"Reluctantly, cuz MOST of this press don't fuck with me..."

Great news! Fresh Like Green Tea officially got its first press yesterday! Big up to Tara Chez Briton and her site Big Monster Lover for showign us some love. Check out her site on the regular its on our Fresh Links. I also want to mention that this blog would not be possible without my main man Knutz, and Fresh Like Green Tea radio would not exist without the indispensable help of KD Supier for production, and MJ for production, recording and editing. We got some big plans for this thing, so get ready to hear PLENTY more from us! And remember, THIS SHIT AIN"T CAFFEINE FREE!

For the article, click HERE, and leave a comment and shot TC and FLGT some love! And once again, THANK YOU!


H-Man and Knutz as young'uns a few years back!

TROPA DE ELITE (ELITE SQUAD)

Intense and Real

With some of the crew from the prison chronicle CARANDIRU - Tropa De Elite follows the final days of a BOPE officer starting a family and looking for a replacement in the force. BOPE is Rio's SWAT equivalent, only difference, they look down the barrel of AR-15's, Pist-UZI's and AK-47's every single day.

Heres the unofficial tailor



Here is the 1999 produced documentary - the inspiration for the feature film (watch out for lyrics at min 2:55!)

"Don't Pass On The Dream"

Been off the scene for a while - working on the oil rigs in Congo and Germany - quit that unhealthyness and now I'm back in the US for some good old BROOKLYN summer L*O*V*E*

Sittin here in that grand New York public library on 42nd street with some dope free fast internet Ima come straight to ya'll about a real issue: Getting the Dream Act 2009 passed!!! in congress, this year.

Keep Reading.

Fact is, we have young adults who have lived 19 years out of their 20 year young life in the US and still do not have the right to work or even go to college. They cannot go back to a country they never really knew, and no matter what their passport says, there they will always be considered an American. Why? Because they are American. Just not on paper.

The Dream Act "would extend to those who have stayed out of trouble, graduated from high school and either finished two years of college or two years of military service, and there would be a six-year conditional status period." (New York Times, http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/immigrant-children-in-legal-limbo/#more-4889)

In essence you are giving patriotic or scholarly young individuals, who are in every way American, except on paper, the right to become positive members of society.

Reform needs to happen and why not start with the most desirable part of the immigrant population.

I will be working all summer to do something about this and if you feel compelled to help on a real issue for the civil rights of these young talented peers, give me a shout, make a comment, ask a question.

ONE

"THis here'll fuck you up, go ahead and take a shot you ain't drunk enough..."

Wassssssup? I am no presenting you with The Reawakening, the new mixtape by Alex Ludovico, who is managed by my man Eric Wallace (a.k.a DJ King Midas! KING SHIT!) out in the Chi. I think that this is Alex's best work to date, he's found the instrumentals that truly fit his flow and vocal style. I played "The Asphalt Jungle" on Fresh Like Green Tea radio a little while back. I'm really diggin the track "Roaring 20s", got a very jazzy feel to it. Alex also spits over one of my favorite beats in the past year, the Cunninlynguists's (produced by Kno) "Never Come Down (The Brownie Song)". So, get this mixtape, give it a good listen and show Mr. Ludovico some love for making some dope music.

Alex Ludovico - The Awakening

Alex Ludovico Myspace

"Special Ed got head from a girl in special ed, ya know the pretty ones in that dumb class, but she got that dumb ass..."

So FIRST, if you haven't done so already, go the post below and download EPISODE THREE OF FRESH LIKE GREEN TEA RADIO. Next, Hot off the Web, here's the video for "Paranoid" one of my favorite tracks off 808s & Heartbreak (though i love pretty much the whole album), featuring a FINE lookin Rihanna. If this had come out a month ago, her provocative outfit (or lack thereof altogether, haha) would have left SOME room to the imagination, but ever since THOSE PICTURES came out, im like "already seen it and more!"...I wonder why Mr. Hudson doesn't make an appearance in it since he's featured in the song...to make up for that here's his new track featuring Mr. West that I've really been diggin lately, "Supernova"...



