I’ve been ODing on house music since I came back from Miami. I realized I just like love music. I can appreciate most anything, but my first love is still hip hop. Seriously, how can you deny something as raw as this:
The trip to Miami was outstanding! I met a lot of new people, got exposed to a lot of new music, and overall just had fun. Part 1 of pics follows:
First meal was at a sushi spot, which I won’t name. Food kind of sucked!
After we ate, we walked to the beach real quick. Honestly I expected we would never make it to the beach, so I didnt even bring my flipflops OR any shorts. What a dummy I was for that one…
SK and applejuice enjoying the beach.
Since Red Bull Music Academy was paying for our stay, we went to a few panels they were sponsoring. This is leroy burgess, his contributions to music are crazy. He’s a founding member of black ivory, who I’ve sampled a few times, and many others have as well. I gotta get the pic from SK, but I asked Leroy how he felt about producers sampling his music. He said he likes it, and that if music he made years ago can inspire someone today, then he’s all for it. He also mentioned getting unexpected royalty money being nice, haha
The last day we were there, my homegirl Michelle from Toronto came to hang out. I had to show her the beach real quick because the rest of the day was gonna be nonstop!
That night our first stop was a party Red Bull sponsored near the hotel. Each table we sat at had a bucket of red bull, orange juice, cranberry juice, glasses and ice, and an unopened bottle of vodka. We stayed here for a while and enjoyed the music and drinks
The next spot was to Skybar to check out The Rub (we’d been talking about it the whole week because we really wanted to see them). Thanks to the homie Kaos, we didn’t have to stand in line at all. There were two parties going on, one by the pool, and one inside with a dope bar and club environment. We thought the rub was inside so we went there to hang out. The rub wasn’t there, but dj mauricio was, and he was MASHING OUT on the set! We had a lot of fun inside
Eventually Michelle and I thought “i bet the rub is outside.” So we ventured out only to find out they already finished spinning! We expressed our disappointment to DJ Eleven and just chilled outside while Cosmo finished up before heading back to Moshi Moshi for some 3 am sushi (where we met up with a wasted DJ SK, haha)
There was a lot more that happened but I’m still waiting on everyone’s pics to tell the stories. Next up is a post from the stuff that happened when I got back from Mia, cause I was going nonstop the whole weekend!
What can I say? Since the end of February I’ve been constantly busy. Steady gigs, out of town trips (including a trip to NYC which included a flight there and a 9 hour drive back home), and the 9 to 5 haven’t left much time to blog unfortunately. This week is no different. It’s time for winter music conference. It’ll be my first time there, and my first time in Miami as well. I need this trip for a number of reasons, but that’s another topic entirely.
Also, if you’ve never seen it, you should check out this documentary called “Cocaine Cowboys” It’s about how cocaine basically built up miami to the city it is today. One guy talks about how he once gave a helping hand to a US customs boat by towing them inland, all the while having 300-400 kilograms of cocaine in the belly of his boat. Incredible.
I was going to write this long drawn out post about what Dr. King did should be appreciated by EVERYONE in America, and how some parts of his dream still have not been realized/are being destroyed. Then I saw a video/read the speech that Barack Obama gave at Dr. King’s church in Atlanta. Perfect.
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: The Great Need of the Hour
Atlanta, GA | January 20, 2008
The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.
And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:
“Unity is the great need of the hour” is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.
What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Unity is the great need of the hour — the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it’s the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.
I’m not talking about a budget deficit. I’m not talking about a trade deficit. I’m not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.
I’m talking about a moral deficit. I’m talking about an empathy deficit. I’m taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother’s keeper; we are our sister’s keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.
We have an empathy deficit when we’re still sending our children down corridors of shame — schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.
We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can’t afford a doctor when their children get sick.
We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.
We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.
And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.
So we have a deficit to close. We have walls — barriers to justice and equality — that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.
Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we’ve come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We’ve come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily — that it’s just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.
All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.
But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes — a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.
It’s not easy to stand in somebody else’s shoes. It’s not easy to see past our differences. We’ve all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart — that puts up walls between us.
We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don’t think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.
For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays — on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.
We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.
So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others — all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face — war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.
But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.
The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country’s ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.
And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.
That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words — words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.
He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.
That is the unity — the hard-earned unity — that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope — the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.
The stories that give me such hope don’t happen in the spotlight. They don’t happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She’s been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”
By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.
And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.
And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.
And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope — but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.
So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America.
This is a really late update, but the trip up north was awesome! Here’s a brief rundown of the trip, with pics!
Met up with michelle in NYC on the way. I fell asleep on the plane:
It was DUMB turbulent. I threw up:
Just kidding on that one. But finally made it to Toronto only to learn that the apartment I had arranged was not going to be available. So I was an orphan for the rest of the trip, here’s my tent (thanks to Michelle’s neice):
Also just kidding! I ended up staying with the homie, DJ Mensa. First night we went out to Andy Pool Hall. Really nice spot, DJ spinning funk and REAL hip-hop the whole night:
(HAHAHA)
The next day we went to check out the CN Tower (I like to do tourist stuff too!). So many pictures from the tower, and LOTS of inside jokes. Fun times there:
(shoe game with the moose in the lobby)
On to the gift shop and lobby of the tower:
bitch ass moose!
