View the The Herd's version of Redgum's 1983 classic, I Was Only 19.

The original song was an indictment towards those who looked down upon returning serviceman from the Vietnam conflict. Many who were young conscripted civilians who had no choice but to go to war merely because their Nos came up. The original writer & singer John Schumann also appears on the new version.

The fantastic emotional video is another notch in Australian hip hop's homegrown expression belt. And props to the lads at Elefant Traks for not being afraid of discussing worthy subject matter. I'm also glad they didn't dress themselves up as soldiers in the clip. A smart decision to let the video speak for itself.

Seems like there is a resurgence in the subject matter for Fred Schepisi will be shooting the film Last Man this year as well. "It's based on the true story of five soldiers from Australia's Special Air Service operating behind the lines in Vietnam. The story is told from the point of view of these men many years later as they gather for the funeral of their sergeant."

• View the video clip on the filmmakers website, Broken Yellow.
• Or download the 20MB Quicktime file from here.

and I just spotted this at the ET website...

Hermits in Malaysia!
with Hermitude

Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Price: invite only

Yes yes yall the Hermits are taking their ish to the "Lifestyles of the Rich & Malaysian" crowd at the "Discover Hennessy" party. Venue TBA, It will be an exclusive downtown KL location. First OS gig for Hermitude! Jiargh bwoy. Urthy and Ozi are traveling with them to offer a sultry sideshow... well... you know...rap and shit. This will be a good taster for the big Japanese and European tour for the lads in May.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE with Kool Keith



Or download the video direct from here.

Substance Abuse at MySpace.

DJ RIP ONE is incredible.....

I finally found it. It's only 37 minutes in total, but it's off the freaking chain. I don't even know the story behind the mix, just download it before it dissapears. It's soooooo dope.

All I can say is that RIP ONE IS the fucking man. Dude is crazy.
I love his stuff because he does up-tempo rhythm scratching, something most new school scratch deejays can't do for shit.

Why isn't he doing more stuff we ask. Why...??? Where are you Galen?????

The scratches on this are from a maniac. More scratching on the 1st part, but then it gets more hectic & uptempo on the 2nd part. Listen to his cuts... Dude is a freak....

just added.....
Yes, I do believe it is 'THE ESSENCE' tape. I don't have a tape deck & haven't heard it for years, but it has been pointed out to me that it is just under a different name for some crazy reason. It wa sfamiliar, but I just couldn't place it.

• MP3: DJ RIP ONE - Bionic B-Boy 1
• MP3: DJ RIP ONE - Bionic B-Boy 2

HILLTOP HOODS interview in Sydney Morning Herald

Hip-hop crew stays true blue
March 12, 2006
A high school friendship has turned professional, Christine Sams writes.

HAVING just emerged from a recording studio, Matt Lambert (known as "Suffa" from the Hilltop Hoods) is getting reacquainted with friends and family. "I'm just getting familiar with my girlfriend again," Suffa says, laughing. "Like, for the last three weeks we've honestly been in the studio for about 80 hours a week." The long hours have been spent recording the final mixes for the Hilltop Hoods' next album, The Hard Road, which is due out early next month.

But having been crowned kings of Aussie hip-hop after the wide-ranging success of their last album, The Calling, the hip-hop threesome has experienced something new in the studio - the pressure of expectation.

"We were all [feeling it] a bit this time around," says band member Daniel Smith (whose stage name, ironically, is "Pressure"). "We never have before because we never had anyone expecting much of us. The success The Calling had was a complete shock to us. A lot of people are asking whether we can repeat it with this album, but whether we do or don't, I think we're happy with the album we've just made."

The three members of Hilltop Hoods - Suffa, Pressure and Debris (Barry Francis) - met at Blackwood High School in South Australia, at a time when most of their peers were immersed in US hip-hop. "It could be we don't play guitars because of a lack of hand-eye co-ordination," Suffa says, jokingly. "But it's mainly because everyone in our high school was into hip-hop - and I mean everyone. Our generation was the one coming through when Public Enemy was huge, Run DMC, that sort of thing, Ice T and LL Cool J."

Despite the strong, early influence of American rappers and hip-hop artists, the South Australian group slowly developed their own style, which included sticking with their Aussie accents - a movement that was already happening among some underground acts in Australia, including groups in Sydney and Melbourne.

But Suffa says there are still two distinct camps within the local hip-hop scene: those being themselves and those trying to be American. "We've still got people in the scene that are ashamed of being Australian and have to put on an American accent," he says. "It's a shame the young people are listening to them too. You can tell the difference between the two camps, mainly by the people who want commercial success versus the people that want to make music and have some credibility."

It's a good thing the members of Hilltop Hoods stuck to their guns when it came to using their local accents. These days, Aussie hip-hop is more popular than ever, with radio stations including Triple J leading the charge when it comes to regular airplay. "It is a sign of the times, that hip-hop really is the music of the youth," says Pressure, now 28. "These young people, who've been listening to it since their early teens, are getting older and turning 18 and going to shows now. They've got their own jobs and their own money and they're putting it into purchasing products made by Australian hip-hop artists, so it really is a growing factor in the music industry. The major labels know this and that's why they're starting to sign Australian hip-hop acts."

In the meantime, Hilltop Hoods will continue leading the charge with their new album, which Suffa says has turned out to be a little "darker". "We didn't mean it to happen that way - it's a bit more intense," he says. But the upbeat energy and creative passion shared by the three musicians has remained the same. "That's one of the reasons we've stayed together so long: the crew was based on the friendship between us," Pressure says. "All three of us still love doing it, we're enjoying ourselves. As long as that continues I think it'll reflect in our music."

