Just in time to put in his bid for West Coast love is overlooked spitter Crooked I, having officially left the career-stalling clutches of Tha Row. Look for this cat to make some noise this year, as he was the West's "It Guy" before the Game came along. In my humble opinion, Game's The Documentary is well produced and has its moments, but Mr. G-Unit West's tired shtick wears way thin over 17 tracks. I'm sayin', "Ready to Die, Reasonable Doubt, and Doggystyle in one"? Really though--enough with the modesty, homes.
One Be Lo, formerly known as One Man Army of the group Binary Star, is touring to support his upcoming Fat Beats release S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. --whose single "Decepticons" features a remix by none other than the Chocolate Boy Wonder himself, Pete Rock! Lo will be at the Rainbow Tuesday, January 25, along with his fellow Subterraneous crewmate Majestik Legend, Def Jux's buzz-heavy Hangar 18, Philly's iCON the Mic King, the Bay Area's Language Arts Crew, and Oldominion founding member Sleep… now that's a lotta freakin' hiphop for five bucks. Speaking of Sleep, word is he's dropping his second solo full-length, Christopher, soon, as well as readying a full-length from his group with Vancouver's own Josh Martinez, the Chicharones.
The case of Rosa Parks v. OutKast takes an interesting turn, as the court has ordered that medical records for the 91-year-old Parks be opened to determine if the defamation suit filed on her behalf was actually approved by her. Family members quoted in the Detroit Free Press raised doubts that Parks, who suffers from dementia, would've been offended by Kast's naming their massive '98 single after her; the Free Press consequently demanded to see the medical records of the civil-rights icon. Who knows where this is all going, but goddamn--can't you think of a few thousand other hiphop artists more deserving to get taken to court for their music? Maybe Jimmy Choo could sue Shyne or something.
Artists across the globe are doing their damndest to drum up dollars for the various tsunami-relief funds. Now count M.O.P. and Remy Martin among them, as both were tapped to perform at "Relief and Recovery," a New York show that went down January 12. In our own neck of the woods, get ye to the Showbox on January 22 and peep "Mix for Relief," the latest in that venue's benefit series, featuring none other than the Bumpasaurus and Sir Mix-A-Lot--not to mention Byrdie and KUBE 93 DJs SupaSam, Big Mike, Vinnie, Scene, and B-Mello! Big ups to everyone involved in this event.
Oh, and you know what? I could've gone my next five lifetimes without knowing what Michael Jackson's porno stash was like. Thank you.
