Paul Williams' Nelson State Of Mind

I just discovered the 17 year old prodigy that is Paul Williams the other night, all jokes aside the kid has got a serious work ethic & whether hes taking the mickey or not, he knows his Hip-Hop & "keeps it real". If you enjoy 'Nelson State Of Mind' as much as I do, be sure to check out his other hits such as 'Still P.A.U.L.' 'Night "N" Day' "Slice Of Paul" & heaps mo!

New Music From Dartel

My homie Dart (Think H.B.K.) sent me some tracks just last week & has since given me the green light to share them with yo. The first 3 are remix/mixtape joints & the last one is an original joint, all are fire, have a listen & see for yourself...

Dartel - This Plane

Dartel - Can't Wait To Say It

Dartel - Simba

Dartel - Spit It On The Dotted...E

Home Brew - Monday (Winter Soldier Remix)

Some of you will remember me posting up a link to a remix of Jay-Z's 'American Gangster' album by a New Zealand Japanese producer called Winter Soldier, now he has turned his attention to some classic, homegrown Hip-Hop in the form of Home Brew's intro track 'Monday' off their 'Last Week' EP. You can listen to his, & about a dozen other producers remix of the track here, then don't forget to vote, Winter Soldier no diggity!

Nothing To Nobody

Is the title of Lui Tuiasau's debut EP, quality home grown New Zealand Hip-Hop, I'm sure a .rar with artwork will hit the net soon but till then check it out exclusively via SoundCloud, a consistent, solid sounding record start to finish, if I had to pick a favorite track it would be 'Waiting' though, awesome stuff.

GOD In Hip-Hop Part 3

DMX is said to stand for "Dark Man X" & you can't help but feel he might of hexed himself when took on that persona, even if the genesis of his alias is a drum machine. Before he was DMX, Earl Simmons grew up in the mean streets of Yonkers New York where he moved to from the heroin capital of America, Baltimore (Think 'The Wire') as a young child. Fast forward to 1998, DMX released his debut album 'It's Dark & Hell Is Hot" which debuted at #1 on the US album charts, then quickly followed that with another #1 album the same year titled 'Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood'. This trend would continue for his next 3 albums, making him the only artist in history to have 5 albums debut at #1, his entire catalog up until that point. Then came his controversial single 'Lord Give Me A Sign'...



The first single from his 6th album sees DMX desperately asking for a sign from the Lord Jesus Christ. Then miraculously his album misses out on the #1 spot by a matter of hundred record sales, given that his albums had sold hundreds of thousands in their first weeks at retail & millions to date, this was very unlucky, or, was it his “Sign”?

"In 2009, DMX claimed he would pursue preaching but will also continue to do music. He completed a Gospel album prior to his incarceration. His beliefs were criticized since many of his albums use vulgarity, sexual violence and racial slurs. According to many sources such as MTV, he semi-retired to study the Bible more, in an effort to give messages behind the pulpit, but has since decided to return to rap after being encouraged by Mase to wait for God's calling to do so."

- Wikipedia

I thought that last excerpt from Wiki was rather interesting, especially the bit about Murda Ma$e, that advice seems a bit rich coming from him, then again, who am I to judge.

GOD In Hip-Hop Part 2

Cassidy, probably best known for his Jay-Z sampled single "I'm A Hustla" is another emcee that has been brave enough to declare his love for Christ. Back in 2005  Cassidy, real name Barry Adrian Reece was falsely accused of 3rd degree murder and jailed for 8 months before his case was overturned & he was released from prison. Things didn't get much better for Barry though, just a little over 6 months later he was in a near fatal car crash when his 4WD collided with a commercial truck, he suffered a fractured skull & several broken bones in the side of his face. But like the old story goes, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger". Cassidy overcame his struggle & went on to release his 3rd studio album "B.A.R.S." a clever backronym for the "Barry Adrian Reece Story". The album addressed the murder case, his time behind bars, the car crash & represented a new direction for his music, all of which are well summarized in the above video, Cass performs a freestyle he would spit to inspire other prisoners who were having a hard time incarcerated while he was locked up. Sway (Calloway, of Sway & King Tech, think 'The Anthem') spoke exclusively with Cassidy in depth about the trifecta of trials, shedding more light on the finer details surrounding the murder case & his recovery. Since then it would seem Cassidy has shied away from his "industry" taboo beliefs, or perhaps it is just the ways of the world.

