End of the year...

So this is my 100th post, and I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who checks in from time to time to see what's going on in my world. I really appreciate the support, and I hope you bring in the new year safely and happily, whether you are home alone watching TV or net-surfing, or out in the club with your friends...you guys stay warm in this Freezing World.



Rest in peace, Ed Knight, we'll miss you old man...

Front porch hip-hop...

I found this on DJ Hyphen's blog, TheAudacityofDope.com, and I had to repost. It reminded me of some of the old front porch jams we used to have with the crew (Austin on congas, JT on kneeslaps, myself on guitar, and all the fellas taking turns on the rhymes...nostalgic). We also had Mike D on the sax. He took it to the next level. Rest in peace, homie, we miss you.

Surreal Art...

"Stumbled upon" these when I was checking out www.stumbleupon.com. A very cool site that will take you around to web pages that you probably would not find on your own. You just tell it what you are interested in and it will take it from there (if you are logged in, it will remember you and save sites that you like as favorites).

If you click on any picture it will take you to the site that is hosting them...

"UNDER THE LAST MOON"



"BRAINWASH"



"SAROJA"

Appreciation...

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving..."

-- Albert Einstein "The World As I See It"

Carry on, Karuan...

Austrian producer/musician Karuan was born in Vienna in 1976 to Kurdish parents. His second album, Pop Arif, is described as "Unique Urban Oriental Soul," and is blowing it up in Greece and Austria. It is a self-described an homage to Kurdish music, and although some of it gets kind of bubblegum for my tastes, there are definitely some stand-outs. And he's he's on his website flexing a Fender Telecaster guitar in the desert, so I gotta give it up...

A Classic Revisited...

Ghetto Medley...

It's amazing how many times this song has been gaffled! For me personally, none of them tops the original. Of the following, Rakim's is most nostalgic, but Jill Scott's version featuring Common is the cleanest-sounding, and the Disciples' version is the least obvious rip-off...



(Heads-up, the Grooveshark widgets may be louder than the YouTube rips, and there is no volume adjust on them...be prepared to adjust manually if you check them out.)

Spanish Hip-Hop 103...

I had to get one more quick course in before the year closed.



My favorite hip-hop duo from Spain, Solo Los Solo, consisted of Juan Solo on the mic and the legendary Griffi on production and cuts. To my disappointment, they are no longer working together as a group, but fortunately each are independently producing new material. Here was their last big video, "Todo El Mundo Lo Sabe":



And here's one of my favorites from the album Quimera, called "Brujos":

Slow Train Soul...

Slow Train Soul is a musical duo out of London self-classified as a "soulful mix of Nu Jazz and Electronica, uptempo downtempo, twilight tales, urban realities and great escapes." It is comprised of Lady-Z on vocals and Morten Varano on production. His beats are dope, and she has a cool raspy voice.

They have two albums out, the first one being Illegal Cargo, released in 2004:





The most recent album is Santimanitay, released in 2006:



Click the picture below to visit their official site for more info.
(Note - music starts automatically):



Once again, thanks to Stephane Pompougnac for the put-on. He has featured them on the Hotel Costes series a few times:

One More for the Road...

I gotta give it up, that Stephane sure has some good taste. Here's another gem from the Hotel Costes series. It's a remix of a Shirley Bassey called "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)" produced by Away Team (which I assume is THE Away Team, consisting of Khrysis and Sean Boog, of Justus League fame):



Here's the original:



Here she is live, pretty awesome voice:

Lazy Sunday Lounge...

A groove by French DJ/Sound Designer Emmanuel Santarromana caught my ear while listening to some lounge music this morning. I found it by entering the name Stephane Pompougnac into a Grooveshark query. For the most part, these guys are French house/dance DJs, but Stephane puts out these Hotel Costes lounge mixes full of dope down-tempo tracks. When exploring more of their work, I found that I had to sift through a lot of corny house tracks, but here are some stand-outs.

This is the Emmanuel Santarromana song that I was feeling, called "Metropolitan":



...and another by DJ/producer Nickodemus:

China Syndrome...

