NEWS

[arigo]

Guru vorbeste despre despartirea sa de Premier:

New York combo Gangstarr were among the most influential hip-hop acts in the late 80s. The group have since inspired true-school MCs, beatmakers and DJs across the globe. But now, out of the blue, Gangstarr have called it quits.

Guru (aka Keith Elam) is embarking on a solo career, while DJ Premier (Christopher Martin) is (presumably) focussing on studio production. Guru, who took time out from Gangstarr for his critically adored Jazzmatazz in the early 90s, is re-establishing his identity with Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures out later this month via his own indie label, Seven Grand Records.

Guru is currently previewing Version 7.0 on his first Australian solo tour. Ask him how the album compares to his previous endeavours and the MC pulls no punches.

??€?First of all, I would say it??€�s the most important because it represents Guru??€�s emancipation from the major label influences,??€? he asserts, speaking (for some reason) in third person. ??€?This is my own label, so it??€�s not only a solo project, but it is Guru as a CEO of his solo project. So it??€�s a different look.

??€?Basically, this is more important than any other solo project I??€�ve done. Also, Jazzmatazz, which was my first solo project, will be coming out through Seven Grand Records as well, so everything that Guru does in the future will be coming through this label.??€?

Guru is accompanied on Version 7.0 by such disparate identities as Styles P, Jaguar Wright, Jean Grae, Talib Kweli and B-Real. However, the MC stresses that Version 7.0, which he co-produced with the relatively unknown Solar, is distinct from his collaborative Jazzmatazz volumes.

??€?Jazzmatazz is jazz ??€� it??€�s not pure hip-hop. It??€�s hip hop and jazz. This is a pure hip-hop album. This album is for the streets.??€?

The response in the US to lead single ??€?Cave In??€� has been ??€?ridiculous??€?, according to Guru. It seems like he??€�s well and truly back with a bang.

But what of Gangstarr? The group may be revered by underground hip-hop devotees, but they never matched the commercial success of their peers (like De La Soul) and so, after the disappointment of sixth album The Ownerz, they apparently decided to let it go.

Above all, Gangstarr were unhappy with their label, Virgin. Their promotion was mishandled and they were forced to liaise with a succession of A&R reps. No sooner had they built a relationship with a rep, he or she would be fired in yet another downsizing purge.

??€?Not only that, but you??€�ve got A&R and executives making decisions who are not from the culture, not from the streets,??€? Guru says.

It was around the time Gangstarr released The Ownerz that Guru befriended Solar, his current collaborator.

??€?I was telling him about a lot of this frustration and he said to me, ??€?Well, if it??€�s that bad, why don??€�t you start your own label???€�. He??€�s like, ??€?Jay-Z did it. Puff did it??€¦ all these guys. They ain??€�t got nuttin??€� on you. You??€�re talented, you??€�ve got experience, why don??€�t you do it???€�.

??€?I was like, ??€?Hmm??€�??€¦ and here we are.??€?

Guru conceived Gangstarr in his home city of Boston. Determined to enter the music industry, this son of the city??€�s first black judge studied business management. He formed Gangstarr with a fellow Bostonian, DJ Mike Dee, but, after aligning themselves with Wild Pitch, they fell out. Guru discovered Christopher Martin (then DJing under the Waxmaster C moniker and involved with Insane Clown Posse) by way of a demo in the label??€�s office. Martin had been studying computer science until Guru convinced him to join Gangstarr in New York. When he relocated, Martin changed his DJ name to Premier.

Gangstarr debuted on Wild Pitch with No More Mr Nice Guy, switching to Chrysalis (EMI) for 1991??€�s Step In The Arena and consolidating their fan base with Daily Operation. They connected with a progressive jazz community early, vibing with Branford Marsalis on a track for Spike Lee??€�s Mo??€� Better Blues.

Shortly after, Guru formulated his groundbreaking Jazzmatazz, Vol 1 and showed the world the affinity between jazz and hip-hop. Meanwhile, he sustained his allegiance to straight-up hip hop with Gangstarr.

Despite recent events, there have been no reports of Gangstarr??€�s demise. The two toured Australia in 2004 with Good Vibrations and all seemed well. So what exactly is their status?

??€?Gangstarr is a legacy, so I??€�m putting that legacy to rest. I don??€�t wanna milk it,??€? Guru says. He offers another analogy: the boxing champion who refuses to retire, only to enter the ring and be swiftly knocked out. Guru didn??€�t want to walk down that road.

