the shuffle. [3/31/07]


OK so, before I bring you guys your regularly scheduled edition of the shuffle, I have to get a bit nostalgic: today marks one year of rock the dub being alive in the blog world. I know that's not a big feat to most, but hell, it's big for me. It started out as being a hub for my writings and branched out, into Interviews, scathing Reviews, a spot for me to bust out recaps of my favorite shows, hell, even a place for my imagined mixtapes (or Dub Sessions as I affectionately call them) to be seen by the masses. I've helped usher in THUGSTEP, and introduced the world to many new artists and tracks. And I ain't stopping. I ain't stopping my weekly Friday playlists (peep the first one!), I damn sure ain't stopping my shuffles (peep the first one! it sucked!)... I will keep it moving. Why? At the end of the day, I know there might only be a handful of you guys reading, but I know someone is. And if you are going to be getting the info anyways, why not let it be from me?

It's funny, I started these Saturday shuffles b/c I was not on the PC enough to post up news first, so I figured "why not amass all the news I dig, and give it in one big pill?"... seems to be working, from the positive notes I continue to receive about my work. So I thank all of you who take the time out of your schedules to check me out. And I hope you continue to use rock the dub as a source for news, whether it's important, impotent, or just down right ignant.
Speaking of which, let's get on with the week that was...

01/While I normally don't get too religious/political, both on my blog and in my everyday life, I had to comment on a few things Dubya has going on that are kind of wild. First off, he gave a (long overdue) apology to people living and dealing with the atrocities over at Walter Reed, one of the leading Army medical centers. Word has it that they had mold and rats up in that place, which, no matter how great the staff and their work is, is just not healthy, especially if it was in the spots where the most severely injured cats were laid up in. Ever heard of staff infections? The shit guys catch whilst in the hospital?! These cats are risking life, losing limbs, and just overall dealing with the shittiest conditions over in Iraq-land, and our leading hospital is on that nonsense, for no good reason. Fix up. Secondly, and this is something I just got handed to me in the rock the dub War Room, the US is prepared to bomb first on Iran from 4AM to 4PM on Good Friday. Say whaaaa? This news is coming from some random Russian sources, so who knows if it is 100% valid (I only say that because, until I hear Charles Gibson say it, it just ain't news), but is it really that hard to visualize? Our men, out in the Gulf, locked and loaded to stomp on Iranian soldiers... families... babies... and we still haven't finished taking a dumb in Iraqia. I just don't get it. We might need to fall back and let those niggas sort their own shit out, while we take care of the shit going on over here - like Katrinaland, and just helping us poor people get up.

02/Speaking of goings-on in Iran, I have never agreed with Bill O'Reilly in my short time on this earth, but when he says that Rosie O'Donnell is both nutty and needs to be fired, I say "Go Bill!" His main beef is her comments saying that shit like the recent kidnappings of British soldiers is a plot between Britain and the US to further our country's thirst for Iranian blood, and I think she needs to stfu with shit like that. There's already enough bloodshed, we don't need you spreading half truths on TV and on your blog. I mean, when did Rosie become so bitter and, well, un-funny? She wasn't the best comedian, but she was always laughing. Now I always hear about her badmouthing so-and-so, or giving some heated, serious diatribe about someone being called gay or her convoluted thoughts international affairs. We don't need you spreading lies or falsehoods, Ro. Keep fighting the good fight, and dive into a muff or 3. It will do you right, girl.

03/This week, I had the opportunity of hearing one of the oddest ideas ever to hit the restaurant business: the Girls Gone Wild (you've been up at 3AM and seen these retarded commercials, right?) founder is planning on opening a string of restaurants soon, primarily in vacation/Spring Break hotspots (SHOCKER!). The catch: no titties, no sex. It's essentially going to be Hooters, but not really. Or, "sexy without being sexual". Why doesn't he make is exploitative videos in the same vein? And how exactly is he going to link the two? When I hear "Girls Gone Wild", I think of drunken college chicks taking their clothes off in RVs. And club shots of breats and butts being flashed. Is that something I really want to associate with eating?

04/There are some stories that make you go "hmmmmmm...", some that make you go "awwwwww...", and others that just make you feel ashamed for being a part of the human race. This story falls into the category of the latter: a man was upset that his former girlfriend was seeing someone while at school. So, she comes home on vacation, and what does he do? Instead of having a deep convo with her, or just leaving her alone, he dismembered her, then discared of her remains (allegedly) on two grills, on the balcony of his residence. While there was a foul ass odor for two days while he was griling all night (for a wedding, he told his neighbors), no one felt the need to truly confront him about this, aside from calling the cops. The thing is, they said her remains are not being found. I find it hard to believe that, in two days, he grilled her shit to pieces that could not be identified. It just doesn't seem to be possible, not on some grills. I don't think he burned her all up, and her body has to be somewhere else. Nasty bastard. OH and the kicker: dude was BLACK! This isn't your normal black people crime, but niggas said the same shit about the Beltway sniper...

05/Apple has finally stopped double charging peeps and set up its "Complete My Album" service on iTunes. This is good news, as it should help bolster sales of entire albums (although I haven't heard an album in a while that was worth its price in USD front to back), but I am trying to get my head around the fact that this service has been up for years now, is the leading legal download service out there, and yet its taken so long for this to be completed. I mean, is it hard to have created a program where if you purchase a track, when looking back over the album, or just the catalogues, if you come across the tune you bought the other day, it says something like "OWNED" or something in it? Netflix lets me know what's In Queue when I do a search and happen upon something I already listed, why couldn't iTunes get that going? Anyways, kudos to Apple for that, and a big middle finger to the artists/record labels who are still miffed @ digital downloads. If you bastards made product that wouldn't cause me to pick out the hot tracks and throw away the nonsense, maybe more $$$ would be spent on CDs. A-duh!

06/It looks like Anna Nicole Smith died the same way her son died: OD'd on a deadly combo of drugs, including shit to combat her sleeping meds, anxiety/depression meds, and her infection on her ass. It's a tough pill to swallow (no pun intended), but maybe this news might calm some of the asinine comments about her and her death. I highly doubt it, though. RIP to her fam, and hopefully her daughter grows up bright and knowing the good side of her moms.

07/Not "NEWS" news, but there are a few new trailers out for a few pop culture standouts: The Sopranos' trailer for the Final 9 is out, and it looks like it will be a mother before this season ends. Also, the trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV is out, and while it looks amazing, the lack of real content and backstory pissed a LOT of internet video game lovers off. What I gleamed from this short piece was that it takes place either in New York City or a NYC-esque city, and the dude you control is some Middle Eastern/Eastern European kind of guy, who seems to have been through a lot of violence and shit. My initial impression is that dude is a terrorist or something of that nature, but who knows. He has an accent.

08/For a bit of a breather, he is a mishmash of Black Entertainment news for ya: Lil' Wayne is hard at work on Tha Carter 3, not only getting a new management staff, but working with Kanye West on some heat (why does that make me feel all good inside?!?!)... speaking of Weezy, Mannie Fresh has said that he squashed beef with Wayne, which was not really a big beef, considering the fact that Weezy ended up losing out on Mannie's beats, and he was also given a desk job @ Def Jam, overseeing the albums of their Southern artists, which is a big look for both ends... a big LOL goes out to Suge Knight for getting evicted (karma's a bitch, no?), as well as being involved in a lawsuit over the 2Face project (aka old Pac vocals matched up with new Scarface vocals). Take that fat bastard to court!... Good luck to Styles P over at Koch. At least he should get what he's owed per album... Eddie Griffin, while promoting the new, shitty racing movie he is in, crashed a $1.5 Million Ferrari Enzo - but why do some people think it's a publicity stunt, and not a general act of dumb nigga-ness? I must admit, the crash just looked kind of staged, although rather weakly... DJ Drama spoke out about his ordeal and the state of the mixtape game. I commend him for keeping his name out there, and hey, since he and Cannon got arrested a few months ago , there's been a slew of free mixtapes out there, some pretty good, too. The record labels need to fess up and acknowledge their part in this (giving the DJs the tracks to promote, turning a blind eye to the enormous mixtape scene, signing loads of mixtape-hot artists, etc.), and start ponying up the funds to these tastemakers...

