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illuminati x mad cleva

Let The Truth Be Told...words from Jay Electronica via Twitter

I used to be one of those people who dispised the idea of Twitter, but once i gave in and created one, I found that it was not only a legit social networking site, but one that could keep me up to date and in-the-loop with all of my favorite artists...

One in particular: Jay Electronica. Twitter has these things called a trending topic, and it allows for people to let their voice be heard to all their followers about that topic, one recent one was #truthbetold. On this tweet, Jay admited that his long anticipated "Act II" has yet to be put out because of the pressure he feels as an artist to deliver to the fans...

All I have to say is: whatever he puts out will be better than what 90% of emcees in the game today can produce, and if hes making us wait this long, im sure it will be worth the wait.

The Recap: Blackstar with Zion-i

I can honestly say that last nights concert was the best performance I have ever been to. Everything about the event contributed in my opinion: from DJ mr. E rocking the crowd in between sets, Zion-i paying tribute to the bay area, the Dilla & MJ tributes along with new & throwback jams not from just Blackstar but from each of Mos Def and Talibs solo albums too. (these pics were taken on my jankie phone, and didn't do the concert justice)



I had never been to Fox theater in Oakland prior to this event; when we entered, 106 KMEL greeted us and took a picture of me and two of my homies. Walking into the theater, we found that we were one of the first people there, and took our place at the front of the crowd on the floor. The venue wa huge! Similar to the Warfield in SF but it had two whole floors above the first floor, which were completely filled by the time Blackstar hit the stage. The concert was supposed to start at 8 o'clock, but I never expected it to start on time, but it was al good because DJ Mr. E was on the tables making the wait seem like a party. He kept it live until Zion-I finally took stage to pay tribute to their hometown: Oakland. The amazing thing about this is that I used to see Zion-i perform before they blew up at random events at bookstores and music shops, and now they're opening for two of hip-hops most decorated legends. They performed a lot of their new music, but didn't fail me by the end when he performed "the bay" and "a birds eye view" - my two favorite songs from them.



By the time their set was over the whole crowd was set for Blackstar to hit the stage, the crowd was dying off of the anticipation since they rarely ever perform under the Banner of Blackstar. But it took about another hour for them to set up, but until then DJ Mr. E turned the party vibe back on, and everyone got their boogie on until one last opening act that lasted about 10 minutes from one of bay areas own called Curtains.



Then, finally, Mos Def started talking to the crowd from behind the stage, and then comes in from the right side of the stage where I was at, and Talib came in from the left; it was on! They opened up with the very first song of their album "8th light," all of the legit fans in the crowd got hyped. After each song Mos and Talib spoke to the crowd gradually transitioning to their next hit. Each of them performed songs from each of their solo albums along with their collabs, it was way more than I expected. Throughout the concert you could tell that Mos Def was their to pay tribute to his childhood hero Micheal Jackson; his whole outfit was a tribute, along with his dance moves, you could tell they were both enjoying performing here stating multiple times that its been way too long since they have been here together.



I felt like I was going to loose my voice; "the definition" right into "the re-definition" to mos def's "Hip-Hop," then songs from Ecstatic, then to Talibs acapella version of "Revolutions Per Minute" "in this world" back into the Blackstar jams with "Respiration" right into "Brown Skin Lady." I think its impossible for me to recap each song they played because they pulled out so many from their repituar. I jsut remember rapping along to each one...by midnight Mos Def pulled out an olde: "Traviling Man" which seemed to signify the end of an incredible performance...But then a few mintutes after they took their leave from the stage, the DJ's called for the crowd to bring them back... and sure enough, the show that had already satisfied even the most die-hard fan continued.



