Bridge School Benefit Concert

So last night, I went to the Bridge School Benefit Concert. For those of you who don't know, Bridge School is a school started by Neil Young to help severely handicapped children. It is a non-profit organization, and for 23 years they have been hosting benefit concerts, all of the proceeds going to the School. It was amazing, and just a beautiful, acoustic experience.

Neil Young, opened with some words, and one song, which was nice and then

Gavin Rossdale took the stage, every song he sang was beautifully done, he did a Prince cover which was just spectacular.

The next band to take the stage was Wolfmother, they had the fans dancing, and did quite the Neil Young cover as well. I did have to leave during their set to meet a friend of my parents, who has a child enrolled at the bridge school. I met them all at the parents booth and we talked about random things, all the while the child smiled and ate. It was moving hearing all her stories of how they can tell what music he does and doesn't like, and hearing all the gossip on what artists actually got themselves involved with the kids, which is a nice thing. I said my farewells and returned to the concert during the Fleet Foxes performance.

I hadn't heard of the Fleet Foxes before, and they preformed very well with beautiful harmonies, and a nice soft sound.

Monsters of Folk were the next to take the stage, and I was ready to be rocked with all the love they have been getting from Rolling Stone recently, and they did not dissapoint. They weren't as soft as I would have guessed, but they all have very different voices all of them nice, and they harmonize together PERFECTLY. They have amazing lyricism, and great story telling in their songs, with great band chemistry.

Sheryl Crow then took the stage, I loved how she turned on stage and played facing the kids for a little bit, after meeting one of these kids, my attention became more attuned to the acknowledgment they got from artists. But I stand strong behind the fact that Mrs. Crow may be better live than on her Cd, I was blown away (or it could have been the huge wave of marijuana that overcame me as she played her set, which she commented on.) She covered the Beatles song, Say Hey, and the whole crowd was screaming. She is very energetic on stage! And the crowd went wild when she played Soak Up the Sun.

Adam Sandler was probably lucky to go after Sheryl, because everyone in the crowd was either blunted or contact high, and we found his musical humor substantially more funny that it normally would be. He sang a lot, doing some classic rock covers, going on to his own original pieces all humor oriented like the 7 foot man, and the Hanukkah song. He did call Neil Young out to do a duet of 'Powder Finger' which was suprisingly good. Probably because Neil took lead, but Adam acknoledged the kids, made references on how people should donate more, and let quite the average set. I respected his performance which is a whole lot more than I expected to do.

Chris Martin opend with his own little poem about the bridge school, sung beautifully. His vocals were amazing, as was his piano playing, just astounding. He messed up, but played it off and the crowd loved it, he gave off a very relaxed feel. His violinist who he referred to as 'Daf' was amazing, even doing a very strange (yet superbly accurate) horse impression on the violin. He covered a Bruce Springsteen song, and sang many of his own hits, all great. He sang Earth Angle, and had the crowd harmonizing in parts for a good while, very live and nice performance.

No Doubt was maybe the best performance of the night. I can't even believe they have flown under my radar for this long. Gwen sounds JUST like she does on the radio, and every band member has INCREDIBLE musicality, many of them playing multiple instruments, all very well. The percussionist, background vocalist, and trumpet player were all the same guy! And the pianist got up and started playing the trombone! Gwen danced around with the kids, going right up to them, and they were just having an amazing time. Amazing group chemistry, and probably the best performance of the night.

Neil Young is so accustomed to performing now, you can only expect greatness, and it was delivered. He performed very well, Peggy on background, he even had a song with Sheryl Crow in the background, and they had some interesting instruments.

At the end all of the performers came out and were singing and dancing around, playing with the kids, grabbing instruments and playing, it was what a concert should be, fun spontaneous, nice. Adam Sandler even held some instruments for the kids to play, which I thought was very nice, I saw almost every artist go back there and play with the kids during this final song, and it was very moving. An amazing way to close the show.

So the Bridge School is an amazing cause, that you should support weather by going next year, or purchasing the collective CD of many exclusive performances from the past 23 years this has been going on. It is available on Itunes, just search Bridge School. All in all I really think you should help such a beautiful cause, with such beautiful music. All of the artists did very well, and I was very glad to be a part of this concert.

