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CREDITS
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY JAMES CASTADY-KRISTAMENT
FILMED AND EDITED BY ROBERT (THE ROBBA) HARRIS
MENTAL PATIENT: JAMES CASTADY-KRISTAMENT
VAMPIRE: JAMES CASTADY-KRISTAMENT
DOCTOR: PAUL COWSILL
NURSE: ABIGAIL BRITTEN
MASKED DANCER: ABIGAIL BRITTEN
FEMALE MENTAL PATIENT AT TABLE: LEISA MATTHEWS
MALE MENTAL PATIENT AT TABLE: GORDON SMITH
GUARD ONE: SAM (MC MAS) MARTIN
GUARD TWO: HAYDEN HALL
MALE MENTAL PATIENT TWO: TAYLOR-JAMES PENJUELI
Have you ever wondered how a song is made? I was always curious as to how other songwriters came up with their songs and to this day I still only have a vague idea. I think songwriting is such an intimate and almost spiritual process that it's hard to just show someone how it's done, but I will attempt in this blog to explain it the best I can.
There is no one way to write a song but I would like to share with you one of the song writing processes I use. This technique is basically capturing Ideas as soon as they pop into your head. Gathering the ideas and then piecing them together and then moulding them into a song. The key is not to sensor your self or worry if it makes sense or if it’s in tune. Just be open to ideas and let them come to you.
In this video I’m at work but a catchy hook starts bouncing around in my head, so I grab my phone and record it so I don't forget it.
Alright I have a hook. So I will use this as the basis of my chorus. I quite like the catchiness of it and it relies on one of the important elements of a good song which is repetition. Now I need a verse. So I switch into what I call "psycho babble" mode where I just say what ever comes into my head and just say random shit. I’ve always used rhyme as a device in my song writing so I start doing this and try to rhyme things and eventually come up with some words that will paint a picture in the minds eye. In my case usually a dark twisted picture. Now these might not be ideal lyrics but instantly I have the meter of the words I’m looking for (or in layman terms the rhythm of the words) and also the basic tune.
Now I need to start thinking about song structure. There are many song structures you can use but one of my favourites and always a good place to start is the standard pop structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, double chorus, outro. So I need a bridge. So I basically just start singing and see what comes out. Bare in mind that I’m only partially paying attention. Most of my focus is actually on driving. Probably not very safe but I drive all day and multi tasking becomes easy. I think writing while doing something else helps in releasing the subconscious and helps you not to get too caught up with over thinking. So words and a melody come to me and the melody reminds me a bit of the melodic themes I've heard in The Lord Of The Rings movies.
Now I take these Ideas and I start piecing them together. I start singing the parts that I have in order of structure and I feel like I need another part to break it up. So in this recording you can hear a new part developing. This is the “going down down down” part. At the time I think It could make a good pre chorus. So I’m now trying different things out.
The next stage is taking it to the piano or guitar or what ever you play and putting music behind it. Until now I haven’t picked up an instrument at all to write this song. It’s all developed in my head. So If you don’t play an instrument you can still write songs. You can take the song to an instrumentalist who can then put music behind it.
The way I came up with the chords for the song is by playing the melody on the piano. Analysing the notes used and choosing chords that use those notes and sound good.
I wanted to keep the tempo of the song the same as what I could hear in my head so I actually figured out the tempo from the speed of the recording by matching a metronome click track to the song and getting the right pace for the music.
Now what style did I want? I could go heavy metal, pop, rock, dance, or what ever I felt like. I wanted a modern dance pop sound so went for Electro House. Alright so I need a dance sound, ok lets make it a typical House beat with some stereo typical elements like the House build up and break down. Remember it’s the stereo typical elements of a genre that make it that genre so it makes sense to use them.
It took many hours of trying different sounds and instruments and playing with the progression but because I had some solid elements to start with it came together very nicely and ended up as this.
I added a few new parts as you can hear and as a new song developes you get a better Idea of what direction to take it in and thats when you can try new things and add new elements.
I gave the vocal takes to a friend of mine and he made a remix. The music is completely different but it's still the same song. This shows you how infinite the possibilities are with a song.
They say to become a good songwriter the first one hundred songs you write are just for practice. So just start writing and write as many as you can. Get excited about them. It doesn't matter If they're good or bad just make them to the best of your ability and try out what you have learned about songwriting.
I got a lot of my knowledge from studying at The Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand and also went to songwriting seminars by people like Pat Pattison Songwriting professor at The Berkeley School of Music and Jason Blume who has written songs for The Back Street boys and Brittney Spears. These people will point you in the right direction but If you don't put it all to practice you wont get better. Alright off you go. Go write a song.
So I finally got a copy of Noisy Neighbours by Sons of Mums and I have to say I enjoyed the shit out of it. It stayed in my CD player in my work van for three days which is probably a record for a New Zealand Hip Hop album.
Why did I like this album? Well it was the humour in the skits and the lyrics also the topics of the songs, like losing your weed stash and living with the bitch misses and also my favourite was the DIY song where I learnt that “its actually quite fun when you do it yourself”. I also liked how they kept the writing close to home including references to actual people in their lives which made it feel like you were being let in on their private jokes.
The songs on the album are very musical which can be sometimes lacking in the Hip Hop genre but there’s some pretty smooth female vocals going on in some of these songs and a live sounding funky vibe in the music.
