From our homey and brother Jimmy Blags, the creative director of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and the main who built this site from scraps.
Some don’t realize that James is an accomplished illustrator whose work has appeared in funky fresh magazines including King, Wax Poetics and a slew of others.
He has designed all the BHF posters and flyers since 2005. Bottom line, he is stupid nice.
Check out his new site and give him some work.
This looks like a BHF alumni reunion. No doubt!
Not to be missed
Major League.
Aight
I need to step my sneaker game up
When you see a bad deal Warner a Brother
Talib Kweli and the WB part ways.
Can’t say that I am psurprised. Warner has not been committed to Hip-Hop since the Ice T and Body Count mess.
Seems like Kweli is still indebted to Warner for his dolo projects.
Death Row Fire Sale
In terms of business deals the ability to buy the Death Row catalog is a coup.
If it is true that Suge has people scared to pull the trigger (no pun intended) that is a shame.
If I had the dough I would do it in a heartbeat. Doggystyle and The Chronic are worth the headaches in and of itself.
Bill Richardson - shady bidness?
This story was curiously released on Sunday while the country was still in vacation mode.
the way it looked 9 years ago
As I walk into the office today I am very proud and honestly somewhat surprised that we have been in this office space (well here and initially across the street at 70 Wash) for 9 years! I signed the lease for then Seven Heads Entertainment on Jan 3rd, 2000.
I will never forget that time of my life. I had just proposed to my wife two weeks before and one week to the day after we moved in my mother collapsed on her way to work. Little did we know it was from the tumor in her brain that had spread from her lungs that had come from years of Marlboro Reds.
I was married about six months later just two weeks after my mother left us.
That was one helluva year.
Through ups and downs, hirings and firings, law suits and collection notices. Through the opening and closing of at least 4 different entities we are still here. From Seven Heads to Do Things For The Kids to Room Service to Uncle Junior Records to the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival to Brooklyn Bodega to Savannah Boogie Music and Song we are still here.
I say this not to pat myself on the back but to encourage all of you to do the same. Follow your dreams. Take your lumps. Study your craft and fight on.
A lot on the plate for ’09. I hope you enjoy the fruits of our hard work.
Let’s skip all the canned ‘let’s do it in ‘09′ chatter
Be good
As 2008 winds down a particular thought hit me this morning.
I was poking through some back emails in an attempt to clean house and purge some of the spam that clogs up the works.
An event I saw got my wheels turning. It was from an old artist I used to work with. I found it interesting that in his bio the mention of me or my company, Seven Heads Entertainment, was conspicuous in its absence. It was if this artist was trying to re-write history without me and my team.
I completely understand the reasoning. With this particular artist the relationship did not end very well and there was some real beef that is still simmering now. But it got me thinking and doing some research. What I found was quite interesting. On my end, I found two more of my former artists who had also re-written history. Now I thought I was cool with these cats, which is apparently not the case, but that is another story. I also saw other artists whose story I know, specifically Talib Kweli, and Common, who had either removed or buried the narrative of the labels who first signed them.
Again I know the reasoning but I think this behaviour does a disservice to the artist, countless others and Hip-Hop as a whole. This re-writing of history erodes our institutional knowledge:
1. A narrow view of the world – This music business is a small world. Today’s intern is tomorrow’s exec. Today’s fired exec is tomorrow’s golden boy. The attempt to negate a person’s accomplishments to your success will create bad blood. When that wheel turns and you are down and that former manager is up there will be no helping hand extended. This has happen in my career. When 7Heads was firing on all cylinders I was the “mogul” and everyone’s friend. When things started to go south people ran for the hills. Two years after I put 7H on ice I launched the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Now the wheel has turned back in my favor, somewhat. I try to be professional but I am human and let’s be honest those who forget to mention my years of work on their wikipedia and Myspace page will not be the first on my call list. On the other hand those who stuck with me through the dark days are the trusted ones I always look to share my success with. I have made my mistakes but no one likes a fair weather friend. You have to think a few steps ahead instead of wallowing in the moment.
