"Buggin Out For The City"

Ahaaaaaaaaa (imagine it sounding like that oh so memorable Jadakiss laugh)! What's good my peoples? Just got back last night from NY, which explains my slight lapse in my posting for the past 4 days...had a HELL of a weekend. Original purpose of the trip was business, the H-Man is now actually WORKING if you can believe it! So Friday was an all day boozefest for real, started in Lower East, moved to Williamsburg, BK, out to Soho, out to 129th street (still don't know how the fuck i ended up so far uptown) and finally back in Lower East side after about 14 hours of binge drinking. Got to see some friends, and ended up going to Santos Party House to see Q-Tip spin. I happened to be with my homie Sonny, who somehow knows Tip. Once we got to Santos it was off the chain, ended up being up the booth with Q-Tip, drinking patron out the bottle. To make things even crazier, as if kickin it and meeting a living legend like Tip wasn't enough, we were graced with a visit by Ali Shaheed Muhammad! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that i met 2/3 of A Tribe Called Quest in one night ( i don't really count Jarobi, as he was basically MIA from after the first album ...) As if this still isn't completely ridiculous, Statik Selektah was in the house too, he gave me a copy of his joint he did with Saigon Recently (All in a Day's Work , all recorded in 24 hours, i recommend you cop it, its dope). We were chatting and I told him that I happened to follow him on Twitter. He immediately asked what my twitter name was (SwervinIrvin , follow me!) and upon returning to MJ's crib where was staying, discovered what you see at the top of this post. WOW. That was my only hip-hop related activity that weekend, besides for the constant iPoding anywhere and everywhere. I'm back in NYC on Friday, going to the Blu & Exile show tomorrow, seeing Lebron prolly demolish the Wizards on Thursday (maybe Agent Zero can help us?) and gonna see the man reppin my city, WALE, in Richmond next week. Can i get an amen?

Oh. And i almost forgot...I did a little bit of work that y'all should thoroughly appreciate, it'll be up real soon. In the meanwhile, try not to piss in your pants from anticipation!

Ridah out!

"La Rime Qui Te Braque"

Heyaaaaa. Wanted to hit you with a little project that i participated in during the summer of 2007. My friend Emily happened to be with a guy that was in this small Parisian rap crew, known as Tout Pour Tuer (TPT in short, check their Myspace right HERE), the group actually consists of 5 rappers, Provok,Oxad, Nord1, HDI and Mooka. Being aspiring filmmakers, Zack (the haterest hater of them all, haha) and I decided to make a music video for them. We worked on an almost nonexistent budget (less than 100 euros, all spent on water basically, it was steaaaaaaming hot), shot for two days, and below is the end result. A 35mm adapter was used to give the image a "film" look. Besides for the blistering heat, the other challenge was being able to control a 40 plus person pot smokin, graffiti sprayin and 40 drinkin crew, but we managed in teh end after an exhausting 14 or so hours. It was an awesome couple of days, and even if the video ain't exactly professional. it ain't shabby neither. Directed by Zack Spiger, produced my moi, and great photos by Alicia Karpetsky. Below is the vid, as well as couple of tracks off their Tout Pour Tuer mixtape. Big thanks to Zack, Em-dog, SoLo (you know who you are!), Alicia, Jonathan, and Ruby for making it happen. Big up to Mooka, Nord1, Oxad, HDI, Provok, Krazy Man, Tryce, Ruby, Sheron, Skunk, Frank and all the rest of the TPT crew.



DOWNLOAD

Tout Pour Tuer - "C'est Du Deuss"
Tout Pour Tuer - "Sonne L'Alarme"
Tout Pour Tuer - "A Coeur Ouvert"


TPT Crew


Young H-Man, "flyer than the rest of them..."


Emilyyyyyyyy


Oxad lighting his spliff in style


Zack, Solo and H-Man being serious nerds.

"Shoes of Gooooooooooooooold..."

Aight aight! Hot off the press, here's dat new new. This one holds a special place in my heart (however small it may be haha), cuz the vocals are by none other than ALIXE TURNER. That's right, H-Man's little sistaaaa! She lives up in cold ass Montreal, and just recorded with with DJ Kid Legit (check out his Myspace right HERE and his mixtape download right HERE ). Really excited that my sis is gettin back into singing, so please give her all the support you got! Anyways, id think it was a phat cut even if i didn't happen to be related to 1/2 of the artists performing this. Below is the track, as well as the download link! Cop it!

p.s. Much love Alixe. Keep doing your thang.




