VIDEO: P.O.S. at Flushing Meadows

So many things to like about P.O.S. I love his style of delivery - laid back and matter of fact. I like how he doesn't chase the beats. It works for him. I'm not the rocker, but there's a rocker in me. I love how P.O.S. starts out in one direction, then at some point, he goes off in another direction.

I say all that though it's all demonstrated in this video clip of P.O.S. @ Flushing Meadows. I peeped this one while carousing over at Okayplayer.

Be careful on those boards, kids ... kfox.

Upcoming Hip Hop in Cleveland

Just now getting around to being the town crier about some upcoming hip hop shows in Cleveland. It is all good. Courtesy of the CleveEvents list.

~P.O.S. w/Dessa and Astonautilus~

Tonight/Wednesday, March 17, 2010

@ the Grog Shop

2785 Cleveland Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights

@ 9 p.m.

Tix are $12 ... call 216.321.5588

~RJD2, Break Science and Chichester~

Tomorrow/Thursday, March 18, 2010

@ the Grog Shop

2785 Cleveland Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights

@ 9 p.m.

Tix are $15 in advance; $17 the day of the show ... call 216.321.5588

~Hip Hop Industry Party~

On Saturday, March 20, 2010

@ The Diamond Building, 12th floor

1100 Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland

From 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

~50 Mics/Top Mics Tour Competition (for music artists)~

On Saturday, March 20, 2010

@ Peabody's

2045 East 21st Street

From 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.

Hosted by D. Lorand w/dj Jack da Rippa

For more info and to register, call 216.904.0209 or email

amphouse216@gmail.com

~CIFF FilmForum: "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson"~

On Sunday, March 21, 2010

@ Tower City Center

230 West Huron Road in downtown Cleveland

@ 4:10 p.m.

For more info, visit http://clevelandfilm.org

**as a part of the Clev. Intl. Film Festival

~RAP PERFORMANCE w/2Mex~

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010

@ Peabody's DownUnder

2045 E. 21st Street

@ 7 p.m.

Tickets are $10 ... call 216.241.5555

~PLAY: "Eclipse: The War Between Pac and Big"~

Beginning on Friday, March 26, 2010 until Sunday, April 18, 2010

@ Karamu Theatre

2355 East 89th Street

For more info, call 216.795.7070

~I Got Five on It! (the last Saturday of each month)~

On Saturday, March 27, 2010

@ Touch Supper Club

2710 Lorain Avenue

Doors open @ 9 p.m.

F/djs Terry Urban, Mick Boogie and more ... call 216.631.5200

~PERFORMANCE w/Bone Thugs n Harmony~

On Sunday, March 28, 2010

@ the House of Blues

308 Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland

@ 8 p.m.

Tickets begin @ $27.50 ... call 216.241.5555

~HIP HOP PERFORMANCE w/Jedi Mind Tricks, edotkom, dj Jack da Rippa and more~

On Sunday, March 28, 2010

@ the Grog Shop

2785 Cleveland Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights

@ 9 p.m.

Tix are $13 in adv; $15 the day of the show ... call 216.321.5588

~HIP HOP PERFORMANCE: Queens of the Iron Mic w/Rah Digga and Jean Grae~

On Friday, April 2, 2010

@ the Grog Shop

2785 Cleveland Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights

@ 9 p.m.

Tix are $12 in adv; $15 the day of the show ... call 216.321.5588

So go ahead Cleveland; get your flex and your hip hop on ... kfox

Video: P.O.S. "Goodbye"

I'm a fan of P.O.S. I just like his style; his aggressive delivery.

He's got a new project out and here's the latest vid. Very cool. Luckily it's only 3 minutes because it does begin to get a bit repetitious.

As for the song, it's got P.O.S.'s signature style ... edgy delivery, some harder beats ... it's got a hook and then there's a female singer w/a bit part too.

I likes ... let me know if you like too hip hoppers ... kfox.

Soundset '09

You will be happy to know that Soundset '09 is not until Sunday, May 24, 2009. And I know that you had not planned on traveling to Minnesota, but now, you have good reason to be there.

The line up for this year's Soundset is beastly! It's a blessing that this all day festival is on Sunday because you will need the next day and then some to recover. The ticket prices are reasonable too ... starting at $30 for general admission.

Now to the lineup:
Atmosphere
The Pharcyde
Brother Ali
MF Doom
POS
Freeway & Jake One
Immortal Technique
Eyedea & Abilities
Sage Francis w/B. Dolan
El P w/Mr. Dibbs & TMQ
Prince Paul
Heiruspecs
Blueprint w/dj Rare Groove
Buck 65
dj Numark
Abstract Rude
Aceyalone & Myka 9 = Haiku d'etat
Blue Scholars
Sims of Doomtree
Cunninlynguists
I Self Devine
One Be Lo
Awolone
Unknown Prophets
Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak
Toki Wright
Grieves
Little Buddy Mclain
Kristoff Krane

When you can get all of these heads in one place, it is creative chaos. You don't want to miss it. Only I am the exception since I work on Sundays. I know, crazy, right?

So hip hoppers, make it happen and be where the action is. kfox.

It's New, It's P.O.S., It's "Never Better"

"Never Better" is the first project from P.O.S. since 2006's "Audition". I am a huge fan of "Audition" so I was anxious to hear something new from P.O.S.

