Red: Rags to Riches

Red reminds me of Rahzel channeling Roger Troutman on a talkbox.




Thanks to eskae via hvw8 for the heads up! The story is pretty remarkable. Red a homeless beat boxer from Los Angeles was "recorded by Ty G behind the HVW8 Gallery, hit a massive chord with people, with already 65 000 views on YouTube, and over 350 000 views on worldstarhiphop in 4 days!"

Def Jux in Hawaii [video]

I'm sorry I missed the Def Jux show at Pipeline. Those who went can't stop talking about it. I've been a fan of Aesop rock since buying the Music From Earthworms cd-r pre Def Jux, and have always been a fan of the early Dibbs tapes (Evolution in particular), not to mention bits and pieces of EL-P's un quantized genius, and Co-Flow all the way. That poor lizard!

Bored Stiff - At A Distance [video]

New BS video off the new "Sad Truth" album. Buy it here.

myspace.com/boredstiffmusic

Blip.fm [like muxtape but better]

Leila hipped me to blip.fm last week, but it wasn't until this afternoon that I had time to sink my teeth in. This excellent post on sneakmove also prompted further investigation. I've been playing around with blip for an hour or so and love the twitter aspect of it, which allows you to post a very tiny blurb about why YOU like the song. This simple but effective tweak (to a muxtape or hype machine interface) seems much more conducive to sharing and discovering new music, rather than strictly encouraging the mass download / dump in to recycle bin mentality that other, less thoughtful, applications seem to perpetuate.

"best way i can describe it is as a combination of muxtape, hype machine, and twitter. you set up a profile, search for artists or songs, and any that have been posted online by someone come up in the results. you can then “blip” a song via a short post that resembles a tweet, and anyone who sees your blip can then stream that entire song."

Post your blip.fm accounts in the comments!

sneakmove post
blip.fm

Cities of the Underworld: San Francisco [streaming]

We caught the tail end of "Cities of the Underworld" on the History Channel the other night, and I've been dying to see the rest of the show ever since. The episode in question focused on the city of San Francisco, Alcatraz, the infamous Suicide club, and the Chinatown tunnels. Luckily as I was about to post this I saw that the History Channel streams all new episodes on it's site!

"Cities of the Underworld" is my new favorite show and works on a fascinating premise.

"Skyscrapers loom overhead, taxis honk their horns and street vendors shout as they peddle their wares. But the buzz of the city above is nothing compared to the powerful pull of the past and the amazing secrets simmering just beneath one's feet! We travelled hundreds of feet beneath the pavement to reveal hidden worlds that literally make up the foundations of today's greatest cities.

Engineers, architects, and archaeologists leave the metropolitan chaos behind to travel deep beneath the city streets into the meandering tunnels, abandoned subway lines, hidden water supplies, dank dungeons, eerie tombs, clandestine hideouts, and forgotten cities that have been lost to the hands of time (or purposely hidden for more sinister reasons...). "

Watch the San Francisco Episode here
Forum about the SF episode with interesting info here
http://www.suicideclub.com/

East of the Underground [movie and new york premiere]

I remember when I had a scratchy dub of this album prior to Wax Poetics re-release. The sound was incredible! Reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield but the recording "atmosphere" rawer and more gritty.

The friend who graciously provided me a copy, mentioned that the soul album was a part of a 2 album set, the second one being more rock oriented, by a group named SOAP. As soon as I laid ears on the album I was on a mission to find it. Some quick internet searching, and I realized just how rare and unattainable the album really was. Thankfully for the rest of us Wax Poetics has released the album on vinyl and now a movie.

Wax Poetics Films’ first short, East of Underground, is featured in Scion’s Easy Ten, screening this Thursday, January 22th at Tribeca Cinemas, New York City. East of Underground is a documentary about the anonymous cast of military musicians who recorded this record rarity (available on CD or MP3 from Wax Poetics Records) at the height of conflict in Vietnam. The Easy Ten is open to the public (RSVP is required) and will feature ten short films forged by a host of acclaimed magazines and media outlets. Early arrival is suggested; space is limited, and entry is not guaranteed. For more information, visit www.scion.com/easy10

East of the Underground MP3's [via Wax Poetics]

Meaty Ogre interview [record talk]

If you find yourself in Phoenix,Arizona be sure to check out GRANDIOSE LIFE the brainchild of Meaty Ogre, Mestizo, and Nothin Less of SD. GRANDIOSE is a self declared "Lifestyle Boutique" specializing in clothing, fitted hats, records, shoes, magazines and more.

On a related note HEAVY IN THE STREETS (blog) recently ran an excellent interview with Meaty Ogre, catching up with the producer, father, and new shop owner. DJ SORCE-1 is to thank for HEAVY IN THE STREETS, which is by and large, all original content about my favorite topic old records.

Learn about Meaty's $1200 Manzel 45 score and so much more in the interview.

You can catch GRANDIOSE virtually at the following places:

http://grandioselife.com/
myspace.com/grandioselife
grandioselife.blogspot.com

asitarecordings year in review [new music inside]

Happy New Year comrades! We hope that yours was a safe one, spent with good friends and family, amazing food, strong liquor, and just the right music.

As another page turns, it's natural to reflect. There can be no denying that 2008 was a year of deep transformation. From electing our first Black president, to watching the economy collapse in slow motion, nothing seems shocking or impossible anymore. Let's hope that 2009 brings the kind of change we can stand behind.

At Asita Headquarters we have been hard at work on a whole host of new endeavors including a brand new web site and digital distribution for all of our releases, both new and old. On the music front Joe has been working tirelessly on the Contra Band - PRAISE DIRT album, which I can say with certainty, will not disappoint. 2009 is the year for less talk and more action, so I'll let the album speak for itself, when it hits shelves in the early part of this year.

To those who have just tuned in, and to those who have stuck with us through the years; our family and friends, THANK YOU, for all of your support! Your presence define the good days and make the bad days tolerable. We promise big things are on the horizon, in this electronic world, and beyond.

Here is a taste of some of what we've been cooking up in the studio...

Check out the brand new Joe and Mestizo exclusive up on the Asita Myspace page. Not sure of the title, though I've been calling it "808," listen to it, and see why! Song appears on Mestizo's new tour cd.

Grand Invincible - Purse Thieves 12" (Luke Sick related)

We were really excited to hear about this one the other day. The new Luke Sick and DJ Eons 12" Purse Thieves is out now. If you missed it before check out the in depth interview here. (Thanks Jeff!) Again, So Far West is coming correct, and offering this vinyl for $7. Click here to buy yourself a copy or two. Let's hope this vinyl releasing thing catches on in 2009!



GRAND INVINCIBLE “Purse Thieves” 12” – Some real grimey shit for ya. 3 song 12” includes Purse Thieves (soc, inst), Elephant Tranq (voc, inst, accp) and Style is Bonkers (voc). Dope artwork by sign painter extraordinare, Eric Kneeland. 1st vinyl release for ZeroFriends (see: Alex Pardee).

San Francisco release party info below:



http://www.myspace.com/grandinvincible