I was asked by the Crown Heights Mediation Center whether Dutty Artz would be interested in supporting a community-led block party initiative called the “Arts to End Violence Festival” on Kingston Ave and of course the answer was an absolute yes. The Mediation Center is a community organization that provides a variety of services to create a healthier and safer neighborhood for everyone, with one of their primary focuses being gun violence prevention. One of their projects, called Save Our Streets (S.O.S) works to reduce shootings and killings and works to mobilize the neighborhood. (more…)
Ra’s al Ghul – a supervillain from the Batman franchise – possesses a name so auralgenic (I think I just coined that word, btw), it’s a wonder why more emcees haven’t seized the opportunity to use it in verse. If this is indeed a first, we have Dada Powell to thank for finally bringing it to our ears in rhyme form:
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Over the past few years I’ve been impressed by the cross-pollinations between Footwork and other genres. With it’s growing popularity there have been endless re-appropriations of the sound –from the more subdued tracks by Machinedrum to the sub-bass pressure of Africa-Hitech. The frantic Chicago sound has rekindled global interest in the oft-forgotten 150+ bpm space. The most interesting occurrence is how the sound has caught the ears of OG producers.
On April 7th, stalwarts of the West London Broken Beat scene, IG Culture and Alex Phountzi, released their debut EP as NameBrandSound. The duo’s EP, “Nowaday’s Pressure†fuses Footwork, Jungle, Soul, and Dancehall to create a release that seamlessly bridges generations and geographies. (more…)
Rafi El está girando México y El Salvador este mes, empezando este viernes en Metepec, México! (more…)
The NYTimes published the Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie about a little over a week ago and it made its way across my laptop screen, as articles like that tend to do.
It’s about “lost” musical recordings, gorgeous recordings, and a narrative of various writers and researchers tracking down information on female blues singers through their descendents, families and hoarders of information and recordings. It’s an interesting read, and beautifully written, but I found the beauty painful in a way I couldn’t articulate. There’s a lot of strands of thought about silence and visibility, about choices to step into, and out of, different kinds of limelight. Â I was reading it, listening to the music and weeping by the end, without being able to untangle why. (more…)
WARNIN WARNIN WARNIN
Que Bajo Sound lick shots and leave mothers in mourning. Dark clouds are gathering and looks like storming. Another sound boy dead, no more performing. (more…)
img/Taea Thale (W Magazine)
I swear, this isn’t completely a humblebrag (not completely), but to have watched Mapei go from blog fave in the late aughts to hearing her new music blaring out of speakers from big electronic retailers and dollar van systems alike, is amazing. This wave of new interest – recently capped with a stop at Hot 97 – is much deserved, as the Liberian/Swedish artist has been releasing amazing music for a minute. (more…)
New York’s best annual Cinco de Mayo celebration Cinco de Gallo is back! Que Bajo and Mex and the City host Boogat at Santos Party House.
We love to have spirited conversations over email, Twitter, and the Facebook over here at Dutty Artz. But the ephemeral and/or private nature of those mediums often leaves us wanting for more public input. Yesterday our man /rupture put up a post about The Dream’s new video…Â Here’s what @oldmoneycrime, @laripley, and (mostly)Â myself had to say in response:
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Our man @Talacha is on a T-Shirt design bonanza! Not content to only leave you with a massive collection of To.Be designs inspired by the Dutty Artz catalog, he has also put together a series of personal designs for you to rock all summer long! Check out the designs below and head to our web store to pick up each one at amazingly reasonable prices! As an added bonus, he’s throwing a set of matching @Talacha stickers with each T-Shirt purchase! (more…)
Venezuelan student protestors, Occupy Wall St, and equal screen time given to Harvey Milk and MLK — all in the video to The-Dream’s latest anthem?! Amazing. “Classism is the New Racism” he says. Now, a montage of various images of social struggle isn’t anything new, but this is The-Dream we’re talking about. He’s one of the most gifted R&B songwriters and producers out there, a bump & grind Michelangelo; he does not usually come near anything ‘political’. I hope we continue to see more of these moments– when the pop stars use their platforms to question rather than reinforce the status quo. “Black isn’t just a race anymore”, flashes on the screen as the last note dies down, “it’s a feeling and a place from which one feels isolated by the world of the governing elite.”
Terius Nash released this massive song last night, during the LA Clippers’ first game after Sterling got his NBA ban. An incredible use of timing. People left their TVs to watch this. Music suspended between the workaday realities. Music a bridge between what we know can be better and what happens to be here right now. (more…)
Have you seen The Act of Killing yet? It’s mindblowing. Herzog wasn’t kidding when he said “I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, and frightening in at least a decade… unprecedented in the history of cinema.†Back in the 90s Rupture collaborated with TAoK director Joshua Oppenheimer, and in that spirit he decided to put together a musical response to the documentary (more…)
