Crib Notes

Like the city itself, the music scene in Atlanta often seems fragmented, in search of its identity. And like the city, it is made up of a host of players, and it can sometimes be difficult to find consistency in its frenzied output. That ain’t all bad; smaller, more insular scenes tend to yield a homogeneous result, and the A is nothing if not all over the place. Below, five reasons to hold out hope for music in our fair metropolis.

1. Over in the trendier-by-the-second East Atlanta Village, the newish 529 has been hosting some of the best local and non-local shows in town for several months now with a decided focus on indie rock’s grittier subgenres. The space is nice, too: it’s tiny, but thanks to the outdoor patio, not claustrophobic, and the band area feels more like a house show basement than a rock club. Down the street, the Earl is still the de facto club in the Village, but 529 is quickly becoming a go-to spot.

2. In Grant Park, Eyedrum has brilliantly bridged the gap between D.I.Y. show space and legit music venue for years now. It has long been known as the place to go for experimental and noise; this past year has seen performances from Chicago avant-jazz hotshot Ken Vandermark and sample-driven duo the Books, among others. Earlier this year, they reportedly faced closure due to the high cost of maintaining the space, but it seems they’ve managed to remain solvent enough to continue for now. In addition to live music, the gallery exhibits some interesting stuff from local artists. (more…)

Bookmark to:

Crib Notes TV catches up with Playboi Tre to talk about his days with defunct Atlanta hip-hop circle the Attic Crew as well as his new crew Ham Squad featuring Bobby Ray aka B.o.B, and Born Wit It. We also get a chance to hear about new projects with Atlanta artists Pill & Big Reczilla.

Bookmark to:

On Saturday, July 11, Crib Notes caught up with veteran Atlanta-based MC Señor Kaos during the video shoot for his Illastrate-produced single “Automatic Classic” off the Swagger is Nothing, Talent is Everything project he released not long ago. He talks about how Jax’s passing motivated him to return to the stage.

Bookmark to:

B.o.B has been busy. He’s had his hands full addressing his name change from B.o.B to Bobby Ray, an aggressive tour schedule and with the release of his latest mixtape, B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. With news breaking Wednesday that he’ll headline the URB stage at the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, Bobby Ray followed up with a new music video: “Put me On.”

Bookmark to:

crib notes TV catches up wit producer/MC AmDex of Clan Destined to find out more about his recent solo project The 7 Scrolls.

Bookmark to:

crib notes TV catches up with Atlanta recording artist Spree Wilson to learn more about his recent move to New York City and what’s he’s discovered on his journey. We talk about his upcoming projects and his debut solo music video for “Word!” (produced by No I.D.) which premieres this month on MTV.

Click here for the full, uncut audio interview.

Bookmark to:

Crib Notes TV caught up with Atlanta DJ/Beatsmith/Graffiti/MC/B-boy group Lee Harvey Oswald to get a sense of the men behind the masks. Consider this an introduction. Stay tuned to Crib Notes to learn more about the group, their art and loose confederation of musicians “Zone 7.” Lee Harvey Oswald opens for Edan and fellow Atlanta act Noot d’ Noot August 1 at Apache Cafe.

Bookmark to:

Crib Notes caught up with Pill just before he left for Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash with Killer Mike. We talked about many things, but what stood out was the meaning behind the man’s music. If you’ve seen the new video for “Trap Goin’ Ham,” then it is easy to understand where the controversy is coming from.

Bookmark to:

The Smoking Section has long been regarded as an in-depth source of information about your favorite underground hip-hop artists. Recently TSS featured Atlanta’s own Señor Kaos. The artist formerly known as Kid Kaos has been a veteran of the Atlanta underground scene for over a decade releasing his first album while still in high school at age 17.

TSS presents Smoking Sessions with Señor Kaos.

During the interview he talks about how a lack of resources presents a challenge for indie hip-hop artists in the city of Atlanta.

Bookmark to:

CL Crib Notes contributor Dominick Brady sat down with A3C Festival co-founder Brian Knott at the Earl in East Atlanta. In this interview we discussed the origins of A3C and where Knott thinks it is headed.

Earlier this year, Knott announced the A3C move from the Center Stage complex to East Atlanta. The festival is scheduled to take place October 1-3.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Post has been edited.

Bookmark to:

A note from Psyche Origami’s Facebook page regarding their show at the 5 Spot this Sunday, March 22.

“What’s good people! Wyz here! Just wanted to let you all know about what’s cooking on the PO burner!

