Do You Know The Bartender?

I had to do it. A little commercial...I know. But I like this song much better now.

Everything you've been told about me is a lie.

Ya boy is tired...

Hey everyone. I have to apologize for not posting much in the past few days. I've been extremely busy in my other life that actually pays the bills. I'm actually WAYYY behind on the Dope Joints side of life, a couple of weeks in fact. There are quite a few articles that need completing and posting, as well as two podcasts, AND..an exclusive interview with Devin The Dude that will be posted as well. The good news is that I have some free time coming so there is a ton of great music coming your way including some downloadable goodies.

Thanks to everyone all over the world for all the support and hits. It ain't over, baby....it's just beginning.

I Don't Remember This At Chuck E. Cheese When I Was A Kid...

Breakin' and Enterin': Documentary On West Coast Hip-Hop Beginnings

The Electrobeat Crew

Evil E, Kid Frost, Dave Storrs, Ice T and Henry G

My first exposure to hip-hop culture didn't come from seeing Run-DMC perform, or listening to dudes battling in a cipher, or getting a hold of an old Busy Bee mixtape. The first time that I saw a glimpse of hip-hop was on the show "What's Happening" in the late 70's. That's right. Fred "Rerun" Berry was the first person I ever saw perform a dance called "locking" or "boogaloo". During one of the episodes, all the kids moved the tables and chairs in "Rob's Place" out of the way to give Berry room to his thing. This officially made "What's Happening" my favorite show and I watched it religiously (as long as I wasn't in trouble and "grounded" from watching tv). Neither Fred Berry nor the show was based in N.Y., it was based in Cali. Which is only to say that even though hip-hop as a culture was developed and groomed in N.Y., the west coast cats played a huge role in promoting the artform in its early stage.

The film Breakin' and Enterin' documents what was taking place on the west coast during hip-hop's baby years. If you are a true student of the artform, then this is a must see. It's great to see how different regions can take an artform and add their own personal elements to it. Watch and enjoy.

You must have a DivX web player installed on your computer to watch this film. Get the player here for FREE.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!!

It's Lisa Coleman's b-day. Stop by Wendy and Lisa's Myspace page and wish her a happy one.

UGK GOES TO # 1!!!

156,000 Units!!

Apparently, the Underground Kingz are no longer "underground". UGK has yielded their first number one album ever with their self-titled album. It's been six long years since the last time we heard from Pimp and Bun collectively. But dammit, it was worth the wait. The album is without a doubt one of the best hip-hop releases of the year, if not the flat out best. From front to back, the boys from Port Arthur, Texas produced a straight up banger. This album should not disappoint any true UGK fan. The reps over at Jive can finally stop sweating and take a bath. I'm sure they've been very worried about whether Pimp C's pre-release commentary controversy would slow down sales. At this point, who's to say? As long as hip-hop fans have been waiting for this album, I honestly figured it was going to do 250K out of the box. But, I'm sure no one at the label is complaining.

Congrats to UGK and especially Pimp C. Because if you're gonna talk shit, you had better be prepared to back it up. Looks like they were.

The Mid-Week Dope Joints

*New joint from the Louis Vuitton Don and Weezy F.


Kanye West f. Lil Wayne - Barry Bonds
--------------------------------------------



New single from L.E.G.A.C.Y. If you haven't seen this dude live on stage, well, you're missing one of life's hip-hop pleasures.

L.E.G.A.C.Y. - Bang (prod. by Khrysis)
---------------------------------------------------

Never been a big fan of Cormega. But getting Dwele on the track is a sure fire way to make me listen.
Cormega f. Dwele - Sleep Well
--------------------------------------------------

*Fresh dope from Texas. I don't know anything about these cats, but I'm feeling this track.
Classy Folk Clicc - Something's Gotta Give
--------------------------------------------------



Here's Twista acting a straight up ass over the Soulja Boy track.

Twista - Soulja Boy (freestyle)

Dope Joints Podcast # 1 - Listen and Download

Click here for the podcast section.

If you bought Common's 'Finding Forever', he wants to say thanks.

