Click on link to download.

Karen O. and The Kids “All is Love” From Where the Wild Things Are
Duck Sauce “aNYway” DJ DLG Remix
Simian Mobile Disco “Naum” Gabo Remix
Rye Rye “Bang” Risk One Remix
Matt and Kim ft. De La Soul “Daylight” Troublemaker Remix
Keenhouse “Civic Transit” Anoraak LAX Remix
Biggie vs Tupac “Runnin’ With The Xx” Quix vs Elliot Blend

Chances are if you listened to East Coast ’90s hiphop, you probably listened to Native Tongues. Groups affiliated with the Native Tongues were The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and of course this week’s Throwback Thursday, Black Sheep. I give credit to my cousin for introducing me to the whole Native Tongues crew, as he was based out on the east. Black Sheep comprised of two members, Dres and Mista Lawnge, and the group had some ridiculous jams back in the day. Their first album, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, sold over 500,000 copies and had hits like “Flavor of the Month”, “Butt…In the Meantime”, “The Choice is Yours”, “Have U.N.E. Pull”, “Yes”, “Strobelite Honey”, damn it, the whole album was pretty much crack. I remember “The Choice is Yours” was a big favorite between my cousin and I as we would pull lines from it and shit. “Flavor of the Month” was another favorite, but it wouldn’t be yeaaaaaaaars til I actually knew what the context of the song actually was.

Black Sheep released two more albums, Non-Fiction and 8WM/Novakane, but neither release ever saw the same success as the first LP. The two split up shortly after the last album, no real reason were ever given and since then they’ve gone on to pursue solo albums. But we’ll have these classic joints with us, check them out below.

Black Sheep “The Choice is Yours”

Black Sheep “Flavor of the Month”

Black Sheep “Strobelite Honey”

Here’s a preview of the photo sets for De La Soul and Jarvis Cocker from Virgin Music Festival in Vancouver. The rest of the photos can be seen at our Flickr page, www.flickr.com/photos/killahbeez.

This past weekend saw the Virgin Music Festival land in Vancouver at Deer Lake Park. Acts included Our Lady Peace, Metric, Sonic Youth, Broken Social Scene, Ben Harper, Jarvis Cocker and many many more.

This was a return of sorts as the Virgin Music Festival didn’t actually come to Vancouver last year. The first day had a great line-up, but was cut short due to a nasty thunderstorm. Organizers feared the worst and decided to cancel the rest of the first day after Our Lady Peace performed. The Roots were suppose to go on next but obviously that didn’t happen. Organizers did release an official statement saying that they do indeed plan to reschedule with The Roots and bring them back to Vancouver. Saturday ticket holders will be able to attend this future concert free of charge, no word yet on when they will be making their way back.

The second day was…well it was fuckin’ hot and I thought I was melting at several points throughout the day. But the line-up made was well worth the wait. Catching acts such as De La Soul, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth, Metric and Ben Harper, what more could one ask for. All these main stage acts were epic and we’ll be dropping the gallery for you all very soon. Maybe all of them today. The crowd turnout on the second day was also a LOT better. Overall a decent return to Vancouver and hopefully it’ll continue building and becoming a mainstay in the Vancouver festival scene.

Last Friday we did a post on the Obey x Dilla benefit poster that was going up on sale, limited to only 400, post seen here. Well them shits sold quick, I was lucky enough to cop one myself. That poster was put together in conjunction with this benefit concert that featured a live orchestra playing J Dilla joints. Below is a video capturing a bit of the evening. Here’s what the person who posted on YouTube had to say:

This is video I took at the Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes concert. A 40-piece orchestra interpreting Jay-Dee’s wonderful work from the hits to the obscure. Arrangements by Miguel Atwood Ferguson. There were numerous cameos throughout the night but this video features Posdnous of the great De La Soul and Talib Kweli performing Stakes Is High and Illa J doing adlibs over Fall in Love. Karriem Riggins was on the drums for the 2nd half of the show. I was trying to be respectful by not taking video but at this point everyone in the place took out cameras and flashes were going off. Since I was in the front row, I might as well share a little bit with y’all. When the full concert comes out on DVD (since there was a film crew) it’s definitely a must-have for Dilla fans and music lovers alike.

