Crib Notes

Funkadelic Parliamentarian George Clinton doesn’t have any substantial Atlanta ties that I know of, but he’s been enormously influential on local artists. At least according to Dallas Austin, whom I talked to recently about his new 8Dazeaweakend project. (Its DVD, which features Clinton, just became available on iTunes, by the way.)

“He’s been instrumental to all of our careers in Atlanta, me and Outkast and everybody,” Austin says, going on to describe his exhilaration at seeing Parliament’s spaceship stage show when he was younger.

Next Thursday Austin and other Atlanta musicians will have a chance to return the favor, as they are scheduled to appear at BMI’s Urban Music Awards show in New York City, during which Clinton will be presented with an “Icon” award.

Atl types scheduled to attend the event at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall also include Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy, Polow da Don, Cee-Lo, Bobby Valentino and Big Boi. Others promised are DJ Khaled, Plies, Rick Ross and Ray J.

In fact, pretty much everybody will be there except you. There are no tickets available to the public. But your trusty correspondent has submitted a press request, so hopefully I will be able to apprise you of the goings on.

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On a sad day, this vintage video of ATL television personality Too Clean talking to the Hot Boys should cheer everyone up. I recently saw the DVD from which it’s taken, Clean’s Down South Exclusive, Vol 1, and it is amazing.

Filmed in various Atlanta clubs and released in 2002, it features interviews culled from the late ’90s with people like Ludacris, Pastor Troy, YoungBloodZ, Nelly, Big Boi, Trina, 8Ball & MJG and many more. Highlights include a wild, rambunctious Mystikal, a delightful and relaxed Jermaine Dupri, and, of course, the above interview with a very young Wayne and a rather fey-looking Juvenile. (The concert footage is blurry, but does a good job capturing the energy of crunk shows.)

Through it all Too Clean himself emerges as the most charismatic of the bunch. He lobs nothing but softballs, but in the process gets nearly all of his subjects to reveal something interesting about themselves. (With the exception of C-Murder, who looks nervous and paranoid.) It mostly helps that everyone looks to be about five or six drinks in.

It’s available for purchase or on Netflix. Well worth it.

What’s Clean up to nowadays? Was there ever a Down South Exclusive, Vol 2? I’d love to know.

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Big Boi’s forthcoming album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty has been pushed to a release date sometime next year, and will be joined by a couple of other related titles. The first of which is a new solo release from Andre 3000, which will be followed later in the year by a proper Outkast full-length.

Sir Luscious Left Foot…, it is said, will hit the streets around the first of the year and will be followed soon thereafter by Andre’s release. Who knows when the Outkast album will drop.

In the meantime Big Boi will appear in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” on Tues., Nov. 25th. MTV.com reports that in the episode Big Boi’s plays a rapper named Got’s Money who gets busted for being involved in an animal-smuggling operation and becomes an undercover informant. Sounds action packed…

(Photo courtesy Outkast)

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