My man Eli Sweet just posted a link for his new mixtape. A collection of music he recorded here at the crib during his latest visits back from China. Some excellent verses/songs on this joint, really some of his best work to date. Mostly the production consists of tracks he "borrowed" from various producers, but he makes sure he gives credit where credit is due...respectfully. Eli is one of the nicest, and on China Syndrome, he's got his superman swagger on and shines on every track he blesses...don't sleep.



You can click the picture, or here to get to the download link. (I had to download Winzip since he made it a .zipx file, but it's worth it.)

Check the track-listing here

Below are words from Eli himself:

Album Notes

1. THIS ALBUM IS FREE. IF YOU LIKE IT PASS IT ALONG TO YOUR FRIENDS.

2. I didn't pay for any of the beats on this album. Some of them were made by friends of mine, or offered by their creators for free download, but the majority were taken from other hip hop artists' mixtapes or albums without their permission. The production credits for the beats are listed below.

3. I stole that Usain Bolt punchline from my buddy Leif. We were freestyling and he dropped that shit; I thought it was funny, so I took it and ran with it. I told him about it and hes cool with. He gets props.

4. You can learn about my time as Captain Morgan in China at www.EliSweetIsAPirate.blogspot.com

5. If you like my music you can download stuff from my previous album, “Firebrand” here (www.ReverbNation.com/EliSweet).
New music will also be available for free download here: http://elisweet.bandcamp.com.

6. Eli Sweet is my given name. You can contact me at Eli.M.Sweet@gmail.com.

Post-Rock Music...

Wasn't really familiar with the genre, but I'm kind of diggin' it...

Here are some examples.

The Six Parts Seven, a "post-rock" band from Kent, Ohio, that played together from 1995-2008:



Myspace page
Wikipedia page

"Post-rock" duo from L.A. called El Ten Eleven:



elteneleven.com
Wikipedia page

CE Holiday Throwdown...

If you are in town, please don't miss this show!
Click the banner below to get more info from the CE website.

Lazy Sunday...

Somebody needed to do it...

You can not get away with going on Funkmaster Flex and reading "freestyles" off of your Blackberry! Kind of embarrassing. Watch the original first...

Thank you, Affion!

T-Bone and Abed...

You know how much I love rap in Spanish...

Meaning of Life...

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life...I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive."

-- Joseph Campbell

Distant Relatives...

I've been getting back into that "Welcome to JamRock" album lately, but I'm anxiously awaiting that Nas and Damian Marley collabo, "Distant Relatives", that was supposed to be out in June, then August, and now it's November...I hope it's worth the wait.





For now, here's another banger from that JamRock

There For You...

CE Spotlight: DJ Klever...

Check the full post on www.cecrew.com



It was an honor to watch this guy's development over the years. From a humble J-Luck spinning records in the cellar (Peace to Aop, Mastermind, and Mr Nobody), to the world champion DJ Klever who demands respect from his hard-work and innovation on the turntables.

Here's a little taste from the 2000 DMC:

Dj Klever Dmc World 2000
by hepooh

Quotes for November...

"Meditate on knowing and not knowing,
on existing and not existing.
Then leave both aside so that you may be."

-- Shiva

(from the 112 Techiques)



"Without leaving my house
I know the whole universe."

-- Lao-Tsu

Sympathy for a thug...

The Canoe Analogy

"Each person in the canoe has a specific role, and each makes a valuable contribution to the collective efforts of the team to achieve its goal. If just one of the paddlers is out of sync, the entire team's efficiency is impacted."

Hameen in the studio...

I got the chance to work in a dope studio when we were finishing up the mixing of Freezing World. Thanks to Weiss for the hookup, Pete for the spot, and Mike for the opportunity to learn more ProTools tricks and mixing techniques. We had a fun couple of days locked in the hidden barn studio up in Athens. Here are a couple flicks of your boy running the Tools.

Quote of the day...

"Silently time passes.
The only life I have
submits to its power."

-- Hatsui Shizue

The Tao of Wu...

The new book by RZA. Here he is on Stephen Colbert last week for a plug-op...

BlakRoc coming soon...

So currently on Brother Ali's homepage he has a blog post about BlakRoc, which is a project developed by Dame Dash with rock group The Black Keys, featuring rappers such as Mos Def, Q-Tip, RZA, Raekwon, Pharoah Monche, Ludacris and more. This is definitely worth reposting, it comes out November 27th. Check out BlakRoc and peep the trailer for a taste. Shit is bangin! I can't wait to cop this.