??€?That??€�s what happens to a lot of artists from my era, or old-school artists, when they??€�ve gone past a certain point. I never wanted to go out like that. So what I did was reinvent and recreate.??€?

Similarly, Guru admires how Snoop Dogg severed ties with Dr Dre rather than strived to relive Doggystyle. The Gs remain on friendly terms, yet Snoop is recasting himself with The Neptunes??€� assistance.

??€?That is very similar to Guru and Premier and now Guru and Solar,??€? Guru offers

Still, Guru shies away from using the ??€?S??€� word (that??€�s ??€?split??€?) to describe Gangstarr, explaining it has negative connotations. After all, all is good between the Gangstarr boys. They??€�ve just moved on.

??€?I??€�ve moved on ??€�cause ??€?splitting up??€� would imply a whole bunch of other things and I don??€�t even have time for all that. But, if you wanna say ??€?split up??€�, you could say ??€?split up??€�. What I??€�m saying is it is what it is.??€?

sursa: http://www.timeoff.com.au/archive/1227/ ... ews/2.html

[kif]

[Deena]

Method Man Talks 'The Strip Game' DVD
By Erin Whitlock


Rapper/actor Method Man has released a DVD on the underworld of strip clubs, titled The Strip Game, under Lions Gate Entertainment.

The documentary features a candid account with the culture and the girls who work within the industry.

??€?The reason I wanted to do this was to enlighten people more,??€? Method Man told AHH. ??€?I never looked at the girls in any kind of light.??€?

Rather than watching 72 minutes of nudity one would expect by the name and subject matter, Method Man said he wanted to show the stories of the girls, the people close to them and what drove their career choices.

??€?There are some girls that are really money hungry and don??€�t even work in the strip clubs,??€? Meth said. ??€?And there are some girls that genuinely have a plan; this is their plan B because their Plan A didn??€�t work out, and their Plan C is to take that money and go to school with it.??€?
The story line digs deep into the hustling side of the profession and tells a story rarely heard.

While there is a story well beyond the surface, the novice filmmaker does admit to slipping in the occasional action scenes for viewers.

??€?Yeah I??€�m telling real stories, but if you pick up a documentary on strippers, you??€�re going to want to see some stripping, so we definitely got that in there,??€? he said. ??€?But the girls with the most personality, the ones who had a brain in their heads, we followed them in their everyday life and that??€�s how the documentary kind of wrote itself.??€?

The Strip Game is in stores now.

[arigo]

Un nou album Eminem e pe drum



Eminem a inceput lucrul la un nou album care va aparea la sfarsitul lui 2005. Este vorba de un disc dublu care se va numi "The Funeral" si care va contine piese lansate sub alias-urile Slim Shady si Marshall Mathers. LP-ul va include si patru piese noi - "The Funeral" cu Bizarre, "The Funeral" cu Dre, "The Funeral" cu Obie Trice si "Where I'm Standing (In the Game)", produsa de Dre. Materialul va marca disparitia alias-urilor sale de pana acum si va marca inceputul unei noi personalitati.

sursa: http://www.eminem.net/albums/the_funeral/

[Kremlin]

stiam de kteva luni bune frate despre noul album EM .peace

[arigo]

stiam de kteva luni bune frate despre noul album EM .peace

imi cer scuze pentru lipsa de promptitudine. in genunchi chiar. sorry

[Deena]

New Book Chronicling Run-DMC On The Way
By Houston Williams
Date: 6/24/2005 4:42 pm

Author Ronin Ro has penned ??€?Raising Hell: The Reign, Ruin and Redemption of Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay,??€? a new book that chronicles the personal and professional evolution of the Hollis Queens-reared rap group.

The book, which is published through Amistad/HarperCollins, will be available for purchase in November 2005.

In 1999, Ronin Ro caused a tremendous uproar with his controversial book ??€?Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records." However, he said this outing is better than his previous works.

??€?There have been many rap-themed books and ??€?as told to??€� works since ??€?Have Gun Will Travel??€� --and perhaps just as many imitations or clones--but ??€?Raising Hell??€� is unlike any of them,??€? Ro told AHH. ??€?It's better than ??€?Have Gun Will Travel??€� It's a new way to approach a story. It finds Run, DMC, and a number of other individuals you wouldn't think were involved in this tale candidly discussing their career for readers tired of paying good money for formulaic magazines, advocacy journalism, or the rash of books, magazine articles, or documentaries inspired by ??€?Have Gun Will Travel.??€�

There is one topic that ??€?Raising Hell??€? will not attempt to encapsulate and that??€�s the tragic murder of Run-DMC??€�s DJ, Jam Master Jay.

