106
General Discussion / Mos Def on DOOM
« on: April 01, 2009, 10:25:58 AM »
your favourite rapper's favourite rapper?
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107
General Discussion / drinking
« on: March 24, 2009, 02:53:50 PM »
all my sipping brothers and sisters stand up!
i haven't drank in a dope setting in a while. i'm tired of the clubbing thing and sharing my weed with europeans who tell me how dope cape town is. im also over the town house/chisa nyama shit with the BEE types and their underage girls.
you see, for me, gentlemen, nothing beats a cold quart in a tavern.
how bout you? where and how do you like to get your drink on?
i haven't drank in a dope setting in a while. i'm tired of the clubbing thing and sharing my weed with europeans who tell me how dope cape town is. im also over the town house/chisa nyama shit with the BEE types and their underage girls.
you see, for me, gentlemen, nothing beats a cold quart in a tavern.
how bout you? where and how do you like to get your drink on?
108
General Discussion / french translation
« on: March 12, 2009, 03:02:02 PM »
does anyone here speak/read French? if so i need your help sooner than yesterday.
109
Politics / who are you voting for?
« on: March 11, 2009, 12:18:27 PM »
so who you voting for?
this ain't '94 so why should you keep that shit secret? be loud and proud! it's your right!
i was too hungover (naturally) to register, but i'm making up for it by bribing a staunch apathist to stand in for me at the polls. he promises to draw a little cross next to COPE in exchange for two (shared) cases of beer.
what's your story?
this ain't '94 so why should you keep that shit secret? be loud and proud! it's your right!
i was too hungover (naturally) to register, but i'm making up for it by bribing a staunch apathist to stand in for me at the polls. he promises to draw a little cross next to COPE in exchange for two (shared) cases of beer.
what's your story?
110
Hot Traxxx / Nipsey Hu$$le
« on: March 11, 2009, 12:07:14 PM »
is g-funk making a return via auto-tune? Nipsey Hu$$le is a new-age rapper, but the term only goes as far as his age. dudes staying away from the hipster shit and taking his cues from Snoop. check it out:
okay. now who's doing boom-bap?
okay. now who's doing boom-bap?
111
Politics / Obama's got his work cut out for him
« on: March 06, 2009, 03:48:45 PM »
yet another reason not to look up to US of A for salvation.
we actually might not be that bad. check out this video of Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson on 'Hardball'. They're discussing the Attorney General Eric Holder's statement on Black History Month where he called America "a nation of cowards" when it comes to addressing race matters. things get a little out of hand, and Buchanan gets his a** handed to him.
take a look:
we actually might not be that bad. check out this video of Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson on 'Hardball'. They're discussing the Attorney General Eric Holder's statement on Black History Month where he called America "a nation of cowards" when it comes to addressing race matters. things get a little out of hand, and Buchanan gets his a** handed to him.
take a look:
112
General Discussion / US hip-hop in Africa?
« on: March 04, 2009, 12:11:24 PM »
here are some things i've been wondering about, regarding the present as of now state of hip-hop. i'm not complaining about anything or hoping for it to be 'real' again. i'm just wondering if it's relevant in Africa.
if the mainstream re-gurgitates aimless cheer, individualism, greed, misogyny and excess; the underground re-gurgitates humility and an (American) region-centric devotion to hip-hop, and the streets re-gurgitate narratives of urban squalor (more as a staple lyrical base and a selling point than a shock)...is US hip-hop a liabilty then to developing progressive thinking in the Third World?
does it actually narrow our minds around these trivialties and make us blind to our own talents and our own ways of interpreting and acting on our surroundings?
is hip-hop in general actually (because you can only Africanize it so much) really worthy of being a point of focus for the youth (and anyone else) who wants to act on their discontent with the state of the Thirld World nation?
is it just music and not an instrument to effect change with?
the one thing i'll always love about hip-hop, not matter how much it changes, is its ability to create solidarity and a communal air around its appreciators - that's powerful.
but then again we can't deny that the biggest draw of the music (and its reason for commercial success) is the age factor because that's how it's been packaged: to celebrate being young and all of the commidities that come with it (America did, after all, invent The Teenager - capitalism's biggest a**et).
its worldwide, yes. but it also travels with its uniform for heads and young people. fitteds that lead all the way back to corporations in America where its hard to get an identity without reaching for your pocket.
