Rashad Street Drops The Corner Store Vol.1 Today

Friend of the blog Rashad Street is having a good weekend. Not only is it his birthday today, he's celebrating by releasing an all new project, "The Corner Store." Rashad Street stays busy, even on his birthday.

We chopped it up with Rashad this week, and talked about the new project, even newer projects, switching up genres. Read below. And then go download some new music.

BANDCAMP

http://www.whoisrashadstreet.com/

What's up the new release? I hear it is totally different from other things you have put out?

Yeah it is! The Corner Store Vol. 1 is a collection of instrumentals that I've conducted.

What motivated you to release an all instrumental record? Can your fans expect more of this kind of thing in the future?

I wanted to let the people know that I was more than an artist. Yes they can. I just released a project last month under the moniker Sleepyhead Goes To Paris. It's Dub Step, Techno, Electronica, etc. Expect more of these projects in the near future!!

(Click HERE to download Sleepyhead Goes to Paris)

I also hear you have a special project in the works with some folks from Denver. Can you let anything about that slip?

I've got something in the works with good friend & old classmate by the name of Brik-A-Brak. I can't really speak on it now, but you'll be the 1st when I do!!!

You're doing a blog now, right? How are you using the blog to fit into your overall hustle.

Yeah. www.whoisrashadstreeet.com. It's an avenue that's geared towards promoting myself & others who I feel can help generate a movement!! I want to help preserve an art that some may say is dying. To me, that's not the case. We all go through changes. I just hope that through those changes, we can see the good!!

What do you have on deck to release next? Are you switching it up again?I honestly cannot answer that at the moment!! Okay here it goes:

Rashad Street-If You Didn't Know

Rashad Street & Durdy Costello- The Big Payback: Unfinished Business

I have a few more, but you get the point...I'm working!!!

Ulogy, Trumpcard, and Mr. Fluid at Suite 106 Saturday Night

This Saturday, Back to Basics, Jackson's monthly hip hop showcase, will be in full effect at Suite 106. The September edition features Ulogy, Trumpcard, and Mr. Fluid. We will be celebrating the back to school season. Also, it is Ulogy's birthday weekend, so come out and buy him a drink or two and cop some CDs.

See you Saturday.

In the meantime, CLICK HERE to check out an interview we did with Mr. Fluid a few months ago.

Check back in a few days for an exclusive interview with the other Jackson hip hop artist who has a birthday this weekend.

Catching up with Slangston Hughes

If you remember a few months back, we held an edition of our monthly hip hop showcase called The Away Team Edition. Even though we try to focus our events on local, independent hip hop artists, we do take the time to reach out to artists outside that city that do things similar to what we do. Over time, we have built an away team that we consider to be kindred spirits in this world of independent hip hop.

One of the artists we work closely with is Slangston Hughes from New Orleans, Louisiana. Slangston is no stranger to the Jackson scene: he has come up to the city several times for shows and we have sent some of our folks down there to him for his monthly event, Uniquity.

Slangston is always busy, and in fact is hard at work on the follow up to his most recent project. He found a few moments to catch up with the blog recently and you can read the interview below.

Tell the people in Jackson what they need to know about Slangston Hughes. Where are you from, what is your message, what motivates you artistically?

You need to know I'm THE Connoisseur of Fine Rhyme. A moniker I don't brandish likely and do my best to live up to every day. I'm from The Mardi Mecca, New Orleans. My message is to inspire listeners to reach and aspire for more in life and ultimately understand music is more than what we're force fed daily. I'm motivated artistically by some of the obvious greats: Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Black Thought, Jay-Z, et al but most importantly the events of everyday life. There's enough complexities within our daily world to keep me moving, intrigued and inspired.

Your stage name is a play on Langston Hughes. How do you think you fit into the artistic and poetic legacy of him and the other people who made up the Harlem Renaissance.

Langston was a very creative and innovative writer, poet and playwright. When he wrote, like many others during the Harlem Renaissance, it was for a purpose. A message of Black solidarity, history and insightfulness was provided in much of his work. I feel that I continue that legacy of innovation, creativity and most importantly, thought provocation with my music and artistry.

What is up with your event in New Orleans, Uniquity?

Uniquity - now in its second year - is a live performance event that gives Hip-Hop, R&B and Spoken Word artists the opportunity to work with a four piece jazz band. I'm always looking to push the envelope with Uniquity and provide New Orleans' audiences with not only talented performers but also quality events.

What project are you pushing right now? What do you have lined up for the future?

Dollar$ & Daialogue (GET IT HERE) is my current project with emcee/producer, L'Daialogue Dicaprio. The follow-up to that album, Dollar$ & Daialogue 1.5 is up next shortly with some other projects I'm really excited about coming in the near future.

Back to Basics this Saturday Night!!

This Saturday night, Suite 106 is hosting a very special Back to Basics: 5th Child Storytellers Edition. For this show, 5th Child will give fans an in depth look at his newest release, 5th Child, which was released this Spring.

