The best Kobe & Lebron puppet commercial to date

The ending is for all the sneaker heads out there...

"Lebron!  You got over 20 triple-doubles; can I have one?"

R.I.P Dinkytowner

By now you know the quality of dark pics my phone camera takes :(  If you weren't there last night, you missed the underground party of the YEAR for sure!  I hope these pics can give you an idea of the absolute energy and love for hip-hop in the place last night.  It was absolutely beautiful!

The party really started once Prof got on the mic and ripped a set that was way too short!  His flow is so unique and he was on point last night.  I don't know how dude keeps his delivery crystal clear even on Dinky's muddy soundsystem.  Straight merked it!  Be sure to catch him teamed up with partner in crime St. Paul Slim at the Fine Line on June 13th!  It's free.  Act like you know!

With the crowd at near capacity, Big Zach of Kanser/More Than Lights kicked a few verses reminiscing over nights of Dinkytowner's past.  The band came in and nobody looked back as "the Dinkytowner went out with a BANG" just as Zach promised.  If you've never seen More Than Lights, they are a treat.  In short, they are a group of equally talented musicians that play funky instrumentals with hints of jazz as Zach and Unicus spit rhymes and the lovely Natalie Fine (how appropriate is that last name!) layers soulful vocals infinitely larger than her stature would suggest.  Keeping the breaks moving is Corey Hess.  Vibrating the spine is Chris Hunnicutt on bass.  The soulful keys and brass is delivered by Josh "Jellyfish" Holmgren.  Guitar riffs are freaked by Matiu Unga.  But you can find all of this out and more on their myspace.

Sneak peek into my sketchbook

Let the weekend begin!

It may be a little early but when Santigold comes to your town it makes the weekend official.

THURSDAY NIGHT

FRIDAY NIGHT

SATURDAY NIGHT (Last Show at the Dinkytowner)

HEADS UP!

Mux Mool, June 6th at the Uptown Bar!!!

...much more to come.

It's Tiiiiiiiiiime!

It's time for some West End boogie.  Disco has been seeing a revival lately in many different forms.  Whether it be edits, new disco, Italo, or obscurities it's been showing up everywhere and has even been influencing some of the new pop sound.  One of the proofs of disco's resurgence has been in the re-issues of some of the smaller labels that had slept-on gems.  I've been a huge fan of disco ever since I started buying records because 1) I love to dance and 2) disco records tend to be cheaper than any other used records.  Recently I've been getting into some of the re-issues.  My favorite series of re-presses has to be the boogie on the West End label.  I actually have about a half dozen of them.  With all that said, you could imagine my excitement when I came across an original pressing on West End.  And it's not just any disco track, this is the real deal.  It even has a nice disco break in the middle.  Enjoy!

Stone, "Time (Vocal)" from a 1981 West End 12"

While I was enjoying my Memorial Day digging through records I ran into Tasha from Black Blondie.  I sure hope I don't need to mention how much I absolutely love Black Blondie.  I truly believe that they are the next big thing to come out of Minneapolis.  I had a bunch of stuff in my satchel I sifted through to find something to get signed but I couldn't find anything worthwhile.  So I hopped upstairs to the CDs and bought my third copy of Do You Remember Who You Wanted To Be?.  I ripped it open and cheese-ily approached the ever-gracious Tasha for an autograph (nerd!  I know).  She was very kind and happily obliged.  I asked her about some of their upcoming gigs and the one that I'm looking forward to most is at the 501 Bar by Block E where they'll be playing a full set and then sticking around for the rest of the evening as a three-piece without the drums.  She says that they'll probably do some dub/reggaeton stuff.  Be there!  June 6th and it's free?!?!?!

Big Quarters CD Release show in review

Disclaimer: Big Quarters always brings the energy when they perform.  They just brought even more for their release show at the Triple Rock.  In particular, I've never seen Brandon as intense as he was.  He had his listen-I'm-trying-to-teach-you-dummies-something screw-face on most of the night.  From a technical standpoint, these brothers always come correct during their live shows.  When most rappers up the intensity level they end up slurring and just not enunciating.  But dudes were crystal clear with their delivery and messages.