Are you planning on attending the Inauguration in Washington, DC? Look no further, I have provided a list of parties, concerts, official balls and unofficial balls.

There will be many (as in hundreds) of events including DC’s night life throughout the week but the hottest tickets in town, besides the official Inaugural Ball, will have special celebrity guest performances. The festivities kick off with Jay-z’s Inaugural Party at Love on Friday.  The biggest show will be on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The party will take place on Friday.  

Ready to go, fire it up!

Here’s a message from President-elect Barack Obama: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

Obama Inauguration Celebrities: Who, What And Where by Jake Coyle

NEW YORK — If you thought the Golden Globes was a party, just wait until you see Barack Obama’s inauguration. Next week, Washington will look a lot like a colder version of Hollywood.

Here’s a roundup of who will be where, keeping in mind that in the mad rush to D.C., schedule changes may occur.

THE BIG SHOW

_ On Sunday, tradition will be upheld with a free star-studded concert on the National Mall, starting at 2:30 p.m. Among the many performers: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, John Legend and James Taylor. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah will read. Obama will stop by and HBO will broadcast “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.”

WHERE’S OPRAH

_ Winfrey will host a live episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday. She’ll also host a second episode on Wednesday. Winfrey has not announced her plans on Inauguration Day.

WHERE’S SPIKE

_ Spike Lee will appear at a daylong symposium at Howard University on Monday to discuss topics including the impact of Obama on Black America. Also there will be Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Lee will also host an after-party Tuesday evening.

OTHER CONCERTS

_ BET will hold an awards ceremony, the BET Honors, Saturday at the Warner Theater to honor Mary J. Blige, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Ervin “Magic” Johnson and others. Gabrielle Union will host and performers include Queen Latifa, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and Joss Stone.

_ The Hip-hop Caucus will host a concert Saturday at Ibiza with Common, Mary J. Blige and Nelly.

_ Jessica Alba will host a kickoff event by youth voter initiative Declare Yourself on Sunday dubbed “A New Birth of Citizenship.” Maroon 5 and DJ Samantha Ronson will perform.

_ “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” will be held Monday night at the Verizon Center and air on the Disney Channel. Performing will be Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Bow Wow. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host with their families.

_ The “America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala” will feature the Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope on Monday at the 9:30 club.

_ Jay-Z will perform a concert “In Concert on the Eve on Change” at the Warner Theater on Monday.

_ Aretha Franklin will play a free concert at the Kennedy Center with Nuttin’ But Stringz and the Let Freedom Ring Choir on Monday.

_ Manifest Hope will finish a three-day-long, Inauguration-themed art exhibit with a party featuring performances by Santogold, Moby and De La Soul.

THE OFFICIAL BALLS

_ The Neighborhood Ball: ABC will broadcast this ball for Washington residents at the Washington Convention Center. Performing will be Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Mary J. Blige.

_ The Youth Ball: This ball is for people aged 18 to 35 to celebrate “the role young Americans can play to serve their communities.” After announcing and then junking a similarly themed ball, MTV will broadcast it. Fall Out Boy is among the acts attending.

_ The other eight official balls are: the Home States Ball, the Commander in Chief Ball, the Biden Home State Ball, the Mid-Atlantic Ball, the Western and Southern Regional Ball, the Midwest Regional Ball, the New England Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.

THE UNOFFICIAL BALLS

_ The “Dreams of My Father” American Scholars Inaugural Ball will take place Sunday at the Four Seasons and feature Alicia Keys, Macy Gray and LL Cool J.

_ The Voto Latino Inaugural Party will on Sunday include Marc Antony, Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana and Wilmer Valderrama.

_ The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will take place Monday at the Harman Center and be hosted by Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, T.I. and Young Jeezy

_ The Huffington Post Preinaugural Ball will be held Monday night at the Newseum and feature performances by Sting and will.i.am. Attendees will include Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Shakira, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry and Ashton Kutcher.

