Keepin’ Kosha: Kosha Dillz on being labeled, Jersey vs. LA, and putting together an album

Keepin’ Kosha: Kosha Dillz on being labeled, Jersey vs. LA, and putting together an album

-by Jason G.L. Chu

Beverly Dillz -
“the Hollywood underground via [a] G

arden State perspective” – has an
eye-twisting cover. Colors – turquoise, neon purple, and mustard yellow
- alternately evoke bright Hollywood lights and the skinny jeans I’ve
started to associate with a certain brand of pop-cum-party-rap.
Loading the album onto my iPod, I mentally steeled myself for an hour
of 808-lite handclaps and beeping pop melodies.

Turns out, even going Hollywood, Kosha keeps his Jersey wit. Beverly Dillz feels grounded, even cynical. His version of Cali life skews pointedly superficial (if a little hyperbolic): on second single LA Ish, he raps, “Brand new whip/ and I’m sleepin on the couch“, and lines like “rap is a job to stand up for but I can’t get out of my house“, turn the spotlight right back on the emcee. Kosha’s flows are melodic and sing-songy, rarely pausing for an “ohhhh shit” punchline but packing bars with references to hip-hop, pop culture, and Judaica.

While the lyrical presence is firmly Garden State, the album’s beats compromise with the Left Coast. Producer Belief’s
drums clack away, and the synths alternate between fuzzy roars and
staccato beeps. Melodic backdrops often creep into minor keys, and it’s
all very plastic, clean, and slightly unsettling. Kosha knows the West
Coast is party-happy, but I sense he’s not quite ready to let down his
Jersey guard.

On a short break from his Heroes for Haiti

benefit tour with Flex Mathews, I give Kosha a call to discuss the
album, his identity as “that Jewish rapper”, and his current career
outlook.

Jason GL Chu: Hip-hop has a tendency to label. How do you respond when you become “that Jewish rapper”?

Kosha Dillz: Barack Obama’s that black president [laughs] you know what I’m saying? What about saying, “he’s the President”?

KD:
Label me? Why not, you know? It’s good to get labeled – you have to
fall into a category. An apple is a fruit; but, people over in the meat
section, the produce section, they need to go over and get fruit too.
The fact is, [my music] comes under hip-hop, under interesting, under
alternative, indie, it could also be somewhat pop. And it’s also
Jewish. The more labels you have, the more well-rounded you are.

KD:
We just got back from Sundance. Anyone there who’s Jewish and directing
a huge film, Boom! it catches their eye. Mind you, I might not be the
biggest thing in Saudi Arabia.

JGLC:
Speaking of identifying with a label, I know you’ve been pretty active
with Matisyahu, one of the more prominent Jewish artists on the scene –
touring and collaborating. How did your friendship, your working
relationship, start?

KD:
I met him in ‘04, went over there, studied some Torah. I wasn’t even
really knowledgeable about anything in Judaism, and we read a little
bit out of this book, which I still have – it was real powerful, man.
Talking about, um, stone and fire and the elements, some next level
stuff, and he was talking to me about aspects of Judaism including
keeping Kosher.

KD: I
was out of jail for like 4 months, got nothing going for me, just my
first single recorded – and he brought me on stage at BB Kings! I went
on stage… and, to this day, people still remember that show. In 06, I
started working with C-Rayz [Walz] – I was recording with him, and he
said, I got to get Matisyahu on this track [2007's "Childhood" off The Dropping]. He
wasn’t really working with rappers at all, but he collaborated with
C-Rayz on that joint, and from there I would see him sporadically. I
wasn’t really that good at the time [laughs];
but then we met at the Jewlicious festival, this past year, and then we
linked up for the Festival of Lights and that was 2008.

KD:
I was supposed to do another show with him, but I wound up winning that
Summer Jam emcee battle instead. Still I got on stage at a couple more
of his shows, and he started saying, “yo, you want to do this? Do
that?” And before you know it, I was on tour with him.

JGLC: Would you say Matisyahu was something of a mentor figure to you at the time?

KD:
No, I just knew that he had the market that I wanted and it was….
When you’ve arrived, once you’ve been out on tour for a while – it’s
not that someone’s a mentor, it’s – they’re partners. [Imitates a fan]
“Oh, my God!” That’s for people the first time you see them. When
you’ve been out on tour with people for a while, you start to just open
up to people, there are certain phases: you see how they work, then you
talk to them some more, you have to take a drive somewhere, things
spring up.

JGLC: Hip-hop
can sometimes come off as anti-Semitic. It’s certainly difficult to
find openly Jewish pop culture figures, particularly in hip-hop. You
reference Ari Gold – from Entourage – and how do you address this
stereotype that Jews can make moves on the corporate side, but not in
front of the mic?

KD: Well, a dope song is a dope song, right? But I have fans that are black – and they’re like, yo this dude can rip the mic –
and now they’re gonna go back home and say, this Jewish kid is dope.
That perspective is gonna travel through their friends and their
families that might have had stereotypical views before. Just like me
bringing Black friends into my house. I come from a family of working
immigrants – my dad hires people out of jail all the time, Spanish,
Black, because I went through the same stuff.

KD:
I go to places where there’s not a lot of Jewish kids when I tour….
The real cool thing is when I’m winning over Indian fans, and Black
fans, and White fans, and people who aren’t Jewish. You know, there’s a
lot of self-hate – there’s a lot of people that are Jewish that hate on
me. Because they don’t like who they are, or they have issues – it’s
not like “Oh shit! You’re Jewish, let me hook you up” – sometimes you
go up to them and they think, this Jewish cat is hanging out with all
the Black guys, it’s a culture clash. But I got to stay true to myself.

JGLC: Word. Now, what’s your feelings on the local scene at home, in Jersey?

KD: Some good stuff, a lot of street cats. Jersey has a very hard, hard talent to it: a lot of hood rappers. Asbury Park, Newark, New Brunswick, which is the scene I came out of. There was Beretta-9 from Killarmy. I worked extensively with Killah Priest, with RZA

a little bit, but Beretta-9 – when I was 18, rockin the open mics – he
would come through and drop the knowledge and gems. At the time, you
know, they were sellin a lot of records, Wu Music Group. That’s the scene I came out of: New Brunswick, Newark, but for me the local scene was definitely New York.

JGLC: I
know one of the stated intents of the record was to bring a Garden
State perspective to Beverly Hillz. What’re your thoughts on the LA
life?

KD: That whole
album, Beverly Dillz, was like playing on that view of LA and all that.
“Brand new whip, and I’m sleepin on the couch” – and then the East
Coast part was like, “get your ass back, comin’ out your mouth”. I
do this chorus during my shows – “if you do not have a gun, let me buck
a shot… Everybody at the bar, everyone’s a star”. That whole thing,
it’s a play on it. It’s like, are you serious, dude? But I love it, I
love it. [laughs] You have to accept it, those stereotypes are real.

JGLC: Word. Now, how would you characterize your home state point of view?

KD: [voice slows down, thoughtful] Well, it’s fast-paced. The Garden State has a lot of rough edges, and a lot of pride. If you ever hear someone say, “where you from?” they’re like, [loud]
“Jersey!”…. There’s a lot of home-state pride, a lot of people that
never leave. But LA is like a transplant, the Hollywood sign is like a
giant lie, a persona of all these people who are pursuing this thing.

KD:
Out of my high school, everyone became cops, or teachers. I’m the only
one who became a rapper, trust me. And having that, and going out to
LA, it exposes the Jersey, the homegrown pride. When I think Jersey, I
think malls, I think diners, I think the Jersey shore, there’s
mountains, it’s really a whole place in one. In a small area.

JGLC: Beverly Dillz has
a distinct production aesthetic, thanks to Belief. What sort of thought
went into that, what were you two talking about while the album was
being produced on a musical and lyrical level? What kind of things were
in your head space?

KD:
Well, we were in Beverly Hills, I was waking up in the morning, getting
coffee, and we were like, let’s be really LA. On some LA shit. That’s
how that song, “LA Ish”, came out. I think that’s the first song I
wrote. I was infatuated with this whole LA thing… when we were making
this album, man, we wanted everything to sonically fit into that mass
appeal. It was a little play with my twist, rapping about not the local
LA, but the façade of Hollywood: the bright lights and the big sign,
how it can all can be a bunch of bullcrap…. So this album was trying
to be misleading. It was supposed to be hard, in a different way.

JGLC:
What was it like, when you were just sitting down and thought, “Let me
move to the West Coast and make this whole album out there”?

KD:
Me and Belief started when we were trying to do songs with the movies,
that was our whole thing. Some Hollywood shit. And it was completely
sample-free, so we could shop it to movies. Everything was a little
different, Belief forced me to put it out. I remember writing to beats
that I was like, “how can I make a song out of this?” If
I’d recorded Beverly Dillz 3 months later or 3 months earlier, it would
have been a totally different album. I realized that, by myself, I’m
kinda stupid. I need to be guided. Belief helped me complete that
album, and that’s why I chose him, because I knew he could bring it out
of me.

KD:
There’s something inside of me, like subliminal messaging that I really
believe, that people will sing along to these songs…. I really think
you can change the world with music. And people have told me: if you
make a fun album, that’s just as spiritual as some other stuff. I
recorded a Hebrew joint last, to let people know where I’m from and
what I’m representing. Kol Ha Kavod Lirkod, it means, “It’s all good to dance”. Like, “stop being so serious!” Beverly Dillz was
really about, you don’t got to be serious all the time, you’re allowed
to smile at the show, you don’t have to come and just have knowledge
dropped on you all day.

JGLC: Any last things you want to put out there?

KD:
I have a distinct rhyme style, and I think that will win people over. I
could learn to do that punchline style, but why not try to do something
different, that hasn’t been done a hundred times? Let me do something
different, that’s gonna change it up and make something new and fresh.
I hope people catch on.

Beverly Dillz is available in stores and on iTunes now. Catch Kosha Dillz at SXSW and on the Heroes for Haiti tour. The Cellular Phone video is online at ThisIs50.com and debuting soon on MTV On Demand.

Find more videos like this on ThisIs50.com : IF IT’S HOT IT’S HERE!

