April 30, 2011

Raw Dizzy aka Raw D.I. - We Was Just (Official Video)

Nardwuar Interviews Curren$y



He talks about Austin weed, Camp Lo, 504 Boyz, girls and socks, Gregory D, Big Tymers...

Nardwuar Interviews Lil Wayne



One of the best interviews Lil Wayne did. He talks about Cheech and Chong, Steve Nash, Nirvana,
Pimp Daddy,
his first rap name ' Shrimp Daddy', Odyssey Records, Gregory D, Bling Bling,
MC Thick,
the “Triggaman” beat and the Rap-Snacks!!

April 29, 2011

Pen & Pixel; The Originators (Interview)

Pen & Pixel once was to graphic design what McDonald's is to gastronomy : a mass-production company, instantly recognizable, not really focused on finesse but highly effective. And culturally relevant, too : during the 90's, the agency immortalized the underground movements of southern rap and pushed to the extreme every glittering codes of modern hip-hop. Let's go back to the Pen & Pixel legend with its founder, Shawn Brauch.

A: How did the company start ?

S: My brother and I were working for Rap-A-Lot Records in Houston, Texas. My brother was general manager of the label from the start, he had worked there for a number of years. Other than 2 Live Crew, Rap-A-Lot was was the first exposure that America had basically seen to gangsta style southern rap. I came to Rap-A-Lot in about 1991 to assist him directing music videos. My main purpose was story-boarding. My brother was more into business, I was more into graphics. Before that, I went to the Chicago Art Institute, I have one degree there and another one in Parsons School of Design in graphic communication.

A: What albums did you work on, over at Rap-A-Lot ?

S: Quite a few. One of the first albums was Prince Johnny C, and most of the Geto Boys albums.

A: Why did you choose to leave Rap-A-Lot and run your own business?

S: We had started using computer special effects on some of the album covers of that time. Willie D's "I'm Going out like a soldier" was actually the first CD cover to use a high amount of photorealistic special effects. When that album came out, people started saying that they wanted that for their covers. So they would come to Rap-A-Lot, thinking that they would just get the artwork and nothing else, but Rap-A-Lot obviously said that was impossible. The demands for the work went up to the point where my brother and I said "Listen, that sounds like a good business venture, so let's start and do our own thing".

A: Was it an easy move at the time?

S: Yeah, we started out with 1 000 $ to buy computer equipment to seed the company. We worked out of our apartment, on the dining room table.

A : Both of you were hip-hop fans?

S : Oh, well, yeah. I mean, yeah, you could say that. It kinda grew on us but that the demand for the work was there, and we said "Well, let's supply the service" as the demand gradually grew. That was really a business-oriented move.

A: Both of you grew up in Houston?


S: No, we actually grew up overseas. We lived in south-east Asia and Brazil most of our lives. I got in Houston in 1991 and left in 2003. My brother was there from 1989 all the way until, well, he just left recently.

A: So, as soon as you arrived in Houston, it was on, you were in the music business.

S: Yeah, instantly. The day I arrived, I went to a movie set and I started working on music videos.

A: What was your philosophy for Pen & Pixel?

S: Well, at the very, very beginning, I noticed that people had not really got a good understanding of Photoshop and what you could do with it. People were paying a huge amount of money to go and have themselves in front of a Bentley, and hire models, and rent jewelry, and go to a location… I also had a background in photography, and before Pen & Pixel, your photoshoot could be 15 to 20 000 $ just to get everything right. And there were still not the dimension, the bling-bling, that was limited on what you can do with it. So what I said is "Why do all that when we can actually do that at one-tenth of the price? We have everything: we have pictures of Rolls Royces, pictures of girls, pictures of diamonds, we have all this stuff, including their clothes!" If they didn't want to buy clothes, all we can do is photograph the face, and we will have a body model, mimick up their bodies and we would put it in a place where you would never know the difference. And it worked. That formula worked very very well.



A: How did you get all those photos? You were making separate photo shoots?

S: Absolutely. For example, if we had the chance to rent a Rolls Royce or go down to the Bentley dealership, we would shoot 250 pictures at one time, with no one on it, no one inside it. We would take that back to Pen & Pixel and cut it out very meticulously inside and outside, knowing that we would shoot a model and put that model in the Bentley driving it down the freeway. We knew exactly what the lighting situation was, we took all these notes on how everything was done. So when we shot the model or the rapper in the studio, the lighting and everything fell together absolutely perfectly.