SMH original article

• Hilltop Hoods website

MARK RONSON's new videoclip. Awesome.
Yep, its that Radiohead song, but this time I'm in favour of a cover version of a song that is less than 10 years old. For it has the Dap Kings horn section & oddly enough the lead singer of Phantom Planet. I have to give it up to the Ronson, at least he's one of the more well known dj/producers dabbling in a mix of interesting genres with good pop oriented music that still has a grasp on substance & diversity.

The videoclip is just fantastic. Incorporating graffiti & stencil art from what looks to be London & animating it over real street scenes. Sure its similiar to Blur's clip for their song Crazy Beat that utlised Banksy, but this uses a few different artists work. Many of them recognisable.

I wish radio would play this type of stuff over the bullshit they do playlist.
The single is available from 13th March on BBE/RAPSTER.

• VIDEO: MARK RONSON ft. ALEX GREENWALD - Just 15MBs. Downloadable QT file.

MODILL - Midnight Green
EV PRODUCTIONS. 18 tracks.
Released Jan 20th 2006

What a shit hot album. Three 12" singles deep & now a full length that is on some other uniquely original tangent, yet firmly placed on the ground without any head up its arse.

Emcee Racecar used to be a member of the crew Organic Mind Unit in the '90s, but he left & joined the live live hip-hop band FreeBasic where he ultimately met up with producer DJ K-Kruz, who himself is also the drummer for the indie-funk group National Trust. Got that?

K-Kruz brings a distinctively original vision that feels like a cross pollination of a few styles. It straddles a landscape that is in-between classic NY 90s, quirky glitchy Detroit & Philly soul, except its all from Chicago. There are far too many tracks that hit instantly between the ears & that is probably because of the diversity of the beats. No time for even a thought of, 'it'll grow on you'. Nah, this shit infects you straight away. In fact I was so impressed that this 60 min album was stretched to 180 mins in one sitting. I had to press repeat another 2 times to savour & take in the entire thing before I could stand up & walk away. It was gluttony of the sonic order. I needed to hear it again straight away. It's that impressive, but not all just in the music department. Racecar> is one of the most impressive emcees I've heard for a while. He's been blessed with a voice that is pure butter that glides over all the songs with deep lyrics that will penetrate & not bounce off your skull. The debut 12" track Change Form, with the also incredible Diverse, is thankfully included & probably the icing on a most delicious scrumdiddlyumptious ckae..

Rounding out the review I must mention the 3 deejays on the album, Once-A-Month, Sapien & Spontaneous, who keep the spine straight with broad shoulders, while the few guests, like Longshot, Truth Enola & Thaione Davis (gathered from the Chicago underground scene) add just that extra dose of special flavour. Even Dave from De La Soul pulls out some spot on couplets for his verse on the exemplary Vacant Stares. I'm sure the connection with labelmate Copperpot contributed to the guest appearance of the UK's Verb T on Got it (Good).

As a consumer & fan who buys 12" singles more than albums, it is a rare treat where I get satisfied with an albums' worth of material. This collection, like the recent CunninLynguists release, A Piece of Strange & Aceyalone/RJD2's Magnificent City satisfies completely on every level. If I could have at least another 10 albums up to this standard this year, I'd be a very happy camper indeed.

K-Kruz has a remix CD available on the EV Productions website. He's also produced some tracks for Longshot & Verbal Kent, but I upped his Urban Renewal remix. Dissapointingly there doesn't seem to be a vinyl edition of the album so you'll have to seek out the 12" singles. Which add up to about 8 of the 18 tracks. At least one more 12" from the album would be nice. At least we get the instrumentals so I shouldn't really be complaining.

• MySpace
• Modill website

• MP3: MODILL - Moves ft Truth E.N.O.L.A. & Thaione Davis
• MP3: MOS DEF, DIVERSE & PREFUSE 73 - Wylin Out (K-Kruz remix)

The NONCE - Mix Tapes videoclip

I swear You Tube is out of control. I did another random search for something I've never seen...and it was there... Wow!!!
They even had Bus Stops.

• Use this site to download videos Easy as pie.
• Use this if you have a MAC to convert to MPEG Works brilliantly.

A hard to find mix from DIPLO

Here's a bonus for anyone who saw Diplo down here recently. This is his extremely hard to find original AEIOU mix. The sequel with Tripledouble is still available for purchase & I advise you to do so. It's a pretty sick mix that is dominated by impossibly unknown folk stuff. I know nothing in that genre, so it was an aweseme listen. Very recommended.

The usual stuff.
Rare funk, folk, jazz, some double copies are in effect. Just a nice rarity to have & shows the early stages in his now oblique musical tastes. It's just a solid beatdigging mix if you have no idea who this member of the Hollertronix crew is.

• DIPLO - Aeiou. Part 1 39MBs. 192kbps
• DIPLO - Aeiou. Part 2 61MBs. 192kbps

Mixtape blog from Japan

Cool informative blog on Japanese mixtapes/CDs. Of course its in Japanese. Just use Babelfish translation for the html page... Of course it'll make as much sense as a fish in custard, but you'll get the idea.

Mostly homegrown ones like Ulticut-ups, Muro, Kentaro, but some US ones as well.

• Mixtape Blog

JAY DEE updates.

Stonesthrow have upped their first podcast & it's dedicated to Jay Dee with Beat Junkie J-Rocc on the decks.

Image of Madlib & Jay Dee in Brasil. Photo by B+

An amazing article on the last days of J.Dilla's life. Pretty heavy stuff. Detroit Free Press.

?uestlove has also upped about 5 more MP3s of sets & songs with J.Dilla. Don't miss these ones. The Rootslive website.