2nd Annual Ozone Awards - List of Winners

BEST VIDEO
DJ Khaled "We Takin' Over" Directed by Gil Green
Ludacris f/ Young Jeezy "Grew Up A Screw Up" Directed by Chaka Zulu
Pimp C "Knockin Doors Down" Directed by Benny Boom
Three 6 Mafia "Doe Boy Fresh" Directed by Gil Green
Young Buck "Get Buck" Directed by Bernard Gourley

BEST RAP ALBUM
Devin The Dude - Waitin' To Inhale
Lil Boosie - Bad Azz
Ludacris - Release Therapy
Rich Boy - Rich Boy
Rick Ross - Port of Miami
Young Jeezy - The Inspiration

BEST RAP ARTIST (MALE)
Pimp C
Rick Ross
T.I.
Young Jeezy
Lil Wayne
Ludacris

BEST RAP ARTIST (FEMALE)
Diamond and Princess of Crime Mob
Rasheeda
Shawnna
Trina

BEST RAP GROUP
8Ball & MJG
Crime Mob
OutKast
Three 6 Mafia
UGK
USDA

BEST RAP/R&B COLLABORATION
Akon f/ Snoop Dogg "I Wanna Love You"
Lloyd f/ Lil Wayne "You"
Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige - "Runaway Love"
Plies f/ T-Pain "Shawty"
T-Pain f/ Yung Joc "Buy U A Drank"
Young Jeezy f/ R Kelly "Go Getta"

Additional Award Winners...

BEST LYRICIST
Lil Wayne

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Lil Boosie

TJ's DJ's HUSTLER AWARD
T-Pain

TJs DJs TASTEMAKER AWARD
Rick Ross

CLUB BANGER OF THE YEAR
Rich Boy f/ Polow "Throw Some D's"

MIXTAPE MONSTER AWARD
Lil Wayne

MOST SLEPT-ON ARTIST
Devin The Dude

BEST PRODUCER
Polow da Don

BEST R&B ALBUM
Akon - Konvicted

BEST R&B ARTIST (MALE)
T-Pain

BEST R&B ARTIST (FEMALE)
Ciara

BEST MIXTAPE DJ
DJ Drama

BEST RADIO DJ
DJ Khaled

BEST CLUB DJ
DJ Q45

BEST MIXTAPE / STREET ALBUM
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance To the Grind

PATIENTLY WAITING: ALABAMA
BA Boys

PATIENTLY WAITING: CAROLINAS
Lil Ru

PATIENTLY WAITING: FLORIDA
Sean Kingston

PATIENTLY WAITING: GEORGIA
Gorilla Zoe

PATIENTLY WAITING: KENTUCKY
G-Mack

PATIENTLY WAITING: LOUISIANA
Hurricane Chris

PATIENTLY WAITING: MISSISSIPPI
Soulja Boy

PATIENTLY WAITING: TENNESSEE
Kia Shine

PATIENTLY WAITING: TEXAS
Tum Tum

BEST RAP ALBUM (WEST COAST)
The Game - Doctor's Advocate

PATIENTLY WAITING: CALIFORNIA
Mistah FAB

Angie Stone f. Betty Wright - Baby (Video)

Angie is looking chocolately delicious these days. Peep out the latest Essence magazine for a great interview where she speaks on her music and her relationship with D'Angelo. Peep the new video for 'Baby' featuring the icon Ms. Betty Wright, with a guest appearance by comedian Mike Epps. I'm loving this song. The album should be dope.

You Ain't Fresh! - Wize Intelligent Breaks It Down

Bigg UP Davey D. for sending this out. This pretty much sums up what I've been saying for years. Some fresh words from Wize Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers. Relax and take notes.

An Intelligent Word…YOU AIN'T HIP HOP!

Here we go again. I love Hip Hop, although, not as much as I love the people that created it and continue to shape its destination. With that being said, I do have some things that I dislike about Hip Hop or more specifically the people who say they "love" it. I'm talking about the "neo-conservative" crusaders for what is "real" Hip Hop! You know the religious Hip Hop "purest" that draw a line between what they consider "real" and for lack of a single term "commercial/mainstream/jiffy-pop" or just plain ole "rap."

