77Klash ft. Johnny Osbourne "Mad Again"

This tune is clearly maddd... my dude 77Klash hit me with this track well before its release, and truss me it's been well rinsed since then...whenever it drops people start dancing in styles I wouldn't expect, and that's usually a good sign. The tune is somewhat of a follow-up to last year's smash "Brooklyn Anthem" (see previous posts) considering it was produced by partner in grime Matt Shadetek. The video takes a slightly different approach than the song, yet Klash seems to pull it together every time, this time with support from Ground Zero Dancers, Dancerz Blvd., Skerrit Bwoy and more. Gravy and Splurt are in there too somewhere, I heard the video shoot was good times. Let me know what you think, and as I've previously mentioned you can cop "Mad Again" and more off of Klash's recent EP "Code for the Streets".

77Klash was also the most recent guest artist on the Federation Invasion Podcast (peep your Itunes radio feature if you've never done that) chatting it up with Max, dropping some new tunes, and even a quick freestyle. Obviously LARGE to Max Glazer & Federation for always doing their part to push reggae music to the forefront.

Show ya love

Now that Estelle and Sean Paul are label mates they've teamed up for this little ditty. A very straight-forward 'pop' reggae tune, but a solid lover's rock offering nonetheless. The original tune has been top of the requests for city gyals in the dance... I wonder if slapping SP on a remix will then make it kosher to play in a college bar??

Estelle ft. Sean Paul "Come Over" (remix)

Dancehall Draft Picks: Mavado

Some nice footage of Mavado and the Daseca crew (Serani's one of my favorite JA artists right now) in the studio, along with some live Bounty Killa clips and more. A good offering from VP to get up close and personal with 'The Real McKoy'.

The original DDP trailers:

Patchouli is not a game

Just saw this posted at Seen
I laughed and cried equally.

So it go.

Tampa Bay is a young (some stars even younger than I!) and newly established organization with dumb amounts of talent, well deserving of their ALCS victory. This obviously doesn't mean I don't want to break all their knees with an aluminum little league bat, but kudos nonetheless TB.

Don't count yer chickens

It aint over yet bitches.
It's what we do.

Dorothy gets a makeover

This past July, MA-based hip hop group The Problemaddicts released their second full-length album "The Dark Side of Oz" on the Mystika Music label.  As a founding member of this group, it's been real watching us move forward within a genre dominated by jokers and clowns... The Dark Side is a concept record (maybe you figured that one out?) melding Pink Floyd's timeless "Dark Side of the Moon" album with various and somewhat random snippets and samples from The Wizard of OZ.  Be it the soundtrack, narratives, that weird flick with Michael Jackson called 'The Wiz', etc., entirely sampled from vinyl.  We even dug a little deeper and incorporated bits from interviews with Roger Waters, and even some ish from the HBO series 'OZ'.  I would say the biggest feat of this record was that it went from initial concept to completion within just a few months!  That included all the artwork, production, recording, mixing and mastering, not bad for a few kids from western MA.  I gotta give it up to my man Marko as well, truly earning his co-exec producer badge on this one, nuff respect for believing in us and the project homie.  All songs were produced by Tone and DJ Theory, all cuts and scratches by myself as well. To describe the album a little more, Tone came at me with the idea last year when he made the first beat blending a dark side sample with some oz shit.  I was into the concept, but didn't foresee it coming to fruition as an official release until I made a couple beats, he made some more heaters, and then we had some serious ammo to work with.  We then got our team on board (Vorheez, 1ne Man Sound, Black Buddha & Force) along with some of our friends including Agent 23 (NC), Blacastan (CT), Lex Boogie (MA) and Platypus Complex (MA).  Individually they also represent GFE, Cold Duck Complex, Fireset Radio, The Alchemystics and the Branch Davidians.  With past projects, Mystika has always relied on our good friends and partners @ Northfire Recordings Studio in Amherst, MA to track all our vocals...however on this project our budget was much tighter, and we wisely invested in our own professional vocal booth which we set up @ VO's crizz.  We were able to get the quality we were looking for with tracking, and then letting our prodigal engineer Garret Sawyer @ Northfire do his magic in the mix.  We did utilize Northfire for all our mixing, as we always will.  If you're in the MA area and seeking a high-end and reasonably priced studio, it's well worth dropping them a line...feel free to tell em Theory sent ya, maybe you'll get a cookie or two.  So, recording and mixing were done, then it's off to Peerless Mastering in Newton, MA (same plug applies to Peerless).  I'll provide a few sample tracks from the album below, but if you're feeling it please support and cop an album for yourself and anyone else interested in trying something new in the hip hop world... even if you don't feel it you gotta give a little credit for trying something different in this mess.  Our inital goal was to have the discs pressed in time to promo @ Bonnaroo in TN, and if you were there, there's a good chance you or someone near you had an advance copy of the disc.  We also hit Rothbury in Michigan pretty hard, and I may have to dedicate an entire post to that festival, just due to it's sheer brilliance among other festivals I've attended over the years...that's a whole nother.

 

here's a visual mashup by Tone, Dick Cheney as the wicked witch. 

