Saidah Baba Talibah's Toronto Sound Off

When I turned this in to soultrain.com, I knew what I was getting myself into. Saidah Baba Talibah and I conversed as if kids are unable to use the Internets. From talking about blues singer Lucille Bogans to screaming and(/or) creaming, Soul Train's Sound Check was never the same. Here's an excerpt of what actually ran:

SBT: Expression is borderless – I express myself one way, and another artist could express themselves another way. At the same time, when it comes to being a woman expressing these types of feelings and being – not aggressive – assertive, knowing what you want, strong and unafraid of vulnerability is not really out there. So I guess that could be raunchy, like just in explaining how I want to please a man or how I want him to please me. We feel like we have to hide that idea behind what it means to be a lady. There are ways to do all of that and still be classy. 

ST: I get it, and there’s even each one’s own interpretation of “classy” and what is a lady. 

SBT: This is why I love old blues artists like Betty Davis. She was raunchy, but she was real in stating her facts of life. Also, there was Lucille Bogan, a blues singer from 1935.  She was even raunchier than Betty Davis, raunchier than anyone I ever heard to this day and age! 

ST: So let me ask: how important is it for you to implement sensuality into your music, and music in general? 

SBT: I think sensuality – not necessarily sex – is very important in everything that I do. In the true form of sensuality – calling on touch, sight, sounds and all those things and bring all the senses together – that’s where I’m coming from. 

ST: How did you develop your music within calling on those senses from The Phone Demos to (S)Cream and so on? 

SBT: Continuing to remind myself to stay as free as possible and to be as real as possible. That’s always the emphasis of where I’m coming from. At least I try to because that can be a little scary. I’m still human. It’s not easy being an artist because everyone has their opinion and capability to judge. 

ST:Toronto music –Canada in general – is nothing to sneeze at. How much of the T-Dot inspires your music? 

SBT: There’s a lot of ridiculous talent, great musicians, great singers on the scene. There’s By Divine Right, Jully Black, Ayah, and a lot of them have branched out and moved but this city is a beast.Toronto can take over the world.

Now that she mentioned it, all those T-Dot artists are dope (including her, I mean, have you heard her music?!). Off the top, By Divine Right is like Toronto's own Radiohead (if only the US had there's - sigh) with their indie kick and their music being vet-like boss status. Jully Black is sassy as shit. No seriously, she has a bold R&B sound that's different than what's typical among other R&B divas, like an over-the-top image isn't necessary to accompany her music. Naturally, fashion is her forte. Ayah, a DJ Jazzy Jeff protege, is Philly soul stuck in Toronto mixed with house, hiphop and whatever else her mind is truly capable of - in fact, a song just dropped she did in collaboration with Slakah The Beatchild called "Keep Up." More heat is sure to follow, I mean, the summer is near!



I'm so glad Saidah hipped me to all these artists. My headphones been on repeat with these folks ever since!

After filling your ears with all that Van Glorious, check out the rest of the interview with Saidah here.

Discussing Frankly with Sean Falyon

This guy is great. Sean Falyon did a Frank Discussion session with me, and his scatterbrain had me in tears! Here's an excerpt:

The best thing about where I live is it has a roof on it.

... and when you come here, you should check out my fridge I just bought.

You haven't lived until you went on a recon mission with Sean Falyon's beard!

To see the whole Frank Discussion on Frank151's Atlanta League website, and for the link to his latest Jackin 4 Beats mixtape, click here.

The Strike Against SOPA

"Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black"
 - Jay-Z


As this site is dressed in all black and some of you might wonder "hey, where did those annoying bubbles go?!?!" the Internets is fighting to protect what is there's - freedom. Congress seems to be on a roll with their idiocy of ending online piracy by completely ignoring everything that made the Internet great in the first place.

How can something so generic be so tightening on the lungs of the Web?

We featured the Free Justin Bieber campaign recently, but Congress doesn't seem to get it. I understand, though, as I've been part of the movement to help bring together the colliding worlds of entertainment blogging and bloodthirsty lawmakers. Seeing the various interaction, runarounds, and other slippery slopes of being a watchdog makes me realize that the term evolution (at least when it comes to harmonizing and balancing the two aforementioned worlds) is an understatement.

That's why this site is in its all-black-everything phase.

Basically, the government is enforcing that every website polices third party links from everywhere that includes anything regarding all forms of copyright infringment. That was not a sarcastic statement. Due to generic terms used in the bill, S. 968, that is the way it must be examined. Well, at least to avoid catching a flippin' felony!

Here's the Skippy on why SOPA has a dangerous capability of screwing over everything the Internet stands for:

1. Like mentioned about S. 978 (the Commercial Felony Streaming Act) earlier, the incidentals and accidentals will be entirely too vulnerable. If So And So wants to post her favorite song on Facebook because it explains the complex status she posted earlier about being "the baddest btich" (or however the misspelling goes), then she is liable to shut all of Facebook down. Yes, because the site allowed her to post content that enables pirate sharing, all of Facebook is liable to be shut down. Under SOPA's blanket-covering/suffocating definition, sites like YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, Dropbox, Soundcloud, and a big ass etc are sites dedicated to "theft of U.S. property." The thing is that any site with a comment box or upload form of any sort - whether the site complies with the DCMA or not - has the potential to be punished for infringement.

