January 2012
3 posts
Favorite Music Videos of 2011
1. Tyler the Creator - Yonkers
2. Frank Ocean - Novacane
3. Mr. Mothafuckin eXquire - The Last Huzzah
4. Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise
5. The Weeknd - The Knowing
6. Das Racist - Michael Jackson
7. SBTRKT - Wildfire
8. Nas - Nasty
9. Radiohead - Lotus Flower
10. Random Axe - Random Call
Favorite Songs of 2011
1. Frank Ocean - Novacane
2. Kanye West and Jay-Z - Paris
3. The Weeknd - The Knowing
4. Big K.R.I.T. - American Rapstar
5. Danny Brown - Scrap or Die
6. Shabazz Palaces - Are You… Can You… Were You
7. SBTRKT - Wildfire
8. Nas - Nasty
9. Adele - Rolling in the Deep
10. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
11. Tyler the Creator - Yonkers
12. Kendrick Lamar -...
Favorite Albums of 2011
I’m excited to take a break from touring and writing to blog again, if only long enough to cover 2011’s best music. This year was a turning point as far as I’m concerned. It’s hard to pick a top ten. So I expect a lot of “what?! you left off that?!”, and you can expect a lot of “yeah, that was #11 or #12”.
1. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
If you...
July 2011
2 posts
2 tags
The Album is Here!
The album release date is TODAY.
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/neon-black/id447066920
thanks for all your support…
Best Albums of 2011... so far
It’s been a great year for music so far. Can you believe it’s half over? If you been reading me or following me on twitter then you already know about these. If not… take some time to check em out. (Many are free mixtapes.)
Here are some of my picks, in no particular order… What are your favorites?
Big K.R.I.T. - “Return of 4Eva”
Choice cut: American...
June 2011
24 posts
How artists can find a spot
I sometimes think of the world of music as a country… with different people and groups controlling different regions.
Musical regions aren’t really east versus west. It’s grimy versus glossy. Party versus chill. Happy, angry, lonely, romantic, or strong.
If you had to map the musical landscape, you couldn’t do it in 2D. But I imagine that Ke$ha lives in a used-up wasteland next to Lady...
“It is a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell...”
– - Benjamin Franklin
Music Favorites: Week of June 24, 2011
some genre benders this week from radiohead, diplo + skrillex, and theophilus london. just listen.
Light Up This City Videoshoot: Behind-The-Scenes...
candycoatedkillahz:
Just uploaded some pics from the Light Up This City videoshoot… Everything looks sick and we had SO MUCH FUN it was next to impossible narrowing the pics down for this album.. See them here: CCK Facebook All pics by Mishelsky
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artists: find your niche
Unless you know a millionaire patron ready to promote you… any hope that you have as an artist will depend on you. Your grind.
The biggest enemy will be obscurity. You might be tempted to refine your work for years and years. But that means your work of genius will only be known by your immediate friends. You need to work just as hard at building your audience.
Your friends can give you...
“There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with...”
– - George Shinn
Music Favorites: Week of June 17, 2011
Nasty Nas in your area causin mass hysteria… Digitalism channels the Chemical Brothers… and Random Axe gives us a fly fuckin video.
3 ways that good art is good business
I meet a lot of artists who refuse to think about business. I sympathize. Music shouldn’t be about money and fame. And in my experience, there are far better ways to make money. So if you love music and fear shallow marketing schemes… I wanna show you that you actually have a few advantages as a creative person.
1. Be Different: this is marketing rule #1. Companies spend millions...
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are...”
– - Marianne Williamson
Music Favorites: Week of June 10, 2011
Glad to see Pharoahe and Krit putting some BIG tracks to video. Also… Danny Brown’s freestyles > > > > most dudes songs.
Why music stars sell a double life
The “alter ego” is everywhere. This story is older than Dr Jekyll. It’s as ancient as the first big secret… the first hidden desire. And now there are entire artforms that can’t live without it.
How many comics and graphic novels tell stories about a double life? Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker… …a better question might be how many don’t.
Not long after Gene Simmons put on...
“Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating...”
–
- Oscar Wilde
Music Favorites: Week of June 3, 2011
I’m gonna have to admit I’m a Curren$y fan soon? Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar and Wale are getting more listens from me. Take a listen.
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The First Album Trap
If you wanna make it as a musical artist these days… it seems like the mixtape game has become the dominant strategy. Arguably it’s always been that way in hiphop, going back to the days when people actually recorded that shit on tapes. But it’s even more true in the digital age.
Wale. Kid Cudi. Drake. Wiz Khalifa. And over the next few months, Big Sean, Big K.R.I.T., Lil B, J...
May 2011
22 posts
“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”
– - Mark Twain
Music Favorites: Week of May 27, 2011
Wasn’t feelin chiddy bang til now but this track knocks. Cole deserves at least some of that hype. And Frank Ocean delivers a video treatment for a pre-Ultra track.
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Dubstep Watch
quick… there’s still time…
Local Matters
The Internet has made it possible for artists of all kinds to get recognition around the world. But whether you’re just starting out, or you been at it a while… don’t make the mistake of doing it all from your studio/apartment/basement/closet.
Unless MTV or twitter anoints you the next big thing… the only people who are gonna give a shit about what you do are the people...
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the...”
–
- Abraham Lincoln
Music Favorites: Week of May 20, 2011
Skyzoo, Pusha T, and Danny Brown. Real spittin.
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“Nothing is work unless you’d rather be doing something else.”
– George Halas
Music Favorites: Week of May 13, 2011
Game gives us a video reppin that red, Elzhi gives us a mixtape reppin the D, and Cole keeps giving us fire for free… happy friday.
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The Music, the Man, and the Media
I love music journalists. But this week I just saw some really dumb shit.
there’s a few trashy writers who need to learn that some personal shit is off limits… and some lines shouldn’t be crossed. yeah, i’m saying that even tho a big part of the audience wants the media to cross that line.
i’m just saying: you may have a few more clicks this week, but know that...
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all...”
– - Vincent Van Gogh
Music Favorites: Week of May 6, 2011
Tyler keeps doing it his way, Airplane Boys with a great tape this week (check the whole thing), plus new J Cole. Enjoy.
shout out to beaucoup fashion... visionary people. →
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Some Cliches are True
Being a notorious hater… I remember I used to roll my eyes when I saw people thanking the fans “cuz I couldn’t do this without you”.
Not that you should shit on your fans… but honestly… I love music enough that I would do it regardless of whether I had an audience. And I still believe that if more people had that attitude, we’d see more better music.
But...