"The Dark Side of Oz" is available at our distributor's website Red Line and undergroundhiphop.com (digital not yet available)

here's a few samples:

The Problemaddicts "Syzigy"

The Problemaddicts "Somewhere" (Ft. Lex Boogie & Blacastan)

The Problemaddicts "Home"

You can also cop our debut album "The First Step" at Red Line, undergroundhiphop.com, and itunes, amazon and other digital outlets.  The debut album features big guns from Planet Asia and Masta Ace, and has received high praise around the world.  Check for yourself and show ya love.

Rappers Are Repetative video

Play The Cut (Live)

Photos by Katherine Taylor

'Wake the town' mix CD preview

This is a new jaunt I'm real excited about. This surprisingly will be my first strictly reggae mix CD (aside from my reggae remix and mashup mixes). "Wake The Town and Tell the People" is a mix CD concept I've been marinating on since June, and it's looking pretty sharp.  Unfortunately I'm still in transition at the moment, and won't have my studio set up here in the bay for a few more months...The mix will feature a slew of tracks that all reach out to the people, reporting on various conditions in JA, and the always present opportunities for us all to rise up as one and bun down bridges.  Considering how quickly the reggae industry moves, many of these tracks will appear dated, but they either hold a fondness in my crate, have classic strength, or were simply big chunes of 2007/2008.  Once it drops I'm sure some brand new tunes will find their way onto the list, as well as a handful of bruising exclusives from my bredren Jah Dan Blakkamoore (see 'the swarm' post below) from Brooklyn (also frontman for Noble Society).  you can always expect some original production from yours truly, and a few remixes and blends to boot.  I may post up a partial tracklist as the mix nears completion.  The most recent dubs recorded with Jah Dan at my home in MA were the title track "Tell the People" (over a flipped-up dipset anthem) and his single off the Kingdom riddim (being played by Bobby Konders on Hot 97, and featuring tracks from Collie Buddz, Burro Banton, Chezidek and more) called "Mountains to Climb."  The Kingdom was produced by the always impressing Nick Fantastic,  who also produced 2005's HUGE culture riddim "Hard Times", and contributed strongly on Chezidek's album "Inna Di Road." He was poorly credited for hard times but truss me Nick, we see you, full-time.  Both Jah Dan tracks are smoke and lava, emanating his off-the top style and undeniable energy.  I can't stress this artist enough, he truly gives new meaning to the term 'well versatile.' He consistently reaches above and beyond most deejays and singers combined, throwing everything into the pot with effortless charisma and unique flair.  He's on some badman lover, heal the world but don't diss we shit..and I sweat it hard.  Anyone remember "Soundbwoy Buriell" by Smif N Wessun ??? Betta act like you know, Jah D's first big tune, still gettin licensed overseas...chaa.  Go to about 4:00 in...murderation, straight. "Tell dem fi come if a trouble dem want, oh we a go lik dem with di finesse and charm!" BOOOM!!!  1995 Bucktown shit.  So, look out for the new mix, I'll give a release date once I find a home for the lab and get crackin'.  

here's a taste:

 

Here are some pics with Jah Dan from his recent trip to MA to rock it with myself and my bredren DJ Gravy (also manager for Jah D & Noble Society).  Also, I forgot to mention that the pic at the top of this post was taken along the banks of the Black River in Westmoreland, Jamaica in 2005, the dread to my right was the soundsystem operator. Large up my brother Adam for the shot. (click photo to enlarge)

summertime strength!

level the vibes...

Jah D tellin the people

3 da hard way (Gravy, Theory, Blakkamoore)

Gravy lockin the medi...

I love this picture.

whaa?

DJ Gravy @ the controls

unity in strength, strength in unity.

"EVER FORWARD, NEVER BACKWARD"

Swarmin' Dem...

Anybody reading this clearly checks music blogs, and therefore has likely heard of Kingston-born, Brooklyn-based artist 77Klash.  For those still under rocks, he produced JA heavyweight Turbulence's #1 charted song "Notorious" (a.k.a the Skallawah riddim), setting the framework for his debut ep "code for the streets" released in May of '08 on his KlashCity records imprint.  Having worked with artists like Johnny Osbourne, our mutual bredren Jah Dan Blakkamoore from Noble Society, Matt Shadetek, Sizzla Kalonji, and many more, his debut has been garnering some serious head-turning and steady press. After the Skallawah, then came The Swarm... The Swarm riddim features a whole slew of who's who in current JA bashment and culture artists:  Lutan Fyah, Jah Mason, Aidonia, Natural Black, Vybz Kartel, Future Fambo, Whiskey Baggio, and the title track by my peoples Noble Society straight outta BK.  Anyone playing Madden '08?? You may have heard Klash's big tune w/ Jahdan & Shadetek "Brooklyn Anthem" while you were pondering your next route...

So, now that the overview is straight, it's time to get to the point.  Klash solicited me to do a remix for The Swarm a while back, and so far it's been well received.  'The Swarm riddim remix ep' is set to drop very soon, featuring remixes from other artists I can't yet disclose.  As Jah D would say, 'you know how the ting set already..'