Blakroc

Some weeks ago I made this post ’bout tons of stuff that got my attention, and one of them was this project put up by Dame Dash called Blakroc.
By the time all I could juice out of the web was this teaser/promo video, but now I bring you the first official video, including Mos Def and Jim Jones on the mic. Absolutely love it.

The whole straight to the point soulful style on this song kept my head banging all the way through, and I even liked Jim Jones on this track, which is something I would never consider saying ’bout that rapper.

And just cause the guys at 2dopeboyz definitely don’t sleep, I bring you another track, this time with Raekwon The Chef on the vocals. Light up that shit.

Blakroc…hip-hop and some jazzy rock, and it sounds realer than 90% what American rappers are putting out nowadays. I guess Dame Dash is trying to save the game hum?

 

P.O.S.

In an era where hip-hop screams for an S.O.S. in terms of creativity, artists like P.O.S. let me know there is still a light in the dark.

I saw the video above when I was browsing through Kanye’s blog and on that moment I knew I had to check more stuff ’bout this rapper. I ended up discovering he’s been dropping albums since 2002, does tours with artists like Saosin, and most of all, has a really style, different beats and heartfelt and intelligent lyrics.

Check him out, if you like good music in th vein of El-P or Aesop Rock, you won’t be disappointed. Here’s another video to give you a taste of P.O.S.’s habilities:

P.O.S. MYSPACE

D*Face

Not a big fan of his work, but the guy surely has some good ideas and graphics, and shows knowledge ’bout street art.

I’m not an apologist of graffiti and derivatives being shown/sold in art galleries though, but artists gotta make a living too right?

First seen at Wooster Collective.

Bridge

I hate public transportation on the rush hour. People keep stepping on my sneakers and rarely apologize, and that fucking pisses me off.

So last week, instead of taking a bus or something like that on my way to work, I took my skate cause I had some (long) time to get there on my small 4 wheels. Of course I only made half the way skating, but I discovered that Lisbon has some cool spots to roll along the river.

Here are some pictures I took, again with the cellphone and no post-editing:

P.S.: There’s cops with machine guns in my school’s street all the time. Cool.

Pay Attention!

Now that I’ve found some time to post again, here is some stuff you should consider watching/hearing/reading during this week:

Maybe they aren’t the best duo ever, but their live performances come packed with such delivery and energy that it’s hard not to be tempted to give them that spot.

I don’t know what the hell happened in this video, but I like it. It’s dark and creepy, combining perfectly with the music of Fever Ray, but at the same time it’s beautiful and so well produced…quality in the darkest places I guess.

New Dizzee Rascal’s album reviewed at Pitchfork. Very complete review, but I still need to hear this one.

Mos, Black Thought and Eminem spitting to an old school beat. Can it get better than this? Watch the rest of the freestyles with other rappers here.

Wale, John Mayer and Mark Ronson collaborating on a track…I’m not really into Wale, like Kid Cudi I think he’s more hype than anything and doesn’t bring nothing new to the game, but the song is really good to chill, nice production indeed. Listen/ download here.
By the way, the guy has a video with Lady Gaga and a song with Jean Grae. Seems the boy Wale is nice with the ladies ahah, check the cameos on the video .

Yeah Yeah Yeahs remixed by DJ A-Trak. Absolute dancefloor banger.

Wu-Tang Manual

If you’re a fan of the Wu, you gotta get this.

Written by RZA himself, this book explores diverse matters ’bout the group in a very simple and honest way. From their early years and the way they tried to combine different philosophies and skills from the 9 rappers, their uprising and spread in the American music industry, to content explanations of the most famous  lyrics and stories from live performances and recording sessions.
RZA tells us about his work process, how he produced the beats for the first album and how he “controlled” the group in the first years, asking them to commit to the project and working to combine the different members of the Clan in the tracks by understanding the different personalities and how their rhymes connected.

But more than a  book about the Wu-Tang Clan, this is a book about RZA’s vision of life itself. It’s much more introspective than I was expecting and delivers knowledge ’bout his youth years, ’bout how he discovered the whole Shaolin and Kung-Fu stuff…the guy literally talks about almost everything you can imagine that is related to Wu-Tang or himself, even chess techniques are explained and drug consume is brought down to a science.

This is a book full of knowledge, that I absolutely recommend to anyone that has had the slightest contact with the Wu-Tang Clan and has found them amusing by any reason. After reading this book you will understand why this is the most genius rap group that ever existed, and no, it’s not because they have the Genius (GZA).

AMAZON LINK

The View From Here Is…

Working sucks, hate having my time and energy limited all the time…

But having places like these to see on your way to work kinda helps a little:

Photos taken with my cellphone, no photoshop, not even color adjustments…guess real life is not at bad after all, if one can enjoy the view.

Oh, and I’m writing this post from school right now, while the class is doing presentations and shit, sweet.

Mesrine

One story, two films.

L’Instinct de Mort and L’Ennemi Public N°1 present us a cinematic view over the life of Jacques Mesrine, one of the most famous European criminals that became France’s Public Enemy Nº1 by the late 70’s.

The first part, my favorite of the two, starts by showing us the violent past behind the man and his rise in the criminal underworld…this film is probably the only of the two that can be put under the Hollywood gangster genre, going deeper into the character’s dilemmas and his struggle to grow a family and combine that with his crimes.

Violence overflows throughout both movies, and although some stuff may be exaggerated, I think the director Jean-François Richet subtly tried to justify the personality of Mesrine with some sort of Robin Hood complex and the fact that he tried to maintain a controversial code of honor.
That fact helps the audience to feel a connection with the character in the beginning, but the undeniable sociopath nature of Mesrine becomes clear in the second film, specially near the end.

In terms of directing and acting, this movie really exceeded all my expectations…I mean, any movie that Vincent Cassel does almost has a seal of quality just from his name on the cast, but this one is really a great mix of storytelling and entertainment. Even the end of it all, which we also see right away in the beginning of the first film, delivers a extraordinary sense of ruggedness, leaving you with a bitterness on the mouth, but a confirmation of how reality works in the criminal side of life.

Mesrine’s vision of reality was heavily distorted, life and death had nothing but a symbolic value for him, and we get to understand that in the movie, but what really shocked me was reading his wikipedia page and finding out that almost everything we see on both movies really happened, even the most insane stuff, and also his murder by the French police.

By the way, read another opinion on the movies (written ages ago lol), from my beloved girlfriend that watched them almost entirely with me.

IMDB LINKS:
PART 1: L’Instinct de Mort
PART 2: L’Ennemi Public N°1

TRAILERS:
PART 1 (American version)
PART 2 (French version)

OCTOBER MASSACRE FEST

Party time this Saturday.

All the respect to my friends at MassMurder Booking for putting up such a big effort.
It’s inspiring to see people I’ve known for so long and that I met through hardcore giving something back with so much heart.

The fest is gonna start in the afternoon and will be prolonged to the evening, but there will be a break for dinner. You can also check the music from all the bands playing in the fest by clicking on the link to the booker.

Support.

MASS MURDER BOOKING

Soldier

Finally, something fresh…sounds almost a contra-sense considering the video is on MTV lol.
It’s a nice collab and a really different track, even considering all the rhythms and influences N.E.R.D already explored.

Download song here. First seen on illRoots.

N.E.R.D WEBSITE (check it, very retro-cool)

N.E.R.D MYSPACE