MIXTAPE 121 – SOULTRONCA 6 – MALFUNCTION

After what, like a year of Earth time, the two adventurers from the 2100s are back with the future funk. In this installment, Dex Digital (wait, that’s not his real name?) and Brothertron are busy repairing their ship after getting half blown apart by space pirates. Everything is going well, if slowly, until all of a sudden the main computer starts, well…malfunctioning?

Note – this is a continuation of the Soultronica Saga series – if you missed Episode 5, you might wanna check that out.

Introlude –
Black Milk – Purple Track 6
Black Milk – Purple Track 8

A Leon – Spaced Out. Real talk, this track is a large part of what prompted this episode. I don’t really think there’s a whole lot that needs to be said about this cut. And just a reminder – for those of you who were in to myspace.com/aleoncraft

Co$$ – Khakis and Taylors. More ridiculous, random statements (“documenting the documentations?”) from someone you’ve heard here before. This one kinda just goes hard. m/paidthecoss.

Saroc – The First Mother. Production from Sol Messiah. I can’t really think of any other artists that could get away with running the same lyrics twice – but in this case, it’s more than worth the second runthrough. Everything I have heard from this woman has been dope. I got a little more Saroc on the way too…

malfunctionlude:
Aphex Twin – Ageispolis
Louis Bordeaux – Say The Word Again Bitch (

Gil Scott-Heron – Angel Dust. Really, just bootlegged off of an old Sa-Ra mixtape.

Ta’Raach & Konphlict – 10 Feet High (Giraffe Pussy). I can’t even pretend that I understand this one. Stoned rappidy raps over triple time. m/taraach.

Afro-Mystik – Urban Euphoric. Off the Future Tropic record. I can’t really even recall why I have this joint, but it’s definitely very good. m/afromystik

Team Knoc – Swisher. Sirrealz is actually one of my favorite artists, even though I haven’t heard much from the dude lately. Team Knoc can be kinda hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit. m/officialteamknoc.

Biosphere – In Triple Time. I really recommend that you just get the full version of this and space out. m/biosphereofficial.

So. Yeah. Soultronica. Holler.

MIXTAPE 117 -NIGGAS AND BITCHES

So I’m going to apologize upfront:

1. The intro is long. The outro is long. This episode is long. Almost an hour. I talk a lot.
2. I repeatedly use a word that I’m not really known for using, ever.

That out of the way, here’s the background:

The other day, during the course of my very serious research (read: half-asleep, cruising the Japanese interwebs), I discovered Japanese beef.

Apparently underground rappers Seeda and Oki of Geek had taken offense to something in the outro of the Teriyaki Boyz’ (probably only known in the States (and Japan) for showing up on Youtube videos wearing Bape and dancing around with Kanye) new single, “Serious Japanese”. They then proceeded to air their frustrations in public by recording a dis track (complete with accompanying video) and posting it up on Seeda’s blog.

Check the video below:

The two lines which we will be tackling today are below:

一人はビッチで後はカス you are serious? へそが茶を沸かす
One of you is a bitch, the others are trash. You are serious? Don’t make me laugh

二番煎じはニガの機嫌取り ass hall ガバガバ　＄をばらまく
You’re played out, just trying to make the niggers* like you. Assholes**, throwing money around

*Ostensibly, the black rappers/producers they’re associated with. I could have used the “nigga” form, but it’s being used more as an insult here, so it’s sort of in between a swap-word for “dude” and an actual proper racial slur.
**I think that’s what they meant.

Note that the above is a really loose translation. If you have a more eloquent one, let me know and I’ll fix it.

Oh yes, shouts to VTS for this week’s image design and some insight on the lyrics. Also shouts to ミスターポポ.

So yeah. Pretty much every underground Japanese rap fan is aware of this dis, the Teriyaki Boyz’ Verbal has responded to it on his blog and mentioned it on his podcast, and it’s been picked up on every site I can find – but there’s one angle that hasn’t been touched – the fact that in the first twenty seconds, somebody drops the N-bomb.

I thought it was interesting. So today, using this dis track as a starting point, we’ll look at some of the different ways we can look at this phenomenon (if you want to call it that), some of the background on how we got to this point, and in the end, I guess, look a little closer at the situation as it is at home.