Some argue that "real" Hip Hop has been regulated to the "underground" by major record companies who only want to exploit, control and further ruin Hip Hop culture. Today the so-called "real" Hip Hop has become synonymous with the "underground" so whatever is not played on mainstream radio and or video has become "underground" or "the real" Hip Hop and this, in my opinion, is utter bullshit! Now I would agree that the major corporations have taken control of Hip Hop from the financial perspective (funding, distribution, deciding which songs get put into regular radio/video rotation), but to arbitrarily call and or label the "underground" "real" and the "mainstream" "fake" is quite frankly bullshit.

I mean we actually have people debating whether or not Hip Hop is a snap or a snare, a white-tee or a button-up. Then there's the "real" Hip Hop breakdown by territory i.e., is "the south" Hip Hop? Is "the west" Hip Hop? Is the "mid-west" Hip Hop? I read an article recently entitled "Did the South Kill Hip Hop?" You know, that's some straight dumb shit and one of the key reasons for the weakness in Hip Hop right now! Many so-called "underground" or "real" MC's think that as long as they don't say what 50 Cent, Lil Wayne or Jay-Z says, then they are repping the "real" Hip Hop? I've listened to a lot of Hip Hop in my life. I've made a lot of Hip Hop in my few days and I have a fairly sound history of the culture itself, and I know for a fact that it was/is all this infantile tribalism and lack of infrastructure that facilitated the financial takeover of Hip Hop by alien forces and not a fuckin snap beat!

You see I can still remember a time when Ice-T (LA) used to roll with Afrika Islam. I can remember a time when Afrika Bambaataa made music and created an organization that reached out and embraced every sound and culture in the universe! I can remember when I (Trenton) was on tour with Ice Cube (Compton) and Too Short (Oakland). I can remember when Hip Hop radio and video shows used to play joints by Boogie Down Productions, The Jungle Brothers, Kid N Play, Slick Rick, Salt N Pepa, Heavy D, Queen Latifah, X-Clan, NWA, 2-Live Crew, Kid Frost, Rakim, PRT, LL, Paris, MC Hammer, Freshco and Miz, MC Lyte, Kool Moe Dee, Public Enemy, Nice and Smooth, Tribe Called Quest, The D.O.C., The Gheto Boys, JJ Fad, Tone Loc, Young MC, Shinehead, Milk D, Just Ice, Chubb Rock, RUN DMC, Sir Mix A Lot, The Fresh Prince, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, King Tee, The Hieroglyphics, and Biz Markie all on the same program! And regardless of where they were from, what beats they rocked to, or what subject matter they chose to talk about, they ALL were regarded as REAL HIP HOP!

The spectrum of my associates in Hip Hop straddle an unbroken span of mainstream and underground artists from Trenton, NJ, to California to Japan to Europe and back to the Tri-State area and the one thing I know for sure is that 50 Cent is no less Hip Hop than MF Doom! And if you're out there still yelling and screaming that the subject matter is the defining factor in determining who is "real" and who is "fake" I have some very sobering news for you, cuz frankly speaking, the large majority of so-called "underground" rappers, yes "rappers" just like many mainstream rappers, ain't saying shit either! In fact, most of these "underground" or "real" rappers are caught up in their own "fantasy mentality" and apart from talking about magical amulets, funny-colored weed, and how they'll take-out any "mainstream" or "commercial" rapper, they never say anything socially relative, thought provoking, or political either!

Now don't get it twisted; I really enjoy MC's/Rappers like MF Doom, but no more or less than I do 50 Cent. Well, actually, I am a bigger fan of 50 Cent. But just look at these two rappers for a moment, they have more in common than not. The only apparent difference is production styles. Music aside MF Doom, like 50 Cent is a marketing genius. MF Doom is doing voice over work (Sherman the Giraffe) on a cartoon series on Adult Swim (Perfect Hair Forever), and 50 Cent has landed a couple of movie roles. MF Doom has a super-hero doll on the market, and I read that he also has teamed up with Nike to create his own shoes now known as the "Nike Dunk High Premium SB MF DOOM". 50 Cent has sneakers, clothing, a book and Vitamin Water on the market. I do not believe that MF Doom would pass up the opportunity to have a book, a clothing line, or a "Formula Doom" Vitamin Water on the market. This is evident in the fact that he has a "commercial" action-figure and works with the Cartoon Network! My point is that MF Doom is just as commercial as 50 Cent no matter how we slice it, AND THAT IS NOT A BAD THING!

