Category — Music News

A-Track talks about his DJ career, touring with Kanye, and his move into producing electronic music.

I frequently come across videos on YouTube that contain snippets of audio I really want in mp3 form, usually for sampling or for throwing on at the end of a set for comic purposes.

While capturing audio from videos is nothing new, the website VidToMP3 just made it a bit easier. All you do is paste in the URL for the video, wait for the conversion (takes less than 1 minute), and download the mp3. Sweet!!

Here’s the first thing I grabbed.

I recently came across a group that had me nodding my head like it was 94 again. The group Keys N Krates has been breathing new life into a number of classic tracks with their raw soulful instruments, and top-notch DJ who adds the perfect touch of flare to the various vocals the group borrows for their live remixes. Keys N Crates, led by front men DJ Jr. FLo & Matisse, claim to have “Re-invented the Remix”, and well…I am inclined to agree. Check out this video of them performing their rendition of Fugee La by the Fugees live.

The world famous Rock Steady Crew will soon be hosting their 31st anniversary party, which celebrates the preservation and evolution of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Rock Steady Crew was founded by breakdancers Jimmy D and Jojo in the late 70’s, and first gained serious media exposure in 1981 when the crew, under the leadership of the legendary Crazy Legs, participated in an outdoor performance battle again rival crew The Dynamic Rockers, which was covered by local New York City television stations, as well as several news publications including The New York Times.

The celebration will be in the form of a four-day festival in the New York City area from July 24 to Sunday, July 27.

Here’s the full calendar of events.

Thursday, July 24

Celebrity Benefit Basketball Challenge
Location: West 3rd Street & 6th Avenue (New York, NY)
Come watch members of the Hip-Hop and Film community compete for bragging rights.

Against The Grain: Concrete B-boy /B-girl battle.
B-boys & B-girls from all over the world battle it out for the $500 prize.
Location & Time: 11:00am - 3:00pm
DJ: Servin’ Ervin
Admission: Free

Workshops
Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Red Bull Building - 15 Watts(by W. Broadway)
Admission: $25.00
*B-boy / B-girl: Crazy Legs
You want to know how it’s done? These speakers are the best at what they do and share insight on how they make their magic happen.

“For The Funk Of It” Funkstyles Party
Time: 9:00pm - 1:00am
Location: Red Bull Building - 15 Watts(by W. Broadway, NY, NY)
DJ: Doc
Admission: Free
Self explanatory! Come get loose and show us what you got. Live Performance by Kurtis Blow

Friday, July 25

Frienemies
UK B-boy Championships US Qualifier: U.S.contestants go at it to see who will represent the U.S. in the UK B-boy Championship.
Location: 101 River View Grand Hall - 101 Sixth Ave.(btwn. Grand & Watt, NY, NY)
Time: 3:00PM - 9:00PM
Hosted By: Crazy Legs
DJ: Crazy Legs & Red Alert (Celebrating his 25 years on Radio Anniversary)
Admission: $20.00
This event will bring an underground event to crown a 1 B-boy/1 B-girl as the BEST. Each one has to represent the most effectively throughout the day in a STRICTLY CIPHER driven event.

Saturday, July 26

5 on 5 crew battles.
Location: 101 River View Grand Hall - 101 Sixth Ave. (btwn. Grand & Watt) (New York, NY)
Time: 3:00PM - 9:00PM
Hosted By: Crazy Legs
Spy Awards: The Spy Award is being presented to BEBE and A-B-girl
DJ: DV One & Skeme Richards
Admission: $25.00

July 26 is Official Rock Steady Crew Day In NYC, as proclaimed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

