This week has seen two blindingly colorful DMV rap videos drop. Commonwealth colorways aside, seeing the city so artfully shot in a Vimeo frame is always a good look. Above is the J-Scrilla laced posse cut “No Love,” from his Culture of Honor compilation. Raps provided by K Beta, X.O., Oddisee, Ra The Mc, Judah, T.E.F.L.O.N. & Wordsmith. After the jump is the Tabi Bonney directed clip for Phil Ade’s “Hollywood” off Phil’s Starting On JV mixtape. Read More “DMV Rap Attack: Video Edition” »

After a very promising (and very free) test release of the clean version several months ago, Diamond District’s In Da Ruff is officially available in stores today, with cuss words restored and bonus tracks. Though it isn’t getting the national acclaim that Wale is, the trio of emcees XO, yU and rapper/producer Oddisee have cut what is certainly the most complete D.C. rap album of the year. And it might just be the best in many years.

In The Ruff was also released on nice double vinyl, a huge look for a contemporary rap album. Whether that vinyl can actually be purchased within the city limits is yet to be seen—not one of the remaining boutique-y record stores in this city actively stocks new hip hop vinyl. (Shame on you, Smash, Som, Red Onion & Crooked Beat. Oh yes, we’re naming names.)

Another Random Joint – Kev Brown from Humble Monarch on Vimeo.

Word to Rakim, Adams Morgan weekend nightlife is a bit like a walk through hell, having your dome frozen and your eyeballs swelled. Double-Polo’d fratboys do battle over jumbo slices, too far gone girls puke in alleys and drunk dudes holler sloppily at your girlfriend with both hands. But hey, some people dig that scene.

Either way, the mellow boom bap of DC’s own rapper/producer favorite Kev Brown (De La Soul, Low Budget) seems like an unlikely soundtrack for this madness. Yet this short clip from Kev’s Random Joints LP was shot squarely in the heart of that chaos and some how manages make sense. The crowds look absolutely jolly in this video and even the for-no-reason firemen that sometimes clog traffic in front of Tom Toms are happy to see Kev. Adams Morgan should consider hiring directors HumbleMonarch to produce a fluff piece to promote the neighborhood.

Yesterday the Washington Post ran a large feature on DC hip hop.* Chris Richards’ piece offers a cursory “why hasn’t DC rap blown up?” history and intro as well as short profiles of Wale, XO, Kingpen Slim, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade and producers Best Kept Secret. It’s a well meaning and pretty efficient overview, but it’s also predictably been causing some debate within the DC hip hop community as well as some concern about the orientation of Wale’s hat amongst WaPo readers.

And perhaps some concern is warranted (err… within the hip hop community, not about Wale’s hat). The easiest way to critique an article like this is to point out artist omissions. I understand the need for space in a newspaper column so I’ll mostly try to avoid such trivial complaints here.** But there are some larger holes in the story that deserve to be addressed. Read More “DMV Rap Attack: Washington Post Weigh In” »

It’s been a minute, but I’m back with another round up of recent local rapps. (I’ve also officially christened the column, partially in tribute to the great Mr. Magic.)

Likeblood f/ Bobby Valentino – “Money Over Here“
As of late it seems like there are too many rappers and not enough rap groups. Mbea, Young E & Dre Strong, collectively Likeblood, are wise to pool their resources and create a strong hip hop trio. For their most recent single the trio has linked with A-Town crooner Bobby Valentino (whose name I cannot mentioned without a nod to Mista) to cut “Money Over Here,” which notably sounds like popular hip hop. It could comfortably be programmed into a PGC playlist without sounding like an obvious local concession.

Bear Witnez! – Bear Season Mixtape
Bear Wit lives up to his name by rapping like a bear does. He’s hungry and growling. Also he spits lots of metaphors about hibernation and such. Dude sounds best on post-MOP/Freeway style bombastic soul production and the tape does start to lose some steam when he steps out of that comfort zone. Still I’m really looking forward to some sort of cage match battle between him and Big Bear. Standout cut: “DC United” f/ Wale & Kingpen Slim Read More “DMV Rap Attack: New Likeblood, Bear Witnez & More” »

As part of their Latin American Film Festival, AFI Theatre in Silver Spring is screening the documentary Beyond Ipanema: Brazilian Waves in Global Music. The film takes a look at the continuing international fascination with music from Brazil.

“For decades Brazilian music has captivated audiences worldwide. What makes Brazilian music such a powerful force? Why does bossa nova still lure DJs and producers 50 years after it was created? Why does the Tropicália movement resonate so deeply with the alternative-rock crowd?”

Hopefully they will answer answer some harder questions about Brazilian music as well, like “why does Devandra ‘Sandra’ Bernhard think he’s Caetano Veloso?” and “was the anus-marble from the cover of Todos Os Olhos ever fully retrieved?”

The film features Veloso, David Byrne, Creed Taylor, Os Mutantes, Bebel Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Thievery Corporation, M.I.A. and more. We already missed the centerpiece screening this past Saturday, but they’ve thankfully added two more: 7:45 on Wed. and 7 on Thurs. Director Béco Dranoff will be appearing at the second showing.

A minor Wale-related scandal hit the web this week, surrounding a 93.9 ad campaign. On the radio commercial, someone claiming to be Wale’s cousin makes a sound-alike parody of Wale’s seemingly aborted lead single “Chillin,” and tries to push it to the station. He is swiftly rejected in favor of Birdman and Alicia Keys records.

Wale fans didn’t take to kindly to this, blowing up message boards and station managers inboxes about their unwillingness to support local music. Read More “Wale Watch: WKYS of Death” »

The go-go is basically a black rave. Partying until the wee hours in the morning, people passing out, repetition, drugs (probably?). Tomorrow night that connection will get a little more explicit with the first (probably?), oh yes, LIGHT SHOW GO-GO at Landover’s De La Swan Auditorium.

Now I’m not sure if it will be a full scale, Pink Floyd-style laser light show or just two kids holding glow sticks. Or maybe they are just being mad metaphorical and referencing their jewelry ala the titular Gucci Mane hit. There is one way to find out – drive to Landover tomorrow night.

Amongst the obvious big draws, there’s no shortage of strange and unfamiliar names on the bill at this weekend’s Sonic Circuits festival. But I wanted to take a moment to highlight one in particular: Finnish experimental music hero Pekka Airaksinen.

Though he lacks the mythology of Jandek or the skull crushing musical legacy of krautrockers Faust (who he is billed alongside -some might say under, I say alongside – this Sunday at the Black Cat), Pekka is considered a pioneer in his homeland and might just be the only artist to turn up twice on the infamous Nurse With Wound list – once under his government name and once as a member of late 60’s avant rockers Sperm. Read More “Sonic Circuits Pick: Pekka Airaksinen” »

Here’s a strange example of Go-Go resonance for today. A chunk of the score to Super Nintendo’s hover car classic F-Zero bears a striking resemblance to the lead melody from Trouble Funk’s 1982 classic “Let’s Get Small.” Was Japan cranking Trouble like that? Did composers Yumiko Kameya and Naoto Ishida import a hold of a subtitled copy of Good To Go? Or is this merely a coincidence? You be the judge, after the jump. Read More “Go-Go Bites #2: Mute Chocolate City” »