VIDEO: Robert Glasper EPK

VIDEO: Robert Glasper EPK

Well, if you could assemble a dream cast of hip hoppers for a music project, who would you invite? That's right, who'd be at the top of your wish list?

Robert Glasper must have closed his eyes and clicked his heels because he asked and they came and this project - "Black Radio" - should be powerful. It's this kind of musicianship that attracts even the non-hip hop believers.

Glasper knows what he's doing: and I mean - he knows jazz AND he knew what he was doing when he invited this incredibly talented posse to be on this project. But they also know that he knows his stuff. And by he, I mean the entire group that is The Robert Glasper Experience.

So just WHO am I referring to in terms of collabos on this project:

• Lupe Fiasco
• Erykah Badu
• Mos Def
• Bilal
• Lalah Hathaway
• Chrisette Michele
• Musiq Soulchild
• ...and more

And this is a Blue Note project; they do know a little something about hip hop and jazz, right?

• Oh, and check out this post on The Robert Glasper Experience on NPR

At the end of the day, we win hip hoppers. Big time. Some of your fav lyricists and singers and good music for all. kfox.

Robert Glasper EPK

Here Come the Grammys

In just a few days, the Grammy Awards will be handed out.

I'm excited in general because I like the spontaneity of awards shows. But it used to be that I'd get all hyped about the rap/hip hop categories for the Grammy's. I guess that was a time when it was a new and fresh category and now it seems just the opposite.

Here are the current rap/hip hop categories - nice to see that Lupe Fiasco is nominated in 4 of the 5 categories:

Category 31

Best Rap Solo Performance

(For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)...

Jay-Z

Track from: American Gangster

[Roc-A-Fella]

* A Milli

Lil Wayne

Track from: Tha Carter III

[Cash Money/Universal Motown]

* Paris, Tokyo

Lupe Fiasco

Track from: The Cool

[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

* N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave And The Master)

Nas

Track from: Untitled

[Def Jam]

* Sexual Eruption

Snoop Dogg

Track from: Ego Trippin

[Geffen]

Category 32

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group

(For duo, group or collaborative performances of Rap only. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Royal Flush

Big Boi Featuring Raekwon And Andre 3000

[LaFace]

* Swagga Like Us

Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne

[Roc-A-Fella/Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

* Mr. Carter

Lil Wayne Featuring Jay-Z

Track from: Tha Carter III

[Cash Money/Universal Motown]

* Wish You Would

Ludacris Featuring T.I.

[DTP]

* Put On

Young Jeezy Featuring Kanye West

[Def Jam]

Category 33

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

(For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)

* American Boy

Estelle Featuring Kanye West

Track from: Shine

[Homeschool/Atlantic]

* Low

Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain

Track from: Mail On Sunday

[Poe Boy/Atlantic]

* Green Light

John Legend & Andre 3000

[Columbia/G.O.O.D. Music]

* Got Money

Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain

Track from: Tha Carter III

[Cash Money/Universal Motown]

* Superstar

Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos

Track from: The Cool

[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

Category 34

Best Rap Song

(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

* Lollipop

D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major)

Track from: Tha Carter III

[Cash Money/Universal Motown; Publishers: Young Money Publishing/Warner-Chappell Music, Herbalicious Music/Blackfountain Music/EMI-April Music, JimiPub Music/EMI Blackwood, Three Nails And A Crown Publishing, Roynet Music]

* Low

Tramar Dillard, M. Humphrey, Faheem Najm, Korey Roberson & Howard Simmons, songwriters (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain)

Track from: Mail On Sunday

[Poe Boy/Atlantic; Publishers: E-Class Publishing/Sony-ATV Music Publishing/Universal Music Z Songs/Top Quality Publishing/NappyPub Music/Zomba Songs]

* Sexual Eruption

Calvin Broadus, S. Lovejoy & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)

Track from: Ego Trippin

[Geffen; Publishers: My Own Chit Publishing/EMI Blackwood Music, Shawty Redd Songs/EMI April Music, Pimpin Tha Pen]

* Superstar

Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriters (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)

Track from: The Cool

[1st & 15th/Atlantic; Publishers: Hey Lu Chill Music (Heavy As Heaven/Universal Music), 1st & 15th Publishing (Mr. Lopez Music/Universal Music Publishing)]

* Swagga Like Us

Jeff Bhaskev, D. Carter, S. Carter, Clifford Harris, Plain Pat & Kanye West, songwriters (M. Arulpragasam, N. Headon, M. Jones, J. Mellor, T. Pentz & P. Simonon, songwriters) (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)

[Roc-A-Fella/Grand Hustle/Atlantic; Publishers: Crown Club Pub./Warner-Tamerlane/Please Gimme My Publishing/EMI Blackwood/Carter Boys Music/EMI April/Young Money Pub./Warner-Tamerlane/Hollertronix/Domino Publishing/Universal Z Tunes/Univ. Polygram Int'l]

Category 35

Best Rap Album

(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)

* American Gangster

Jay-Z

[Roc-A-Fella]

* Tha Carter III

Lil Wayne

[Cash Money/Universal Motown]

* The Cool

Lupe Fiasco

[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

* Nas

Nas

[Def Jam]

* Paper Trail

T.I.

