Toca - Live at the Knitting Factory

Here is a live clip from Toca.

Crazy Talk Blog reports on the live show:

Amidst every instrument known to man, throbbing melodies, harmonies, and catchy tunes, lies rap and hip-hop sound. I’ve never seen anything like this complete melting pot of all genres. I definitely suggest you check them out, really ground-breaking."

For those that don't know, Toca is a rogue group of talented musicians, including Xololanxinxo, Ceschi, David, Tommy V, Danny Levin, and Max Heath. This clip definitely has me excited about the album to come. Lyrically and musically this is the best the band has sounded to my ears.....the live clip is amazing!

Thanks for the link Nabahe.

http://tocatheband.com/

HUBBA HIDEOUT HISTORY LESSON

In keeping with the history of skateboarding in San Francisco theme, here is a really good explanation of the Hubba Hideout phenomenon from ON Video Magazine. I was all set to post the craziest footage of some masked skaters de-knobbing the rails with crow bars, but not surprisingly, the clip was removed from You Tube.

More from Travis Jensen article...

Check the link for additional supplements to the article and background info. Some Hubba Hideout features coming soon.

AIN'T NO PROPERTY SAFE -- THE SKATEBOARD REVOLUTION IN SF (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE 3/9)

Comrades:

Below is a story I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, which appeared in the Datebook section of last Friday's paper (3/9). Although the body of the story was not touched, both the title and subtitle were entirely changed. The original title for the piece was "Ain't No Property Safe -- The Skateboard Revolution in San Francisco." Maybe the editors thought it was a little too hardcore or something, I don't know. I'm a fan of gangster titles. The Chronicle paid me handsomely for the story, so I guess they can title it however they please.

All and all, I'm really happy with the end results and look forward to do a lot more work for the Chronicle in the future.

Enjoy!

Travis

link

"So Fresh" featured in skate article in SF Chronicle

Check out this excellent article about the ever evolving skate scene in San Francisco, recently published in the S.F. Chronicle, and penned by our friend Travis Jensen.

Hidehiko Fujiwara produces a short but sweet companion skate video with a soundtrack featuring Joe Dub and Factor's "So Fresh" track from the "Famous Nights, Empty Days" compilation.

Grab a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle today. Travis Jensen and Hidehiko Fujiwara both are highlighted respectively. Travis has a full article in todays Datebook section and Hidehiko has a short film on the SFGate.com site. Both are related to San Francisco skateboarding with insight from Pat Washington and Keith Hufnagel about SF's colorful past and current street skating scene.

Watch the video (mp4 format)

asitarecordings.com
sideroadrecords.com

Hawaii's Young MC's in the Honolulu Advertiser

An in-depth article covering Hawaii's blooming underground hip-hop community was recently published in the Honolulu Advertiser. The piece focuses on Jake "The Snake" Miyasato's campus radio show GenuineHI (which only plays Hawaii hip-hop) and branches out from there. Article by Derek Paiva.

Links to all the artists in the article can be found in Jake's link section. Genuine HI is a must see site with all of the previous shows available for download.

read the article

genuine hawaii

Jake One Making a Beat: Blockstar DVD

Jake One's thoughts on dollar bin vs. $$ records, ASR as his weapon of choice, hardware set up, and more.

myspace.com/jakeone

Deep Crates: Volume 2

Again the production value on this (at least the trailer) leaves something to be desired. However to Beatdawg's credit it looks slightly better than version one, and the teaser clips are promising. One on ones with Pete Rock, 45 King, Marley Marl, Jake One, DJ Muro, and more.



beatdawg.com

Press Rewind - Articles From the Past

One afternoon, a few years ago, I had the grand idea of creating a blog (then simply called a "web page") dedicated to old magazine scans, photographs, and variety of other archival footage. It was right around the time I was cleaning out my closet and going through dog earred copies of Rap Pages, Vice (when it first came out), the Source when it still had decent writing, etc.
I wanted to highlight the enthusiasm that came through in the writing. I think it was very reflective of the music of the time. Dave Tompkins articles were a shining example of what music journalism could be.

It was a fun time... A time when listening to the latest fourth generation dub and tripping off a crazy verse, or collecting flyers and magazine clippings, were actually experiences of great pleasure. Sometimes the point and click mentality can take a bit of the joy out of it. Luckily for you, great minds think alike, and some even follow through.

Enter the Press Rewind Blog. They cover all the bases with articles divided neatly in to categories. I spent a good hour looking through just a portion of the site. Some of the highlights included the Goodlife Cafe articles, Pre-Chronic Dre cover story, Making Sense With The Nonce, Dave Tompkins article on De La from On the Go Magazine, Big L, Nas, and more. They even add some songs to the mix. Check it out.

http://pressrewind.wordpress.com/
wiki: compact cassettes

Definitive Swim

Here is a short and sweet Def Jux compilation album brought to you by the odd partnership of Adult Swim and Old Spice. Did I mention that it's free? Yeah, it appears that Definitive Swim is a purely promotional cd, meant to reintroduce Definitive Jux to the world. It does a competent job of that. Some of the songs seem to be filler, though songs like the Aesoprock, El-P, and Rob Sonic tracks deserve a rewind.

On a related note... The new El-P album "I'll Sleep When Your Dead" which comes out on March 20th already has the internets going wild. In large part due to the insane line up EL-P brings to the table on this, his first record in years. Featured musicians include Trent Reznor, Cat Power, Mars Volta, and Aesoprock.

For the record, I'm almost as impressed with their new bootleg deterrent scheme as I am with the album itself. Instead of the robotic drone of promo bot, they've replaced each promotional cd with a recording on the beginning and end of each song which states the real name of the reviewer/owner of each promo. Matthew Snider is not very smart.

1. Camu Tao - Plot For A Little
2. El-P - Smithereens (Stop Cryin)
3. Rob Sonic - Brand New Vandals
4. Hangar 18 - Think Big
5. Mr. Lif and Cannibal Ox - Brothaz Remix
6. Despot - Get Rich Or Try Dying
7. Cool Calm Pete - Get With The Times
8. Mr. Lif - Red October
9. Cage - Blood Boy
10. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

full zip file doesn't seem to be working yet, but here's a link, should eventually work:

DefSwim.zip

also, animated video for El-P's "Flyentology (Ft. Trent Reznor)" on the adult swim page

adultswim.com

Deeskee News : new songs posted, etc

Some good news from one of the most selfless and talented producers in the game...

Deeskee whets our appetites with some new tracks that will be posted to his myspace page. This weeks treat is an unlikely combination of Murs and Ellay Khule on a song that I think is destined for his much anticipated Audiobiograffiti album.

Posted so far:
Ellay Khule and Murs - "Hip-Hop Legends"
2mex, Lord Zen, Liferexall, Brother J, Sach - "Metronome Click"

He also promises to post more new tracks and drops some insider information in this thread on the Galapagos 4 board. I agree with the posters that the Ex-Vandalz-Industry Standard remix with Rakaa was one of my favorite songs of last year.

Visit Deeskee at la2thebay.com
or http://www.myspace.com/audiobiograffiti