The Tanning Interview with Nigel Sylvester
April 2, 2012
For my latest interview with Steve Stoute’s site The Tanning of America, I had the opportunity to talk to BMX pro Nigel Sylvester. Check the intro, a video of him biking through NYC (he’s from Jamaica, Queens), and the link to the interview below…
African-American professional BMX bike rider Nigel Sylvester is one of the premiere sensations in his rapidly growing sport. A native of Jamaica, Queens, Nigel first got put on to the pro world of BMX at age 12 while watching the X Games on television. He immediately went outside, grabbed his bike, and tried to mimic every trick he had just seen. Since then, his number one passion in life has been riding BMX bikes and embodying the culture that goes along with it. After crafting his style on the streets of New York City, he was noticed by legendary BMX rider Dave Mirra, who gave him his first sponsorship. And now, he is sponsored by enormous brands like Nike 6.0 and Gatorade, and leading the sport of BMX to the next level through his exciting, hip-hop infused videos, filmed worldwide. The catch is that he doesn’t compete anymore. He’s a pro street rider, for real.
In this in-depth interview, Nigel talks about how he handled being called “whiteboy” as a young teenager due to his interest in BMX, his run-ins with the police in New York City parks, his experiences traveling the world as a pro, and his hands on involvement in the production of his BMX videos. Plus, he discusses interracial dating, his love of hip-hop music, how he felt seeing Pharrell ride a BMX bike in N.E.R.D.’s “Provider” music video, and what exactly being a professional BMX bike rider entails for him in 2012.
Leaders of the New School 2012
March 23, 2012
The next generation of really, really dope rappers is starting to emerge. Thank god. I was getting worried, but it makes sense that these guys who were born during the 90′s when shit was so pure and rugged are coming around full circle to make the same type of shit. Their parents probably played Wu-Tang and Nas and shit like that when they were in the crib (literally) and it soaked in to their brains or something. As a parent, I know I try to put my kids on to the ill shit, even though they’re both under two. Fuck it. My older son Luca feels beats. He bops his head hard and all that. It’s hysterical.
The first guy who really caught me by surprise is Wiki, who’s from Uptown and spits like a young Eminem but with an NYC flair. His video for “Wikispeaks” is excellent, and it’s apparent with this one song that he’s one of the most talented young rappers out right now. It’s actually mind-boggling how nice he is. And he’s definitely on some throwback shit. He looks like a kid from the movie Kids, seems to have a preference for beers and blunts, and “Wikispeaks” sounds like something from an old Stretch and Bobbito radio show. Watch the video above, and then check out his EP 1993.
Somehow, as I explored Wiki’s Twitter page and other posts on the net about him, I came across another young rapper from NYC, Brooklyn to be exact, named Joey Bada$$ (picture above). Yo. This dude is sick. He reminds me of my boy Nef from the BX that I went to Maryland with, who I always tell people is the nicest rapper I ever exchanged bars with. Anyway, Joey Bada$$ is down with Smoker’s Club (Smoke DZA, Johnny Shipes is his manager, etc) and is only a Junior in High School, but is super duper dope, with smart, clever lyrics, tons of flow, and a great rap voice. His song “Waves” is my favorite shit out right now hands down. Listen above, and then watch his video for “Survival Tactics” with his boy Capital STEEZ below…
Kid is nice, right? Finally, Cali collective Odd Future, who I admit I was never the hugest fan of, is back at it, especially with the return of Earl Sweatshirt, their most talented and lyrical rapper who had been missing in action for the past year. Check the video for their posse cut “Oldie” led by Tyler, The Creator and featuring their whole crew (off their new album coming soon), including a top notch verse from Earl towards the end. These kids are off the chain (they basically just fuck around at a photo shoot in the video), and the beat is straight boom bap…
Finally, I never really posted A$AP Rocky’s shit, but him and his A$AP crew from Harlem are making a lot of noise, and it would be irresponsible of me not to include them in this post. He covered the last issue of Complex, and has lots of new material starting to surface. My favorite shit of his is easily “Peso” which you’re probably up on by now since they play it on Hot 97 and the video’s been on every blog in the world. He’s not the most amazing rapper, and is more on some next shit than some throwback shit, but for good measure, I’m including him here, because this song/video is hot and he’s for sure one of the leaders of the 2012 new school…
Yes, the next generation of spitters is here, and they’re ready to make their mark. We’ll have to see how far they can take it. Regardless, it’s nice to see that the hip-hop community is embracing that realness again. Enough with the party and bullshit, right? Cheah.