• PODCAST: J-ROCC - Thank You Jay Dee mix Link to page.
• STREAMING AUDIO: J-ROCC - Thank You Jay Dee mix Realplayer.
• MP3: DJs BASIC & THERAPY of Asamov - Jay Dee tribute mix 105MBs

German language Graffiti encyclopedia reprinted
Das große Graffiti-Lexikon aka The Large Graffiti Encyclopedia
438 pages.

Originally printed in 1993. 13 years later it gets a much needed reprint.
Available in March in an updated & revised edition.

• Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf publishers

At the Smithsonian, Hip-Hop Is History
Museum Launches Collection of Genre
By David Segal. Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Ice and a handful of other urban legends packed a conference room full of television cameras and reporters Tuesday at a Midtown Manhattan hotel to unveil a Smithsonian initiative for Washington's National Museum of American History, "Hip-Hop Won't Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life." The goal is to gather artifacts donated by rappers, dancers, DJs and record executives and amass a definitive collection, one that captures hip-hop's 30-year journey from inner-city subculture to international phenomenon.

Museum officials predict it will take three to five years before they warehouse enough material for a full-scale exhibit, but they say some of these pieces will be on view by summer, and they're certainly off to a colorful start. At the press conference, a parade of luminaries took turns at the microphone, starting with entrepreneur Russell Simmons and ending about an hour later with a break dancer named Crazy Legs.

Bambaataa was easily the most generous of all the donors, at least so far. He handed over more than 20 items, including two custom-made jackets with the logo of rap collective Zulu Nation on the back, a Zulu warrior beaded necklace, a USA/Africa necklace, nine "Don't Stop Planet Rock" posters and a red fez with the "Proud Nuwaubian" logo.

Fab 5 Freddy, DJ from "Yo! MTV Raps," delivered what was arguably the choicest gift: a vintage boombox. It was brought in like a priceless bauble by a woman wearing white gloves. Simmons appeared to be the most stinting of the donors. He gave the museum a Phat Farm sign -- the name of the clothing company he created -- and a 1985 advertisement for the record label he co-founded, Def Jam. Not exactly the family Rodin. Maybe that's a reflection of Simmons's ambivalence about this whole project. During his remarks, he seemed worried that moving hip-hop from the streets to the national display case might actually do some harm. To the music, that is.

"My first thoughts were [darn], the party's over," he told the audience. "The idea of hip-hop is that it's from the underbelly, it's from people who've been locked out and not recognized."

Edited version of article from the Washington Post

• Smithsonian website

BIG APPLE RAPPIN' Compilation

There have been an inumerable amount of old school hip hop collections over the years, but nothing quite like this one. Finally we get some out of super rare joints that would set you back to almost 4 figures on eBay. Look at the track listing on the Soul Jazz website for the proof. You could almost buy a new car for the same amount if you had the originals. A

Double CD & 2 lots of double vinyl. 4 records in total.

They also released a limited vinyl 12" which included T Ski Valley's Catch The Beat & The Family's Family Beat (not included on album release). I'm pretty sure this has now sold out.

The 2 tracks I upped aren't the rarest, just some favourites.

• Soul Jazz website

• MP3: BROTHER D & THE COLLECTIVE EFFORT - How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise
• MP3: THE SUPER THREE - Standing On the Top

New Issue of BLOOD WARS

72 pages. A mix of graff, street art & illustrations. There's even a mention on the graffiti clampdown in Australia.

• Blood Wars website

• PDF: BLOOD WARS - Issue 20 4.7MBs

GOOD SHIT radio show from Norway

Goodshit Radio is an independent underground hip hop radio show, broadcasted every week from Oslo, Norway. Since 1998, host Don Martin have brought listeners old and fresh quality hip-hop - without playing none of the bullshit commercialized nonsense bling bling crap that now showers down on us from big business media. Our policy is that we only play good shit, hence the name.

Podcast address is here.

• Good Shit website

Playlist for 27-02-2006
Fatlip - Today's your day (UTEN Chali2na)
Dooley-O - I gotcha (Prod .Dooley-O)
Jurassic 5 - Twelve (Prod.Shafiq Husayn)
Black Moon - Original crooks (Prod. The Beatminerz)
Lone Catalyst -those we miss (Prod. Lil Jon, The Game, 50 Cent & Eminem)
Declaime ft Evidence, Lootpack & Sauna - Trouble in the west (Prod. Madlib)
J Rocc - KEEPINTIME Beat (Prod. J. Rocc)
Black Moon - Getcha open (Prod. The Beatminerz)
Wu-tang ft RA The Rugged Man & - J-live - (Prod. DJ Tiesto)
Public Enemy ft Paris, Dead Prez, Kam - Cant hold us back (Prod. Paris)
Jehst - nuke proof suit (Prod. ???)
Common - Be (Prod. Kanye West)
Akinyele - The Bomb (Prod. Large Proffesor)
Visionaries - Pangaea (Prod.LIfe Rexall)
Gatas Parlament - Gataspill (Prod. Tommy Tee)
Dudley Perkins -funky dudley (Prod. Madlib)

• MP3: GOOD SHIT Radio Show - 27-02-2006 36 MBs

DEVIL McDOOM mix

Swedish beatmaker Devil McDoom just did a mix for Solid Steel & it's a cracker of a mid-tempo hip hop b-boy instrumental half hour. He released a 12" last year on Melting Pot Music. Check for more info on his MySpace page.