Heroes for Haiti tour with Flex Mathews:

Feb 5th Abbey Pub w/ DJ Yoda – Chicago, IL
Feb 6th Raging Buffalo Resort w/ Slick Rick – Algonquin, IL
Feb 7th Yacht Club – Iowa Ciy, IA
Feb 8th Vaudevilles Mews – Des Moines, IA
Feb 9th Vaudevilles Mews w/ Trevor all (early show) – Des Moines, IA
Feb 9th Peoples w/ Skee Lo – Des Moines, IA
Feb 10th Firebird – St Louis, MO
Feb 12th Nutty’s North w/ Mr Dibbs – Sioux Falls , SD
Feb 13th Reptile Palace – Oshkosh, WI
Feb 14th Schubas w/ Trevor hall – Chicago IL
Feb 15th Day Trotter – Rock Island, IL
Feb 19th-21st Jewlicious Festival – Long Beach, CA
Feb 25th Pipeline Cafe w/ Matisyahu – Honolulu, HI
Feb 27th Kuhio Lounge w/ Matisyahu – Kapaa, HI
Feb 28th Lahaina Civic Center w/ Matisyahu – Lahaina, HI
Mar 1st Rockstarz w/ Matisyahu – Kailua Kona, HI

Poetic Pilgrimage on Star Women and the Femcee Perspective

Written By Amanda Macchia

True to their moniker, hip hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage pays homage to the spoken soul of poetry and its journey through the power and tribulations of long-awaited social liberation. The women behind the group are fueled by much more than creative rhymes and story telling. Their newest endeavor, mix tape Star Women is a tribute to the light every person has within them. Using their own experiences as activists, minorities, and women, they channel their perspective to shed light where there has always been darkness. Poetic Pilgrimage has conceptualized the prospects of social acceptance and freedom into Star Women, with an energy that can only be described as determination.

Activist and sociologist, W.E.B. DuBois, was known in his critical theory of race for the concept of a “double-consciousness”. Later adapted by the feminist Dorothy Smith as the “bifurcated consciousness”, the idea refers to a sense of awareness that those who aren’t in a position of power are advantaged to understanding. The repressed, the subordinated, or the minority, have a heightened sense of what society looks like; with only one foot in the door, they have the opportunity to experience a duality of self. Capable of looking in from the outside, a repressed member of society understands what it is to be a part of the mainstream social order, while they simultaneously can see the world from the perspective of someone with a limited sense of social amenities. They have a sense of “otherness” that in it’s most bare state is, itself, repression. Yet something positive can come from being the “other”, because a dual perspective is far more valuable than a single provincial understanding of our world. For DuBois, this repressive state can be turned into a celebration of variety, and an intellectual pilgrimage toward equality. Integration for DuBois was a unity of difference, and of the solid fact that we can all relate as human beings. Just as DuBois didn’t extract theory without emphasizing the end goal of political change and the importance of activism within the social world, Poetic Pilgrimage uses Star Women to catalyze the audience into their worlds and their experiences, in the hopes that something important might come out of it.

Sukina and Muneera of Poetic Pilgrimage explain their efforts brilliantly: “Within our music we try to give an alternative perspective, the voice of those who tend not to be heard… As individuals we realized that in many ways we sometimes fail to see the greatness that is inside of us, not just musically but in our personal lives. We spent a lot of time reminding ourselves of our achievements, and then it dawned on us that in general as human beings sometimes we don’t see the beauty, the potential the power, and tenacity that is dormant within our cells. This in itself is an inhibition, and can be oppression to ourselves. So in this project we are reintroduced to messages of freedom and change.”

The free download they have available online is a prelude to their actual mix tape project. It speaks of the beauty inside that we naturally, and unknowingly, tend to neglect. Pulling from a massive volume of styles, decades, and cultures, Poetic Pilgrimage has accumulated an album where every song is different and yet universal in meaning. They combine aggressive, funky beats with a cool, hip and organic orientation. There are glimpses of jazz, vestiges of electronica, intergalactic excursions into R&B, and a percussive tunnel into afrobeat, all of which serve to frame the gentle, persistent rapping of Poetic Pilgrimage’s natural lyrical affinity. The download is as exciting as any mix tape could hope to be, so one can only wonder what surprises their real project has in store.

In general, nothing they do is without purpose. Considering that the marriage of hip hop to social or political activism is a growing trend in subcultures throughout the globe, there is something to be said for progressive and active music that stands out above the rest. Artists and hip hoppers are pooling together their resources, and their natural affinity toward a two-fold perspective to create music of the sort most people have never been exposed to. Star Women is a shining example of an artistry that is full of messages without the sacrifice of the immense integrity it takes to be a truly talented hip hop pioneer.

What I love about hip hop,” says Muneera, “is that it is a tool that has given many people the opportunity to express themselves in a direct and creative manner. Art in general surpasses layers and aims straight for the heart. Hip hop, in particular, is the only form of music in the western hemisphere that was born out of oppression. This music has given those with no way to express their social conditions a means to speak and be noted…. it is something that is accessible to all people regardless of class or financial status. It gave life to a new type creativity, and has provided opportunity for growth and business… now that hip hop has gone international, this has only added texture to the many layers with in it.”

The ladies have a lot going on aside from the release of their mix tape. “We recently came back from a mini European tour where we performed at the 5-year anniversary party of the World Culture Museum in Sweden. We did an event called ‘The Night The Songbirds Are Set Free’ in Berlin that focused on liberating women’s voices, and we performed at a World Music Festival on the German/Polish border too. We are also currently working towards an album that will be ready before autumn. This will be coming out on a Californian based label called Remarkable Current. Most of the production will be by an amazing producer and arranger called Fair Grime. We are also looking at other forms of writing.”

Muneera and Sukina met young, and were both united by one thing. “We first became close friends because of music,” says Sukina. “Muneera used to be a DJ and would always get early releases from Sony and other record companies. I remember hearing Jill Scott for the first time and Amel Larrieux, whilst also being in love with people like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Kweli and Common. We were so inspired by this music and the message and spirituality that existed in it. We wanted to create for others what this music had meant for us. We decided to come together to inspire and uplift people, and represent a voice for some of the voiceless people around the world.”

It’s safe to say that Poetic Pilgrimage as a concept accomplishes these goals entirely.

It is refreshing to see a piece of artwork so honest and bare bones. With songs off the download like “Beautiful”, we are reminded that in most cultures women only know themselves in relation to men. The song is infused with the hope that we can keep shining, and recognize how to allow ourselves to measure up in the face of social norms and cultural gender roles.

“Aborted Daughters (Live)”, addresses the politics that fuel Poetic Pilgrimage, while taking the concept of the mix tape and giving it the integrated identity of a multi-media approach. It starts with a short speech and launches directly into the spoken word format, giving the free download a boost of texture and allowing the messages of liberation and faith more power.

Poetic Pilgrimage uses their own identities, as well as those of other women to forage an image of the universality of the female and human experience. They translate into music the socially constructed domination and internal subordination that we all suffer. On top of it all, Poetic Pilgrimage has created timeless music and poetry that honors the power and prowess of women in hip hop.

“We feel strongly about justice, love, and peace for all,” says Muneera. “Being from different community groups we see how people can get caught up with just themselves, and obviously we all have to make sure that the home is straight, but oppression is a disease and once we allow it to breed we can all be susceptible to it.”

To download a free prelude of Star Women visit http://www.starwomenmixtape.com/.

Rest In Peace Brother Modou

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this post. Our dear friend Modou Konate – aka Bourba Djoloff – passed away February 1st 2010. Many of you will remember Modou for his incredible music he made with his group Sen Kumpe. Some of you may remember this role he played as an activist trying to bring change to his beloved Senegal. I’ll rememeber Modou as all of these things – but most importantly, as my friend who will be greatly missed.

Modou – man dunu la fate. Dinga nekk sama xol sama xarite. Nammenala bu baax a baax. Sa xarite, Ben

A Night of African Hip-Hop Film, Conversation and Live Music featuring Meta and the Cornerstones

Nomadic Wax Presents African Underground

A Night of African Hip-Hop Film, Conversation and Live Music featuring Meta and the Cornerstones

Join Nomadic Wax and 92YTribeca for a night of film and discussion capped by a blowout concert by the unstoppable Meta and the Cornerstones.

7pm Screening: Fangafrika: The Voice of the Voiceless

Hip Hop may have been born in America, but it is growing up in Africa. Fangafrika is a stylized look at the festival in Ouaga, in Burkina Faso, where Africa’ s best and brightest rappers gather using hip hop to tackle the serious issues facing Africans everywhere. The film is a who’s who in African hip-hop, from veterans like Pee Froiss, Daara J and PBS to up and coming hot acts. All are creating a dynamic new African identity for the mutable genre called hip-hop.

8:30pm Panel Discussion: Marketing African Media in the New Millennium: A Panel discussion About the Intersection of Technology, Digital Media and its Impact on the African Continent. Panelists to be announced.

10pm Concert: Meta and the Cornerstones

Featuring members from across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Brooklyn’s Meta and the Cornerstones fuse Afropop, reggae, hip-hop and serious soul with a mixture of French, English, Wolof and Fulani vocals. With their powerful lyrics and feel good melodies, the band creates a sound that transcending borders and language barriers.

http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?productid=T%2DMM5PF11

Flex Mathews: Making Music, Having Fun.

Flex Mathews: Making Music, Having Fun.

-Jason G.L. Chu
Photo Credit – Magee McIlvaine

“What’s up man, who’s this?”

The first time I hear his voice, it’s tinged ever-so-slightly by a sleepy haze.
Flex Mathews – born Dathan Harbor – is back on the road, on the third day of a month-long
tour with fellow emcee Kosha Dillz to raise support for the recently devastated
Haiti.

The
press pictures I’ve scrounged up show a ferocious, goofy emcee. Even candid
shots never catch him lounging; continuously mugging for the camera, he’s smiling
widely, smirking, tossing up his fists, clowning around with an LP collection. And
flicks of him on the mic are still more energetic: eyes bulging, veins popping,
hands jabbing to punctuate his delivery. He’s confident the crowd’s enjoying the
Flex show, because he’s enjoying the Flex
show.

Even
in still shots, Flex has a sense of magnetic restlessness: Eyes around him seem inexorably drawn to him. His music – the Handsome Grandson EP, emailed me a few
days ago and promptly synced to my iPod – is not only bold, clever, and intricate
(none of which is particularly rare in today’s well-versed hip-hop underground),
but refreshingly humble: he boasts more about his passion than talent, and his
subject matter is grounded in reality, reminiscing on all-night ciphers, favorite
childhood music, and family and friends. The EP boasts a song called Just Gunnen; but Flex gunnen has less to do with popping off
pistols and more with “freestylin nonstop… [with] a CD to sell and 16’s to
drop.”

So
when I hit him up on the phone to start this interview, I’m half expecting a relentlessly
self-promoting narcissist, and half expecting a soft-spoken, even reticent,
emcee. The joke’s on me, of course, because he’s neither.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about me rapping and having fun.”

“Yo
Flex, what up? It’s Jason from Nomadic Wax, this a good time to talk?”

