R.I.P. DJ AM

This is really a sad year for music as another great musician passes away. Not much to say with words. We must remember what he gave to the world and celebrate his life. Amazing turntablist and party rocker, he inspires a generation.

Haven’t had the pleasure of hearing him play? Here’s one of his flawless, thoughtful, and maddeningly creative live mixes:
DJ AM live set from Banana Split 07 LA

His mixtape with Travis Barker
download.

Sad sad sad……

Diggers with Gratitude……

I just designed the flyer for my homey DJ Kon’s fundraiser(and i’m also playing it)

In case you didn’t know already, every Boston DJ’s favorite DJ has been in and out of the hospital and unable to play his gigs for the last few weeks. Since Kon DJs for a living NO GIGS = NO INCOME!! A few of us have already donated money from gigs to
Kon, but now it’s time for everyone to step up for a great DJ and an even better friend…

$10 SUGGESTED DONATION

EVERY PENNY GOES TO KON + you get to hear Kon
inspired music from Amir, Supreme One, 7L, Ms Thang, Gucci Vuiton & Soul Clap!!!

If you cannot attend or want to donate more money you can send via paypal to djmsthang@gmail.com

Some Masterful Kon mixes here.

Just added :::: Amir from Waxpoetics/ Kon& Amir/ King of digging
Event info here

Our homies Flavorheard just released a fresh mix - download here - filled with afro-latin funk. They also did a 12″ release of some tracks available here:

Whiskey Barons 12″ for purchase

And here’s a freebie for you that reminds me of some Mark Ronson edit…

etta james - 7 day fool (whiskey barons edit)

And tomorrow is a big bike event…..

REG: 1:00PM @ the Fenway Track

RACE: 2:00PM - 6:00PM

BBQ: Columbus Park, South Boston 6:00PM - 9:00PM - FREE with a spokecard, $5 without. ALL YOU CAN EAT (til we run out of course). we will be awarding the prizes for the winners of the race and also holding bicycle-specific side games.

I’ll be DJing the afterparty….

AFTERPARTY: @ Allston Community Darkroom (formerly Blue Zebra) - 119 Braintree Street, Suite 208 in Allston - with DJ Ghostdad/DJ Gucci Vuitton/DJ Mayhem - 9:00PM - ???

Event info here.

Last, Prints of the Rare Rap 12″ poster are going quick - great design by Diggers with Gratitude

Sometimes when you answer an interview, you know what quote they’re going to pull and put in blockquotes. The Weekly Dig recently surveyed a bunch of crews - bladerunners, bruno, jayceeoh, kon, fully fitted - about what makes a good remix and they pulled the following quote from me regarding the johnny blaze mix called “black sheep”

it sounds like a unicorn giving birth to rainbows while in the backseat of a cadillac going 95 mpg through harlem

anyways, we’re playing the release party for this issue…

My homeys Kon and the Bodega Girls are playing this Sat w/ Peanut Butter Wolf For free…free dranks also

And Pete the dude's sneaker pimps tour is coming Saturday as well....all ages.

The entire world celebrates a new day for America. Heads are popping champagne like we just won a championship ring. I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who voted in Massachusetts to eliminate dog racing in 2010 and no longer prosecute cannibus sativa as a criminal enterprise. And to those in Cali who had the opportunity to name a waste treatment facility in honor of George W Bush….damn, Cali gets to vote on everything!

I’ve been laid out with shingles/adult chicken pox since the Palin nomination for VP. Since that time, we’ve witnessed an entire change of consciousness of the American Electorate -all triggered by the collapse of Reaganomics and the Bush Doctrine. People everywhere in the states are discussing politics - a stark contrast from the previous 8 years, when it was safer to just bury your head in the sand, for better or worse. Things were just too ugly to deal with. But one of the cornerstone of strong democracy is debate amongst the electorate. That was a huge change and a revolution has begun.

The people have sided with Hope and rejected the politics of division and hate.

The world rejoices, and welcomes America back. I can go back to working towards better design for the world now that my nerves are settled.

semi-related
Signs that Recession Has Hit Your Hood:

• Bodegas raise the prices on quarter water to 35cent.
• Quality of life crimes go unprosecuted - homeless aren’t harassed
• There’s no money for the buff of graffiti.
• Drug laws become more liberal

1) Dj Mehdi destorys the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY This friday!

2) Kangol 70th Anniversary is tonight

3)-even more of-(Ricky) Powell’s newest exhibition is at Sugarheadquarters til 12/7/08

A bit about Ricky - about three years ago, he was in Boston for a street art gallery event. He’s giving his traditional photography narrative when he’s interrupted by a smart remark(perhaps it was a dumb question) from one of the people in the crowd. Ricky addresses the gentleman directly, “oh, what do we have here? a trustafarian? THE WHITE LION?” and to this day, that kid is know as the White Lion.

The reason for the above post is that I’m slated to land in NYC thursday for a couple presentations and more importantly to enjoy the beauty of the city changing to Autumn. The smells are different, the colors change and everything is reborn. It’s nice here as well in Beantown, but ain’t no place like the 5boros (where i saw my first white chalk outline as a child while staying w/ grandma).

Thoreau lived in solitude at Walden Pond for two years and two months formulating a pure philosophy of divinty within self (the writings became central to transcendentalism and mirrors the RBN ideals of God Self) and finding that modern man is shackled by ipods, stupidly expensive pants and crappy jobs that lack meaning. His modern man was enslaved by different constructs but everything he wrote while in self imposed exile (ok, not really exile, he still gave lectures to his neighbors in an outdoor amphitheater he built) still rings true today. Hell, it’s even more important now as we see the financial situation worsen to a point where even Middle America trusts our elected officials & banks less that we trust this guy.

I journeyed to Walden for several reasons: I like hiking, the leaves are changing colors, my buddy John Allen of Headband and myself have been going on walkabouts round town and had mini van at our disposal. Interesting sidenote; I once saved my friends’ marriage by bringing him to Walden and simply talking shit out. They named their dog after me in an unequal exchange.

Anyways, Walden & its’ philosophies as a counterpoint to the American psyche at a time when our shit is going terribly wrong….what was I trying to get at? With the financial bailout ultimately rewarding CEOs of failed banks and adding to our insane debt to China(where we have no leverage to bargain as we already owe them our shirts: figuratively & literally) we’re seeing that the individual citizen is not only alone, but actually has the government working directly against them. The cost will be passed to the taxpayer, wall street will remain unregulated for the most part, 401ks vanished overnight, and then this bullshit etc etc. So , again, Walden and Self Determination and it’s relationship to art/design/fashion/and most importantly, hood figgas. Well, FUBU also known as “For Us By Us” is an excellent example of circumventing the status quo and getting over by any means necessary. This mentality is finally taking root in the average American who watches NASCAR & shops at Walmart and of which 5-10% of engage in S&M for pleasure. (source Kinsey Institute).

This mentality was also a founding tenet of Hip Hop. With ghettos in NYC abandoned by the government and left to burn ( an excellent historical account can be found in the book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop) , we saw Hip Hop born out of the adverse conditions. I wonder what the hell is going to come out of the current Hell we’re living in, or if we’re too subdued by our computers, SUVs and Doritos (yummo!) for real change to occur.
Traditionally, university campuses are one of the strongest places for revolutionary thought & movement to become organized and later galvanized. I talk to the students that come through my shop and I truly wonder if they can save this ragged world. Hey you with the knapsack & facebook profile, please prove me wrong. The future, after all, is unwritten!

On a lighter note:

DOWNLOAD: a really old dub reggae blend i did of “dirt off ya shoulda” that heads seem to like.