Blog - The Movement Fam, Independent Hip Hop Record Label - Toronto + Montréal
I love, love, love this woman. Everything about her is amazing. Her songwriting is crazy unique, and her latest single, '10 Seconds', is no different. Angry broads will relate to this one (especially the kidnapping thing) as much as they did to 'Bust Your Windows'. Incredible. Come to Toronto and release the album already!
10 Seconds
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If y'all ain't already heard, Jay Electronica done signed with Jay-Z over at Roc Nation, joining NC representative J. Cole on the roster. Check out the video below of Jay rocking a new song at 'The Box' in NYC where they announced the signing the other night. Apparently Diddy was tweeting about the signing and isn't happy...
This is a bit of a long one, but Yeezy is talking some sense here. Peep dude speaking to the media on Michael Jackson, being cheated at award shows, Taylor Swift, George Bush and more. Really cool shit.
So Big Phrase is back, after an extremely successful sophomore album and national tour from his 'Clockwork' album. 'Never Fade' is the first single off the new album (as yet untitled, or at least the title hasn't been announced), written and produced by Phrase himself. I dig the new direction, personally, possibly coz I'm a huge indie rock fan and I think Phrase is now making 'music' (as opposed to putting it in a genre box), but he just happens to rap (which is exactly how I feel about my own music - nothing worse than having to tell someone I rap these days lol).
Anyway, what do y'all think?
So much music lately, it's time I shared it with y'all. Some of it new, some of it older, but all of it is new to me. The homegirl out here put me onto Karen Elson, who happens to be Jack White's wife though she's dope as hell in her own right. Her debut album, 'The Ghost Who Walks', is a wicked blend of bluesy rock and soul. This joint, 'The Truth Is In The Dirt', happens to be my favourite song off the album and I was happy to find out that it's a single too. Peep game.
Huge shouts to the homie Iyae for putting this one together. So most of y'all would have seen Kanye's 'Runaway' film by now, though in case you haven't...
So Iyae managed to put this little mini-project together by ripping the audio from the movie, as well as piecing together various parts of songs that have leaked, just so that y'all can enjoy a serious taste of Kanye's new album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', before it drops on November 22nd. Isn't he a good bloke?
The skinny jeans are back in effect. Shouts to the homie Chains for putting me onto these cats. Since I moved to Toronto, I've sorta been off my hardcore band steez for some reason. I ain't even rocking the skinnies as much. But right now there seems to be a bit of a hardcore renaissance going on, and Asking Alexandria are some of the illest cats I've heard in a while. Their unique blend of melodic singing, screaming, heavy guitars and electronica kills me. This is by far my favourite joint, 'The Final Episode (Let's Change The Channel)'. Peep game.
I've been hearing about this new cat Thee Tom Hardy since A3C. Dudes are saying he's the best new 'white' MC in a minute, for whatever that's worth. Either way, check the video for his 9th Wonder-helmed single 'A Different League' with Skyzoo. Great track and dope video. Vibed for this cat's mixtape.
I know this is nepotism at it's finest, but this young lady can saaaang. She's 10, yo. And she's got the swag and confidence to carry it off, which is more than I can say for most 10 year olds. Then again, most kids didn't grow up with two movie star parents. Either way, she sounds great live (unlike Rihanna) and it's gonna be interesting watching her career.
Check out part two of E's latest 'Queens Chronicles' video blog. Seriously. E and Sav's net game is stupid vicious. Inspiring.
I know I'm late on this one, but I really dig this joint, and the video is hot. Peep game.
The homegirl Jessica Kaya has just dropped her latest music video for her slow burner 'Fake It'. Dope video, great song, mad intense and emotional, which is a strong point for Ms Kaya's voice. Bring on the album...
Just got this gem via the David Icke newsletter. Beat is incredible, Paz kills it, Block is ridic and the Icke samples are well used. Great video too. Make sure you check out Mr Icke's website and get educated...
Y'all already know that Emilio is my favourite MC (alongside Phonte, of course), so I'm vibed as hell for his new project, 'Life Without Shame', presented by DJ Green Lantern again. I caught up with Emilio at A3C in Atlanta recently when he rocked some of the new joints from the tape, and it sounds fucking amazing.
Here's the video for the first single, 'To The Fullest' with vocalist Jaiden The Cure, directed by Court Dunn, who's incredible (we gotta work fam!). Not sure when the tape drops, but the pre-release party is tonight in Rochester, NY so it can't be far away...
