Jay-Z is having a benefit concert on September 11 in New York City, the same day as the release of his The Blueprint 3 album. The concert will take place at Madison Square Garden and all proceeds will benefit a charity to support families of police and firemen fallen in the line of duty, the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. Fans that can't make the concert can catch it via a (more...)
Archive for August, 2009
Jay-Z to Perform September 11 Benefit Concert
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009New Artist Spotlight: Gist
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Representing: Jamaica (Queens), New York
HipHopWired: First things first, there's a lot behind the name. Does Gist tie in with what you're about to bring to the game?
Gist: Gist means the essence, the essential idea. It's the meaning, the understanding. Something that's missing and I feel like my part that I can offer to this game is some realness, something that people can feel. Why we started doing this in the first place, Hip-Hop was originally an expression for us. This was and is the way that we can speak up and I want to bring back that talent. There's a lot of talented artist that don't get heard and I'm one of them so the essence of real Hip-Hop music is talent and doing it for the love of the game and I definitely have all the above.
HipHopWired: You've been making some noise on the mixtape circuit in New York for the past few years, what are some of the accolades you've racked up?
Gist: I was featured on BET's Rap City “Spit Yo Game.” Marley Marl's “Future Flavors Of The Month” retired my song after winning several weeks in a row for my song “Get Money” off The Young Gifted & Black album. I've had spins on Power 105 and Hot 97. Over 580,000 people have viewed my “Young, Gifted & Black” video off YouTube and over 40,000 have downloaded the Young, Gifted & Black album.
HipHopWired: Young, Gifted & Black built a strong buzz for you but it also caused a few misconceptions. Let's clear that up.
Gist: I don't know if 100% percent of the people knew what I was saying on the song. When I said, “I ain't never sold an ounce of crack/ I never bust a trey pound or mac/ that's a fact I'm just a youngin' that know how to rap.”
I wasn't glorifying and saying I'm better than he is because I ain't never have to sell dope or kill anybody. It was more drawing attention like dude, I can rap, I make music just as well as anybody else that trap to do what they need to do. So that whole album was based around being young, gifted and black. The message was that God blessed me with a gift and I want the world to hear it. Donny Hathaway made the song. Nina Simone made it. Aretha Franklin redid it. Big Daddy Kane ended up naming one of his songs behind that and that's what I'm offering to the people too. It's something to be proud of. Like I said, I'm a regular dude and not everybody in the hood has sold drugs. Some do go to college and do other things and that's something to brag about too besides I moved all these keys. So the song and the album really is to inspire and it's more of a representation of being proud of what you do and not being afraid to do it. Acknowledging the gift that God gave you and acknowledging the gift that you've been blessed with and making it happen.
That's pretty much me, I'm just a go-getter. Making it happen. I could have set there and tried to create this superhero, fake person that wasn't me and it could've worked. It probably would have but it's like at the end of the day can I look myself in the mirror and know that I'm being true to myself. And plus I want people to feel me and not some fake character.
HipHopWired: So you don't want to be placed in a box as strictly a conscious and a back pack MC that your first project had people perceive?
Gist: I moved away from the album because it kind of put me in a box. Because I wasn't talking about selling drugs, they wanted to put me in the category of a backpack rapper and that's not what I am, no disrespect. And when you listen to the album, you see I'm doing tons of stuff on that album. So it wasn't really until I started pushing my next mixtape which was Little Boxes because that was like ya'll think ya'll understand me but I just love making music. I'm a fan of this so if you think you got me pegged to a tee, you're wrong.
HipHopWired: You recently dropped a new mixtape in preparation for your upcoming second independent album, what does that project set you up for?
Gist: Dreams The Mixtape is a continuation of me letting you know who I really am. So if you listen to those last two projects, you'll be like this kid, whatever sounds right to him, he gone do. As long as it don't compromise myself as a man and as an artist, I'm gone do it. Don't get it twisted. Let's keep it 100. I'm a Queens ni**a till the day that I die. I don't smoke but I do drink and I do all the things that real ni**as do. I go to the club, talk to shorties, chill with my crew and bug out sometime. But after Young Gifted & Black, they wanted me to be with incense all day, being a vegetarian or some sh%&. Nah if I'm at a barbecue, give me a double cheeseburger, pass that Henn, and what is her name over there. I'm someone everybody can relate to and when you hear my music, you can feel it. Dreams The Mixtape is just an appetizer to let the people know I ain't dead yet.
HipHopWired: You're gearing to release the actual album Dreams this fall, what do you want people to walk away with after banging out to your sound and lyrics?
