Archive for April, 2009

B-Real, a rapper of Mexican and Afro-Cuban heritage, is best known for being the lead rapper in the hip hop group Cypress Hill. He’s been on the grind with DJ Muggs and Sen Dog since the group’s formation in ‘88. So it’s only natural 20 years on, perhaps, just maybe, B-Real would want to produce a solo project that he can put his own distinct sound and voice on. Cue the album: Smoke N Mirrors. Crumpet caught up with the rapper before his album dropped to talk about – what else? – the album!
Best party track on Smoke N Mirrors? Fire featuring Damian Jr Gong Marley. I thought of the concept while chilling at a huge club in NYC called Mars, so in essence that track was born out of party environment. We just finished filming the video for it directed by Matt Alonzo.
Best track to mack to on Smoke N Mirrors? When We’re Fucking with Too $hort and Kurupt. Find a lady that is down for whatever. Ha Ha.
Best gangster track on Smoke N Mirrors? Gangsta Music. I guess the title of the track speaks for itself.
Most meaningful track for you on Smoke N Mirrors? 6 Minutes. Alchemist produced this track and it’s one of my favourite off the album. I love the lyrics and concept of the record. Here today and gone tomorrow. True hip hop veterans can explain the meaning of longevity and what it takes to succeed in this game by building a brand and loyal fan base, without just trying to sell ring tones and singles.
Best Smoke N Mirrors video clip? I’ve filmed three videos for Smoke N Mirrors, but only one has been debuted yet, which is Don’t Ya Dare Laugh. I’ll be showcasing the second video for Fire with Damian Marley at the end of this month and then my final video off the LP is for Psycho Realm Revolution with Sick Jacken. I’m a fan of each of the videos because they all have their own distinct visual imagery. All three were directed by Matt Alonzo.

B-Real’s Smoke N Mirrors is out now on Duck Down/Shock.

Hot off the heels of Notorious, the Biggie Smalls biopic currently playing in cinemas, comes Biggie Smalls: Rap Phenomenon, the first official hip hopumentary to offer exclusive footage on Notorious B.I.G. Producer Damion Butler (AKA D-Roc) has excelled in collating snippets, interviews, footage and testimonies on one of the greatest rappers of all time. Concert footage, rappers lending their two cents worth (P-Diddy, Damon Dash, Styles P, DJ Enuff, Jadakiss and Jay-Z) and Snoop Dogg singing a Biggie track add to the appeal.
Now immortalised on film, in fashion and in pop culture, it’s no doubt Biggie was responsible for changing the rap game, paving the way for the likes of his Junior Mafia crew (Lil Kim, Lil Cease etc) and Jay-Z; and was worth his weight in swagger. A must for Biggie fans!
Biggie Smalls: Rap Phenomenon is out through Gold Dust/Inertia.

These days, $30 is enough to get you an iced coffee, a pack of smokes and some chewing gum. But if you’re smart with your money, it can also get you the new limited edition Adroit Effusive T-shirt. The white is available in black XXL, XL and L and there’s a black with pink print for the girlies. Spend your money wisely!
Check their MySpace. Er, that’d be myspace.com/adroiteffusive

Yes, that’s his real surname. Nickname: Titts. All jokes aside, the B-more DJ is going places – fast. Last seen rubbing shoulders with record label partner and Rub DJ, DJ Ayres.

What’s on today’s agenda? Eating tons of weird food, catching up with family and friends and working on new tunes.

How did you get into DJing? I started collecting odds pieces of vinyl from various genres and it all clicked once I learned how I could put them together.

And start schmoozing with Rub DJs? I run a record label with DJ Ayres and have played the party a couple times. They are great friends and amazing DJs.

Serrato or vinyl? Serato. It allows me to be creative in ways vinyl could not.

Fave place to play?  Malmo, Sweden is always a personal favourite because of how educated and down the crowds can be. Sao Paulo and Sydney are also personal favourites.

Tell us about your album 12 Steps?  It’s my debut album out this past summer. All original sample free club music featuring Kid Sister, Pase, The Federation, Pitbull, Nina Sky, DJ Assault and more.

Why the name 12 Steps? Because I was a hot drunken mess when I started writing the album!

What’s it like being on Stretch Armstrong’s label? Flattering, educational and productive. It’s been an honour and a pleasure growing for and with the Plant Crew with Stretch and Dom

Where to from here? More and more music! Been in the studio cranking out some of my best work yet.  Another EP around the corner, more 12 Steps singles/remixes and tons of side projects and remixes.

CRUMPET SPENDS 5 MINS WITH A-TRIZZLE
Not a lot of DJs have the same approach as Montreal’s golden child A-Trak. His foray with music plays like a script from one of those daytime soap relationships. It all started when he was 15, winning multiple DMC championships. He then went straight up hip hop before heading down the electronic and dance path.

Do you feel like you are cheating on hip hop and turntablism with dance music?
“Cheating on it? No. Because I still do turntablism in my shows and I still listen to hip hop all the time and I still play a lot of hip hop sets. It’s just not the only part of my music anymore. The whole hip hop world is getting turned on to the sound that we’re doing now.”

