Friday, December 14, 2007

ZUBZ AND J. PERIOD ROCKING CPT



Event: Hip Hop Heartbeat
Who: Zubz, Hamma, Quake, Redwood and others
Where: Armchair Theatre, Observatory
When: Sunday, 16th December at 9:00pm
Cost: R30


Event: J PERIOD Live (Diddy, Kanye West & Lauryn Hill's Tour DJ)
"Witness USA best Mixtape Assassin in action"
Who: J Period and supporting DJs
When: Sunday, December 16 at 10:00pm
Where: THE IVORY ROOM
Cost: R50

A FLY SUMMER PARTY IN JHB



If you're in Jozi check out the 'Summer Party' at Shoukara, Rivonia Boulevard.
The highly anticpated gig which features DJs Milkshake, Sebastian and Glen da DJ on the decks takes place this Friday, Decmber 14th.

Doors open at 9pm and R50 will get you in before 12pm. R70 thereafter.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

A CAPE TOWN HIP HOP INVASION

Catch Nthabi live in CT

The Cape Town-based Ill Skillz cats at it again.

"This time we got an action-packed line-up consisting of a collision of MCs
based in 3 cities, namely Cape Town, Johannesburg & Pretoria. As it goes... we got
Ill-Literate-Skill, Driemanskap, Reason and Nthabi...AGAIN!!, Landmynz, The
Anvilz, Ondaground, Ba4za and Ras. The show will be hosted by Hyphen and DJ
sets will be held down by Romz Deluxe and Beatoven.

Catch these exciting artists on the Sunday nights of the 16th & also on the 23rd of
December at Zula bar in Long Street, CPT. R30 C/C per show will lace you in
and you are promised that you won't regret it.

There'll be a lot of material available from these performing artists such as
Il-Literate-Skill's 'Anotha Day Anotha Rhyme' promo album and the 'Battle of
Gugz Vol. 2'

Contact us on www.myspace.com/illliterateskill or 083 752 6789 for further
info."

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

REVIEW - HHP'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH



By Nick Kaoma

Hip Hop Pantsula – Jabba to his brethren; Jabulani Tsambo to his parents; HHP to everybody else – is undoubtedly one of Mzansi’s favourite sons. If you require proof in that regard, look no further than the fact that despite his chubby demeanour, he was able to waltz his way into million’s of people’s hearts as he walked away with the first prize in the phenomenally popular Strictly Come Dancing reality TV show.

As for the music, Jabba has been at the forefront of the Motswako movement, a unique and refreshing subgenre of local hip hop, alongside acts such as Morafe and Tuks. Discovered in the late nineties by the influential Chicco Twala, the Mafikeng native quickly rose to stardom with his catchy and fresh Tswana rhymes. Ten years later, he boasts a catalogue so peerless that it has propelled him to internationals stages as well as headlining roles at prestigious gigs such as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Oppikoppi Festival. Hits such as “Mafikeng”, “Jabba” and “Harambe” have endeared him to many fans and instigated a bit of a cult following.

After touring incessantly in 2006/7, Jabba went back to the studio to record his 5th album, “Acceptance Speech”. Knowing that the expectations were high as always, the hardest working man in the music business assembled an enviable team of producers that include Magic Keys, Don Juan, Ross the ProduSIR and industry stalwart Amu.

Without wasting too much time on endless rhetoric, note from the get go that “Acceptance Speech” is Jabba’s finest album to date. The set features joints such as “Chic Music”, “Akhonto” and “Jiva”, catchy dance tracks that have become his staple – I can easily see him grooving and getting down to one of these tracks at his concerts in that mesmerizing style of his.

But partying is not the only issue on Jabba’s agenda; as he proved with the massively popular “Harambe”, HHP does have a conscious/socially aware side to his personality which he again shows off on this album on tracks such as “Darfur” and “Hell Pon Me”. The former, which is produced by Don Juan and features a Fegee O Seco sample, is a soul-stirring cut that will leave you moved with its gritty and honest narrative. Tumi, who spits a guest verse on the track, leaves an indelible mark with lines such as “200 000 more killed/ Africa gets darker with every discovered oil field”.

The brilliantly sequenced album boats a number of other highlights such as the lead single “Music N Lights”, “Wave Your Glasses” and “Ke Tswa Hole”, which features Joburg swagger boys Teargas.