[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Interesting how M.I.A. got listed on the Grammy nomination for "Swagga Like Us" in the Best Rap Song category, but not in the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group category ...

Oh, well, the Grammy Awards are Sunday night, February 8, 2009 @ 8 p.m. on CBS. Let's watch together hip hoppers. kfox.

More on the Tour Front

So if gas and a struggling economy are not clamping your wallet shut, then you are the perfect candidate to spend your loot on, not just a concert, but a concert that is well worth the cash.

I've recently blogged about some festivals, but here's a bit more:

Erykah Badu is just about done w/the U.S. leg of her tour; wrapping in Albuquerque on June 15

Kanye will be out there and the good news is that if you are not a Kanye fan, then maybe you are down w/Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. or Rhianna. Not bad, and that tour includes some festival dates where you are certain to get a musical hodge podge.

Oh, and then there is RZA - it's the RZA as Bobby Digital Tour, yeah check that out if it's in your hood.

This crazy ass economy is gonna force us to make our own music and produce our own gigs - please do not let it come to that - however, if that is what you do hip hoppers, then do the damn thing! kfox

Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar", "The Cool" and David Letterman

It's true that I have sort of lost my musical focus, hence, my infrequent posting on this here blog. However, I did receive Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" as a Christmas gift (somebody got it right).

I've listened to and I like it, but I'm at a loss for giving any more details - again a lack of focus. Oh, but I did see Lupe perforn on David Letterman last week (on Letterman's first show since he returned from the strike). The performance was okay - Matthew Santos was with him and they did "Superstar". I really like the music on "Superstar" because it is so unlike hip hop - no blaring beats and crazy bass.

Here's the clip from Letterman:

Kanye, Lupe & Pharrell as CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers)

I've been lurking around the Okayplayer site (I was originally searching for a review of the new Lupe disk - more on that later - but like always, I got sucked in ...).

Check out the CRS' "Us Placers" ... it gets some cool points.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors - The Back Story

This is old news, but I am just now getting around to recapping (after watching a weeks worth of repeats of the VH1 Hip Hop Honors show).

The short story is the screed that is playing out on the interweb about Lupe Fiasco and A Tribe Called Quest and Q-Tip in particular. Nothing like a little bit o' hip hop drama.

Following this situation is not my strong suit ... So I point you to those who get paid to follow the histronics.

And the nominees are ...

... did you notice that the Grammy nominations came out on Thursday? I missed the hype, but caught the 'news' before it was a day old.

So, I tried to investigate a bit to bring you more than what you get in the typical saturated headlines. Here is what I discovered:

<- - Gnarls Barkley got some attention (not just for Record AND Album of the Year; 5 nominations total), but also for:

• Alternative
• Urban/Alternative Performance

<- - Danger Mouse, one half of the Gnarls Barkley due also received props as Producer of the Year for the group's debut project. Wil.i.am made that category as well for "Mas Que Nada" ...

<- - Meanhile, Sergio Mendes' "Timeless" only got two nods ... The category being Urban/Alternative Performance.

<- - Did you know that there is a Grammy award for Rock or Rap Gospel Album?

<- - Lupe Fiasco got a nod for Rap Solo Performance, but Mos Def is right there with him; Lupe is also up for Rap Song AND Rap Album ...

<- - The Roots are in there for two categories:

• Rap Duo or Group
• Rap Album

<- - Matisyahu is nominated in the Reggae category ...

yo ... I'm done w/this for now. My most searing Grammy nomination comments are being reserved for a different blog; it's non-hip hop related.

Oh, the Grammy Awards take place on Sunday, February 11, 2007 @ 8 p.m. ESDT.

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

Summer ain't over yet, games and food ...

I'm still reminiscining about the pair of Roots performances that I caught about a week ago ...

Okay, so I've sort of not been listening to what I should be listening to ... right? I don't want to say I've been feeling slumpy, but I've certainly been attached/attracted to something other than what I promised to check out.

So here's what keeps loopin in my music player:

• Pigeon John, "...and the Summertime Pool Party"
• The Roots "Game Theory"
• Lupe Fiasco "Food & Liquor"

I've already given you the low on the first two, but now is the time to school you on the guy who everyone has been talkin about - Lupe Fiasco.

I caught the buzz on this one some time ago - I can't pinpoint the exact time, but I believe that it was sometime this summer (well, of course it was, that's when "Kick Push" was released - and that is such a cool song).

And on a side note, just let me say, I am NOT a fan of the cover art on Lupe's latest. It does not seem befitting of his personality. So let me give you a brief description because I refuse to post it on this here blog. It is a bit shiny and intergalactic; notice how I did not say 'bling' because that, it is not. It seems like he is in outer space w/laser's behind him, he has an old school boom box and what appears to be some other digital devices ... He is also sporting what looks like a pleather bomber jacket - an NO, I am not trying to clown him. At any rate, maybe, you should check it out yourself ... come to your own conclusion, why don't you ...

