Tuesday, October 31, 2006



Diddy - "Get Off (DJ Booman Club Remix)" (mp3)
A few weeks ago I mentioned that Booman had been commissioned to do an official Baltimore club remix for Diddy (hopefully y'all are rocking that "Monster Mash" remix for Halloween), and he just e-mailed it to me today so I guess it's out now. The weird thing is, "Get Off" is a song that Diddy leaked before the release of Press Play and it got a lot of attention because it's more of a James Brown-type track than straight up hip hop, but when the album dropped the song wasn't even on there to the disappointment of many people. But I guess they decided to do a remix of it anyway, and Booman really put his foot in it and made Diddy's crazy vocals fit the Bmore vibe. I think Diddy even got on there and shouted out Booman on the track. The other big news from Booman's camp is that the Doo Dew Kidz website has been revamped with a new music store where you can buy Baltimore club tracks a handful at a time, bundled together as EPs, and there's some great songs available on there. And there's also going to be occasional free downloads that stay up for a limited time.

Jim Jones - "We Fly High (DJ Booman Club Remix)" (mp3)
Yet another official Baltimore club mix, which Booman was hired to do by Koch Records. The odd thing about this one is that apparently the label didn't like the first draft he did, so this is the 2nd version that's being released officially. But Booman put the first version on his MySpace, and I think I actually like it better. I love the drums, they're sampled from a song I can never remember the name of that was also sampled on Lil Mo's "Dem Boyz." The other one is good, too, though, and is in the same vein as Labtekwon's "Hammerdance." It's also kind of funny that Booman is working with Jim Jones, since one of the other Baltimore club producers he's been tight with for years is named Jimmy Jones.

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Monday, October 30, 2006



I'm a little late on this, but the October issue of Music Monthly features a good cover story on Labtekwon by Kelly Connelly.

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Sunday, October 29, 2006



Hip Hop 101/Old School Mondays
"Best Weekly Event" - Baltimore City Paper
10/30/2006 09:00 PM - Five Seasons
830 Guilford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 - ladies $5, guys $10

TOMORROW NIGHT AT THE 5 SEASONS HIPHOP 101 PRESENTS TO YOU:

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR THE ONE AND ONLY R&B SONGSTRESS KILLING BALTIMORE CITY..
TARIEKA

PERFORMING LIVE IN HONOR OF HER IS:

TUFFLON DONNA
TY-GUTTA
HENNESSE
BRANDON
D-RIP
DEZ RED

AND OF COURSE

TYREIKA

THERE IS A MANDATORY $2 COAT CHECK BUT IF I WAS YOU, I'D LEAVE MY JOINT IN THE CAR..

$5 FOR THE FEMALES
$10 FOR THE MALES

DRINK SPECIALS BEFORE 10PM
FOOD PRICES STARTING AT $7

HOSTED BY SONNY BROWN AND 92Q'S OWN SQUIRRAL WYDE

THE EMCEE BATTLE IS $20 TO GET IN... IF YOU WIN YOU WILL GO AGAINST THE 3 TIME CHAMP EXODUS LIVE ON 92Q FOR THE TUESDAY NIGHT FIGHT!

DJ JABRILL ON THE ONES AND TWO'S SPINNING THAT CRACK MUSIC AND THE GAME STAYS ON ALL NIGHT LONG

COME ON OUT TOMORROW AND SUPPORT THIS SUPERSTAR TOMORROW NIGHT YAWL!!!!


-Sonny Brown

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as heard on The Wire: part 1



As I noted a while back when there were articles about it in the New York Times and the Baltimore City Paper, HBO's The Wire is using original music by Baltimore hip hop artists for the first time in the 4th season. I'm glad they stepped up the music on the show, too. I remember that episode from the 1st season where there was "Ms. Fat Booty" in one scene and a Black Star song later, and I was like shit, as if people in Baltimore were listening to nothing but 90's Mos Def tracks? In 2002? Anyway, a lot of the songs will be appearing on the next Darkroom Productions mixtape, which isn't out yet, but when I hear a song I know already on the show, I'll post it so that people know what's up. The following songs appear in episode 44, which is airing tonight at 10:

Diablo - "Jail Flick" (mp3)
I've been tight with Juan Donovan and Darkroom since before Hamsterdam dropped, when I posted this song last year after seeing Diablo perform and copping the single. Still a hot song, shame it got ignored by 92Q at the time, but now it's on national TV so it's all good. The Fader featured another Diablo song, "Bitches In Bad Neighborhoods," in an iTunes mix accompanying their current issue, which has a big feature on The Wire.