09/There's a few dope interviews out this week that you guys should check out: Young, Black & Fabulous interviewed both Kelly Rowland and Joe about various topics, including their new work... Mass Appeal sat down with Disco Fever's Sal Abbatiello, one of the early Hip-Hop staples... hell, I even posted up my interview with DJ Jus Ske (and I also have an interview Gridlok up over at DOA, with jeryl on the additional question flavor). Happy reading!

10/I am about to hit the sack in about 2.5 seconds, so let me see how quickly I can throw the remainder of these brief news points out to you guys: Taboo, aka the Black Eyed Pea that no-one knows, got popped for DUI... MTV is going to be unveiling the final season of Punk'd during a marathon on April 7th - then unleashing those 8 episodes on a weekly basis starting April 10th. I somehow don't believe this is it, but Ashton Kutcher still has a production deal with MTV no matter how this unfolds... Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite will be featuring 120GB of space, HDMI ports and hi-definition video cables (all shit they said they weren't planning on offering to the consumer in this month's EGM) for about $480 at the end of April. And I still won't be buying one... Yahoo, trying to beat Gmail on the free-email tip, is unveiling unlimited storage for all of your email needs come May of 2007. I have barely touched my 2+GB on Gmail, and don't think I'm going to... Did you guys know that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kool Keith made a track together? More info here... Finally, it's taken years for this to happen, but in the near future both Mario (of Super Mario Bros. fame) and Sonic the Hedgehog will be sharing duties in an Olympics-themed video game...

So, that's the anniversary post. Hope you guys love it.

I have a few vids to link, just because I've found some funny/crazy stuff on your internets:

South Park's "Nagger" bit:

(hopefully Viacom doesn't take this one down)

"When Getting Hyphy Goes Wrong"...

(classic)

I had to post up some Kimbo Slice: Kimbo Vs. The Bouncer:

(dude is THE MAN)

Redman's "Put It Down" video:

(gotta keep it Jersey on you cats)

The true price of the Iraqi War:


Here's to one year down... many more to go. Until next time...
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[rock the dub Interview]: Jus Ske

I get passed a decent amount of music, not on the level of some of the big bloggers, but then again, I'm a different type of cat. When Mike over at Keepin' It Right shot me an e-mail with this My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me mixtape by a dude named DJ Jus Ske, I wasn't ready. I knew, by the cover, that it'd have something to do with Pharrell's In My Mind, but the fact that this dude blended so many instrumentals, and really took his time to craft a solid mix, I was impressed. I was then given the URL to his website, and was cracking up at the design and the way he used familiar pages to introduce his stuff. I had to get some words from this guy, just to see where his head was at. He might be short and sweet with his answers, but really, DJs speak more with their hands. Use this as a tool to get familiar with one of the nicest DJs you've been sleepin' on.

khal: Alright, so as many now know, you've dropped a pretty tight mixtape full of blends with Pharrell's In My Mind acapellas, entitled My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me. I know you've been on tour as P's DJ, but how did you come up with the idea of taking his rhymes and crafting these
intricately laced blends underneath them?

Jus Ske: Orignally we were doing a mixtape pre-album so I came up with a bunch of chops and loops and instrumentals for Pharrell to freestyle and sing over to promote the album. Through our busy schedules we never got to it and the album dropped. I later asked Pharrell for the acapellas so I could try to work them into the music from the mixtape. And then I added some more stuff and that's what it is.

khal: There's a load of beats rollin' in and out of each blend on the CD. How long did it take you to craft each track, and what made you choose the diverse selection of beats you used on the mix?

Jus Ske: Each track varied, the whole thing took me about two weeks worth of hours. And I just felt it out. For instance, the song "I Really Like You Girl" on Pharrell's album I felt was the 2006 version of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl" and I was just inspired to put the two together. The mash up didn't come out as I expected but I still felt that it was cool. And I LOVE both songs separately so I wanted to hear what they'd sounds like as one.

khal: From checking your track record, you're a seriously international DJ, having played from NY to Paris. Can you briefly take us on a tour of your DJing career: how long have you been rocking the 'tables, and how did it turn into you playing all of these major events and being so in
demand?

Jus Ske: I've been DJing for a little under ten years and I'm still really passionate about it. In the beginning, I started getting good at my craft and then through word of mouth people started hearing about Jus Ske and my song selection it started to take off. I don't really scratch much but I can rock a party. I'm also looking to take over the world (haha).

khal: What is it about DJing that keeps you coming back? I imagine you must be making a decent living, judging from where you've spun and who've you spun for – do you look at your DJing as a career or your calling?

Jus Ske: I can't live without music, I love playing it for people and getting a reaction from them.

khal: You've got a lot of events and nights all over NYC that you spin at, right? Do you go into each night with the same style or assortment of tracks? What's your favorite spot to spin at?

Jus Ske: I have certain sets I do but I like to try different things at night. And my favorite spots in NYC are Marquee, Butter and Stereo.

khal: I know you've probably run the gamut with great nights, wild nights, weird nights, and just downright awful nights. What was the WILDEST thing you've ever seen while spinning?

Jus Ske: People having sex in the club.

khal: I notice that you are affiliated with Mark Ronson's Allido Records. What exactly is your situation like with them? Are you going to be putting out your own projects or what?

Jus Ske: I am managed by them and I intend to put out my own projects very soon.

khal: What are 10 records that never leave your bin and why?

Jus Ske: 1. I Just Wanna Love U- Jay-Z Neptunes
2. Michael Jackson--"Dont Stop Til You Get Enough"/"Wanna Be Starting Something"/ Billly Jean"
3. Prince--"Kiss"/"1999"/"When Doves Cry"
4. Stevie Wonder--"Master Blaster"/"Do I Do"
5. "Sweet Home Alabama"
6. BonJovi--"Livin On A Prayer"
7. Marvin Gaye--"Got To Give It Up"
8. Guns 'N' Roses--"Sweet Child of Mine"
9. Nirvana--"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
10. ACDC--"Shook Me All Night Long"
11. Gary Glitter--"Rock & Roll Part II"
12. Madonna---"Holiday"
These songs are classics that work good in a club.

khal: Seeing as though you are one of the tastemakers in one of the biggest markets in the world, what do you think is going to be the next big thing in 2007, and why?

Jus Ske: Fusion of different genres of music. And more live music and more electro-ish. One extreme to the next, the real live acoustic stuff and on the other end of the spectrum the digital, electric sounding vibes.

khal: One thing I have to ask: how did you get the concept for your website? How long did it take to recreate all of those other, popular pages?

Jus Ske: I just wanted to be creative and I thought it was a great way of expressing my creativity. I hope I don't get sued. In essence, I feel like I am promoting all those companies while promoting myself--just works.

khal: Now that you're garnering more exposure with the mix CD, what's next for Jus Ske? Are you going to be branching out into different avenues?

Jus Ske: YES. I want to do it all.

khal: Do you have any shout outs or final words for the people out there?

