los anjalis

Kendrick Lamar tells the story behind “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” from his album Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. I knew it was deeply personal but didn’t realize this song embodied so much of Kendrick Lamar’s own transformation. If you haven’t listened to the actual song from the album, do that too, after watching this (it’s on youtube and elsewhere).

“Built for This” with Method Man, Freddie Gibbs, and Streetlife, was the first release from RZA’s soundtrack to Tarantino’s upcoming flick Man with the Iron Fists. This track has ridiculous bass and drum lines, and is quite addictive. It had me wanting more.

Well it’s time. The album’s due out in just a few days. Thanks to Pitchfork, you can stream the entire album until its release –> [Link]

I’ve been waiting patiently for El-P to release his next album. Really loved “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead” (it was my anthem for a bit). And he’s great in concert too. So I’m excited about his first release off his upcoming album. The track is entitled Drones over Brooklyn. Here’s a link to a stream of the track on okayplayer, and El-P released the mp3 download of the track for free today. (link). Enjoy.

Jay Smooth really makes me nod my head with these two lines:

“But as a general rule if you’re not the original target of an insult, you can’t be the one to reclaim it. And 9 times out of 10, if you’re not sure whether you should use it, you probably shouldn’t.”

Yep. That goes for white people wondering why blacks can use the word nigger and they can’t, that goes for people calling everything lame throwing around the word “ghetto”, that goes for folks throwing around the word “retard”, and so on and so forth. That doesn’t go for the word dude. Anyone can say dude :>

UPDATE: Eric Stoller, a man I respect greatly, corrected me in the comments. I didn’t check myself on using the word “lame” while discussing offensive connotations of other words. Oops. Will promptly take that word out of use in my vocabulary.

UPDATE #2: Kevin @ A Slant Truth shares a new meme inspired by Sylvia @ ProblemChylde — changing NO HOMO to SO HOMO. I’m enjoying using it so far. Try it yourself.

Stephen Colbert and Nas bring it.

Lyrics to “Sly Fox” by Nas below…
(more…)

From the fine folks at RockRap, today’s musical thought for the day:

The problem is
We’ve been trained
We’ve been programmed
To not dream
Not want
Not think that there’s a better life available
Other than the one that’s being portrayed to us
Through the tube
Through the radio
We don’t even understand how much
The world is ours
But we just haven’t claimed it yet

Black Ice & K-Salaam

Tuesday is Super Tuesday AND Fat Tuesday! That means it’s time to vote (for 22 states, including California) AND time to party before Lent starts.

After voting, I’ll be DJing this TUESDAY evening at the Roxy, opening for DJ Rekha from New York City. DJ Rekha is a friend who I’ve djed with in NYC at our monthly MUTINY parties and who’s been running the famous Basement Bhangra parties in NYC for over 10 years. I’ll be djing from 9 to 10ish, probably a hoppin’ mix of drumnbass, grime, and hiphop. Join us if you can! YES WE CAN! (not so subtle Obama plug)

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 – “On the Rox with DJ Rekha”

Doors at 9pm
9pm to 10-ish: Los Anjalis (aka DJ Anju)
10-ish on… : DJ Rekha from NYC

The Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: $8 advance, $10 day of show

Come say hi if you come out.
Si Se Puede! (another obama plug, I know, can’t help myself),
Los Anjalis

Tomorrow night, El-P, independent hiphop artist and head of Definitive Jux Records, is performing in LA! I’m stoked, I’m absolutely loving his new album “I’ll Sleep when You’re Dead”. His beats are hard-hitting and beautifully produced, his words are even more hard-hitting, poignant, clever, and political, and he’s a legend — having produced a good amount of work by other amazing independent hiphop artists. A few friends and I are heading to the show tomorrow night at the El Rey, you should join if you can :>Flavorpill LA, a weekly newsletter, sent out info on the show and added an entertaining contest that I’ve gotta share.

If the letter L squared off against the letter P in a Sesame Street smackdown, which would win and why? The most toddler-troubling response in 50 words or less receives a pair of tickets to this show and a drop card for free El-P downloads. Entries close at 6pm on Tue 5.15.

So — i’ll open it up here — any creative toddler-troubling responses to this contest that’s officially over? Share your ideas in the comments section of this post!