A lot of talking, a lot of what will likely come off as little more than pointless theorizing, but at the very least, an awful lot of dope music.

beatro: The Brothers Johnson – Q.
beatro 2: Nipsey Hussle – Hussle in the House

Re-Up Gang – Real Niggas. I didn’t actually sit down and listen to the whole mixtape, but I do dig this cut. I had a conversation at a ramen shop this morning (somebody needs to tell these dudes that letting customers in at 3:AM, handing them soup, and then closing down at 3:20 is not funny) about the above dis track, and he said “Dex, you know that for these guys, ‘nigga’ just means ‘guy’”. If so, this song gives more than a few real-life examples of how to use the word – actually, this one goes above and beyond and expands on it, giving you the macho angle on the word as well. myspace.com/ablive

beatro 3: Super Smoky Soul – Simply (Extended Version)

Stat Quo – I’m Sorry. As I said in the episode, this stands on its own as a piece of art. All of these songs do. You don’t have to “agree” with what the dude is saying – since when did we start judging art with a PC ruler? But dig dude’s stance on the word: “They can’t say it but we can…Look at the power we hold in our hand”. And while this dude does make an attempt at showing respect towards women, this song is sort of uncompromisingly misogynistic – if you spelled it out in mathematical terms, bitch characteristics = “female” characteristics = undesirable characteristics. A = B = C, thus A = C, Q.E.D. This is sort of a theme throughout a good number of these songs. myspace.com/statquo

beatro 4: Jr Don – Bring In Black 2

Tribe Called Quest – Sucka Nigga. I guess this is the most palatable song of any of these for the PC set. That said, there’s not much substantially different from Q-Tip’s and Stat Quo’s stances on the word. myspace.com/atribecalledquest

Three 6 Mafia – Watcha Starin At feat Lil Jon. Sort of had to put these dudes in here. Lil Jon was possibly the root cause of white frat dudes screaming “nigga whut” at college parties from ’03-06′. At least from what I saw.

beatro 5: Unagi – High? Yes

Tahir – You Don’t Know Me. Probably the most challenging cut on here. Make no mistake about it, though – as the dude says, the sentiments expressed on this record aren’t rare, and they aren’t new. Lyrics to rewind and contemplate: “It’s my right to say this right here. This is my shit. This is my hood, and you’re in it“.

beatro 6: Sadat X – Hang ‘Em High

Jayo Felony – Don’t Call Me Nigga. I’m realizing that it’s starting to look like I put a large portion of this together just doing a search in my iTunes folder for “nigga”. Early 90s west coast. A lot of prison rap on this particular album, for good reason. myspace.com/jayofelony

MC Tucker and DJ Irv - Where Dey At? Probably a couple hooks in here you’ll recognize. Obviously this is just the intro, but the rest of the song sorta does the same thing.

beatro 7: Platinum Pied Pipers – After the Worries

You know, maybe I should have said this earlier, but I’m not here on some NAACP whining about how the word itself is bad. I’m not really interested in “nigga” right now beyond its use as a tool here to give us a look at a bigger issue. You know, just putting that out there.

Sporty T – Sporty Talkin 93. Edited. Note how “niggas” and “brothers” is used absolutely interchangeably. The first time I ever saw the Beef DVD series was in Japan (they got all 3 out here). Subtitles. And every time the dudes on TV said “that nigga this, a real nigga wouldn’t that, I don’t like them niggas”, etc, the “nigga” was translated as “黒人” “black person”. Sometimes 黒人男性, “black male”. So if you want to go with the “ignorance of the weight of the word” route, this would be a good thing to cite. Also I’m realizing now that I didn’t talk about bitches as much as I promised – maybe some other time. myspace.com/sportyt504

Jayo Felony – Niggas and Bitches. This was released as a radio single, believe it or not. And since the hook (you sort of have to hear it to believe it, try not to laugh) wasn’t going to work on radio, they actually cut a totally different version for the B-side called “Brothers and Sisters”, complete with each “nigga” being replaced for “brother”, and “bitch” for “sister” throughout the song. It’s sort of interesting to think about how simply switching the two words around makes such a large difference – the sentiment of the song doesn’t change at all (either way, it’s a tribute to loyal friends).

So that’s what it is for this round. Hit the comments, I’m interested.

(oh, and even though I said this in the episode, let me put it in writing – don’t mistake this as ‘dex is hating on Japan/Japanese rap/rappers’. And I like Seeda (and what I’ve heard of Geek). I sorta wish I woulda done a proper Japanese rap show before I put this out, but I had to get this off my chest first. Look for an actual music episode coming soon.)

MIXTAPE 115 -YOU AINT EVEN GOTTA GO TO SUMMER SCHOOL

All the education you need is right here on the Mixtape Show.

Okay, maybe not – but I’ll keep the written short and say this – if you don’t get something out of every track on here, rewind.

iLLiTe – Intro. Courtesy of CDR. Easily coulda made the First Impressions episode, if, you know, it was out back then. New artist to me, but sounds good thus far. Side street it on empty. myspace.com/eyedouble.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations). The early may have heard this a bit earlier this month, but hey, I’m putting in work here and things take time. Not much needs to be said here. myspace.com/jayelect.

