So Rock the Bells 2010 was looking pretty weak until.....

They added Primo, A Tribe Called Quest, & L Boogie!  Now don't get me wrong, Wu Tank, KRS, and Slick Rick are all great groups and I love all of them,  but the game has officially changed with this move.  Primo is a nice touch.  My favorite producer of all time.  ATCQ will be nice to see, especially a healthy Phife.  Lauryn tho?????  Wow....Let me demonstrate the power of this move.  The tour is not coming to Chicago.  Nowhere close to it.  With Ms. Hill now performing, I could see myself traveling to make a show in CA or NY.  I'll stay at a hotel in Compton or Marcey Projects if I have to.  That's love, ya'll.

New Roots Track....w/John Legend

This is a nice lil joint off the new Roots album. 

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/Audio-The-Roots-Doin-It-Again-featuring-John-Legend.html

Pete Rock vs Premier

This clip made my Wednesday.  To hear two of the masters talk about their music and the influence that it had on the culture is pretty amazing.  I always thought Preem was the man because no one makes a street single like him.  Its like he digs his drums and sounds from the concrete and translates them into something our ears can appreciate.  Equally impressive, is Pete Rock who is just a genius from the music he creates to the process itself.  See TROY and the rest of Mecca and the Soul Brother, for that matter.  These two actually performed in Tokyo about a month ago, which offically makes Japan the luckiest place on Earth.   Props to Defrag for the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svv2hl_FzLE&feature=player_embedded

Lets talk music....

As a shorty in the eighties, I always liked music. I think its fair to say that in most African American homes, music is big. My mom had gospel blasting through the radio on any given day, and country music on Saturday afternoon. My dad had Harry Belfonte, Fela, the Beatles, and Sam Cooke spinning on his record player. My sisters and I shared a small record collection, too. A bunch of 45s that I liked to listen to and found immense joy in just going through and categorizing them by the various labels. Of course, music videos were becoming big in the early eighties. Back then, they were from rock and pop records; Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, the Cars, Cindy Lauper, and so many more. Hip hop got big as the decade went on and as I entered junior high, I got more and more into it.  By high school, hip hop was all I did. I saved all my money from my lunch and allowance and every Tuesday I was downtown at Tower or Rock Records or Coconuts getting that new heat!  Hip hop turned the quiet guy in the back of the class into the know-it-all in the middle of whatever music discussion was going on that day. I say all of that to say that music is one my greatest joys and I could talk about it for hours. This is my spot to do it. I go by the name, Ends or E for short.  I hope you enjoy and contribute.

Peace