Keith Masters Live At Gowhere Hip Hop Show in Chicago [Video]

Happy New Year, y'all!!!  Hope every one's 2013 is starting off well.  I start mine off going back to work hard with several new projects dropping and opportunities soon to be revealed.  I also start mine off by going back in time a week.  The Gowhere Hip Hop Dope Christmas Show was a great night, filled with fun and unique performances.  Among those doing their thing were The Nocturnals, Mint Lab Astronauts, Boy Illinois, Rich Jones,Young General and of course E-Train.  Everyone was pretty charged and the crowd was engaged throughout, which as a performer - really makes all the difference.  People recognizing that they are there to see a live hip hop performance, where interaction and attention is usually prerequisite, is always refreshing.  Ya boy also did a quick set, and you can catch it through the vantage point of the audience above.  Next week, I'll be blogging from the road, so prepare to check out little tidbits from my wild adventures westward!

Gowhere Hip Hop Presents: Dope Christmas Show In Chicago 12.28 [MP3 Stream]

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying time with family and friends, but perhaps most of all - time away from work.  I definitely took a few days off, myself, but it's back to the grind and I couldn't be more excited about it.  The folks at Gowhere Hip Hop as well as Hollywood shaker Michael Silverstein bring us the holiday show to end all holiday shows.  Since we discovered that the Mayans were full of shit, we can finally look forward to many great things the future may hold for us.  This is a awesome start.  The lineup is packed with many of Chicago's most talented up and comers as well as accomplished young stars, from Mint Lab Astronauts, to Rich Jones (of Second City Citizens) to Boy Illinois.  Headlining is E-Train, the Chicago native now making waves in Los Angeles, and the night is hosted by Young General. This is most definitely the place to be in Chicago tomorrow night.  Perfromances start at 8pm so get there early.  I hear the first 50 people to show up will get a free shot of holiday cheer.  I will be doing a set as well, and the party keeps going from 11pm when DJ Demchuck takes to the tables.  Check out some music from some of the performers below, so you all can sing along on Friday night!  Be sure to RSVP here and I will see you there!!!

Mint Lab Astronauts - Pinnacle


Rich Jones - Charlie Runkle

Boy Illinois - Escape Route

E-Train - Wreck The Discotech

Keith Masters - Desoto

Double A.B. & Dub Sonata feat. Cannibal Ox & David Kiss "Sunset" [Video]

The Hurricane, Sandy, hit New York City on October 29th leaving it devastated with flooded streets and subways, cut power and destroyed homes.  Over 76 evacuation shelters opened up throughout the city and 200 National Guard troops were deployed.  NYC and the other 23 affected US states were dealt more than $63 billion in damage.  New York City is has time and time again proven that it is strong and no stranger to disaster and/or tragedy.  The video for Sunset by Double A.B. & Dub Sonata was filmed before the hurricane hit and does a great job in capturing the beauty and majesty that is New York City.  Switching between scenes shot in Coney Island and Harlem, it captures a sharp contrast; but also a common thread.  New York City carries a duality in its identity and we can see it clearly here in Sunset.  New York City is filthy, but proud.  Cutthroat, but motivational.  With every sunrise, there is a sunset.  Man Bites Dog label mates, Cannibal Ox, provide the insightful lyricism that finishes off the song and video nicely.  You can see the focus in the eyes of Vordul Mega (in orange shirt) as he gazes off past the coast line.  Perhaps pondering what good lies ahead in 2013 for he and his crew.  Catch Double A.B., Cannibal Ox, and myself on tour in January on the West Coast.  Check the main page for dates and cities.  Funds are still being raised for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, so please offer whatever you can to The Robin Hood Foundation.

Missy Elliot "Sock It 2 Me (Kaytranada Remix)" [MP3 Download]

This track is already getting a lot of hype, but I couldn't resist posting this remix as it was one of my favorite songs from high school.  I remember the video for this with the lasers and the robots and the dancing like it was yesterday.  It was so Timbaland-typical-cheesy dope and had a very tight verse from Chicago exiled rapper turned brief reality star, Da Brat.  Montreal-bred producer, Kaytranada, doesn't do too much with the vocals and pretty much lets that incredible horn sample ride.  Good choice, cause it's hard to ruin this track; it's just too sick.  Only thing is, I still get a little queasy on the line "I be poppin' ish like some Crisco"...there aren't enough lasers to burn that image out of my head.  Dope track, and I suspect we'll be hearing more from Kaytranada very soon.

