Dillanthology

Wow, the timing of this awesome project ... not so good for me. I just found out about this one ... but, I also can't remember the last time that I bought a cd. Thing is, I was saving up to splurge on the new project from The Roots in June.

To go bring this to my attention now is just wrong. It's wrong because I'm lootless. That's right I bust my ass working five days a week and I still don't have enough disposable cash to buy an $12 cd. Whatever ... and don't judge me.

Dillanthology gives the appearance of something magnanimous. Any why not? We're talking another tribute to J. Dilla. As I see it, the tributes for Dilla will never end. Just like there's a new Madden game annually, why not a Dilla tribute? Btw, Dillanthology is volume 1.

Mucially, Dilla touched a lot of people. This anthology shows some of that. 13 tracks w/some high profile artists like Common and Slum Village. Those are a given, right? Throw in The Pharcyde, The Roots (also a given), A. G. f/Aloe Blacc and several others. Good stuff.

So, hip hoppers, if you're not down w/Dilla, Dillanthology is like 'Dilla 101' ... let's get schooled. kfox.

February is J Dilla Month

J Dilla was born in February and passed away in the month of February as well.
February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006

So while getting your Black History on ... you can also consume some J Dilla. As a tribute to Dilla's incredible life, Stones Throw, his record label has announced that February is J Dilla Month.

Who was J Dilla? To put is simply, he was an extraordinary producer. But that definition pales in terms of what he accomplished; you need audible examples to illustrate his capabilities and even then it's not enough.

Check out this article and story from NPR's Day to Day:

• Honoring J Dilla's Legacy

Also, check out this Dilla playlist on Imeem:

J Dilla

Go ahead hip hoppers and jam out the rest of February w/Dilla. kfox.

Illa J + J Dilla = Yancey Boys

I listened to a couple of tracks from Illa J before I went and read his bio. Interesting. But first I'll talk about the music.

Got a heads up on this one from the folks at Audible Treats. I'm on that list and it is all good. I don't know what made me listen to this particular artist, but it was a good choice. The first track from Illa J's "Yancey Boys" disk that I listened to was "Strugglin". Seems we could all make a track w/this title, right? But I like the slow beats on this one. Reminded me of The Roots.

I also checked out "R U Listenin" f/Guilty Simpson. A little singin on this one. Just a nice jam. More uptempo. And the other track that I listened to was "We Here"; I'm diggin this one too. No corny rhymes and the beat reminds me of Kraftwerk's "TransEurope Express". There's some singing on this one too and it fits in nicely.

Now, let me address this Yancey Boys connection. For those of you who recall J Dilla, you already know ... and if you don't know, then you suspected that w/a name like Illa J and Yancey, that this guy might be a blood relative of J Dilla. Well, he's Dilla's little brother to be exact. A little brother who looked up to his older and extremely talented brother, a legendary producer whose life ended way too soon. Nice that the younger Yancey has a chance to continue the family legacy.

This is a nice project; the music and beats flow nicely. The one downfall is that it is somewhat annoying to keep hearing the "Yancey Boys" shout out on each track and in some case several times on a track - it's not necessary. But if you are so inclined to make a purchase, check out Illa J's "Yancey Boys" @ iTunes..

Oh and hip hoppers, this is a Delicious Vinyl project and you know how they roll. You can be down now ... or jump on the bandwagon in the weeks, months, years to come. kfox.

"Dillagence" :: A Tribute to J Dilla

Folks here's a freebie for ya ... The Commissioner, Mick Boogie, is doin it up right - like he always does.

He's crafted a spectacular mixtape f/Busta Rhymes and a legion of others to pay tribute to the legendary J Dilla. If you don't know Dilla, you don't know jack ... so back off. But if you do know Dilla you get a bonafide pass to the hip hop kingdom.

Boogie is hosting a FREE "Dillagence" Mixtape Release Party

On Saturday, December 8, 2007

@ B-Sides

2785 Euclid Heights Boulevard in Cleveland Heights

Beginning @ 10 p.m.

This event is FREE!

For more info, call 216.932.1966

To get a complimentary download of this illustrious mixtape, check out Boogie's webbie:

http://www.mickboogie.com/

Alright hip hoppers, you got a free event and free music ... where you at, huh? kfox

The Changing Face of Hip Hop

Every so often I post the hip hop charts from WMCO. New hip hop music makes it way to my office on a weekly basis. Some of it stands out from the pack, some of it is judged by its cover (and the judgment is usually accurate). But the point is, the music is new and the charts are always changing ...

So here goes :: this week's badasses!

My favs are DJ Vadim, Sage Francis, and Red Cloud; fav never to make the list: Gutterfly.

