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Phat Kat tours with Slum Village
In a great Q&A interview with Allhiphop.com, Detroit MC Phat Kat says, "Everybody wanna jump on the bandwagon saying, ‘Dilla was this and Dilla was that.’ My whole thing is, why motherf**kers didn?t say that when he was here?" Hopefully kids won’t make the same mistake with him. As a longtime homie of the late production great, Phat Kat formed an early group with J Dilla, 1st and Down, and later collaborated on the awesome 12-inch, "Dedication to the Suckers" b/w "Nobody Cares About Us." Predating the Eminem hype, Phat Kat is one of the Motor City’s true spitters.
After releasing his debut album, The Undeniable, to little fanfare in 2004, Phat Kat is returning with a better-promoted release. Due on Tues., May 8 via DJ Design’s Look Records, Carte Blanche has prompted a monthlong, nationwide tour alongside homies Slum Village and Illa J (younger brother of J Dilla). DJs Dez and Design provide backup. Tour dates, as well as the video for Phat Kat’s lead single "Cold Steel," are below.
Lupe Fiasco cools out in the studio
Even as he prepared to drop the critically acclaimed Food & Liquor last September, Chicago phenom Lupe Fiasco told anyone who’d listen that he wanted to quickly follow up with another album. Now, according to a Billboard.com news item, the Muslim rapper is heading into the studio to work on a new project called The Cool.
While Lupe gave away few details, he says he wants to collaborate with Pink Floyd (is it Roger Waters or the David Gilmour-led trio?) and hopes to have the album out by October 31 via his Atlantic-distributed imprint 1st & 15th. I’m always skeptical of release dates, especially if an album isn’t complete, but it would be nice to get another Lupe Fiasco joint this year. Meanwhile, what’s up with the Gemini album?
While you wait for The Cool, you can see Lupe procrastinate with a handful of summer gigs at various national festivals. Tour dates are below.
LA Symphony tour West Coast
Whenever I think of L.A. Symphony, my mind turns to their underground hit with Fatlip way back in 2001, "What You’d Say?" That turned out to be the group’s biggest moment, right before their record label (Squint Entertainment) went under, their big album (Call It What You Want) got shelved and they got shipped back to indie-land.
Thankfully, the Christian rap group kept persevering, dropping albums like 2005’s Disappear Here and spreading the word. On May 6, they launch a West Coast tour and, as usual, it includes as many churches as nightclubs. Solo rapper GiO accompanies them on each date. Hey, Christians need good music, too. Tour dates are below.
Beastie Boys bring “The Mix Up”
According to an article on NME.com, the Beastie Boys’ new disc is called The Mix Up. The Brooklyn trio’s seventh album will hearken back to the classic Check Yo Head-era, and utilize live instruments instead of the sample-heavy big beats of more recent works. With luck, it will be as good as Check Yo Head, which many consider the Beasties’ finest hour.
"We play instruments on the whole album, as opposed to sampling. There’s more rock on there. If you know us you can trace the influences and they’re no completely surprising. Someone who listens to us casually might think ‘What the hell are these guys doing?’," says Mike D in the NME.com story.
In a subsequent news item on Pitchfork.com, Mike D described The Mix Up as "an instrumental album. There are no vocals, no samples. We played everything. But as different as that might be from To the 5 Boroughs, it’s equally different from instrumental songs we’ve done before, like the ones that were on The In Sound From Way Out! That was kind of one direction and this one [has] different influences, like Public Image Ltd., Gang of Four, the Slits, Killing Joke." The Mix Up hits stores on June 26.
El-P and Brother Ali storm the album charts
In the past two months, Brother Ali and El-P stormed the Billboard album chart, scoring top 100 debuts in their initial weeks.
El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead landed first week sales of 11,000 upon its March 20 release, good for a number 78 showing. Brother Ali’s The Undisputed Truth also did well, moving 10,781 copies and hitting number 69 upon its April 10 release. Brother Ali’s success is even more surprising considering it got a fraction of the press attention afforded El-P’s opus. But hey, you can never discount those Rhymesayers fans.
"UH OH… THIS WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN," wrote El-P on his MySpace blog. "ISWYD has entered the BILLBOARD top one hundred at number 77. of all albums of all genres. something is happening out there."