2. Any countering on infringement becomes far more difficult than previous copyright laws. For example, if an artist sends me a direct song they want "leaked," and the attorney general finds out then my ass is grass. Alone. In the bill, there is no clear statement of how they go about notifying the artist or their label - let alone whether or not the government has to! The responsibility is placed in my hands to get in touch with an already nearly untouchable party to send a counter-notice stating that I am allowed to "leak" the track... or picture... or video (just to make sure you understand what all's at stake here). After five days of the site being shut down, if no counter-notice is issued, guess who's going to jail?!

3. Still this term "FELONY" puts an awful strain on an already economically struggling field(s). Here's an explanation from Mashable's Opinion page of how quickly casual whoopsies become three years in prison:

Section 201(b)(1) expands criminal copyright infringement to include:
"At least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500."Now, the way that the value of a work can be computed in court is the very crude (value of the work times number of views).
"Total retail value may be shown by evidence of the total retail price that persons receiving the reproductions, distributions, or public performances constituting the offense would have paid to receive such reproductions, distributions, or public performances lawfully."This means, for example, if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”
This would make you a felon, and if a copyright holder were to bring a suit against you, would give you a criminal record that would make it virtually impossible to fain future employment, and may subject you to up to three years in prison for singing a song. You don’t have to receive any money. You don’t have to gain anything from your video. Simply receiving 2,500 views on a song you sung, which happens to have copyright held by someone else, makes you a felon.

 4. This isn't just happening to folks in the U.S., this is for EVERYONE. The power has been put in the attorney general's hands to fully censor - from shutting down the site to cutting the site off from AdSense to cutting the site off from Paypal - any site that isn't even in the jurisdiction of the U.S. Folks first think of WikiLeaks, but what about other sites? Let's not forget about entertainment sites like SoulCulture, Daily Mail, Every Day A Great Song, etc that could be shut down for good. Not only that it's just shut down in their country, but worldwide (they don't call it that for nothing)!

If SOPA passes, then we'll be out here looking like China. Flat out. Big Brother's monitoring will just grow more and more brolick, brolick to the point where any slight instance of opposition is silenced - whether it be opposition of government policy or opposition of society's choice of entertainment.

Big K.R.I.T is Performing at A3C 2011 (Retro Interview)

I am super excited for this year's A3C Festival in Atlanta! From Big Daddy Kane to Big K.R.I.T, it seems like all kinds of hiphop is coming down for the three-day festival.

In light of this year's coverage, here's an interview with Big K.R.I.T for AOL back in the "sometimes free doesn't mean you won't get paid" freelance days with their City's Best site. We went on and on about what he does when he's in town, but in this excerpt we talk about the day he got signed to Def Jam:

In such a short amount of time, we've heard your music go across the board. What's your ultimate goal as a musician?

Make music that people can relate to, something for all walks of life. I feel like as an artist, I'm supposed to paint all these pictures. So, I stay true to myself and do the right music and be original.

What was it like meeting Sha Money XL and the day you signed to Def Jam?

It was dope! Sha Money is a down-to-earth person. He has a respect for where I come from -- from nothing to a million-dollar signing -- it's like a homie kind of aspect. I ended up calling my father in the elevator like, "Pops, this is real!" It's Def Jam, the mecca of Hip-Hop, and to be from the Dirty South it was like we did it!

 Check out the rest of the interview on AOL City's Best.

Speaking of "best," best of luck to Big K.R.I.T on winning his first BET Hip Hop Award this year. Although not many people credit BET for serious award ceremonies, there's nothing like having a physical symbol of appreciation (because YouTube and Bandcamp hits can only mean so much). In other words, you can't really place Internet buzz on your mantle or trophy case. Good luck Big K.R.I.T!

Covering One Music Festival 2011

It brings about a whole unique feeling when you can sit through a daylong concert with three generations sliding through the lineup, especially when the genres are as diverse as displayed within One Music Festival.

I had the privilege of covering One MusicFest with Carolyn Grady for BlackVibes, assisting her with the writing as she let her Nikon express her vocabulary. 'twas a beautiful site, all these people together under one cause - loving music - and seeing everyone let the music please them. What an orgasmic experience as a concert goer, let alone the vibes from the artists, up close and personal, in the press room via the interviews.

Though I was limited on word count for the website I wrote for, I posted as much as I had on the site via Twitter and Tumblr, including an interview with Phife Dawg of ATCQ on Tumblr. Here's a twitpic of me interviewing The Cool Kids from @willedmond:

You can check out the twitpics I sent to Twitter right here!