Rod Lee - "Dance My Pain Away" (mp3)
Classic joint, and it seems like a lot of people were exposed to it for the first time when I posted it last year, which is pretty cool. Rod Lee just started a MySpace page, and he's dropping a new album on Unruly in December. Right now he's on tour with Spank Rock, who I still really can't stand, they played in Baltimore the other day and I think it's kind of a shame that Rod Lee is opening for them even here at home, but it was an indie rock club so I guess that makes sense, that's Spank Rock's audience.

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Saturday, October 28, 2006

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Friday, October 27, 2006

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Thursday, October 26, 2006



Bossman
opening for Lyfe Jennings
@ Ram's Head LIve
Friday, October 27
Doors 8 pm, Show 9 pm
ALL AGES

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Wednesday, October 25, 2006



Third Kind - Disaster Relief (Sweatbox Recordings)

Third Kind is a group from Maryland comprised of Dwell, Robben Beatz (who produces most of their tracks), DJ Krucial, Cef, and Fat Boi. They're kind of on that crate-digging weirdo indie rap tip, which isn't really my thing so I'm not the best judge of what they do, but I think this album, which dropped in May, is pretty solid. Some cool off-kilter samples, some political lyrical content, and sometimes some of the dudes rap in that angry white dude Fred Durst voice but other than that they sound alright. They get mad spins on college radio too, check them out on MySpace.

Third Kind - "Magnificent" (mp3)
I think Cef is my favorite MC out of the group, he rips the 2nd verse on here.

Third Kind f/ Ogun - "Get Live" (mp3)
Ogun drops a great verse on here and it almost sounds like his presence made everyone else step their game up on this track. Good beat, too.

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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

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Saturday, October 21, 2006


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Friday, October 20, 2006

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Thursday, October 19, 2006



The Black Family - The City Is Ours

The Black Family is a Baltimore crew I saw at the 5 Seasons earlier this year and got a CD from. According to their MySpace page, the group's members (Victor Black, J-Nina (a.k.a. Joey Nine), Double P., and Ill Will) are all blood relatives. There's another rapper named CDP who makes a couple appearances on here too. I think they're tight with PX (Parts Unknown) and their label, Street Legal, too. All the original tracks on here were produced by Young Bleek (not to be confused with the little homie Young Leek) and I think the beats are my favorite thing about the mixtape, all those shrill organ lines and bells, it's a nice unique sound. Even their choices of industry beats is pretty good, though, they take some less obvious tracks and make them their own. On the track "Real Niggas Do Real Thangs," they diss Bossman and Skarr Akbar, I don't know why, but whatever, beef is wack.

J-Nina, Double P. and Victor Black - "Say Bye Bye" (mp3)
Nice outro track, hot snare drum programming.

J-Nina - "Put It Down" (mp3)
I wrote a big article a while back about dudes rapping over Baltimore club music beats, and this track sounds like that's kinda what they were going after, but the beat is actually at a faster BPM than club music and sounds way harder and more aggressive, good shit.

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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Torchlight Entertainment Presents...

Mic Life Thursdays

Each and every Thursday at Upper Deck (34 South Eutaw St.)


THIS WEEK WE GOT DA GOSHELL ALL STARS IN DA BUILDING

YEA SON, ON DA ILL TIP, NEW AND EXSITE-TON

HOLLA!!!

Mic Life, because Hip-Hop Is Life, so Don't Waste It!!!

http://www.myspace.com/slickleviathan

http://www.myspace.com/rebelsonzai

http://www.myspace.com/torchlightentertainment

http://www.myspace.com/torchlight_family

http://www.myspace.com/miclifemagazine

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

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Monday, October 16, 2006

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Sunday, October 15, 2006



Cutthroat - Words Can't Explain It Chapter 2.5 (For The People Entertainment)

Cutthroat a.k.a. Cutty Da Great is a Puerto Rican rapper from Baltimore who's a member of the Squadre Committee and a solo artist on For The People Ent. When I wrote about the label a couple months ago, Cutthroat's "Exquisite" was one of the tracks I posted, and that's still probably my favorite track on here. But there's plenty of good stuff on here, all original beats produced by FTP, kind of on an introspective conscious tip.

