Rakim Explains Why He Left Dr. Dre and Aftermath

What happens when you take one of the greatest rappers of all time and put him in the studio with one of the greatest producers of all time? If you guessed "jack shit" you'd be right. The internet was ablaze with rumors that Dr. Dre and Rakim were working together last year and many people speculated that the end result was going to be some of the hottest music of all time. That never came to fruition, however, as Dr. Dre and Rakim parted ways citing "creative differences". When asked if he and Dr. Dre may work together again in the future in a Billboard interview, Rakim's response was "No doubt if the project and the timing are right. He's got his thing going on and I got mine. But I know our camps will look for ways to mix things up".

Rakim eventually released , on November 17th, 2009 minus the collaborations with Dre, to mixed reviews from critics. I thought that the album was solid overall with a mix of new and old flavors. It's been a long time since Rakim has released an album and though I wished for more bangers and a little more of the rapid-fire lyrics that we all know and love on the album, The Seventh Seal still gets rotation in my media player and the first single Holy Are You is a constant reminder of why Rakim is called The God MC. Check out the videos below and see what happened between Rakim and Dr. Dre and listen to a few joints off of The Seventh Seal.

Rakim talks about Dr Dre, Aftermath and Why He Left

Rakim feat. Maino - Walk These Streets

Rakim - Holy Are You

Jay Rock - From Hood Tales to the Cover of XXL (mixtape)

I've been a fan of Jay Rock since I first heard him alongside Game on one of his earlier mixtapes a few years back. No release date is set for his upcoming debut Follow Me Home, but he has kept his name in the streets with his tenth mixtape in four years. For his latest he's teamed up with DJ Whoo Kid, of G-unit mixtape fame, and released Tales From the Hood #2: From Hood Tales to the Cover of XXL. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Jay Rock - From Hood Tales to the Cover of XXL (mixtape) - Download Here

Ludacris Presents Conjure: A Hustler's Spirit (mixtape)

Though I was somewhat disappointed with Ludacris' March 9th release, Battle of the Sexes, his mixtape, Ludacris Presents Conjure: A Hustler's Spirit has been getting heavy rotation in my car stereo since it's release late January. Normally an artist makes a mixtape to promote their upcoming album but, interestingly enough, Ludacris used A Hustler's Spirit to promote his new venture with Norwegian cognac house Birkedal Hartmann, Conjure Cognac (Get it? A Hustler's Spirit) Anyway, this is one mixtape that goes down smooth and doesn't leave a bitter aftertaste. Check it out.

Ludacris Presents Conjure: A Hustler's Spirit - Download Here

Consequence - Movies on Demand (mixtape)

Damn. I was goig to post Consequences new mixtape, Movies on Demand, but Kanye beat me to it. Anyway, Consequence hasn't disappointed in the past, so I'm going to give this one a listen. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the mixtape.

Consequence - Movies on Demand - Download Here

Aziz Ansari is RAAAAAAAANDY

For those that have seen Judge Aptow's movie Funny People, you may remember Aziz Ansari's character Raaaaaandy (spelled with 8 A's). Since the movie, has taken his Raaaaaandy character on the road to much critical acclaim. So much in fact that on May 2009, while appearing as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live , Aziz wondered if his Raaaaaaaandy character has gotten more recognition than him. "I've been doing the Raaaaaaaandy charachter at comedy clubs and stuff and some people think I really AM Raaaaaaaandy, and that I'm not Aziz Ansari doing Raaaaaaaandy, but I'm a guy named Raaaaaaaandy that's insane" remarked Aziz that night. Raaaaaaaandy is quickly becoming a phenomenon and, aside from a series of web shorts, there are plans to put Raaaaaaaandy on the big screen in a starring role. Check out a couple shorts starring Raaaaaaaandy. What does this have to do with music? Raaaaaaaandy is the only stand-up comedian with his own DJ.

Once You Go FLAC You Never Go Back: An Argument for Lossless Audio

Hello fellow audiophiles recovering from MP3 addiction;

My name is tonotopik and I've been an MP3 listener for years.  I was in junior high when the MP3 became a popular format, and like other MP3 addicts in the world, I fell into its trap.  It pains me to admit that I sacrificed audio quality for file size.  I filled my computer with MP3s and deluded myself into thinking 192 kb/s is as good as it gets.

Recently I hit rock bottom:  my hard drive crashed.  Days and days worth of MP3s vanished.  Instead of relapsing into an MP3 binge, I took the higher road and discovered lossless audio.