I have some video I'll post soon of the concert footage on my YouTube page. Seeing Kyron Leslie, Anoop Desai, Tortured Soul, Anthony David, The Foreign Exchange, The Cool Kids, Pharcyde and Chrisette Michelle all hit the stage was the most refreshing moment I had in music in a long time! You can check out the photos and my official recap of One MusicFest on BlackVibes.com!

Gun Party Interview for Examiner

Before you get all "is this blue-collar, shoot-em-up rockabilly music" on me, check out Gun Party's Bandcamp player below.


Now that you know what's going on, here's the interview I did with this group. Although it's just an excerpt, get to know the deets behind their debut album.

Our drummer loves, loves, loves Radiohead. I am more of a fan of female punk singers and bands. Our guitarist really, really loves loud garage rock. Our bassist is more of a Harry Nilsson fan. It all just kinda merged into this clusterfuck of rock music that kinda turned out awesome!

How has merging all those different styles been like when it comes to creating the first album?

It could be a really interesting process. Some of our songs came way more organically than others, and some time we didn’t really notice we have different tastes in music because we seem to have one when we’re able to go into the studio. A lot of the songs, like the “Kite Flights,” we’ll work on for months and the original form was all over the place. It was very much rock and roll, but it was all kinds of things – punk, then it was blues rock, and then it had loud, garage-y guitar tones – and it wasn’t making a lot of sense. It took many, many weeks and us sitting down tweaking a lot of things. What really did it was when we went into the studio to record it and having somebody else listen to it. They were able to tell us how it was running into each other. The main thing of us having so much of a difference is that it takes us a really long time to figure out which is appropriate and which is perfect for the song we’re doing. Ultimately, it worked out, and now “Kite Flights” is my favorite song.

Whenever I’m listening to the album, what should folks look out for within the content and lyrics?

There’s a theme to each song, but not easy to pick up on. We try to not be completely random with our lyrics – it’s usually about something, sometimes they’re about someone, but they all have themes. If you keep listening, you’ll pick up on them. Like “Runaway” is a break-up song, so I’m sappy and crying. “Kite Flights” is a self-destruction song, and it doesn’t make sense at first but it’s within the way that song builds as well as lends itself to the lyrics which lets you know how feisty it is. In “DBV,” which stands for Dead Bitch Vagina, is simply about a stalker in a hotel room. They’re all over the place, but each song has a consistency with the lyrics...

 Read more, like how they formed out of being a joke band and exactly how did they come up with the name, by clicking here!

Interviews on the spot: Richelle Brown for Examiner

One thing I've began to enjoy is catching an artist fresh off the stage. They're guard is slightly up because they know all eyes (and investigative ears) are on them, they have prepared answers for the press - before their self-proclaimed wicked performance and they're still on cloud 9 after said-wicked performance.

This got the same result.

After her performance for one of SMKA's Through The Rabbit Hole concert series, I interviewed Richelle Brown AKA Cornbread for my Get To Know Q&A series for Examiner.com. We talked about how she got her name, her influences and her upcoming projects. Here is an excerpt from our discussion where we talked about her nickname, which became her pen name - Cornbread.

... I call my music electro-funk because it’s electronically done and we summon up the funk gods. It’s funky, it’s gonna make you stank, it’s gonna make you dance, it’s gonna make you sing, it’s gonna make you wanna love somebody, and ain’t nothing better than love! And funk. Love and funk!

Let me ask you this, if it’s along those lines. You’re nickname is Cornbread. Where did that come from?

Oh gosh, that name. When I was in high school, there was this new guy that came to school and he was so cute. All the girls liked him because he was super thugged-out. As I was walking down the hallway, and all the girls were looking at him, he looked up at me and was like “What’s up Cornbread?” I was like “First of all, my name is Richelle, it is not Cornbread, and don’t you ever call me that again.” I had to let him know but then every time he sees me in the hallway, he’d yell “Cornbread!” and I yell back “That’s not my name!” I started asking people why does he keep calling me that, and come to find out he was calling me Cornbread because I was thick and was not a skinny girl. They said that people who eat a lot of bread get thick or whatever. Fast-forward to college, I was in my first class and the teacher was asking an icebreaker question like “What’s the weirdest pick-up line you ever had?” I was 17, and I couldn’t think of any weird pick-up lines except for that because I wasn’t able to date. I told the story, and when I told them that they started calling me Cornbread because they liked that name. When I got my first job, or any time somebody from my school would see me somewhere, they call me Cornbread. Then other people hear it, and they wanna call me that too because it’s easy for people to remember. With my brand, Space Age Hippie, it fit.

That’s really cool how it stuck with you and grew on you...

 Read more by clicking here!

Thurzday of U-N-I Interview with Frank151

While covering the Atlanta Indie Festival, I got to see one of my favorite now former group U-N-I member Thurzday perform. Of course, after his set he sat down with me to talk about his favorite Atlanta artists, his new album - which is out today, go cop L.A. Riot - and then I got to let out some lame yet witty U-N-I/you and I jokes. He was cool about it, as well as cool about talking about leaving the group.