Tracklist:
ako - chicago - cdr
devil mcdoom - blood money bonusbeats - mpm
stelvio cipriani - mark il polizotto - cinevox
notorious b.i.g. - party and bullshit - uptown
main source - merrick boulevard (instrumental) - wild pitch
nutsons - danger diabolic - cardboard city
breakestra - keep on playin' - ubiquity
mallard - far away places - pattern based
lefties soul connection bam bam (devil mcdoom edit) - cdr
bollywood freaks - bombay gangstarr - whitelabel
gangstarr - dwyck (devil mcdoom remix) - cdr
ako - chessha23 - mpm
sound directions - dice game - stones throw
dj day vs. devil mcdoom - what planet what station - cdr
major force - original artform (cut chemist remix) - mo' wax
dj day - gone bad - mpm
mex - way of the exploding crate - blue juice
keno-i and the hermit - hard rain - breakin bread

• MP3: DEVIL MCDOOM - February 2006 Direct download. 128kbps. 29 mins
• MP3: DEVIL MCDOOM - Devil Mash-up. Freddie Foxx acapella with some 70s Euro vocal thing.

HARVEY LINDO - Kid Gloves. Compost Records

Broken beat producer Modaji steps out of his Laws of Motion moniker for a downbeat hip hop & soul affair & the results are pretty spesh. This album was initially released on the Japanese label Jazzy Sport almost a year ago but has recently been picked up by Compost Records for the European market, making it much easier for the rest of the world to obtain in the process. There are a few guests with members from Maspyke as well as Count Bass D, Lacks & some soulful chick singers. There should be double vinyl. As usual 2 EPs were released in Japan only. Modaji is an accomplished musician, so the music is a calibre more sophisticated than your usual album though he keeps the breaks & samples evident.

• Harvey Lindo@MySpace

• MP3: HARVEY LINDO - Tommorrow's World ft. Lacks.

KERO ONE - Windmills of the Soul. Plug Label

San Fran Bay Area based graff writer/producer/emcee/deejay/label owner Kero One has been a perfect example of the independant artist. Having started his own recording venture Plug Label, he's managed to keep everything inhouse with his own ideas intact & they are slowly paying off. The perseverance has paid off with some worthwhile Japanese hook-ups on the way. His style is jazz sample based with lyrics about the diggin', graff, life all over a very laidback vibe. There are a couple of instrumental tracks, which is a definite plus, for the album works better as a whole with the musical interludes to break up Kero's vocals. Labelmate Niamaj is the only guest. Kero's mate King Most produced the vinyl loving track Keep it Alive.

• Kero One@MySpace

• MP3: KERO ONE - Keep it Alive

Available locally in Australia through Creative Vibes

Upcoming b-boy doco ALL OUT WAR

It's almost here. The trailer looks pretty schmick, as to do the images in the gallery section.

From the website
"All Out War is a new, feature-length documentary on the art of breakdancing. The film will capture the true essence of Hip Hop and breakdancing's role in this significant aspect of modern, urban youth culture.

From its humble birth in the streets of the Bronx to its fast-paced explosion as a world renowned phenomenon, breakdancing can no longer be considered a passing fad. It warrants recognition as a true and powerful art form. Breakdancing has continually inspired many generations, spawning a new breed of B-boys and B-girls who are taking the dance to unimaginable heights. B-boy culture is now more alive than it ever was and a primary reason why, is its world wide transcendence.

Our objective with the filming of All Out War is to document not only the Battle of The Year event but to follow 6-8 different countries/crews on their journey towards the quest to be the best of the best. Countries such as Korea, France, Israel, China, U.S. Japan, U.K. and Germany will be featured in the film. Each one of these countries hosts a preliminary battle where all of the top crews compete to see who will get flown to Germany for the Battle of The Year and represent their homeland.

• All Out War website

There is also another documentary underway that looks pretty fresh, Planet B-Boy. Similiar theme as well. Check the preview clip for the Flashdance scene, Japanese style. Website not as dope, but footage is well shot.

• Planet B-Boy website

OZ B-BOY CHAMPIONSHIPS

More info on the website below.

• Oz B-Boy website

NOT GUILTY Vol 2: Capitol Punishment

Whooh haa!!! I have the 1st video on VHS & that was pretty damn good for its time in 2002, but after watching the trailer for the new video, the bar appears to have been raised over pretty much ALL the graff vids i've seen. And I've only watched the trailer. It looks very professional & tightly edited. The music & visuals seem to be much more compelling than most DVDs giving it a very polished, yet gritty feel. A lot of graff vids can get very samey with the cliched shots of panels running past, night time footage, etc...so something new had to be done to create an experience that keeps the viewer intrigued. This looks like the winner.

Produced by the M.I.L.I.T.I.A. Collective. Features German lads How & Nosm of TATS Cru travelling the world.

• Not Guilty trailer 3.6MB downloadable QT file

QUALITY OF LIFE - The Book
The film will be given a general, though limited release in the USA this year.

Well know graffiti photographer James Prigoff prefaces a forthcoming book from Soft Skull press that illustrates the making of the eagerly awaited graff film Quaility of Life.

Written, directed & produced by Benjamin Morgan the film looks to be the best analysis of the mentality behind most graff writers. As a one time writer in the 80s/early 90s it was & still is always extremely hard to explain ones actions & motivations with graff, especially when dealing with people who have no other viewpoint other than 'it's illegal'. So hopefully this film will convey the angst, desire, frustation, drive, creativity & adrenalin that was part & parcel of one of the most exciting artforms of the 20th century & is still going hard today. Sure there are writers who just want to fuck shit up & cause the most damage, but there are plenty who just want to use it as a form of creative expression. This film look to focus on the latter.

Although the director was never a writer himself, he was in one of the major b-boy crews in the 80s called the Fantastic Fource & his circle of friends naturally included plenty of writers. There's an excelllent interview with Morgan here at Filmshi.

From the state of things in this country at the moment, in relation to the paranoia regarding graffiti, this film will probably be either banned or rated R.