Incredible concept, bridging the genres - you know I'm with it.

Here are the first couple "webisodes" - you can check out the rest on the video section of their website) Dopeness...

My kind of hip hop...

I feel sorry for the people who listen to the commercial rap stations and actually think that it represents the culture and spirit of hip hop. Thanks to Eli for turning me on to the new album, Us, by Brother Ali.

Smooth Vibes...

On of my favorites, Bobby Hutcherson, the song is Montara...



and the Madlib remix:



Here is a live performance, notice the intensity of the expressions they make while playing. Powerful stuff.

Quote of the day...

"Just to be alive is enough."

-- Shunryu Suzuki

Happy Birthday Mohandas...

Thank you for your wonderful life and your great soul...



As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Hate the sin, love the sinner.



I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life.

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.



Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.



What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

A Peaceful Place...

From the album Trail Mix...thanks to tuckdragon for getting us some more listeners with his youtube post.



I played all of the instruments on this song (aside from the drum loop) on an electric guitar through a Roland GR-33 guitar synthesizer that Gordon let me borrow (it was later pawned during what must have been some pretty desperate times). Many of the songs on Trail Mix were played with this thing. It had really cool flutes, a decent stand-up bass, and the pianos and acoustic guitars weren't bad, either. No Worries was also made using the Roland and a couple drum loops. Have always thought about getting another one, and here's a used one on eBay for $900 that includes a Fender Stratocaster. Hmmm...

Mark Twain quote...

"Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform."

-- Mark Twain

LOA - The Ledge...

From the album Information From The Underground...

Loving Kindness Meditation...

"If anyone has hurt me or harmed me knowingly or unknowingly in thought, word, or deed, I freely forgive them.

And I too ask forgiveness if I have hurt anyone or harmed anyone knowingly or unknowingly in thought, word, or deed."

-- Theravada Buddhism

Underground Gold Mine...

Ran across this guy's blog a few weeks ago when I was checking for new Blu material...I haven't been able to stop. I feel like a kid in a candy store...




Hundreds of independent hip-hop releases available on RapidShare, his posts date back to like September 2007. Thank you, kind sir, don't mind if I do! If you like it, support the artists, if you don't, trash it...

I love this guy...

Quote of the day...

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."

-- Carl Jung

Jazz Liberatorz...Clin d'oeil

Smooth beats, dope emcees...a magical combination. I am halfway through this record, but so far I am thoroughly impressed with the production, the collaboration choices - in fact, I feel safe putting my approval stamp on it even before I finish listening to the whole thing. How can it be that this came out in January of 2008 and I haven't heard it? I was sleeping...

Anyone else just now waking up can check this album out on Amazon HERE.



Other artists include the lovely and talented Stacy Epps, Asheru, Buckshot, Fat Lip and Tre Hardson from Pharcyde, and more. This is my kind of hip hop.



Their latest effort released in April of this year is called Fruit of the Past and is available to peep on Amazon HERE.

Don't sleep...

Mas que nada...

My theme song for the day...this thing has been playing over and over in my head. Damn it, soul-sides!!

Exotica day dreams...

Man, I really zoned out at work today listening to the soothing sounds of Martin Denny. Dubbed the "father of exotica," he has quite a catalog, and an interesting story if you have the time. Check the wikified version here. Very interesting and creative, no cheesy synthesizers, just really cool piano melodies, xylophones, sax and exotic percussion (and occasionally an animal sound or two).



Here's another cool one...



This is probably the most well known piece, Exotica. Be careful, do not operate any heavy machinery while listening to this one, you could easily drift off to sleep. If anyone is having trouble with insomnia, go get this album and play it before bed.

Quote of the day...

"Everything you can imagine is real."

-- Pablo Picasso

Bitter:Sweet melodies...

Trip-hop duo Bitter:Sweet caught my ear on Pandora this afternoon. If you like Portishead, Thievery Corporation, Esthero, etc, then you will probably like their first album, "The Mating Game," released in 2006. Comprised of vocalist Shana Halligan and producer Kiran Shahani, her breathy voice is a great compliment to his moody melodic down-tempo beats. I must say, the album is pretty good from beginning to end...here are a couple of stand-outs.





