Worst things about Jay and Dame breaking up

-where is the Peedi Crack Cocaine album?
-Dame Dash has to do a deal with Koch
-'Ultimate Hustler'
-Freeway puts his record through G Unit
-the bottom dropping out of the State Property brand
-No MOP album (so far)
-Beans' life goes into turmoil
-'Best of Both Worlds' tour dibacle
-rumors and baseless claims from the blogosphere

UVa vs. UMass

1pm on ESPN for the National D-1 Lacrosse Men's chapionship.

WAHOO-WA!

-Wes

www.theroomservicegroup.com
www.brooklynbodega.com

Barry B!

Barry Bonds hits homer No. 715, passing Babe Ruth for second place on
the all-time home run list.

'Roids or not that is some sh*t

Gone Fishing

The SC is on vacation. Taking Memorial Day day off and stretching it for a week (my wedding anniversary on Monday). I will try and blog remotely.
Have a good holiday and get some R&R

 

Iraq makes up with Iran ... SUPRISE N****S

We must begin to consider that George Bush simply wants the world to end. His policy is so stupid and once it goes bad it runs to worst.

Global instability and World War III here we come!
Can we call a special election and get those dude out of there a bit early.

From the New York Times

The foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, spoke during a visit to Baghdad by Iran's foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki, that marked the reconciliation of two countries that fought a long and bloody war two decades ago.
Mr. Mottaki also used the occasion to reiterate Tehran's decision to withdraw its request to the United States for talks on stabilizing Iran, and to warn America against using force to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
Instead of talks with the United States on bolstering Iraq, Mr. Mottaki spoke of a regional meeting with Iraq's neighbors and Egypt coming together, news services reported.

and oh yeah get off my man the Congressman, William Jefferson. The search was illegal and the story is not new. Something else is up here.

Lupe, Lupe, Lupe

Food and Liquor pushed back

courtesy of sohh.com

the RIAA sucks

This is ridiculous. The RIAA has turned into an alarmist organization run by greedy record labels, artists and managers who refuse to modify their business model in the face of the digital revolution. Instead of rolling with the punches they flip out every time they see a potntial revenue source.

I have said it before and I will say it again. The digital age has released music. Released it from the prison of plastic and hardware. You have to let it go and find your money in the New Media arena as well as in traditional mediums - namely live performance. Get your ringtone and live show hustle together - or die!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Record labels sue XM Radio for copyright infringement
By Ben Ames

Macworld

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed suit against XM Satellite Radio, alleging the latter firm is infringing the copyright of music labels by allowing its subscribers to record songs.

US music fans who subscribe to XM Radio and own an Inno recorder from Pioneer can use the device to listen to satellite radio broadcasts, record songs, then replay them as MP3 files.
On Tuesday, the RIAA said XM was committing "massive wholesale infringement" of copyright sound recordings, and asked the court to stop XM's broadcasts and award it damage payments.
By allowing listeners to record MP3 files, XM is acting as a competitor to legal online music stores such as iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody, the RIAA said.

In fact, XM Radio is marketing the Inno as an alternative to the Apple iPod, using the advertising phrase "It's not the pod, it's the mothership."
RIAA members deny they are opposed to satellite radio in general. "We celebrate the growth of XM and Sirius. We think the downloading capability of XM's Inno is attractive and appealing - it just needs to be licensed," the RIAA said in a statement.
A spokesman for XM Radio did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Listeners in the US have been able to legally record songs off commercial, analogue radio stations for years.

The RIAA says in the case of satellite radio it is different because the broadcast is digital, so XM subscribers can scan through a broadcast and record only certain songs.
"Because XM makes available vast catalogues of music in every genre, subscribers will have little need ever again to buy legitimate copies of plaintiffs' sound recordings," the RIAA said.
In its lawsuit, RIAA says that XM already has the ability to stop the practice. XM currently embeds software code in its encrypted satellite transmissions that deletes saved songs if a user stops paying his XM subscription fee. RIAA says XM could use that same code to prevent users from recording certain songs.

