Catchdini just sent me this megaupload of Beastie Boys samples that’s been floating on ze net. I’m downloading at the Air New Zealand lounge, can’t wait to dig through this. It’s for Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Dig in!!
(Via Casio Hardcore)
As you may know, Serato is from New Zealand. I just played in New Zealand last night for New Year’s Eve (midnight timeslot, holler). Well the guys told me they’d come out and bring me surprise. Ho ho ho, I didn’t expect this though! Sure I knew we were making a picture disk for Say Whoa to celebrate the release of my Running Man record (thank you Nike) but I didn’t know it was ready! And I also didn’t realize that it’s the first official Serato picture disk on their Whitelabel.net label. I’m not big on claiming credit but I guess I was the first DJ on Serato — I used to test out their beta version way before it was available commercially — so now it all came full circle.
I haven’t even tried it out yet but I believe the picture side plays Say Whoa and the other side is a Serato control tone. So the idea is, you use it as a control record and when you need to play regular vinyl to switch over with another DJ, you play my track!
Doesn’t Dust La Rock’s artwork look spiffy on that baby? The character’s name is Mr A and he likes to run.
Check out the new Cool Cats blog starring my dear homies Busy P, DJ Mehdi, Fafi, So Me and Micheal from la MJC. As you can see on this very site you’re reading, I’m a strong supporter of blogging DJs and blogging label dudes!
The Frenchies and Switch played New Zealand’s Rhythm & Vines festival the day before me. Yesterday I boarded the super tiny Auckland-Gisborne plane that they were walking out of, and we literally bumped into each other on the tarmac. Picture moment!
People think that touring is the ultimate experience for musicians and entertainers, a hedonistic odyssey where we live for our art and forget about the bland life of the everyman. Seems like something that would disconnect you from your roots, wouldn’t you say? Well I happen to think that touring turns you into a caveman, more in touch with your primal needs than ever.
Performing in front of hordes of adoring fans sounds fun, doesn’t it? But you know what’s even better? That first shower when you land from the overseas flight, to get rid of that gross airplane film. I swear there’s nothing like it. Visiting exotic locales in other continents sounds enticing, right? But it pales in comparison to getting a decent night’s sleep, one that lasts more than 5 hours. Wouldn’t you like to pull pranks at airports and then get picked up by one of those guys holding a sign with your name? Yeah that’s nice and all, but you know what’s better? Eating regular food at regular hours. I’m telling you, touring puts you in touch with the simple pleasures of life. All that other stuff is for the birds.
When we last left off I had finally landed in LA, 24 hours late on route to Australia. I was wondering if I’d ever see my suitcase, but in fact I left out a few details about my suitcase because, well, I’m superstitious and I was still travelling.
At the beginning of the day when I went to the Chicago airport for the 2nd time, the first thing I did was go to the luggage desk and show them my bag tag. They told me my bag was already in LA and I’d see it when I got to LA before boarding the flight to Melbourne. Then as you know, I flew to Reno, spent the day at that airport and got to LA just in time for my Qantas flight. My LA to Melbourne flight was in business class, which honeslty gave me something to look forward to as I was going through hell in the first 36 hours of my trip. So I went to the business class line to grab my boarding pass and also asked them to check on my bag. The agent said he didn’t know why someone would have told me that I’d see my bag in LA. He said if it was checked until Melbourne then I wouldn’t see it until Melbourne. I explained to him that I’m a DJ and I’m going to 4 cities as soon as I land so I really can’t run any risks. He seemed to find that cool.
Tis the season to be…. stuck in airports? Fixing computers? Sounds about right if you ask me. Allow me to explain why I didn’t blog as much in the last few days….
This is one of those “god bless the internet” moments. Now, it’s no secret that Biggie wrote Lil Kim’s verses. And it’s also no secret that songwriters and ghostwriters record refs for their artists. But to actually get to listen to the “Queen Bitch” and “Player’s Anthem” verses as spit by Big is bo-na-nas. Not to mention the demo versions of the beats! I’m loving Biggie’s humming during the “Queen Bitch” hook. The Rap Up got the goods, check it out…
Mike Epps and AM… Peep it!
Nike Zoom Kobe IV iD - Mike Epps + DJ AM from Freshnessmag.com on Vimeo.
I know that Hannukah already started and Christmas is in 2 days but if you’re like me, this is when you go shopping for presents. Well, good thing Project No.8 compiled this excellent holiday shopping guide with tons of great suggestions for guys and gals. This is truly the best shopping guide I’ve seen all season. I copied some of my favorite picks here. I mean seriously, the first item is a set of combs. How classy is that, San Diego? My new rule of thumb is, whatever used to be a dreadful gift is now the gift of choice. Give me socks, I want nice socks. A fancy-schmancy pen? Sure, I’ll take that. Of course it’s 2008 so they have the unmistakable Margiela sunglasses, and plenty of other goodies from my favorite Mr M.
I know I’m late with this post, actually I’ve been meaning to put this video on here for the longest time. Alchemist is the man, we’re all kind of from the same underground hip hop world so I’m happy to see him do well. His blog is a must-read, a trip inside the mind of a stoner who makes ill beats. And this video… it’s hysterical! On some gory Scooby Doo shit. I love it.
