'The Beat's' review of Idlewild

"Idlewild" is a movie for Outkast fans who will recognize every song and reference to their music within the film. But that doesn't mean it successfully translates the group's musical talent to the screen.
The movie is a beautifully rendered but sometimes poorly fleshed out adaptation of the duo's last album, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below." A double disc of solo offerings from group members Big Boi and Andre 3000, it was packaged as a group album even though each disc could have stood alone as a solo effort.
The movie takes elements and, in some cases, whole songs from the album and structures parts of the narrative around the song. The movie itself is about a fictional small town in Georgia called "Idlewild," where Rooster (Big Boi) runs a speakeasy called "Church." Rooster hires his childhood running mate Percy (Andre 3000) to play piano.
Rooster is a renaissance man of sorts, a bootlegger and club manager and ladies man who is the resident singing star at "Church." He's also a family man who can't quite keep his promises to his wife and five kids.
Percy, meanwhile, is the son of a mortician who is the opposite of Rooster. An introvert who isn't above throwing up while on stage, Percy wouldn't have much ground to stand on were it not for his homeboy Rooster.
Percy and Rooster make a great team onstage, with Percy writing the songs and Rooster taking the lead. Songs like "Bow Tie" and "Throw Your Neck Out" get great visual treatment from director Bryan Barber, who turns the rap songs into swinging prohibition-era dance numbers. Big Boi's music works well on screen.
Things get complicated when a goon named Trumpy takes over the club. Played with particular menace by Terance Howard, Trumpy keeps Rooster on edge, while Percy deals with a brooding father and his newfound love interest Angel.
The story stutters between music numbers and an uneven plot. Howard starts off great, but runs out of things to do by the middle of the movie. And Percy's character is bogged down with a bit too much pretense that takes too long to develop. By the time you figure out the reasons for his depression, you pretty much don't care.
In fact, it's Andre 3000's performance as a whole that kills the movie's momentum, surprising when you consider that Andre was supposed to be the character of the group. His turn as Percy is on the surface brooding, but so stilted that he's almost completely unengaging. His romance with Angel creates no real spark and the musical numbers are boring. It isn't until the end, when Percy does a big band routine, that you get any sense of life from Andre 3000.
In contrast, Big Boi carries the movie with both swagger and vulnerability. Although his pimp with a conscience routine falls short at times, it's not for lack of trying. Rooster is a fully realized character, and proves to be a better actor than his counterpart.
In all, Idlewild is a hit or miss at best. Visually, it's a stylistically stunning update of the musical set to a hip-hop groove. But that doesn't save it from being a clunker of a movie that doesn't live up to all of its, and the groups, promise.

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Rock The Bells Festival with Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, De La Soul and Redman

I attended Sunday's Rock the Bells concert strictly for leisure purposes. I made no attempt to get press passes or set up artist interviews.

I wanted to enjoy the show without the hassle of bringing along a notepad and scribbling down every damm thing that I saw (honest, this show review gig is fun, but you look mad nerdy when you're in a dark club taking notes).

But the show was good. Damn good. Too good to pass up talking about in my little blog space.

For those of you that don't know, Rock The Bells festival has turned into an annual event in California, in it's fourth year. Hosted by Guerrilla Union, it has turned into one of the most exciting hip-hop festivals in the country. An all-day event, the artists on the lineup were some of myf avorites: De La Soul, Black Star, Wu-Tang Clan, Heiroglyphics, Zion-I, Redman.

I joked that they should have changed the name to "Marc The Bells."

So, since I didn't take any notes, I'll just filter through some of the highlights from my day. Next year, I will go ahead and hit up those publicists for a more in-depth look.

- We got to the show at 2 p.m. (four hours late) and left at approximately 9 p.m. (about a half-hour early). We still managed to see seven hours of non-stop music, which was pretty good for the $40 ticket price.

- Got to the venue in time to catch Immortal Technique, the Harlem rapper who reps for Latinos to the fullest. He was flanked by members of the Watsonville and So-Cal Brown Berets. It was pretty wild to see the Berets khaki'd up and passing out literature/fliers. Que Viva La Raza!

- De La came on stage and just absolutely wrecked it! I've seen them a few times before, but this time, they pulled out all of the stops. Brought out Dres from Black Sheep and Phife from A Tribe Called Quest (although I was looking around for Q-Tip. Oh well, I guess I'll have to track them down when they perform in Berkeley next month).
De La did this freeze tag thing at the end of their set. They performed the song "RocKokaine Flow" and at the part where the beat breaks down into a stuttered crescendo, they froze on stage in tune with the beat. They repeated this three times, each one building on the momentum of the last. It was some nice showmanship on their part.

- Living Legends came on and were just okay. Probably the only let down of the night (for me, at least). Murs rocked a nice live set to open up, but their music was just too slow. On a big stage like the Pavillion, you need extra-hype music. I give them props for doing their thing, but next year, they might want to shorten up their set by only doing portions of songs instead of running through the whole thing (their set dragged a bit due to some songs that lasted 4 or 5 minutes). They all looked good on stage together.

- Redman did a hyper active set, lots of funk tracks and Red just sounded great through the large sound system.

- Talib Kweli came out and got the crowd the loudest to that point. He brought Dave Chappelle out during his set. Chappelle grabbed the mic for a quick second and yelled "Hyphy, Bitches!" to uproarious laughter.
Kweli seemed to lose steam for the Black Star portion of his set. Joined by Mos Def, Kweli seemed reserved, almost holding back. He's on the road a lot, especially for a solo rapper, so I imagine he was trying to pace himself. It kind of took away from the Black Star set, but Mos made up for his partner's lax delivery.
Mos shined like a superstar. He played beats from his new album, titled "Tru3 Magic." He sang a lot, told everyone he wasn't doing interviews with hip-hop magazines or tv shows (he didn't give a reason as to why). He performed songs from both of his solo albums, and during "Ms. Fat Booty," he flipped from Gregory Isaac's "If I can't Have You," to a dubbed out rendition of "Bonita Applebum" back into his song. His DJ also did a nice break-beat set, mixing breaks from some of the artists of the night. Mos sang the Fat Lip verse from the Pharcyde's song "Passin' Me By." He ended his night with "Umi Says," which got everyone to singing.

- Wu-Tang finished up with a rowdy set, but had to deal with sound problems all night. Capadonna's mic was turned down for both of the songs he performed. Method Man got he crowd the most hype when he ran through the length of the floor seats. The gave a tribute to ODB, inviting his mom on stage. They followed this up with a raunchy version of Ghostface's "Cher Chez Le Ghost."
Ghost killed it, along with Raekwon, on songs like "Ice Cream" and "Incarcerated Scarfaces." There was only one real problem: The RZA was nowhere to be found. It wasn't a full clan reunion, but it'll have to do for this year.

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Aesop Rock performs live in Santa Cruz

Aesop Rock may be one of the most perplexing MC's going these days.
A white rapper from New York, his skinny frame, shaggy do and bug eyes betray any sense that he's a rapper's rapper, that flip title bestowed upon wordy rap artists heralded by their ilk. Pharoahe Monch is sometimes lauded as an underground rapper's rapper. Ditto for Eminem in mainstream circles.
But Aesop's stream of consciousness rhyme patterns, filled with stark imagery and observation, has brought him critical acclaim amongst indy rap and rock critics. The lead singer of indy rock group The Mountain Goats is down with Aesop. Ditto for rappers like Zion I and Slug of Atmosphere.
So it was intriguing to see how his wordy rhyme play would translate on stage. Performing his first ever gig in Santa Cruz, Aesop Rock's Thursday night show at The Catalyst brought out a crowd of curiousity seekers and fankids from as far as the San Francisco Bay Area. Aesop recently moved to San Francisco with is wife, the newlyweds escaping babylon for the left coast.
He opened up to th strains of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodo Chile" before DJ Big Wiz switched it up to the Masta Ace classic "Born to Roll." It made ironic sense for Aesop to flip the original song's "Brainiac dumb-dumbs/Bust the scientifical" line into a nerd rap chorus line.
Aesop was flanked by Rob Sonic, a robust rapper (dude was BIG) who did his best to keep pace with Aesop. I must admit, I don't know that much of Aesop's catalogue (the only CD I own of his is "Bazooka Tooth" and that got stolen from my car). His first song, with the chorus chant "I Alone" had one of the best lines I've heard at a live hip-hop show this year: "If the Revolution ain't gonna be televised, than fuck, I probably missed it."
His voice, a deep, twangy toad's belch that is awkwardly on-key on record, transferred well on stage. The muffled sound added some smokey depth to the backing music, giving it a gutter NYC feel that I hadn't noticed in his music before. And his DJ Big Wiz was just murdering it, flipping from LL's "Booming System" too A Tribe Called Quest's "Hot Sex (On a Platter)" with seamless mixing.
My favorite Aesop jam, "NY Electric" came on about four songs into the set. It's a slumping, slow-rolling tidal wave of a track, molasses-thick bass sopped up by Aesop's equally chunky vocals. The slow burner packed a powerful punch live, and I was impressed at how well his multi-syllabic rhyme patterns, especially the hooks, worked in performance.
The opening act, an MC named Mr. Sayre, had the crowd about 50/50 in favor of his performance. At his peak, he managed to come off as confident and human, giving props to his girl in a touching display of b-boy love. His set-ending acapella was a nice show-stopper, sealing the deal with an abundance of heart.
A nice touch was his DJ's grunge-rock set, mixing Nirvana and Led Zepplin, among other hard-rock tracks, to the delight of the SC crowd. I don't know where this guy comes from or what material he has out there, but Sayre showed a lot of promise.

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How Come Nobody is Talking about the New Outkast?

I will review this movie once it comes out in theatres

I finally got around to watching the BET Awards last night (I was about 50/50 in my predictions). The last awards presenters of the night were rappers Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outkast.

'Kast have been and always will be one of my favorite music acts, period. Their innovation has always been the key to their success, a rarity in this sometimes contrived and copycat musical artform called hip-hop.

When everyone else was gangsta in the early to mid-90s, they were rapping about aliens and Cadillacs, and Andre was wearing a turban.

