How To Make It In America
February 9, 2010
HBO’s newest series How To Make It In America starts this Sunday, but you can preview the first episode in its entirety right here, thanks to HBO leaking it on YouTube. I guess they’re trying to get a buzz brewing in the blogosphere (Green Lantern also made a promotional mixtape, get it at NahRight). The show follows a group of young men hustling to make it in Manhattan. Think east coast Entourage, except these boys haven’t blown up yet. Seems like it has potential to be pretty good. And it has a cool cast of young guys, including Kid Cudi. Check out the first episode below…
Well, what do you think? Any good? Let me know. Peace.
Larger Than Life
February 7, 2010
Today is the 10th anniversary of Big Pun’s death, and here at Westcheddar, we would like to honor one of the greatest rappers of all time by offering this classic mixtape to our readers for free, courtesy of my close friend and White Plains native DJ ROZ. As you may know, Big Pun spent the last days of his life in White Plains at the Crowne Plaza hotel, where he died 2/7/00. Back cover with tracklist, and download link, below…
DOWNLOAD DJ ROZ BIG PUN LARGER THAN LIFE
Check out more classic Big Pun pictures, videos, and music, at UP NORTH TRIPS, which is a great hip hop/sports site that I am contributing to now. Perfect for those of you from my generation who want to take a trip down memory lane through the 80’s and 90’s, or those of you younger or older readers that want to dive deep into “our” golden era of hip hop and sports. Click HERE for a history of all Big Pun content, including today’s #PUNDAY memorial posts.
*UPDATE*
Here’s a couple more links to check out….
Up North Trips Pun Day Complete Recap (All Links In One Post)
Peter Rosenberg’s Hot 97 Real Late Big Pun Tribute Mix
RIP BIG PUN
Making The New Sade Album
February 5, 2010
Sade’s new album Soldier of Love comes out next Tuesday, and I’m definitely excited about it. I’ve been purposely avoiding the leaks, which I never do, because I want to buy the album and listen to it the way she put it together. The single (title track), which came out many weeks ago, has been enough to hold me over. Check out this behind the scenes look at the making of Sade’s new album…
Did you really think that was all I was gonna give you? Come on now! Sade got MAD CLASSIC SONGS. But have you ever seen the videos for them? I haven’t. Until now. Here’s a couple of my all time fave Sade tracks…
“Hang On To Your Love”
(remember when me and K-Wet sampled this? Click HERE to hear)
“The Sweetest Taboo”
“Kiss Of Life”
“Smooth Operator”
Oh, you want to see her new video? Well I posted the link last month when we played the song on Westcheddar Radio #2. Check it out HERE. The next Westcheddar Radio episode is coming very soon. And go cop that Sade album on Tuesday! Just in time for Valentine’s Day!!!!!
New School
February 2, 2010
My young boy Rell from the BX is still at it, writing good songs and making cool music videos for the streets. I support this dude 100 percent, and have posted his stuff a couple times on Westcheddar (he’s one of Matty B’s students). Here’s his latest, over Jay-Z’s “A Million And One Questions”. It’s called “I Feel”…
Check out all his videos on his YouTube channel HERE.
Another dude I’m checking for right now is my geee Killa Whale. I’ve known this kid since 7th Grade, and he lives up to his name on the mic. He’s ferocious. Even as a 7th grader his bars were so ridiculous you would’ve thought some grown ass man was ghostwriting for him. Now he’s a senior in high school, and still doing his thing. I’m looking forward to hearing some new stuff from him (his latest mixtape cover is above and is available on his Myspace page). Check out this two part interview with Killa Whale below. Thanks for the shout out Whale! White Plains stand up!
Now please, download this song onto your nearest Ipod or computer or whatever the hell you listen to your music on. These are my high school boys from Mount Kisco, and trust me, they are focused. All original beats and rhymes. Alon “Life With Stars”. I fux with this hard body…
DOWNLOAD/STREAM ALON “LIFE WITH STARS”
One more. This is from my boy Chase (from White Plains but lives in Mt. Kisco). He is writing every day, and recording every night with me where I work. Great kid, and he’s got some dope lyrics. This is his newest track, which he said is one of his best, so I thought I’d leak it out here.
