L'Chaim

Deconstructing Jay-Z: Losing My Religion from jeff on Vimeo.

"I wish for you a hundred years of success but it's my time...."

DNA = Dumb Nigga Awareness

Watson, of Watson & Crick DNA fame, has decided that black people have "evolved" in a lower "intellectual capacity".....

Well, we evolved bigger dicks too, FUCKA

Do You Remember Soundclick?

tPC (formerly People's Choice) - "Hope" 2004

Yey and I were bullsh*ttin' at the Spacestation last night....talking about some new songs we are bringin' back to our live set, which led to a "oh shit, I forget about..." moment with our Soundclick page.

We used to be big heads for this, but honestly, we haven't updated it since MySpace came along. Which is a shame, because there are some things that Soundclick does better for the artist. These easy embedded players for example. And the built-in mailing lists. But it's also kinda cool cause its now a time capsule into where we were a few years ago...

So any way, this is a gem we recorded in Florida, called "Hope". Some kinda gritty, out the box shit indicative of what we were doing right around the time we moved to LA.

And just as a bonus, peep this tune we did, ironically RIGHT RIGHT before we moved, called "Welcome to Florida". An updated rendition of this joint may be poppin' up on a future release...

tPC (formerly People's Choice) - "Welcome to Florida" 2004

Expand Your Mind with a 3D game

Oh, I want one of these! Talk about some sh*t that'll make you smarter...

This is basically a webcam, with a 3D cube that acts as a moveable green screen for a game that is then played on the computer...WTF. That is just some inventive stuff. Kudos...

"A History of Fear and Pain"

Hiphopmusic.com's J. Smooth on why smart people don't think straight...

Besides TI, a list of folks this could apply to:
Britney Spears
Michael Vick
Phil Spector
Lil Wayne
Diddy
Trick Daddy
Prodigy
Lindsay Lohan
Anne Coulter

Get Your Friday On

TIME on why Al Gore won't use the Nobel Peace Prize to catapult himself into the Presidential race...


CNET on why the Wii might just be a fad...


MASH....riding your bike has never been so hardcore...


Slate really slamming hard on Tila Tequila's new dating show.....but, um, like, yeah...she got 1.8 million viewers. Sex still sells, folks, let's get real.



DListed on Anne Coulter's latest bit of conservative publicity-stunting, this time as she gets all offensive with the Jews....play nice Ann, you still have a bank account, you know! Who do you think runs that?



kanYe showin' some love to Hov and Skateboard P...

My Favorite Non-Hip-Hop Artists

This week everybody is talking about Radiohead, and their unconventional method of releasing their new album, In Rainbows.

Listening to the album as I got ready to blog, I thought to myself "Radiohead is one of those non-hip-hop groups that I like so much that it influences the hip-hop I make."

Why? Well, their use of programming and live instruments, combined with Thom's emotion-stirring voice, make me feel as if there is more I can squeeze from four minutes than just the traditional verse-hook-verse arrangement hip-hop tends to deliver. The first song I heard by Radiohead was "There There", and they continue to amaze me. Every time I listen to their music. I want to rush to the studio and create music that builds an emotional connection like that......

Who else falls in this category?


The Shins - with these guys, it's their use of melody and their Ivy-League-clever lyrics. Case in point, "Sea Legs": "girl, if you're a seascape, I'm a listing boat, for the thing carries every hope. I invest in a single lie." What a play on words! You definitely don't catch it on the first listen, and you get the feeling that's specifically what the band intended. I'm not an MC, but lyrics like this trigger lightbulbs when I hear hip-hop MCs achieve the same level of complexity in their similes and metaphors. Hence why I work with Yeyo. I need poets in the booth; not just dudes with "hot sixteens".


4Hero - Close enough to the hip-hop diaspora to be gettable (they even have a track with Phonte). I'd say they inspire me with their use of strings and horns, which so many producers shy away from because they can't get them in the studio and recorded correctly. But, man oh man, when the strings drop in at the beginning of their new album "Play With the Changes", I'm in heaven. I can't wait until the first sessions I have with a full string section.


John Mayer - Smooth guitar, great arrangements, lilting falsetto. Plus, the feeling that he is the kind of guy I would have smoked joints with in high school, even though he was into blues and I was bangin' Wu-Tang Clan. As evidenced by his work with Kanye, ?uest, and others, dude's got some soul. And "Continuum" is a classic in my mind. You can play it at any event and nobody will front on you (well, maybe not Tuesday at Cinespace). John Mayer shows that when you are honest and heartfelt, your appeal is universal.


