Yes, yours truly will be the special guest on tonight’s third edition of the Bad Culture Boxing Radio show. Among the topics I’ll be covering with BadCulture.net founder Jeandra LeBeauf will be Lucas Matthysse’s demolition of Lamont Peteson, J’Leon Love’s failed drug test, Antonio Margarito’s recent family drama/potential comeback, Amir Khan, Adrien Broner, Froch-Kessler and much more.
The show kicks off at 9 p.m. PST HERE. Don’t miss it.
Jeandra LeBeauf of BadCulture.net is back tonight with the second episode of her new boxing radio show.
Among the topics tonight will be a question from the listeners regarding the sport’s Top 5 Pound 4 Pound boxers, previewing the upcoming potential Fight of the Year between Lucas Matthysse and Lamont Peterson, Broner-Malignaggi and much more.
Check it out HERE as well as last week’s debut show. Yours truly will be a guest next week recapping Peterson-Matthysse.
Fellow boxing writer Jeandra LeBeauf will debut her newest endeavor, The Bad Culture Boxing Show, tonight at 9 p.m. PT via Blogtalk Radio. Regular site readers should be familiar with her work per previous posts here linking to her main site, BadCulture.net, and her hilarious Twitter account @jethang.
The weekly show will have an array of guests from the boxing industry (including yours truly at some point down the line), and a healthy mix of serious and humorous discussion on the sport we all love. Tonight’s topics will include the recent war of words and upcoming fight between Paulie Malignaggi and Adrien Broner, this past weekend’s Mayweather-Guerrero card, and the announcement of Manny Pacquiao’s return bout against Brandon Rios.
The weekly show can be accessed HERE.
RA the Rugged Man was nowhere to be found this time when Floyd Mayweather called up Shade 45 to check Rude Jude and co-host Lord Sear for claiming that he was ducking Manny Pacquiao. As expected, the debate quickly degraded into a profanity-laced diatribe with a few racial comments by both. The funny thing I’ve noticed during this is that you really can’t criticize the majority of Mayweather’s recent opponents since Pacquiao shares the same ones. Rude Jude had good point, although probably not as he intended, in saying Mayweather is no Muhammad Ali. The Greatest was adept at thinking on his feet in interviews and being able to disarm people with charm. If Floyd was a little more composed, he could have used this opportunity to educate the hosts and listeners on why he wants the Pacquiao fight, the past failed negotiations and the reason for his steroid stance. While entertaining, these rants only serve to turn off casual fans who don’t know the negotiation history. Click on the image below for some laughs.
We often criticize the radio’s portrayal of Hip-Hop culture. But we should also keep in mind there are stations out there that champion good music. This song from 1982′s self-titled debut is for them. Peep the cameos from DJ Premier and Tony Touch. This is that signaure NY sound, complete with a LL Cool J vocal sample. If you missed out on this album late last year, do your ears a favor and purchase through iTunes. The duo was kind enough to also supply this individual song for download.
“Radio” is directed by James Curtis (www.TheGorillaFLIX.com).
“I’m going to make sure your ass is blackballed, believe it!”
Hot 107.9 on-air personality ET made his personal issues with Young Jeezy known via a scathing, Atlanta nightclub diatribe.
The short clip begins in the midst of the rant, and fails to capture what started the dispute. ET cautions present rappers to not come to stations expecting their music to be played through money payments, otherwise known as payola. He alleges that Jeezy was forced to apologize after trying to use the tactic to obtain record spins to promote his much-delayed Thug Motivation 103 album.
“All that money he had, all that shit he was talking…fuck your money!” ET bellowed. “He had to apologize.”
Payola through radio stations is illegal unless that station discloses the payment on air as “sponsorship.” In recent years, labels have focused on using DJs directly as “third-party” recipients of payola. The third-party title was considered a legal loophole, and allowed labels to still influence radio, as many DJs also work at stations. In addition, labels have turned attention to popular websites and blogs for payola contributions.
At press time, Young Jeezy has not commented on the accusation.
