FROM DA BRICKS

Life in New York is good.  So good that my blogging days here at fromdabricks.com are over.  The site has been down for a while now due to issues with my service provider and domain and I’m finally getting around to archiving it all and getting it back online. Unfortunately I lost a few interviews and beat deconstructions but the majority of my output from the site’s inception at the end of 2006 up to the beginning of 2009 is all here (or rather, will be very shortly).  Everything is archived by date as well as category so look to your left for some easy navigation options.  All links are dead.

My writing will still crop up intermittently at Passion of The Weiss but my primary focus outside online life is my photography which you can peruse here.  If you’ve managed to find your way here then enjoy going through three years of work that provided me with a lot of personal satisfaction as well as contact with like-minded folk whom I remain in touch with until this day.

Peace.

Yaggfu Front – ‘Hold ‘Em Back’
taken from Action Packed Adventure (Mercury, 1994)

The laptop issues are yet to be concluded. I’m hating it. Revisiting Yaggfu Front’s Action Packed Adventure has cured the blues on numerous occasions over the last week, so savour my favourite cut from the album whether you’re familiar with it or not. Ah, ‘Sing A Simple Song’ drums make everything better… kind of.

Regular programming still a week or so off.

The music blogger in me wanted to attend last night’s performance by the legendary Roots crew, make a mental note of all the finer nuances of their set and put together a comprehensive, analytical review that would do the Philly boys justice on what might be their last tour ever (I’m not convinced they’re gonna be able to stay away from it after all these years on the road).  Alas, I was enjoying myself far too much to indulge in such anal nitpickery, so here are some of my scattered, somewhat chronological thoughts and memories of a truly exceptional performance.

- Seeing a sousaphone resting behind one of the speakers and feeling the inital glimmers of what was to come.

- Reflecting on why promoters in Bristol make such bad programming choices on nights like this.  In short, the support acts sucked gonads.

- Hearing said sousaphone play out a three note riff from behind stage, the lights drop and seeing Black Thought, ?uest et al making their first appearance.

- Pondering after 20 minutes or so whilst on my way to the bar whether the show was necessarily going to be all that.  Realising after 40 minutes that it was.

- Obligatory rendition of ‘Proceed’ breaking down into a five minute percussive extravaganza with the question and answer format executed to an astonishing level of musicianship with some reverb effects thrown in for good measure.

- Hearing ‘Long Time’ after listening to it almost non-stop for the last two days.

- Admiring the adaptability of the saxophonist/guitarist/vocalist who switched effortlessly between all three roles.

- Thinking how much fun it must be to play a sousaphone and hop around on one leg doing 360 spins in front of a live audience.

- The blazing bass solo during a fantastic rendition of ‘You Got Me’.  Reptilian looking bassist in argyle sweater done good.

- Realising that for the first time in years I was at a hip hop gig without feeling constantly annoyed by those around me who were younger or resent for those of my age and above who look to be taking it all too seriously, man.  The Roots cure overt self-awareness!

- A ten minute Fela Kuti tribute that hit the ball out of the park.  I see you Jeff.

- Stamping my feet as the group made their way off stage in anticipation of the encore.  Apologies to the man stood behind me whose toe I may have broken.

- The band reappearing on stage, performing a cover of ‘Love Lockdown’ and ?uest goofing around on the mic.  Auto-tuned laughter sounds similar to children overdosing on helium and yet manages to be even more bizarre and infinitely more disturbing.

- Rocking out to a final barrage of classic funk breaks with Black Thought still runnin’ tings on the mic.

- Leaving with the knowledge that I may never see this group perform again but feeling fine about it given that this was one of the most awe-inspiring, faultless sets I’ve ever seen in my life.