Decidedly Dope

Do you like hearing the newest hip hop from Lil Wayne to Lupe Fiasco tracks WAY before they hit the radio? Wanna get mixtape downloads the day the are released? Want to hear songs from new artists? Do you want to download all of the aforementioned tracks/mixtapes for free?

hotnewhiphop.com

Updated on the daily, view, listen, download, then show it off to your friends.

Songs of the Day

Songs about death are some of the most powerful songss we can find in our society. Here are some of my favorites. They may not all have the same message or tone, but they are all about the end.

Tears In Heaven- Eric Clapton


Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd


Dance With My Father Again- Luther Vandross


Who'd You Be Today- Kenny Chesney


The Crossroads- Bone Thugs N Harmony

Samba Music

Last night I had the immense pleasure of seeing world renowned percussionist James Henry perform at the album release party at Yoshi's in Oakland for his new CD 'Dragonfly'. The night started of with me helping sell his CD's, not very successfully I may add, we sold about 5 before the show started. We broke down the stand and went inside to watch James Henry and Hands on Fire ROCK IT. The saxophonist was amazing, the drummers were amazing, the bassist and the guitarist were in James' words "The Baddest", but he wasn't lying. They were on stage, singing, they had dancers, vocalists, and the filled the stage and just about everyone had to dance. The rhythms they produce just make you want to get up and dance. One song that stood out to me, was 'Heaven Above' which is easily the greatest song I've ever heard played on the steel pan. The cat on keyboard was amazing, playing piano, and a bell program that I've never even heard on the keyboard perfectly. James himself, displayed his huge array of musical talents from singing, to playing just about every percussion instrument I have ever seen. The music is peaceful, happy, fun, and they even got some people from the crowd to come on stage. A little before the show ended I went back outside to help set up to sell Cd's again, and after the show was over, we got mobbed. I believe the total sales were at about 710 dollars, and if you have ever been to Yoshi's you know there isn't a lot of space in there. Everyone was totally moved and just amazed at how live they kept it, going late into Monday night. Samba music, is such a beautiful genre, and the sheer difficulty of keeping all these different instruments in rhythm and together was amazing enough. Everyone caught themselves subconsciously moving to the beat. He's on Itunes, under the World genre, and here is a video of a small ensemble of their music.



Here is a video of how he is at live shows:


Here is a video of some of his work with kids at schools:


Check Him Out

Eminem New Song

I'm one of many eminem fans who were not impressed with Relapse, in the least. Although I respect him thoroughly from his previous works. Here is a new track by him. Its just average in my opinion, but those fans who liked relapse would probably like this. Its typical sick humor, disturbing imagery, and his unidentifiable almost arab almost jamacian accent. Check it out

http://www.rapbasement.com/audio/eminem-taking-my-ball-radio.html

Lupe Fiasco's New Track:

Lupe Fiasco has a new song, that is apparently going to be on the twilight soundtrack... As much as I love and respect him, and am a fan of artistic expression, but I hope he doesn't compromise his sound to increase the payout. As of now I have heard some internet speculation that his new Cd titled 'We Are Lasers' is to be released on December 15. It should be amazing, if it is anything like his last two. So keep an eye out for that!

Any way heres the song
Solar Midnight - Lupe Fiasco

Decidedly Dope: Music Blogs

Anyone who knows their music, most likely follows a few blogs, and anybody who loves their music, can appreciate them. I'm a new blogger, but I enjoy working on things, doing research ect. But if you get at a legit blog, they bring you EVERYTHING you could ever want. Amazing way to spread their knowledge. So my hat is off to you Joe Blogger, working all day, and throwing up random posts for the betterment of others just because you love to do it! And if you follow a blog, donate to it, send a thank you email, do something to let them know they are appreciated.

Hip Hop Elitism:

http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/43585/

Song of The Day

Red Alert On Planet Earth- ATMA


This is a massively dope song. check it out.

Songs of the Day

Cover Edition:

Hurt - Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails Cover)


Use Somebody- Airto (Kings of Leon Cover)


Hallelujah- Rufus Wainwright (Leonard Cohen Cover)


Fields of Gold- Eva Cassidy (Sting Cover)



Now these are all great covers, I'm not saying they are better than the originals (although some of them are), I'm just saying I respect the covers they've done of great work. Some you may have heard, others maybe not, but hey thats why you're on my site right? Enjoy

Album Review: Apathy's "Wanna Snuggle?"

