I’m waiting on my dude Matty B to get me some more info on these kids (he’s their teacher). I don’t know the first kid’s name but the second kid is Yung Rell, and they’re both students at Roosevelt High School in the Bronx. I’ll find out more, but for now just enjoy this awesomely low budget black and white video above for their song “So Long”. It has a dope beat, a great hook, and both kids can spit. I’m impressed. I’ll update you with more info on them when I get it. Later…
I happen to be longtime friends with two of the best beatboxers on the planet, Max B and Matisyahu (above playing “SWITCH” at my wedding reception). Matisyahu used to beatbox at parties for me back when I first started rapping in high school, and I met Max B at College Park up at the campus radio station, and from there we’ve all been great friends, hanging out, making music, and performing together for years (see the banner pic at the top of the blog). I will put either of their skills up against anyone.
Max B is definitely the more technical of the two (though you should not sleep, Matisyahu’s techniques are quite advanced). These guys are not students of the game, they are teachers. Max actually has had a DVD out on the market for a few years now, teaching people how to beatbox. I sware, kids at my Cultural Arts Center and friends and other people I know are constantly telling me to “check out this guy beatboxing” or saying “you’ve got to watch this beatbox video”, and what I’m starting to realize is that lots of these cats are learning from MAX’S DVD!!!!! I can just tell. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think I’m right. Check out a couple clips I found online from Max’s tutorial…
Yo Max, this clip about snares has alot of views on youtube my dude! Almost 300,000!
I own this DVD, but I still can’t beatbox very well. I’ll stick to rapping. It’s not Max’s fault, I just crack up watching it because he’s my friend and it’s so damn funny to me! Don’t front Max, you know this is hilarious, with the mouth close-ups and the headband. Ha! But seriously, this video is an excellent way to learn how to beatbox. It’s an extremely thorough tutorial. And on the beatbox.tv website, you can cop ipod downloads of the DVD so you can learn on the go, as well as sample packs of beatbox sounds for production. Here’s the link:
Recently, BEATBOXBATTLE.COM held an online world championship, and a girl from Canada won first place. Check out this video of Julia Dales, and tell me she didn’t learn some of her techniques from watching Max’s video. Props to her though, she’s pretty nice!
Check out the other Top 5 winners from around the world HERE…
Also, I have to post this video that the kids I work with are obsessed with watching, and I’m convinced he’s one of Max’s students too. Check this kid out, he’s only 14 and he’s pretty ill. Can’t tell what that accent is, but he’s definitely not from the states. Watch for 2:00 in, that’s my favorite part…
Oh yeah, there’s some crazy beatboxing flute players out there. Lots of them actually. Chcck this link, they’re pretty cool.
And last but not least, I have to pay homage to Rahzel the Godfather of Noize. I first saw him with The Roots a long time ago, and have since seen him a bunch of times live and had the pleasure of hanging out with him and Max one day at an NYC studio session for a beatbox project they were working on together. This guy is a living legend, and I’m sure both of my beatboxing buddies will agree. Sure, Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh came before him, as did others, but Rahzel is from my era, so I’m rocking with him as my G.B.O.A.T. (Greatest Beatboxer Of All Time). Check this live rendition of him beatboxing Justin Timberlake/Timbaland’s “Sexy Back”…
Looking for something fly to wear for the summer, but don’t want to leave Westchester? I got the spot for you. The Rec Room (above), nestled in the quaint river town of Dobbs Ferry, is perfect for local shoppers searching for Soho style gear. Located right on the corner of Cedar Street and Broadway, The Rec Room has a lot of really dope t-shirts, clothes, hats, kicks, cd’s, stickers, toys, and more. With a really clean, laidback vibe, this is the place for you to find something cool and impressive to wear to your next barbeque or give to someone as a present, without having to make the trek downtown. And they carry my cousin’s line No Mas NYC!!! Check out some more pics…