Turns
out it is; I’ve caught him during a lull on tour, and his crew is picking their
way along the road somewhere near Aspen or Vail. As I start launching into my
questions, bringing up the music game, his voice picks up speed, excitement. After
doing music part-time for most of his career, Flex has been a professional artist
for eight months now, leaving a steady hospital job to go full-time into his
musical craft.

Me: “So what makes you put your
voice out there? What do you have to say, what makes you think your art has a
place out there?”

FM: “Man, I’m a kid in a grown man body, making music and having
fun…. Sure, at certain times, I wanted
the big bills, staying large, but at the end of the day, home in my room, as
long as I was rapping and having fun, it really didn’t matter.”

Flex
Mathews isn’t a hip-hop neo-luddite, a backpacker on a quest to save hip-hop from
its evil future self; he’s in the game because the game is fun. I feed him a leading question – what sets your voice apart from other
artists? – and wait for him to bite, to go in on how much iller he is than other
emcees. Instead, he pauses slightly and replies thoughtfully, excitedly. Flex gets
hyped up reminiscing about the old days: “growing up rhyming, there was so many
different emcees. A lot of emcees didn’t have the same style: Guru was Guru,
MOP was MOP, Big Daddy Kane was Big Daddy Kane.” The message is clear: Flex
Mathews’ emceeing isn’t going to be the sort to submit to ready labeling.

If
his style sounds good to you, that’s fine by him; but if not, he’s not going to
talk down on anyone’s tastes either. When he talks about recently listening to
Brother Ali, he’s quick to mention that he doesn’t begrudge Drake his radio
presence, saying the former has “a little more substance… something a little
different,” while giving props to the rising Young Money star: “He’s very
clever, I don’t think you can really deny that he’s a clever dude along the
emcee tip, with the punchlines and things of that nature.”

“It’s important… to have a good catalogue, that can be received different places.”

Speaking
of substance and punchlines, Flex’s own recorded style is a combination of twisting
lyrical barrages supporting a keen storytelling voice. His enunciation has a soft
edge, and I mentally add him to my continuum of emcees beside the more abstract
Mos Def and raw-flowing mid-90s Common. When his vocal pace picks up – and it
often does – words slur by in long, assonant chains. In my first listens to
Flex’s EP, I found his flow taking on a life of its own, and I wound up hitting
the rewind more than once as I picked apart his actual lyrical content, lines alternately
self-deprecating (“I hope she don’t like thugs/ because I’m not a hard cat”) and
clever (“I pray she ain’t a Thundercat/ Thundercat ho-ooooo/ She can be
Cheetara and I’ll be the Liono”).

That
joke-laced flow is a relic of Flex’s growth as an emcee, a reminder of days moving
around as a military brat. Constantly spitting in new environments, Flex came
up by adapting his style, creating a responsive ear for the tastes of different
audiences:

FM: “If I’m a scientist, and I’m rapping on super-scientist stuff or
whatever, I can’t take that flow everywhere…. I could, but I won’t necessarily
be received anywhere else. It’s important for an MC to have a good catalogue,
that can be received different places.

“I learned that from freestyling. Being in mostly white areas
growing up, my punchlines and my rhymes there were relevant there. I had to
learn how to rhyme about my current environment, which they could relate to.
It’s all about knowing the time and the place and all those elements that are
playing a part in what’s going on at that specific moment….”

“Albums are great, they serve their purpose. But to me, freestyling,
I could shake a whole day off. If I had a bad day at work, I could go to a
club, and freestyle for three hours, and truly it could take the whole day away
from me.

“Good doctrine
produces good doctrine, Good habits produce good habits, peace produces peace, love produces love.”

Disarmingly
ecumenical, Flex reserves his laconic scorn for one group: cats who front in
their bars. He distinguishes the craft of emceeing from the task of rapping: “Anybody
can rap from a piece of paper. That’s rapping. To me, emceeing is living what
you speak.” In short: if Flex Mathews raps about freestyling all day, it’s
because he’s out there spitting on the corner. If Flex Mathews is rhyming about
helping the kids, you’d best believe he’s out volunteering.

And
he does, too – having brought up the topic of community building, Flex proves
himself good on his word. He tells me about a DC organization, Words,
Beats, and Life put together by local hip-hoppers who dedicate
themselves to mentoring DC-area kids in rhyming, painting, bboying, and DJing,
even as they guide them through the issues that inevitably arise in the violent
and raw inner city life that sprawls practically in the shadow of Capitol Hill.

Flex
also brings up a more personally relevant project, Hip-Hop Against Human Trafficking, a projected 5-part EP collection
bringing to light the nine billion dollar global business that provides slave labor
and sex workers. I ask Flex what led him to take on such a project, fearing that
I’m going to unearth a personal tragedy; but instead, we break down one of my
favorite flicks, Taken, geeking out together
over the cathartic glee of Liam Neeson’s black ops agent tracking down his kidnapped
daughter and, in the process, straight up
tearing apart the men who sold her into sex slavery. But after a few minutes,
Flex turns sober:

FM: “You can’t tell me that you walk into the Red Light District and find
some 15-year-old girl who wants to have sex with an 80-year-old man. I’m not
buyin it… These girls are stolen.

“I was really driven to want to say something, I didn’t want to do
rap music about it, I wanted to do something more direct, more in the now. Then
I calmed down and was like, let me act with my strong point first.”

Right.
Watch a movie, get inspired – and start a long-term awareness project. All in the
emcee job description.

As
we build, I’m noticing Flex’s communal
approach to hip-hop: other artists might claim to be leaders, but he wants to gather
leaders. When I ask about his plans for activism, Flex downplays his own
importance, pointing to “those who are truly in the trenches… people who are
really out there on the regular. When we are asleep, they are on the grind for
human trafficking.”

At
this point, Flex Mathews’ mobile signal goes dead, a victim of the wilderness
cell phone network of western Colorado. I head out to run some Saturday afternoon
errands, still bumping the Handsome
Grandson EP in my iPod.

“Having a blast out here, man!”

It’s
Monday before Flex and I connect on the phone again. On my way in to work, I
shoot him a text – “you up to finish the interview? holla @ me whenever” – and
my Nokia is ringing before I reach my desk. This time, he doesn’t sound hazy at
all; keen and eager to talk, Flex is riding high on a weekend of shows in Colorado
and Utah.

I
say that I’ve been bumping his album all weekend, noticing a clear direction in
the EP’s production. The project fits together in a breezy mix of jazz and
boom-bap samples, feeling like a record by
an old hip-hop head for an old head. Several
of the beats quote, sample, or lift album cuts from rappers you don’t know
unless you know: All Night is spit over a Madvillain (Madlib/MF DOOM) beat, and I catch
Jedi Mind Tricks lying under another track. Reminisce,
a mid-album song, seems to sum up Flex’s œuvre: the title, the lyrics, and the
beat – a melody line from the pseudo-80s by way of Napoleon Dynamite – all work
together to pull the audience into the Flex Mathews Hip-Hop Experience, a
reverse Being John Malkovich.

The Handsome
Grandson EP makes another thing clear: Flex isn’t afraid of giving his DJ a
little shine. Or a lot: on Catwoman, he
drops a final bar, “listen to my DJ scratch,” and a cat’s meow breaks in, to be
chopped up, spun back, and stuttered for the entirety of a feline-themed breakdown.
Within the first seconds of intro track R.O.Y.
(Rookie of the Year), DJ GeeDubz’ scratches cut up the remix, and Flex is
careful to support the other elements of hip-hop: “Oh yeah, man, you’ve got to
have your four elements, that’s the basis right there, the foundation for
everything, the whole culture.”

Refreshingly,
Flex doesn’t hold that respect back from other emcees, either. Other artists I
know revel in distancing themselves from hip-hop fandom, either too cool, too post-hip-hop,
or too much the artiste. But Flex
basks in hip-hop nerditry: on The Blue
Line, the EP’s fourth track, he spits a dizzying slew of references to
other artists, including De La Soul, Redman & Method Man, and Duck Down
Records’ OGC in four or five bars. But rather than an unimaginative name-dropper
(cough*The Game*cough), he comes off as a rap connoisseur, still awed to be watching
the game from the field instead of the bleachers. When I ask him to name his
top influences, he jumps to your favorite rapper’s favorite rappers: “Big L had
delivery, style, cadence, personality. Big L was the emcee’s MC…. Redman too,
Redman was big to me.”

“that’s what I love, that’s what I live,
that’s what I like.”

I
know that Flex isn’t afraid to be real – but I’m still curious about the Handsome Grandson moniker he goes by.
It’s telling, I think, that he chooses to identify himself as a grandson rather
than a father, lover, husband, or even brother. After all, while he devotes several
songs on the EP to flirtatious advances at hypothetical female partners, Flex’s
Lover persona is a winking, roguish scamp, more Bart Simpson than Big Poppa.
He’s not the kid only a mother could love – he’s the kind of kid your mother could love.

Me: “Yo Flex, a lot of cats in the
game these days are just hard, hard, hard all day long. But you have this more family-friendly
persona. How does that work out?”

FM: “I’m definitely not a hard cat. I like rapping, you know? …Growing
up I did wild things with my friends… growing up into adulthood, expressing
ourselves, we all have that to some degree…. But that’s about it. I was never
out there trying to be a thug…. I knew thugs, but there was a clear difference between
them and I. They was still my friends, I have love for them…. [My music] may
come off as silly, but at the same time, if the whole world was serious, it
wouldn’t be any fun if the whole world was serious”

And
we’re back on the topic of making music and having fun – not compatible, but identical pursuits in Flex’s eyes: “I’ll
make a silly song because it’s fun. I’ll make a song ‘bout how I hate to go to
the mall with girls… I’ll make a song about that because, that’s what I love,
that’s what I live, that’s what I like.” I mention how his clear comfort with the
role of jokester, jester, and entertainer (Flex tips me a verbal nod – “uh-huh,
yea”) reminds me of a slimmer – much slimmer – Biz Markie. Flex responds
respectfully: “Biz Markie? He’s one of the greats!”

Like
the Biz, Flex Mathews is a professional
joker, a topic that comes up again later, when I ask him where he got his rap
name:

FM: “The name was a bit of a joke… a panic-stricken moment I needed to
be quick on my toes to work out.

“Me and my friends in high school were hanging out at smokers’
corner where we would rap, we would freestyle. Me and my friends were late
coming to class, and the hall monitor caught us… and my friend gave his name,
his real name! And I was a bit of a class clown, so I said Flex, and she said, ‘Flex
what?’,

like expecting that I couldn’t make up a last name. So I had to be
quick, and I said Mathews, and she said, OK, Mr. Mathews, you report to
detention at 2:50.

“I couldn’t tell my friends, because in high school your friends are
idiots, and I knew that if I explained the situation to them, you know how fast
that would have got around the school? That would have got around real quick,
and so I kind of kept it to myself.”

