Major Labels' Monopolistic Tendencies

Not only did they overcharge for cds but now they might be trying to overcharge for downloads. Link

From NYTimes article: The New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is investigating whether the four record companies that dominate the industry have violated antitrust laws in the pricing of songs that are sold by Internet music services, according to people involved in the inquiry.

Film Screening: Henry Chalfant's Mambo To Hip Hop

Don't miss your chance to see a screening of Henry Chalfant's Mambo To Hip-Hop. Link, previously: Mambo To Hip Hop Film Screening, trailer

Friday, Jan. 13; 8:30pm From Mambo to Hip Hop Henry Chalfant, U.S., 2005, 56m There’s a postage stamp of an urban sidewalk known by people of a certain age for having burned to the ground. A more recent generation know it as the place where, out of the ashes hip hop and break dancing were born. An older generation remembers when this turf, The South Bronx, produced salsa. A testament to the neighborhood’s power to revitalize itself through music and dance and to take the world’s pop culture by storm. Introduced by director.

Coming Soon: Ghostface Killah Doll

The promosite for the Ghostface Killah Doll is up. I can't believe it, maybe I should exchange the Vincent Gallo doll I got for christmas?. Then again, I probably can't even afford the mini 14k chain the GFK doll comes with. theghostfacedoll.com

Each Ghostface Killah doll includes: Real 14 karat gold chain Real GFK Robe Gold Chalice with Swarovski crystals Each doll will include a Ghostface Killah Doll mixtape dy a world-famous DJ tba Real 14 karat gold avenging eagle accessory (extra) Each collector will have a 1 in 500 chance to spend a day with Ghostface Killah himself Each Doll will come in a limited edition gold sealed box Ghostface Killah is fully involved in all aspects of the project from manufacturing to promotion Each Doll speaks original recordings of Ghostface Killah catch-phrases

Illogic - Been Here Before Video

Doveink music video for "been here before", from Illogic's second Write II Death album. Link (myspace page, .mov loads automatically)

Indie Labels And The Internet

I wish Jeff Leeds would have asked Steve Gottlieb, chief of TVT Records, to also comment on who was responsible for promoting MOOD and how could they fail so miserably? Anyway, nice timely article on the empowerment of indie labels, primarily through the internet. You can read the full article at the nytimes site. Link

The Net Is a Boon For Indie Labels By JEFF LEEDS Even as the recording industry staggers through another year of declining sales over all, there are new signs that a democratization of music made possible by the Internet is shifting the industry's balance of power. Exploiting online message boards, music blogs and social networks, independent music companies are making big advances at the expense of the four global music conglomerates, whose established business model of blockbuster hits promoted through radio airplay now looks increasingly outdated. CD and digital album sales so far this year are down 8 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. And while sales of digital tracks through services like iTunes have risen 150 percent, to well over 320 million songs this year, that rise is not enough to offset the plunge in album sales. Overall sales are down less than 5 percent if the digital singles are bundled into units of 10 and counted as albums, according to estimates by Billboard magazine.

Pentoca Records First Release

One of our favorite producers has just finished pressing up a new 7inch featuring two new instrumentals. Meaty Ogre and Tony Janda collaborated for the project and are known as Marrow Of The Mind. Link

In May of 2005, I was living in bumblesfuckville Rochelle, IL. My friend Tony came by a few times, and we made these two instrumental songs. One is an ode to the best sandwich shop in Rochelle, and one is about the epic journey from Chicago to Rochelle. We mixed it down in the South Bronx, with the incredible Fred One. This is the first release on Pentoca records, and we hope to provide you with more sounds like this for years to come. We are Marrow of the Mind, and we hope you enjoy this 45. This 45 can be purchased though Paypal for $5 plus shipping. Shipping in the US is $1.50. Overseas shipping will be $4.50. Paypal your order to gaelin@sbcglobal.netPlease contact gaelin@sbcglobal.net for inquiry's about wholesale for your shop/website. MP3 clips for the fast internet users: Marrow of the Mind - "88 To Rochelle" Marrow of the Mind - "Naple's Deli" Real Audio Clips for the slow internet peoples. Marrow of the Mind - "88 To Rochelle" Marrow of the Mind - "Naple's Deli"