Guns And Babies: The REAL Problem Facing America [Social/Opinion]

It begun in a home in Newtown, Connecticut and certainly didn't end there.  20 year old Adam Lanza was a honor roll student in high school who preferred to associate with "goths".  He was described as "remote" with a possible personality disorder.  He grew up in a wealthy neighborhood with a brother four years his senior and parents who divorced four years prior.  On Friday morning, Adam woke up and killed his mother, Nancy, in her home and then got into a car and drove away.  In that car he carried with him two pistols, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, a Henry repeating rifle, an Enfield assault rifle and a shotgun.  He drove to Sandy Hook School, got past a single security door somehow and opened fire.  The school had children no further past the fourth grade.  He left 28 dead, including himself, the school principal and his mother.  Also killed were 20 children, none older than 10 years, resulting in the second deadliest shooting in U.S. history.

Gun control is now the hot button topic across the country.  Three of the weapons that the killer brought into the school were registered to his mother, which he used to murder her with.  The question echos, "If we had stricter gun laws, would this have happened?".  Many seem to be focusing on the guns that were used to do the killing.  I would rather look at the person using the guns to do the killings with.  There should be no surprise that a gun was the tool used in the slaying of 20 children.  Guns are the instruments of death.  There's the old adage that I believe is important to consider here:

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people"

The purpose of a gun is to kill.  That is the definition of a gun's entire existence.  As long as guns are apart of our society, they will be used to kill people.  Look at why guns were invented in the first place.  Gunpowder was used by the Chinese in warfare before it spread to the west.  Cannons were adopted from Chinese siege technology which caught on to Western war practices by the 14th century.  Then, hand canons evolved to out duel the development of armor, and so on from there.  Guns were made to fight man in times of war - but have since been abused to attain individual power when removed from war.  That is what humans have proven to do time and time again; take advantage of technology's initial purposes.  Take the internet, for example.  The internet was first created to exchange information between computer terminals that were geographically separated and as a military defense system in the 1950's.  Since then, the internet has evolved and been used to attack other users in the form of viruses, spyware and malware as well as widespread pirating.  As long as we have guns there will be death, accidental or intentional.  I don't place one above the other, both are saddening and indicative of the state in which we live.  Gun control is not an option, it's an all or nothing scenario.  Either banish all guns and eliminate the ease of access to killing others, or don't and accept that tragedies will occur. 

Events such as the massacre in the Sandy Hook School, always hit me on a personal level.  As a certified teacher, I have a first hand account of the concentration that is put into preparing teachers for events like this.  It's now apart of the job description, knowing how to respond to threats such as school shootings.  I've heard a lot of talk from people who believe that teachers should be allowed to have a conceal and carry permit in order to prevent situations such as this.  Realistically, this would take a complete over-hauling of teaching personnel as I assure you that a vast majority of current teachers would seek a different profession if gun-toting was mandated policy.  My mother is a teacher, and she thinks it is crazy to equip teachers with guns.  Not only just because teachers are not trained soldiers, but because of the amount of accidents that would happen if they were.  Teaching is a stressful enough profession with all its responsibilities, without including guns into the requisite. What about the potential for teachers to do harm to others?  And then adding guns?

Who wants to be instructed by people carrying guns?  It's already slightly uncomfortable just talking to police officers, let alone being told what to do by them.  They have guns; I don't feel "safer" around them.  Others will likely have a different perspective, but those who are young and black and living in America might share my view.  And what of the times when tragedy hasn't struck?  What of the times when a teacher sets the gun down, or puts it away, and it is found by a student?  That student plays with the gun, and accidentally kills another student.  Or a teacher.  Or a parent.  There are too many variables out there for this to be a viable solution.