Common finds forever
If you’ve seen Common in the news lately — whether promoting the DVD release of his craptastic action flick Smokin’ Aces or imparting some much needed dignity on Oprah Winfrey’s hip hop "town hall meeting" — then you may have forgotten that dude actually has a new album coming out. Or maybe you did know, and he’s all over the place because that’s his way of hyping the album. Synergy…that’s how artists do it nowadays.
Common’s new album is Finding Forever, and it’s due on July 10. According to a news story on Billboard.com, the album features production from Kanye West, will.i.am, the late J Dilla and Devo Springsteen. Guests include Lily Allen (who appears on "Drivin’ Me Wild), Bilal and Dwele. "So Far to Go," originally released on J Dilla’s 2006 album The Shining, is also slated for inclusion. The first single will be "The People."
Stones Throw summer: Madlib, Percee P, Tortoise
Following a relatively quiet spring, Stones Throw Records has announced an ambitious slate of summer releases.
First up is the re-release of Jaylib’s Champion Sound. Originally released in the fall of 2003, Madlib and the late James "Jay Dee/J Dilla" Yancey’s highly anticipated collaboration drew disappointing reviews and record sales. "Few knew who or what ‘Jaylib’ was, and many of those who did felt that Champion Sound wasn’t given the attention is deserved when it was originally released," notes the label in a press release. Much as it did with J Dilla’s Ruff Draft reissue, Stones Throw has turned the album into a two-CD set with remixes and instrumentals. With luck, its reputation will improve in light of hip-hop fans’ ongoing reassessment of J Dilla’s career. The new Champion Sound drops May 8.
For those interested in Madlib’s Invazions, the enigmatic producer is reviving his Yesterdays New Quintet pseudonym for Yesterdays Universe: Prepare for a New Yesterday, Vol. 1. The story goes that the fictional "band" (Ahmad Miller, Monk Hughes, Malik Flavors, Joe McDuphrey and Otis Jackson, Jr.) has broken up, and this is their final album. It drops July 3.
Posted in News
Tagged Arabian Prince, J Dilla, Jaylib, Madlib, Oh No, Percee P, Stones Throw, Tortoise, Yesterdays New Quintet
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Awol One drops three albums, hits the road
Awol One, affectionately known as Awolrus, has always been a prolific artist. In 2007, however, he’s on a tear. The next two months will find him releasing three albums, as well as heading out on a national tour in May and June.
The first disc, Only Death Can Kill You, pairs him with Saskatoon producer Factor. Cornerstone R.A.S. issued the disc on April 24.
Next up is Splitsville, where he taps the U.S./Canada backpack connection again and teams up with Josh Martinez and DJ Moves. That disc arrives via Vancouver label Camo Bear on May 15.
Finally, Awol One adopts a bizarre guise, Horrendous Acts of Violence. The self-described "electro death hop" joint comes out via his imprint AVB Records (with distribution from MVD Audio) on June 5.
Not enough Awol One for you? The L.A. vet, with turntable support from Factor, goes on a North American tour next month. Josh Martinez and DJ Moves, Mine + US, and DJ Hoppa join him. You can check out tour dates below.
X-Clan tours with…Insane Clown Posse?!
Since reforming X-Clan a few years ago, Brother J has been doing what any elder statesman worth his salt does: tour all over the place and cash in on those golden classics. In the last year alone he’s toured with Jurassic 5 and Public Enemy, in addition to releasing Return from Mecca, the group’s first album since 1991’s Xodus.
Old timers who remember the Blackwatch Movement and the sometimes-rancorous debates they generated in early Nineties New York neighborhood politics may have blanched when Return from Mecca dropped via Suburban Noize, an L.A. imprint founded by Daddy X of rap-rock group Kottonmouth Kingz. Not very revolutionary, but at least they’re getting the music out there. But a tour with Insane Clown Posse?
Yes, on April 28 X-Clan will embark on a national tour with Insane Clown Posse, the Juggalo-promoting gangsta rappers who wear clown face makeup. Insane Clown Posse gets respect in some quarters of the Midwest for creating an independent music empire. But man…X-Clan sure has changed since Brother J rapped, "I once knew a cave boy who tried to act black/Give a gas face and you might get slapped!" Just saying.
Tour dates are below.
Lifesavas spread “Gutterfly” across North America
Heads up, Quannum fans! Fresh off their well-received new album, the imaginatively constructed Gutterfly, Lifesavas are headed to over two dozen towns during the next two months. Expect tag team rhymes by Jumbo the Garbageman and Vursatyl (two of the worst MC names ever, I know) and fresh cuts by Rev. Shines.
