Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Disappointing performance by Mos Def


Mos def cancelled on almost all Rock The Bells gigs in Europe, due some issues with Guerilla Union. They flew in Pharaoh Monch to fill up, but in the end Mos Def showed up performing.
He started of with his 16 bars of The Roots track Rising Down, but his show never came off the ground. Matter of fact his show was wack! The worst! Some people call it selfish, some arrogant, some say lack of respect for the fans, but I guess the issues he has with Guerilla Union pulled his last straw. Unfortunate it had effect on his performance. No Ms. Fat Booty, No Mathematics..not even one full track of his succesfull album. Having that said, he stays an amazing artist and actor!


Mos Def holdin it down for Getatnance

If the glove dont fit the style don't quit!

Supernatural is regarded as one of the most talented freestyle emcees in hip-hop. He has traveled the entire globe, won 1st place in competitions, and rocked every microphone he held.
Supernatural was freestyling off whatever was being thrown @ Rock The Bells and DJ Scratch was constructing beats on the fly based on mere beat-boxing. Impressive on the flow, and on the beat improvisation.



Supernatural holds the world’s record for the longest a freestyle rap at over nine hours.

Monday, November 24, 2008

MC LYTE

I love MC Lyte, even today, she is the ultimate female rapper in the hip-hop game. Lyte is a icon, I have nothing but respect for her. What can I really say about her, speaks for herself... legend, smart, educated, talented, hiphop grown, sexy and the list goes on.

It's over 10 years since she came out to Amsterdam. She started of with cha cha cha and took the audience trough an incredible hip hop journey. She did THE hits...PAPER THIN, RUFFNECK, POOR GEORGIE, COLD ROCK A PARTY, KEEP ON and MORE. The crowd loved it! Felt good to have her back in Amsterdam.

Check out the video below!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

INTERVIEW DJ EYRRO & CHIEF




So since my last trip out to Los Angeles I decided to bring out some fresh cats up to the euro. Let me introduce you to this kid that goes by the name of dj Eyrro. Born in Hollywood and raised in Pasadena, a city located in Los Angeles County. DJ Eyrro has been DJing for 10 years now, mainly in the Los Angeles/Hollywood area and been through many aspects of the DJ world. From his early beginnings of DJing house music, then entered the hip-hop battle scene, to where he's currently known as a club DJ.

Here's an interview i recently did with him.

- This is going to be your first trip to Europe right? Excited?
Yes this is my first trip to Europe and I am beyond excited. Just the nature of being in another country is what I am looking forward to.

- So for the people who are not from your area who wouldn't know a lot about the scene, talk a little bit about L.A. Hip-Hop, mix-show scene and everything like that.
Los Angeles is unique in my opinion. I like to think L.A. is a mecca for diversity. The hip-hop scene has made it's way not only to the urban setting, but it has become a universal sound. Mix-shows have made there way to the mainstream as well. Considering now, commercial radio is now playing a wider variety of genres because of the demand in the L.A. area. In general, Los Angeles has it's own vibe. Something everyone should experience at least once in their life.

- What's a signature characteristic of a Eyrro set?
Good question!? I'm pretty versatile. I also like to incorporate the "un-ordinary" when it comes to my mixing adding a few things most DJs won't do. Overall, I just like to have fun... and it shows when I perform.

- What new DJs and performers have caught your attention?
There are many local DJs who have extreme talent. To many to even name, that I can't keep up! Meaning I can't keep up with them. With all the up and comers, not only do I have respect for them, thet push me to stay on top of my game.

- Name one song that has had a long tenure on your playlist. What makes that particular track so timeless?
I would have to say Michael Jackson's "BILLY JEAN" - It's a classic!

- How do you see the scene locally, and where do you see it going?
The local scene is well established. Truthfully, I see many top name L.A. DJs still performing at smaller local venues including myself. Sometimes it's nice just to be in a more intimate environment. It just feels that the people enjoy it more.

- Expectations and what the definition of a DJ is.. have definitely changed, so here in 2008, knowing the hard work, the dedication and the loyalty that a DJ must always give, what do you think it has turned into?
I believe the DJ in todays scene has had a minor set back. Technology has allowed pretty much anyone to become a DJ, which now has led to quantity over quality. Several NEW DJs just assume that if they have a great playlist, they are a great DJ! It doesn't bother me much, because I continue to do hard work and be loyal to those who understand the quality that I believe is a neccessity to survive in the scene.