(?uestlove has a line of Nike's with Safari prints and other "African motifs". what the f***?)
anyway, what do you guys think?
i think i'm getting to the age where i actually want to make a concrete contribution to the welfare of my people.
if the mainstream re-gurgitates aimless cheer, individualism, greed, misogyny and excess; the underground re-gurgitates humility and an (American) region-centric devotion to hip-hop, and the streets re-gurgitate narratives of urban squalor (more as a staple lyrical base and a selling point than a shock)...is US hip-hop a liabilty then to developing progressive thinking in the Third World?
does it actually narrow our minds around these trivialties and make us blind to our own talents and our own ways of interpreting and acting on our surroundings?
is hip-hop in general actually (because you can only Africanize it so much) really worthy of being a point of focus for the youth (and anyone else) who wants to act on their discontent with the state of the Thirld World nation?
is it just music and not an instrument to effect change with?
the one thing i'll always love about hip-hop, not matter how much it changes, is its ability to create solidarity and a communal air around its appreciators - that's powerful.
but then again we can't deny that the biggest draw of the music (and its reason for commercial success) is the age factor because that's how it's been packaged: to celebrate being young and all of the commidities that come with it (America did, after all, invent The Teenager - capitalism's biggest a**et).
its worldwide, yes. but it also travels with its uniform for heads and young people. fitteds that lead all the way back to corporations in America where its hard to get an identity without reaching for your pocket.
(?uestlove has a line of Nike's with Safari prints and other "African motifs". what the f***?)
anyway, what do you guys think?
i think i'm getting to the age where i actually want to make a concrete contribution to the welfare of my people.
113
Media / Nas: Illmatic 15 years on XXL scans
« on: March 02, 2009, 02:41:56 PM »
warning: these images are huge so if you have bandwidth problems, i'd suggest you keep it moving.
otherwise, here's a few scans of an article in XXL about went down (behind the scenes) in the making of Nas' opus, Illmatic. as told by the emcees and the producers.
enjoy.
(by the way, MC Serch's beef anecdotes on Pete Rock and Russel Simmons are hilarious)
otherwise, here's a few scans of an article in XXL about went down (behind the scenes) in the making of Nas' opus, Illmatic. as told by the emcees and the producers.
enjoy.
(by the way, MC Serch's beef anecdotes on Pete Rock and Russel Simmons are hilarious)
114
General Discussion / CAP CITY CATS
« on: February 23, 2009, 10:37:41 AM »
just want to know if you cats have heard of an emcee called MY BOBA, supposedly JR's brother?
115
Hot Traxxx / AFRIKAN DANCEQUAKE!
« on: February 21, 2009, 01:31:31 PM »
post videos or links of all your favourite head-nodding, neck-breaking, hip-dislocating shit here. they definitely don't have to be rap, but definitely have to haul a** and be able to work a dancefloor into a disgusting sweat! 
and they have to be african. or if you really must, from the diaspora.
i'll start with a favourite of mine. Os Lambas from Angola. they're on that grimy kuduro heat. here's a little info on their sound:
this shit knocks!
and they have to be african. or if you really must, from the diaspora.
i'll start with a favourite of mine. Os Lambas from Angola. they're on that grimy kuduro heat. here's a little info on their sound:
Quote
Accra has hiplife. Johannesburg has kwaito. Luanda has kuduro.
Kuduro literally translates as ’stiff bottom’ in Angolan-Portuguese. A percussion-driven hybrid of Zouk, ragga, techno and house, birthed in Luanda and Lisbon in the late 1980s, and with followers and crews all over the Lusophone world (it’s big in Brazil), the genre may still make up for Portuguese-speaking Africa having to stand back to other continental inventions like Afrobeat, mbaqanga, or Rai. And with the viral quality of the internet, a local industry in Luanda that measures pressing 12,000 CDs a success, could go global. Already hipsters in the US mainstream music press are picking up on the genre’s infectious sound.
Os Lambas, featured here doing its single “Comboio II” is one of the upcoming acts of a genre whose pioneers include Buraka Sin Sistema and Helder Rei do Kuduro.
this shit knocks!
116
Media / company flow reunion?
