Crib Notes

If you’re a Q-Tip fan like me, you’ve grown to accept being teased with release dates that never come to pass. Last I heard, his new album The Renaissance (click to see tracklisting and album cover) has been pushed back to November 4 (election day) — which is nearly one year past the original drop date. Hopefully it won’t go the way of Kamaal the Abstract.

In the meantime, here are some upcoming Atlanta appearances, links to a new Q-Tip mixtape by DJ Dub, and a YouTube clip of a recent interview with Angie Martinez on New York’s HOT 97. Former Rolling Stone writer Toure also interviews Tip in the October ‘08 issue of The Believer.

If you miss Tip DJing tonight at DJango’s Party Like It’s 1999 event (right), catch him in concert in one month: 2K Sports Bounce Tour featuring Q-tip and the Cool Kids. $26. 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 24. Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St. 404-875-9364.

Click here to download the new Q-tip mixtape by DJ Dub, featuring a mix of old and unreleased material.

See tracklist below the jump.

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I peeped this video at Wordonthestreetsmag.com and had to post it.

Apparently it’s a Ukranian remake of Florida rapper Rick Ross’s “Everyday I’m Hustlin’.” Honestly, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry:

Click here to see the original “Everyday I’m Hustlin’.”

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While rap industry bigwigs were busy partying all weekend in honor of the BET Hip Hop Awards, Atlanta’s other rap scene was putting in work.

Here’s some low-budget, behind-the-scenes footage from this weekend’s filming of Novel’s video for “I Am” feat. Talib Kweli and Spree Wilson — whom CL featured in May.

Director Phillip Sportel filmed the video at Dallas Austin’s Rowdy Records. The label will release the single (which was featured on the 21 soundtrack earlier this year) near the end of October in conjunction with Capitol Records.

Sportel also shot a video for Spree Wilson’s No I.D.-produced “Word” this weekend. Look for Wilson in the raw footage above. He’s the one wearing the funny hat and cracking jokes.

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On Sunday, in recognition of BET Hip-Hop Awards weekend, Ryan Cameron and DJ Hershey will count down the “Dirty 30″ — Atlanta’s top rap songs of all time — starting at noon on V-103 (WVEE-FM).

So we decided to make our own list to take you back.

Back to the days of MC Shy D and DJ Toomp. Back to the days of Atlanta’s first FM radio rap show “The Fresh Party” (aired every Friday night on V-103 in the mid-’80s). Back to the days of Arnell Starr’s “American Rap Makers” video show on Channel 69.

The compiled list is strictly old-school, meaning nothing released after 1999 is included. Other criteria: All songs were either regional or national radio singles and/or videos that got heavy rotation.

We linked to YouTube videos or streaming mp3s where possible. Let us know what you think we missed.

30) “Jump,” Kris Kross
29) “Cocaine (America Has a Problem)” Kilo
28) “Raheem the Dream,” Raheem
27) “The HItman,” Sammy Sam the Hitman
26) “Can’t Stop No Playa,” Da Organization
25) “Bankhead Bounce,” Diamond feat. D-Roc
24) “Shake It,” MC Shy D
23) “True Players,” A-Town Players
22) “Funkdafied,” Da Brat
21) “Nasty Dancer,” Kilo
20) “Shorty Swing My Way,” KP & Envyi
19) “Watch for the Hook,” Cool Breeze feat. Dungeon Family
18) “Fly Away,” Goodie MOB
17) “Show Me Love,” Kilo
16) “Soul Food,” Goodie MOB
15) “People Everyday,” Arrested Development
14) “Rosa Parks,” OutKast
13) “Tennessee,” Arrested Development
12) “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” OutKast
11) “They Don’t Dance No Mo’,” Goodie MOB
10) “Scrub Da Ground” Splack Pack
9) “Gotta Be Tough,” MC Shy D
8) “Roll It Up,” Success N Effect
7) “Cell Therapy,” Goodie MOB
6) “Player’s Ball,” OutKast
5) “Who You Wit,” Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys
4) “Get Up, Git Out,” OutKast feat. Goodie MOB
3) “Straight From the Dec,” Ghetto Mafia
2) “The Dirty South,” Goodie MOB feat. Cool Breeze, Big Boi
1) “Elevators (Me & You),” OutKast

Honorable mentions: “Iesha,” Another Bad Creation; “Baby Baby,” Kilo; “Van Full of Pakistans,” Y’all So Stupid, “Holiday,” Witchdoctor

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Casper & the Cookies have unveiled three songs as a sampling of their forthcoming album, Modern Silence. This is the group’s follow-up to ’06’s The Optimist’s Club. The album is the product of nine months spent working alongside Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, The Sunshine Fix).