This lawsuit is similar to one that the RIAA brought against XM's rival, Sirius Satellite Radio. In that case, Sirius agreed to make it harder for listeners to record specific songs on its S50, a handheld satellite radio similar in size and price to the Inno.

The Roots

aiiiight

this is what happens when you watch too many videos and mob movies

 

The ignorance continues - Beanie Sigel Shot

Art imitates life that imitates art – this is embarrassing

Sigel was shot this morning (May 25) on a South Philadelphia street in a robbery attempt. Police said 5 men in two vehicles boxed the rapper in and that a man with a beard, jeans and boots open-fired on Sigel, striking him twice in the arm. Sigel drove himself to a local hospital where he is being treated and expected to recover.

Taken from www.allhiphop.com

aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!

"Hear ye, Hear ye, I want to congratulate the good team at Room Service for landing the coveted Roots account...now work my sh*t"
-shouted Black Thought into the speakerphone from Def Jam

 

Steve Jobs in 1975

Jobs to Woz in 1975 "Dude, you have no idea how this works do you?"
Woz to Jobs "No. Let's smoke some pot."
Fats forward 30 years and their company is changing the world

 

These ideas are better than yours

Two interesting news pieces today
Both dealing with one of my favorite topics – digital distribution

Def Jux is simply trying to win. Love it. I tried this with Seven Heads, but we were simply not a strong enough brand. I hope this works for El and Amaechi. Several hundred game already!? LOVE IT!

Record labels try their own retail with download stores By IAN MOUNT

Definitive Jux, an independent label representing underground hip- hop artists, has just launched a download store from its own Web site, where it's selling artists on its label like Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic, for 98 cents a song -- a penny less than on iTunes. The move follows similar online stores by Britain's Warp Records and Canada's Arts & Crafts. Definitive Jux says it decided to open its own store after selling well on iTunes but feeling that its acts were getting lost in the competition there with major-label bands.

Selling music without a retail middleman means the label gets a far bigger cut of the profits. ITunes keeps almost a third of the price of each single from Definitive Jux, according to the label's co- founder, Amaechi Uzoigwe. And the cost of launching a music download store has fallen from $50,000 a few years ago to "considerably less that that," he says. He says the site has had several thousand dollars in sales during its first week in operation.

Small labels like Definitive Jux can get lost in the shuffle on big music services like iTunes, in part because the download inventory there has increased so rapidly, says Ted Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research. "The competition for real estate has increased because Apple has broadened the portfolio," he says. Apple says the iTunes store carries more than 1,000 independent labels.

Direct selling could prove challenging for labels, since few people keep the label in mind when shopping for music. "Aside from the cognoscenti that knows about a label, this makes a critical assumption -- that when you and I like a band, we also know the label," says Mike McGuire, an analyst with Gartner. In a nod its hardcore fan base, labels like Definitive Jux are stocking their sites with unique concert footage and outtakes. And, they're not cutting their ties to iTunes, only adding another outlet.

---------------------------------------

And the Nike iPod? – Steve Jobs simply gets it. This, my friends, is the combination of money, power, intelligence, influence and guts. Steve Jobs thinks is a piss in the wind entrepreneur with a billion dollar bank account. A true leader while dinosaurs sit in conference rooms and big mouth know-it-alls run their mouth and throw stones.

Nike and iPod Run Together

Nike announced on Tuesday that it is developing running shoes that will wirelessly communicate with Apple's iPod. The system, called Nike+iPod, will allow users to access time, distance, pace and calories burned through the headphones of an iPod nano. The Nike+iPod Sports Kit is expected to retail for about $29 US and should be available in two months. Consumers will have to purchase a pair of compatible shoes, which feature a special insole sensor, in order to use the system.Nike also launched a line of clothing, including jackets and shorts, that is designed to hold iPods while keeping wires untangled and hidden.