DOWNLOAD - Kid Legit ft. Alixe Turner

"When i start rhymin' bare breddahs a start hidin, my dark writing strikes many like charge lightnin'"

Whats poppin' fresh peoples? My boy Pavan (a.k.a Orifice Vulgatron from The Foreign Beggars) hit me with this a few days ago. Signed to Dented Records , Kyza Smirnoff (a.k.a Mr. Sayso) is due to release his eagely anticipated project S.H.O.T.S. O.F. S.M.I.R.N.O.F.F. in the near future, these two track below are the first singles off of, entitled "Dirty", and "Love N Music". He is also currently working on a full LP entitled Brand New Same Old Me. I'm really feelin this guy's flow, and it definitely feels good to be posting some UK shit for a change. Especially lovin "Love N Music", totally summin up how love and music truly do go hand in hand, and how much a love of music is something to cherish. To hear more of his music check out his myspace page right HERE. Best of luck to Kyza with the projects, and to all of the Dented Records family out in London. Cheers!

"This thing we call rhyming's no different from coal mining, we both on assignment to unearth the diamond..."

Better late than never, here are the pics and the recap of the Mos Def concert that i attended about a month ago, at the 9:30 club in D.C. Just got my sis to send me the pics from Montreal, forgot her camera cord last time she came round... Hadn't been to that venue since i saw Kweli there over 4 years ago. So, it started out sorta negatively... Mos had a double bill at the place, one performance at 6:30 and one at 9:30, we arrived (with lil'sis and Sona a.k.a "Ride Or Die") at 8:30 thinking that after a short wait we would have no problem going right on in. It was BALLS TO THE WALL cold, and upon arriving, a long line informs us that he had not arrived yet for the 6:30 show. This lasted til 9:30, so after a few beers at DC9, we returned and waited at least an hour in the blistering cold. Needless to say, by the time we got let it at 11:15 everyone was sort of mildly ill tempered, but Mos made it ALL go away. He played a mind blowing 2 and a half hour set that was more like a jam session than a concert. I was stunned at how much onstage presence, charisma and humor the Boogeyman has. He played the old (closing with my personal favorite "Memories") going through such classics as "Umi Says", "Brooklyn" and "Ms. Fat Booty" along the way. He played a few new songs, including the powerfully raw "Quiet Dog" and unreleased (and unleaked in studio version...) "Casa Forte". At one point the two stage DJ's battled for supremacy, going toe to toe with classic reggae jams. The concert really was a treat, I had been dying to see Mighty Mos for YEARS, and it truly was worth every goddamn penny of those 44 dollars. I am now looking ever more forward to the new album, The Ecstatic. Thanks and Cheers Dante!

Mos Def - Words - The Ecstatic - in stores Spring 2009



Mos Def - Life In Marvelous Times

Mos Def - Quiet Dog

Mos Def - Casa Forte (Live)

"Dans mon quartier mon gars. J'ai vu des gosses qui se bousillent en bas..."

Whatup whatup, i return to you after a couple days of rest and recovery from the dreaded (and most celebrated) St. Patrick's day outing. As promised, i wanna hook you guys up with the music of on the DOPEST (tied for first in my books with the legendary IAM) French hip-hop groups of all time, Supreme NTM. Think of them as the French version of Public Enemy politically, with their anti law enforcement lyrics, and of course their name itself, as "NTM" is the acronym for "Nique Ta Mere" (literally meaning "Fuck your mother"), a popular vulgar expression in street slang (basically the equivalent of "motherfucker", a term no stranger to U.S. hip-hop). They consist of two emcees, Joey Starr and Kool Shen, both hailing from the suburbs of Paris (specifically Seine-St.Denis), started rapping in the mid 80's and had a successful (and legally tumultuous, especially in the case of Joey...) career until they split up in 2000. Both emcees have deeply contrasting flows, Kool Shen having a funky, melodic one and Joey an energetic, deep and raucous flow. They were the first to truly have a transcontinental collaboration with an American artist, it resulting in the phenomenal "Affirmative Action Remix" with Nas, AZ and Foxy Brown. Both have pursued solo careers since then, i personally prefer Joey's (even though he is the "watered down" version of what he used to be) but they have both done quite alright for themselves. In October of 2008, NTM reunited for a series of 3 concerts in Paris, their first performance in 9 years. Shit sold out in 30 MINUTES. Damn i wish i hadn't moved, haha... Anyways, here are my favorite of their tracks, and one solo Joey Starr cut that i think is vicious. "Seine St. Denis! Seine St. Denis! Funky Funky Fresh!"