I guess the $400 million dollar question is "which of these two rappers (50 Cent or MF Doom) are not REAL Hip Hop and for what reasons?" It can't be because of the lyrical content and in light of the facts; it can't be because of mainstream "commercialism." So tell me why does only one of these rappers wear the title of "the real" Hip Hop and the other one labeled as the "mainstream" or commercialized" sell-out of "real" Hip Hop??? Proponents of this position have argued and continue to argue frivolous points like "it's the beats?" They say 50 Cent and others are making R&B, not Hip Hop? I have even heard it argued that a "real" Hip Hop beat, must have a snare? In the event that said track contains a dreadfully mainstream and commercializing "snap" or clap instead of a snare, they say it's not "real" Hip Hop?

Listen…Hip Hop samples everything from folk, jazz, blues, country, rock, pop, metal, be-bop, ska, reggae, calypso, movies, sirens, gun shots, world music, classical, Indian, continental African, Arabian, and all other types and sorts of music including the "underground" or "real" Hip Hop kryptonite that is R&B. Whodini's hit record "Friends" was no "Boom Bap" track and they were singing in the chorus? Was it not Hip Hop? Melle Mel's "The Message" was no "Boom Bap" track, but I ask you, was it Hip Hop? Was LL Cool J "I Need Love" a real track Hip Hop? The Main Source "Looking at the Front-door" was an R&B sample I believe. Who are these assholes who wish to put Hip Hop in a box of monotonous kicks and snares? My guess is that they are a small crew of rhythm-less "corny" mother-fuckers who have never been FRESH!

They run around in obscurity on the other side of their computer screens debating whether wearing gators is Hip Hop or not? Yes, a lot of mainstream rappers occasionally rocked a pair of gators, but so did some of the illest "underground" rappers in the business of scripting rhyme, like Freddy "Bumby Knuckles" Foxxx and believe me I have the magazine to prove it! I dare you simple "niggas" to say that Bump Knuckles is not "real" Hip Hop because he likes to put on some fly shit occasionally! You wouldn't dare! Educated rapper of UTFO wore gators and suits, Jekyll and Hyde wore gators and suits, Double Trouble in Wild Style wore full tuxedos, Dane Dane, Slick Rick, were always dressed up so what the hell are you talking about?

Some misinformed people even say that Nelly, Juvenile, Baby, Lil Wayne, etc. are not Hip Hop because of their "grillz" but it was JUST-ICE that introduced most of us to "grillz." JUST-ICE is a hip Hop icon that was so proud of his grill that he sat them atop his black leather Kangol and took a picture of them for his cover! This is my point my young "real" Hip Hoppers, Hip Hop culture is neither a "snap" nor a "snare." It's neither gators nor Chuck's, white-tee nor button-up, sweat-suits nor denim, gangster nor scholar, and no, it is neither underground nor commercial. Rather, Hip Hop encompasses all of the aforementioned expressions. In fact, Hip Hop is "an urban communication…a forum of expression…a projection of ideas…a reflection of life…a manifestation of consciousness…a poetical musing…a superficial thought…a random opinion…a dream realized…or a ray of light on a situation". It's ALL of the above and more! 28 inch spinning rims, fly-cars, fly-girls, gaudy-jewelry, suits and fly-kicks has always been a part of Hip Hop, just as African beads, African medallions, Ostrich feathers, leather pants, and raccoon tails. EXPRESS your self, BE your self, it is your duty as an artist, but when you become an imperialist tyrant who wish to force your "form" of self-expression on others as the ONLY or "REAL" way to articulate ourselves in the world, you my friend, are no different from emperor George W. Bush and the neo-cons who wish to turn the rest of the world into the west! YOU AIN'T HIP HOP!


written by WISE INTELLIGENT

Proper
Education
Always
Counters
Exploitation

It's NO LONGER Smart to be DUMB!

