about it Arial, sans-serif; margin:0; padding: 3px 4px; color:#999;”>MIXTAPE 142 – STAYING OCCUPIED by Mixtape Show / Dex Digital on Mixcloud

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INTROLUDE. Knxwledge. – Kafe @Knxwledge
5lack/Slack – ????
Hodgy Beats – Memorex Cds @killhodgy
Rimco – Chrono Trigger ‘Winds of Time’ OC Remix
Sticky – Where’s My Money
Snubnose Frankenstein – The 6th Man @ snubdogg
Key – KeyKey @keiopensdoors
OUTROLUDE. Holy Girl – How to Stay on the Ground (demo clip)

things changed radically for me in some ways and stayed the same in others. we must protect lil b at all costs. thanks to those who waited.

ham-R.

日本語ラップ・ファン、いや、日本の音楽の最先端に興味のある人ならこの名前を知らない人は多分いないと思う。だが、知られているのは名前と音楽だけで、他の事は謎が多い。映像を作るが滅多に画面に顔を出さない。いろんなところで話題になるが自分から自分の話はしないし、インタビューに滅多に答えないらしい。ツイッターはつかわない。ブログは１年前から放置状態。数ヶ月以内に４本ものミックステープを出し、また姿を消す。考えてみれば、それは２年前の話だ。

そう、突然STAY HUNGRY STAY FOOLISHを発表してから既に２年も経っているが、今聞いてもやばい（ご本人の意見はさておき）。

この一連の作品に圧倒され、アルバムに期待していた人は多いはず。わたしもそのひとりだった。

しかし、２年たってもアルバム出ないし、曲も出ない。いったい、ham-rはいま何している？

ということで、本人に６つほどの質問を質疑応答形式で訊いてみた。これはもともとアメリカの雑誌の取材のために行われたインタビューなので、質問は若干「海外視点」になっているかもしれない。ただ、読み返してみたら興味深いものがあったので、本人の許可を得てここにもアップさせていただきました。

まずは簡単な自己紹介をお願いします（出身、趣味、ラップ・プロデュースするようになったキッカケなど）

創作活動時の名をham-Rと申します。東京出身。趣味は特にございません。幼少時より映画監督になりたくて、映画に必要な要素を片っ端から習得しようとしたのが音楽活動のキッカケです。長年絵を描いていて芸術全般を勉強していたのですが、20歳位の時に音楽の制作も始めました。その流れで制作会社を立ち上げたり、PV監督を務めたりと、現在も映画を撮るための準備段階にあるような未熟者です。

僕の印象なんだけど、日本語ラップってここ3年までは、オンラインで、しかも無料の作品を出すのはあまり普通ではなかった。でもたとえばアメリカでは、かなり前から、ネットでミックステープを宣伝のツールとしてタダで出すのが当たり前になっています。そのギャップはどこからきたと思います？

なかなか難しい質問です。
日本の国民性は根本的に外来のものに対して閉鎖的なので、おそらくそれが本質的な要因でしょう。島国、小さな国土・高い人口密度であることによって国民の「安定性」に対する欲求が非常に強いので、本来大きな変化を受け入れる体質ではありません。クリエイター・アーティスト単位で言及すると、バイタリティーの低さ、それによる新しいネットインフラに対する認識の甘さが一因なのではないでしょうか。クリエイター・アーティストを支えるサポート側、いわゆる業界の人間というのは既存のシステムから逸脱することを嫌います。短期的には見込める収益を欠くのでプロモーションといえどなかなかフリーコンテンツを扱うインフラを整えようとは考えないものです。それは海外でも同様でしょう。
つまりプロモーションにも関わらず、クリエイター・アーティスト側が自ら動かなければ、「ネットを利用しプロモーションとしてフリーツールを展開する」という概念は発生しない訳です。
ただ、上記の国民性によるものなのか、日本のクリエイター・アーティストの間で、それがなかなか発生しませんでした。直接的なギャップをもたらした原因はそこにあるのかもしれません。

まえ、日本人はパソコンをあまり使わなくてむしろ携帯でネット・メールするとか、という話をした記憶があるんだけど、それも関与していると思います？

携帯の話は、いわゆるガラパゴス化現象を説明したかったのだと思います。ガラパゴス化が世界からの孤立化を招き様々な弊害を各方面に及ぼしていましたが、独自のネット自体は存在していましたし、ユニークな文化を形成できた一面もあるので、必ずしも大きな要因とは言えないかもしれません。

ミックステープの質問の続きですが、早い段階から無料でミックステープを出してた人として、当時の考えについて少し教えてください。

2009年、「A Day On The Way」という最初のミックステープを我が社から発表しました。当時僕の部下だったDJ UWAYこと現ユニバーサルミュージックA&R三上氏と考えていたのは形式の輸入です。質問1にあるような概念を日本で流布する簡単なきっかけ作りをしようとしたのです。三上氏が元々本場アトランタでDJとして活動していてサウスシーンに詳しかったので、内容もDJ DRAMAのGangsta Grillzを日本語で展開する様な設定でプロデュースしました。ただその概念の普及には時間がかかると思いましたし、普及してもすぐに形骸化するだろうという予想を当時から二人でしていました。

両シーンに詳しい人として、今の日本のミックステープの文化や、シーン全体について、海外の人に知ってほしいことなどをきかせてください。

特に今の日本のミックステープの文化や、シーン全体に詳しい訳ではないのですが、既述の予想通り、日本のミックステープシーン自体は形骸化してしまったように見えます。海外の方々にとって真新しいほどの現象は起きていないのではないでしょうか。日本において、シーンとは市場ではなくコミュニティーの様相を帯びています。そこに競争原理が働かなければ、シーンとして海外に紹介出来るほど成熟することは不可能でしょう。また、より的確に作品を理解し、解釈、体系化できる評論家も必要でしょう。

そんな中、シーンと呼べるのかわかりませんが、ニコニコ動画がやはり面白いです。
二次使用の面白さが特筆されがちですが、アマチュアクリエイターのプラットフォームとして、海外のどのサイトと比べても非常に優れていると思います。supercellの活躍は優れた一例なのではないでしょうか。ただし、体系化が難しく、不完全さとかなり限定された趣向が好まれるので。、まだその意味合いを海外に説明するのは難しいかもしれません。

特に影響を受けたアーティストを5人ほどあげるならば、誰かいます？

Hans Zimmer, apoplexy
D’angelo, health
Trevor Horn, view
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,Jimi Hendrix,Skreamなどでしょうか。正直、挙げたらきりがないです。日本では中島みゆきの詩の世界に非常に感銘を受けました。

今注目している日本語ラップのアーティストは？
昔から日本語ラップをほとんど聴かないので何とも言えませんが、日本の他のジャンルを見渡しても、Cherry Brownは唯一オリジナリティーがあって面白いアーティストだと思います。それこそ、日本におけるフリープロモーションに関しては彼が先駆者です。彼が的確に動けば、もう少し意義のあるコンテクストを内包した文化が形成されると思います。

ham-rのことを全く知らない、でもラップは好き、という人に、一番オススメな曲は？ミックステープは？
私の今までの作品は実験的で、全て数日で制作した非常にお粗末な物なのでお勧めも特にございません。
来年におそらく最初で最後のアルバムを発表できると思いますが、是非そちらをお楽しみ頂けたらと思います。

But anyway, here we go with a breakdown for the last episode in the Nihongo Rap (=”Japanese Rap”) series – ep 131, “Hansei Shitemaasu“, which roughly translates to “I’m soooorrryyy”. The cuts are, in general, about regret, the past, and/or looking forward to the future.

You can play it below, or go check the original post here.

Note that this is only the tracklist – I will be breaking down the actual skit in a future article. You will want to read this.

In the meantime, though, let’s get with these tracks:

MINT – Isoganakya (Gotta Hurry). Somebody feel free to call me out on this, but I forget who actually did this cut first (seriously, someone remind me). Point is, though – it doesn’t matter, because this song is better than that song. @minchanbaby

Cherry Brown – Hayai (Pyuun!) (Fast (Zoom)). I’m not really sure why I didn’t put Cherry Brown in the first episode, but, well, here he is. I think he showed up in The Source Japan (yes, we had one, for like four months), but I lent that issue to my friend and can’t find it now. Cherry makes a lot of weird music – like, a lot – and also produces under the name of Lil’ Yukichi. He also happens to be one of the people who are spearheading this new wave of mixtapes in the Nihongo Rap scene. @twitter.com/cherrycherry_b

A-Thug – Ori no Naka (In the Pen). So this cut is, thematically, pretty easy to understand – references to Scarface, and dude talking about how he spent time in jail, and about his life selling crack. My favorite line:

ヘイズとエクスタシー
Heizu to ekusutashii
Haze and ecstasy

ブラッズとつるみ
Burazzu to tsurumi
Hanging with Bloods*

クラックを造り
Kurakku wo tsukuri
Cooking crack

ブロックを仕切り
Burokku wo shikiri
Running the block

グロックを握り、あ
Gurokku wo nigiri, ah
Gripping Glocks, uh

*I really hope that I’m hearing this incorrectly. Please, let this be wrong.

This sort of talk, of course, is completely unbelievable, and I will personally mail you a dollar if you are able to find five Japanese people that know what the word “Glock” even means. It still sounds cool, though, which is what matters. m/athugscars

AKLO – Chance. From the Aklo 2.0 mixtape, which I recommend – if only for dude’s version of “Forever”. Incidentally, Aklo is also partially the inspiration behind me even doing this series – we had more than a few conversations about the state of Nihongo Rap, and own stance on the importance of mixtapes. Very, very bright dude. This isn’t the best song on the tape, by far – it just fit the theme. m/aklosound

GAGLE – Yuki no Kakumei (Snow Revolution). I swear I’ve heard this sample somewhere – does anyone have any leads? Anyway, Gagle is a pretty respected part of the scene, despite their being from Sendai. I should probably talk more about this at some point, but for a very long time, the general understanding was that if it wasn’t from Tokyo, it wasn’t hip-hop, and it wasn’t worth listening to (though you could argue that Hokkaido natives Tha Blue Herb straightened that out three years before this jawn dropped). This cut is easily my favorite off their 3 Men On Wax record. gagle.jp

PRIMAL , DJ Kohaku, CHIYORI, 02 – Butaiura (Greenroom). Off of DJ Muta’s Character Pack mixtape – which, if you can find, is pretty good. The beat is People Under The Stairs’ Acid Raindrops – and I keep saying this, but seriously, this cut is much better than the original. DJ MUTA’s blog

MINT – “YEAH”de gomakashiteiru (playing it off by saying “yeah”). Okay, that’s a terrible translation, sorry. Anyway, seriously kids, MINT just really goes hard. I was actually done mixing down this episode and chanced upon this cut on dude’s twitter, and absolutely had to fit it in. The hook is really simple, and lyrically actually sort of cheesy, but it’s still just bananas:

おれはずっとこのまま、きっと多分ここなんだ
Ore wa zutto kono mama/kitto tabun koko nanda
Definitely, probably I’ll always be here

YEAHでごまかしてる/自分の居場所探してる
YEAH de gomakashiteru Jibun no ibasho sagashiteru
Playing it off, saying “yeah” searching for my place

Have I mentioned that I’m a terrible translator? I’m a terrible translator. Just trust me, this is a good song.