Nirvana - the fuel for my musical awakening in junior high. The way they raged, yet were such brilliant musicians - it showed me that rebellion and musicianship were not mutually exclusive. If you listen to a Nirvana song, you get a feeling for each piece of the song...they use dynamics like no other. Case in point: their biggest hit, "Smells like Teen Spirit". The verses are supported by Grohl's solid drumming, Krist's chugging bass line, and two simple guitar notes, repeated every two bars. I think of Nirvana whenever I am trying to build a solid transition between a mellow verse and a punchy hook.


Phoenix - groovy Frenchmen. One thing that always jumps out at me about their records is how the bass and drums move so fluidly together. And their hooks make great sing-alongs, especially "Everything is Everything", with its poignant declartion: "the more I talk about it, the less I do control". They haven't received the respect they desrve in the States, but I can't get why. I have yet to hear a Phoenix song I didn't like. And hey, they're French (see: Daft Punk, Justice, et al.)


Silversun Pickups - inspirational because their record Carnavas was produced by a mentor to me when I first got to LA, Dave Cooley. I listen to Silversun intently because this is a well-produced, recorded, and mixed album. Everything feels so natural, it's no surprise to me they are blowing up. This sets the bar for me when I get to produce my first record for a band. Just pure awesomeness on a musical and sonic level.


M.I.A. - see my previous posts. She is the beacon of post-hip-hop world music to me, as I think she is for many others. Plus, I traveled around the world too, so I can really get her global approach. "I put people on the map who never seen a map"....thats whats up right there. Music as a tool for good rather than a vehicle for celebrity. What a concept.


Feist - a new-found love of mine. I first heard "My Moon My Man", and I dug the groove. So solid, yet easy to listen to, as are all Feist records, because her voice sounds like a bird. But, it was the stand-out track "The Water" that inspired me. It sounds haunting, aching, longing.....and sparse. Since I have heard that, I have been trying to do less with more.

That's the most notable of my influences, as it pertains to my actual music-making. Honorable mentions go to: Bloc Party, Dave Matthews Band, The Bravery, Thievery Corporation, Weekend Players, and Bjork.

Run Fat Boy

In this day and age, taking care of your health is important.

LA is an image-conscious town, but, on the real, hitting the gym and keeping the weight off is a "good look" for your life in general.

Both Yeyo and I have been on some different missions lately to lose weight. Yeyo uses fasting and nutrition to stave off the pounds, while I use an exercise routine at the gym, courtesy of RunFatBoy.net. No bullsh*t.

RUN FAT BOY (Exercise Planner)


I was already going to the gym, but I felt like I wasn't getting results, and I couldn't afford to hire a personal trainer. I heard about this site and decided to give it a try.

It's basically a calendar, with a food tracker, and an attached journal. The computer asks you basic life questions to gauge your fitness, and then spits out an exercise routine.

If you have already done some of these exercises, you know what weight is too much or too little for you to lift. You simply click "too easy" or "too hard" next to that exercise, and the program updates it for you.

Also built into every exercise is a Google video clip showing you how to do it, so you don't hurt yourself. It's really helpful, because I get Tricep Pulldowns mixed up with Pushdowns or Tricep Extensions. The short vids help sort me out, and keep me from fuckin up the Spacesuit.

The food tracker is child-simple, and if you want to share your experiences, or pictures of yourself as you lose weight, it's all right there, in the convenient set-up of most blogs you read.

I've been out in for almost a month now, and the muscle game is getting pretty serious. RunFatBoy comes highly recommended.

Come out and play....

Two dope shows coming up.....

For the underground hip-hop heads, a set at the Airliner, alongside M.E.D., Percee P, Gio, Universe, and many more. It's 18+ as well....


For my sophisticated people, a free Monday night show at Royale. If you haven't been there, it is extremely grown and sexy. Grab a date after work and come hang with us for FREE. All of the artists performing are very good, so it will be worth the time.....

Email me for guest list or other info

Pointing You to the Source of the Rhyme...

click it ^^

Some pictures of tPC, from a recent appearance at Elevation, courtesy of El El Cool Che. Thanks dude...