In the late 90s, everyone else in rap was flossed out and rapping in shiny suits with bottles of crystal in hand. 'Kast rapped about civil rights leader Rosa Parks and Andre was rocking silver wigs and shoulder pads.

When the game switched to players and pimps and hustlas in the Y2k-plus, 'Kast got to redefining black rock and soul music and Andre was dressing like a prohibition-era Southern gentleman/barbershop quartet singer, or something like that.

Actually,I'd be remiss in trying to define Andre's style at all.

So, anyways, they were on the BET Awards announcing the video of the year, and Andre jokingly announced the winner as "Idlewild." With perfect comedic timing, Andre uttered "Nah, we're just playing," and they let it be known that the movie and soundtrack would be dropping in late-August.

That's right, 'Kast is releasing a movie and an album, both reportedly titled "Idlewild," or some variation of that name.

I've heard the first singles, Big Boi's "Morris Brown" and Andre's "Idlewild Blues," seperate songs released at the same time.

The songs make good use of each MC's strengths: "Morris Brown" bops along with a marching band drum line and horns, while Big Boi just settles into the groove as "D-A-double-D-Y Fat Sacks." I love rap songs that use marching bands (like Trick Daddy's "Shut Up" and TI's "Bring Em Out"). More rappers should use this sound.

"Idlewild Blues" is a straight up blues song with a thick drum track underneath. Andre sings with a little more authority than I've noticed, compared to his past singing efforts. It's definitely a different feel from the Big Boi single.

The release of two separate, solo singles is the same strategy they incorporated with their last album(s), "The Love Below/Speakerboxx." That effort was a double-disc that could have worked as separate, stand -alone projects. This time, they promise to release a cohesive album as a unit.

The one song I've heard featuring both rappers is called "Mighty O." It's a synth-driven, foot-stomping, hip-hop blues banger. Andre actually raps, which is a relief (I can't say I'm a big fan of his Prince-style falsetto). Big Boi does his usual pimp strut flow, and all seems well on the planet Stankonia.

But it's weird that less than a month before possibly their riskiest release (and that's saying a lot given the experimental vibe of their last album) I haven't seen a whole lot of public anticipation.

No big ads on TV or radio. No magazine covers. No posters at record stores. I have only seen the movie poster once, and that was a few weeks back. When they announced "Idlewild" on the awards, my friend turned to me and asked "What's that?" When I told him that it was their movie/soundtrack, he looked perplexed.

It sometimes takes a minute for the hype machine behind big releases to get going,so in two weeks this post could be a moot point. At the same time, this is Outkast. Everyone should be talking about their upcoming release like now.

I wonder if the surprise success of "The Love Below/Speakerboxx" prevents them from really being able to sneak up on people with a release. In other words: the public feels like they've already seen the group at it's riskiest, so nothing will be quite surprising anymore.

So, given all of their past non-conventional approaches, maybe the Outkast schtick has run it's course. We expect them to be different and envelope-pushing and brilliant. We don't need to hype them up because they're all but guranteed to deliver.

I'm probably wrong in all of this, but it's still interesting that a group whose career has been defined by the art of mystery and intrigue may have run out of surprises for its audience. Regardless, I'm still eager to see what they come up with this time around.

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Ms. Lauryn Hill in SC

This is the Lauryn Hill I choose to remember, not the alien clone currently performing at a club near you

I didn't go to see Ms. Lauryn Hill in Santa Cruz on July 15. I couldn't go due to personal reasons, but in reality I couldn't bear to watch.

Press credentials were a no go. "Ms. Hill has asked that no press be put on the guest list," read the e-mail response. The booking agent was apologetic, but it's understandable. I was more bugged out that he referred to her in the e-mail as Ms. Hill (I've read stories that she insists on being called this by everyone; the marquee outside The Catalyst, where she performed, read "Ms. Lauryn Hill").

And so it wasn't meant to be. I didn't have the $50 to spare a ticket, and aside from that, a prior engagement prevented me from commiting to the one-off show even if I did come out the pocket.

But really, it was the apprehension from a previous show, about five years ago that left me quite traumatized (I'll get to this in a minute). The memory of that debacle prevented me from putting aside everything, plunking down half a c-note and watching one of my former idols give a surprise performance in Santa Cruz, of all places.

Performing in SC made sense. The grandfather of Hill's children, the late great Bob Marley - Hill has three kids from Marley's son, Khymani (edit: a more informed reader corrected me on this point; Hill has four sons from Rohan Marley; no excuses, my bad, y'all) used to visit SC when he toured the states. Prior to the SC shows, Hill did two spots in San Francisco, also last-minute dates in a small venue.

San Jose Mercury News music writer Brad Kava gave glowing review of the show. You can read all about it here.As good a writer as Kava is, I don't know him personally, so I can't say I'm with him on the account. His review reads like someone who is viewing Hill from a differed point of view. His is the view of someone who is only semi-acquainted with hip-hop and, more importantly, the impact Hill had on the culture.

My boy Demone, a homie from San Jose who knows what hip-hop tastes like, gave me the real run down.

"Dude, it sucked," he told me over the phone. I believe him.

He reported, much like Kava, that Hill was two hours late, pissing off the crowd to no end. There was no opening act, no dj, just a bunch of fans sitting around, waiting for the performance of a lifetime.

When she did come out, she was directing the band like they were practicing. Demone described the sound as "ska versions" of her music. That does not sound good to me at all.

And then, she veered off into foreign territory. She did a rendition of "Do You Know The Way to San Jose." Demone left at that point.

"I couldn't stand for it anymore," he said.

Which brings me to my last experience with Hill, five years ago, during the Smoking Grooves Tour. Hill was one of the co-headliners. There was a band set up and it looked like she might do some live stuff.

I was hype. Hill was my favorite MC at that time. Note, not female MC, or east coast mc, but MC period. I just thought she was the best at her craft in the whole entire world.

Then, she came on stage carrying a guitar. And she started playing and singing. For 45 minutes.

It was agonizing.

They say for most artists, performing is like therapy, only cheaper. Hill exercised her demons, playing the same four chords while shrieking at the top of her lungs about her poor sap life and love dramas.

It wasn't that the singing was bad, or that she didn't know the chords. It was the fact that she felt she could get away with doing some half-finished acoustic songs and her true fans wouldn't realize what was going on. It was the fact that she thought people wouldn't notice that none of the music had any sort of transition. I can't play a guitar note to save my life, but I can tell when someone is strumming the same chord for an hour.

What really got to me was that the crowd ate it up. It was a mostly white, college age audience. They cheered for her like she was playing something new and exciting. I knew better.

My opinion on Ms. Hill was forever jilted.

So hearing my homie's unsavory review made me glad I didn't waste my money to watch my former favorite MC fall further from grace. The artist formerly known as Lauryn Hill is all but dead to me. I just can't bear to watch it.

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Live: Lateef Tha Truthspeaker at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz

True hip-hop (if there is such a thing) exists on the fringe, dangling by a string from the thread of commercialism that confounds purist whack jobs like myself. It's not quite as archaic or maligned as punk rock, but it's not all that far off either.

The one thing that will constantly remind me of how great it can be is small shows that rock when you least expect it. Take Thursday night's show at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz, where Lateef the Truth Speaker actually lived up to his billing.

Lateef is a member of the SoleSides/Quannum crew, the Bay Area collective that started out at UC-Davis and wound up taking over Nor-Cal hip-hop during the late 90s. Blackalicious, Latyryx (of which Lateef was a member) and most famously, DJ Shadow helmed this movement, which was incorrectly pegged as avant-garde hip-hop when in fact it was more throwback rap: dope lyrics and dope beats you could move to.

Lateef''s contribution to this movement was his non-stop, stream-of-consciousness flow that was similar to pouring liquid from a pitcher, the more it went, the more it built up in the cup, until you wound up with a full glass brimming with substance. On Thursday, he managed to translate his recorded content to the stage, inspiring a small but enthusiastic crowd.

Moe's Alley is one of my favorite venues, really small and cozy with decent sound. The place doesn't get too packed, so you can move around pretty effortlessly and get a drink at the bar without having to wedge your way through a pack of people.

Opening act The Serendipity Project gave a stellar performance, their mix of live funk and hip-hop getting better with age. I got there in time to watch a freestyle-jam that lasted a little over 20 minutes.

The group has added two female singers since I last saw them about a year and a half ago. My favorite member is the bassist, this tall, mohawk-sporting wild man who goes ape shit every time he's performing. He was wearing an astronaut jump suit, which was totally odd and cool. Sample the funk at www.serendipityproject.com.

Lateef came through with a DJ and nothing else, displaying the runaway train flow over the 'Apache' breakbeat. This moved right into 'Lester Hayes,' the club-banger from the Maroons album (Lateef also belongs to Maroons, another off-shoot group within the Quannum fold).

DJ E Da Boss was completely in sync with Lateef, seamlessly blending the beat from Kanye West's "Heard 'em Say" during the opening number. Lateef showed true command on the mic while maintaining his smoothness. It would be a foreshadowing of the night's performance.

Most hip-hop shows are pretty standard: throw ya hands in the air, say yeah, DJ scratch, cue the next song. Lateef stuck to the basics, but still managed to keep it fresh with some old fashioned charisma and enthusiasm. There were probably as many people there on Thursday as there were at the Fatlip concert I had attended the previous week, which is to say there weren't that many people. But that didn't matter one bit. Lateef proved one thing on Thursday, it's not the size of the crowd, it's the size of the crowd's enthusiasm.

And so when he ran through the typical "Make some Noise" routine that all rappers attempt during live shows, he did so without falling into cliche. Demanding that everyone use their energy from a long week, whether it was a crappy job or a mean boss or a messed up love relationship, Lateef summoned everyone's inner spirit, and the outpouring of crowd noise and excitement betrayed the small numbers. That's how you rock a show.

Songs like "Side to Side," and "Back to the Essence," his duets with Blackalicious, as well as "Top Rankin'" off the Quannum Spectrum album, displayed a depth of catalogue. But it was my personal fav, "Lady Don't Tek No Mess," that showed a new side to Tha Truthspeaker.