So that’s what it is for this one – if you have any questions, want to hear on any specific artist, I’m thinking of doing posts on individual artists. Or, you know, if you have comments on the series in general, definitely let me know, either here or via twitter (@dexdigi).

Also, stay on the lookout for the aforementioned article breaking down the skit, and the “Hansei Shitemaaasu” line. It’s shaping up to be pretty interesting.

In the intro, I said absolutely nothing of importance. Same goes for the outro. Not that that is surprising at all.

On to the artists:

Super Smoky Soul – you’ve actually heard them here before.

S.L.A.C.K. – I actually met this dude, maybe slightly before people started really freaking out about him. His rap style is sorta weird – he slurs his Rs, his intonation is bizarre, and he doesn’t pretend to talk about anything of any great importance. This, believe it or not, is sort of important.

example (warning: awkward translation):
なんて適当にさ　話してる夕方が透き通ってさ　　　Like just whatever, we talk all night
なんて適当にさ　話してるやつが大好きでさ I like people that just talk like whatever
なんて適当にさ　適当って言葉が大好きでさ Like just whatever, I like the word “whatever”

Here’s a video off the same record, “My Space”:

M.T.Z – This is actually a friend of mine – I’d say a classmate, but I spend very little time on campus, so yeah. This is actually over an old Planet Asia beat, and one of only two tracks dude has ever recorded (he’s more known in the organization/freestyle circuit). Lyrically, as you can probably tell, this is way more complex and on some ‘sucker MCs’ kind of angle. He’s also a political science grad student at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, so maybe that makes sense.

Actually, lemme tell a story about this dude. One time we were on the 8th floor of our (newly constructed) school building, and I’d brought my skateboard to class. He comes up, laughing at me for riding my skateboard to class, and asks if he can try it (he’s never ridden one before) and I’m like yo, are you sure it’s okay? I mean, we’re indoors.

He gives me this dead serious look, the same look he gets on his face when he’s reading Marx, and says “Yes. This is our space. It belongs to the people”. And proceeds to skate on the brand new carpet.

AKLO – Player. My first encounter with this dude, he was trying to do a kickflip indoors at a bar I had played a show at, slipped off the board, and almost broke my shins. After his recent mixtape AKLO 2.0, I’d have to say that this dude is easily one of the most important forces in recent Nihongo Rap history. He’s only got one record out, but his mixtape game is seriously putting pressure on the rest of the scene, which to this point has been pretty lazy as far as release pace is concerned. Then we’ve got the producer, Ham-R, who also appeared on Seeda’s most recent record (raps and production). Aside from the coked out synths, I recommend paying attention to what he’s doing with his snares – even Bach Logic isn’t really touching this.

MINT – 変形合体　(“henkei gattai”). I’m not really sure how you translate this – the first part is like “transform” (as in “transformers” – get the reference to the original track now?)　and the second is like “union”. So basically if you think about Robotron or maybe Power Rangers when they made that big robot or whatever (I hated that show, so I don’t really remember), that’s the idea.

Anyway, Mint is a pretty weird dude. I think a lot of Nihongo Rap fans might know him best from 韻踏合組合 (loosely, and lamely translated, “rhyme association”), but apparently he ditched that group in like 04. A lot of his rhymes are pretty juvenile, complete with crude sex references (think really hard about where you could go with the image of robots transforming/combining into one) and entire songs dedicated to his favorite anime shows, but really this guy is one of my favorite rappers, period right now. And, as I said in the original article, his version of the Chris Brown joint is far, far superior to the original, and I will gladly internet fight anyone who disagrees with me.

Be on the lookout for more Mint in an upcoming jawn. (thanks for reminding me, Timm)

Hannya – Blog #50. Instead of a blog, Hannya releases a new freestyle every week. Each of them are sort of upsettingly good. In this one, he’s (among other things) dissing the Japanese edition of Source Magazine, which I agree with, because while it was nice to have a hip-hop magazine in Japan, it was very irresponsibly written, and probably never should have been released. After 3 issues it died out, though, so whatever. I very highly recommend checking out Hannya’s most recent record, HANNYA – it was probably my favorite record of 2009.

Essencial – Bomb Rush Freestyle. Off of the Backyard Vol 1 mixtape. I think most people remember Smith CN (the first rapper) more than his counterpart, which I guess is unavoidable. Dude’s voice is just that bugged out. Smith CN himself has a new record out – I’ve only heard one cut, but it is very recommended.

a.z – untitled (off a beat CD I got from Mori). I have played at a few events with her, and still don’t quite get it. She’s the producer for a few acts around Tokyo, but the word is that she never listens to hip-hop, at all. She just makes the beats, gives them out, and gets back to work. Really weird, but recently she’s been putting out some nice material. This is probably a good name to keep an eye on.

and that’s it. Now, go back, listen to the Nihongo Rap episode again. And stay tuned for the next installment.

Hell, are people interested in this sort of thing? If you are, I’ll keep doing these and breaking them down – if not…I’ll probably do it anyway, but it’s nice to know what people are interested in.

Obviously in Tokyo I don’t run into dude as much as I used to, patient but I ran into this the other day.

TK has more than a few videos up on his account, but this one I think a lot of people could benefit from checking. Specifically his words on knowledge. From near the end of the video:

One of the best things you can do is to educate yourself, as well as to get a formal education. Combine those things. And then question those things.

Because it’ll give you a balance in life that no one can take away from you. There are certain things that you learn in the streets of Northern America that no one can teach you. And if you combine that with academic studies, you are going to be a very sharp sword, and you’ll be able to serve justice. And cut the heads off of a lot of people that come in your way.

There’s really not a whole lot more to say here.

I encourage anyone reading this, especially young brothers and sisters from those communities that are continually put at a disadvantage – I’m looking at those of you in high school, just out of high school, and hell even in middle school:

in all senses of the word, get an education.

I did a post on Sabotage Party’s Holding the Crown video with the Akira visuals a while ago, and we all remember Kanye’s attempt. But now Mark from Eyetape, who you might remember from this site the last time I posted on them, has just dropped a very unofficial, very bootleg but actually pretty cool Akira “trailer”.

So aside from the fact that this thing is extremely well done, especially considering the budget – there is some actual rappidy rap in here. Seeda, who you might remember from my quick breakdown of Dear Japan I did forever ago – appears (without his explicit permisson) with the first part of “Lost Heaven”. If you’ve never heard the track you might miss this, but the editing is actually pretty smart at the beginning – those sound effects from the CD changer weren’t added in postproduction – that’s part of the actual song.

This is sort of an interesting project – an absolutely unauthorized – both in terms of soundtrack and film (I’m assuming that “90% guerilla” means “90% of this stuff wasn’t cleared with city authorities”) trailer of a Japanese film made by a kid raised in the States. Using a soundtrack spotlighting a Japanese artist using a quote un quote “American” artform.

For those of us born in the mid 80s and later, on both sides of the river, these “boundaries” are really starting to take on new meanings. I’m not saying they’re going away, but stuff’s starting to get interesting. I mean, look at the Golden Cartridge series (vol 1, vol 2) or the original Nintendo mixtape, man. We’ve got a generation of American kids influenced by Japanese machines, and a generation of Japanese kids influenced by recordings of American kids yelling into a box. Of course, there’s the negative side, which we’ve discussed here before in part, but still.

But forget that, watch the video. The set work in this video is also pretty dope – the bar actually looks like the original place from the film. I think I’m going to have to go rent this movie again.

In the meantime, holler at Eyetape.

But more importantly than that, I found something I kinda like that I want to share.

So maybe like a couple weeks ago this dude posts two vimeo links on my facebook. This is generally a no-no, particularly if the music is not good, but in this case I make a very large exception because both of these jawns are pretty dope.

Sabotage Party – HOLDIN THE CROWN – AKIRA montage from Jet Setter

Probably the first thing non-UK people will notice here is that the two gentlemen on this song are speaking a variety of English that is absolutely incomprehensible. I think I understood maybe 20% of what they’re talking about, but it doesn’t matter because a) it sounds good and b) the instro is bananas.

Bonus points for splitting “compliment” into four syllables.

Sabotage Party – Real Girls (T1 montage) from Jet Setter on Vimeo.

And then Real Girls. This is sort of a confusing song because it’s clearly about women, but it’s not actually, you know, degrading or insulting. I had to listen to it a few times to make sure I knew what was going on.

Jokes aside, I might even like this one better than the other track. Contentwise it’s quite good, and I don’t think I ever watched Terminator I, but the edit work on this to make it into a completely different cohesive semi-storyline on this is pretty brilliant (also dig the Tekken screen, and for that matter the subject synchronization (audio “smack to the jaw” + visual wrench to the jaw) in Holdin The Crown).

Anyway, this is bar raising material, ladies and gentlemen, particularly on the visual front.

I know next to nothing about these dudes, but I think this is their myspace: myspace.com/sabotage_party

podcasts soon.

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Apparently as if making up a pretend city wasn’t enough, these dudes made up a pretend rap group that supposedly existed 15 years ago, and a pretend video for that pretend group, and a pretend video show that showed that pretend video, and then they pretend got pretend permission from the pretend video and made a pre…you know what, just watch the video.

I mean, I could sorta do without the intro, but it’s still funny. I still haven’t heard the whole record, but I don’t know, maybe I should go get it. What I have heard thus far is kinda good.

As a side note, the Tanya Morgan name shouldn’t be new to you at all if you’ve been following the show for a while. Check the archives.

Realest like Bruce Willis.

So let me make something clear upfront.

First off, after being here for over a year, I think I can say with confidence that a large portion of Japanese hip-hop is not very good². I would actually go as far to say that a good portion of it is actually completely unlistenable, and that any non-native speaker of Japanese who claims to prefer Japanese rap over, say, its American counterpart is either very very familiar with the underground scene here, or lacks musical taste.^2.5

This coming from someone who only has Japanese rap in his mp3 player.

Second, I should also say here if someone asked me who my favorite Japanese rapper was, at this point in time I’d have to say Seeda. It is also an undisputable fact my opinion that his last album is a landmark record in Japanese rap history, is the best Japanese rap record out right now, and is going to be a major force in what happens over the next couple years in the scene. So if you want to call me biased, sure, I’m biased. But then again, I’m not really known for talking much on this site about things I don’t like.

Second point five, people who have been following the show might recognize the Seeda from the mildly infamous Niggas and Bitches episode (Seeda isn’t the rapper whose lyrics I took up, though – that was Oki). Yes, this is the dude who shared a mic with that rapper in the video. Possibly something to keep in mind as you read this.

Third, I’m going to try to avoid making really broad generalizations about Japanese society/politics – partially because such generalizations aren’t possible, and partially because if you wanna know more about society/politics, there are better places to learn about that than from me. As good as I am at hiding it, I actually don’t know anything about anything, and encourage you to do your own research.

So, on to the track itself. This one is called Dear Japan, by Seeda, produced by Bach Logic. I actually heard this maybe four or so months ago when Seeda put it up for a couple days on his myspace, and actually liked it enough to want to drop it on the show. Didn’t happen, obviously.