Me: “[laughs] Did you cringe and
like try to stay unnoticed for the rest of high school? By this hall monitor?”

FM: “Nah, no, actually she was pretty cool to me after a while, we got
along. Yeah [laughs].”

“before
rapper, before emcee, before jokester, before best friend. I’m a Christian man first and foremost.”

Flex
likes to get along with people – and, it seems, it’s not from some need for
affirmation, but because he genuinely likes
people. And while we haven’t yet
touched on it, I’m suspecting that it has something to do with the beliefs that
have been hinted at as we talk about his upbringing and doctrine.

Of
course, many rappers – A-listers like DMX, T.I., and Kanye West, along with
lesser-known rappers like LMNO and Lecrae – have prominently promoted faith on wax, but
many have demonstrated questionable follow-through in their personal lives. While I know he’s a military brat, I’ve also heard
Flex drop hints about his parents’ occupation (“son of a pastor”), and read
interviews where he touches on his own faith. So when it comes up in
conversation, I’m ready to listen to Flex speak on his personal beliefs and their
role in his growth.

FM: “Yeah, man, both me and my parents are preachers. [But] being
raised Christian, growing up I hated church…. People say hate is a strong word,
but when you a kid it’s easy to hate something. When your parents make you do
something…. they made me go.”

Me: “Yeah, I feel you, I definitely
know that process. How did you move forward from there?”

FM: “I remember when I got deep into my faith…. I was going to be a
Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a whole bunch of other things before I sat down
and said, let me really take this Christian thing seriously. I read up on a
whole lot of other things, I wanted to just find the true word of the Most High,
I sat down and read, and this is what spoke to me the most.”

“I never want to be a dumb Christian, you know? ….Many people
believe in God, that don’t mean they do right, or are equipped to tell you
about Christianity or about the Word.

“Early, when I was young, 21 or 22, I would get into conversations…
and I couldn’t support myself, because I was just believing, not just studying,
believing without understanding…. So that was my fault, because I didn’t know enough, I didn’t read, I
didn’t study…. And that’s what had driven me to stay focused and study the
Bible in as many aspects as I can.”

“I’m a Christian man before anything, before rapper, before emcee,
before jokester, before best friend. I’m a Christian man first and foremost…. To
quote a Mos Def line, ‘I give a damn if any fam recall my legacy, I’m tryna live
light in the sight of God’s memory.’ [from Black Star’s Thieves in the Night].”

Me: “Yeah, that’s dope. Now, I’ve
heard some, I know there’s Christian rap out there, but honestly – I mean, I’m
a man of faith – but a lot of it is kind of corny.”

FM: “Yeah! Corny. I’m working on this Gospel hip-hop project, and that’s
why it’s taking me so long to do this. Because I don’t want it to be corny…. There’s
been some good ones out there, Cross Movement, The Ambassador… [but] there’s
some Gospel hip-hop that I am not feeling…. So it’s taking me a while to do
this project. I want it to be a good, dope, hip-hop project.”

Me: “What about when you’re out on
tour with Kosha? I know he represents the Jewish culture very proudly, very strong…
do yall ever speak about religion, that kind of thing?”

FM: “You know, Kosha is Orthodox Jewish, he’s observant, but he
respects my views and I respect his….

“People don’t see everything the way you see it. And I think, if the
world would just acknowledge that – you aren’t everybody and everybody ain’t
you – the world would be a better place.

“Christianity springs out of Judaism. Without the Jewish people,
there would be no Bible, no Jesus, no Christianity. You can’t not acknowledge
it. That’s like trying to say RUN-DMC didn’t guide the eyes of commercial
America to hip-hop music.”

“peace… peace…
peace… peace… peace… peace… all praises
due.”

At
this point, Flex is vibing – I envision him in Utah, animated as he chills in a
tour hotel, palm jabbing in the air unraveling his philosophy with the same prodigal
ease that has carried him through emcee battles and rock tour stages. We could
keep kicking around thoughts, but it’s almost time to bounce, though, so I run
a few closing topics by him.

In
a few pictures, I’ve noticed Flex wearing caps from The Hundreds and MAJOR DC, one
of the capital’s premier streetwear boutiques; I ask him if he’s into sneaker
culture, any particular street brands. He chuckles – which, I’ve concluded, makes
it a good bet that Flex is reminiscing – and mentions hip-hop brand DURKL (“some
really stand-up guys…. Any time I go off on tour, they tell me to come through
and they bless me with some gear…. cats have been sweatin it!”) and, yes, MAJOR:
“My homey DJ Underdog helped found the store; and Ducky, those are my boys…. DJ
Underdog used to be my DJ, when I opened up for Lupe Fiasco, he would bring me
out. So it’s family…. Major’s a good store. I like Major.”

If
I this were a face-to-face interview, I’d probably give Flex a pound, or maybe
a dap; but he’s located at points unknown in Utah, and I’m in New Haven, so I say
peace and ask him for any last shout-outs:

FM: “Peace to my boys Federation, I’ll be in it til I die.

“Peace to my brother Jehosaphat, my brother KASH, my brother Leo.

“Peace to Kosha Dillz, peace to South Dakota, to everybody in the
605 area code, all of the DMV.

“Peace to Nomadic Wax – my boys Magee and Ben…– and peace to my mom
for raising me right and all praises to the Most High.”

Flex
Mathews can be reached on myspace and twitter: http://www.myspace.com/flexmathews
and http://www.twitter.com/flexmathews,
and The Handsome Grandson EP is available for download online.

The
Heroes for Haiti tour with Flex
Mathews and Kosha Dillz runs until March 1.

Feb
5th Abbey Pub w/ DJ Yoda – Chicago, IL

Feb 6th Raging Buffalo Resort w/ Slick Rick – Algonquin, IL

Feb 7th Yacht Club – Iowa Ciy, IA

Feb 8th Vaudevilles Mews – Des Moines, IA

Feb 9th Vaudevilles Mews w/ Trevor hall (early show) – Des Moines, IA

Feb 9th Peoples w/ Skee Lo – Des Moines, IA

Feb 10th Firebird – St Louis, MO

Feb 12th Nutty’s North w/ Mr Dibbs – Sioux Falls , SD

Feb 13th Reptile Palace – Oshkosh, WI

Feb 14th Schubas w/ Trevor hall – Chicago IL

Feb 15th Day Trotter – Rock Island, IL

Feb 19th Jewlicious Festival – Long Beach, CA

Feb 20th Jewlicious Festival – Long Beach, CA

Feb 21st Jewlicious Festival – Long Beach, CA

Feb 25th Pipeline Cafe w/ Matisyahu – Honolulu, HI

Feb 27th Kuhio Lounge w/ Matisyahu – Kapaa, HI

Feb 28th Lahaina Civic Center w/ Matisyahu – Lahaina, HI

Mar 1st Rockstarz w/ Matisyahu – Kailua Kona, HI

Interview with DJ Nio: Italy’s Top Global Hip-Hop Producer and DJ

Interview with DJ Nio (Italy)
Interviewed by Mikal Amin Lee (aka Hired Gun)

1. Please tell the people a little bit about Dj Nio, how you came into the culture, and a quick description of where you are at currently?

I’m from Genoa (Genova), Italy, and I’m a dj, mc, producer and Hip-Hop Activist. I started spinning records and writing my first rap in 1993, after listening to Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and the very first Italian rap groups. I felt in love with Hip-Hop Culture and I started buying records, rapping, making “graffiti” and even b-boyin’ a little. As a dj, I’ve been performing everywhere in my city and in many other towns in Italy since 1996, and I’ve been part of or worked with a lot of groups such Zena Art Core, maybe one of the most important crew in our country. I founded my group, Zero Plastica, in 2001 with my man Lure and since then we made a record, hundred gigs and so many mixtapes… so much music! Actually we’re recording our 2nd cd, while I’m working also with NYC underground label Nomadic Wax and many great artists. In these months I’m working with Ben Herson on “Mo’Glo”, a show on 91.5 New York Radio, where basically I mix world wide rap and reggae music.

2. What is Triburbana? What is its importance to the hip hop community? Its importance to the community at large?

TribUrbana is a non-profit cultural association I found in 2006 with other hip-hop and reggae artists. Basically we promote Hip-Hop Culture and Reggae good values through events, records and workshops. We made the biggest hip-hop event in Liguria -our region- ever; and we had some very good workshops with teens and youth workers since last year, when Mr.B a.k.a. berlusconi’s government cut almost any kind of financial resources to social activities like these.

We kept on building anway, and now we have a new office and a new studio that is considered the best place to make a hip-hop or a reggae record in our city; plus, we’re planning some big events for 2010.

3. Give us from your perspective the state of the italian hip hop community? Is it unified? What are the styles/themes going on? How similar or different is it from the American hip hop scene from your view?

Actually, Italy is living one of its worst moment in its history, not only due to berlusoni’s dictatorshit, but also due to people who still believe him and his bullshit. The state of Italian Hip-Hop community reflects the greatest part of the Italian society and it’s a product of a fiction-propaganda going on in the last 30 years through mr.b’s medias: not only the HH heads, but all the Italian community has definitely never been so divided and confused as in this moment. Too many people here aren’t able to see the whole big pitcure we’re living because they’re focused just on themselves as they were into the “Big Brother” TV series; at the same way, Italian rap is basically about braggadocio style, battling, posing, or self-mental-masturbation, and when rap is a little bit conscious and speaks about social problems, it’s seen as “communist”, “populist” or ignorant definitions like these. I know it’s incomprehensible, but it’s like that: after I’ve been travelling so much world wide, I can sadly tell you Italy is the 3rd world of hip-hop. Yo, we had and has very good mainstream and underground rap too, anyway, but it’s so damn rare!

Any kind of comparison between Italian and American Hip-Hop should be inappropriate because here it’s often seen/lived not as a culture but as a fashion or a teen-agers hobby, while there in the U.S. it’s a mass phenomenon, obviously. Well, we def could laugh at that, telling Italian rap is like the worst American soccer team!!!

4. Can you give us a brief history of the italian hip hop scene? When did it start? Name a few pioneers?

Hip-Hop Culture went to Italy with films like “Wild Style” and “Beat Street” in the early 80’s. Some Old School pioneers were The Next One a.k.a. Maurizio, Emilio & Marcella (Battle Squad), Dj Enzo, Dj Gruff, Mc Shark, Ice One; some of them are still pretty active. In the first 90’s Italian Rap music became a little bit mainstream thanks to artists like Frankie Hi-NRG Mc, Articolo 31 and Sottotono, but maintaining deep roots with punk mentality and the “posse movement” born in squat social centers. Due to Eminem’s “8 Mile”, Italian medias and major labels revamped interests in rap music, but actually our music business is just “floating”, I guess.

