Crib Notes

Indonesia?

Bad amnesia?

Halloween ya?

Just imagine Atmosphere rhymesayer MC Slug’s dilemma:

“In ’05, I developed alopecia and started losing my hair. I had to come to grips with the fact that I can’t base my art and my career around my appearance,” says Sean Daley, aka MC Slug. “I mean that metaphorically as well. I cannot base it on an image. I have to figure out a way to ensure they stop staring at the image, and start paying attention to the words and the beats.”

Listen to When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold to hear the results. Read the full story by Chris Parker in the October 1 issue of Creative Loafing.

Atmosphere’s Paint the Nation Tour stops in Atlanta in two weeks w/Abstract Rude, BluePrint, and DJ Rare Groove. $18. 8 p.m. Mon., Oct. 6. Masquerade, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com.

Bookmark to:

And you thought Atlanta R&B songstress Ciara didn’t have any talent?

Well, guess she showed you.

Her new album, Fantasy Ride, is due in October.

Click here to read an excerpt of her Vibe cover story.

Then, click here to check out the full photo spread, posted on Cutie Blog.

Bookmark to:

With Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Leftfoot … Son of Chico Dusty solo album set to drop in a few weeks, Andre Benjamin announced his plans to release an album of his own in early ‘09. Apparently, he’s looking forward to doing things on the solo tip despite the rash of high-profile collabos he’s been featured on in the past two years.

As he told Rolling Stone:

I’ve pretty much been working with myself,” he explains. “I’ve never really been that big on collaboration.” Benjamin wouldn’t reveal any other details, but he said he already had a goal and a direction for the album. “I have a concept, and all the soundscapes are already in my head, so I just have to figure out how to get there.”

When asked what he thought about the 1999 World Trade Organization protests, which is the subject of the new film, Battle in Seattle, that he stars in, Dre admitted he hadn’t heard anything about it until he read the script.

“I don’t know if I was out of the country or in the studio, but I missed it,” he explains. “The first time I heard about it was when I read the script and saw footage of what happened.”

Bookmark to:

Backpage Review

My latest whipster crush comes in the form of a pixie shtick named Sophe Nix.

Wil May introduced her to me at Caleb Gauge’s Sloppy Seconds (MJQ) party last Saturday night. She couldn’t have stood an inch over 4-foot-11. I had to stand on my tip-toes just to glimpse her onstage through the crowd.

Her hair was all done up like Material Girl meets Apollonia in “Purple Rain,” but it seemed less ironic than innocent. She came on to me like a cheap one-liner, whispering sweet nothings in my ear — some song called “Get It.”

She and her two dancers moved like synchronized swimmers bathing in a hot tub of electro static and a billion beats per minute. Sorta reminded me of another ’round-the-way chick, Muffy “the Body” Cupcakeopia, minus the confusion and sexual angst. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not. At the end of the night when I stalked past her near the bar, she pretended to accidentally brush up against me.

I’ll have her dancing on my laptop in no time.

Bookmark to:

Comedian Jamie Foxx got away with murder last night at the MTV VMAs when he cracked on T.I., who was seated in the crowd.

It marked the Atlanta rapper’s first televised award show appearance since his conspicuous absence from last year’s BET Hip-Hop Awards, taped hours after he was arrested on federal gun charges on October 13, 2007 in Atlanta.

“Got that bail money,” Foxx said, acknowledging T.I.’s presence before he announced the nominees for the Best Female Video award. “Just kidding. Don’t shoot me.”

T.I. flashed a smile back at Foxx, who was featured on “Live in the Sky” from T.I.’s multi-platinum selling 2006 album, King.

Apparently, Clifford Harris left his thugged-out (alter?)-ego, T.I.P. at home. He went on to perform two songs from his upcoming album, Paper Trail, including the cake daddy anthem “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life,” featuring Rihanna.

And was it just me or was Rihanna on some Pat Benatar shit last night?

Pat Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield”

Bookmark to:

The nation’s economic funk has inspired a bit of uplifting funk from Big Boi.

He discussed his mission to balance bangin’ beats and lyrics with social responsibility in the lead single, “Sumthin’s Gotta Give” (featuring Mary J. Blige), from his solo album Sir Lucious Leftfoot … Son of Chico Dusty, due in October.

Apparently, it echoes OutKast’s legacy of inspiring grooves so much that Big had a hard time dropping the plural pronouns (”us,” “we”) when discussing his solo project:

“I keep saying ‘we,’ even though it’s a solo album. Me and Dre are like brothers, man. I’m putting this solo disc out, and then we’re going to come back with the next OutKast record.”

Full story here.

Bookmark to:

It’s hard out here for an entertainment blogger.

Just ask Gyant of SOHH.com, who posted a rant yesterday claiming that Young Jeezy’s security jacked up his photographer Wednesday at the Tabernacle. The Atlanta-based rapper’s local concert coincided with the release of his third solo joint, The Recession. (Read CL’s feature on the new release.)

Apparently, Gyant was especially flabbergasted by the treatment considering how “cool” he’s been to Young Jeezy, CTE, and the rest of the industry’s corporate thugs:

Let’s be crystal clear on one thing artists, record executives and promoters; if we are as ‘cool’ as you claim to be then it’s only natural that I’d expect you to look out for me and whomever is in my company when I’m at your event –especially if I’m an invited media outlet. …

Don’t get it twisted, I am not some wet behind the ears journalist who will take whatever you give me. I’ve pounded the pavement for almost 5 years in Atlanta. I’ve covered everything and I have probably covered it twice. I’ve turned blind eyes on your scandals [sometimes] and sometimes I even bite my tongue or put down my keyboard when all your business gets spilled out on Front Street.

I’m no rookie and I expect to be treated accordingly. Putting it plainly, I want/demand my respect!