"The title refers to a law adopted in most major cities that equates graffiti with robbery and rape and brings with it serious jail time."

Check the film website for trailers.
• Quality of Life website

FEMALES WIT FUNK: Turntablizm website.

A fairly new website dedicated to the more intelligent & better looking half of the human race that spend time too much time with the turntables & records. Looks like it is fairly new, so not exactly a ziptillion things going on, but enough to keep you entertained. There are WMV files to view & MP3s to download, as well as bios on each of the djs featured.

Pictured: DJ Killa Jewel

• Females Wit Funk website
• Top 100 Female DJs vote until 26 Feb

• DJ KILLA JEWEL
• DJ STEP 1
• KUTTIN KANDI

JUST FOR KICKS on DVD soon

Awesome looking poster, but sadly not the cover for Sneakers : Le culte des baskets. DVD will be released in the directors homeland on 27 February 2006.

There is a limited edition version that comes in a box with a t-shirt & a 'goodie'. Check here at Amazon France. DVD contains RUN DMC's My Adidas clip & 30 mins of additional footage.

• Studio Canal website I can't see it listed yet.
• Shoes-Up French sneaker magazine's blog.
• Hype Beast US sneaker blog
• Sneakers Dutch documentary

ALKAHOLIKS DVD collection

Firewater is their 5th album & their last as a 3 man crew. They'll be splitting up after their upcoming tour in the USA. J-Ro is going to live in Sweden, probably to hook up with the crew Breakmecanix. Unfortunately I was sent an early promo copy without production credits. So i'm not sure which tracks the Swedes produced on this album. I think E-Swift handled the majority of the production. DangerMouse & Evidence also pitched in. Some of the fuzzy synth tracks are a bit disposable, but on the whole it's a typical Liks album about drinking & getting blind. Nice to Hear King T show up again on the track Over Here.

The DVD looks pretty cool. Though why they didn't wait until they could've added the clip for The Flute Song is a bit strange.

•••Beer Goggles DVD•••
- Music Videos Collection 1993-2003
Including unreleased and uncensored videos with behind-the-scenes commentary from Tha Alkaholiks. More info on the track selection here

• Alkaholiks website
• Alkaholiks@MySpace

• Flute Song video RealPlayer stream

GRANDMASTER CAZ gives Hip Hop tours

Caz is still proud as punch to represent the original aesthetics of hip hop. While people half his age, without the history, diss people like him for staying true. Good on him. And fuck them. Caz would rip them all a new arsehole in a second. Cold Crush Brothers you suckers. Ha ha. This stuff is way more important & personal to them than to those who never lived it, experienced it or practised it. I'd rather have Caz's personal viewpoint anyday than someone from a message board..or a blog. lol

Kurtis Blow, Doug E. Fresh & D.J. Red Alert are also a part of a New York venture called Hush Tours. Have a look at the site & see all the Japanese & Europeans enjoying themselves in group photos with these classic figures of old school hip hop. Hopefully some Americans from interstate also go do the tour.

Sure it might look a little fruity to a New Yorker, but if Caz & co are getting paid from their own history, then props. I'd do it for a laugh...and an education. Looks like fun.

Check the 2000 word article from the New York Times.

DJBATTLE.NET from Sweden

This is a crazy overloaded site with heaps of downloads & streams. They even have their own TV show where you can downlaod episodes. Some eps feature people like Q-Bert, Jazzy Jay, Tigerstyle, Maseo & Marc Hype. They don't front on the file sizes. Ep 10 is 105MBs!!! You might get a headache going through the massive amount of pages.

Sure it's a bit friggin nerdy, but every once in a while I like to know what's going on with these type of dudes. Keeps me connected to the streets, er the bedrooms...

You'll find things like videoclips from people like Denmark's DJ Static & his track Dedicated. WMV file. 30MBs

• Website

Council funded MURAL PROJECT in Chico, California

While our local councils & politicians are going apeshit over graffiti & cracking down hardcore, there are some more progressive people in authority who are approaching the dilemma with more positive results. In fact they even comment on the website how they are approaching the problem with statements like this. "Chico has taken a more European stance in regard to the artform of aerosol mural art, and a proactive approach in vandalism abatement by turning negatives (chronic vandalism) into positives (community murals)". Hal-e-bloody-lujah. Someone in charge gets it.

The retarded idiots who want to combat the 'plight' obviously do not realise that the more they crack down with these pathetic gestapo tactics the more kids will fuck shit up. You cannot stamp it out. It's impossible. They said the same things 20 yrs ago. It's stronger than ever. Most writers don't like shitty tags either. We'd rather see a dope burner than some ghetto'd up piece of shit wall with toy crap on them.

Now even the emo stencil kids are underfire in Melbourne.

• 99 Dreams website

NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE on wax.
Oh & BOBA FETT as well

Those dudes from the Mon Mothma label, who put out the Jawa Breaks a few years ago, have done it again. I haven't bought a battle record for many years now, but I think I might get these for a laugh. I'm not one to start reciting film dialogue like an annoying gimp, even if I did think the film was pretty funny, it's just the whole concept is ridiculously absurd & I'm sure in 50 years time, some film freak will cream his pants at such an obtuse discovery. Good for those parties with yer drunken mates wanting to 'have a scratch'. Gimmicky, perhaps, but some of the music is pretty cool.

Released: February 2006.
NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE - Liger Breaks. MON MOTHMA. MMR 1979-LP
BOBA FETTUCINI - Arcade Breaks. MON MOTHMA. MMR 1978-LP

Should be available from most online stores that carry battle records this week.