A: Do you remember your first command at Pen & Pixel?

S: Yeah, one of the first covers that had incredible special effects, it's a very rare one, and it was actually not for a hip-hop artist. It's for a band called Kings Sweet. I have a copy of it and it's very interesting: it was a hard rock band that wanted snakes and tigers and leopards in the photo. Obviously, these animals were too dangerous to do a photo shoot with. So we shot all the animals separately, except for the snakes. We shot it in the studio, put it all together. It's one of the first covers to show super high special effects.

A: You had to rent the animals to a zoo ?

S: Yeah, we had an animal trainer who brought the animal separately. For hip-hop, one of the first covers who put Pen & Pixel on the map was 8-Ball & MJG's "Comin' Out Hard". That's the one where they're sitting on the pool table with a Viper, reflecting in that huge eightball with Tony Draper in the back [EN : this is actually the "On Top of the World" album]. When I conceived and executed that cover, I knew it was gonna make a tremendous difference. And it did.


READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW HERE

April 28, 2011

Dj Kruze & Vic Vega - Spanish Siesta Vol. 6 (Hosted by Wase)

DJ KRUZE & VIC VEGA - SPANISH SIESTA VOL. 6

Here is the new tape of Dj Kruze & Vic Vega. Hosted by Wase. Here is the tracklisting:

01-dee_1-proud_of_me.mp3
02-juvenile-aaaah_ha.mp3
03-wase-heaterz_(prod_by_true_master).mp3
04-joe_budden_ft_emanny-ayo.mp3
05-french_montana_ft_chinx_drugz_and_flip_charlie-and_yg-middle_fingers_up.mp3
06-jim_jones_ft_chink_santana_and_logic-a_perfect_day.mp3
07-wase-connected_for_life_(prod_by_mannie_fresh).mp3
08-skepta-amnesia.mp3
09-chamillionaire_ft_rock_d_and_killer_mike-charlie_sheen.mp3
10-wiz_khalifa-roll_up.mp3
11-oj_da_juiceman_ft_b.o.b.-speed_of_light.mp3
12-french_montana-life_be_a_movie.mp3
13-lil_wayne_ft_rick_ross-if_i_die.mp3
14-wase-i'm_so_special_(prod_by_harry_fraud).mp3
15-ghostface_killah_ft_shawn_wiggs_and_sheek_louch_&_sun_god-street_bullies.mp3
16-mobb_deep_ft_nas-dog_shit.mp3
17-pharoahe_monch_ft_styles_p_and_phonte-black_hand_side.mp3
18-merk_ft_magnolia_chop-my_money_talk_for_me.mp3
19-wase-24k_(prod_by_the_jewerelz).mp3
20-fat_joe_ft_r-kelly-how_did_we_get_here.mp3
21-rick_ross_ft_wale_and_meek_mill_&_chester_french-play_your_part.mp3
22-wase-who_run_it_(prod_by_dj_paul_&_juicy_j).mp3
23-saigon_ft_bun_b-and_the_winner_is.mp3


DOWNLOAD FREE HERE

B.G. feat. CCGG - Hood On My Back (Official Video)



B.G. feat. Chopper City Gorilla Gang - Hood On My Back

B.G. - Fire Flame (Freestyle) Official Video



B.G. freestylin' in that 'Fire Flame' beat.

LIl Wayne & Young Turk Show Their First Tattoos



In the set of Juvenile's Ha official video. Footage courtesy of King Yella.

April 23, 2011

Merk feat. Magnolia Chop - My Money Talk 4 Me (BANGER!)


Here is the banger single of Merk featuring Magnolia Chop called 'My Money Talk 4 Me'.

New album commin soon. Stay tuned for more details bout Merk!

You can download HERE

April 13, 2011

Man Wanted For Questioning In Magnolia Shorty's Murder


Investigators may have a substantial lead in the grizzly December 2010 slaying of New Orleans rapper Magnolia Shorty. Police believe 24-year-old Brandon Singleton may have information about the double slaying and seek him for questioning.