The song, which uses elements from Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" and Grand Master Flash's "The Message," is a silky, sultry ode to that girl. The ladies started grinding, and I realized for the first time that Lateef might be Quannum's unofficial sex symbol. The raspy flow, the slightly off-key singing, the green eyes. This guy can get the ladies on the dance floor.

"Lady Don't..." also has one of my favorite lines in any song, talking about his girl and how much people lover her, he sings "Little kids wanna jump in your lap/Girl I wanna do that myself." I get a smile on my face every time I hear that one.

Lateef ended the night on the political tip, the song "If" questioning the government's sketchy foreign and domestic policies. He then ran through a buffed-up political rant that used the "Badder than Bad" line from the Public Enemy song "Bring The Noise." He finished off with a "F---- Bush!" for good measure, which deviated from the show a little bit. After all, he's not Boots from The Coup, even though his intentions are good.

And despite the out of place ending, it did drive home the point: hip-hop, when done the right way, can incite ass-shaking and thought-provoking movement. You just have to look past the mire to find it.

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Check out The West Coast Slam Poetry Championship in Big Sur

Me and my boy Frank Sanchez performing at the 1999 Big Sur Slam (that's me on the right, about 50 pounds ago!)

Spoken word poetry could be the savior of underground hip-hop!

I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it's an argument worth having. Given that "underground Hip-Hop" is either a label of defiance or a punchline, depending on who you're talking to, the spoken word has emerged as the essence of the underground, eschewing all things commercial and cliche in favor of a puritan aesthetic - no one is getting rich off of spoken word.

Not Russell Simmons, who despite launching both Def Jam Poetry on HBO and on Broadway, hasn't seen much return financially (the cable tv show and Broadway production have both been in indefinite hiatus). Spoken word's biggest star, Saul Williams, still toils on the outskirts of famedom. Luckily, his art has not suffered for it.

And so, it is with this righteous ambivalence to corporate exploitation that a show such as The West Coast Poetry Slam Championship can exist almost completely under the radar. This weekend, the 9th annual incarnation goes on as scheduled at The Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, a poet's oasis if there ever was one.

The slam championship is a Peninsula poor-man's literary event; on the same weekend rich well-to-do's will shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets to see the Bach Festival or Bill Cosby perform in a movie house, dozens of poets from up and down the left coast will converge to throw down in the woods. At stake: $2000 in prizes, along with bragging rights for Wessyde supremacy.

My homie/mentor Garland Thompson puts on the annual showcase, inviting teams from Nor and So-Cal to whip it out and see who's got the baddest verse. For those that don't know, slam poetry is a form of competitive poetry, wherein the contestants square off to see who gets judged with the highest score.

Judges, chosen randomly from the crowd, rate the poets on a scale of 1-10, taking into consideration style and content as well as performance. Poets have to be on point in both their words and their presentation, so you get skilled wordsmiths displaying Shakesperian-level performance skills.

The best part is that there is no set form, so poems can be as hype as battle raps. And that's what is so hip-hop about the event, the fact that the poets themselves can run through their verse with the same intensity of an MC going for theirs.

I've been to four of the events, and this weekend will mark my fifth appearance. This will be the first year I am not participating as either a competitor or featured poet. I'm a bit bummed, but the show must go on.

In the past, Def Jam Poets have been on display, with exciting artists like Beau Seiu, Poetri, Rives, The Suicide Kings and Mighty Mike McGee grabbing the mic. The ladies represent hardcore as well, with goddesses like Meliza Banales and Emily Kagan solidifying their reps at the championship.

So, if you're in Big Sur this weekend and you feel like being inspired, check out the slam. For more info, visit the Web site www.westcoastslam.com.

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Local content: Check out the Web sites saladbowlmusic.com and 831dacoast.com

One thing that makes the internet so great is the artificial sense of community building that develops at certain spots. Years ago, when I started visiting The Roots Website, okayplayer.com, I had no idea it would become an online community that would spawn record labels (okayplayer records) and propel little known artists (Little Brother) to major label contracts.

It's even better when it happens at the local level, where internet communities can network with real-life community members, resulting in community building. Houston's emergence in the rap world, along with the success of artists like Paul Wall and Chamillionaire, owed a lot to internet savvy. Ditto for the Bay Area.

In Monterey County, two Web sites are at the forefront of the local movement, saladbowlmusic.com and, more recently, 831dacoast.com.

There are plenty of web sites with local artists (check any number of myspace band pages) to choose from, but these two separate themselves because they aim to connect people and promote all forms of local hip-hop artists through discussion forums and artist interviews.

Saladbowlmusic.com is the elder statesman, having been online for the past few years. Administrator Gabriel "Gypsy" Avalos designed the site, while local rappers Doom the Original and Gemini serve as on-site administrators.

The heart of the site is the discussion board, where local rappers hype recent releases, most produced in their bedrooms or at local studios. Parties, shows, events and various news items are discussed, dissed and discussed some more. Most of the time, the discussion is on local talent.

One recent in-person discussion with Gemini revealed some of the drawbacks of moderating a site that allows locals to discuss and sometimes talk trash about one another. Despite the administrators best efforts, delicate egos can be bruised with each posting. It's a fine line between constructive criticism and straight up dissing.

Overall, the site is a nice look into the local scene and the passion with which a lot of the up and coming artists approach their work.

831dacoast.com is fairly new. Launched a few months ago by members of the Seaside-based crew Tha Undahoggs, the site is a nice companion to Saladbowlmusic.com.

Artist interviews are the main highlight, giving folks like Doom and Gemini, along with other local rappers, a bit of star-treatment. The coolest thing on the sight is the streaming collage of album artwork from locally-produced artists.

A quick scan of the album covers revealed one of the first local albums I ever hear, a maxi-single by the group Seaside Posse (I had a copy of that cassette in high school!). There were at least two dozen album covers, and possibly even more than that, on display. The non-stop stream gives an impressive view of the quantity of product being pumped out of the Central Coast.

Equally impressive was the streaming radio, which features dozens of songs produced by Monterey County residents. Songs from artists like Tha UndaHoggs, Mista English, DEA, AK, Fury, Billy Bud Toker (the site's administrator) and others are bumped non-stop, giving folks a chance to sample the 831 funk.

With the abundance of underground talent looming along the Central Coast, Websites like saladbowlmusic.com and 831dacoast.com are helping to bring that talent to a wider audience, one that appreciates the efforts of local do it yourself-ers.

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Fatlip of Tha Pharcyde, Live in Santa Cruz

Pity the fallen rapper, that tragic figure upon which cautionary tales are framed and the true nature of the entertainment industry is revealed.

Fatlip, former Pharcyde affiliate and homie of music video/movie director Spike Jonze, might certainly qualify as such a sadsack tale, but he's not about to sing a sad song.

Performing in the atrium of The Catalyst on Monday night, Fatlip delivered an appropriately short set, dipping in and out of the sparse crowd like he was a paid patron himself. The only thing to differentiate him from the rest was the mic in his hand and the staticky sound of his voice booming through the muffled PA system.

Given the venue (the atrium is usually reserved for local acts) and the big top event in the main room (Steel Pulse played to a packed crowd in the next room, spelling imminent scheduling doom) on a Monday night, no less, Fatlip could have just phoned it in and accepted his sideshow status. But he stopped just short of that.

Instead, he put his best foot forward, going through a non-stop set in front of about 30 people. At some points, he simply went through the motions. At others, he showed a quick glimpse of the showmanship that he was known for during his run with The Pharcyde.

"Live and let live and just let it be," he pronounced during one song, almost a mantra given the context of the night. "Tell it like it is from the grown ups to the kids."

All of the songs were new and unfamiliar, fast-paced and seemingly devoid of the flawed charisma he was known for early on in his career. When he started out with the Pharcyde, Fatlip seemed to separate himself from the other members of the crew with his breathy flow and self-depracating steez.

There were no signs of that on Monday. Even though it was a real impossibility, I still half-expected him to do maybe his verse from "Passing Me By," just to throw the crowd a friggin' bone. Those who were dedicated enough to shell out 14 bones deserved at least that.

Opening act Trek Life also did his best to make the most of a salty situation. Despite his enthusiasm, he couldn't get most of the crowd to stand up out of their chairs.

But if Fatlip is indeed a fallen rapper, he's not complaining about it. Later on in the night, I caught him walking down Pacific Street, all alone, just like any other regular dude. I hollared his name, but he didn't even turn his head. Perhaps he's content being a person rather than a personality.

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My High School Years re-visited

Rap releases in recent months have had me thinking that it was 1995 instead of 2006.

Rappers like The Coup, Ice Cube, E-40 and Busta Rhymes have all put out new albums this year. All released albums 10 years ago within a year's time frame.

In 1994, The Coup released "Genocide and Juice," the same year Ice Cube released "Lethal Injection" and E-40 delivered "The Mail Man." Busta Rhymes was a member of the group Leaders of the New School, whose sophomore album "T.I.M.E." dropped in 1993.

I was still in high school during this time, and remember buying all of those releases back then. So I figured it was worth checking out the new releases from these rappers, especially considering that a 10-year rap career is equivalent to a 20-year career in Major League Baseball. Rap is a young man's game and the grizzled veterans still pumping out product deserve at least a nod from the hip-hop public, if not a curtain call ovation.

First on the list, E-40's album, "My Ghetto Report Card," has been out for a few months now. It's release was intended to be the nation's introduction to the Bay Area's "Hyphy Movement," which I've been pining about in my blog for a few months now.

The album, produced by Lil Jon and Rick Rock, has it's highs and lows. A definite high is the opening number, "Yay Area," which jacks Digable Planets (another veteran act attempting a comeback) on the hook. The "We be to rap what key be to lock" vocal sample sounds insanely pitch perfect when combined with Rick Rock's trembling drums. Another winner is the single "Tell Me When To Go," a club anthem and new school Yay area classic. If you haven't heard this one, you haven't been paying any attention to rap music in the past six months.