They have a new album entitled, "Drama," that was released in 2008, but I haven't heard that one yet. If you want to, you can find out more about these guys on their official website.

Some throwback music...

Not only is this track is slammin', but the video is off the chain. This beat really takes me back to the Primo days, man, this is that straight New York rap music...no fillers or fluff...respect. The MC's voice and cadence reminds me of Xzibit, but he's got his own thing going.

Pluggin' Phonte...

Phonte, of Little Brother, is also on my top ten favorite rappers list. He is also a great song-writer, which seems to be rare with rappers these days. Cats can spit three dope 24 bar verses back to back, but couldn't arrange a song to save their lives. Phonte gets deep with the harmonies, too, he can really take you to church on a track.

If you haven't checked Foreign Exchange, grab their first album, "Connected", produced entirely by producer Nicolay from Amsterdam. These guys met on okayplayer.com and recorded an entire album thousands of miles apart. Very talented cats, check them out when you get a chance. Nicolay now resides in NC, and they recently put out a second album as Foreign Exchange, but get "Connected" first.

Here's a sample:




(A little side-note, Nicolay did a remix of a CE track, Until My Life's Gone, for the Medicine Remix project, which was never realized, but still may surface one day...)

Here is some stuff that Phonte did with DJ Spinna - dopeness...

Blu's Endeavors...

Lately I've been wondering what's going on with Blu, who as an artist definitely resides on "Ben's top ten favorite rappers list". After finally taking the time to do a little internet searching, I have discovered that he has been quite busy collaborating on some Dyelon-6-records-at-a-time ish. Here's the scoop:

He did an album with Ta'Raach, as C.R.A.C. Knuckles (pronounced Crass) entitled The Piece Talks -- and although I like Ta'Raach's voice and his Detroit heavy Dilla-esque style, some of the beats on this project are a little repetitive, and combined with some bad interludes, the whole thing seemed kind of rushed to me. There are some stand-outs...and if you are a fan, it's worth a listen for sure.



Another project is the group Johnson & Jonson, comprised of Blu and producer Mainframe. I just got the album, but as of right now have only heard a few tracks from their Myspace page, and I am really feeling it. The samples of old soul records seem to better compliment the maturity and depth of Blu's lyrics.





Make sure you support Blu and his many endeavors...buy the records on iTunes, go see the shows when they come through, and let your people know what time it is. He has a new solo EP out called "No Sleep For A Day" but it sounds like him experimenting with an MPC for about 10 minutes with the same samples and sounds...and he also put out an EP last year with Sene called "BeSene" -- I'm saying! If you are unfamiliar, check my previous post showcasing some of Blu's older work HERE.

Lazy Sunday grooves...

Set it free...

Only you can break the chains holding you captive in your own mind...



...stop the suffering.

Coming with that soul...

Leave it to Maxwell...showing some range on this one, too. Using more of his low voice than the usual falsetto where you can barely understand the words. I love how the beat starts out real simple with the MPC clap, and then turns into a thick live drum beat, with the rolling hats and the tight snare and kick variations. Nice track...and excellent work Maxwell.

You can click the picture below to check it on Youtube, but I felt like the soul came across more without the video, so I embedded the uncut version from Grooveshark:



Notice how it starts out a lot like "This Woman's Work," which is another classic of his...

Water and a flame...

The new album by Daniel Merriweather is actually pretty decent. There are a few skippers, but I love soul singers with some pain in their voice. If anything, it was the song selection - a little sleepy-time, some poor choices. I personally wanted to hear more of those funky upbeat soul jams, but I'm sure the album will grow on me if I give it chance.

Anyway, he's doin' his thing for sure. Currently residing in Manhattan, originally from Melbourne, Australia, dude is a perfect match to rock this duet with UK born "blue-eyed soul" sensation Adele (see previous post about her HERE). Nice ballad, check it out below.



Check out Adele TV, her site. She's one of the greats.

This track with Wale is an example of the upbeat side of the album, which was unfortunately limited:

Remembering ATL underground...

...reminiscing on a lazy Sunday. Without a doubt, some of the greatest in ATL underground music, ever. These guys were around during the same time LOA was doing our thing. Peace to all the true-school heads out there.