A MENTAL COMBAT DEDICATION
JAY DEE passed away 10/Feb/2006

This is pretty crap news. I'm sure everyones aware of it by now. So I thought I'd go ballistic & go through my CDs & iTunes files to collect a 'Best Of' to upload. Unfortunately I didn't realise how much I had of his music & so I had to upload a decent selection. 45 tracks to be precise. I tried to only include mostly remixes or tracks from other artist's albums.

I remember speaking to someone who worked with him a few years ago & I asked why his beats sometimes sounded wonky & he told me that, like Madlib, Dilla never quantized his beats. No wonder they both hooked up to form Jaylib with this unusual signature sound.

In brief...

This week was the official the release of his latest album, Dilla Donuts on Stonesthrow & we have this very untimely demise of one of the mainstayers in hip hop production. The Detroit native James Yancey unfortunately succumbed to an illness that has been plaguing him for a few years. Anyone who has witnessed images of him in recent years have noticed a very obvious weight loss. He had moved back to his mothers house about 3 years ago after he had been diagnosed with the rare immune disease, Lupus, which affects your kidney & livers. This results in the use of a dialysis machine. Rumours abound that he was also suffering from malnutrition due to his Madlib like workaholic nature. For more info check here.

I'm not sure what new music he had coming out, apart from the track he did for Ghostface's Fish Scale LP, the track is Whip You With a Strap. And I think he did a track for the new Skillz LP.

Funeral services will be held in LA on Tues 14th Feb.

• Jay Dee/J. Dilla discography
........................................................................................................................
Now this took me ages to select & organise, so enjoy. And go buy his music like I did. Ha.
All 45 tracks are included randomly within the 3 Volumes.
95% of the files are 192kbps or over. Only 1 file is 128kbps.

1. I Believe In You (Jaylib remix)-Amp Fiddler
2. Ultimate (Jay Dee remix)-Artifacts
3. One-4-Teen (Jay Dee remix)-Bahamadia
4. Woo Hah!!! (Jay-Dee remix)-Busta Rhymes
5. The Movement (produced by Jay Dee)-Common
6. Come Close (Jay Dee remix)-Common f. Erykah Badu, Pharell, & Q-Tip
7. In The Light (Jay Dee remix)-Common ft Erykah Badu
8. Game Over-Dabrye ft. Jay Dee & Phat Kat
9. Microphone Master (Jay Dee remix)-Das Efx & Mobb Deep
10. Stakes Is High (Jay Dee remix)-De La Soul
11. Love Junkee (J Dilla Remix)-DJ Cam
12. You Used To Love Me (Ummah remix)-Faith Evans
13. Floetic (Jay Dee remix)-Floetry Ft. CL Smooth
14. As Serious As Your Life (Jay Dee remix)-Four Tet ft. Guilty Simpson
15. Let's Go (produced by J. Dilla)-Frank N Dank
16. Okay (produced by J. Dilla)-Frank N Dank
17. Down Here on The Ground ft. Dianna Reeves-Grant Green + The Ummah
18. Oblighetto (Brother Jack McDuff) -J Dilla
19. Love (Thing Of The Past)-Jay Dee ft. Frank 'n Dank
20. Crushin (Yeeaaah)-Jay Dee
21. Fuck The Police-Jay Dee
22. Think Twice-Jay Dee ft. Dwele The 128kbps culprit
23. The Message-Jaylib
24. The Rhyme (Slum Village Remix)-Keith Murray
25. Love ft. J. Dilla-Lawless Element
26. Sittin' On Chrome (Jay Dee remix)-Masta Ace
27. Ascension (Jay Dee remix)-Maxwell
28. One Time (produced by Jay Dee)-Moka Only
29. Secret of the Sands (Jay Dee Remix)-Mood
30. Saturday Night (Jay Dee Remix)-Mos Def
31. Find A Way (Jay Dee Remix)-Nine Yards
32. Niggaz Know-Pete Rock ft Jay Dee
33. Y? (Be Like That) (Jay Dee Remix)-The Pharcyde
34. She Said (Jay Dee Remix)-The Pharcyde
35. Shotgun (Jay Dee remix)-Platinum Pied Pipers
36. Act Like You Know-Platinum Pied Pipers ft. Jay Dee
37. Leisure Rules (produced Jay Dee)-Prozack Turner
38. Life Goes On (produced by Jay Dee)-Royce 5'9"
39. Thrilla-Sa-Ra Creative Partners
40. Reunion-Slum Village ft. J Dilla
41. Once Upon A Time-Slum Village Ft. Pete Rock
42. Dollar (produced by Jay Dilla)-Spacek
43. Eve (Jay Dee remix)-Spacek
44. Who Smoked Sunshine (produced by Jay Dee)-T-Love
45. Fanatic (J Dilla Remix)-Vivian Green

I forgot to include this awesome remix.
46. Runnin' (remix by Jay Dee)-The Pharcyde 6MBs

• MP3s: JAY DEE - Collection Vol 1 80MBs
• MP3s: JAY DEE - Collection Vol 2 84MBs
• MP3s: JAY DEE - Collection Vol 3 77MBs

• MP3: JAY DEE - Radio interview from 2005 43MBs

The BAMBOOS 'Step it Up' LP
Tru Thoughts. 2006. 11 tracks. 46 mins

Finally an album from our favourite Aussie funk group. They get much love & support through the hip hop scene down here & they most likely have garnered a wider audience through their touring work as the Antipodean backing band for Will Holland's QSO outfit. This album is getting a simultaneous release on Tru Thoughts(UK), Ubiquity(USA) & P-Vine (Japan).

Distributed in Australia by Creative Vibes.
The title track has just been released as a 45rpm & the album will also be available on double vinyl.

My Review: Sen-bloody-sational.