(Click here to read an extended interview with 5th Child)

The show will feature performances of songs from 5th Child, including tracks are not in the normal performance rotation. Also, 5th Child will talk about the recording of the album and the meanings and inspirations behind the songs. There will be giveaways, special guests, free food, merchandise for sale, and much more.

On top of all that, the second half of the show will feature "5th Child Jukebox," where 5th will perform songs requested by his fans. Click here to request songs for 5th to play at the show.

5th Child on iTunes

This Saturday. Suite 106. $5. Doors at 9 PM. Show starts promptly at 10:00.

ZeeDubb's Bronze Mixtape out NOW

Vicksburg, Mississippi Hip Hop artist ZeeDubb recently released the "Bronze Mixtape: Mississippi Edition," a collaboration with Wu Tang producer Bronze Nazareth. ZeeDubb has been a good friend of the blog since its inception; he held down the podcasts for us for a while. ZeeDubb and his wife, poet Scarlette, are leaving Mississippi for Arizona in August for new opportunities, and he leaves the "Bronze Mixtape" as his last hurrah for Mississippi.

The blog caught up with ZeeDubb last week to talk about the new release and all kinds of other stuff. After you read, click HERE to download the mixtape for free!!

Where does The Bronze Mixtape fit into your collection of releases? Is it part of a progression or is it a new direction? How did you get Bronze Nazareth involved?

The Bronze Mixtape is a project that I can say that I really wanted to do. The Voice of Abstract was more of a compilation of tracks I put together in a rush to release something, but The Bronze Mixtape is more focused and I'm sure you can hear the difference in the two, from the production, to the subject matter and the structure. It's definitely a direction my music is going into for now. Ever since I heard Wu-Tang meets Indie Culture: Think Differently Music and Bronze Nazareth's The Great Migration, I have been a fan of his production. So once I saw he had a compilation of his beats released, I downloaded them and began this project. Of course I hit him up on facebook and we discussed it and he was definitely down with the idea of a Mississippi & Detroit, MI collab.

I know you are married to an amazing poet named Scarlette. What is it like around the house? Do you guys spend a lot of time listening to each other's stuff? Do you guys only speak in rhyme to each other?

HA! Yea, going 7 months strong. Around the house there is either a lot of music playing, from Hip-Hop, reggae, blues, jazz, sometimes orchestra & classical (being married to a music major) and whatever else. You can definitely walk by our house and hear us blasting Yung Humma & Flynt Flossy. We keep the jeep riding!!! (laughs) Or we're watching The Office or Archer. We're definitely critiques of each others' works. She was definitely a big help with The Bronze Mixtape and she's back to working on her own music along with her poetry and I do my best to add my 2 cents. I think we'd both go crazy rhyming to each other like some musical. (laughs)

I know you have a deep love for Mississippi hip hop. What is it about hip hop in Mississippi that you see as being so special?

I love Mississippi Hip-Hop because people don't think there's anything more than what the mainstream puts out there. People wouldn't believe artists like myself and PyInfamous, Skipp Coon or Ulogy is down here. Most think of Mississippi as just David Banner back in the days of Cadillac on 22s. Which was great and helped put Mississippi on the map, but there's 5th Child, Trumpcard, 7even:Thirty, Lyrik, Eclipse and so many others to name. There are artists who are influenced from music and not just rap. The artists that I've met in the past few years have probably inspired me more than any famous artist. Half of the ones I've mentioned are activists or teachers that just want to make good music and I love that. I will forever represent my Mississippi family because they helped me grow. If these great artists get a moment to shine like they should, Hip-Hop would definitely make a big turn from where it's at now.

I also know that you are moving out of state soon. Where are you moving? What brought about the move? Are you excited to be going somewhere new to rep Mississippi?

Yes, Scarlette and I are moving to Phoenix, Arizona. I've been trying to figure out what I want to do outside of my music, and minimum wage jobs at a casino just aren't doing it for me. I'll be attending Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) and She will be teaching music. I'm very excited about moving and I plan to represent MS very well while hitting the streets on a Kawasaki Ninja!

What all do you have coming up? Any new mixtapes, albums, etc. before you leave?

I mainly want everyone to get The Bronze Mixtape: Mississippi Edition. That is the focus!!! Get that!! I may release some new recordings as an official project before I leave but time is winding down and I may be leaving sooner than expected but a majority of the songs can be found at www.soundcloud.com/zeedubb as the Exclusive set. I've got recordings with Rashad Street, James Crow and Ulogy that I know the listeners will love.

Before I leave this wonderful state, I would like to give a Shout-out to Seven Studioz/Cultural Expressions, Suite 106, DJ Phingaprint for putting me on with June Hardwick and 4ever Fridays, Kamikaze for getting me on at Dreamz (GenerationNXT) and allowing Ulogy and I to throw that bomb Double Album Release Party in VIP. Skipp Coon, Mr Nick, Ulogy, 7even:Thirty, Mike Bunch & Flicka II a Flame, Trumpcard, James Crow, Rashad Street, PyInfamous, DJ Young Venom, DJ Sean Mac, Cocky McFly, Urban Raw, C. Leigh McInnis, my beautiful wife, Scarlette, my boy Silent G and many others...You all have helped me grow as a person, artist, and performer, whether you know it or not. Shalom.