1
EL-P
I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Definitive Jux
2
J DILLA
Ruff Draft
Stones Throw
3
DJ VADIM
The Sound Catcher
BBE
4
WAX TAILOR
Hope And Sorrow
Decon
5
BROTHER ALI
The Undisputed Truth
Rhymesayers
6
MOVE.MEANT
The Scope Of Things
Wax Paper
7
GABRIEL TEODROS
Lovework
Massline
8
SAGE FRANCIS
Human The Death Dance
Epitaph
9
REDCLOUD
Hawthorne's Most Wanted
Syntax
10
BUSDRIVER
RoadKillOvercoat
Epitaph

Dream on and aim high ... kfox!

Need more time to listen

Checkin out some new music in my favorite genre ... though I must admit that I have not given some of these a full listen:

Brother Ali "The Undisputed Truth" - I began listening to this one at work, but then I left it at work when I really wanted to listen to it at home ... so the jury is still out on this one.

J Dilla "Ruff Draft" - I've listened to several tracks and it's good (I know that's a cop out, but it'll have to suffice for now).

Stephen Marley "Mind Control" - I love, love, love the title cut; also contains tracks w/Mos Def as well as Damien "Junior Gong" Marley; this one is awesome from front to back; oh, "The Traffic Jam" is crazy cool-great beat!

Other notables:
Gabriel Tedros
El-P
Cadence Weapon
Omni

New disks that I don't have (but if I had them, would I make the time to listen to them ... ? Heck yeah!):
Talib Kweli
KRS-One

Movin forward and ah ain't lookin back, kfox!

2006 ... a brief recap

Well ... this seems a bit premature, but CMJ's deadline for the best of 2006 was this past Friday.

I primarily culled this off the top of my head, but I thought it would be best to revisit the archives and not soley employ my selective memory.

Generally speaking, 2006 was a fine year for hip hop. I'll elaborate in another post closer to the end of the year.

Here is the WMCO Top 10 Hip Hop albums/cds for 2006:

#1 THE ROOTS "Game Theory"
#2 GHOSTFACE KILLAH "Fish Scale"
#3 PSYCHE ORIGAMI "The Standard"
#4 OH NO "Exodus into Unheard Rhythms"
#5 PIGEON JOHN "...And the Summertime Pool Party"
#6 P.O.S. "Audition"
#7 J DILLA "The Shining"
#8 SERGIO MENDES "Timeless"
#9 COLLECTIVE EFFORTS "Medicine"
#10 WAX TAILOR "Tales of the Forgotten Melodies"

Let me know what you think ... stay true, kfox

...a lil sumpthin to tide you over

Hey folks,

I'm trying to trudge through some, what I believe to be 'good music', and a load of other things (things just don't stop showing up on my desk, in my office, under my door, in my mailbox - the heck with voicemail though because I rarely check that ...).

So this here is a lil posting to keep you company until I can fully give an attentive and thorough posting. It's still good stuff, yo and it should give you an idea of what my weekly hip hop show sounds like (I've been meaning to post the playlists of my three hours in heaven, but, well, you know how the story goes ...)

1
THE ROOTS
Game Theory

2
PIGEON JOHN
...And The Summertime Pool Party

3
LUPE FIASCO
Food And Liquor

4
J DILLA
The Shining

5
DJ SHADOW
The Outsider

6
X:144 AND SPS
M.E.

7
DAN THE AUTOMATOR
NBA2K7

8
RHYMEFEST
Blue Collar

9
ZION I AND THE GROUCH
Heroes In The City Of Dope

10
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Chrome Children

Later hip hoppers (and stop telling - and listening - to those tall tales ...), kfox

countdown and count'em

So here is what is goin down my way, I had promised to post the most recent WMCO Hip Hop charts (for those who are new to the blog, I am the station manager and hip hop music director for WMCO, Muskingum College's radio station). And it is all good.

So count'em:

1. Oh No :: Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms
2. Jurassic 5 :: Feedback
3. Earmint :: Another Early Evening
4. J Dilla :: The Shining
5. The Roots :: Game Theory
6. Aloe Blacc :: Shine Through
7. Cut Chemist :: The Audience is Listening
8. Strange Fruit Project :: The Healing
9. DJ Shadow :: The Outsider
10. Pigeon John :: ...And The Summertime Pool Party

Gotta love that ... if you did not know, this is one hot ass chart, baby! And you need to get down with it.

Now, the countdown ... the Roots are scheduled to be in my neck of the woods in less than a week. I can hardly contain myself. It is going to be a pretty crazy weekend. I hope to not only have stories to tell, but pix to show and tell because bloggin is what it is all about ... it's the way of the new media world yall!