« on: February 18, 2009, 02:09:49 PM »
found this on pitchfork. dunno, El-P doesn't seem to be checking. dope interview discussing a dope album, though.
peep:
(Dplanet, you might wanna check this out. there's some shit here that reminds me of what you said in that insomnia thread)
For hip-hop progressives Company Flow, being "independent as f***" was a moral code of conduct and a chest-puff boast. El-P, Bigg Jus, and Mr. Len weren't just independent...they were independent as f***. There's a difference. With their lone LP, 1997's Funcrusher Plus, the New York crew railed against capitalism and major label rap while offering an alternative that was equal parts rebel yell, lo-fi RZA-style bap, and Orwellian paranoia. It didn't go platinum. But its sound and spirit hit the underground hard, expanding the idea of what hip-hop could sound like.
Funcrusher hasn't been in print since 2006, but the record will start recirculating in remastered form May 5 courtesy of El-P's own Definitive Jux label. (The album was originally Rawkus Records' first LP, though the relationship between Company Flow and their old label has since turned ugly.) The new Funcrusher will boast rare tracks from the group's early days ("Juvenile Techniques", "Corners 94") and late-era songs cut before their 2000 breakup ("Simple", "DPA", and "Simian Drugs").
Though the three members have worked separately this millennium, they reunited for a show in 2007. Will this reissue spark another meeting of the Company Flow minds? Based on a conference call with all three members earlier this week, nobody's ruling a reunion out-- but it would have to be on their strictly independent terms, of course.
Pitchfork: Why reissue Funcrusher Plus now, 12 years after its original release?
El-P: Because everyone wants to release a record on its 12th anniversary! Perfect timing. I don't know...why the f*** are we doing this? It hasn't been available for a while and we finally got our shit together. We had to get the rights back from Rawkus...which I don't wanna talk about at all. The album should be out there. It's not something I ever thought would just disappear.
Pitchfork: So there's no special significance to the number 12 necessarily?
El-P: I think I got my first hand job at 12.
Mr. Len: I could make something up: There's three guys in Company Flow. And four years is how long a presidency lasts. Take the four and multiply it by the three and you get 12. Now, you add the one and the two in 12 and that's three...which is how many people who were in Company Flow. Knowledge that!
Pitchfork: Listening back to Funcrusher now, it's a little creepy how the dark mood of it matches the mood of 2009.
El-P: Even I was taken back by some of what we were saying. We just saw through shit-- we never subscribed to the idea that things were great back then. Even the idea about the music industry collapsing under the weight of its frivolous products seems to have come true. But I don't think that it took geniuses to see that as being inevitable.
Bigg Jus: It just so happens that geniuses made it happen. [laughs]
Len: We tried to tell you the sky was fallin', y'all just didn't wanna listen.
Pitchfork: So you're still holding that against everybody?
Len: The whole country. [laughs]
Bigg Jus: No! We're all about change now!
El-P: [deadpans] We're all about the hope.
Jus: You sound like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
Pitchfork: So uplifting! Are you guys not excited about our new president?
Len: I'm very excited about it. But it always sucks to be the first person to do something, especially at a time when everything's f***ed up. We're talking about 600,000 people losing their jobs in a month, millions in a year. To fix that you're circling money through an economy that has already crumbled. But at least someone's trying to do something now.
Pitchfork: How would you compare your overall perspectives now to when this album originally came out?
El-P: That CoFlow record was us on some f***in' angry societal perspective shit and some love-for-hip-hop shit. I haven't changed in terms of the way I look at things but I started writing more about myself, drawing from my own personal experiences-- things that sort of take precedence over just ideas.
Jus: I kinda did it in reverse. I started more introspective and then went back out to investigate what was going on in the world. Turns out things weren't too far off from where they were when we were doing Company Flow. I don't like being negative but a lot of things still look the same to me at this point. There's just a different patina on it.
El-P: I agree. For me, all the political ideas are still involved, it's just that I started writing from a different point on the graph. A lot of people thought Funcrusher was super dark and hopeless, and I don't think it was hopeless in any way. We were on some affirmation shit. We knew what we thought was right and we were f***in' a**holes about it. We were reacting to a whole bunch of bullshit, especially when it came to music. All the hip-hop shit that we grew up loving just seemed to need a f***in' reinforcement. Now it's a whole different scenario. But a lot of those issues obviously still remain.