Jus Ske: I wanna shout out Allido Records, Star Trak, Danucht Clothing (pronounced 'thenewshit'), OSO, ENCORE, and RE5 Energy Drinks, jusske.com, prilabs.com, Butter Restaurant, Ty-Ku, Marquee NYC, Stereo.

___
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Friday, March 30th 2007 playlist



Craziness. This week looks like it ended OK, even though I don't have a job yet. There's always something, huh!? This week's playlist is kind of varied, for there hasn't been too much Rap outside of a few mixtapes that I'm truly feeling (I wanna shout out Get Right Music for getting it right). So, let's go!

01/Monsta "Club Stomp" [over at monstapress.com, the Red Eye said he will be updating his audio section monthly. This is the first I saw of the site, and I hope we get more 320kbps dubstep tracks like this one. Heavy bass.]
02/The Bug ft. Flowdan "Jah War (Loefah Remix)" [Nappy was tellin' me to check this one, but I was never able to peep it until this week. New release on Ninja Tune, and it sounds proper thugsteppy lol. Big bass, runnin' rasta vocals.]
03/Survival "Resolution" [his debut on DNAudio is sick, nuff said. Survival is runnin' it.]
04/Alix Perez & Sabre "Solitary Native" [been waiting for this one to drop. Two of the new breed doing it nicely with a pretty recognizable sample. Enjoy this one on a nice spring day.]
05/Sheek Louch "We Ain't Runnin'" [Sheek going to war over a nice organ march. Thug Music for Thug Niggas.]
06/Rah Digga ft. Ghostface Killah "Intro" [Spine says that this is an intro to an LP that never came out. Rah goes in hard, showing why she earned her spot on Flipmode. Hopefully she keeps her name out there on the mic.]
07/Fat Freddy's Drop "Cay's Cray (Digital Mystikz Version)" [nice, mellow dubstep groove with that smooth vocal over top. Heaven on a dub wavelength.]
08/Cartridge "Just Let Go" [beef with the guys over at Counter Intelligence caused Cartridge to throw this dubplate out for free. Grab it before it's taken off the 'net, then grab the 12" when it drops.]
09/Mobb Deep Vs. MIMS "This Is Why I'm Shook (Cousin Cole Blend-it)" [sick blend of the classic Mobb vocal over MIMS' spooky beat. Set your mix off right with this gem!]
10/Outkast vs. Marvin Gaye "So Fresh, So Clean (DJ B.Cause's 'Let's Get It On Reprise')" [just beautiful. Sunday morning status.]

___

Here's a host of tracks I've accumulated over the week. Check out the leak:

El-P ft. Trent Reznor "Flyentology (Cassettes Won't Listen Remix)" [sounds exactly how you think it would]
Grafh "Yeah Right (I Don't Believe That)" [slow-bop? i don't baleee dat!]
Joell Ortiz Freestyle LIVE on DJ Green Lantern's SIRIUS Radio show (March 26th 2007) [dude goes HARD]
Peedi Crakk Freestyle LIVE on DJ Green Lantern's SIRIUS Radio show (March 26th 2007) [since when was Wu-Tang's "Triumph" considered "old school"?]
DJ Presto ft. Sadat X, O.C. & Large Professor "Conquer Mentally (Large Pro Remix)" [nice collection of some of my fav old school MCs]
Ruffneck Souljah "Excuse Me Miss" [Australian hip-hop flex, watch the DNB tempo in there though]
Gillie Da Kid "Number 1" [rock influenced banger]
Cam'ron ft. Duke Da God "Suga Dooga" [Lil' Fame produced this... Conflict of interest much!?]
Prodigy "Summer In NYC" [peep that Pre Mac mixtape...]
Rihanna ft. Jay-Z "Umbrella" [new one from the Barbadian bombshell.]

___

Here's a couple of files from the boring radio files: Young Buck been doing much promos for his Buck The World album. He was on Hot97 on the 26th saying Yayo shouldn't be beatin' on kids, and spent another 40 mins. with Whoo Kid on the 26th as well.

Vida Guerra also spit an acapella freestyle dissin' The Game, and I think she needs to keep doing the photos and being a model and shit, and hang the mic up. She doesn't sound like she knows how to flow, like she just doing it b/c she has a nice ass. STEP YA RAP GAME UP, MA!

___

In terms of the DNB mixes, over at DPD there are a load of fresh new mixes up, featuring sets from Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Martyn, Unknown Error, Infiltrata, Ewun & Pendulum. Check out the latest "For Your Listening Pleasure" for the skinny.

I also just caught wind of a nasty mix from Jem One, who is slowly but surely making a name for himself within the scene, and represents 36th Chamber AS WELL as Rufige. His March 2007 Studio Mix is chock full of dubs. Check it out:

1..JEM ONE...................Redemption of man...rufige dub
2..DJ VAPOUR................Shut up................ dub
3. DJ VAPOUR................300.........................dub
4. THEORY....................Controvosey.............dub
5. DIGITAL.....................Dennis the menace....dub
6. SPIRIT.......................Footprints.................renegade hardware
7.THEORY......................Jah Jah.....................dub
8.THEORY......................Goodbye...................dub
9. RUFIGE KRU................Vanilla.....................metalheadz
10.SURVIVAL..................Resolution................DNA records
11.ASIDES......................Future Horizon.........metalheadz dub
12.JEM ONE....................Sleeping Child..........dub
13.VAPOUR/JEM ONE.......Man Flu...................CIA/deep cut dub
14.INK,LOXY,FULL CLIP....Grudge bore.............renegade hardware
15.ROUGHCUT................Trojan Horse............dub


Enjoy that.

___

Time for a final thought. I've run out of music to link to, so I will mellow things out with this video:

Cinematic Orchestra ft. Fontella Bass "All That You Give"


In the words of one Avon Barksdale, "take it light, but take it". Until next time...
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LOST, Season 3: "Exposé" [recap]


What a beautifully done throwaway episode. And I mean that with the utmost adoration for the creative medium that is television and story telling. I like how series are given the chance to tell a story that might not progress the entire saga, but is interesting and exciting all the same (think of the "Pine Barrens" episode of The Sopranos).

Now I was under the impression that someone was going to die in this episode. That was something that boggled me, b/c that Twilight Zone (sup, Rafi!)/Hitchcock style ending, with them only being paralyzed, makes me think that we are going to see Nikki & Paulo again. In any case, its an interesting dynamic, because if the survivors actually killed these guys, that's the first time they killed one of their own, right?

This episode just had a bunch of interesting/ironic comments in it. Let me share some of my favorites:
  • Nikki's convo with Zuckerman about the whole "being a guest star" thing, and Zuckerman saying he'd bring her back.
  • Nikki saying she didn't want her and Paulo turning out to be Shannon & Boone, even though they not only were bickering, but they both (seemingly) died on the island.
  • The fact that they just stumbled on a wealth of shit, like The Pearl station, the plane that Boone fell in, and other points/situations we did not know then.

There's so much more, but I'd end up referencing the entire episode.

I do want to point out that I was kind of let down; I figured that Sun would be trying to murder Charlie and/or Sawyer, but she's smart: Jin would murk anyone who he thought was harming her, esp. now with her being preggers. She gets much respect for that. I can only wonder though, just like with the possibility of Nikki and Paulo pulling a move from "The Bride" and clawing out from their graves: is this the last we'll see of that situation?

Now on to next week: Kate & Juliet, duking it out in the rain? Are they fighting for their mutual feelings towards Jack, or what? I don't see Juliet being particularly tough/strong, but who knows. She is smart. Looks interesting, nonetheless. I can't wait to see how last week's events play this week.

That's it for now... until then, namaste.