The Debbie Downer points come about six songs in, when you realize that the album is a marathon length when it only needed to be a sprint. At a robust 22 tracks, the album filler is half and half. By the time you drag across the finish line to the best lyrics on the song, the outstanding "Happy Just To Be Here," you feel so spent you almost can't appreciate the extended run.

Busta Rhymes is centering his latest album, "The Big Bang," as the platform for his "King of New York" campaign. He corronated himself such at Hot 97's Summer Jam a few weeks ago, according to written reports, but he has as much a chance of being Frank Black as Lil Wayne (which is to say, not much).

The problem is that "The Big Bang just doesn't pack that much bang. The best song, "NY S***" jacks a beat that's several years old (An old Diamond D track), and aspires to be the biggest NYC anthem since "Deja Vu" by Corey Guns and Al Tariq. Yes, NYC rap has been in steady decline since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings, but Busta as its savior? I love Bussa Bus, but even he can't bring the city out of its rut. And when you're trying to resurrect the NY state of mind using Dre's beats, maybe you're fighting a long-lost cause.

Ice Cube, meanwhile, could himself have tried to bill his latest album "Laugh Now, Cry Later," as another attempt to resurrect the West Coast, but he knows better. Instead, he simply reaffirms his status as West Coast don, almost like" The Soprano's" Johnny Sac returning from the pen and taking back his spot as the boss of Brooklyn.

Cube's first sing, the hell-raising "Why We Thugs," updates the revolutionary but gangsta steez he originated on his first two albums, the classics "Amerikka's Most Wanted" and "Death Certificate." The album's hook asks the very serious question "They give us guns and drugs/then wonder why in the f*** we thugs." It takes aim at Bush and Clinton without falling into arm chair political rhetoric, and the beat is a monster.

The rest of the album falls right in line with that barn burner. Cube wins by simply doing what he's always done: big upping the West Coast and apologizing for nothing. The gangsta you love to hate is back.

So to are hip-hop's favorite anarchists, The Coup. Their debut, 1993's "Kill My Landlord," is easily one of my top ten all time favorite albums. And with "Pick a Bigger Weapon," they bust out as rap's version of SF Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel, savvy veterans who maintain success by simply improving on their winning formula.
Whereas Vizquel uses his golden glove and on-base-percentage, The Coup dazzle with grass-roots activism and Oakland funk. Like Vizquel joining the Giants lineup, The Coup strayed from long-time independent status to release an album on punk rock imprint Epitaph.

"Pick a Bigger Weapon's" secret weapon is Boots Riley's underappreciated lyricism. Boots has always been a thought-provoking rapper, but he seems to have found the balance this time out, with songs like "I Just Want to Lay Around All Day in Bed With You" and "My Favorite Mutiny" serving as the perfect framework for Riley's mind spray. And the latter finds Riley in appropriate company: MC's Black Thought and Talib Kweli, some of the most effective lyrical assassins, stand side by side with Rilly in killing the track.

And more than a decade after my first exposure to The Coup, it's great to hear that they are maintaining not only their relevancy, but quality of work this far in the game.

Quick Note: Savvy readers may have picked up on the fact that I have been on an unannounced hiatus the past few weeks. I will continue to be on hiatus through the rest of June (although a show review may pop up in spots). Fear not. I have not abandoned ship, but am merely taking a moment to re-charge my batteries and line up some more goodness through the summer. In the meantime, be patient, shoot me your comments, and keep clicking the link to the picture of the guy with the chubby cheeks. Al Rato.

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"The Beat Q&A: Dem Hoodstarz

Jay-Z first popularized the concept of "Getting Your Grown Man On," but you can safely say that Dem Hoodstarz have capitalized on it.

The Palo Alto-based duo consisting of rappers Scoot and Band Aid established itself on the Bay Area rap scene with two smash singles in 2005, "Bull S***" and the monster "Grown Man On (remix)." The latter, produced by San Jo-producer extraordinaire Traxxamillion, recieved considerable radio airplay and solidified their presence in The Yay, in spite of their South SF Bay locale.

The group performed in Santa Cruz recently, bringing out their wild stage show to their "Bay Area neighbor." With a recent film just wrapped, "The Yadida Movie," and another film project with TI, Jeezy and Akon in the works, the group appears to be expanding its earning potential. The album "Hood Reality 2," with it's subsequent DVD, is slated for an August release.

Dem Hoodstarz took time to talk to "The Beat" about their newfound success. Here's how it all went down.

What's good.
BA: Same e old same old man,

Thanks for taking time to talk to "The Beat."
BA: We want to thank you for interviewing us...


So, I've done something similar with your boy, Traxxamillion, as far as this interview stuff...
BA: Yeah, Traxx, that's our go to guy. That's like Joe Montana to Jerry Rice, a good combination.
Scoot: Yeah, we help each other out. We can't do it without the beat, and he can't do it without the rap.


Will this be your first time coming to the Central Coast?
BA: No, we've been in Santa Cruz before, we was at the car show for the radio station...
Scoot: Yeah, we was in Santa Cruz, at a car show...
BA: It was in in Monterey, for KDON.
Scoot: Not that one, I'm talking about the one. It was just me and you. It was like a lot of Surenos, They had the girls in bikinis washing the cars...

BA: Oh yeah, that was in Santa Cruz.

When was that?
S: That was about a year ago. We was pumping out some new stuff.

Are you familiar with the area?
S: Oh yeah, for sure.
BA: Santa Cruz, that's the neighbor to the Bay Area

How important is it that all Northern Cali get involved in the Hyphy movement?
S: It's so important. Without everyone else participating, we can't get the attention we need to make it as big. We feed of the energyf the crow, we feed of the energy of the fans.
BA: Without them properly letting it be known, this whole Hyphy thing can't get out to the rest of the world.
S: It seems like the whole Northern Carolina is already with it. They with us right now.

You guys are planning a tour?
BA: Yep, we just went on a radio promo tour, that was big. From Portland to Arizona, this summer, we're going to be working with the radio stations for more shows...
S: Just in Northern Cali alone, with the different people coming to the bay area we've been performing when they come out here. Like we're performing with with the Young Bloods and Dem Franchize Boys.
BA: Last night it was with Chamillionare and the field mob and that new guy, what's his name...
S: Lupe Fiasco...
BA: Yeah and on Sunday with Mobb Deep. And on Saturday, we're performing with Bubba Sparxx and Christina Millian.
S: And we just wrapped up a movie, "Yadida"...

Yeah, I want to get into that in a minute... Have you guys gone outside Cali? If so, what's been the response?

BA: (On their myspace.com page) We've been added to all types of space, all over the world. And when I say all over the world, I'm not saying the just the U.S. We've been getting added in Denmark, New Jersey.
S: We've been added in Alabama, Ohio, it's steady growing. The buzz has been phenomenal.
BA: Me and Scoot, we've always had dreams, but we never even thought our dreams would get to where they are now. That's making us push that much harder. We push for a goal, and we got past that. And now our goal is to reach a million, and that's our goal to reach a million people, worldwide.

What will it take to get people not from The Bay to understand the culture?
S: Right now, the Hyphy has spread like wildfire. With the success of E-40, with the whole BME, Warner Bros. situation, that was able to move it to a worldwide forefront. People like E-40, Too Short, ppl like the late Mac Dre, rest in peace, people like that is giving more light to the underground... But the Hyphy movement is not underground, it's real mainstream now... The whole world has accepted it, they've accepted what we got going on right now.That's the thing, we' making music right now, not just wax. We're making good music now, and they're able to feel it...
It's due to the success of E-40 and Too short, and now you see people like Keak tha Sneak, on MTV, a whole lot of record companies are paying attention to what's going on in the Bay.
BA: I don't think everybody really catches on, not yet. Really the only person who really is out there is like too short and E-40,
40 got that exposure, because he's on Warner Brothers, but he even said that his album wasn't all Hyphy. Too Short got that exposure, but that's just because he's been out for so long. They both have long money, so even if they company didn't help them out they're still out there...
I think they need to share some of that same spotlight with their fellow bay area artist, help some other folks get some of that shine. And then you can get a true understanding of what Hyphy is all about, because not everyone is getting it right now...
You can't never get the full definition of a word from the dictionary, that's why not everyone has been able to understand what we got going on over here.
To me, it seems like they really only listening to 40 and really not Keak. If they was his sales would be up more, maybe they should be out there giving him some more shine, some more face time on the videos and stuff...
I think everyone is catching up to it, but they not catching on to everything. They catching on to what 40 is doing, but there's new music coming out every day, and in stead of listening to one person, folks should be listening to everything that's out there...
Too Short, like I said, is talking about this pimping thing, and 40, the whole album is not supposed to be Hyphy. So (other regions) they need to hear different people's definition of Hyphy instead of going to one person, and then people will get a better understanding of how we living out here in the Bay Area.

You guys both sport them, so tell me, what's the significance of The Dreads? Is it anything like what Rasta's sport? Why is it the thing in the Bay?
S: It ain't just a Bay Area thing. It's not a bay, east, west, south, regional thing. It's a cultural thing. We rock our dreads as a statement, you feel me. We rock it as a statement of defiance. We shake our dreads and that's just how we do them. It's just for real, we just shake em, it's just a way of going down
BA: It's like, I know you been to a headbanger ball, when they be shaking their head hard, like "Arrgh!"
S: Yeah, you get to banging your head hella hard...
BA: Yeah, like that old school, Skid Row type of music... That's all Hyphy is. It's a form of crunk, a form of rock and roll, it's all that rolled into one...
It's a form of energy, and you can be doing anything. You can be kicking your friend, chomping off the head of a bat, whatever...
(begins to get excited) And you see, that's what makes it so crazy, we out there, we shaking our dreads, and we just acting out, and you might see someone on the intersection, they start to ghost ride the whip, and that makes you want to ghost ride the whip, go hard and go nutty. And then that maybe makes you want to jump on the hood of your car and start dancing, and it's like look at me, I'm going dum, I'm getting Hyphy, and it's in the middle of a damn intersection. And it's a party in the middle of the intersection...Damn, I just got hyphy on the phone (laughs).