Jus: I'm proud of the "independent as f***" vibe to the record, and how we stayed pure and didn't get watered down by all the crap that was in the industry. It was good to be part of a record that helped spearhead that independent movement, even though it still has taken way too long to take hold.
El-P: I remember sitting at my kitchen table, cutting up letters and pictures and trying to glue them on there so we could make artwork for our black and white promo. We were just giggling, like "This is some f***ing independent as f*** a** shit right here!" We loved it. Now it's part of the collective consciousness-- it's standard practice to start a record label, put your shit out, get your own distribution deal. I wouldn't say that we made that happen, but I would say that we were one of the first, if not the first cats to really know that was what we wanted to do.
Pitchfork: You mentioned how you guys did some a**hole things back in the day. Would you do anything differently if you had the chance?
El-P: Maybe we wouldn't have broken up. [laughs]
Jus: That would be it for me. Now that everybody is older you kind of understand that people go through phases, and it's about keeping a continuity. I'm glad we're at least talking about it now.
El-P: Ultimately, I think we always did it the right way. Even when we broke up it was like, "Let's not do this on bad terms." We always held ourselves to some sort of code that we weren't gonna fall into all the same traps that everyone else falls into.
Len: There were no diss records, no silliness.
El-P: I never released my diss record: "Hey Len and Jus, I Hate You f***ing Guys". I recorded that shit, but I just felt it was a little harsh. [laughs]
Pitchfork: Do you think that Funcrusher is easier for the uninitiated to compute now?
Len: You have to be a special kind of teenager to dig it-- that's not a slight to a lot of teenagers out there, but they don't know how to absorb music. It takes a special kind of person to get into anything from that era, where it's a little more thought-provoking. It's not straight shoot-you music. If we're gonna shoot you, it's gonna be pretty damn entertaining.
El-P: When we came out there were motherf***ers who were like, "What is this crazy space rap from the future?" And at the same time I started seeing people refer to it as "old school" or "cla**ic." We always thought that we were ahead of our time but maybe we weren't or maybe that time has caught up or maybe it's pa**ed. It's hard to front on this shit though. When we made Funcrusher we thought it was the hottest shit on the planet, and when people didn't get it we were kind of like, "Well f*** you then!"
Pitchfork: Did you actually say that to people?
El-P: No, we said it in a mirror. [laughs] Actually, we probably did say that shit in interviews.
Len: We were on some arrogant-a** shit.
El-P: You couldn't tell us shit because we all knew how much we lived hip-hop culture. I reveled in the fact that when a Company Flow song comes on it's like getting shot with a f***ing nail gun. Everything else is like palm trees.
Pitchfork: A lot of people say Funcrusher was ahead of its time, but it's not like there's tons of stuff like that out now. I look at it as something that's more unique to its time.
Jus: I thought the album was following a logical step for the culture, which was basically about doing new shit and being original. Somehow along the way that totally got lost. I don't think other people could kind of keep up with where it was going. Besides the fact that we also didn't really make dance music.
El-P: Not just "didn't really make" dance music...I guess we made shit that people could uprock to on occasion. [laughter] At this point, I don't think it would sound jarring to anybody who kept their ear open to underground hip-hop in the last decade. If you were to play it to someone who only listens to the shit that's on the radio, they're probably going to have the same f***ing response as they did when we dropped this shit, which is 50 percent saying "What the f*** is this garbage?!" and 50 percent saying "Holy shit, I haven't heard hip-hop like this." We always drew people down the middle-- there were never people who were like "Eh, it's all right." It was either "I wanna find those guys and beat them senseless because their crazy noise is hurting me" or "This is f***ing incredible."
Pitchfork: Have you ever been surprised by someone who you wouldn't think would like the album?
El-P: My mom likes it. [laughter] It was different back then: We were in The Source, DJ Premier was rocking our shit on his mixtapes, KRS-One was rapping above our instrumentals. We kind of came out at the perfect time because people hadn't yet created subgenres so we were thrown into the pantheon of rap music in general. There wasn't a lot of people being like "Wow, they listen to this kind of rap." But when I was a kid I just a**umed everyone should like this shit because I felt like I was the ultimate hip-hop fan. Like: "Yo, this adheres to my very f***ing strict standards of what a dope record should be." I was 21 so I was pretty f***ing high on myself.