However, there’s one track that steals the show completely (at least in my opinion) and that is the last cut, “Ra Di Busa”. For those who know their kwaito history well, you’ll immediately notice upon hearing that track that the song features a solid sample of Thebe’s ol’ skool hit “Ra Di Busa”. Who doesn’t remember that track? It came at a time when we were all smitten with kwaito in a bad way and “Ra di busa” was that joint that everybody and their grannies got down to. Amu, the master sampler, ingeniously takes the foundation of that track and adds a couple of easily recognizable hip hop elements and in the process creates one of the best hybrids of kwaito and hip hop that I have ever heard. Jabba, sounding extremely excited at the prospect of killing a track that features such a classic sample, rhymes his ass off. He is accompanied by the new hip hop sensation F-Eezy who drops crazy lines like “We record in hospitals just to prove that we’re sick kids”.

Overall, this album is as solid as anything you’ll find in your favourite mall’s music store. Jabba has officially done it again. If this album doesn’t sell pass the platinum mark, I’ll literally get Thabo Mbeki (or Jacob Zuma depending on who’s president at the time) to launch an Encore Commission of Enquiry. So y’all Support Jabba and get this dope album!

Monday, December 10, 2007

BEYONCE AND ASHANTI JOIN THE FLASHING BRIGADE




We all know that Britney Spears is the undisputed Queen of Public Crotch Flashing, but some urban mainstays are keen on toppling her from her throne.

The web has been buzzing in the last week with images of superstars Beyonce and Ashanti - photogs caught the ladies showing things that only their men are supposed to see. It seems like all those sultry, sleazy dances that B performs at her concerts have come back to bite her, as she was unknowingly flashing her assets during one of her routines. Damn, our boy Jay-Z must be peeved at this - the whole world now knows what keeps him up all night.

As for Ashanti, she probably just needed the publicity considering that the limelight has shunned her for a while now. Locally, the likes of Kelly Khumalo and Iyaya have also been flashing around their private parts to the amazement of the nation.

I got a couple of words for the above-mentioned ladies - please leave the coochie flashing antics for the bedroom and rather concentrate on making quality music. Stop confusing our kids!!

Friday, December 7, 2007

CAPE TOWN COMING ALIVE WITH FATBOY SLIM, DJ FRESH, MAHOOTA, LIRA & MORE


The sometimes sleepy city of Cape Town is coming alive this weekend with more than a dozen local and international stars assembling at various quarters with the aim of pleasing the masses. Here's our pick of the flyest parties happening this weekend in CT:

FATBOY SLIM SA TOUR

Where: Atmospheer Superclub, Lansdowne
Who: Fatboy Slim, Surge, Dean Fuel
When: Friday, 7th December 2007
Time: 9pm till late
Cost: R160 - R280
What: Electronica, dance

MAHOOTA VS VETKOEK CD LAUNCH

Where: Lipz, Bree Street
Who: Mahoota/Vetkoek
When: Friday, 7th December 2007
Time: 9pm till late
Cost: R50
What: House music

DJ FRESH DEFINITION OF HOUSE TOUR
Where: Bang bang Night Club
Who: DJ Fresh
When: Friday, 7th December 2007
Time: 9pm till late
Cost: R50
What: House and dance

LIFESTYLE SA FESTIVAL
Where: Capt Town International Convention Centre
Who: Freshlyground, Lira, CODA, Jimmy Dludlu, Loyiso Gola
When: Friday, 7th December 2007
Time: 12:00 - 19:00
Cost: R100
What: Jazz, Afro-pop, R&B, Soul

KANYEEZY NABS 8 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS


Our Man of the Year has just been announced as the race leader in the tightly contested Grammy Awards, the biggest music conclave in the world.

Kanye West's nominations dominate the Rap field, with nominations for the Best Rap Album and double nominations in the Best Rap Song category - with both "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Good Life" vying for the award. Graduation is also in competition with Amy Winehouse's Back To Black, the Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Vince Gill's These Days and Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters in the Album of the Year race.