Speaking of messages, the crowd was fully involved and down for all of the knowledge that was dropped by the talented guests throughout the night.  Host Big Zach even dropped some classic jewels from his impressive catalog.  I Self Divine came through for "Instinct" (you had to be signed up for BQ Direct to get that one from their April feast), P.O.S performed "One On the Lip", Crescent Moon performed "Wipe the Dust (produced by Brandon)", and Mankwe Ndosi through down with Medium Zach at the end of her set.

Big Quarters CD Release show TONIGHT!

It's finally here.  It goes down tonight at the Triple Rock.  Doors are at 9 but I highly recommend buying tickets before hand online to guarantee you get in.  I predict that this show will sell out with the quickness especially with dope opening acts: Mankwe Ndosi, Kill the Vultures, Alissa Paris and hosted by the bigger version of Zach, New MC (aka White Jesus, Zachariah, Big Zach...).  Be there!

Zachariah (you're host for the evening), "Sub Shop" from White Jesus

Haha!  I bet you'll never go to Erbert and Gerbert's again!  More jokes, chilling and good ole fashion hip-hop can be expected throughout the night.

Safe Travels this Memorial Day

I just stumbled across used copies of Atmosphere's two promo EP's for Lucy Ford.  There was an instrumental track on the second one that I've never heard before.  Not only is this a smooth, feel-good track perfect for the summer time, but it also happens to be called "Travelling Music".  So download this and groove out to it wherever and however you may be traveling this weekend.  Have fun.  Be safe.

ANT, "Travelling Music" from Ford Two

And how can I not post up Mos Def's "Travelling Man"?  I'll go one better and post a special remix:

Mos Def, "Travelling Man (DJ Mick remix)" from DJ Mick & Davy Dave Revisit Zwei: The 12" Edition

New Cage video gets directed by Shia Lebeouf?

...and it's pretty damn good.  This features cameos from many Cardboard City members: El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Balls etc..

For long-time Cage fans, you should probably peep this interview from HipHopOfficial first before listening to his first single off of the forthcoming Depart From Me.

One of my favorite Cage joints:

Cage, "Scenester" from Hell's Winter

My favorite dig to date!

I can't say enough about this album.  The album art absolutely blew me away.  While it's not in mint condition I would've spent a lot more than what I paid  just for the album cover alone... even if there wasn't a record in it!  But ohhhhh the record.  I would be missing the best part.  Rarely does such exquisite album art feature music that is on the same level.  This is one of those rare instances.  Once I put the needle down, it absolutely blew my mind!

The musicians are all absolute monsters of their domain:

Billy Cobham - drums

George Duke - keyboards

Alphonso Johnson - bass

John Scofield - guitar

"Do What Cha Wanna" - George Duke and the Billy Cobham Band

"Frankenstein Goes To The Disco" - Billy Cobham drum burner

I just picked up two interesting records from a thrift store that should have some jewels on them.  Stay tuned... (teaser: 8-bit)

Phenom x Art-A-Whirl

Art-A-Whirl is in full effect this weekend.  This is Minneapolis' version of St. Paul's Art Crawl where a bunch of studios open up their doors to the public to show off and sell home-grown art.  There are many events going on throughout the day and can be found at the official website after the jump above.  One of the cooler events is a collaboration between St. Paul's premier streetwear retailer, Phenom, and screen-printing shop Anthem Heart.  They will be doing live, interactive prints on tee-shirts where you can choose from select stencils to make the design you like.  The best part is that it's cheap: between $8 and $15 depending on the style.  So swing by Q.arma Building at 1224 Quincy Street NE, Studio 225 and pick up some exclusively dope tees.

There will also be plenty of live performances and music throughout the day.  For live music outside of Nord East, swing by Phenom to check out the new hotness as well as yours truly spinning some quality hip-hop starting at 3pm and going until my crate runs dry.  I will be bringing some promo mixes with me and a tee-shirt or two.  So if you stop by and mention this blog, I'll toss you a free tee-shirt from my private collection.  Holler!