Anyway, a few weeks before the official drop date for "Food & Liquor," I received a copy of of the "Chi Town Guevara Mixtape." There were some familiar tracks on there like "Touch the Sky" and "Kick Push." Acutally, there is not a great deal of overlap from the mixtape to the current project. But the mixtape was hot! Lupe's skills are bonafide. There was an edge to his delivery accompanied w/DJ Envy's mix skills, it was a good listen. Lupe's good at storytelling. I like that. What I did not like was his constantly dropping the n-bomb. What is w/that...? I know you'll say that's the way of the street and it is a mixtape, right...? Whatever is my response. The mixtape was so heavy on the n-bomb that I did not even bother to try to edit it. One reason I did not try to edit it was because I thought that the same tracks would appear on "Food & Liquor" - wrong. It seems the mixtape includes some previously recorded material and/or some exclusive material for the mixtape - you know how they roll...

So why am I peeved about Lupe and the n-bomb, well, you see, from what I'd read about him I got the impression that he was a cool dude - conscientious, positive, a skateboarder, somewhat nerdy and of the Muslim faith - in other words, I truly did not anticipate that he would so comfortably drop the n-bomb, but I guess that's where my misjudgment is just another poor assumption, eh?

Once I get over that bit of disappointment, I trudge through and am mostly pleased w/what I hear/heard. His style reminds me of someone, but I can't place it right now... Here's what I like on the mixtape: "Outty 5000," and "Switch."

Then there is the "Food & Liquor" disk; Lupe has some uptempo tracks like "The Instrumental," which I really like. But he also goes mellow on several cuts including "Daydreamin" w/Jill Scott. He goes on to enlist the skills of Def Jam Pres Jay-Z on "Pressure." I'm not so crazy about the second single "I Gotcha" - it just seems like it is missing some umph and it's a bit non-descript. But, oh ... there's the 12 minute "Outro" where he gives 'shout outs' to everyone - everyone but me, but he does say that if he forgot anyone, he'd shout them out on the next one - I guess I'll start my email campaign started now so that I can get mine on the next joint ...

I won't promise to listen to anything in particular in the near future, but you can count on me to give you some perspective on what I love most - hip hop culture, from the not so known world.

stay true ... kfox

Pardon the Interruption ...

Hey, hey, hey ... I have a lengthy stack of what promises to be 'this year's best and brightest in hip hop.' Well, in my humble opin, that is an exaggeration. But, heck, I won't really know until I check it out now, eh?

Whatever the case may be, the cds keep piling up and the entire stack was recently ignored because I discovered a highly acclaimed disk that I thought was never sent my way (the love, it does exist; people to organize the onslaught of music mail to seek out goodies sent my way ...? Well, you know how that one goes).

So what is the high charting lovely that has left me pumpin my fist? Wax Tailor! Ooooooh wee... Labeled as electronic & dance (and ask me if I'm mad about that ...?). It is what it is and it is good music. Lots of it is instrumental, interspersing snippets from movies and other pieces of aural archives, Tailor's "Tales of the Forgotten Melodies" is genius. Awesome arrangements of social commentary and memories of days gone by.

I still need to get back to the task at hand and that is giving you the low on:

• Lupe Fiasco - for someone so anxious to get this, I sure as hell am slow at giving you some insight, huh?
• Common Market - likin this one mostly; need to listen more thoroughly
• Sol.illaquists of Sound - if I judged a disk by its cover, I'd say I'd like it; it's colorful with some drawings (could I give a sorrier description?)
• Finless Brown - Originally based in Cleveland, they bounced to the west coast a few years back to pursue their music career (gotta give love to Paulie Rhyme yall)
• There is more, but I don't want to give you an idea of how behind I am on listening to the music (I wish I could say I've been listening to overly academic topics submitted by overzealous researcher-type students, but you already know ...)

I'm out hip hoppers ... off to prep for another full day 'on the quad,' kfox

look who's flying the coop ...

Hey folks ... I'm trying to get my rhythm. But it was a slow music period for a minute, now ... swamped!

So much so, that I will be brief and hopefully be back with the full mantra in a few days.

Pigeon John is back, yall! I love this guy. He is so quirky cool. Just speaks his mind, no matter how silly, but he still has a point to make. The project is called "Pigeon John ... and the Summertime Pool Party." Good stuff.

The DJ Shadow EP that came out a few weeks back, threw me for a loop. I don't even recall what genre I had labled it as ... point is, the full disk is now avail and I am lovin it. It does include the genre-defying tracks, but he gets down on the hip hop side - "Outsider."

The Lupe Fiasco is now in my hands. I'm diggin that one, for sure. There's a collabo with Jigga as well as Jill Scott. I will definitely get back to this one, since I have been hypin it for some time "Food & Liquor."

Other notables:

• Ken Starr
• X:144 and SPS
• Dan the Automator
• Black Ice

Oh, and Mojoe. I've briefly previewed all and need to go back and listen more closely and attentively.

Here are the projects that I will listen to definitely before the week is out:

• Finless Brown - that Cleveland connection
• Common Market
• Sol.illaquists of Sound

I'll post up the most recent WMCO Hip Hop chart later in the week.

Much is goin down ... but no flippet remarks 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