Read the full blog here.

Bookmark to:

When Creative Loafing gave Supreeme the Critics Pick for best hip-hop act last year in our annual Best of Atlanta issue (which drops again on Sept. 24), it threw a lot of cats for a loop.

Not merely because of the convoluted title we bestowed upon the trio — “Best Local Hip-hop Act That’s Not OutKast” — but because they weren’t one of the many snappers, trappers or OutKast clones that uphold the city’s well-deserved rep as hip-hop capital of the world.

In other words, they’re original.

Too original, in fact, to be called a rap group, which has almost become a cliché in itself. I mean, starting a rap group is like a rite of passage nowadays. I actually quit my last one to take this day job. Ah, but I digress progress.

Anyway, back to Supreeme — the poster group for post-adolescent (fill in the blank, hell it’s Friday). The video above is for the song “I’m Crazy” from their new mixtape Silver Medallion, which predates their upcoming sophomore label release, Gold Medallion.

They shot it in one day using VHS, which gives it a real grainy, vintage look — like a bootleg horror flick made by a couple of film school dropouts. You’ll recognize such classic Atlanta stomping grounds as Little Five Points and the club, Drunken Unicorn. Tom Cruz, King Self and Negashi are supposed to resemble criminal-minded zombies of some sort (per the setup, which you can pause the video at the beginning to read), but mostly they just look like themselves.

Rappers without anti-perspirant. Now take that and fill in the blank up above.

Bookmark to:

Tonight marks the second installment of Broke + Boujee since its return last month.

That ballin’ ass promoter chick Fadia Kader has big plans in store for the monthly, including expansions to Canada and elsewhere. The Puma and Pabst logos on the adjacent flyer are proof that she means business.

If you know anything about such artists as Proton, Hollyweerd, Grip, and the like, you already know B&B has been the driving force behind Atlanta’s other-ground hip-hop scene.

To prime yourself for the party tonight, download the latest Broke + Boujee mixtape here, and lookout for more to come. (See tracklist below.)

Fadia’s new twist consists of a B+B rotation that highlights different themes (music, fashion, art, lifestyle) each month. Fashion gets the focus tonight.

If that conjures Visions images of sharp-as-a-tack creased slacks, button-ups and Sunday go-to-meeting shoes in your mind, this probably ain’t your kinda party.

18-and-up. 99 cents before 11 p.m. $4.99 for ladies. $9.99 for fellas. Thurs., Aug. 21. The 5 Spot, 1123 Euclid Ave. 404-223-1100. www.fivespot-atl.com.

SEE TRACKLIST AFTER JUMP

(more…)

Bookmark to:

It’s easy to forget the good folks at Paste magazine are based in Atlanta since they’re so good (too good, perhaps) at avoiding hometown favoritism.

But in Paste’s September ’08 cover issue, Best of What’s Next: 26 Emerging Artists You Must Know, two local yokels actually made the cut: Janelle Monae and Andy Hull.

Both are artists we’ve talked up (and sometimes down) in the pages of CL. Hull is best known as the lead for Atlanta indie rock act Manchester Orchestra. But his solo set, Right Away, Great Captain is a stripped-down concept album about a sailor from the 1600s, with each song representing journal entries to his captain and family.

Monae, whose Metropolis: The Chase suite was re-released last week, was the topic of CL’s music feature last week, along with her Wondaland Arts Society label. Metropolis is another conceptual release that tells the story of an android from the future who must be destroyed when she falls in love with a human.

But Atlanta has no monopoly on fresh talent. Check the full list for such artists as Wale (Washington D.C.), the Everybodyfields (Tennessee), Black Kids (Jacksonville, Fla.), Mugison (Iceland) and more.

Bookmark to:

The worldwide water crisis just hit a bit closer to home with the recent news that Sauda will take her refreshingly crisp, carbonated vocal stylings to New York to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

She hopes to put a dent in the $50,000 tuition costs with tonight’s benefit performance, featuring Abyss — a beast in the city’s spoken word scene — and folk artist Becca. Ten percent of the proceeds raised will go to Drop Dead Gorgeous, a non-profit that raises awareness about child sex trafficking.

Suggested donation: $50. 9 p.m. Thurs., Aug. 21. Artistry, 942 Peachtree St. 404-888-0101. www.artistrylife.com.

Bookmark to:

Submitted by: Niki Lemeshka 

Kill Hannah @ Masquerade (Hell). Fri., Aug. 1.

Androgynous-voiced frontman Mat Devine kicked off Chicago quintet Kill Hannah’s set with “Boys and Girls.” Devine commanded the stage, sprinkling sugary-goth tunes with odd orders — including a sporting-event-worthy wave.  The appreciative crowd, which ranged in age from teens to an unlikely 40-plus set, happily obliged his requests.  After an almost two year absence, fans enjoyed standout tracks including “Kennedy” and “Lips Like Morphine.”  The light box and laser-fused stage spectacle entertained — even during yet-to-be-released track “Acid Rain” — as the fog-filled hotbox erupted into a dancehall.

Bookmark to:

Submitted by: Jason R. Jensen

The Young Livers w/Grabass Charlestons @ Drunken Unicorn. Thurs., Aug. 14

The only thing better than seeing a great band right before they take off on a massive tour through the U.S. and Europe is seeing them in an empty club with about 30 other people that belong in the “Who’s Who” of the Atlanta music scene. Gainesville, Fla.-based Young Livers stand a good chance of replicating the success of Against Me!, and with a super loud double guitar sound the band just about shamed me into wishing I’d brought earplugs. The closing band was Grabass Charlestons — the Young Livers’ No Idea labelmates. Grabass seemed to get everyone pumped but my friend and I got bored halfway through and went across the street to Cameli’s to listen to awful karaoke and drink Jameson.