*Related*
Odd Future vs. Joey Bada$$ (MTV Rap Fix Live)
Peter Rosenberg interviews Earl Sweatshirt for the first time since his return
Nardwuar vs. A$AP Rocky (and A$AP crew)
*Update*
Watch this mini-doc Vice Magazine did with Joey Bada$$, where they visit him at school and kick it with his crew too. Dope…
ALSO, MUST READ: Who is Wiki? | Complex
Say What?
February 20, 2012
These “Shit ________ Say” videos are all the rage right now, eh? I need a late pass for posting this, but I love “Shit New Yorkers Say,” which pokes fun at pretentious New York City residents. Really well done. Watch it above. And it inspired me to make a “Things BGC Kids Say” video with the middle schoolers I work with, and they did a great job with the whole concept and took some quality jabs at themselves. There’s some budding talent in this crew. Watch below…
Also, love this one “Shit Toddlers Say.” My son Luca is gonna be two in May, so I can relate to a lot of this. He loves watching it too, probably because the little girl in it is super cute. Check it…
Catching up on posts. More coming asap. Hollerrrrrr.
Re-interpreting a Legend
February 19, 2012
As part of Complex’s J Dilla Tribute Week, I interviewed this dude Brian “Raydar” Ellis, a teacher at Berklee School of Music in Boston who leads the first and only J Dilla Ensemble, where students re-interpret music from Dilla’s catalog using live instrumentation. I’ve never been the hugest Dilla fan, but I certainly respect his work and what he contributed to hip-hop, and think it’s really cool that a traditional music institution like Berklee is branching out a bit and offering courses like this to its students. Raydar and I had an interesting discussion about the J Dilla Ensemble and its inception, and what goes on inside the classroom. We also talked about what sets J Dilla apart from other legendary hip-hop producers, and his contributions to A Tribe Called Quest’s catalog. This is a must read for Dilla fans, and people who may not know enough about his greatness. Take a glimpse at the future of music education, hip-hop style!
What Is The J Dilla Ensemble? | Complex
*Bonus*
Check out my boy J Swiss’ Dilla tribute song/video, “Geek Down,” off his This 1 Is 4 Dilla mixtape, which dropped the same day as the feature above. Swiss is doing his thing down at UNC-Chapel Hill, and still reppin’ Dobbs Ferry and the 914 heavy…
RIP J Dilla.
English Muffins
October 5, 2011
Yo! Watch these two little British girls in white dresses and tiaras rap and sing Nick Minaj’s hit “Super Bass.” Well, actually only one of them does the vocals (she’s nice with it), but they both go in on the dance moves. So cute, so ill, so amazing. I spotted this on Entourage and How To Make It In America music supervisor Broke Mogul’s Tumblr page. Props to him for posting this.
*Bonus*
Stream/Download How To Make It In America Mixtape Vol. 2
*UPDATE*
Watch the girls meet Nicki Minaj and perform with her on Ellen! Amazing!
Being Elmo
October 5, 2011
My 16 month old son loves Elmo. That’s his G. And I’m not mad at Elmo, he’s actually really cool. This month, there is a documentary coming out about the puppeteer who created him and who’s been doing his voice and controlling his every move for the past twenty years. Yup, this dude Kevin Clash, pictured above, is the man behind (and underneath) everyone’s favorite furry character on Sesame Street. Watch the trailer for Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey below…
Also, here are two of my son’s favorite Elmo music videos (my wife and I love them too). The first is with Adam Sandler, and the one below it is with Ricky Gervais. They’re both excellent and will make you laugh and smile…
For more info on Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey, visit the movie’s official website HERE. Peace.
