Listen To This: Emrah Kotan

Who is one the most prolific cats to hold a pair of drum sticks? Emrah Kotan. As one of the nicest people you'll ever meet he is also one of the most gifted percussionist you'll ever hear. Emrah is the Director of the Jazz and World Percussion Ensembles at Agnes Scott College as well as a member of the renowned jazz trio International Groove Conspiracy with bassist Matt Stallard and pianist Jose Manuel Garcia. With them, Emrah has traveled across the world performing at some of the most prominent jazz venues around.

As one of his former students, I can honestly say that watching him play is not only a treat but an experience. Simply put by Joseph Patrick Moore, owner of Blue Kanoe Records, "Emrah Kotan is a superb musician with dazzling technique [...] The bottom line is that Emrah Kotan is a great artist with wonderful gifts to offer." With that said, I will leave you with a video of Emrah performing "Tanya" with International Groove Conspiracy at The Blue Note in New York City. Enjoy.





To find out more about what Emrah is doing and where he'll be performing visit his website www.emrahkotan.com. Also, check out more of his videos at YouTube.


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Image Credit: Emrah Kotan

Check It ... Joe Budden "Somethin To Ride 2" (Produced by J. Cardim)

Here's the latest track by the homie Joe Budden. Enjoy.

The Cardim Collection continues!! This one is my favorite so far in the series because its the first taste of the sample-free sound Budden and Cardim have been creating on Joe's album The Great Escape. Look out for more J. Cardim/Joe Budden collaborations later this month on J. Cardim's upcoming project Dice Music Group: The IN Crowd!

Joe Budden "Somethin To Ride 2" (Produced by J. Cardim)


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Check It ... Rah Digga "This Ain't No Lil' Kid Rap"

This joint is serious! Rah Digga delivers on "This Ain't No Lil' Kid Rap". She's working on the new album "Classic" produced entirely by Nottz. In the meantime, enjoy this track.



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Check It ... @quakematthews "Outside Looking In"

Check this track from Canadian emcee Quake. The track is off his debut album "The Myth", dropping June 18th.




quakemusic.wordpress.com

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Download ... @TheGTW "Don't Smoke the Cigarette"

There is something fresh about The GTW. The Angry Hero Music Group describes the 20-year-old Chicago emcee as a "Hip-House writer/producer .... His music fuses house with hip-hop which propels his music to an innovative standard." With some room to grow, The GTW provides a unique sound on "Don't Smoke the Cigaratte". I can dig it.

Check one my favorite joint "Hennesy Joint (remix)" and if you're so inclined, download "Don't Smoke the Cigarette."

"Don't Smoke the Cigarette" [Download]

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Check It ... ¡OYE! "The Sentence"

We featured ¡OYE! during the Milwaukee installment of the Journey to Hip-Hop series. His "In My Mind" EP is pretty dope. He's working on a new project with Milwaukee native and producer Klassik.

Milwaukee has unearthed a shining, refreshing voice with rising artist ¡OYE!. The Puerto Rican emcee is really hitting a stride with the tremendous response spawned by his debut project, the In My Mind EP.

¡OYE!, a Junior at UW- Madison teamed up with fellow Milwaukee native and musical producer, Klassik, to build the musical work and develop a sound that expresses, with graceful and poetic grit, the complex aspects of an ambitious musician’s mind. Sponsored by Chicago based InkRed Clothing, the two artists have been brewing up a live show that best encapsulates the artistic vision of the In My Mind EP.

If the buzz still hasn’t reached you yet, you might want to go out and find it.
Check out the new sneak peak of the upcoming mixtape as ¡OYE! flexes the pen on THE SENTENCE!

OYE414.COM

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Check It ... K. Vincent "Ain't A Thang Change"

Another email I've had for a while. The homie Essince over at Royal Heir Entertainment hit me with this jawn from the Chicago emcee, K. Vincent. It's pretty dope. Check it.




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What I'm Watching ... @The_ICs "Stadium Status"

Yes, that's former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer with the Internets Celebrities

Dallas Penn is a funny dude. I don't know him outside of the Internets but I fuks with him. Anyway, the Internets Celebrities (Dallas Penn x Rafi Kam x Casimir Nozkowski) have been having one of the biggest weeks EVER. It started off with a feature in the NY Times, followed by an appearance on MSNBC and now the new video. Check out "Stadium Status." CHEA!