2. You don’t help the next man – If your position is that you were taken advantage of shouldn’t you tell that story so the next artist doesn’t fall into the same trap? I have seen this happen time and time again. One crook buries his bad deeds and reinvents himself and springs the same trap on the next unsuspecting artist. What you have to remember is that what you, the artist, consider to be shady is lauded in other circles. Example: Bob Perry who used to run Lanspeed Distribution was loved by all when he scanned 100,000 Freddie Foxxx albums. He was so hot he couldn’t handle all the deal offered to him. (I remember driving all the way up to Boston with Mr. Complex just to meet with him.) Then the tide turned and people like Cormega and Foxxx were out for Bob’s head. So where is Bob now? Hiding under a rock? No, he is at Koch generating millions of dollars of revenue. Those who think Bob was a crook decided to remove Lanspeed from their story. Take the credit for themselves. Whether you think Bob was shady or not that historical omission opened the door and allowed him to tell his story and continue his career. The arrogant silence from all those Lanspeed artists closed the door on any discussion. Now the true story is a matter of opinion not empirical fact.
My underlying point is that this sense of swagger in Hip-Hop is our biggest strength and our biggest weakness. The DIY ethic in Hip-Hop is the basis of the culture. “No money for dance lessons? F*ck It, I’ll dance on the street.” But now 30 years in, we have to add another aspect to it. We have to stop acting like cocksure teenagers and start acting like real adults. Stop acting like you did this all by yourself. No one really goes it alone.
In an act of political audacity, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former state Attorney General Roland Burris to fill President-elect Obama’s Senate seat, a position he is accused of trying to “sell.”
From ABC News
Nice piece from JON CARAMANICA in today’s Times about your favorite rapper, Young Money. (when I was a young meerkat I used to pitch J-Live to Jon. Nice to see him on C1 of the NY Times.)
I have said it before and I will say it again. Living in Gaza is truly gangsta.
I don’t want to simplify the conflict but it is interesting on how connected these religions are.
I think this is more about the almighty dollar and oil than the Almighty.
The Israelis are ready to set it. The question I have is what is the real reason for the folks in Gaza to set it? There is something much bigger going on.
This has to stop.
You need to make this happen
QUESTION: For all my Hip-Hop parents, what famous rapper/DJ/beatboxer deliver’s the Beat Of The Day on the children’s Show, ‘Yo Gabba Gabba.’
Send your answer AND A SHOUTOUT to trivia@brooklynbodega.com
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Tuesday’s Q&A
In honor of the killer meal I cooked yesterday today’s question is inspired by The Chef Raekwon Shallah aka Corey Woods. Name the order of MC’s on the classic track “Guillotine (Swordz)” on the equally classic album “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…”
Answer:
Inspectah Deck
Ghostface Killah
Raekwon
GZA
perhaps the greatest video I have ever seen
Winner of The Wire DVD: Phillip E., Shout out to BUMS UP!
Other Winners:
Manny, Shoutout to Flatbush Massive, 665, USQ, and the Fam in the Mil
Albert M., Shout out to Brooklyn-Shaolion
Cornelius M., Shout out to Kass and Dave
RJ, Shoutout to NJ and Happy Kwanzaa!
-Dude, they are so gonna fire you
-you think?
Great piece in Sporting News by Clifton Brown about the firing of the Man-Genius.
The real weight for the Jets collapse is on the shoulders of 2 TD’s and 9 INT’s Brett Favre.
We will regret this.
Mangini has a 10 win and a 9 win season. That hardly seems like the type of resume that should get you axed.
At least the Pats got screwed and the G-Men are in.
y’all play checkers we playing chess
We were on semi vacation last week and with New Year’s in the middle of the week this week it seems like we are gonna take it slow this week as well. Recharge the old battery.
One of the things I am going to be working on is the relaunch of the Bodega. We have the new design pretty much sorted out. Now it’s all about me figuring out how to run the CMS and the teaching our new staff of writers.
As I go through this process it has forced me to think about what role the Bodega will play in this crowded blogosphere. I had a fascinating conversation on Xmas Eve about whether blogs like Nahright and the rest of our category leaders should be considered content producers. Technically they are content aggregators which all a blog is. A pure blog, or weblog, is a list of other locations on the web to find interesting content according to the author. A pure blogger is a distributor. The more talented could be considered an editor.
But when you look at a nahright it is hard to not call Eskay a content producer. He is such an astounding editor that I go to him for content. So much so that the original producers are ten forgotten. I have jokingly said that the Bodega should strive to be the New York Times of this game but that delineation truly belongs to the Eskay’s of the world. In a sense the Times is an aggregator of all the small bits of content produced by its writers, and the wire services.