Apathy Wanna Snuggle Review:
1. Hells Angel – Good track, just a quick intro like song, it coulda been longer. It was nice though gets you hyped up for how the rest of the album will be. 4/5

2. Money Orientated featuring Emilio Lopez- an pretty good track talking about money and the ways it grabs hold of society and how it effects their thoughts. A nice AZ sample from ‘Lifes A Bitch’ good track, but felt like it was missing some emotion. 3/5

3. Gov’t Cheese- Now this is a nice track. A recap on his younger life, where he grew up and things he was accustomed too. Slightly up-beat, but with an overall nice rhythm and a dope beat with some big band horns going in the back. 4/5
4. On and Off the Mic featuring Blacastan- A track about how the game needs more real rappers, with witty punchlines and well executed samples, and a nice beat this is a good track. Has some jokes at the end, more like callouts, and still stays nice. 4/5

5. Back In LA featuring Ryu and Veze Skan- This is a great track, with a chill beat and hook. Nice sample, and all the guests dropped good verses. They rap about LA and what goes on there, and how they still love it. I think all the artists brought their A game for this one, although Apathy had my favorite verse. This is a legit song. 4.5/5

6. Shoot First featuring B Real and Celph Titled- The typical Demigod track, hook, semi-raw beat, and a whole lotta punchlines. I think the beat could have been less peppy, but other than that it was good. I liked Celph Titled’s verse the best, than Apathy, then B Real. There weren’t any punchlines that had me in awe, but most of them were good. Noteworthy track, but could have been better. 3.5/5

7. I’m a Demigod- Ok this is fire. Dope beat, sick lines crazy flow amazing track period. Its Apathy doing his thing, with metaphors punchlines and clever rhymes. Great track BUY THIS SONG. 5/5

8. True Love featuring Phonte- Softer song, chill about love. Talking about the type of girls they want/had. I always feel like Apathy doesn’t have the voice or tone for songs like this, I always expect him to drop a joke or a sick metaphor. Its alright for me although Phonte saved the song by dropping an ill verse. 3.25/5

9. Mind Ya Business featuring Chip-Fu- Low key track, with a beat that has an islander feel to it. About gossip, and how Apathy feels about it. It was ok, not bad, but nothing special. 3/5

10. Thinkin’- A song about how girls think/worry too much and are very nosy. It’s a semi-valid point, but I feel its slightly promoting that they stop thinking. It was an ok song again not bad, not great. Nice sample though, pretty good beat.
11. This is the Formula featuring J Live- This is a pretty good song Apathy and J Live actually both worked well over this Jazzy beat. Very chill dope lyricism from both artists. This is a nice track. 4/5

12. Guys and Girls featuring Blue Raspberry- Interesting concept where he goes through the common complaints about girls and how they are all moody and nosy but still play games, and then through the eyes of a girl how guys only want one thing ect. Chill beat, great sample, good track. 3.75/5

13. Anyday featuring King Magnetic- This is a dope song. It’s about feeling down, beat, but hoping things will change. Great beat, great lyrics great sample. Both artists did their thing on this track. Buy This Song! 5/5
14. Candy featuring Dose- Alright track kind of follows the lines of Will Smiths candy, only this one is less pop sounding. Both artists had alright verses but the beat was pretty good and the sample was nice. 3.5/5

15. Run, Run Away- A song about how poorly he acted towards a girl. I liked it, nothing lyrically astounding, but better than most. And it was a nice story, alright track 3.75/5
16. No Sad Tomorrow featuring Holly Brooks and Mike Mass- Another great track! You can probably guess what the songs about from the title, but this was nice. Lyrically good, and with a crazy beat and sample. Mike Mass did an amazing job as well. Great track BUY THIS ONE 5/5

17. Rhode Island featuring Emilio Lopez- Apathy giving props to Rhode Island, and how his career got started there. His verse is really short, but its good, and he sings the hook and does shout outs at the end of the song. Emilio did a great job as well, his verse was much longer. Good song 4/5

18. What Goes Up- A great song, very relaxed beat with a soft rock feel to it, and a nice old school sample. The song is a story about how a man who is under a lot of stress, but trying to change his life around, he fires his gun into the air just into the sky, but “What goes Up, Must Come Down” and it comes down and kills his girlfriend. When he gets the call and makes the connection he decides he needs to kill himself as well. Great song, great story, I wish it was longer though. 4.75/5