For Best Rap Album, the nominees are:


Finding Forever -- Common
Kingdom Come -- Jay-Z
Hip Hop Is Dead -- Nas
T.I. vs T.I.P. -- T.I.
Graduation -- Kanye West

West and Winehouse were not the only artists with multiple nominations, five acts received five nods -- the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, hip-hop producer Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and T-Pain

Thursday, December 6, 2007

J PERIOD, LEGENDARY HIP HOP DJ COMING TO SA


New York based and internationally acclaimed J.Period will be hitting our shores next week to give us a first hand glimpse of why he is regarded as one of the top 5 hip hop mixtape DJs in the world.

Renowned for his DJ and producing work with award-winning artists such as
Lauryn Hill, The Roots, Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys and Kanye West,
J. Period will definitely be giving Mzansi hip hop aficionados a peerless experience.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, J.Period started his career playing
parties in New York when he relocated there to study Graphic design in 1998. He
then moved onto playing clubs later on as he became more experienced, and
flooded the streets of with his award winning mixtape “The Best of NAS”, which
put him on the map for greater things to come.

He will be performing with some of South Africa’s best hip hop acts and DJs.

DATES:

Thursday, 13 December 2007 : Exclusive Listening Session - Invitation Only.

Friday, 14 December 2007: J.PERIOD LIVE in South Africa 07 at Black Orchid
(Fourways)

Saturday, 15 December: J. PERIOD at Moloko Lounge (Rosebank), Johannesburg

Sunday, 16 December: J.PERIOD Live in Cape Town.

AMY WINEHOUSE HAS REALLY LOST IT


It's official, our girl Amy who gave us the beautiful album "Back to Black", has finally lost it.

The 24-year-old singer emerged last Sunday from a friend's house barefoot, and clad only in her bra and jeans. The troubled singer appeared disorientated as she wandered around on the pavement for several minutes in the freezing cold before disappearing back inside.

Quite why she came outside only half dressed in the early hours is unclear. One onlooker said she looked up and down the road as if she was waiting for someone, but no one arrived at the house.

She's acting very CRACKISH if you ask me!

JAY-Z LEAVING DEF JAM?


Many of you might not know this but Jay-Z's Def Jam contract expires at the end of this month but renewal negotiations between the mogul and parent company, Universal Music, have reportedly reached an impasse. According to New York's Daily News, a source from Universal says that Jigga wants too much money that is "out of sync with the realities of today's record business".

"People have lost count of how many times he's come out of retirement," the source said. "Everybody knows he's not around the office much. Everybody at Universal loves him, but they can't justify paying him the money he wants when so many people have been laid off."

But obviously Jay doesn't care that people are being laid off, he knows his worth and anybody in the business can see that he has brought tremendous success to Def Jam with artists such as Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Nas, Rick Ross and Fabolous.

After negotiating with him for a couple of weeks now, Island/Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid and his boss, Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music are said to have found Jay's demands "excessive."

But friends of Hov rebuffed the claim that Reid and Morris have had it with Jay, saying, "They are still actively negotiating,"

Rumours are also rife that he is planning to join Rick Rubin at Columbia Records in a high-level executive role.

One person close to Jay said, "The talks will continue when [Hov] returns to New York. They still have a ways to go before a decision."

The rapper-turned-CEO recently celebrated his 38th birthday in Paris with the lovely B by his side.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

THE CLIPSE GIVE THE LOWDOWN ON THEIR DRUG EMPIRE



Virginia based rapping brother duo “The Clipse” entered the hip hop mainstream 6 years ago with their classic hardcore album “Lord Willin”. Produced in its entirety by the then still hungry Neptunes, “Lord Willin” became an instant street classic spurning the hustler’s anthem “Grindin”, on which they waxed lyrical about their profitable drug business.

Of course, when you first listened to the track your probably assumed that these cats were, like many rappers before them, merely making up tough-guy stories so as to appear credibly hardcore in the fans’ eyes. But on the real though, these cats have apparently been running a drug-peddling business since they were teens and they have kept at it even though they have sold a million-plus records. Crazy right???

In a fascinating editorial feature in Blender magazine the duo actually go as far as admitting this; the icing on the cake is that they actually give up and coming hustlers a blueprint for success. I got three words for y’all – ONLY IN AMERICA!

Check out their top 4 pointers for running a drug empire:

No. 1
Find a need, Fill a Need

Malice: “If you have a good commodity, your services will be needed everywhere – it’s supply and demand. Start out in your own hood, where people know you. Find good employees who have the business’ best interests at heart and can bring in revenue. Conduct yourself in a low-key manner – don’t bring anything of a flamboyant nature to the work area.”