What emphasis do you guys put on live shows? Do you try to do anything different from other artists with similar style?
S: Every show we get, we give it everything. If you've never been to a Hood Star performance, that's the thing. We keep that energy, it's wild...
BA: We was like, we underground, as far as the bay. As far as everyone getting into groups, our name wasn't mentioned on the radio or nothing, folks wasn't really talking about us like that. It wasn't until we started putting on shows, and folks started saying, "Hey, that Hood Star show, the crowd went crazy," and we started to make our name like that. That's kind of how we got started, was our shows.
S: We try not to ever keep the crowd calm. We want them to go crazy.
BA: We want to see a moshpit dance, like it was a rock concert, yadidamean. They moshpit dance like it was a rock concert. When we see them going, that keeps us going...

You guys just wrapped a movie. What was that experience like?
BA: That was our first time ever acting. It felt natural other than the cameras up in your face, i twa s cool because we had a lot of fun doing it. I played a character named hook and he played a char. name D-Plug. We run a pizza shop...The story isn't about us, it's about a dude named Stacy...It's comparable to Ice Cube's Friday, based on Northern California culture and life...Basically, it's about this dude named Stacy who comes from NY, and he don't understand what everybody is talking about, he doesn't understand what people are saying, he doesn't get the slang or anything, and he has to figure it out...It's a good movie and it's going to come out in December.

Will it be released in theatres?
S: It's going straight to DVD...The movie we're shooting in July, it's going got movie theaters. We don't know too much about the story, we just know it's with TI, Young Jeezy, and Akon

Is there any different dynamic/attitude that comes from being Palo Alto representatives? Do you guys have a different steez from say Oakland or SF?
BA: To tell you the truth, the only thing that comes from us being in a s smaller city, we have to work a little harder. We have to go get them different deals and get them different people to come to our community because they don't know about our community.
S: A lot of people don't hear about East Palo Alto.
BA: When you hear about Cali, someone that isn't from Cali, the first thing they think about is SF, then they think about Oakland or LA, they don't even know where Palo Alto is... It just makes it a little harder, to achieve what we want,
S: It's a struggle though. I'll tell you that.

You guys both have been through the system in terms of having both been incarcerated. Yet your music at times doesn't seem to reflect some of the hard-core gangsta living that other rappers with your guys background might suggest. Is there a conscious effort to keep your stuff a little more positive, less negative?
S: We tell our story. We telling our lives. We telling what we basically been through. We ain't telling nobody to do what we went through. We letting them know our story, at the same time, it's not like our album is based on that.
BA: It's based around things that go on in our hood. It's based around things that happen. It's surrounding those issues that you might not see in the TV or read in the newspaper, it's everyday thins that we do, whether it's going to the club, or just chillin on the day to day. It's stuff that's taken from our everyday lives, but we ain't candy coating nothing.
S: We got some subconscious songs, like about growing up with your moms on crack, because in the black community, that's what we grew up on. We just basically let them know how it really is and how it really was.

What's your definition of getting your Grown Man On?
S: To me, the reason why we had to talk about getting grown is we're trying to get everybody away from the Hyphy, get them out the white t -shirts and the dreads. We're trying to make our whole album well rounded, we try to say, we're with the hyphy movement, but we're not necessarily Hyphy. We're trying to make it so you're able to feel what we talking about on all kinds of different levels, and not just stuck on one mode.
BA: My definition, it means... when it's time to quit playing the games and you gotta really get your grown man, on, you can take your life and make things happen for yourself. It's taking responsibility for yourself, for your life, for your bills, and taking care of everything on your own. That means, you're doing it for yourself and not depending on anyone else.
Getting your grown man on isn't about living at home with your mom and pops or having your girl take care of your and your bills. What it means to me, is being able to do for yourself. If you're grown, you get your own money, if you're a grown man or grown woman, you're making your own for yourself. That's what it's all about.

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Lupe Fiasco live in SF

Lupe Fiasco crammed five months of buzz into a five-song, 25 minute set in San Francisco on Thursday night. It was engaging, sometimes exciting, but all too an abrupt ending.

The Chicago MC, who is either a Kanye West protege or hired gun, depending on how you look at it, has endeared himself to a cross section of hip-hop fans due to his chameleon-esque persona: a nerd/skater/street/lyrical MC, marketed just in time to be a boon for the myspace.com generation.

He stole the show on West's second single, "Testify," and the first single from his album, a catchy ditty called "Kick, Push," has slowly caught on with both taste maker hip-hop snobs and BET-watching teeny boppers, all enthralled with his understated cool and straightforward approach.

And so on Thursday night, performing at Mezzanine in front of a packed house, Lupe did what all good stars in the making do: he left the crowd wanting more, lots more.

The night was hosted by some guy named Ant Marshall, who purported to be co-founder of the Lyricist Lounge in NYC (I'll have to google his name later on to get all the facts). The opening acts were locals trying to establish themselves, probably performing their biggest gigs in their short careers that night.

Prophet was a pretty cool SF emcee with a sorta sing-songy flow (more straining that harmonizing, but still carrying a note here and there). His DJ Dozier (hope I'm spelling that right) had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the mixer, and was openly ecstatic when he finally got it going. The fun in watching locals open up for bigger name artists is in seeing those moments unfold, when an artists humanity shows through for a quick second.

Elemnop, a four-mc, two-dj crew, got the party heated. These guys, who appeared to be predominantly Asian/Filipino, rocked a breathless set, with songs running into one another. They never missed a beat, and apparently brought out a large contingent of followers with them to celebrate. These guys could be worth watching over the next year or so (check their Web site, www.elemnop.com).

Lupe came out to the beat from Nas' "Thief's Theme," looking really skinny and scholarly. Rocking Ben Franklin bifocals and a white LRG t-shirt, Lupe treated his set like a 40-yard dash, with barely a moment to catch your breath.

The opening freestyle was followed by his verse from "Blood Diamonds," the West-jacking mixtape song that supposedly inspired Kanye to record "Diamonds are Forever" remix. That remix included lyrics about the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone.

Lupe quickly jumped into his big hit, "Testify," milking his 16-bar verse and the chorus for all it's worth. It worked, as the crowd seemed to jump up in jubilation at the Curtis Mayfield-sampled horns. One dude charged through the crowd screaming, cutting through me and my homeboy in an odd moment. A few minutes later, that same dude staggered through the crowd. I reasoned to my buddy that the guy was probably some sort of crowd plant hired by Lupe to perform such theatrics.

Lupe stood triumphant after that song, and declared "They say hip-hop is coming back, y'all!" As if he were the one that was responsible for such an insurgence. The audacity. I'd call it swagger jacking, but he's co-signed by Jay-Z (who is executive producing his album), so Hov probably requires such confidence in his artists.

A high-speed song whose title seemed to be "ERRRNNNGGHHHH" — mimicking the sound of an engine on a race car passing by— was next. It was appropriate in the muscle car-loving Bay Area. But mid-song, he flipped into a Chi-town bounce track, slowing down the lyrics but not the intensity.

And then came the show-stopping "Kick,Push," which was literally, a stop to the show. Lupe insisted on dropping then re-dropping the intro horns four times. Four Times! Talk about getting the most out of your music. Luckily, he had enough quiet charisma to keep it going each time he "pon da replayed" the beat. A lesser artist might have dropped the crowd momentum, which was considerable.

After doing the song and the "Kick,Push" dance routine (which consisted of a simulated skateboard kick to the floor in time with the beat), Lupe made like he was going to do "ERRRNNNGGHHH" again, then decided to cut out. No explanation, barely a word of thanks to the crowd, and the DJ Apollo (local legend who also ripped it that night) came out to spin some more, thus leaving no chance for an encore.

It was short, sweet and to the point. Which leads me to believe that this guy could very well be that dude once his album drops in the summer.

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"The Beat's" 2006 BET Awards Predictions

I'm not one to handicap music awards shows (or anything else, for that matter), but the allure of guessing the winners of the BET Awards is too great to pass up.

The nominees were announced today, and the leaders are an unsurprising quartet of Black Star Power (as the network once heralded itself): Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott and Jamie Foxx predictably lead the way with four noms each. All four have either released or will release a new album within the year.

The awards show is still in its infancy stages (what is this, like the fourth annual installment?). Still, it's produced some memorable moments: M'onique doing the Beyonce booty quake to the tune of "Crazy in Love" while 'Yonce watched with terrified glee; Rick James performing with Teena Marie and then announcing the girl in the back who didn't recognize him "I"m Rick James, Bitch!"; Marie's over-the-top eulogy to James a year after their performance together, complete with spoken word delivery and dark-skinned white girl moxie.

With that said, let's take a look at the nominees and my predictions for this year's awards:

Female Hip Hop: Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Remy Ma, Shawnna, Trina.
Analysis: Let's see, Lil' Kim has a show on BET, ther videos still get play on 106 & Park, and I'm pretty sure she'll be all over the network once she's released from prison later this year (call her the Martha Stewart of hip-hop, minus the domestic skills). Prediction: Kim, easy.

Male Hip Hop: 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Common, T.I., Kanye West.
Analysis: An interesting field. Common has a snowballs chance in hell of winning, but it's a nice gesture anyway. Veteranos 50 and Busta could cancel each other out, leaving T.I. and Kanye to do battle. A win for T.I. could solidify his standing as "Kang of the Souff," but then Kanye might throw a total BF. Prediction: Kanyeezy, for sheezy.

Collaboration: Beyonce featuring Slim Thug, ‘‘Check on It’’; Bow Wow featuring Ciara, ‘‘Like You’’; Busta Rhymes featuring Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX, ‘‘Touch It-Remix’’; Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris, ‘‘Unpredictable’’; Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, ‘‘Gold Digger.’’
Analysis: Foxx is nominated twice, once as the main attraction and once as a feature, so odds are in his favor. Standing in his way: Busta-Bus' NYC resurrection/all-star jammy-jam "Touch It" has been in the 106&Park Top 10 for a hot minute, and could steal the show. Also, I wouldn't count out Bow Wow and Ciara's cute coupling/publicity stunt collabo. Prediction: Kanye "We Want Prenupt" West and Jamie "Don't Call Me Ray" Foxx for "Gold Digger."