_ The Green Inaugural Ball will be held Monday at the Portrait Gallery and be hosted by Al Gore.

_ Muhammad Ali will attend the Kentucky Inaugural Ball on Monday at the Marriott Wardman Hotel.

_ The nonprofit arts and entertainment advocacy group Creative Coalition will hold a gala to be headlined by Elvis Costello and Sting at the Harman Center for the Arts on Tuesday. Also attending will be Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others.

_ The Purple Ball, Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel, will be hosted by Lou Gossett Jr. and Il Divo will perform. Expected to attend are: Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris, Ashley Judd, Josh Lucas, Amy Brenneman, Brendan Fraser, Susan Sarandon and Lisa Marie Presley.

_ There will be two American Music Balls: The Legends Ball, hosted by Dionne Warwick and featuring Chaka Khan and George Clinton; and the Urban Ball _ hosted by Ludacris and featuring Cedric the Entertainer and Monica. Both will be held Tuesday at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel.

_ BET will host an inaugural ball at the Mandarin Oriental hotel Tuesday. The network will broadcast an hour special to coincide with the ball, which will include a performance by Wyclef Jean.

_ The Equality Ball, hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, will be held Tuesday at the Mayflower Hotel with appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright.

_ The Inaugural Peace Ball, Tuesday at the Smithsonian Postal Museum, will be hosted by Harry Belafonte and include Joan Baez, Graham Nash and Jackson Brown.

_ Rihanna will perform at the Recording Industry Association of America Inaugural Ball to benefit Feeding America on Tuesday.

_ Nas, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph are among those performing at the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball (benefiting military families and veterans) on Tuesday at the Warner Theater

Source: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

This Throwback Thursday I can credit my cousin, Van, for putting me on this when we were kids. At this time I was fully entrenched in hip-hop music listening to Ice Cube, NWA and shortly after getting into the whole native tongues crew with A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, etc. Every summer I’d visit my cousin down in Virginia, but I can remember this particular summer he had some new jams he showed me that I ain’t even heard of at the time. I still remember walking into his room and seeing the GWAR poster that he had up on his wall near the door, bet you didn’t think I’d remember did you. Anyways he proceeded to show me some new music he had picked up and within the assortment of albums was the 1988 Danzig self-titled album. I remembered listening to that cassette all day and all night long, ahhhh memories of when we were young. Just wait til next week to see what he introduced me to only a few years later. Back to the topic, the track that still gets me pumped up to this day is Danzig’s “Mother”, the song is fuckin’ hard and mad satanic, but shit I love it. Also Glenn Danzigs’ vocals are ridiculous, I think his voice is the essential heavy rock voice. The above video is the original video that came out in ‘88, but this song blew up again in like ‘93 or some shit and they remade the video, which can be seen below. Enjoy.

It feels like it’s been a minute since we’ve done a hip-hop mix, but quite honestly I haven’t come across anything quite inspiring, until now that is. Q-Tip is the shit, ’nuff said. He has a new album coming out and teamed up with Dj Dub to present an array of songs that he’s been featured as an artist or produced. This soon-to-be classic features new, classic and unreleased from Q-Tip. Artists like Busta Rhymes, Andre 3000, Kanye West, D’Angelo and more all make appearances on this momentous mixtape.

Download Here

Tracklisting:

1. Intro – DJ Dub
2. Verses From the Abstract – A Tribe Called Quest
3. Midnight – A Tribe Called Quest
4. Midnight 08 Smirnoff Signature mix – Q-Tip
5. Wild Hot – Q-Tip / Busta Rhymes
6. Oh My God – A Tribe Called Quest
7. Got Til Its Gone – Janet Jackson / Q-Tip / Joni Mitchell
8. Footprints – A Tribe Called Quest
9. The Promo – Jungle Bros / Q-Tip
10. Buddy Remix – A Tribe Called Quest / Jungle Bros / De La Soul
11. Check The Rhime – A Tribe Called Quest
12. Groove Is In The Heart – Dee-Lite / Q-Tip
13. Sh. Fe. Mcs – A Tribe Called Quest / De La Soul
14. Excursions – A Tribe Called Quest
15. Drink Away The Pain – Mobb Deep (Prod by Q-Tip)
16. Get Down Q-Tip Remix – Q-Tip / Craig Mack
17. Dont Curse – Heavy D / Kool G Rap / Grand Puba / CL Smooth / Big Daddy Kane / Pete Rock / Q-Tip
18. Make It Better – Kanye West / Talib Kweli / Q-Tip
19. A Rolling Skating Jam Named Saturdays – Q-Tip / De La Soul
20. Heels – Q-Tip
21. Abstractionisms – Q-Tip
22. I Believe – Q-Tip / D’Angelo
23. Vivrant Thing – Q-Tip
24. Can I Kick It (Spirit Mix) – A Tribe Called Quest
25. Lyrics To Go (Tumblin Dice Remix) – A Tribe Called Quest
26. Get It Together Remix – Beastie Boys / Q-Tip
27. Sucka Nigga – A Tribe Called Quest
28. Get A Hold – A Tribe Called Quest
29. Lets Ride – Q-Tip
30. One Love – Nas (Prod by Q-Tip)
31. Give Up The Goods – Mobb Deep (Prod By Q-Tip)
32. The World Is Yours Remix – Nas (Prod by Q-Tip)
33. In The Sun – Large Professor / Q-Tip
34. Bonita Applebum (Hootie Mix) – A Tribe Called Quest
35. Glamour & Glitz – A Tribe Called Quest
36. Feva – Q-Tip
37. Practice Session – The Ummah
38. Thats Sexy – Q-Tip / Andre 3000
39. What The Fuss (Hard Remix) – Stevie Wonder / Q-Tip
40. Ill Vibe – Busta Rhymes / Q-Tip
41. Gettin Up – Q-Tip

Just Blaze drops a mixtape featuring over 50 tracks from the early 90’s. The mix is dope, but there is a bit of talking on it, which I’m not a huge fan of, but hey this is Just Blaze. Features a ton of tracks from artists like Main Source, A Tribe Called Quest, Naughty By Nature, Black Moon, Das Efx, Big L, Mobb Deep and more. Tracklist is after the jump and download link below.

Download Here

01. Main Source – Atom
02. Main Source – Looking At The Front Door
03. A Tribe Called Quest – Footprints
04. De La Soul – Simply Havin
05. New Edition – Once In A Lifetime Groove
06. Brand Nubian – Allah And Justice
07. Brand Nubian – Steal Ya Ho
08. Positive K – Flower Grows In Brooklyn
09. Grand Daddy I U – Something New
10. Intelligent Hoodlum – Live And Direct From The House Of Hits
11. Marley Marl feat. Craig G – Droppin Science
12. Das EFX – Caught In Da Ak
13. Das EFX – Clap Ya Hands
14. LL Cool J – Pink Cookies In A Plastic Bag
15. Mobb Deep – Just Step
16. Jeru The Damaja – Whateva
17. Big L – Put It On Em
18. Artifacts – What Goes On
19. Da Youngstas – Crewz Pop
20. Illegal – On The Mic
21. Jamal – Fades Em All (Pete Rock Remix)
22. OGC – Hurrican Starrung
23. Black Moon – I Got Cha Opin
24. Flipmode Squad – I Got Cha Opin Pt. 2
25. Black Moon – Six Feet Deep
26. Black Moon – Act Like You Want It
27. Busta Rhymes – Abandon Ship
28. A Tribe Called Quest – Verses From The Abstract
29. Pete Rock & CL Smooth – In The House
30. RA The Rugged Man – Every Record Label Sucks Dick
31. Milkbone – Keep It Real
32. Mood – Karma
33. Erule – Listen Up
34. Kris Kross feat. Redman – Tonight’s Da Night (Remix)
35. Too Short – Buy You Some
36. D’Angelo – Dreamy Eyes Of Mine
37. PMD – Rugged N’ Raw
38. PMD – It’s The Pee ‘97
39. Xzibit – Paparazzi
40. L The Head Toucha – Too Complex
41. Method Man – Untitled
42. Natural Elements – Lyrical Tactics
43. Natural Elements – Hemlock
44. AZ – Gimmie Yours
45. Wu Deep – Shook Ones Blend
46. Ini – Fakin Jax (Remix)
47. Mobb Deep – Untitled
48. Tevin Campbell – Tomorrow (Just Blaze Remix)
49. OC – Far From Yours
50. Nas – It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Demo)
51. Just Blaze – Clientel/Life Of Mine