So who is Sons of Mums ? Well Sons of Mums consists of two brothers who go by the names of Tokie Konez and Brothyl Beatz and a long haired Indian fella who goes by the name of Kamasuda. The album also includes guest appearances by Tyson Tyler, Hegz, Sike 1, Skolar, Boxxx, Gracey and Spearman, a lot of whom are stalwarts in the Auckland Hip Hop battle scene.
The Sons of Mums album release party is coming up for those of you who live in Auckland and that is being held on the 20th of October 2012 at 7:30pm on 11 Veronica Street New Lynn. They'll be selling hard copies of the album there too. This is a rare opportunity to see these boys perform live... it doesn’t happen very often. So get yourself along !
Check out the first single off Noisy Neighbours
Wez da budz
The single ‘Bright Side’ is the first official single and video clip from the forth coming album from MC Mas.The song features vocals from singer Emma Hand and is quickly racking up massive play counts on Youtube.
MC Mas who has recently signed to NZ urban label Empire Records has been on the grind for years performing live shows around New Zealand as a solo artist, the MC for DJ Marine and more recently with back up from live band Synergy Sound System.
He’s put in the hard yards funding his own album and videos as an Independent artist and after being snapped up by record label Empire Records his hard work is set to pay off with help in the form of distribution and promotion backing from Warner music.
MC Mas is set to make huge waves in the NZ music industry so check out the current single and watch out for the next single dropping soon.
You can find MC Mas on facebook here.
After a very long time since my last record deal I have finally been signed. Yes persistence and perseverance have paid off and In my 10th year of making music as JCK I have been offered and have accepted a record deal with Auckland Label Empire Records. I'm very excited about this awesome opportunity to have my music have the chance to reach more people than I could do all on my own and I'm looking forward to seeing my third album reach a greater potential than I could offer as an independent artist.
How did this happen you may ask. Well after a very long time recording a massive amount of songs I decided to put together a digital album of what I considered to be my B sides which I called The Bees. I put it out independently through CD baby and offered it for free to those in the know on bandcamp. I sent a link of the album to a contact at Move The Crowd Records who got back to me 6 months later saying he has been listening to my album and liked it. So my next question was "are you signing any new acts to Move The Crowd Records at the moment?" The answer was no but we have a new label would you like to discuss what we could do for you? Hell yeah was the reply to that and bada bing badaboom.....signed. Saweet! Sooooo watch this space for the next exciting installment.
It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam "MCA" Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys.
With fellow members Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band's 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend.
In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985's Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities.
In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women's Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources.
Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including "So Whatcha Want," "Intergalactic," "Body Movin" and "Ch-Check It Out." Under his own name, Yauch directed last year's Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for "Make Some Noise" from Beastie Boys' Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.
Yauch's passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman's The Messenger, Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze's Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more.
Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.
Kurnel MC aka Luke Epapara has been on the grind for 12 years chasing the dream making a name for himself in acts like Master Pilot and Funk n Slow Cuts. He is also known to many as the MC of the Nelson Giants' home games at the Trafalgar Centre.
A married father of two, Luke has released six recordings, including his solo album and is offering samples of his work from the past 12 years for free...for you.
Luke has just moved to the UK and is networking hard with the natives and as always is working on new collaborations and projects.
Kurnel MC signature sound features rap music with melodies and positive vibes and this veteran of NZ Hip Hop is going from strength to strength with each offering so get some fantastic free music from soundcloud compliments of Kurnel MC.
Click on The Kurnels Picture to go to the sound cloud page or click here
Warren G, 50 Cent, Eminem. They’re all artists you’d expect to join Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre during their set at 2012 Coachella Music Festival last night. But Tupac Shakur? Uh, no way. Well, the late, great rapper did indeed join Snoop and Dre on stage… as a hologram.
The all-too-real-looking Pac hologram, which was shirtless, wearing Pac’s signature saggy pants and Tims, and sporting all of Pac’s iconic tattoos, blew the crowd’s minds as he rapped “Hail Mary,” then traded verses with Snoop on “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
Hologram Tupac is sure to ignite more is he/isn’t he really dead conspiracy theories, but we won’t even take it that far. I’ll just say this is the coolest/freakiest thing I’ve ever seen and leave it at that.
Most music groups plead for radio stations to make their songs commercial hits but an up-and-coming Auckland hip hop group has threatened to kill presenters' pets if their music hits the airwaves.
Homebrew Crew, infamous for filming a video advising drink drivers how to avoid check points last year, took to Twitter this week saying, ''f*** The Edge. F***ZM. F*** Flava. If you ever play our music, you'll come to work the next day with your dead pet in your parking space''.
A spokesperson for the Avondale trio, who identified himself only as Tom, said his tweet was in response to a comment made on The Edge on Wednesday.
The on-air remark was, 'they're always working hard those black people'.
Tom said the comment was in relation to a hip hop artist and was racist.
''I found that offensive so I tweeted ''F*** commercial radio''. Only because I have younger cousins who listen to those kinds of stations and it scares me that such blatant racism is used so casually,'' he said.
Homebrew later posted a recording, repeating part of the tweet, on online music sharing site Soundcloud.
Clint Roberts, an afternoon host at The Edge tweeted back to Homebrew: ''Pretty sure we've played it. Pretty sure you were aware of it. Pretty sure you voiced the intro and outro for it.''
Roberts later jibed: ''Pretty sure my cat is still alive''.