19. Hard Times On Planet Earth- Apathy talking about the financial hardships, despite popularity and how he wishes he had a different job with better monetary gain. This is a dope track, nice beat, good concept, good lyrics. 4/5

20. Slave featuring Motive- A great song, with a dope beat. Ap’s verse is about being an economic slave. While motive takes a similar story although he is speaking as if he is a real slave. Nice concept, both verses were well thought out with good flow and lyricism while staying on topic. I give this song a 5/5

21. Victim featuring Holly Brook- This song is AMAZING, my favorite beat on the album and Holly has an amazing voice that works perfectly with this song. The first verse is a story about how a man attempts to rape a girl, but it turns out the girl was a murder and she kills him. The second verse is about a girl who is raped by her step brother and his friends, and it turns her into a killer. Again Holly’s soft and slightly eerie voice is just perfect for the song. My favorite track on the whole album YOU MUST BUY THIS SONG IF YOU DON’T BUY ANYTHING ELSE. 6/5

22. The Last Thing I Need featuring Motive (bonus track) - Good beat, and good track talking about things he doesn’t want to happen. Both artists go hard, and they complement each other well. 4/5



Apathy’s album “Want to Snuggle?” was Overall a pretty good album. Definitely worth a purchase in my opinion but you can find the whole thing on YouTube to choose which songs you like (here’s the playlist url: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F1024F9B0F3F2B05) But definitely worth a full purchase. It has a lot of songs with great concepts and interesting wordplay, and Apathy brings his killer lyrics as always. Overall a 4/5 album, but I don’t recommend you buy it from itunes because they don’t have all the tracks. Buy it from a website like this one (http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/detail.asp?=Apathy-Blacastan-Blue-Raspberry-B-Real-Celph-Titled-Chip-Fu-J-Live-King-Magnetic-Ryu-Wanna-Snuggle-Demigodz-Entertainment&UPC=DGZWSCD).

Artist Time: Atmosphere

Atmosphere might be my favorite hip hop group of all time. They are based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and rocking the whole world. The sheer talent displayed by both the Mc (Slug) and the Producer (Ant) is amazing. They have released 6 studio albums (including strictly leakage). They have had other artists come and go, but Slug and Ant are the ones who stayed constant. They have a blend of spoken word poetry, hip hop, and a little alternative punk rock in them. (They even preformed at the Vans Warped Tour). A little bit of everything for everyone.

Here are my favorite tracks off of all their studio albums:

Overcast! (1997):


God Loves Ugly (2002):


Sevens Travels (2003):


You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having (2005):


Strictly Leakage (2007):


When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008)


Now they have released many EP's and even 2 Compilation albums, all of which I recommend you check out. They also have a small series called the 'Sad Clown/Bad Dub' Which is a collection of live/unreleased materials. Easily the most noteable song off of all the EP's in this series is the song 'Sunshine' off of Sad Clown Bad Dub 9. One of my favorite songs ever, and maybe the happiest rap song ever made:




You should definitely check out Atmosphere, they are cofounders of the Rhymesayers label. You can find them on Itunes, and can purchase at least two of their cds at mainstream stores such as target. You can also order from their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/atmosphere

Slug also has a group with California rapper Murs, called 'Felt' who you should check out as well.

Songs of The Day

Sick & Tired -Shihan


The District Sleeps Alone Tonight- The Postal Service


Blue Boys Tune- BB King


So Cold- Celph Titled ft. Oktober

Songs of the Day

Little Girl Gone- Devin The Dude ft Lil Wayne and Bun B



Smile In Your Sleep- Silverstien


Kiss From A Rose- Seal


Building Steam From A Grain of Salt- DJ Shadow

Rest In Peace Mr. Magic

Mr. Magic- Rap Attack DMC mix


A pioneer of hip hop died today. May he be remembered forever. Rest in Peace

Here is a tribute for Mr. Magic, brought by Mr. Cee
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/mixtape/id.949/title.mr-cee-mr-magic-tribute

Songs of the Day

A Penny- Grip Grand


Shattered- O.A.R.


Sad, Sad, Song- M. Ward


Circles- Hollywood Undead