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LOST, Season 3: "Exposé" [precap]

So yeah, last week I said I knew a bit about what was going on. I admit, I got my info from the info button on my trusty DVR box (gotta love preset recordings), and it said that Sun finally learns the secret behind the whole "kidnapping" from last season, when Sawyer conspired with Charlie to get the gats and (try) to take control. I think that's why she looks to start wylin' out. My wife also brought up an interesting thought: could she be somehow mixed in with Charlie's impending doom, as predicted by Desmond? Food for thought!

This episode is going to deal with flashbacks featuring Nikki and Paolo, and even features Billy Dee Williams, Mr. Colt 45 himself, as Mr. LaShade. Who? Who knows... also check out the familiar faces from the past that are to be showing up this week. I won't let that loose, but if you know the internets, you can find out.

The new official LOST podcast is also up, rehashing "The Man from Tallahassee", and "prehashing" "Exposé":

03.26.07 - Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse expose "The Man
From Tallahassee" and preview "Exposé" (3/28/07). Jorge Garcia and Josh Holloway talk about playing ping pong behind the scenes.


Enjoy. And check my blog for a recap in the next few days of tonight's episode.
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Monday Evening Quarterback

Wow. What a difference a day makes.

Not only did I fucking miss eskay linking the Sirius Invasion mixtape from DJ Green Lantern (which might become my fav. mixtape of this year, like Alive on Arrival was last year), but I missed out on the trailer to the last 9 episodes of Season 6 of The Sopranos:


(forgive the audio, it's off a lil')

How ill does that look? More conflict between T and Carm? Carm getting @ Chrissy for something? The feds arresting T? Carm's "you had it coming" comment? Looks intense... Can't wait. April 8th, baby!

Can't wait. Now if I could just secure a job, shit'd be ill as FUCK! LOL.
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LOST, Season 3: "The Man from Tallahasse" [recap]


Before I dig into Locke's fuck-up of the cut, AKA the jolt this season needed, I must apologize for no coverage of "Par Avion". The week I had last week was not to be tested. Never materialized. To recap, either check out the LostPedia page, or know that Jack's father did in fact father Claire. And Mikhail got got, finally.

Anyways, this might be my favorite episode of this season, so far. It's the one that truly blew open the possibilities of this island, and finally made me look at John Locke as a cool-ass mofo. I mean, not only did dude steal C4 from the Flame, he admitted to both killing Mikhail AND had his eyes set on destroying the submarine, which we are being told is the only way for the Others to get off the island (I have beef with this line Ben fed Locke, because we all know that Walt and Michael supposedly left on a boat back at the end of Season 2 -- did they truly leave!?)... and he had no qualms at all. That's bad ass. Especially after the life he's lived. I mean to have the dude you think is your pops (I have reservations about this, too) jack your kidney, then try to murk you from 8 stories up? How fucking intense is that!?

I liked the Locke/Ben back and forth, and with the whole Adam Seward/Anthony Cooper guy appearing to be in that random ass room(!!!!), bound and gagged, I think Ben is doing what he can do to recruit Locke into the fold. Speaking of the random room, what's good with this whole "really large box" that Ben was speaking of? I mean, if the island can make a paralyzed man (Locke) walk the instant he is on it, I can't doubt what else can be done, but imagining something and it just magically appearing? Something is a bit odd about this, and I am both intrigued and dreading what the meaning is behind it. Their back and forth, and the ultimate piece of their conversation (not wanting people to leave the island) has got to be one of the most interesting pieces I have seen on this show as of yet. The idea that this island, which, for all of its kookiness, is still such a mystery to seemingly everyone on it, it sure as hell ain't time to bounce...yet.

I also was perturbed by Jack's whole demeanor during this episode. I understand that he was doing it for dolo at this point, which is so out of character for him, but something fishy was going on with him, as a person. Being watched never got him so shook before, this is the man who cut Ben's vital organs and made them release his friends! Why the sudden 180? Was it something like when guys are about to be paroled, so they want to be on their best behavior before being released? I don't know, I don't see it, but there is something working underneath all of that... and on top of it, dude can play the piano!?

This episode set up what I am guessing will be the final threads of story for this season. Think about it: for all we know, there is no communication with the outside world, AND there is no way to even get off this island. They could be set to live in some random vortex, on this island full of "monsters" and Hostiles, mystery and fear. And next week's episode looks like a doosie: what's good with Sun seemingly attacking some of the people she has grown to live with? I know, but will not spill the beans on that... yet. Maybe in a prehash of next week's ep...

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the shuffle. [3/24/07]

I like the looks of that - need to do a bit of deck re-shuffling in my life. Not my personal life, as much as my professional life. I am cool with my family and friends, but I just can't shake this feeling of worthlessness. And self-loathing helps nothing and no one, so I try to get bright and feel right, but flying never works when the forecast feels gloomy.

Shouts to Cousin Nick for going to the Extreme Challenge 75 with me. Watching random dudes bleed and tap out to armbars is a good way to waste a Friday evening. Let's do it again sometime.

I don't even know where to begin this week, so we will just dive headlong into the fray...

01/This kid Kevin Durant is bad news. I say that because, while he might be a lottery pick's dream, anyone he (or his moms) speaks with ends up having to pay. Both Michael Jordan and Danny Ainge learned that, at best, you might want to keep your contact with dude over the two-way (or the e-mail. Hell, send this nigga a postcard!)... dumb-ass Ainge was spotted sitting next to Kevin's moms during a game this past week, and ended up being fined $30K for "excessive contact", which is proper. MJ got an even odder fine though: he fucking SPOKE about this kid in an interview, didn't even say his name (I believe the quote was something like The kid who may present that is the kid in Texas), and the Bobcats had to eat a $15K fine. Now, I can see if you are sharing hot dogs with this nigga's family, but just bringing him up? It's like people who would get upset about bringing up tragic shit, even in discussion, like you aren't supposed to speak on it. Rooms getting silent when "9/11" is mentioned, things of that sort. I never got that. I'd rather bring that 900lb. gorilla to light than chat around the shit. Discussing dude costs me $15K? I guess they take that "penny for your thought" shit literally as well...

02/The crack team over at Sports Illustrated has unleashed a new, groundbreaking piece of info on the current anabolic steroids drug rings that are being investigated: wrestlers in the WWE are using steroids! This recent interview named names, from guys like Eddie Guerrero to Rey Mysterio, Edge to Kurt Angle, as well as Randy Orton, and I don't doubt that there's a list of others in the wings. I mean, for those of us who have followed wrestling for years, we know that steroid abuse/accusations are nothing new, but I just think it's funny how their crack research has turned up guys like Eddie, who died of an enlarged heart, due to use of anabolic steroids. What's next, SI gonna tell me that Leonard Bias might have been using cocaine?

03/I had to report on this piece of ignorant, nigger-ance in its own number, because I feel as though my wrath might pollute an other-wise non-threatening number on this week's list. Lil' Jon was awarded an honot unlike others in his field: the Guiness Book of World Records has called his "Crunk Ain't Dead" chain the "largest diamond pendant" in the world. What!? I mean, is this something that they seriously had to include into the record books? What is the meaning behing documenting who has the largest diamond pendant in the world? Will they be soon covering the "longest cock" category? "Thickest ass on a white girl"? How about "album to contain the most veiled references to the cocaine selling game"? Christ almighty. And the fucked up part? Now the next niggas is going to try and out-Guiness Lil' Jon. Thanks a lot, Guiness!

