For any of you out there waiting on The Anti-Mixtape Resistance Movement to gain momentum, you’re probably better off trying to squeeze orange juice out of a ham: Ain’t gonna happen. Rappers are sticking to that ol’ formulaic hustle of releasing no-hassle mixtapes in lieu of or in preview of forthcoming LPs. No matter how much we bitch and whine about the infinite piles of pointless mixtapes on our hard drives, they’re going to keep coming as hip-hop artists gobble up the low-cost exposure.
That said, we should at least be grateful for all the free material we’ve been given and offer these mixtapes a chance, at least. September, after all, is shaping up to be an extremely active month for hip hop (Jay-Z, Raekwon, Ghostface all releasing monster albums), and if two Triangle crews can help prime us, well … more power to us Carolinians. Continue reading »
I spent most of last week either preparing in advance for a little trip to Georgia for a friend’s wedding or subsequently enjoying it, so we let a few a tidbits slip under the radar. Look for a round-up, as well as some news from Cesar Comanche and Kooley High, after the jump. Continue reading »
On the Triangle’s preeminent hip-hop message board, “The Lawn,” local rapper/producer K-Hill recently voiced his opinion regarding the lack of coverage that I’ve been giving to North Carolina hip-hop in the music pages of the Independent Weekly. The comment stemmed from a thread announcing a show featuring local R&B songstress Keisha Shontelle. “Who the fuck is Keisha Shontelle?” I asked, jokingly. In essence, I was suggesting that, given Shontelle’s relative disappearance from this music scene lately, I wasn’t even sure if I remembered her anymore. But I did.
Hey, it's a tiny violin!
“Ask Grayson,” K-Hill responded. “He actually writes about the other movements that reside in N.C. Take that one however you want to.” Continue reading »
Spencer Griffith wrote about the Cary premiere of One Day, the documentary about Raleigh rap group Kooley High, in January. The 38-minute film, made by area director Napoleon Wright II and his becauseus.org organization, has finally made it online. As Griffith noted, it’s an interesting little glimpse into a band working to make music its livelihood and, in a way, its faith.
