Month: April 2007

Info about Joell Ortiz album (from ShadyBase)

After signing a deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records, Joell Ortiz will drop his album, The Brick, on April 24, 2007.
“The Brick” features Immortal Technique, MOP, Ras Kass, Noyd, Graph and Stimuli, plus production by Alchemist, Showbiz, and more.
This summer, while New Yorkers were debating the identity of the citys next big rapper, Joell Ortiz was excluded from the discussion. He was in the lab making records. Unlike many of the citys other contenders, whove flooded the music biz with mixtapes, Ortiz limited his hustle to just one, Who The Fuck Is Joell Ortiz?
“You cant get nowhere with industry buzz,” Ortiz reasons. “You dont get hot from those kids, you get hot from the interns who might still live at the projects.”
Nevertheless, Ortiz took meetings with A&Rs who cited everything from his weight to a missing twinkle in his eyes, for reasons they couldnt sign him. “My eyes got poverty,” Ortiz says plainly. “The only thing that twinkle is tears for lost friends.” So he soldiered on, gaining fans through his shows at SOBs, his online journal on hiphopgame.com and leaks of his popular 125 Grams series of 125 bar freestyles.
Eventually, the tape landed in the hands of a real decisionmaker, Dr. Dre. Ortiz immediately knew he was serious. “I sent eight songs,” he recalls. “He flew me to LA the next day. He signed me the day after that. I was back on a plane the day after that.” Joell Ortiz has that that type of effect on people: he can really rhyme.
Ortiz has taken the long route to success. Hes spent the last decade in the lab with noted A&R Mike Heron and even recorded with Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap. This progression is obvious on The Brick, his lead-up album on Koch Records that drops on TK.
Ortiz describes it as “a peek in on the bodega to see what happens on the project corner. “ He speaks from experience. A star basketball player and model student who scored close to 1400 on his SATs, Ortiz made an uncomfortable choice at 17. With both academic and basketball scholarships on the table, Ortiz elected to stay in Cooper.“My moms was getting high and I didnt want to hear something happened to her,” he recalls, “she was my best friend.”
But later, Ortiz says, “I got into the streets and ended up hustling to survive.” Soon both drugs and money were missing. “I fought her everyday,” he admits. But he also kept a watchful eye on her. “She just went cold turkey,” he says of her decision to quit using drugs. “I was very proud of my moms.”
Ortiz recounts that situation on the initial salvo of his popular 125 grams songs, eight songs that feature 125 bars of straight rhyming, which form the core of The Brick.
But Ortiz also focused on making complete records. “On this Koch album you are going to hear a lot of records that sound mad and painful,” he says. “On caught up I show you how 95 percent of the people who talk about hustling dont show you the fact that as fast as you can be up you can be down.”
And now that hes up, hes focused on proving that hip-hop still lives in New York. “Everybody doesnt do bubblegum rapping,” he says. “If I hip-hop is dead. I want to come across as the Spanish nigga, who shows that hip-hop is nice.
Tracklist:
01. 125 (Part 1)
02. Brooklyn (Remix) (Feat. Cashmere, Maino, & Big Daddy Kane)
03. Caught Up
04. Night In My P’s
05. 125 (Part 2) (HipHopGame.Com Freestyle)
06. Hip Hop
07. Modern Day Slavery
08. 125 (Part 3)
09. BQE
10. Block Royal
11. Latino
12. Keep On Callin
13. Time Is Money
14. Brooklyn Bullshit
15. 125 (Part 4)
Joell Ortiz – The Brick (Bodega Chronicles) Stream Player
Pre-Order Here
Source:
AftermathMusic.Com
JoellOrtiz.Com
MySpace.Com/JoellOrtizm