Dope Joints Podcast - Download and Listen NOW!

Ok...here it is. The first Dope Joints podcast. This will start out as a bi-weekly cast of soul and hip-hop. Download. Listen. Enjoy. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

We're always looking for the DOPE JOINTS. So if you're a soul or hip-hop artist with the fresh dope, send it here. Email us at dopejoints@gmail.com.

Tracklist:

J'Davey - This One
Rahsaan Patterson - Higher Love
Velben - Travelin' Man
Wax Tailor f. The Others - House of Wax
Ben Westbeech - Gotta Keep On
Nneka - Quit
W. Ellington Felton f. Ginger Bleu - Destiny's Okay
Jimmie Reign - Ring My Bell
Carl Thomas - You Can't Be Serious
Benny Sings - Overnight


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New Videos from Jill Scott and Keite Young f. N'Dambi

Jilly from Philly is back with her new album "The Real Thing: Words And Sounds Vol. 3" dropping Sep. 25. And for those of you foolish enough waste your hate on Jill, she wrote this song for you. Hate on this one.

Jill Scott - Hate On Me





Hailing from Dallas, gospel singer turned soul sanger Keite Young is ready to inject his own special brand of soul into the game. His debut album on Hidden Beach titled "The Rise And Fall Of Keite Young" hits stores on Aug. 28. I don't usually get jealous behind other dudes. But, after seeing the video for his debut single 'If We Were Alone' featuring fellow Texas native N'Dambi, I'm freakin' green with envy! This video is downright sexnificient! (New word...my gift to you all.) Keite and N'Dambi get so hot and heavy that you may actually need to smoke a Newport after watching it. I shouldn't be mad that he got to kiss on N'Dambi, but dammit, I'm hatin'.


Keite Young f. N'Dambi - If We Were Alone

Kanye declares his manhood. Responds to Beans - Smack DVD preview:

How We Get Down In H-Town

Houston, TX is home to some of the finest talent in not only the Hip-Hop world, but the music world. The ARE isn't just one of the dopest beatsmiths in Houston, he's one of the dopest anywhere. Just ask De La Soul, Zion I, Kay of The Foundation, Phife Dawg of Tribe Called Quest, MED, Lone Catalysts, and Masta Ace. They all get at The ARE when they need those fire tracks. And just in case you're about to fix your lips to doubt what I'm talking about, I've got proof of just how dope he is. Watch the clips to see just how quickly this dude's mind works when it comes to chopping the shit out of a sample and putting a dope beat together. Then, download his EP "Still Climbing" courtesy of the very cool Frank Miller, Jr. and his site RappersIKnow.com. Don't ever doubt The Kid. BTW...did I mention The ARE is the Houston winner of the Red Bull Beat Battle and will travel to the finals in Seattle in Oct. for the crown? Be afraid.

Part One - The ARE Creates Fire


Part Two - Watch It Burn


The ARE - Still Climbing EP (RappersIKnow.com)

Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Taking Flight
3 Still Climbing
4.The Name’s ‘Krack featuring Headkrack
5. Lonely Piano
6. The Street
7. It’s The Drums Interlude
8. The Reason
9. Important featuring Kay of The Foundation & Nicole Hurst
10. It’s The Drums Part II Interlude
11. Down
12. Catapillar
13. On The Run
14. Dialogue
15. Hip Hop featuring Strange Fruit Project (’88 Trunk Mix)
16. Closer To God
17. Love Is
18. Dialogue
19. Watered Down
20. I love Hip Hop featuring Lords of the Underground
21. Caught Up
22. Fly featuring Cardiac
23. Alright
24. No Time
25. We’ve Come Too Far
26. Focused featuring Supastition
27. Darkness
28. How Can I
29. Your Life

**If you're in Houston, be sure to check out The Are w/ DJ Witnes over at the Proletariat for ROCK BOX Thursdays. It goes down tonight! The ARE gets it started at 10pm.