By a twist of fate, my man Moshe, who lives up the hill from The Rec Room, discovered the new store (it’s not even a year old) and became friendly with Bahr, the owner of the shop. Moshe quickly hit me up, telling me about the possibilities of us doing some sort of live music event at the shop, and that Bahr was into hip hop culture and all that good stuff that he knows I can’t get enough of. Well the moment we all started exchanging emails and I discovered Bahr knew my cousin and carried No Mas, I could tell this was the beginning of something special. And last night, the three of us sat down at The Rec Room and came up with a great idea for a monthly event. We all hit it off right away, and realized the need for something new and exciting here in Westchester. And what better location and people to host that type of event. I mean, we all are heavy in the community, with all sorts of connections to artists and musicians, both young and old. Check out this artwork The Rec Room is currently displaying in partnership with a local after school program…
So our event is tentatively going to be called River Ciphers, live from The Rec Room and hosted by Stan Ipcus with Marlon “Moshe” Sobol on house drums. The idea is to unite everyone together at the beginning of each month to share whatever it is they’re into musically and artistically. It is a chance for Moshe and I to rock together again (which we’ve done alot in the past), and bring our friends, family, kids we work with, community members, and special guests, to perform in an open mic type setting. We want to embrace the talent that is right here in Westchester County. I am proud to be a part of this partnership with Bahr and Moshe, and look forward to turning River Ciphers into something passionate, historic, and FUN! Stay tuned for more details on our first event, which is going to be held Thursday July 2nd, and check out this video of Moshe killing it on the drums a few years ago at one of my shows at The Thirsty Turtle, and also the link to The Rec Room website…
I’m a big fan of Guitar Hero, but from the moment it came out I’ve been saying “Yo, they need to come out with Hip Hop version of this!” Not that I put a ton of thought into it, but I pictured my dream version of the game using like a mock MPC beat machine instead of a guitar. Well DJ HERO is a way cooler idea than that, using a turntable and fader as a controller, with a similar feel and look as Guitar Hero (see pic above), only with a much wider range of hip hop, dance, and even rock music. Their are a bunch of songs and mash-ups to scratch on, mix up, and conquer. Check out this in depth look at DJ HERO, which will be available in the fall:
In addition, kind similar to the way Guitar Hero released an all Aerosmith edition of the game, DJ Hero will have a special Jay-Z and Eminem edition of the game. Check out this interview with Hov and Em where they discuss why they are co-signing the game and also why they are so excited about its release, filmed at their recent star studded affair for the game in L.A. where they both performed (yes they rocked “Renegade”)…
Wow, Jay-Z is certainly having a big weekhere on Westcheddar. I’m definitely gonna get this game for the kids who frequent my Cultural Arts Center. We might need to set up a bake sale to pay for it though! Speaking of crazy new technology, have you seen the new Iphone with a built in video camera and editing software where you can share videos right from your phone? Sick! And that’s not all. Check it out RIGHT HERE.
And for those of you who miss the good old days of Nintendo and Sega Genesis, well check this Westcheddar story on where to play the classics online HERE.
*BONUS* Check out The Beatles version of Rock Band coming out in September HERE
The BGC Souljah Steppers made their 2009 debut recently up at Lakeland. The step team, which is made up of 3rd-7th grade girls, practiced many hours up in our Cultural Arts Center preparing for this show, and they did a great job. Lots of traditional stepping, and also a full out hip hop dance routine too. They even did the Stanky Leg!!! Are you up on that move?!?!?! I’m still trying to figure out how to do it without looking like a big tall dork. Check the performance…
My little geeeez are still getting dark slash light up where I work, almost every night of the week. This is their favorite song right now to dance to. The video is low budget and fun to watch. Check the move, it’s called “Evil Canivel”.
If you missed my piece on the Dark Wars dance movement, check it out HERE.
