M1 Platoon - "Get Around"

"M1 Platoon consists of Chopps, Scoop, Arafat Yates, Sean D, C4 Black, Napalm, Beat Justice, and DJ Gonzo. They are the new group put together by 9th Wonder; all students NCCU and most were his students." - Kevin Nottingham

I was clicking around on twitter this morning and this track caught my ear. The beat, provided by Sinitus Tempo, is a definite head nodder and the BGesque hook is great. The emcees themselves give off a BCC-like vibe, which is a good look. All in all, my ears approve.

Related links:
Verbatim - "Get Dat (By Any Means)" (Video)
XO - "All I Had" (Video)
Tabi Bonney - "Duhh" (Video)

PostCarden

These gift/greeting cards, designed and produced by A Studio for Design, transform into mini gardens.

For more info, click here.

Related links:
Vintage Lighter Cufflinks

Handmade Cigarette Necklace by PaypeRoute

The Cigarette Necklace pictured above was handcrafted by PaypeRoute. The piece was carefully painted with acrylics and sprayed with a generous clear coat of gloss enamel for extra protection. It's definitely a conversation starter and if you're looking to take it a step further, you can even couple it with a pair Vintage Lighter Cufflinks. Actually, that might be a bit much and to be honest, I just wanted to reference the lighters.

For those interested, the necklace is currently available at Etsy.

Related links:
Vintage Lighter Cufflinks
Recycled Bike Wheel Clock
PaypeRoute Ltd Co.
PostCarden - Post Cards that Turn Into Mini Gardens

Lupe Fiasco & B.o.B @ 9:30 Club

Tickets for their 4/13 stop at the 9:30 Club went on sale today. Between lackluster crowds and poor performances, I haven't attended a decent hip hop show in years it seems but based on the clips above, all of that will be ending shortly.

FYI, those youtube clips unfortunately are not from this tour. I can only hope that the two are traveling with a live band. And if ALIen comes through on the drums? Sheeiiit (© Clay Davis)

On another note, why are Jay-Z Norfolk Scope tickets selling for $58 to $112? Do tickets come with a shot of Ace of Spade and a lap dance from Beyonce? Live Nation seriously needs to stop with that nonsense. I understand that we have to take inflation into account but that's just ridiculous.

The Hard Knock Life Tour was the first concert I ever attended and that was priced at $30. Now that I think about it, it might've even been cheaper. Seriously, look at that lineup, and that was when most of the acts were at their peak. Paying absurd amounts for one headliner?* Nah, I'm off that.
(Hov puts on a great show though.)

*Edit: Jeezy and Trey Songz are on the tour as well.

Related links:
Official Steppin Laser Tour Dates f. Lupe Fiasco & B.o.B
Lupe Fiasco - "And He Gets The Girl" (Spec Video)

Lupe Fiasco - "And He Gets The Girl" (Spec Video)

Video directed by Antoine Bandele
Starring Thaddeus Brown & Ashley Williams

"This music video was shot on a Panasonic PV-GS300 and was edited on Final Cut Pro 5.1. The titles were made in Adobe After Effects 6.5."

This spec, which placed first for "Best Music Video" at the 3rd Annual Santa Monica Teen Film Festival, was shot with a $300 camera by Antoine Bandele, who was still attending high school at the time*. Seriously, kids are on the come up these days.

*Excuse my late pass if you've seen this already.

Related links:
T-Shirt War (Stop Motion Music Video)
Notte Sento: Short film made with 4500+ still photos
Lupe Fiasco & B.o.B 2010 Tour Dates

Broken Bells - The High Road (Video)

New video by Broken Bells, an indie band featuring Danger Mouse and The Shins' lead vocalist/guitarist James Mercer. Their debut is due out on March 9, 2010.

Upon hearing "The High Road" for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I told one of my close friends that I had a sudden urge to listen to this song while driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats with my eyes closed. He of course pointed out how dangerous that would be, even with the absence of plant life and other vehicles. With that said, playing this joint at an unnecessary volume with the windows down next time I'm sitting in DC traffic will have to suffice.

Related Links:
You Are Wrong I'm Bone Thugs & Harmon 2009 Year End Mix
Chromeo - "Night by Night" (Video)

T-Shirt War! (Stop Motion Music Video)

Directed and Edited by Joe Penna
Art and Sounds by Billy Reid

Flick was shot using 222 different t-shirts over the span of 2 days. Click here to check out the behind the scenes footage.

"TECHNICAL EXPLANATION FOR GEEKS LIKE US: We changed shirts over 100 times each, taking individual pictures of each unique shirt. The designs on the shirts are not photoshopped. They are real shirts for each frame of animation. The video was exported at 30fps, while the T-shirt animation moves at 6fps (with a few exceptions where it moves faster) So, for each shirt, we took 5 pictures, so the animation of us (Rhett&Link) moves at 30fps, but the T-shirt animations move a bit slower. There are a few places where the motion seems so smooth that it looks like video. That's because, in those parts, there was no changing in T-shirts, and Joe used burst mode to capture the frames, making it look very smooth."