Each week during the month of October Casper & the Cookies are releasing one previously unreleased song form Modern Silence unto the blog world.

Frontman and principal songwriter Jason NeSmith offers this cryptic statement on the album: “Modern Silence: a phrase that evokes a number of themes. We used most of them: awkward long distance phone calls — language barriers — social anxiety — absence (or a general lack of presence) — a sudden numbing realization that one can no longer think of oneself as a good person — extraterrestrial friendship — and of course jazz-mime.”

Last week Three Imaginary Girls featured “Little King”. This week Optical Atlas will release “Sunshine Girl” on Friday, October 17th. You Ain’t No Picasso will do the honors on Oct. 24th.

(Photo by Courtnie Wolfgang)

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It’s official. Danger Mouse and Cee-lo are a couple of geniuses. Or retards.

Check out the new Gnarls Barkley video for “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,” the two co-directed with Chris Milk (Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky,” “Jesus Walks”). It’s pretty heartless.

After releasing two previous videos from The Odd Couple to little fanfare, “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” has video-of-the-year written all over it. But maybe I’m just being a fan.

Is it just me, or is this the best video you’ve seen in several years?

Gnarls Barkley recently announced an Atlanta performance w/special guest Janelle Monae. $25/advance. $27.50/day of show. 8:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 11. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. www.variety-playhouse.com.

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Canadian artist/producer Colin Munroe released a video for his unofficial remix of Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights.” He doesn’t just sing over the track, like most remixes, but adds new sounds and moves the samples a bit. Finally, we see a hip-hop artist get one of their tracks snatched and redone. Hip-hop artists do it all the time, and it’s funny to see it happen in the reverse — and done so well. Kanye must not mind. He posted it on his blog.

Munroe’s album Don’t Think Less of Me will be released with support from Dallas Austin’s Rowdy Records.

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While you’re listening to the podcast Supreeme recorded with Music Editor Rodney Carmichael, download Cruz Control Vol. 1. It’s a mix from Tom Cruz that previews his upcoming Sloppy Seconds appearance Saturday, Jan. 12, at MJQ, and blends Birdman’s “1,000,000 Ones,” Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” and random esoterica. You can download the mix here.

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SUPREEME SUPREEME: Performs with DJ Klever, Mano and Jordan Jeffares of Snowden at Sloppy Seconds, Sat., Jan. 12. 10 p.m. MJQ. 736 Ponce de Leon Ave.

Click here to listen to Off Beat #1: a podcast with Negashi and King Self of Supreeme.

Negashi and King Self of Supreeme — our ‘07 Best of Atlanta hip-hop winners — stopped by the CL office right before Christmas with a coupla stocking stuffers: a copy of the new mixtape, American Badass; and a six-pack of Guinness.

So, I did the professional thing and popped a coupla cans with them while we proceeded to shoot the shit.

We recorded it for posterity’s sake. Don’t call it a podcast, though; it’s more like a blabcast. We sorta rambled with no destination in mind, so the conversation doesn’t really get focused until about halfway through when Negashi starts talking about the group’s meager beginnings in Atlanta.

“I was the freaking middle-school freestyle champion at Inman middle,” he says, adding that he and MC/producer Tom Cruz (aka Dope Pope) were already in the works to form a group when mutual friend Sam (aka King Self) approached.

“What’s up, you gotta be black? I got freckles,” Negashi recalls Sam asking.

The rest is history. They also play songs from a few of their influences and favorites, such as Neil Young and Deerhunter. Currently, the trio awaits a scheduled summer ‘08 release for the already completed album, Gold Medallion. They spent a lot of time recording in N.Y. and L.A., but you can catch them performing live this Sat., Jan. 12 at Sloppy Seconds. 10 p.m. MJQ Concourse. 736 Ponce de Leon Ave.

To hear the podcast, click here.

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Remember Ghetto Extraordinary, that Killer Mike album that was supposed to come out on Columbia Records in 2005? (This was before Purple Ribbon, beef with Big Boi, etc.) Well, hip-hop site HipHopDX.com is offering the album as a free download. It features beats from Andre 3000 and Three 6 Mafia, and guest shots from 8Ball & MJG, Big Boi and Jagged Edge, among others.