Here is an excerpt of the interview. Check out Frank151 for the full article!

So where are you at? Let's talk about this new project.

It definitely pulls inspiration from the '92 riots, and also basically I'm at a burn-and-rebuild stage right now. Left the group, and I had to almost re-brand myself so that people know I'm a force. I burnt down the old image, and it's me re-establishing myself. I'm also putting out quality over quantity, so this thing I put out really represents where my mind is at and all the people that are pushing me right now. It's not a historical project, it just touches on a lot of life situations and, well, real shit.

Ok, so you said you left the group. So does that mean no more U-N-I?

We'll see.

I mean, you and I - as far as I'm concerned - seem ok, as long as you keep doing dope stuff, but U-N-I is ka-put?

Ha! As of right now, we're not doing the group thing anymore. I'm just really attached to doing my solo work. The sounds that I am making are really big, and I'm really digging the music I've created and the producers created lately. I definitely appreciate where U-N-I got me and all the accolades we've received, but right now it's time for me to do me.

Well, I'm glad you appreciate where I've gotten you. Ok, I'm done with the lame U-N-I jokes! With performing, how were you digging the Atlanta atmosphere?

My boy DJ Z reached out to me wanting me to come and rock. He's been supporting all the records I've released so far, so I really wanted to help support that movement. I brought my DJ Ro Blvd. to join me, and I'm glad to be out here.

A Photo Recap of Atlanta Indie Festival

I had the privilege of covering Greedmont Park's annual Atlanta Indie Festival for Frank151, and I took hella photos. I am so proud of the results - like the ones when I covered the Soul Train Awards - that I want to share all of them!

Check out the full recap of the event on Frank151 Atlanta Backwoods League.




Featured in this slideshow is:

J*Davey

Project Pat
Rahbi
CyHi da PrynceGrip Plyaz
Karima Harrison from Noot d' Noot
Tuki and Go Dreamer from Hollyweerd

Thurzday from U-N-I

and much, much more!

Sidenote, plus a bonus photo, I went to the Arts Beats & Lyrics show the night before as the purveyor of awesome that I am, and got recruited to take a photo in front of a person's work because of my KeepItClassic.com "I Grew Up On Hiphop" shirt. Lo and behold, it was for a friend of mine! Check out all of her Rhythmic Images pictures by clicking on her picture of me!

Fli Pelican Interview for Frank151

I chopped it up with Nino from Fli Pelican Clothing. We talked mainly about his team's clothes, but also about the music he's bumping now. Was he swiping shots with that comment about Big Sean ("who sold 80,000 first *cough cough*")? I can't call it, but I did a little digging, and saw that Drake might have swiped a shot at Big Sean via Twitter.

Anyway, here's an excerpt of the interview with the Fli Pelican cats:

So what are you listening to now? What’s on Nino’s iPod?

I’m over here right now listening to Lil’ Wayne’s Sorry For The Wait mixtape. I’m listening to Frank Ocean, and Big Sean, of course. He’s from the hometown, D-Town, who sold 80,000 first *cough, cough*. Also, I’m listening to some stuff in Cali, like Chase N. Cashe. Kanye always bump.

What was your reaction when you first heard about or saw Lil’ Wayne donning the “No Sucka S#it” shirt on the cover of XXL?

I already knew about the cover. My man’s had told me he was gonna do it, but I’m the type of person that has to see it. I didn’t even tell my team then. The day it got on the Internet, we were at Krystal’s in the drive-thru and Lil Chuckee (Young Money/Cash Money artist) called. I went to see what Chuckee wanted, and he said “y’all over there doing it big now, huh?” I kind of knew what he was talking about, but I was still like “what?” He said, “I see you guys getting on these covers and things!” He sent me the picture of Wayne on the cover with the shirt, and this was the first time I felt like the artist really embodied the clothing line because he’s just wearing the shirt. It’s not like someone made him put in on for the cover. Plus, we’ve built a relationship with him and the Young Money/Cash Money staff as well. It’s more genuine, nobody forced it upon him or nothing like that.

In the entire interview, we chat about his upcoming projects which include an in-process deal with a BMX cat, plus - of course - snapbacks. Read it here!

Check out my feature with Soul Train featuring Heston

With an album coming later this month, Heston and I discuss his live sound and how he feels timeless music does not go hand-in-hand with "what's hot." Here is a clip of our Sound Check interview:

On loving the live elements of his sound - I think the perfect imperfections, like delays in timing or feelings, are things you can’t really manufacture, or program on the one or on the two. Those perfect imperfections is what makes music real.

On his new album Warm Human, Cold World - When you are in a relationship, especially a successful relationship, you find that it’s easier to navigate, it’s easier to lean on someone when you’re having a bad day and have someone to come home to. It’s about relationships and having someone’s shoulder to lay on.