Gist: I'm just grinding out just trying to make good music that people can feel. I want them to understand me. I'm a regular dude and for such a long time I feel like rappers have been like these distant dudes, like they the Pope or something. Somebody who you can't know or touch but everybody got a little bit of Gist in them, that's how I feel. I'm a regular dude in the hood. I ain't done all of the hood things but I done some knuckle head things but went to college and I'm just a fan of music and I think that's what people will get after listening to me. I'm not so far from them and they will be able to relate. Everything that you see and go through in real life, you'll be able to get out of my music.
"Got 'Em Tight"
Got 'em Tight (Clean)
"B.O.B."
B.O.B. (fade)
To contact Gist or listen to more of his music, click the links below.
Myspace.com/gistmusic
Gistmusic.com
To submit material to be considered for New Artist Spotlight: Send bio, mp3s and links to HipHopWired@gmail.com
WIRED MIXTAPE: 8/24 to 8/29, 2009
Monday, August 24th, 2009DJ Graffiti: Michigan Mixtape King
Monday, August 24th, 2009
Origin: Representing Michigan state wide
Top 10 Playlist
1. Mayer Hawthorne - "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Astronote Rmx)"
2. Crown Royale
3. The Clipse ft. Pharrell - "I'm Good"
4. Raekwon ft. Capadonna & Ghostface Killah - "10 Bricks (prod. J Dilla)"
5. Phat Kat - "Fanz"
6. Black Milk - "Set Go"
7. Ryan Leslie - "Not My Girl"
8. Slum Village - "Cloud 9"
9. Statik Selektah ft. Styles P & Talib Kweli - "The Thrill Is Gone"
10. Donwill - "Laura's Song (prod. Astronote)"
HipHopWired: For those who don't know you, how did you get your start as a DJ?
DJ Graffiti: I actually started as an MC, that's how I got into music. When I was younger, my parents were really over protective and I wasn't allowed to hang out in the streets all hours of the night; so as an outlet I used to go over to my friends house and we used to make music. From there I went on to DJ while I attended college at the parties and really got into making mixtapes and it was pretty much my passion from there. I'm in love with music, so I am one of those people where you can put in a classic rock club or an underground club either way, I am going to rock it and make sure that everyone has a great time.
HipHopWired: How long have you been in the industry?
DJ Graffiti: Professionally I have been in the industry for twelve years, but I have been a DJ for over fifteen years.
HipHopWired: Being a DJ in the era where DJs were beginning to use CDs, which do you prefer to use, CDs or vinyl?
DJ Graffiti: I started out with vinyl, actually when I started to DJ professionally DJs were using the CDs but it wasn't sophisticated enough to emulate vinyl. So back then, it was really more like working home CD players and it was very hard to mix. As for what I use now, I definitely still use vinyl, I have crates upon crates of vinyl, but I also use the Serato which allows me to control the MP3 on the laptop without having to carry my 5 crates.
HipHopWired: How do you feel about the transition from Vinyl to CDs, do you feel it is a hindrance to the art or do you feel that it is just simply the music evolving?
DJ Graffiti: Honestly I have never used CDs, I have owned CD tray turntables, but I have never used CDs to DJ. I have always used vinyl or something similar to vinyl, but I think the CDs came into play because there were MP3s that weren't available on vinyl that were available on CD. In order to be up to date, I think that sometimes you had to use a CD every once and a while; but that would still only be 3 percent of my show. I think that if you are skilled and do what you do well, it really doesn't matter what format that you use. I think at the end of the day a good DJ is a good DJ, it does hurt at the end of the day when you travel across the country to finally get your hand on a record that someone can go to Google and type search to download; but still no matter what technology comes out a dope DJ is a dope DJ.
HipHopWired: What do you think makes a great DJ?
DJ Graffiti: You definitely have to know the music and have the ability to read the crowd, know when to play what record at the right time. You have to have an ear for music, everyone knows what they like but it is very difficult to play something that a crowd of people will like. You have to be able to play music that is right for the moment. A great DJ is going to know how to start the record, how to cut the record, how long to play the record; all of this comes with experience, but also is a GOD given talent that is given to you to make people dance and have a good time. That's why it doesn't matter what technology comes next, if you notice everyone wants to call themselves a DJ, because they think that all you have to do is have a laptop and the software. I'm not saying that you can't be a DJ, I'm just saying you won't be a good DJ.
HipHopWired: How important do you feel that the DJ is in Hip-Hop, because a lot of people have the feeling that the DJ has become outdated and was someone that was more important in the earlier stages of Hip-Hop?
DJ Graffiti: In the beginning, a lot of people may have forgotten but the DJ was the center piece. The MC's job back then was to center around the DJ, make the DJ look good and basically just MC. But as the culture became more main stream, the MC came more to the forefront and the DJ faded more behind the scenes. But to say that an MC doesn't need a DJ or to never have had a show with a good DJ, then you really don't know what you are missing. The DJ ultimately gives the performer a way to control and read the crowd. A good DJ gives the performer the ability to turn around a potentially bad set by giving him the ability to switch up the set if the crowd isn't feeling it, where as a using a CD, you have no choice but to do the tracks listed.