They came back right into a classic: they performed their own version of Gangstarr's "DWYK" obviously paying tribute to the fallen ledgend earlier this year: Guru. But, after that, they were not done paying tribute to fallen soldiers, they pulled out one of their favorites from De La Soul "Stakes Is High" to pay tribute to Batan and J Dilla from Slum Village. After these two epic tributes to their idols, I thought they would once again take their leave, but, I was wrong. Mos Def blessed the crowd with a new joint of his, one of his favorites, then went into a classic: "umi says." It seemed like the show was never going to end as he pulled another one from his album Ecstatic that paid tribute to the greatest himself: Ali, the song was "Pretty Dancer." Right after Might Mos had his shine, Talib brought it back with a classic Reflection Eternal jam : "The Blast," and the crowd went nuts. After that song they pulled one that I never dreamed of them performing, and over half the crowd didn't even know the song, beacause it was the first song they ever did together, that songs was "Fortified Live." They took all the way back to their roots at the Lyricist Lounge, I was one of the few people rockin with them to that one. Then for their final curtain call, I believe it was one of their relitively new ones, "Just Begun" (which also features Jay Electronica and J.Cole). The Crowd gave a thunderous applause afterwards, and Mos and Talib just stood their in appreciation of the crowds love, thanking everyone. After one little goodbye freestyle from Talib, they finally exited the stage. Best Concert I've ever been too.

Pusha T signs to G.O.O.D. Music

This news is somewhat recent, but since I havent written about it yet, I thought I'd do so now. Pusha T of Clipse just signed to G.O.O.D. music, a lable whos artist include Kanye, Consequence, Common, John Legend, and many more. Now, this might not seem significant to people who don't know the brilliance of Pusha T; he and his counterpart Malice have been some of the most underrated lyricist's in Hip-Hop. Many of the rap heavyweights today acknowledge this fact; they can easily hold the title "your rappers favorite rapper." Pusha has been one of my favorate emcees for a long time, and its good to see him moving up the ladder by signing to G.O.O.D. music, maybe now he'll get the recognition he deserves. I can't wait to see Clispe perform later this year at Rock The Bells.

Playing Catch-Up

I fell into the tumblr hype for a sec, what was I thinkin...
Just to play catch up a little bit:
@robsoutdeah
Pacquiao vs Mayweather
#25 on the HEAVY HITTERS
Blackstar concert on Sat
21 is comin up
Rock The Bells 10'
I've been havin some crazy ass dreams since seeing Inception

Stay Tuned

The St. Valentines Day Massacre

I'd like to start off by saying Happy Valentines Day! However, considering im not really into the Valentine's Day thing, Id like to make this throwback post about a legendary fight that actually took place on Valentines day; it was later labeled the St.Valentines Day Massacre because of the battering that took place in the ring. On Febuary 14th 1951, The "Bronx Bull" Jake LaMotta: considered the first fighter to utilize the "bully" style in boxing, and a man with one of the greatest chins in Boxing history took on the man many consider to be the greatest fighter to ever live: "Sugar" Ray Robinson. This was the 6th fight of their historic rivalry; LaMotta became the first man ever to knockdown and defeat Robinson, and in this fight, Robinson became the first and only person to ever knockout the "Bronx Bull," and he did it in brutal fashion in the 13th round..LaMotta never dropped, but by the time it was stopped he was clearly a beaten fighter. Robinson gained the Middleweight championship.

Theres no denying it...

Floyd Mayweather is one of the best fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves; a supreme tactician who embodies the phrase "sweet science. With "Money" Mayweather finally stepping up to plane against an aged, but still dangerous Sugar Shane Mosley, we will be able to see him display his skills to full extent. Though he has arguably the biggest "mouth" in boxing, his work ethic in the gym allows him to back up his words come fight time...peep

Wife

Find me a girl whos Doppelganger is Scarlett Johansson

I'd Marry her

Jay Electronica

"Nas hit me up on the phone said what you waitin on?
Tip hit me up with a twit, said what you waitin on?
Diddy send a text every hour on the dot
said 'when you gunna drop that first? nigga you takin long'" - Jay Electronica


So basically, im tired of the music these days; sure there are some cool club joints, and it seems that electro music is influencing a lot of whats being played on the radio today, and im not hating, but there hasn't been a dope hip-hop album from any new emcee in a while. 2009 was a year where we saw the re-emergence of Raekwon as a heavy hitter in the game, Skyzoo dropped his debut (which lived up to the hype), and Jay-Z ended the year with a bang with Blueprint 3, but I am still waiting on who Nas calls the "future of hip-hop" to drop his debut. For the past couple of weeks I've reverted back to listining to old mixtapes from Lupe (he was most raw in his mixtapes) and Jay Electronica especially, and I couldn't help but wonder when we will make his presence known to the world. I saw him open for the 2007 Rock The Bells, and he surely has the talent to carry hip-hop into this new decade with a fresh new sound. Like the quote from his song "Exhibit C" above, he knows that there is growing anticipation for his first album, the question is when will he give the people his first LP. Lets hope 2010 brings it; I've read that hes working on an album with Mos Def, I hope its true.

