the mixtape show

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For those of you who have heard, today is the day of the nationwide protest in Jena, Louisiana for the freedom of Mychal Bell and ...

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This is not a simple interview, and it's definitely not just another episode. This is an hourlong (!) special on the state of hip-hop in the media today. This special covers everything from the Imus-inspired backlash on Hip-hop to sexism/racism in the media to the Stop Snitching 'movement" to the number of people that actually dictate what videos get played on BET and subsequently MTV (hint: it's less than four). The Background: During the last few weeks, Hip-Hop has been under serious fire from the mainstream media – not only because of the backlash following Don Imus’ termination, but the more recent 60 minutes interview featuring Cam’ron and Anderson Cooper’s interpretation of the Stop Snitching mantra. So in order to bring some clarity to the situation, I spoke to several different community leaders, all of different backgrounds. The Guests: Aishah Simmons – An African-American feminist and activist documentary filmmaker, producer of the award-winning No!: The Rape Documentary, and perhaps best known to longtime listeners of the Mixtape Show as the older sister of Atlantic Recording artist DJ Drama (previously interviewed here). John Robinson – also known as Lil Sci – a producer, MC, and President of Shaman Work Recordings, which has put out releases from artists such as Emanon, CL Smooth, and MF Doom. Willie D – a solo artist and core member of one of the most influential rap groups to ever come out of the South, the Geto Boys. Davey D – Hip-hop historian, journalist, deejay, and community activist, whose website, Davey-D’s Hip-Hop Corner, is one of the oldest and most respected Hip-Hop sites on the net. and David K Far-El – aka D-Brad, the former producer for BET’s Rap City and the creator of Spring Bling. He was fired some time after Viacom’s buyout of BET and is currently working on a book and DVD exposing the commodification of the nation’s biggest outlet and representation of Black and Hip-Hop culture. The Next Step(s): I encourage everyone to listen to this feature, pass it on (messageboards, myspace, wherever), and continue the discussion both here in the comments and elsewhere. Or hell, request this on your local community station (see below). Community Radio: If you are a radio programmer and are interested in airing this on your local college/community station, click here to download the radio friendly version. It is standard radio format (56 minutes) and is completely clean by US FCC standards. If you have any questions, email me and we'll talk. So, yeah. What do you think? Hit the comments section.

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And no, before you close the window in horror, Atmosphere does not make an appearance in this episode. This ain't that kind of party, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to know ...

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And as promised, Soultronica Volume Two. If you haven't caught the first installment in this ongoing sideseries, you need to go back and get a bar - once you've caught Soultronica Volume 1 in its entirety, come back and check this one out. This volume finds our heroes back in space, and your boy back in Cali with the official studio - don't get me wrong, the Macbook mic is fine for what it is, but nothing beats recording into a mic that's worth more than you are. D'Angelo - Devil's Pie (Kenny Keys remix). I was so impatient to share this joint with the listeners when I first got it that I damn near made a one-song episode of your favorite hip-hop podcast. Keys shows us where his name came from on this joint, and the production is hot as well. Brilliant remix. myspace.com/kennykeys J*Davey - Let It Bleed. There's so very little I can say about this duo without simply reiterating what everyone in the know has been saying for what, going on a couple years, at least, now? Production is funky, soulful, and futuristic, the vocals ooze intelligence and well, sex. jdaveybaby.com J*Davey - Gangsta. Damn. Do not let the lyrics slip by you on this one, trust me.