While you’re all out there buying turkey for Thanksgiving, presents for Christmas or new threads for all the festivities, Rocksmith is in the fashion lab cooking up some damn fine clothes. Take their fall/autumn 2009 collection: http://www.rocksmithtokyo.com/collection.html Checks, fleece, stripes, shirts, sweaters, hoods caps – it’s got gangster sewn all over it.

http://www.rocksmithtokyo.com/

Emcees Ilyas, Donwill and Von Pea – AKA Tanya Morgan – educates us on the new iTunes application made specifically for rappers by rappers. Here’s what you get when you download the app: a notepad, microphone, rhyming dictionary, and sound bank of original beats. Neat huh? So now you can write and record tracks on an iPhone or iPod Touch *no studio needed*.

http://www.youtube.com/user/freestyleapp

It was 1987 when Mr. Thing started spinning records like Streetsounds Crucial Electro, BDP’s Poetry and Adam & The Ants Kings Of The Wild Frontier. From there he went on to become one the world’s best DJs, winning comps like DMCs World Champ (’99) and UK Champ (’00). Fast forward nine years and he’s recently dropped another mix CD Strange Games And Mr. Thing. Crumpet caught up with him to find out why he calls himself Mr. Thing, why he loves cake and why he wears adidas…

Why do you call yourself Mr. Thing?

Because of the hand from The Addams Family that does everything and also The Thing from the Fantastic Four as well, that represents more of the battling side of me from the DMC and competition days!

Why did you decide to take up DJ as a career?

It was something I wanted to do since I first saw it, I’d heard scratching and stuff before but when I actually saw it visually I got completely sucked in by it, and 20 + years later I still love it!

Why did you call your new album Strange Breaks And Mr. Thing?

Because BBE already had done a series of compilations called Strange Games & Things after a legendary Love Unlimited track, and when they asked me to compile the first volume, that was what I had written on the CD I gave them initially and they loved it!

Why do you love playing hip hop?

In my car my favourite single track is Boom Bap Shit by Nino Bless, Skyzoo, Scram Jones, Rhymefest and Ras Kass, produced by Madlib. It’s literally a break loop and they all just rap so hard on it, it’s killer. Reminds me why I got into hip hop in the first place, raw.

Why do you choose to wear Adidas?

I love wearing Adidas Superstars or Shelltoes because they remind me of Run-DMC, which is pretty much the reason why I’m so into hip hop and DJing!

Why are you listening to Skyzoo?

I’m listening to Skyzoo The Salvation and Strong Arm Steady Stoney Jackson, both really solid hip hop albums and what I need to hear right now in this autotune madness we’re in now!

Why can’t you scratch as well with your right hand as you can your left?

I straight up find it awkward, uncomfortable and inconsistent! Much as I practice, still can’t do it as well.

Why do you fly Etihad?

When I went to Dubai I flew with them with Yungun a couple years ago, it’s super nice! Thankfully Ryanair or Easyjet don’t fly to Australia – the thought of them makes my blood boil.

Why is cake your fave food?

I love cake, coffee cake is my favourite of all time as made by my mum and my gran, who doesn’t love cake?

Why are you coming back to Australia?

I’m coming back to Australia to promote the BBE comp primarily but also looking forward to playing out there, do some digging, catch up with some friends and also see my cousins out in Brisbane, can’t wait!

tour dates:

Sat Oct 17 – Melbourne @ Revolver

Sun Oct 18 – Brisbane @ Family

Fri Oct 23 – Sydney @ Melt

www.myspace.com/mrthing

Producer/DJ/rapper Pase Rock has been known to DJ at private parties for Snoop, JT and Li-Lo; occasionally be Spank Rock’s right-hand man, earned his DJ stripes on Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak label, wants to call his next album Slutface and runs rings around the Hollywood party posse. Crumpet chat to the mischievous Brooklyn bad ass.

How did you introduce yourself to music?

I was introduced to me at a young age via my family, god bless them.

For all the tone-deaf people out there, describe your music.

Hmmm. Basically its hip hop. But dancey hip hop. I like to dance and I’m a professional DJ so it tends to be more geared toward the dancefloor more often than not.

You’ve DJ’ed at private parties for Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Playboy and Lindsay Lohan – what’s been the funniest thing you’ve witness at any of them?

I once watched Kate Moss do lines off the penis of Ronnie Darko from Spankrock, amazing!

Who runs in your social circles? I run myself in social circles…

You always have awesome titles from your 2003 album Bullshit As Usual, the 2007 Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge to song titles like The Motherfucking Rave Is Over. How do you come up with such brilliance? And why? Do you like taking the piss?

Yeah I love taking the piss. I think something is wrong with my kidneys I have to pee so much. You know that’s not really an expression we use in America, taking the piss. Anyway, who knows how I come up with stuff. A lot of times I just take it from conversations I have with people or whatever. You have to laugh at life, it’s pretty comedic if you take a step back and remove yourself from it once in awhile.

What music are you feeling now? hmmm, my friend just sent me this Gladys

Knight song and it’s pretty amazing its called “The Makings of You” so good.

Last record you bought? Eli Escobar’s “Glass House 12″.

You got a new album in the pipeline?

I hope so. I have a record finished and I want to release it but who knows what will happen tomorrow. Everybody has been dying lately. So what will be will be, you know. I want to call the album Slutface but I dunno if that will fly. It sounds kinda mean. Like I don’t wanna listen to an album called Slutface so I’ll have to think of something else. The music is really beautiful and genuine so the title will have to reflect that. What do you think? I feel like I come up with good titles every day but I always forget them.

Finally, can you do a little rap about Crumpet?

I fucking hate crumpets so, no.

Thanks for you time!

No, thank you for the interview!

Catch Mr Rock on Friday 16 October at Oxford Art Factory

myspace.com/thepaserock

JAY-Z

$400,000 luxury cars and rooms heated to a specific temperature (22 degrees), Sapporo beer, vodka, tequila, two bottles of $300 champagne, two bottles of expensive 2004 Sassicaia red wine and a pack of Marlboro Lights, ‘good quality’ peanut butter and grape jam, two fruit platters, chicken, cheese, one martini shaker and 12 shot glasses. Because he can.

(source: celebritywonder.com)

50 CENT

50 Cent has been known to demand KFC chicken buckets and a well-done expensive fillet, along with peanut butter, various jams, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, pancakes, waffles and crepes. All food served to Fif is to be on the finest china and correct silverware. Because presentation is important to him.

(source: thesmokinggun.com)

P DIDDY

P Diddy is a mac. But is his rider just plain wak? Puffy requires 204 towels, 20 bars of soap, two bottles of Hennessy cognac, two bottles of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, two bottles of Veuve Clicquot, a bottle of Dom Perignon, a bottle of Grey Goose vodka. Drinking problem? He also needs (apparently) a boom box, bouquet of white flowers, cheddar cheese, sour-cream chips and sweet tarts.

(source: thesmokinggun.com)

MARIAH CAREY

We all know ol’ mate Mimi is high maintenance. Even her rider is high maintenance. If she’s not sulking for fluffy and cute puppies and kittens, the diva is demanding Cristal champagne (natch) with one box of bendy straws. She also needs one special attendant to dispose of used chewing gum and tea service for eight, a Honey Bear pack of honey and two air purifiers. Random!

(source: davidrowan.com)