A spokeswoman for The Edge's parent company, Media Works, said the station hadn't received any complaints about the remark. She declined to comment further.
Homebrew were shortlisted for the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards Critics Choice Prize. The group also made headlines that year for putting on a fundraising gig to raise money to shoot a music video after being denied funding by NZ On Air.
Current, pop orientated and highly talented. Jane Deezy is the new girl making me stand up and take notice on the NZ Hip Hop scene.
There’s not much Info I can find out about Jane Deezy on the internet, but from what I can tell, she’s of African descent and has immigrated to New Zealand and reps Hamilton and Auckland. I could be wrong but like I said there’s scant information on the internet about her. But I do have her music and her latest album called Based on actual events.
I’m listening to it now and the production in most instances is very smooth. Her lyrics are poignant and her flow is tight. She reminds me a lot of Nicki Minaj and probably deserves to be just as famous but alas she is stuck in New Zealand a country that seems to have a natural aversion to pop orientated music if it’s made by New Zealanders, but accepts it if it’s foreign and spoon fed to them by commercial radio.
This album is very commercial and that’s not a bad thing to anyone but stroppy Hip-Hop scenesters, so I say this album is dope. Jane Deezy can get down and dirty and rugged as any underground Hip-Hop artist and brings it on songs ABC’s and STD’s and You made me do this.
She has a string of potential hits on here and the song Ay Miss and Upper Cut City stood out to me as songs with huge potential for world domination.
This girl can sing and she can rap with the best of em and her production on this album is very good.
So with my highest of recommendations check out Jane Deezy, download her free album and share it with your friends and spread the word.
Click on the album art work to go to the Jane Deezy bandcamp site to download her album Based On Actual Events.
It took 12 days of recording for Auckland Hip-Hop group Sons of Mums to make their self titled 12 track debut album. The album is definitely influenced by 90`s Hip Hop with a sound not too dissimilar to Cyprus Hill and on the stoner rap tip but with it’s own New Zealand spin.
There’s a lot of humour in the album which I always find appealing and enough musicality for it to be a good listen. An example of humour I found pretty entertaining was in the song Chill With You which contains a sample from Once Were Warriors with Jake Heke explaining to his wife that he’d lost his job. The ominous music in the background suggesting the iconic outburst of domestic violence made famous by the movie is about to be let lose. Funny because I'm imature.. what can I say.
The concepts of the songs are crass but humorous and the stand out track to me is Fuckbook with the most memorable chorus. “She added me on Facebook she must want to fuck me”. The Single Ego Trippin is a good listen and the song For Fake MC’s has a very catchy chorus with the very familiar riff from the Crowded House song Stormy Weather in the background.
This album picks up in quality as it goes on and definitely grows on you. There’s nothing that even hints at commercial music which most people in the New Zealand Hip-Hop scene would greatly appreciate.
So big ups for rappers Tokie Kones, Kamasuda and producer Brothyl Beatz for doing a great job in 12 days. I'm guessing this is a long term project considering both the boys Tokie and Kamasuda got huge Sons of Mums tattoos recently. Hardcore!
You can download the songs from the album by clicking on the album cover art work.
When most people think about a rap battle one of the first things most people will think of is the movie Eight Mile staring Eminem. The story of a struggling MC who makes it to the top of his local battle rap competition and gains the respect of his sceptics and critics.
Do we have anything like that in New Zealand?....yes we do and It's called 1 Out Street Battle. On the 25th of February 2012 I went to my first ever rap battle at Takapuna beach. 1 Out Street Battle is New Zealands first MC Battle League and I wished I knew about these events sooner so I want to do my part to spread the word so others with an interest in Hip Hop don’t miss out.
Formed in December 2010 by Spearman, 1 Out Street Battle holds events every month. The battles consist of 3 rounds at 1 minute per round, the rappers aren’t accompanied by music which is known as acapella.
The aim of the game is to make fun of your opponent with clever word play and rhyme schemes and believe me there are no holds bared. The MC’s touch on any subject they feel will demoralise or rattle their opponent and gain points with the audience including extremely personal subject matter like raping family members, insinuations of incest and being abandoned by parents as a child. You wouldn’t want to do this if you were over sensitive. But as with all things Hip Hop very little is taken seriously and insults hurled dissipate into the air as fast as they're spoken and to be honest it’s not too dissimilar to watching stand up comedy.
The venue changes every month usually a beach and occasionally a bar and all that’s required are the people and someone to film the battles and its game on. The event is hosted by Spearman and Tokie Kones and they often have a well known MC as guest host. There are a dozen or so regular battlers and contenders come from all over the country to participate. The battles give the MC’s a platform to display their skills and to gain exposure with the ever widening audience.
Contenders often post amusing vlogs that poke fun at their opponents in anticipation for their upcoming battle. It’s almost like the hype build up seen in pro wrestling and is pretty darn funny.
This is a fascinating and highly entertaining event and I suggest you come and check the next battle out.
If you want to keep tabs on the events go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/1-OUT-Street-Battles-NZ/142510922480462 and like 1 Out Street Battle on Facebook.
In the mean time have a look at some of the contenders from the days events.
If you type in NZ Hip Hop into Google not far from the top you will find Permanent Head Damage aka PHD formerly known as The Pot Heads .