Ludacris – ‘MVP’ & ‘I Do It For Hip Hop’ feat. Jay-Z & Nas
taken from Theater Of The Mind (Def Jam, 2008)

I gotta say that I didn’t ever anticipate this moment passing, but two of the leaked tracks from Luda’s upcoming Theater Of The Mind are worthy of your attention. The Premier produced ‘MVP’ is extremely dope despite the shabby quality of this radio rip and ‘I Do It For Hip Hop’ has its charms as well with verses from Nas & Jay-Z (nice score Chris). Although most people’s focus is inevitably on the high-profile guest spots here I really like the beat, but would have liked it even more if producer Wyldfyer had let the Mountain drums do the talking solo throughout instead of adding in additional skittering hats and snares. However, I can appreciate that this would have also killed the song’s commercial appeal. Damn those ignorant masses.

That’s right mate, you think about what you’ve done.

Dear Mr Grice,

I have to admit that it was with some trepidation I attended your show last night at the Bristol Academy. At £18 a ticket the entry cost felt a little steep and to be honest with you I have some reservations about the current trend for long serving members of the hip hop community to tour on the sole premise of performing their classic albums, but you know what? I love you man. I love Liquid Swords even more. I own every album you’ve ever released and I want to support you whenever possible. I mean damn, the last time I saw you at Subterania in ‘99 it was sensational. Why would anything be different this time around?

But I got to be honest with you Gary, you sucked ass last night. Major ass. Your cause wasn’t aided by the shambolic organisation of the show in general terms, but I know that wasn’t your fault. I was even willing to forgive you for coming on stage nearly an hour late because I love you. Have I mentioned that already? But how can you expect me to leave satisfied when yours was one of the most achingly tired performances I’ve ever seen? I mean, did you even want to be there? At all? I know Liquid Swords was thirteen years ago, but apart from anything else it kinda looked like you’d forgotten half of your rhymes. Your usually impeccable flow was inconceivably pedestrian and you just sauntered around on stage a little. Is this really all you’ve got left in the tank? What happened to the live presence of one of the greatest MCs to ever do it?

I want you to know that I will always remain a fan. I also want you to know that I will never attend one of your live shows again. Ever. I mean, I might not even bother paying for your albums anymore. Cheated doesn’t even begin cover it. I’m so sorry things turned out this way, but you’ve left me no choice. You’ve torn my heart out of my chest, so why not stamp on it while you’re at it?

Your massively disappointed fan,

Dan Love

Mayer Hawthorne & The County @ Stones Throw

Mayer Hawthorne & The County @ MySpace

Just stumbled across this care of Phill and it’s blown me away. New artist signed to Stones Throw, 29 year old white man who sounds like Gil Scott Heron on ‘When I Said Goodbye’ and isn’t ashamed to throw some ‘Get Out My Life, Woman’ drums onto the smooth ‘Just Ain’t Gonna Work It Out’ to give it a sumptuously gritty edge. Very pleased to meet you Mr. Hawthorne.

Edit:

Still having problems embedding video… check both tracks out at Phill’s spot.

Phife Dawg – ‘Ben Dova’
taken from Ventilation: Da LP (Groove Attack, 2000)

Because I’m on a serious trawl through the Dilla archives after bumping Yancey Boys and it’s Friday. Hit the weekend running people.

Jay-Z: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered

I’m gonna kick this post off by upping my street credibility by like, a gazillion: my mother texted me to let me know about Tuesday night’s BBC arts documentary that propounded to explore “the life and work of the chart topping rapper and multi-millionaire businessman Jay-Z.” Great, I thought: it’s rare that we get any decent coverage of American hip hop in the British mass media; I really like Jay-Z (duh); I’m intrigued by how his Glastonbury set was ultimately so well received and believe that there’s quite a lot to consider as a British fan of the genre about the way that we – as a nation – interact and engage with American rap.

