Do NOT let this guy teach you how to do The Wop

Srsly.
He looks like he should have a handlebar mustache and sing in a barbershop quartet. Would YOU trust him to teach you how to breakdance?

Illa J - We Here

The Yancey family just can't be stopped. J Dilla is still stuntin' on mofos from the grave (See: "Move" by Q-Tip) and now we have his baby bro Illa J coming with more of The Essence. If you don't know what "The Essence" is, just take a listen to "We Here" from his debut release Yancey Boys:

If Illa J looks familiar, it's because he stood in for Dilla in the video for "Won't Do" from his brother's 2006 posthumous release The Shining. It's a little scary how much they look alike - it's as if Ma Dukes used a rubber stamp to replicate her boys. So what do you make of a ridiculously multi-talented family who all look just alike? There's only one plausible explanation: they're ALIENS. Frank n' Dank's Frank Nitty explains:

Well when you put it that way...
Nevermind.

Black Milk @ XXLmag.com

About a month ago, my homegirl Starr from over @ GangstarrGirl.com got to interview Black Milk, one of Detroit's emerging homegrown innovators of masterful beats and rhythms. XXLmag.com finally put the feature up, so check it out:

Black Milk: Respect Due

Hip-Hop first met Black Milk as a producer. He showcased his production on Slum Village’s Detroit Deli and Dirty District Vol. 2 as well as Lloyd Bank’s diss track “Death Wish,” amongst other projects. He eventually revealed more of his rapper persona with last year’s Popular Demand, and recently followed up with October’s Tronic. While the rest of hip-hop has come down with the Auto-Tune virus, Black Milk departed from the soul sample-driven sounds of his previous works and employed more live instrumentation, embracing the use of both vintage and modern synthesizers while exploring a more orchestral song structure without abandoning his trademark sound. Often touted as a pioneer of the future Detroit sound, he remains modest and low-key but allowed XXLMag.com to step into his world.

READ MORE...

Great interview - she even brought up AutoTune like I'd suggested on Twitter, HAHA. But whyyyyyyy did she have to bring up T-Baby/"So Cold in The D"? HAHA...as if Kwame "Mayor of Hip Hop" Kilpatrick wasn't bad enough for Detroit's already tarnished image, now we have T-Baby repping the face of Detroit on YouTube. Lovely.

N*E*R*D - Sooner or Later

My only gripe with this video (aside from the blatant Zune and Ciroc product placement) is the fact that they cut out 2 minutes of the song which were arguably the best. They could have left the first part of the face-melting guitar solo in there and used it to build more on the scenes at play. In the album version, it builds on a creshendo until it explodes into wonderful shredded guitar string fury. It also makes the song over 6 minutes long, so I suppose they're counting on people's short attention spans prompting them to close out the browser window or change the channel after 4 minutes *sigh*

Other than that, it's a dope video. And it always makes me happy to see Black folk gettin' on their rock shit without any reservations. The band they had in the background was badass.

"Merry Christmas, mothaf*ckas"

Christmas is a little early here @ Write For Freedom, thanks to Chop Steak down in Austin, TX. After taking a year off, he's back with his annual Christmas mixtape of songs that jammed hard throughout the year.

Check out his blog to download the mixtape. Also, see the track listing below:

1. N*E*R*D - Everyone Nose
2. Shawty Lo - They Know (Remix) (f. Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Plies, Lil’ Wayne)
3. Dwele - Body Rock
4. Bun B - Underground Thang (f. Pimp C & Chamillionaire)
5. Innerlude: Mistletoe Jam
6. Heltah Skeltah - Smack Muzik (f. Flood)
7. Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 4 (f. Marsha Ambrosius)
8. Bishop Lamont - Everyday
9. Erykah Badu - Honey
10. The Game - Ya Heard (f. Ludacris)
11. Black Milk - Try
12. M.I.A. - Paper Planes (f. Bun B)
13. John Legend - Green Light (f. Andre3000)
14. Z-Ro & Trae - Who’s Tha Man
15. John Brown - Lay The Pipeline (Sarah Palin)
16. Overlude: My President is…
17. Young Jeezy - My President (f. Nas)
18. T.I. - Live Your Life (f. Rhianna)
19. Plies - Bust It Baby Pt. 2 (f. Ne-Yo)
20. Lil’ Wayne - Let The Beat Build
21. Extralude: NYE
22. Foreign Exchange - Take Off The Blues (f. Darien Brockington)
23. The Roots - Rising Up (f. Chrisette Michele & Wale)
24. Fonzworth Bentley - Everybody (f. Andre3000 & Kanye West)
25. Outerlude: Peace, Pole

I'm telling you right now, his mixtapes piss excellence - the songs are masterfully blended and the interludes are actually worth listening to. And I'm not just saying that because I'd supplied drops for previous mixtapes, HAHA.

