Category: Videos

Bilal :: Levels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jkbDtFapyY

Going to see Bilal in concert tonight at the Hammerstein Ballroom. #Geeked! Besides sneaking my SLR thru security, I’m excited about seeing this man perform his usual music exorcism on stage and tear it DOWN. I’ve never seen anybody go into their zone like this man. Let’s hope I can get the cam in to share in the festivities.

Oh yeah, the video. Bilal is certainly several Levels deep into crazy-dom. This visual is further proof that he’s on some other ish. Directed by fellow eccentric, Flying Lotus. If you’re not in the know, he’s a sick, SICK producer. And you know Erykah’s crazy ass couldn’t miss out on the fun so she makes a cameo too. In all, it makes for an interesting visual high. Enjoy!

Mickey Factz :: Paradise



I know I’m prolly late to this but I was doing my usual perusing thru the halls of Vevo when I came across this joint by Mickey Factz. Not the biggest fan of his but I definitely respect his grind. Scoring that Honda endorsement deal without an album or even a hot single out was a huge look. Guess he figured it was time to take care of the latter and bless the streets with some heat and this one doesn’t disappoint. Love the way this video was shot. The edits are crisp and save the typical mean mug, ghetto imagery, the cinematography is on point too. I don’t know if its just wishful thinking but dude sounds eerily similar to Sonny Cheeba (of Camp Lo fame) on the hook. Come to think about it, everything about this sounds like a Lo record. Maybe that’s what drew me to it. Need to get them boyz on the remix and make this a Bronx Anthem with the homie D-Black. Cut the check!

Broken Bells :: The High Road

Lately I’ve been on the mission to find new and interesting music outside of the urban realm. I came across this song from the Broken Bells (a duo comprised of ever-evolving super producer Danger Mouse and the lead singer of the Shins, James Mercer) while reading through Last.fm’s 2010 Top 40 most scrobbled artists. I can’t lie, initially I was strictly in it to hear new music from Danger Mouse but ended up really digging James Mercer’s voice. This song just has a nice feel to it and I always enjoy videos with esoteric themes. This one certainly didn’t disappoint.

Creatives :: Yours Truly

I think we all have our morning interwebs routine. I know I have mine. You know, hop on Facebook to get my Mafia Wars on, check my GMail account, read a few of my friend’s blogs, curse at myself for not updating my own, etc. But this morning I was looking for something new. By chance I came across this site Yours Truly (via SOHH.com) because they had a feature on one of my favorite new emcees, Yelawolf. So admittedly I visited their site out of pure standom but found it to be pretty dope in its own right. The idea of their site is not the most novel one but they have somewhat of a Duepayer mantra themselves with their sole focus being to excavate and celebrate great music/musicians. It reads as follows:

YOURS TRULY exists at the intersection of creator and consumer. One the one hand we’re fans: melody thirsty, hit happy, riff rabid fans in constant search for music that matters. On the flip side, we’re filmmakers, photographers, designers and storytellers with shared passions and a simple mission: to discover and document, celebrate and interrogate, capture and catapult the singers, screamers, writers and rhymers whose craft without question demands our affection.

Now that’s something I think that most of us can relate to. “Us” being most of the people in my circle given the fact that we’ve been working in the entertainment business for a while now. Its a dirty game that tends to jade you and make you forget about your first true love: the music. We all share the struggle of trying to find that balance between creator and consumer and not allowing our love to be soured by the fcukery that takes place behind the scenes. At the end of the day we are still music lovers but find it hard to go out and search for it given the oversaturation of wackness flouding our ears and inboxes. So its nice to find a site where they curate that experience for you. The idea isn’t the most novel one – Creative Control *cough, cough* – and the site itself is a definite nod to MTV, almost to the point where I thought they were affiliated somehow, but the quality of their work helped me get over any perceived shark-biting. The videos are short and sweet and cover a fairly wide range of artists from different genres. They all give you just enough of a peek into each artists lives to entice you to search for more. Here are some of my faves…

Yelawolf :: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Yelawolf “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Grillade – Remain The Same

Grillade “Remain the Same” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Chromeo – Don’t Walk Away

Yourstru.ly Presents: Chromeo “Don’t Walk Away” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

More Info

Yours Truly

Site URL: http://yourstru.ly

Yelawolf

Official Site | Last FM page

Grillade

Official Site | Last FM page | Bandcamp Site

Chromeo

Official Site | Last FM page

Ebrahim :: Beautifulest Thing Cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLl43NVp9vI

Canadian artist Ebrahim flippin this classic Keith Murray joint. He’s been putting these together for a while now. Love to see cats throw together a sick record on the fly. Takes serious talent, something they have a lot of in t-dot. Big up to my peoples in the 88 days Collective. They’re making some serious noise up there as well…Enjoy

Asher Roth :: On His G.R.I.N.D.

Asher Roth is an interesting artist. Initially thought to be the next Great White Hype, his debut was solid but left a bit to be desired in my opinion. Since then, his star has been eclipsed by the uber-talented Yelawolf. But this record is a step in the right direction. It has that hip-pop crossover sound that the kids are diggin’ these days but, as a duepayer, I was more drawn to the message than anything. Like I always say, rather than force feed edutainment to the masses you gotta put that pepto bismol in a bottle of YooHoo. Make it fun to listen while serving up some good food for thought. But what really brought it home for me was the visuals. Again, I was drawn to the authenticity of the imagery. Just like NY, LA is definitely a “feast or famine” type of town. You’re either doin’ it way big or hustlin’ to get by. This video does a great job of depicting the Hollyhood side of LA. Not mad at this at all.

Creative Control Presents Terri Walker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfwbVWcgNbs&feature=player_embedded

Let me just say this outright. I LOVE the Creative Control movement. Dame Dash is really doing a great job of re-branding himself and finding a new lane after being black-balled by the industry. I’ve always thought he was the ear behind Rocafella’s talented roster…

With that said, another new artist, Terri Walker is emerging from the Creative Control camp and of course she’s official. I love the way they put together these promos. They’re shot beautifully and feel very candid and human. Love seeing how things come together behind the scenes during the creative process.

Lissie :: Pursuit of Happiness Cover

First off, let me say this. I like Kid Cudi. The moment that I stopped trying to pigeon-hole him as some kind of a pseudo-rapper and just appreciated his music for what it was, I instantly got into his vibe. As for the way he dresses, definitely not a fan of “mandex” jeans and all that. But his music is pretty good…good enough to be covered. My boy Bryan put me on to this cover of his song Pursuit of Happiness by an artist named Lissie. Had never heard of her before seeing this clip but I’ll be gott damned if she didn’t pour her heart into this. The video is shot extremely well too which only drives home the performance that much more. Given where I’m at in my life right now I really felt this one. Hope yall do too..