The Underground Report (Paid Dues, EMC, QN5)

Last month, we let you all know that Paid Dues would be coming back for a second round. The Independent Hip-Hop Festival is hitting California
March 24. Since we last updated, a few artists have been confirmed and
new information has been obtained, so we will hit you with a run down
of the line up now.

Felt
(Murs and Slug), Ant, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Blackalicious, Jean
Grae, Visionaries, Mr. Lif, Cage, Zion I & The Grouch, Devin Da
Dude, Evidence (w/ Alchemist), Pigeon John, Los Nativos and Hangar 18
with DJ’s Mr. Len and Maji. It will be hosted by Murs‘ fellow LL representative Lucky I Am. Let’s hope he gets a better reception than Chingo Bling got last year.

Once
again, for those who missed it: Tickets will be available February 2.
However, there is something that just came up: MySpace users can cop
tickets a day in advance, for $5 less. More info can be found on the Paid Dues profile.

Chang Weisberg (of Guerrilla
Union ) released a statement noting that Paid Dues may actually become a national tour and a documentary film soon.

“It’s not an easy thing to do, but Murs
has put himself out there to support his friends and colleagues. The
support from artists, labels, managers, media partners, and agents has
been overwhelming,” he added.

A fellow legend who will not be at Paid Dues is Bicasso. He recently spoke with us about his upcoming tour and the possibility of the new Living Legends LP…sort of.

When asked about the new LL
album, he had little to say. While unable to offer any real details, he
did let us know that the crew may still record together. Once Murs didn’t tour with the camp, the rumors began flying around. But Bicasso
knows he’s got to hold his own for now so he’s hitting the road.

“The road’s been good…about to hit it again with OneBlock [Radius] and get back at

’em, cuz you can’t let the fans forget what it feels like,”

he told us.

The dates for this tour are below:

Golden State of Mind Tour w/ One Block Radius

02.01.07 Portland, OR, USA (With Scarub – no OBR)

02.02.07 Salt Lake City, UT, USA

02.03.07 Denver, CO, USA

02.05.07 Tempe, AZ, USA

02.06.07 Tucson, AZ, USA

02.09.07 Sacramento, CA, USA

02.10.07 San Francisco, CA, USA

So, he won’t be at Paid Dues, but Slug and Ant will. Which reminds me
that Rhymesayers recently launched their YouTube Channel. Currently,
there are only ten videos on the channel, but I expect that to grow
soon. The batch of clips include P.O.S’ latest vid which features Slug and old favorites such as Atmosphere’sSay Hey There from ’06. Take a look, just for fun.

Now, last month, we also gave readers a look at EMC, the new group formed by Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Stricklin and Punchline. Recently, we spoke with Strick, and he
let us in on what’s in store.

First up, the crew may just release solo mixtapes. Strick’s The Resume is already finished. It’s got some heat and it features Masta Ace, Punch, Words, Royce Da 5’9 and Skoob of DasFX. The crew has already filmed their latest video 4 Brothers, which you can find in our Multimedia Section. Expect more from EMC in our next installment.

In somewhat related news, the QN5 Fam is prepping the release of Asterisk 4, which features new music from their line up including acts like CunninLynguists, Tonedeff, PackFM, Session, Mr. SOS. This comp will include production from Domingo, Kno, Deacon, Elite & Tonedeff.

Sean Price, Masta Ace, Bad Seed, Copywrite, Poison Pen will join the cast on this project. It features highly anticipated work for Tone and Kno’s Chico and the Man project as well as a track from Scribble Jam Champ Illmaculate.

What’s that? You want a tracklist? You got it:

Finally, Jin has released the video for his first single off the ground breaking American Born Chinese record, which was made in Cantonese.

Want a preview? Hey, there are subtitles. Here’s the vid for his first single.