So go on over to ChopSteakMusic.com and cop that isht plz. I SAID GO!

Sooner or later. It all comes crashing down...

It's amazing how a song with a fairly simple message can take on so much meaning and significance when it is placed into context with a situation or event. Right now, N*E*R*D's "Sooner or Later" could be the anthem for the economic turmoil the nation is facing, the collapse of Wall St. and the Big 3 in the auto industry, the real estate crisis - take your pick.

Ominous implications aside, "Sooner or Later" is a great song. I can't even begin to try to explain how and why this song pisses excellence. I guess you can start with the face melting guitar riffs that completely take over the 2nd half of the song, and the clashing of the instrumentation which seems to match the "crashing down" that comprises the hook and go from there. I'm glad that they're not only releasing it as their 3rd single from Seeing Sounds but they've filmed a what looks to be a dope video for it. A real video this time, not...well this or this. Check out what it looks like behind-the-scenes to see what we're in for (via We Yow!zers):

Sooner Or Later - Behind The Scenes

I can't remember the last time I actually gave a damn about a music video, let alone felt genuine excitement for its release. This song excites me a great deal though, so I guess its only fitting - but the fact that the video is taking what's currently happening and putting it up against lyrics that offer admonition for careless behavior give me a feeling that it could be epic, just like the song itself. I'm not trying to be hyperbolic, just sayin' how I feel...

On a totally unrelated note, has anyone figured out what the hell Shay actually does in the group? He's in all the videos and the publicity shots but...I still don't know what his purpose is. Is he the electro-rock version of Jarobi perhaps? Just a thought © Gnarls Barkley

Marsha Ambrosius - Sunshine ft. Little Brother

Marsha Ambrosius a.k.a "The Singer Chick" from Floetry has been doing alright for herself since ditching the duo to pursue solo endeavors that favored hip hop over the sultry neo soul sound that made her famous. After singing infectious hooks on some of hip hop's most anticipated releases in recent years like Hip Hop Is Dead, The Big Bang, Hi-Teknology 2 and The Documentary she's turned her focus to solo endeavors like her upcoming mixtape Yours Truly which is slated to drop later this month. Check out "Sunshine" featuring Little Brother:

Sunshine ft. Little Brother.mp3

Nothing beats a solidified summer banger in the onset of winter. It's like chicken soup for the warm weather music fanatic's soul. Wait. Nevermind...

URB.com Best of 2008

Voting became cool and trendy in 2008. Not only that, we all witnessed firsthand that every vote truly does count. Just ask Minnesota and Georgia - their senate races were so close, they're STILL recounting the votes and it's almost 2009.

That being said, you should really check out URB.com's Best of 2008 Readers Survey:

Vote for your favorite song, new artists, videos, DJs, movies and more. It's been just a week and already 15,000 votes have been cast. You've got 2 more weeks to vote before the polls close and the results are revealed on December 23. While you're at it, check out URB & Friends Best of 2008:

With a new list each day of the month, URB and their homies bring you their insights on what came out on top in 2008. Good times. Yezzur! © Pharrell.

Too Much Excitement To Contain

Another rare funny SNL moment via Kevin @ 410 Scrolls (watch out for cameos from Justin Timberlake and Jamie Lynn Sigler of "The Sopranos"):

Even though it's supposed to be a joke, the beat to the song is actually kind of hot. I'd certainly download it and bump it in my Creative Zen or on my iTunes @ the crib. I can't go around singing "...and I JIZZED. IN. MY. PANTS" though. I just can't. Kind of like when I was mildly obsessed with The Love Below back in the day and I'd have the urge to sing "sheeee lives innnnn my laaaaaaap" and then I'd have to catch myself before I blurted it out in public. Yeah, that's not gonna fly. Not at all.

I Don't Read Women's Magazines

And this pretty much sums up why...

(Thanks for the Flickr link Alex!)

B-U-N-B's Coming To The C-H-I!

.:.:.RSVP.:.:.

Manic Music Monday @ GangstarrGirl.com

It's back to the grind after an extended holiday weekend, making Mondays like today especially hard. Early this morning, Mother Nature gave Chicago her idea of an early Christmas present: SNOW >_<

I shouldn't complain, because what we have now is like Springtime compared to what I know we're capable of getting - but I'm never happy to see ANY snow ever, so BLAH. On top of that, I can't brain today - I have Teh Dumb :( My brain still thinks it's the holiday weekend, so this week's Manic Music Monday post over @ GangstarrGirl.com is pretty skimpy - nonetheless it's amusing, so check me out. Don't worry, I've got some goodies coming soon. In the meantime...