Back in early June the poster for the A Tribe Called Quest documentary hit the net. Here’s a larger image of the poster that was sent my way recently.
If you’ve been paying attention to the Blog lately you’ve probably been hearing about the new A Tribe Called Quest documentary: “Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest” that documents the story of the group. Tribe along with the Fugees may be one of the biggest enigmas in Hip Hop that I can think of. Their both loved, sold tons of albums, have fans all around the world, but can’t seem to get along much to put out a new album. This new movie is said to give viewers a behind the scenes peek of the group interacting with one their last tour a few years back.
As a Tribe fan, and a fan of Hip Hop period, I must say this is the movie I can’t wait to check out when it hits theaters. The homie 4-Ize told me he recently got invited to check out a sneak peak of the new film before it’s released. Not long after is seems as if the movie has hit the streets.
I’ve bumped into a few people who have confirmed, the bootleg has hit the streets and is circulating around FAST. From what I’m hearing this is a version of the movie that was shown at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. If movies are made like albums, than that could easily mean the version that hits the big screen varies a little from the one out now.
Either way, I have NO interest in seeing it early. I’ll be in the theatre on July 22nd to see this one live and direct. I suggest you do the same. Don’t cheat yaself. Treat yaself.
Speaking on Sundance, here’s a video clip of Phife speaking after the movie was shown back in January 2011. Apparently he was the ONLY one from the group to show up for the screening.
There has been a LOT of controversy over this new A Tribe Called Quest documentary / movie. Originally in the trailer it was said to be titled “Beats, Rhymes, and Fights,” but now all the press has it being titled “Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Story Of A Tribe Called Quest.”
There has been SO much going on in fact, that when the trailer was originally uploaded via You Tube it was removed only a few days after. It just resurfaced recently so I’m finally getting a chance to post it.
Jimmy V from the TSS fam recently caught the movie at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC and reviewed it for The Source.
Here is the official trailer for your viewing pleasure. OH and two more things.
1. This movie was funded/directed by actor Michael Rappaport
2. The ATL will be able to see this movie on July 22nd when it hits theaters. The movie is said to be screening in two locations (Midtown Arts Cinema and Phipps Plaza AMC).
This will the Summer Blockbuster of the summer for The Kaos Effect famalams. Click Here to see the full listings of when/where this movie will be showing across the U.S.
Production team The Dynamite Brothers (J Haze and Amond Jackson) orchestrated the Beatz & Lyrics 2 Go (A3C Mixtape) RV Edition which features contributions from over 70 different artists and producers. Artists like Camp Lo, Artifacts, J-Live, Aleon Craft, and Sha Stimuli recorded tracks inside the customized mobile RV studio during the three day hip hop festival in Atlanta. Other notables such as 9th Wonder, DJ Toomp, and DJ Evil Dee also appear on the mixtape with cuts provided by DJ Precyse.
Shouts to AJ, J Haze, Jayforce, and Unique Squared.
Tracklist:
1. Beatz and Lyrics Intro (Prod. By Focus)
2. Mount Everest – Punchlyne, J-Live and Trek Life (Prod. By King I Divine) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
3. Get Back – Dillon (Prod. By Paten Locke) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
4. Dumb Down – Arablak, Headkrack (Prod. By Amdex) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
5. Sankofa – Isreal (Prod. By Locsmif) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
6. Sing for a Living – Phene, NessLee, and Illmaculate (Prod. By King Hannibal) (mixed by LeroyBrown)
7. Emcee for NC – Kooley High, Edgar Allen Flow, Sean Boog (Prod. By Dj Ambush) (mixed by LeroyBrown)
8. The Present – Sha Stimuli (Prod by Rhettmatic) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
9. Respect & Honor – Blctxt, Nova (Prod by Tall Black Guy) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
10. Special – Aleon Craft (mixed by Denny Lavish)
11. STL – The Force (Prod. By Black Spade) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
12. The Maschines – Senor Kaos, Homeboy Sandman, Buff1 (Prod. By D.R.U.G.S.) (mixed by DennyLavish)
13. Checking In – DJ Evil Dee (Prod. By Amond Jackson) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
14. Beware – Binkis Recs (Prod. By Amond Jackson) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
15. Grey Skies – Gods’ Illa (Prod. By Locsmif) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