GOD In Hip-Hop Part 1

Way to intimidate readers with a title for your blog post aye. If your not familiar with Jin Au-Yeung I suggest you peep how he got his first big break freestyle battling on American television's infamous BET (Black Entertainment Television) program '106 & Park', it is freestyle battling at its finest (For its time anyway, think '8 Mile'.). Jin went on undefeated for several weeks before been inducted into the '106 & Park' hall of fame, also coinciding with his announcement that he had signed to Ruff Ryders, making him the first Asian solo rapper to be signed to a major record label, a huge break through considering the bias towards Asian emcees in the "industry" & before you think I'm crazy for saying that check out the battles I'm referring too, cause they are extremely racist, like imagine if the shoe was on the other foot & he was as racist towards his rivals as they were to him. They kick freestyles where every single bar is a racial slur, just imagine what would of happened if he dropped the 'N' bomb just once. Anyway, unfortunately the prejudice prevailed an Jin's debut album was delayed for over a year, just in time for his buzz to be killed, pressuring him into releasing some overly manufactured commercial singles, which failed to recapture the hype he had worked so hard to create.

In spite of his adversities, which included been verbally murdered by Serius Jones in a rap battle & having his close friend shot, Jin took the independent route & severed his ties with Universal before releasing his sophomore album just over a year later, featuring the Golden Child produced single "Top 5 (Dead Or Alive)", the video for which included a cameo with Hip-Hop founder, the legendary DJ Kool Herc.



Since then Jin has released an abundance of new music, including 2 studio albums (1 in Cantonese) & a number of mixtapes which for the most part have gone under the radar, well my radar at least, that is of course up until now. Word is Jin was baptized in 2008, & obviously that has had an impact on his art, & definitely not a negative one if you ask me. I will expand upon the 'title' of this blog more in the coming parts, but for now I'll just let Jin's new music video do the talking, Hong Kong stand up!

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This event has been billed up in Otago as one of the most anticipated games of the up-coming ITM Cup! Haha what a way to bring exposure to an event. You can bet one thing for sure; Campbell Live will most likely get involved and other media will jump on the band-wagon. At present Rory has hit the 1000 guests in his quest of reaching 3000 guests. Hit the link to read his spiel about his plans

Rugby World Cup Ambassador? Yeah Right

You may remember a few months ago at the Black Caps-Australia test about another streaker who built up support on Facebook and pulled it off!!! The man, who ran across the field nude with "Nana said not 2!' written on his back, dodged four security guards and cleared a picket fence before he successfully made his escape from the ground.

Will keep you posted with progress in the build-up to this feature event as things unfold and the climax approaches.

Football and Photos

Woke up at a reasonably early hour this morning to watch the Australia v. Germany match on the good ol' Iraqgoals (a dodgy sounding live sports streaming site I'm pretty sure is a subtle part of the insurgent war against the 'Mericans). This was, I thought, going to be one of the more competitive clashes - the others so far having been average to say the least - but it turned out utterly one sided. Germany looked dangerous though and I would rate them as a chance to take it out, as they easily outclassed the Aussies four to nada. Apparently they've almost always made at least as far as the quarters, no doubt with the usual Teutonic efficiency.

Came across (ok, Stumbled Upon tm) these crazy colour photographs from the early 20th century. They are made using Autochromes, which are basically potato starch compressed into glass plates and dyed. They are true colour and pretty amazing. This guy traveled the world taking shots of a bunch of different ethnicities and places. Colour seems to give them a far more contemporary feel than black and white. It's nuts to think they wouldn't have known what a plane was, a car, TV; the only music would've been live! Couple of examples:


Natty dreadlocks and early man-string?

This box was a punishment in Mongolia. People were locked in and starved to death.

Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz

M-1 & Stic.man of Dead Prez are dropping a new mixtape with DJ Drama titled "Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz" real soon. Anyone that knows DPZ knows their mixtapes are more like street albums & play better than most rappers retail releases, you can bet this fourth coming release will be no exception.