5. Who are some of your personal influences in the culture?

I’ve been influenced by so many artists, dj’s, mc’s and producers! The list is too long, but If you need some American names I can say: Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Tony Touch, the whole Native Tongues, Gangstarr, Nas, the Dungeon Family, Reflection Eternal, Common, dead prez, KRS One, Non-Phixion, Scarface, Rakim, Wu-Tang, etc. I’ve def been influenced by SensaSciou (that means “Out of breath”), the very first rap/raggamuffin group of my city, who where the first to rap and sing in Italian and in genovese dialect, in the first 90’s.

6. From your perspective what is the relationship between hip hop from around the globe and America?

Hip-Hop gives voice to people and has been saving so many guys and girls everywhere. U.S.A. are Hip-Hop’s father, but wherever you go around the globe you can see different and beautiful sons growing up! I think that in the beginning Hip-Hop is very tied to the Old School original values wherever it lands, but if and when come the money, any kind of problems follow. HH’s is a philosophy and a way of living, and everywhere there’re scientists and dumb folks, poets and prostitutes, if you know what i mean.

There’s a straight relationship between hip-hop and food, to me: although I’m Italian, I never eat pasta when I go abroad, I’m always looking for local and traditional cousine because I’m curious, I like to try different flavours; at the same way, I love when rap is mixed with local and traditional music, language, dialect and instruments!! That’s originality! That’s true Hip-Hop!!!

7. Does hip hop in italy play a role in informing/educating the people on issues happening inside the state?

I wish it was like that! If any Italian mc’s spit a little about our reality, probably we wouldn’t have the mafia at the governament!!! I know just some few artists that are pretty conscious and focused on concrete social issues, but unfortunatly they’re totally underground like me and Zero Plastica. Even if Chuck D said that “Rap is the Black CNN”, here it’s seems more an Italian comedy, a bad fiction, an horror b-movie… That’s why I love to deal with International Hip-Hop!
8. Besides your crew of course, who are some of the hip hop artists from Italy we should look out for?

Actually If you want to listen to some good Italian rap, you def have to hear Colle der Fomento, Tormento, Cor Veleno, Groovenauti, Assalti Frontali, Ghemon, Mistaman, Fabri Fibra; there’re also a lot of dope aerosol-artists, b-boys and dj’s -as the Scratch Busters, IDA World Champions 2009-.

Mohammed Yahya Takes On A World Full of Sin

Big up to Mozambican/UK MC- Mohammed Yahya – for bringing us this incredible piece !

Mozambican Lyrical Activist Mohammed Yahya teamed up with Global Faction, in Association with Chiraag Parmar to tackle the issues that we tend to avoid in his powerful and insightful music video!

Check it below..

Manhattanites: Taking on the World one Borough at a Time

By Camille Gutierrez

When events go wrong in our lives, it is tempting, almost human nature, to blame others. Upon realizing that things haven’t turned out as planned, taking into consideration personal accountability is perhaps the least desirable course of action. What would happen if we took a different route? One answer, among many lies within the tracks of the latest project from rap duo the Manhattentites. Comprised of solid beats, flows and lyrical content, this project revolves around a familiar theme of making a name for oneself. From observing the track titles I could not help but anticipate some inspirational material. What shield these inspirational tracks from predicability is a spirit of proactivity. MCs Mezmerize and Self Suffice don’t just mention changes in the community that need to be made; they urge them, express the dire need for them, become their advocates.

I enjoyed the first track, “Come On In” the most because I found it the strongest. Something about the song’s beginning- a brief “oldies but goodies” feeling melody laid softly over a piano suddenly crescendoes into a full blown beat – renders the track immediately attention grabbing. The verse, laying down disregard for haters considered a threat only amongst themselves, segues into a mind blowing chorus. It turns nearly universally familiar concepts like family, groceries and acts of maintaining the home into tropes of ownership, speaking to the power of self reliance. The narrators are confronted by the outsiders: “They ain’t gotta let us in we gettin in thru the back door/who you think built that back door in the back yard?” and rise to the occasion with certainty.

Granted the opportunity to write to Self, I gained a particular insight into the second track, “Which Way,” a steady jam describing how self conflict manifests into tension with others. The steady, jazz infused melody definitely takes a back seat to the lyrics. Sometimes the varied rhyme scheme and complex stories were difficult to follow, as the question posed is whether to follow the path seeking immediate gratification or stay true to oneself but getting little credit for it, at least initially. One particular line caught my attention: “I remember when Self Sufficient didn’t know he was a sole individual that was in control…” Was it “sole” individual or “soul” individual? So I asked him. It turns out this line plays with double entendre, or utilizing a word that has double meanings or interpretations. It turns out that Self creates a pun with three references- I expected nothing less clever. The first meaning of “He was a sole individual” refers to realizing the control we have over ourselves as we mature. The second meaning of “soul” refers to being a soul spitter, a term for a soulful Hip-Hop artist that Self pinned. The last meaning of sole refers to one of Self’s trademarks, which should be up to listeners to discover themselves. A narrative of such personal dimension could be misconstrued as difficult to relate to or even arrogant by listeners. However the underlying sense of sincerity and careful thought that remain throughout the track make it a meaningful one.

In contrast, “Feel You” engages listeners with universal subject matter- personal RESPONSIBILITY. The ongoing dialogue about people’s unwillingness to be accountable for themselves comes to the forefront and raises social issues: the lack of trust between government and citizens, the wait for justice, and how we ought to turn misfortune into power. I felt a little felt anxious hearing all this overwhelming subject matter brought to the forefront but song is balanced. The melody is pleasant as little chime-like rings mix with traffic noise in the background to create a real familiar sound. The singer’s voice sampled creates a nostalgia-inducing comfort. Overall, the phenomenon of how we often “do ourselves in” that the MCs comment upon is the truth.

In case you’re thinking this album is too heavy to enjoy, the final song is a pleasant surprise. Informed by Self that the song order on the album is worth noting, I found “Angel” a great song to end on because it departs strongly from the rest of the tracks but still has that sincerity that characterizes the rest of the album. As its name implies, the song has some romantic elements to it. My favorite line starts off the hook, “I don’t know why i was attracted to you…” which really represents how unconventional this piece. Unlike other “rap ballads” to which it might be compared “Angel” actually names some substantial characteristics that could make a lover attractive. Take a listen and decide for yourself.

I said this album made me think about personal accountability. We all need some realness in our lives so check it out.

Bocafloja – “Testigo” Ft Hache St

Big up to the mighty Bocafloja! Always making great music, he gives us another banger here..

Big up!

MOA Live at Georgetown!

African Underground Live at Georgetown

Mufumbiro By Sylvester feat. Sandy Soul. (Ugandan Hiphop)

A new video from Sylvester (of the duo Sylvester and Abramz) from Uganda.

Hong Kong Slam Jam with MC Yan

Reposed from:

http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/play/video-hong-kong-slam-jam-mc-yan-647681

It’s not an exaggeration to say that MC Yan is the godfather of Chinese hip hop. When he returned to Hong Kong in the early 1990s, after living for seven years in Paris, he became one of the first people to rap in Cantonese, taking advantage of the language’s natural richness and capacity for wordplay.

In 1993, he joined LMF, a group of musicians and MCs whose hard-edged lyrics excoriated Hong Kong’s government and raised questions about the city’s post-colonial identity. In 1998, LMF released its first album, which went on to sell more than 100,000 copies, a rare feat in a music industry dominated by major-label Cantopop idols.

After LMF disbanded in 2003, MC Yan followed his own path, working on conceptual art projects and music in his studio near Sha Tau Kok. He’s still deeply involved in Hong Kong’s fledgling hip hop scene, collaborating with underground MCs like Ghost Style. Mainstream hip hop groups like FAMA give MC Yan and LMF credit for inspiring them.

MC Yan is also behind Hong Kong’s first internet radio, Radio Dada, clothing line Ning Si Bu Qu, and the world’s furthest grafitti tag.

Find out more about LMF and their reunion tour at What’s that sound? LMF.

Read more: Video: Hong Kong Slam Jam with MC Yan | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/play/video-hong-kong-slam-jam-mc-yan-647681#ixzz0ZnytDVNM

Kae Sun – Lion On A Leash

The most captivating quality of up and coming artist Kae Sun is not the ease with which he switches from singing to rapping or the fact that his records are influenced by a variety of musical styles. But rather, it is his distinctively heart felt vocal delivery coupled with his ability to communicate passionately through poetic lyrics.

Born Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jr in Accra, Ghana Kae’s childhood was steeped in culture and community. His earliest musical inspiration came from diverse sources: the church choir, his dad’s soul records, the roots reggae blaring on the streets of Accra, traditional Ghanaian folk chants and the hip-life music on the radio. These elements fused to form the foundation of Kae Sun’s unique and powerful musical style that continues to change and grow.
October 2009 brought the release of Kae Sun’s Debut album “Lion On A Leash”. The release of this record has resulted in some great things for Kae, including a tour of Dubai and the UK in November. December seems to be off to a great start for Kae Sun. December 7th, iTunes announced their “Rewind 2009” a summary of the years best, Kae Sun’s album “Lion On A Leash” was included in the short list of the best Hip-Hop albums of the year which included albums from K’naan, Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and others.

If that wasn’t enough to make a great month a song featuring Kae Sun (Miles Jones Ft. Kae Sun – Coast To Coast) was picked up by CSI for Season 10 Episode 7, and CTV’s Music Of The Nation for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The song was also short listed for the Independent Music Awards Hip-Hop Song of 2009.

Look out for Kae Sun on tour across Canada winter/spring 2010, with international dates to follow.

Kae Sun – Lion On A Leash

For More on Kae Sun visit:

http://www.myspace.com/kaesun

http://www.kaesunmusic.com

Distant Relatives Panel LIVE at Nomadic Wax!

The Good Dance – dakar/brooklyn

The Good Dance – dakar/brooklyn

Part of the 2009 Next Wave Festival

Dec 16, 18 & 19 at 7:30pm

Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group and Compagnie 1er Temps

Choreographed by Reggie Wilson and Andréya Ouamba

Devoted to reinterpreting the movement languages of Africa and the Diaspora through a postmodern lens, Reggie Wilson creates fluid, grounded, and deeply expressive dances. Wilson and his Brooklyn-based company Fist & Heel Performance Group make their BAM debut with The Good Dance – dakar/brooklyn, a work representing the fruits of a collaboration with choreographer Andréya Ouamba and his Compagnie 1er Temps from Dakar, Senegal.