04/Republicans crack me up. First it was Newt, screwing around on his wife, all the while pissing on Clinton's fuck-parade. Now, Rudy Guliani AND his wife came out the woodworks letting it be known that they have both walked down the aisle three times. I can see why shit like this is news, I mean the country wants to make-believe like politicians are the moral leaders, and never had a shit that stank. The thing is, this is 2007, not 1957: we know about divorce, and know many people who have tried and failed at marriage. Why is this such a big deal? Well, the Republicans. They spend so much time shitting on Dems, calling them liberals and denouncing gay-rights issues, then come to find out, they are the ones cheating on their wives and IMing teen boys for hot political gay sex. Bible thumping on Sunday, but Lord only knows what transgressions went on the previous Saturday night. And then they wonder why I've never voted Republican...

05/The reason our pets' food killed our pets? Rat poison. In other news, new studies have made it possible for mice to see new colors. Huh? Wake me when they cure cancer...

06/Entertainment news is funny: you have a lot of people doing things that make them feel as though they are not only being innovative, but that their shit is like the 2nd coming of Jesus Cristo. Case in point: Bernie Mac is deciding to leave standup after 30 years, to focus on making shitty movies. If there's a Guess Who sequel, somebody gotta die... T.I. is working on his "dual personality" album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., but chose to work with everyone considered to be currently "hot", further making me believe that it will sound like just another T.I. record... Canibus created a new track, "Poet Laureate Infinity", where he spit 1,000 bars, but because of the way it's mixed, we only get to hear 200 bars or some shit. It's an infinite rhyme, or something. Who fucking knows, the bottom line is, I don't want to hear it... Tony Yayo got arrested for assaulting the 14 year old son of The Game's manager, Jimmy Henchmen. I guess all that jail time doesn't teach you to pick on someone your own size... oh wait, that's probably what old boy was doing... Snoop Dogg got his visa denied, and is banned from performing in the UK, stemming from both the brawl that took place last year in a British airport, but also stemming from his recent charge of smoking weed in Sweden. You'd think they would actually be listening to his lyrics before booking him/expecting him to act civilized... We also have a grip of blonde/while girl entertainer drama: Denise Richards and Pam Anderson are being sued for assault & battery by some pussy ass paparazzi who are saying their attack has left him with nightmares... Some German cat who has ties to some news orgs purchased two of Anna Nicole Smith's diaries for $500K+, only to have them be resold at a later date. It's not like there is much that is going to shock the world, but you can guarantee that her innermost thoughts about nonsense will be made public for no good reason at all... Britney Spears checked her ass out of rehab earlier this week. Good luck to her. Hopefully she can get back to her "Slave 4 U" style and get that gwap... And in some not so blonde, but very slutty scandalous shit, the sex tape between fake-hottie Kim Kardashian and Ray J has been leaked to the internets. I won't be linking the thing here, but it is on the internets and easily accesible to anyone who knows how to find things like that... Did you hear that this Tuesday's American Idol is going to run 7 minutes later than schedule, just to fuck with Dancing With The Stars' results, which are to be read at the beginning of the episode? If I was ABC, I'd jig those fuckers and read my shits like 17minutes in... I had no idea there was going to be a Justice League movie, nor did I know there was such a big discussion over what big names were going to be included (who really wants to see 120minutes of the Green Lantern?), but apparently Christian Bale is to reprise his role as Batman for one of the 3 JL flicks...

07/Here's the rest of this week's nutty news: this missing Purdue Univ. student was found two months after he was deemed missing: dude fell on a power transformer, and they only investigated that room after hearing "popping" sounds... a bio teacher in Oregon was fired over some materials that referenced the Bible, causing some in the area to consider him trying to "pollute" the kid's minds, and that he had some "agenda" going for him in his 8 days as a part-time teacher. I always thought it was odd that the separation of church and state only applies when it affects you... $205.6Million (!!!!!!!) was seized from a house in Mexico, believed to be the spoils of meth operations ran in the US. I still wonder why I never got into the drug trade... JOKE!!!... YouTube is offering it's first awards to videos in various categories... Tactics like these in the Iraq War are downright disturbing... South Carolina won dumbest state of the US by even mentioning that women getting abortions should be made to see the sonogram first. That's just twisted... John Edwards is still on track to losing his campaign for president, although him keeping in the race despite his wife's terrible battle with cancer is very commendable... Lynn Turner, who is already serving life for killing her husband in 1995, might now be made to die for killing a boyfriend with anti-freeze a few years back... Getting crushed by cement and earth and other things didn't kill Houdini: poison did, or so the people who want him exhumed believe... check out Allen Iverson's playoff kicks; then check out Bobbito's AF1's... I will never understand why this style is so trendy... and finally, shouts out to fellow blog fam at OhWord, who got some love from YouTube, who recently added "Ghetto Big Mac" to their "featured" page. Solid.

OK, so that's where we are at currently. Let's hit you lot with a final thought. Sunni Patterson's "We Made It", from this season's Def Poetry. No words, she says it all.



Deep. One.
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Friday, March 23rd 2007 playlist


Hypersound, indeed. You ever have one of those weeks of ups and downs? I think mine is stretching into two... and possibly 3. We'll see how I am feeling by the end of next week. It's rough. Shitload of links for you lot, though, esp. you guys stuck in the cold during the WMC season...


01/Redman "Freestyle Freestyle" [it's not a freestyle, but an album cut from Red Gone Wild. Red does it like none other.]
02/Ghostface Killah & Prodigy "Trials of Life" [prod. by Green Lantern for an upcoming mixtape. Talking about their growing up, trials/tribs of hood niggas. Classic.]
03/Duke Da God ft. Juelz Santana, JR Writer & Hell Rell "More Than Music" [ridin' Dipset music. I don't know if its really more than music, but this music is more than fun.]
04/Swizz Beatz ft. Lil' Wayne, R. Kelly & Jadakiss "It's Me Bitches (Remix)" [that beat is too intense. I dislike Kells and Wayne on here, but I wouldn't stand still if this came on in the club.]
05/KRS-One & Marley Marl "Hip Hop Lives (I Came Back)" [they have an album coming together? I love it.]


06/Technical Itch "Death Jazz" [my fav Tech Itch cut in a while, onon the 50th Tech Itch Recordings release, this EP is still so-so. Current Value wishes he could rock like this, though.]
07/Vicious Circle "Pandora's Box" [sick new EP on RH. Murky feel to this one, very tight track. Curse the dumbass who said they were overrated.]
08/Optiv & Gridlok "Hit The Lights" [nasty new cut on a nasty new release on Violence. For the floor, but also rips it hard in the headphones.]
09/The Fix "The Fire" [dances the fine line between smooth roller and harder edged ragga lick. Nice cut.]
10/Gremlinz "Annexed" [the revised Revelations LP is coming soon. Grab the sampler PRONTO!]

___

I also have a load of tracks, from Redman leaks, to Timbaland leaks, to just a heaping helping of just MUSIC:

*Jay-Z "A.S.A.P. Freestyle" [Jay blazing T.I.'s instrumental. GREEN LANTERN SHIT!]

*Joe Budden busted a dope freestyle on Green Lantern's show, then got kind of raw in the interview.

*Guru ft. Yungun "Too Slick" [not sure when this is dropping, but the old-school vibes are nice.]

*J-Ro ft. Chords "You Call That Love" [sentimental/introspective cut. or as introspective as J-Ro can get...]

*Young Buck "Money Good" [Buck too busy getting money over Lil' Jon beats to worry about beeing with Jada, Joe or Game.]

*Collie Buddz ft. Tony Yayo & Young Buck "Come Around (Remix)" [everyone is in love with the white boy reggae man. G-Unit affilliates step up on the remix tip.]

*Twista ft. Lil' Wayne & Joe Budden "Whip Game Proper (Remix)" [blast it in your Lex or your hooptie.]

