Kanye West x Fingerbangerz "Heartless (Cutso Remix)"

I recently posted this video on the FINGERBANGERZTV YouTube channel. Initially, I had done this remix to beef up the original so that I can play it during a prime time club set. The original version is a bit on the mellow side, so I added some balls to it. Turns out I got a little carried away. The remix has been getting great reviews (not to mention a few haters) and has been posted on numerous blogs as being "better than the OG (version)". Usually, I make everyone follow the instructions on the video, but since not everyone that reads this blog has a myspace or youtube profile, I've decided to just go on an post it here.

RIP MC Breed

Michigan rapper MC Breed will be remembered for "Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'", a real nostalgic track from my middle-school days. Breed was prolific and well-known, dabbling in different rap scenes across the country for almost two decades. He was also one of the first cats to give Pac some shine. He reportedly died of kidney failure yesterday after being hospitalized a week or so ago. He was only 36. RIP to the B, the R, and the double E, D.

Run DMC on Reading: "A Very Fresh Way To Learn"

Here's a clip I found while cruising on Notes From A Different Kitchen, which is one of my favorite blogs on the planet. Here's Run DMC and Jam Master Jay (R.I.P.) on Reading Rainbow circa 1986-or 87. Notice the sorta awkward vibe at the end of the "Peter Piper" reading segment. Kinda funny!

Rec Room Era: The Making of Liquid Swords

I'm proud (more like geeked!) to present my interview with the one-and-only GZA. Liquid Swords is one of my all time favorites, and here, I have GZA talk about the time and mindstate he was in while making the stunning classic. He was also real generous with his time, breaking down each track with odd details and insight. Read it right HERE!!!

Shouts to Brian Digenti and Heathcliff Berru for making it happen!

"It was Lead Belly first." - Janis Joplin

(Woodie Guthrie, left, and Lead Belly, right, confusing wide-eyed white folks in 1939)

Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter is said to have gotten his nickname for the amount of homemade liquor he could drink. Others stories said he was shot in the stomach with a shotgun and survived. Nevertheless, Lead Belly was an early American blues singer who played the guitar, accordion, piano, and violin. His life, eventful as it was, has been mythologized, celebrated, and revered for almost a century. His writings had Guthrie-like political leanings, and his songs have been covered by Curt Cobain, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes, Brian Ferry, ABBA, and Tom Waits among many others. Bob Dylan and Pete Seager have cited him as an influence on their own music also. He’s an American original, heroic even, but is rarely acknowledged though his songs are easily recognizable.

(Lead Belly was stabbed in the neck while in prison, which is said to be the reason for the bandanna and other neck gear he always wore)

Born in Louisiana in 1888, he picked cotton as a child, lived poor, and endured the tenets of Jim Crow. In his twenties, he went to prison for killing a relative. He was pardoned and returned to prison for attempted homicide shortly after, this time, for knifing a man. Legend says that government officials regularly brought guests to watch Lead Belly perform during his four total incarcerations. At one of his performances in prison, he was discovered by John Lomax, a Harvard-trained musicologist. Lomax introduced Leadbelly to American audiences of the 1930s and 1940s through his contacts and writings. Lead Belly was able to tour the country and would later be known as “King Of The 12-String Guitar”. He achieved even greater acclaim when Life magazine ran a three-page article titled, "Lead Belly - Bad Nigger Makes Good Minstrel”.

("Lead Belly is probably the only ex-felon who successfully wrote a children's album" -Bob Dylan)

In 1949, days before he was to perform in France, Lead Belly fell ill, dying shortly after of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Like most early African American artists, Lead Belly never saw a dime from record sales and died without due spoils of his success. But his songbook survives and remains a resource of history, and music, that’ll be sifted through forever. Here are a couple of his well-known standards.

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night", made famous by Curt Cobain on Nirvana's Unplugged album.


"Goodnight Irene" or "Irene "is one of Lead Belly's most famous and widely covered songs. It was redone by Pete Seager's band, The Weavers, where it was a hit in the 1950s.


Below is Tom Waits' brilliant version of "Goodnight Irene", sung in typical drunken, defeated fashion. It's matches Lead Belly's sentiment perfectly.


**There's an abundance of Lead Belly info. Here are some resources if you're interested in knowing more about this American originator and his music.

1.800.PeePee.5.1.DooDoo

Everything feels dwarfed by the recent election (as it should!). I mean, how insignificant does an interview with a now-shitty rapper seem? But it's Kool Keith and I can't let my euphoria turn into laziness, so here we are.Here's a short piece I did on Keith for The Metro a few weeks back that just hit stands yesterday. As a huge fan at one point, I was real stoked to talk to him. If you're a fan, you can read it right here. It's a bit vague, so if you're a super-fan, check waxpoetics.com (in a few months!) for a super in-depth article on Keith, where we talk about Paul C, Ultramag, rhyme-patterns, and outerspace doo doo pistols.

*Here's an oldie-but-goodie from Keith. It's off Automator's (A Much) Better Tomorrow. It's classic Keith recorded either slightly before or during the Octagon era. It's a personal favorite and is a good example of Keith's quirky writing. It's called "Cartoon Capers".

yesssss.

The Fingerbangerz X Jabbawockeez-"Missing You (Remix)" mp3 giveaway!

Watch the video and follow the instructions:




DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR ASSES OUT TO VOTE TOMORROW. OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. HOLLER.

one day away

Tomorrow could be the best (or worst) day ever. Shake them titties when you vote bitch.