you've got a second, show your support by voting on the Lil' Wayne Legend Line drawing shown above by clicking any of the images or here. If you've got a second everyday, vote every 24 hours. More on the Artisan Series can be found here.
Your support is much appreciated!
4.8.10
Recommended Reed
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Samson: Blessed Savior of Israel by J.Reed |
Our bro J.Reed recently published his first graphic novel titled Samson: Blessed Savior of Israel. The story of Samson has stood the test of time and rivals that of any superhero story you've ever heard about. What makes the expressive writing and illustrations even more impressive, is that J.Reed completed the 212 page book by himself. If you're looking for a hot summer read, we suggest you support the artist and pick up your copy HERE for a cool 20 bucks.
1.7.10
LA Leakers x (The Cool Kids + Dom Kennedy)
The LA LEAKERS and The Cool Kids dropped Tacklebox this past Friday. Needless to say it's been stuck in the deck. Heaviest in rotation:
LA LEAKERS also collaborated with our friends at LAX PAPERBOYS with Dom Kennedy on his largely freestyled 2009 mixtape Best After Bobby. Dom was just showcased in XXL, a good look for him and his whole team.
Both have dope album artwork and run with good teams. Like the Boston Celtics, what you know about team Kobe? Boston in 7, just to be entertaining.
30.6.10
(Curren$y x French Montana) x Michael Franks
I haven't been able to stop listening to any one of these three.
-eL
-eL
24.5.10
Flipped x (Closed Caption)
This fourteen year old kid just showed up at the blue banks, told 'em to line up the bikes, and did the damn thing. My cerebellum isn't wired for 'ish like that, but god bless(ed) the child whose is.
eL
9.5.10
...like my buzz ain't enough promotion
Cookin' Soul and Don Cannon teamed up to release a same-week remix of Drake's Thank Me Later, dropping their live-instrument tape Thank Us Later (The Remix Album) this past Friday. In a sense, this mixtape is the embodiment of the debate that continuously hovers over HipHop: where does one draw the line between originality and innovation, and biting somebody else's style and work for their own self promotion and profit? (for what it's worth, Drake gave the tape a co-sign via his official blog).
Regardless, Thank Us Later is most definitely a worthwhile listen, due to the contributions from everybody involved. Shout out to Diego L. Rodríguez (ParanoidMe.com) for making the album artwork that trumps the retail version.
4.5.10
HipHop Wuz Here
Since NaS released his 8th studio album, Hip Hop Is Dead, in 2006 the life status of HipHop became a heated topic of debate. I will admit to being on the pessimistic side of things, something definitely shifted in regards to the substance of music. The emergence of a new generation of emcees has me hopeful though. Hailing from Mississippi, Big K.R.I.T. falls into this category. His mixtape K.R.I.T. Wuz Here is your evidence. He laces the entire mixtape with with his own production while also sporting features from Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa, and Devin the Dude. Check the video for "Children of the World," directed by Creative Control. Download link after the album artwork.
3.5.10
Be Thankful x Chicken and Beer
The history of hip-hop is tangible, perhaps my favorite aspect of the genre.
-eL
21.4.10
Kid Franti
People are more similar than they are different, I swear. In talking with my mom in her kitchen, I heard Michael Franti & Spearhead's "Never too late for love" for the first time...and I initially thought it was a Kid Cudi track. Call it what you will, but something about Spearhead's construction of the song combined with Franti's intonation and flow got me for the Kid.
-eL
-eL
20.4.10
RIP Keith Elam aka Guru
Amidst a backdrop of jealousy, loyalty, betrayal, and gossip one of the great pioneers of hip-hop passed into the next journey on April 19th. Keith Elam aka Guru aka Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and DJ Premier made the music duo Gangstarr; they blessed the industry, and more importantly the culture, of rap music with groundbreaking music that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop starting in '93 with Jazzmatazz. Guru's music and influence will live on, but the he will be missed. Rest in peace.
-eL
13.4.10
The Hussle.
Nipsey Hussle is doing his thing in classic LA fashion. The Hussle is an ill collaboration with Cookin' Soul, who put together the OJAYZIS: Jay-Z vs Oasis mixtape in 2008.
-eL
8.4.10
Beautiful Losers
Photo by Alex Greenburg
There's nothing new under the sun, it's not what you do, but how it's done.