- Do you have any parting words to our readers?
Thanks for reading... and see you at the main event!

- Finally, what can the clubbers expect from you in Europe?
Just an old fashion good time!



Dj Eyrro and Chief will be on tour from 18 till 27th of december in Europe.

TOUR SCHEDULE

18 dec: Radio Studio Brussels, Belgium
19 dec: Club Zenith TBA, The Netherlands
20 dec: Da Shake, Kortrijk, Belgium
21 dec: Mondial, Beek, The Netherlands
24 dec: Off Corso with Real El Canario, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
26 dec: La Rocca, Antwerp, Belgium

FAR EAST MOVEMENT

Ok, this one is long overdue. But i still had to post this one online since Jay's reaction is historical.


Far East Movement consist of Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif and DJ Virman. Their songs have been featured on “Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift” and HBO’s “Entourage.” They have a great sound and are starting to get some mainstream attention from TV channels like MTV. This LA based rap group is now hard at work on their album, Animal. Make sure you check out their live online release party on FM TV next tuesday, november 25th from 9-10pm.



Thursday, November 13, 2008

DE LA SOUL - TRUE LEGENDS


De La Soul recently performed at Rock The Bells in Amsterdam. They are simply one of my hip-hop's favourite groups.

Let’s be honest, most hip-hop shows are wack. They show up late, play a 20 minute set, and fill the stage with every cousin and weed carrier known to man. But not De La. They ROCK the show.

It’s hard to believe that De La has been in the game for 20 years, and even though these cats are “old” by hip-hop standards, they had more energy and fire than people half their age.

Their longevity is rightly deserved, and they put every bit of energy they had into their performance. The crowd was one of the livest that I ever seen. Seriously the crowd went NUTS when they did "Simon Says" along with Pharaoh Monch.

These dudes have been in business longer than most of these kids have lived, but there was such an appreciation for REAL HIP-HOP in the building. Just crazy! Check the video below.



So yea the show was dope except for the horrible shitty sound. That pretty much was the worse sound I have ever heard. It was that bad. It was in fact terrible. The result? A lot of drama going on backstage, I will spare you with the details.

However, they all showed up at the afterparty and it was good to see all of them having a good time.

Having that said, it makes De La Soul who they are. Of the soul. For the people.



Check out a small cut with my interview with De La and their advice for upcoming artist

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Interview with Chief from Deux Process

- For the readers who aren’t familiar with you, please let them know what you bring to the table.
What I feel I bring to the table is honesty and a refreshing balance of just good hip hop music. I bring the rawness and fun it use to be before it got so saturated. I'm the ultimate hustler. People aren't familiar with me. I do everything from creating music to promoting to events to Djing to fashion & marketing. I constantly work on becoming a full package. What I basically bring to the table is hustle, determination, grit, grime & passion.

- What about Deux Process? What sets u guys apart from everyone else?
We honestly make the music we love. We feel because we'd rather put out material we love than to put out sh*t we're ashamed of just to try and fit in with what everyone else is doing is what differentiates us from others. We bring the rawness of true school hip-hop...the stuff we grew up on...the stuff that made us want to do this. What set's us apart from everyone else is we're basically "us" and we don't follow what everyone else is doing.

- This is going to be your first trip to Europe. Soo what’s the word on Europe from where u are?
The word is that Europe is known to really really party hard til like 6-7 in the morning. Its known to have a big stadium for hip hop as well as electro-house, techno but the biggest buzz is how hard they party. Europe is known to party harder than LA, NY even Las Vegas.

- Past week I heard one of your tracks on MTV, what’s up with that?
We signed a licensing deal with MTV about 3 years ago to where basically they license us to use our music whenever they want pretty much on any show. One of the head music supervisor’s from MTV caught one of our shows in LA and liked our music. Within one week we signed a contract with them.

- What projects are u workin on right now?
Currently we're finishing our 2nd LP titled "The Price of Dreams". We're going to being working on a mix tape with legendary DJ Rectangle as well as other DJ's including northern California DJ Magic. I've also began to work on my very first solo project. I'm looking to do more collaborations and work with more artists.

- So what can we expect from the new album? Producers? Guest appearances?
Expect a lot of growth from our last LP "In Deux Time". Expect a lot of raw hip hop. Getting back to the essence of what we feel and what we like with our music. As far as Producers we have Stro from the Procussions, Vice Versa Deux Process, hopefully DJ Muggs and DJ Rectangle. For guest appearances we may have some female vocalists. For MC's we haven't figured out if or who we want to work with on the album. Our biggest thing right now is solidifying our own name and making our own mark in the industry and we want to show people that we can stand on our own two. We don't' have to have a full collaboration for the music to be respected.