Okay, let’s get to the video already:

Seeda – Dear Japan (prod. Bach Logic)

The first thing that you will notice is that dude stares at the camera for like fifteen full seconds before he even says a word. If I may be permitted to say something here about dude （Seedaさん、気を悪くしないで下さいね）, dude kinda has a crazy look in his eye. And he continues to make really skurry faces at the camera for the whole video. So if that makes you uncomfortable, yeah.

Lyrical breakdown, background, and wild, baseless speculations after the jump.

The video itself – there’s not really much to say about it. It’s simple, but I sort of like it that way, because it actually really fits with what dude is talking about pretty well. There’s actually another “proper” video in the works (shouts to ham-R) for another joint off the same album, but I’m not sure when that’s gonna be ready.

But what I’d like to focus on today really is the track itself. Aside from having extremely dope production (Bach Logic = favorite Japanese producer right now), the lyrics are kina interesting. Let’s get into the first section. First section is Japanese, second is transliterated into roman letters, third is my translation.

クラブのbeefは　ラップより喧嘩
ラジオのbeefは　ラップより大人？
kurabu no beef ha rap yori kenka [β]
rajio no beef ha rap yori otona?
Beef at the club more fighting than rapping
Beef on the radio is more “adultlike” than rapping

As you’ll probably notice in a second, stuff that sounds cool in Japanese doesn’t necessarily sound good in English. Also, there are limits to my Japanese ability (read: I suck), so if anyone fluent out there wants to contribute more fluent/accurate translations, or if I’m just totally off in my interpretation on something, please, hit the comments section and correct me.

So contextwise, this track was leaked immediately after the airing of the last episode of Verbal’s (of Teriyaki Boys) podcast featuring Seeda. As I mentioned in Episode 117, after Seeda dissed Verbal, Verbal turned around and invited him on as a guest on his talk show, saying that “Japanese people can’t understand the concept of ‘beef’, so we have to educate them“. Seeda accepted the invite, but was disappointed with the, how do you say – non-hip-hop-ness of how Verbal handled things, and said as much on the show. At the end of the special, which somebody converted and posted up on youtube, the two freestyle “battled”, which resulted in Verbal absolutely embarrassing himself. But more of that on another day.

Point is, the first part of this song comes off as Seeda being pissed off about Verbal’s sorta holier-than-thou attitude. But then all of a sudden the track turns into a pretty violent criticism of the government.

どこぞの官僚政治家ども
お前の息子がさらわれてもそう、
ソファーにふかくこしかる　重い腰
いまかいまか待ち人　は年老い
dokozo no kanryou seijikadomo
omae no musuko ga sawaretemo sou
sofa ni fukaku kosikaru omoi koshi
imaka imaka matihito ha tosioi
random-ass bureaucrats
is this what you do when your children are abducted?
sitting there on the couch
the people who need your help are getting old waiting for you

Okay, yeah, that was a terrible translation. Here, he’s talking about the North Korean abduction of Japanese citizens during the 70s and 80s (Japanese version here). I won’t go into detail here, but essentially the NK goverment abducted at least 16 Japanese citizens, some say for use in training spies. North Korea didn’t officially admit it until the early 2000s, and only actually allowed a few to return. I’m not up enough on the issue to say much more, but suffice to say that a lot of Japanese people are still really heated about the lack of pressure the Japanese government is putting on to get people back to their families and to the bottom of things, and the issue is still being debated.

What’s interesting here is that Japanese rap isn’t really known for being directly political. When something does get “conscious” (ps – hate that word) or “political”, out here, it’s usually sort of ambiguous on some “television is bad, society is troubled” kind of tip, and it’s rare to see someone actually point fingers or get in someone’s face. But let’s move on -

遅いなんてものは一つもない
塵も減らせば山は消える right?
I wanna I wanna I need dat I need that I need that believe that
裁判官、検事、警察はグル
本当のことを教えてくれ aight?
I wonna I need dat believe dat
osoi nantemono ha hitotu mo nai
tiri mo heraseba yama ha kieru right?
I wanna I wanna I need dat I need that I need that believe that
saibankan, kenji, keisatu mo guru
hontou no koto wo oshiete kure aight?
It’s not too late
If you take enough specks of dust away, even a mountain will disappear
I wanna I wanna I need dat I need that I need that believe that
The judges, the detectives, the police are all in it together
tell me what’s really going on, aight?

Healthy distrust of the police/justice system here. Nothing really surprising for a listener of American hip-hop here, but you don’t see much of this in Japanese rap.

Or, for example, this:

まわりくどい　不透明や妥協
俺はぶれないファック麻生

海の向こうをお前がみれば
不景気がなんだ
YES WE CANさ
オバマと団結し向かう明日
同じ夢見れる　そんなリーダー
mawari kudoi futoumei ya dakyou
ore ha burenai, fakku asou
umi no mukou wo omae ga mireba
fukeiki ga nanda
YES WE CANさ
Obama to danketu si mukau asita
onaji yume mireru sonna riidaa

You probably recognized at least one phrase in there. Here’s the translation:

beating around the bush, purposefully unclear statements and compromises
“I won’t budge” – Fuck (prime minister) Aso!
If you looked over across the ocean – what “financial slowdown”?
“Yes We Can”!
They can collaborate with Obama and face tomorrow
Someone who shares the same dreams as the people – that’s the kind of leader we want

This section is interesting on a couple of points. First off, Seeda gets on and says, in public, “fuck the prime minister“.

This is massive.

Whereas we probably all know at least a few kids for whom “Fuck Bush” was practically a greeting, saying things like that over here doesn’t fly.

At all.

Not that you’ll go to jail or anything, but had Seeda tried to release this on a major label, or even a large indie, it woulda been censored or he would have been forced to remove the line. And that’s even considering that the word “fuck” isn’t even banned on the air (it is, after all, a foreign word) – it’s not uncommon to see people flipping each other off in children’s cartoons. But directly pointing out a particular political leader is not done – not even in hip-hop^3.5.

I’m sure someone will get on here and correct me, but I can’t think of a single incident in Japanese rap, period, that precedes this.

Second, dig the Obama reference, and the absolute trust put in what the dude is doing. Seeda’s basically saying he wishes he had somebody like Obama instead of Aso, and that Aso should start taking notes and quit lying to the people. Regardless of what your opinions are on either of the dudes, it stands to note here that, as I said, Japanese rap is simply not very political – at least not in the way that most from the US or the UK for example would consider “political” – and that the young generation showing anything other than absolute apathy towards society is kind of rare.

Immediately after the previously quoted line:

あれ自民党、これ民主党
シャッタファッかアップ I got bored on both
ファックリックロスなみにフェイクなボス
口先野郎に定めるスコープ
are jimintou, kore syumintou
syattafakkappu I got bored on both
fakku rikku rosu nami ni feiku na bosu
kutisaki yarou ni sadameru suko-pu
LDP⁴ this, Democratic Party that
Shut the fuck up, I’m bored of hearing about that
Fuck this dude, fake as Rick Ross
I line up these liars in my scope

Scope, as in sniper scope.

One thing you might notice is the “I got bored on both” line. Seeda’s known for talking an awful lot of English in his tracks – which isn’t really an uncommon phenomenon. I’ll talk about that some other time though, but I’ll say for now that I find a lot of it weird.

And, for those familiar with Rick “I-rap-about-selling-large-amounts-of-coke-but-really-I-used-to-be-a-cop” Ross, the comparison of a political leader to a “fake” like that should probably come across pretty clearly. And the sniper scope metaphor. Anything that even suggests violence – even in the abstract – is not something to be aimed at government officials out here. Can’t stress that enough.

Last selection.

どうなんだ?って聴いてんだ　ただ
どうなった？って聴いてんだ　はらー

俺がDISるヤツ
俺がDISるもの
俺がDISるbeef
hateだけじゃねえ

９条捨てる
医療を変える
倫理を捨てる
スタイルを捨てる
俺の読んだ教科書、ゴミになる？
どんな基準で国民を守る？
自分の子と思えなきゃ何が政治家
値打ちもねえゴシップ政治が
何もあおっちゃいない
俺は意見をここに記したい

dou nanda? tte kiiten da tada
dou natta? tte kiiten da hara-
ore ga disuru yatu
ore ga disuru mono
ore ga disuru beef
heito dake ja nai
kyuujou wo suteru
iryou wo kaeru
rinri wo suteru
sutairu wo suteru
ore no yonda kyoukasyo gomi ni naru?
donna kijun de kokumin wo mamoru?
jibun no ko to omoenakya nani ga seijika
neuti mo nei gossippu seiji ga
nanimo aottyainai
ore ha iken wo koko ni sirusitai

What’s going on? I’m asking you
What happened? I’m just asking you, holla

The suckers I dis
The things I dis
The beef I dis ⁶
This isn’t just me hating

You throw away Article 9
You change Healthcare
You throw away your morals
You change the style*
What, is the textbook I read in school trash all of a sudden?
On what level are you protecting the people?
If you don’t think of the people as your children, what kind of politician are you?
Worthless-ass gossip government
I’m not trying to start anything
I want to scribe down my opinion here

And here, we actually get into some specific issues. Article 9 is basically the article of the Japanese constitution that prevents Japanese from ever having a military:

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

Emphasis mine.

So, essentially, “throwing away Article 9″ means building an armed force with the intention of starting a war. And in Japan, this is actually prohibited by the constitution⁷. The text books you get as a kid in Japan teach you that war is a horrible, terrible mistake, and that Japan is forever a pacificist country. Seeda is accusing the government of breaking this promise, and lying.

The healthcare thing – I can’t say too much about this, but apparently the government is attempting to raise the prices of healthcare dramatically – as in like a lot – and that’s not going over well with some people. Contrary to popular belief, Japan has poor people too. Plenty of them.

The style thing – personally I read this as a double entendre on a rap level, but strictly in context, this seems more of a “everything was fine before you started trying to change things – the style we had before you came in was good” thing – possibly putting emphasis on the healthcare thing. You could call this conservative if you want.

So yeah, I’m getting hungry, so I’m going to wrap things up here.

断っておきますが、this is not intended as one of those articles that praises some artist for his or her bravery/makes them out to be more than they are/tries to set someone up as some sort of hero⁸ – and if it read like that, I apologize. Please attribute that to my ineptness as a writer.

But.

But.

I mean, come on. Distrust of the government bordering on paranoia, mixing of rap metaphors with political ones, outright slander, plus a kind of brilliant beat – this is a good rap song. A quite good one. Don’t respect Seeda for being some sort of deep political thinker, don’t respect him for starting some imaginary “movement” that only exists in somebody’s graduate thesis, respect him for making a dope rap song.

It’s also pretty interesting as a look at what is happening in the scene over here – musically, of course, but possibly even more so as a look at a small piece of the culture. This is a Japanese song, about Japan (and Japanese songs), written by a Japanese person for a Japanese audience. And like I said in episode 117, if you want to get what’s actually going on, it’s important to listen to the conversations people are having within the community.

