Hip-Hop is not just what’s on TV and on the Radio. It’s all around us on a local, national and international level. If you have any dope events you’d like to submit, feel free. And if you know artists who could benefit from some of the things I talk about, then check out the links provided.
Sunday 11/05: As I mentioned last week, End Of The Weak (E.O.W) hosted challenge no. 1 of season no. 7 or their emcee challenge. Competing in this particular challenge were Raks One, Lyric, Influence and Kosha Dills. E.O.W’s challenge is unique because while the rappers are competing against each other, it’s not just them berating each other all night. There are rounds that test their beat juggling abilities, written skills, tag team skills, and freestyle skills, where they have to pull a random object out of a box and rap about it. Tonight’s winner was Lyric. I’m excited about Lyric winning because not too many women enter the challenge. In addition to the challenge, E.O.W. hosts their open mic every Sunday at The Pyramid (NYC) and it’s open to anyone. Another cool thing about them is they’ll work with you if you’re dope and you need a showcase to promote you’re music. I’m not sure when the next emcee challenge is but anyone interested in End Of the Weak should visit www.endoftheweak.com or myspace.com/endoftheweak. E.O.W. is not just a New York-based open mic.
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Monday 11/06: Blast Off Productions is an up and coming beat crew out of New York City, specializing in Hip-Hop, Soul and R&B. They had a listening party tonight at club Snitch for their latest project, The Remixtape, where they remixed Hip-Hop songs to their own beats. The turn out was pretty good and Jeru Da Damaja even made an appearance. The Blast Off Productions crew is currently shopping beats to Shady Records, Derrty Entertainment and more. I visited their myspace page as well as their website and one thing I can say about them is that they are musically versatile and are not afraid to experiment. They might be New Jacks but they have an impressive clientele list including, Blackalicious, Jurassic 5 and Heiroglyphics for music production, Common, Kanye West, Fat Joe and Meshell Ndegeocello for music engineering and mixing, and many more. Check them out. They may have the beat you’re looking for.
www.blastoffproductions.com
myspace.com/blastoffproductions
Thanks Frank for this tid bit.
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Tuesday 11/07: Femmixx.com and Mocha Works Marketing presented their second annual “She’s My DJ” scratch and mix competition. Hosted by VJ Ralph McDaniels, the competitors were DJ Chela, DJ Dapper Don, DJ Mo Love and last year’s grand champion, DJ Sparkle(s). DJ Sparkle(s) won first place again this year and the runner up was DJ Chela, who was also runner up last year. DJ Sparkle(s) definitely did her thing but I think DJ Chela came back with more fire this year. The judges were DJ Jazzy Joyce, The Wonder Twinz (from The Connex List), Lady D. Wells from Kiss FM, and C. Truth from WHCR Radio. DJ Scratch was also in the building, as well as Tiye Phoenix, who blessed the crowd with a performance.
Wednesday 11/08: Nas’ ex, Carmen Bryan is slated to release her tell-all book entitled It’s No Secret, on Nov. 28th. I previewed some of it and it’s along the lines of Karrine “Superhead” Steffans’ Confessions of a Video Vixen, but a little less sordid. One thing that turned me off though, was that in the book’s subtitle, she is referred to as the “Hip-Hop Helen of Troy.” No comment.
Thursday 11/09: Raekwon has been planning a follow-up to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx for a while now, but plans have been upped a notch. Raekwon will be dropping the album on Aftermath. In addition to production from Dr. Dre, there will also be production by The RZA, Scram Jones, DJ Scratch and the late great J Dilla. No official release date has been set.
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R.I.P Ed Bradley
Friday 11/10: The Game made Hip-Hop history with the 12-minute remix of his single, “One Blood.” Hiphopdx reported earlier that the remix features about 20 emcees from every region of the United States. I tried to listen to the whole thing but my attention span wouldn’t let me finish. However, I respect what he tried to do. It can be heard on his myspace page.
Myspace.com/thegame
R.I.P Gerald Levert
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Saturday 11/11: Kingdom Come is beginning to leak. I heard it today and I can definitely see Jay-Z’s growth and maturity as a rapper. Overall it sounds pretty good but it’s hard to tell whether it’s going to be a classic because of course, there will probably be more changes and modifications made by the time the official release comes out.
Questions? Tid bits? Comments?
Starr.Rhett@gmail.com