Aight, so we're a bit delayed on this one. But y'all can forgive us. We'd never been to anything like this before, and the shit is hard work. Seriously. Networking. Trying to talk to that producer/MC/DJ/industry dude without looking or sounding like a groupie or a new jack. Yelling over loud music all night. Up early and paying attention to panels all day. It's a full time job doing this shit. But we ain't complaining; both of these conferences were some of the most amazing experiences we've had thus far with music, and in 2011, we finna be rockin' shows there, beleeeeedat. We kicked off Atlanta by scoring tickets to the Drake show at the Fox Theatre. Bonus. Notion and I walked into a room full of people rapping every word to a Soulja Boy song. Oh-kay. Five minutes after we got in there, Drake started so it was perfect timing. Apparently Tyga opened, so we prolly didn't miss much. The crowd, mostly women and their generally less-than-enthusiastic partners, stood up pretty much the whole time and there was a lot of screaming. Drizzy did most of the joints I wanted to hear bar 'Say What's Real'. 'Forever' was dope; he even brought Young Jeezy and The-Dream out for their respective collaborations (I have no idea what they are), and the pyrotechnics for 'Fireworks' were awesome. Great show.
So A3C (it stands for All 3 Coasts, for those who ain't know. I didn't til recently) kicked off on Thursday at the Masquerade complex in East Atlanta. The venue was dope as it had about 5 stages with either performances, demonstrations or panels on at any given time, so there was never a moment of boredom. We finally got to meet a gang of folks we'd built with over the years but never met in person (as well as a bunch of folks we respect and have admired for years), including North Carolina producer S.T.T.R.E.S.S. (below with The Fam), Kevin Nottingham, Dasha, Hassahn, Emilio Rojas, Hezekiah, Donwill and Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Che Grand, Big Dho, Chaundon, J The S, DJ Evil Dee, DJ Z of DJ Booth.net, Crooked I, El Da Sensei, Illmaculate, Laws, The Bodega Brovas, Khrysis and a gang more.
Day 1 was the 9th Wonder interview by Dres The Beatnik, and included guests and collaborators Buckshot and Murs. It was an awesome insight into 9th's work ethic, inspirations and methods. The rest of the night included performances from Jamla artists like Skyzoo, The Away Team, Rapsody, Big Reemo, Murs and Jean Grae. And of course, DJ Evil Dee was on the mix (c'mon kick it!).
Day 2 was full of more shows and informative panels. The two main showcases we caught were Kevin Nottingham's and DJ Booth's. Kev's included dope sets from HiPNOTT Records artists like Jermside, Nobody Famous and the Hall of Justus cats headlined and tore it down (Rapper Big Pooh, Chaundon, Jozeemo and Joe Scudda). DJ Booth's showcase had sets from cats like J The S, Emilio Rojas, Cyhi The Prince, Laws, Exile and Crooked I. We ventured inside to catch Illmaculate's set, followed by Seattle native J. Pinder, both of whom murked it.
Nosh even caught Mr Douthit to get a quick photo and pass on a copy of his tribute mixtape to the man himself. And we also managed to chill with Crooked I for a while and explain our move to Canada from Australia to pursue our music, which he said he really respected and that we'll be successful with that sort of determination, belief and passion. That really meant a lot coming from him. Great dude.
Day 3 was just as hectic. More panels in the early afternoon and the weather was gorgeous. Atlanta turned it on for us, we were drinking beers in the sun; it felt like home. More networking and more shows, including Torae, Sha Stimuli, Lessondary Crew (Jermiside, Von Pea, Donwill and Che Grand), Reks and Statik Selektah, the big homies The Bodega Brovas (Traviii 7th, Keynote and Headkrack), Hezekiah and horn section 'Me So Horny' (who KILLED it), The Artifacts, Emilio Rojas, Camp Lo and Rhymefest. All up, it was an amazing festival and we'll be there next year for sure.
After a quick couple days in Toronto to do some laundry and re-pack, we were on the bus to New York City to catch CMJ (College Music Journal). Yet another amazing experience; though a little different than A3C in the sense that it was general music business across all genres rather than strictly Hip Hop. We chilled for a couple days to check out the city as it was VP's first time, but Notion and I caught the David Icke lecture on the Sunday before booking it to the Mayer Hawthorne show downtown at the Bowery Ballroom, missing half his set. We got to hang with the homie Cyclops too, which was dope.
CMJ started on the Tuesday, and it was full on. The panels went from 11am to 4.45pm every day, with only 15 minutes break between each one, where we had to fit in any quick chats to panelists and toilet breaks before heading to the next panel and trying to get there early to ensure a seat. It was like being back at Uni. But the information we gathered was absolutely incredible, and the people we met will definitely be either long term friends or business associates.
The first night we caught the New Zealand showcase at Le Poisson Rouge, where we saw awesome bands like Street Chant, Ruby Frost and Kids of 88, saw Blonde Summer over at Kenny's Castaway (where Bruce Springsteen apparently did his first ever gig), and then back to LPR for the Duck Down vs Blacksmith Showcase. It was Duck Down's 15 Year Anniversary so they went all out. The 16 year old in me lost my fucking shit when every Duck Down artist (with the exception of Louieville Sluggah pretty much) rocked the stage, performing classics like 'Le Fleh, Le Flah, Eshkoshka', 'Operation Lockdown', 'I Gotcha Opin' and more. Incredible. The newly signed Black Rob even came through to perform 'Whoa'. No words.