*More Redman leaks! "Wutchoogoonado", ft. Melanie Rutherford(?), and "Walk In Gutta", ft. Erick Sermon, Keith Murray & Biz Markie.

*Timbaland leaks! "Come And Get Me", ft. 50 Cent & Tony Yayo, "Bounce", ft. Dr. Dre, Missy Elliot & Justin Timberlake, and "2 Man Show", ft. Elton John(?).

Phew.

___

If you want some DNB mixes to tidy you over, check out my FYLP post over at the DPD for mixes from Specific, DJ XO, DJ Vapour and the Prestige Music Group.

___

Here are a few more things to bring to your attention:

+DJ Soul and Okayplayer linked up for "Assorted Donuts", a mixtape tribute to J Dilla.

+Kay Slay, Grafh and Prinz present "Gangster Music".

+preview Prodigy's Return of the Mac in its entirety before it drops on the 27th.

+The Smoking Section posted up an assload of Nas mixtapes and videos, loads of rare/unreleased gems in there. Respect to them.

___

Finally, here's a new video from Weird Al Yankovic, giving R. Kelly the rub with "Trapped In The Drive-Thru":

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Dub Sessions, vol. 3: "Live Ammunition"

Another year, another installment of my "Dub Sessions" mixtapes.

I think this one is a nice addition, focusing on the "live" aspect of music, for the most part.

I got inspiration by two live versions of tracks from The Roots. The first is the first cut on this mix, a dub/reggae take on their "Break You Off" from their last releases on Geffen, while the last is the awesome rendition of "You Got Me" from Dave Chappelle's Block Party concert/documentary, featuring Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. I was captivated by how they could recreate the tracks on two different levels, one just dubbing the tune out but still maintaining the Hip-Hop edge, and the 2nd going into some psychedelic/tribal affair with "You Got Me", complete with both singers going ballistic over the pulsating riddim. Awe-inspiring.

So the mix was built based on those bookends. Some reggae, some live/'alternative' Hip-Hop (for lack of a better word), and even some John Mayer. Shut up, I love that JMT version of "I Got A Woman". Peep the tracklisting:

01/intro
02/The Roots "Break You Off (Dub/Sound Check At Bogart's Cincinnati, OH 2003)"
03/King Tubby "Hungering Dub"
04/Stephen Marley ft. Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley & Buju Banton "The Traffic Jam"
05/Easy Star All-Stars ft. Citizen Cope "Karma Police"
06/Too $hort ft. Erick Sermon, Kool-Ace & MC Breed "Buy You Some"
07/Outkast "Spottieottiedopaliscious"
08/[interlude]: Jay-Z "Poem (Live)"
09/Jungle Brothers "Brain"
10/No I.D. ft. Dug Infinite & Syndicate "Fate Or Destiny"
11/James Brown "Funky Drummer"
12/Gym Class Heroes "Everyday's Forecast"
13/Alicia Keys ft. Mos Def & Common "Love It Or Leave It Alone (Live)"
14/John Mayer Trio "I Got A Woman (Live)"
15/The Roots ft. Erykah Badu & Jill Scott "You Got Me (Live)"

time: 74:54
size: 105mb


sendspace link : zSHARE link coming soon! Feel free to leave a message with any comments/suggestions/mirrors(!!). And thanks for listening.
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the shuffle. [3/17/07] [super late]

Sorry this is coming late... shit is just hectic right now. I'm not even in the mood for wit. Had an interview, had some fucked up news come, trying to come out on top. It's hard to be the happy man when you feel like that sad clown.

PLUS iO fucked up my HBO On Demand.

Here's the week that was:


*Jeopardy! had 3 dudes tie at the end of an episode. I saw the shit, and it looked fixed. Why would dude in the lead only bet enough to tie both of the other contestants if they guessed correctly? Ratings boost much?
*LL Cool J is leaving Def Jam after his 13th LP, still blaming Jay-Z for his lack of sales. Dogs, the LP sucked. This ain't 1987.
*What's in the water in Ohio, when 13 year olds get charged with 128 felonies?!?!
*Snoop Dogg SHOCKER: he got arrested in Sweden, with a substance that is unknown, but might be weed.
*Are J.Lo and the Geico gecko on the rocks? And why are Joss Stone and Raphael Saadiq together?
*Richard Jeni apparently shot himself, fatally. Ice Cube is gonna show America that it's Good In The Hood.
*Peep El-P's new video for "Smithereens", which has an Abu Ghirab feel to it.
*Bad week for Busta Rhymes: not only did he get banned from his movie set, but he also lost one of Jersey's nicest, Rah Digga.
*Taylor Hicks supports "Vote For The Worst". And speaking of Idol, what's up with former contestants jacking off in front of other cats in the bathroom?
*Make way for Netflix hacking.
*Just give this guy his stuff back.
*Viacom done did it: they suing Google for $1Billion over, you guessed it, YouTube. WTF makes them think Viacom videos on YouTube is so special. You can find any kind of shit on there.

In any case, I just gotta post up this video from my boy Nick Evelation. It's entitled "peace.nappy":




Get ready for that THUGSTEP invasion. I'll catch you guys on the flip, bitch.

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Friday, March 16th 2007 playlist


Weird week. Got a call back on a job and got a call saying goodbye - for now. Shit's good, but it ain't all good. This list reflects that. Let's go...

01/The Roots "No Alibi" [this one goes out to DJ Nappy. the first time I rode around Princeton with him and Cousin Nick Evelation, this came on the stereo. I had heard the cut before, but it was the first time I really listened to it. Still one of my favorite Roots tracks ever, puts me into a zone.]
02/Evelation "no!!!!!!!!" [Nick on that downtempo/dubstep vibe. Very moody track... you never got to play this one on Wednesday, but it's all good. I still know your intentions. It's all good, dogs. Get at me with that info.]
03/J Swinscoe "Goatee (Part 1)" [from the 1998 FunKungFusion compilation, this is the first Swinscoe/Cinematic Orchestra cut I heard in my life. Another one that puts me in an awkward mood. I love it though. Love that jazz hybrid style. New CO LP coming in May I think... Ma Fleur.]
04/David Banner "K.O." [fight music, dirty south style. Just plain ignant. I love it, in all it's minimal glory.]
05/Vex'd "Angels" [from his 2005 Planet Mu CD, Degenerate, I just love the sub-loving bass in this one. And that "the angels fell" sample. Gotta love how samples work, fitting so perfectly with diff. styles of music.]
06/Goldfinger "Chainsaw" [from this .rar the Dutty Dubz crew threw up on the dubstepforum. I had heard the other 3 cuts, and they are dope, but this one takes the cake. Too nasty.]
07/Cham "Rudeboy Pledge (Nappy's Liquid Sword Mix)" [you guys think all the nigga does is THUGSTEP? Nappy's style is pure mashup bidness, not just the dubstep/rap steeze either. I keep saying it, but it's interesting how Nappy doesn't like reggae/dance hall, but married this Cham acapella over a RZA beat that was originally sampled from a ska record, which does not apologize for their love of the Reggae flavors. Funny how life works, right?]
08/Prodigy "Stop Frontin'" [more from the P/ALC marriage that is Return of the Mac, which should be dropping later this month. Lovin' the sample love in this one.]
09/Saburuko "North Face" [audio for this is up on their MySpace page. It's a mispress to Horizons Music 19, and only so many copies came of it, so if you didn't get one of the 40 available, go to the MySpace and enjoy the vibes. They are the ones to watch.]
10/UGK ft. Three 6 Mafia "Player's Anthem" [some cats callin' this the summer anthem of 07, but if you DJs are smart, you are rinsing this NOW!]
11/Joe Budden "My Life" [yes, Joe Budd is rhyming over a sample of The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove", and its dope. I love his steeze.]

