Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Check It ... Basic Vocab "Prescription"
I caught this in the email yesterday. Dope track. Enjoy.
"After releasing their debut, The General Dynamic, in 2006, Basic Vocab would go on to be featured in Vibe, Urb, XLR8R Magazines (among many) and most of the esteemed Urban Net destinations as well. Their debut was given an extra boost by the LP's breakout single "Come Get With It" which was featured on HBO's wildly popular show Entourage (Season 5, Episode 8) and Miami Ink. Their appearance on Entourage resulted in over 250K Net plays of "Come Get With It.""Prescription"(produced by Illastrate) [download]
In April of 2010, Basic Vocab (JL Sorrell, Mental Growth and Tony Galvin) will return with their sophomore LP, A Better Way.
After leaking "There You Are" featuring Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) before the holidays, here is the second leak, "Prescription," from Basic Vocab's sophomore effort A Better Way."
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Check it ... "South Bronx" feat. The Kid Daytona, Cause & Chaundon
Mick Boogie + nVMe + Duck Down Records Presents "SURVIVAL KIT". Enjoy the first leak from the project, "South Bronx", featuring The Kid Daytona, Cause and Chaundon. Enjoy.
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When She Speaks, You Listen: tha Lady Blogga "Life ..."
WoW!
So 2010 came in and is proving to be bigger and badder than 2009. Personally, my life has done a 360 since the start of the New Year. And well, for some parts of the rest of the world, it seems that way too. There are a lot of things going on. Some say it's the beginning of the end. I say it's just life progressing.
It's amazing to see how people react in a time of need. Everyone talks a lot of talk but when it comes down to it, that's all it is. Who's to say that you won't be needing some assistance of some kind one day. There are certain people who always put themselves before others and are willing to lend a hand at all costs. Then there are others who don't want to help but talk about what could be done. Then you have those that just don't care. At the end of the day, it's about treating people the way you want to be treated. I am not only talking about Haiti and the Earthquake efforts but in life itself. People don't realize that Karma is real. The way you treat people is going to come back to you when you least expect it. Pat Robertson and his ignorant way of thinking is going to find out about Karma real soon.
It doesn't take much to give a hand. I am learning first-hand about that as we speak. I am always there for others, willing to give to others. If I have 2 bucks and you need 1.50, I'll give it to you. That's just how I am. People sometimes take advantage of that or can't muster up the energy to reciprocate. But it's not going to change who I am.
I think that we, as a civilization, will be tested this year. This earthquake is the first of many situations that we are going to have to deal with. As a human race we need to learn how to come together and be there for one another. It's not about race, ethnicity or gender... We are people first.
I am no longer on Twitter but you can follow my posts on the blog.
-LB
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
What I'm Watching ... @WordSpit "Poet's Haiku"
I caught this joint via email from the homie WordSpit. The track and video are dope! Enjoy!
"WordSpit turns to his pen and pad to find salvation from the world around him to create ... Poet's Haiku. Directed By Robin Winter and DP'd by Adam Donald. Please Leave a comment!"
www.twitter.com/wordspit
www.myspace.com/wordspit
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What I'm Watching ... DJ Prince "Borough" Prod By Cyrus The Great
Check out this joint from DJ Prince and directed by Napoleon Wright III of BecauseUs.org. Both the track and video are dope. Enjoy.
"When DJ Prince contacted us to create a video for his new single "Burough", we were amped. After a weekend in the big city, here's what we came up with."
The Boroughs (NY Anthem) Prod By Cyrus The Great from BECAUSEUS on Vimeo.
keepupwithprince.blogspot.com
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What I'm Listening to ... Mos Def "Quiet Dog" (live)
I tweeted earlier that I was listening to Mos Def's "Quiet Dog" and the homie @phillupclinics hit me up with this link of footage from Mos Def performing "Quiet Dog" in Denver at the Gothic Theater back in August '09. Enjoy ... Boogie MAN!Download ... "The Purple Tape" Rapper Big Pooh x Black Milk x DJ Jaycee
O gave you a preview a few days ago with "When I'm Done" from Rapper Big Pooh off "The Purple Tape" and now here's the full mixtape. "The Purple Tape" produced by Black Milk featuring Rapper Big Pooh and mixed by DJ Jaycee. Download and enjoy.
TRACKLIST:
01 When I’m Done
02 Blueprint
03 Impatient f. Ms. Cris
04 Put It In The Air f. Joe Scudda
05 Holding Back f. Erica Thompson
06 Girlfriend
07 Camera Tricks f. Chaundon
08 Law & Order f. Jozeemo
09 Bounce
10 Say Something f. DJ Flash
11 Shoutemout
The Purple Tape (Download)
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Monday, January 11, 2010
#MusicMonday ... Deto-22 & Sketch Tha Cataclysm "The Sound"
Deto 22 and Sketch Tha Cataclysm got together on an entire EP titled "Sharing Is Caring" that was released on November 3rd. Here's a track on that EP that I'm digging. Check it out...
Deto-22 & Sketch Tha Cataclysm - The Sound
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#MusicMonday ... John Mayer "I Got a Woman" (cover)
My one-year-old loves Ray Charles. His music was introduced to him before he was even born and his love continues. "I Got a Woman" is among his favorites. I decided to share John Mayer Trio's cover of the track on this Music Monday. Enjoy and happy Monday!