Pitchfork: Do you worry about falling back into a sense of nostalgia with this reissue? I feel like when bands start re-releasing old material it might suggest their current work is less valuable.
El-P: I'm not gonna front-- that was something that may have held me back from getting into it for a while. At the end of the day, it's about the fact that we made this record and we're getting a chance to put it back out there. It's like a catalog piece. None of us are f***ing washed up old dudes. It's not like, "Hey, let's take this to Vegas!"
Jus: I thought the best way to go about things would be to do a couple of new songs. I think the validity of what we've done is already secured. People already know what we're doing separately, but I'm personally throwing it out there to the guys that I'd love to do new material. I still have the same love in my heart for cats.
El-P: I hate you. [laughter]
Jus: I figure people would be cringing on that one.
El-P: You dropped the love bomb.
Pitchfork: Do you guys have any formal plans to record new stuff together?
El-P: Nah. We've always said that one day we'll get together to do some new songs but it's just dirty to think of it in any other way. I don't feel like planning to do it and being like, "We're releasing a record!" is the way to go. I love how we came in and f***ing destroyed shit and then dipped. It was painful at the time but I don't regret it. As far as music and art goes, motherf***ers are dope artists, so you can never close that door.
peep:
(Dplanet, you might wanna check this out. there's some shit here that reminds me of what you said in that insomnia thread)
For hip-hop progressives Company Flow, being "independent as f***" was a moral code of conduct and a chest-puff boast. El-P, Bigg Jus, and Mr. Len weren't just independent...they were independent as f***. There's a difference. With their lone LP, 1997's Funcrusher Plus, the New York crew railed against capitalism and major label rap while offering an alternative that was equal parts rebel yell, lo-fi RZA-style bap, and Orwellian paranoia. It didn't go platinum. But its sound and spirit hit the underground hard, expanding the idea of what hip-hop could sound like.
Funcrusher hasn't been in print since 2006, but the record will start recirculating in remastered form May 5 courtesy of El-P's own Definitive Jux label. (The album was originally Rawkus Records' first LP, though the relationship between Company Flow and their old label has since turned ugly.) The new Funcrusher will boast rare tracks from the group's early days ("Juvenile Techniques", "Corners 94") and late-era songs cut before their 2000 breakup ("Simple", "DPA", and "Simian Drugs").
Though the three members have worked separately this millennium, they reunited for a show in 2007. Will this reissue spark another meeting of the Company Flow minds? Based on a conference call with all three members earlier this week, nobody's ruling a reunion out-- but it would have to be on their strictly independent terms, of course.
Pitchfork: Why reissue Funcrusher Plus now, 12 years after its original release?
El-P: Because everyone wants to release a record on its 12th anniversary! Perfect timing. I don't know...why the f*** are we doing this? It hasn't been available for a while and we finally got our shit together. We had to get the rights back from Rawkus...which I don't wanna talk about at all. The album should be out there. It's not something I ever thought would just disappear.
Pitchfork: So there's no special significance to the number 12 necessarily?
El-P: I think I got my first hand job at 12.
Mr. Len: I could make something up: There's three guys in Company Flow. And four years is how long a presidency lasts. Take the four and multiply it by the three and you get 12. Now, you add the one and the two in 12 and that's three...which is how many people who were in Company Flow. Knowledge that!
Pitchfork: Listening back to Funcrusher now, it's a little creepy how the dark mood of it matches the mood of 2009.
El-P: Even I was taken back by some of what we were saying. We just saw through shit-- we never subscribed to the idea that things were great back then. Even the idea about the music industry collapsing under the weight of its frivolous products seems to have come true. But I don't think that it took geniuses to see that as being inevitable.
Bigg Jus: It just so happens that geniuses made it happen. [laughs]
Len: We tried to tell you the sky was fallin', y'all just didn't wanna listen.
Pitchfork: So you're still holding that against everybody?
Len: The whole country. [laughs]
Bigg Jus: No! We're all about change now!
El-P: [deadpans] We're all about the hope.