16. Lift Off – Camp Lo, Boog Brown (Prod. by Dave West) (mixed by Denny Lavish)17. Star-Struck – 4ize (Prod. By Tall Black Guy) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
18. Big Deal – Artifacts (Prod. By 44th P) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
19. Shout-tro-lude (Prod. By Grussle) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
20. Cookie – Boog Brown (Prod. By The Dynamite Brothers) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
21. Bear Witness – RE (Prod. By Tone Beatz) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
22. Breeze – The 3rd, Rashad, Nemo, L.E. (Prod. By DJ Seven) (mixed by Leroy Brown)
23. Same Ole Nova – Tommy Nova (Prod By The Beat Medic) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
24. Check it Out – Azage (mixed by Research Deluxe)25. My Legacy – Fokis (Prod. By King I Divine) (Mixed By Research Deluxe)
26. Legalize It – Singapore Kane (Prod. By D.R.U.G.S) (mixed by Leroy Brown)
27. Ride Out – P.So (Prod. By DJ Pocket) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
28. @$$hole – Draft (Prod. by Tone Beatz) (mixed by Amond Jackson)
29. Knock Knock – Amdex (Prod. By Locsmif) (mixed by Denny Lavish)
30. Just Us Code – The 5ive (Prod. By DJ Shakim) (mixed by Denny Lavish)31. I Am – Chosen (Prod. By The Dynamite Brothers) (mixed by Denny Lavish
This joint is better than most albums that dropped this year!
So earlier today I received a phone call to tell me the news that mainstay Hip Hop record store “Fat Beats” is about to close. A lot of people don’t really know, but back in the late 90′s we had a Fat Beats location in Atlanta. When I was 16 I would go to Fat Beats, to see what was new, to see what concerts/shows were coming up, and it was also the place to see and be seen. Fat Beats Atlanta is where I met people like Jax (Binkis Recs), Cognito (Mass Influence / Frolab), Dj Boom Bip, and also bumped into Talib Kweli, MF DOOM, Dilated Peoples, The Arsonists, during various in stores.
They always had the latest vinyl, CDs, and also sold Merch items like T-Shirts, Books and Magazines, and if you were a sticker fiend like me, Fat Beats was the place to pick the latest promo stickers (Which I still have a massive collection of to this day).
Later on Fat Beats became a place to sell my music as well. When I started pressing my music on vinyl, Fat Beats in New York became the place where heads in NYC would pick the music after hearing it on CM Famalam Radio Show with Bobbito. I still have a copy of the check the Fat Beats sent me. This was my FIRST check made out to my company for anything music related.
Just a few weeks ago while I was in NYC I made it a point to stop by Fat Beats (as I normally do whenever I’m in town) and purchased the homie Homeboy Sandman’s new album. Needless to say when I heard the news, angered by it at first. I have been saying for a while that technology has killed the music game in many ways. (Bad music plays a part in that as well). But years ago, before file sharing became the norm, and Dj’s still used vinyl, and stores like Fat Beats were the #1 place to find it.
Phonte said earlier on Twitter: In order for todays Hip Hop fan to understand the importance of Fat Beats closing, just imagine if all the Blogs (where you get music now a days) were gone. I couldn’t agree more.
A brief history of Fat Beats: Video
Take a tour of Fat Beats NY with Dj Eclipse
Here’s the official press release that went out earlier today:
(August 18, 2010 – Brooklyn, NY) After 16 years, Fat Beats has announced the closing of the legendary label’s two remaining retail locations in New York and Los Angeles. Fat Beats will celebrate the legacies of the stores, which are scheduled to close in early September (New York: September 4th, Los Angeles: September 18th) by throwing a series of blow-out sales and tribute parties open to the public during their last weeks. Fans can check www.FatBeats.com for updates.
Fat Beats’ longest running and most famed location is at 406 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. Since the 1994 opening of Fat Beats’ flagship retail location, hip-hop fans have traveled far and wide to visit the iconic store. With locations soon following in Los Angeles (7600 Melrose Ave.), Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Tokyo, the record stores were a place to experience hip-hop culture and its legacy, which became a global phenomenon. “The closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away. They promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye,” says DJ Premier.
The announcement of the closings is a reflection of the woes that have been plaguing the industry for years. Global chain HMV closed their last US location in 2004. Tower Records shuttered in 2006. Last year saw the close of the last Virgin Megastore, and the story is no different in 2010. For Fat Beats, maintaining two stores well into 2010 is a testament to the stores’ importance to the music and to fans and consumers continuing to support independent hip-hop.