I spent the better part of the last decade hosting game shows for kids in all of my after school programs, from Mt. Kisco, NY to Gaithersburg, MD. Recently, after putting my game show on hold for this school year, it was time to bring it back. The streets were asking for it, true story. So here it is, the latest episode of everyone’s favorite game show THE NEWLYFRIEND GAME, hosted by yours truly FITZ WINKLEMAN. Enjoy…
Wanna see where it really all started? Check THIS OUT:
I invented a new game last week at the BGC called BG sCene IT. It’s basically a team improv battle game, where judges vote on which squad interprets the scene given to them better than their opponents. It was a very fun afternoon. Check out the two part video…
Ahhh, the life of a substitute teacher. I know it too well. In fact, I can relate to this new HBO show’s story of a former baseball star who comes back to his home town to sub in a very personal way. Sure, I was never a major celebrity (not even close), but I would work in White Plains every once in a while as a substitute teacher right after the Matisyahu album cut “WP” came out, and real talk I signed autographs in school. It was weird, like why would you really want my autograph, I’m your sub and I see you around school like once a week. But at the same time, it was kind of cool and gratifying to know that my talents were looked up to in the midst of my daily hustle subbing to support myself financially. The same kids I was teaching were seeing me rap with Matisyahu at MSG and Hammerstein Ballroom. I was proud to be a part of both of those worlds with them. Check the clip of me performing at a spoken word show at lunchtime in the library of WPHS during my days as a sub, a moment where my worlds’ collide…
I’m not sure how proud washed up baseball superstar Kenny Powers, Danny McBride’s character on Eastbound and Down, is feeling though after returning home to work at a local middle school. He’s cocky, obnoxious, and completely inappropriate, yet he’s still worshipped as a celebrity by many of the adults at school and in town, even the principal. The kids, however, look at him like a total joke though (mostly because their parents do too). And he is. It’s a fun show. McBride, who is on the rise right now after a funny performance as Red in Pineapple Express, provides a bunch of LOL moments on the show, which will be airing it’s third episode this Sunday. Take a look at the Eastbound and Down Behind the Scenes HBO Special below (the series is produced by Will Ferrell by the way)…
And in case you missed it, Summer Heights High, another new HBO comedy series, is borderline brilliant. Chris Lilley (very talented and funny) plays three different main characters on the show; a stuck up valley girl, a flaming drama teacher, and a badass schoolboy. All three characters are outrageously hilarious in their own way.
The show has the feel of The Office UK (you know, that uncomfortable humor), but it’s set at an Australian High School. Check for reruns, watch it On Demand, or cop the DVD that just dropped today. Here’s the trailer…
Give both shows a shot, they’re worth watching. I wonder when the new Curb Your Enthusiasm season is starting?
Remember this game above? That’s right, NHL ’93 for Sega Genesis. Man, I used to play this all the time. Of course, video games have come along way since this 16-bit classic. But if you’re interested in playing these old games once in a while and you’re not a game nerd that has the old systems lying around, there’s a couple great websites where you can play any Sega Genesis game you want right on your computer! Seriously, it’s sick. Nintendo too. Last night, I was surfing around looking for some cool games that my young kids at work could play during our holiday break, and I stumbled upon a GOLDMINE. I tried a couple out, and they play pretty well too, you just have to adjust to using the keyboard, but it looks and plays exactly like you remember. I played a couple of my old favorites, and it was a blast I can’t front I felt like a pimply little pimp again. NHL ’93, NBA JAM (He’s on firrrreeeeeee!!!!), NBA Live ’96, Madden ’93, Sonic. The Nintendo games are even crazy too. Tennis?!?!?!? Excitebike. Baseball. Tecmo Bowl. Super Mario Bros pt. 2?!?!?! I’m telling you, these sites have EVERY GAME. And it’s all free. Check these links, then thank me later.
Now I know you can get lots of old games on Nintendo Wii, and of course the new video games blow these away. I mean, Guitar Hero is crazy. Have you seen NBA 2K9 for PS3? It’s unbelievable. But for the pure nostalgia and accessability of it all, these internet sites are great. And the games are so fun to play. Trust me, I see the games these little kids like to play in my lab up here at the BGC, and they’re not that rad. Some are cool, on sites like miniclip.com and gamegecko.com, but I think once I put them on to these old Sega Genesis and Nintendo games they’re gonna be hooked. By the way, what’s your top 5 favorite video games of all time? Let me know in the comments section if you dare…
Westcheddar 