The Bangz: Jerkin Music – Part 1 of 2

The Bangz: Jerkin Music (Part 1 of 2)
[Editor's note: According to their publicist, Bangz member Ella Ann was shot last night and has been hospitalized in critical condition. I have decided to go ahead with earlier plans to run this interview this week. It's the first of what I hope to be many original, in-depth [...]

Video: Pac Div-Pac Div

Just saw Mibbs, Like, BeYoung and DJ Sean G at the in-store at Fat Beats on Melrose last night and they mentioned this would drop today. Carey Williams directs. “Whiplash,” also by Williams, will be next. Check out ChurchLeagueChampions.com to download their latest mixtape of the same name, a prelude to the full-length Grown Kid [...]

Will Be Back Soon

I’ve intended to post an interview on here this week as well as other posts, but I haven’t found the time.
Besides taking an accounting class, this past week I finally started doing my 40 hours of community service as ordered by a judge in traffic court (I had a failure to appear and late fines [...]

Preview Trailer: 2 Turntables and a Microphone

As irony would have it, I just watched an Ol’ Dirty Bastard documentary tonight. This here is a documentary about Jam Master Jay, and promises to be very compelling. From what I understand, this is supposed to be released with 50 Cent’s “Before I Self Destruct” album on 9/11.
Shout out to Atingwe Lumukanda for sending [...]

Video: The Bangz-We Jerkin

I don’t “jerk.” In fact, I don’t really dance – I two-step. So when I was at my daughter’s sister’s birthday party recently and some teenagers started “jerkin” to New Boyz’ “You a Jerk,” that naggingly enjoyable song played five times an hour on L.A.’s urban FM radio, I was like, “what is this?”
Fast forward [...]

Video: BasiCali-I Choose You

BasiCali is the latest rapper on the effervescent L.A. scene to grab my attention. He just released the visual to “I Choose You,” a track off an EP of the same name that he has out. Production by Ill Jackson is feel-good and the uplifting bars from BasiCali are refreshing. It’s also nice to see [...]

Review: Warren G – The G Files

Unlike his half-brother Andre Young, Warren Griffin III doesn’t make fans of West Coast gangsta rap worldwide wait until Neveruary to release an album. On September 29, he will open up for inspection “The G-Files,” his latest collection of indelible Long Beach gangsta soul raps. From a couple of listens, I was impressed if not [...]

Back to the Blog Again

It has been almost five months since I’ve written an entry here. In that time, I have contributed a number of posts at MyCypher.com, worked at a risk management firm as a background researcher of reality TV show contestants, wrote news stories about gangs and police shootings for the LA Watts Times and spent a [...]

Lil Wayne, a porn star, a parking lot

Parking level P1 at Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills is where my Saturday night was spent. If that doesn’t sound fun, take in consideration the fact that standing around with me were Sway and Shaheem Reid from MTV, Toronto rapper Drake, producer Alchemist and even the daughter of the most powerful woman in the music [...]

live from B-real’s “Fire” video set

Standing here on Beachwood Dr off Santa Monica … B-Real is shooting a video for the follow-up single to “Don’t Ya Dare Laugh” off “Smoke N Mirrors.”
This song is called “Fire” and ur features Damian Marley.
On the set we got Terry Smith from the Brolly Group, who’s doing consulting for Diz Gibran and once managed [...]