- I know u have some things to say that I may not had a question for, so if you will,
finish us up with some words from the hardest working Chief.

Thanks for making this opportunity happen. You won't be disappointed. Make sure you pick up our last album "IN Duex Time" available on iTunes or anywhere on the internet. Look out for Chief and Deux Process and the new album "The Price of Dreams" coming out in 2009.

Check out the new lookbook from Crooks & Castles featured Chief
http://www.crooksncastles.com/holiday2008/


MY BIOGRAPHY


Born in 1983 in the Netherlands, Nancy couldn't possibly know what her future awaited.

Pursuing PR, communication science and marketing as a degree she started to work for ‘Connecting The Scene’ during college. At the time “CTS” was the biggest urban community company in Europe and still is. This allowed her to get introduced to the entertainment industry.

There she added an active contribution to almost every aspect in the industry. Write news items, interview artists, manage at the organization of community events and maintain bussiness affairs with sponsors, artist, dj's and promotors. Next to that she has been working for different companies such as Agent Entertainment, Variety Ent, PP2G.TV and many more.

Nancy quickly discovered that her people skills would allow her to get into the marketing and public relations aspect of the industry.

As a one woman army, she decided to put her own events together as her first real challenge in the industry. The event featured some incredible dj/artists performances as well as auditions for talented dancers giving them the opportunity to put a steady foot in the market.

“I think this industry has so much to give not only to the entertainers, but to the communities as well.” Driven by the feeling of giving and being able to provide for others and put such a production together enabled her to create an array of connections in the industry. Soon she found herself networking with all sorts of people, and creating different types of buzz.

Determined to network and to meet the right people, she made sacrifices while hustling everything alongside her work and school at the same time.

Dedicated to get as much work done as possible, Nancy spent whole nights doing research, knocking reports, brainstorm day after day after day. The more involved she became the more people she started to meet and soon her connections became endless. “

She continues to strive for higher goals and continuously sets higher standards and boundaries for herself. Devoted to leave her mark in the industry.


Lack of credit

When a song is played on the radio it comes along with the name of the artist. Sometimes, if the producer is popular, he will be mentioned also. However, when is the last time the name of the producer was announced? Everyone knows the 2008 smash hit Damage by Danity Kane. But can you name the Producer?




Ever heard of this production team called The Stereotypes? Well these guys have remixed and produced crazy acts for artist such like Danity Kane, Keyshia Cole, 2Pac, Anthony Hamilton, and Mariah Carey. I personally think there's a lack of credit that producers or writers receive. They put their heart into those records, hand them over to a label or artist and when it becomes a hit they still stay in the background.

I long for the day that it becomes common place to see and hear the name of the producer, in addition to the singer on all music radio and video channels, i mean they deserve due respect.

So probs to my boys John and Ray from the Stereotypes :)


Check out the two videos below that they produced. Love these tracks!


My crazy friend Kato

Let me introduce u to this kid called Kato, craziest buddy i got in LA. He's a sweetheart/dancer/actor/dramaqueen lol. Also a good friend of Robert Hoffman and these guys put the craziest videos on youtube. Check it out! It's hilarious...

Here's another one....seriously this one is just sick...do not try this at home! I repeat these people are crazieszz!

Back home

So I have finally been able to sit down and start a blog. And share my wild stories with ya'll :)

The states was CRAZIEESS!! I met so many great people! Been 2 numerous different hotspots and partied like its nobody's business!

Those who kno me, kno I dont drink much and when I do…I get buzzed after 1 shot already!

So yea..out in the states…

Lemon shots, greygoose, Hennesy, Malibu, mixed drinks…my godd…Americans are CRAZZIESS... absolut animals ...I had no chance of survival…eventually I lasted longer than I expected... but yea… it was a tough…;)

For anyone that knows me, knows I love cali ... so no complaints from me on that one....haha
It made such a deep impact on me…It always does! I realised that this is the place where I wanna grow old…build my life..get babies!!

I send a thank you too all my peoples out there for making my trip unforgettable..

Ya'll will be missed! Lookin forward 2 my next trip and like 'pubikboi' said..soon its time for the animals to get un-leashed again..and YES I will expect better!