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Thursday is Here….

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….

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.

Back And Forth….RIP

Jus Been Listenin To Her Lately….Missed Very Much in Music @AntGotSole

Tell Me How My Nature Feels

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.

http://www.mediafire.com/?k889pmew7jl4aa3

Football Foul Play

Ever since the world cup, I have become quite the football/soccer fan. The only sport I enjoy equally as much or maybe a little bit more is basketball and that’s saying a lot because I love the game of basketball. At this point, I know that when North London’s Arsenal are facing FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou in Barcelona for a chance at a spot in the UEFA Champion’s League quarterfinals, it’s far beyond  a “big game”. Even bigger perhaps are the many stars that battle it out on the pitch for supremacy. One of these stars, Robin van Persie, was questionable for the match, but did end up starting. The start was huge news for the Gunners. van Persie not only scored the first goal in their eventual 2-1 defeat of Barcelona at the Emirates for the first leg of the round, but he arguably increases his team’s level of play greatly whenever he is on the pitch.

So, imagine the horror on Arsene Wenger’s face when van Persie gets a second yellow (first yellow was ticky-tack to begin with) and a sending off for a shot at goal, less than two seconds after the offside whistle was blown and the flag went up. The referee’s excuse? Time wasting. van Persie’s argument? 90,000 plus screaming fans. There is no way that the official is justified in that booking and sending off. van Persie was focused completely on the ball and framing his shot. As soon as he got control, he shot it. He didn’t even dribble the ball. In a battle between 90,00 screaming fans (This is European football. Truly exuberant, screaming fans.) versus a small whistle tens of yards away from a running, focused player, the 90,000 fans have the sonic upper hand. At the point of the sending off, Arsenal was obviously down to 10 men. Barca goes on to score two unanswered goals. there are calls that UEFA is corrupt from pitch to penthouse but I won’t call it that. This was just horrid officiating that caused Arsenal to end their UCL hopes with their heads hung low in Barcelona. Just embarrassing. What do you think? Justifiable red or down right mistake of a call? Feel free to air your opinion in the comments.

Just A Sample

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/

The Duke Two Step

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…..

R.I.P. Jun Seba: 02/07/74-02/26/10

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.

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