Crate Kings

Dibia$e Talks L.A. Music, Production

Semantik — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:51:42 +0000

Producer Dibia$e hits the road the road and heads to Montreal. While there he talks about the L.A. music scene, production, dance, MC’ing, and more.

Random Thought:
The Akai MPC Fly seems way too gimmicky to be taken seriously. Nice case though.

DJ Muro On King of Diggin, Vinyl, 45RPM Cover Museum

Semantik — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:05:59 +0000

The Tokyo City Serious features DJ Muro discussing the first time that he heard hip-hop, meeting DJ Krush, and elevating his vinyl knowledge and collection. Muro also touches on the spread of his classic mixtape King of Diggin’ and his book of Japanese 7 inch cover artwork entitled 45RPM Cover Museum.

Ryan Leslie “5 Minute Freshen Up” In-Studio Video

Semantik — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:31:46 +0000

Ryan Leslie returns with another in-studio production video. This time the producer recreates “5 Minute Freshen Up” and bring a fan and her friends along for the process.

DJ Jazzy Jeff Live Tour Footage

Semantik — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:26:54 +0000

DJ Jazzy Jeff reveals tour footage of him rocking throngs of tightly packed partygoers through a score of countries.

RIP Jimmy Castor (Jun. 23 1947 – Jan. 16 2012)

Semantik — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:05:36 +0000

Crate Kings takes a moment to mourn the loss of Jimmy Castor, a legend who greatly influenced the course of hip-hop music. We appreciate you and you’ll be greatly missed.

Jimmy Castor “It’s Just Begun”

Jimmy Castor “Troglodyte”

Bangladesh On Snares, Sound Choice, Influences

Semantik — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:02:59 +0000

Bangladesh talks about his selection of sounds, influences, and changing the game with “A Milli“. The typical Bangladesh interview. Take it for what it is.

Akai MPC Renaissance Combines Hardware & Software

Semantik — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:44:30 +0000

Sean C and LV along with Araab Muzik appear in a promo for the upcoming MPC Renaissance, which seems to be Akai’s first compelling offering in a number of years.

MPC Renaissance feature list after the break!

Fuses legendary MPC production with the processing power of your computer
Vintage Mode changes output sound character to MPC3000, MPC60 and more
16 backlit genuine MPC pads, 16 Q-Link controls, and adjustable backlit LCD screen
Classic MPC Note Repeat, MPC Swing and MPC transport controls
MPC SOFTWARE for Mac or PC with 64-track sequencing capability
Two XLR-1/4” combo inputs and dedicated turntable input
Four-channel US B 2.0 audio interface and two-port US B 2.0 hub built in
Massive 6GB+ sound library, including all of the sounds of the classic MPC3000
Instant mapping and real-time adjustment of VST plug-ins
Record each track as an MPC drum program, Keygroup program or VST plug-in
Works alone as your main DAW or works seemlessly with your current studio as a VST/AU/RTAS plugin
Supports WAV, MP3, AIFF, REX and SND
Supports samples and sequences from any MPC ever made
Mac and PC-compatible

Get complete details about the MPC Renaissance.

Record Shopping w/ Peanut Butter Wolf

Semantik — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:11:52 +0000

Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf heads over to Amoeba Records to do a little digging. During the trip he picks up everything ranging from punk and reggae to 80’s soul and jazz. While telling personal stories of meeting Bob James, he even throws in a copy of Herb Alpert’s Rise on reel to reel, which contains the sample for Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize”.

Midway during the feature you somehow come to realize that this is enough music to keep any reasonable person occupied for months.

Making The Beat w/ DJ Premier

Semantik — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:35:34 +0000

45 King interviews DJ Premier to talk about Heavy D, differing opinions on unsolicited material, DJ‘ing, and more.

RoddyRodd x J-Live Digging In South Africa

Semantik — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:02:33 +0000

RoddyRod, J-Live, Marco Polo, Tru Master go digging during a trip to Joburg, South Africa.

Reader Poll:
How deep in debt would you be after shopping in a quality vinyl spot with 6 floors?