Texas ensemble Strange Fruit Project, still hard at work promoting last year’s The Healin’, will join the Portland trio. Prior to the tour, Quannum figurehead DJ Shadow will take Lifesavas along on a few warm-up gigs. Tour dates are below.
“From L.A. with Love” brings West Coast hip-hop to light
Last year represented a watershed year for Los Angeles’ hip-hop and beat cultures, and perhaps its most creatively productive moment since the late 90s (when the Project Blowed movement held sway). Discs from Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dudley Perkins/Declaime, Aloe Blacc, Flying Lotus and others (most of them included in Plug One’s Top 40 albums of 2006) drew widespread acclaim and controversy as cutting-edge works, and overdue jockery from trend bibles like The Fader.
ArtDontSleep presents From L.A. with Love is the latest compilation to celebrate L.A.’s vibrant underground — props to Dublab’s 12-inches, Hefty’s "Immediate Action" series and Plug Research’s "The Sound of L.A." for laying the groundwork. But From L.A. with Love, set for a June 5 release on Milan Records, arrives at a key time when the scene threatens to achieve wider notoriety. Participants include Daedelus (as Adventure Time) and Madlib (as Yesterdays New Quintet and Sound Directions).
Sol.illaquists extend U.S. tour
Since their debut album As If We Existed dropped on Anti- Records in September, Orlando troupe Sol.iLLaquists of Sound have been hitting the tour circuit. Hard. They’ve crossed the country twice, from opening dates for the Roots to rocking nightclubs on their own. Meanwhile, producer DiVinci has played gigs with Sage Francis (at last month’s Paid Dues Festival in Los Angeles) and the mighty El-P (during a concert at L.A.’s Troubadour).
Now, the Sol.iLLaquists are headed out on the road. Again. And with over 30 concerts in less than two months, it’s quite likely that they’ll be hitting your town. Dates are below.
Hieroglyphics kicks off ten-year anniversary with comp, tour
It’s been a decade since the Hieroglyphics crew, quickly recovering from a series of failed major label deals, regrouped to form one of the most lasting and influential imprints in hip-hop. You can’t talk about the West Coast without mentioning Hiero and its crew of ace MCs — Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief (A-Plus, Phesto, Opio and Tajai), Casual and Pep Love. (And you can’t forget producer and label manager Domino, either.)
To celebrate 10 years in the game, the mighty Hiero family have lined up a series of special projects. First comes Over Time, a compilation of B-sides and rarities. It actually dropped last Tues., March 20. Next up comes a spring jaunt featuring Souls of Mischief. The quartet will hit several East Coast and Canadian cities, wind through spring music festivals such as Signal Fest and A3C 2007, and pair up with underground vets Zeph & Azeem and Icon the Mic King, and Bukue One on select dates.
A-Plus will drop his solo debut My Last Good Deed on May 1. Finally, this may be the year when we finally get a new Del album.
El-P launches world tour
March 2007 belongs to El-P. Whether it’s for getting into that silly beef with Rawkus, drawing rapturous acclaim for his brilliant I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, or debuting his Abu Ghraib-inspired video for "Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)" on the New York Times website, El Producto has been all up in the national conversation.
If you get El-P’s MySpace bulletins, then you must have turned green with envy from reading tales of sold-out shows in New York, Austin, Miami and San Francisco. "Well god damn. every show sold out. every show off the motherfucking charts. sf burned to the floor boards last night. sold out crowd on a sunday night. something is happening here, and it feels good," he wrote on a recent post.
But after a quick trip to Europe, he’ll return to North America for an extensive tour. He toured for nearly a year and a half in support of 2002’s Fantastic Damage, so it’s certain that everyone who wants to see him will get their chance. No word on who will support him as a show opener, but Aesop Rock held him down on recent dates.
Sage Francis prepares for cross-country assault
Last week, Rhode Island warrior-poet Sage Francis announced the itinerary for his national tour supporting Human the Death Dance. To liven things up, he’s assembled a proper band that includes Anticon rapper/producer Alias on synthesizers and MPC, guitarist Tom Inhaler and multi-instrumentalist Dilly Dally.
Better yet Buck 65 will be one of the tour’s opening acts. Much like Sage Francis, the Montreal rapper apprenticed with Anticon earlier in the decade. He has since evolved into a strange Tom Waits-like storyteller with a huge cult following, even though most of his work is only available in this country on import. Spoken word poet Buddy Wakefield fills out the bill.
