Riff and Rhymes

aka- my BIG BREAK that never came.

Long story short. Back in 2006, the homie DJ Scene hollered at me, after we'd been sending remixes back and forth, about this mash up show 104.9 he wanted to do (he was a dj for Kube 93 at the time). I was brought in for a meeting with all the Clear Channel bigwigs and they ate up our ideas and the music I brought in. We were given the go ahead to put together 3 or 4 half hour shows for airing on weekends.

No fault of mine or Scene's, they kept sluffing. We had 4 pretty damn good shows lined up, yet they kept changing the format or nit-picked this and that. Scene hooked me up with a huge opportunity, and for that I am thankful, it just kinda sucks that we never got to see it through. Woulda boosted me up a few rungs on the ladder, and I think we coulda made some seriously dope remixes once things got going.

Now, I am on a remix sabbatical for a number of reasons. I got heavy into production after this experience left a bad taste in my mouth. And I lost a lot of the original Acid Pro files that I used to make these mixes. I know it isn't hard and i've been meaning to put another mashup mixtape out. It also seems like the mashup era has passed somewhat tho. I love making 2 songs become 1, and make it sound like they belonged together from the get go.

Well anyways, the tracks I created for this show ended up becoming my SOUR MASH mixtape. And I have enough to do another mix I'm sure. I need to dig through the pile of shit that is my music collection and pull em out.


Here is what I got so far (Keep in mind all of these mixes are at least 2-3 years old):

UNRELEASED/NEVER AIRED RIFFS AND RHYMES SHOWS (4 shows)

SOUR MASH MIXTAPE

UNRELEASED PROOF MASHUPS

Fresh Water Pack

Nike Air Max '95 and Air Griffey Max. Dubbed the 'Fresh water' pack. I can dig it.

Nerd Alert

So apparently some geeky sneakerheads made arcade-style video game controllers out of Nike SB boxes. Pretty slick. I am only about the Nintendo Wii these days, so anything less than motion control is not the biz in my humble opinion. BUT, I give these dude points for their creativity...and the use of sneaker boxes of course.

This is what I mean when I say 'Clean Sneaks'

The Nike RT1 is beautifully simple. A great looking hi-top sneaker with very little flash. Just clean looking in every sense.

I have enough black/red kicks, so I would probably go with the white/greys. Good lookin springtime sneaker.

Ohai

Can't even see what she looks like. Yet, I am sprung.

Girls with great taste in music are incredibly attractive to me, that's why. Not to mention those curves. But in all honestly, I am drawn to women that have a deep appreciation for music...almost to a fault. I think it is every dj's dream to have a shorty that is willing to kick back on a Saturday night and thumb through vinyl rather than hit up the club (on occasion). Have a chick that is down to ditch the girls to come out to a great show and vibe out. The girl that never leaves home without her ipod and hits you up the moment they find something they think you would dig. Thats love right there.

I am an enormous music nerd. It takes someone special to 'get it.' I spend hours organizing music, making playlists, peeping blogs, downloading torrents, chopping breaks, laying down riffs, tweaking levels...not to mention living in headphones. I hope someday to stumble upon someone that shares my bond with all things music.

It wouldn't hurt if she slightly resembled the girl in the picture...but I can compromise.

Holy Eff

Quite the conversation piece.

Hare Jordan 1

Modeled after the 'Hare Jordan' 7. These even come complete with Bugs Bunny silhouette on the tongue. Kinda clean.

Fatbackin'

So I stumbled upon the entire Fatback Band discography (24 albums) and have been rocking it throughout the workday all week. All I gotta say is, these peeps are the truth. I've known about all their classics for a long minute. Fatbackin', Gotta learn to dance, Backstrokin', Yum Yum (Gimme Some), Gotta get my hands on some (Money)...ect. All great tracks. But, I am listening to all of these lps, and no tracks are skippable. All are jam worthy. I rocked them in the ipod to and from Portland this weekend on shuffle and every track was worthy of my eardrums.


It is rare to find such a sold collection of funk. I mean James Brown has gems, Parliament is golden, Sly Stone is a beast, AWB and Tower of Power bring it as well...but I was caught off guard by the sheer amount of kick ass riffs and all around funkiness of the Fatback crew. Late Pass me if you will. But I am loving this shit.

I Wish I Wasn't Flat Broke

Jordan “Raging Bull” Defining Moments Package II (Limited Release)
Release Date: 05/2009
Style Number: 360968-991
Colorway: Multicolor/Multicolor
136027-xxx Black/Varsity Red-White
136027-xxx Air Jordan V Retro Varsity Red/White-Black
$310.00

H/T: Sneakerfiles.com

RIP Digable

This is a huge WTF moment for me. 3 days before the start of an East Coast reunion tour, Digable Planets broke up...again. I guess Ladybug left the group. For some reason she couldn't go through with the tour. I obviously can't really speak on the circumstances 'cause I don't have any clue, but this is definitely a shock.

Also a big shock for Common Market, who was set to open for them on this stretch of dates. A lot of the shows were already sold out, and they would have benifited greatly from the exposure. They put on a solid set and would have gained a lot of new fans, not to mention the paper lost in the cancellation.

I was lucky enough to see Digable at Neumos back in the fall and they were absolutely amazing. They ran through all the tracks I wanted to hear and I fell in love with Ladybug all over again. I have been bumping 'Blowout Comb' damn near daily ever since and can say with confidence that they are one of the most slept on hip hop groups of all time. That album is flawless. It contains more bass per captia than any album since. The samples are all classic and flipped with skill. The raps put you at ease, and deliver a feel good vibe that lasts throughout the lp. Each MC brings something fresh to the table and boy do I eat it up. Love me some soulful, jazzy hip hop music.

So RIP Digable Planets. You will be missed (until you pull it together and realize you are better together than solo). And Ladybug...I can't stay mad at you. You win.

Genius

Exile makes me want to keep my day job

So Exile and Dj Day put on one of the most amazing live production sets I have ever seen in my 25 years on this planet last Saturday at Nectar during the Qualified Beat Battle. It was more like a 45 minute dj set performed on mpc's. Flowing from 'Planet Rock' to 'I Can't Wait' to my favorite Dilla beat 'Fuck the Police' and even tossing some Afro Beat in the mix. Ohmega Watts, who was the king of the beats that night, also got involved with a 32 bar (or so) freestyle that contained the words 100 Proof (!!!). Not sure if that was a shout out, but I will assume it was cause I am kind of a big deal.