No. 2
Build a Client Base

Pusha T: “Establish a reputation for having the best product – give away free sample to prove it. It might mean taking a loss, but that’s what you do to be known. There ain’t no marketing plan, it’s all word of mouth. People are loyal to whoever has the best. The market determines prices. Whatever money the customer has, that’s what you charge.”

No. 3
Mark Your Territory

Pusha T: “When your operation begins to grow, ensure your product is the only one being worked in the area. Outsiders tend to not play by the rules, and that’s when bad things happen. Any intrusion must be addressed immediately. Handle competition with proper etiquette – rivals can get along, as long as everyone stays in their proper lanes.

NO. 4
Excel in Customer Service

Malice: “See, that’s one of the things about the business we’re in: we can enforce a strict no-refund policy. But you must always be open and available to handle problems that come up. If we hear a complaint from a customer, that means the product was not up to snuff. We deal with those situations internally – punishment by removal. You don’t want to be removed.”

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

NAS' SURVIVING THE TIMES VIDEO



Columbia Records has just released a Greatest Hits album from an MCee that deserves to be called Great than most, Nas. The album features classic tracks from albums such as "Illmatic", "It Was Written" and "God's Son". In addition to his classic hits, the album also features two new tracks "Less than an hour" featuring Cee-Lo and "Surviving the Times"

The video for the latter song which chronicles Nas' entire career with photos and video clips has just been released to video outlets. Also look out for Nas' controversially titled upcoming album, "Nigger". It will be released in February next year.

BIG FELLAS – THE REVIEW


By Sivu Nobongoza

To BEE or not to BEE these Camp’s Bay yuppies, Jake and Zed don’t have a choice in the matter, let alone a hope in Kakstad to get to the Stop Abusing Models Ossociation of South Africa (S.A.M.O.O.S.A.) conference in Jozi. With the brutal Ray Whitehead, their arch nemesis trailing vindictively behind them, they’re probably going to peg* of sunstroke in the desert, if the Karoo serial killer doesn’t get them first. In 72 hours, they must finish the film they haven’t started, get the black girl, gooi* a road-trip from Cape to Jozi, get their movie screened and get a Black Economic Empowerment partner; all so they can sit on a beach and stir up martinis until their next big idea. Only these two buffoons can’t tell a stalker-boeremeisie from a schizophrenic, albino player serial killer.

With an all-star, all-talented South African cast featuring comic notables Cokey Falkow, Marc Lottering and Kagiso Lediga to name a few, this is a super hilarious homegrown flick that will have you rolling on your back and kicking your feet in the air with laughter. Truly one of the funnier modern-day South African films and probably the last until another all-star South African cast feels liberal enough to take a stab (excuse the pun) at it. Everything about this film is extreme. Each character is an extreme wannabe something their not, whether they’re an extreme black supremacist, an extreme bisexual policeman or an extreme white Indian receptionist wannabe fashion designer.

With carefully crafted characters this film is a ball of fun, but not suitable for your neighbourhood prude. Although it doesn’t cross the obscenity line, it can get a bietjie* vulgar with its sexual innuendos and kasi* slang. So for those who don’t like to hear words like #!@ (box) and #§*#&±% (masturbator), I suggest you take your beeper with you. This is old folk town.

The type of SA jargon you can expect to here from Big Fellas:

Peg = Die
Bietjie = little
Doos = Box
Kasi = Township
Gooi = Go at it, throw, lunge, do, etc…

Monday, December 3, 2007

IS ANOTHER POSTHUMOUS 2PAC CD REALLY NECESSARY?



By Nick Kaoma

After being recognised earlier this year by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top music earners (from the grave), it seems like Tupac aims to further justify that with yet another posthumous release.

But of course, we all know that it is not Shakur that is releasing these albums, it’s the ‘creative’ people at Interscope Records that wield enough power and marketing gimmicks to unleash regurgitated albums as if we didn’t already have all of the icon’s music on our iPods.

Clearly trying to capitalise on the lucrative Christmas season when every Tom, Dick and Thandi is excited enough to purchase anything as long it is nicely wrapped up, the cunning folks at Interscope/Universal are set to release “The Best of 2Pac – Part 1: Thug” and “The Best of 2Pac – Part 2: Life”.