Combining Wilson’s formalist approach with Ouamba’s more improvisational style, the artists create a unique movement vocabulary as they draw from their families’ roots in the Mississippi Delta and the Congo to ask profound questions about migration and identity. Featuring an amalgam of African and African American music, movement, text, and vocals, The Good Dance explores the genealogy of culture to consider the influence—real and metaphorical—of Central African culture on world performance forms.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

70min, no intermission

Tickets: $20, 30

Costume design by Naoko Nagata

Lighting design by Jonathan Belcher

Pioneer Hip-Hop Activist Waterflow to be featured in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE’s “Distant Relatives”

“Distant Relatives” Event Dec. 12 – A Conversation on the Deep-Rooted Connections and Evolution of Reggae and Hip-Hop; Moderated by MTV VJ Sway, Made Possible by VTech;

National Geographic Live will wrap up its fall event series with a groundbreaking evening featuring some of hip-hop’s most legendary figures. “Distant Relatives,” sponsored by VTech, will introduce hip-hop icon Nas and Grammy-winning artist Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley in a panel discussion about the complex history and under-examined relationship between reggae and hip-hop.

Moderated by MTV VJ Sway Calloway, “Distant Relatives” will feature a multitude of the indusry’s key contributors, including the infamous Kool Herc, Rakim, Daddy U-Roy, King Jammy, Jeff Chang, Pat McKay, Waterflow and DJ Red Alert.

International record label Nomadic Wax organized the African representation for the panel, bringing in Papa Moussa Lo a.k.a. Waterflow.

Waterflow is at the forefront of Wagëblë, a Senegalese hip-hop group formed in 1997, and an international “voice for the voiceless”. Wagëblë’s messages are universal, but their primary fous is to empower the youth of Africa, bringing politics to the head of the global hip-hop scene.

Waterflow has participated in numerous tours, shows, panels and workshops with Nomadic Wax, and maintains a presence in peace organizations like One People and at the schools and universities of Sénégal. As one of the world’s leading hip-hoppers using music as a platform for social change, Waterflow’s presence at “Distant Relatives” will add a historic, global perspective to an already established group of panelists.

The event will take place at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington D.C. on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out, but the event will be streamed live and broadcast online for free at Natgeomusic.net.

An open-mic party will be hosted at the popular Washington nightclub, Zanzibar, following the event. Ticket holders will receive free admission with proof of purchase. For more information visit www.zanzibar-otw.com.

Hip-hop has evolved from its expressive African roots, traveled through the Caribbean and American colonies by way of the slave trade, sprouted up in Jamaica, and cemented itself in the streets of New York City as the multi-billion dollar indusry and all-encompassing culture we know today. Discussions will revolve around the social implications hip-hop and reggae culture have on the global community, and explore the origins of a music that traces back to African sounds and expressions.

About Nomadic Wax – Nomadic Wax is a fair-trade international record label and production company dedicated to producing and promoting global urban music and media.

About National Geographic Live:
National Geographic Live is the performing arts division of the National Geographic Society. It features live concerts, films and dynamic presentations by today’s leading explorers, scientists, filmmakers and photographers, covering a wide range of topics, including exploration and adventure; wildlife and habitat conservation; natural phenomena; world cultures and ancient history; and relevant issues such as climate change and sustainability. Proceeds from speaker series help fund future National Geographic initiatives in field research, exploration and education. For more information, visit www.nglive.org.

About Nat Geo Music:
Nat Geo Music, a division of National Geographic Entertainment, was established in 2007 to inspire people to care about the planet through the power of music. Content developed by Nat Geo Music is utilized across all National Geographic platforms, including online media, radio, print media, film and television. The Nat Geo Music label, launched in January 2009, records, releases and promotes modern music from around the globe from a variety of artists and genres. The Nat Geo Music Channel programs music from every corner of the planet and showcases global legends, local stars and up-and-coming artists. For more information, visit www.natgeomusic.net.

About ‘Distant Relatives’:
Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley and Nas, whose success as a duo was fermented in 2006 with the double-Grammy-Award-winning ‘Road to Zion,’ have created the album ‘Distant Relatives’ to explore and celebrate the correlations and connective history between reggae and hip-hop, paralleling both sounds to the motherland. ‘Distant Relatives’ is neither a remix nor a featured guest spot on a single track, but a fully collaborative effort opening new avenues of musical expression.

For interviews, media inquiries, or for information about other projects, etc. please contact Nomadic Wax via Ben Herson at (917) 225-8472 or ben@nomadicwax.com, and Magee McIlvaine at magee@nomadicwax.com.

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Words By : Amanda Macchia : mandee.macchia@gmail.com

Vox Sambou launches new video on World Aids Day

Haitian-born rapper Vox Sambou tackles the issue of the AIDS epidemic in his new video DiscriminaSida. The song is featured on his upcoming second LP, scheduled for release in 2010. Vox Sambou, a founding member of multilingual Hip Hop super group Nomadic Massive raps in Creole, Spanish, English and French. Accordingly, as well as to highlight the universal plight that is discrimination against people living with AIDS, the video is translated in three languages.

The theme of World AIDS Day 2009 hinges around leadership: Stop AIDS, keep the promise. World leaders are asked to be accountable for the discriminatory discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through.

According to Sambou-“the discrimination is many-fold. There is a lack of knowledge about prevention; lack of basic resources especially in the northern part of Haiti, where I’m from; lack of inclusion of the sick in the society”. The perverse effect of this discrimination is that around 220 000 Haïtian children are orphaned because their caretakers are sick, cannot get treated and are ashamed or ostracised from contributing to society.

The video was directed by Dominican filmmaker Ariel Mota and was shot on the island of Kyskeya, today Santo Domingo. The Video is Available at www.voxsambou.com

Source:
Robints Paul, alias Vox Sambou
514-992-5235
 info@voxsambou.com

Land of no hop By Sagol 59

When three years ago the famous rapper Nas (Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones) called his provocative album “Hip Hop is Dead,” sparking debates and long-winded discussions in the hip-hop community, he did not of course mean that the genre was “dead” commercially. Nas wanted to convey he that was fed up because hip-hop, without a doubt the most successful and profitable musical style of the past decade and a half, had lost its ideological compass, the fervor and sense of mission that had characterized it since its historic inception, somewhere back in the 1970s.

And if in the United States, the genre’s birthplace, the “intellectual” MCs are mourning the approaching death of the style as it celebrates its 30th birthday, what is happening here, in the Holy Land?
Well, to use something of a long-winded simile (don’t worry, it’s quite a common device in hip-hop), it appears that hip-hop in Israel is like a new immigrant who has managed to infiltrate into the country, but without a proper visa, without an “absorption basket” that affords him a safety net and without relatives who will help him acclimatize.

Here, the genre – which first saw the light of day, grew up and developed in the land where the possibilities are unlimited – is in a state of problematic breech birth, with its bottom already peeping out but its head still stuck deep in the dark of the womb. And the reasons for hip-hop’s absorption difficulties in Israel are many and varied.

This young country, which since the day it was founded has been fighting for its very existence, has an urgent and constant need for unity in the ideological ranks and the creation of an all-embracing consensus in thinking, which will help “us” fight the enemies “out there” effectively. And in Israel, the arts, including popular music, are also recruited to represent Israeli society’s ethos while giving unreserved support to the state institutions and shelving away criticism, doubts and questions in the locked emergency storerooms at the edge of consciousness.

In this way, certainly, the American hip-hop fan who has grown up on the sparks in the politics of Public Enemy, Ice Cube’s anti-establishment barbs or the subversion of ensembles like Dead Prez, Lynch Mob or Brand Nubian, would wonder at the fact that in Israel there are rappers whose songs are paid for by government institutions, and who sing in official campaign against drugs and in favor of road safety.

It appears that Israel is one of the only countries in the world where rappers are spokesmen for the government, the state and the army, which of course paves a more convenient way to being heard on the radio, certainly in a country where the radio station with the most listeners is owned by the government and belongs to the army.

Presumably those same wealthy people who own regional radio stations and television channels aren’t really losing sleep over a lack of political hip-hop on the airwaves or via satellite.

As on the television screen, in popular music including hip-hop the marginal groups in Israel are notable for their absence: When was the last time an Arab-Israeli ensemble was played on the radio? When did an angry Ethiopian rapper or an ultra-Orthodox hip-hop band appear on the screen? When was the last time a female – yes a female – Israeli rapper spat fire at the microphone and defended her gender?

Yes, there are a lot of all of these in Israel, but the distance from the centers of influence and funding does not afford them adequate exposure except in brief flashes as a gimmick on some unimportant talk show or as the topic of a documentary-anthropological film few people, if any, will get to see.

The concealment of the social and political aspect in the underground of Israeli hip-hop keeps many and important voices out of the public discourse, leaving the territory to the other half of the hip-hop equation: party songs, good times and escapism. And not that this is bad, but it is certainly less fascinating, varied or challenging.

Every fan of hip-hop knows that part of the mystique of the hip-hop and rap scene derives from the rapper’s ability to create for himself what some of the researchers of the genre call an “as-if personality,” a kind of alter ego, a mythical character whose adventures he delineates in his songs. Some of the lure inherent in the experience of hip-hop consumption is in the attempt to decipher and draw the thin and fuzzy line between imagination and reality, between the performer’s real life and the exaggeration and fantasy. Has Jay-Z really sold tremendous quantities of drugs? Is Too $hort really a wealthy street pimp who spends the greater part of the day getting free sexual services? Has 50 Cent really shot so many people? Did the late Notorious B.I.G. – “fat, black and ugly as always,” by his own definition – really smoke, deal and screw all that much?

The scientific answers here aren’t really important, but rap fans’ efforts to get to the facts through the screen of bytes and words created with so much virtuosity endow rappers with that aura necessary for the development of a successful career and an intriguing and attractive stage persona. To this is added the fact that in Israel the prevailing ethos is that of “the personal rock artist who writes about his life with absolute sincerity” that is – the constant expectation that the artist will always write with his heart’s blood, describing in his lyrics his genuine personal experiences in a way that is absolutely congruent with his real life, which prevents the creation of a real pop industry in Israel and wipes out any possibility of creating larger-than-life hip-hop characters.

We like our artists to be modest, simple, sincere, unpretentious, a bit unimaginative, a bit gray. In short: exactly the opposite of the flamboyant, boastful American rappers with deceptive biographies. In Israel it is impossible truly to create, and certainly to maintain, the pose of an American rapper for the simple reason that made-up names, myths and legends are foreign to Israeli culture.

Here everyone knows everyone else. We meet at the supermarket with a bag of dairy products, on the promenade with a child in the stroller or in a tent behind the scenes at some festival in the south with a dripping plastic cup in one hand and an egg-and-tuna sandwich in the other.

The inability to depict yourself as a legendary figure, possibly imaginary but always intriguing, also damages the ability to create fascinating and sustainable Israeli hip-hop myths.

