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.

Following up off yet another top notch Nardwuar interview, Curren$y lets free for the streaming masses a cut off his upcoming Stoned Immaculate. This one featuring Pharrell and titled “Chasin’ Paper” features Pharrell on the hook delivering his patented falsetto.  A little different than what I was expecting from the track, but different is good; Curren$y has lined up some big hitters on this album and hopefully they all come with their ‘A’ game and bring the heat (I ran out of vague baseball metaphors, we’ll get them next time).

This must be historic, I don’t believe Nardwuar has ever interviewed someone more than twice in his career.  So for this to happen a third time and to one of my favorite guys Curren$y is pretty dope.   Must be a run up to his latest release .  One of the running issues in this series has been Nardwuar’s mic handling and Curren$y goes right in on it.

These two are on my list of favorite young guys in hip hop right now.  Not with the fanfare of the other breaking artists byt they should be in line with those that are putting out consistent work with a dedicated fan base that will soon see them getting their just due. Sound FX hail out of Los Angeles, get to know them below.

@BJones21 / @Social8gency: Let’s get the preliminaries out the way, how long have you guys been at it?

@SoundFxMusic: We actually started making music way back in the 10th grade which is about 6 years ago.

@BJones21 / @Social8gency: What is your relationship; how’d you both link up?

@SoundFxMusic: We are really great friends first and for most before anything but we linked up playing basketball.

@BJones21: What was the first song that let you know you were interested in music?

@SoundFxMusic: We don’t really remember but we actually started off producing music and from there rapping came naturally. Now here we are.

@BJones21: What was the first hip hop track that inspired you to pen something down?

McFly: No one song inspired me but the album “Fly or Die” by N.E.R.D. really inspired my love for music and captivated my imagination.
DuPree: Everything about music inspired me from the way it moved people to the lifestyle. It wasn’t just one song in particular.

@BJones21: You have been releasing a steady flow of material in your short time together, what keeps you going? In light of not the instant fan fare and publicity that the Odd Futures & the ASAP Mobs of the world have seemingly garnered?

@SoundFxMusic: The one thing that keeps us going is the fact that people really seem to have an emotional connection with our music and they really listen to some of our songs religiously. Just knowing that our music has the power to help some one out of a bad situation or even get through the day is what keeps us going. We try to present our music in a way that the aesthetics of the visual representation coincide with the music.We also believe in what we do 100 percent and love our music so in essence we are doing what we love and we are doing it from the heart. We try not to let other artist success or failures affect our art or thought process. Of course being that hip hop is a culture built on competition we do watch these artists and learn from their business formulas but creatively we just do us and we feel like that will take us a long way.

@BJones21: What’s the type of success you’re looking for?

@SoundFxMusic: The type of success that gives us the power to control the music we put out and how we put it out. The type of success that allows us to perform at festivals and tour the world on a large or small scale, meeting new people & experiencing new cultures, while motivating and inspiring countless numbers of people with our music. The type of success that allows us to venture and expand our talents beyond the musical realm. The type of success that feels authentic, knowing that we didn’t have to change our selves, our morals, our ethics, our character, or our music, in order to achieve it.

@BJones21: One of the major things I was struck by when I first came across your material was the level of polish your work has. From the vocals to the production itself everything is very concise and thoughout. Speak on that if you can.

@SoundFxMusic: We are true professionals we always strive for perfection even though there is no such thing. We go out our way to bring the fans the best quality recordings within our indie budgets. The one thing that keeps us going is the fact that people really seem to have an emotional connection with our music It is much more than putting out a song to us it is more about capturing a moment and bringing the listener into our world and allowing them to experience some of our experiences. We meticulously go through every lyric and note in other to put create the best art. The professionalism in our work also lets the world know that we take what we do seriously which is vital in todays music industry where any one can record a song and think of them self as an artist. It also comes in handy when presenting our music to potential endorsers.

@BJones21: Another piece is that you guys have a clear visual style for your album/singles covers; toeing the space where abstraction and concision meet. What can you say about each cover and what you attempt to convey?

@SoundFxMusic: We are really big on art not just music but all the different types of art. We try to present our music in a way that the aesthetics of the visual representation coincide with the music. We really take the word “Art” to heart as we try to be as creative as possible a lot not just through the music but also through the visuals. A lot of other musicians don’t give their art works any thought and that is one thing that really annoy us about the hip hop genre. We try to provoke thought with our art works because even before a person listens to our music the first thing they see is the art.

SOUND FX ONLINE:

Bandcamp / Tumblr / Facebook

Blu been doing the rounds lately, like he seems to; the internuts get their taste for a week or two then he does his Keyser Soze impersonation. Well he just lent a sweet 16 to ANTHM’s track “Polaris” and now he’s let go the visuals for his track “K E E P U S H I N N” off of the release NoYork!. Its a bit of an animated mind fuck; enjoy, I did.