The tentatively titled album features classics such as “Trapped”, “California Love”, “I ain’t mad at cha”, “Keep ya head up” and “Brenda’s got a baby”. But wait a sec, aren’t these all tracks that are either cramped in the Greatest Hits double disc released in 1998 which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide or in the other many 2Pac compilations?

The only thing that would make me consider buying the album is the fact that a portion of the profits will go to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation which is run by his mother Afeni Shakur.

But judge for yourself, here’s the tracklisting for the double-disc album:

THE BEST OF 2PAC - PART 1: Thug
1. So Many Tears
2. Trapped
3. California Love (Original Mix)
4. How Do U Want It
5. I Aint Mad At Cha
6. 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted
7. Hail Mary
8. Changes
9. Unconditional Love
10. Resist the Temptation (Previously Unreleased)
11. Dear Mama (featuring Anthony Hamilton - NEW MIX)

THE BEST OF 2PAC - PART 2: Life

1. Definition of a Thug Nigga
2. Brenda's Got a Baby
3. Keep Ya Head Up
4. When I Get Free
5. Until the End of Time (RP REMIX)
6. Never Call U Bitch Again
7. They Dont Give a F*** About Us
8. Still Ballin (NITTY REMIX)
9. Ghetto Gospel
10. Dopefiend's Diner - (Previously Unreleased)
11. Thugz Mansion Acoustic Remix (NEW REMIX)

Friday, November 30, 2007

EXCLUSIVE - LUNGELO RETURNING WITH "THE LIFT OFF"


ENCORE masses, our boy Lungelo is back in the building with some hot, hot, hot new music. After killing the scene in '07 with his debut album "Collision", the Gugulethu native is prepping a fired-up comeback with "The Lift Off".

Check out an early single taken from his upcoming album, it might have a house direction, but it misses none of that cool funk that we've come to know Lungelo for:

TILTT LEAVES JHB MASSES IN AWE WITH A FIRING SALE













Tiltt, the burgeoning apparel licensing company once again lit up the streets of Joburg with a well-attended 2 hour sale. The brand extravaganza which was attended by JHB's elitist fashionistas and sneaker aficionados saw popular ranges from sneaker lines such as Paez and Creative Recreation presented to the masses for due consumption (or savouring).

For those who are outside Joburg, don't despair, you can purchase these cool kicks on www.tiltt.co.za. If you're in Cape Town, you can check out Loading Bay at De Waterkant and Poppa Trunks in Kloof Street.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

HAS LUPE FIASCO CRAFTED ANOTHER INTELLECTUAL MASTERPIECE?



Here’s a cool Lupe Fiasco interview from Entertainment Weekly that you guys might find interesting:


Brainy Chicago emcee Lupe Fiasco won the alt-rap world's heart with his 2006 debut, Food & Liquor. But then he went ahead and broke some hearts by saying he intends to record only three solo albums before retiring. On Dec. 18, he'll take another step toward the finish line with his sophomore effort, The Cool. It wouldn't be a Lupe Fiasco album if it wasn't brimming with innovative concepts, and this one is no different. The disc is named after The Cool, an undead thug character whom Lupe first introduced on the Food & Liquor song of the same name. Other fictional personas who pop up on the album are The Streets, a gorgeous woman who's thousands of years old, and The Game, a slippery personification of the criminal life (not to be confused with the West Coast rapper named the Game).

Confused yet? Lupe stopped by EW's New York City office last week to play us the album and shed some light on the ideas that went into it: ''For me, personally, it represents three negative influences that surround Lupe Fiasco: The want and the need to be Cool, the attraction of The Streets, and the evils of The Game itself. First album I was like, it's everything, daydreaming robots! This one represents more of where I really came from... You really have to listen, because it's subtle, and you can get lost if you just listen to it in one massive thing. But I think once people listen to it over and over and over, the story will start making itself clear.'' Read on for more of Lupe's thoughts on his new tunes, the pressures of being an intellectual celeb, and that retirement pledge.

Tell me about where your first single, ''Superstar,'' came from. That seems to be about the experience of a musician rising to fame, right?
LUPE FIASCO: I took the looseness of the record from a Tom Waits song off his new album, Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards. The record comes from taking different themes and very dark, very macabre scenes, and placing them in a very poppy, commercial realm. There's many instances in the song, but one of the main instances is, [if] going to heaven was like a club, and so you had to wait, and the beautiful people went in front of you. Then there would be situations where I would contrast an execution [that] looks like a performance — people are waiting to see this person die, and they fill up the front row to watch a man die. It comes from, how am I digesting being famous and celebrity? It's like success and fame balanced with tragedy and infamy.