These guys are hard not to notice. First thing you notice about them is that they’re everywhere on the net with a massive web presence. The second thing you notice is their presentation. The logo is sick the web site is dope and all their imagery and art work is stunning. Last but not least you notice the music. Open the web page and the first song to play off their Reverbnation widget is an infectious song called My team a fantastic example of their signature double time rap verses and smoothly produced backing tracks.
They have plenty of free music available too. I downloaded their 11 track mixtape off of their website http://www.phdhiphopnz.co.nz/ and its well worth a listen.
If you want to delve further into the music they have 3 albums available on Itunes. http://itunes.apple.com/nz/artist/phd/id421346995 These guys are prolific to say the least.
PHD who are Ryan Lovins (USA) Jarod Liversedge (NZ) and DJ Selekta Q aka Jaime MacKinnon have been around for ages. I rememeber seeing them on TV years ago as The Pot Heads so they've been earning their stripes and paying their dues like all good music acts must.
Their regime of live shows continues with a fundraiser gig at Aucklands Rising Sun on Friday 20th of April 2012. The gig is to raise money for PHD to tour Australia and they will have a fantastic line up on the night with support from. ★ Pakkz Tha General ★ Sammy Gallows (Christchurch) ★ Envioso ★ Frantik ★ Big Freshh ★ SikeOne ★ DJ's Selekta Q & Oscar H.
So check these guys out and if you’re around go and watch them live at The Rising Sun on the 20th. In the mean timecheck out their latest music video K.O.T.U
You've seen him on Youtube after he left his scooter out side the dairy and you've seen him on the Jonno project as Mike Mc Minute from 60 Nek Minutes now Levi Hawken is back with the the Nek Minnit Single. He even got to perform it at the Big Day Out. Levi Hawken has gotten a lot of mileage out of this catch phrase but I'm not complaining I love it. I even got the Nek Minute TShirt for my birthday.
So who is this guy? Well just watch his 20/20 interview and find out. Not only is he an ex pro skater and amazing skate board bomber but he's a fantastic artist who learnt his chops doing graph on the streets. His strange appearance is due to a disorder called ectodermal dysplasia which effects the cranial structure, gives the sufferer sharp teeth and effects the sweat glands. When I first saw him on Youtube I thought he was a crack head but he doesn't smoke or drink and his only form of transport is his skateboard. This guy is mega talented and his new single isn't to be taken seriously but is entertaining to say the least.
MANTHYNG featuring MC Elroy aka Levi Hawken - Nek Minnit (official single)
Check out the 20/20 interview with Levi Hawken.
http://tvnz.co.nz/20-20-news/june-23-4247765/video
Get JCK on your Android phone with this awesome free App.
We've all seen the drink driving legend campaign on tv with the Maori boys, the ghost chips and the internalising a complicated situation in my head.... yeah you know the one.
Well the New Zealand Hip Hop group the Cuzzies have made a crack up song about it. I stumbled upon this video on Youtube and with 420k hits it seems I'm late to the party. But hey better late than never. What I like about it is the comedy element. They're basically taking the piss out of the Maori stereotype especially in their song I love Hangi and hey they can because they are Maori.
These guys are funny as and I´m pretty sure I've seen some of the same guys with 6 pack abs in J Geek and The Geeks. It's very similar in concept especially with the kapa haka influenced coriography. I´m sure some people will find the racial stereo typing controversial, but you´re probably an egg if you do. Any way without further adieu
You gotta check out Ghost Chips by The Cuzzies
And also I love Hangi by The Cuzzies.
There's a new rap duo in town and they are called Robba N Goblin. They say whats on their mind and whats on their mind is mischief. So If you like shocking lyrics and bad attitudes and a good dose of the o'l FTW! then this group is for you.
JCK (aka James Castady-Kristament) has been producing his brand of hip hop since 2002 with songs being picked up by radio stations and music TV. It’s easy to see why he gets so much interest after listening to his latest album, The Bees.
He makes music that stands out from the usual bland, radio friendly pop masquerading as hip hop that seems to be paraded endlessly in the media as the next big thing. JCK isn’t afraid to step outside the boundaries of the genre and use ideas from other musical styles to craft his songs.
His subject matter is yet another point of difference – dark and edgy, yet at times hilarious (like on the opener Rise of the Emo Clones) it’s refreshing to hear.
There are moments where he lapses into cliché, such as on the track Killer which stands out for its excessiveness and blatant violent overtones, a contrast to the majority of the album.
It’s the tracks where JCK raps about things close to his life, or makes entertaining observations on things he’s seen or pop culture, that show his real talent.
The Bees is an album that takes some time to get into, but overall is worth listening to.
So I downloaded the free Crowd Gang Bitch album off of www.ayebro.co.nz today.
I admit I had no Idea who Crowd Gang Bitch were and I’m not sure why I decided to download it but I think it was the cover art that intrigued me or maybe it was subliminal messages flashing at me or something.
So It turns out that Crowd Gang Bitch are like a hip hop super group made up of members signed to Move The Crowd Records. Dirty Sesh, Young Sid, Cavell and Sir T are the rappers with production from Dirty Sesh, Pretty Major, Smokey Beatz, 44, and Shuko, None of whome I‘ve heard of until now bar Dirty Sesh and Young Sid. But I could fill a warehouse with shit I haven’t heard of.
Anyway…The opening track ‘Whiskey’ is the stand out track with the video to go with it. It’s a live video and looks like a mean as gig and showcases the talents of Young Sid and Dirty Sesh.
