Been a while (read: forever) since I’ve brought a post here to the UNDGRD hq. I come back bearing late night gifts though. Toronto-based and rising indie R&B singer Abel Tesfaye aka THE WEEKND has released his much anticipated follow up to his previous House of Balloons mixtape, entitled Thursday (<–click the day for link). With a lot of us going back to school in the next week or so, I say this is the perfect album to get ready for the Autumn season. Keep an eye on the horizon for Tesfaye’s next project, the last of this here trilogy: Echoes of Silence….
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Jus Been Listenin To Her Lately….Missed Very Much in Music @AntGotSole
I was just recently hipped to this artist that goes by the name of “Frank Ocean”. His song “Nature Feels” that samples the popular hit “Electric Feels” by MGMT caught my attention while at my close friend Cortez crib. I decided to give him a good listen. Turns out that this artist is extremely talented and creative. His smooth voice in combonation with his creative samples and song writting ability are definitely worth a listen. He is officially “AntMoX” approved. oh yea —-> heres the link http://www.mediafire.com/?zv24d9bpyv2hhcb
If you havent yet heard anything from this up and coming artist, you need to get off you typical ipod playlist and listen in. Reppin a small town in Ohio, he brings the delivery that can ride a beat with the lyricism that is likely of the Curren$y type movement. His new mixtape titled “Lincoln Way Nights” is definitely worth a download and listen.
Creative writing classes are usually good fun but they always seem to get off to a slow start. The requisite prompts like “write about your childhood” or “your favorite song” unfortunately seem to always open up the class. These are pretty easy prompts, and I’ve done them a hundred times before, but it’s always fun to switch it up an take a new approach to these familiar prompts. So, this time, for the “favorite song prompt”, I picked De La Soul’s “Me, Myself, and I”, the classic single from their 1989 debut album. After listening to the song, I thought about that funky Funkadelic sample that is so dominant in the song. I had been interested in Funk and P-Funk for a while and acquired a few compilation albums to try to introduce me to the genre. After I had listened to those songs all the way through, I still had a thirst for more Funk music. So, I took my ears to internet radio and, thankfully, got all the Funk I could ever want. All of this led me to Parliament’s “Sir Nose D’ Voidoffunk” which I instantly recognized being sampled in Aaliyah’s “Come Back in One Piece” (single from the Romeo Must Die soundtrack). The song is also sampled in N.W.A.’s title track for their second album, Niggaz4Life. Check it out below.
Original Sample
Aaliyah’s “Come Back in One Piece”
N.W.A.’s “Niggaz 4 Life”
I got put on to this young DMV artist by my bro from way back Malcolm. I listened to a few of his tapes on his site and knew he had alot of potential. And then he dropped “Loveday”. I had to go do a little more research on this cat. He has that confident yet down to earth type flow that many can’t seem to master. After a little research, I found out that he actually used to live in my neighborhood. That was CRAZY. He was right under our nose over at UNDGRD headquarters. Well if you haven’t heard, the DMV is on a crazy path to the top right now. GET HIP OR STAY IN YOUR CITY. Cus we not goin nowhere. CHECK HIM OUT—- NIKE NANDO http://www.whynotnando.com/
One of my favorite, I mean favorite, plays to see unfurl on a basketball court is the crossover to defender fall. It is a bittersweet moment of triumph for the victor and shame for the victim. For the crowd, it’s instant comedy. Bad defense should be punished, and the crossover to fall is the harshest sentence. With that prologue out the way, above is footage of JJ Redick being subjected to the deadly crossover dribble of Randy Foye. A Dukie being left for dead? Not something you see often. Oh, wait, never mind…..
Jun Seba AKA Nujabes (new-jah-bes) has been one of my favorite DJ/hip-hop producers of the last few years. Hailing from Japan, he was known for mixing jazz, rap, & hip-hop in his music to much success. If you’ve ever been watching Adult Swim on Cartoon Network late at night, the show “Samurai Champloo” features a lot of music done by Nujabes. Sadly, he passed away after a traffic accident last year. As what would have been his 37th birthday approaches, I decided to share with ya’ll the song that got me hooked on this artist here. May I present “Feather” featuring Cise Starr & Akin. Enjoy.
Movie Magic from Abroad
I haven’t posted much here (read: at all) at the Undgrd headquarters lately, but lately doesn’t equate eternity so I am back from my hiatus, sabbatical, or whatever you want to call it. A lot has happened in the world since I’ve been away on my little vacation, but this is neither the time nor space for me to discuss said happenings. Instead, I’d like to share a movie with you that I saw recently called City of God. The movie is a Brazilian production, first released in 2002, that depicts the lives of various people from a Rio de Janeiro favela (slum) from their youth until adulthood. The favela that serves as the main setting for the film is filled with vice, which is supplied mainly from the crime lords and bandits that rule it. The film is masterfully shot and every character has an emotional weight and significance that instantly brings you closer to the movie. The acting is spot on, even eerie at times, considering some of the actions that take place during the film. It’s a gripping tale that intertwines the lives of many people, sometimes tragically and sometimes magnificently, but nonetheless, effectively and artfully. The closing scenes are particularly powerful and a fitting ending to such an outstanding piece of cinematic work. Check out the trailer above.