(attack of the neon butterflies!)
(magic wand!!)
(my Lil’ Mac from Punch-Out! impression)
Ice Skating outside the tower. With SBs!
Then we found a random white wall. So we decided to make a lookbook. Random, I know, but hey it was fun!
Then we walk back outside and it’s COLD!
(PAUSE)
Next it was time to do some shopping. Word to Livestock! (thanks for the tee and the lace locks fellas!)
The next day everyone decided that even though I was an orphan that I was big enough to find my way to downtown by myself. Waiting for the street car:
When I got downtown, the homie Atic and I did some more shopping. Word to Lounge! And I got mad records too. And look, I found some more Indians like me!
Later that night, it was time for Peachfuzz @ Chinadoll. I had a blast while I was there:
(the chinadoll wall. silver paint, with felt appliques!)
word to Zee
End of the night, everyone is tired:
I was supposed to go straight to the airport after this to head back home. But I was replaced at the last minute for the Little Brother show, so I stayed an extra day! I don’t have any pics because I was just hangin out. Snapped this last one when Michelle was dropping me off:
Needless to say I had a great time, and can’t wait to go back (when it’s warmer!). There are tons more pics that I didn’t post. They can all be found in a set here on my flickr page. Or you can jump right here to check out the slideshow version.
I came back and got hit with the flu, so I was out of commission all of last week. The first night at mosquito went off just right and this week I’ve been focusing heavy on the DJing and attempting to spin a variance of music styles, so I can turn the party out in different ways. Next post is going to be a free mixtape from Dan Johns and me. Gonna finish that up in the next couple of days, so stay tuned!
Also, before I end this I wanted to post a link to DJ Mensa’s December Exquisite mix. He finished it the day I arrived. Really dope mix, so make sure you check it out! Here’s the link and also the tracklist:
DJ Mensa’s December Exquisite Mix
OUTKAST - THE ART OF STORYTELLIN PT. 4
JAY-Z FT. LIL WAYNE - HELLO BROOKLYN
JAY-Z - DIRT OFF YOUR SHOULDER (MENSA BLEND)
COOL KIDS - 88
DRAKE FT. RICHIE SOSA - EASY TO PLEASE
SLUM VILLAGE - GOT ME GOIN’ (HIP-HOP)
BUSTA RHYMES - STEP UP
GHOSTFACE - SUPA GFK
SHAD K - I DON’T REALLY LIKE TO
TALIB KWELI & Q-TIP - LIGHTWORKIN’
DA BRAT - FUNKAFIED (MENSA BLEND)
ERYKAH BADU - HONEY
J. HOLIDAY - BETCHA NEVA HAD
KEYSHIA COLE - GIVE ME MORE
AALIYAH - TRY AGAIN (MENSA BLEND)
MARY J. BLIGE - WORK THAT
AMANDA DIVA - SUPA WOMAN
LITTLE BROTHER - WHEN EVERYTHING IS NEW
TALIB KWELI, JEAN GRAE, NE-YO - HOT THING REMIX
PLAYAZ CIRCLE, LIL WAYNE, JOELL ORTIZ - DUFFLE BAG BOYZ REMIX
LUDACRIS - LUDACRISMAS
TIFFANY EVANS - GIRL GONE WILD
AROWBE - DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY DUBPLATE
JAY-Z - DEAD PRESIDENTS 3
MATISSE - ROUND AND ROUND
Everybody go get Kaze’s new album, Block 2 The Basement
Congratulations family! This has been a long time coming. Nobody will be disappointed with this album, I promise that.
KAZE “BLOCK 2the BASEMENT” LP
BLOCK side
1. “THE GRUDGE” (WOLVES IN THE GUTTER) produced by ERV FORD 4:44
2. “SILENT ONEZ” feat. J. BLACK produced by JAZZ B 4:25
3. “RIDE WITH ME” feat. K. SLACK produced by K. SLACK 2:58
4. “PAPERWORK” (Uncut ver.) feat. ROYCE 5′9″ produced by ERV FORD 4:34
5. “I GOT SOUL” produced by D1 4:08
6. “BURN IT UP” produced by D1 4:14
7. “YOU CALL THAT GANGSTA?” feat. YOUNG FLU produced by D1 2:54
8. “IMMACULATE” feat. A.M. produced by SKAZ DIGGA 4:15
9. “YOU DONT KNOW ?” produced by K. SLACK 2:55BASEMENT side
10. “THE DARKSIDE” produced by DJ SCANDALES 3:31
11. “DYNASTY” produced by ANALOGIC 4:02
12. “BLACK MAN WORLDWIDE” feat. SUPASTITION and MR. MOHALYN pd.by DJ FORGE
13. “I WAS RAISED ON IT. (THE 80′S)” produced by ERV FORD 3:13
14. “SO REAL” feat. ERV FORD and WORDSWORTH produced by ERV FORD 4:13
15. “GENUINE” feat. MR. MOHALYN produced by JAH FREEDOM 4:21
16. “DEAR GOD” (TROUBLE AT HOME) produced by ERV FORD 5:17
17. “THE QUICKENING” feat. EMPTY POCKETS produced by PMG 3:12
18. “WE WANT IT ALL” produced by K. SLACK 3:54
19. “REAL LIFE” produced by ANALOGIC 4:22
Lots of family lended a hand on this project. Peace to everybody! And also make sure to go vote for Kaze in Urb’s Next 1000
As previously mentioned, I’ll be starting at Mosquito soon. I was supposed to already be turning the platters there, but I was previously booked for the coming month on fridays. So, with that said, December 14th will be my first night at Mosquito. It should be fun, and I’ve been spending some time getting my reggaeton crates up as well as my uptempo dance stuff. Should be different, and not the same ‘ol two step!