PyInfamous in New Orleans

(PyInfamous backstage at The House of Blues New Orleans. Photo by DJ Young Venom)

On Saturday, July 2, PyInfamous travelled to New Orleans to perform at the House of Blues, opening for PacDiv and N.E.R.D. The performance was one of the rewards for Py's victory in Coors Light's Search for the Coldest MC contest.

With the Essence Music Festival in full swing just a few blocks away at the Superdome, Coors Light took over the House of Blues for a special afternoon show. As anyone who has been to any music festival in New Orleans, the good times keep rolling all through the day and night, across several locations and venues. The Coors Light party fit right in with the vibe that Essence was putting down for the whole weekend.

For the afternoon, The House of Blues was transformed into a Coors Light wonderland, with interactive online stations, complimentary beer and food, and the crowd favorite Coors Light girls, in the tight silver pants.

A large contingency of Jacksonians held down the line to get in to the show. After some innovative uses of the guest list, we all got in. PyInfamous hit the stage at 3 PM, along with DJ Young Venom, who dropped a well placed "Cold as Ice" sample to get things kicked off. The crowd response was very good: besides the loud and rowdy and Jackson folks, the locals also seemed to be feeling what Py was giving them, doing their part to participate in "Still the King." The highlight of the performance was Kerry Thomas (KT) joining Py onstage to perform "Bliss (Cooler Than This)," the song that won the Search for the Coldest contest and brought us all to New Orleans. The ladies in the crowd voiced their approval for KT's singing, something that those of us that see him perform a lot have grown accustomed to. "Bliss" closed out the show and PyInfamous had shown once again why he is indeed the coldest.

After a short DJ interlude, PacDiv rocked the crowd with their energetic West Coast style. After PacDiv, crowd favorite N.E.R.D. delivered a raucous set of rock and roll based beat music. Ulogy and I agreed that the MVP award went to the drummer, who beat the hell out of the skins while keeping the band on point.

All in all, the show was a blast and it was so great to see PyInfamous do his thing in front of a large crowd in one of the most legendary music cities in the world. It was a great day for Jackson, especially those of us in New Orleans that were lucky enough to get in. Many people worked tirelessly to help Py win the award and Saturday felt like the culmination of all our efforts and work. The day certainly belonged to PyInfamous, but we were all lucky enough to share in it. Jackson's hip hop scene repped hard that day in New Orleans.

Check out a few pictures from the day. All photos courtesy of Skipp Coon.

Click HERE for more from Skipp Coon

Coke Bumaye's Translation 2: Limited Edition Drops Today

Today, June 28, 2011, Jackson favorite Coke Bumaye drops Translation 2: Limited Edition. As fans of Coke know, his Translation series has been a huge success and kept him on the top of the game in Jackson for a minute now. This Limited Edition version comes with all new songs and remixes as well as a few surprises or two.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

In addition to the digital version linked above, Coke has physical copies of the CD for sale in Jackson. AND, there is also a special collector's edition of the CD with special artwork that comes packaged with a t-shirt and a sticker.

The blog caught up with Coke Bumaye to talk about the new release and a few other things.

So, Translation 2: Limited Edition. What makes this a limited edition? What makes it stand out from the first Translation 2?

Well, its the limited edition because first we changed the packaging and second there is only two original songs from the first tape, and the rest are remixes and new material

Then it (the collector's edition) comes with a LIMITED Edition t-shirt and sticker.

What progression has your music made through the past couple of years? How intentional are you in pushing your sound further?

As far progress goes, my music grows with me, and over the past couple of years I have grown and experienced a lot and you will hear it in the music. For the most part, I try to keep my sound organic and let it just happen. I go with what I feel.

People talk a lot about the Coke Bumaye movement. What do you think it is that makes people relate to what you do so well? Are you comfortable being the leader of a movement, whatever that movement may be?

I think people relate because it’s the truth. The stuff I put in my music, you can come through my neighborhood and see it’s the person that’s in the music is really me. Everything you hear I have done it, seen it, been around it, etc and I have no problem being at the front of the movment. I feel that’s where I’m supposed to be! I’m just talking for the people who don’t have a voice.

Talk some about your work with DJ BangBang. Why do you guys work so well together? And how is it that you two are some of the hardest sounding cats in the city, but also two of the nicest dudes?

Well me and Bang work well because we are our worst critics. We both have passion for what we doing and we don’t give a damn about each other’s feelings. Plus we came up together. And as far as us being nice guys, that’s just how we try to carry ourselves, but we jus ain’t taking no shit (laughing).

Tell the people where to cop the Translation 2: Limited Edition. And, where can the people get one of those Coke Bumaye shirts I've been seeing around the city?

Ok, you can get all the music at www.cokebumaye.bandcamp.com. Get at me on twitter @cokebumaye. And you get the t-shirt free when you buy the collector edition of Translation 2. (See Coke in Jackson to get the collector's edition.)

Come out tonight to Suite 106 for the Translation 2: Limited Edition release party. DJ Bang Bang and DJ Fiya Man on the Ones and Twos. Doors at 8 PM.