Jus: You sound like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
Pitchfork: So uplifting! Are you guys not excited about our new president?
Len: I'm very excited about it. But it always sucks to be the first person to do something, especially at a time when everything's f***ed up. We're talking about 600,000 people losing their jobs in a month, millions in a year. To fix that you're circling money through an economy that has already crumbled. But at least someone's trying to do something now.
Pitchfork: How would you compare your overall perspectives now to when this album originally came out?
El-P: That CoFlow record was us on some f***in' angry societal perspective shit and some love-for-hip-hop shit. I haven't changed in terms of the way I look at things but I started writing more about myself, drawing from my own personal experiences-- things that sort of take precedence over just ideas.
Jus: I kinda did it in reverse. I started more introspective and then went back out to investigate what was going on in the world. Turns out things weren't too far off from where they were when we were doing Company Flow. I don't like being negative but a lot of things still look the same to me at this point. There's just a different patina on it.
El-P: I agree. For me, all the political ideas are still involved, it's just that I started writing from a different point on the graph. A lot of people thought Funcrusher was super dark and hopeless, and I don't think it was hopeless in any way. We were on some affirmation shit. We knew what we thought was right and we were f***in' a**holes about it. We were reacting to a whole bunch of bullshit, especially when it came to music. All the hip-hop shit that we grew up loving just seemed to need a f***in' reinforcement. Now it's a whole different scenario. But a lot of those issues obviously still remain.
Jus: I'm proud of the "independent as f***" vibe to the record, and how we stayed pure and didn't get watered down by all the crap that was in the industry. It was good to be part of a record that helped spearhead that independent movement, even though it still has taken way too long to take hold.
El-P: I remember sitting at my kitchen table, cutting up letters and pictures and trying to glue them on there so we could make artwork for our black and white promo. We were just giggling, like "This is some f***ing independent as f*** a** shit right here!" We loved it. Now it's part of the collective consciousness-- it's standard practice to start a record label, put your shit out, get your own distribution deal. I wouldn't say that we made that happen, but I would say that we were one of the first, if not the first cats to really know that was what we wanted to do.
Pitchfork: You mentioned how you guys did some a**hole things back in the day. Would you do anything differently if you had the chance?
El-P: Maybe we wouldn't have broken up. [laughs]
Jus: That would be it for me. Now that everybody is older you kind of understand that people go through phases, and it's about keeping a continuity. I'm glad we're at least talking about it now.
El-P: Ultimately, I think we always did it the right way. Even when we broke up it was like, "Let's not do this on bad terms." We always held ourselves to some sort of code that we weren't gonna fall into all the same traps that everyone else falls into.
Len: There were no diss records, no silliness.
El-P: I never released my diss record: "Hey Len and Jus, I Hate You f***ing Guys". I recorded that shit, but I just felt it was a little harsh. [laughs]
Pitchfork: Do you think that Funcrusher is easier for the uninitiated to compute now?
Len: You have to be a special kind of teenager to dig it-- that's not a slight to a lot of teenagers out there, but they don't know how to absorb music. It takes a special kind of person to get into anything from that era, where it's a little more thought-provoking. It's not straight shoot-you music. If we're gonna shoot you, it's gonna be pretty damn entertaining.
El-P: When we came out there were motherf***ers who were like, "What is this crazy space rap from the future?" And at the same time I started seeing people refer to it as "old school" or "cla**ic." We always thought that we were ahead of our time but maybe we weren't or maybe that time has caught up or maybe it's pa**ed. It's hard to front on this shit though. When we made Funcrusher we thought it was the hottest shit on the planet, and when people didn't get it we were kind of like, "Well f*** you then!"
Pitchfork: Did you actually say that to people?
El-P: No, we said it in a mirror. [laughs] Actually, we probably did say that shit in interviews.
Len: We were on some arrogant-a** shit.
El-P: You couldn't tell us shit because we all knew how much we lived hip-hop culture. I reveled in the fact that when a Company Flow song comes on it's like getting shot with a f***ing nail gun. Everything else is like palm trees.
Pitchfork: A lot of people say Funcrusher was ahead of its time, but it's not like there's tons of stuff like that out now. I look at it as something that's more unique to its time.