Cutthroat - "Walk With Me" (mp3)
Is that a sample of the Rocky & Bullwinkle theme that I hear?

Cutthroat - "If I Die" (mp3)
This one is so good it makes me curious about exactly who did the beat.

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Saturday, October 14, 2006



Hip Hop 101/Old School Mondays
"Best Weekly Event" - Baltimore City Paper
10/16/2006 09:00 PM - Five Seasons
830 Guilford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 - ladies $5, guys $10

THIS IS GOING TO BE A BANGER RIGHT HERE...

THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT SHOW RIGHT HERE FAMILY.. CHECK THIS OUT..

TATE THE ARSONAL
EJ
OGUN
COMP
AND STREET OFFICIALS OWN...
BARNES

THE BATTLE IS JUMPING OFF $20 REGISTRATION
THE WINNER OF THE BATTLE GOES TO 92Q TO BATTLE THE CHAMP OF TUESDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

HOSTED BY SQUIRRAL WYDE AND SONNY BROWN

THIS COMING MONDAY!
$5 FOR THE FEMALES
$10 FOR THE MALES


-Sonny Brown

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Friday, October 13, 2006

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DJ Booman - "Monster Mash (Doo Dew Kidz Remix)" (mp3)
Right in time for Halloween, a few days ago Baltimore club legend DJ Booman e-mailed me his crazy new 6-minute club mix of "Monster Mash," complete with samples of Vincent Price from "Thriller." In addition to his new collaborations with Labtekwon, Booman also recently did the official remix of Diddy's "Gettin' Off," so hopefully we'll be hearing that soon.

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Thursday, October 12, 2006



Hip Hop Happenings: Events at the Enoch Pratt Free Library

September - October, 2006
HIP-HOP HAPPENINGS is made possible by a FREE FALL BALTIMORE grant from the Creative Baltimore Fund, a program of Mayor Martin O'Malley and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts.

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Tickets for these FREE programs will be distributed at the door, beginning one hour before each event. Seating is limited.
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Hip-Hop LIVE!, featuring Baltimore's own BOSSMAN and other professional Hip-Hop artists
Saturday, October 14, 2 p.m. Central Library, Wheeler Auditorium
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WRITING AND DANCE WORKSHOPS FOR TEENS (Teens who complete both the writing and dance workshops will receive a certificate for a free recording session at the James McHenry Recreation Center.)
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Express Yourself: Writing Hip-Hop Lyrics
Presented by Gayle Danley, national and international slam poetry champion. For her work as a teacher of creative writing in elementary and secondary schools, Gayle was named the 2006 Young Audiences National Artist of the Year. Registration required.

Wednesday, October 18, 7 p.m.
James McHenry Recreation Center, 911 Hollins St.
Call 410-396-5016 to register.
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Thursday, October 19, 5:30 p.m.
Hamilton Branch
Call 410-396-6088 to register.
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Saturday, October 21, 2 p.m.
Central Library, Student Express
Call 410-396-5484 to register.
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Monday, October 23, 7 p.m.
C. C. Jackson Recreation Center, 4910 Park Heights Ave.
Call 410-396-0949 to register.
*
Wednesday, October 25, 7 p.m.
Oliver Recreation Center, 1600 N. Spring St. Call
410-396-4243 to register.
*
Thursday, October 26, 5:30 p.m.
Light Street Branch
Call 410-396-1096 to register.
*
Monday, October 30, 7 p.m.
Barclay Recreation Center, 300 E. 29th St.
Call 410-396-6073 to register.
*
Wednesday, November 1, 4 p.m.
Pennsylvania Avenue Branch
Call 410-396-0399 to register.
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Thursday, November 2, 4:30 p.m.
Cherry Hill Branch
Call 410-396-1168 to register.
*
Hip-Hop Dance Workshops for Teens
Presented by the Nu World Art Ensemble. Get into the groove! Learn some of the same hip-hop dance moves used by your favorite artists. Professional instructors will teach you how to move, step, and choreograph a dance routine. Wear loose clothes, and be ready to move! Registration required.