___

Bonus Cuts:
  • Redman "Gimmie One" [NJ's #1 MC right now is killin' it over a Pete Rock banger.]
  • Ghostface Killah "Chunky" [Pete Rock givin' Ghost some love as well. Classic sounds.]
  • Clipse ft. Pharrell "Mr. Me Too (Nappy vs. Deadly Habit Blend)" [Even D. Hab was surprised that his crazy beat could fit over someone other than Kool Keith.]
___

In The Mix:
  • The rolldabeats crew's "Decade In The Mix" series has finally seen #2 *of 4* come out via DOA. If you are into that classic jungle/DNB sound, grab this mix, PRONTO! This one is mixed by DJ Haste, so expect some ill techniques and mixes on here.
  • The good folks over at DNBARENA.ru have gotten their mits on the Valve Soundsystem's mixes from the recent Xtra Bass Awards. Check this thread for tracklistings and links to one of the many mirrors. Holla.
  • Keeping it DNB, if you want a taste of the new nasty, grab EBK's March 2007 Mix. Peep this stormer's tracklisting HERE.
  • Rock and Roll is DEAD posted this Biggie Blendz 2007 mixtape from a DJ named Snicka earlier this week. Peep their post for full tracklisting and more details.
___

Final Thought:

DJ Nappy, in his own words, and at the night THUGSTEP came alive:

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LOST, Season 3: "Par Avion" [precap]

Word. Never done a precap before. Not even sure what a precap is.

Wanna know a lil bit about what's going on tonight? Read the ABC press release for "Par Avion", tonight's brand new ep.

Wanna see the preview of this week's ep? Go register to Watch LOST, which posts up the episodes after they air in Windows Media format, and holler at this thread.

Also, give a listen to this week's Official LOST podcast, featuring Michael Emerson (aka "Ben"), one of the producers griping about filming in Hawaii, and the prehash of "Par Avion".

I'm gonna be out tonight, but will catch this episode and give a recap ASAP.

Namaste.
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DJ Nappy - THUGSTEP Mix (Part 1 of 2)

listen/download HERE. tracklisting:

01. young jeezy - take it to the floor f. bonecrusher (nappy vs tes la rok dubstep mix) 02. big kuntry king - throwback f. ti (nappy vs. reform dubstep mix)
03. slim thug - like a boss (nappy vs vex'd dubstep mix)
04. slim thug - diamonds (remix) f. young jeezy, sick pulla, killa (nappy vs emelkay dubstep mix)
05. jase - go hard
06. boss-n-over - self made f. bun b (nappy vs skream dubstep mix)
07. lil wayne - go dj (nappy vs benga dubstep mix)
08. big cas - check my feet (nappy vs. hijak extended dubstep mix)
09. allstar cashville prince f. yo gotti - tear it up (nappy vs el rakkas dubstep mix)
10. brisco - opa-locka (feat. rick ross)
11. 8ball - anotha level
12. riskay - dope girl (nappy vs. reform dubstep mix)
13. the game - dreams (nappy vs paradigmx dubstep mix)
14. 2vm - placita
15. the twilight singers - love

256kbps
90.4 MB
49:22


The culmination of a lot of fucking hate, a load of sick dubstep tracks and some crunk ass acapellas is sitting in that link (with some straight electro/rap tracks thrown in for good measure).

If you are confused as to what THUGSTEP sounds like, peep that link.

If you already know and want to hear the tracks in the mix by a dope DJ, click that link.

If you hate, keep doing your job.

I do want to say, the way cats act on the DubstepForum and in other capacities regarding shit they don't understand/are threatened by, you guys make me not even want to listen to the shit. I already knew that your shit was essentially Dub with new-school production techniques (just ask Juju, he knows you guys are just recreating Dub), but at the end of the day, your scene will stay tiny due to your lack of forward thinking, your ridiculous need to guard your scene from shit that you think is "taking the piss" or negating your sales, and your just overall silly attitude(s).

In any case, here is a video giving you a glimpse at who DJ Nappy is and what he stands for. In it are clips from the night THUGSTEP came alive at the Killing Center, some interview spots, and other bits, some funny, some interesting, all dope. Just take a look for yourself:



THUGSTEP or die.
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Still hatin' on THUGSTEP

Check out the dubstepforum's convoluted feelings towards DJ Nappy and THUGSTEP.

Why they still think THUGSTEP is a genre we are trying to create is ludicrous. Why they continue to hate on it is even more ridiculous.

"Fuck them other niggas, 'cause I'm down for my niggas."

EDIT: At the end of the day, though, Katt Williams said it best: you need haters. They are doing their job, so Nappy, let them hate.
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the shuffle. [3/10/07]

Kind of a hectic week. Aside from getting my eBay store in gear (I'm getting that oven up this week, mama), getting my resume out to companies all over (as well as getting a random, out-of-state opportunity to blog/do admin work for some adult entertaiment company?), and trying to get some things in order, THUGSTEP-wise, I've just been in a funk. I think it's the no-job thing, especially in the climate that the job market is in now, I feel like my time is running out, esp. with my bills never seeming to be low at all. I usually think that music will ease the pain, and maybe, when my mp3 player finally comes in, I'll be able to ease my mind a tad... but I doubt it. Once I have that "you're hired" and that "you did it" feeling surpass, I'll be good. So forgive me if I seem a bit on edge or flustered.

If any of you produce Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Dub, Dubstep or any other genre I get with, and want to send me track either for feedback or to plug here on rock the dub (or other places), get at me. Seriously. I am trying to get a few things going, and that is one of them. More on that in the near future, though.

In any case, let's just get to the whole reason we're here... to dice up this week's nonsense and bullshit!

01/James Brown is going to be looking like the Cryptkeeper if they keep his body in the South Carolina crypt that it was just laid in this week. Why they would choose this is anyone's guess. While I am happy that his kids fronted the money to put him in this, instead of going through lawyers to try and settle things, I can't help but think that this is going to delay many fans and well-wishers from coming to pay their respect to the Godfather of Soul. And, in the end, they are missing out on their "Graceland" payday! Get a town, dress it up in James' honor, and get paid... no time to waste.

02/Speaking of dead artists, the 10 year anniversary of Biggie's passing was this past Friday. I covered all of my thoughts, and the posts of others, in those two posts from Friday, but there were a few interviews that I missed, from XXL: BIG's daughter, T’Yanna Wallace, spoke to them in a short piece, just breaking down her thoughts on her pops, including the fact that "Warning" is her fav. cut from her father. On the flipside, Mister Cee, BIG's DJ, lets it all out about his homeboy, then and now. Also, be on the look out for The Last King of New York, a mixtape of BIG material coming from Doo Wop and Mike Nice (more info HERE). It's due to have a lot of shit you might not have heard, and is set to be an add-on to the Biggie canon. RIP to the true don.

03/Did you guys hear the story about Newt Gingrich and his affairs? Now, this is the man who lead the Republicans during Monica-gate, and this muthafucka is out there screwing around as well! What kind of ridiculousness is that? And he has the nerve to say that his situation is different because he didn't lie about it on the stand!? I mean, if you guys didn't take Clinton to take in the first place, he wouldn't have NEEDED to lie, you ignorant prick. And the fact that you are only copping to it now that you are a 2008 presidential candidate shows just how ridiculous you are. And what's the worst news they could pull out on Barack Obama? He paid his parking tickets late...