Hip-Hop Documentary: "Big Fun In The Big Town" (1986)

Back in 1986, Bram van Splunteren traveled to the U.S. to find out what the hell was going on in the Bronx, NY. What he found was a quickly growing artform and movement that became known as hip-hop. This Dutch-produced documentary features many of hip-hop luminaries including Grandmaster Flash (complete with jheri curl and custom jacket with "FLASH" on the back), a balding Russell Simmons, Roxanne Shante, a slim and trim Biz Markie, and DMC in the place to be. Some great clips and interviews are featured here. Watch it now.

Part One


Part Two


Part Three

EXCLUSIVE!!! Hezekiah f. Bilal - Keep Looking Up (Remix)

Handed down from the man himself. RE-mix by Ted Kenny.

Get ready for a fresh pot of coughee. The Brothaz are back!!

More to come soon. Get ready for some fresh coughee.

Natalie Stewart of Floetry SPEAKS!! The Return of "Super Heroine"

After more than a few complaints and very vocal cries of where's Natalie??, Floetry's "floacist" Natalie Stewart has finally surfaced to speak on why she's not with Marsha Ambrosius on the road. As many of you know, Marsh is currently hitting venues around the U.S. with Amanda Diva on the complaint-ridden tour "Floetry Remixed". The shows have not been going as well as previously expected as fans have voiced their displeasure at being sold on the Floetry brand for a show and then getting only half of the original group. Many have speculated that Marsha Ambrosius (lead singer of the Philly-based group) thought Natalie's position may have been interchangeable since she handled most of the songwriting and most of the vocal work. But it now seems that fans of the group vehemently disagree. Well, it appears there may be a reconciliation of sorts for Marsh and Nat as Natalie has granted an interview to NY's "How You Doin'?" queen Wendy Williams. Among the interview highlights:

-Wendy accuses Marsh and Nat of a romantic relationship
-Nat admits to switch hitting
-Claims Marsha is as straight as a Lindsey Lohan coke line
-Nat says the fans may see her join the "Remixed" tour

Here's the audio of the interview. Dope Joints, bitches!!!

Eric Roberson Kills It in Houston!!

This year's annual Houston International Jazz Festival was headlined by two very non-jazz but very dope artists, Eric Roberson and Anthony David. First of all, on a grading scale, this year's festival gets a big, fat, red "F" just on scheduling alone. Here's why. The festival website said the concert would begin at 7pm. So, I get there a few minutes after 7 and Terisa Griffin was already onstage doing her thing. Let me tell you, that gal can SANG!!! She sang her natural ass off. Seriously, it was so hot in this Texas heat that we all lost a few pounds. Really though, Terisa was excellent. Her voice was flawless and she completed an excellent set that included some of her original songs like 'Cigarette In The Rain' and some great covers as well like Phyllis Hyman's 'Living All Alone'. It was also great to see one of Houston's premier musicians and guitarist extraordinaire Corey "FunkaFangaz" Stoot performing with her. When her set finished sometime after 8pm, the announcer then says that the headliner Eric Roberson was coming up next. Well, I'll be damned!!! It turns out that the concert actually started at 5pm and by the time 7pm came, Anthony David had done his thing and was long gone! (Florida Evans - "Damn, damn, DAMN!!!!") That really, really sucked. I've been waiting to see A.D. for a while now and to know that I could have shown up earlier but was mislead, although unintentially, is just bad policy and straight up foul. Fuck it. At least I didn't miss Erro.

About 8:45, Roberson hits the stage opening with 'Evening' from his latest cd "Left". Dude's voice was well-churned butta and he ripped through a super combo of old and new joints like 'Please, Don't Leave Me', 'Softest Lips', 'Rock Wit U', 'Only For You', 'Pretty Girl', and alot more. This cat puts on a great show. He even finished his set singing MiJac's 'Beat It'! That was crazy! All in all, it was a great concert (the part I saw anyway.) I really can't complain, seeing as I didn't have to buy a ticket. But that's not the freaking point! It's principalities involved. I would've started a damn riot if I had purchased a ticket. Them joints were a smooth $50 bucks a piece!! I got in free and I was STILL ready to kick some ass! Anyway, I've posted a few pics below along with a short video clip of Erro's opening song 'Evening'. The audio on it is kind of shitty because I was taping right next to the huge speaker on the stage, so, my bad for that. Still a cool lil' clip for true Eric Roberson fans, though. Enjoy.