And it’s not because I think there’s anything particularly lofty at stake here as we already know that rap is global and Jay is one of its leading figureheads, but up until last June my parents and their friends had never really spoken or inquired about the man and now they do (I approach this topic scientific-like). It may not seem it for those of you across the pond, but that seems like a pretty big deal to me because I would say that Jay-Z is the first American rapper to cross over to that extent in this country, where Jonathon Ross interviews him and pretty much everyone knows who he is. I guess Hammer may have done it back in the day, but what we’re talking about here is ‘real’ hip hop and one of its key proprietors becoming a part of the everyday collective consciousness in this country.

So this could have been good, and to be fair in places the program worked reasonably well. Some of the interview segments with Jay were enjoyable as were the clips of footage from gigs in L.A., Las Vegas and New York, but unfortunately that was about it as the remainder of the show’s content was blighted by two key factors. Firstly, presenter Alan Yentob who I’m sure is a very culturally informed man outside of hip hop knew next to squat about Jay-Z or his music and secondly, at times the focus for this documentary strayed too far away from the music and tried to get ‘in deep’ about his other interests only to expose the distance between interviewer and interviewee even further. Cringe-worthy moments included the pair wandering through an art gallery which made Jay look kind of stupid (which he clearly isn’t) and Mr. Yentob incredibly uncomfortable (which presumably he was) and Yentob commenting on Jay’s compositional process of feeding off a beat “freeing up the lyrical flow.” I’m sorry old man, but I just ain’t buying it.

I guess the problem is that the aesthetics and legacy of hip hop at a core level feel in some ways distinctly at odds with what it is to be British, or at least certainly at odds with the BBC’s version of Britishness. It’s what makes me slightly uneasy telling people that I’m into rap music in this country because certainly for the majority of the population, they don’t get it and I don’t blame them. On the surface, Jay-Z’s music is too gawdy, too brash and his persona too overtly materialistic to be taken seriously by middle Britain and that’s why what this documentary needed was somebody who could in some way bridge the gap between these two worlds and make sense of it in some way. Ultimately, by placing a stuffy, middle-aged intellectual as interviewer Jay-Z: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered only served to highlight the disparity between American rap and your average Brit and in all probability left most viewers feeling even more bemused by Jay-Z, his popularity and his role in global popular culture.

Yentob started the documentary with the statement, “If there’s one rapper you need to know about it’s him.” Alan, if you’re out there, name three other rappers that someone might need to know about in 2008. Nope? Didn’t think so. If the BBC wants to be cool and informed then that’s great, but it seems like a bit of a no-brainer that if you plan on this sort of coverage you should probably get someone involved who has a vague understanding of the subject at hand in the first place. Seriously, I’m available whenever.

I’m deep into The Wire season 5 after finally managing to get a hold of the whole box set. If you think I’ve got time to blog ‘proper’ then you’ve got another thing coming. Drop a comment that reveals anything and I will hunt you down, I swear.

Whilst this continues, let me refer you elsewhere:

Flood brings it with a recipe and suggested aural accompaniment.

Doc Zeus takes on XXL’s freshman MCs list.

Eric continues his Top 100 of the year.

Robbie’s got a nice overview of the ubiquitous ‘Nautilus’ break.

Joey takes a look at some new hip hop jawns.

Metal Lungies revisit their Alchemist beat drop.

“The game’s the game” – Marlo Stanfield

So I’ve been meaning to get my arse in gear for a proper beat deconstruction, but I’m struggling to find the inspiration. I’m blaming the change in season and that pesky credit crunch.

Here are some folk who seem to be weathering the storm just fine:

Brandon completes his notes on post-lyricism.

Zilla wants to be schooled on Slick Rick.

Jeff interviews Bishop Lamont.

Eric already starts cracking on with his top 100 of the year.

Ivan keeps on killing it with the sample sets with A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.

Robbie drops a new Sadat X track that’s been growing on me.

Kanye rocks a new colourway of the Yeezy. Oh, and premiers ‘Love Lockdown’.

Go give Jaz a hand with his requests.

Dart pays homage to the bloggerverse like no other.