I really liked the songs ‘High Hopes’ which describes the difference between the hip hop dream and the disappointing reality of it all after it has come true and also describes the struggle to get the public to “feel” you.
The other track that stood out to me is ‘Radio Song’ which describes Crowd Gang Bitch’s awareness of the pressures to conform to the radio format and their reluctance and defiance to do so.
‘Say Something’ featuring Vince Harder and Cavell fits the description of a radio song very well and is my pick for the albums radio friendly unit shifter.
My only criticism of the album is the accents of the rappers constantly vacillating between Yankee and Kiwi which to me shows that the rappers haven’t yet found their true identity as New Zealanders.
I really liked the skits in this album which showed a more humble humorous and real side to the Move the Crowd rappers.
Over all this album is hot and I’m stoked I downloaded it. Thanks Crowd Gang Bitch…ridiculous name maybe?….hmmmm….maybe!
Anyway get the album here by clicking on the cover art work below.
And check out the music video for Whiskey below.
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are only the second band ever to be banned from playing the Big Day Out.
They were pulled after a letter was sent to organisers voicing concern about their controversial content, but Odd Future have come to New Zealand anyway, to play their own show outside of the BDO.
It's the hip-hop collective's first visit to New Zealand and they are selling Big Gay Out t-shirts with two gay cats on the front - making fun of the fact they were dropped from the BDO line-up after allegations of homophobic and misogynistic lyrics.
Critically, they are recognised at being very good at what they do.
Last year Jacob from Twilight even presented them with an MTV award for Best New Act.
Gay Wellington man Calum Bennachie led the petition to ban them last year and was successful. In the fallout, he told 3 News, "since the cancellation, I’ve had around a dozen death threats, with dozens more threats of violence," however others in the gay community were gutted their favourite group had gotten the chop.
One lesbian blogger … wrote, “I love Odd Future”.
“I know a lot of people who love OF. But coming from a lesbian I don't find they're being homophobic at all!”
They have made the headlines before; overseas they riled up a crowd by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
One thing is for sure, they know how to get people's attention.
Kapabal has been around for a long time and represents Hutt Valley Wellington. I’ve never really checked him out thoroughly before now but have always been aware of his presence over the years. After seeing his reviews for his new album No Rest I thought I’d check him out and see if the reviewers were being biased or hard on him because he’s a white rapper.
My first impression is ....hey its NZ Hip Hop with no "yanking off" that’s a good sign, at least he’s not trying to be American. The song Flammable has got some pretty dope production and a catchy hook although everywhere I look on the internet I see people criticising his work. That must be frustrating.
No Rest is Kapabals third album and he has produced engineered written and performed the songs which is no mean feat. No wonder the album is called No Rest. The Album has 16 tracks and has an urban dance feel with a lot of synths and 808 snare rolls and hard hitting boom bap. The lyrics are quite conscious especially in the song 'Going on around me'. This is my favourite track on the album.
I admire the unmistakable New Zealand sound of Kapabals work and his vision and persistence in this very tough NZ Hip Hop game and I think the production on the album No Rest is quality, although I think the one thing letting Kapabal down is his flow, most often coming off a little jaunty and awkward. But in saying that all in all I enjoyed discovering Kapabals new album and think he’s well worth a listen. Which you can do at The apple Itunes store.
The flammable music video below.
The song I like keeping me company through the day while it plays on high rotate on Kiwi Fm Is cooking Soul by Aucklands own J Brown & The Mic Smith. The video is awesome too, simple but effective and I didnt know the instruments were live samples in this song. That is very cool! I´m researching them now and have discovered The Mic Smith is Mikey Rockwell who has his own album Free Slaves and is the engineer for Kolab and J Brown aka James Brown is the beat maker and producer in Kolab. The song is going off on George Fm as well and is climbing their charts too. Check out the web site for J Brown & The Mic Smith http://jbrownmicsmith.com/
In the song The Mic Smith mentions The Kitchen which is Mikey Rockwells studio that he built. Rumour has it these boys are moving to Ausy like the rest of the young in this country, they´re off to the land of opportunity and jobs. But they have left us a gift of goodness.....Their debut ep. you can down load it from band camp here http://jbrownmicsmith.bandcamp.com/album/jb-tms-ep I know I will!
No doubt we´ll be hearing more of these boys. Good on ya guys. Take it to the ausies!
Check out Cooking Soul
Recently signing with major record label EMI Tommy Ill´s persistence with his music career seems to be paying off. With his singles Bird Bath and Shaky Clouds playing regularly on Kiwi fm and bnet stations and recently completing a NZ tour for his Bird Bath single and scoring yet another NZ On Air video grant for his song Living Dead. Things seem to be looking up for Tommy Ill.
Tommy Ill is most generous with his music and offers free downloads of his E.P´s on his website www.tommyill.com. The Day We Became Models is a Live Tommy Ill and Buck Beuchamp EP recorded at Red Bull Studios in Auckland and Toast and Tea Kettles is Tommy Ills debut E.P featuring songs such as Bill Cosby and I’m so famous. You can also buy his self titled debut album and his Come Home Mr Ill E.P on Itunes or where ever good music is sold.