Female R&B: Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Keyshia Cole, India.Arie.
Analysis: Any other year, 'Yonce would probably be the front runner, but she only came with that Pink Panther single this year (Next year, this award is hers). In the meantime, we have an interesting battle between the 'hood Queen, Mary J., and the new ghetto princess, Keyshia Cole. I nominate Cole as the heir to Mary's ghetto-goddess throne, but head-to-head, it's no match. Prediction: MJB tha MVP.

Male R&B and New Artist: No need to list the nominees in these categories. Anyone not betting on Ne-Yo to sweep both is just playing themselves.

Group: Black Eyed Peas, Destiny’s Child, Floetry, Mary Mary, Three 6 Mafia.
Analysis: I can't remember seeing a Black Eyed Peas video on BET at all this past year, so their nom is a bit of a shock. DC could get the sentimental vote, but BET has been plugging Three 6 Mafia's Oscar win, so they are my darkhorse. Prediction: Them Memphis Boys from the Triple-Six Mafia.

Gospel Artist: Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Smokie Norful, CeCe Winans.
Analysis: There is some unwritten rule that Yolanda Adams should win this award every year. I think it was written by god herself. Prediction: Yolanda Adams.

Video of the Year: Beyonce featuring Slim Thug, ‘‘Check on It’’; Mary J. Blige, ‘‘Be Without You’’; Busta Rhymes featuring Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX, ‘‘Touch It-Remix’’; R. Kelly, ‘‘Trapped in the Closet’’; Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, ‘‘Gold Digger.’’
Analysis: Hype Williams directed two of the video nominees and both were gorgeous. But let's be real: "Trapped in the Closet" was secretly everyone's favorite song/video last year. I just want to know which part is being nominated (I vote for part 1, but parts 2-57 were amazingly canny in their own right). Prediction :Kells (wonder if he's gonna wear that creepy Zorro mask?)

Actress: Tichina Arnold, Taraji P. Henson, Thandie Newton, Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard.
Analysis: It's hard to predict this one because the nominees aren't recognized for any single work (what was Thandie Newton in last year?). But on blind faith, I'll say Taraji has the best shot. Her performance in "Hustle & Flow" was so overlooked (possibly because her character was so vulnerable, which played to one too many female stereotypes). Prediction: Taraji "It's hard out here for a pimp's wife" Henson.

Actor: Chris ‘‘Ludacris’’ Bridges, Don Cheadle, Jamie Foxx, Terrence Howard, Denzel Washington.
Analysis: Nice touch nominating Luda for his breakout performance in both Crash and Hustle and Flow. But c'mon, we all know Howard takes this one, easy. It'll be nice to say he beat both Jamie and Denzel in an acting category. Prediction: Terrence "I don't like rap music" Howard.

Female Athlete: Laila Ali (boxing), Chamique Holdsclaw (basketball), Lisa Leslie (basketball), Sheryl Swoopes (basketball), Venus Williams (tennis).
Analysis: Venus had a down year, so she doesn't deserve to win. Laila is overrated, and neither Chamique nor Lisa Leslie did anything other than keep their names respectable to get a nomination. Therefore, I'm picking Sheryl Swoopes, who quietly has made a case for herself as the greatest female basketball player of all time (sorry Cheryl Miller, but it's true). Her bold move of outing herself as being lesbian deserves some quiet recognition as well. Prediction: Ms. Swoopes, if you're nasty.

Male Athlete: Kobe Bryant (basketball), LeBron James (basketball), Shaquille O’Neal (basketball), Tiger Woods (golf), Vince Young (football).
Analysis: Like Ne-Yo in the music categories, LeBron's name should be the lone one in this category. Have you been watching the Cavs-Pistons series? Geez. I didn't think he'd penetrate the Big 3-D (Ben and Rasheed Wallace, Tayshon Prince) like that. Prediction: Lebron "I'm really 31 years old" James.

BET J Cool Like That: Eric Benet, Anthony Hamilton, Heather Headley, Kindred the Family Soul, Corinne Bailey Rae.
Analysis: Eyes closed, I'll just take a guess. Ummm... Anthony Hamilton. Phew, that was close.

BET.com Viewers’ Choice: Chris Brown, ‘‘Excuse Me Miss’’; Busta Rhymes, ‘‘Touch It’’; Mariah Carey, ‘‘Don’t Forget About Us’’; Keyshia Cole, ‘‘Love’’; Ne-Yo, ‘‘So Sick’’; T.I. ‘‘What You Know.’’
Analysis: Ya girl Keyshia deserves something and this is where she should shine. No one has been more popular with young black girls on 106 & Park than Cole. They sing her songs verbatim, with heart, whenever she shows up. Not bad for an Oakland native. Prediction: Ya Girl Keyshia.

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"The Beat" Q&A Interview: MC Zion of Zion I

Seems like for the past two years, Zion I has been carrying the Bay Area's underground indy hip-hop scene on its back. As veterans of the Bay Area's hip-hop scene, they have managed to remain relevant and fresh four albums into their careers, a coup in the hip-hop universe.

Back in 1998, when they released their critically praised debut "Mind Over Matter," the group was lauded for their east coast-styled beats, MC Zion's nasal-toned delivery and high impact lyrics, and DJ/producer Amp Live's experimental beats (mixing drum n bass with old school boom bap). The group has maintained that quality control through their recent album release, 2005's "True & Livin." They have also established themselves as road warriors, performing between 150 to 200 shows a year.

MC Zion, the group's frontman, recently took time to talk to "The Beat" before the final stop on their recent tour (show review can be viewed below). He talked about hyphy, touring non-stop, and the group's upcoming projects with Bay Area underground and turf rappers.

Thanks for taking time to talk to "The Beat."
It's all good man.


You just finished a long tour? How many dates?
All together like 28 shows.

You guys tour a lot?
For the last couple of years we've just been out there.

It seems like a lot of mainstream rap artists, specifically street and gangsta rappers, don't tour as much as the indy cats. Can you speak in general about the benefit of being such a road warrior as an indie hip-hop artist?
It really, for us, has always been one of our best ways to market ourselves and our music to our fans. They have a close attanchment than if they see a video or hear you on the radio. It's been one of the main ways to get a fan base or to expand our fan base. We stuck by it and pounded it out and kep going on tours and trying to make our show better.

You guys have one of the livest shows I've seen. Is that due to the constant touring?
It's also like, it's definitely a conscious effort to try to make it hype and keep it live. The years of doing it doens' hut, it adds to it.

A lot of it is that we spend a lot of time practicing. Some shit is not hype, other stuff isn't, and you find a way to clip the stuff that's isn't and get witht the stuff that is...

(the phone cuts off; after several attempts at redial, we finally hook up again...)

What was the best show on the recent tour?
The best show? There were a lot of good ones. I thought Vancouver (British Columbia) was dope.

What stood out with that show?
I just didn't expect it. I didn't expect it to be hot, and I didn't expect people to show up. And when they showed up,they showed up in droves, they knew all the words to the songs.

That one, Madison, Wisconsin was dope. The show in Boston was dope. The show in Seattle was dope... It was a dope tour for us. I have no complaints whatsoever.

You guys are from the Bay, and I'm sure you've noticed the whole hyphy thing is kinda blowing up now in the mainstream, what's your impression?
I like it, some of them cats do that music for my peoples. I think it's great for The Bay to lay claim to something new and fresh. For a long time, we've been slept on. And not just the G-shit, even indy cats.

I think it's good the youngsters have created something dope and different and new. And it's good to see a vet like E-40 has championed it. Hopefully it will make a young cat come up and make a name for themselves and make it a tradition. It's fun to dance to in the club. It's a good time regardlesss.

You did a remix of your song "The Bay," that had street/turf rappers like Balance, San Quinn and Turf Talk. Is there room for more intermingling between the bay's hyphy/turf rappers and its indy rappers?
I definitely think so. I don't think everyone can do it, but to me it's all hip-hop and its your perspective on what's going on around you. I feel like generally speaking, good hip-hop comes from a unique place, your unique vision on life in general.

We're definitely planning to make a whole mixtape dedicated to that idea, mixing turf cats with indie cats. After we finish this album with the Grouch and Zion I, we'll do that hopefully for the summer.

We're trying to push the boundary for what people will expect It's all music to us. I'm an old school hip hop cat. When we first got on to hip hop, it was Totally different. You had A Tribe Called Quest doing songs with Mobb Deep, and it's a different perspective but it totally work. That's the view we're on right now.


Which musicians, hip-hop or otherwise, influenced you coming up?
Early on, cats like Earth, Wind & Fire, The Gap Band, Rick James, just funk based stuff. When hip-hop came around, I got into jazz, stuff like Coltrane, Rakim, Bob Marley, Nas, Outkast ,A Tribe Called Queat, Run-DMC. Just a lot of the golden age stuff.

Any new projects we should be looking out for?
The Zion I/Grouch album.

That sounds cool.
Yeah, it sounds pretty cool, the album itself. It's a good look right now, wer'e a little more than halfway finished. We should be out by September or so. After that we're working on the Zion I album for next year. Our distribution company closed down, otherwise we'd have stuff out now.

We have this album called The Alpha, it's a bunch of songs from the old school days, pre-Mind Over Matter. I don't know when that will come out, we'll see... Amp Live has a new mix CD, it's a bunch of mash ups. I have a solo joint, Baba Zumbi, The Science of Breath part two, that's like my own mixtape, alter ego type of thing.

What's up with Duece Eclipse?
He just dropped his album, Radio Plantation, he's got an album out right now, check it out.

Anything else you wanna throw out there?
Check out the weebsite, www.zionicrew.com. We hav a new video online on blastro, it's just basic stuff. Check it out.

Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us in Monterey County.
For sho, man.

