Raekwon – House of Flying Daggers

The Wu is back on September 8th, led by Raekwon, on the forthcoming album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. It’s about time this new generation is reminded of how hip hop was and should be. Below is a track from the album.

Sick video, sick song, going be a sick album.

“House of Flying Daggers”

The xx – Basic Space (Remix by Pariah)

Stealing some thunder from my co-conspirator by posting first, but I’ve been loving the track by the xx. The remix is just as sick. Definitely going to catch one of the shows in the city.

And yeah, it’s been a while since we posted. We suck.

Anyway, enjoy the vid.

Basic Space (Remix by Pariah)

Handsome Furs – Talking Hotel Arbat Blues

Been liking the Handsome Furs album, especially Talking Hotel Arbat Blues. Enjoy.

The Wire “rap” up

By now it’s no secret that “The Wire” is/was the best written, most powerful television series to hit cable boxes since forever. I dedicated this past summer to watching the entire series and I can honestly say it was time well spent, something I can say for few, if any, other shows. Each episode was written like a chapter in a book and the brutally honest portrayal of the streets of Baltimore was a breath of fresh air for TV, albeit a violent, sometimes disturbing one.

Needless to say I was stoked when I learned that Mad Skillz, a VA emcee noted for his year end “rap” ups, issued a summary, hip hop style for the series, which is now history. If you consider yourself a fan of the show, or want to get a feel for what it’s all about, check this:

Marvin the Martian

I read somewhere recently that Warner Bros. is currently in the process of developing a film based on Marvin the Martian. Hot damn. Marvin was always my favorite Looney Tunes character when I was little. He was totally different: smart, yet understated and he actually posed a legitimate threat to Bugs with his crazy little rayguns and gadgets. From a stylistic standpoint, I always thought he was the coolest, sporting the Roman warrior gear with big ass bball sneaks. And his dog, K-9 was sweet too. According to IMDB, the film is currently set for a 2011 release date. I’m not ashamed to admit that when it hits the big screen, I’ll likely be one of the few 28 year-olds (shit) in attendance, drawing worried stares from parents and children alike. Apparently, the plot revolves around Marvin’s attempt to destroy Earth during Christmas, only to be thwarted by getting himself wrapped inside a gift box. Brilliant.

To hold you over for the next three years, here’s “Hasty Hare,” one of my favorites:

Panda Bear – Comfy in Nautica

Good song. Trippy video. Makes me miss summer in the city. Happy Friday.

Old School Hip Hop Sundays – Slick Rick the Ruler

Two classics from Slick Rick. “Hey Young World” is so legit. Glad he got that whole deportation thing cleared up.

“Children’s Story”

“Hey Young World”

Old School Hip Hop Sundays – Big Daddy Kane

I went to WFMU’s record fair today not knowing quite what to expect other than 10,000 square feet of vinyl and nerds. It was awesome, but overwhelming to say the least. My ultimate priority was to find some cool old school hip hop records, but in an environment that catered primarily to the rock crowd, this was more difficult than I would have imagined. I did score a copy of Hieroglyphics Third Eye Vision, which is worth it for “Miles to the Sun” alone. I also picked up Big Daddy Kane’s Long Live the Kane, a classic.

When Kane hit the scene in the late 80s, he was immediately recognized as an innovator, contributing to the popularity of faster rhymes and break beats as well as style trademarks like his high top fade and four finger rings. Dude was smooth. Check out a couple of dope tracks, including “Warm It Up Kane,” probably my favorite Kane song.

“Ain’t No Half Steppin”

“Warm It Up”

Infamy

Just finished watching Infamy, the 2005 graffiti doc by acclaimed filmmaker Doug Pray. I was a big fan of his 2001 film Scratch, which documented the evolution of turntablism, and decided to check this one out as well.

Infamy focuses on the lives of six preeminent graf writers in various cities across the country. The doc was fairly well-balanced, emphasizing in equal measure the subjects’ birth into the medium, their utter devotion to the artform (often to the detriment of their relationships with family and friends), the dangers they face and of course, their run-ins with the law. Pray did make the point to call attention to the fact that these particular writers were products of turbulent upbringings, an implied explanation as to why they turned to what is by and large perceived as a destructive and illegal form of expression.

I’d recommend checking out the film if you have any interest in graffiti as an artform or subculture. The figures involved are all pretty captivating (especially Earsnot of NYC’s IRAK crew) and the doc highlights some pretty amazing work.

Here’s the first 10 minutes or so if you wanna check it out:

Matt and Kim – Daylight

Check out the video for Matt and Kim’s new track “Daylight.” The vid finds the duo looking as happy as they’ve ever been. Seems to me that the two newest tracks, this and “Good Old Fashion Nightmare,” amplify the thump of Kim’s drums in comparison to their earlier material, and I gotta say I dig it.

“Daylight”