For instance if you have an MC that comes out doing ten of his most hardcore and gangster of songs and the crowd is full of ladies, they may not be feeling it like that. At this point is when a good DJ will let the MC know to skip past some of the thugged out songs by saying, “Yo, I think we need to slow it down for the ladies out there.” That will let the MC know that he needs to change the mood to get the crowd to feel it and that is something that a CD player can't do. If you have ever been to a show where the performer has had a great DJ behind him, trust me you will know it because the show is so unforgettable. It allows you to walk away feeling like you were part of an experience and had a unforgettable time versus walking out feeling like it was ok and forgetting about it the next day.
HipHopWired: What was the best show that you attended with a DJ?
DJ Graffiti: I would have to say the best show that I have ever been to was Kid Capri and Rakim. Rakim is more of a laid back MC that commands the crowd, but Kid Capri just made the crowd go crazy by bringing the records back and just getting the crowd hyped. It was just crazy and that showed me why he is one of the best DJs ever. It is really hard to put your finger on what the DJ does, but if you ever attend a show where there is a great DJ there, you can definitely tell the difference.
HipHopWired: What are some projects that you have worked on that people may not know about?
DJ Graffiti: The project that really established me was the mixtape series that I put out in the early 2000's called Bling Free. I put that series out because at the time everyone was so fascinated with bling and the big chains, not that I had a problem with it but I just felt that people needed to know that there was more out there. So I put out Bling Free, but as I explained back then, Bling Free wasn't anti-Bling or against big chains it was really just about people doing their own thing and standing on your own with or without the chain-let yourself shine through. Since then more recently I manage a producer called Astronote from France that is one of the illest producers that I have ever heard period. We recently put out a mixtape called Bigger & Better which remixed some songs by the Notorious B.I.G and is hosted by Talib Kweli.
HipHopWired: What are some projects that you are currently working on?
DJ Graffiti: I am putting out a mixtape entitled Kind of a Big Deal, which plays off of the movie Anchor Man. I took bits and pieces of clips from the movie and incorporated it into a mixtape. It has about 30 songs on it and it features Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Lil' Wayne and it's really just all over the place with a mixture of good music.
HipHopWired: You are well known on the underground for working with Detroit MC Phat Kat, who are some other artists that you are working with and what other ventures do you have?
DJ Graffiti: Well, I am currently working with a lot of different artists, but the main artists that I am working with right now are the ones signed to my management company A-Side World Wide which are artists that I have been working with for the past 10 years. Even before the company the artists and I were like family. The artists that I am working with are Buff 1, 14KT, Mayer Hawthorne, Athletic Mic League, there is a list of projects and to check out the artists go to asideworldwide.com and you can see all of the artists and hear the projects that we are working on.
HipHopWired: You have a degree in Marketing from the University of Michigan's School of Business and Law, as a graduate how important to you is having an education in the industry?
DJ Graffiti: I think that having an education is very important, not just in the industry but in life in general. As we can see with the recession, people with degrees are getting the jobs that people didn't really want, such as retail and fast food because they are more qualified. I think that whether you want to own your own business or work for someone else, you should definitely have that degree to make sure that you are more qualified than the next, especially in the industry because there isn't as much money floating around as it used to be. So I am a firm believer in having a backup plan and using that degree to fall back on. A lot of people don't know but my main gig right now is marketing. I own my own business, work for myself and do what I want to do. Now when I was in school, Djing was 80 percent of my focus and marketing was about 20 percent. Now that I am older and established, the percentages have shifted because my main focus is my business and you should always make sure that you have a way to provide for yourself in case your primary dream is deferred.
HipHopWired: How do you feel about all of this “beef” that MCs have been having with DJs lately?
DJ Graffiti: Honestly, I think for the most part a lot of the beefs have started because the DJs were “so called” DJs. Because on a lot of the newer mixtapes, it is just someone putting an artist's tracks on record and putting their drops over it or giving shout outs over the tracks and selling it by calling it a mixtape; when in essence what these people are doing is bootlegging the artist's music. They are not shining a light on an artist and making people want to buy the record, you just got a leak and used it to your advantage. So if an artist has beef because of that I definitely agree that the so called DJ was wrong and he deserves to get called out.
On the flip side, you do have DJs out there that actually work with the artists to dig and find exclusive music that may not be released to shine to some light on an artist and put a creative spin to the record to help get the artist's name out there to an audience that may not have listened to him otherwise. Now if an artist is mad at someone who is a real DJ, I don't agree with or condone that because it could just be a case of the artist getting a big head and thinking that he can do it without the DJ. When in reality if Radio DJs stop playing an artist's song and a club DJ didn't spin the record and real mixtape DJs didn't want to help put you out there, how would anyone hear their music?
