The story behind J.Dilla's "Lost Scrolls Vol.1"

Who knew NPR had hip hop! Radio programs like "Snap Judgment" are why you need to support and listen to public radio!

Have you ever wondered the source of  J Dilla's "The Lost Scrolls?" Listen to this NPR story, to learn the amazing story about a record collector and his fight to find the rightful home for the hip hop treasures he stumbled upon in 2010!

"When record store owner Jeff Bubeck buys an old record collection out of an abandoned storage unit, he has no idea what he’s stumbled across. Jeff learns the collection once belonged to the late great J Dilla, one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. Along with the thousands of LP’s from Dilla’s personal collection, there is something else that is uncovered, something huge... 

There was probably 6,000 records in there...tons of '70s jazz...I noticed a tub...and it was full of tapes, homemade tapes. There was junk mail...with the name Yancey on it...I have no idea why I did it, but I Googled the name James Yancey... 

On the 100s of cassettes...Dilla had left music and lots of it! The material..is overwhelming...hours and hours and hours of unreleased Dilla music and along with some studio master reels there's enough material to be coming out for years." Snap Judgment, NPR radio show.

Some of the music from these recovered tapes is out now on Delicious Vinyl, entitled "The Lost Scrolls, Vol. 1 - EP." (After watching the Stones Throw documentary, "My Vinyl Weighs a Ton," I can't help wonder why it wasn't the label of choice.)

 

Check out the J Dilla Foundation at www.JdillaFoundation.org and help fund inner-city music programs and support students who are enrolled in musically progressive schools.

Jeff Bubeck's UHF Music can be found in Royal Oak, Michigan. The staff has been working with Ma Dukes to restore and release Dilla's the unheard material. Check out the store here. Here's an interesting side bar about who else is involved in bringing more Dilla music to his fans.

15 years in the game...Stones Throw

Can you remember when Stones Throw Records first grabbed your attention? Was it for a J.Dilla release? Or a J.Rocc mixtape? May be it was a Rhettmatic joint?

After 15 years, Stones Throw has become a cornerstone of LA's vibrant hip hop scene and (nearly) as recognizable as Delicious Vinyl! And tomorrow night Stones Throw celebrates a decade and half of musical exploration by taking over the Exchange in LA with KCRW and Fusicology for a party on two floors.

Exchange
618 Spring Street, Los Angeles CA 90014
9PM-2AM // 21+ // $30 at the door

Pre-sale tickets:
http://www.ticketfly.com/event/79903


Here's some multimedia

Audio Live and direct to disc action


Dam-Funk & Master Blazter - Killdat (Live at Stones Throw Direct to Disc #3) by stonesthrow

Video Below is the #2 video from the competition held earlier this year. Watch more crazy talented videomakers show their love for Stones Throw here.



Garms Get yourself a piece of Stones Throw history here with a Stussy collaboration designed by Gustavo Eandi.

Stussy x Stones Throw commemorative t-shirt $40

Madlib's first interview since 2006 !!

"Interviews are my least favorite thing to do," says Madlib. So getting on the cover of LA Weekly must have been a major bummer!

The three-page article writes-up the prolific (I counted 12 aliases), blunt-smoking (Lucas Valley OG) hip hop artist best known as Madlib. At times you get lost in the fanboy references which makes the article semi-intelligible, but you do get inside of Madlib's mind to examine his drive, creativity  and can-do attitude (he taught himself the Fender Rhodes, upright bass and vibraphone!)

" 'The equipment doesn't matter, it's the vibe you put into it. If music sounds good, music sounds good,' he says, so secure in his gifts that there is only objectivity. It's a brilliance that defies intellectualization: There is no formula, and attempting to divine causal relationships is futile..."

Jaylib Madlib's connection with J Dilla is oft mentioned, but to hear him speak about that makes you want to study the beat tapes more closely:

"Dilla was a John Coltrane–type dude. He was always on a higher level than me. He inspired my music to become looser and more soulful. If you look at our beat tapes, you can see when I went in his direction, and when he went in mine."

Champion Sound There's no way to classify Madlib's sound. He's recorded under at least 12 nom de plumes and, by the sounds of it, he's got more to come. The rumor is that he's got beats on Kanye West's next album!

" 'I do it for myself and for like-minded people. Half the time I don't know why I make what I do.' He flashes a Loki-like smirk. 'I'd do this if no one was listening. I'm stuck. I've got the curse.' "

  Madlib-headlock by talpas

Read the full article here at LA Weekly.

All-City, All Genres 8-8-08

LA's legendary Peanut Butter Wolf is doing it again. Next week, Wolf is performing a mammoth 8-night session across Los Angeles to follow-up last year's sell-out Gospel-themed seven night performance ending on 7-7-07, and his Heavy Metal DJ set held on 6-6-06!



Billed as "888", this year's event is all about the Leos in the house as Wolf performs from August 1st-August 8th in an 8-day celebration of 8-8-08. But here's the difference...Peanut Butter Wolf is DJing an all music video set on each of the nights with 8 different genres of music. And of course Wolf's signature "No song or video will be played twice!" will be in effect. Get there early! It's gonna be a roadblock.