Like who?
“There’s a lot. From Kanye to Pharrell to even guys like Pitbull and Lil John. All these guys are coming out to our parties and are really interested in this new sound.”
What was the thinking behind the INFINITY + 1 mix?
“I think there was kind of like a sound to it. When I was trying to come up with the tracklisting. I found a bunch of songs that I liked for the moment. I guess you can notice a common thread in some of them.”
What’s the difference between mixing dance music and mixing hip hop?
“When you mix hip hop I think…how you mix songs in hip hop sets as opposed to more dance music. When you mix hip hop records the actual transition is when you’re mixing two songs together tends to be a lot shorter. It’s more about when the next song drops, more about the impact of the song coming in to the mix, as opposed to dance music you can keep two songs mixed together for a very long time.”
And you’re still doing things with DJ craze?
“I’m doing a party with him in Miami. Craze is one of my best friends and one of the DJs I’ve worked with most closely over many, many years in my career. Many months can go by when we don’t do a show together and we get back together again and it always feels natural.”
Any more clothing collabs?
“There’s always more of that in the pipeline. I did this collaboration with Zoo York like a year ago, which is finally going to come out.”
So your brother Chromeo was on Yo Gabba Gabba – you doing any kids TV shows?
“Hopefully the kids like me.”

Infinity + 1 is out now through Onelove/Thrive Records.

Dutch artist Delta may seem like a square, not in the boring sense, more like his into squares and geometrically sound objects…is it graffiti?or is it architecture? Decide for yourselves, check the documentary Stussy has been nice enough to compile.

http://www.stussy.com/downloads_videos_delta1.html

http://www.stussy.com/downloads_videos_delta2.html

WU-TANG CLAN: LIVE AT MONTREUX 2007
If we said to you Wu-Tang Clan played at a jazz festival, you’d be all like, “Yeah right and Obama is really white”. But seriously, all living Wu members (RZA, GZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon The Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah and Masta Killa), along with their extended family: Cappadonna, Streetlife and DJ Mathematics followed in the footsteps of Alice Cooper, Jamiroquai and Ray Charles and rocked the Switzerland festival – and here’s the DVD to prove it. Sure it was all hip hop and no jazz, but Wu did what they do best – snarly rap. Watch it and weep.
Wu-Tang Clan: Live At Montreux 2007, $24.95, is out now through Shock.

… And that gives Crumpet warm and fuzzies. Sigh.
Left: XLarge Carnival zip hoodie
Centre: XLarge Carnival crew neck
Right: XLarge × Vans SK8-HI
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Is it just us, or is Nike getting more adventurous? Take their new Nike Terminator Hi Quickstrike range. The colourways of white/turquoise/purple/orange with a triangular perforation on the white leather are crazy! However for those that like to tone it down, there are kicks in the Terminator series that keep it more serious with modest blue and pink hues. Try eBay to get a pair.

MIXTAPE KING: J PERIOD
New York DJ J-Period was all about the cassette tapes as a junior until he bought his first album Prince’s Purple Rain.
“I think I was nine or 10. First hip hop was Run DMC King Of Rock or Big Daddy Kane, I think, around the same time. I started listening to hip hop [when I was] around six or seven years old.”
It wasn’t until he was in university that he taught himself to spin records using his college roommate’s turntables.
“I would sneak in and practice when he was away,” he laughs.
Despite being somewhat of a latecomer to vinyl, he’s certainly made up for it in the last 10 years collecting records, moving to New York, learning turntable techniques and creating mixtape tapes which has seen him working with artists from the likes of Lauryn Hill, The Roots, NaS, Big Daddy Kane, Kanye West and Q-Tip. Cut to his latest project Grindin’ Volume 2 mixtape and he’s made probably close to 25 mixtapes.
“I’m not as prolific as some of these once-a-week cats, but I have always preferred quality to quantity. Ten years from now, no one will care how many tapes you put out, they’ll only care if they stand the test of time.”
It’s great you don’t shout your name throughout your mixtapes – how annoying is that?
“Who wants to listen to that shit!? I prefer to let the artists speak – I think that speaks louder and means more. I’m also trying to make tapes that play like albums, and you would never hear an artist shouting their own name over and over on a mixtape – it would sound ridiculous. I prefer to promote myself by putting out tapes that makes cats run and tell their friends.”
Serato – yes or no?
“DJ Premier said my favourite line about this to me when we were on tour together: Vinyl is like high school and Serato is like college… and no one should be allowed to go to college without graduating from high school. Feel me?!  So for me? Yes. I spent too many years carrying crates, I use Serato. But if you jumped right in at Serato? You better get your GED or study your history.”
What made you do the Q-Tip tribute?
“Q-Tip and Tribe have always been among my all-time favourite artists. I also loved having Tip as a subject because he is so slept-on as a producer. No one realizes he produced all those joints for Mobb Deep and NaS, and so the possibilities seemed endless.”
<jperiod.com> or <myspace.com/jperiod>. J Period Mixes Grindin’ Volume 2 is out through Grindin’.

TABI BONNEY

HIP HOP ARTIST, ORGANIZED RHYME

SUPREME HAT
“I got this hat out in L.A. first time I went into the Supreme shop. Love it!”

BONNIE RUNWAY HOODIE
“This is from my own personal line. Kind of a promo piece for my albums that drop in ‘09. First it was going to be one album called Dope Meet Fresh…Fresh Meet Superstar. But then I just broke it down into three separate albums that come out three months after each other. Dope, Fresh, Superstar.”

GUCCI BELT
“This is the only belt I wear no matter what I have on. It’s just fresh to me!”

DIESEL JEANS
“These are the main jeans that I buy on a consistent basis. I Just appreciate their cuts and fits.”

YOHJI YAMAMOTO SHOES
“Got these shoes in Miami for a pretty penny. They were originally for my stage shows but then it just turned into everyday kicks for me! They always strike up conversation no matter where I go.”

SHADES
“Shades – no name at all just got them from a vendor in Cali. I’m a big fan of aviators.”