**************************************************************************
Something else had to have happened to make ET feel this slighted, because payola is very common. And not just here in Atlanta, but all over the country in all genres of popular music. A few months back, I attended a soul music conference. One of the speakers worked in the marketing department of a major label. During the Q&A, the label employee was asked the minimum budget she could work with to push a new artist. After taking a few moments, she estimated $75,000.
“We have to get a good chunk of that to the DJs to make sure they play the record,” she said matter-of-factly.
I understand why it goes on, despite how counter-productive it is to ensuring good art remains accessible in the mainstream. Payola takes away the choice of the people to decide what is quality. Instead of fans making a record, it’s the one with the biggest duffel bag of money.
Nonetheless, there are still reputable sites out there that put music quality first. And thankfully, the Internet allows fledgling artists to bypass label politics and go straight to the fans. There’s no need to despair over radio, a medium most dedicated Hip-Hop fans wisely began ignoring years ago.
It’ll be interesting to see how Jeezy plays this one in the coming days.
We’re on the last day of Atlanta’s annual A3C Hip-Hop festival. Last night, I was out at the Masquerade venue until roughly 3am checking out the Bay Area’s stage. Producer Exile mesmerized the crowd with a phenomenal MPC set. Around the 4:24 mark of the first video, check out Exile’s breakdown of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Exile has worked with 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, Blu, Fashawn and Blame One amongst others. I highly recommend peeping his recent solo album offerings in 2009′s Radio, and the remix album that was released in August, Radio AM/FM.
Former multi-platinum star Nelly has begun a new gig today (August 11) as a radio host.
The Grammy winner’s new position is in his native St. Louis as an on-air personality for WHHL-Hot 104.1 FM. His time slot will be weekly from 3PM-7PM.
The slot became open after program director Mickey Johnson needed a temporary replacement with star power for VJ Staci Static, who is out on maternity leave.
Nelly’s responsibilities include on-air interviews and playing music.
The job represents Nelly’s first foray into radio following a decade of chart dominance and record-breaking sales. His 2000 debut Country Grammar made Billboard’s Top 10 biggest-selling albums of the decade with 8,461,000 copies sold.
Outside of music, Nelly preceded Jay-Z as the first rapper to secure part ownership of an NBA team with the Charlotte Bobcats. In addition to creating his own energy drink (Pimp Juice), clothing lines (Apple Bottom, Vokal) and label (Derrty Entertainment), Nelly debuted his own customized 2011 Ford Mustang GT line earlier this year.
Nelly’s radio Hot 104.1 radio spot is scheduled to last for a month.
At press time, his sixth studio album Nelly 5.0 is targeted for November 16th.
*********************************************
Whatever you think of Nelly’s music, no one can take away the man’s hustle. Unlike previous artists who came out the gate with huge numbers, Nelly realized his star wouldn’t shine as bright forever. Throughout the last decade, he truly diversified his portfolio and had his hand in everything from clothes to sports. And I’m sure Jay-Z’s minority stake in the Nets was motivated by seeing Nelly’s success with acquiring the Charlotte Bobcats at the ground level.
Nelly’s last album, 2008’s Brass Knuckles, was considered the rapper’s first “flop” by only going gold after four consecutive platinum LPs. But whether his new project is a hit or not, you can be sure he’s done well for himself. Unlike one of his former St. Lunatics colleagues, Nelly studied the music business and made sure several exit plans were in place. And even for those not in the music industry, much inspiration and knowledge can be obtained from his business model.
Hip-Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa is troubled by how Hip-Hop music is presented on the radio.
The Zulu Nation founder was one of the early proponents of viewing Hip-Hop as a culture that manifests in various artistic expressions like music, breaking (dancing) and visual art.
He is concerned that this viewpoint has been diluted by radio program directors who chose to utilize repetitive playlists that don’t reflect the versatility of the music.
“What worries me are these so-called radio stations with program directors who don’t play all the different flavors of Hip-Hop. They should play the old with the new, 24/7, 365 days a year. A lot of these program directors are just jiving around and not playing all the good music for the people,” Bambaataa explained to the Huffington Post. “A lot of times, when people say Hip-Hop, they don’t know what they’re talking about. They just think of the rappers. When you talk about Hip-hop, you’re talking about the whole culture and movement. You have to take the whole culture for what it is. “
Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation is recognized at the first Hip-Hop organization due to its founding in 1973. He is responsible for several landmark early singles in Hip-Hop history including “Planet Rock,” “Looking for the Perfect Beat,” and “Renegades of Funk.” His sampling of electronic groups like Kraftwerk lead to the creation of electro funk and eventually a song collaboration with James Brown in 1984 called “Unity.”