Also this might sound sort of weird but something about the way Jay says “Nirvana” strikes me as kinda endearing.

Mr Scruff – After Time. Not necessarily representative of all of dude’s work, but yeah. Short clip. Go dig. myspace.com/mrscruffofficial.

Wu-Tang – I Can’t Go To Sleep feat Isaac Hayes (Live Version). Okay, I get that you invented the crying flow, fam, but serious? A little far maybe? I can’t front though, this one sort of goes hard.

DJ Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Intro. I discovered this earlier this morning. Sort of a counterexample to the intro. This one might change the way you think about house music – which should make you start thinking about hip-hop, considering the family tree. Check the release page here, which includes the words to the track. 日本語訳もあるので、是非チェックしてね。

Jay Electronica – Posers. I’ve been holding onto this forever with the intention of putting it into a different themed episode that I sort of tossed. No information on the vocalist though. Anyone care to fill us in before I start having to write emails?

Saroc – Motorbike. The title won’t make much sense until the end. Sol – who was kind enough to send me this cut direct from the studio last week – on production.

Shaun Boothe – Unauthorized Biography of Bob Marley. Seriously, this is like running through a Wikipedia article set to a beat, in a good way. Maybe if those stupid Multiplication Rap tapes my 2nd grade teacher gave me thinking I’d like it because I was Black were this good, I wouldn’t have gotten that D in Calculus senior year. I’m sort of looking forward to this Muhammad Ali joint. myspace.com/shaunboothe

Madlib – Disco Break. Yes, you’re supposed to learn something from this too. No excuses. myspace.com/madlib

Wiley – I Was Lost. I could never play this one on the radio back home because it had curses in it. Not the end of the world though, because I could still play Pies and Wot Do You Call it, and maybe that is making some of you UK kids roll your eyes but anyone who has the sheer nerve to end six consecutive bars with the words “no girlfriend” instead of thinking of actual rhymes on the first cut of their debut record is okay with me. www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley

e.s.t – Still (Radio Edit). In lieu of an outro, I guess. Shouts to Giant Step for the hookup.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations) – Final Version. Or at least that’s what it says on the tin. This sort of adds another level to the first mix, with more audio tweaking (but still a little reserved compared to old episode 82) but I like both, so here you go. Dig the outro.

Oh, also, supercali, there is a section in here that I absolutely expect you to identify.

Pencils down, put your answer sheet inside your test booklet, and pass your packets forward and to the left.

MIXTAPE 112 – SOULTRONICA SIDEBAR: MOTHERSHIP DILLALEON

What’s good Earthlings – this is an official Mixtape Show Soultronica Sidebar Hijack by your favorite android – Brothertron. What we have here is what I promised you last week (Future Colour Time – we don’t run on your crazy Earth clocks, dig? For us out here, this is on time!) – a new (to you!) project by A.Leon Craft (he’s appeared on the Mixtape Show in as a member of Labratz), over J Dilla beats, courtesy of Sol Messiah.

And, of course, since we’re bringing you this tape from the future – you’re the first to get it. Dig it.

Here’s the tracklist for those of yall keeping score:

Project Title: Mothership Dillaleon
Track Selections (Continual Stream Mode):
introlude: Planet New Afrika Cultural Archives Audio Identification.
1. ALeon’s Craft
2. Lite Beam
3. Healing Process
4. Guitars In The Water
5. Concrete Complications
6. Maroons
7. Melanin
8. The Moon
9. Black Dolla
10. Mothership Dillaleon
Possibly more info on the dude also at myspace.com/aleoncraft.

Bonus: The original album artwork from the project:
Front:

Dex (2008 version) will be back next week (Earth time, maybe) with a new rap episode – or in the meantime I guess you can holler at him in the “comments section” of this “website”. Brothertron out.

MIXTAPE 109 – BEEN TOO LONG

No, I’m not dead. And no, the show is not dead, and I’m not planning on letting it die anytime soon. I’ve kinda been underground for a minute, just basically putting in work and getting my bars up on the school angle. It has, however, been far too long – maybe too long? Are you all still even out there? That said – let’s get into it:

Intro Instrumental – 9th Wonder – Black Album Rejects #31 (I think).