DOWNLOAD/STREAM CHASE “WINNER”
Who else is nice around the way that we should be checking for? Let me know in the comments section. Peace…
Jerk Off
February 1, 2010
If you are in tune with the youth of America right now, then you know that the biggest dance in the country is called the “jerk”. It’s basically like a backwards running man. Where I work, all the kids from Kindergarten and up can do it. It’s awesome. I think I’ve got it down too. Check out the video above of a couple of my fly whiteboy middle school kids (Killa Cam and Fettucini) doing the “jerk”. I join in towards the end. LOL
Now, watch the OFFICIAL tutorial of how to do the dance, by the guys who started it all. I guess the move we are all actually doing is called “the reject”, and something else is the “jerk”. Huh. Well, around the way it’s all the same…
Now you try it!
Do The Right Thing
January 29, 2010
This shirt is hot. Some random kid out of Philly is making it. Cop it here. He’s got it for cheap…
He had another funny shirt that I gotta post. Get it HERE…
Do the right thing Lebron. Come to New York. We know you love it here.
Winter Wind
January 28, 2010
D.C. Hip hop producer Oddisee (I know him from my College Park days), who is also 1/3 of the group Diamond District, is back with his latest ode to the seasons, Odd Winter. It is as eclectic as Odd Summer and Odd Autumn, filled with all sorts of hip hop nuggets, and is definitely worth a listen, especially if you’re in to new sounds and crazy instrumentals. There’s a few different rappers featured on there too, though Oddisee doesn’t grab the mic for this volume. My personal favorite is “The Warm Up” featuring lyrics from underground rapper Homeboy Sandman. Check it out below, along with the link to download the whole project.
HOMEBOY SANDMAN “THE WARM UP” (PRODUCED BY ODDISEE)
Oddisee also keeps a blog, where I spotted a great non-hip hop video by a group I was not familiar with, Kings of Convenience. Turns out they’ve been around for a while and have some fairly acclaimed albums, so I am in the process of digging through their discography for more gems. They have a Simon and Garfunkel type harmony thing going on. Here’s the video I saw on Oddisee’s blog for their song “Boat Behind”. I really like this. Feels like summer on a snowy day…
This song made me think of another S & G influenced group (similar harmonies). A bonus if you will. Here’s This Is Ivy League’s video for “London Bridges”…
Finally, check out the legends themselves, Paul and Art, performing “The Sound Of Silence” this past fall at MSG for the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Legendary…
Where else could you get Paul Simon and Homeboy Sandman in one post? It’s Westcheddar baby! Gimme mines!
Let’s Walk
January 28, 2010
Broken Bells (James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse) released the video for their first single “The High Road” today, which is off their self titled album. Not sure exactly what is going on in the video, but I still like it…
I hope these guys go on tour. Pre-order their album, which drops in March, HERE.
Shore Shirts
January 26, 2010
Nick Kroll’s character Bobby Bottleservice is looking to earn a spot on season two of everyone’s favorite new MTV reality show Jersey Shore. We met Bobby Bottleservice a while ago, but he’s back, and he scored a sweet segment on MTV last week to show off his homemade t-shirt line. Check it out…
BOBBY BOTTLESERVICE T SHIRT IDEAS FOR JERSEY SHORE
Stay up to date with Nick Kroll on Tumblr and Twitter. And while you’re at it, follow Andrew Goldberg (Family Guy writer and mutual friend of ours) on Twitter HERE. That kid’s a witty tweeter…
Northern Lights
January 21, 2010
The White Stripes documentary Under Great White Northern Lights is set to be released as part of a massive CD/DVD box set on March 16th. I always liked these two. I always thought Jack and Meg White were brother and sister, until my boy Leib told me it was just a gas (see comments section). Turns out they used to be married but told the press they were bro/sis to keep the focus on the music and make their band sound more interesting. But I digress. Watch the trailer for the documentary below…
I’m a fan of Jack White’s other band too, The Raconteurs. Check out this live performance of them in Holland jamming out to “Blue Veins”, one of my favorites off their first album Broken Boy Soldiers…
Pre-order The White Stripes box set at their official website. Rock on.