On the other side of the spectrum are the bloggers who lack editorial acumen (or the desire to acquire it). Bloggers who simply re-blast or repost flyer after flyer or video after video are essentially the bottom feeders of the blogosphere. Now, I am not one to throw stones so I must admit that on lazy days I have been guilty of this crime. The truth is producing content is hard and expensive. The time and resources it takes Dallas and Rafi (Internet Celebrities) to produce one of their videos is enormous. It is much easier to wait on the sidelines for Daylan at Go TV or On Smash or Rosenberg to capture some video and then throw it up on your site. If you are fast enough you can get all the credit.
In 2005 I started The Swift Chancellor Report after admiring Notes From A Different Kitchen by our friend Ian. As 2009 approaches and the SCR is folded into the Bodega and we attempt to take the Bodega up a notch the question is what are we bringing to the table? I don’t think we need another blog full of wannabe trendsetters. However, we will republish content that is in line with our brand. In that sense we will hope to emulate the outstanding tastemaker blogs that are out there (and there are plenty). There will also be quite a bit of video content. I personally think a web property with a balance of editorial and video creates the most dynamic experience for the reader. This will also play a large part in fulfilling our mission.
The mission of the Bodega will be to provide a sophisticated and mature academic voice to Hip-Hop. Provide in depth analysis, cultural criticism and ethnomusical documentation. Blah, blah, blah…. We’ll have fun to. I’ll try not to get too egghead-ish. But I think we can use a little to achieve a good balance.
Bottom line if you want to hear gossip about Serena and Common (a wonderful tidbit that somehow I missed) go to Bossip. Want the new Plies or Kanye remix hit Ian. Looking for something to do on a random Tuesday night hit Fusicology. They will hold you down and those are our folks (except Bossip, don’t know those cats). Want a lively discussion about our culture with a little news, politics and events thrown in? We got you.
Now I love Lebron but didn’t he steal this chalk think from KG or am I bugging?
Wahoo-Wa boys
QUESTION: In honor of the killer meal I cooked yesterday today’s question is inspired by The Chef Raekwon Shallah aka Corey Woods. Name the order of MC’s on the classic track “Guillotine (Swordz)” on the equally classic album “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…”
Send your answer AND A SHOUTOUT to trivia@brooklynbodega.com
One winner will win Season Three of The Wire courtesy of The Room Service Group. Happy Kwanzaa.
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Tuesday’s Q&A
In honor of the release of John Forte, name the two albums released by Sen Orrin Hatch’s favorite rapper
Answer: I, John and Poly Sci (I think we asked this one before)
Winners:
mmontouth, I’d like to give a shout out to John Forte, the 12 year old that made a lasting impression on me back in Schuyler. God Bless you, prayers were answered this week!!!!
Steven O., I shout out Black Moon for making jeep beats in the 90’s
Willie, hiphop holidays
Steve, Shoutout to Jackie Eichelberger, Harry and Lorraine Roche, David Eichelberger, The Roche Family, and Amanda De Alba. Merry Christmas!
There is a reason this Obama report was released so close to Brother Jesus’s b-day.
There is no real story here. It is just something the news business is doing to reclaim the ratings they loss post election.
Shout out to PUTS and Daylan at HHO. And Eskay, the king, since I vicked this from Nah Right
this pic was almost too much to bear but I had to do it
In Sports, Who would have think it? Chad(wick) Pennington was the best part of the Brett Favre soap opera.
I like to see this since I am a Jets fan at heart. Giants are 1(a)
Feel Free to hook me up with one of these for Kwanzaa
In other news:
-What happened with that Pac Div, Q-Tip, Cool Kids tour. Was it any good? I haven’t heard a peep
-Is it me or have some of these hipster rappers used up their 15 minutes?
-So where is Cam these days?
-Am I the only who didn’t know Ron Brownz produced ‘Ether’?
-So this 20 years and counting for Busta right? Love it
-I know Q-Tip was the boss but clearly I love ATCQ more than than any of the three solo projects
-Can I hear from a Charles Hamilton fan? Explain it to me
-How bad does Kanye’s girl feel? That album is like a morbid ‘Here, My Dear’
what a flick
From L to R, the one time rookies of the year (Take note XXL cover boys): LL ruined my career then I joined the Army, I smoke crack, I can’t believe I went from boarding school to Federal Prison - thank God Carly Simon never forgot about me, My heart couldn’t handle all this weight - sorry Hip-Hop, and I said f*ck this music madness I’m playing Chuck Berry!