• The Bamboos website

• MP3: The BAMBOOS - Eel Oil The original 45 release that started it all.
• MP3: The BAMBOOS - Step It Up ft. Alice Russell

NY Chinatown's infamous NOTORIOUS MSG

Just going through my files & I spotted their videoclip I downloaded a few years back. Worth another look for those who missed it. I'm not one for parody, but these dudes do it well. It still stands up & is worth a download. Even the songs are pretty amusing. They even have in stock at Amazon. They still seem to exist.

They worked hard in the kitchens.
They dreamed of rap superstardom.

Blasting out of the streets of Chinatown, the gates of Hell have opened and The Notorious MSG have been reborn with a vengeance. Servin' up deep-fried beats straight from the Chinese ghetto, they will not be stopped until they achieve complete musical destruction.

• Website
• MySpace

• VIDEO: NOTORIOUS MSG - Straight Outta Canton 19.7MB downloadable QT file.
• MP3 COLLECTION: NOTORIOUS MSG - 4 songs in Zip file.
Includes these tracks: 'Dim Sum Girl, 'FOB for Life', Straight Out of Canton' & 'Wok the Party.'

MF Grimm diss towards MF Doom

If you missed it when it was uploaded on other sites, like Spine Magazine, here it is again. Beat is pretty dope. 3rd verse is nasty, though not vindictive. Huh?

From Soundslam
"MF Doom, an underground fan favorite, has gained a cult-like following in recent years. Born Daniel Dumile, the rapper/producer is now the subject of a diss track from his former friend and group mate, MF Grimm.

Grimm recently recorded the track “Book of Daniel” and made no qualms about aiming the lyrical content at Doom. The two had been previously involved in groups such as KMD and Monsta Island Czars, but hatchets thought to be buried have since resurfaced. While the motivating factors for the diss track have not yet been officially declared by Grimm (beyond the song), the lyrics (from Grimm and fellow Monsta Island Czars members) tell a personal story between the two involving guilt, pain, honesty, joy and retribution.

The song itself was crafted by DJ Crucial, a St. Louis native and F5 Records artist who also produced J-Toth’s “Ghostwhirl Remix” featuring MF Doom."

• MP3: MF GRIMM - Book of Daniel

DJ Q-BERT's 'Breaktionary' 4 Volume set.

The music used by DJ Qbert for Breakdance battles (as seen in the latest Freestyle Session DVD) is now available on a 4 record set featuring over 250 rare funk breaks one after another at the same user friendly tempo in a 4 record set! No more carrying tons of crates to a jam, just grab doubles of each record and get loose just like Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Muzik"! Rock the true school hip-hop on the tables and sample the rawest beats onto your drum machines and music programs!

As an added bonus, you can combine all 4 covers by world famous artist, D23 (Damon Soule) in any direction!

• D23 website

New book on France's DARCO
Hard cover, 16 x 23 cm, 160 color pages.
Retail price: 29 euros (in France) First edition 4000.
Release date: February 9th, 2006

Yes, yes, yes. Definitely one of the best French writers in my opinion & this book is long overdue. A regular visitor to Australia as well. In fact I do believe he is also a member of the Perth based 21st Century crew.

Naturally it's all in French. I have worked out that you can send them a cheque to order the book, but I see no international rates. So once again, like some recent books from Spain & Russia, this might be another hard one to track down. Or you could get a friend to waltz into the shop at this location: 67 bld St-Germain, 75006 Paris for the Limited Edition version or go to the publishers office: L’ŒIL D’HORUS 12, rue de vivienne - 75002 Paris.

• Wasted Talent website
• Darco book PDF 9 pages

RE-WRITING Festival. Turin, Italy
AMANTES. Torino . Via Principe Amedeo 38/a. 7/28 February.
During the XX Olympic Winter Games Turin 2006

One look at this site from Italy & you can see that there really is no argument that the Europeans can recognise culture & art. Where they celebrate art, no matter the form or style, the Australian govt & people treat it like a joke & spit upon it. Anyone who delves into graffiti here is labeled as 'scum'. It's all vandalism to them. From tags to full scale productions. It's all treated the same. Only people from broken homes with dislodged personalities partake in such activities. It's amazing stuff. Yet it's a totally different attitude in the northern hemisphere. They get it...

In Torino, Italy this month, while the 20th Winter Olympics are on, there will be a 3 week celebration of graffiti based artwork. Have a look through the website. The English might be fractured, but the sentiment is refreshing. They celebrate what our politicians deride. Yes, Australians have no culture. We do not understand culture. We understand sport, money & soap stars.

• Re-writing website

INVADA RECORDS Tour

Invada Records are excited to announce the Invada 'Stage Invasion' Tour this Feb - March. The tour showcases some of Australia's finest hip hop acts. An an all-star Invada line-up consisting of KOOLISM, KATALYST, Ru C.L and FDEL. The tour is proudly supported by Triple J, 3D World, Beat and Scene Magazine. All the tour info is on the website.

I've upped 4 tracks to show you te sound of the Invada label. Including a couple of hard to find tracks that are no longer commercially available.

• Invada website

• MP3: KOOLISM - KOA
A story track about the evolvement of the graffiti crew KOA. From upcoming album New Old Ground.
• MP3: FDEL - Dusty Fingers
Featuring fellow Perth lads Downsyde. From the album Audiofdelity.
• MP3: RU-CL - Determinator remix
Featuring Hau (Koolism) & Mr Clean.
• MP3: KATALYST - Tales of a Dead Man
Taken from the rare Volcom released compilation of 2000, Ice Cream Truck.

