As I Was Saying

Speak of the devil, or better yet check out this new Wale-Cudi joint. Its produced by emile and from Cudi's still absent A Kid Named Cudi mixtape. Enjoy the dopeness.

Kid Cudi feat. Wale - Is There Any Love
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Cleveland? Stand Up

I'm pretty slow to the draw on this one, but as a Clevelander i felt obliged to throw it up here. Outside of Bone Thugs in the 90's, Cleveland hasn't really been a breeding ground for hip hop talent, but relative newcomer Kid Cudi is really starting to stir shit up. I know he lives in NYC now but fuck it, he's Cleveland at heart. Only released a handful of tracks at this point, but they're pretty hot (a cool blend of flowing and soulish vocals) so check em out if you haven't already. I'm really a fan of "Dat New New" off his first single. Also keep an eye out for his official mixtape colabo with 10 Deep which ought to be hitting any day now.

Kid Cudi - Dat New New
Kid Cudi - Cudi Spazzin
Kid Cudi - The Biggest Grinder
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DC Friday: Scottie B, DLake, and thirtyseven!

Baltimore club pioneer Scottie B, along with the really dope DLake and thirtyseven, are holding down Heaven and Hell in Adam's Morgan on Friday night for the very reasonable five dollar cover.  This is not to be missed as I'm sure they will be hitting you hard with low-heavy club bangers all night that should keep you dancing.  

M.I.A. - Paper Planes (Scottie B Remix)

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Sample Check: James Brown - The Boss

James Brown is a monster. Most people I know really have no appreciation for the genius that is The Godfather of Soul. His catalog is deep but his music is premier, not just his singles, SO many of songs. A few months ago I saw an incredibly interesting movie that Brown did the score for- Black Caesar, a 30-year precursor to one of the better movies of last year, American Gangster. The movie itself was crazy- a genre piece from the blaxploitation era. As soon as I saw it I ran out and picked up the soudtrack, done by Brown. The gem of the album is “The Boss,” talked about here, but the whole album is bumping and has been sampled by various artists, including Das EFX and Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

James Brown – The Boss

“The Boss” is the bass heavy groover that marks the best scene in the movie, when Fred Williamson, a movie hero seen in other blaxploitation flicks, is shot, laying in the street, and this song hits. Its an amazing scene, definitely check the movie. You can rent it here on Itunes and buy the album over at Amazon.

Hip hop artists have obviously picked up on how funky this song is and has been sampled by a range of old school, underground, and mainstream artists. The old school cats have flipped it slightly differently in each song, although that main bass hit is still the center. Kane just uses the intro, using it to break into the chorus. My personal favorite out of the old school bunch is Ice-T’s just because his lyrics are so ill and Ice-T kicks some shit for the kids.

Ice-T – You Played Yourself (holler)

Poor Righteous Teachers – Word from the Wise (holler)
Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth – Bad Mutha (holler)
Big Daddy Kane – Niggaz Never Learn (holler)

More recently, Nas threw this on his record God’s Son. He actually uses part of the song in his video for “I Can,” which was pretty cool because “Get Down” is one of the best songs from that album. Pete Rock also flipped it wayyyy differently on his instrumental take of the same name from his Petestrumentals.

Nas – Get Down
Pete Rock – The Boss

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Deep Sang holding DC down this weekend

One of my favorite DC DJs Deep Sang is holding down hard at BOTH of my favorite venues in DC, Eighteenth Street Lounge (such a good vibe) on Thursday and Wonderland Ballroom on Saturday.  Eighteenth Street Lounge is located near Dupont, right on the corner of 18th and Connecticut.  He'll be rocking some classics, new midtempo grooves, and latin bangers alongside funky specialist Sean Haney.  ESL is, as the name says!, a lounge, so it'll be a mellower vibe but people are always dancing around.  Be prepared for a cover though.  Saturday is at the usual no cover throwback spot Wonderland at 11th and Kenyon.  Should be crazy at both places, check it out!

Inner Life - Make It Last Forever Larry Levan Mix

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And Your Bird Can Sing

Landon and Scott have been holding it down while I've been getting my boxes unpacked in NYC. Actually there was only one box.

Dalek, AKA James Marshall is currently showing his "fine arts" over at Irvine Contemporary on 14th street. More famously known for his graffiti and toy design, Dalek is making his big break into the art world. Irvine always does it big and this show is no exception.

Also... (...) My favorite GRMTs just released in Canary Yellow in time for the hot ass summer when the black Nike boots aren't going to cut it. Head over to Commonwealth website to peep.


Stay tuned all summer long for apparel and footwear updates and release dates!

pic/IC
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Summer Madness

It's summer time in DC and you should know it because its blazing hot outside.  Unbearably so.  But shit is still cracking, The Cool Kids played last night and the DistrictUnderground is going to go into high power mode with new updates on music, events poppin' off in DC, and fashion that's the district up.  Today, we'll probably have a few updates- including a Sample Check, a review of that Wale mixtape, and some other new hip hop music that has been coming up on the radar recently.  Later this week, expect some updates about the events going down this week, including a Friday night event with the legendary Baltimore Club producer Scottie B...STAY TUNED!!!

Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Summertime

Kool and the Gang - Summer Madness

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