 

The Roots Friday night

Thanks to my man Joey for reminding me to post the review of the Roots show on Friday
I am battling a fever so instead of the wonderful prose that Straight Bangin’ gave us on Friday I will give you lazy man’s bullet points

First off, I was very impressed by the production of the show. Sound was incredible. Mics were clear as a whistle.
I like the fact that they added a DJ to the mix. I always agreed with my man Djinji Brown that The Roots lack of recognition of electronic instruments as a core of Hip-Hop smacked of elitism. Live instrumentation is dope, but so is motherphunkin’ Jazzy Jeff Townes.
Besides the pied piper on drums there was a percussionist on the bongos.
Live horn section was great.
Kamal had a whole ensemble of keyboards, etc

As Joey said it is kind of sad that the highlights of the sets were songs that are 5 years old and up.
Mos came out and thankfully did not do a full Jack Johnson set. He did do that ‘Boogeyman’ song that was not bad. Then he rocked ‘Universal Magnetic’ and ‘Umi Says’
Now I love ‘Umi Says’ in no small part because it came out around the time my mom passed away and was the last song on my wedding CD. Absolutely beautiful.
But I was kind of like ‘Universal Magnetic’ has lost some if its shine in the 8 years since its release.

The truth is that the late 90’s were such a magical time. It was the 1st time people who grew up on Hip-Hop became content producers.
And it produced songs that our generation will always revere. So as much as I wish there were new classics I’ll take the old classics any day

Just like Thursday The Roots played the house band and actually didn’t do that many of their own songs. The did rock ‘Mellow My Man.’ I think that was only joint from ‘Do You Want More!!??!!’
They were sharing the stage more than not.
I was hoping to see Nasir and Lonnie Lynn but instead got my faves the S to the V-e-e.
In a tribute to the great J Dilla they ran out to ‘Raise It Up’ and I lost my mind. Then after a quick chorus of ‘Fantastic’ they rocked ‘Tainted’ I wasn’t expecting them, a real treat.

Jazzy Jeff’s ‘There It Is’ routine was insane. He is still one of the best.

Then I witnessed J Davey shooting themselves in the foot. Went to take a whiz and grab a Henney on the rizocks. As I walked back in I was like ‘why is everyone leaving?’ The reason was J Davey. Now I don’t know how it all started but when I walked in there was girl on stage in hot shorts and a Native American headdress. More screaming than singing.
It was bizarre. I had heard a buzz on them but similar to the Sa Ra show I think they lost some fans. Now you know the SC is not a spiteful cat so I won’t sh*t on J Davey. Just like Sa Ra is better than the reviews of the show I will hold off on judging J Davey. There is no doubt that they lost cool points though.

Then Dave Chapelle came out and we got am impromptu stand up routine. Now Dave was funny, but he is so popular he could walk and fart and people would be rolling on the floor. What is good is that he is funny as hell and deep. The routine he did about Iceberg Slim was serious. Go to YouTube I am sure you can find it; my recap won’t do it justice sufficed to say it was awesome. I have to read that book now.

Then they brought out Bilal, no doubt one of the strangest cats of the night. After singing a song called ‘Everything’ which had one word lyric sheet he launched into ‘Sometimes’ and killed it. Definitely one of the best R&B songs of all time. But it was also Questlove who shined during Bilal’s set. Quest is nice on the drums, there is no denying.

Badu came out and did her hits including ‘On and On’ which I didn’t expect. But like I said Quest must have made everyone rock their hits and keep it moving. During Badu’s set The Roots slipped into jam band mode which got to be a bit much. Their guitarist began to channel a grating Jimi Hendrix and the SC wished he had another Henney on the rocks handy. Like I said about the SummerStage show I am probably one of the most progressive dudes you’ll ever meet, but sometimes I just don’t want to go to a Hip-Hop show with a 5 minute guitar solo

Not really sure what Rahzel was doing up there

Finally Big Homey Sean Carter came out. Now that was crazy. I wasn’t throwing up a diamond or anything but I got hype. He picked the perfect two songs to rock, ‘PSA’ and ‘Encore’
With the full band behind it was something to behold. I had never seen Jay live so I was geeked. He did a verse a piece and bounced. Short and sweet. Nice.

