After my life altering beach visit (post before this one) we ran up to visit my homeboy Everlast who lives about 40 minutes from Hermosa. It’s no secret that the La Coka / House of Pain guys are good friends of mine and always check me when they hit Boston, so it was my turn to visit.

Ev has been an avid art and toy collector before the surge in popularity due to the internet and has direct relationships with most of the artists others jerk off over. His crib was a archive of “ungooglable” (I made that one up - so ill and rare you can’t google them. Get it?) collectibles. Craola, Jose Parla, Bansky, Dose, Futura, Shepard Fairey and of course Kaws, were just a few creators of the amazing pieces he has amassed.

Everlast has a true passion for art but also has a comparable passion for sports memorabilia and of course sneakers.

Congrats to Ev on his recent marriage and upcoming birth of his first child.

Thanks for the love!

You might have peeped the You Tube video that showed Banksy sneaking Paris Hilton CDs with reworked artwork back into record stores in the UK.

Deon peeping an original Kaws phone booth ad. That’s O.G.!

A gift from Mr. Whitey Ford to Senor Frank The Butcher — thanks my man!! Do you have one of these?

Some people dont even believe the Kaws Companion with the Astro Boy pose exist… it does.

My brother and Concepts family, Masspike Miles has been holding down Boston forever. Miles is now down with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music and has been reppin Boston and Concepts all over the world. Literally. From Miami to Columbia and everywhere in between. Miles was down in Miami for Memorial Day weekend doing shows with his Maybach team and the boss himself, Ricky Rawss. Peep the video below with Miles rockin our brand new block letter fitted fresh out the box. Download his new mixtape “Pursuit Of Happiness” here.

Number 5!!

Another banger people! Talkin shit, playing  joints and puttin you on!

Featuring E the Real of Nite People and Social Light Sounds.

The Butcher’s Block 005 (4-8-09)

Download: TBB005

Let’s be for real.

When you think of Boston, you can’t help but to think of it’s legendary St. Patrick’s Day events, parades and drink-a-thons. If the soundtrack for the Puerto Rican Day Parade was Hector Lavoe, Marc Anthony or maybe Big Pun or Fat Joe… St. Paddy’s Day’s anthem would be House of Pain’s “Jump Around”. I dare you to argue that.

So being in Boston I thought it was only right to unify all those elements into something that made the locals get rowdy and spill their drinks. Oh, wait… that’s normal!

On Tuesday, March 17th, House of Pain (all 3 members) will be at Concepts to launch their Adidas Campus colab designed by Danny Boy (with the rest of La Coka Nostra on hand).

We are also raffling off 5 authentic Adidas Celtics jerseys custom made for the launch. I would tell you how many were made but the number is so small you’d get mad at me!

Come down and meet the band, get a drink, cop a shoe, win a jersey… put on some shit kickers and kick some shit…. and enjoy what the Irish gave the world… St. Paddy’s Day!!!

Wondering why there’s a “TV” in the url? This is why!! In partnership with In High Dudgeon Films, TBB presents Butcher’s Block TV.

Look forward to seeing interviews with everyone you see in the trailer and more.

The Butchers Block

***New WeeklyDrop on the way***

Butcher!!

I told you it would be on!

This is the first installment of the new and improved Butcher’s Block Podcast here on TBB. I am continuing the tradition of The WeeklyDrop* and created a Hip-Hop show that embodies the same spirit as WD but incorporated it into my passion of music. Don’t let the “Hip-Hop” turn you off. I understand the current state of the genre and we are here to showcase an interesting combination of songs, early samples, breaks - always putting you on to something new or reminding you of something great.

You’re going to hear a new voice on the podcast but he is not new to the music by any means. Paul Mighty is my co-host and his love for music will show in his contribution to the show. I’ve watched him grow from an eager mid-high school kid to a grown man of many talents. He is family.

Stay tuned because we will be updating on the regular (approx every 2 weeks) but we’ll start you off with 2 bangers.

*Side note: WeeklyDrop is not dead and you might hear Jeff’s voice on the Butcher’s Block sooner than later!

(002 is the first episode… I Know, I Know, long story!)

Check it out here: www.ButchersBlockTV.com

Enjoy!

Another season at Magic in Vegas (plus Project, Pool, and the new Capsule) and it was a little slow motion… slow motion is better than no motion right? Cab lines were shorter, the show floor was quieter, it was even colder than usual in Vegas. Doesn’t matter really because biz still needed to be handled.

with Benny Gold

Estevan Oriol & Danny Boy

Bee Nguyen of Hot Air Clothing

with Mega of Black Scale

With Moon Shine (What up Dizzy!)

Los Angeles’s own DJ Rif (look for Rif’s Dissizit’s Mixtape coming soon)

Amaury of Linx Jewlers of L.A. (the creator of my now infamous custom cleaver piece. More on him later!!)

Back in the bitter cold after a few days in sunny San Diego. Big shout to Aaron of Agenda for the love. The show was cozy, comfy and even though retail is tough, there was a decent turnout.  Big shout to Mike & Ari (Alife), Alyasha (FiborOps, Alpha Numeric), Slick, Tina and Danny Boy (Dissizit), Chris (Nixon), The Burn Rubber crew out of the “D”, Fubz (Agenda), BJ and Chris (Crooks) and Big Diz for bodying the House of Blues… oh yeah… shout to the taxi driver Deon Point almost had to put his fists on (Deon to cabbie: “what? You don’t like money… stupid muthafucka!”)…

Chace chases his paper…

“Do they have brew over there?”

House of Blues

The beard and Dizzy

Also…

I murdered the Open Bicycle Crew’s “Weekly Commute Podcast” with a Butcher Block version… check it out here… shouts to the OBC.

My name is Frank “The Butcher” Rivera and I have a beard. At first it was just a game to see how long I could go without shaving but with time I grew to appreciate the complexity and work that went into maintaining a well groomed beard. My beard started to become a part of me almost to the point where I don’t remember when I didn’t have a beard. You think it’s easy? Not at all my friend. You have that first itchy stage that will drive the average man crazy but I’m anything but average hermano . I walked through that stage like a stroll through central park on a spring day. After that, it was smooth sailing.

Enter the Bearduary. A website dedicated to monitoring beard growth and its kind of a community for people like me. People with a specific skill.

My bearded bother Chedda BLC put me on and now its official.

See you on the other side.

-Butcher

Remixxxxxxxx!!!

I want to speak on something I consider near and dear to my heart, “The Remix”. Don’t get this confused with today’s definition of a remix because I’m definitely not talking about someone dropping a catchy tune, possibly implementing auto tune, and within days someone has reworked the words, possibly implementing auto tune, and dropping a new version to the web. What’s the saying? Pouring syrup on dog shit doesn’t make it a better version of “A Milli” and “Pop Champagne”.

I’m talking about a time when you would search out the vinyl single or maxi-single (remember the maxi single? It was a beefed up cassette single usually including remixes, b-sides and instrumentals) to obtain the remix that sometimes was a totally different version of the song. New beat, new words, maybe if you were lucky it would include “Pete Rock”, “SD50″, “Premier”, or “Diamond D” between the parentheses.

I used to love discovering a remix. I use the word “discovering” because it was at a time when I literally didn’t know it existed until it was in my hands. Personally, there are a ton of remixes that meant more to me than the original. Not just because it was a new version but these remixes would be as dope or even doper than the original… on purpose. It was rule of thumb.

Some favorites of mine are:

Rass Kass - Soul on Ice (Diamond D Remix): A lot of dope remixes would end up being the video version of the song. I remember hearing “Miami Life” originally off the movie “The Substitute” soundtrack where Rass went in and bodied it but it wasn’t until I heard the Diamond D version of “Soul on Ice” from the video that I realized the monster he was.  Top ten remixes of all time.

A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario (Remix): This joint was a bit of a bitter sweet send off for a tremendous MC named Hood that passed away before the song was even done being mixed. Nas has been quoted as saying that when he first came out, Hood was someone he felt was one of the best lyricist at the time. Everyone was was looking at Nas and Nas was looking at Hood. That says a lot. Besides Hood, Tribe and Leaders of the New School all set this track on fire.

Common (Formally Common Sense) - Soul By The Pound (Remix): I had the pleasure of kickin it with Com recently and I asked him about this joint. I told him how the video made me go out and buy his first album “Can I Borrow a Dollar” looking for the video version of “Soul by the Pound”… and it wasn’t there. He told me at the time he was still learning his craft and it so happened that he made better joints after the album dropped. Was I mad? Not at all. One of the illest remixes ever!