Another new song, ''Little Weapon,'' was produced by Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy. What was it like working with him?

He called me, like, ''I want to do a record for The Cool.'' And I was telling people, ''This album's dark, so the music needs to be dark but futuristic.'' So he sent the beat for ''Little Weapon.'' And I had a set list of things that I wanted to address on this album: I wanted to address the climate, which I didn't really do, and I wanted to address child soldiers. I actually met these guys that run this organization called Invisible Children backstage at a Fall Out Boy show, and I did ''Little Weapon'' as an ode to that [issue]. My partner Bishop G is on there taking the last verse. And the twist in the story is the little kid playing the video game — is he any different from the child soldier actually killing people? Because death is death, whether it's digital death or real death.

How about ''Streets on Fire,'' where you bring in the character of The Streets?
At the beginning of the song, [singer] Matthew Santos lists all these tragedies, and then it says, ''She's out there smiling.'' It comes from 1984, the book, where there was so much double-talk and double-think in the first few chapters. That's my favorite book. I tried to put that in a record. So it's like, ''Believe/So say the neon signs by the loudspeakers/Repeating that everything is fine.'' You know? ''A subtle silence/To demolish the troubled conscience/Of a populace with no knowledge/And every freedom denied.'' It comes directly influenced by 1984 — using it as a vehicle to introduce one of the characters very abstractly, very subtly.

''Dumb it Down'' is another song that I heard a few weeks ago on YouTube. Those catchy hooks with different people urging you to dumb down your music. Do you really get that a lot?
It's kind of perceived. My peoples that frequent clubs and go in the streets and things of that nature, they'll be like, ''Yo man, this is what they're saying in the hood: 'I'm not really feeling Lupe.''' Those are real conversations that I get the gist of. And then the second hook is more Big Brother-influenced, which is that unspoken — and in some cases spoken behind closed doors — mentality and agenda of a lot of different [record] companies. To actually be like, ''Let's push some bulls--- today.'' That song touches on one of the base themes for The Cool: I went to go see Cornel West speak, and he said, ''If you really want to affect social change in the world, you have to make those things which are cool and destructive, uncool. You have to make it hip to be square.'' ''Dumb it Down'' was showing that.

Like, the verses are super-duper complex, but the hook itself is telling the verses, like, ''Damn, yo, dumb it down! This is why we're saying you need to dumb it down. Nobody just got that verse you just said, and that's why you're really not going to sell too many records.'' It's showing that: ''They're starting to think that smart is cool, Lu/Dumb it down/They're starting to get up out the hood, Lu/Dumb it down.'' It's like, ''We need to keep them there so we can constantly sell them things.''

I heard in a few songs there you mentioned the name of your next album, L-U-P-End. So I take it you're sticking to your promise of making three albums and then you're out?
Yeah, I think so. I'm 85 percent. My final album is L-U-P-End, and it comes from video games. I love video games, especially Capcom, and you can only put three letters when the game is over — three letters and ''END.''

Do you have a concept for that album yet?
I don't know. I was thinking about having it be very schizophrenic, just all over the place and loaded with features. Or having, like, 10 songs, like back in the day when they'd do 10 songs and be done.
You're obviously someone who puts a lot of thought and intelligence into your albums.

After you make your third album, what are you going to do with all that creative energy?
Oh, I'm writing my book! It's tentatively titled Reflections of a Window-Washer. It's about this character who has limited amount of conversation with the world. But he has simulated conversations, as if he had ever went past saying to someone, ''Hi.'' It's a real cerebral kind of piece. I've got maybe just a few chapters. They published one of the chapterettes in a magazine in London, where [the character] sits and ponders the notion, the physics, the ideals, the commercialization of the future.

So you can see yourself becoming a novelist full-time?
Yeah! That's where this [music] comes from. Hip-hop is like a byproduct of telling stories and writing. Some of the stuff that I want to talk about can't be compressed into a song.

When you envision that being published, would you have your birth name on the cover?
Oh, yeah. Wasalu Muhammad Jaco. WMJ. Eventually, Lupe Fiasco is this, he's music. He's going to be done. Wasalu Jaco writes for Lupe Fiasco, you know?