Not whatever trash that outsiders that don’t know anything anyway happen to be running their mouths about.

cough cough.
—-

[1] I mean, seriously. I’ve been out here for like a year and some change and said very very little about the music here. Sorry about that.
[2] A good portion of American hip-hop is also not very good.
[2.5] That is to say, if you were born in Japan and don’t speak English, then I can understand if you prefer to listen to music that you understand. But if you’re some sort of bootleg orientalist Pocky-munching yellow fever Japan anime fanboy/girl that professes love of anything from Japan just because it’s from Japan and mean to tell me that, oh, I don’t know, Rip Slyme is better than Kanye, or that King Ghiddra is better than Wu Tang, then you are clinically insane and need to have your head examined and get on a twelve step program immediately. Also you have no musical taste. Sorry. That said, though, there are plenty of Japanese rappers who I prefer – easily – to a lot of US rappers.
[β(sorry, thought of this in the middle and didn’t wanna renumber)] Note that he doesn’t say “ラップ” really, but “rap”, in English. If he said it in Japanese, it would break the rhyme pattern. Just something for the rhyme heads, I guess.
[3] He even takes a line that Aso is known for saying – “I won’t budge” (as in, I’ve made the correct decision and am not changing my mind) – and flipped it on its head.
[3.5] Not necessarily because it’s illegal or anything, but just because it’s considered “uninteresting”. There isn’t a large (perceived) market for “overly” political rap.
[4] LDP, the Liberal Democrat Party
[5] Not all of it is understandable though.
[6] I’ve no confidence in this translation at all.
[7] You could argue that Japan already has plenty of “war potential” – hello, SDF.
[8] Actually, I think anyone who expects too much of a man hollering into a microphone over some drums coming out of a box needs to get they head checked.

Del – Funk Stimulus Package

Seriously, viagra to appreciate this you have to look at the deeper meaning. This dude takes almost a full two minutes to say something that could have been summarized in three seconds: “hey guys download my cd”.

I love Del, gastritis partially because he’s crazy. Seriously, sickness after about the one minute mark, none of what he is saying actually makes sense – until you listen with your heart.

Also, bonus points for him using bandcamp instead of rapishare links.

Anyway, this is a good opportunity for me to do something which I’ve been meaning to do forever, which is take a sidebar from the aural for a second and get into the visuals.

So for those of you who have been waiting for more Suhburb, first joint up is a kinda trippy time-lapse joint from Mark from Eye Tape, with a Suhburb soundtrack.

Warning: if you are viewing this in an environment where it might not be okay to look at a video of a picture of someone not wearing clothes, you might wanna save this for home.

Synesthesia from Eye Tape on Vimeo.

Videowise, it’s sort of a weird experience. Like I almost feel guilty for going through in six minutes what took dude 13 hours to do. Also, the final product is sorta skurry. If you’re not paying attention though, you’ll miss a lot of subtle syncing and shifts in the visuals – full screen recommended.

On the audio tip, I’m not sure what the first cut is, the first jawn is There Is Only Room for Two Eddies (thanks Mark), the second and third are Tusk and Vagabundo, at least according to the titles in the mp3s I got from Suhburb (can we get an ID, fam?). And as far as I know, these haven’t really been put out anywhere (not even on this show). Eye Tape Exclusive?!?

Also, Mark was kind enough to put the show name up in the credits, but I should say in advance that I seriously didn’t do anything noteworthy, other than handing dude some mp3s and say “hey man check these out”.

So yeah, if you see Mark/Eyetape on the internets, tell em I said what’s up.

So – to the point. Earlier I received an email from imeem:

Dear dex digital:

Before you vote, check out imeem playlists of Barack Obama and John McCain’s top ten favorite songs: http://www.imeem.com/presidentialplaylists

Whoa. Both major presidential candidates had online playlists? You know I had to check this. And looking at the playlists, I realized how much these speak to the style wars of the future. Keep in mind, kids – the hypebeast electrobanger listeners will some day be running the country. What you see below is a rundown of each candidate’s playlist, with a running commentary, final grading, and suggestions on improvement.

So, because voting based on political stances is played out – here I present the official Mixtape Show guide to voting based on taste.

Ready Or Not – The Fugees. This is a very, very good start. A group that many adults (and younger kids, really) haven’t even heard of, but Obama doesn’t care. A brash opening move that will get respect from the hardcore. Respect.
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye. I’ve actually always hated the hook to this song, but the rest of the song is classic. Political Black soul. A strong following move.
I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen. Off the Born In The U.S.A record, which methinks is an appeal to the “Obama – ain’t that like Osama? I bet he’s one-a them thar A-rab queer lesbasexual terrarists” crowd. Decent enough song. I didn’t have this one in my house growing up.
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones. This either. I am, however, noticing a rather unsubtle selection of track titles here.

Read on for the rest of the lineup…

Sinner Man – Nina Simone. Not the best title to woo the Fox News crowd, but otherwise this is a pretty good pick, politically. Elements of gospel, jazz, rock, and the careful backpacker may notice the original sample for Talib Kweli’s “Get By” at the 5 minute mark. This may be the most “impressive” cut on here, tastewise.
Touch The Sky (feat Lupe Fiasco) – Kanye West. My dad doesn’t even like Kanye West. This is clearly a reach for the younger generation. A good one, anyway.
You’d Be So Easy To Love – Frank Sinatra. For the old white folks.
Think – Aretha Franklin. Black female power? And the album is listed as Rhino Hi-Five – Black History Month Songs. Sort of a bold move here, and again, a possible reach at the crate-diggers (and junglists?)
City Of Blinding Lights – U2. You probably could have achieved a similar effect with Coldplay, but I can understand reaching for the post-quarterlife crisis yuppie vote in a slightly safer manner.
Yes We Can (YOU MUST VOTE) – Barack Obama and Will.I.Am. This is an understandable pick, but ultimately falls short of the expectations set by the previous tracks in that this song is simply not good. The Barack 2008 jam by Daedelus and Taz would have been much better – though one can understand why he wouldn’t pick that.

Overall Notes:
Musical Merit: A-. This is actually a decent playlist. Looking at it again, I think that if this guy had come in to apply as a DJ at KUCR (alma mater radio station) with this playlist on his app, we’d probably have at least granted him an interview. There’s a broad taste shown here, with a leaning toward politically conscious lyricism, and as mentioned above, the Nina Simone track, when combined with the other soul cuts, shows a pretty deep appreciation for roots and soul music. The Will.I.Am cut is an unfortunate slip, however, and calls into question his taste in hip-hop (e.g. is he just putting this there to seem hip?)- but this is balanced out mainly by his inclusion of Fugees at the top. And beyond that, the playlist actually flows properly. If this guy flunks the election, he could probably get a gig as a college DJ.
Politricks: A. This is a very, very well thought out playlist – to the point of being slightly suspicious. The songs, when presented in this context, all seem to carry some appeal to the voting audience – down to the track titles (“Gimme Shelter” = a nod to the working poor? it’s possible). The artists themselves are diverse – Blacks, whites, males, females, Christians, Muslims, and other persuasions that are probably just a Wikipedia search away, but I’m too lazy for that.

Personality Profile: Taking a look at this list, this seems like a person I would get along fairly well with – I’d actually probably ask to borrow some of his Nina Simone stuff (can you tell that that cut impressed me?) because I don’t have any. That said, it should be mentioned that I do detect a bit of a streak of self-importance in this playlist. I don’t care how many people have written songs about you – including a song with your speeches in it as your final cut is a little bold, no? That combined with his approval of Kanye and Lupe’s ridiculous swagger betrays a vain side that he doesn’t seem particularly concerned with hiding.

Recommended Amendments To This Playlist: This playlist could have been slightly better with Elton John. Really, just replace any one of the white guys on here with Elton John. If you like Kanye, you like Elton.

Personal Recommendations: Jay Electronica, probably. I think he’d probably dig it. Looking at this playlist, he might already have some Dilla, but I’d pass him some of that, and recommend probably some Outkast, and maybe even UGK (he could keep it in his car, he doesn’t have to let the voting public know he likes it). Also probably some funk (he may well listen to it, but there’s not much in here – and that Will.I.Am song worried me), and by logical extension, soultronica. Probably some Sa-Ra. Really, I’d actually just tell him to listen to this show.

Dancing Queen – Abba. It’s still a little too early to like this song. Maybe in 2015 or so. Not enough time has passed for this to be an ironic hipster favorite song. Not the best start, but the energy is there.
Blue Bayou – Roy Orbison. This isn’t such a bad song, I guess.
Take A Chance On Me – Abba. As decent as this song is, two Abba songs in the same 10-song playlist? That’s not fandom, kiddo, that’s just a lack of creativity. And “Take A Chance On Me”? That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, fam.
If We Make It Through – Merle Haggard. What, dude, were you afraid to pull out a country track? This might actually be the best cut on here.
As Time Goes By – Dooley Wilson. The first Black dude on here, and it’s from a somewhat unfortunate era. I don’t know, this one makes me think Blackface and shucking and jiving.
Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys. Stoner.
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong. The second Black solo artist on here. Legendary song, but come on, man. Similar era to Dooley…this is starting to look suspicious.
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra. Next to Good Vibrations, the second edgiest song on this cut. He’s clearly trying to appeal to the youngins with this happening tune. I’d make a heroin joke here, but I think that might be reaching a little far.
Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond. Neil Diamond actually inspires rage in some people. This might not have been a good pick.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – The Platters. I’m really starting to think that maybe McCain was/is into psychedelics. Too many of these songs make me think about drugs.

Overall Notes:
Musical Merit: C. This is a lazy, narrow playlist. There’s no tension, no release, no peaks or valleys, just dredge. The songs themselves aren’t necessarily all bad, but there’s no understanding of how to tell a story here, which is unfortunate. As mentioned above, the Abba shows either a lack of taste or an artistic laziness – neither of which are good signs. There’s not much that differentiates this playlist from a drivetime oldies station lineup, with the exception of the Merle Haggard cut.

Politricks: B-. McCain truly dropped the ball here – with such an easy method to display an appreciation for diversity, there’s no sense of even a proper effort. There are no female solo artists on here, and the only Black people here are from the Jim Crow era. And what’s the matter, McCain, with all the thousands of disco records made by Black people, you only dig the white guys (if this is indeed the case, you really should have gone with the Bee Gees – anything but Staying Alive and you would have been good)? To his credit, though, McCain speaks to his audience – if only his audience – by including a lot of songs that make old red-state white folks feel good.

Personality Profile: This is going to sound scarily like Bush PR (and perhaps for good reason), but this guy is clearly a straight-shooter. He doesn’t really listen to music made by Black people or women, and doesn’t really mind letting you know that. He is clearly nostalgic for the Jim Crow era, and he doesn’t mind letting you know that, either. This is a good person to watch the game with at a sports bar over a beer. Or five. He is what he is, and he’s not pretending to be anything else. This is a good thing, because he’s apparently bad at hiding things – things, for example, such as his apparent affinity for drugs. A lot of these songs seriously make me think about drugs. Uppers and downers – he may not be diverse with the company he keeps or the people he cares about, but he appears to know his drugs.

