Curious Why Mainstream Radio Plays What It Plays

Great Convo and Info into the Industry.....

Dame Dash Interview

Sitting down with Hip Hop's favorite A--Hole.lol
Dame always drops some good points.It's 33mins so break it up.

StreetLevel.com Presents: On The Level Ep. 6 with Damon Dash from streetxlevel on Vimeo.

@ 27mins......really Luda...really Chaka?????

The Bar is high for a Reason

Last night at Club Providence in NYC, I had a musical discussion with Connecticut's Dj Genius about the state of the business and the quality of currently hyped artists. It was basically a solid follow up the points made in a similar convo I had last month.

In late July I was invited to a BBQ thrown by Digiwaxx Media in Mt. Vernon, NY. I met my friend K there who’s a talent manager(among many things) out of CT and the person who invited me in the first place. She introduced me to her connects in the spot and all was lovely. Good food and drink along with observation of the crowd inspired much conversation.

Among a group of that included promotional people, dj’s, artists and producers, we went in on fashion trends like the skinny jeans (the ladies don’t approve guys), autotune, proper stage presence and more. The main topic that really brought out everyone’s passion for this music and culture was the overall difference between today’s artist and the artists of our generation, the 90’s. There were those in 100% support of today’s music scene, those in stark opposition and thus within the gray area. While giving full respect for his accomplishments both as a writer and actor, Drake, or at least the current manifestation of Drake was genuinely raked over the coals for having a severe lack of personality. While he does well at mimicking the styles of a Kanye, Wayne or Andre 3000, he doesn’t have the charisma, charm or presence of any of them. Adding the “Fail” that was his lead video for “Best I ever had” and it was agreed upon that his buzz is fading fast.

But at least Drake is getting face time and capitalizing off of his Young Money affiliation. We all found ourselves at a loss trying to find out what a Kid Cudi is. Outside of a few songs, his digitally created career has left many fans and industry insiders alike searching for his story. What is it that makes us want to listen to you? As I said to the collective, “We respect the talents of all these artists, but understand the time frame we came from. The bar is set very high and a lot of y’all have yet to even approach it.”

Let me describe the bar for you. The almost manic passion of DMX, the poetic force of Nasty Nas, the Inhuman Lyricism of Big Punisher, the refreshing originality of Wu Tang, EPMD, Brand Nubian, Ice Cube, Dungeon Family, etc….. The list goes on and on for a era of solid music. Not only due to there talents but the humble paths they took to get there. Maybe it’s just too early to judge and the truth is that a new lane is being created not to be compared to those before? Or maybe I’m trying to be less pessimistic……

I'll be in BK Tomorrow....Supporting Hip Hop

If you're in attendance. Feel free to holla'


THE 5th ANNUAL BROOKLYN HIP-HOP FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE JUNE 20TH 2009
12-8 PM
EMPIRE FULTON FERRY STATE PARK
DUMBO, BROOKLYN

Artists
Full lineup

Pharoahe Monch
DJ Premier
Styles P
dead prez
Smif N Wessun
Grand Puba
J Period
Torae and Marco Polo
Tiye Phoenix
Keys N Krates
Brown Bag All Stars
DJ Parler
DJ Misbehaviour
Metermaids

Special Guests: Chip Fu, Kel Spencer, Homeboy Sandman

hosted by Ralph McDaniels

Second Stage

Donny Goines
Nyle
Eagle Nebula
Brokn Englsh
Children Of The Night

hosted by Homeboy Sandman
..

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival 2009 will take place on June 18th, 19th and 20th. Events include a retrospective photo exhibit of the first four years, a kick off party, Family Day, The Main Day, and the Official After Party.

This is a free event
Family Day and Main Day are June 20th at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, 1 Main Street, in DUMBO Brooklyn from 12p.m. - 8 p.m.

————–

The official After Party will take place at Southpaw 125 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Lineup TBA.

The Photo Exhibit will be held at Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street, in DUMBO, Brooklyn
June 18th
Galapagos Art Space

Check www.brooklynbodega.com for more info.

Single Tickets for the Main Day are available for free or for a suggested donation of only $10 at brooklynbodega.com and Fat Beats New York, 406 Avenue of the Americas # 1, New York, NY 10011, and (212) 673-3883 and Halcyon, 57 Pearl St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (718) 260-9299

Hold ya Head X

Shout out to Ms Carter.....

I don't know who's blog I was on, I think it was ALL IN's but I ended up finding my way over to Ms Brook Lynne Carter's blog and its a nice collection of flash, industry, introspection and substance. Most def can't judge a book by its cover. She had a 20 questions blog and I threw out a few questions and low and behold she answered all of them at 4am. Much respect. ChecC her out.

Her Video Reply to the Questions.

Are you smarter then a Porn star????

In this case you might not be.....

Mika Tan

I can across a few interviews she did online and I have to say. She comes across as very educated and articulate.


[edit] Education and early career

She worked as a child model, as an extra in television, commercials, and theater, appeared in an infomercial[5], and at one point was a member of the Movement Company dance troupe of Guam where she performed modern jazz and ballet.[1]

She attended San Diego State University where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and an Associate's degree in Psychology. To earn extra money while in college, Mika did nude art modeling and tried her hand at stripping.[6][7][8]

Mika has studied classical voice at the Magdalena Perés School of Voice and is a graduate of the John Robert Powers finishing school.[1]

Despite her aptitude for science, she found she did not enjoy the work as she was more of a "people person", and worked in sales & marketing in the timeshare industry[9] for Dennis Hof. Hof was later quoted as saying, "She is straight as an arrow; I had no idea she leaned that way; I would have approached her to work for my Moonlite Bunny Ranch back then!" She tried her hand at acting in California but stopped after the realization that the casting couch was not a myth.[8]Mika has been quoted as saying, "For the record, no adult entertainment director, producer, or crewman has ever sexually harassed me EVER. If I have to fuck for work, then I'll just fuck for work. Sure, the sex acts are documented, but at least the payoff is guaranteed in porn."

Miss Info

One of the few Industry folk I've enjoyed since day one.Little ego,cool personality and factual reporting.ChecC her out as she was doing her thing on CW 11. And if you didnt know, her blog is a daily must.