The classic acronym, C.R.E.A.M. may never be more true than in today’s hip hop landscape, where literally millions — and even billions if you’re Sean Carter — can ride on the success of your music or your side hustles. In a recent interview with GoWhereHipHop.com, Trugoy The Dove from the legendary De La Soul crew blames the immense commercialization of hip-hop music for strangling the meaning from the music as an art.

“The way we’re going, it seems we won’t have anything left for the future,” said Trugoy, “it’s just disgusting, everybody’s just trying to get a check.” He said that creating music for a paycheck is, “robbing the idea of creativity; robbing the idea of giving and exerting yourself and giving to the love of this music.”

“It’s great to know that young brothers and sisters around the world are making money off of this [music],” he said, “but at the end of the day the music is suffering.”

Even though he seemed distraught about the current state of hip-hop as a business, Trugoy still seemed optimistic for the future. “I’m sure that artists will come out and prove the fact that you ain’t got to sell yourself to make a great album,” he said.

Trugoy also reminisced briefly about De La’s 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, saying that their only true goal was to get played on the radio. After that, “whatever happened, happened,” he told GoWhereHipHop. He continued by expressing gratitude for their continued success, saying that, “God gave [De La Soul] an opportunity to do much more with this music and it affects peoples lives.”

De La Soul recently performed at Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival, where the group brought on a surprise guest: Dres from the legendary group Black Sheep.

“[Nas and I] spoke briefly,” he said in an August interview with HardKnock.tv, “I still got love for him, but it’s just principle … I just felt violated that he touched on things that I never touched on.” The supposed beef between the two MCs has been hyped up in the media and on hip-hop blogs as of lately.

What originally started as a tribute to one of his inspirations, Nas’ 2004 track, “U.B.R. (Unofficial Biography of Rakim)”, wasn’t as well received as he may have hoped. In an interview last year, Rakim said he had “mixed feelings” about the track, and specifically about how Nas handled it. He said that Nas never approached him before or after releasing Street’s Disciple, the album that contained “U.B.R.”, which made him suspicious of the motivation behind the track.

Rakim also expressed some distaste for the use of his government name and the name of his children in the track. “I’m a conservative person,” he told The Urban Daily in 2009, “I speak about what I feel I need to.”

It seems that what transpired between the two was simply a miscalculation on Nas’ part, a dash of misunderstanding from Ra’s vantage point and a whole mess of media masquerading. Hopefully we can put any potential beef behind us and the two MCs can continue to do what they do best — bless the mic.

Drive-In Music Company claims that they were unaware of the use of a sample from the track, “Let A Woman Be A Woman, Let A Man Be A Man,” by Dyke And The Blazers. On September 2 of 2010, they have filed claims against each member of the group, along with all companies involved in the creation and distribution of the disc.

Drive-In is seeking an unspecified amount in damages caused by lost revenue. They are also looking to halt all further sales of the album, as well as to impound any existing copies still available.

The album that included “P.T.A.”, A Future Without a Past, is still being sold digitally via various online retailers.

J. Cole:

With the rain coming down on Monday (It’s Seattle, what did you expect?), most of the hip hop fans remained at home in front of their computers.  For those who dared to venture into the light drizzle,  J. Cole showed them why he has been touted the “next big thing”.  Once he hit the stage, not many in the crowd had to ask “Who Dat?”, as many rapped along to his tracks, much to the surprise of the North Carolina native.  He may not have channeled all of Hov’s on stage prowess yet, but mark my words, J. Cole is ready for the big lights.

Drake:

Drake came out to a slightly larger crowd than J. Cole, and for the first three tracks, had the crowd in the palm of his hand.  With his music made for the big crowd, and a band backing him, Drake was exciting and completely natural…and then his set took a turn for the strange. In addition to his clear infatuation with his big brother Lil Wayne, the crowd heard this name at least 50 times, Drake proceeded to bring an 18 year old girl on stage, and almost gave her the Akon treatment.  Dancing with her and kissing her on the neck, the crowd was slightly confused for a few minutes.  After this, his performance lacked energy, as he entered into all of his slower songs, which were not performed with the most confidence. Maybe he should have kept it in his pants for a few more tracks.

Mary J. Blige:

Didn’t stay for all of this set, but I saw enough to say that she is the Queen for a reason.  The vocals for this set were flawless, and Mary was dancing all over the stage for the fans that still remained in Memorial Stadium.

Photo by Nick Bulat

Supreme’s new release will feature a 2-LP package, complete with a 24″x24″ two-sided posted of Ghostface photographs — a similar treatment as Ghost’s debut, Ironman, will see with it’s own re-release (also via Get On Down) on September 14. (Ironman’s new version will also include the track, “Soul Controller”, which has been pulled from all subsequent releases due to sample clearance, reported HipHopDX).