Be sure to check out upcoming projects on www.djgraffiti.com or www.asideworldwide.com.
Michael Steele Finally Admits Fault In RNC…Kinda
Monday, August 24th, 2009Michael Steele is no stranger to political controversy. Like most Republicans, the national spotlight seems to shine brightest on the Chairman of the Republican National Committee when he is embroiled in some sort of scandal or news worthy hoopla, followed usually by an even more polarizing self-inflicted wound. Be that as it may, Steele has never been one to talk bad about his own party; never has he been one to admit wrong doing, that is, until now.
Recently, the head of America's “Grand Ol' Party” appeared on conservative talk radio host Vincent David Jericho's show to discuss a few issues plaguing the once powerful political party. After many cordialities, the direction of the show quickly changed as Missouri's #1 conservative radio host went on a vicious verbal tirade against several of the RNC's head honchos, with Steele lambasted as nothing more than an ignorant figurehead opting to passively agree with him.
“I'm not just some voice flapping in the wind. I am speaking for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans who are feeling the same way. For God sakes, the Republican Party is supposed to stand for something. Why don't they stand up and lead?,” said the political shock jock.
Not far after his initial statement, Jericho moved to dissect the party name by name, starting with House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. “…Boehner and some of these guys are a joke. And you can't say anything. They are an absolute freaking joke,” a statement to which Steele replied, “I'm 1,000 percent with you.”
The assault continued with Missouri's candidate for the Senate, Roy Blunt, entrenched firmly in Jericho's crosshairs. “I mean, here is a guy that has committed adultery multiple times…Guys like Papa Blunt make us sick to our stomach,” to which Steele feverishly disputed by saying “Look, now don't…I mean, I agree with you”
In other Republican news, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina may have a chance to keep his marriage after speculation that it would soon be coming to an end. Reports have surfaced saying his wife is interested in working to reconcile with her husband, citing that she would like to be able to say that she did everything that could possibly be done to work things out with the Governor. After a weeklong absence in June, the Governor admitted to having an extramarital affair with another woman in Argentina; he has since claimed that woman as his “soul mate.”
Mrs. Sanford is has taken a family-owned coastal residence as her temporary home pending the future of her marriage.
Raekwon Speaks On OB4CL2 Album, Releases Tracklist & Artwork
Monday, August 24th, 2009Raekwon The Chef has unveiled the track list and artwork for his highly anticipated fourth album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Part 2. Scheduled to drop September 8th, Rae spoke exclusively with Hip-Hop Wired about the project.
“This album right here my dude is more street. I just really took off the glamour and the glitter and basically just went back to being that MC from the projects. I didn't really drop too many jewels because I knew that everyone wanted what they wanted right now. Because if started getting too optimistic and too gem dropping, it may be too far over people's head to really understand. So I just really wanted to kind of keep this album on some street sh%&, talking about my days of (more...)
Trick Daddy - "How Low Can You Go?"
Monday, August 24th, 2009Statik Selektah feat. Lil Fame of M.O.P. - "Critically Acclaimed"
Monday, August 24th, 2009Malaysia Delays Caning for Woman Who Drank Beer
Monday, August 24th, 2009A woman was supposed to caned in Malaysia in Monday as punishment for drinking beer, authorities have decided to postpone the caning until after the holy month of Ramadan.
The 32-year-old mother of two, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukamo, has been the newest example to many civil rights groups who feel that Islamic laws are taking over the traditionally lenient country. Despite the rights groups concerns, Kartika has accepted her consequence.
In a court early Monday, it seemed as though she had been freed when a court order to have her transported to the prison where would have been caned was ruled invalid by an Islamic judge.
According to Reuters, moments later, the woman was released from the transporting vehicle in eastern Malaysia where she was busted for consuming alcohol. An offense she's admitted to and opted to be caned in public.
"The punishment has not been canceled, it was postponed because of Ramadan," Pahang state Executive Councillor for Religion, Missionary Work and Unity, Mohamad Sahfri Abdul Aziz, said.
Ramadan, which started in Saturday, is a time of religious fasting and reflection for followers of the Islamic faith that lasts a month.
Kartike, who admitted to drinking the beer in a hotel in Pahang in 2007, said she will accept her punishment and wishes to be treated fairly.
"I am shocked but I remain steadfast with my decision," Kartika, told reporters after the state announced it would push ahead with the caning.
"All I want now is to know my true situation and do not treat me like a football," said Kartika who had worked as a nurse in Singapore until her trial.