Tuesday, October 10, 4 p.m.
Light Street Branch
Call 410-396-1096 to register.
*
Monday, October 16, 7 p.m.
Barclay Recreation Center, 300 E. 29th St.
Call 410-396-6073 to register.
*
Tuesday, October 17, 4 p.m.
Cherry Hill Branch
Call 410-396-1168 to register.
*
Thursday, October 19, 4 p.m.
Pennsylvania Avenue Branch
Call 410-396-0399 to register.
*
Tuesday, October 24, 4 p.m.
Hamilton Branch
Call 410-396-6088 to register.
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Wednesday, October 25, 6 p.m.
Central Library
Call 410-396-5484 to register.
*
Wednesday, November 1, 7 p.m.
James McHenry Recreation Center, 911 Hollins St.
Call 410-396-5016 to register.
*
Thursday, November 2, 7 p.m.
C.C. Jackson Recreation Center, 4910 Park Heights Ave.
Call 410-396-0949 to register.
*
Friday, November 3, 7 p.m.
Oliver Recreation Center, 1600 N. Spring St.
Call 410-396-4243 to register.
*
Hip-Hop 101: It's More Than Just Studio Time
Saturday, October 28, 2 p.m.Central Library, Former Maryland Room

Mark Carey of Street Legal Entertainment and other experienced hip-hop professionals will talk about the business practices in urban music and how to avoid the pitfalls.
*
Meet the Authors Alan Lawrence Sitomer, author of Hip-Hop Poetry and the Classics and Hip Hop High School.
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Alan Lawrence Sitomer is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and award-winning teacher. Alan teaches in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles and also at Loyola Marymount University.
*
Friday, October 20, 10:30 a.m.Central Library, Wheeler Auditorium
Friday, October 20, 3:30 p.m.Pennsylvania Avenue Branch

Each teen who attends Alan Sitomer's talks will receive a free copy of Hip-Hop Poetry and the Classics at book signings following his lectures.

Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture and Why White Kids Love Hip Hop

Thursday, November 2, 6:30 p.m.
Central Library, Wheeler Auditorium

Bakari Kitwana is the director of Rap Sessions: Community Dialogues on Hip-Hop; the co-founder of the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention; and the former executive editor of The Source. He writes a weekly column on hip-hop and youth culture for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, the Nation, and other publications, and he's lectured on hip-hop at colleges and universities across the country.
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Hip-Hop Showcase
Saturday, November 18, 2 p.m.
See what we've learned! Performances by teens who attended the Hip-Hop dance and writing workshops.

Hip Hop Happenings is presented in partnership with Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks, the Maryland Urban Music Alliance, and 92Q.


(illustration by Alex Fine)

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Huli Shallone
opening for Rick Ross
Friday, Oct. 13th
@ Club Mate
3612 S. Hanover St., Baltimore, MD 21225

(illustration by Alex Fine)

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Torchlight Entertainment Presents...

Mic Life Thursdays

Each and every Thursday at Upper Deck (34 South Eutaw St.)


Tommorow Night...

Al The Great
http://www.myspace.com/algreat11

&

Anon
http://www.myspace.com/anonmc

Free admission and Drink specials all night long! (That’s right, FREE!!!)

HOSTED BY Lyrical Leviathan & Black Wind
DJ POOH ON THE WHEELS

Mic Life, because Hip-Hop Is Life, so Don't Waste It!!!

http://www.myspace.com/slickleviathan

http://www.myspace.com/rebelsonzai

http://www.myspace.com/torchlightentertainment

http://www.myspace.com/torchlight_family

http://www.myspace.com/miclifemagazine

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Baltimore hip hop DVD round-up

I've never been that into street DVDs, as important as they've become to underground hip hop everywhere. I respect everyone that I see out at events with their cameras, documenting everything for posterity, I'm glad someone's doing it, but a lot of times the product are just too long and don't have that much to do with music, which means I'm not real interested. A lot of Baltimore artists this year have released DVDs along with their CDs, including PX (Parts Unknown), Little Clayway, and D.O.G., though, which is kind of a nice supplement to the music, and there have been a lot of other Baltimore DVDs this year, and since I've gotten a few that people have asked me to write about, here's my little roundup, with MySpace links so you can look into copping them for yourself:



The Understanding Part 2: The Skarr Akbar Story (Akbar Enterprize Filmz)

This is Skarr's 2nd autobiographical DVD, and I remember getting the first one about a year and a half ago and learning about him from it, before I ever met or interviewed the dude. This new one, which he just dropped a few weeks ago, is really more of a revision than a sequel, with some of the same footage from the first one worked in with new stuff, a lot of local MCs (Bossman, Mullyman, Comp, Ogun) and producers (Dukeyman) and other folks giving their opinions on Skarr. It's all pretty well made and interesting if you already like his music, but if I had one major criticism, it would be that practically the whole first half of the movie is about how 92Q doesn't play Skarr's music, like he's obsessed with it. The movie is about 45 minutes long, with an additional half hour or so of live footage.