I remember once describing Tommy Ill as just one of many lost in the wilderness of New Zealand music in a scene-less sub genre of Hip Hop that was attended by rock n roll hipsters who really just came to watch the supporting rock band. All that seems to be slowly changing for Tommy Ill and years of slashing and burning through the wilderness seems to be paying off. So on behalf of the rest off us quirky alternative white rapper types in this small little country of ours. Thanks for breaking through Tommy Ill!
Check out the video to Bird Bath.
Having heard months of radio advertising and seeing slick marketing around for the new Calendar Girls "Aucklands first premier 5 star strip club" I was eager to check this place out. So to celebrate an anonymous female friends birthday my female friend and I decided to give Calendar Girls a try.
So past the friendly bouncer and up the stairs we went to be greeted by a burly man through a hole in the wall who then asked for the cover charge of $25 dollars. "Do you have a discount for Birthday Girls?" My friend asked in her most charming manner. No was the answer and $50 dollars later we were inside Calender Girls. Bloody hell! we thought.
Oh well lets get a drink sit down and enjoy the show. $15 later for 2 red bulls we were seated along the wall with our stripper money in hand. The first girl was an attractive young brunette with little titties we watched her mill around the stage looking bored and then noticed she had something bulky in her underwear. "Hey whats in that girls pants do you reckon that girls on her rag" I said to my friend. "Bloody Hell maybe" she replied. "It could be a wad of cash" I joked. But after the dance had finished and her panties remained on our suspicions grew. "Gross" we said.
The next Girl was a very tall brunette with almost no boobs at all, "Bloody hell I have bigger tits than her" I said to my friend. At least she took all her kit off. But then we watched her mill around looking bored also. We were not impressed and refused her a tip. Although we felt bad and gave her our remaining money when we left to make up for our snobbery.
The next girl was a blonde with a bad weave with weird boobs but hey she was pretty mean on the poll doing some pretty impressive poll moves. Again the panties stayed on. Boring! Then the girls just kept getting averager and dumpier and the panties stayed on. Were they all on their rag? lol. To relieve the boredom I bought a Speights beer for how much? $10 ....what is this magic beer? I thought to myself but dared not say aloud because the bar staff looked pretty aggresive and no doubt doubled as bouncers.
We watched the girls pull nerdy lil asian guys into rooms for lap dances and watched the guys come out with goofy grins on their faces which was mildly amusing.
All the while we were thinking this place has a lot to learn. Although it was a far cry from Bobbies bar in Mount Maunganui arguably the worst strip club in the world it was no Show Girls where the entry is free for the ladies and completely free before 7pm and all the drinks are standard price. The bar staff are buxom young pretty girls and the dancers take their panties off and have in most cases impressive racks and are smoking hot.
So for $95 we got entry had a red bull each and I got a beer and $20 stripper money of which they gave me two $5 notes which was a tip that no dancer deserved that night.
So all in all Auckland already had a 5 star venue and it's called Show Girls The music's better the layout is better the dancers are better the prices are waaaaaaay better and you're not intimidated by the bar staff and P.S The girls are not on their rag. lol
Rapper Scibe has labelled his arrest by police in Wellington's Courtenay Place early yesterday as "illegal'' and ''racist''.
The rapper - whose name is Malo Luafutu - was arrested by police in the early hours of Saturday morning for disorder.
He was released soon after with a warning.
At 2.17am, Scribe posted on his Facebook page: "I got arrested illegally tonight for rapping..Once I started Telling the cops it was illegal for them to hold me without charge or reading my rights and delaying me from speaking to a lawyer they let me go...hahaha F*** the police..Tiki Taane.''
Later he posted: "I was dissing the police in my freestyle and their EGO couldnt handle it..Honest to GOD I was taking photos from my fans while handcuffed!Lol
''I was right on Courtenay Place walking home with my cousin freestyling..The cop tried to stop me from rapping I said "Your eyes are dialated and your chewing that gum hard out have you been smoking P?"......Nek Munnutt...Im under arrest and they arrest my cousin who was protesting against it..half an hour later they let us go...''
He also tweeted details of his arrest, saying:
"Just got out of the cells..Pfffft F*** the police.... I got illegally arrested & released without charge..Wow I expected it from CHCH but racist police in Welli! Wow...!!!!'', he posted on Twitter.
Kiwi musician King Kapisi also took to Twitter after hearing of Scribes arrest: " WTF??Now our peoples @scribe are getting arrested 4 Freestyling??This is some Stoopid ignorant Sh*t!I cant Freestyle in town no more? #DUMB!''.
Hip-hop group Odd Future has been withdrawn from the line-up at New Zealand’s Big Day Out music festival in Auckland after the city’s council intervened following criticism over the group’s “homophobic, misogynistic and hateful lyrics”.
Odd Future, whose full name is Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, was set to appear at the festival in the Mt Smart Stadium, but the council has acted to ban the group after receiving a letter from an outraged local.
Calum Bennachie, a gay resident of Wellington, wrote an email to the organisers of the festival and to Auckland City Council’s Parks and Heritage Forum head Sandra Coney, expressing his concerns over lyrics used by the hip-hop collective.
As reported by GayNZ, Bennachie wrote: “I understand that the group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (Odd Future) is to perform at the Big Day Out, despite the fact their songs contain extremely homophobic, misogynistic and hateful lyrics.”
He added: “Lyrics such as those played by Odd Future increase the societal discourse against LGBT people, a discourse that encourages bullying and violence.”