Tragedy Specials

Robbie from Unkut wraps up his series of posts on Tragedy Khadafi with something I've never heard before, impressive. Link

Chino XL Is Confident, For Good Reasons

Signed by Rick Rubin before he was old enough to drive, mentored by gangster pimp turned NBC NYPD detective Ice-T, carrying crates for Bambaata and being an OG member of Zulu nation, Chino-XL has been around for a minute. His career seems to have experienced heavy swings, which are apparently reflective of his personal life. Almost blowed up is a common phrase attached to his name and personally, I've always been a curious fan. So big thank you to spinemag for pointing us to an informative interview conducted by allhiphop, very on point. As a bonus I uploaded his track "When Thugs Cry" from '98. I really wanted to upload "Kreep" but I'm too lazy to rip my tape single. Link (via spinemag), When Thugs Cry

Queens Reigns Supreme

After entertaining industry heads for years with his writings on hip-hop music and culture (amongst other things), Ethan Browne has decided to concentrate on New York's (mostly Queens') underworld for his first book. Queens Reigns Supreme is the title of his project which supposedly goes into depth about the real ghetto superstars that influenced so many rappers. Picture above taken from the promotional site features, left to right, Lorenzo Nichols, James "Wall" Corley and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. www.queensreignssupreme.com (via hiphopdx)

About the Book Based on police wiretaps and exclusive interviews with drug kingpins and hip-hop insiders, this is the untold story of how the streets and housing projects of southeast Queens took over the rap industry.For years, rappers from Nas to Ja Rule have hero-worshipped the legendary drug dealers who dominated Queens in the 1980s with their violent crimes and flashy lifestyles. Now, for the first time ever, this gripping narrative digs beneath the hip-hop fables to re-create the rise and fall of hustlers like Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, Gerald "Prince" Miller, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, and Thomas "Tony Montana" Mickens. Spanning twenty-five years, from the violence of the crack era to Run DMC to the infamous murder of NYPD rookie Edward Byrne to Tupac Shakur to 50 Cent's battles against Ja Rule and Murder Inc., to the killing of Jam Master Jay, Queens Reigns Supreme is the first inside look at the infamous southeast Queens crews and their connections to gangster culture in hip hop today.

The Columbia Law School Music Plagiarism Project

Great resource for people interested in learning about copyright infringement, case by case. The site lists well known cases that have occured throughout the twentieth century, including descriptions, analysis and audio. As you might have guessed, many of the post 1985 cases include popular hip-hop songs. Link Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films, et al. aka George Clintion "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" vs. Dimension Films, et al. "100 Miles and Runnin" (NWA) Newton v. Diamond aka James W. Newton "Choir" vs. Beastie Boys "Pass The Mic" Marlon Williams v. Calvin Broadus aka Marley Marl "The Symphony" vs. Calvin Broadus "Ghetto Symphony" (snoop & friends)

Meet The Real Inventor Of The Walkman - Andreas Pavel

Andreas Pavel invented a personal portable stereo player around 1972, almost a full decade before Sony began to sell and market their version. Not only did he put the contraption together, he was smart enough to patent it, in various countries. Needless to say, he foresaw a piece of the future, correctly sensing people's desire for mobile entertainment. And if you think Sony didn't have to pay up, think again. They settled with Andreas out of court for an amount in the low eight figures and he get's royalties on some sales. Of course this was after a legal battle that almost bankrupted Andreas and lasted for over a decade. Nice to see he overcame. I wonder if he gets back-royalties? Link

Get Your Beats Shopped To Kool G. Rap

www.bangin-beats.com is hosting a "contest" wherein they accept beats and get them shopped to Kool G. Rap (if they like the beats). Domingo seems to be serving as the go-between. Might be a good opportunity but make sure to read the Terms And Conditions of Track Submission. Link

I understand that any forwarding of tracks submitted for consideration is done at the sole discretion of Bangin-Beats.com and/or Domingo. I also understand that no guarantee is either expressed or implied, that any successful track placement, sale or use will occur in relation to this track submission. I understand that Bangin-Beats.com and/or Domingo is serving as a 3rd party connection for the shopping of these tracks for review, and is not responsible for any unauthorized use.