Baltimore Real Talk Volume 2 (Little King Ent.)

I first ran into someone from Little King Ent. about 6 months ago in Sounds N Da Hood and they gave me a copy of the first Real Talk DVD (which got a little mention in City Paper last year), and recorded me doing a drop, shouting them out and promoting my shit. I don't think my drop is on this new one, maybe they decided not to use it or it'll be on the next one. But it's pretty good, probably the best Baltimore hip hop DVD I've seen, featuring interviews and performance footage of Mullyman, Skarr Akbar, Los, Comp, D.O.G., B. Rich, Tyree Colion, Verb, Bigg Patch, Tim Trees, just about everybody. I've been seeing copies of this everywhere lately, so it should be easy to find.



B.L.O.W. (Pyrex Vision Productions)

I copped the Baltimore Life On Wax DVD at D.O.G.'s booth at Afram over the summer, and based on all the names on the back of the case (Bossman, Comp, ShellBe RAW, Tyree Colion, Mullyman), I expected it to be good, but I wouldn't know. That's because there was a scratch on the disc before I even took it out of the case, and no matter what I tried to play the DVD on, it would stop a couple minutes in. That's one reason I hate DVDs that have no menu or chapter selection, so if there's a scratch you can't even skip past it. I want my money back, dammit. Or at least a copy that works.

Overdose Volume One (Fishscale Films)

This isn't really a full on Baltimore DVD, but I ran into a guy from Underworld Records last year, also at Sounds N Da Hood, who gave me this DVD from 2003. In it, they travel through about a dozen different cities, though, and Baltimore is one of them. The Baltimore segment is only like 10 minutes, but there's a good interview with Ray Lugar.

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

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Jon Boe - Before The Storm

Even if you haven't heard of Jon Boe, you're probably familiar with his brother D.O.G., who signed to Universal Records a couple months ago. Jon Boe has appeared on some of D.O.G.'s songs, too, like "Rock Ready" and my personal favorite, "Soldier." He put out this solo mixtape a while back, I think there might be a 2nd or 3rd volume of Before The Storm out already but if there is I haven't seen it. This mixtape is hosted by someone called "The Blackest Nigger Ever," which is just someone's voice distorted so it sounds all low and fucked up. The whole mixtape is on a really raw, aggressive tip, and some if it's actually kind of hard to listen to sometimes, even though Jon Boe sounds kinda laid back as an MC. I don't know if he has a MySpace page, but I found the above video for his song "Cheers" on MySpace.

Jon Boe - "C.R.E.A.M." (mp3)
You might expect a jack of the Wu Tang joint, or even Prince's "Cream," but instead it's a sample of a different Prince song, "Adore," which I just posted a track of Labtekwon rapping over the other day. I like the way that sample is chopped.

Jon Boe - "Transformers" (mp3)
Transformers was my favorite show when I was a little kid, and it's kinda crazy how many rappers have dropped Transformers references in their lyrics or sampled Transformers in their beats.

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Monday, October 09, 2006

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Season The Microphone Mondays
October 9th
S.U.D.A.
And
Billo "Hood Rockstar"

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Sunday, October 08, 2006



Hip Hop 101/Old School Mondays
"Best Weekly Event" - Baltimore City Paper
10/09/2006 09:00 PM - Five Seasons
830 Guilford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 - ladies $5, guys $10

Ok he couldnt come last week but he will be here mos def this week.

BOSSMAN
G.E.M
Tyrekia
Ms. Stress
Dutchess
Kaliko & Raina Williams form the Spitters Club
Silloette
and some special guest surprises for all

Not to mention.. My official Birthday party is jumping off tomorrow night!