Let's keep lovin each other ... kfox

I heart J Dilla

You all already know that J Dilla's "The Shining" is available @ a music outlet near you ...? Heck, I know that you are a part of the download generation, so do what you do.

On top of Dilla's posthumous disk, you also know the The Roots' "Game Theory" is out there for your consumption, right? Of course you do.

As I was listening to both projects, I got teary eyed. It's really heartbreaking that Dilla is no longer amongst us. And I wonder why God would take away such a talented person at what seemed like the apex of his career ...? But I'm somber because the last track on The Roots "Game Theory" is an eight and a half minute tribute to Dilla. It is so apropo. Then I finally finished reading the liner notes on Dilla's "The Shining." where ?uestlove gives it up to his boy in such a respectable way that it is moving.

If you get a chance, check out Dilla's discography and see what he was all about - see how he touched your life and you did not even know.

Shine on hip hoppers ... kfox

Your wish list ... it oughta be!

I've been riflin around some message boards of late ... like I have nothing else to do with my time (trust me, these posts are about to get shorter and shorter. I still listen to a great deal of music, but I don't think I will have the disposable time that I've had of late).

That said, I still have some down time and the message boards keep me in the know. I've been diggin the Okayplayer message board for some time now, but I finally signed up. I saw a post from Tony Washington and his signature had the following cd releases - good stuff so I thought I'd share.

• The Roots // Game Theory // Aug 29
• Lupe Fiasco // Food and Liquor // Sept 19
• Mos Def // Tru3 Magic // Sept 19
• Talib Kweli // EarDrum // Oct 10

I was hip to the first two. But I can't say for sure that I knew about Mos and Talib. I mean, didn't Talib just drop "Right About Now"? Makes me no difference though - keep it coming. There is always room for more good music. But if is crap ... well, you know where crap should go ...

One more to add to the list though is:

• Nas // Hip Hop Is Dead //Sept

Oh, and the review on J Dilla's "The Shining" is on the way. I've listened to it multiple times and my only complaint is that it is too short - length wise. But who's not gluttonous when it comes to Dilla?

And in the spirit of stylin and profilin, it's not too early to cop some fly ass boots - get the deals while they're still happenin - ya know, back to school time.

Stay true, kfox

Never too tired for hip hop

Hello all...no post last week - now what is up with that? It's the end of the semester and things are getting hectic ... but I'm never too tired for hip hop!

Some new joints have landed in my cd infested office. I have a new cd from AWOL ONE "The War of Art" along with 2MEX & LIFE REXALL's "$Martyr." I've given the AWOL ONE a quick listen and discovered that I like track #7 "Get You" which features Pigeon John on background vocals (and I do likes me some Pigeon John). "The War of Art" also includes appearances by the infamous KRS ONE as well as EYEDEA from Rhymesayers plus more. I have not checked out "$Martyr," but I look forward to it because it just seems different.

There are a couple of really hot artists headed to the northcoast: SOUL POSITION will be in Cleveland this weekend (April 22nd). I am considering attending that one. I missed SPANK ROCK last week. PREFUSE and EDAN will be in Cleveland on May 9th. Then it's PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (PUTS) on May 12th. Not to mention the mainstreamers: Ice Cube, Mike Jones and T.I. (as individual perofrmances), but this here blog ain't about them-the commercial types that is. Oh, one more thing ... on the Cleveland hip hop scene, there is a Jazz meets Hip Hop performance on April 29th. But the hot thang will be the annual "Kings of the Iron Mic" which takes place Memorial Day weekend. It's a hot showcase of the hottest emcees in the city of Cleve. If you want the scoop on venues and ticket prices for any of these shows, just hit me on on the email: kim.radiogirl@gmail.com ... yeah, do that!

So I am going to finish this off with the recent chartoppers for WMCO's Sunday Night Hip Hop Show:

1
SOUL POSITION
"THINGS GO BETTER WITH RJ AND AL"

2
APATHY
"EASTERN PHILOSOPHY"

3
SERGIO MENDES
"TIMELESS"

4
DEVELOP[MENTAL]1
"VARIOUS ARTISTS"

5
J DILLA
"DONUTS"

6
CARVING A NEW STANDARD VOL. 1
"VARIOUS ARTISTS"

7
PUBLIC ENEMY
"REBIRTH OF A NATION"

8
THE COUP
"PICK A BIGGER WEAPON"

9
DILATED PEOPLES
"20/20"

10
FIVE DEEZ
"KOMMUNICATOR"

your girl is exhausted ... so it off to dreams of beats and rhymes for me...stay true yall,
kfox

No apathy, just lots of good hip hop!