Our starting point for this movie was simply asking the question: why did the Yankees and the Mets get to build record-breakingly expensive stadiums in the SAME YEAR? Considering we were on the brink of a massive recession and now face massive budget shortfalls in New York state, it seemed problematic that so much public funding went into these buildings – with little assurance of any tangible public benefit.

From there, we employed our usual investigation methods. Namely, go to a place and start filming. We actually got into Citifield and were able to film there. Yankee Stadium confiscated our tape – but we still managed to talk to people and capture the exterior of the massive new structure.

We looked at the communities being affected by these stadiums and tried to see who exactly was benefiting from these teams getting to build new revenue-maximizing ballparks – directly across from the old ones.

It’s a big topic, could probably fill up a feature film or two and in the end is our longest movie to date – coming in at a potentially unviral 18 minutes.

We could not have made this movie without you, internets and if you dig it, please pass it along to anyone else who might enjoy it. In the end, we’re baseball fans and still root for these teams. But it doesn’t mean it’s not worth questioning their methods.

Thank you very much for watching. Chea!

Stadium Status from Internets Celebrities on Vimeo.


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What I'm Watching ... @PhilAde301 "The Letter"

"Tryna be a boss, you are not Tony Danza..."

I remember the first time I heard the name Phil Ade. A friend had just attended a show in DC and hit me with "check this dude out, I saw him tonight." I did. I enjoyed his style. The dude is dope and this track "The Letter" and the visuals are fresh. "The Letterman" drops July 6. Enjoy this in the meantime.



Phil Ade "The Letter" from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

www.myspace.com/philade301


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Check It ... Janelle Monáe "Tightrope" (Wondamix) feat. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco

I dig Janelle. I dug the original version of "Tightrope" too. Check the remix featuring B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco. It's pretty fresh.



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Check It @BornBrothaz "Three M's"

I first came across the Born Brothaz right after the Milwaukee installment of The Journey to Hip-Hop series. The crew out of the brew city where just wrapping up their "JFK Conspiracy Series: Born Identity" project. I've had the project for quite some time. With so much damn music in and out of my inbox, sometimes it's hard to keep up with what I posted. I missed this post, #latepass. Check this cut, "Three M's", off their project.




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Download ... The Amber Rose Freestyles (Produced by @judahonthebeat)

Don't let the 35 track list overwhelm you. "The Amber Rose Freestyles" is basically eight tracks broken down into verses from a gang of emcees. It's an interesting concept and well worth the listen. I dig it.

Everyone had something to say about this....so they put it in a verse.

After several months of receiving freestyle submissions from emcees located around the world, the Amber Rose Instrumental(s) freestyle project is fully dressed, putting words to the now infamous playland of music from JUDAH, the producer whose "beats sounds so....."

Presented by JUDAH x Dub MD x Kevin Nottingham, mixed by DJ Dublee. The mixtape boasts artists from all over the globe including Tabi Bonney, Dominique Larue, Van T (Mexico) and Beaufonic (Australia). Other locales include Texas, North Carolina, California, and of course the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia).

When Love Leaves (Produced By Judah)
01.) Tabi Bonney / Greenspan
02.) Special Guest
03.) Feevaleo
04.) Vega Teknique
05.) Rewind
06.) Jungle Ship

Rose' For Amber (Produced By Judah)
07.) Suff Shakur
08.) Vega Teknique
09.) Tanny
10.) Broadway Miller
11.) Dominique Larue
12.) Singing This
13.) Chick Flicks (No Homo)

Slowly, Surely (Produced By Judah)
14.) Mac Marz
15.) Closure
16.) Special Guest

Unconditional Love (Produced By Judah)
17.) Feevaleo
18.) Barrell House
19.) Special Guest
20.) Change Ups

Love Therapy (Produced By Judah)
21.) E-Major
22.) Special Guest
23.) Broadway Miller
24.) ICAN
25.) Breaking Up

Revenge Is Sooo Sweet (Produced By Judah)
26.) Ms. Smith
27.) Kebo
28.) Venom
29.) Zab Judah Bounce
30.) Nix
31.) Winehouse

Can't We Do It Over (Produced By Judah)
32.) Ellion The Great
33.) Van T
34.) Coolmind Records

Dig This You Broad!!! (Produced By The Judah)
35.) BeauFonic

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