Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Interview with Rainey "Skates" Cruz from The Rat Collective



I met Rainey at the 2nd annual Toast N Flow show held last month in Danbury, CT. He was selling a table full of the same hats pictured here and it quickly caught my interest. Finally caught up with the busy man to find out more about the hats and about The Rat Collective. Check it out.

The Mad Bloggers: Tell me about The Rat Collective.

Rainey "Skates" Cruz: Well, The Rat Collective is a skateboarding initiative that delivers skateboard goods to underprivileged skaters in The Dominican Republic.



TMB: How was The Rat Collective born?

Rainey: It all started when I was re-visiting my family and the island (after a 15+ year hiatus) 3 years ago. I was just getting into skateboarding and I had decided to take my deck with me on the trip. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I made on the entire trip! The board (and skating in my village) became a magnet for so many kids and new friends. It was pretty amazing to see how interested other people were and how much we all started to share while "learning" to skate. That's what inspired me... I just said to myself "Wow, here I am, from the U.S. with access to so many things that the kids out here don't have access to. Let me start bringing some more stuff!" And so my second trip out, I wound up taking 3 decks with me. Then more, until eventually I just started shipping goods out to my friends to continue fueling their interest.

TMB: How did you come up with the name The Rat Collective?

Rainey: The name Rat Collective just derives from the initiative and skating. I thought Rat because sometimes skaters are called "skate rats" because they just run around so much and get into all kinds of underground things and adventures. Then I thought Collective because this is much more than just one person skating, its about groups coming together to share in a passion for skating. And it involves everyone's effort, from me finding goods, to people donating, to my friends out there receiving and distributing.

TMB: Who's involved with The Rat Collective?

Rainey: Initially the Rat Collective was just my solo effort, but recently it's gotten so much attention among my circle of close friends. Now I have a couple of close friends here helping me with a lot of the logistics and planning. They want to see this get bigger and reach more kids!

TMB: How long have you been doing it?

Rainey: The Rat Collective has officially been around for 2 years now. Since March of 2009.

TMB: How can they reach you if they have any questions or would like to find out more about The Rat Collective?

Rainey: They can check out our blog at theratcollective.blogspot.com or hit me direct theratcollective@gmail.com We're also on Twitter @ratcollective.




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Download ... Mr. Ivory Snow - "Till Death Do Us Part (Memoirs Of A Genius)"



Fresh from Connecticut comes a brand new artist from Conrizzles G5 Label, Mr. Ivory Snow with his second mixtape "Till Death Do Us Part (Memoirs Of A Genius)". This is a mixtape dedicated to his deceased DJ Genius & a special tribute to J. Dilla. This features beats from Mr. Ivory Snow, Conrizzle, Pat Preezy & J. Dilla.



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What I'm Watching ... Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx "Rearview"


You might just smack the shit out of someone at the end of this track. Enjoy.



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What I'm Watching ... Auto-Tune the News: BED INTRUDER SONG!!!


I know this dude is the latest 15 minutes of fame star on the internet and people are throwing together all kinds of mixes with this dude Antoine on there. I noticed Q talking about it for a few days and I had to see what the talk was all about. Hilarious. You can't make it up. Well, regardless, here's another version of Mr. Dodson's interview put into a song. Check it out.



After Antoine Dodson, a young hero from Huntsville, AL, saves his sister from an attack, he sings an important message both to his community and to the attacker himself. Evan Gregory then proceeds to play a heartfelt cover of the resulting song.

Follow the Gregory Brothers for more remixes/songifications:

http://www.youtube.com/autotunethenews
http://www.twitter.com/autotunethenews
http://www.facebook.com/gregorybrothers

Original Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-OqYZC1DA



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True Wine Connoisseurs, Season 3, EP 1

New Sadat X and Will Tell's True Wine Connoisseurs. Enjoy.
Sadat X and Will Tell in the season 3 premier get a case sent to there place from First Drop Wines. Thank you to Matt "Gantos" Gant, John "JR" Retsas and Penny. We would also like to thank Sean and Blue Ribbon Wine bar NYC for having us. Big shoutout to Train of thought clothing co. for proving the gear as well.



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What I'm Watching ... @TheophilusL "Hey Wonderful"


I joined the party a little late but this dude is pretty dope. Enjoy the video for "Hey Wonderful."


Hey Wonderful - Theophilus London from Theophilus London on Vimeo.

theophiluslondon.net

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Download ... "Hood Stories The Remixes" @ScholarMan x @JonesyBeats

ScholarMan is quite the storyteller. Check out the new EP, "Hood Stories The Remixes." Those that have been following ScholarMan these tracks will be familiar, coming from his Hood Stories. Jonesy gives them a different feel but that strong storytelling of despair, struggle and reality remains. Go ahead and download it.
Shortly after ScholarMan and Jonesy released Distant Voices in 2009, Jonesy came up with the idea to remix all of the tracks from ScholarMan’s Hood Stories series and here is the final project. This EP features original lyrics from the first four tracks and a brand new fifth song to close out the collection.
<a href="http://scholarman.bandcamp.com/album/hood-stories-the-remixes">A Hustler's Sunday (Vol.1 Remix) by ScholarMan</a>

www.soganicmusic.com
twitter.com/JonesyBeats
twitter.com/ScholarMan

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What I'm Watching ... Planet Asia - "Trouble featuring TriState"

Definitely been a fan of Planet Asia's work for sometime. This track, featuring TriState, is off his Black Belt Theater album. Check it.



Produced by Josh The Goon & Directed by 'V' for PyramidWest.


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Monday, August 02, 2010

What I'm Watching ... Prophetic "A Lil More"

It's funny that I just featured this track on Hip-Hop Breakfast and here is Prophetic hitting me via email 15 hours later with the visuals to this joint. The track is dope. The video is dope. Prophetic is dope. Enjoy.



umbrellasup.com

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What I'm Watching ... @magestiklegend "All Eye Know" Video (Teaser)

This track is so dope! I'm looking forward to the video. I don't usually post up teaser videos but this dude is dope and this track always hypes me up! Definitely excited for the full length video!



www.magestiklegend.com
magestiklegend.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/magestiklegend

Shad's "TSOL" in Stores October 5, 2010


Shad is an incredible artist. More importantly, he's a super dope person. I've been following this dude and his music for a little while. He is easily one of my favorites. His latest album TSOL is coming stateside in October. I fortunately got it out of Canada and can tell you, it's dope! You've probably heard a few of the tracks on this site or on The Mad Bloggers Show! I support the dude and his music! I caught this interview off his FB page and figured I'd pass it along.
Critically acclaimed, Canadian based MC Shad, brings his "TSOL" album to the US for his stateside debut on Black Box Recordings/Decon. Watch as he discusses the album and its inspirations, what the US debut means, and what Golden Girl he'd be if he had a choice.



"TSOL" In Stores October 5, 2010!

www.shadk.com
www.deconrecords.com


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Album Preview... @LDrummonds "Time and Space"


About a month or so ago, Lance let me get a preview of his debut album "Time and Space." It's a great listen all the way through. The dude is talented and the album is filled with great music. He's letting folks get a preview before it officially drops on August 9, 2010. Check him out and enjoy! Oh and for some more information about the album, check out Lance in his own words, "The “Why” behind “Time and Space." Well worth the listen and read. Enjoy.



<a href="http://lancedrummonds.bandcamp.com/album/time-and-space">Time and Space by Lance Drummonds</a>




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