His punchy/angry delivery is still ever present. He viciously attacks his lyrics. The punk rock edge from previous albums ... it's there. And you know what? I like the punk edge. I like my beats and one some tracks there are beats and on others there is other instrumentation to work around. But the punk edge, yeah, I can do that. The only track where the punk rock influence was not my most enjoyable was "Drum Roll". But I think I'll give it another listen.

On "Goodbye", there's a catchy hook and it's just a likable track. Kind of a motivating too. Another track that stood out for me was "The Basics". It reminded me of "Half-Cocked Concepts" and "Stand Up" from "Audition". It has a crazy humming chorus and heavy drums.

There are 15 tracks on this one ... and worth the three year wait ... I'd say so.

I'd also bet that P.O.S. will be performing at Soundset '09 - a huge outdoor hip hop festival. Of course he'll be there - it's in his home town of Minneapolis, oh, and it's hosted by Rhymesayers. Mark you calendars for Memorial Day Weekend. But if you can't wait that long, then you won't have to as P.O.S. is set to tour starting at the beginning of February. Catch him at Skully's Music Diner in Columbus or The Grog Shop in Cleveland.

• P.O.S. "Never Better" promo video
• Behind the scenes of P.O.S.'s "Drum Roll" video
• P.O.S. on Imeem

P.O.S.'s "Never Better" is just that, but you'll never know hip hoppers if you don't check it out. kfox.

NOTE: Thanks to the folks at Spectre for letting me get a peak at this before the release date.

A Holiday Treat from P.O.S.

P.O.S. is sayin hello by sayin "Goodbye". It's a track from his upcoming release dropping in February. In case you did not know, he's on the Rhymesayers roster and that means good, quality hip hop.

Right now - the holiday season - P.O.S. befriends us by providing a FREE download of "Goodbye":

• P.O.S.'s "Goodbye"

And it gets better ... P.O.S. is going on tour in '09 w/the "Never Better" Tour. The dates are covering a lot of ground - East coast, West coast and the midwest (seems the South won't get a piece of this, at least not this time around).

I am still amped up on P.O.S.'s "Audition" from a few years ago. So if you need to do an about-face, then do that and come back to this or just do it all. Because it is all good.

So go ahead and catch that download or just take a listen. Happy holidays hip hoppers. kfox.

Just Getting the Memo ...

... but P.O.S. is on tour. However, if you live anywhere other than the western part of the U.S., you are out of luck.

He's covering a good amount of terrain in his short stint - less than three weeks. So if your sked collides w/his sked, then go ahead and pony up the cash, because he will certainly deliver.

Check out this vid for confirmation:


So go ahead and show P.O.S. some love. He's part of the Rhymesayers crew and that is all good, right?

Get ya grind on hip hoppers, I know I am .... kfox.

Indy Hip Hop Festival

Okay folks ... I received an email today from Guerilla Union. They produce the Rock da Bells Festival. Along w/Murs, they are bringing the 3rd Annual "Paid Dues" indy hip-hop festival. So, for the record, I am not affiliated w/this show.

This will be a nice little set - for real. If underground hip hop is your thing, then this is your thing too!
So check out a portion of the line up:

• Sage Francis
• Little Brother
• Dilated Peoples
• Jedi Mind Tricks
• Visionaries
  
• POS
• Fatlip & Omni
  
• Murs and many more
  

This west coast show is on Saturday, March 22 @ the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA.

Warped Tour 07 (...yes, this is hip hop related)

For those of you who are familiar w/the Warped Tour, you know that it is a rock out fest! It is certainly not heavy on the hip hop tip! However, if you need your beats like you need your vitamins, then the Warped Tour has that for you.

On this years line-up is P.O.S. I can get down w/P.O.S. Oh yeah!!! Now, you know if I am geeked about something, its got to be good. Now, don't get it twisted, I'm not sayin march down to your nearest Warped Tour venue and get tix for you and your posse. NO! But if Warped is on your agenda, then you need to be around when P.O.S. hits the stage. He is the real deal and reppin the Rhymesayers camp (oh, and he can rock out...).

But you will also be able to get happy w/K-Os, who has Canadian/Caribbean roots. I really like K-Os' projects because they elude genre definitions. There's a bit of rock, rap, reggae and more - must be the Canadian/Caribbean roots, eh? Go K-Os!

All-righty then hip-rockers ... The Warped Tour is on the northcoast on Thursday! Be about it.

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

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

Hip Hop January

Here is some hot hip hop that I'd like to put on the radar.

Colossus - he is on the Om label. Good stuff. The cd is titled "West Oaktown". His flow is steady and the beats are hot. It is a two cd set with a jazz influence.

P.O. S. - is from the Rhymesayers camp! That alone speaks volumes. I am attracted to track #2 on the "Audition" cd which is "Half Cooked Concepts". He seems so casual in his delivery and the topics that he addresses are relatable.

Psyche Origami - love this project. "The Standard" seems to be all about working at a gas station/convenience store. The lyrics are catchy and quirky and the beats are smooth.

Other projects of note:
Fatlip "The Loneliest Punk"
Fort Minor "The Rising Tide"
Developmental1

Stay true...kfox