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Music Does Exist in the City of Salas

So much of my recent stuff has revolved around music and events happening outside of my hometown that it's easy to forget there's a scene in Salas. This weekend, I got a fresh reminder.
Although the Cinco De Mayo weekend had a lot to do with it, there were actually two shows in town to speak of: punk rock fare at La Perla in Downtown (which has become the hot spot for indy rock/punk in the absence of The Cherry Bean) and dub-rock/roots reggae across the street at the American Legion Hall (of all places).
I ventured into the smokey confines of the American Legion (motto: "Don't be fooled by the whole crusty old guy motif, we do have some hip stuff going on"). On stage, the homies from Wasted Noise, a five-piece ska/punk outfit from Salinas, were setting it off pretty good.
I've seen these guys do random shows around town (The Cherry Bean, Lava Lounge, La Perla) and get better and better with each set. Their sound is par with the dub-rock sound that seems so popular around these parts; lots of skank guitar and one drop drum patterns with heavy bass and catchy lyrics. It would be easy to put them in a box and compare them to 311, Slightly Stoopid or any other so-Cal skank-rock artist, but the vibes are similar.
What impressed me was the solid groove they all settled into towards the end of their set (I got there midway through the set, when everyone was kind of just standing around and afraid to get on the dance floor). Their second to last song got all the fly heinas on the dance floor doing their thing, and the lead singer/drummer seemed to conduct the band from behind a thick wall of speakers (you could barely see the guy). He somehow managed to stand up and sing, play the drums, and lead the audience in a call and response all at once. And the rest of the band kept pace, never once dropping a riff (as is the tendency of new bands playing unfamiliar venues) or missing a beat. Definitely a strong finish.
(The cutest thing: after the show, the mom of one band member came up to me and asked if I would do a feature story on her son's band. Look for an article in the near future, thanks to mom).
My boys Cali Nation batted second. Full disclosure: I did join the group for a song, the buffed up cover of "Hotel California" mixed with a little "California Love." But watching Cali navigate a show is always a fun time.
These guys have been playing together so long, the songs almost fall into one another seamlessly. Their set definitely kept the energy of the night going, and set the table for Dubwize' homecoming.
And Dubwize delivered a typically solid set, mixing high-traction dub riddims with quicker dance numbers. These guys are like rasta-revving combustible engines that hum with smooth efficiency.
The whole point of this blog isn't to necessarily size up the artists that night, nor try and write some sort of wild-eyed fan boy love letter praising the evolution of a sorely needed music scene in my hometown. It's simply to put it out there that live entertainment can happen in Salinas like clockwork, with little to no promotion and unnecessary authoritative presence (both shows went off without a hitch, and everyone was respectful of the venue and the music).
And regardless of whether or not there's ever a legit "scene" in my hometown or not, music will always have a presence. This week, Vicente Fernandez makes a return trip to town, probably the 20th time he's come through. He loves Salinas, and Salinas loves him, and that's why he always makes it a point to come here. He could easily sell out HP Pavillion or something (and I'm sure he will at some point this year) but he chooses Salinas because the fan base is there, and folks do just want to come out and have a good time.
That's what it's supposed to be about.

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Freak-A-Leak: Vol. 2.0

A buddy of mine was lamenting the availability of hip-hop albums that are leaked on the internet. "I feel guilty," he said. "And it's always hip-hop albums that get leaked."

True, the leaked album seems to be a hip-hop phenomenon, dating back to bootlegged cd's sold in advance of an album's release at local swap meets and flea markets, or by big city bootleggers on street corners. And honestly, it's unfair to the artists: their hard work sometimes compromised by greedy hangers-on or shady studio employees looking to make a quick buck.

But they are also a guilty pleasure of mine. I confessed in my last leak issue that I sometimes roam the internet late at night in search of album leaks. That was a bit of an exaggeration (my late night internet sessions are usually reserved for free video poker). In any event, I seem to stumble across leaks by accident. So I figure, I might as well share them with y'all.

Here are a few reviews of the latest bunch I've come across (and don't worry, I plan on buying each of these the first week they are out in stores, when record labels gauge most rap records marketability).

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere: Last Freak-a-Leak, I reviewed a nameless, seven-song leak 'Gnarls Barkley' (sic) that I felt particularly lucky to have scored. This time I scored the whole thing, and I got to say, it's just as good as I had anticipated.

So good, in fact, that I've decided not to listen to the whole thing, as not to completely spoil the anticipation of buying the album when it is release (May 9). But I have listened to the seven songs that were on the original leak, and they are definitely more polished (plus I have names to go with the tracks now).

My second favorite song on the leak, "Who Cares," sounds crisper, and with a different hook ("And I could go on and on and on/But Who Cares?"). It's a more complete song.

And the lead single, "Crazy," well, it's become a hit in the UK, which is promising. Cee-Lo's crooning is Al Green-esque (my sister said so), and Danger Mouse's production is a smash. I even had a friend e-mail me the other day trying to figure out the name of a song he had heard and couldn't get out of his head. The song was "Crazy." Nuff said.

Buy this album this week. Buy two copies, one for you and one for your moms on Mother's Day (I know she's a big Cee-Lo fan).

Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor: This is one of those tragicomic leaks. Lupe is a Kanye West protege, signed to Mike Shinoda's (of Linkin Park) record label, and his album was one of those hot, highly anticipated, critical darling-in-the-making type of debuts that was set to change the game and earn him a lot of groupies (male and female alike). Then, the bottom fell out a few weeks ago when his album leaked.

Lamenting the premature release on okayplayer.com, Lupe sounded sad but resigned: he was pissed that he would have to re-do the entire album, but at the same time he invited fans to give it a listen and let him know what they thought.

Well, you don't have to tell me twice. I found the sucker and boy, is it a banger. I know I usually give positive reviews of stuff on this here blog, but that's only because I only write about stuff I like (why waste time complaining about bullshit? I want to enjoy this stuff). That being said, this Lupe Fiasco is the ish.

It reminds me sort of Nas' debut, Illmatic, not because of the quality of the material (Illmatic is a certified classic, after all), but because it's pretty much just Lupe on his own, riding beats from some known and unknown producers. "You My" sounds like a Neptunes-produced, breezy punch to the ribs. I'm not sure if that's Pharrell doing the falsetto hook, but it works just as well as anything Skateboard P has freaked.

"Never Lies" is an emo-jam with Lupe spitting furious rhymes over a rock and roll rhythm. "Hustla's Song" is a stone cold groove that takes a refreshing, remorseful look at the coke rap craze hip-hop can't seem to get past. And of course, the single "Kick, Push" is a revelation: a song about a young, black skater in the ghetto dealing with the trials and tribs of young love, rebellion and identity. It's a simple song with a complex design, and Lupe rides the groove smoother than a Stevie Williams kick-flip ollie.

Q-Tip - Live at the Renaissance: Q-Tip and Andre 3000 collaborate on a song!

Do I need to continue? Okay, if you insist.

This leaked a couple of weeks ago, and it's supposed to be the new album from Q-Tip, post Kamaal The Abstract (the album he recorded some four years ago but was never released due to label drama/dissatisfaction). And Tip actually raps on this one, after Kamaal The Abstract reportedly had Tip singing.

As for the Tip/Dre collab, well, it's almost too sexy in an Antonio Banderas-keep-ya-shirt-on type of way (no homo). Andre 3000 sings the hook, and the bridge, doing his best to get his Prince on. Its a thorough funk jam, complete with sweaty R&B guitar skank, shakers, and a pulsating thump. I don't know if the boho ladies are ready for this one.

The rest of the disc is a jazzy, subtle cruise, with Tip displaying his player card for all to see. "Say Something For Me" is for the ladies, as is "Lisa," Feelings," and "I Believe," which features the estranged okayplayer D'Angelo singing a gospel hook.

But Tip also brings some boom-bap for the heads, in the form of the J-Dilla sounding production "Official" (Dilla's off-kilter scratch hooks and staticky but sharp percussion are in full effect), and on the incredible "I'm Not Gon Have It." On that song, Tip actually sounds hungry and aggressive, over a slow-rolling, distorted funk track. Tip boasting "I'm fiery, lucid and fast/ you can't dart me."

I don't know if this will ever see the light of day, but it's damn good, that's for sure. Q-Tip sounds refreshed, and considering A Tribe Called Quest is my second favorite hip-hop group of all time (behind only De La Soul), it's a relief to hear him back to his usual quality self. Now if we can only see an official release, I'll be happy.

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Zion-I and Deuce Eclipse Live in SF

Dateline, San Francisco. Friday night. Zion-I and the crew return home to a hero's welcome, and for one night, Bay Area hip-hop doesn't revolve around muscle car stunts and spastic dancing, synth-driven keyboard beats and designer drugs.

Zion-I and Deuce Eclipse performed at the Independent for one of the livest shows I've been to in a while. And, yes, they did get hyphy with it (to a degree), but really, they transcended the Bay Area's latest craze in exchange for true artistic showmanship and craft. Enough to make the backpacker crowd go dumb.

My homie DJ Worldwize served as an opening act, getting the crowd all yellow-bus stupid with Yay Area bangers like "Hyphy Juice" by Clyde Carson and "Blow the Whistle" by Too $hort. Ya boy knows how to move the crowd on the wheels (I gotta get him in here for an interview, pronto. Dave, if you're reading this, h@yb!).

Deuce Eclipse rolled up next. This Nicaraguan nightmare is a beast on the mic, boasting a breathless flow and indigenous estilo. He busted out with a freestyle from the Zion I mixtape "Family Business," claiming he's "The Oywalk/Never with no toy talk" and meaning it (I still don't know what Oywalk means, or if i'm even spelling it right).

Later, he proclaimed "We doin' it Straight for Nicaragua," and then flipped as nimbly in the King's English as he could in Espanol. He even implored the crowd to get hyphy before running through a tongue-twisting freestyle in bilingual tongue, rough and sinister at once.

"When it's Dia De Los Muertos/You'll see me with a mask on" was one of many lines that caught my attention through the night. I went to buy his new cd, "Live from the Plantation," but they didn't have any on display at the merch table. Somebody hook me up with his new disc, please!

As the night wore on, it became a large-scale Bay Area celebration. Everyone from E-40 to Crown City Rockers was getting props from the show's host. And just when it looked like the smoke was starting to settle, Zion I came onstage to a large roar form the crowd.