All in all it was a good night. It wasn’t the Phish Roots of the Summer. It was more like the group I first saw in ’95.
I am glad they are back and I hope that record on Def Jam does well, but honestly who cares. Their fan base is so solid and their track record is so strong even smart alec bloggers like the SC will support the record regardless.

case in point

 

Another reason why Brooklyn is dope.

Who used to watch All My Children back in the day? Don’t front.
Well for those who did – y’all remember Jesse? He was probably the only Black dude on the show back in the 80’s.
Jesse and Angie were the Black version of Luke and Laura from General Hospital.

Anyhoo, Jesse goes to the same gym as the SC. It was pretty cool to see his this morning after all the hours I spent watching him when I should have been outside playing during those summer vacations.
Like a cat who is too cool for school, I said ‘what up’ and kept it moving.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Had another brain fart this morning. A book idea – The Art of War and the Hip-Hop Industry – A Guide (Steph and Jake I will be hollering at you about this idea real soon).
A book for newcomers to the business. An effort to stem the tide of un-professionalism and the Peter Pan syndrome (J Smooth ©).
As I have written before, there seems to be an unwritten rule that rudeness and lack of etiquette should BE the rule.
Why is that? Well, to the defense of these roughians I don’t know if anyone has taught them any different. So my idea is to connect with my colleagues and put together a handbook of sorts.
Still working out the idea.

On a sociological note I think the lack of men in Urban and minority populated areas has a lot to do with this. Follow me real quick.
Black man in jail/unemployed/deadbeats = single mothers = no male role model = spoiled and disrespectful boys. When these spoiled kids grow up they do not know how to deal with other men.
They deal with it by resorting to whining like they did with their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. OR they compensate by resorting to hyper masculinity. Instead of conflict resolution they either complain like kids or become overly aggressive like they ‘think’ a man is supposed to. Hyper masculinity leads to misogyny, homophobia, and an insecurity that relentless pursuit of material wealth attempts to solve. And that my friends is Hip-Hop just the way Emmis and Viacom likes it.


WOW – didn’t mean to go that far

I’m out have a good weekend

fellas please take the little sticker off your hats
i trust that it is official

 

Bye bye Nets. When you come to Brooklyn that sh*t will be inexcusable.
Good work Cliff Robinson getting booted during the playoffs for Deeeeeeeee-R-U to the G-S (Freewizzle fans stand up)

With the LeBrons stressing Detroit (pronounced Day-trwoy) Miami should get to the Finals….against the Mavs!
Dirk and Shaq, holla!

You think you are on your grind Joell Ortiz, look at Martha Stewart

New Era retail store. Finally a place with nothing but oversized hats with straight ass brims that cover your eyes

Microsoft teams with MTV to topple iTunes. We’ll see

No sh*t Sherlock

Soon the SC will be ghost…on the laptop chilling in Prospect Park

Followed a link to the Al-Jazeera website. Took mad long. I know I got pinged

LaVinci Code Scandal

Thailand cuts 10 minutes from The DaVinci Code. If this is fiction as all my good church going friends say why such concern?
I still am not sure Tom Hanks can pull it off. We’ll see. It opened at Cannes this week.

3rd indictment handed down yesterday down in Durham.
You see the dude, Evans, at his press conference? Can you see mad nervous? How about scripted like a motherphunker?

This is how a high profile case is handled in 2006. Screw the jury and due process. It’s all about trying the case in the court of public opinion. Taint jurors.
Put accused rapists in front of the mic in collared blue shirts.
By the time this thing gets to trial I imagine most people will have decided that 1) these are good kids who are victims of a nasty stripper or 2) privileged white boys who have taken advantage of another Black woman. I honestly am not sure who is right. This girl may have cried ‘rape’ after these dudes stiffed her on the paper.

I have seen strippers get jerked out of money many times before. I have also played lacrosse for 20 years and despite the great strides the sport has made the majority of cats I have played with are sheltered, privileged, woefully culturally ignorant white men and women. Could they have had a few too many, blew too many lines and flipped the f**k out? Definitely.