It bothers Bambaataa that many Hip-Hop practitioners today do not know the history of the genre nor care to seek it out.
“It’s very frustrating, because many people who keep claiming ‘I’m Hip-Hop’ don’t really know jack-crap about Hip-Hop,” he said. “They’re just following what they see on MTV or what they’ve read in some magazine. But they never come back to the architecture of hip-hop and the pioneers of Hip-Hop.”
Afrika Bambaataa is still active on the DJ front. Last week, he performed at NYC’s HighBar for the Manchester City Football Club.
****************************************************************
Bambaata’s viewpoint is not without merit. Over the past month I’ve went on several road trips up and down the East Coast. Even going through several states I heard the same 7-10 songs on every station. And that small group of songs were all similar to each other. To say it was horrible would be a gross understatement.
But even so, the “keepers of the culture” are always going to be small in number. The reality is most people do not care to engross themselves in music or anything else for that matter. It is up to those who are passionate and love the art form to make sure they record the history as it should be . So years from now when people look back and wonder what we were doing musically, they’ll be able to have a stronger reference point than Soulja Boy and the other radio artists.
Even back in the “good ol’ days” it was no different. Whether you look at the Bebop jazz artists in the 1940s or the great funk groups of the 70s, most of them were not killing the charts. Their talent was revered by a select few, and then much later after their heyday the mainstream praise started coming in.
So Bambaataa should not fret. Expecting mainstream radio to represent Hip-Hop culture is downright laughable. But for those who have the desire to learn, the deep history of this culture is a mere few clicks away on the Internet. Hell, if Soulja Boy can start listening to Nas and doing his homework, there’s hope for everyone.
Producer albums can be a mixed bag. They normally have a ear for good rhymes and beats, but can struggle putting them all together to flow well enough on an entire project. J. Cardim has been more reliable that most in putting together solid, mixtape-styled albums. His latest LP In Crowd is loaded with features and follows that same format. With verses ranging from Joe Budden to Paul Wall, there’s something here for everyone.
J. Cardim feat. Joe Budden, Chief C, and Emilio Rojas- “Unstoppable”
J. Cardim feat. ODB and Ludacris
Nicki Minaj Premiers “Your Love” Video
Orginally Nicki Minaj had placed this song in the trash where it belonged. But the fans thought differently, and following an errant leak Minaj secured her first #1 “single” on Billboard’s Hip-Hop chart. Minaj had been trying hard for months to secure that big lead single after getting an apathetic reception to her first offering ”Massive Attack.” How ironic in that a throwaway provided the spark that has built momentum and anticipation for her still untitled November debut.
The overused autotune and mawkish production are the glaring identifications for what a friend of mine has accurately dubbed “Recession Music.” But Minaj did her best to salvage it with some nice visuals in this video. And stay tuned; she may just surprise critics and fans with her debut.
MORE NICKI- “Nicki Minaj to Tone Down Voice Characters, Show More Human Side”
************************************************************
Exile’s 2009 instrumental album Radio was highly slept on. To hype up his new album AM/FM (August 31), Exile has dropped a free remix download to Radio. If you get the chance to track down the original Radio, I highly recommend picking it up.
Laws Reworks Last Mixtape
I got put onto Laws just last month when he was the opening act to a Relection Eternal show in Atlanta. Don Cannon backed him on the turntables, and Laws’s affable personality won the crowd over. Earlier this year he dropped a mixtape called 4:57. This time, he’s adding 4 new songs and removed DJ tags for late listeners. With contributions from the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, 9th Wonder, Big K.R.I.T., DJ Khalil and Illmind, it’s well worth the listen. Below is a freestyle over Outkast’s “ATLiens.”
Laws- “Overtime (ATLiens) Freestyle”