UPDATE: The "Paranoid" video has been removed from everywhere, the reason being, directly from Martin Louis The King Jr.'s blog:

"IT HURTS ME TO SEE THE OLD AND VERY WRONG VERSION OF THE PARANOID VIDEO GET LEAKED ALL OVER THE NET WHILE I WAS ON AN 11 HR FLIGHT AND COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IT'S JUST FRUSTRATING WHEN THIS STUFF HAPPENS BECAUSE I REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT AND SINCE VIDEOS NEVER GET PLAYED ANY WAY YOU MIGHT AS WELL TWEAK THEM AND MAKE THEM AS SPECIAL AS POSSIBLE. THE VERSION THAT GOT LEAKED FROM THE CAMERA PHONE LAST WEEK IS AT LEAST A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE FINAL PRODUCT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR SUPPORT BUT THAT VIDEO WAS NOT UP TO MY STANDARDS."

Its all in caps lock, you know its him, haha. Will post the FINAL video when it hits the Web fo sho.

"Sittin By The Radio, Hand On The Dial..."

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! Epiosode 3 of FRESH LIKE GREEN TEA RADIO! I apologize for a few tracks being a little outdated, as the playlist was made back in November or so, took a LONG time to get this show out, as it switched producers and other setbacks. But, the music is still fire, so get it and enjoy!

Fresh Like Green Tea Epiosde 3!

PLAYLIST

1. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Streets of New York

2. Wale - Warwick Avenue (Remix- ft. Duffy)

3. Kid Cudi - The Prayer

4. Mos Def - Life In Marvelous Times

5. Dead Prez - PolitriKKKs

6. Ludacris - Last of a Dying Breed (ft. Lil' Wayne)

7. Statik Selektah -For The City(ft. M.O.P & Jadakiss)

8. Kanye West - Reckoner Lockdown (DJ Earworm)

9. Natti - When I Ruled The World

10. Evidence - Hush Now

11. People Under The Stairs - Days Like This

12. Foreign Beggars - Reach Out

13. The Foreign Exchange - Let's Move

14. The Clipse- Momma I'm So Sorry

15. Brother Ali - Mr. President

"Que sera,sera, whatever will be... Oh you're divine!

RAAAAAAR! Que pasa compadres? H-Man comin to ya from Maryland, been chillin poolside all weekend with my homie Pearson. Much needed calm after the most unhealthy and insane New York and Montreal trip. My homegirl Katia just hit me with the trailer for her film that i acted in 2 years ago, "One of a Kind"...It traces the story of a compulsive unlucky gambler, Jimmy K (played by moi) and how he puts everything he loves on the line to feed his habit. Trailer is super well cut, image is superb (and not even HD!), and its just altogether...badass. Unfortunately the final cut of the film has been plagued by some sound problems, but hopefully that'll be resolved someday soon. The movie was a PLEASURE to work on, so many laughs, and i swear i had to smoke so many cigarettes for scenes (even though I was a heavy smoker anyways then) that i thought i was literally going to stop breathing. Working on that also taught me how to play poker well enough that i was able to wipe Dave (who played Farah, and quite the seasoned poker payer) off the fuckin table on poker night just a week later! This was written and directed by my good friend Katia Spivakova, one of the most talented people i've been able to work with (remember "The Life and Times of Arthur Penn" for LP? haha), she gave me a chance to act (plus in a COOL fuckin role) in front of the camera. Remember her name cause one day you're gonna be sitting at the cinema, and you're gonna read HER name on the screen, directly underneath "Directed by"...also, big ups to Dominique Hess, Dave Schalm, Chigba Njokanma, Caroline Combs, and, who all played in or worked on "One of A Kind", and all did a beautiful job. Below is the magnificent trailer and a few shots from the set!



H. and Dom



Smokin on the sly...


Group Hug! The H-Man, Dave and Katia

"Aiyo, We Got Five Bouroughs Of Ghettos With Many Places To Meet, You Get Lost In City Streets, The City That Never Sleeps..."

IM BAAAAAACK! AHHHHHHH! Whatup whatup, back on my bullshit for all my peoples out there. Just got back from a little staycation in New York and Montreal. Went to MAD concerts in NY, as you can see in the posts below, shit was goddamn epic. Saw lil' sis in Montreal, which was great, wanna send a shout out to her and all her friends, they showed me a ridiculously great time. As usual, the entire 12 days trip was rideariffic, i am currently in detox mode, trying to purge all the Ciroc and Makers Mark out of my system. So, all in all, big up to everyone that i got to see. There was a LOT of Fresh Like Green Tea work done at the studio, you will be hearing from me on that VERY soon...for real this time i promise, haha. Peace to my man MJ, Kd Supier, Knutz and Will Motherfuckin Hensley, y'all some ridahs! H-Man out! (but not for too long)


I was about as excited as Pusha THE WHOLE TIME!