On creating timeless music - (...) I do not want to go with the sound of the month, or the type of thing where there’s a certain sound in the industry right now for R&B music and has certain synthesizers, I’m not interested. For me, it’s making music that I can be happy with forever.

Soul Train: What about how much R&B has changed over time? Do you feel that with R&B changing that you’ll be able to still create the music that you want to? 

Heston: Absolutely. If you look at people like Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton, Maxwell, India.Arie and even Alicia Keys, there are such stories as people creating timeless music where those songs will last forever. There’s a certain quality and sustainability to the music that defies the flavor or producer of the month in it. Like, an Alicia Keys song could’ve been dropped in 1970 and still be as relevant as it is now. Sade’s been doing the same quality of music with the same type of production for many years. It’s just a matter of stepping outside of recording, like the marketing, performing, and being available. While I’m interested in all that, I’m not concerned with altering my sound for what’s going on today.

 Be sure to check out the full interview on Soul Train's website by clicking here!

SlapStik's One-on-One with Margaret Cho

Aside from covering music - for the most part - I am the editor of SlapStik Magazine and operator of their blog. In the blogs and mags we specialize in comic interviews, going one-on-one with some of the funniest people on the planet. I got to chat with Margaret Cho about Drop Dead Diva, her development as a stand-up comic, and inevitably her music. Here's an excerpt of that: 

You also do music as well. Cho Dependent got a lot of good reception, including the Grammy nomination, so what’s next for you musically? 

The next album coming out will be The Yellow Album, and it’s really in the works now. It’s a little bit hard to do because I’m working on a TV show, so all these multiple projects are moving a little slowly. When the TV show comes out, then I’ll have more time to work on the album. 

How will The Yellow Album be different than Cho Dependent? 

Yellow will have some of the songs that didn’t make it onto Cho Dependent. I recorded about 22 songs and some didn’t make it, so there’s a few that I want to be on Yellow. There’s some new stuff I recorded just for Yellow. And Yellow will be about race and the Asian identity, and being an ethnic “other.” I’m really excited about that, and I’m really excited about the song I did with my parents. My parents are musicians and they sang on this song. It was really funny because they’ve been singers for a long time but have never recorded, so it was really daunting for them to be in a studio and a stretch to take it to that level for them because they seemed intimidated.

Check out the full interview on SlapStik's blog by clicking here!

Recap: Bubbapalooza Coverage for Examiner

Usually folks label me as a hiphop journalist or all about hiphop culture. While I don't take it as an insult, I'd like for you all to know that I do have just as much interest in other music cultures besides hiphop. Bluegrass in certainly one of them.

For Examiner.com, I covered Atlanta's annual Bubbapalooza in Little Five Points at Star Bar. Other than the subconscious racial tension - mainly along the lines of "whoa, what's this Black girl doing here?!?" - I had a great time getting to know on a fond level what bluegrass, hillbilly folk-type music is all about. Here's an excerpt of what went down:

Bringing the folk back to night one was Bareknuckle Betties. Toting a guitar, banjo, washboard and an upright bass, these four ladies put on a swell rockabilly performance. They brought an authentic and forgotten super vintage girl punk feel – because the REAL original girl punk bands were ladies of blues and rockabilly!

Emotions rose as Anna Kramer and The Lost Cause began their set, specifically from “Mama,” (Gregory) Smalley’s mother, as she was hugging one of the many attendees wanting to pay their respect to the Bubbapalooza family. At only night one this annual music festival showed the values behind this kind of music, and the cause of keeping this festival alive, despite the death of their founder 15 years ago.

 Check out the entire recap of the two-night festival on Examiner by clicking here!

Eli Porter in the building! No, seriously...

For Frank151, I covered the documentary screening of Eli Porter at Apache Cafe. It was only the first half, but it was a good first half, as we got the whole dissection of the YouTube video where Eli Porter diiid it. Here's an excerpt of my coverage:

Yes, there was the comedy factor with appearances from Andy Milonakis and drunken Chamblee High classmates of Eli, but it also included constructive analysis from journalists Dallas Penn and Jay Smooth on nearly every aspect of what happened in that video. The film dissected everything that was going on in the Twilight Zone-looking YouTube video - from the powerful Eli punchline "I did it," to the odd stuff going on in the back (the heart that pops up around Eli after his turn, Marv-O's adventurous hands, Envy's possibly pre-written battle raps, and much more) - the audience sat in awe as they found out the details of the video.

An Interview with A Fight To The Death

One thing I do with Examiner is a Get to Know Q&A with some of the Atlanta musicians who stop by Little Five Points. It usually covers their creations, upcoming projects, living in the A, and whatever I can typically fit within a 20-minute conversation. This one features an eccentric band called A Fight to the Death, and the band member really gave me a glimpse into the complications of the Atlanta indie scene and being a band in general. Here's an excerpt of it, but I suggest just go to the whole interview here:

At this rate, where do you see A Fight To The Death within the next five years?