Recommended Amendments To This Playlist: Seriously dude, the only thing that would even partially offset the damage you’ve done here would be to replace the first Abba song with the something from The Last Poets.
Personal Recommendations: I’d have to take it pretty easy on this guy. I’d probably recommend some of the less heard Johnny Cash. Maybe some Muddy Waters. Maybe slowly introduce him to rappidy-raps, possibly using M.C. Hammer as a gateway and then slowly working up to maybe Common, but that could take a while.

I’ve already said this before, and you pretty much knew what was going to happen before you read this, but unfortunately or unfortunately, McCain isn’t as cool as Barack, so he can’t win. That’s the way it goes.

The lists, of course, aren’t perfect. What artists/songs would you recommend to either of the presidential candidates?

Assuming, you know, you’re still reading this.

More music soon, promise.

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I held off partially because I didn’t want to come off as being some jaded, negative, know-it-all music blogger, because I am not – but also because I don’t like whining about problems without presenting a solution – and at the time, I didn’t have a good one. I do now. This post is aimed at all artists, managers, or labels – from basement operations on up – and is a result of spending the better part of six years screwing around with rappidy raps. What I say here is not a surefire way to get radio/podcast airtime, nor is it a guarantee of any other sort, but I think it’s safe to say that some of the things I will mention here, if you pay attention, will actually help you get your music out there in the digital world.

As I’ve mentioned before, I get a lot of music-related email. Some of it from majors, some from indies, some from solo artists just starting out, but all with a basic common goal – to get me to listen to their music and put it on the show. When I started out, it was fun – an email from Warner here, two days later an email from some dudes in Chicago, then a week later someone from LA wanting to get my opinion on her beats…fast forward a few months, and we’re talking dozens and dozens of mp3s per day.

And I want to give everything a fair shake (particularly the independent artists), so like a year ago I made a sort of rule to submitting material – 2-3 mp3s, attached to the email. No onesheets, no bios, etc. If I like it, I get back to you. If not, no.

Often, however, I’ll get emails that make the following mistakes. For those of you artists following along at home, see if you can figure out why each of the below are not good promo looks:

Okay, put away your pencils and papers and close your test booklets – answer time.

A2: Similar to the above – you’re assuming that a) I want to download your 72MB file, b) I have the time to waste unzipping and loading your tunes, and then searching for a song I like, and secret bonus c) Rapidshare/Sharespace/ZipMania is not screwed up today (this happens more often than you think). I mean, come on. You want me to wait 70 seconds to start downloading? Not a good look. Send me a couple mp3s, and include the link as an extra option – not as the only way to listen to your work.

A3. This should be obvious, but apparently it escapes a good 70% of the people that send me mp3s (including those from professional college radio promotion companies). If you’re going to send someone a file that is going to eventually be separated from the original email, you’d better make sure that it’s marked properly. This is as easy as opening up iTunes or any other program and writing your artist name, track name, album/EP name, and perhaps your email/site in the comments – and that’s it. But now, when I listen to STOOEY_FINAL.mp3 three months from now and decide that it’s brilliant, how am I supposed to remember who gave it to me? Or, if I pass it on to another DJ who decides they love it, how is he/she supposed to get at you to do some promo work? This is like passing out business cards without putting your name on the front.

And seriously – you would be surprised at how many people actually make their living at promoting (not making, promoting) music and fail the above steps. I’m not saying that failing to follow some obscure, unwritten code will result in your failure in the music industry – just that, and this is important – you don’t want to create any unnecessary barriers to your success. Why would you want to make it a challenge for someone who has devoted two or three minute of their time to listening to your music to actually listen to your music? Five minutes spent considering the time of your audience can really pay off, seriously.

And I say this because I’m nice. Seriously. Making music is hard enough without having to read promoters/bloggers/record label people’s minds.

The other day, I got an email from a band that provided a quick, curse-word-laden, two-line introduction, and a link to their site on Bandcamp. Not knowing what it was, I clicked on the link. Within a matter of seconds, I was on their site – complete with a custom header, graphics, and their latest single playing in a flash player. The track itself was terrible, but I was interested in the main site, so I checked it out.

It turns out that Bandcamp is a new (like a month old?), but they’re doing pretty much everything right already.
You can watch the video below if you like:

Bandcamp Screencast from Ethan Diamond on Vimeo.

or just read on.

Here’s the basic rundown:
1. You can create a free profile for your band. This includes album artwork, lyrics, descriptions of your album/individual tracks, and so on.
2. You upload a single, lossless file (e.g. WAV or AIFF format) and they create .mp3, .ogg, .flac, and pretty much every format for every player, automatically (and tag them). There is a rabid minority of DJs and listeners that will be very, very happy about this.
3. You can let people stream as many songs as you want, you can let them download them for free, or set a price, or let your visitors name their price (ala Radiohead).
4. You can let visitors embed your tracks on their myspace/blog/whatever.

But instead of me trying to write about it, let’s see a good example of Bandcamp put into good use – check out Killer Mike’s Bandcamp site. Go ahead, flip through it, and keep in mind that this probably took someone a good hour (minus uploading time) to put together – hell, Mike may have done it himself. Also note that, as of now, you can download the whole record, or name your own price for it. This makes me, the listener, like Killer Mike a lot more right now. Are you getting the picture here?

Before I say the next thing, let me say this. This is a new service, and is free. As such, it deserves a bit of caution as far as expecations go, but still – it’s impressive. That said…

I do not endorse things easily, and you couldn’t even pay me to give a site/service this sort of recommendation, but here it is: as of right now, Bandcamp is officially the business. No competition, not even close. If you are a rapper, if you are in a group, if you a producer, if you are managing one of the three, then do yourself a favor, take ten minutes, and set yourself up on Bandcamp.

I know it seems like I’m posting all over the place about Obama on this site, but seriously – what’s the last election you can think of that had people making rap songs about, you know, politics?

And really, if you compare this to anything being played in clubs right now, this actually is not a bad song. I mean, the lyrics (especially the first verse) are borderline hilarious, but come on, compare that to, say, Laffy Taffy. The more I watch this, actually, the more I am convinced that there is some element of genius in this production.

This might be giving away a bit of my own bias, but this was apparently put together by students at UCR (my alma mater), and filmed in Lot 30. I actually believe that this may be one of UCR’s prouder moments (up there next to when they accidentally burned down the Lothian cafeteria – that was a long night). Somebody should start a petition to get this posted to the front page of UCR’s front page.

I actually find this phenomenon pretty interesting. I mean, I’m going through the songs I have set up for the next few shows (this is taking a while, as I had a pretty brutal hard drive crash and lost a lot of material), and the amount of Obama mentions – even off-handed ones – is pretty impressive. If I wasn’t out here, I’d probably invest more time in actually looking harder at this (hint hint, some enterprising young researcher should do a project on this).

Also interesting is the fact that if you look on youtube, there are dozens of songs done about Obama – plenty of talented Black kids doing these, but it doesn’t seem to be limited to race here. On the McCain side, however, I can’t seem to find anything worth even linking to (most of the songs about him, actually, are “diss” tracks). Am I missing something? Are there some white kids in Arizona twanging out McCain country jams that I am missing?

Or, perhaps, is it that the true element dividing Obama/whateverthatguysnameis “fans” and McCain/Palin “fans” is not race or class or gender, but deeper and more important things, like talent, hipness, and aesthetic sensibilities?

Politics aside, if we are talking strictly in terms of cool and lame, the choice is clear. Not that I am advocating voting with the same region of your brain that tells you whether or not you should pick the Dunks or the Ones, but, you know.

I’m just saying though.

It’s an interesting phenomenon.

Can anybody from LA confirm if this is actually getting any airplay back home? Even on the college circuit? It wasn’t getting any love at all before I left. Thanks to Karthi for putting me up on the video – I’m actually a little embarrassed at how late I was.
(for the original, page curse-laden version, check Episode 99 – The Primaries)

And bonus video:

Yes, the video from one of the stronger joints on last week’s episode. Thanks for Spencer for getting that to me. (If you’re looking for relevance, look at his shirt).

No matter what a person’s stance is on Obama or music or whatever, I pretty much defy anyone to deny hip-hop culture’s importance in this campaign. Like it or not, this culture is going to play a big part in the next four (or more) years.

That said, if somebody can get the man himself to dance to the Obama rap song, I will personally donate a large sum of money to his campaign.

New episode soon.

Like anyone who is even somewhat involved in the music world, I get a lot of e-mail. Demos from people hoping for some airtime (can you say airtime for a podcast?), mail from people who hate/like the show, promos from major labels, promos from indie labels, and general “blasts”.

Last week, I got an email blast from DJ Chuck T, who most of you will recognize as being a ridiculously prolific (as in drops two tapes a week) North Carolina mixtape DJ, the man behind the Down South Slangin’ and Sexxplicit R&B series. And yes, this is the same dude that aired Lil Wayne out after badmouthing mixtape DJs.

Anyway, in an email titled “DJ Chuck T Blasts Barak Obama On MTV! OUCH!!”, DJ Chuck T posted a link to this video (sorry, I can’t embed it – just click here, it’s short)

What doesn’t come out in the video, though, is this (excerpt from the email sent out):

“[...]the self-proclaimed “Malcolm X of Hip-Hop” DJ Chuck T has unleashed his fury on the Presidential Candidate! “He’s not black, he’s bi-racial! And he wasn’t even raised by black people…” DJ Chuck T stated to MTV’s Shaheem Reid on the Red Carpet of the 2008 Ozone Magazine Awards. Chuck T went even further and said “Barak doesn’t embody the values and characteristics we as black people are raised with…”

That “bi-racial” section definitely didn’t sit right with me, so…I wrote dude an email.

And as expected, I got a pretty thought out (considering the dude is preparing for a speech in DC) and respectful email, where Chuck elaborated and stood by his opinion. No issue in particular with that.

And I was about to leave it at that, until:

Spike Lee came out and pretty much said what I had said, minus a few points here and there. Dig the article, then come back: Spike Lee has Sharp Words in Denver.

So compare that to the original email I wrote a few days before this article came out. Obviously I’m not claiming that Spike Lee jacked what I’m saying – this is just for comparison. Also, I’m posting the full unedited text of this mainly because I don’t feel like paraphrasing, but I’d appreciate it if you took it as a token of my honesty and openness.

My original response to the original email blast:

Peace DJ Chuck T -

I’m sure your email inbox is flooded on a daily basis, and you may well not be able to get to all of your mail directly, but I just read this and felt like I should respond.

As far as lashing out at Barack Obama the politician, I don’t really have much beef with that. To me, the dude is a politician. Maybe a good one, maybe a bad one, but a major league politician who plays by major league rules, which means he is going to pretend that certain people don’t exist, go back on his word when it is convenient, etc – that is what politicians do. He is just another politician, scheming for votes, because that is what politicians do. I’m not sure about being the biggest Uncle Tom in the history of Black America – but I don’t think you meant that literally. I did an episode about the primaries a long time ago but refrained from outright supporting Obama because I didn’t feel it was appropriate given my mixed feelings on him. I personally will probably vote for the man – not because I am terribly excited about him bringing some sort of change to society because I don’t think change comes from the top – if you look at our history, particularly Black history, it never has – but because McCain is a scary dude and I do not want him bombing anyone else.