As a lot of you already know, a new Psyche O album is in it’s final stages of development. The Psyche Orchestra project (a side endeavor that covers past, present, and future PO material) is almost ready for your consumption but, in the meantime, check out what we’ve got in store for you just days away. Once again, for those of you outside of the Southeast region, PO loves you and we’ll see you sooner than later.

Sunday night, don’t miss your chance to see Psyche O rock a new album preview set for you and yours. We’re getting tuned up for a string of shows this spring and summer with an especially big one to be named later.

This event is a cd release party for our good friends Mr. Lucky who’s new album ‘Try This Out Before You Thank Me’ is quickly becoming a favorite of mine! Opening the night will be a reunion show for our long time crew members Minamina Goodsong. It’s been a while since they performed, but I hear that their set is not to be missed as they will be playing all their classic shit and all the while bringing us back to that feeling that we had in 2002. Nothing like a blast from the past. By the way, this is the first time PO and Minamina have rocked together in a long time! Don’t miss it!”

Admission for the show at the 5 Spot on Sun., March 22 is $7. Music starts at 8 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Psyche Origami)

Bookmark to:

There are two in-stores happening at Criminal Records tonight (Wed., March 11). The first one is with Clem Snide at 6 p.m. The group will play a few songs before heading to the Earl to play a show later on this evening.

At 7 p.m. old school hip-hop icon KRS-One takes the stage to talk about the state hip-hop in 2009, as well as the Stop The Violence movement. A q&a session will follow.

Bookmark to:

Jewish rapper Matisyahu will play a free 3 o’clock in-store performance at the new Criminal Records in Little 5 Points today.

(Photo courtesy of Matiyahu)

Bookmark to:

Yes, you read the headline correctly. If crunk is your thing then today could be your lucky day. The original St. Lunatic himself, Nelly is putting on a free show courtesy the Samsung AT&T Summer Krush at The Tabernacle tonight (Tues., Aug 19) at 8 p.m.

But as you guessed, it’s not going to be the kind of show where you can just stroll in the front door and find a seat. To gain admission to the show you have to be lucky enough to win tickets through radio stations, such as V-103 or 95.5 The Beat.

You can also sign up to be on the standby list and hope for the best. Tickets will be assigned on a a first come, first served basis. The show is all ages and the music starts at 8 p.m. The Tabernacle is located at 152 Luckie St.

Bookmark to:

About a month before T.I. walked into a federal courtroom in Atlanta, he took the stand in a televised but slightly less publicized trial of a different sort. “Hip-Hop vs. America,” the taped town-hall panel that aired on BET, also featured rappers Nelly (of credit-card ass-swiping, “Tip Drill” fame) and Mike Jones. They defended commercial rap’s exploitative excess against critics such as Stanley Crouch, Nelson George, Farai Chideya and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

The YouTube video above is from part one of the second round of congressional hearings held in September on hip-hop. You can read more about that hearing — which featured rappers David Banner, Master P and intellectual Michael Eric Dyson — and some of the controversy surrounding the genre in this week’s music story: “It’s bigger than T.I.: Hip-hop is on trial and everybody’s snitching.”

The rest of the congressional hearing footage, below the jump, is must-see stuff, even though nothing much is likely to result from it. Curiously, footage of record company executives speaking before Congress in part one of the hearing is harder to find.

Click here to view BET’s three-part town-hall panel “Hip-Hop vs. America,” which aired in September.

Click here to view Oprah Winfrey’s “After Imus: The Hip-Hop Community Responds,” which aired in April.

Bookmark to:

What does CNN know about hip-hop?

Not much, based on the segment it aired last weekend (Sept. 1) grilling Bomani “D’mite” Armah and his song/video “Read a Book.”

On the surface, it’s hard to argue in favor of chanted lyrics that chide listeners to “Read a book! Read a book! Read a muh’fuckin’ book!” But place the satirical song and video in its proper context, and it offers a biting social commentary on rap music’s explicit excess.

CNN’s lopsided coverage of the broiling controversy over the video for the song almost seemed like a parody in itself. Maybe the network was trying to show what it would look like if its “fair and balanced” competitor Fox News had tackled the topic. CNN obviously went out of its way to organize a panel of local black parents — which included several key players in the city’s progressive music scene: Kembo Tom, DJ Tabone, Cara Clark and Eddie Meeks — and get them all riled up over the video, then tape them condemning it so it would segue perfectly into news anchor Tony Harris’ attempt to back Bomani “D’mite” Armah and video director, Tyree Dillihay, into a corner. It’s another fine example of what happens when mainstream media incites rather than providing insight.

(check out the “Read a Book” video below the drop) (more…)

Bookmark to: