El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965.

More videos here.

Saw this yesterday on the Strut and can’t stop watching it. Love all the beat changes in this. Edan is on some other shit.

Been on a Chico Mann kick lately.

Here’s a little promo project from Wax Poetics and Rockstar Games featuring Chico using the Beaterator game on a PSP to create a beat. The video features some live footage of Chico Mann’s performance at this past Saturday’s Booty Crisis party in Brooklyn, where the band put on a great show.

… and believe me, when it comes to rhyme, it doesn’t happen to often. Now where is my Mysterme tape …

Since I still got a little Halloween spirit left in the tank, here’s a special little treat from the dudes DJ Day and Exile:

We love Rakim. Rakim has provided us with many hours of entertainment and prolly paid a few bills for the dj’s amongst us. Nothing but love for the cat who said suburbanites can rap aka It ain’t where you from (Long Island) but where ya at!

So when Nas did his “Unauthorized Biography,” we were feeling it:

*Shout to Shaun Boothe, who has a nice little series … hope he don’t get Mad Skillz‘d though*

But it don’t seem like the R is too happy with it:

BBB…BBBBUT wait it gets worse.

*hits rewind on tape*

What did Rakim say about it back in 2006?

MTV: Rakim, Nas paid you the ultimate compliment in 2004 by recording “U.B.R. (Unauthorized Biography of Rakim)” [on Street's Disciple]. What was it like when you heard that song breaking down your whole life?

Rakim: That kind of puts things in perspective. You got this far and somebody that you respect, somebody that’s on a high plateau, took time and showed you love. And to hear a lot of it, I was like, “Where did he get that from? How did he know that?” He does put things in perspective, man. He kind of opened my eyes, like, “OK, people’s watching. People really know about Rakim.” It kind of let me know where I was in the world.

Nas: Thanks, man. I always wanted to know how you felt about that, ’cause if somebody made a song talking about me and stuff like that, I wouldn’t know how to react. I just had to make a song about Ra ’cause if we in there making songs in the studio, let’s make songs about things that are important. The dude is important right now, so I made a song about how he inspired [people] a great deal. I used to look at Ra like, “This dude’s an alien. He’s an alien. He’s not from here.”

*pours out some more decaf for another fallen hero*
**shout out to them boys @ The Lesson**

Here’s a dope little documentary video from our friends over at Subatomic Sound System, promoting their latest release, a collaboration with Lee Scratch Perry: The Blackboard Jungle remixes:

Respect the foundation! 1973, Jamaica. 2009, to the world! The story of the seminal dub album Blackboard Jungle from Lee Scratch Perry and King Tubby that was the cornerstone of the dub music craze that would extend around the world.

In 2009, Vienna’s dub masters Dubblestandart called on Perry to revisit the vibes. This collaboration stretched around the globe to involve New York City’s dub scientists Subatomic Sound System & rising reggae vocal talent Jahdan Blakkamoore (of Major Lazer “Cash Flow” fame), and resulted in the first ever original dubstep tunes from Lee Scratch Perry plus a journey back into the Blackboard Jungle!

Bonus: Lee Scratch Perry – Blackboard Jungle:

Shouts to DBDR for bringing this to my attention.

The folks at Grand Crew have posted a video of De La Soul’s entire performance on their 20 Feet High and Rising tour stop at Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris earlier this month. The tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising. Catch a snippet of the performance here:

Watch the THE FULL 76-MINUTE PERFORMANCE at the Grand Crew site. They got the full track list up and erethang.

Too many legends passing away this year.

I was reading up today on yesterday’s passing of Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson, half of the legendary reggae/dancehall production duo Steely and Clevie, and came across this interview with them at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2005. Thought I’d share it here:

It’s a great look into their history as musicians and producers, their many talents, and the breadth of influence they had upon music. It also digs deep into the history of Jamaican music.

Steely Johnson was winding his waist to the original dancehall boom in the early ’80s, playing with Sugar Minott and Roots Radics. But things got kinda cloudy when he linked with Clevie Brown in Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark studio. Clevie was playing with these new drummachines that had just come out, which were totally dissed by the reggae drummers. That didn’t stop them becoming the house band at King Jammy’s before they really hit their stride and literally led Kingston down the path of electronic production by the scruff of a neck. By the time they’d formed their Steely & Clevie label in ‘88, they were in charge of runnings proper. Nice up!

R.I.P. Steely. You will indeed be missed.