Jus: I thought the album was following a logical step for the culture, which was basically about doing new shit and being original. Somehow along the way that totally got lost. I don't think other people could kind of keep up with where it was going. Besides the fact that we also didn't really make dance music.
El-P: Not just "didn't really make" dance music...I guess we made shit that people could uprock to on occasion. [laughter] At this point, I don't think it would sound jarring to anybody who kept their ear open to underground hip-hop in the last decade. If you were to play it to someone who only listens to the shit that's on the radio, they're probably going to have the same f***ing response as they did when we dropped this shit, which is 50 percent saying "What the f*** is this garbage?!" and 50 percent saying "Holy shit, I haven't heard hip-hop like this." We always drew people down the middle-- there were never people who were like "Eh, it's all right." It was either "I wanna find those guys and beat them senseless because their crazy noise is hurting me" or "This is f***ing incredible."
Pitchfork: Have you ever been surprised by someone who you wouldn't think would like the album?
El-P: My mom likes it. [laughter] It was different back then: We were in The Source, DJ Premier was rocking our shit on his mixtapes, KRS-One was rapping above our instrumentals. We kind of came out at the perfect time because people hadn't yet created subgenres so we were thrown into the pantheon of rap music in general. There wasn't a lot of people being like "Wow, they listen to this kind of rap." But when I was a kid I just a**umed everyone should like this shit because I felt like I was the ultimate hip-hop fan. Like: "Yo, this adheres to my very f***ing strict standards of what a dope record should be." I was 21 so I was pretty f***ing high on myself.
Pitchfork: Do you worry about falling back into a sense of nostalgia with this reissue? I feel like when bands start re-releasing old material it might suggest their current work is less valuable.
El-P: I'm not gonna front-- that was something that may have held me back from getting into it for a while. At the end of the day, it's about the fact that we made this record and we're getting a chance to put it back out there. It's like a catalog piece. None of us are f***ing washed up old dudes. It's not like, "Hey, let's take this to Vegas!"
Jus: I thought the best way to go about things would be to do a couple of new songs. I think the validity of what we've done is already secured. People already know what we're doing separately, but I'm personally throwing it out there to the guys that I'd love to do new material. I still have the same love in my heart for cats.
El-P: I hate you. [laughter]
Jus: I figure people would be cringing on that one.
El-P: You dropped the love bomb.
Pitchfork: Do you guys have any formal plans to record new stuff together?
El-P: Nah. We've always said that one day we'll get together to do some new songs but it's just dirty to think of it in any other way. I don't feel like planning to do it and being like, "We're releasing a record!" is the way to go. I love how we came in and f***ing destroyed shit and then dipped. It was painful at the time but I don't regret it. As far as music and art goes, motherf***ers are dope artists, so you can never close that door.
117
Hot Traxxx / insomnia
« on: February 16, 2009, 05:41:44 PM »
does anyone have that gin grimes promo mixtape? raiko?
been looking for it and the link on his page is dead.
been looking for it and the link on his page is dead.
118
with all the talk of Lu going on today, i thought this might be a tad appropriate.
ran into this trying to find that ama kip kip website. someone told me 'romz deluxe' designed it. the man's a visual genious.
it's review of Da Les' 'Fresh2Def'...it's quite, um, interesting. not a bad local site either. though a bit thin on content.
(i see waddy's also back with another doomed to fail high-concept album. rap-rave? damn. dude must really hate spoek right now)
peep: http://www.speakerbox.co.za/content/review.aspx?cat=Urban&id=177
ran into this trying to find that ama kip kip website. someone told me 'romz deluxe' designed it. the man's a visual genious.
it's review of Da Les' 'Fresh2Def'...it's quite, um, interesting. not a bad local site either. though a bit thin on content.
(i see waddy's also back with another doomed to fail high-concept album. rap-rave? damn. dude must really hate spoek right now)
peep: http://www.speakerbox.co.za/content/review.aspx?cat=Urban&id=177
119
General Discussion / @ Pyro
« on: February 07, 2009, 04:13:50 PM »
did you ever get at that 'Watchmen'? the more i read alan moore's work the more he presents himself as one of the most interesting anarchist writers writing today. check it out if you havent already.