Home Grown
January 11, 2011
Big ups to my little sister Becca for putting me on to this video of a young father singing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros “Home” with his daughter (Jorge and Alexa Narvaez). Too cute! Below, they sing Alicia Keys “Unthinkable”…
Home is definitely where the heart is. Stay up to date with all their new videos HERE. And more Westcheddar youth related posts can be found HERE. Peace and love.
The Lottery
October 10, 2010
The first ever fantasy NBA season of the Westcheddar Hoops League is officially underway. Our league is made up of 16 teams, with owners from Massachusetts to Maryland. It’s going to be tough competition, with cash and prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. We set the season off today with “The Lottery” to determine who will pick when in our upcoming draft. A few of the owners were down at Madison Square Garden with the BGC middle/high school basketball team to watch the Knicks Open Practice, so we filmed “The Lottery” there and had the kids pull the team names out of a hat. Check it out above. And below, watch a great clip of my young boy Nappi aka Napstar spit a sick rap at our recent BGC Jam Session (alongside our special guest and up and coming rap star Chris Webby) over a beat made in our lab by a fellow 8th grader we call Dr. Dres. This is what we do…
You see me cheesin’ in the background?!?!? I love watching my little dudes kill it. More action from the Westcheddar Hoops League coming soon, along with our official NBA preview. Stay tuned!!!
Get Pumped
August 19, 2010
Ok, this is what happens when I spend a whole summer with a bunch of middle school campers. We hang out every day, play pool and tetherball, crack jokes nonstop, and then go into the lab and make rap music together. These kids, who call themselves “The Kunais” (I’m told it means “japanese tool”) came up with the concept and beat for two great songs, and we ended up performing them for the whole camp.
The first, “I’m Pumped”, came from them being so fired up everyday at camp. They’d walk around all day saying “I’m so pumped right now” and then wail on each other’s arms with fists of fury. Then one day they bumrushed me in the lab and said they wanted to make a song called “I’m Pumped”. They banged out the beat on Garage Band, and I helped them shape their verses and the chorus. Then, true story, when we were done recording I was so pumped myself that I went in and freestyled the last verse. We were all cracking up and they loved it so we decided to keep it on the song. For the rest of the summer, this was our anthem. Everyone knew all the words, and campers were constantly quoting my freestyle back to me, which was so funny.
The second, “Says Who”, was another saying of theirs. For example, if a counselor would ask them to do something, they would respond “Says who!?” Completely rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful, but really, really funny. So I suggested we make a song about it. I came up with the hook, like I’m the counselor and they’re talking back to me, and they wrote their verses. The rest is summer camp history.
So the above video is us performing these two songs at the end of camp Variety Show. You can’t tell from the video, but the entire gym is filled with campers and their parents and families. It was an off the hook performance, and I’m confident that no summer camp Variety Show has ever witnessed anything like it. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and big shout out to my boys at the BGC for making the past eight weeks unforgettable…
*BONUS*
My beat boxing brother Max Bee came to perform for the campers and shut the place down. It was extremely sick. Here’s a clip from the performance of him playing the “Name Game” with the campers (he makes beats using their first names), and also beat boxing for a staff dance battle. Thanks for coming Max!
Peace!
Nothing U Can Do (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
July 11, 2010
Ok! Me and my young boy Kaliph finally got around to making a video for our song “Nothing U Can Do”, off my latest mixtape IPmatic (see the post below or click HERE to get that). We filmed it on the no budget tip up in Mt. Kisco, and I basically put it all together and edited it myself. I’m proud of this, because it’s straight raw hip hop, the way we like it. No gimmicks, no bullshit. Respect the No Mas NYC lid and the throwback Latrell Sprewell Knicks jersey. Westchester County stand up, White Plains and beyond, this one’s for you!!!!! Enjoy…
P.S. Stay tuned for our official Westcheddar breakdown of Lebron’s decision (you blew it LBJ) and the New Knicks. For now, I’ll just say this: I like how our new squad is shaping up. Big shout to Amar’e Stoudemire for stepping up to the challenge. Stay tuned to my man Tommy Dee at The Knicks Blog for all the recent news. Holler at your boy!!!