Human the Death Dance, as previously noted, drops May 8 on Anti-/Epitaph. Sage has prepared a few appetizers: he created a short video for the track "Clickety Clak"; the YouTube clip is below. He’ll also make a few in-store appearances around the time the album is released, then wage a full-scale assault later in the month.
Kid Koala travels to U.S.
Heads up, DJ fans: Canadian mixologist Kid Koala is returning to America for the second leg of his tour promoting 2006’s Your Mom’s Favorite DJ. More specifically, he’s headed down to the South, Midwest and other "secondary markets" so all the kids who have never seen him can watch him crab scratch Charlie Brown records.
Although it’s only a 13-city tour, Kid Koala is taking his sweet time, spreading out the concerts over a month. That won’t earn any comparisons to road warriors like Rhymesayers, but it should allow him to return to Montreal every week to draw more cartoons.
Consequence offers refund for new album
Haven’t we seen this before? Last year, Rhymefest responded to snarky remarks about his underperforming debut, Blue Collar, by posting a compelling essay about SoundScan sales and their irrelevance when it comes to good music. (Unfortunately, the memorable essay has since been removed from his MySpace page.) He has since stepped his game up by seeking out unlikely-but-platinum-certified producers like Lil Jon for his forthcoming follow up, El Che.
Now Consequence is trying to do the same thing. Last week his decade-in-the-making debut, Don’t Quit Your Day Job, bricked by selling a measly 7,490 units and htting no. 113 on the Billboard album charts. (In comparison, Blue Collar sold around 15,000 copies and reached no. 61.) In subsequent interviews, he has offered to give fans a refund if they can’t find a song they like on Don’t Quit Your Day Job. He then directed people to his MySpace page for further details.
I visited Consequence’s MySpace page, and all I could find was a bunch of YouTube videos and a message board stuffed with spam. Where’s the refund information? I want my money back for that wack-ass album cover.
KRS-One and MC Shan announce “Hip-Hop Lives”
Over a year after the announcement, KRS-One and Marley Marl have set a release date for their historic collaboration. According to an Allhiphop.com news item, Hip-Hop Lives will drop via Koch Records on May 22.
Hip-Hop Lives marks a coda to a legendary beef between one of hip-hop’s greatest MCs and one of its greatest producers. With beats by Marley Marl, who had just made his mark with Roxanne Shante’s "Roxanne’s Revenge," MC Shan released his seminal "The Bridge" in 1986 as a tribute to the two’s Queens hometown. KRS-One, then a fledgling MC in Boogie Down Productions with the late Scott La Rock, answered with "South Bronx." The two went back and forth — MC Shan dropped "Kill That Noise," and KRS-One put out "The Bridge Is Over," one of the greatest dis songs of all time. The two camps have long since patched up their differences.
Traffic Entertainment reissues Strong City catalog
Crate diggers rejoice! Afrika Bambaataa’s onetime right-hand man the Original Jazzy Jay is teaming with Boston distributor Traffic Entertainment to reissue the entire Strong City Records catalog.
For hip-hop nerds, Strong City is one of the primary yet unsung labels behind the mid-80s East Coast renaissance, a crucial period in rap’s development as a viable music form. Classic Strong City titles include Masters of Ceremony’s (Grand Puba’s pre-Brand Nubian group) Dynamite (later issued on 4th and B’way), Busy Bee’s "Suicide" and (Diamond D’s first group) Ultimate Force’s "I’m Not Playing" (subsequently issued on Uni).
The jewel of the crown is Ultimate Force’s only album, I’m Not Playing. Never before released, it will come with an extra disc of acapellas and instrumentals for all you Serato jocks.
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Tagged Original Jazzy Jay, Strong City Records, Traffic Entertainment
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Nas tours North America
Last fall, when the music industry’s systemic problems finally came home to roost in the form of catastrophic album sales and weak, uneven albums, Nas’s Hip-Hop is Dead was a small glimmer of sunshine. Unlike Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, the album didn’t trumpet its values through heavy-handed advertising campaigns and glossy singles. It was dense and complex, full of conflicting emotions left open to interpretation. And in the end, the audience responded positively, proving that hip-hop culture isn’t a junkyard for pop culture (as some contend), but an art form capable of insights as profound as any other.
Next month, Nas is taking his revival act on the road. It’s called the "One Man, One Mic, One Night" tour, and kicks off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 31. Tour dates are below.