La Fievre


Le Monde de Demain


That's my People

Pose ton gun
by Akira_s_back

Pose Ton Gun

[Rare] NTM Live - Seine St Denis Style
by sAdCiTy

Seine St. Denis Style Live

CLIP-NTM - Laisse Pas Trainer Ton Fils
by greg81000

Laisse Pas Trainer Ton Fils


The Firm & NTM - Affirmative Action Remix

Joey Starr - métèque
by Vincent8Z

Joey Star - Meteque

"I know you missin all the - FAAAAAAAME! But along with celebrity comes bout seventy shots to your frame..."

Alright, I AM back. I know I've been completely M.I.A (paper planin'...) for the past week, and for that i do apologize, its been an eventful/blur (in more ways than one) week. Last Wednesday is when it all started, it was my birthday, and evening was MOST HONORABLE. Some delicious dinner in Alexandria, some surrious drinking at Marvin (including with a white guy whose REAL name is Martin King Jr., aint that some shit?), strip club, and waking up the next morning at 11 am, shirtless on the carpet in my boy B-Ride's basement wondering where the fuck i was... Big up to Ride Or Die, Dave a.k.a Jada, Sally, Bob and Nadizzle for making my B-day memorable. Since then the going out had been pretty much nonstop, but since then i have gotten a job in NYC, and BEEN ACCEPTED TO NYU GRAD FOR NEXT FALL! Looks like the H-Man will be relocating soon to the Rotten Apple, and will be able to kick it with Knutz, Hman and Pantera a lot more often. So, ill be posting a legit post tomorrow, as today is St. Paddy's and i do NOT expect to be home before tomorrow. Happy Rideday!

"Late nights on the corner crooked had him a dream to drive a maroon 5 call him Adam Levine..."

Beef. In todays rap world, you can't go a day without someone starting to "beef" (though i agree more with Biggies definition "Beef is when i see you, guaranteed to be in ICU...) with someone else over no particularly good reason. In even more recent times, no talent artists like Curtis (YES, i mean none other than "Fitty") have used it solely as a means of promotion, then "squashing" it right after. Today was the first time that i saw an article on some kind of altercation between rappers that made me smile. It would appear that former Mobb Deep head honcho turned jailbird (on yet another weapons charge...) Prodigy wrote a "letter" (though it looks like a 4 year old wrote it, and not a very bright one at that...) naming his top 40 MCs, and called out up and coming Left Coast rapper Crooked I as not being talented.




Instead of running his mouth like a bitch, Crooked posted a public short response, which read a little something like this:

"I read your letter and you disrespectfully mentioned my name. If you don’t know why Vibe magazine chose to put me in the Best Rapper Alive issue maybe you should have researched me before you wrote what you wrote. Since you have time on your hands, you should check out week 1 thru 52 of my historical Hip Hop Weekly series. Week 33 was a freestyle over your song ‘Get Away’ (one of my favorite Mobb Deep songs). All things considered, there is a price for speaking on a real nigga sideways. Out west we call this price a ‘fade’. I need you to catch my fade, in other words, fight me 1 on 1. Nobody else, just you and me. I’ll wait for your release date since I don’t forget about shit."

"P.S. Do some push ups."

Now ain't that some real shit? Crooked I is in my opinion one of the best lyricists right now, and to top things off, is somewhat picking up the West Coast resurgence where the Game left off (who is apparently retiring...too bad, gotta say i really like that dude) with a little help from other artists like U-N-I, Zion I and of course the one and only Evidence. Additionally, the supergroup that Crooked formed with Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden and Royce Da 5'9" is seriously sick, there are rumors of an album...(peep the Rik Cordero directed "Move On" when it comes out). Prodigy was a legend in his day, Infamous is definitely one of the best albums of all time, but in the past few years (save for some track that he did with Alchemist) it's mostly been a lot of garbage. Rappers need to stop talking shit and contribute positively to hip-hop instead. P should be scared, word on the streets is that Crook got shot a few weeks back...better watch who you mess with sometimes...

"I realize i got the same wings angel fly with, but with Louis Vuitton feathers now that's some fly shit..."