Here are the first two cuts to leak, a remix of B.O.B's 'Nothin' On You' & Drake's 'Over'...

Dead Prez - The Beauty Within

Dead Prez - Far From Ova

Introducing...

Some of you might be a bit puzzled by that last post entitled 'First post woooo!" let me explain. Sam Hutching-Bryant, a long time friend of mine is going to be contributing to this blog as we look to redevelop what is 'Blogoholics Anonymous'. Sam aka Mule aka HB has actually featured on here before, some of you might remember this golden post. Anyway, along with some other new blood which we will be revealing soon time, Sambo will be sharing his wordplay with yo on a more regular basis, so watch this space.

First post woooo!

So, on an afternoon where the choices on terrestrial television are between yacht racing and a crossword game-show, gossip girl and watching V8 Aussie car nuts cream themselves over a Holden that sounds like rapid-fire wet farts when it changes gears, I've come to realise - minus the added insight of a marketing degree - Sky should advertise exclusively on Sunday's.

Matter's aren't helped by the fact it's pissing down outside, and I don't love whoring myself for the likes of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., but seriously, a Sky Sports-12-month-locked-in-you-can't-get-out-of-this-unless-you-take-out-a-loan-or-die package sounds pretty good right now. Let's face it, given the choice between New Zealand's famed 'National Bowling Championships' (complete with Big Lebowski style team uniforms, live on Prime) and virtually anything on Sky Sports 3 (including the 3rd time you watched the replay of Fulham play Hull from last November) I know what I'd be watching.

This brings us to the question of whether to succumb to the urge and ring that sell-out 0800 number to the call centre in the Manilla where helpful hoards flick a switch (on receipt of deposit, allow for 5 working days) and get Sky for the football World Cup. What with New Zealand featuring as 12th (or 32nd) man in this years tournament, I plan to be more interested than normal and, given that I'm better at watching than playing, will be addicted to the unfolding drama. My heart's with NZ, and I reckon they have a chance making it to the second round, but my money's on Spain who, after years of frustration from under-performing with some of the world's best players, deservedly garner the favourite tag.

In related news, the Nike ad for the World Cup is pretty well done in my opinion. Nike obviously have the budget to do this kind of thing brilliantly (they've had Guy Ritchie direct one for example) but this one triumphs through a combination of song choice and clever premise. Youtube Hocus Pocus Focus for the epitome of 70s experimental rock on reliable Dutch shrooms. Peace.

Make It A Sopranos Winter

The Sopranos, complete series, seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 part 1 & 6 part 2, for sale, $1 reserve, check it.

Weepu Back For Must Win Game Against The Reds

Whats this? Zach talking about Rugby again? Yep. I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I hadn't lost interest in Rugby the last few years, League ain't excluded either, but this years Super 14 has been like none other & my love for Rugby has been rekindled. Shouts to my cousin Joe aka the sports professor, him, his season pass suggestion & future RWC road trip have definitely been a big influence.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The Hurricanes last home game against the Reds this weekend is a must win if they are to have any chance of making the semis, same can be said for the game against the Waratahs in Sydney the following week, a 4 try bonus point in each would go a long way to guarantying it.

Piri Weepu has been demoted to the bench their last 2 games, coming on as a late second half impact player. I think highly of his rugby skills & disagreed with this move, even if he did came on & threw away all those interceptions an missed those conversions against Waikato. Hes a starter, & I'm stoked in spite of his poor performance in the final moments of the game against the Chiefs he has been brought back for this Fridays game, we need his goal kicking. Lets hope he elevates his game so the Hurricanes can start playing like real semi final contenders cause regardless of their 3 game winning streak, they have been far from convincing when you consider the likes of the Stormers & Bulls.

On a side note, Nonu saying the "F-word" 7 times in 2 minutes in a live interview! Does he kiss his mother with that fucking mouth?

Young Sid & P-Money Albums Out Today

P-MONEY - EVERYTHING

YOUNG SID - WHAT DOESN'T KILL ME...

Click the links above the art work for more info. Support NZ Hip-Hop this New Zealand Music Month!