I recently watched Beautiful Losers, a documentary recommended to me by a friend and teammate, Greenburg, and now recommended by me too. The documentary details the story of artists like Shepard Fairey, Mark Gonzales, Spike Jonze, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike Mills, Barry McGee, Phil Frost, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine, and Ed Templeton. More often than not, the manifestations of cultural accomplishments have been the result of a few like-minded people coming together to create something new and original for no other purpose than a common love of doing it. Usually starting as a sub-culture. I see a lot of similarities in the way that Greenburg and the rest of the people at The Sub in San Francisco operate. The Sub is a cooperative studio based out of the Mission in San Francisco @ 199 Capp Street. They display art, host events, throw parties, and use their space as a working studio. The resident artists are Johnny Hwin, Nick Lane-Sebastian, Sebastian Parker, and Alex Greenburg. Above is a photograph by Greenburg. His work is always on display at The SUB in the form of 35mm film slide-shows, which are available by appointment. He can also be hired for commercial photography. I suggest checkin' out his statement on his website, and his Red series in the slideshow, it's like Picasso photography.
WebbieG
2.4.10
LittleMoon
One of my favorite aspects of Albany is the sheer number of small businesses that occupy the city. They range from boutiques to bodegas and usually end up embodying the personality of their owners. The walls of Tashi Palden's shop, LittleMoon, are bright yellow and covered with art he's produced (the two images above are his creations) and imported from his homeland of Tibet. His shop also has a modest, but strong, book collection and a meditation center in the back. In close proximity to bars, a gas station and a laundromat, you don't stumble upon the shop so much as you are drawn into it by its bright and welcoming presence.
Tashi has views about knowledge, understanding, and the difference between the two, that would invoke finger snaps if recited at a poetry slam. The influence of Tibet and Buddhism are evident in his product and he's mindful about how his views are expressed in his art. In addition to producing art Tashi teaches language and meditation, providing the community with a positive cultural resource that does not go unnoticed in Albany--he's been holding down the corner of Madison & Lark for the past ten years. The fact that a business like this survived two terms of Bush plus the Great Recession is a testament to Tashi's work and work ethic. If you're ever in Albany check out LittleMoon at 467 Madison Ave.
eL
1.4.10
Willard Square, South Portland, ME
Where we're from, where we've been, and where we're at are often topics of interest. In this first post of many on where I'm from, imma show you about up where out-of-staters vacation, and residents live life the way it should be. Willard Square, South Portland, Maine is home to myself, many talented artists who should be featured soon, and where Dynamo-P and Moldy started doing their thing. Check out the website for the record label Heavy Pressure, run by Moldy, and his myspace. Also, be sure to visit Dynamo-P's myspace, and download his newest project Re:Done with mastering and an exclusive track by Moldy. Link after the album artwork.
And while we're on ME, I heard the single "I'm Awesome" by Wells, ME artist SPOSE on 96.3 FM in Albany. Maine's making moves. Check out his myspace HERE.
-WebbieG
The Art of Business
"Business art is the step that comes after Art. I started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist. After I did the thing called “art” or whatever it’s called, I went into business art. I wanted to be an Art Businessman or a Business Artist. Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. During the hippie era people put down the idea of business—they’d say, “Money is bad,” and “Working is bad,” but making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art."
-Andy Warhol
(Suggested viewing: American Masters: Andy Warhol)
-WebbieG
Mr.Rockefeller. Having Fun?
New York is synonymous with New York City and for good reason: the rest of the Empire State doesn't have much on the city. It's composed of straight farmland, orchards, and small cities whose souls left with the industrial revolution. But NYC isn't the capital and therefore falls somewhere other than the top of the state totem poll. Enter Albany, my place of residence and current home of TwentyTwelve Art. It's small and offers little in terms of a skyline, but we do have this masterpiece of concrete and marble: Empire Plaza. It's the architectural epitomey of empire. Not only did it displace 9,000 residents when it was built but it resembles a block where you'd expect to find Lord Vader and Newt Gingrich posted up. Word is it was also built to act as a fortress against rioting citizens during the Civil Rights Era--construction started in '65. I'm sure Rockefeller was disappointed to never see his edifice complex used in full force, but his legacy endures in the mindset of the people who occupy his offices. We're still here, still struggling, still soulful. Some things don't change.
The chance is this might never catch on
I spent a good amount of time thinking of some witty way of starting this whole thing off. A manifesto of the creative class? A tirade about what's been lost in our culture? And while I'm trippin' on our potential come up, I stumble across this picture of a night in the California foothills with the crew. Nothing even moderately crazy went down, probably a night I would not have been able to recall were it not for this picture. But seeing it made me remember that this whole thing began with a few friends in a place where we could create, share and showcase freely. That's what TwentyTwelve Art will showcase so long as we exist. To quote Grouch: "The chance is this shit might never catch on/But my friends like my songs and I like my songs/Life-long endeavors for the pleasure."
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