KreativeThought (Rhythm Natives) has been trying to get me to listen to T-Pain for awhile now. We'll be chatting on AIM and he'll send me titles of 'feel good' songs - most from this hip hop crooner. I finally succombed to the pressure, especially after listening to this. T-Pain featuring Justin Timberlake. Tight.
In preparation of the Hip Hop Honor Awards, VH1 aired another of their famed 'greatest' programs. This time, on the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time. The campaign was viral; allowing the public to participate in online voting. At the end of it all, they crowned Public Enemy's anthem "Fight the Power" as number 1. Rounding out the top five were: Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", Dre's "Nuthin but a G Thang", Run DMC's "Walk this Way" (featuring Aerosmith), and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's "The Message". I guess I'm alright with the results (come on, MC Hammer beat out Digable Planets, Arrested Development, JJ Fad, et al??). But it was more reminiscent than anything. It's kind of like in "Brown Sugar" when Dre asks Syd, "When did you first fall in love with hip hop?". When I saw the entire 100 list, I was reminded of when. You're even reminded of the fashion back then - when fat laces paired with big gold chains were fresh to death. The series runs til the end of the week if you want to check it out. Honestly, my number 1 vote would've went to Notorious BIG and "Juicy" (which at least made top 10, btw).
The youngest member of the Chicharon Adventures Team is an 8 year old girl named Morgan. Though I try to stay away from posting about my family, I had to share the story about her solid weekend. On Saturday, she was in a hip-hop workshop taught by Kaba Modern (America's Best Dance Crew) . She was the youngest participant but stuck through the 5 hour stint, even earning compliments on her pop locking. Here she is in all her glory - argyle socks and classic Chucks to be exact.
Kim and I were shopping at Diesel when I heard a heavy drum beat against Kid Cudi's 'Day N Night' playing instore. I was intrigued and immediately searched for a sales associate to inquire about the provided shopping soundtrack. T-Zoc, as he liked to be called, told me that it was DJ AM's and Travis Barker's collaboration called "Fix Your Face". He was at FatBeats (Melrose) and scored a free copy to bring in to work. I'm supposed to go back to Diesel tomorrow to get my burnt copy from T. But in between then, I found a free download. So T-Zoc, if you're reading, I won't be in. I'll give you a courtesy call anyway. Here's the promo video that's been going around (for both your listening and viewing pleasure).
I've neglected my iPod for quite some time now. I've been downloading music outside my computer, making CDs, and then being really lazy about transferring it to iTunes. I figured that since I'll be on a plane for 17 hours early next week, I might as well update the thing. A copy of the Nujabes collection (thanks, Sam!) has been sitting on my desk and it became my first order of business. After listening to the soul inspired tracks, I was reminded of my brothers, Rhythm Natives. I knew one of the members, Matt, from college and I was finally able to meet the rest of them earlier this year. We had a pre-show dinner at Swingers and instantly hit it off. Blending hip-hop, reggae, jazz, and funk, they've become a staple in Los Angeles' underground music scene. But that's not what drew me to them. We shared the same vision of projecting our culture into realms that Filipino-Americans rarely dominate. And soon, we'll be building a collaboration that will surely be promising. If you haven't heard these guys, you're crazy. Listen to some of their new tracks on their page: www.myspace.com/rhythmnatives. Then, visit your local independent music store and pick up their EP.