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.
This Source Magazine Rhyme of the Month clipping of Nas’ “Verbal Intercourse” verse used to hang on the wall in my bedroom back when I was in high school. I stumbled across it tonight on the web, and felt a nostalgic need to post it. The fall weather always makes me feel like this. And to add to the NAStalgia (you like how cornily I did that right?) check out this vintage footage of his first interview, backstage at the famous nightclub The Fever on Video Music Box. When asked who he would like to work with in the future, he responds, “The Beatles. Nah, I’m buggin'” hahaha…
I also want to post the video for this song I’ve been bumping all week that really brings me back to the time when I first got into hip hop. Organized Konfusion featuring O.C. “Fudge Pudge.” This song is dope because the beat is hard and it’s super lyrical, but it’s also really fun! Yes, underground early 90’s New York hip hop at its finest. O.C. especially spits fire on the third verse…
Get it? Wally Joyner was the man! Anyway, I’ve been working on a new weekly rap music feature for UNT that should be debuting soon (“Fudge Pudge” was a bit of a preview), so stay tuned to their Twitter feed for all the action. One love.
*UPDATE*
Watch Nas’ new video for his summer banger “Nasty” HERE. It’s hot.
I’m playing catch up a bit here on Westcheddar tonight, posting some of my favorite things from the last month or so that I have neglected due to the hectic start of yet another school year. DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) producer/rapper Oddisee released a brand new instrumental album late in the summer titled Rock Creek Park, inspired by the Washington D.C. park that bears the same name. I used to live a block away from the foot of the park on 22nd and P, and I would drive through it every morning to get to my job in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It really is a beautiful place, nestled in the depths of the District, and certainly worthy of naming an album after. Read O’s story behind the music below, where he explains his longtime love of RCP and also how he drew inspiration for the project from The Blackbyrds’ heavily sampled song “Rock Creek Park” (which you can listen to down below it’s a sick track)…
“Rock Creek Park is & has always been one of my favorite places in Washington D.C. It has a way of aging with you & adapting to where you are in life. When I was younger, it was a place for skipping rocks, bike rides & imaginary adventures in the woods. As a teen it was a place where I played basketball, had cook outs with friends & walked through with dates. As an adult it’s my short cut through the city, my quickest way from Silver Spring to Georgetown. One thing it still is and always well be is my retreat.”
“Listening to The Blackbyrds “Rock Creek Park” inspired me to create an entire album around the park & my relationship with it. If the park were to have a soundtrack, what would it be? What does walking along the trails of the park sound like? What does driving on the narrow tree lined roads sound like? This album is my interpretation of Rock Creek Park through break beats, samples & live instrumentation.”
To stream/purchase Oddisee’s Rock Creek Park, CLICK HERE. Check for “Skipping Rocks,” which is one of my favorite cuts on there. Much love to the whole DMV!!!
This is one of my favorite songs to come out this year. It’s by a new band called The Head and the Heart, whose self title album was released a couple seasons ago on Sub Pop Records. I’ve been listening to their album a decent amount over the last few months, and this song is definitely the standout cut. It’s called “Lost In My Mind.” Check out the video above, and watch them perform it live in studio on KCRW HERE.
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.
It took me many months to get my act together and properly check out Flushing, Queens rapper Action Bronson, and finally, after more than a few trusted friends encouraged me, I sat down and listened to his critically acclaimed album Dr. Lecter. And yo, the shit is crack. I’ve been blasting it in the whip all week. First of all, Action Bronson can spit. Many comparisons have been made to Ghostface Killah because of his voice and accent and style (even though he’s a fat, white Albanian with a beard and a baldie see above), and it’s true, he sounds like Ghost. But he is his own man, and has his own flavor that makes him original. To me, he actually raps like a mixture of Ghostface and Big Pun. He’s got the slick vocabulary, wordplay, and flow, and he’s not at all lazy on the mic. He spits quickly, but not rapidly, if you know what I mean. Basically, he goes the fuck in. And his beats are dope! Hard, New York beautifulness, with ill samples, heavy basslines, and banging drums. Plus he makes cool videos too that highlight his charisma and charm. In all, he’s a funny guy who smokes mad trees, loves great food and fine women, and raps with ridiculous realness. I can’t front, he’s the truth. Check out a couple of his music videos so you can see what I’m talking about….
“Shiraz”
“Get Off My P.P.”