50 Gets Hated On For Spitting At Bat Mitzvah

What's the big deal? Authenticity? F$ck you, pay me. Yeah, yeah, we've hinted at the ugliness of selling out around here before, but really, can we hate on him or Cope2 or anyone else? Like Jay-Z said, "...overchargin' n*ggas for what they did to the Cold Crush! Plus, it's kind of funny.Link

thevideocrates.blogspot.com

Very dope hiphop video blog. Just take a look at recent posts. Link (via vinyladdicts)

KMD - Peachfuzz Masta Ace - Sittin' On Chrome Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary Blahzay Blahzay - Pain I Feel Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Love Comes And Goes Biz Markie - Turn Da Party Out Buckshot LeFonque - Music Evolution Funkdoobiest - Dedicate

thirdbass.net

Very welcomed new fan-site for 3rd Bass. Features some history and lots of media, including rare songs and videos for Pop Goes The Weasel and the freestyle session from the last episode of Yo! MTV Raps. Link (via cuban links)

Backlash To PSP Graf Marketing Campaign

Wired news has a short piece on the backlash resulting from Sony's recent attempt to get down with guerilla "graf" marketers. As we've previously pointed out, there evidently is a very fine line between ad and art, subversiveness and selling out. The tats cru are mentioned in the image but haven't seen it confirmed anywhere that they were behind the campaign. Link, previously: Cope2 Hired By Time, Inc. To Bomb SOHO Billboard, no comment, 50cent, HipPop & Marketing: Trying to make sense of it all

Old Noreaga Inteview From Life Sucks Die Mag

Styles By The Gram is a very promising blog I recently came across. The latest post features an old interview with Noreaga which originally appeared in Issue #6 of Life Sucks Die magazine. As T-Money Bags (whose moniker I assume is an ode to the fallen E-Money Bags) points out, Noreaga "...breaks down everything from his love of full steezies and bitches with ringworm, to his beef with Tragedy Khadafi, thoughts on homos/The Neptunes, new slang and being banned from The Tunnel." Entertaining read. Link

Need Dub Plates?

Aaron Gonecke interviewed on his profession. What does he do? He cuts records. Interview, dubplatecutter.com

“When record cutting started out, when Edison had that machine, what it was, if you can imagine, was a speaker diaphragm, you know the speaker cone with a needle on the back, so when he’d scream into it, the cone would go up and down and that needle would hit that tinfoil and make this mark and then when he played it over, it would make the speaker move back just the same way as his voice made it move. So cutting started as up and down: vertical. What they found over time was, if they did it side to side they had less distortion. [Then] they tried to make stereo, so the first thing they [tried was] a turntable with one tone arm with two headshells and two needles and a record with two separate tracks and you’d have to get ‘em lined up perfect and start ‘em and one would be playing the right channel and one would be playing the left channel. And like nobody cared; it was a pain in the ass to use and it lasted like a year. So then they started saying, ‘How can we pack it into one groove?’ Well, we can go vertical and then horizontal. So up and down [for left] and then side to side [for right]. And what happened then was the right channel would sound really good and the left channel would be totally distorted. And what they ended up doing was taking the L shape and turning it into a V. And so what happened is each channel was vertical and horizontal at the same time. [But] the mechanical aspect is that higher treble is vertical and then lower treble becomes horizontal and then bass is totally horizontal. And that’s why you have limitations [like not being] able to have stereo effects in bass because you’ve got this winding little river right there and when it’s going side to side that’s making the bass and it can’t go to two sides at once.”