This year, concept albums in hip-hop have become a big thing — Jay-Z's calling his album a concept album, T.I. called his album a concept album. Why do you think that is?
Well, MF Doom did concept albums. Prince Paul, all he does is concept albums. Even the guy from Onyx [Sticky Fingaz] did a concept album, Autobiography of Kirk Jones. So it's been concept albums here, there, around. I think what happens is — especially in Jay-Z's case — you've done it so much and you've put yourself in a place where if you try and do anything different, it'll turn against you. So how do you continue to improve and revolutionize what you're doing already? A concept album. ''Yeah, I can talk about everything I want to talk about, and put it under the premise of a concept.'' But I think it's dope, if it comes across. I chose to do it very abstractly, very subtly, and more to dress up the album very lightly. But I think it's cool. Especially T.I.'s, the concept of it was very good.

What's the status of CRS, your supergroup with Kanye West and Pharrell Williams?
Child Rebel Soldier. We working. Kanye called me the other day, he said he had spoken to Pharrell, and everybody's still excited, ready to go. It's just scheduling issues, but it's solid gold, late '08. We'll see.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

ILL SKILL EXCLUSIV JAM SESSION IN GUGULETHU

Ill SKill Exclusivs held a fun outdoor hip hop session in Gugs this past Sunday. A sizable crowd of hip hop fanatics were treated to the sounds of Nthabi, Reason (Joburg), Archetypes, Driemanskaap and Ill-Literate Skill.

Here's how it all went down in pictures:

Pics by Thando Toto












Monday, November 26, 2007

LOYISO GOLA FOR PRESIDENT



Loyiso Gola’s one man comedy show – Loyiso Gola for President will see the entertaining, funny, charismatic and presidential hopeful Gola woo comedy addicts at the recently revamped Alexander theatre in Siemens St, Braamfontein from 29 November to 1 December 2007.

Gola has grown in leaps and bounds after he went on his own to canvass for votes in his first campaign for the presidency. He has developed into a bona fide heavyweight, with headline appearances at the UN Comedy Show, the Blacks Only, the BIG International Comedy Festival, the Vodacom Campus Tour, Arts Alive and the Tshwane Comedy Festival amongst others. All of this success was capped by victory at the inaugural South African Comedy Awards held in September where Gola scooped the Best Breakthrough Comedy Act award.

Loyiso Gola has often been described as “the next big thing” or the “future of comedy in this country”. Well, the future is here! If you don’t believe us, come and see for yourself how different this candidate is to what we have been made to believe we are working with.

Vote for Loyiso Gola from 29 November to 1 December, Live from the Alexander Theatre compliments of DStv. Tickets are R100 at Computicket and R120 at the door. Doors open at 19h30 and the show will start at 20h00 sharp!

The opening act will be the exciting young comic Eugene Khoza, who has featured on Blacks Only, Comedy Knockout bills and is the resident headliner at monthly Dis-Funk-Tional Revolution comedy showcase at ninety six/96

KANYE WEST IS GQ MAN OF THE YEAR



GQ, the celebrated men's lifestyle magazine has just announced that Kanye West alongside Bill Clinton, Daniel Craig, Lil Wayne and others are 2007's Men of The Year. For those of you who read GQ, you'd know that the magazine puts together an annual list of the most celebrated men. These can range from musicians, scholars, actors, politicians, authors and artists.

Other hip hop moguls that have received this nod include Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams.

Kanye West gets one of the alternate covers along with Bill Clinton and Daniel Craig.

P.S. If you want to get your hands on this issue ask for the international edition at your local bookstore and not the local version.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

L'VOVO & FRESHLYGROUND WIN BIG AT THE METROS


After being robbed by the snobby suits from the SAMA awards earlier this year, justice was finally served when L'Vovo Derango walked away with awards for the Best Kwaito Album and Song of the Year.

Freshlyground, who surprisingly enough had never won any major awards prior to this, scooped awards for Best Group and Best Afro-Pop.

The charismatic DJ Sbu took the award for Best Compilation as predicted by most industry experts.

Other big winners included Siphokazi and DJ Cleo. Although Jozi was nominated four times they failed to convert any of their nominations into actual awards. We'll post the full list of winners later today.