The truth is depressing, but simple.  There is no way to prevent tragedies like this from happening.  While it is just heart-breaking that 20 children are murdered, I think it's just as sad that someone has reached the breaking point to where they decide to end lives, but a teacher was there to take them out before they did.  What's happening to our young adults in America?  What's happening to our teenagers?  Why aren't we looking into making major changes to our societal construct?  We shouldn't be surprised that guns will kill another, but we should be surprised that people are so willing to kill other people.  Or are we at the point in which we just accept that humans have murderous tendencies and we need to limit the ways in which we can harm each other?  If this is true, then how long after guns are banished before another method is invented to easily kill others?  Or before the increase in an already available method such as domestic suicide bombings skyrocket?

We are our own worse enemy.  As a nation, we would prefer to place the blame on "terrorists" from foreign countries as the sole threat to American life.  The fact of the matter is that domestic terrorism is killing Americans in far greater numbers than that of international ones.  More than 30 percent of female homicide victims are due to domestic violence.  A NFL player recently used a gun to kill the mother of his child, and then killed himself over an argument over the paternity of a three month old child.  The murders occurring in Chicago alone should be cause for a national emergency, as President Obama addressed in his press conference yesterday.  We must take a hard look into what we have become as a society and the values we advocate.  We are more isolated and alienated than ever before.  We place unrealistic pressures on the youth to succeed, while glorifying gaudy and greedy behaviors of the rich and famous.  Kids are growing up more disconnected than any generation ever before, contrary to the incredible amount of access to the world that they have.  The culprit of our problems will not be found at Zero Dark Thirty, but rather right now.  This very moment and in the homes of suburban east coast parents that keep registered guns in the house.  In the malls of a North-western towns where many may not be able to afford to shop at.  In the minds of professional athletes that may have a hard time checking their aggression at the practice gym as they leave.  The signs are as clear as day.  This is not a gun control issue; it's a state of American society issue.

Lil Fame & Termanology (Fizzyology) feat. Busta Ryhmes & Styles P. "Play Dirty" [MP3 Stream]

I always find it amazing the amount of music out there that you just don't ever hear about.  It's hard to market music to a broad audience...it's much different than movies and television where advertising is in your face every 11 minutes through commercials.  Wonder why people seems to promote themselves non-stop on Facebook and Twitter, sending invites to their album releases and why you just all of a sudden receive emails from artists dropping you crazy links.  (All music business heads know what I mean with that last one.)  However, there are those rare times where it's refreshing to have music sent to you, as is the case here.   The Legendary M.O.P. is one of my favorite rap groups and I had no clue that Lil Fame of the Brownsville, New York duo had spawned a side project.  Linking up with Termanology, who could be heard on many M.O.P. joints, they form Fizzyology and have already dropped a self-titled full length album.  With no short of big name veterans from Bun B, Freeway, Statik Selektah and even M.O.P., it's hard to imagine this album  being a fail.  One of the lead tracks is Play Dirty featuring production by DJ Premier, who produced a majority of M.O.P.'s music, as well as verses from Busta Rhymes and Styles P.  You already know what to expect - a signature Primo beat, raw energy and top notch lyrics.  Termanology goes in particularly tough on this one.  I love this track, and I can tell I'm gonna enjoy listening to the entire album.

The Game feat. Scarface & Kendrick Lamar "Murder" [MP3 Download]

For you frequent readers, I did a post reviewing Kendrick Lamar's debut album "good kid, m.A.A.d. city" where I relayed my opinion that the hype exceed the heights that the album reached.  Much to the masses chagrin, my post also drew a comparison between Lamar and The Game with his first release.  We'll lookie lookie here...Kendrick Lamar featured on a Game track.  I knew I was on to something.  Not to continue to pile on Lamar here, but he doesn't really add anything valuable to the track.  He is relegated to only doing the hook a la Kid Cudi on Gorgeous and the whole vocal effect he uses (which is extremely similar to what Big Boi does) doesn't vibe with me that well on this one.  Not crazy about the beat either, it's well done but rather drab.  But on to what is good about this track; the lyrics.  The Game sets up a subtle social commentary on the natural violent nature of humanity while addressing the folklore surrounding the mystery of certain celebrity deaths.  Scarface picks right up where Game left off and where he left us since we heard him last.  Scarface adds his own disbelief of how some iconic music figures died, which is contrary to the public record.  Spoiler alert, he thinks they all were murdered.  They both bring it lyrically on this track and it's great to hear from Scarface, but Murder is certainly not the best #sundayservice sermon.



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Kendrick Lamar "good kid, m.A.A.d city" Review