I was sent Dee-1′s new video for “Stupid Fool” and immediately had me thinking of two videos that speak on the exact same issues; if one doesn’t hit you then I hope to God one of the others do. Thank you Dee-1, Lupe & COLIONE07 Real Talk. The sad part is one of these is 4 years old in The Chi, not much has changed.

Yeah this is happening and I couldn’t be happier. I moved to LA 9 years ago, Stones Throw Records moved into my heart 15 years ago, so seeing that this is coming together I’m all over it.

I”ve given STR plenty of my money over the years, so might as well give them some more. Stones Throw Records have put together a Kickstarter campaign to put this all together. I’ll let them explain it themselves:

THE FILM:

OUR VINYL WEIGHS A TON (THIS IS STONES THROW RECORDS) is a feature-length documentary about avant-garde Los Angeles-based record label Stones Throw Records. Under the direction of founder and world-renowned DJ Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has consistently released critically acclaimed, left-of-center albums since its founding in 1996.

Catalog highlights include hip-hop classics like Madvillain’s Madvillainy, Dilla’s Donuts and Quasimoto’s The Unseen. They also include retro-soul hits such as Mayer Hawthorne’s A Strange Arrangement and Aloe Blacc’s Good Things, Dam-Funk’s boogie-funk masterpiece Toeachizown, and the oddball works of James Pants and Gary Wilson. Drawing on live concert footage, never-before-seen archival material, inner-circle home video and photographs and in-depth interviews with the folks who put Stones Throw on the map, OUR VINYL WEIGHS A TON will delve deeper into the label’s enigmatic artists, history, culture and global following.

This is my dude Malik “The FreQ” Moore. We work together on his music as a solo artist and I’m always doing what I can to put good, excuse me, great music in front of people. He knocked out a gig this past weekend. I picked it up on my phone.

Here is a little taste from the rehearsal the night before; undeniable.

FIND HIM

– Malik “The FreQ” Moore -

http://www.facebook.com/TheMalikMoore

http://www.malikthefreq.com

http://www.malikthefreq.bandcamp.com

I like the guy, I think thats all I can say. Stay winning D. Glover.

I could regale you with stories and feelings about how great these two are together, but you should already know that.  Click the pick and get a peak into the upcoming EP “Maybe One Day” from Blu & Exile.

CLICK ME

Blu also let loose that we should be looking for another LP this December 2012 “good to b home”, so mark your calendars.

So I got myself 2 tickets to D’Angelo’s return to an LA stage with his Independence Day Concert at the House Of Blues Sunset Strip, hell yeah!

Anyway with all the hoopla (well deserved) surrounding D’Angelo’s imminent return to the stage and stereo, it got me thinking.  Really I got to thinking and relatively loudly if you ask my girl and roommates when reviews and audio dropped of his EU dates a few months back.  I precede to turn my room into a sound dungeon (very easy with one of these units) and bump Brown Sugar and Voodoo in their entirety, while regaling my girl with my love for D’Angelo *pause*.  I’ll start with an easy one for everyone at home.

I guess I’m soulful guy at heart, with all the posts on hip hop, indie, EDM, etc that hit my site, nothing really impacts me like a top notch R&B or soul track.  That’s just the way it is and has been.  In fact my first two CD purchases were Brown Sugar and Tony Rich’s Words, so as I said pretty soulful out the gate.  Though both were heavy  in 12 year old me’s rotation, there weren’t really other choices (I also burned my money on Upper Deck NBA & NFL sets / video games / anything Dallas Cowboys), Brown Sugar was spinning constantly.

I couldn’t part with this album, there was something to it I felt like I knew immediately; familiar and classic, yet new and prescient (I was 12 years old, so I hadn’t really run into a situation that legitimately called for the phrase “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker”). The album is still with me after close to 16 years.

If you’re one of the girls I crushed on or dated between the ages 12 & 20 years old; I leave you with this reminder of the song I sang and the mixtapes I made.

Great interpretation by Arev Manoukian of the standout “Devil’s Den” from Skrillex & Wolfgang Gartner. An erotic descent into the Devil’s Den.

From Manoukian:

This film is the hauntingly dark journey of a newly married man trapped in a deep erotic dream. The dream quickly turns into a nightmare as he spirals down into The Devil’s Den.

Fresh new [e aka Cloudeater for everyone’s ears. This time they link up with DC & MMG’s Wale to release “Faces”.

Released this morning as an exclusive via Jay Z’s Life+Times, hopefully that sorta platform gives [e a bigger profile; they are a band with a bright future.  Further more on this track they were able to get Wale back on his shit, not that MMG Wale is bad, but I feel its content and style hasn’t given him a chance to shine and express why he was so hot a few years ago in the first place.

Last week I had the opportunity to see my girl’s best friend’s son graduate from Highschool, its not your average highschool mind you, its a top end performing arts highschool in Los Angeles. Having attended a handful of their events in the past have always yielded a handful of recognizable names and faces from entertainment, who have kids or extended family attending LACHSA. And on top of that the kids are fantastic and enthusiastic, aspects that are often lost when dealing with the cynicism of the industry and artists at large.
Well all of that was ignored as their dean of students walked out to announce a very special performance. Most everyone in the audience up to that point had noticed the lone man in sunglasses inside the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, Stevie Wonder. Let me say that again . . . Stevie . . . Wonder. . .
He takes his seat at the piano addresses the audience and most importantly the students and starts. Below are the moments I captured on my camera (the stellar Olympus OMD EM5 w/ 12 – 50 lens) between cheers, claps, and exasperated breaths of “oh fuck thats Stevie Wonder.”

I think about every year I tell myself I’m done with certain aspects of hip hop then something comes out that hits me as undeniable usually coming from Kanye or one member of the Clipse or the other or both.  ”Mercy” dropped weeks ago and I was immediately all in on the G.O.O.D. Music album, then the viscous Pusha T “Exodus 23:1″ dropped and now I’m officially waiting for material.  Now let’s be clear I want my music to be progressive and my artists interesting and transcendent, but every now and then some tough shit drops that has me thinking back the excitement of those early diss/battle tracks of yore and rap that ain’t about nothing.

Every now and then I gotta McDonalds hits the spot, ya know.

*Bonus points for the Kid Cudi cameo*

I don’t know what else there is to say about this video beyond what Shadow On Stars threw down on their Tumblr “Erykah is a fucking bad ass for this”.

I’m upset at myself for letting this sit for the past couple days, without letting it out to the masses; though if you know Sound FX you’ve got other outlets to pick up the latest. Titled Medusa, it is the latest mixtape from the Los Angeles duo, and brings a little more experimental sound to their catalogue to hear them tell it:

Medusa is about life situations that leave us immobilized; and women who make it difficult to love. While working on our debut album “The Sunset LP” we often times get side tracked and distracted, as is the nature of creative arts, Medusa is the outcome those random thoughts and unforgettable life experiences.

DOWNLOAD: Sound FX – Medusa Mixtape  Also peep the interview I did with the guys a few weeks back.

To the young up and comers in any genre, Sound FX are doing it right. Be consistent, have vision, explore your sound, and release music; your fans big or small crave it.