There are also purely stylistic musical reasons for hip-hop’s acclimatization difficulties in Israel. It makes no difference how much hype there is in forums or on Facebook for hip-hop events – the simple and decisive fact is that black music in all its variety has never really been absorbed in Israel. Most Israelis have difficulty understanding and adopting the stylistic markers of black popular music and especially hip-hop. It makes no difference how often your aunts and uncles dance to the beat of some James Brown hit at a wedding, or how many times we hear Aretha Franklin’s “It’s raining men” or “Think” on the Galgalatz radio station, the fact is that the local audience is not familiar with the enormous catalogs of Brown, Franklin, Stevie Wonder, the O’Jays, Marvin Gaye or Isaac Hayes.

The Israeli audience, in any case, has always favored minor melodiousness, perhaps under the influence of Russian music and the pensive folk songs that helped establish what is known as “songs of the good-old Land of Israel” from the pre-state period, through the army entertainment troupes of the 60s to their heirs, the contemporary rockers.

It cannot be helped: The average Israeli listener will always prefer a British New Wave ballad or a melancholy guitar solo by Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and the like. Play him a track of hip-hop, even the most classic of them, and most probably you will encounter the usual response of “but where’s the tune?” Or, in a worse case: “There are too many words here!”

At the textual level, too, Israeli hip-hop suffers from a worrying meagerness. Afro-American rappers benefit from a long verbal tradition of sharp witticisms, exchanges of verbal blows, the invention of unique types of slang and battles of sophisticated or humorous verbal improvisations. Local rappers have to try to invent new slang out of nearly nothing and forms of expression that hadn’t existed previously, and they can’t be found in biblical texts, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s renewed Hebrew or even Dahn Ben Amotz’s “modern” sabra language.

In any case, “Motherfucker” from Jay-Z or Snoop Dogg is always going to flow into the ear better than a sharp benzona (what Shakespeare would have called “whoreson”) from their Israeli equivalents.

Add to all this a monolithic, corrupt and slow-moving music industry, which operates in total contradiction to the essential immediacy of issuing rap songs and albums, the attitude toward rap as a passing gimmick, the fact that the tastemakers in the Israeli mass media do not yet appreciate rap and hip-hop with all the elements that accompany them as an “art form” – and you get a style that is teetering on a tightrope between reserved recognition and total scorn.

Even the Internet explosion, the home studio revolution, file-sharing, social networks and the ease of getting musical materials out into the world have in fact caught Israeli rap in an unripe phase. It is a style that, despite quite a number of promising and interesting works and steady growth in the number of those engaging in it, has not yet found its determined, clear and just voice on its way to integrating into the Israeli cultural fabric. The obvious question then is not, to paraphrase Nas, whether Israeli rap is dead. The real question is: Has Israeli rap been born yet? Only time (and good songs and successful albums) will tell.

Sagol 59 (Khen Rotem) is a rapper, musician and music critic. Originally published in http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1127414.html

Poetes Fyziks Video – DJ Magee

The 9th Annual Waga International Hip Hop Festival took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in October 2009. Hip hop artists and activists from all over Africa converged on the tiny city of Ouagadougou for two weeks of bridge-buidling, networking, performances, and workshops. Poetes Fyziks, a highly controversial group from Gabon, met up with filmmaker Magee McIlvaine and decided to shoot a very quick music video during one of the breaks in the middle of the conference. Shot in 25 minutes, this video represents the importance of international collaborations and the power of festivals/events like the Waga Hip Hop Festival to bring people together.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE TO PRESENT RECORDING ARTISTS NAS AND DAMIAN ‘JR. GONG’ MARLEY FOR SPECIAL PROGRAM

‘Distant Relatives’ Event Dec. 12 Will Feature Hip-Hop and Reggae Legends
In Conversation Moderated by MTV VJ Sway, Made Possible by VTech
WASHINGTON (Nov. 17, 2009)—National Geographic Live will conclude its fall event series with a one-of-a-kind evening with some of hip-hop’s most legendary figures. “Distant Relatives,” sponsored by VTech, will feature hip-hop icon Nas and Grammy-winning artist Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, son of Bob Marley, in a discussion about the often under-appreciated evolution of and deep-rooted connections between reggae and hip-hop.

Joining them for this conversation, moderated by MTV VJ Sway, will be key players in the development of both musical genres, including Kool Herc, Rakim, Daddy U-Roy, King Jammy, Jeff Chang, Pat McKay, Waterflow and DJ Red Alert.

The event will take place at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at www.nglive.org, via telephone at (202) 857-7700, or in person at the National Geographic ticket office between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Tickets purchased online can be picked up in the lobby prior to the event.

Hip-hop, now a multibillion-dollar industry, originated as a vital form of cultural expression in Africa that was translocated by the slave trade to the Caribbean and the American colonies. It blossomed a half century ago in the dance halls of Kingston, Jamaica, and soon migrated to the parks jams and recreational centers of New York City, where the culture became known as hip-hop.
This evolution forms the basis of the “Distant Relatives” music project, a collaborative effort by Marley and Nas, which will comprise an album set for release in early 2010, a documentary film, performances and a series of public discussions, the first of which is this event hosted by National Geographic.

An open-mic party will be hosted at popular Washington nightclub Zanzibar following the event. National Geographic ticket holders will receive free admission with proof of purchase. For more information on the Zanzibar event, visit www.zanzibar-otw.com.

This event also will be streamed live and broadcast online at www.natgeomusic.net.
About National Geographic Live

National Geographic Live is the performing arts division of the National Geographic Society, featuring live concerts, films and dynamic presentations by today’s leading explorers, scientists, filmmakers and photographers, covering a wide range of topics, including exploration and adventure; wildlife and habitat conservation; natural phenomena; world cultures and ancient history; and relevant issues such as climate change and sustainability. Proceeds from speaker series help fund future National Geographic initiatives in field research, exploration and education. For more information, visit www.nglive.org.

About Nat Geo Music

Nat Geo Music, a division of National Geographic Entertainment, was established in 2007 to inspire people to care about the planet through the power of music. Content developed by Nat Geo Music is utilized across all National Geographic platforms, including online media, radio, print media, film and television. The Nat Geo Music label, launched in January 2009, records, releases and promotes modern music from around the globe from a variety of artists and genres. The Nat Geo Music Channel programs music from every corner of the planet and showcases global legends, local stars and up-and-coming artists. For more information, visit www.natgeomusic.net.
About VTech

VTech is one of the world’s largest suppliers of corded and cordless telephones and a leading supplier of electronic learning products. It also provides highly sought-after contract manufacturing services. Founded in 1976, the Group’s mission is to be the most cost-effective designer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality consumer electronics products and to distribute them to markets worldwide in the most efficient manner. For further information on VTech’s blogs and its array of products, please visit www.vtechphones.com.

About “Distant Relatives”

“Distant Relatives” is an album created by two great artists to explore and celebrate the correlations and deep-rooted connections between reggae and hip-hop, tracing both sounds back to the African motherland that is both the cradle of humanity and the wellspring of mankind’s music. Unlike all previous collaborations between Jamaican and American artists, “Distant Relatives” is neither a remix nor a featured guest spot on a single track but a fully collaborative effort filling an entire album, opening new avenues of musical expression. Who better to fulfill this long-overdue mission? The youngest son of the legendary Bob Marley, and a hip-hop icon since 1991: Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Nas, whose success as a duo was proved in 2006 with the double-Grammy-Award-winning “Road to Zion.”

Toubab Krewe Back in NYC!

Nov 19, 2009
upstairs
Doors @ 8 PM
$15.00 Adv

It was only four years ago that the Bonnaroo staple and culturally transcendent ensemble known as Toubab Krewe crystallized as a cult favorite of jam festival-goers and African music enthusiasts. While most of their classmates at Wilson College were having identity crises, the quintet was redefining the notion of identity altogether, earning a grant to travel to the Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali to study traditional African instruments and techniques. They emerged having fully incorporated their African education with the folk and rock they grew up playing together.

The Krewe are two percussionists and three string players alternating between electric guitars, basses, the souk, kamel ngoni, and the kora. Their mostly instrumental, heavily improvised music recalls jam-bands like Phish, the Americana folk of Deer Tick and the Afropop tambours of Osibisa. Their 2005 debut LP, consisting primarily of re-arranged African standards, turned heads in the realm of “world music” and solidified their international, acclaim. Afropop Worldwide raved that the release “set a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music.”
Their most recent album Live At The Orange Peel is an on-location performance recording featuring all new material including the surf riffs of “51 Ft. Ladder” and the lush percussion of “Maliba.” The album is an incredibly layered and bountiful offering produced by the Grammy-winning Steven Heller (Chet Atkin, David Wilcox). At Santos Party House on November 19th, they will be resurrecting that magic on the best sound system for live music in the city. The coalescence of many musical strains will no doubt reach an unprecedented climax.

“A Toubab Krewe show typically begins in the past, with a brief percussive disquisition on West African rhythms; gradually picks up velocity as more surf, jazz, dub, and hip-hop ideas are stirred into the mix; and ultimately climaxes in a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy.” (THE VILLAGE VOICE)
TOUBAB KREWE HOMEPAGE

BREAK SCIENCE (closing)
BREAK SCIENCE ON MYSPACE

MAMARAZZI (opening)

MAMARAZZI ON MYSPACE

Tickets available at:
OTHER MUSIC
15 East 4th St
New York, NY 10003

Facebook Event

Global Hip-Hop and the People Behind the Tables (P.B.Ts)

By Marissa A. Gutiérrez-Vicario

Global hip-hop was alive and well in New York City on October 29, 2009, during the famous annual CMJ festival. Like the opening to any other hip-hop showcase, the DJ (DJ Boo) spun a diverse mix of the old school and the contemporary. Slowly, hip-hop aficionados and curious CMJ pass holders began to flood the floors of the 92YTribeca, where the music was loud and the energy even louder. However, unlike any other hip-hop showcase, Nomadic Wax and the Bloom Effect brought together some of the world’s finest underground performers, spanning nine different countries and four different continents, from Amsterdam to Accra, all brought together by the evening’s boisterous host, Blitz the Ambassador, representing Ghana.

Unlike any other hip-hop aficionado, I found myself with two other Nomadic Wax supporters, behind the merchandise table, representatives of the ten-year old hip-hop record label. Benjamin Herson founded nomadic Wax in 1999 after an initial journey to Senegal where he stumbled upon a very vibrant and active local hip-hop scene in Dakar. Ten years later, the record and production company has expanded to include the work of over sixty different artists, now including many outside of Africa.
There are several advantages and disadvantages to being a merch girl. The advantage is that one feels completely immersed in the experience, being there from practically start to finish. I met up with the other volunteers right about when Nomadic Massive, a highly energetic nine band person from Canada, Haiti, and France was completing their sound check and later on in the evening, as the final act, saw them wrap up the showcase. Yet simultaneously, a “Person Behind the Tables” (or more affectionately known as, the P.B.Ts) get to enjoy concerts from a different perspective and have the opportunity to assess the crowd’s overall reaction to the performers. For instance, we were flooded with CD requests from Coolooloosh, a hip-hop duo from Israel who seemed to be a real favorite of the crowd.