??€?The book touches briefly on Jay's murder; because much really doesn't have to be said. Murder, in my opinion, is usually simple. Means, motive, opportunity,??€? Ro explained. ??€?The book mainly focuses on their lives, their art, and their friendships evolving as much as the industry they were in. And of course the indelible imprint they made on popular culture as a whole.??€?

Although the Run-DMC & Jam Master Jay story has been documented in countless forms and formats, Ronin Ro??€�s said his will attempt to fully humanize their lives and times.

??€?I saw [the group] not as mere ??€?popular culture??€� or the image, but as human beings. Fathers. Children. Friends. Taxpayers. Intellectual beings. Brutalizers. Victims. Not just guys with hats and chains and sneakers. Also, ??€?Raising Hell??€� finally puts their story in context,??€? he said.

Ro also said that the book will be converted into a motion picture to be released after the novel. At press time, the deal, producer and screenwriter were being finalized.

Before writing books, Ronin Ro was a heavily sought after journalist who once wrote for Vanity Fair, The Source, SPIN, Rolling Stone, USA Today, VIBE and other publications.

He??€�s also written books like ??€?Bad Boy: The Influence of Sean ??€?Puffy??€� Combs On the Music Industry,??€? ??€?Tales To Astonish : Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution??€? and the aforementioned ??€?Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records.??€?

[sunrah]

The Cookbook tracklist:

1. "Joy" (feat. Mike Jones)
2. "Partytime"
3. "Irresistible Delicious" (feat. Slick Rick)
4. "Lose Control" (feat. Ciara)
5. "My Struggles" (feat. Grand Puba)
6. "Melt Down"
7. "The Right One For Me"
8. "On and On" (feat. Pharrell Williams; prod. Neptunes)
9. "We Run This"
10. "Time And Time Again"
11. "Gotta Move On" (feat. Tweet)
12. "Mami"
13. "4 My Man"
14. "Teary Eyed (feat. Tweet)"
15. "Smash The Place"
16. "Juicy"


July 5th

[sunrah]

Kanye West causes problems for diamond industry

Kanye West seems to have upset people yet again. However this time he has done it for what seems to be the right reason, and I for one, support him.

When Kanye wrote ??€?Diamonds are Forever??€?, it seemed it was a song about Rocafella Records and the lyrics supported this fact. However after a conversation with Q-Tip the record has taken a different spin. Now entitled ??€?Diamonds from Sierra Leone??€? the songs has been re-worked by Kanye, and Jay-Z has been given a verse. West changed the song when he heard about conflict Diamonds, and has released a video which shows the darker side of the diamond trade.

"I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the problem," says Kanye.

Kanye also challenges a hip-hop jewelry favourite on the track, "Good morning, this ain't Vietnam/ Still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real." Later in the song, he asks, "These ain't conflict diamonds, is they Jacob?"

Diamond Information Center spokesman Carson Glover said in an e-mailed statement that the issue of conflict diamonds is one the industry takes very seriously, and is united against.

"While we have not viewed Mr. West's new video, the lyrics of the song certainly do not reflect the tremendous work the diamond industry has done in conjunction with the [United Nation's] sanctioned Kimberly Process introduced in 2000," Glover said. "In response to the Kimberley Process governmental scheme, the diamond industry introduced a ??€?certificate of origin??€� allowing only legitimate diamonds to be traded on the global market, therefore creating a zero tolerance environment for conflict diamonds around the world."

He added, "The volume of conflict diamonds in circulation is believed to have dropped below 1 percent, if any at all, and it is virtually impossible for unscrupulous dealers to sell non-certified rough diamonds."

??€?Diamonds from Sierra Leone??€? is the first single of Kanye??€�s new album, Late Registration, which has been pushed back until August 16th. Kanye hopes to exceed the near 3 million sales his debut album, The College Dropout, made in the United States.