Mr&Mrs Loving/ movie review


The story of Mr and Mrs Loving takes place in the Unites States of the sixties, a period during which racism was pretty much alive and people of different racial background barely mixed.
The Southern States, in particular, carried some old fashioned racist laws that went back to the Secession war.
But love is blind or should I say colorblind?
Richard and Mildred are friends since their childhood. Both families from the white and black side as well, appreciate each other.
Even during times of racial tensions Cupid would hit a white man and a black woman s hearts. Both would love each other enough to consider a serious engagement such as marriage.
A marriage between both persons is viewed as a blessing in both families and the wedding leads to an outbreak of joy and happiness.
Mrs Loving, however, is very much unaware of the inhuman Virginian laws when she marries her loving husband.
After a police interrupted honeymoon, husband and wife are put into jail.
The Court of Virginia decides to ban the couple from living in Virginia for 25 years, which breaks both families heart.
Mildred and Richard are heading towards Washington DC, where they will face new difficulties and discriminatory behaviors.
Forced to live in a black ghetto that is full of dirt instead of a pleasant home, Mildred gives birth to her first child, a lovely little boy.
While staying in Washington, Mildred has the brilliant idea to write to Senator Kennedy.
After a failed attempt to return to Virginia, miraculously escaping the police, the couple is back.
Mildred s letter to Mr Kennedy won t be left unanswered. A lawyer accepts to take care of their interracial issue, but he fairly warns the couple that it will take years to be handled.
In the meantime, Mildred has two more children with her husband.
As she sees her kids grow, the Court eventually answers.
The final decision s result is a total dismissal of the old, racial Virginian law.
The poignant story that is brilliantly interpreted by Timothy Hutton as Richard and Lela Rochon in the role of Mildred. The story is based on true facts. The Court case (Loving vs. Virginia) created a precedent and totally fought Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law.
It was the key to a first step for more tolerance about interracial marriages in the USA, in the Southern states in particular.
Like it was said in the movie, a marriage is a matter of persons, not of race. The state should not interfere in such private matters. The movie is a pretty good example to prove that true love doesn t consider race nor does it fade away all over the years.
My advice: watch the movie. It is touching and well interpreted. Black music lovers, also lend an attentive ear to the songs played during the whole movie!
Copyright © 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

What's your take on this?

Winston Churchill said: « Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm ».
Despite the apparent negative turn of this sentence, there is an obvious positive hidden message behind it. A precious message that each of us should value.
In fact, we all wish success and most of us hate having a look at our own failures. But we definitely should. In each failure, there is a valuable life lesson to learn. If an individual accepts to learn from his failures, he will go back to the path of life with a renewed and stronger spirit.
Failure is indeed an indicator of what hasn t worked in our strategy.
If we have the humility to put our actions under the microscope, we will soon discover where and how we failed, which will allow us not to renew the same mistakes over and over again.
Those who accept the very meaningful teaching of a failure should not be afraid to fail another time, because despite tremendous efforts and a strong willpower, this might happen again.
No matter how many failures you might face, the trick is not to get discouraged and to quit. Not the people who have failed within one moment are losers, but the ones who quit out of disgust.
That s why we should never lose our enthusiasm. We cannot always prevent difficult situations, but we can face them with the right spirit.
Life can be seen as a wild rodeo, the trick is actually not to fall from the horse!
No matter what you do and how many difficulties you might face, an enthusiastic spirit will save you from many disasters. Don t forget that life in its vulnerability is always enjoyable. You don t wanna be a quitter, do you?
Each failure represents a hidden world of different opportunities to seize. For each closed door, a window will open for you, if you have the right spirit and a good dose of patience.
Copyright 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Inspired by the Dirty South, DJ G Spot makes it hot hitting his listeners spot

