Off Da Glass

Last year Shake and I teamed up with the folks of Last Rights and DJBooth to throw our very first, unofficial SXSW showcase. We’d like to think that all parties involved did a damn good job putting together a laundry list of acts together in a random-ass bar in Austin, Texas in roughly six weeks, but keeping it perfectly real it was one of the more stressful events we’ve ever pulled out of our asses. Needless to say, after the showcase was over we spent the remainder of our time partying and getting trashed. Good times.

With the 2012 edition of SXSW approaching, Shake and I sat down and conversed (or, emailed each other since he lives in Las Vegas and I in New York City) about ideas for another event there. As much fun as we had at last year’s showcase, watching Shake down virtually every alcoholic beverage thrown in his direction and then drunkenly singing along to “Wasted” while at a party was decidedly less taxing and more amusing.

Enter: The Dopehouse.

There are going to be hundreds of showcases spanning virtually every musical genre (I personally plan on attending more non-rap functions this go-round), with a variety of artists performing (many of these shows are even for free) for your listening pleasure.

The Dopehouse will not be one of them.

The Dopehouse, instead, will be a place where you can get hammered and drunkenly sing along to “Wasted” and other tunes while some random-ass chick you just met at one of those free showcases earlier in the day grinds feverishly on your pelvis.

The Dopehouse will be RSVP-free and open to everybody.

The Dopehouse will be free to enter all night. Kinda like that random-ass chick you just met at one of those free showcases earlier in the day who will be grinding on your pelvis.

The Dopehouse will be two nights: Friday, March 16th and Saturday, March 17th. Yeah, Saint Patrick’s Day. So you have two chances to rock green, get hammered and drunkenly sing along to “Wasted” and other tunes while some random-ass chick you just met at one of those free showcases earlier in the day grinds feverishly on your pelvis.

The Dopehouse is where you and yours can join Shake, myself and the rest of the 2DBz/NMC family, and some familiar faces you’ve seen grace this site. Who, exactly? Who knows, because they’re all invited.

The Dopehouse is for everybody, because everybody is invited to The Dopehouse.

Viva The Dopehouse.

See you there. More details to come.

Directed by Jerome D.

Yep! The haunting cut that follows my personal favorite off ScHoolboy’s Habits & Contradictions gets the visual treatment.

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The second law of thermodynamics is known as entropy, which states that over time, a person, place or thing will move from a perfectly ordered state to a disordered one. While in its original context, entropy relates to heat and energy conversion, it can also be applied to the physical life, with the slight exception that human intervention can sometimes prevent, or at least slow down the speed of entropy. Think of a house that needs serious restoration: over time, it will eventually decay, and if no one tends to it to prevent this, that house will eventually crumble into itself. However, if someone decides to take the initiative to restore it, whether by replacing or repairing the foundation, priming and painting the walls and adding extra support, one can save the house.

Over the last fifteen years or so, entropy has had an impact on Hip-Hop. The decline of the authenticity of the music and the life force of the culture seemed to start in 1997, at least in my eyes, and while I cannot pinpoint the exact cause, many will agree that the inundating of big corporations firmly planting themselves like a plaguing virus played a big role. These ravenous vultures found a way to deceitfully exploit the music and culture, and as the main manufacturer, extracted it out of its original essence, and diluted it into something that was unnatural and unfamiliar.

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Using the metaphor of preventing a house from declining into a dilapidated state by the use of extensive maintenance, why can’t we as advocates of Hip-Hop culture use this same concept to help save, or at least preserve the original conditions of the culture? I catch flack on this site at times for being “stuck in the 90s.” While this may be partially true, I don’t look at it this way; I see it as a way to help preserve the “best part” for the younger generation. I understand that there are some younger heads who simply do not wish or care to learn about the history of this culture, and that’s perfectly fine. In due time, and given the right conditions, they will eventually want to educate themselves. I do this for the bunch that do want to learn. After all, our duty as older heads is to teach the youth, and this does not only apply to music. What good is the knowledge a school teacher has gained via higher education or life if said teacher does not apply it and share it?

The now generation has a variety of measures and tools to enlighten themselves on Rap history, and should be taking full advantage of this. As a child growing up, I did not have access to the internet which was still in its beta stages, and those who did have internet access also had long enough paper to be able to afford it. Nearly everything I’ve learned thus far was from being an autodidact, by reading books, magazines and everyday socializing and as much as I’ve absorbed, I still find myself learning more and more each day.

Instead of criticizing and condemning the MC who’s “keeping it real” or “making music like it’s still 1995,” salute them for doing their part in preserving and maintaining the culture and manifesting artistic awareness. You also can do your part by teaching the babies. It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 years old or 30, if you have the knowledge, pass that shit on! I’m sure you’ve heard the old African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child,” so teach the babies! The children of today will be the leaders, educators, MCs and gatekeepers of Hip-Hop for the future. God bless the child that can hold his own.

During Blu and Exile’s show the other night in San Francisco, an upset fan jumped on stage to express his disappointment in Blu’s performance. And based off the description of the YouTube clip, he wasn’t the only one who had these thoughts..

While I don’t agree with the fan jumping on stage, I think the dude was right with Blu putting on a weak show. He was wasted, forgetting his lines, mumbling, and literally leaning on the mic stand for balance in the corner the entire show. Such a shame when the dude is obviously so talented, getting that trashed where he can’t put on a decent show.

Sadly, the clip also confirms the missteps. And while we at the dopehouse are huge fans, we do have to showcase the good and bad. Now… how about a mastered version of Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them to make up for it?

Directed by Chase (of The Goodlife Co.).

The Detroit emcee hits us with the latest video from his debut album, The Name Is Tag, which is available now.

Directed by Greg Grease.