I’m not gonna post the video for his song “Brunch” because it’s a bit disturbing, but for the record it’s one of my favorite cuts on Dr. Lecter. Stream it HERE if you so desire. Anyway, I’d also like to highlight Action Bronson’s YouTube cooking show, “Action in the Kitchen.” Not only are the meals he makes well-prepared, but the show gives us a chance to get to know him on a more personal level. It’s obvious that he loves food, and has spent a great deal of time cooking up. Watch a couple episodes below. My favorite is the “Bronson Burger” one. I mean come on, who puts a fucking chicken cutlet on their burger!? Off the yelzabar.
“Bronson Burger”
“Seared Ahi Tuna”
Follow Action Bronson on Twitter, and definitely get Dr. Lecter asap, it’s available on Itunes. I also recommend wrapping your ears around his mixtape with J-Love, Bon Appetit…..Bitch!!!!!(haven’t heard it yet but my boy Ev Boogie says it’s proper). And he’s got a few exclusives on my dude Peter Rosenberg’s latest mixtape too, What’s Poppin’ Volume One, which features a lot of cool new underground artists as well as production by my other dude The Quartermaine. Get that for free HERE. I’m out.
The 10 year anniversary of 9/11 is this Sunday, and there are thousands of heart-wrenching stories of bravery and loss that will be told. My hometown buddy Jason Cascone (pictured above) shared his memory of 9/11 with Thirteen.org this week, and I am proud to post it here. Jay is a friend of mine who grew up in the same Highlands neighborhood of White Plains that I did, and anyone who knows him personally will tell you he’s one of the nicest and most genuine guys you will ever meet. Well, his first day on the job with FDNY was coincidentally 9/11, and in this account he tells all, from being given absolution by a priest on his ride downtown, to losing nine men from his firehouse (they were first responders), to the grueling shifts he worked at Ground Zero following the attack. And he unfolds the emotional struggles he’s been through since, and how he’s come to grips with the tragedy he witnessed his first day on the job as a New York City firefighter. Here’s the link…
I’d like to add that the picture above was in a special publication by LIFE Magazine years ago titled Faces of Ground Zero: Portraits of the Heroes of September 11, 2001, and I remember being in the bookstore and seeing it before anyone told me about it and being really proud to see him in there. It was one of the first pictures in the book, and it was a full page shot. Anyway, ten years later, the photographer who took the picture did a short interview with Jay. Here it is…
Salute to Jay (who will be made a Captain this month) and the whole FDNY. And to everyone we lost in 9/11, we miss you and love you always. Never forget…
Mayer Hawthorne’s new album How Do You Do is set to drop next month, and in preparation for it, he’s letting new material go in some form or another as part of his #MayerMonday promotion. The latest song he released (his second single), “The Walk,” is quite awesome. Listen to it HERE. And he already put out a video for the first single from his album, “Long Time,” which is equally dope. Two for two so far from Mayer Hawthorne…
Follow MH on Twitter so you can stay tuned in to all his #MayerMonday offerings. Hollerrrrrrrrrr.
My latest All The Way Live piece for Charged.FM features legendary Brooklyn rap group Black Moon, who recently performed their classic debut album Enta Da Stage in its entirety with a live band at Southpaw in Park Slope. The show itself was excellent, as were opening performances by their Duck Down brethren Smif N Wessun and Sean Price, and I had the pleasure of interviewing Black Moon’s lead MC, Buckshot, before their set backstage (see pic below). We talked about his past performance experiences, rocking with a live band, memories of a classic cipher with Nas and Kool G. Rap, and being in the studio with Biggie. Check the link under the pic for the full review of the show, and the interview with pics and video from the night too, courtesy of Charged.FM…
And here’s the video for Black Moon “I Got Cha Opin (RMX),” a song that instantly brings me back to my high school years. I remember thumping this in our limo on the way to the prom!
Big thanks to Duck Down generals DruHa and his brother NoHa from White Plains for helping to hook up the interview (and their publicist Matt). I’ve known those dudes for years, and DruHa actually let me open up for Smif N Wessun at The Knitting Factory back in 2005, something I will never forget. Good people. And big props to Black Moon and the rest of the Duck Down crew for putting on a great show! Real hip hop lives!
In the modern world of social media networking, there are no laws. But comedian and Westcheddar alumn Nick Kroll got together with Details to provide tips for those people who tend to use sites like Facebook and Twitter incorrectly, at least in his eyes. He is helping to establish etiquette on the worldwide web by giving us examples of things we should and should not do when socializing online. Read his list of twenty tips, and then make the proper adjustments as you see them fit…
Westcheddar 