LA's MOVE.MEANT. Australian remix versions

Los Angeles based trio have released 2 EPs so far & show no signs of easing up. Good quality music so far, but there's a reason I'm posting today. I just scored some remixes that have been graced with some Australian emcees that aren't as yet available anywhere. So download away & enjoy.

• Move.Meant website
• Move.Meant@MySpace

• MP3: MOVEMEANT - Good Money Remix 01
ft Champ (Move.meant), Bliss N Eso, Anecdote + Phrase.
• MP3: MOVEMEANT - Good Money Remix 02
ft. Champ (Move.meant), Genetik (Low Budget), Hau (Koolism) + Raph (Mnemonic Ascent).

Youtube.com has gone ballistic


For example...The UMC's- Blue Cheese

Not sure if people have been paying attention, but Youtube has gone nuts in the last month. There are a few online video hosting sites, but seems as though this has turned into everyone's favourite. Type in Gangstarr & have a gander at what turns up. The clip for Positivity as well as a whole bunch of other clips. You'll go insane at what there is up already. You'll need a hi-speed connection to view them decently.

One thing that is becoming increasingly annoying is that every turd thinks it's cool to up some karaoke type footage of themselves mugging at the camera. There have been some amusing ones in the past, but it has now overstayed its welcome & is becoming tiresome. Every fool has jumped onto it & they all think they're pretty funny. They're not.

You can use this website to download the videos. I haven't sussed it out as yet.

Before the authorities crackdown on these sites, watch crazy things like 17mins of some West Coast graffiti footage.

KANYE’s – ‘Touch the Sky’ video teaser

Chris Milk previously directed the Jesus Walks & All Falls Down videos for Kanye & has also made a stack of rather good looking vids for Jet, Modest Mouse, Courtney Love, Audioslave & for Jet’s awesome Rollover DJ. Oh & an advert for Aussie Telstra that I’ve never seen???

This is the pretty dope Just Blaze produced track from Late Registration with Lupe Fiasco (the original writer of the Diamonds song. Clip has MR Ego as Evil Knievel with Pammy Anderson in a cameo role. Looks nicely shot next to the Grand Canyon.

More to see on the directors website.

• VIDEO: KANYE WEST - Touch the Sky teaser

TALIB KWELI & RAKIM – ‘Getting Up Anthem’

Looks like Marc Ecko’s game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure might be banned in Australia after some whingey politicians decided to get in on the anti-graffiti crusade that has been occurring for the last 2 months. Even though it has already been certified Gold in the USA from an extraordinary pre-sale of 500,000 units & was passed by the OFLC here already, it is under review due to the current media attention. Its international release date is the 17th of February. MTV has also purchased the rights for a possible feature film. Holy crap! Imagine the scenario then… Our politicians would be creaming themselves at the possibility that they could be looked upon as the saviours of contemporary society. For they will guard the children against this tyrannous activity that is…paint on walls.

I’ve upped the title track by Talib Kweli & Rakim from the forthcoming soundtrack. Apparently the music director for the project P.Diddy, selected this track along with 3 others. One surprisingly by PackFM.

• Getting Up Crew Website
• MP3: TALIB KWELI & RAKIM - Getting Up Anthem

EXHIBITIONIST - Opening Friday 3/2/06, 7-10pm.


Show continues Saturday 4/2, 10-4pm
China Heights Gallery, L3, 16-28 Foster St, Surry Hills SYDNEY 2010

China Heights is proud to present Exhibitionist, a solo show by Cabel, featuring small and large scale Canvasses, Installations and a large collection of 80's Gaming Consoles, Skate, Sci Fi & Hip Hop memorabilia, collected over 20 years.

Turntables, Mixers, Speakers, Amps, Hip Hop Mags, Canvases/Paintings, Sculpture, Toys, old Oz Spraycans (50's-70's), Skateboards, Drawing Table, Easels, Foamcore Graphics, Star Wars, 80's Computers/ Carts/ Tapes/ Peripherals + early Sega/Nintendo/ Coleco/ Atari, OG Vinyl Ghetto Blaster, Sneakers, Ladders, signage etc etc etc...

There's a stack of other stuff to check on the gallery site.

• China Heights website

PRO X FADE crossfader


My crossfader is up the spout, so when I saw this advert online I immediately investigated because I was well impressed by what I had seen. Totally gobsmacked by the insanely creative videoclip.

I then found a comprehensive review at the always impressive Scratchworx review. Once you read the review & go to the Eclectic Breaks website you will be sold. Trust me. Sounds like a labour of love & attention has gone into this baby, but all that aside, if the video advert doesn't impress you enough to consider purchasing the crossfader alone, then I give up.

The best advert EVER for deejay related anything.
Brilliant... DOWNLOAD NOW. Created by Chris Cairns..
• Pro X Fade Updated 09/Feb/06. Previous link has been removed.
• Chris Cairns' original idea Download player & watch E4's 'Ident'.

Freight Train Graffiti

by Roger Gastman, Darin Rowland, Ian Sattler.
Paperback: 352 pages. Publisher: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc." (June 1, 2006)

Like Graffiti World, Freight Train Graffiti is the definitive history of a vibrant art form. Until now there was almost no written insight into this vast subculture, which inspires fascination across America and around the world. As dazzling as the art it celebrates, the book is packed with 1,000 full-color illustrations and features in-depth interviews with more than 125 train artists and "writers." Hundreds of never-before-seen photographs span the style's evolution, while the authoritative text from an all-star team of authors provides unprecedented perspective, including the first-ever written history of "monikers," the precursors of graffiti, developed by hobos and rail workers to communicate en route. Bound to surprise graffiti artists, graphic designers, and urban culture buffs alike, this book will inspire anyone who has ever been interested in graffiti.

Publishers website No sign of it here as yet.