I hope that we are able to use the geographic distance and also use the challenges and convenience in modern technology to become more of a national band, and I mean that well. I hope that that’ll allow us to play more and out of our comfort zone, and overcome the complacency that we have in Atlanta. I really hope it gets us out of Atlanta more and make us a national or at least a multiregional band. I hope our songwriting grows and becomes more bizarre and interesting, like I will not have any idea what our next record will sound like. I see us growing and crafting songs that have a greater longevity than just writing songs that we’ll be performing live as we won’t be in that setting anymore. Our focus will be a little different.

The Amazon Cloud, A First of Its Kind

Before I begin typing up praises for this new venture, let me say that although I am an Amazon Associate this blog post is NOT being forced by Amazon. Now, unto my blog post...

Now, if you are a loyal Amazon shopper for music then this will come as the best news since they started selling digital music. If you are a loyal Amazon shopper for music with a small hard drive or a nearly-full hard drive then this will come as the best news since you found out about the internet. According to their website, Amazon has become the first music store to have a cloud drive and player for the digital music you purchase!

This is big for several reasons. The best and most obvious benefit of the cloud drive and player is that it takes up NO space on your computer, not even an app or software to install it. Everything (I repeat, everything!) is stored in their datacenters and all you need is a URL (plus your Amazon username and password for purchasing purposes) to access it. Another reason why this is beneficial is because the enjoyment doesn't end at your computer: with an Android-supported system, you can have full access to your music collection to-go on your phone or tablet.

An iType of SIDENOTE: Amazon has not officially made this supportive for Apple/iOS products. However, there is a way that Apple lovers can enjoy this too. According to GeekWord, users must download iCab Mobile on their iPod/Phone/Pad. In the browser, change the Browser ID to Safari 5 (Mac), convincing the cloud that it's not Mobile Safari, and you're in there like swimwear! For more in-depth info, check out the Amazon workaround guide on Mashable and cut to "Alternative Two: iCab to the Rescue." Sorry webOS, nothing's available!

To kick things off on the right foot, Amazon is giving away five FREE gigabytes of storage on the cloud drive, so get started now!

Oh, and once you open your cloud drive be sure to purchase music from my Amazon aStore! It's been updated with the latest and greatest music available on Amazon.

Local Community Radio Act PASSED!!!

It's good to see community radio don't have to go through hoops no more!

Well, at least this act is settled (unlike H.R.848 "The Performance Rights Act" I blogged about way back when)!

I check out the Prometheus Radio Project frequently, and they broke it to me that Congress has finally passed  S.592, the Local Community Radio Act. According to their press release, the House and Senate has given the FCC a mandate for thousands of new community stations nationwide.

Sounds great, right? Right!

Why? Because it's a win for the little guy, of course, but also is a win for the home team (whoever yours may be). For about ten years, since the Radio Broadcast Preservation Act, small town radio has suffered under the shrinking dial frequency thanks to big corporate radio stations wanting to minimize use of the spectrum for their own gain, claiming interference (which ended up being a claimed disproved by a Congress-mandated study in 2003).

The new bill is waiting for President Obama's signature. According to Pitchfork, it does state that approval of the FCC must be "based on the needs of the local community," and that restrictions are in place to prevent applicants from getting a low power FM license if he or she has violated section 301 of the Communication Act of 1934.

The most awesome thing about the Local Community Radio Act is that this could possibly lead to more media job creation! Your girl needs a job, and is not afraid to step into the booth as a radio jockey. The world needs Bubble Gum Pop Rap on the airwaves, right? Wouldn't that be dope! Seriously, this could create more jobs in a starving market, so journalists and folks who love the radio should rejoice as Congress has done something amazing for once!

This wouldn't be right if I didn't shout out the following local radio stations in Atlanta that I always listen to when I'm in the car or near the frequency box!!!

WRFG 89.3 - Radio Free Georgia, man oh man. It plays a little bit of everything progressive-wise, including REAL experimental music, REAL bluegrass and country, and REAL hiphop music, and also very helpful and resourceful talk shows (not the crappy sensationalizing talk shows that scare the bejeebus out of folks just to tune them in on a permanent basis). I especially like their hiphop show Beats & Lyrics, plus their late night shows... which isn't what you think at all. I promise.

WRAS 88.5 - Album 88 is a radio station based at Georgia State University in downtown Atl. The thing I like about them is that they play what's hot in the blogosphere and in the community. It's a great place to hear local bands, indie bands, and whatever other music stuff that's considered hipster. I'm no hipster, but everytime I tune in, I always have a "THAT'S MY ISH RIGHT THERE!" moment. The thing I can't stand is that it's the ONLY radio station around that plays the atypical music.