Hope everyone had a good holiday (even though it’s not really a holiday I believe in). Okay, I guess I can somewhat get down with the holiday (these days it’s more about just spending time with family and friends anyway), I just wish it wasn’t romanticized the way it is here in the public school system. Somebody needs to teach the kids the truth!
Last night at Hi 5 was the truth. At first they had my room closed off for a private party. One of the high schools around here rented the room out for the night (big money!). So at first I was kind of stuck spinning somewhat of a Clear Channel’s Best Hits playlist, haha. Eventually around 12:30, they HAD to open the back room because the front was so packed and the line to get in was insane. By the time the room filled up it was around 12:45 or so. As a DJ, knowing you get to pack your entire night into an hour is like a license to go crazy! And the crowd was so responsive, jumpin to all my transitions. I love that place!
Over the next two weeks I’m taking some time off from my job. From working every day and DJing all my off days, I’m just kind of tired of the routine. This is kind of like my Christmas gift to myself. I’m making good use of my off time:
Tuesday: FREE Ghostface Show at the cradle
Wednesday: My first hockey game (go canes!)
Thursday: Going up to DC to support my boy, Nick The 1da, in a beat grinder battle.
I’m going to Toronto in about a week and half. I hope I don’t freeze to death. Even if I do, it’s gonna be fun to reconnect with friends I haven’t seen in a really LONG time. And I might be spinning out there one of the nights of my trip (details to come).
Bundle Up…
Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin pt. 4 — So many things to quote from this song but you really just need to hear the whole thing.. It’s from DJ Drama’s upcoming Gangsta Grillz album, which from all the joints I’ve heard thus far, is shaping up to be nice.
I started out starvin’ // Now they got me out here Brett Favre’in // tryin to see if I still got it, got it…
And with that said, new Forge & Amen coming soon…
Just a quick note to say that the walk for lupus with the J Dilla Project this past saturday turned out to be a success. I surpassed my goal, so a large thank you is due for all the people that contributed,especially to my family (and Free Speech, I see you too!!). As a team, we also surpassed our goal by at least $300!
I had a good time, just walking and talking about music with my peers (especially about the ups and downs of being a DJ with DJ Gonzo). All in all, I kind of wish the walk would have been a little bit longer than it was.
Dilla’s Uncle, Herman, was there for the walk as well. He travels all over spreading Dilla’s name and is on a personal mission to show people that there is positivity left in hip-hop culture. He’s a really good person to walk and talk with.
Here’s a few pics from the walk:
Me Walking (also pictured Cesar Comanche and DJ Gonzo)
Me holding up the back of the pack (also pictured Uncle Herman, Comanche, and Gonzo)
Group Photo at the end (yes, I’m the only one with his eyes closed…)
Above photos credited to J Sol, the rest of the pics from his set can be found here
Me and Cesar Comanche
R.I.P. Dilla….
P.S. If you’re reading this in an RSS reader or on Facebook, please click through for the pics. And hopefully you’re using firefox so you get the lightbox effects on the pics!
I decided I’m going to walk at this on the Saturday right after I come back from Costa Rica. If anyone wants to sponsor me, you can do so at this page
Also if you wanna join the team, you can do so via the same website.
Yes I know my government name is on there, and I don’t really care if you know it!
Last week soul music lost another giant. If you don’t know who bobby byrd is, you can check this wikipedia entry and catch up on him. He was one of my personal favorites and I’ve sampled him several times for beats that I’ve made in the past. Hell, even me and Amen’s first single was sampled from a Vicki Anderson (his wife) and Bobby duet. I wanted to put up probably his most notable song to date (if only because it was used for Jay-Z’s “U Don’t Know”) not only because I really like the song, but because ironically, it’s exactly what I’m going through. Nothing like music to put everything in perspective. Enjoy…
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P.S. Check out Just Blaze’s blog entry for an interesting story involving him sampling this track..