Nearly everyone will agree that the file sizes of uncompressed audio are unmanageable:  a six minute WAV song will cost you 200 MB.  (Cf. Deadmau5 advocates uncompressed audio.)  Thus, in the height of file sharing the MP3 became popular by reducing a six minute song to 7 MB.  People, admittedly including yours truly, sacrificed audio quality for the ease of file managment.

In this day and age, where media junkies use terabyte hard drives and have high speed internet, it is unfathomable why the MP3 is still in use.  Perhaps we are blindly following the MP3 tradition (see e.g. The Monkey Experiment regarding traditions without meaning), but it is time to stop.  I have switched to FLAC media.  FLAC is a lossless compressed audio codec.  A 6 minute song in FLAC will take up a hefty 43 MB, but it is worth it.  Recently I discovered the remastered Beatles and Pink Floyd catalogs in lossless, and now I know why older folks dispise MP3s.  The cymbals are crisper, the bass has detail instead of just thumping, and the acoustic guitars and voices sound like they are in the same room as you.  Not to mention the Beatles remasters have superb production quality.  And just imagine the beauty of electronic music in lossless format--I reaquired Armin van Buuren's Imagine in lossless and heard more of his god-like production skills than ever before.

FLAC has one minor limitation, however:  Apple does not like it.  FLACs play on many popular programs such as VLC, foobar2000, MediaMonkey, Winamp, and Toast, but not iTunes or Windows Media Player.  Luckily for us iPod users, Apple has created their proprietary ALAC format, which is basically the same as FLAC.  All it takes is a simple lossless conversion (I use xrecode, which is also handy for splitting podcasts into tracks with CUE files) and you can turn FLACs into ALACs to listen to in iTunes and your iPod.  Similarly, using xRecode one can convert FLACs into lossless WMAs (make sure to pick the lossless option), which will play in Windows Media Player.

If I haven't convinced you yet, I offer exhibits 1, 2, and 3:  my newest song "Euphoria" encoded in lossless FLAC, 128 kbps MP3, and 192 kbps MP3, respectively.  I recommend listening to the FLAC version first to open up your ears.  While the 192 version is superior to the 128, the FLAC version excels in the complex parts of the song, letting the high hats shine through the synthesizers.

1:  FLAC

2:  128 kbps MP3

3:  192 kbps MP3

To really test yourself, perform a double-blind experiment:  load all three into a playlist and shuffle it.  See if you can tell the difference and let me know in the comments what you think.

Bass Thumpin' Thursdays - Ska Edition

Following my last post I found myself in the mood for some ska music myself. There have been 3 waves of ska in music and given the year I was born, I was ushered into the 3rd wave during the 90's. No Doubt was no doubt one of the fist ska bands I remember hearing on the radio, but they quickly degenerated into something with more pop than Double Bubble... and don't even get me started on Gwen Stefani's solo career. Regardless, I've been diggin' in the discs and relived some of my skanky classics in all their brass-filled glory. Most just happen to be covers of 80's classics. Check 'em out.

Reel Big Fish - Take On Me

Not only was the original song a catchy tune by a-ha in the 1980's but the cover done by Reel Big Fish scored them a spot on the BASEketball Soundtrack and a video with a few of the stars. The video is not as cool as the original which introduced a lot of people to rotoscoping, the process where live action sequences are filmed and then drawn over to make the appearance of the drawings more lifelike. View the original below.

A-Ha - Take on Me

Save Ferris - Come on Eileen

Another single inspired by a song in the 1980's. Dexys Midnight Runners sang the original version of the song, but it didn't have nearly the punch that Save Ferris gave it in the 90's. Little known tidbit: Save Ferris was named for a message in another 80's staple, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. View the original video by Dexys Midnight Runners below.

Dexys Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - the Rascal King

I had to include a ska video that wasn't a cover of a previous song and it's ironic I settled on The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, given that they have covered awesome songs like Kiss' Detroit Rock City, and Metallica's Enter Sandman. The Bosstones are one of my favorite ska acts around and lead singer Dicky Barrett's distinctive voice can easily rival that guy from Motor Head when it comes to a gravely voice competition. These days, the bosstones are still together but you might recognize Dicky better as the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Skanking Lesson By Tony Verity

For those in the know the only way to dance to ska is to skank. How do you skank you ask? Check out this vintage video from the 1960's and see how the original skankers do it.

