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(02/23/10) NEW RELEASES
Artist: Oddissee
Album: Traveling Man (2X vinyl)
Artist: DJ Spinna
Album: Thirst (ft. Homeboy Sandman) b/w Summer Madness (ft. Daniel Joseph and Fresh Daily) (7" vinyl)
Artist: Grieves
Album: 88 Keys and Counting (CD)
Artist: James Pants
Album: I live inside an Egg (7" vinyl)
Artist: Strong Arm Steady
Album: Best of Times (12" vinyl)
Artist: Sadat X
EP: Wild Cowboys II
Artist: OC & AG
Album: Oasis (2X vinyl)
Artist: Last Electro Acoustic
Album: Miles Away (2X vinyl)
Artist: General Steele
Album: Amerikkka's Nightmare PT.2
This week I've decided to go to my Asian heritage and do all Asian artists. Most of them do come from Japan but still Asian nonetheless. I feel like we need to see what other Hip-Hop is out there. Hip-Hop spans throughout the word and influences everyone, so why not expand to the Asian world this week. There aren’t many out there, so I wanna give them their respect. Most of the artists that I did pick are living legends in their country, so let me know if you think the same way.
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Drunken Tiger “8:45"
Album: MV Heaven 7th
This video is beautifully shot. It has Tiger JK just in a black room and he’s just feeling the music. I love when you could see the person in that zone where you could feel their emotion through their music, even though you might not speak their language. If you don’t know the group Drunken Tiger they are one of the pioneers of the Korean Hip-Hop community. Definitely check them out.
DJ Honda Ft. Mos Def “Travellin Man”
Album: HII
I love the way they shot this video. They had split screens and it just shows different angles and shots. They had it look like a postcard because of the whole “Travelling” theme (awesome!). It’s a unique video and its from DJ Honda (Japan) who is more known in America than most other Asian American DJs, with his store in NY and also who he has worked with in his past.
DJ Krush “Kemuri”
Album: Kemuri
Another well known Japanese DJ. Its amazing because most DJs don’t have videos of them just Djing. Usually they have features and they’re in the background but this video is just him Djing and its an amazing song. You get to see him and what he does as a DJ which is rare since the DJ is always in the background. So this video I think is really dope because he’s the main attraction. If you don’t know DJ Krush, he has worked with a ton of indie Hip-Hop artists and he has a very soulful and jazzy sound.
Dabo “Diamond”
Diamond Album
Dabo is also from Japan. This video is more commercial than the other ones that I picked. The video has him sitting around in different areas rapping. Of course I have no idea what the song is about so I don’t know how relevant the video is to the song. But I do like the songs beat and his flow. Dabo is known for his “tough Japanese street culture”. So this video shows him in that light. I think that this video has some dope graphics for example towards the end of the video there is a dope part where they are in a car and you could see the outside in the window, but it looks like a picture moving. Its like a scene out of a movie. Haha.
Hime “In the Rain”
Album: Hitogoyomi
This is one of DJ Honda’s artists so you know she’s from Japan. I thought it would be nice to have a female artists on this chart that’s holding it down for all the Asian hip hop women. She’s beautiful and is known for her themes of female empowerment and also her use of Japanese poetry. This video is very artistically done with it being in black and white with the shots looking like a picture. Its definitely like watching an indie film. Very beautifully done.