Murs – Can It Be. I couldn’t think of a better track to start this one off with. And no, I’m absolutely not hating on Murs. I remember the first time I actually saw the dude – he came to my university in a dirty white T shirt, old sneakers, and some pajama pants and rocked a show on what was basically a hill with some grass on it. Crazy show, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Dude is a dope rapper, he just happens to have made a song that confused me, and this joint more than makes up for that. And apparently he’s got a free record up – check out www.mursand9thwonder.com. And yes, when the new record comes out – buy it.

Jay Electronica – Defcon 4. From what I can tell, this joint is at least 4 years old. Produced by Sol Messiah (fam hit me up), it’s a little more straightforward beatwise than the stuff we heard, say, on episode 82. Lyrically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the dude. Time to hit the library. myspace.com/jayelect.

Gif – Invisible (Ramona Moore). I was eating dinner a few weeks ago with a kid from Hong Kong, a kid from Japan (duh), and a Kyrgyzstani, when the topic turned to the elections. The Kyrgyzstani dude said something about that he’d heard that there is no longer any racism in the US. Unfortunately he decided to say that when I was in the middle of trying to sip my soda so he definitely ended up with that joint all over his new shirt. I laughed that hard. I don’t know – maybe if you watch the news you get that impression – but I don’t watch the news, so I wouldn’t know (I have been, however, watching Japanese news, and that is a whole different story)…Dude was actually genuinely surprised when I had to set him straight.

Anyway, as I said, this song actually follows the seqence of an actual event. For some more info on what happened with Ramona Moore, you can check this blog post. For Da Gif himself, check myspace.com/dagif. Thank you for making this song, fam.

East Flatbush Project – A Day In A Life feat Stress. This cut is just dope. I don’t have too much to say about this. It’s been too long since we’ve had one of Spencer‘s joints grace the Mixtape Show. This one is off the “First Born” EP – a joint project with Spencer and Stress. Do yourself a favor and play this one a few times. myspace.com/theeastflatbushproject.

Black Milk and Fat Ray – Take Control. I’ve been sitting on this cut for a miiinute. Maybe it’s just the cymbals on this joint that do it for me – but they’re not exactly slacking in the lyrical department here either. myspace.com/blackmk.

Madlib – Go feat Guilty Simpson. This song has some of the cruelest lyrics I’ve heard since, well, the last episode. That Punk’d line, combined with the Black / white / Chinese man joint is just too much. stonesthrow.com.

Outro Instrumental – 410 Pharaohs - Fresh.

And yeah, I’ll get into the rap in japan thing at some point in the near future…

In the meantime, that’s what I got for this week. Holler at a scholar.

MIXTAPE 102 -THE MAMIKO SHOW

Yeah, so that’s where I’ve been the last few days. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and you know how they usually give you a choice between getting knocked out or just doing anaesthesia? Well, the surgeon took one look at my X-rays and said “Son, we generally like to give our patients a choice in the matter, but you’ve got four impacted choppers in there, and I’m gonna have to put you under. No arguments accepted.” I’ll spare you the bloody details, but suffice to say that there was a lot of sawing involved and I’m not able to talk just yet.

Now, most people would just take a break and enjoy the vacation from rappidy rap podcasts, but I promised myself February would be special. But I was in no condition to speak into a mic – so a few scrawled messages on napkins, promises I have no intention of honoring, and sad puppydog looks later, I managed to con Mamiko into recording the intro for me. Everybody, please, a round of applause for Mamiko.

A lot of good music this episode – let’s get into it.

mamikolude – Bullion – God Only Knows. Yes, the Beach Boys flip. I gotta put this dude on – next beattape, I promise.

Labratz - Grow. Is Labratz a new name to you? It shouldn’t be. More of the same raw post-production (especially on the I mentioned the first time I played these dudes. Too many quotables in here, but all the same – “It gotta precipitate / Before you levitate”. Take that one with you today.myspace.com/thelabratzmusic.

Jay Electronica – When The Levees Broke. I’m not sure who produces some of these more unconventional tracks (it may well be Jay himself, come to think of it), but the understatedness of this cut…man, just listen.

Jay Electronica – Departure. The title of the second part of this cut (not included here – next time!) is what inspired my original name for this episode before Mamiko took it over, but the spirit is still there. Vividly autobiographical track. See that “embed” function up here? You might consider using that to share this with your friends.

Penuckle - I Love Being Black. As do I. I’ve been meaning to get Penuckle on the show for some time, so when he hit me with the track just before February kicked off, I knew this one was a given. Black History Month – do your research. Thanks again, P (by the way, who handled production on this one?). myspace.com/penuckle.

G.L.C. – Honor Me. Not the Welsh group. Not them. No. The flow and beat on this are obviously dope, but what does it for me is that extra vocal tweaking on there. Everyone, more delay, please. The trash talking at the end is kinda funny, but doesn’t take away from the intensity of the track. Shouts to Vince for putting me up on this track. myspace.com/glc.