Terisa Griffin tore it up! She was a pleasant surprise.





Eric Roberson took the stage and proceeded to kill it like usual.





Here's a short clip of Erro's 'Evening' -

The True Underground Kingz: DVD Preview

Back To The Docks: The Boondocks - Fall 2007

Huey and the gang are back for Fall 2007. Peep the preview.

Dope Downloads For The Weekend

Roy Hargrove f. D'Angelo - Bullshit

J'Davey f. Georgia Anne Muldrow - Might As Well

Don-E f. Omar - No Reason

Michael Jackson - PYT (demo version)

Jodeci f. Raekwon and Ghostface - Freakin' You (rmx)

Quan - Turn Off The Lights

UGK - Swishas and Dosha (from Underground Kingz)

Tingsek f. Emmi - Good Way Of Life

Mishal Moore - Today

Uncle Crizzle Takes Over The Groove

Craig D. Lindsey. Fat Greezy. Uncle Crizzle. CDL. Whatever name you decide to call him you'll still be talking about the coolest, jive ass negro walking God's green earth. For years, Craig has been pimping his pen writing columns, reviews, and articles for a ton of media publications. These days he's holding down two consistent gigs with the Durham, NC based News and Observer as its film critic and with Philadelphia Weekly writing the bi-weekly music column Power Of Soul. You'll also catch him penning articles for other rags and mags such as Vibe, Giant, Houston Press and others. Like all great writers, he's fiercely loved and passionately hated (see Jessica Alba fans.) You never know what your gonna get with Crizzle and it's almost always a surprise when you find out if he loves or hates something. No matter where his opinion falls, it's always entertaining. You don't just get self-masturbatory, analytical pontification with this dude. He actually gives you a slice of himself in everything he writes, which really makes reading his articles a full-fledged adventure. Whether it's his man-crush on UK soulster Omar or his disturbing, ritualistic cyberstalking of Helen Mirren, this cat will have your full attention for (insert however long it takes you to read 150-200 words) minutes. In other words, Craig D. Lindsey is a damn fool! And I mean the good kind.

Fat Greezy came home to H-Town this week for the Houston International Jazz Festival where he'll be checking out the two shining stars of this year's event - Eric Roberson (depicted in the cartoon above with Craig - peep the Omar tat on his hand- LMAO) and Anthony David. As always, whenever he comes to town he stops by my radio show The Groove and straight up takes the motherfucker over. Having dug through the proverbial crates, Craig spun a collection of dusty soul classics from the likes of Willie Hutch and some ottoman humping jive from Christina Aguilera (that boy knows I don't play no damn Aguilera!) I almost climbed the radio tower and pulled the plug when he played Warren Zevon's suicide inducing 80's track "Leave My Monkey Alone". Holy Geebus! All-in-all, it was a dope set as usual. For the few of you that actually tuned in (thanks by the way), you know we had a blast. It got pretty lively as Craig, putting on his film critic hat, discussed his intense disdain for the Transformers movie. I opined that for all it's plot issues and racist overtones (see Anthony Anderson, Bernie Mac and the "black" Transformer 'Jazz' who of course gets turned into scrap metal), the action is fucking awesome.

Anyhither...I took a couple of pics in the studio of Greezy and you'll also see my co-host Gem Hat chillin' in the cut. Be sure to check out Craig D. Lindsey's Power Of Soul column and catch him talking to and about your favorite beat crafters, lyricists, and sangers like Madlib, Omar, Raphael Saadiq, Lupe Fiasco, Musiq, and more.

Craig D. works the phones while Gem Hat barely contains his enthusiasm.


Uncle Crizzle himself!


Dat boy Gem Hat.

A Genius Among Us

Sheila E.
Tamar
Frank McComb
The Time
and Prince

Geebus. If you don't feel this one, you're dead inside. Because they all ripped it.