The Hemisphere:
Much love to U-George...

Unfortunately, couldn't find any media to embed, but check them out on Myspace, some dope artists...



Scienz of Life:
Peace to John Robinson aka Lil Sci...



MassInfluence:
Peace to the one and only H2O aka Kid Captain Coolout...

Birthday jams...

Flamenco Chill...

Chambao is a flamenco-electronica group from Málaga, Spain. It's like a cross between Gipsy Kings and Sweetback. She has a cool voice, and they make pretty chill, laid-back music to help pass the work day.

Chambao's Official Website

Pics from our left coast getaway...

In case you're interested, here are a million pictures from our trip to San Fran and northern Cali. The first few have captions explaining where it is, but I haven't gotten around to filling in the rest (and clearing out all of the bad ones). I always take way too many pictures, so that at least a few will come out alright, then I end up liking something about all of them, so I have a hard time deleting them...(nerd)

San Fran Part 1

This second batch here was basically the last day, when we conquered Haight St., Twin Peaks, a ferry ride around the bay AND an evening chillin' in the Mission with my homie Hudson and his beautiful lady, Carter (who we just happened to bump into on the Bart on our last day in the city...crazy story, will delve into more detail later). I am still planning to write a few posts/stories to accompany the pics, but until then, these images should suffice. Peace and harmoniousness.

San Fran Part 2

Relaxin' in the mountains...

I just returned from my annual escape to the Blue Ridge Mountains with the extended fam. We've dubbed it the BooMan Reunion, since celebrating the life of Mike D is the driving force behind our excursion (BooMan is what Mark D calls him). As usual, it was beautiful getting to reminisce with everyone, and truly amazing to see how much all the kids have grown already. Check out little JT, chillin' with the toy guitar.



"Autumn leaves must fall down, growing old..."



We went up a day early this time, so we got to go rafting on the Ocoee with Mark D on Friday afternoon, and then still had a whole weekend to feast and catch up.



In between heavy drinking and a non-stop Cornhole tournament, there was continuous gorging on delicious Houston's grub (thanks Kim!!)... I'm talking everything from fillet Mignon burgers and steak, smoked salmon with dill sauce, tuna steak, veggie burgers with the soy glaze -- ouch, I'm hurting myself just thinking about it. I think I'll need to fast for the next two weeks to clear all the meat out of my system. Sorry if I've offended any vegans or vegetarians, but that shit was absolutely carnivorously delicious!!

One of my favorite moments was the 2 hour freestyle session with Steck and Tadpole (the original emcees for Live On Arrival) while everyone else went hiking or to the lake with the kids. Already looking forward to the next BooMan Reunion...



And don't think I'm sleeping on the San Fran posts, just trying to collect my pics and thoughts on that one...

Quotes of the day...

"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."

-- Frank Leahy

Greyboy the Allstar...

Something about that Conspirator song by Quantic Soul Orchestra reminded me of this Greyboy track...



If you haven't heard of him, he is a really talented acid-jazz/hip-hop DJ/producer from San Diego, who has been an influence of mine since 1993. He has a great ear, and his music opened my mind to different ways to layer live instrumentation on programmed drum beats. Look him up, and learn about The Greyboy Allstars. Super funktastic shit...

Here's a couple more tunes from that same Greyboy album, Mastered The Art, which is one of his most recent...



Sometimes he enlisted an MC or two, not the greatest or worst I've heard...love the beat...kind of wish it was an instrumental so I could really enjoy it, though.

Quantic Soul Vibes...

Discovered this producer named Quantic today at work while using up 8 of our freshly renewed Pandora hours...

(I knew it wouldn't be free for long, now they only offer 40 hours a MONTH, then you have to pay or upgrade your account. Laaaaame... I've slowly been trying to build a catalog on Grooveshark, which is cool but you have to work it, make your own playlists, delete the duplicates and incorrect files people uploaded. The good thing is you can listen to song after song of one artist at a time, and it even lists similar songs if you look closely at the track details...but since it is not a radio, nor intuitive like Pandora, it hasn't really been helpful in discovering new artists. You kind of have to know what you are looking for... Slacker Personal Radio is another alternative, more along the lines of Pandora, but I just couldn't stand the ads, they pop-up every couple songs, sometimes two in a row.)