C.L. Smooth – Multi Barz of Fury (prod. Pete Rock). Yes, you read that right. Is the coldness between the two masters over? I have no idea, and technically this isn’t that much of a new track considering that Pete released this cut on the Surviving Elements as an instrumental called “You Remind Me”. So what does this mean, CL? Are more Pete/CL collabs on the way? myspace.com/clsmoothmusic

Saroc – Black Dot. Exclusive courtesy of Sol Messiah (Labratz). I got an email from dude referring to Saroc as his “secret weapon” with this cut attached. I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to keep her a secret, but the lyrics are definitely impressive. The production? Signature Sol. Make sure to play this back a couple times to make sure you’re absorbing it all – in the meantime, I’m waiting for more from Saroc.

Erykah Badu- Real Thing (prod. Madlib). Anyone else out there miss Erykah? Fortunately we won’t have to wait that long – her new record is coming pretty soon. I wouldn’t mind hearing more collaborations between these two. myspace.com/erykahbadu.

I’m excited for the rest of this month. I’ll post the particulars in a bit, but I’m craving milkshakes again. Thoughts on the show are welcome, as are suggestions for food that won’t make me pass out.

MIXTAPE 99 – THE PRIMARIES

Yeah, a little late. New music, new design, new year. Shouts to Rashad for the inspiration on this episode concept. I have so much new music it’s not even funny. More episodes in the pipeline. Beattape, bounce tape, soultronicas, new soul (?), and some new tricks up my sleeve. But for right now, let’s get into the primaries…

intro beat – Iain “F a Quantize” Haywood – Switch on the MPC. myspace.com/12pads. What’s this about UK and US releases in 08 son? Hit the comments, do tell.

Labratz - Dirty Slum. Yes, comparisons to Goodie Mobb and early Outkast are easy, but that’s just because so little progressive Southern rap has hit your ears. Lyrics aside, one of the things I really dig about this record is the approach to postproduction – vocals are slowed up, jammed up, tweaked out, but the final mix is still raw to the point where I had to ask Sol if he was actually done with these because so many people nowadays overproduce records that it’s pretty rare to see someone leave that grit in it. I dig. I also must say that I’ve been walking around chanting “Marty McFly, Marty-Marty McFly-Fly” more often than I’d care to admit. myspace.com/labratzmusic

Marco Polo – The Radar feat Large Professor. Large as a guest MC, not a producer. Don’t get it confused though, the drum work on this still goes hard. myspace.com/marcopolobeats.

Tom C3 and Prince Po – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. The first couple bars of this song reminds me somehow of Lord Quas’ “Come on Feet” for some reason. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard of Tom C3 until I realized he did the Dopestyle 1231 jumpoff (brilliant album art, by the way). Shouts to Nasty Nes for this one. myspace.com/tomc3.

NAAM Brigade – Greatest Man Alive (remix). Well, actually this is more Sonny Black than anything, but still. I’ve heard of these dudes referred to as the Philly Wu-Tang. Who do I need to get on the phone with to figure out what the hell happened to these dudes? You heard them back in Episode 97 with the Message rework. While all these college-rap dudes are trying to recreate some boom-bap sound, NAAM Brigade somehow manages to dig into the early 90s/late 80s with their production and still sound absolutely rough and fresh with the final product.

Jay Electronica – Uprock. Definitely different production from what most have heard of Jay thus far, but damn the dude just eats this breakbeat up. The one man live band strikes again. Jay, if you ever do release Act II, you know you got a home for it here too.

dexalude – [instro: RJD2 - Inhale (remix)]. Internet rumors are crazy.

Bekay - Hunger Pains (prod. Alkota). Like I said, I’ve been following dude for some time (I actually remember his joint with ODB – I think one of the last he recorded), but nothing was quite my flavor – until now. This song isn’t all about “oh I’m white poor me”, but – or what I get from it, anyway – just a series of really screwed up events and situations that often trace back to a uniquely neurotic and American racism. Kinda hard to make it in a minstrel industry without black skin. myspace.com/bekay.

And for the record, the dude sounds nothing like Eminem to me.

Labratz - Creation. So does anyone actually have faith in this straight-ahead government process? I wouldn’t really call myself cynical, but my optimism never really involves fantasizing about real change being brought about through the election of some public official. Black leadership has really fallen off.

As much as I dig the instrumental on this one, you really have to pay attention to the lyrics on this one. I’d quote some here, but seriously, just listen. And then repeat.

“Peace to Barack Obama.”?

I’d love to do that sort of thing, 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.