The 28-year-old female rapper, who was once signed to Cash Money Records, was shot at least 18 times on December 20th 2010 in New Orleans, East. Magnolia Shorty, born Renetta Lowe and a companion named Jerome Hampton were in the car when an unknown gunman open fired, killing both instantly.

April 12, 2011

ProjectsNeverDone (2) Gar - All Or None

Artist: Gar
Album: All or None
Label: Chopper City Records
REASON: Never known. Only promoted in the B.G.'s Living Legend album.
Still waiting an official album of GAR

April 11, 2011

ProjectsNeverDone (1) Hakim - Street Poetry

Artist: Hakim aka Hakizzle
Album: Street Poetry (2003)
Label: Chopper City Records
REASON: Never known. Only released the promo like a EP

Cash Money Millionaires 1995-2002 (Rare Pics)

Lil Wayne & Juvenile at Photo Shoot


B.G. in New Orleans Back in 1990's

Baby in New Orleans Back in 1990's


Tha Hot Boy$ in tha Projects


B.G. & Juvenile


Hot Beezo, ????, Fan, Baby (2003)


B.G., Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Baby & Lil Wayne (1999 Billboard Music Awards)


Credits goes to SOUR POWERED for some of this pics.





April 9, 2011

April 4, 2011

New Orleans Dictionary


"Say red" or "Say black": Females, a New Orleans native says this to you in respect to your skin color. He is trying to get your attention to get your number.

"Woadie or Wo, Fool, Cuzin" : These are just nicknames for any and everybody. So, someone may be trying to get your attention if they call you by these names. Do not be offended.

"Juvey" : This is someone who you are conversing with who is younger than you are. (Ex. If you are 18 messing around with a 16 yr old, that's your juvey.)

"Ya heard me?": Self-Explained

"Fa Sho": Okay.

"Hot boyz and hot girlz": Hot people are very cool. But don't get it confused, if someone calls you cold, you're cool too. But you're either "too hot to be touched", or "too cold to be hot." YOU CAN'T BE BOTH!

"Catch the wall": This is a call for all ladies to bend over, put their hands on the wall for support, and shake their behinds.

"Tear it down boy or gal": Get hyped up and start dancing. You're so hyped up that someone (or something) can get hurt or broken, you're tearing it down. Bounce music gets you in the mood to Tear it down!!!

"You down bad": You either do really bad things, or you let people do really bad "things" to you.

"Bucked-Up": If your head is bucked, you are convinced of something that totally isn't true. For example, if you're the only one who thinks your hair looks good, your head is bucked up.

"Yeah Bruh!": I knew you would like what I said, that's why I said it.

"Man, you already know.": Simply put, it means yes.

"How you livin?": How are you doing?

"What up lil daddy?": Hello male person.

"What's up round?": Hello good friend whose always around.

"What time you gon' be there fo?": We say fo, why? Cause we can.

"....No" : This is a word used at the end of any negative sentence. (e.g. "I'm not going to school
today NO.") This is telling you that I'm not going to school and the No is letting you know that I'm serious so don't take it as a joke.

"...Yeah" :This is used for anything positive or negative. (e.g. You got your azz whooped YEAH") This is letting you know that you got your azz whooped and the Yeah is stressing the fact that you really got your azz whooped.

"Waaaaaaa" : This is a greeting you may receive from any N.O. natives. Don't be alarmed; just saying hello.

"Trade" : This is a term the girls like to use for the fellas who are looking good . So, if a girl
sees a handsome young man looking good and clean she would say " Damn, look at that trade" or trade may be used for someone who is giving you financial support or just buying you gifts. So, if a girl is looking for a trade, guys you need to be on your game and have good financial support.

"Looka here...": This means I am about to explain or say something important.

"You a fool...": Do not be offended. Fools are very popular in New Orleans. This means that you are either very funny, very crazy, or very good at whatever you do.

"Yes indeed": This is an age old New Orleans saying that has been passed down from generation to generation. It simply means "Really?" or "I'm impressed, shocked, or amazed."

"Neutral grounds": The large strips of land that divides streets of opposing traffic. (For some odd
reason, everyone else in America calls them "medians".)

"Let me get dat out ya": This means, Let me take that off your hands or can you please give me that.

"A Beast": Ladies do not be offended. This is used by males when they see a very attractive female.