Lastly, info on El-P:

To simply say that El-P is serious about his music would be an understatement. Upon first listen to his upcoming album, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, it’s readily apparent that this record – a magnum opus 4 years in the making – represents a culmination of profound musical, personal, and political experiences reaching their tumultuous climax. This record is about the struggle faced by those living in a rapidly changing society, El himself calling this his post-traumatic stress album where he attempts to capture the political by representing the internal. Evoking vocals and production aesthetics so viscerally indicative of the current era, El-P has outdone himself yet again, effectively mastering his brand of cutting-edge head-nodders and pushing forward a genre that has long held him as an undisputed kingpin. I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead embodies everything that is El-P – a groundbreaking artist, virtuosic producer, profound lyricist, label founder, A&R maverick and underground icon reacting to the malignant societal changes occurring today – a very serious matter indeed. This record is an urgent document, a collective representation of a critical individual crossing their personal Rubicon, assessing the dismal reality inherent, and deciding to forge on despite the cost. With appearances by Trent Reznor, The Mars Volta, Cat Power, Aesop Rock, Cage, Matt Sweeney, Tame One, and others, this is an album poised to extend a genre into a new realm of artistic expression.

Thanks to the impulsivity and spontaneity of a friend and I, we bought tix to Coachella Music Festival (this weekend) YESTERDAY. We’re head out in a few hours, staying at a friend’s place in Palm Springs, and checking out Saturday’s lineup of the festival. Sunday am is hiking/strolling time in the Joshua Tree National Park. Last year a few friends and I spent a half-day at the park before the Coachella madness and I enjoyed it — it was my first time ever in that national park (remember i’m a transplant fro the eas’ coas’). Don’t be fooled by “Los Anjalis” into thinking I’ve got generations of presence in this big ol’ city and state.

Last year two wonderful friends flew in from SF (via Paris where she was finishing a vacation there) and Cleveland to check out Coachella with my brother and I. It was grand. I found god through the music of Massive attack and i’m NOT kidding. Their music and their performance (i’ve got some video from a subsequent performance at the Hollywood Bowl this past summer, i’ll upload it to youtube) had me entranced and feeling every single emotion in the span of one hour. I laughed, cried, and was transported to a higher place (and I hadn’t smoked anything). I’ve loved Massive Attack since the early 1990′s but hadn’t seen them perform live EVER (this was their first performance in the United States in eight years!) Above — a photo of Sigur Ros (not massive attack, but so beautiful) performing at Coachella 2006.
What I’ll be missing (life is good when one choice means foregoing other options):

Opening night of “Gimme Shelter“, an art exhibit featuring 150 (!) artists who were given a piece of cardboard to paint/sculpt on. This exhibit benefits the National Coalition for the Homeless, an amazing organization. Good thing it runs for a few weeks :>

And Freewayblogging reminds us that tomorrow is the Big Day — the day of coordinated nationwide impeachment acts.

Freeway blogger posted some signs on freeways in LA this week — did you see them? Some photos here as well as how-to’s on making signs in a few minutes and posting them up in even fewer minutes! Hmm…the drive to the california desert tonight might be a good space to employ some creative “postings” :>

Thou shalt watch this video:

some words:

thou shalt not buy coca cola products, thou shalt not buy nestle products…

thou shalt give equal word to tragedies that occur in non-english speaking countries as to those that occur in english speaking countries…

guns, bitches, and bling were never part of the 4 elements [of hip hop], and never will be…

thou shalt not pimp my ride…

when i say hey thou shalt not say ho…

thou shalt think for yourselves…

[Some more tracks by them at their Myspace page -- I really like "A letter from God to Man". Some live performances are also available on YouTube, check 'em out, just search for them]

As culture minister Gil has also sponsored an initiative called the Cultural Points program. Small government grants are issued to scores of community centers in poor neighborhoods of some of Brazil’s largest cities to install recording and video studios and teach residents how to use them.

The result has been an outpouring of video and music, much of it racially conscious and politically tinged rap or electronica. Since Brazilian commercial radio, which is said to be riddled with payola, will not play the new music, the creators instead broadcast their songs on community radio stations and distribute their CDs independently, at markets and fairs, rather than through existing record labels.

From “Gilberto Gil and the Politics of Music“, March 12, 2007.

Note to self: incorporate this into the 10 year neighborhood/clinic plan. :>