"My Climate Is Way Higher Than Lindsay Lohan's Nostrils On Powder..."

First night in NY, first concert. WALE! Had seen him (as you may have seen) about 3 weeks earlier in Richmond, but as that show was great it was definitely worth the 15 bucks to see him again in Nueva York. Was supposed to go with MJ, KD and Knutz, but unfortunately the ticket situation was not good for Knutz and MJ, so they did their thang and i went with KD. It was the same tour, but HOLY SHIT was this show different. The show started with an unannounced Big Sean, which was cool (though i wouldn't mind if he changed what he raps about a little...it all seems to be about making "a million", awfully repetitive). Then J. Cole came on and tore it up again, look out for his upcoming Mixtape, The Warm Up, and if you haven't copped The Come Up then do so immediately. There's a reason he's the first Roc Nation signing...Hova don't fuck around... Next up was Colin Munroe, whom I personally like a great deal, his singing wasn't completely on point, as he was having some throat issues. However, we were treated to Joell Ortiz on stage performing the track "Piano Lessons" with Colin, cool shit. Tanya Morgan came on afterwards, opening with the the awesome "Cuddle Bums" off the 88 Keys Adam's Case Files Mixtape. Their set was good, their album Brooklynati is now out.

The Ambassador of Rap for the Capita(o?)l came on soon after, and he was NO disappointment. Wale came onstage with a bottle of Patron, performing with the celebrated go-go band UCB (Tre is great at choruses..boy can saaaaang). Wale hit all the good tracks, and then as a surprise brough Young Christ on stage, and then MOTHERFUCKIN KID CUDI! He performed an "impromptu" (as he called it himself, as he was in his own words "toasted") "Day-N-Nite". Wale closed with "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E" and of course the D.C. anthem Nike Boots. By the time we got out, MJ was WASTED ("That looks like a delicious sandwich", haha) and Knutz had somehow passed out on a corner. All this didn't stop the ridahs,as Will (whom a post dedicated to is coming soon!)met up with us and we headed out for more alcohol induced rambunctiousness!

Big Sean

J. Cole

Colin Munroe

One of the dudes from Tanya Morgan

Joell Ortiz

Wale!

Mr. Forlarin

Mr. Solo Dolo

Young Chris

CUDI!

Stocked Stage!

"Well She Craves Affection, So I Use Protection, And I Know She Loves Me, She Loves Everybody..."

Who's the REAL D.A? Hmmmmmm...


Concert and Night # 2 in NYC. Mj, KD and I all headed to Santos Party House in SoHo, for a Chester French performance before Q-Tip's regular "Open" party there every Friday. I posted a while back about the place, if you haven't been i HIGHLY recommend it, banging music, and you never know who you might run into...the concert itself was great, vwasn't TOO into Chester French before, but they put on a great live performance, show was great. D.A and Max have a hell of a stage presence. KD was in front losing his goddamn mind. Amanda Diva and Lupe were in the house too, which was hella exciting, i mean Lupe's one of my top 5,and Amanda Diva is just TOO fine...After the show, it was time to get to some serious drinkin. Funny ass story, about an hour later, i go out to smoke a cigarette with MJ and KD, and some girl comes up and says "You guys were really great onstage"...as you may see fromt he picture above, there is a slight resemblance between D.A and myself, and he'll forgive me if I say that i ROLLED WITH THAT SHIT. I kept up a convo for at least 15 minutes, lying through my teeth about everything. Twas hilarious and I'm surprised that inebriated as I was that I was able to keep a straight face. MJ was just staring at me the entire time, silent, in awe. HA.


CHESTER FREEEEENCH!


TAMBOURININ


TIIIIIP


THE ABSTRACT


RIDAHS!

"Sorry Heavenly Father, Once Again I Hate To Bother It's P, The Evil Creeper, Send Some To The Grim Reaper "

Concert #3 of the craze filled weekend, the FREE (via text message RSVP, limited room!) Clipse show at The Studio at Webster Hall. Nice, small venue, and the show was FIRE! To me the Clipse always sound cool and composed when you listen to to their albums, but thosse motherfuckers are CRAZY live. The energy was insane, the second they stepped off stage they were shouting, jumping, Malice was rocking the massive blinged out Re-Up Gang chain, and Pusha's eyes literally looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. KD and I had a dope time, KAWS (who did the cover art for their last single) was in the crowd, a fairly short but intense show, they covered all the tracks i wanted to hear, opening with the intro from the last mixtape. They did all the classics, "Keys Open Doors", "Momma I'm So Sorry", "Grindin", "Mr. Me Too", "We Got It For Cheap", "Chinese New Year", their verses from "What Happened To That Boy", and then closed with "Kinda Like A Big Deal". VA represent! Two up, two down!