WREK 91.1 - Georgia Tech's station is a station I tune into from time to time. I caught wind of it when they had a F' Action hour, which was interesting considering it was a Sunday evening. I always find something dope on Saturday nights on the road to a show or something, as they always have some crazy Techno or Drum & Bass record going crazy. Ultimately, they always play some jazz or big band record that keeps me tuned in.

There are a couple more stations that I like, or at least keep on my dial until I buck up and change to V-103 or Hot1079 or one of the old school stations. But the classic rock station The River, alternative rock stations 99x and Project 9-6-1 do keep me occupied when absolutely nothing else is on the radio. I hope this new Local Community Radio Act forms more local stations here in the A that provide more voices to this city.

Dear Spotify, Bring Your Arse To The States!!!

Since Imeem, among other music streaming sites, are no longer running, I've been on the hunt for the new place to extend my taste in music. I'm not a big iPerson, so suggesting iTunes, an iPad/Phone, or any other iNut-riding software or Internet tool won't work.

There are a couple dope sites and such to check out with that Imeem feel.

8tracks is one I use frequently because it has a creative gimmick to its purpose: come up with at least eight songs for a playlist. The playlist has to have some sort of title or theme to it (even if it is Brian Lehrer's Cooking Mix or Randy Moss' Post Pattern), and I have the freedom of uploading songs from my music collection or adding music other people uploaded to 8tracks. If I stick to just eight songs, it's like having an 8-track on your computer, minus the protruding cartridge.

Another site I like for music sharing and streaming is [INSERT DRUM ROLL]

*adds extra line for dramatic effect*

MySpace! Believe it or not, and amidst the crappy press it got for being Creepsterland, this site is great for sharing music for artists and listeners. It's easy to create playlists, add music, and with the new layout (which Facebook is trying to mimic btw) is easy for folks to share. Although Bandcamp and SoundCloud are good sites for artists to use to socialize with their fans as well as add music, MySpace is just as good. Plus, almost every band uses it, so to the folks I know that snub MySpace on the regular need to fall back, as journalist and bloggers quickly search "[insert artist or band] MySpace music" before anything else.

But back to the topic at-hand.

Spotify is another music sharing and streaming site that has the online and offline option. It's like iTunes, minus Apple's "i" and tunes, Pandora, LastFM, and Imeem, wrapped in one green bow. You can upload your own music, listen to others, make playlists, buy music, play the artist radio, go mobile, tweet it, Facebook it, among other things. Oh, and IT'S FREE! Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, for those in the US of A, it does. Clicking on the "Get Spotify" icon will lead you to this. That's right, a shrugging heifer and information about how they want to have ALL music available on the site for ALL countries or nothing at all.

The researcher and journalist in me went digging for more info on Spotify, finding out that it's a wrangling with Warner's music label. According to TechCrunch back in the summer, despite the app availability on Symbian, Droid and iPhone (and now Windows 7 Phone) Warner does not want Spotify to air out their artists' music for free.

Sounds familiar? It should. Warner and YouTube had the same issue because Warner didn't want YouTube posting their artists videos for free. The difference between the two scenarios is that YouTube had balls, and pulled all of Warner's artists off their site and moved on! And of course, because no label wants to be excluded from press, Warner came running back to make a deal with YouTube.

Now why Spotify won't grow some is beyond me. There is no reason (other than money, and if that's the case then forget coming here) Spotify is not able to do the same for their site as YouTube and generate States users. This software has already won tech awards for their services and has 30,000 of America's musical elite using their site (including Pitchfork, which brought me to Spotify in the first place), so why is it not available for the PEOPLE???

So Spotify, bring your arse to the States! We've suffered without you for long enough. We want the same luxuries as France, Spain and Sweden too! We have even shown you love for the 30,000 people you serve already, why not multiply that by a milli or two?

I hope these questions don't go unanswered, and you find your way out of other people's iPhones and into my laptop soon.

Signed,

Me.

Photos: 2010 Soul Train Purple Carpet and Award Show

I got the privilege to cover the 2010 Soul Train Awards for the website I intern with that I've mentioned several times throughout this blog.... Oh, you know! The Electronic Urban Report, EURweb.com?!?!?! Yeah, you better...

Anywho, I was among the massive amounts of media outlets flagging down as many celebs as I can for interviews and clear photo opps. These are some of the photos I took while interviewing some folks.

Bilal is the Biggest Beast of Our Generation, And Here's Why!

I have been meaning to post this Q&A session I had with Bilal for a long time (since we did it back in August), and being that I saw this marvelous video of him spazzing out on the B3 hammond to his rendition of "Tainted Love," it only felt right. The highlights from this interview can be seen at Xposure magazine, so feel free to check out that site because the print edition should be coming out really soon! So enjoy the video, then scroll down to see the entire interview unfold before your eyes!

The Sounds of VTech / Bilal: Tainted Love

I’m gonna give you the floor and let you explain your sound and craft to me. Well, I do genre-bending music. I’ve approached jazz, which is what I have come out of, and soul is in me because I started singing in the church at about 3 years old. But it’s just whatever I feel like doing – a mash-up of a lot of things, a mash-up of different sounds and a lot of different genres of music.