The Faceoff: Mosley vs Berto

On January 30th HBO will telecast this championship Fight between "Sugar" Shane Mosley and the undefeated Andre Berto..Watch as these two face-off face-to-face before the actualy bout..and peep some of their highlights..



Mosleys greatest hits..missing the margarito fight



Berto's greatest hits

Legendary Nights: The tale of Leanard vs Hearns

I thought it would be appropriate to make this post as the cancellation of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight became a reality. It was said to be the most anticipated bouts since the classic fight that pitted the welterweights"Sugar" Ray Leanoard vs Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns. That fight took place in 1981; now as 2010 comes along we are in the same exact place, only the fight that the world wants to see has been called off...at least for now..this is the type of atmosphere that the fight could have brought, watch this..

Bits & Peices #2

From perhaps the Greatest Album Of All time...

Song: Memory Lane (Sittin In The Park) 1994

"My pen taps the paper then my brain's blank
I see dark streets, hustling brothers who keep the same rank
Pumping for something, some uprise, plus some fail
Judges hanging niggas, uncorrect bails, for direct sales
My intellect prevails from a hanging cross with nails
I reinforce the frail, with lyrics that's real
Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats
I decipher prophecies through a mic and say peace."

Clipse X The Roots

OMG one of the dopest collabs on stage..Black Thought kills it on these dope ass Clipse Tracks.
The first is from their new album Till The Casket Drops and second is their most popular song "grindin." Sooo Dope

Bits & Peices #1

Im going to start a new chain of posts where I highlight sections of my favorite verses..this first one is from the Mighty Mos Def

Song: Hip-Hop (1996)

"Stimulant and sedative, original repetitive
Violently competitive, a school unaccredited,
The break beats you get broken with
on time and inappropriate
Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it"

Top 5 Dead Or Alive: Revisited

My top 5 emcee list is always changing depending on what kind of mindset im in at the time; my new list only has one change in it...
1: Jay-Z

He is the only rapper from what I like to refer to as the Golden Age of Hip-Hop (the 90's), to still be holdin it down as the king of the East Coast. It wasn't until recently did I develop a liking to Jay; I've always loved his first album Reasonable Doubt, and looked at it as a Hip-Hop classic, but I didn't really care for his other material. With the lack of good music playing in the airwaves lately, I decided to take another look at all of his work, starting with his In My Life Time series. After re-discovering all of his work from then up until now, I have to say at this point in time, he's my new favorate emcee.
2:Nas

Being a hip-hop prodigy as a teen, he has surely stood the test of time. His vocabulary, for someone who dropped out of school so young, was prolific. He created in my opinion, and in the opinions of many the greatest hip-hop cd of all time in illmatic.
3:Biggie

if Biggie ain't in your top 5 then you clearly don't know Hip-Hop. His debut album Ready To Die is another album that highlighted (in my opinion) the most glorious year for hip-hop ever: 1994. There were so many dope albums that year it's ridiculous. Biggies voice stood out, and his story lines were representative of the New York emcee at the time. What I loved about Biggie was also his freestyle ability, which a lot of rappers today lack. Biggie is so dope, I don't feel like I need to explain this much.
4: Black Thought

Black Thought - I feel like most people forget how ill Black Thought is on the mic. I have every album from his group The Roots, and I have come to conclude that Black Thought is the most consistant emcee out there. Ever since the debut of The Roots in 93' Black Thoughts lyrical ability and jazzy aura has yet to diminish; and seeing him every once in a while freestyling on BET proves this to be true. The best rapper to come out of Philly in my mind...no doubt.
5:Mos Def

A true hip-hop fans emcee...I follow Mos Def all the way back to his beginnings with the Lyrisist Lounge. Hes one of the most versatile emcees out there. Hes an actor, poet, rapper, and he ain't too bad at singing (evident on many of his tracks). Hes apart of one of Hip-Hops greatest duo's of all time: Blackstar (mosdef & Talib Kweli). His album Black On Both Sides is in my top 5 albums of all time as well. An emcee in the truest sense, displaying his knowledge on a variety of issues whenever hes on the mic. Truly someone you need to turn your ears to.