Come on out and get your life

Dj Jabril on the ones and two's, Squairral Wyde and Sonny brown hosting the event, $10 for the fellas $5 for the females.. Drink Specials.. its going down

$20 dollar admission for the emcee battle.. the winner of tomorrow night goes on 92q's tuesday night fight and battles for the best in baltimore


-Sonny Brown

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Labtekwon - DJ Jazzy Jerk presents Ghettoclectic Volume WON (King of the Slow Burn) (Ankh Ba Records)

A couple days ago, my friend Tom Breihan posted an interview with Labtekwon on his Village Voice blog, and it's really worth a read. A lot of it focuses on Lab's perspective on the history and future of Baltimore club music, and the recent singles "Hammerdance" a.k.a. "Oh No (Watch Her Shake It)" (which Tom also mentioned in a post about his favorite recent singles) and "Sex Machine" by The 410 Pharoahs (Lab, Booman and Jimmy Jones), who, according to Booman's MySpace blog, have finished their album and are about to announce which major label they're signing with. I'm a young dude and by no means some kind of Baltimore club O.G., so there are a lot of things that I don't feel I have the authority to state publically, but Labtekwon does have that kind of credibility, and isn't afraid to say things like "On a whole, the wackest emcees are the ones getting there songs played on Bmore radio" and "When a style is just starting to be recognized, I think people should respect the pioneers first; then, the rest of the world can follow," and "The Lacrate joints are not official, the Spank Rock is not official, the Hollertronix is not official." I've actually been exchanging e-mails recently with Diplo from Hollertronix, a guy I've never been a fan of, giving him an honest critique of him and his scene's treatment of Bmore club, but also trying to hear out his side of things, and getting some pretty well thought out responses and finding a little bit of common ground (like us both not really trusting the way Aaron Lacrate is marketing Baltimore club right now, for one). If it doesn't turn into a shouting match eventually, maybe it'll be interesting enough that I'll ask him permission to post some of the discussion sometime (but maybe not since that dude gets enough attention from blogs as it is).

All that stuff isn't really relevent to this CD, though, which can be bought directly from Labtekwon's MySpace page. He kind of does the mixtape thing on here, rhyming over other people's tracks, but being that he's Labtekwon, he does it a little differently (and thank lord for that, if I hear one more freestyle over "Hustlin'" or "Go Crazy" I'm gonna scream; stop using played out beats, people). Instead, Lab grabs some classic Parliament and Prince, some modern R&B (D'Angelo, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, Raheem Devaughn) and some Go-Go. Sometimes the crazy off-kilter beats on Labtekwon's proper albums wear on me a little, but when he kicks it over something a little smoother and more familiar you really get a sense of his skill and versatility.

Labtekwon - "Sardines" (mp3)
The first track is a flip on the D.C. Go-Go classic by the Junk Yard Band (remember that shit from Tougher Than Leather?). One of my favorite Go-Go songs of all time, I wish they all had a groove that hard, and Lab does his own thing with it, talking about sardines with tofu cheese. Lab's collaborators Jimmy Jones & Booman did a great Baltimore club version of "Sardines" a few years back, too. I like hearing some cross over between Bmore and D.C.'s respective musical cultures, maybe a G-Go band can do a version of a club song someday.

Labtekwon - "Adore" (mp3)
A remix of the ultimate Prince slow jam. He also does a version of "Darling Nikki" on here.

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Saturday, October 07, 2006


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Friday, October 06, 2006

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Comp - Bangarang City (DJ B-Roc/DJ DMA)

Comp's last 3 mixtapes were all with DNA (and DNA was Comp's DJ at the last It's Baltimore Baby show at Sonar), but for his latest mixtape Comp (or, as Skinny Suge calls him, "Def Jam's loss") is teaming up with some other dudes, DJ B-Roc and DJ DMA. Really only about half of it is Comp music, though, because there's a dozen tracks by people like Rick Ross and Freeway along with other independent artists, which I don't really understand, they might as well have just made it all Comp. He's got a lot of good tracks on here, though, including the song "Bass" that I posted a few months ago, and the "Sunglasses" joint that's been on a few mixtapes. But overall, not as strong as Independence Day, which might be my favorite of his mixtapes to date. You can buy all of Comp's mixtapes, including this one, at his MySpace page.

Comp - "I'm Holdin'" (mp3)
One of those tracks that's so hot that you don't mind when they rewind it halfway through and play it back, produced by B-Roc.

Comp - "10 Steps Back" (mp3)
Comp on how he's gonna carry it after splitting with Def Jam. This is one of a few self-produced tracks he has on here and I kinda like his beats.

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Thursday, October 05, 2006


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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Torchlight Entertainment Presents...