The row follows a similar debate last year when Beenie Man was due to appear at the festival, but was also withdrawn over concerns about the homophobic nature of his lyrics.
“People like Beenie Man and groups like Odd Future that promote hatred and discrimination against groups encourage violence against those groups. If it is acceptable to say something similar to 'Gays are a cancer on society that deserves to be eliminated?' then what group would be next?” Bennachie argued.
“Therefore, by allowing Odd Future to play at BDO, you are proving that you have little concern for the lives and welfare of LGBT people, that you are willing to endanger their lives, and seek to encourage stigmatisation against them. I find this disappointing in an organisation that could do so much to enhance the self esteem of youth, reduce stigma, and discourage violence.”
Coney confirmed the Los Angeles-based group would not now appear in the festival line-up. “After a discussion with BDO organisers this group will no longer be appearing in BDO in NZ,” she said.
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated OFWGKTA and also known simply as Odd Future, is an alternative hip hop collective from Los Angeles, California. The group is led by rapper/producer Tyler, The Creator, and includes rappers Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis and Mike G, singer Frank Ocean, producers Left Brain, Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians, and other non-musical members, notably Jasper Dolphin and Taco. They are not rappers, but they do have features on group's mixtapes and Tyler's albums.
There are multiple groups inside the collective: MellowHype (Hodgy Beats and Left Brain), The Jet Age of Tomorrow (Matt Martian and Hal Williams, also known as the Super 3), EarlWolf (Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator) and The Internet (Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martian).
Check em out here
Eminems even heard of them.....Just...... they have a buzzz going. Getting them kicked of the tour probably makes people like me want to check them out to see what the fuss is all about.
So to sum things up. I´d never heard of these guys untill this happened. The moral of the story is.....complaining about art and letting it push your buttons just makes the artist more famous than they would have been if you had just ignored them. I wonder if Calum Bennachie would be bothered if he realised they were just little skater bratts with an attitude problem trying to shock people with their crass lyrics. Food for thought.
Why would a Rap blog have Lady Gaga as a subject matter, you may be asking. We’ll simply because I need to get something off my chest. Every time I hear ‘Poker Face’ by ‘Lady Gaga’ I hear what they call in ‘Neuro Linguistic Programming’ or NLP a ‘Weasel Phrase’. A Weasel Phrase is when a message with a hidden meaning is inserted into what appears to be innocent lyrics.
Now everyone knows how overtly sexual pop music is and has always been. Bands like Prince and Madonna in the 80’s to The Pussy Cat Dolls and Britney Spears in the New Millenium have pushed the boundaries between smut and entertainment. Sex is the central image in pop music and Lady Gaga uses this device very well in every level, even the subconscious.
Lady Gaga is no dummy. She wrote all of her lyrics, all of her melodies, and played most of the synth work on her album, ‘The Fame’ and she knows the value of sex in pop music. Now my hunch is that in the song ‘Poker Face’, she has sneakily inserted the phrase “fuck her face” where poker face should be.
Who needs back masking in this day and age. An artist can say anything they want straight out. Hell they could sing songs about smoking crack and worshiping Satan and no one would even blink an eye. Lady Gaga talks about her sneaky tricks in this quote I found on her myspace page.“I almost want to trick people into hanging with something that is really cool with a pop song. It’s almost like the spoonful of sugar and I’m the medicine.”
“The Fame is about how anyone can feel famous,” she explains. “Pop culture is art. It doesn’t make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over The Fame. But, it’s a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle.” ......Oh and we do Lady Gaga we do.
Anyway next time you hear the song listen out for it.
Pa pa pa poker face pa pa fuck her face.
I swear after I’ve told any of my friends they can hear it too and I’m betting you’ll have a huge smile on your face when you listen to it again with this in mind.
Moving To Australias Sunshine coast from Auckland New Zealand Jonny Bundellu who is the main man behind the 5 piece crew The Mank has gone from strength to strength in a long and fruitful music career.
Setting up Mank Industries a production suit and Record Label with a stunning recording studio in the middle of nature, Jonny aka Mr Boinkin has been going to town with music collaborations and projects incorporating Funky downbeat Jazz/Dub/Soul/Electronic/Hip-hop that hits their crowds with filthy beats, cutting grooves and a truly unique sound that appeals to lovers of a variety of genres.
As long as I´ve known Jonny he´s been searching for originality and the highest sound quality in his music and I do believe he´s struck pay dirt.
So please take my highest and sincerest recommendation and check out the latest music from The Mank on this very sexy looking website
http://mankindustries.com.au/mank/music#
And if per chance you happen to be in the Sunshine Coast check out The Mank performing live.
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Imagine an artist who writes the songs plays all the instruments, records and produces the recordings then shoots and edits the music videos to the songs. Not to mention staring in the music videos as well. Its almost inconcievable that such an artist could exist. But he does and his name is The Robba.
New Zealand musician The Robba born Robert Harris creates what he describes as open minded multi genre music. He has Two full length albums that he´s released independently and of course designed cover art work for. Available here.
Clever internet marketing and a slew of fantastic music videos has seen The Robba sporn a legion of internet fans. The Robbas youtube channel has had well over one million views with one music video alone recieving over 200,000 hits and his pages filled with approving messages from his adoring fans.
Long hair, electric guitars, synths and electronic beats are some of the elements that make up The Robba's sound and image as well as a colourful and distinctly New Zealand rapping style.