8/1: Disco videos- Firecracker Block Party @ Grand Star
8/2: Oldies videos - Funky Sole @ Jimmy's Lounge
8/3: House video - Do-Over @ Cranes
8/4: Boogie videos - Funkmosphere @ Carbon
8/5: Party rock videos - Dim Mak Tuesdays @ Cinespace
8/6: Reggae videos - Dub Club @ The Echoplex
8/7: Hip Hop videos - Rootdown @ Little Temple
8/8: Movie music videos - private party (Details to be announced)

LA heads represent...Cali love

MySpace was my social calender this weekend. I got news of the Crewest Gallery Fotograff photo show from Make One's bulletin. His bredren, Vyal One, curated the show over a two-month period, but did the installation in a single day! See the spray-painted fence patterns and other overlays that really show the pictures in the urban environment they were taken in.

I love that Crewest space - it's huge, full of aerosol, markers, t-shirts and other graff paraphernalia. Man One runs this place - see him on my LA River Hall of Fame event video. His partner hit me up to the T-Kid visit later this month at the record store, 33Third. Expect more graff madness then!

Give the drummer some Afterwards (and avoiding the big scuffle outside ;) ), Ja and I tried to get to our fave Indian spot for dinner, but it was late so we hit Lil' Tokyo instead before going to Funky Sole to see the Root Down and Stones Throw crew dedicate a whole night to "Mr. Please Please", James Brown! It would've been his 75th birthday yesterday and in tribute Cut Chemist came out with his James Brown t-shirt and a signed framed photo which he placed beside the turntables and proceeded to rock the 1s and 2s till closing time. That was a funky, funky session. Jimmy's Lounge rocks!

Perfect for another photo blog, but you'll have to imagine the jam down instead as I left the camera in the car... ;) Go to Cut Chemist's website and listen to his album. Nice.

Peanut Butter Wolf, Take-Two, and Nike...slam dunk!

Collaboration fever has hit video game publishers now...2K Sports (aka Take-Two Interactive) have sponsored Peanut Butter Wolf's next Stones Throw records compilation. The oddly named "2K8: B-Ball Zombie War" ain't no joke. It's a 20-song banger with new collaborations from Talib Kweli, Q-Tip and MF DOOM rapping over beats by the late J Dilla.



The music will feature in Take-Two's roster of 2008 games. Nice one Stones Throw on this small step in the new business models for music. Cutting edge. Top it off with a real life basketball game and we're really getting the party on.

I drove around the block to find "The Point", a new sneaker showcase store on Cahuenga Blvd. that features Nike's iD studio too. In the back is a ball court that used to be kinda run down. Amazing what corporate money can do...

Nike and Stones Throw kicked off the tour with a 3x3 street basketball tournament. 16 teams made up of Stones Throw, sneaker kings "UNDFTD", Amoeba, my local vinyl emporium "Turntable Lab", La Brea Family (Stussy/Union), Fairfax Family #1 (Supreme/Hall of Fame), Fairfax Family #2 (The Hundreds/SLB/Flight Club), Blends, Proper, Greyone, and, umm, LVMH?!

Thanks to Britt for the heads up!

Don't sleep on the holiday tour dates across the US for the 2K8: B-Ball Zombie War tour.

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.

What's all this Parra stuff?

Kirstin told me about this show from Parra, the Dutch illustrator happening in LA. There was an earlier show in Miami for WMC last month, but as I didn't reach tonight was my night!

Ja and I hit Gill's Cuisine of India in downtown LA first for some curry ("half rice, 'alf chips!") before we ventured up to the swanky standard hotel, downtown. All in a good night's shennigans. ;-) That night all the hottest birds in LA fashion set came out and repped! Nice! (The video doesn't do the night justice as I caught the show at the end of the night...) But there was a complete roadblock outside...I eavesdropped on one cute girl saying: "we're going to the Golden Gopher...we've been waiting in line since 7.30pm!"

So Jason headed up to the front, dropped a few words and we got our wristbands sorted. Straight in mofo! ;-) Nobody inside was really into the art, but I was impressed best pieces were sold (Fuk You You Fukin Fuk). I grabbed some signed canvases that were on the Stones Throw DJs record box....whaaat? They were for the public...well, I think they were!? Hahahaa. I think that night Stones Throw got as much love as Parra...


Parra Biography:
"30-year-old Dutch illustrator and designer Parra has decorated the Amsterdam underground with his playful, bizarre graphics that span a broad base of themes, from introspective to audacious and bawdy. The mostly self-taught artist seems to channel a Vintage form with curves, yet with a decidedly modern, post-pop approach. His vibrant images, which feature a distinctive hand-drawn feel, can be seen printed on paper in various exhibitions around the globe, on a flyer for a club near you, on the sleeve of a record, on billboards and silkscreened on tees which has resulted in collaborations with the likes of acclaimed companies Nike, Etnies Plus, Zoo York, Heineken, Nirvana (Book Cover), Stones Throw, The Hundreds & countless others. Parra is represented by the London based agency Big Active. For more information, check out Rockwell Clothing."