But I don’t know this woman or these 3 cats. The cats that I know who played at Duke are some of the coolest cats I know. I have had the best ‘drunk conversations’ of my life with dancers and strippers.
I do agree with the latest player indicted in saying that I am eagerly awaiting the trial and the rolling out of actual evidence, not spin.

‘Sheed, what happen to the guaranteed victory. If The LeBrons pull this out, the city of Detroit will riot.

Come ‘on Barry. Break this record already

1st batch of tickets for the BHF released today…aiiiiiiiiiiight

"stella d'oro rap breadsticks / david berkowitz / einstein / birthday hit"
Wu-Tang "Bells Of War"

 

Brooklyn is so dope you bump into great actors like this cat while pushing children on the swing at the local park. Come to find out Jeffery Wright is former lacrosse player who played with SC's school mates at the same college as the head coach of the good Brooklyn Admirals.


-firing Larry Brown will prove the Knicks don't give a f**k about winning. Only filling the Garden
-Nets better pull a Phoenix
-3rd indictment in the Duke lacrosse case coming today. DNA match is the rumor. Played in an alumni game with some former Duke lacrosse players on Saturday. Interesting perspective. I stayed away from that one. Didn't much would come out of it.

 

one of my favorite ignorant rappers with my favorite DJ of all time

 

Just Randomness today

How is it that I get in earlier and days still feel hectic?

Na basketball on last night - how is that?
Had to watch the Yanks over a mehe mug of Brooklyn Lager at 5 Spot

What is the latest with the Duke lacrosse scandal. I am sad to say I have been out of the loop

Be careful what you say - The Feds are pulling all you Al Quaeda sympathizer's records

RIP Floyd Patterson

Give to WNYC today - it's the last day

Working one more big conformation for the Festival and a bunch of likkle ones

"When you met her / she was / better than / Coretta Scott King"
dope Fabolous line I heard at the gas station


Have a good weekend

"I'm hot / top notch / Ghost / Thinks with logic"

 

Grandmaster Flash Presents The (Wireless) MessageAs the leader of The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash has always been recognized as a pioneer in the rap industry. Now Flash will offer his help to the next wave of Hip-Hop mobile music. In a deal announced last week in conjunction with Cellfish Media, Flash will be producing exclusive ringtones for CellFish’s “Blingtones.” The DJ extraordinaire says, “Blingtones is just as exciting as when I first came up with the turntable science. Everyone has a cell phone and everyone wants to hear music on their phone…and they want it first.”

The SC loves stories like this. When an elder like Flash embraces the digital revolution there may be hope for the rest of us.

However, in other embarrassing news pulled from our friends at allhiphop

Suge Knight is bankrupt
Dave Mays is bankrupt (although remember bankrupt does not mean broke; it means get off my ass creditors. I don’t think we’ll see Dave or Sugar Bear on the county line)
Adidas pulls out of Hip-Hop. Adidas would be nothing in the Sates without Hip-Hop. ‘Nuff respect to the soccer market, but get real.

To the winners from yesterday’s contest email your address to info@brooklynbodega.com for your prize

That new Outkast joint is dope

Is this Gnarls Barkley record, "Crazy" getting spins on commercial radio. I heard someone bumping it down Fulton the other day. Then today I heard it on "The City" on XM. They usually only play commercial stuff.

I hope the answer is yes because that would be freaking AWESOME! A good record actually getting spins - what a great idea.

By the way the art director for this project deserves a lap dance from The Horse. The idea of shooting them as different icons from pop culture is dope and original.

Egghead Trivia Contest: Who is the director and star of the film which image #1 is based on?

winner gets a "Rhymefest presents Plugg City" mixtape

-Uno

 

riiiiiiiight

 

Listening to XM this morning and an old Snoop song came on. I think it was ‘The Shiznit’
Got me to thinking about the Snoop entourage….