MC Zion sported fresh dreads and a T-shirt promoting the group's last album, "Tru & Livin'" (which was one of my top 10 picks for 2005). Amp Live, the group's DJ/Producer, manned a work station that included turntables, CDJ tables, a groove box, and other noise making contraptions, giving him the appearance of a mad scientist working a nuclear silo.

Live, Zion's voice is a commanding rebel yell, contrary to the helium-balloon-inhaling tone he sports on record. They stuck mostly to tracks off of "Tru & Livin'" and the "Family Business" mixtape, although the song "Cheeba Cheeba" from their second disc showed up three tracks in.

Amp Live did his patented beat-switch, sound-selector movida, going from the recorded track to an improvised beat performed live on his drum machine. It's a brilliant display of low-fi beat-matching, something that more rap group's should strive fore. Songs like "Temperature" and "Poems for Postmodern Decay" got this transformative treatment, going from a live song to a jazz-inspired sonic experiment in the flip of a switch.

As the show hit its stride, I realized that Zion I has singlehandedly carried the Bay Area underground scene on its back for the past two years. No other underground group has produced as much dope material and toured as extensively as this duo, and it shows in both their stage show and crowd interaction. These guys get love in their home turf for a reason.

The energy reached a crescendo with "Bird's Eye View," the first single off the "Tru & Livin'" album and a showstopper. Lots of heads bouncing in the front row. Watching from an elevated view, the place looked like it was ready to take off.

Deuce joined the crew on stage to spit some light-speed fast freestyles over a beat that sounded like JJ Fad's "Supersonic." The way the crew drew energy off of one another, it was like an old school revival, where the dj played the beat and the MC's got the crowd hype.

The group did an encore to showcase a new song, then got into their tribute to the place they live, the single "The Bay." The remix of the song featured a synthesizer-driven remix that was perfect for the club, and the trio of MC Zion, Deuce and hypeman DUST (along with a chicano MC who I swear looked like bay g-rapper Mr. Kee) got down for the crown.

It was a perfect ending to a hype night of Yay Area funk, proof that the area's talent pool is deeper than one hot for the moment trend.

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"Inventos: Hip-Hop Cubano." A Q&A interview with Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi

Full Disclosure: I spent a summer living with Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi and his family in Berkeley. It was 1996, and I was interning at the Marin Independent Journal.

Eli and his brother, a livewire cat named Kahlil, were friends with my fiancee. They hooked me up with a room in their house, and showed me a lot of love. I vibed especially well with Eli, since we both loved hip-hop music and had a natural curiosity for all things funky.

Although he split his time between the house in Berkeley and his family's home in Sacramento that summer, we still hung out and made a tiny bit of noise, and we would run into one another through the years at various shows, political rallies, and what not.

Now, as grown up, professionals working in the media biz and still pursuing our interests and love of hip-hop, it's appropriate that we connect like this. Eli's doing big things as a documentary film maker, having achieved a national distribution deal for his underground banger "Inventos: Hip-Hop Cubano."

"Inventos" is a stunner - a raw, heartfelt glimpse into the lives of a group of young Cuban hip-hop artists trying to develop a scene on the island, with extremely limited resources. It takes the culture and the music to it's essence: folks doing it simply for the love, young people enamored with the energy and rage and beauty of hip-hop cultura.

The film, released in 2003, has made the film festival rounds, scored a few awards. It's also set him up to complete his next film, an introspective look at Ghanian hip-hop.

Last year, Eli screened the movie at the CSU-Monterey Bay campus, to rousing success. It can be purchased at local bookstores and music stores, or you can buy it online www.clenchedfistproductions.com. There will be a screening of the movie at 5 p.m., April 27, San Francisco State, HSS Building, room 135, in San Francisco

Eli took the time to talk to "The Beat" recently to politic a little something. That same love for hip-hop culture and his accute, natural curiosity were on display, only now he has the film festival awards to show for it.


What's up man. Thanks for talking to "The Beat."
For sure.

So, just give me the rundown in your words, how "Inventos" came about.
"Inventos" started in 1994 when my brother (Kahlil Fantauzzi) went down to Cuba and met up with a group called Aminaza (sic), which later became Orichas. Since that time he was telling me "Man, you gotta go down to Cuba." Because of what it represents in the world, I always wanted to go.
I was in the Caribbean, and (Khalil) said he was going again. That was in 2000, I met up with him. And we just did that. I took my camera with me, and started shooting what I saw, and it was really raw...

When I came back, I was showing people, and they got real excited about it, and I said "Damn, I want to make a documentary about it."

I always had a video camera with me at all the protests and the hip -hop shows, and I always wanted to do a documentary, so I figured this was the right time for it.


Did you have any formal training as a film maker when you began the project?
When I started filming, I had no formal training. When I was in high school, my mom had a high 8 camera and I just took it as my own. I would take it to all the protests and all the hip-hop shows, everyone that I saw. KRS-One, Nas, everyone that came to the Bay, I just filmed it.

I went to Cal (UC-Berkeley), and I took two video classes, and I was able to figure out the basic stuff from that. It wasn't until after the movie I went to NYU and got some formal training.

Did you get your masters in filmmaking?
Yeah, I got my masters at the school of the arts at NYU.

There was a fire at the old house while you were in post production?
Yeah, you heard about that?

Yeah.
That was actually during the editing phase. I was with some of my high school students at a retreat, and I got a call my brother, he said, "Yeah, the house burned down." My first question was "Are you alright," and he told me "Yeah, I had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation."

So after I made sure that he was alright, you know what my second question was? It was like, "What's up with the film?" He said "It's done..."

They restored everything that was on the computer, so how I was editing was I had most of what was called A-roll, interviews and stuff. I didn't get to put in what they call the B-roll, the concert footage and stuff. So when you watch it, you're like, "I wish I could have seen more of the concert footage." Or at least that's what I tell myself when I watch it...

What was your goal with the DVD?
There were three main things. The first one was to show the rest of the world what was going on down there, or start the conversation between the international hip hop community about what Cuba had. I came back with some footage and people were really excited with it, so I figured that if I went back and did some more, I'd have something to work with...

A lot of us in the community, the hip-hop heads in the Bay, we were able to go to Cuba, that's how that conversation really started, and we just went from there.

The second reason was, the most I ever learned about myself was travelling outside of this country. A lot of folks in Cuba haven't had that chance, and watching yourself on a screen is a way of doing that.
A lot of the feedback I got was that "Man, it was great to see people doing it. It was great to see it right there on film." That was a major part of the success was because (the people in the film) loved everything, and they told me that themselves.

The third reason would be for myself, to prove to myself that I could do it. I knew at the time I was making Inventos that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to make documentary films, and it's not easy, but I got it done. In the Inventos steelo, just making it happen with nothing.

Have you had a chance to go back since then?
We just came back from last summer's "Inventos Sankofa Tour" (sic). That's when we brought down the first CDJ's to give to a community center down there. It was cool. I just got to shake everyone's hand personally and got to give them a hug and say "Thank you for making this happen."

It took a long time to do that, because of the legalities of it. So to get the stuff to them, I had to get a crew of nine people to bring two bags of gifts each, because we can't send the stuff because of the embargo. So we handed a bunch of stuff out and it was great.

What have been the musical developments on the island since the film was released?
All of the people in my film became the leaders of the hip-hop movement out there. When people call on Cuba to be represented at hip-hop conferences in South America, it's usually folks from the film

They came back to NYC a second time and played at the Apollo Theatre with The Roots and Kanye West.

There's been so much development that have helped and hindered it . I say that because when people are hungry for what you have, they start preparing stuff for them, to please them. When people want something from you, you start doing that, rather than doing what comes naturally. Recently, with the investment of reggaeton, a lot of people have been doing the reggaeton thing. It's taken from the consciousness of the art as far as music that can form a social change.

What's the distribution deal you have in place?
You know how we did it at first, just pressing them up at the house. I had my boy Miguel Perez do the artwork. You know what the Bay taught me to do, sell them out the trunk.

Through that hustle, we got some interest, some deals were on the table. I felt a lot of them were exploitative, but then we got a deal with City Hall (Records). I liked it, and we got a national distribution, and it's been an amazing ride. I never thought it could have happened or would have happen, and it's happening.

What's your take on the international hip-hop consciousness? Are people in other countries drawn to the music or the sense of rebellion?
To me, hip-hop is just a reflection of society, and so it's not a coincidence that 50 Cent's 'Get Rich or Die Trying' is being pushed all over the world, because that's what America is pushing all over the world.

When we look at Cuba, what do they represent all over the world? They represent social consciousness. Everything from having a large literacy rate to universal health care to La Revolucion. And in that kind of environment, what is has produced is a revolutionary style of hip hop being represented all around the world.

Every place I've been, hip-hop represents itself differently, because the society and what they're going through. The reason it's hip hop doing that and not another genre is because hip hop has been the voice of the youth. And never before have I seen the youth have such a strong voice in society. Before hip-hop, where did we have a voice? This is the first time they're making the world listen. They're making society listen to them. Hip-hop has been that tool.

Industry question: How does one go about marketing their own DVD?
That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to bring the same hustle that Bay Area hip-hop did with CDs to DVDs. It's a lot of personal connections, being a part of the scene. I think if I wasn't a hip-hop head, I wouldn't have had this kind of exposure. If I wasn't an activist, I wouldn't have had this exposure.

I live in those two societies, that's how people know me. Just like you, you're a part of those scenes, and that's how we are able to link up for this interview for The Monterey Herald.

Your next project sounds pretty ambitious. Talk about that.
This is my baby right here. Man, I've been working on this one close to 8 years already. You're going to see these characters grow up not only into manhood, but their profession as hip-hop artists...

In Africa, they have what's called the hip-life movement, which derived from their form of music and culture called the hi-life movement and the hip-hop movement. What Africa is doing is amazing right now, because the rest of the world isn't paying attention to them. They're turning to themselves and they're becoming famous on their own continent.

Anything else you want to throw out there
Big up to the whole Clenched Fist Productions crew. Check out the all the new projects on www.clenchedfist production.com. And to all the revolutionaries out there, using your art or education to change the world, put your fist up and let's do it together.

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