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Saturday, January 09, 2010
STOP, COLLABORATE and LISTEN: Email Tips for Rappers (and other artists too)
I originally did this post a while back after an increasing frustration with aspiring artist basically spamming my inbox with a bunch of incoherent bullshit. No shots but some people need other people (people that know what they're doing) running their promotion. This is one of my favorite posts and as we churn through the first month of a new year and new decade, I figured it deserved a repost. I also reposted mostly because the same bullshit is finding itself into my inbox again without following these guidelines. Aspiring artist, take notice.
Dear Rappers (and other artists too),
So, you want to be featured on someone's blog? That's cool. I know I can speak for others who have opened their inboxes and websites to your music ... you need a bit of guidance before hitting send.
Are the tips below the end all, be all to sending an email? Probably not. But you know what, it's a great start and some of you NEED this type of start because the emails you're sending out right now are hurting your chances of being heard and featured (well, at least at The Mad Bloggers). You want to be taken a bit more seriously and have a chance of being heard and featured? Here are a few things to keep it mind:
1) Be humble - No one and I mean NO ONE wants to receive an email with, "Dis dat shit you been waiting for right here" or "Da realest and most anticipated n*gga in music" or "Da best shit you'll hear dis year" (especially if you're writing the email and it's your music). Why? Well, first of all, that shit is lame. Secondly, you've set one hell of an expectation for your music. I mean, how do you know what I've been waiting for and are you kidding by saying this is "da best shit I'll hear this year"? What happens when you say that, we'll listen to 3.5 seconds of your track and if it doesn't hit, we delete. Be confident but remember humility will take you much further. Let the listener decide if you are "the most anticipated" in music. Otherwise, you just look like a douchebag.
2) Mailing List - Rapper meet BCC, BCC meet Rapper. Yeah, I DONT want to see the 10,000 other emails addresses that you are sending this email to *scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, still scrolling* oh, there's the music. Listen, do one of two things, BCC (blind carbon copy for those just joining us from the back of the room) or set up a mailing list with those email addresses. Both are pretty basic and simple. Please note, because my email address is on my website doesn't mean I want to broadcast it in a mass email through you, nor do I want to scroll for 45 minutes to get to the body of the email. It looks messy, so just don't do that.
3) Short and Sweet - Keep it simple, ya dig? I don't need to read five paragraphs in the body of the email about who are and what you bring to the game. If a blogger wants to know more, we'll reach out to you or read the "about me section" on your website (oh, you better have an online presence). I'll be honest, if it's more than a paragraph most of us aren't reading it (truth be told, most of us aren't even reading the paragraph). Honestly, we just want to hear the music. So, make it simple -- "I'm blah blah blah out of blankedy blank and I'd appreciate if you give my music a listen. Find tracks attached and a link to my site. Peace" (NOTE: Artists, feel free to copy/paste). It's simple, all you need is : Brief intro, photograph and playable attached music (NOTE: We don't want HUGE audio files either. If you can't figure this out, send a link to a download). BOOM, simplicity!
4) Don't abbrv. - Yeah, no need to abbreviate champ, okay? This isn't a text message or a tweet. PLEASE SPELL IT OUT. "U gon luv it" --- actually, I'm going to delete it. Don't assume that because you are submitting your music to a hip-hop or urban website, that there isn't an educated person on the other end of the computer who is mumbling, "this n*gga saving characters for what?" I know it's a recession but the other two letters in "you" don't need to be left out for "u" because they don't cost a dime (Sidebar: It's not at all creative to make up new spellings of words either, i.e. dis, waz, dat; so cut that out too).
5) Online Presence - You need to have a myspace (not just a myspace tho), bandcamp, reverbnation or your own website or something. Send the links and make sure they actually work. It's 2010 and you're trying to push music without an online presence? I hope you're kidding. You need to have something, so I hope you do. It's also pretty cheap to set up a domain, so why not invest. I mean, you are serious about your music right? Make it look like it.
6) Get Your Files Right - Remember in tip 3 when I mentioned "playable attached music"? Yeah, well you also need to learn how to tag your music the right way or don't send that shit out. FOR REAL! Nothing more annoying that downloading an album, importing to iTunes and going on a scavenger hunt to find the album and realizing that it's somewhere hiding as "track 01" with no artist name or album name for that matter. Why the eff is your track being so mysterious for? I don't work for you, so why am I formating your music to fit into my iTunes. Why am I guessing the name of your tracks? Step your tech savvy game up. It's not that hard. If you think it is, go back to burning cds and good luck sharing.
7) The Remix to the Remix - As an example, Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" is a good track. Do I need to hear the fifty-leven remixes of it? Absolutely not. It's cool you made your own and I'm happy for you and all but sending it to me with, "Jay's was straight but this one really hits" is just a foolish set up. Not to say you can't rhyme or your version isn't better, originality goes a whole lot further. We get a lot of these emails all day long, stand out by being different. It' just a suggestion.
I'm not trying to be an asshole, I'm just trying to help. We get a lot of emails each day and it's frustrating to sift through bullshit. You can read these tips and say, "dat n*gga is a hater" (don't even get me started on this statement). If you feel that way, fine by me. Or you can read and say, "oh, thanks, I appreciate it." I'm just saying.
Good luck with your music.
Sincerely,
-Q of the Mad Bloggers
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Friday, January 08, 2010
What I'm Listening To ... Raheem DeVaughn "I Don't Care"
They can hate if they wanna, but I don't care. Music is such a beautiful thing. New song off Raheem DeVaughn's upcoming album, “The Love and War Masterpeace”. Check it out.
Raheem DeVaughn - I Don't Care
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