RIP Andre Young Jr. My condolences to Dr. Dre and his whole
family.
Our friends at Sportn’ Life Records and On a Mission Entertainment
have jumped off a brand-new jump-off—the first Friday of every
month at the Re-bar. It’s called Yes Yes Y’all and features live
performances—this Friday, September 5, it’s Dividenz,
Speedy, and Sawchosiz, with cuts spun by Life Cycle‘s
DJ Hanibal. I been fuckin’ with that Dividenz since their last
record on Street Level Records, Hollow Point Lyrics, back
in ’03; now, MCs Notes and C.O.L.A. have just dropped
their long-awaited follow-up 10% Rap, 90% Hustle. If Yay
Area–influenced hustler music is not your bag, it’s not for you,
but if you can yadadig it, there’s plenty here for ya. While I like the
brolic, synth-happy slaps that dominate this disc just fine, I’m a
sucker for a slick sample—the dusty dashboard-funk of “U Can
Never Know” brings the best out of Notes, C.O.L.A., and
Skuntdunanna, sounding like a midnight mission across state
lines with a trunk full of anxiety. The lazy slap-bass on “Another Day,
Another Dollar” makes for some classically West Coast rider music, with
an almost UGK vibe. Gyeah.
On the same night at Nectar you can catch Grayskul, Josh
Martinez, Mad Rad, Locke, and DJ Zone (who has the card
trick game on lock). My man P Smoov recently put Mad Rad’s new
LP White Gold in my hands—in addition to Smoov, the Mad
Rad movement is made up of Terry Radjaw and Buffalo
Madonna. By now most of y’all are either hip to these cats
bugged-the-fuck-outta-here steez, or you’ve seen their name on a wall,
flyer, or sidewalk near you. This shit is a quite deliberate stab at
hipsterfied neon-jeans rap, and not my cup of tea—the “put that
pussy on display” raps all tend toward a sneering, novelty-level
crassness that come off a little more 2 Live Jews than Spank
Rock. But I can’t front, P Smoov got beats like a mug—his
raved-up synth madness is quick to morph into some skitzo grime shit or
bass-heavy screw music, with seizure-inducing chopped vocal hooks
(watch out, JoJo Hailey!). It’s not really me, but I’m not
mad.
Party people… Party people… Can y’all get funky? The man, the
legend, the original Renegade of Funk, the founder of the Universal
Zulu Nation, yes, Afrika Bambaataa is coming to town.
He’ll be at the Zulu Jam going down September 6 at Nectar—also
featuring 206 Zulu reps Silver Shadow D, Alpha-P, Specs One, Waves
of the Mind, along with DJs Luvva J, Tecumseh, and
WD4D. If you’re still searching for the perfect beat, this is
the place to be.
That is, unless you’re hitting Rock the Bells at the Gorge. I mean,
Tribe, De La, MF Doom, Blue Scholars, the reunited
Pharcyde… it’s kind of a big deal. Start saving gas money!