Tony Starks’ 2000 release will see it’s second incarnation on October 12 and it set to be a replica of the original release musically, with new packaging and extras.

After catching some flack from fans around the ‘net, Rae contested that his involvement was nothing out of the ordinary and that he, “didn’t go away from his element”.

“I think [Bieber's] a talented young cat, and I wanted to be a part of that, so really anything else after that is just history being made again. He wasn’t around while we was doing our thing, but at the same token, he acknowledges us, we acknowledge him,” he said in the interview. Rae also said that he’ll be working with Kanye more in the near future, although he didn’t indicate on which project(s).

One possible candidate is Rae’s new album that’s currently being cooked up, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang (no release date). The album will be, “a great, solid record,” he said, even going so far as to saying it will become a classic. The Chef also commented on RZA’s noticeable absence from the production line-up, saying it’s “nothing personal”, but just a matter of RZA being busy with his own projects. He declined to confirm the appearance of Nas and Eminem, both of which has been rumored guests on the new disc.

Rae wrapped up the interview by discussing a movie he’s co-directing called C.R.E.A.M. The project is a collaboration with Dame Dash, but Rae likely won’t be an actor in the film, he said in the interview. It’s been a project he’s had in the works since Cuban Linx II was under development.

“So it’s just a lot going on, man. I’m just trying to be a machine. A roller coaster machine, man,” said the Chef.

Jay Electronica:

The acclaimed highlight of the day was Jay Electronica, the New Orleans emcee who, despite lacking a depth of releases, has gained fame from his 2009 track “Exhibit C”.

Hitting the State Farm Stage in front of a near packed out crowd, Electronica went through the traditional steps of getting hands up and a call and response. The events that followed were anything but normal. Almost every song ended with him calling for the DJ to cut the beat, as he continued to spit the final verse a capella. It wasn’t only his songs, Electronica asked the crowd if they “liked Nas before entering into a karaoke-esque cover of “The World is Yours”. Eventually, he invited everyone, yes EVERYONE, onto the stage, proceeding to let a 12 year old rap a track.

It was only fitting for the set to end in a bizarre manner, as Electronica rocked the last 2 tracks from in front of the stage, limiting the line of sight to about 14 people and never re-entering the stage. Leaving 25 minutes early from his set time, this was not what I had expected from an artist with the level of hype Electronica has. Although when he did rap on stage, it was flawless, but these moments were few and far between.

Fresh Espresso:

The Electro hip hop duo of P. Smoov and Rik Rude has become renowned in the Northwest for performances with enough energy to cure someone of mono. Sunday was no different, bringing the masses of young people into a frenzy of dancing and smoking. The duo, backed by DJ Terry Radjaw and drummer Trent Moorman, were all over the stage, and Smoov’s electricity was contagious. The fans didn’t care if the tracks were from their 2009 album Glamour or something they had never heard before, they still went wild.

While this performance was strong, if you have seen one Fresh Espresso set, it seems as though you have seen them all. The drummer is a new addition, but adds little to the set, and aside from a few new tracks, the act has failed to change in the last year.

The Physics:

The most impressive act of the day came from group of maturing artists. Over the past few years, The Physics have evolved from a lovable group speaking on beer and technology on their debut album Future Talk, to their new grown folk music that is perfect for two-stepping. Their old music seems to have enhanced with this growth as well, as the tracks from Future Talk came with a smooth confidence that I had yet to witness from the group.

With the vibrant lights of the EMP Sky Church behind them, The Physics appear to have differentiated themselves from the rest of the local hip hop bunch, with a crowd whose average age may have exceeded 18.

Fatal Lucciauno:

While most of the EMP Sky Church crowd may have left due to inexplicably being forced to re-enter after The Physics set, Fatal showed reason to believe he won’t be “The Forgotten Son” for long. Fatal always looks confident on stage, but on Sunday night, he looked like he owned the stage. With Spaceman hyping the majority of the set, Fatal’s crisp patterns and demanding on-stage presence confirmed that Fatal will soon become a prominent figure in the Seattle hip hop community.

Photos by Nick Bulat

As the tired, and possibly hung over, crowd filled in the grass at the stage formerly known as Fisher Green, Seattle enlisted its own royalty to set it off right. The King of Ballard, known more commonly as Grynch, laid down his most cohesive set to date, starting off with “Right Now” off of the Chemistry EP and closing the curtains with the crowd favorite ”My Volvo”.