Black Moon - Buck Em’ Down (Remix)  / I Got Ya Open (Remix): Another video versus album situation. Black Moon’s,  or “Brothers who Lyrically Act and Combine Kickin Music Out On Nations” (didn’t think I  knew that huh??), debut album “Enta Da Stage” was revolutionary. Buckshot Shorty (now Buckshot) was always in “best MC” arguments and the Beatminerz introduced their dirty bass filtered Brooklyn style to the world. What was better than the album? The video versions! Not only were they better but they were fuckin classics. And yes I wore army fatigues and hockey jerseys with Timbs.

Public Enemy - Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix): Is this considered the illest remix ever? It might be. It was the contrast between Pete Rock’s soul influenced style and the Bomb Squad’s condensed musical chaos that made this remix so popular. The Bomb Squad are one of the best to ever do it and were PE’s in-house production team. When Pete Rock remixed a song that was already potent and made it just as powerful but in a different way, it redefined what remixes are supposed to be. Different but equally good or better. Peep the horns panning from speaker to speaker son!!!

So peep… I enjoy passing on good music. So I put together some definite classics for you to discover, like I once did. I didn’t fuck around either… there are some gems in here. You might be thinking I missed some but these are just scratching the surface. I will do this again soon and cover more ground.

Butcher Block Classic Remixes Volume One

Grand Puba - 360° (What Goes Around) [SD50 Remix]
Showbiz & AG - Next Level (DJ Premier Nyte Time remix)
Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (Pete Rock Remix)
Kool G. Rap f Nas - Fast Life (Buckwild remix)
Brand Nubian - Slow Down Rmx (Pete Rock)
Nas - The World is Yours (Pete Rock Remix)
Common Sense - Resurrection (Extra P Remix)
Special Ed - Freaky Flow  (Premier Remix)
Gangstarr - Words I Manifest (Remix)
Cypress Hill - When The Ship Goes Down (Diamond D Remix)
Redman - Tonight’s da Night (Remix)
O.C. - Time’s Up (Remix)
Redman - Time 4 Sum Aksion (Remix)
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - T.R.O.Y. (Pete Rock Vibes Mix)
Krs-One - Sound Of Da Police (Remix)
Ras Kass - Soul On Ice (Diamond D Remix)
Common Sense - Soul By The Pound (Remix)
Public Enemy - Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix)
Fat Joe - The Shit Is Real (DJ Premier Remix)

Butcher Block Classic Remixes Volume Two

A Tribe Called Quest f. Leaders of the New School - Scenario (Young Nations Mix)
A Tribe Called Quest f. Leaders of the New School & Hood - Scenario (Remix)
A Tribe Called Quest f. Leaders of the New School - Scenario (7 MC’s Mix)
Das Efx F Mobb Deep - Microphone Master (Sewa-41st. Side Remix)
Das Efx - Mic Checka (Remix)
Method Man - Method Man (Remix)
Jeru The Damaga - Me, Not The Paper (Remix)
Main Source - Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball (Remix)
House of Pain - Jump Around (Pete Rock Remix)
LL Cool J - Jingling Baby (Remixed But Still Jingling)
Nas - It Ain’t Hard to Tell (Remix)
Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin (Remix)
Junior Mafia F Notorious B.I.G - Gettin’ Money (Remix)
Special Ed - Freaky Flow (Premier Remix)
Ultramagnetic MC’s - Ego Trippin’ (MC’s Ultra Remix)
Artifacts F Mas Skillz - Dynamite Soul II (Lip Service Remix)
AZ F Raekwon - Doe or Die (Remix)
Blahzay Blahzay feat. Trigger, Darkman & Smoothe Da Hustler - Danger Pt. 2 (Street Mix)
Blahzay Blahzay - Danger (DJ Premier Remix)
MC Lyte - Cappucino (Remix)
Black Moon - Buck Em Down (Remix)
Masta Ace - Born to Roll (Jeep Ass Nigguh Remix)

This week I’m going to post something to satisfy your “thirst” for real hip-hop. Um.. “thirst” is a hint.