What I do have a problem with, though, is how you referred to Barack Obama – “He’s not black, he’s bi-racial! And he wasn’t even raised by black people…”

That, to me, doesn’t make any sense, no matter how you look at it. If you want to look at things from a historical angle, then you’ll remember the “one drop” rule. Beyond that, before Obama was all over the TV, I’m pretty sure that when he walked into a 7-11, just like when you or I walk into a 7-11, the person behind the counter did not see a “biracial” man or a “guy who wasn’t even raised by Black parents”, they saw a Black man, and they acted accordingly.

And it makes even less sense to say something like that considering that exactly one sentence prior, you referred to yourself as the Malcolm X of Hip-Hop. I’m sure you know this, but Malcolm X himself was ‘biracial’. One half African-American, one quarter Grenadian, and one quarter white. So maybe you are making a distinction between 25% white and 50% white, with the former being “black” and the latter being “not black”. If not, then maybe picking another historical persona would make your argument more coherent.

That said, though, unless your family came to the US independently, if you look at your own family tree (and I know that this is hard for the descendants of the slave system to trace back more than a few generations – if you’re able to do this, then count yourself as being very fortunate – on my side, we have no idea what went on beyond 1900 or so), I’m pretty sure you’ll find that you are not “100% Black”. I’m not sure what the statistics are, but there are very few African American individuals who are not mixed with something or other – including me, yourself, and Ludacris.

For me, trying to slander someone by saying that they aren’t “Black”, or “Black enough”, is about as counterproductive as you can get. If you have beef with someone’s actions, particularly another Black man’s actions, address his actions. If you feel that he has turned his back on his people, that’s fine. But when you try to exclude him from the population based on some illogical, fuzzy numbers game, you also start to exclude some very important historical figures – and you start to fragment the Black population and cause friction and fighting where there should be cooperation and positive movement.

As you know, most kids, particularly minorities, do not listen to what politicians have to say – but they will listen to what people like you and me (you, obviously, much more than me) – people who either make or distribute music, have to say. That’s why I was concerned. And I realize some of this may have been a “publicity stunt”, and it seems that the “he’s not even black” statement didn’t go on the air anywhere, but the approach is what worried me.

Anyway, I’m sure you have other mail to get to, so I will end this here. Peace.

ということで.

First, while I respect their individual opinions, I don’t agree with either DJ Chuck T or Spike Lee. I think Spike is going awfully easy on Obama. And on the other side, I think the whole “bi-racial” thing is a mass oversimplification.

What does get me worried is this whole “Black enough” argument. This isn’t a recent development, and I don’t expect it to die out any time soon, but with the fact that we are currently facing the very real possibility of a Black man sitting in the Oval Office, this issue takes on a new kind of urgency.

Classifying someone as simply “biracial” is next to useless. Where’s the line between “monoracial” and “biracial”? 25% “mixed”? 12.5% “mixed”? Same thing with offering a “biracial” bubble on an application form – do you mean to tell me that there is no difference between a kid with Black American and white parents and a kid with Korean and Indian parents? Sure, there is a possible common experience of “Jesus Christ what am I” for the kid’s childhood (or their whole life, who knows), but you can’t tell me that our Black/white and Korean/Indian kid have any inherent cultural commonality. Excluding Barack Obama from the “Black” category because of 50% of his bloodline or the complexion of the people that brought him up is a scary notion.

What’s Blackness? Is it the music you listen to (rap)? Is it your IQ (low)? Is it your economic background (poor)? Is it how many gold chains you can fit on your wrist (a lot)?

And yes, any Black person knows that the above have nothing to do with your being Black. Unfortunately, though, there are plenty of non-Black people out there that don’t get this. I’m not just talking about white kids here. The whole “Barack is not Black” line is not limited to the US, kids. Dig this topic from popular Japanese social site Kotonoha:

オバマ氏は日焼けしすぎた白人 (Obama is just an over-tanned white guy).

So somewhere, ladies and gentlemen, we have shown the rest of the world that being smart/well-spoken/successful is the antithesis of Blackness. It’s not just the police in LA and Atlanta that think this, it’s not your middle school principal, it’s the general, global populace (remember when Davey D said something similar?) (bonus points: Same Japanese website, different topic: “ 目の前に黒人がいると怖い / I’m Afraid of Black People“)

I’ve said this before, and I still believe it – America has one of the most uniquely screwed up race complexes I’ve ever seen (not that I’ve traveled that much, but still). This isn’t helping anybody. And the further that this thing goes, the more that this is going to come out into the open. I can’t say that that’s a bad thing.

Enough of me, though – what do you think?

Bonus closing joke – I don’t know any Black people that use words like “bamboozled” or “hornswoggled”. I hereby call Spike Lee’s Blackness into question. Can I get an amen?

okay, okay, a funky drummer?

But first, something I am actually really excited about. Dig the video for the first leaked track (is this a single, kid?) off the Suburban Sprawl record:

Donwill – Night Time (produced by SuhBURB).

I’ve heard bits and pieces of the record, and trust me, it gets even better than what you see and hear above. For those of you who were asking for more SuhBURB – hold tight, just a few more days..

I hear it’s dropping on Wednesday. Hell or high water, they say.

Also, the visuals is pretty nice.

I don’t know, illness there’s just something wrong here. I mean, the Makaveli brand was one thing, but…I don’t know. There’s just something about putting the dude’s name in the “From” field that seems sort of wrong to me.

Hasn’t everyone already made enough money off this dude?

Sort of reminds me how they’re playing a few other recently passed rappers.

Been busy recently. I’ll give a better update later, there but yeah.

In the meantime, a couple of things before I forget them:

Iain Haywood interviews Dex Digital, podcast supremo* and founder of the internet music phenomenon The Mixtape Show…:

I was interviewed, forever ago, on Durham21, which is apparently like an online college student mag on steroids. This is seriously the most ridiculously well-written and designed student site I’ve ever seen, so being on here is sort of an honor, I think. It’s mainly me being all self-important and egotistical, but it might be funny to read, because I actually meant most of what I said. I am usually on the other side of the mic in an interview, so I appreciate how well this one was done. Thanks to Iain for taking time out to do the interview.

Note that I haven’t said “supremo” since I was about eleven, and the same probably goes for Iain. The title was someone else’s editorial decision, I think.

Feature on Foundation Media:

Foundation Media was kind enough to feature the show on their front page in the Featured DJ/Artist slot. JJ and them have definitely supplied the show with plenty of music in the past, so this was also a cool look.

I feel like an ass putting these things up on the site, but really, I just want to thank people for the extra push. It’s really appreciated.

Apologies, I think my English is seriously starting to deteriorate.

New things soon.

Jay Electronica and Erykah on a photo shoot for URB. Watch:

I should preface this by saying I was sorta tipped off to this thing coming out. My good friend Jolie, ophthalmologist who was recently promoted to Chief Coffee-Getter and Blogger of Shiny Things at URB, weight loss mentioned to me during a Girl Talk (most hilarious white guy ever, 5 stars) show that the 11th March cover of URB was going to be Jay Electrackalack. Apparently URB was preparing for the photo shoot, and lo and behold – Erykah just sort of shows up.

Not that I’m complaining, of course. Brilliant musicians, the both of them.

I’ll give a free secret present to anyone that can guess my favorite quote from this video. Like I’ll write you into the next show.

What you must understand, though, is that this was up on the front page of youtube, with an HP banner. HP was officially endorsing this. It’s confusing, because the Killa Cam (killa!) is essentially lamenting his (killa!) being forced to shill for HP (killa!) to pay his bills (killa!). Which one would think casts HP in a negative light. Regardless of the fact that this actually sounds like something (killa!) Cam would say – why sponsor something like this? Why not actually have the real Cam’ron do an HP commercial? Why go with a parody, when you could get something serious?

I’ll tell you why – because somewhere, some young advertising intern had an epiphany. And that epiphany is:

There is nothing serious about hip-hop*. It is a parody of itself.

I remember when I first got Soulja Boy’s “I Got Me Some Bathing Apes”. I thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. And I’ve always found something inherently amusing about Dipset, to be honest. Rap at this stage is so cooned out that nearly everything is a ready-made caricature of itself.

*I shortened this phrase to make it cuter. By “hip-hop”, I mean “90% of today’s mainstream hip-hop”. Obviously not the stuff that I play on this show, though some of that is also funny to me.

Let’s see some evidence, shall we?

Exhibit A:

This cut contains what is currently my favorite Lil Wayne quote. “Sometimes I pick up a magazine / or a tabloid / or a tambourine / Sometimes I wanna go and just smoke a bag of weed / and leave the Earth on a motherfucking trampoline”

So strange! So creative! Clearly the work of a drugged out of his mind tortured genius. A lot of people don’t “get” Lil Wayne’s more esoteric stuff, but I think I do.

One problem – that’s not Lil Wayne, or Kanye. It’s a parody – but it’s damn near as good as anything either of them would put out (possibly better). Listening to this thing, there are some funny lines, but one of the things that was keeping commenters on the Youtube thread confused as to whether or not this is an authentic track is that so many artists – Lil Wayne being a prime example of this – dance the line between “insanity” (genius?) and sanity (mediocrity?) so often and imperceptibly that you’re never really sure why you enjoy a song.

Is because the media pushing it down your throat? Are you just settling for it because nothing better is out there? Or is the song actually good?

And for that matter, does an artist actually need talent to make a song that is “good”?

Exhibit B:

I don’t have any point to make here, I just think this video is hilarious.

Exhibit C:

Here, we see that this has even infected the UK’s grime scene. Am I the only one that laughed through this whole video? I mean, dig D Double E – that dude looks like he’s had polio for 22 years and somebody just found the cure but it hasn’t quite worked its way through his body yet. Why is he moving like that? And is he vomiting blood? Then you have Discovery Channel outtakes with Napper, and by the time Forcer comes on with the spinning rims and unnecessary booty, it’s one white boy short of a Weird Al song.

Don’t get me wrong, though, this is an awesome song. The fact that the song itself was banned is also pretty cool, I guess.

So, yeah
I don’t know, kids. I feel like I could make some point here, but I suddenly find myself losing the desire. Rap is funny, in a Kurt-Vonnegut-so-it-goes sort of way, because on one hand it entertains me, but on the other hand I realize that a lot of kids don’t quite understand how to differentiate between reality and fantasy and they actually believe what these men are saying.

Tears me up inside, innit.

I also wonder if I should feel bad that I produce a show about something that I can’t take seriously.

Jay Electronica’s performance of “…because he broke the rules” at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards 2008

I realize that in some senses UK has overall better taste in music right now than we do, healing and I’m happy that Jay got out there to do his thing, but seriously, somebody back home needs to give this dude a chance.

I mean, the Beeb is already up on this. You can hear this set to music on the first Jay Electronica podcast posted here – about 9 minutes in. Danke.

And while we’re at it:

Blu – Just Another Day.

Here’s a joint that never quite made it to Below The Heavens. Pretty interesting concept behind the video – I mean, it may all be centered around passing around a joint (stay in school and off drugs, kids), but the message itself is a good look. Recommended – and if you’ve forgotten where you first heard Blu, you might want to check the Mixtape Show archive for more Blu and refresh your memory.

And some good news – sounds like I’ve got some more giveaways coming up soon. As always, Facebook group members get first crack, so jump on that. Also check the official Mixtape Show Facebook page.