Related links:
Kseniya Simonova's Amazing Sand Drawing
Ridiculous Philips Carousel Commercial
Notte Sento: Short film made with 4500+ still photos
"Videogioco" by Donato Sansone

Kam Moye - "Forever Fresh" (Video)

Kam Moye, formerly known as Supastition, is back with a new video for "Forever Fresh," a cut off his latest album, Splitting Image. With Marco Polo on the boards, Kam takes it back to his earlier braggadocio style, much to the delight of boom bap enthusiasts everywhere.

For aspiring emcees, please look at this man's discography and take notes. At any stage in your career, no matter the success, emcees should aspire to improve and have their music reflect their own growth. Regurgitating the same verse over the latest beat trend will only get you so far but if longevity isn't a priority, make sure your finance game is at least on lock.

Related links:
Kam Moye (Supastition) - Splitting Image (iTunes)
EHR Potent Quotables
Welcome to Virginia (Nottz Tribute)

Intuition - Girls Like Me

Los Angeles emcee Intuition and producer Equalibrum are back together for their sophomore effort. If the title of the album didn't give it away already, the album's tone is definitely less serious and a distant departure from their debut, Stories About Nothing.

Instead, this time around, Intuition, equipped with a more palatable voice, chooses to regale listeners with easy living tales revolving around inebriation, dead end jobs, and women. Not missing a step, Equalibrum's layered soundscapes continue to provide the perfect compliment.

Girls Like Me is extremely accessible but most importantly, it does not sound forced. It will undoubtedly do well in the indie scene but with the correct push, I can easily see it reaching the alt/pop rock crowd as well.

Intuition - Girls Like Me (Click to stream)


Intuition - "Al Bundy" (Video)

Word to Polk High.

Related links:
2009 Year End Mix
XO - "All I Had" (Video)
Dumbfoundead f. Herbal T & Esna - "Jam Session 2.0" (Video)

Tabi Bonney - "Duhh" (Video)

Tabi Bonney - "Duhh"
Featured dancers:
The Boogie Bots
The Golden Girls
Rhythm Fetish
Beat Your Feet Kings

Track's a slapper with a video to match. I just checked iTunes and apparently this is off an album Tabi dropped at the beginning of '09. Shame on me for sleeping this long.

Related links:
XO - "All I Had" (Video)
Wale - "My Sweetie" (Video)

Wale - "My Sweetie" (Video)

Wale - "My Sweetie"
Produced by Apple Juice Kid
Directed by Tabi Bonney

"My Sweetie" is a bonus track off of Attention Deficit. I'm hoping this cut along with "Pretty Girls" gets spins since both tracks are a serious step up from the his first single. The production on these two is completely different from anything on the radio at the moment and I don't know if you've heard but the people need variety. DJs, make it happen.


Wale f. Gucci Mane - "Pretty Girls" (Video)

Related links:
UCB f. Wale - "Pat Your Weave" (Video)
2009 BET Awards Show Cypher
Wale On ESPN's First Take

Skillz - Rap Up 2002 - 2009

Skillz - Rap Up 2002-2009

I compiled this for a friend and figured I'd share it with anyone else that was interested in Skillz's take on the last 8 years.

Related links:
Skillz Presents Hip Hip Confessions
The Silverust (Nickelus F & Kid Icarus) - "You Too" Video

The Reign Man

(pic via NBA Hoot)

I figured I'd switch it up, add another element to the blog, and talk about my other love, basketball. I dedicate my first post to the Reign Man, but shouts to KJ in the bottom left, another personal favorite.


Shawn Kemp, before the weight problems and kid jokes, was a monster. Sure he had an all around game and his numbers between '90 and '97 were great but any NBA fan will tell you that his other skill sets paled in comparison to his freakish ability to touch the clouds.

Watching Kemp play is how I imagine it felt to watch Nique play in his prime, when he was pulling contest type caliber dunks during games. Sans Hersey Hawkins, a former Hornet, I was never a fan of Payton, Detlef, Perkins, or the rest of the Sonics but despite my dislike for the green and gold, I always went out of my way to watch #40.

Not only were his facials screw face inducing, his post dunk reactions were just as entertaining (see clip below for reference). He was definitely one of a kind and Vince Carter was probably the closest player to fill his shoes but that all but vanished after he fell in love with the J.

There's still a glimmer of hope though. Kemp's eldest son, Shawn Kemp Jr., recently signed with Auburn University. Whether or not he has hops like his father is still to be determined. No worries though, there's always the other seven. I kid. I kid.

(His dunk on Lister at the 3:16 mark made your grandma cry.)

Lace Up Save Lives

Lace up and save lives! Nike is contributing 100% of its profits from the sale of (NIKE)RED laces to the Global Fund and to soccer-based programs that help fight AIDS in Africa.

Related links:
Michael Stich AIDS prevention campaign from 2007
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