Yet the best part of being a P.B.T, is the appreciation one receives throughout the evening. Blitz the Ambassador made sure to interject his commentary with shout-outs to the P.B.Ts and announcements to support the artists. The artists themselves were the most appreciative. At Versaris, making their first visit to the US ever from Spain, and who had commenced the evening, made sure to come through and greet us. La Melodia, a duo from Amsterdam, definitely one of the favorites of the P.B.Ts, gave us hugs and wished us well. By the end of the evening, all of us had collected the autographs of almost every set of performers for the evening, another unknown perk of being a hidden, yet respected, P.B.T.
As with anything, a word of caution: there is one great disadvantage to being a P.B.T. It is vital for anyone seriously contemplating becoming a P.B.T to take the following into consideration. While one can definitely attempt dancing behind a merchandise table, it is not advised. For instance, while the rest of the crowd was free to jump, sway, and stomp to the incredible beats of Morocco’s Alfaress, us P.B.Ts were confined to careful swaying. While others were partying with La Melodia, us P.B.Ts were selling CDs and Nomadic Wax t-shirts. Although we don’t regret it in the least and took our mission very seriously, on the extreme end, it can be considered a hip-hop lover’s nightmare. A nightmare where one is at an incredibly fun concert and being exposed to a diverse new set of underground performers, only to look down and find that your feet have sunk into the earth and you can no longer move in a way that the music truly deserves.
All in all, my first P.B.T. experience was well worth it: the six hours we were behind the tables felt maybe like one or two. There was never a dull moment — all of the artists in the showcase were well selected and were immensely enjoyed by the crowd. The crowd itself was fantastic; while they may not have understood the lyrics of each performer, they responded in the universal language of dance and cheering. Personally, I was exposed to the world of the P.B.T.s, whom I now know not to simply walk by, but acknowledge them for having some of the best seats in the house.

Waga Hip-Hop Wrap Up 2010

Written by Magee McIlvaine

-October ‘09, Washington DC.

Its a chilly 40 degrees outside…overcast, windy, its been raining the past few days. I keep asking myself- why don’t I live in West Africa?

I returned home to DC a few days ago from a 10 day trip to Burkina Faso. As I stepped off the plane, ominious NE winter winds greeted me, forcing me to pull a jacket up over my brand new Burkina Faso soccer jersey (of course i gotta rep!). Back in the US, cold, yet satisfied, and with a bag full of CD’s and footage.

I was in Burkina Faso for the 9th annual Waga Hip Hop Festival, held each year in Ouagadougou, the capitol city of Burkina Faso, West Africa.

The homeys at Stay Calm Productions and Umane Culture had organized two screenings of our film Democracy in Dakar. The screenings would be the West Africa premiere of the film. After a two day journey criss-crossing the continent with Air Ethiopia, I was picked up at the airport in dusty Ouagadougou by Mathurin aka Cool Matt J, co-head organizer of the festival. An amazing guy, Mathurin is responsible for most of the graphic and web work of the Burkina Faso hip hop community. His team and him have created an incredible hip hop festival that pulls in the best in International Hip Hop Talent each year, all in tiny Burkina Faso. Amazing.

We drove past the famous FESPACO Headquarters (the most famous and oldest African Film Festival. It was an honor for me just to be near it!), through the paved and not-so-paved streets, weaved around motorcyclists and arrived at Waga Jungle, a recording studio/house where I was to stay for the next few days. The studio is run by a former french paramilitary soldier and is one of the oldest and most well respected studios in the country. The studio has supported most of Burkina Faso’s artists at some point in their career. I said hello…and went straight to sleep (over 24 hours in a plane to get there. DC-Rome-Addis Ababa-Lome-Ouagadougou is not the most direct of flight-paths).

Several hours later, I woke up and took my first moto ride back into the city. The motorcycle immediately got a flat tire, so my arrival at festival headquarters was somewhat delayed. At the French Cultural Center, I got my first look at other Festival attendee’s and participants. I finally got up with Shivani of Big Up GB (Guiniea Bissau. Nuff respect). Was great to get up with her after so many emails. Peep the project we did together here: http://nomadicwax.bandcamp.com/track/big-up-gb-mixtape

I also got up with Abramz from the Breakdance Uganda project. What a great guy! Another guy I had been building with via email and whose work I had been admiring from a distance for a long time. It was a pleasure to finally build with him, and seem him learning french and tirelessly building with Burkinabe b-boys.

We moved on from there to my first West African emcee battle. The outdoor arena was filled to capacity, with people sitting on the walls that surrounded the theater. While most of the puchlines (in french), went over my head, the crowd enjoyed it immensely, the emcees were on point, and the freestyling was legit. The rule stands, even in Burkina Faso- spit a written in a battle and get booed off.

The next few days consisted of motorcycle, meeting, filming, motorcycle, meeting, filming, motorcycle…. I met with many different emcees, underground to famous (Ouagadougou Famous). Highlights included Faso Kombat. We shot an awesome video for their new single for their third album (to be released soon inshallah). I got to sneak peak their new album and its fire.

I got up with Burkina Faso heivyweight Smockey and we talked hip hop and politics. I saw revolutionary Thomas Sankara’s tomb, hidden away in an overgrown cemetery. I got up with international superstars Yelen and watched as they performed a unique, organic hip hop acoustic track together in multiple languages in their living room. I met up with many different groups. One of the other highlights was building and shooting the new posse cut video for Burkina Faso’s hardcore hip hop underground stars OBC. OBC, with its over 30 affiliate members, has a very Wu-Tang meets Africa feel, but don’t get it twisted. These guys are completely original. I really enjoyed shooting the video with them, each of the 7 verses in a different neighborhood of the whole city, each emcee with his own unique style of delivery and inflection. Watch out for that video, its going to be a banger.

In exploring the neighborhoods and meeting with all the members of the local Ouaga scene, I missed much of the days’ events during the conference.

Our two screenings of Democracy in Dakar were very well attended. The first night produced an extremely interesting post-screening discussion with local emcees comparing the scene in Senegal to the one in Burkina Faso. I trekked to each of the performances each night.

The highlights for me where Mic the 7th, currently based out of Toronto, and AmKoullel, representing Mali. AmKoullel put in more work for his set than most emcees I have ever seen. The post-show Sound System’s where dope, as the mic was opened up to the entire local scene (shout out to Fils du Ghetto- too famous). Moona from Benin also represented as one of the few female hip hop acts. Also, shout out to King Ayisoba (Ghana)’s snowshoe sandals. I’ve never seen anything like it.

A week in Ouaga heat and dust had me exhausted. But the ciphers, the energy of the hip hop scene there (so hungry!) kept me going. I was energized by the skills and unique styles represented by the different Ouaga emcees that I met. I can’t wait for Waga Hip Hop Festival 2010. Shout out to Mathurin, Renaud (Stay Calm Prod.), and Ali Diallo. Nuff respect.

Global Hip Hop Breaks Down Barrier’s NYC International Hip-Hop Event

Global Hip Hop Throwdown
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149654867152&ref=ts

Start Time:
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 7:00pm
End Time:
Friday, October 23, 2009 at 2:00am
Location:
92YTribeca
Street:
200 Hudson Street
City/Town:
New York, NY

Global Hip Hop Breaks Down Barrier’s NYC International Hip-Hop Event

NYC- Global music and media company NOMADIC WAX & public relations/social media/music promoter THE BLOOM EFFECT have joined forces once again to co-produce this year’s CMJ GLOBAL HIP-HOP THROW-DOWN. The event will unite the talents of a creative and diverse group of lyricists, DJs and visual artists from The Netherlands, the Middle East, Canada, Europe, and North Africa. The event takes place at the 92YTribeca http://www.92ytribeca.org 200 Hudson St- Downtown Tribeca on Thursday October 22nd 2009. The event will begin at 7 PM and will last until 3 AM and will feature live international hip-hop music and DJs spinning music and a freestyle session ending the night.

The College Music Journal Marathon (CMJ Marathon) is New York’s largest music, film and media conference and will host hundreds of live performances, films, lectures and networking events. “CMJ is a perfect place for a global hip-hop event like this” said The Bloom Effect CEO, Fiona Bloom. “An event that unites MCs from a variety of backgrounds, countries and nationalities is exactly the kind of event that we want to be promoting at a global music conference like CMJ. I’m still baffled that we’re the only showcase of its kind. As big as the movement’s growing- 1 Intl Hip Hop showcase doesn’t really give it the attention it deserves but we promise to deliver a night of historic measures”.

“The CMJ Global Hip-Hop Throwdown has been the only event at CMJ to support international Hip-hop talent. It’s really a true honor to have artists like this fly in from all over the world and is testament to the fact that international hip-hop is becoming more accepted by the mainstream.” said Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson.

This years event will be hosted by Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana) and will feature rising stars; Coolooloosh (Israel), La Melodia (Holland), Nomadic Massive (Canada/Haiti), At Versaris (Spain) and Alfaress (Morocco) as well as DJ Boo (Philippines/US) and DJ Phat Phillie (Croatia) who will be playing international hip-hop.

“It’s incredible to see such diversity in an event like this” said host Blitz The Ambassador. “To have artists from all over the world performing on the same stage together shows how global and powerful hip-hop culture has become”.

This years event will be sponsored by WNYE (New York Public Radio), Fusicology, World Hip-Hop Market, Myxer, End of the Weak, Popular Printing, Hip Hop Loves, MVMT and others.
URL’s of artists:

Phat Phillie (Croatia) – http://www.myspace.com/phatphillie
DJ Boo (Philippines) – http://www.myspace.com/djboo
Coolooloosh (Israel) – http://www.myspace.com/coolooloosh.com
La Melodia (Holland) – http://www.lamelodia.com
Alfaress (Morocco) – http://www.myspace.com/akaalfaress
At Versaris (Spain)- http://www.myspace.com/atversaris
Nomadic Massive (Canada, Haiti, France) – http://www.nomadicmassive.com

Ben Herson
Founder/Creative Director
Nomadic Wax

(917) 225-8472
AIM: nomadicwax
Skype: nomadicwax
ben@nomadicwax.com

http://www.nomadicwax.com

http://www.benherson.com

Global Hip Hop Throwdown
October 22nd 2009 – 7 PM to 2 AM

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