Actually, speaking of Facebook, here’s an ad I caught yesterday:

oh hell no.

Not because of the taste, neuropathologist but because it was my first solid meal in a week and a half. This also means that I can talk again.

Anyway, order I’ll probably address this in audio form later, healthful but I just wanted to put people up on some new updates to the site/show:

One minor annoyance on the site has always been that if you’re listening to the show on the show player and then click any link – the comment link, say, then the page reloads and you have to start over again. This isn’t so fun if you’re on a slow connection.

So, there’s a tiny pop-out bar just above and below the show player over there on the right. Click that (try it here now), and you should get a small window containing the last 20 or so episodes. You can jam on that while you check the site, or hell, just open it up and browse the rest of the net.

Okay, this I’m excited about. I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time, and really just now got around to putting it together. If you look just below the “cover art” for any episode, you’ll see a tiny box with an embed code, like this:

Click anywhere in that box, go to Edit → Copy, and then paste wherever you like. Myspace bulletin, profile, blog, forum, whatever. You’ll get something that looks like the following:

easy way to put your friends up on Jay/Labratz/Iain/Suburb/Brothertron, whatever.

Not to beat this into your heads, but you are subscribed, right? Good. Now sneak onto your friend’s computer and make sure they have a steady stream of good music flowing into their inbox. Click here for the rundown (opens in same page).

Oh, bonus because a couple people asked for it – if anyone wants the site background for use on their very own desktop (!) :

have at it. Heavily influenced by my friend Elliott G’s line, Ultra Vitalence (dig Elliott in the middle, you’ll see what I mean),

which got a nice writeup recently in the URB blog, courtesy of my other good friend Jolie.

Okay, yeah, that’s about it, really. I’ve tested stuff somewhat, but if you use IE, god bless you there might be some bugs I don’t know about. Let me know if things are or are not working.

New things soon.

In an open letter to the record industry posted by Jack Davey of J*Davey on her blog:

“the age old model is failing . as an industry based on faithful consumers you have lost your connection with the people who matter most : the PEOPLE . you have yet to show them that you are with the changing times & able to adapt to something new . you are proving that you are too afraid to promote good music . you would rather let the monotonous drone of what is today’s music remain unbalanced by substance . you would rather watch more legendary artists abandon you for direct deals with itunes & touring companies .“[emphasis mine, dosage read the rest here.]

Pretty much recommended reading for anyone who listens to digital music in any form. The game isn’t changing – it already changed. And she’s not the only one who feels like this, therapist either – Saul Williams pulled a Radiohead for his latest release (and is doing very well with it, from what I hear), Labratz (hear them on the show here) went straight online on theirs ($8.99 for the full album, damn), I think Suburb is doing something similar, and real talk? We don’t need the industry, the industry needs us.

Switching gears only slightly:

Are you one of those waiting for Jay Electronica’s Act II? There’s a few snippets in here.

Sneak peek: Act II is coming, and it will be free. Act III will be a commercial release but the proceeds will go to the displaced families of the Magnolia projects in New Orleans. And he’ll continue to put free material out here.

2008 is shaping up to be a very interesting year.

I’d love to do that sort of thing, store but real talk? I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, much less remember what I was doing last January. So now that the euphoria of the new year has passed, I figured I’d talk about some stuff I liked.

So here we go, open thread. What impressed/depressed you this last year? I’ll get us started and keep it positive:

RAPS.

I’ve got to say, producerwise? I really really think Suburb is the bizness. I’m trying to con him into giving me some more of his stuff for a future episode. We’ll see how that works. For now, though, you can grab a few exclusive tunes over at sweeney kovar, who was kind enough to let me write a bit on the subject at his site.

the man himself

Jay Electronica. GOVERNMENT PLANT. This dude popped up on the internet out of nowhere (well, unless you’re FMWJ, nowhere), and stole the hearts of millions. Then he announced that he was dropping a new project on Xmas (which I was patiently waiting for, and fully planned to make an episode of), and then the 25th rolls around, and…

poof. Nothing. Facebook account is deleted, his myspace account points to some white dude with a camera, and really ladies and gentlemen this is smoke and mirrors and theatrics at its finest. Not even so much as a “hey guise brb lol”.

where you at?

From what I hear this is standard procedure for the dude, but I’m not too mad at him. I can wait.

Speaking of Jay, can’t forget about the producer behind some of his joints – Sol Messiah and his new group, The Labratz (I need to remember to ask Sol about the name). You maybe haven’t heard it yet – I just got it, but it’s bananas.

Think Atlanta, think classic Goodie Mobb, think classic Outkast, and then think next level. Watch this site for more, very soon.

Have I mentioned that Dam Funk is also killing it with this analog funk boogie sound? I can’t even describe it, just go listen.

Plus he can really wear a Cosby sweater.

More importantly – what were you bumping in 07?

BLOGS.

So Sweeney Kovar’s jumpoff. It’s quite often spectacular. If you’re not already reading that, you should do so – especially if you find yourself curious about what’s really good in the LA beat scene. Plus he takes some nice pictures.

You know what, I’m not going to get into a blog list thing here. If you have found any good ones, tell everyone in the comments.

TV.

I don’t have one, do you? What’s good on the telly nowadays?

JAWNS.

Mad Anthony of NYC has some pretty dope stuff. Apparently there are like no pictures of any of it anywhere, though. Man, I need a camera.

Elliott G of Ultra Vitalence has put together a pretty wild line of stuff. I got this purple jacket with the Spongebob lining. Bananas.

And I have to thank Elliot “with one t” F for the Hong Kong connection with those like 10 shirts he brought back. Remember the “Tangerine” shirt from the first video podcast? I got like 4 more flavors – Plum Cake is probably the favorite. No watermelon, unfortunately.

Plus I got the powder blue Filas.

What have you been flossing? (SC, that Eazy-E outfit doesn’t count.)

VIDEOGAMES.

You know I stay on these games. Aside from the NBA 2K8 whose soundtrack makes it the business, we’ll start this off with Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. A little easy, but fun.

Then we got the throwback: Kickmaster for the 8-bit nintendo. Made by the same people that put together Werewolf. You know I get down with the NES.

Ghosteo got himself a PS3, and introduced me to Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I’m what, halfway through? It’s all about that Lunar staff, I stay chopping zombies. I coulda done without the overly developed female though.

Until I get back to Ghosteo’s, though, I got that Final Fantasy 4 for the DS.

They upgraded the graphics, but left the music alone, which is definitely a good thing. Not sure when it comes out stateside.

What have you been playing?

PARTIES.

Are you in southern Cali? Then you need to be on board when the Do-Over starts up again in 08. Runs from like 2pm to well past midnight, it’s free, and all your favorite artists are known to run through there. If they’re on Stones’ Throw, they’re there – plus many many more – and kids know how to party.

Pure Filth. Dubstep will probably never break into the quote unquote mainstream, and if that’s what it takes for parties like Pure Filth to stay good, I’m fine with that. Epic soundsystem, perfect basement venue, way too many rewinds, and the MC – again, epic. Going to these joints was like going to church. Unfortunately the venue was torn down and their soundsystem was stolen from their U-Haul after the final party (did I mention that it was epic?). I hear they’re gearing up for 08 again, though.

What was good in your city though?

YOU.

You all pretty much made my 07 kinda dope. So thank you.

Your turn: share your best (or worst!) of 07. On the podcast front, plenty coming down the pipeline. Just wait.

I don’t think this is PC, stomach but it sure makes it easier to find the Pink Oil Moisturizer.

Happy 2008.

So a little while back, view my man JR put me up on the fact that someone had made a radio edit of the Mick Boogie + Busta Rhymes + J Dilla tape. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, advice you should listen to the Dillagence tape, viagra dosage here). I still do a little radio work myself, so I was happy to hear that the tape would be getting some more exposure.

After checking the edit, though, I realized that while it was pretty good, there were some pretty serious words that slipped through in the edit. I am – unfortunately – really really well versed in FCC indecency rulings, having met with pretty much the top lawyers in DC on the subject. And yes, your local Clear Channel affiliate may be able to write off a max $350,000 fine for a slipped “ass” here and there as a business expense, but a local underground station can’t.

So – building off of AJ’s mix, this one is more polished, and 100% radio friendly* for current US legal climate.

I also took the liberty of flip-editing the N-word. Not that the “nigga” or any of its variants are subject to FCC fines (let that sink in for a second), but I know a lot of DJs who’d prefer to not play it. “Bitch”, however, is intact.

So for all you young DJs looking for something to drop on your next weekly session, download this, burn it up, and push play.

Click here to download Dillagence – KUCR Clean Edits

Tracklist:

1 ) Words From Ma Dukes
2 ) Dillagence (produced by DJ Spinna)
3 ) Takin What’s Mine
4 ) Step Up
5 ) The Conversation (f/ Talib Kweli)
6 ) Code of the Streets (f/ MOP)
7 ) Lightworks (f/ Q-Tip and Talib Kweli)
8 ) Baggage Handlers (f/ Raekwon)
9 ) How We Roll
10 ) Best That Ever Did It (f/ Rah Digga)
11 ) Psycho (f/ Cassidy and Papoose)
12 ) The Range (f/ Rah Digga)
13 ) Not Right Now
14 ) Other Side Of The Road
15 ) Who Tryin To Kill You
16 ) High
17) Dillagence Outro

And of course, if you aren’t in public radio, you don’t need this, so go grab the dirty version. New episode in the works kids.

*Not a guarantee. Preview and broadcast at your own risk.

And they say violence doesn’t inspire anything. Not that I want you getting a close-up of my pretty face or anything, mind but make sure you fullscreen this video and turn the sound up before the video starts. Trust me.

On deck videowise this episode: K-Rino and Snapp with Deth Season. To call this one gritty is would be a tragic understatement. This is a brilliant video on all angles. Lyrically, visit this site compositionally, order everything. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I go hi-def with these shows.

Shouts to K-Rino and James for hooking this one up. South Park Coalition, kids. More hip-hop video podcasts on the way.

Thoughts?

Busta Rhymes – Gimme Some More

This one is just plain weird.

Busta Rhymes – Dangerous

This video in particular was bananas. I remember my friend telling me that the white dude in the car was Busta with makeup on, capsule and I didn’t believe him until I saw it again.

Craig Mack – Flava in Ya Ear Remix feat Biggie Smalls, Rampage, Busta Rhymes and LL Cool J

I think it’s hilarious that everybody shows up to the video show with standard gear on, but Busta feels it necessary to bring some ridiculous-ass hat and jump around in front of the camera like an idiot. Also LL is the only dude that felt it necessary to bring some scantily-clad woman along with him. I don’t like LL so much.

Bonus Video: Lupe Fiasco – And He Gets The Girl (unofficial)

I don’t really remember this song, but it, and the video, are hella cute. Reminds me of a certain Mixtape Show episode.

As an aside, Kanyeezy has an oddly decent blog.

How was everyone’s weekend?

