Legendary MC from Gang Starr and founder of Jazzmatazz, passed away at age 48, April 10, 2010 due to cancer related issues. Guru definitely had an unmistakable voice and style which made him a one of the BEST MC’s of all time.
I just saw him a couple years ago in Denver for an Akomplice fashion show, unfortunately the sound sucked and he called it quits after a couple songs.
The previous show I attended was his masterful Jazzmatazz project, where he crossed jazz and hip hop styles to form a very unique collective of highly talented musicians to produce an awesome sub-set of hip hop music.
Copyright Criminals is a documentary that traces the roots of Hip Hop back to the streets of New York where sampling was just part of the game. Now, it is the game for many in the multi-billion dollar industry of music.
It provides perspectives from both those who sample and from those who have been sampled from. The growth of music in a variety of genres has strong roots in sampling.
In this day and age where technology is easily accessible, sharing info & content across the various channels has become easier than ever, but more importantly, the demand to obtain info & content has also risen. There are a couple facets of copyright infringement that are widely spreading as a result; illegal duplication and distribution of music, and the age-old sampling of others’ music to create new tracks. Emerging tools within the music industry, both hardware and software, are making it easier to remix, sample, cut, mash-up a multitude of music into new productions.
This documentary takes a look into this art form to review the source, process, politics, and art of sampling. It features foudning figures of hip hop such as Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers (Atmosphere, P.O.S.), Ninja Tune, and more.
From the other side, sampled artists such as Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s drummer and the world’s most sampled musician), as well as commentary by another highly sampled musician, the original funk legend George Clinton.
(by the way, I sampled some of these snippets from the Copyright Criminals website, modified and re-purposed it for this post – thanks www.copyrightcriminals.com)
Copyright Criminals
“A look at sampling, in which snippets of old songs are reused in new productions, featuring remarks from hip-hop and electronica artists as well as George Clinton and ex-James Brown drummer Clyde Stubblefield, whose beats have been heavily recycled.”
duration: 60 min
There are several dates this will air, but here is the next date for the Denver area is: Saturday, January 23 — 11:00pm Channel 0006 – KRMA
or HD Channel 0658 – Digital/HD Rocky Mountain PBS
For additional show times and more info visit PBS:
Del is throwing a FREE show down at the Larimer Lounge First Friday November 6, 2009! This is a follow up to the one they had to cancel a couple months ago (September) due to a car accident the night before.
Fortunately they were ok, but they got hit by fucking drunk driver while they were going 70mph on I-25. If you’re drunk, get a damn cab!
My boy Path One (who I recently shared an art show with) will be bringing another element of Hip Hop to the city of Denver. I’ll be providing some cuts on the vinyl and back up vocals on the mic as well.
This is Path One’s premier Hip Hop show demonstrating his lyrical skills on the mic, so come down and enjoy a sick-ass hip hop show!
We will be opening, so come down a bit early – about 8:00pm!
Slug brings it back to Denver (Morrison), with a huge show at Red rocks amphitheater Friday, August 14, 2009. Eleven years into the scene from Minneapolis, MN, and 6 albums, Atmosphere is going strong and still keepin’ it real.
This show will definitely be tight, not only because of the headliner and the amazing outdoor venue, but the other acts who include Aesop Rock, Murs, Eyedea and Abilities, and Attracted Gods will definitely light up the stage.
Atmosphere with Aesop Rock, Murs, Eyeda and Abilities, Attracted to Gods Friday, August 14, 2009 — 8:00PM
doors open at 6:30PM
$38.50 GA
I just hit up the Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Ab Rude show at the classic Larimer Lounge. I got there late and only caught Ichiban’s last couple tracks, which were dope!
The heads from Project Blowed and Freestyle Fellowship blew up Denver and The Larimer Lounge!
Myka 9 had a decent performance, but unfortunately the sound for his set wasn’t the greatest, so it was hard fro him to get those clean rhythmic melodies in his hooks to roll through.
Aceyalone definitely killed the mic and also threw in some new tracks that I haven’t heard yet.
Ab Rude threw down from Rejuvenation, his new album and of course spit the classics. It was an overall good show, but surprised about the small turnout. Del was also playing at the Bluebird that night, which may have taken some of the crowd.
DJ Drez was one of the show’s top performances with whomever he was playing with or even solo. His skills are sick, including tracks from his new album, Jahta Beat, where he focuses on mixing down tempo, hip hop and eastern sounds and instruments. His beats were smooth and cuts were always on point!
You need to see and listen to this clip from YouTube. I know it is over 18 minutes, but it is well worth it.
Nathan, the first guy has some amazing flute skills. The second guy, Beardyman, does some amazing straight up beat boxing, and yes, near the end, they collaborate. You’ll catch some renditions of Living Legends and Jurrasic Five in this performance as well as The Beatnuts.
Plus, you’ll see that Google London has Beer fridges in their break room!
Del has jumped on the free digital download bandwagon and is offering up his latest album, Funkman for free. He’s even providing various formats from mp3 to high res AIFF’s for those audiophiles out there, just check your bandwidth first.
Visit:
http://delthefunkyhomosapien.bandcamp.com/
*you will need to supply your email to obtain the actual download.
I’m still listening to it, and haven’t made an overall decisions, but I’ve heard a couple songs that aren’t too bad, but nothing that really jumped out at me yet.
I went and checked out The Mighty Underdogs @ the Bluebird last night. If you’re not familiar with them, they are Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Lateef (Latryx, Maroons, DJ Shadow), and Headnodic (Crown City Rockers – formerly known as Mission).
They’re out touring promoting their new album Dropping Science Fiction. I haven’t heard the whole album and listening to the new songs live in a venue with not the best sound system forces me to check it out with my headphones before I can form a solid opinion on it.
From what I did hear, there was some good stuff for sure, but nothing I truly fell in love it. Their performance was off the hook though, and of course Gift killed it with the mad lyricism!
Headnodic definitely added some beat flare with his DJ and MPC production skills. Lateef, added his rhythmic jazzy rhyme style, which they all make this a very dynamic Quannum crew.
Gotta love it when they throw down the classics too, Gift of Gab hit up some old Blackalicious hits and had the crowd bumping!
This is crazy! Jimmy Fallon just took over Conan OBrien’s Late Night spot on NBC. And The Roots are his house band!
They are amazing and sick, and it is great for Fallon to have such a talented crew for his band. This does make me sad though that this will limit their touring schedule among other things. They are musicians, great ones at that, so at least they get to do what they love for a living and on a fun show.
I caught the premier last night with Robert Dinero, Justin Timberlake and Van Morrison. It did turn out to be a great show and The Roots killed it!