"My back is killin' me, I got New York on it, only right that I give it to 'em, New York want it, know the game'll change in a New York moment..."

AHHHHHHHHH! That's right! H-Man is takin New York City by storm once again tomorrow. READY TO RIIIIIDE! Meetin up with the homies Knutz. KD Supier and MJ..there will definitely be some recording taking place (including re-recording the show i did last time i was there...i was so shitfaced when i did it that it honestly sounds TURRIBLE) Going to a Wale show tomorrow night (with the release party for the mixtape with 9th Wonder, "Back To The Feature", been waiting on that shit for a hot minute...) a Chester French performance at Santos Part House on Friday, and a free Clipse show at Webster Hall on Monday. Get ready for some photos of destruction, debauchery, and of course, some great hip-hop moments. Peace and Love y'all. H-Man OUT.

"Jah Jah city, Jah Jah town, dem waan fi turn it in a cow bwoy town now...."

Yooooooooooooo. No negative rant like yesterday (still feel it was needed...), chillin in my BASSment (thats right, that how is spells it!) watchin the Cavs battle the Hawks. Still can't believe the Magic beat Boston at home last night, AND that Houston pulled one over L.A...So, just thought id hit you up with some photos that the homie Knutz took about three weeks ago in both D.C. and New York, at the Wizrds and Cavs game (the one that the Wizards won!), at this dope graffiti spot in BK, and at the Moma PS One. Hope y'all enjoy em!

How the fuck i get outta here?

Made just for me!

Hate, Hate, Hate!

"Y'alls a bunch of rotten motherfuckas...i hope the bad things in life happen to you...and noone but you..."

HHHHHHH!

"Climb the ladder to success escalator style..."

"Thats why you drink tanqueray; so you can reminisce and wish, you wasnt livin so devilish, ssshit..."

"The Air Yeez, she never seen these, so the moment i might seize..."

Alright. First off, I'not saying i hate these kicks. In fact, i really really like him. Enough so in fact, that i would have been willing to pay the astronomically high $215 price (which is definitely really steep for a pair of Nikes...) to cop these.

What i WILL hate on, however, is the super "exclusive" release that they treated these sneakers to. These Yeezy's (in case you don't know, they were designed by Kanye himself) have been building hype ever since he wore a black and white colorway at the Grammys LAST YEAR, and finally released in the first colorway (Zen Grey/Light Charcoal) on April 4th. The above pictured Black/Pink colorway released this past weekend. As expected, some people had been lined up for 4 to 5 days. Camping out is nothing new to the sneaker game, but usually, if one does so they are almost guaranteed to get a pair of what they have spent several nights in the street for. This time, as if the small amount of shops that received the Yeezys wasn't enough, each store only received ONE PAIR OF EACH SIZE (9.5 -12), definitely not even satisfying the demand of the few brave enough to camp out for them.

This is super fucked up. They build hype by putting up articles on webistes like Hypebeast and NiceKicks for almost a year, and then the release is so goddamn limited that almost noone can get them. This high demand and extremely low supply has prompted some shops to do some ridiculous things. Where I live, in DC, the Yeezys were available in two different shops, Cmonwealth and Major. Cmonwealth held a raffle (where one received one raffle ticket for every $25 spent in the store...if you win you are then granted the "privilege" of being able to purchase a pair of the coveted shoes). The other shop, did an even worse thing; they straight up auctioned them off. The highest bid was able to purchase the sneakers.

To me, this release shows how fuckin ridiculous this sneaker craze is all getting. I love footwear, ask anyone who knows me (or has seen my giant shoe rack),I'm a daily visitor of all the major sneaker blogs. I would personally never actually wait in line for several days for a pair of kicks, but at least the die-hard collectors that were willing to do that would be able to get what they were there for. It seems like even this no longer guaranteed. And honestly, Kanye shoulda put more pressure on Nike to get these more widely distributed, he's been shamelessly self promoting them and knew how popular they would be...and then he has the nerve to post this video on his own blog...