04/Keeping it political for just a mite, I wam surprised more people didn't take the FBI to task for reportedly violationg the Patriot Act when obtaining phone records. About 20% of their requests were underreported, which seems to undermine the whole reason for having an act that let's you grab all kinds of records from the American public. It's just funny, this might be the firestorm needed to get more Americans to realize how corrupt some factions of the government can be. The only thing I wonder is, who were the ones who were not reported for whatever reason? And why? $20 says these rogue FBI agents were making cake on the side for divorce proceedings and shit.

05/There were a few FUCKED UP stories involving kids this week. The first, and possibly most widespread of the stories, was the report on two kids who were videotaped smoking blunts from their 18 year old uncle. The fucked up part? Authorities said that the fucking 2 year old looked like he had done this before! I can't imagine the things my kid is picking up from just observing myself and my family, but I can be thankful it doesn't have anything to do with knowing how to inhale drugs. On the flipside, the ignorant ass mother who used her child as a weapon during an altercation with her man plead guilty this past week. I like how for a crime like that, the minimum is only 5 years. I wonder what is going to happen to the child, who ended up being seriously injured. Finally, here's a story that is so fucked up, but the dude's initial reaction makes me chuckle: last year, on the Staten Island Railway, this pervert was jerking off in front of a 14 yeard old. Peep his ridiculous response though: as he was jerking, the girl was basically like "fuck this", and got up to leave. This asshole had the nerve to be like "Wait, don't go!" Huh?! He didn't get his joint in his pants and bolt, or try to silence her. Nah, he asked if she would stay put. What a kind sex offender. The good news is he got convicted of that crime, so hopefully he will get his shit pushed in by some big bastard on his cellblock.

06/The girl Britney Spears is going bonkers, plain and simple. Word this week was that homegirl was going psychotic, writing "666" on the back of her skull (how was she doing this?), and calling herself the antichrist. Rumors also came out that she tried to hang herself the night she went Mr. Clean. The stories about her therapy diary are borderline stalker-ish (do we really need to know how she gets down with girls?), and counter-productive, but it just adds to the debate: can she bounce back from all of this drama and pain? Well, Timbaland says he wants to "take her... overseas, and work (it) out". While that sounds like he wants to smash her out, he really says he wants to work on some music with Brit when she's well, even recruiting her one-time boyfriend Justin Timberlake, who says, with Timbaland, he'd work with Britney. Awwwww...

07/This Frenchie Davis/Antonella Barba shit has got to stop. When people like Rosie O'Donnell can claim that this situation is an example of Fox being racist, and people actually take her dumb ass seriously, I fear for the future of this country. Fox was right in saying that, based on Idol's past winners, there is no racial or "weightist" (new term, Rosie?) undertones to the comp. My question is this: Frenchie has gone on record as not only questioning why Antonella was kept, but Frenchie was booted, but also that Fox might want to think of how they are going to "make up" things to her. HUH!?!! What exactly is Frenchie owed? From what I understand, things go like this: when Frenchie was 19, she did some porn shit, girl on girl whatever, she did it to support herself. Can't knock her hustle @ all, you dig? Five years later, Fox, UNDERSTANDEDLY, pulls her from the semifinals, as the knowledge of a chick who was once in porn now possibly being in a position to tarnish their competition. I think that makes sense, and whether they knew it or not, is very reasonable. And it's not like Frenchie didn't get hired to a Broadway show almost instantly. She has been doing very well for herself, mainly due to the fact that she went through that. Flash to Antonella's situation: she took a load of pics, some racier than others, and they were let go ONCE SHE GOT ONTO Idol. People question the validity of the blowjob pics (something about her ear being different in the shots), but the others aren't necessarily porn. Hell, a lot of the tamer shots were on the cover of The Trentonian over the last few weeks. Plus, Antonella had no chance (even if she thinks she could have gone farther). Frenchie could have won it. She was a bigger risk. Plain and simple. Antonella might be getting big offers to get naked, but who says she will take them? Frenchie has gone legit, been made mainstream, over this. Who is really getting over?

08/I've got a decent amount of Black Entertainment news, as Black entertainers never cease to leave the limelight... heads chuckled at Kanye West ordering his curry to be flown from the UK to the US special. While I hate this man, I cannot imagine that this is the only time a request like that is made (speaking of Kanye, check out Von Pea's FREE mixtape, jacking mad Kanye beats for a special treat.)... get ready for Mr. and Mrs. Jones, a new reality show on MTV featuring Nas(ir Jones) and his wife, Kelis. While it will def. be a treat to watch, the married MTV reality TV shows never work - Nick & Jessica, Travis Barker and his blonde ex, Carmen and Dave Navarro. Good luck, Nas!... Speaking of reality shows, Shaq has a new one on deck for ABC, dealing with the topic of weight loss. Looks like he is helping out kids deal with and get their weight off. Good for him... In the funniest shit I've heard all week, LL Cool J is looking for an endorsement from Chapstick. Do I really need to add a joke to this one?... Without Shyne by his side to bust shots into the ceiling, Diddy has to do his own dirtywork, which includes telling someone at a pre-Oscar party that he is going to "smack fire" out they ass (speaking of Diddy, Rafi @ OhWord has a detailed piece on the whole Rawkus/El-P fiasco that started with a pic of Diddy and El-P in the same shot!)... Jay-Z is having a good week, with his sale of Rocawear for a cool $204 million... You have to love it when guys like Gene Simmons comment on Hip-Hop being stale, when his group sang about rock-n-rolling all night, and then partying every day, like this is not the basis for THOUSANDS OF ROCK SONGS FROM HIS ERA!... On more interview fronts, Rizoh got a chance to speak with Phonte of Little Brother on a number of LB-related topics... I about shit my pants when rumors flew about OJ possibly being Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy... Jim Jones' Bloods affiliation was so heavy, niggas couldn't even go to no after parties after the concert out in Rhode Island!... Michael Jackson is out there trying to keep his name in the news, this time saying that he's take all of the attacks on him in stride. What attacks? You set up the pitch, we knock it out the park...

09/And now, for the rest of the news from the week that was: ABC is going to be filming a pilot for a series featuring the cavemen seen in the Geico series of commercials. There are so many possibilities, I just hope they don't screw it up... The payola crisis took a blow this week, when the 4 major radio broadcasters were ordered to let the locals and smaller labels get some shine on the radio airwaves... Captain America got murked this week... This 24 year old had the internet going nuts when they found out that he was the man behind this Wikipedia professor who spent more time editing wikipedia entries than teaching... Rumor has it that there's a plan in the works for a Forrest Gump sequel, minus Tom Hanks. Go figure... Blues Traveller's John Popper got popped (!!!) with an aresenal of weapons and some weed. Question: WHY!!?!?... The people behind the PS3 unveiled info about their new internet community, Home, which sounds like the Second Life kind of thing, but to each their own... Hot on the trails of Apple and their iPhone, Palm is in the works on their own iPod killer. And this is like a month after I got wifey the Palm Z22!!!... the "Beltway Madam" plead not guilty to racketerring and other charges, but said she is set to reveal the 10,000+ names in her little black book to the Internet, to raise defense funds. What an ace to have up your sleeve... Poor Ohio Univ. students! 500 of them had to pony up $3K as to become a lesson for would-be P2Pers. Now, after paying the $3 grand, how does the RIAA expect these cash-strapped students to buy the albums legitimately???... Salma Hayek is not only pregnant, but engaged. Congrats to her, and good luck!... And finally, the popular 70s porno Debbie Does Dallas is being remade, and Showtime has a reality series following the production of this new film. Check your local listings...

____

Final thought. I am tired.. Here's a video to tide you over, until next time...


The Herbaliser "The Missing Suitcase"
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