Sunday, July 27

3rd Annual Lincoln Park Music Festival
Time: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Free Outdoor Concert & Food Drive In Memory of “Frosty Freeze”
Location: Lincoln Park - 1 Lincoln, Newark, NJ (Broad St. & Clinton Ave.)
Hosted by: E.O.W.
DJ’s: JS-1, Eclipse & Sucio
Beat Battle: Meet The Producers vs. Big Tune Em Cee’s: The Beatnuts, Buckshot, Craig G & Marley Marl, Sadat X, Soul Sonic Force, Positive K, Grand Master Caz, DJ Premier feat. NYG’z & Blaq Poet, Termanology & DJ Statik Selektah, A-OK, Akrobatik, Skyzoo, Double Barrel, a Female Cipher - Lyric a.k.a. Sara Kana, Mala Reignz, Patty Dukes, Miss Nana & Rece Steele

Official After Party
Location: Redbull Building - 15 Watts by W. Broadway, New York, NY)
Time: 9:00PM - 1:00AM
DJ: Evil Dee
Admission: Free

In random news, Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. recently told Myspace.com that he plans to have skin grown in test tubes, and then grafted onto his arms to cover up his old tattoo’s…so he can then get some new one’s.

“It’s basically like getting a skin graft, but you’re not taking skin from your ass or legs - these guys actually grow the skin for you. When it has healed you can go get whatever tattoo you want. There’s an institute called the Wake Forest Institute in North Carolina for Regenerative Skin Treatment. It’s going to be pricey, but…it’s worth it. I got fire on my arms, i don’t need fire on my arms! I’m a grown man.”

Is this guy for real? First of all, that just sounds crazy. And second, i wonder how much thought Pharrell really put into this idea considering all the backlash he will probably encounter for wanting to use stem cell therapy, which is usually reserved for serious medical conditions, just to get some new tats!

Sadat X, co-founder of Brand Nubian, has signed a record deal with independent label Affluent Records and is planning on releasing a new album titled Generation X.

The album will will Sadat’s fifth solo release, and will feature production from Will Tell, and Affluent’s CEO, Oscar Sanchez.

Sadat X first caught the eye of the Hip Hop community through his involvement in Brand Nubian (Grand Puba, Sadat X,Lord Jamar, & DJ Alamo), a group that first hit the scene in 1990 with their debut album One For All, which contained now classic singles like “Slow Down”, “All For One”, and “Wake Up”.

Aside from his very distiguished voice, Sadat has also long been know for his sometimes controversial lyrics, so the album is sure to be worth checking out.

Here’s a couple of my favorites

Here’s something cool for all you Serato dj’s out there to check out.

Pete Rosenberg, along with Cypha Sounds, recently featured “the serato guys”, meaning Serato’s Executive VP’s of Product R&D on their radio show, and discussed the principles and development of Serato.

Some pretty cool stuff, check it out yourself.

Download: Juan Epstein: The Serato Guys

I mentioned a few days ago that vinyl sales are up, so where are people going to buy their records? I am baffled by how frequently I get asked whether vinyl records are still being made and where they can be bought. Either way I’m glad people are taking a liking to them again, so if you’re looking to re-spark the romance check out the list of top record stores in the US posted recently by Paste Magazine.

It’s no secret that CD sales are down, but did you know that according to the RIAA’s 2007 sales report more people are now buying vinyl records! While CD unit sales declined 11.7 percent, with revenue falling 20.5 percent, the American market saw an increase of 36.6 percent for sales of EP’s and LP’s in 2007.

It should be noted however that vinyl sales represent a significantly low portion of overall sales. In 2007 over 500 million CD’s were shipped out, while only 1.3 million vinyl records were shipped.

SOURCE

A bit of a late pass on this one but I wanted to post it anyway. The RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan teamed up with Chesspark to launch WuChess.com.

Any Wu fan can remember the countless references to the game of chess on their albums, and it is well known that RZA has been an avid chess player for a long time, so the partnership definitely makes sense. WuChess.com aims to be the new stomping ground for chess players who also happen to love hip-hop. Aside from being able to create your own profile, join chess “clans”, and having access to exclusive MP3’s, you can also get the chance to watch live matches between RZA and other hip-hop elites.