Nintendo Prepping DS Succesor

In a small press release yesterday, Nintendo revealed plans for a successor to the popular hand-held gaming device, the Nintendo DS. The DS, which has sold over 125 million units units worldwide, has been an enormous success for Nintendo and has had 4 incarnations of it's own: the original DS "phat", the DS Lite, The DSi, and the DSi XL (LL in Japan) which isn't even going on sale in the United States until the end of this month. The successor is tentatively named 3DS due to Nintendo's boastful claim that the device will support 3D gaming without glasses. Though some are skeptical about how 3D can be achieved without glasses, Nintendo has already release pseudo 3D games for the DSi already

Other changes planned for the 3DS include a thumb-stick, an accelerometer, and a rumble feature. There is currently no release date planned aside from the "back-end of 2010" but many analysts predict that the release window to be slightly before November in order to capitalize on the Holiday Season. Nintendo's brief press release didn't offer much more information other than they promise to reveal more at this years E3.

Kurupt - Tha 4:20 Mixtape

Speaking of Kurupt, his album, Streetlights, is dropping on April 20th. For those that can't wait for some West Coast artistry, Kurupt has the flavor that wets fans for later with Tha 4:20 Mixtape

Download Here

Belated Bass Thumpin' Thursdays (On Friday)

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Been feeling lazy as of late but always and constantly sifting through music. Today, I present to you a classic cut by Kurupt, a brand new jam off of DJ Tiesto's new album Kaleidoscope, Borrowed Time by Final Frenzy, and Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eifel 65 (though the last song could qualify for both the old and the blue, I've had it stuck in my head for a few days now)

Kurupt - Who Ride With Us (Feat. Daz Dillinger)

DJ Tiesto - L.A. Story

A Fine Frenzy - Borrowed Time

Eifel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Aubrey Plaza - Anti-Drug Dog Commercial

So funny, yet so true...

via collegehumor.com

Bass Thumpin' Thursdays

Hi everyone. This Thursday I bring to you a, hopefully, reoccurring feature entitled Bass Thumping Thursdays. First up for BTT is a collection of music videos that have influenced a number of styles in the electronic scene. Though only a year or two old, these videos exemplify some of the techniques modern DJs use. First up is a selection by Armin Van Buuren feat. Jaren called Unforgivable. This made the pick for the unique blend of female vocals over pulsing rhythms which has become more commonplace nowadays.

Armin Van Buuren feat. Jaren - Unforgivable

Guru Josh Project - Infinity

I'm not so sure what the point, plot, or story is in this video.All I know is that this song was hot in 2008.

David Guetta vs. The Egg - Love Don't Let Me Go.

Parkour. What more can you ask for?

Spotlight: Will.I.Am and the Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are arguably one of the most popular groups of the last decade and almost everyone can name one of their songs. Even your mom. Not my mom, though. Your mom. Anyway, It's hard to imagine the Will.I.Am today used to be a straight gangster back in the day. No, he didn't get shot multiple times like 50 Cent, but he used to be signed to and produce for Easy E's Ruthless Records. Fast forward to 2010 and Will.I.Am., now a seasoned veteran in the music game, makes the music he REALLY wants to make. Though I don't like how commercial his music has become, I welcome the originality and innovation he brings to the game. He, and the Peas, are at the forefront of the electro-hip-hop movement that is happening right now dispite the commercial singles that border on hip-pop. Check out their performance on ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2010

Legos Galore!

Like any red-blooded American, I spent a fair share of my youth playing with my favorite Danish export: Legos. Tonotopik's previous post reminded me why I love those little blocks. They are so versitile that people all over the world are finding uses for Legos beyond simply building with them. Case in point: Lego USB hubs, routers, USB drives and a fully functional Lego Star Wars fooseball table (though any rough play would surly destroy the table like the Death Star did Alderaan. Check 'em out.

It should be worth noting, however that none of these products are officially licensed by Lego. Apparently, Lego is too busy rocking out to give us what we really want

Yoshi Akai, Mad-Scientist/Musician

It is hard to explain exactly what Yoshi Akai does. (He has no affiliation with the music instrument company, or small green dinosaurs.)  I suppose its safe to say he makes art that makes music. Akai melds analogue products of yesteryear with digital products of yesteryear, throwing in some random items for fun. For example, he experiments in mixing turntables with 8-bit synthesizers, which get their input from a revolving Swedish cracker.

Here's my favorite invention of his. A 3 channel, 8-step synthesizer redesigned to take Lego pieces as input.

Another good invention are these gloves with sensors in them which create music based on motion and proximity. If he added some lights on the tips it would make for hours of pure entertainment.

As Akai says, this is "building sound more than playing sound."  For more goodies, check out www.yoshiakai.com

Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler

Simian Mobile Disco is a production and remix team out of England. I know the name may be off-putting but check out this modern take on a classic childhood game. I don't think my game of telephone ever ended up like this.

If you like what you hear, be sure to check out The Klaxons and the Arctic Monkeys