While news of the stores’ closing marks the end of an era, the future is not doom and gloom. Digital sales continue to increase industry-wide; for Fat Beats, currently operating a profitable and growing online retail store, this has provided a boon to business as fans continue to order mp3s, vinyl, and CDs from FatBeats.com. Although digital sales continue to grow, executives at Fat Beats understand the importance of independent retail stores and are planning to re-open a brick and mortar hip-hop lifestyle location sometime in the near future.
The future looks just as bright for Fat Beats Distribution and the label. Fat Beats Distribution, which has been renamed FB Distribution, continues to strike noteworthy distribution deals with independent and major labels worldwide and is now working with different genres of alternative music. Fat Beats Records will continue to release notable albums from their own impressive roster of artists including ILL BILL, TruMaster/KRS-One, Black Milk, Trinity, Sha Stimuli, Q-Unique, and more. Fat Beats owner and President Joe Abajian says, “This is the start of a new era for Fat Beats. We’re adapting to meet the needs of our demographic by revamping and improving our existing systems. While our website, which stocks everything available in our retail stores, continues to do very well, we’re still exploring our options for alternate retail locations in the future. We’re proud of our legacy and will continue to re-invent ourselves. For now, we’ll see you online at FatBeats.com”
This is a sad day in Hip Hop. Fat Beats slogan was “The Last Stop For Hip Hop.” With the last stop closing on the retail side of things, many people feel perhaps Nas was right, and maybe Hip Hop really is Dead.
If your looking for quality Hip Hop in Atlanta, chances are your not going to hear it on commercial radio. But look no further, every Thursday night from 9pm – 11pm the good folks at the WREKroom at WREK 91.1 FM are representing for you. If your in ATL tune in on 91.1 Fm. If your elsewhere listen live on the Internet at www.wrek.org
Also you can follow the playlist via Twitter at @Wrekroom
Just in the past month alone artists such as Tez McClain, Mikkey Halsted, and most recently Sean Price have made appearances on Wrek Radio. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, when you start looking for Hip Hop on the radio. Make sure your looking in the right place.
Shouts to A Dot, Dj Enchantd, Black Daniels, Dj Rasta Root, Dj Grandman, Dj Fudge, Dj Ghost, and all the other guest Dj’s who come thru and get busy.
Can you hear the righteous music bumping on your eardrums? Yeah that is David Banner and 9th Wonder in the zone doing what they naturally do. I can’t wait to here this project in it’s entirety. The other day you heard 9th talking about the project “Death Of A Popstar.” Well let the truth begin to shine with this snippet we have here.
I caught up with Atlanta Super Producer Fatboi recently to drop knowledge for all producers looking to build their names in this ever changing business. The mission to Empower Musicians Worldwide will never stop as long as music is constantly being created! I dO MUSIC!!!!!
Atlanta is in for a treat Tuesday night at Drunken Unicorn. The Kentucky based group Cunninlynguists is jumping things off proper as they kick off their US Tour. Celebrating the release of Strange Journey Volume 2 the three man army is gonna shut it down. DeconTheVillian, Kno, and Natti going to handle the biz. I respect these bruvas so much for keeping it thoro and indie. Their touring dates is pretty damn extensive too! Click here for the complete schedule. Don’t miss the journey tonight! This will be “BANGIN”!!
Here is a link to their cut “Imperial” featuring Freddie Gibbs!
The Biggest Music Event of The Year is taking place tonight! Unless your contact book is in overload mode I suggest you should be in the room. I dO Music is the spot to come Learn more about the music game. Network with musicians from all walks of life. Promote your projects and build your contacts to take it to the next level. Perform your music in front of crowds and major players in the business. It is all brought to you by Patchwerk Recording Studios. Come on homie WE MAJOR!!!
Venue: Center Stage Music Complex
The Panel: “Becoming a WERKing Songwriter/Producer”
(Hear first hand what it takes to get work as a songwriter or producer in this business!)
Donnie Scantz & Jahi Sundance of State of Emergency
(Danity Kane, “Pimpin’ All Over The World” by Ludacris, Chris Brown, “Confessions” and “Yeah” by Usher, and many more…)
Da Spokesman & Don’t Talk of Rock City
(Jennifer Hudson, Janet Jackson, Jesse McCartney, Plies, Akon, Leona Lewis)
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