Beat Junkies..."For the Record" 20 years in the game

West Coast hip hop history isn't complete without a chapter on the World Famous Beat Junkies. This summer, I turned my back for a minute and missed the Beat Junkie tourkick-off at the Echoplex in June. But, the tour is headed your way...here's the tour schedule.

• Hip Hop Kemp,  Hradec Králové, Czech Republic 17th August
• Royal Arena,  Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, 18th August
• MC Theater , Amsterdam, Netherlands 19th August
• Jazz Cafe, London, UK 23th August
• Nouveau Casino, Paris, France 24th August
• Cassiopeia , Berlin, Germany 25th August

• Mighty, San Francisco, CA 30th Sept.
• Brooklyn Bowl, New York City, NY 21st Oct.
• more U.S. dates to come.

Luckily, I can share this documentary to commemorate the Beat Junkies' 20th anniversary released by clothing label, LRG. Thanks for the schooling and amazing interviews!

The 14-minute video that outlines the history and influence of this influential DJ scratch crew from California with commentary from DJs Jazzy Jeff, A-Trak, Peanut Butter Wolf and Q-Bert.

The Beat Junkies - For the Record from LRG on Vimeo.

LRG also released a Beat Junkie snap back baseball cap and t-shirt for all the DJ heads out there.

#Chinkyeyed hosted LMNO and L.A.'s rap talent

It's Super Bowl weekend, but the only thing that mattered was the Chinkyeyed gig in Pasadena this past Friday.

I went for the beat battle where 16x producers go head to head. That's grimy. But, Cali's rap fans were there for LMNO, aka Leave My Name Out. This ex-Visioniaries crew member was headlining the night and after at least eight releases he had plenty of tunes to perform.

Jukebox Here's a dope selection of 3 tunes from LMNO for your listening pleasure.



Sadly, Visionaires and LMNO are strangers to me so I had to catch up. LMNO has been in the public eye since 1993 when he got his first break and is associated with Ras Kass and D.J. Rhettmatic, a fellow Visionaires crew member. To some, he's probably infamous for being the Christian and vegetarian rapper!

LMNO also pops up as #59 of 165 in Complex's White Rapper Encyclopedia. But don't judge. Check out his performance and love from the crowd. LMNO should be in your iPod, car, whatever! Dope. "Grin and Bear It!"

Bobo Meets Rhettmatic in my 'hood

Bobo Meets Rhettmatic from Bobo Meets Rhettmatic on Vimeo.

Fat Beats is in my hood. This hip hop staple from New York hosted an in-store performance this month from the percussionist Bobo from Cypress Hill and DJ Rhettmatic from the World Famous Beat Junkies to celebrate the "Bobo Meets Rhettmatic" live performance tour and mixtape.

Imagine a dope fusion of your classic hip hop (Planet Rock, The Breaks, Rapper's Delight), breaks (Apache, Good Times, Dance to the Drummer's Beat), disco, soul and funk tunes (I've Got My Mind Made Up, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough...) You can download the mixtape here!

"...we combine classic funk joints, breaks and hip hop with Bo' playing over the top of it...he'll do solos and he'll let me do solos...whatever comes out, comes out. For the most part most of it is improvisation." DJ Rhettmatic

For more thoughts from Bobo on why and how he put together his "Meeting of the Minds" album in 2008 watch the interview below. 

adidas Urban Collection, 2007

Nice things happen when you're out and about and have an open mind (you don't need The Secret for that lil' titbit!)...last weekend I got my haircut and I always pile into the adidas Originals store afterwards for a 'butchers'. It's next door so it's gotta be done. ;-)


After snapping a few pics of the electric blue adidas BMX bike propped up in the corner Megan, the manager (?), came up for a chat and invited me to the Urban 2007 party tonight. Cool!

Anyway, I went with Ja and BB and with a beer in hand I got chatting to Al, the tennis coach cum actor from TX/NY, and Barbara, (who I nicknamed Barb'), a beautiful Portuguese TV journalist. Fantastic! Later, after the party, we all hung out at a place called Parc on Hollywood. Not my scene, but we got in ok thanks to Al's name-dropping. The doorman asked: "How can I help you...?", as we stood at the entrance way. I'd heard doorman were kinda stoopid, but that question really takes the biscuit! ;-)

All in all, a good night out with some new friends.