Inspired By The South, Volume 13 mixtape review
Rating of the product: 4 stars
The Southern states of the USA are definitely a source of inspiration for their reps if only one is willing to listen to them. Rich of a raspy style, characterized by pimping club songs and heavy instrumentals, the South has given birth to a breed of unique artists such as Mystikal and RIP Soulja Slim.
DJ G Spot and B.O.B perfectly know how and where to hit your ear and make you like their tracks.
Whether you translate B.O.B s acronym by Business Over Bitches or Bring One Blunt, the artist has his very special way of telling things. B.O.B gently introduces the mixtape while DJ G Spot s freestyle takes place with dark themes on a soft melody with an amazing verbal dexterity.
Chopper Young City start up in a very offensive style with their rhythmic Swag track. Be ready to get bullied.
Hood Niggaz introduces you into a dark gutter atmosphere in which lyrical skills do matter, though. Gorilla Zoe is spitting some very incisive rhymes. With his gritty and raspy voice, Gorilla Zoe operates in a very surgical manner.
Many tracks will probably raise your interest. Heavy Breather, however, is worth your attention. B.O.B s impressive sense of rhythm will put your breath on hold. Based on a violin and keyboard musical background, the swinging track is all about a sexy girl who takes them dude s breath away. Well done.
Another Spanish flavored Southern influenced B.O.B track is Dinero In The Bank. The well balanced rhythmic track that is enriched with some Spanish vocals mixed up with English will take the listener for a ride into a world that is all about making big chips. Follow the rhythm and let the keyboards and dark bells take you into the world of B.O.B s daily hustle.
334 Mobb takes over with his hostile freestyle entitled Top Back. Built on victorious sounding trumpets and rapid heartbeat alike drums, 334 Mobb will punch them enemies right in the face.
B.O.B, again, is here to rock your world with the rhythmic, euphoric sounding Chiefing Like A Rasta. The rich mixture of instrumentals (alto, violins, keyboards and catchy drum beats), the astute syncope of B.O.B s vocals will ignite the fire and make it burn with a great lyrical passion, devastating the possible surrounding rivals. B.O.B will take you to the highest hill with his killa track.
Globally B.O.B and DJ G Spot s mixtape is a valuable piece of work that should definitely catch your attention. Give it a listen!
Copyright 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Russian Rap is back with his Murder On My Mind LP

Eddie is a friend of mine and an aspiring rapper I reviewed a few years ago. Of Russian origins, Eddie astutely manages to combine his Russian and West Coast influences. The young emcee, who currently lives in California, has now completed a new LP, entitled Murder On My Mind.
I suggest we travel for a few minutes through Eddie s mind with his brand new song, Me And I.
Light xylophone sounds totally contrast with some dark basslines and keyboard sounds, revealing dark thoughts. The human mind is made of constant contradictions. Sometimes it seems like we are battling with ourselves.
Dealing with tremendous issues, the emcee reveals the conflictual picture that goes through his mind. First monotonous, his reps suddenly light up and will keep up the tough fight of an emcee trying to make it while dissing rival emcees.
The struggle is tough and Eddie is determined to make it in the rap game.
Want to know more about Eddie aka Russian Rap? Visit his my space.
Copyright 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Warpath, the catalyst of Elohim

They call him so, because his words act as a powerful accelerator, an insightful message towards the crowd.
Nothin’ Sweet starts with some symphonic instrumentals and a proud conquerror spirit. Warpath is taking over the streets with a wonderful optimistic spirit. Encouraging his brothers caught in the middle of the struggle. You are going to like his avalanche of words that will drop as a large slide of snow in the middle of the mountains.
Lyrical soldier, Warpath will enrole you into his army and make you hungry about winning his battle. With his enthusiasm, his witty winning spirit, his mad flow, Warpath is killing it.
Ring The Alarm is another war track. Get lost into Warpath s world made of soft vocals and well handled instrumentals. Warpath is heading into a gritty merciless fight that will allow the listener to fully appreciate his great lyrical skills.
Trumpets introduce the beautiful soul sounding Experience track that is interrupted with Warpath s audacious reps. Warpath masters flow and contructs astute wordplays.
Energetic, rhythmic, enthusiastic, rich of a positive spirit. Let Warpath guide you into his world of rhyming words.
Ready for the final battle?
Lyricism will take you by surprise, because it starts very softly. But this softness is the silence that precedes a storm. A storm of words that will take you away like dead leaves following the autumn wind. That s the way Warpath does it.
Words spread like bullets from a Smith and Wesson. Be ready to face the lyrical wordsmith in full power.
Destined is a powerful, swinging track. Violin, flute sounds and drum beats work together with the artist s battling spirit.
Discover the destined to greatness Warpath here.
Copyright 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved