1. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong- Under A Blanket Of Blue
2. Moods- Live Today
3. Claudio Medeiros e Victor m- Soar x
4. Jerzy Milian Orkiestra- Gacek
5. Ted Coleman Band- What A Lovely Way To Spend A Lifetime
6. Bobby Womack- How Could You Break My Heart
7. The Crusader- Rainbow Visions
8. Bill Evans- Tenderly
9. Cortex- Prelude A (60 Round)
10. Hilton Felton- Be Bop Boogie
11. Blue Magic- Maybe Just Maybe
12. Hermeto Pascoal- Canção de Fim de Tarde
Some *new* videos I’m really feeling:
I really need a camera crew…
80 Blocks From Tiffany’s is a 1979 documentary about The Savage Skulls, & Savage Nomads, and to some degree The Black Spades some of the biggest gangs in The Bronx durring the 70′s. The film follows some of the people of the community as they discuss the gangs and overall poor conditions of their neighborhood at a time when it was it it’s worst.
Those knowledgeable on the development of hip-hop know how Afrika Bambatta was down with The Black Spades before he picked up his records, and began to create the Zulu Nation. This is an important document of an important point in NYC history, as well as musically as well. My favorite part is the neighborhood block party at the end where everyone forgets all the bullshit and has a really good time. Check out some of the classic underground disco joints.
Caught Jackie Brown, with the legendary Pam Grier again today, a flick with it’s obvious & beautiful blaxploitation influence. Reminded me of this Bloodstone joint…imagine falling in love at a time when this was popular music. Also, take note of the extreme fly style.
Got up on two more new documentaries, both dealing with African musics: Nyama, which is studies the parallels between griot culture and modern hip-hop, and Djeli, which chronicles Malian Orchestras of the 60′s & 70′s. Very highly recommended if you can catch ‘em.
Just caught the trailer for Downtown Calling, a documentary from 2009 about my favorite place, at my favorite time: NYC ’77-’85. It seems to highlight all the various aspects of the newly emerging culture of that time (disco, punk, hip-hop, art, film, ect.), in other words…it looks to be real dope.
Another recent doc about late 70′s NYC is Blank City. This one is focused on independent film, featuring many of the important directors & actors of that time.
Big up to my man Digs over @ Wux Flux for posting the D.I.T.C short film SBX! Holding Down The Tradition for his Yo! Wux Tv Raps series. Although it’s running time is only about a half-hour, it is without a doubt the best modern hip-hop flick I’ve seen in years. It really gives you a real strong true-school vibe. People always wonder what happened to the foundations of hip-hop, well, here it is, alive and well.
As the title suggest, the D.I.T.C crew hold down the tradition of real hip-hop as the film chronicles a short day-in-the-life in the boogie down. Very highly recommended.
You can watch the entire flick @ SpineTV
Here’s a short clip:
I try to keep a sharp, vigilant eye out for new joints & talent, lest I become one of those cats strictly hung up on the past with that “..in my day..” rap. As much as I absolutely love old-school music, there is a world of currently developing styles that will make your dome explode Scanners style.
This first joint is from garage/indie band Harlem “Cloud Pleaser” from their 2010 record Hippies.
This next one is from a cat named Casey Veggies who’s down with the Odd Future crew (more on them later). One thing that struck me about this cat is that on the first joints I heard from him, he mentions being fourteen. Actually, I’m sure he’s got a joint called “1993″, the year he was born. This took me back as it reminded me of myself at that age. He definitely goes hard. Another thing that struck me was his flow, he renewed my interest in west coast hip-hop…I’ll be honest.
Point is though, I have the utmost love for artists who do their own thing independently. They don’t wait to be “allowed” to do their thing.
Bob Peak was undoubtedly one of the biggest influences on 60′s & 70′s illustration possible. Creating everything from ads, to film posters, to postage stamps, his work is truly ubiquitous with vintage design. Style galore.