You’ve worked with almost every artist, underground and mainstream, from Common and Erykah Badu to Robert Glasper and even Zap Mama. What other artists do you want to collaborate with before you’re done? I want to do some stuff with Thom Yorke from Radiohead actually though. I like their stuff. They’re dope! Their style seems really organic. A lot of the collaborations I’ve done are with people that just kind of happen that way. Cats would just hit me up, and we would work something out. I’m really in a space right now where I’m developing my own type of sound and creation.

Is that what happened with your last label that made you wanna work with Plug Research? Well, what made you want to leave the label you were with and go work with Plug? Plug is an independent label and it really just kind of happened. I wouldn’t know if I could really be able to do an album on a large scale until I know I can recreate this whole business aspect in a different way. I think the best way to do things now, if you want to be original, not to be too general, but you get a lot more leverage these days when you’re independent first. That’s the meal ticket, not to mention that I like Plug Research. The people that they choose to bring out like Flying Lotus, Exile, and they give people the freedom to create however it is that they want to create.

So how did you meet them? I had met them not too long ago. The way I had met them was they were doing a record with Shafiq Husayn, the dude who’s a part of Sa-Ra. I was doing a thing on his album, and then one of the guys from Plug Research came to the studio and heard what I was doing. Me and Shifiq was trading off, like if I did a song for him then he’d do a song for me. The guy from Plug got to hear the song that I was doing for Shafiq, and he was like “oh my God, what the hell are you doing this for?” And I’m like “I’m doing this because I love it. I’m doing music man!” He just kept calling me up afterwards wanting to do an album with them like “come on, you gotta do an album! You wanna do an album right?” And I really didn’t know what I was going to do because I been in a lot of contractual things and hang-ups. After I had got everything right and together, I don’t know, things just started to go in the way that they should do. Being divine and organic, just flowing correctly.

So, your new album Airtight’s Revenge, for starters, why that title? Revenge is a way of turning that word on your side of what I have encountered in this business. I haven’t officially put an album out in 9 years. I had an album 6 years ago that I was doing, but that got bootlegged… It really had me down, and I almost, I really wasn’t thinking about music at that point, but then in being bootlegged a lot of cats started loving my sound even more. Then I started doing gigs, and getting calls from Jay-Z wanting to do music, and going on tour like I had an album out. What all that did was make me want to do it even more from the soul and from the heart, and not let myself be dumbed-down, and just do music! And that’s what Airtight’s Revenge is. Airtight is my own frame of mind, and Revenge is the fact that I have more love and more drive and more energy and more inspiration now more than ever to do music.

The cover of the album, similar to Malcolm X holding the piece and KRS-One and BDP’s album cover as well, so can you explain the significance of the album cover and their similarities? Malcolm X was willing to do things by any means necessary, and that photo really represented that. In that photo he was doing his thing, and he was willing to break down and fight what it is in his calling. With BDP, they took it and did the same thing because they came in with that reckless sound that was all their own. Both KRS-One and Malcolm X were throwing it down, they were on the frontlines, and the photos really represent that. So when I’m doing Airtight’s Revenge I took the rifle out and put in the mic because that’s my sound. I’m representing my sound and I’m in a place right now where I’m doing it regardless. I’m doing it for the love, and in all my way and my style. That’s what I’m about – being new, fresh and different, by any means necessary, of course!

What is the story within this album? What content should the audience expect to hear? There’s a lot of short stories on the album. Got some blues songs. Some were made to really spark conversation afterwards. It’s not all A and B type of songs about love or crooning about it. A lot of it is just things that I deal with in my mind and questions that I talk to myself. A lot of these songs really help me understand a lot of these things going on. That goes along with my children, who I talk about. I talk about the economy. I talk about religion and spirituality. I talk about a lot of different things. I look at what I do as a standpoint to really do those type of things, like how Bob Marley did or Curtis Mayfield.

I wanna ask this out of shear curiosity because I’ve seen a shift from you as an artist in what you want to sing. What is your ultimate goal as a musician, beyond just developing your own sound? Or do you just see that being enough? My ultimate goal, well, that’s a good place to start. But definitely to doing it to where the whole world understands and knows about it, and loves it. I want to make music that’s gonna last like all the greats have done. >>>> I want to get to the point where my son can put this on for his children and be like “this is Granddad,” and they’ll be like “oh my God! Granddad was good, he was on some shit Dad!” Then he’ll be like “yeah, I know. And now you know why you play like that son.” <<<< MY FAVORITE QUOTE!!!

Would you care to share some advice to the young folks trying to get their feet wet in the music business at all? Yeah man, come up with a sound yourself, and really, really, really work that thing and work it out. Don’t be afraid to do things people don’t normally do and have your own sound first. Do it that way, and you know, come from the heart for the art. Don’t do it for the money, do something that’s new.