-These guys don’t love ho’s, and most women
-Get their hair permed
-Have long manicured fingernails
-Wear furry hats
-Rock lime green suits and mink coats
-And paint their nails

I am not trying to stereotype or make any disparaging remarks, but does that sound like characteristics of your typical heterosexual?

I always thought it was funny how these effeminate men called pimps could simultaneously be heralded as the pillars of masculine promiscuity.
At the very least you have to call these guys the Metrosexuals of Hip-Hop

-------------------------------------------------------

Randomness

-Too bad for Kobe. Heard he disappeared in the 2nd half
-Lacrosse D1 tourney starts soon. You see my Cavs rocking the #1 seed!
-Word to the wise - Asst youth lacrosse coaches from down South better watch their mouth when they come to Brooklyn. I am a peaceful man, but don’t put my kids in jeopardy…
-Miles' 1st day in day care…pray for his momma

Timmy poses with his favorite rapper

 

Neverland

Been thinking about my man J Smooth's comment from last week. About how unprofessionalism is seemingly the 5th element of hip hop. I especially liked the Peter Pan comment.

Hip-Hop is a billion dollar industry. "Big business like Con Edison" to quote T.K. Greene. Hip Hop employs hundreds of thousands of folks both part and full time. Hip-Hop has produced scores of individual millionaires and saved mega brands from Hilfiger to Belvedere. Yet and still the practitioners, the creators treat it like a game. And even refer to it as a game. This industry feeds my family and fuels my dreams. This is no game. This is the realest shit I have ever seen.

So with all this power how does one justify the laissez-faire attitude?
I have to agree with Jay in saying that it is a Peter Pan syndrome. To the uninformed participant, Hip-Hop seems to allow a grown man to remain a perpetual child. All type of toys at your fingertips, no repercussions for your actions, the ability to throw temper tantrums, and spit in the face of authority. It’s got to stop or these amateurs are going to cannibalize Hip-Hop and leave the scraps for the vultures.

That is why I am excited about potentially working with the Abstract Academy. They are trying to catch kids in high school who want to be a part of the industry and learn ‘em a thing or two. Teach them how to run a meeting, email etiquette, resume and proposal writing etc. Kind of like an INROADS for Hip-Hop. I love the idea. Something I wanted to include in the Hip-Hop Institute (one of my pipe dreams). As with anything if we can catch the youth we can break the cycle of ignorance.

They will be at The Festival ...

------------------------------------------------

RANDOMNESS:

-‘History of Violence’ sucks

-I like how Kobe handled the beef with Raja Bell. I am feeling him again

-Miles is about to have a cousin – my little sister in Atlanta is about to drop jewels

-Did UVa win the ACC tourney

-New Rhymefest mixtape is dope (a lot of the same songs as the last joint, though)

-I like Kelis’ new look – saw mad videos the other night

Lupe on Letterman tonight

Check Mr. Kick Push with the Louis Viton Don performing "Touch The Sky"
on The Late Show with David Letterman

Out of pocket

The SC has been on the road with his otherjob as stand-in babysitter for
wayward parents/lacrosse coach for the good Brooklyn Admirals. As I am
typing this we are on our way back from Chatanooga, TN and the McCallie
middle school tournament. The Admirals went 2-2 and almost won the the
consolation bracket.

Trip was dope complete with an overtime win, southern belles, too many
constipation inducing hamburgers, a lot of yelling, at least 10 people
asking if we drove all the way from Brooklyn, and players without cleats
and cups who take shots to the nuts.

On the bus back to the ATL

Randomness:

Listening to the Dangerdoom album. The MF Doom bandwagon has gotten
pretty quiet. After that show at the Nokia Theater the buzz on him
changed.

Sort of like the buzz on Sa Ra after that Canal Room show.

I am excited about the return of the Brand New Heavies. The new stuff on
their Myspace page sounded dope.

That Lakers game was one of the best I've ever seen. That's what kids
dream of on the playground.

Gary Payton is a bad apple, just looking for a ring. A wrap for The
Heat. Payton, Antoine, Riley, and 'Zo are all just along for the ride
and the glory. They won't do it.