Power vs Light Weight and Balance

Forget the open-wheel cars on this battle.  I don't know why they lined them up in this group.  Pay attention to the little FWD Honda Accord and it's cornering speed.  Even on a high-speed track like Motegi, a balanced car is faster than cars with twice the power and twice the technology.  The JTCC Accord makes about 280 hp, and I know both of those tuned Skylines make more than double that.  It's amazing how all of the cars in the battle make the Ferrari 355 Challenge actually look slow.

Lee Fields, "Ladies"

Lee Fields, "Ladies"

Lee Fields has been around for a minute and was heart-deep into the original soul scene.  He cut some killer 45's on his own label, no less, that are now very rare and sought after.  Lucky for me and you he's still doing his thing.  Truth & Soul had the foresight to bring him on the roster and cut some brand new 45's, LP's and a few CD's.  His latest LP, My World, drops June 2nd and is available for pre-order at the Truth & Soul website.  While there, be sure to check out all of the other artists on their roster.  All of them have a throwback sound that faithfully pays homage to the golden era of funk and soul.  If there's one other artist that you check out today, be sure to check out El Michels Affair.  Their Sounding Out The City LP is one of my favorite records to throw on and vibe out to late at night.

Urb Next 100, but I already knew

Urb recently released their latest "Next 100" where they predict and choose 100 of the hottest new musical acts ready to blow.  If you've been following this blog, many of their choices shouldn't come as a surprise.  I've been all over a lot of these artists for a while, especially since some of them are homegrown from Minnehappiness!

Buff 1: I came across his myspace a couple months ago late one night and immediately became a fan.  That same night I purchased his "There's Only One" from cdbaby.

Buff 1, "Beat the Speakers Up"

Muja Messiah: If you live in Minneapolis you have no excuse for not knowing about this B-Boy D-Boy.

Mux Mool: Despite his new residence in the Big Apple, you should know about this genius electronic and visual artist because his roots are in the Minni Apple.  His collaboration with Big Quarters for the Fall In Love EP is a treat.  But his solo work is where he really shines:

Mux Mool, "Night Court"

DJ U-Tern: Not only is his blog one of my favorites, but his editing and ear for remixes is super classy.  His edit of MJ's Pretty Young Thing is tops on my list in the age of edits and Ableton.  It's near impossible to better any Michael Jackson song, but I prefer his edit to the original PYT.  Bold.

Michael Jackson, "Pretty Young Thing (Demo version) (U-Tern edit)"

Ninjasonik: Nu-age dance groups are a dime-a-dozen these days.  These guys don't stand out because they're on the next level or even exploring the horizon of where dance music is going... oh, wait.  It is where dance music is going.  Kids can only take so many instrumental drum loops, lazer'd synths and fuzzed out electro.  They need a story or just some ridiculous raps that speaks about what's on everyone's mind.  Like tight pants and why they spell their name with a 'k'.  They also happen to be on a label that is fiendin to blow, too.  Peep out all of the artists on Flamin' Hotz Records.   Don't be surprised if you catch hardcore rappers hopping on some 120 bpm indie-dance-floor killers in the near future.  

Ninjasonik, "With The K, Not The C"

Ninjasonik, "Internet Bitch"

Skyzoo: C'mon now.  This was easy.  Dude's been getting around the last few years.  He made hella noise with his 9th Wonder collabo Cloud 9.  He's my favorite emcee out of NY right now.  His delivery is extra crisp, his flow is nonchalant, and his wordplay is downright intricate.  Urb gets a late pass on this one.  If 9th Wonder co-signs an artist, they shouldn't be eligible for any "next" list.

9th Wonder, "Let It Bang feat Skyzoo & Ness"

The moral of the story?  Stick with me and you'll be ahead of the trends.

I'm out.  Shutting off the computer to listen to some S---K-Y---Z-O-O!  One!