Rants

Out Voting… Hopefully You’re Doing The Same

We’ll be back later…  Please take the time to vote today and endure what may turn out to be somewhat lengthy delays and inconveniences.   Regardless of your political affiliation and beliefs, this is an extraordinary opportunity to make a significant diference on both a local and national level.  Remember… voting is more than a right, … Read more

Are You Making Music Or Making Hits?

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There’s a huge difference in being involved in the process of making music and making hits (i.e. navigating the music industry).  These are two distinctively different activities, which depending on your goals, should be approached with varying strategies.  While one concerns itself primarily with musical aesthetic, the other plays a game in which success is measured by sales figures and other monetary indicators.

On the surface this may sound like the age old argument of "keeping it real" vs. blowing up, but is it really wise to focus on making hits and generating revenue?  I’d be willing to argue that this very focus on becoming a star, succumbing to the latest sheep-like trends, and producing marketable, yet disposable music has significantly contributed to the fundamental problem of widespread consumer dissatisfaction and the resulting decline in music sales that currently plague the industry.

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Calling Yourself CEO Does Not Make You A CEO

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Time to take a pause for the cause and address a trend that has been going on in Hip-Hop for way too long.  Somehow, the term Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has actually moved from clever, playful lines in rap verses to a way for unknown artists to impress others with the fact that they run a company.

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Deceptive John McCain Campaign Ads

I know that I vowed to keep personal politics and gossip away from here as much as possible, but this needs to be seen.  Please view and pass along to someone still considering who to cast their vote for. [via Lessig]

Remaining Authentic With Your Music

Every once in a while I get an email asking when I’ll release another volume of sample & breaks mixes.  Well, sorry to say that at this point it doesn’t look like there will ever be another installment.  This is actually due to a couple of reasons, but it mainly comes down to an issue … Read more

Suffering From Vinyl Digging Addiction?

Some vinyl addicts take the vinyl lifestyle to the extreme, but this poor guy is truly suffering.  I truthfully don’t even know what to say about this one. "I GREW UP IN SCARBOROUGH and I’ve been living in rooming houses since I was about 20. I don’t invite friends here-it’s a pretty small place. For … Read more

Black Milk And Sirius Shade 45 Save The Day

What can I say, today was a good day. After much internal debate and reshaping my philosophy of paying for something that should be free, I finally pulled the trigger and copped a Sirius satellite radio receiver this afternoon. It took a little while, but once I fully got past the concept of paying for … Read more

Business Card Digging

Yup it’s all about the simple pleasures in life. There’s nothing like a new batch of business cards to spark the creative juices and give a little extra boost of ambition. New biz cards always force you to go out and network so you’re not stuck with a box of 500 miniature bookmarks gathering dust … Read more

The Top 9 Most Influential Digital Samplers In Hip-Hop History

Every time I saddle up to bang some beats out of my Akai MPC 2000XL the internal debate arises inside of me about how the greatest pieces of Hip-Hop production equipment would stack up when lined up alongside each other. Obviously, in terms of technical specifications, the latest technology with win out every time; however, … Read more

Hip-Hop Word of the Day: Kanyego

I’m personally of the opinion that The Kan deserves his own place in the dictionary and the general public is in desperate need of a specialized term to describe Kanye West’s trademark temperamental outbursts. So, in the sake of public service we have today’s Hip-Hop Word of the Day: Kanyego kan?ye?go [kon/YEE/goh] -noun, plural kan?ye?gos. … Read more