Just watched this gem of a movie again, it does occupy a space in my rather extensive DVD collection (the perk of being a film major, you only OWN dope shit). Given terrible reviews by the French press, i saw this in theaters in Paris when it came out (mostly becasue of the director whom i am quite a fan of, Luc Besson, and Jamel Debouze is a funny dude too). I didn't expect the movie to make me feel the way it did, it truly is a beautiful. I won't spoil it, but basically its about a guy learning to be able to love himself, with a little help from above (in the form of a BANGIN Danish model). I love that Rie Rassmussen (who is a professional model by profession) has an accent, makes her basically irresistible (i guess i have a thing for accents...) The cinematography in this film is beautiful too, all shot in black and white in Paris durng the month of August (when all the residents leave the city on vacation). So, get your ass to Blockbuster or Netflix of whatever the fuck you use and watch this, i guarantee you won't regret it.



TRAILER

Anja Garbarek - Can I keep Him ?
by Pigasus_Power

This woman (Anja Garbarek) did most of the soundtrack, she's Icelandic, like the chilled-out version of Bjork sans the swan dress...this is the "single" from the soundtrack...

CRAZY BITCH SIGHTING! SHE'S BACK!

I’m sure all of you remember the immensely popular and insane story of the crazy eyed/pilled-out/falling down stairs nightmare of a girl that accompanied my crew and I on a night out on the town in the not so distant past…if not then scroll down a few posts and check out the madness. Well, my boy Bob (the one who had to forcibly had to shove her into a cab after she viciously and intoxicatedly assaulted Sally, happened to go the bank a make a little deposit in his checking account (get that scrilla son!) and saw some girl that appeared to be checking him out. After feeling good about himself and doing a little double take, he realized that it was HER…panic flooded his system and he began to wonder what on earth he had done to deserve this kind of karma. Their eyes met, and she apparent RAN OUT of the place and drove away…Considering he still has her jacket in his automobile, and that she still owes him a lump sum of cash for the long taxi ride home that she doesn’t remember, he texted her and they are supposed to meet up on Saturday at a to be determined location and time…so the story continues....

Weekend Recap - New York City Itty Gritty Committee

So, once again, a little impromptu trip to the gigantic Apple (though somehow I always end up never leaving Manhattan…) The purpose of the trip was straight business, had an interview for an internship and for a little translating gig for some media blog. Arrived in NY around 12, then rushed between the homie MJ’s (a.k.a Falcor – for a better description peep THIS VID, haha) crib and across town for the interviews. They both went very well, I locked the translating one and am still waiting to hear about the internship. Having said that the purpose of the trip was business, this obviously means that I definitely mixed some pleasure into it for the next 4 DAYS. Upon coming back to MJ’, met up with Patti (like that?) and proceeded to a small birthday get together that was most conveniently a bock and a half away in Alphabet City. I proceeded to get extremely inebriated and somehow was able to stay up until the sun came up.

Saturday started with some hangover food at my usual recovery spot, good old Café Habana for some delicious cheese, lime and chili powder sprinkled corn on the cob, a Cuban sandwich with French fries, and of course a fresh mango frozen Margarita (just to take the edge off…) After a long and cold walk back with a belly full of food, MJ and I proceeded start drinking some beers and calling up the missing member of the Trifecta, Dom Dom, before we were set to attend an open mic session at Paddy O’Reilly’s. The open mic of course turned into a shit show, followed by a continuation of the shit show at some place called BLVD (drinking Sparks in the cab along the way…Jesus). Somehow Mike disappeared afterwards, so having his keys I cabbed it back to the apartment. He came back about and hour and half later, having no idea where he had been, carrying a pink balloon…

MJ headed to work on Sunday, starting his day off by sitting in the shower for about 30 minutes, a routine that i am no stranger to on those "fuck-i-feel-like-shit-and-have-to-go-to-work" days. I slept a little while, watched a movie, and went to finally meet up with none other than my Fresh Like Green Tea collaborator KNUTZ. We met up in SoHo and went to the central library to pick up a book that wasn’t there, and then headed to the Lower East Side for some chicken noodle soup and some youtubing/drinking/hatin. Pantera was there as well, though she retired early back to BK, and Knutz and I caught up over a couple of Olde Englishs and a pack of American Spirits.

Got snowed in on Monday, all buses cancelled, so I LITERALLY watched about 10 movies and rode back to the District in the A.M. In the thick of it all, was unable to record Fresh Like Green Tea Radio episode 2, as MJ’s computer “mysteriously” crashed…sorry big guy… ☹ May be going back up there this weekend, trying to move there if I get this internship, ill keep you posted people. H-Man out!

Here is some German shit that I was exposed to by Knutz that I’m definitely feelin, thought I should be a little more like the multicultural citizen that I am, I will be posting some fresh French shit shortly…


KC Da Rookee - Buffalo Soldier


Peter Fox (lead singer of Seeed) - Alles Neu!