The Fisher Green (now State Farm) Stage has provided platform to some of the most notable Northwest hip hop sets to date (Common Market ‘07 and Macklemore ‘09). “Local hip hop is always great at Bumbershoot,” said Grynch after signing his new “My Volvo” t-shirts for a line of fans ranging from 15-70. “It’s dope to see people get excited about (the local acts), there are genuine fans out here and it’s always cool to have a chance to meet them.”

Grynch’s set included a mix of classics and new material, with “That’s Hip Hop” for the age-old fans to “Mr. Rogers” off his upcoming album. But there were a few moments that will remain exclusive among those in attendance.

After inviting appearances from Sol and Macklemore, Grynch asked the crowd if they were ready “to hear ‘Something New’”, and delivered them a literal translation of what they asked for. Joined by Macklemore and Larry Mizell Jr., Grynch went right into the remix of the Fresh Espresso track. The appearance of Macklemore on stage caused a frenzy from the crowd of teensters, making the figure’s cult status apparent. The three laced the track so cleanly, aside from their attempt to channel a 90’s boy band on the P.Smoov hook, thatan immediate retirement may be in order for the live rendition.

The inclusion of “Something New” in the already top notch set will be added to the growing footprint that local hip hop has left upon the 40-year-old festival.

After this performance, and a set at Capitol Hill Block Party, Grynch is ready to bring the fans something new to further launch the already promising career of Seattle’s most beloved Volvo owner. As he was leaving, the emcee said his fans won’t have to wait long for more, “I’m playing Musicfest NW in Portland next weekend, and there’s plenty of new music in the works.”

Photos by Nick Bulat

Tell the homies:

]]> http://abovegroundmagazine.com/news/tour/09/05/bumbershoot-day-1-grynch-represents-hip-hop-with-something-new/feed/ 0 http://abovegroundmagazine.com/news/culture-news/09/02/fat-beats-president-talks-closing-shop/ http://abovegroundmagazine.com/news/culture-news/09/02/fat-beats-president-talks-closing-shop/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:18:50 +0000 Tyler Hakes http://abovegroundmagazine.com/?p=11519 All good things must come to an end — we were just hoping that wouldn’t apply to the legendary record shop, Fat Beats. Following last week’s announcement of Fat Beats closing the doors of its two remaining retail operations in New York and Los Angeles, president and owner Joseph Abajian spoke with AOL’s The BoomBox about the lead-up to the decision and their future plans to return to retail.

“The reality is Fat Beats retail hasn’t really been the store that I’ve known in years,” said Abajian, claiming that they’ve been keeping Fat Beats on a form of life-support for the last three years as he developed the plans for his new retail location. “It’s not hurting me that we’re closing,” he said.

Albajian told The BoomBox that his future plans include a massive hip-hop retail location, which will feature a broader range of products and cultural elements. The new shop will offer records — the mainstay of Fat Beats for over a decade — but, also offer products geared toward graffiti artists and dancers, as well as  extended book section and a hip-hop cultural museum. He didn’t say when or where the new location may spring up.

Albajian also talked about the “mom-and-pop” nature of Fat Beats, and what the shop’s closing means for independent artists that used to rely on stores like Fat Beats as a go-to for peddling their vinyl releases. “It’s very hard to have a small mom-and-pop store,” he said about having a physical location, but also said that their small-scale approach is still effective, citing their international distribution as proof of it’s success.

“There are less than before, but there’s new stores popping up all the time,” he said, seeming quite optimistic about the future of brick-and-mortar vinyl retail locations.

Fat Beats NY is scheduled to close up shop on Saturday, September 4, followed shortly by the closing of the Los Angeles location on September 17. In the meantime, there will be a grand finale of in-store performances and sale pricing. Fat Beats will continue it’s international distribution and record label arms, and continue to sell records through its website, FatBeats.com.

The final performance on Saturday is scheduled to have appearances by Sadat X (Brand Nubian), DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Just Blaze and Aljabian himself (DJ Jab).

To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EPs will be released to the public on September 7, right before Slug and Ant hit the road with label-mates, Blueprint, Grieves and Budo and DJ Rare Groove. The albums will be available exclusively through Amazon and iTunes digitally, and physical copies will be available from Fifth Element (RSE’s music store in Minneapolis) and at shows throughout the tour.

The new set of discs is meant as a hold-over until Atmosphere releases their next full-length album, and contains all new material including the recently-released, “To All My Friends,” along with a new track, “Freefallin’”, which was released yesterday. There’s no word yet as to an expected date for Atmos’ next full-length.

Don’t forget to check out all of the tour dates for the To All My Friends tour, kicking off this month.