Music Musings

Quick intro: I'm a filmmaker, DJ, writer, among other things. I'm going to use this blog so that people can see what's going on in my world - primarily the arts - and whatnot. I'm turning 20 tomorrow, so according to Jay-Z, I'm actually going to be 10 years old. If you see me, wish me a happy 10th birthday, ya dig? Anywho, on with the show...

Looks like we've finally gotten over the 1st quarter slump and we're starting to get some real good music. This year, thus far, I've only bought four CD's: the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof", J. Dilla's "Ruff Draft" re-issue, Devin The Dude's "Waitin' To Inhale" and Prodigy's "Return of The Mac". Looks like this Tuesday I'm gonna head over to Best Buy and get some new stuff. I'm definitely interested in the Sly & The Family Stone boxset, and according to Okayplayer, Sa-Ra's debut album, "The Hollywood Recordings", will be a Best Buy special edition - sporting a different cover than everywhere else, three bonus cuts and a bonus DVD. Who knows if Sony are going to give these guys the major label push or even release their official debut, "Black Fuzz", so perhaps sales of this record will dictate that.

I just got back from my trip to Michigan, and while I was there, I thought it would be a good opportunity to dig in Detroit. Although I still haven't found the Melvin Van Peebles record I've been looking for ("B'rer Soul") or the LP which I consider to be have the greatest album cover in music history (William Bell's "It's Time You Took Another Listen"), I did manage to pick up a William Bell LP from the same year titled "Coming Back For More". I haven't gotten a chance to dig into it in full, but from the sounds of it, it's quite good. BTW, Detroit and Ann Arbor have much better prices on their records than here in NY, and the selection is fantastic, too. I'd love to go back with a little more money and a record bag. For those of you not familar with Bell - "Yesterday I Lied, Today I Cried" was sampled by 9th Wonder for Murs' "Yesterday & Today" and "Strung Out" was sampled by Kanye West for Cam'Ron's "Down & Out".

As far as what I've been listening to lately, there's been a bunch of stuff in rotation lately. Che Grand, and I can say this as a fan & a friend, is the future. If you DON'T know who he is by now, Che & DJ Low-Key want you to get familiar. Che's "The Fixtape" is available for free download at RappersIKnow.com, FWMJ's site. "The Fixtape" is a mix of new material and favorites, a starter kit for new fans and some dope new stuff for people already down with Che & the Lessondary crew. "Everything's Good Ugly" - Che's debut album - should be dropping this summer. Get hype. Also in rotation:



Discs:
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City
Daft Punk - Discovery
De La Soul - Stakes Is High
Dudley Perkins - Expressions [2012 A.U.]
Lil' Wayne - Da Drought III (www.youngmoneyent.com)
Stephen Marley - Mind Control
Von Pea - Grand Vonye (www.rappersiknow.com)

Joints & Jams:
50 Cent - Straight To The Bank
Cam'Ron - Child Of The Ghetto (Freestyle)
J. Dilla - Diamonds
Pharrell & The Yessirs - No. 1
Rosco P. Coldchain - Hammer Time (Freestyle)
Spec Boogie - Amsterdam (Remix) (Feat. John F. & Pete Bjorn)
T.I. - Big Shit Poppin'
Zo! & Phonte - Take On Me (Feat. Carlitta Durand)

...and that's that. Stay tuned, I'll be updating the blog periodically. Maybe next time you'll get some MP3's. Maybe...

--Lyle