The Brit is officially in the building!

Earlier this year, I mentioned Amy Winehouse. Well, the british sensation has officially arrived on the U.S. music radar.

I came to know Winehouse via The Roots' ?uestlove (not personally, but he had been tauting her on his blog and what not), so I thought I'll give it a try. I thought that she was okay, but I really thought that my sister would enjoy it. So I ponyed up the Euros to get the disk prior to the U.S. release. And yeah, it did cost about $17 for nearly 30 minutes of music. To Winehouse's credit, the project (her second) is chock full of fresh profanity and upbeat, Motown-esque songs; it is both likeable and loveable.

So I ask my sis a few days after Christmas how she like the album and she says "I have not listened to it yet..." Are you kidding me; you better get grateful and pump that on your iPod (that I also invested in ...; spoiled little sisters). Point is the girl is now hooked and is singing the Winehouse praise to anyone who will listen.

We are now seeking some tix to one of Winehouse's sparse U.S. gigs. Until then, we at least have Winehouse's recent appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

J5 is NOT in the house ...

This is not good news: Jurassic 5 has broken up!

Check out the skimpy details here.

My passion for The Roots ...

... continues to grow. I saw them perform LIVE in Cleveland on Thursday, March 15. What an energetic show! They are such an incredibly talented band. ?uestlove was a beast on the drums; Capt Kirk rips the guitar and he just brings fire to the stage; Black Thought was looking scrumptious in his rock star suede jacket; the whole crew was on point ... they even had a four-piece brass band complete w/a sousaphone!

They performed "You Got Me" in their true LIVE performance style-they stretch it out and Kirk lays down this thunderous and sexy solo ... ooooooh. For this show there was also a James Brown tribute. It was nice; I liked the funky soul train line as the band was introduced, but then ... it was over. I mean, I was completely wound up and aching for more and it was a wrap.

Lest I forget that when a Roots show is done, guess what happens? The concert-goers go home ... true, but before that, the band's infamous drummer signs the drum sticks and tosses them out to the audience. Damn, I'd forgotten because I had really hoped they would do an encore. At any rate, I am still w/o a signed drum stick from ?uesto. The good thing is I know that my fate is not doomed; no it is not.

There is one tidbit: as I was talking to a friend when the show was over, Kamal, The Roots keyboardist, walks by and I sort of tap him and say "hey, good show; I drove two hours to see this show AND I am your biggest fan!" (though I know that I am not their biggest fan). He nodded and shook my hand ... and kept it movin.

I am waiting for my friend Pam to email me some pix from last night. There was a bevy of cameras: cellphone, digital, video ... I figure why should I take pix when someone w/a really good camera can just share their goods w/me ... ?

So, you already know that The Roots are my fav band. But what you did not know is that I have seen them perform LIVE four times in the past eight months - AND ALL FOR FREE! Oh, and all in Cleveland. That is pretty awesome.

Hip Hop Rock Hall Inductees!

It's true! It's official. Pick a cliche. Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, March 12, 2007! How crazy cool is that...? I love listening to "The Message"; Listening...? I mean, singing because I know all of the lyrics! GMF&FF have always created party music with a conscious. Good stuff.

Jay-Z will induct the legendary hip hoppers into the Hall. I'm not even disappointed that the actual ceremony is NOT in Cleveland; it's held in New York City (just too damn cold in Cleveland this time of year) ... I'm just estatic that hip hop is representing. I'm also ready to craft the list of who will be the next artist from the hip hop genre to get inducted ... I would hope Rakim!

I love going to the Rock Hall in Cleveland. You say, how often do I go? Well, I have not been in about a year, but you can count on me checking it out sometime this year! Heck yeah.

Check out these webbies for more on this topic:

Grand Master Flash

International Herald Tribune

Hip Hop 101

Ooooh, if you get a chance, you should check this out. Oberlin College produces this exceptional event annually. This year they have nabbed the incredible talents of

The Coup! Uber cool ... conscious hip hop!

The Hip Hop is Dead Tour!

It's true - NAS is hitting the road! Knew he would, just a matter of when.

How about that tour kicking off in good ole Clevopolis ... that would be Cleveland, Ohio for those who don't do Cleveland speak. Monday, April 2nd is the date @ the House of Blues. Tix begin @ $34.

Nas is out there for about a month and covering lots of ground from the dirty south, across the Canadian border and of course the left coast.

Chart Toppers!

Here's the hottest Hip Hop @ WMCO/90.7:

1
GHOSTFACE KILLAH
More Fish

2
TECH N9NE
Everready (The Religion)

3
MOS DEF
True Magic

4
MACROMANTICS
Moments In Movement

5
SURREAL AND DJ BALANCE
FUTURE CLASSIC

6
BUSDRIVER
RoadKillOvercoat

7
SUBTITLE
Terrain To Roam

8
DJ JAZZY JEFF
Hip Hop Forever III

9
CLIPSE
Hell Hath No Fury

10
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Om: Hip-Hop Volume 1