Brooklyn is home to many talented musicians. Name a genre and the BK got it covered. Biggie, The Rapture, In Flagranti, Hercules & Love Affair… The list can go on, but let’s focus on today’s Throwback musical outfit. I discovered Dr. Buzzard’s Old Savannah Band from listening to Dj Neil Armstrong’s “Original” mixtape cd over at Reed Space a few years back. Original is crack and so is the single, Cherchez La Femme. The band may have only seen three years of success before going their separate ways. But watch the video and see why they’ve been sampled by the likes of De La Soul, Doug E. Fresh and Ghostface Killah.

LiveNation, Gman and Rizk and Spectrum Presents De La Soul on Friday April 18th at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver.

From Gman and Rizk’s website is this:

“The original practitioners of Daisy Age hip-hop are back. In fact, De La Soul never left. The indie trio first splashed onto the scene with 3 Feet High and Rising, a 1989 masterpiece that introduced the Amityville, New York group’s style of eclectic sampling, quirky, surreal lyrics and pop melodies to the world. The record yielded the hit “Me, Myself and I” and, as a measure of its crossover appeal, 3 Feet High and Rising was named by British rock mag NME as disc Album of the Year. The group’s second effort, De La Soul is Dead, was a more mature effort that dropped some of the debut’s lightness, but still managed an absurd sense of humour. The disc, which included singles like “Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)”, has become a cult classic—Score listed it as one of its top 100 hip hop albums of all time. Critically acclaimed follow-up releases like Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, and The Grind Date have revealed a trio never afraid to try new things, and have kept De La Soul’s following on their toes.

The Grammy Award-winning group’s most recent release, The Impossible Mission, includes new tracks, freestyles and never-before released songs from the vaults of the group’s earliest releases. Their contribution to the evolution of the jazz rap subgenre is unassailable, and the band has influenced countless acts, including Black Eyed Peas, Digable Planets and many more.”

Tickets are $35 each and can be copped at Ticketmaster.ca.

Visit www.gmanandrizk.com for more info.

This weeks’ Throwback Thursday goes out to A Tribe Called Quest. Dedicated to a co-worker of mine, she brought up all these memories of all the classic joints I grew up listening to and spinning. Growing up I loved the whole Native Tongues crew, which included the likes of the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep to name a few. Two things when I first copped the Midnight Marauders album: 1. I thought this was one of the illest album covers I had ever seen. Granted I didn’t know all the faces on the cover, but I knew a few to be like “wow” and made me want to find out who everybody on the cover was and 2. All of the songs on this album were classics, in fact this album would stay in constant rotation. First on cassette, then on CD, then on my iPod, now I’m looking to get this on vinyl, as I’m trying to collect all the classics on vinyl.

The joint that I’m featuring today off of this classic album is “Electric Relaxation”, as soon as I heard the opening beats I was hooked and guess what, that opening 30 seconds of this song I use as my ringtone. The way Q-Tip and Phife flipped it back and forth lyrically is just seamless and smooth. The video is classic and simple featuring the three members in and around New York, cruising in a cab, kickin’ it in the streets and chillin’ in the restaurant. Simply timeless unlike these wack videos we usually see nowadays. Refresh your memory on the song and then hit the jump to check out where this was sampled from.

Ronnie Foster – Mystic Brew