Well, dentist he’s back, and he’s put together a quick slideshow and a flickr gallery for everyone. Take a few minutes out of your weekend and check these out. The below is a youtube consisting of images from the rally set to Talib Kweli’s “For Women”:

National March Against Hate Crimes & Racism – Vince78′s Report

And here’s the images themselves in a flickr gallery with 80+ images including the Black Panthers:

Thanks again to dude for taking time not not only to participate in this march and show support for topics that the media willfully ignores – but to make sure all of us are up on what is going on as well. Any chance on you elaborating on the experience in the comments, fam? And remind us – where was the NAACP?

Also: dig the Seattle grunge throwback diversity:

So as most of you know, a little while back, we all (we meaning the entire community here) put out a little Jena 6 podcast. What most of you don’t know, however, is that while we were speaking out about this issue, a lot of scared rappers were hiding their heads in the sand. Scared to death, scared to look.

Sway asks Mos if he reached out to anyone – and Mos says he reached out to everyone. Me too. I actually hit a lot of people up personally about this issue. A few thousand emails went out to some people with a voice, and with a few exceptions, these shook ones were too scared to say anything.

How are you too scared to say something? How are you too broke to drop some cash on this, but you got enough for a private jet? How are you too busy to make a three-sentence post on your Myspace so your fans can see that you at the very least have a conscience? And yes, this goes for indie rappers as well as majors.

I don’t know. Maybe the old “rappers should be socially responsible” thing is played out and I just didn’t get the memo. Thanks to Vince for bringing this up.

I’ll limit my comments to the following:
1. Rich Boy got-damn
2. Video got-damn
3. Still hating on the South? Stop.
4. Finally somebody touches on the subject of the money.

So I’m trying to get this ball rolling. Call this the beta episode. Hella unprofessional, dentist but that’s what I do.

Intro filmed at the Korean Festival in K-Town in Los Angeles. The featured music video here is Blu and Exile with Soul Amazing. (And yes, you have heard Blu here before). Some of you may have caught this one – well, here it is in a tiny bit better quality (and you can download it). The original file (download it here) is much higher quality.

The player above is pretty hot though – you can fullscreen it, share it on your own site/myspace, etc – check it out.

Thanks to Jon for hooking this one up. You can also check a recent interview with him here.

Coming soon – capability to subscribe to the video show just like you do the audio show.

In the meantime, if there are any requests, ideas, comments, whatev – holler at a baller. Likewise if you have your own video/remix/etc.

If nothing else, you can laugh at how I sound on the radio. Also note that while I have very little connection with this “afrosphere”, I have been told that my Afro is spherical.

In other news, Mychal Bell is finally out on bail, Davey D puts the lack of responsible rappers into perspective, my man John Carlos is telling people what time it is, and white supremacist groups have started issuing death threats and posting the addresses of the Jena 6 kids on the internet in an invitation for people to go do physical harm to them.

You read that right.

We’ve got six high-school age Black kids either in jail, information pills or on the verge of going in. And I know that not all Black kids listen to a whole lot of rap music – but for the sake of argument, visit this check this:

A lot of the same artists that these kids spend their lunch money on, that these kids (for better or worse) idolize, that these kids think speak for them; are now, in their hour of need, nowhere to be found. I’m not necessarily talking about Kanye footing the bill for the defense fund, but about somebody saying something.

However: some of us are doing something. If you want an example, check out the last episode. There are a lot of prominent people on there showing support for these kids.

So I’m going to go ahead and take a bar from clyde (who, by the way, has really been taking bloggers to task on this thing) and compile a list of people who I know have done something about this issue. If you know of somebody who is doing something, please add them up in the comments. If you yourself are an artist and are doing something, then let us know.

I do worry sometimes that we get too negative about hip-hop, when plenty of people are carrying their own weight (and in the cases of a few, that of others). So this post is really just to show people that there is a growing number of MCs, artists, and industry people who are taking responsibility – and thereby encourage the rest of us to do the same, feel me?

Hit up the comments section…I know some of you out there have some info on this!

I’ve been thinking for the past few days on this Jena 6 case. I know that on the 20th there is going to be a nationwide action, bulimics centered in Jena, anorexia Louisiana. I can’t be there, but I feel like we can still do something.

So I’m working on an episode. Some tunes, some beats, some talking. I’m not exactly sure how it’s going to turn out. So I’m looking to you – yes, you reading this right now – to help.

I want you to call the Mixtape Show phone right now: (310) – 928 – 6876 – and leave a voice message.

Speak your mind on this issue. I’ll play it back, uncut, on the podcast show (in iTunes and on the site) for 15,000+ people.

Let everyone hear what you have to say. If you want to speak directly to the Jena 6, do that. If you want to speak to the public at large, do that. If you have something to say to the hip-hop artists or public leaders that are or are not doing something about this, say it. One sentence? Fine. One hundred? Do it.

Whatever is on your mind is perfect. Don’t be shy, don’t rehearse it, don’t give it a second thought. You can be anonymous if you prefer. Pull your cell out of your pocket right now and make sure everyone knows what you think.

Normally in this sort of situation, I would find a knowledgeable guest and interview them. But – I figure that we’re all world citizens here, and what we have to say is as valuable or more valuable than what any public intellectual or celebrity may have to say.

Try to keep it concise. A minute is good. Other than that, do your thing.

The mic is on. Say something. Please pass this on.

*If you’re outside the US, or can’t use your phone, that’s fine. We still want to hear from you. I’d recommend picking up Skype. It’s a free download, and will let you call the Mixtape Show from your PC for free. Just download it, and call the username “mixtapeshow” with your account, and it’ll go straight to the voicemail.

** Producers, holler at me. I may need some more beats for this one.

This is something I was shown a minute ago. Take three minutes out of your day and get educated:

I can think of a few words that describe my feelings on this case. Anger, clinic perhaps. Or frustration. Or maybe outrage.

Surprise, health care however, is not one of these words. If any of this is news to you, it’s not necessarily your fault. The media has decided that the Duke Lacrosse players are important, and the actual racism at play is not. That Michael Vick is important, and 6 kids doing up to 22 years in the pen is not.

But of course, gold chains are important, and kids going to jail are not. Cars are important, and black children having their lives ruined are not. Pretending that you sell drugs is important, and speaking up when a racist system is putting your brothers and sisters into cages is not. Talking down on women is important, and standing up for yourself and your community is not.

Suprised? Confused? As Willie D said on the show not too long back, somebody didn’t get the memo.

My question to you:
- Hip-hop fans: What are you doing to support this cause? What are you doing to encourage your favorite artists to support this cause?
- Hip-hop artists: Where is your jena 6 song?
update: want to do something more? Speak to the world on this subject.

Anyway, things are really getting ridiculous with this dude. I mean, come on.

That’s not lens flare, that’s whiteout.

On his glasses.

He put whiteout on his sunglasses. You know, on purpose. To simulate a reflection of snow, or something. I don’t really know. And yes, those are rubber bands. Anyway, somehow this kid has become the hottest thing on the internets, which I am not really mad at.

The music videos that these ridiculous-ass songs have inspired, however are really just next-level insane. Check after the jump to see what I’m talm bout.

First, let’s start with this gem:

Crank Dat Instructional. Note that he says “instructional DVD” in the intro. This means that somewhere out there, somebody paid money for this.

Crank Dat Folger Boy. I’m just waiting until the Folgers ad execs pick up this and decide to have Soulja Boy shill for their coffee – Nigo’s apparently not taking the bait.

Crank Dat Winnie the Pooh. I think Rabbit is probably the best dancer out of the group.

Crank Dat Army Boy. If you don’t watch the other ones, watch this – at least until 1:15. The Bapes line in here is pretty brilliant.

Crank Dat Barney Boy. This isn’t quite as well thought out as some others, but the concept is brilliant. In other news, somewhere, a 20 year old Asian kid is crying softly into a blanket.

Crank Dat Jesus Christ What Is That – the logical extension of the CDM.

Feel free to post more in the comments. Otherwise, try not to get caught fired watching this shit at work.

shouts to freshjamz and the nation of thizzlam.

Sorry that’s the best I could do with 5 minutes. That in the back is supposed to be a broken sprinkler, decease leaking out all of Kanye’s songs.

Thank you to each and every one of you that sent me frantic IMs, pills called me, texted me, etc. to break this important news. I truly appreciate it.

Hands up if you didn’t see this coming, seriously. I’m a little sad to take part in this Curtis v Graduation thing, but this will certainly make things a bit more interesting for the Sept 11th Showdown.

I am really busy playing Earthbound right now, but if I can find some spare time in the midst of being a little Japanese kid with a yellow backpack and hitting snakes with a bat, I might tell you whether or not it is worth buying.

As I may have mentioned to some of you, however, I think the true competition here is between Soulja Boy and 50 Cent. I would love to see the originator of the Crank Dat Movement (CDM) have a better first week than 50.

Remember, kids. Every time you crank dat soulja boy, an angel gets its wings.

So remember when I said I have a bunch of CDs to give away? Well, I still do. This time, it’s some Flosstradamus / Vice Records mix CDs, with people like Chromeo, Bloc Party (turns out I kind of like them), Justice, and Vicarious Bliss. So basically soultronica and hipster music. It’s pretty good stuff.

So – here we go. The first 10 people to comment in here get a CD, shipped, free, complete with cute artwork. There is no rap on here, but there is hipster music – I was pleasantly suprised, which means you will be too. Check after the jump for full tracklist, and my personal recommendations.

1. Flosstradamus – Intro / Zongamin – Bongo Song (Mr. Flash Remix)
2. Bloc Party – The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix) this is actually really good
3. Panthers – Long Time Coming also good. guitar solo son.
4. The Black Lips – Not A Problem
5. Favourite Sons – Hang On, Girl
6. Sebastian – H.A.L.
7. Vicarious Bliss – Theme from Vicarious Bliss (Justice Remix) monotonous droning lead vocals over Justice riddims = win
8. Charlotte Gainsbourg – Set Yourself On Fire
9. DJ Medhi – I Am Somebody (Paris Version) feat Chromeo
10. Justice – Phantom this one is a given
11. Boredoms – Jungle Taitei (Laughter Robot’s H*Mp Mix) Yann Tomita Remix
12. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork i don’t know what it is, I don’t dig this one -but everyone else seems to
13. Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Operation
14. 120 Days – Sleepwalking the drum work on this joint is RIDICULOUS. simple but brilliant. this spent a long time in the ride.
15. Bloc Party – Sunday turns out I like Bloc Party. Who knew?

So that’s it. Again, just comment in here and I’ll hook you up (make sure to leave your email address in there (it won’t be visible by site visitors)) so I can get your address and have it shipped to you.

Did you miss the Beautiful Mindz giveaway in the Facebook group? Well, you should probably sign up, then, because they get first crack at the cool stuff.

This is apparently Kanyeezy’s newest video, medications for Stronger.

I’m a little conflicted on this one. On one hand, it’s got all the ingredients needed for a hot video:

* Daft Punk
* Akira (apparently recreating a particular scene, no less)
* Futuristic setting
* Japan
* Random, scantily-clad women that have nothing to do with the song or video

But somehow it’s not quite there for me. It’s pretty good, but given the above components, this should be stellar. Instead, it comes off as being sort of B minus-ish.

What do you think?

Also: don’t forget to support this hip-hop podcast by voting for the Mixtape Show (takes 30 seconds!).