The Blacksmith kids killed it too. Jean Grae and Mela Machinko, Pharoahe Monch and Strong Arm Steady did an awesome job. We bailed after SAS so I'm not sure who else rocked, but it was an incredible night.
The rest of the week consisted of panels until Friday and shows every night. The soul showcase with Eric Roberson was amazing, the international showcase at 92Y Tribeca was really interesting, we even caught Aussies Paul Dempsey (from Something For Kate) and Angus & Julia Stone doing their thing. Israeli electro artist Onili was awesome, as was closing night with Foreign Exchange (who had Darien Brockington and Zo rocking with them all night, and they even brought out Rapper Big Pooh and Jesse Boykins III). Shouts to the big homie outta Jersey, Mike Philson, who we connected with. So after two weeks of shows every night and early mornings at panels, we're absolutely shambles. Now it's time to re-up, consolidate the networks and use the new info we learned. Until next year...
Man, Antoine Dodson BEEN working on his brand. Or at least someone has. So y'all might have seen this video for his Halloween costume...
But now the dude is spruiking an iPhone app to track sex offenders. It's a very smart branding idea from the app makers, for sure. They caught him right at the end of his 15 minutes, I dare say.
BELLY
Hood classic. That movie that represented the hood so thoroughly it is revered by ghetto dwellers world wide for showing outsiders ( which I myself was until I moved to Springhill Lake and started seeing firsthand what the hood was about ) the daily operation like Guru and Primo. Hood classics tend to only vary in terms of location. Weather it’s Uptown New York’s gritty sidewalks underscoring “Juice” or the Brazilian trenches that framed the blood soaked saga of “City Of God” the background adds it own element to the story but regardless of slang or fashion senses the drama had it’s own undertones that were indiscriminate of area. To quote Rakim “It aint where your from it’s where your at” Weather your particularly “at” is Far Rockaway Queens or Kingston Jamaica one thing remains. Slugs burn, drugs are married to problems and shit is REAL.
This movie centered around the character Tommy from Queens New York ( played by the kid DMX ) and gave a glimpse into his day to day life. Nas also starred in the movie as Sincere, Tommy’s right hand man, but DMX was the undisputed star of the flick. He came off as the cat he rhymed about on record but with more money. Shit, dude had the JUMPOFF crib for sure. Stacks in stacks but still that grimy project cat that would yoke anybody up over a wayward glance. The ultimate charismatic villain. The plot revolves around an outta town trip to sling dope fronted to them by the Jamaican Kinpin Lennox ( THIS DUDE IS CRAZY!!!! ) They get snitched on by envious local dealers and a police raid stops the music like a drunk cat bumping the DJ’s turntable at a packed house party. The movie is overall a commentary on the glamorization of crime in Black communities. DMX represented the devil in the equation. Overly ambitious and ruthless to perfection. Nas represented the tortured soul. Drawn to the lifestyle he and Tommy have but realizing the fact success in that life still represents a universal loss. Things kind of loosen up structure wise towards the end but the message is still subliminally sprinkled throughout the movie. Like the part where Tommy has an argument with Knowledge ( Played by Power from Wu tang’s camp. Speaking of Wu, Method Man plays a ghetto assassin in the flick too. SUUUUUUUUU ) one of the characters asks “What happened to Knowledge?” and Tommy responds “Fuck Knowledge. Roll up. I wanna get high” Very slick move Hype. I like that.
Hype Williams has a right to be considered the best music video director of all time. Seriously. Dude is a monster with his. He created marvelous epics for most of the certified superstars in Hip hop and RnB. Stuff like “Put your hands where my eyes can see”, “The rain” and “Can it be all so simple” redefined videos forever. The cinematography was beyond belief and his videos played like mini movies. Hollywood was the next logical step for him. His work on this movie is fucking amazing. The club scene with the black light, the parts in Jamaica, hell, every frame of this movie is beautifully shot. It's one of those types of films that was hard to look away from even for a second because you didn't want to miss that next fly image that was guaranteed to pop up. Even the image of the snitch ( Played by dude that played Cain in Menace 2 Society ) popping up for the first time rocking a VERY yellow track suit, hair permed, eating a banana just stuck out because of how it looked. ( me, Stix and Troub used to say his line from that scene "I don't like that. I don't like that at all" at random times for weeks after we saw it, straight laughing our ass off every time ) I’m not a film student I’m just a cat that knows what I like and believe me I like the way this movie was directed. This flick is the embodiment of the term visually stunning. Hype combined all his tricks for this and stepped it up even further. It’s like when Dre made the Chronic. It had elements of his style from NWA but he redefined and perfected it on that album.
Hood classics may not win Oscars but the effect that they have are just as strong for those that relate to them. My boy called me up today and told me a crazy thing that happened to him and he said that he felt like DMX in Belly. Which caused both of us to laugh because the flick still gets brought up in casual conversations on the regular. And that, boys and girls, is a TRUE HOOD CLASSIC.
Peace
I really dig this joint. Was looking forward to the video, and she (and her people) didn't disappoint. This song - and this kid - is gonna be huge.