Back in action...only not all that is happenin in the indy hip hop world. Well, that's not quite the way it is, but that's what I'm going to call it because I don't have a wealth to report on this week.
Just a handfull of items...new music from Apathy and Up Above Records as well as the ever popular WMCO Hip Hop music chart.

First, Apathy: A few weeks ago, a package arrived in the mail with several cds from Apathy. His latest project is called "Eastern Philosophy." It is HOT! As Randy from "American Idol" would say "We got a hot one, bay-bee!" Enough hype, let me tell you what is real. The Apathy cd deserves props because he comes correct. Good rhymes, good beats with sort of a jazzy, but definitely old school vibe. Tracks I'm lovin right now are the title track, "1,000 Grams," and "All About Crime."

The Up Above Records compilation totally took me by surprise. I don't know why I finally listened to it (keep in mind, I get about 60-75 cds delivered to my office on a weekly basis - so if a cd does not stand out and I don't receive a call about it sometimes they get trapped as a part of these mini cd towers on my desk), but whoa...it is truly the shiz-nit! Shut up and listen. The strength is in the lyrics. But there are so many plusses. They have some crazy talent lacin up the joint...Prince Po, Visionaries, and tons of others. Just go to Amazon.com and put in a request to get that joint when it is available to all in the next few weeks.

My last item, which needs no real explanation is the WMCO 90.7 Hip Hop Chart for this week. If only the residents of east central Ohio knew what a sweet treat they have for their listening pleasure right in their backyard...

Here are the current hip hop chart toppers @ WMCO:

1
DEVELOP[MENTAL]1
"VARIOUS ARTISTS"

2
SERGIO MENDES
"TIMELESS"

3
J DILLA
"DONUTS"

4
DJ CAM
"REVISITED BY..."

5
P.O.S.
"AUDITION"

6
FIVE DEEZ
"KOMMUNICATOR"

7
PUBLIC ENEMY
"REBIRTH OF A NATION"

8
SOUL POSITION
"THINGS GO BETTER WITH RJ AND AL"

9
APATHY
"EASTERN PHILOSOPHY"

10
DILATED PEOPLES
"20/20"

yo hip hoppers ... stay true, kfox

New on the HIp Hop Horizon

Here is the dilly-yo.

Modill is all good. His project is call "Midnight Green". what I like is his flow. With lyrics that are fun and with beats that are jazzy and laid back. He goes for 18 tracks (including several requiste skits) including a track w/Dave from De La Soul.

Next up is Colossus. Whoa! this is a monster cd. I did not see this one coming in that it packs a great deal of musical ingenuity. Colossus has some music history to stand up, according to his bio, he's toured with Roy Ayers, Gil Scott-Heron, James Brown and others. Thus this double disk is broken into a pair of genres - jazz infused hip hop and jazz infused and remixed hip hop. I favor the remixed cd with its deep beats and guest lyricists and comic tells from the hood. "Brotha's Tryin' To Be" and "The Tribute" are two of my favs.

Develop[mental]1 is an exciting complilation. Some known undergrounders are there like Lunar Heights. Right alongside some true hip hop ballers namely Paul Wall. There is a remix on one track that is so incredibly stacked, that you will listen to the track on loop for several rotations. Then there is Bavu Blakes. He has several tracks on the disk including "Nobody Leavin" which has a crazy catchy hook as well as the stand out track "Play the Role" the line that is sung and rings to true is 'just because you play the role, doesn't mean you get the part'...another outstanding lyric is 'you fake, you phoney, you falsifying'. whaaaaaaaaadddddddddd?

Finally, the Psyche Origami promo disck came across my desk late last year. I immediately listened to it and liked it. I thought I caught a running theme throughtout, but dismissed it. Then I read the cd jacket when the final pressed edition arrived. Sure enough, there is a theme. The cd is called "The Standard" and there is a focus on gas stations/convenience stores. It is one part humorous; two parts thoughtful and any many parts creative. I would not thrust this one in the novelty bin though. It is refreshing an pleasant to listen to from front to back.

The last word is on J Dilla. Probably not familiar to many - at least in name. But a well sought out producer and extremely talented! Additionally, he was a founding member of Slum Village. His contributions to the hip hop genre is extensive. J Dilla's latest cd was recently released to radio "Donuts" (should be available for purchase now). When I heard it, I thought, this is way cool...31 tracks from 35 seconds to nearly three minutes...just mixin it up. Good stuff. Well, the bad news is J Dilla passed away this week. Apparently, he was a workhorse and would work for extended periods of time without eating properly. He will be sadly and sorely missed.

Ah-ight hip hoppers...stay true...kfox