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Bits & Pieces
Snoop, Lauryn Hill Join Incredible Rock the Bells Line-Up
06.09.10
Big names have been popping up all over the place as confirmed performers for the world’s premier hip-hop festival Rock the Bells, and yesterday a few hip-hop superstars joined the list. Lauryn Hill, whose name had been flying around the rumour mill, has been confirmed as a “special guest” performer, and will be doing a few Fugees songs along with her own stuff. Snoop Dog was also confirmed and he’ll be heading back to the ghetto days performing 1993′s Doggystyle in full. Finally, A Tribe Called Quest and DJ Premier of GangStarr will also be hitting the stage. As cornershopstudios reported a few weeks ago, these legends will be added to a list of performers that already includes Wu-tang Clan, Rakim and Jedi Mind Tricks among others. Seriously, if you’re a hip-hop fan this festival may be worth the road trip down south.

ELP
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FROM THE CORNER comes...
Das Racist
04.14.10
by Canyon

Chances are that if you’ve heard of Das Racist it’s most likely due to their track Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. It was unleashed last summer, and caused quite a stir amongst journalists and indie scenesters alike. Were these Brooklyn rhymesters the latest YouTube/MySpace one hit wonders or hip hop revolutionaries? Part social commentary, part intellectual dissertation, part adolescent jokery, one thing is certain; their musically repetitive style is controversial and does not appeal to all. Shut Up, Dude is their only official release to date and comes in the form of a free downloadable mixtape. On it you’ll find Who’s That? Brooown! which features a sample from A Tribe Called Quest’s Situation, Rainbow in the Dark another track with a fast food prominent theme and Chicken and Meat which boasts the lyrics, “People eatin’ bacon all around the nation”. Check it out for yourself – download the mixtape here.

Genre: Hip Hop
Latest Album: Shut Up, Dude
For Fans Of: Beastie Boys, Buck 65, The Lonely Island
Listen To: Das Racist
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Bits & Pieces
Kanye West Attempts to Revisit his “Hip-Hop Roots”
04.06.10
What do you do after insulting Taylor Swift on live national television and release a schmaltzy, auto-tuned album titled 808s & Heartbreak? You apparently round up Q-Tip, RZA, Drake, and Pete Rock for a crack at a return to your “hip-hop roots”. In a forthcoming record tentatively dubbed Good Ass Job, Kanye West is seemingly attempting to redeem himself in the world of rap. A Tribe Called Quest heavyweight Q-Tip recently released a statement in regards to his collaboration with Kanye saying, “I just try to work with people who I admire or whom I think has got it. So right now I’m working on Nas’ shit, about to work with Kanye on his shit.” RZA, Pete Rock, and producer No I.D. also reportedly joined West at his home recording studio in Hawaii. Hopefully to inspire Kanye to tap into his “hip-hop roots” we keep hearing so much about.

Lit
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Bits & Pieces
From Rapper To Writer… Q-Tip Pens A Book
07.17.09
A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip has been a busy man, first with the upcoming album Kamaal The Abstract to drop September 2009, and now slated to write a book divulging the ins and outs of the entertainment business.”It was important to me to write a book because on the whole, I feel we could all be more literate, and as an artist, I’m always looking for ways to do something cool, different, and both light and introspective at the same time.” The book, dubbed Industry Rules, is said to be based on the concept of the Tribe Called Quest track Check The Rhime, where Q raps “Industry rule #4080, Record company people are shady”. Step aside William Shakespeare… Q-Tip is in the literary hizzouse!
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FROM THE CORNER comes...
Grand Analog
03.04.09
by Canyon

Pulling together a hand-picked eclectic mix of characters, Canadian MC and vocalist Odario Williams brings us his latest creation, Grand Analog. Along with samples of seasoned records from the 70s and 80s, this funky bunch has succeeded in creating a hybrid of old school hip-hop, jazz, funk, rock, rap and reggae. With influences including Marvin Gaye, A Tribe Called Quest and Joni Mitchell, the unconventional combo describes itself as “unbalanced and dirty; never clean”. They go on to say “Grand Analog is fuzzy with three coats of dust and reads like an old manual no longer in use. The music is a beautiful mess of rap’n'roll dub and soul; a hip hop slop shop of times good and bad”. Keep your eyes peeled for their forthcoming record, Metropolis Is Burning, set to be unleashed this spring.

Genre: Hip-Hop
Latest Album: Calligraffiti
For Fans Of: k-os, Buck 65, K’NAAN
Listen To: Grand Analog
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