Ghetto Extraordinary serves as an appetizer for the new Killer Mike album, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind Part. 2, which is due in March. The Southern version of Ice Cube (the Amerikkka’s Most Wanted Cube, not the suburban klutz from Are We There Yet?) signed a deal with SMC last fall, a West Coast label best-known for launching California rappers such as Keak da Sneak and Mistah F.A.B. But for now, thanks to the ever-increasing lawlessness of the Internet, what once would have either sat on EMI’s archive shelves for eternity or sold for $80 at record-collectors conventions is available for everyone to enjoy.

You can download Ghetto Extraordinary here.

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(Photo taken from IGN.com)

Next month, Andre 3000 will issue … a new OutKast album? No, it’s another Hollywood confection. If you thought Four Brothers was frothy, check out Semi-Pro, a Will Farrell movie that parodies the American Basketball Association league of the ’70s. Andre Benjamin plays Clarence Coffee Black, a baller of Julius Erving proportions. The screenplay comes from Scot Armstrong, who wrote the popcorn classic Old School. Semi-Pro hits theaters on Feb. 29. Check out the trailer below.

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(Illustration taken from Klever’s MySpace page)

Turntablist extraordinaire DJ Klever has just unveiled a fresh 30-minute workout, “The Ski Mask Way.” Living up to its title, Klever takes a Serato-strength hacksaw to dance floor favorites such as Lil Jon’s “Snap Yo Fingers,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” — yikes — and sundry electro-house beats. You can download it at www.myspace.com/kleverbeats.

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If you aren’t familiar with Buffie the Body, you’re about to get an eyeful. And an earful.

In a recent issue, contributing writer Ben Westhoff wrote about the former video chick whose claim to fame is her 45-inch ass.

Of course, it comes as no surprise that she’s gained plenty of critics who believe she’s made an ass of herself by making a career off of it. The Athens native isn’t new news, but in a year when the negativity in hip-hop has been harped on incessantly, it’s worth rehashing.

And Westhoff does a fine job of it. To read his full piece, click here.

Just be sure you come back to listen to part one and two of Westhoff’s podcast with her, which he recorded in Athens.

In part one, she defends her career choice and the industry using some choice words. You can click here to listen.

Part two offers a rare glimpse into the life of a high-paid “video ho” (the term most often associated with women like Buffie who choose such a career path). While obviously sitting among her family, she explains the difference between her three cell phones and how the status of her relationship with someone can be determined by what phone number they have. For part two, click here to listen.

No doubt, Buffie; we’ve got your number.

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It’s been four years since Lil Jon released Crunk Juice, and more than a year since his “Snap Yo Fingers” single with E-40 dominated the airwaves. We’re still waiting for that long-delayed Crunk Rock album, but Lil Jon hasn’t been completely absent from the charts. He gave California pop-rapper Baby Bash’s “Cyclone” the Lil Jon treatment. (T-Pain’s on it, too.) It hasn’t gotten much local airplay, but kids elsewhere seem to love it, and it’s on the Billboard top 10 singles chart.

If pop rap isn’t your thing, then you can watch Lil Jon narrate an episode of “AE Winter Tales,” a series of claymation short films on apparel manufacturer American Eagle Outfitters’ website. He lends his distinctively crusty voice to “Snowman,” a cute tale about a snowman who comes alive and chases after a bunch of kids. And no, the Snowman doesn’t look like Lil Jon. You can watch the video here.

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Last night’s annual viewing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” brought on the usual misty-eyed memories of days gone, but also reminded us of the most recent Atlanta-influenced connection to the Charles Schulz classic. Take that, Vince Guaraldi!

Suddenly I’m in the mood to watch The Wizard of Oz set to Dark Side of the Moon. Who knew?

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THE VAUDEVILLIAN IN BLACK: Rahbi (right) as Michael Jackson. His live album, Rahbi-Raw, will be released Dec. 11.

(photos by Kimble Joyner — more below the break)

Click here to read the Nightcrawler review of his show. (more…)

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Witchdoctor’s alliance with Adult Swim-certified imprint Williams Street Records was an unlikely one. Accordingly, the two have come up with some wacky promotions for his recently released album, Diary of an American Witchdoctor. Below you’ll find a TV ad that pairs the rapper’s Dungeon Family funk with “Soul Train”-like visuals. For more on Witchdoctor, check out my Nov. 1 CL story here.

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JUMPING JACKS AT PHILIPS ARENA NOV. 17: Sting only jumped once on stage, but his son Joe Sumner (below) of Fiction Plane jumped several times. … Getting old sucks.

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A PUMPKIN WITHOUT HIS PATCH: Billy Corgan wasn’t joined by the rest of the Smashing Pumpkins until the fifth song at the Nov. 15 Fox Theatre performance.

(photos by Perry Julien)

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