Anyway, on to the actual inspiration for the post...the song I happened to hear on Pandora was by The Quantic Soul Orchestra called "Conspirator (Main Theme)". Here is a tubed version:



Here is an instrumental by Quantic, aka Will Holland:



...and a song featuring Alice Russell (see previous post about her HERE).

Back from San Fran...

What an incredible experience...while I gather my thoughts and organize my photos to share with you I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of the people that reached out to help us plan our brief but fascinating excursion to the left coast, we could not have done it without you...James and Kaitlin, Angelo, Austin, Hudson and Carter, Solon, Nancy-Kate, my mom, pops and Judy, Carlton and Kari, TK, Nicholas, Eli, Max, everyone I forgot to mention, and every kind soul that we came across while floating through that beautiful city. Thanks for everything!



We'll be back...

Acoustic fingerstyle guitar...

Thomas Leeb is an "Austrian born" virtuouso fingerstyle guitarist who plays with a lot of open tunings, tap harmonics and percussive elements. Here are some examples...





I found him by checking out some of the people who arranged the pieces that I saw Sungha Jung play on youtube. If you haven't seen him, he is the 12 year old Korean prodigy who is ridiculously dope. Thomas Leeb actually wrote "Keep on groovin' to my friend" on Sungha's custom-made Lakewood seen below (built for his little frame). It makes me want to start pulling out the old acoustic again...

Here is a song he wrote and arranged himself!

A self-esteem boost anyone?

To err is human, right? Well, from time to time, I think we need a little reminder that we all make mistakes. Be careful not to get sucked into this at work...pretty hilarious stuff.

www.failblog.org

Here are a couple of their latest examples, so you get the picture:

Stage Awareness Fail...



Protection Fail...



Child Care Fail...

Emotions from Imogen...

I remember when I first heard "Hide and Seek" I got chills. Her name is Imogen Heap, she's from the UK, and she's amazingly talented. Her music leans towards the pop side, but there is something very unique and deep about her. It's not only her incredible voice, but her lyrics are powerful to me. It's not something that I would bump on a regular basis, well...honestly, there's nothing I really bump on a regular basis, but as far as most of her material is concerned, it's almost better suited for Final Fantasy video games and Garden State soundtracks. I read somewhere that she learned how to record on an old Atari, so basically she's a genius, and it shows (check the live performance below to witness her production and sequencing skills). If you so desire, you can learn more about her (for example, she was half of the duo Frou Frou, and plays the Array Mbira) by checking out her Wikipedia page. First, check out a couple of stand-outs...

Live at a radio station:



And a video she made for "Hide and Seek":



Visit her official website HERE.

Getting This Album Done...

I feel I have been neglecting this blog, but rest assured, the lack of recent posts is merely an indication that most of my spare time has been spent crafting and completing this new Collective Efforts project. We have decided to do all mixing in house (with a little consultation and feedback from other trusted ears), meaning that I have to get off work, go straight home, get some food, and start working. We have completed all recording and are just working on the final touches, getting everything ready to master. I am also honored to have added to my plate the rewarding process of recording and mixing some new mixtape material for my homie Eli Sweet. He is back in town from China and as usual, has an exorbitant amount of dope verses to drop over stolen hip hop tracks. So, I will pop in every now and then, but for the most part, until Root and I head out to San Fran, I will be consumed in this Freezing World...check out our website from time to time and give us a shout, kind of quiet over there right now as we try to rebuild awareness, let people know we haven't dropped off the Earth, yet. Drop a comment, every little bit helps build morale.

Peace family.

Let's find peace...

"You owe it to everyone (including yourself) to find pockets of tranquility in your busy world."

-- George Bernanos



Art from www.fotoviva.co.uk

Mil's German reggae twin...

Once again, thanks to Tommy for this great find! His name is Gentleman and he is a reggae artist from Germany who bears a striking resemblance to J-Mil. You can see for yourself below...






Here's a great interview piece, if you speak German...

Man, he looks a lot like Mil, it's kind of scary. I think even more so than Prince Abdullah...

Here he is shootin' the shit with Obama...straight clownin'! Just playin', Mil.