Welp, that was… different. I guess Ke$ha’s budget sleaziness wasn’t enough to nab everyone for the video. Instead, we get a transvestite, Pedro, some dude in a wheel chair and a ginger to lip sync.

DOWNLOAD: Ke$ha – Sleazy (rmx) f. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, T.I & Andre 3000

Fresh off his latest single with his older brother John Legend, Vaughn enlists Dunson for the next single off his upcoming Life Of A Player mixtape. Produced by the Grammy-nominated production trio Phatboiz, who laced JL with Tonight (Best You’ve Ever Had) w/ Luda.

Super brief trailer for Future’s upcoming video, dropping January 31st.

Only five dates left on the Midwest State of Mind Tour, hopefully y’all are within the distance.

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With her debut album Paper Girl out now, the femme fatale of the Language Artz crew stopped over by Homegrown Radio to speak on life, liberty and Artz.

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PREVIOUS: Raven Sorvino (of Language Artz) – Oprah Winfrey (prod. The Formula)

Mark February 9th on your calendars, as Pill will release The Epidemic with DJ Holiday that day. Can he do it MMG-free? Hell, he already was before they came into play…

DOWNLOAD: Pill – Yeen Gon Believe | Mediafire
PREVIOUS: Pill – New Clothes & New Shoes (Video)

Al And No’s Vodka & Ayahuasca is out now, and here’s one more loosie from that project. Props to SPIN.

DOWNLOAD: Gangrene (Alchemist x Oh No) – Dark Shades f. Evidence & Roc C | MF
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With the megamix dropping earlier today, Yela hits the LA Leakers with his own rendition of Tyga’s stripper anthem.

DOWNLOAD: Yelawolf – Rack City Freestyle

Stalley lets another Ski collaboration loose from his vaults, this time waxing poetics about his whip and his life.

PREVIOUS: Stalley – Harsh Ave (prod. Ski Beatz)

A little early for Wiz to talk about maintaining success right? No shots… I just think someone that only has one album out is a bit “uneducated” on the topic. And no, this is not me “hating” or “dissing” Wiz. Just an outside opinion (that I know most of y’all don’t even care about haha). Yeah, I love this bloggin’ shit.

Brief glimpse into Wayne’s upcoming video from Tha Carter IV.

Directed by Mason Rich Media.

Shot live at the Brookfield Zoo (with additional footage filmed at the San Diego Zoo), Vic hits us with the latest visuals from his Vic Greenthumbs mixtape. Also, be on the lookout for a remix of Kiss My Ass From Spain featuring muthafuckin’ Sean Price. P!

FKi gets up with the (Oh My God) Kush God and a guy with the best rap name I’ve seen in months for this cut off of their Transformers N The Hood (presented by Diplo, Heroes & Villains and Mayhem) set to drop February 1st. Props to GFCNY.

The visual dropped yesterday, now you can cop the audio. The Treacherous quartet’s Ambitions AZ A Writer drops this upcoming Tuesday (January 31st).

DOWNLOAD: Horseshoe Gang – Trust The Shoes | Mediafire
PREVIOUS: Horseshoe Gang. – King Kong

Tyga’s big remix off his upcoming album, Careless World, dropping February 21st. Video coming shortly. Welcome back, Splash. SHAKE UPDATE: Back to the top top with the explicit.

DOWNLOAD: Tyga – Rack CIty (rmx) f. Wale, Fabolous, Meek Mill, Young Jeezy & T.I.

The best part about this shit, their impressions are fucking spot-on. First Pastor Troy, now this; the South never ceases to amuse me.

At Michael Jackson’s Hand & Footprint Ceremony in Los Angeles this morning, the Toronto songbird performed a rendition of the vintage Jackson 5 single. Music just really isn’t the same since he passed…

Her music takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s like if The Jungle Brothers’ hip-house sensibilities and Grace Jones’ zaniness got together in some Ecstasy and 4 Loko-fueled, hypersexual bender and she was the end result. Totally not an insult at all.

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Miguel versus the Rosenthal brothers. As usual, hijinks ensue.

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I can only imagine what some of youse are going to say in the c-section. It’s actually not bad at all, however. This track can be found on the upcoming Frat Rap project from DJ Whoo Kid and Mr. Peter Parker, and will release February 2nd.

DOWNLOAD: Mac Miller – Death Of The Emcee | Mediafire

By Gil Kaufman

Rihanna has raised a lot of eyebrows this week with her latest body modification: a tattoo that reads "Thug Life", in honor of late hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. While 'Pac had the words emblazoned across his abdomen, Rihanna opted to write them across her knuckles in what appears to be glow-in-the-dark ink.

Say what you will about whether the pop princess is living the kind of rising-up-from-the-streets life Shakur was honoring by splashing the name of his crew across his stomach, but she joins a long list of musicians who've used body art to pay homage to fallen homeys or musical inspirations.

When hip-hip hookmaster Nate Dogg died last year, his old friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg had an image of Nate's face with the legend "All Doggs Go to Heaven" written on his arm as a remembrance of the G-funk singer. And while Faith Evans once proudly bore a heart-shaped tattoo that read "B.I.G." in honor of her then-husband Biggie Smalls. (After the couple split, however, she added some ink so it read "B.I.G. FAYE.")

Read more at MTVNews.com

The Brooklyn spitkicker drops some bars for his favorite clothing brand. That beat kinda goes…

DOWNLOAD: Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – The Bear Trickz (Mishka Way Of Life) f. Goldie Glo | Mediafire
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With Sonnymoon’s 2012 EP now available, they drop a pair of cuts to entice listeners to cop it: a song from the EP and their remake of the vintage Brazilian cut “The Girl From Ipanema.”

Goddess

Magicians (MndsgnSalmonFromIpanemaMX)

PREVIOUS: Sonnymoon – Near Me (Video)