QUESTION: In honor of the release of John Forte, name the two albums released by Sen Orrin Hatch’s favorite rapper
Send your answer AND A SHOUTOUT to trivia@brooklynbodega.com
Winners will be shouted out in the next trivia blast.
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Friday’s Q&A
Question: This label headed by Bobbito Garcia boasted a roster which included MF Doom, Siah and Yeshua Da PoEd, Godfather Don, Scienz Of Life and Cage among others.
Answer: Fondle ‘Em Records
Winners:
Vinay, big ups to bob the weedman
MrJHunter, Because Fondle’m remembers
Michelle W, my shout out goes to Bobbito, Breeze Brewin and the Juggaknots, and all the Fondle ‘Em artists
Nathan M., N8 peace 2 da gods & da earfs
Millie cee from Jerzey, Shoutout to Mr. Beatz
and free hard liquor. Hooray
This is our event
Don’t Front
I know it’s a little small. We are working on it
We are on a semi vacation until New Year’s but as they say the ‘sun never chills.’
The plan for this week was to finally launch the new Bodega site but our designer lives in Seattle and was snowed in last week. Yadda, yadda, yadda I think we’ll jut move the launch to January ’09 and give us time to get this done right.
Thanks to all the Bodega Fam who have volunteered to help with all of our ’09 ventures. Our new young boy Moses will be in touch this week and next.
2009 has been a good and bad year for us. On the good side the Festival was another smash, on the bad side there is a f*cking recession with no help for small businesses. But either way we still maintain and do our part to support. We don’t do it for the fame or the money (that’s for sure). We do it for the responses we get from Bodega fam. The words of encouragement are all we need.
So to all you out there putting your hustles together – keep on, keeping on. We will do the same.
So in the spirit of the Holidays here are some videos just to make you feel good:
Christmas in Hollis
Pass the wine cooler you big black…
hmmmmmmm Drop
RIP MC Breed
I know we rarely post events outside of NYC but I want to change that.
Here are a couple of cool events in SF that were sent to us.
Shout out to Massive Selector. I like what y’all are doing out there.
Shout out to J-Boogie and our OM family
QUESTION: This label headed by Bobbito Garcia boasted a roster which included MF Doom, Siah and Yeshua Da PoEd, Godfather Don, Scienz Of Life and Cage among others.
Send your answer AND A SHOUTOUT to trivia@brooklynbodega.com
Winners will be shouted out in the next trivia blast.
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Tuesday’s Q&A
Question: Name all four members of Souls Of Mischief
Answer: Opio, A Plus, Phesto & Tajai
Winners:
Lex, sorry for the mix up on the tickets. We got you next time brother
bkred1721, You may never answer in time but we still love you
Monica P., Sorry you couldn’t make it to the show
DJ SeekTan, shout out to Sarita
Squeej, I’d like to give a shout out to the eskimoes, submarines, and outkast
I was intrigued by this group as soon as I heard about it this Fall.
My knee jerk reaction was that this was an attempt to capitalize on the NERD/Pharell/MIA wave that is just so cool these days.
You know the way people without real Hip-Hop chops marry their rock background and somehow convince us in the blogosphere to swallow their musical swill. (For the record, I think NERD and Skateboard P are the real deal.)
However, further analysis tells a different story. Res was on this Black Rock thing before it was cool. She put out an underappreciated album “How I Do” in 2001 that was John Blaze (oooohra!). The album was written by one Santi White before she changed her name to Santogold. In my opinion “How I Do” is better than the genre bending dissonance that is MIA and Santogold and some of you Hipster rappers.
“How I Do” and NERD’s “In Search Of” are the records you Replicants have been trying to make. (Just like Slum Village’s “Fantastic Vol. 2” is the record ATCQ tried to make the last two times out. But I digress.)
And while I have not been jumping out of shoes and socks for the last few Kweli albums he is still one of my favorite MC’s. I am such a nerd (let’s call it academic) I just put “2,000 Seasons” on my phone as a ringtone via Myxer.
On paper this should be a good project and a good gig.