The Robba is deap underground music for the descerning. Soooooo............
Check out "The More"
Has, Lui and Tom make up 'The Home Brew Crew' straight out of Avondale Auckland New Zealand. Their music is made up of classic Jazz samples topped with witty sarcasm and cynical but comedic lyrics.
I’m stoked I found them. I can’t believe I didn’t find them earlier. The reason why I like them is simple. They sound good and they made me pay attention. I downloaded their ‘Taste Test’ EP sampler off of their website for $1. I would have paid more but I don’t have a job and I’ve got no money. But hey you can buy it too if you heed my most earnest recommendation…..right here http://homebrewcrew.co.nz/#/music
I’m listening to the 'Taste Test' sampler now. My favourite songs are ‘Blah Blah Blah’ and ‘Bad Bad Whiskey’. It’s easy breezy music with references to things that I relate to all the way through every song. They have a genuine down to earth no bullshit no frills approach to Hip Hop which gives them a refreshing realness.
They once played at ´The Big Day Out’ and opened for ‘RZA’ and were also nominated for the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards Critics Choice. They also have a slew of albums and releases available on their extremely entertaining website.
Check it out here www.homebrewcrew.com
Also check out their NZ On Air funded video for 'Underneath The Shade' produced by the prodigious Chris Graham.
To sum it up these guys are the Shit and should be famous.
Poor angry white trash relating to ghetto life and making it in Hip Hop is still a rare story but one that is becoming more and more familiar as the influence of Hip Hop spreads through the white population. The latest of this rare bread is Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf.
Currently signed to Shady Records, Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment and Interscope Records. Atha was born in Gadsden, Alabama, and is of mixed Caucasian and Cherokee descent. Changing many schools, he was heavily influenced by the culture in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Antioch, Tennessee; Gainesville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. "When I lived in Antioch, they’d bus us down to the projects in Nashville to go to school and everything just started clicking with me with rap music and in life"..."I felt the connection, these kids had the same problems that I had at home," Atha stated.
He also states that his inspiration to break into hip-hop was OutKast’s André 3000.
His music is dirty south influenced and his image is rather unique. A Punk Rock white boy with Hip Hop swagger. A self described skater and drinker with a body covered in tattoos.
Yelawolf has announced that he will release his upcoming full-length studio album, Radioactive, on October 25th, 2011, via Ghet-O-Vision/Shady Records/DGC/Interscope.
"Radioactive is the fall out of my life's inspirations, a testament to my ability to survive it all and to tell the story," said Yelawolf. "Sometimes I want to party, sometimes I want to fight and sometimes I want to cry. I'm human and this album is as honest as it gets."
Check out The first single from Radioactive, "Hard White (Up In The Club)," featuring Lil Jon and produced by Hydrox below.
New Kid on the block Asher Roth is a name that hasn´t made it to the far stretches of the globe just yet. But since I´m writing about him now maybe his influence is beginning to stretch further through the Hip-Hop cosmos.
Asher Roth is a white rapper from the suburbs of Morrisville a small town close to Philadelphia. Often compared to Eminem Roths differences are more polarising than his similarities to the American rapper and Hip Hop Moguel. Roth has a refreshing approach to Hip Hop. He is happy to be himself and hasn´t addopted stereo typical Hip Hop posturing. Instead Roth appears as he is. A white middle class college student from white suburbia.
Asher has stated that:
"I was always from the outside looking in," says Roth. "Hip-hop has always been very influential in the ‘burbs, [but] it’s just a matter of where we could relate to it. You find a lot of kids that are really confused. You look at them and they’re dressed out of character. They don’t look right. I figured out, I don’t have to dress this way, but I can still love hip-hop."
Upon graduation, Roth entered West Chester University and became an Elementary Education major, while continuing to record verses over other peoples’ beats. During sophomore year, Roth posted some of his verses on his MySpace page and sent a Friend Request to Scooter Braun, an Atlanta-based promoter and former VP of Marketing for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def. One week after speaking to Braun, Roth flew down to Atlanta and was immediately signed by Braun, who subsequently became his manager.
Asher Roth cites Jay-Z and Eminem among his influences in hip hop, mostly by Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life".
Roth's lyrics characteristically center around what have been called "middle-class minutiae, some also consider them to be a joke."Roth's song "I Love College" is about partying with alcohol and marijuana, but includes fatuous lyrics such as "I can get pizza a dollar a slice"that have been identified as "far from threatening".
Although undeniably refreshing in approach. I think Asher Roths rap style is very basic and centered around a catchy hook rather than linguistic acrobatics like Eminem. He is definitely listenable but as far as being lyrical ear candy I think he has a lot to be desired. In short is he the new Eminem?......MMmmmmmmmmmmmm Nah!
Check out Asher Roths video for "I Love College"
Legendary R&B singer and former Death Row recording artist Nathaniel D. Hale a.k.a. Nate Dogg passed away last night at the age of 41, according to his family. The news was broken by the Long Beach, California, publication the Press-Telegram and as of right now the cause of death is still unknown.
Nate Dogg battled health problems in the past including strokes in 2007 and 2008, but news of NATE’S death still took the music community by storm. Dave Chapelle wrote, “Moment of silence for a hip-hop legend; RIP Nate Dogg. You will be missed, G Funk Era forever.”
Nate’s friend Snoop Dogg seemed to take the news especially hard writing, “We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb. One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met....