120
General Discussion / Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo
« on: February 05, 2009, 10:04:50 AM »
and i quote:
"On May 8, 2006, the South African Judge Willem van der Merwe ruled that ANC leader Jacob Zuma was not guilty of the rape of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, the daughter of his late friend Judson Kuzwayo, his fellow prisoner on Robben Island who died in exile in 1985. Zuma did not deny having sex with her, but claimed since the victim wore a khanga, a wraparound cloth, she had "asked for it." Following the verdict, Kuzwayo, moved to Amsterdam prompted by persistent threats from Zuma’s supporters. There she gained political asylum, partly through a**istance from the AIDS Fonds and people involved in the former anti-apartheid movement. On September 26 [2008] Kuzwayo performed, dressed in a khanga, the poem below at the opening of the exhibition "Identity, Power and Connection," on the eve of the bi-annual Afrovibes Festival. In this way, she responded for the first time to the court’s verdict":
I am Khanga
I wrap myself around the curvaceous bodies of women all over Africa
I am the perfect nightdress on those hot African nights
The ideal attire for household chores
I secure babies happily on their mother’s backs
Am the perfect gift for new bride and new mother alike
Armed with proverbs, I am vehicle for communication between women
I exist for the comfort and convenience of a woman
But no no no make no mistake …
I am not here to please a man
And I certainly am not a seductress
Please don’t use me as an excuse to rape
Don’t hide behind me when you choose to abuse
You see
That’s what he said my Malume
The man who called himself my daddy’s best friend
Shared a cell with him on [Robben] Island for ten whole years
He said I wanted it
That my khanga said it
That with it I lured him to my bed
That with it I want you is what I said
But what about the NO I uttered with my mouth
Not once but twice
And the please no I said with my body
What about the tear that ran down my face as I lay stiff with shock
In what sick world is that sex
In what sick world is that consent
The same world where the rapist becomes the victim
The same world where I become the bitch that must burn
The same world where I am forced into exile because I spoke out?
This is NOT my world
I reject that world
My world is a world where fathers protect and don’t rape
My world is a world where a woman can speak out
Without fear for her safety
My world is a world where no one , but no one is above the law
My world is a world where sex is pleasurable not painful
via chimurenga
thoughts?
"On May 8, 2006, the South African Judge Willem van der Merwe ruled that ANC leader Jacob Zuma was not guilty of the rape of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, the daughter of his late friend Judson Kuzwayo, his fellow prisoner on Robben Island who died in exile in 1985. Zuma did not deny having sex with her, but claimed since the victim wore a khanga, a wraparound cloth, she had "asked for it." Following the verdict, Kuzwayo, moved to Amsterdam prompted by persistent threats from Zuma’s supporters. There she gained political asylum, partly through a**istance from the AIDS Fonds and people involved in the former anti-apartheid movement. On September 26 [2008] Kuzwayo performed, dressed in a khanga, the poem below at the opening of the exhibition "Identity, Power and Connection," on the eve of the bi-annual Afrovibes Festival. In this way, she responded for the first time to the court’s verdict":
I am Khanga
I wrap myself around the curvaceous bodies of women all over Africa
I am the perfect nightdress on those hot African nights
The ideal attire for household chores
I secure babies happily on their mother’s backs
Am the perfect gift for new bride and new mother alike
Armed with proverbs, I am vehicle for communication between women
I exist for the comfort and convenience of a woman
But no no no make no mistake …
I am not here to please a man
And I certainly am not a seductress
Please don’t use me as an excuse to rape
Don’t hide behind me when you choose to abuse
You see
That’s what he said my Malume
The man who called himself my daddy’s best friend
Shared a cell with him on [Robben] Island for ten whole years
He said I wanted it
That my khanga said it
That with it I lured him to my bed
That with it I want you is what I said
But what about the NO I uttered with my mouth
Not once but twice
And the please no I said with my body
What about the tear that ran down my face as I lay stiff with shock
In what sick world is that sex
In what sick world is that consent
The same world where the rapist becomes the victim
The same world where I become the bitch that must burn
The same world where I am forced into exile because I spoke out?
This is NOT my world
I reject that world
My world is a world where fathers protect and don’t rape
My world is a world where a woman can speak out
Without fear for her safety
My world is a world where no one , but no one is above the law
My world is a world where sex is pleasurable not painful
via chimurenga
thoughts?