Mic Life Thursdays

Each and every Thursday at Upper Deck (34 South Eutaw St.)


This Thursday we got...

Green Span
http://www.myspace.com/fdrgreenspan

&

Dezert Red

Plus the spit fire cypher at the end of the night like always

Dj Pooh in the mix!!!

MIC LIFE

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006



Stay Gettin' have stayed busy since I wrote my City Paper story on them a few months ago, so I've updated their production discography, and here's some recent tracks they've done:

Dope Boy Music f/ Glue - "Zoo" (mp3)
Dope Boy Music is a group of MC's from North Carolina that SGE and Def Jam A&R Plain Pat have put out a mixtape for, and this is one of the four tracks produced by Stay Gettin'.

DJ Kay Slay and Greg Street f/ Ghostface, Kool G Rap, Raekwon, Lord Tariq and Big Daddy Kane - "5 Deadly Venoms" (mp3)
Stay Gettin' produced 4 tracks on that new Kay Slay/Greg Street album, which I reviewed recently. This is one of the tracks they did, which I posted last week on my other blog, Narrowcast. That's a crazy lineup they got to do a track with.

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Tim Trees, who's dropping his new album Wayne Jones: The Business soon, is streaming 4 new songs on his MySpace page, and he's asking people to rate the songs and leave comments. My personal favorite is "2 Cool 2 Dance," which got some spins on 92Q last year. There's also now an official site for his new label, Built For Business (which is the same as his old label, Bdamore Records, just a new name), which is streaming the singles "Get Slick Wit It" and "I'll Make You Feel Good."

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Monday, October 02, 2006

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Sunday, October 01, 2006



Ray Victory - Ready 2 Go! (DJ Nelly Nell/Strong Arm Entertainment/Nite Life Entertainment)

I don't know much about Ray Victory other than him being a rapper from Bmore, but when I first started hearing about him and tried to Google his name, I learned that there's also a porn star going by Ray Victory, so I don't know what's up with that. He's got this kind of breathless, garbled style that makes it hard to follow that he's saying sometimes, but on certain beats that style really works for him. On one track, he says "they say I sound like Freeway, but that's old news," so I guess he gets that comparison a lot. There's some hot original songs, but he does remixes of the Scola single and Paula Campbell's "Take You Home" and a lot of jacks of mainstream R&B tracks that kinda drag the momentum of the CD. I'm feelin' the freestyle over Beanie Sigel's "Purple Rain," though. He's also got some guest appearances from Bossman, Skarr Akbar, and Nik Barnes, among others. Ray's track "Root For The Bad Guy" appeared on the C Love/DNA mixtape, and he performed at their event at Sonar a few nights ago. He has some good energy as a performer, and it's not easy to be the first act of the night, either, but he made it work. He's also got a birthday event coming up next week, see his MySpace page or Nite Life Ent.'s page for info on that.

Ray Victory - "Tonight Tonight" (mp3)
This is my joint, Ray Vic rhyming over the Genesis song, not even really sample but just the straight track, and making it sound cold as hell. I know a lot of rock people who think Phil Collins is lame and that it's funny that a lot of rappers sample his songs or wanna work with him, but fuck that, he's made some great songs and this has always been one of my favorites. I like the part where Phil sings "I got some money in my pocket" and Ray goes "I got a couple dollars, baby!"

Ray Victory f/ Bossman - "Life As A Rapper" (mp3)
I heard this on Rap Attack a couple times before copping the mixtape and this song is just fire, definitely one of my favorite recent Bossman verses. Nice use of the beat from Alchemist's "Tick Tock" (also used on Mobb Deep's "It's Alright").

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Hip Hop 101/Old School Mondays
"Best Weekly Event" - Baltimore City Paper
10/02/2006 09:00 PM - Five Seasons
830 Guilford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 - ladies $5, guys $10

This Monday at HIPHOP101:

YUK&CUT
PX
MS.STRESS
SONNY GRAMS
and Virgin records own.......

BOSSMAN

make sure you come out and see this show... this is going to be bananas!!!!

I wont be able to make it BUT I will be there in spirit

Drink specials before 10pm

Hosted by SQUARRIAL WYDE and DJ JABRIL

The battles are $20 to enter with the winner battling the 92q champ on Tuesday night fights...

It's going all the way down so make sure you come ot and support support support


-Sonny Brown

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