[Deena]

Jean Grae: The Hurricane strikes again
Starting out as one-third of the now-defunct Natural Resource crew, Jean Grae has seen much more success as a solo artist, with solid indy projects such as "Attack Of The Attacking Things", "Bootleg of the Bootleg", and "This Week", not to mention a few high profile guest shots on The Roots' "The Tipping Point" and Okay Player's True Notes Vol. One. With an upcoming project with 9th Wonder set to drop later this year, Ms. Grae sets the stage with "Hurricane Jean" - a collection of new, hard-to-find, and unreleased tracks, including guest shots from Phil Da Agony, DP, Planet Asia, 2Mex, Talib Kweli, Brooklyn Academy, and Killah Priest.

[Deena]

Ras Kass-Guess who's back: Freestyles'05
Fresh out the pen, Ras Kass makes his triumphant return to the studio with this brand new disc of exclusive freestyles over popular beats. While Ras is busy in the studio recording new music for other new solo / offshoot projects, this new CD collects many of Ras' hard-to-find mixtape freestyles from the likes of DJ Green Lantern, Sickamore, DJ EFN, Tony Touch, Drama, and Doo Wop, plus all new, never heard before exclusives, including collabos with Canibus, Scopio, Planet Asia, Scott Storch, and more. All CD's purchased direct from Ras Kass himself!!

[sunrah]

B.I.G'S KILLER confessed!!

I geuss everyone allready new it was David Mack < < < <

[sunrah]

MOP officially on G-Unit? > > > ugh < < <

[sunrah]

NOTORIOUS BIG WRONGFUL-DEATH TRIAL HALTED



The NOTORIOUS BIG wrongful-death trial was halted in Los Angeles on Monday (27JUN05) after the rapper's family received an important tip relating to his 1997 murder.

The family of Notorious - real name CHRISTOPHER WALLACE - are suing the Los Angeles Police Department and the city for wrongful death, and identify an ex-LAPD officer named DAVID A MACK as an alleged mastermind of the shooting.

On Friday (24JUN05), the Wallaces' lawyer PERRY SANDERS revealed the family had received new important information from a Louisiana man, leading US District JUDGE FLORENCE-MARIE COOPER to excuse jurors for the day.

Sanders says the informant claimed Mack and another former cop RAFAEL PEREZ confessed to two prison inmates that they had murdered Notorious as he sat outside a post-SOUL TRAIN MUSIC AWARDS party in LA on 9 March 1997.

On Monday, after meeting with Sanders, Judge Cooper asked the city to find alleged materials, which apparently included an informant implicating Mack and Perez.

The trial will resume on Thursday (30JUN05).

I wish they'd let a brotha know.
28/06/2005 02:55

Three men including Marion "Suge" Knight have been linked to the late-model Chevy Impala SS driven in the Notorious B.I.G's shooting death back in 1997.

According to eyewitness accounts, the person who shot Biggie was driving a dark-colored, late-model Chevy Impala SS. A staple among Los Angeles gangsters and wannabes, the vehicle has been linked to three suspects in B.I.G.'s murder. The three suspects include Suge Knight, whose car was filled with gunshot residue when police officers tested it. The mogul, who has long denied any involvement, is suspected of orchestrating the killing to avenge the slaying of Tupac Shakur. Pac had been killed six months earlier in Las Vegas. Death Row and Bad Boy Entertainment, Biggie's recording home, were at the center of a beef prior to their murders.

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Another Impala owner is crooked LAPD officer David A. Mack. Mack's ride was discovered stashed in his garage when cops searched his home following a bank robbery he had committed eight months after B.I.G.'s killing. A friend of Biggie said he saw Mack hanging near the crime scene the night of the slaying. Mack, who also denied involvement in the murder, is suspected of arranging the ambush as a favor for Suge; they're both Blood gang members.

The third Impala is owned by Southside Crips leader Kiefie D. His ride was discovered hidden under a drape in his girlfriend's backyard not long after Biggie's murder. Stories from the street say that Kiefie wanted Biggie's head because he never paid local Crips for their "security services" during a visit in L.A.

According to reports, Reggie Wright, then a Compton cop by day, served as Death Row Records' chief of security. It is believed that at least two other cops worked at the company. The FBI even sent in undercover agents to probe the relationship between the label and the cops. A cop known as Detective L, testified that he worked the front desk at Death Row and saw gang members come in and out. "I saw them bringing in their pit bulls and smoking weed," L stated. "They were affiliated with Bloods."

In order to win The Notorious B.I.G. wrongful-death case, the Wallace family must tie the slaying to Mack. Mack is presently serving a 14-year prison sentence for armed robbery.

[Kremlin]

sa se faca odata lumina!!!!
R.I.P. Notorious B.I.G. ....another big lost