Crib Notes

Which came first, the BET Hip-Hop Awards or Atlanta’s steady flow of garbage-ass rap music?

The chicken-or-the-egg question occurred to me as I watched last night’s broadcast of the awards show, which should’ve been renamed the Gucci Mane Awards for the number of performances (3?) featuring the East Atlanta-bred MC.

It typified a night in which the show took every possible opportunity to reference Atlanta — which is odd considering the crowd is made up entirely of industry fucks (artists, publicists, label reps, promoters, radio heads, etc.) and almost zero fans. (more…)

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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…)

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Goodie Mob appeared on Fox Atlanta’s morning show today to hype this Saturday’s reunion show, and they gave the Creative Loafing cover story, A dirty job for Goodie Mob, some love in the process.

They also dispelled rumors that Saturday’s show is sold-out. Hopefully, Mom Nature gets the rain out of her system by then. $40. 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 19. Masquerade Music Park, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. masq.com.

For those either fiending for or unfamiliar with Goodie Mob, peep the video retrospective after the jump:

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ALL FOUR ONE: Cee-Lo (clockwise from front), Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp put the city on their backs.

By Maurice Garland

Once known as “the city too busy to hate,” Atlanta has seemingly turned into “the city too busy to remember.” In its desire to become a hybrid of New York’s grind and Los Angeles’ shine, many of the cultural landmarks that made the city what it once was have disappeared. Remember the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium where Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record? It’s now a parking lot. Such streets of infamy as Stewart Avenue and Bankhead Highway have been renamed. Earwax Records got squeezed out by the iPod. Even the sports memorabilia shop Distant Replays is a distant memory. Compound that with the Atlanta Housing Authority’s nearly completed plan to erase every last trace of housing projects from the landscape, and it seems the city’s becoming a soul-less shell of its former self.

But on a recent August afternoon so humid and hazy it would leave local TV weathermen Glenn Burns and Ken Cook speechless, four recognizable brothers donned in throwback red Adidas jumpsuits stand outside the West End soul food restaurant Chanterelle’s. They resemble a blast from the not-too-distant past.

Continue reading “A dirty job for Goodie Mob”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Man … the scene was so thick
Low riders, ’77 Sevilles, El Dawgs
Nuttin but them ‘Lacs
All the players, all the hustlers
I’m talking ’bout a black man’s heaven here, yknahmsayin? Yeah.
— Intro to “Player’s Ball,” OutKast (1994)

DRE AND BIG

Once again, Maurice Garland delivers exclusive coverage with a behind-the-scenes peek at last Monday’s gathering of the primary members of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family at Stankonia Studios. From the photos posted, members on-hand included Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo, Big Gipp, T-Mo and Khujo, Dre, Big Boi and Mr. DJ of OutKast, producer Ray Murray, Sleepy Brown, Witchdoctor, and plenty more. Also on hand were DJ Toomp and Spree Wilson.

As for the reason behind the reunion-of-sorts, Garland is keeping it under wraps for now. But it shall be revealed in time. Meanwhile, here’s what he had to say about how the meeting might affect DF’s musical future:

No, I don’t think a lick of music got recorded on this day. What I do know is that they had a closed-door meeting where issues were resolved and plans for the future were discussed.

I spoke with Big Boi a couple days ago and said that over the next two years we will be getting a barrage of Dungeon Family music. His solo album (expect some big news on that soon), Dre3000 solo album, a Goodie Mob album and another Outkast album are all included in that. Backbone is working right now and Witchdoctor is still dropping projects so please go out and support those.

At the end of the day, there is music recorded and ready to go from everybody for the most part, they’re all just trying to find homes (labels) for it to be put out on.

More photos below…

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Be sure to check out my story on Bobby Ray this week, in which he discusses his transition from gat-rapping persona B.o.B to existential genre-hopping rocker/crooner/MC.

He was very forthcoming in the interview, and I ran out of space for all the great anecdotes and info he shared. Here are the best cutting-room floor bits.

Why he won’t visit his Grand Hustle label head T.I. in prison

“He doesn’t want anyone to see him in prison. I thought about it, I was definitely going to come by a lot. But he doesn’t even want his kids to see him there. He doesn’t want that image implanted in their heads, of him being in jail. I can kind of understand that.”

Janelle Monae

“She is probably my sister from another planet or something. She reminds me a lot of me. Everything that she says and does, her music and her show, kind of rubs off on me. She has a lot of good energy, and I take what I like from it and put my spin on it.”

His future goals

“I’m trying to outdo myself. I’m going to take all the best elements from all the music I know. I don’t even want to say some of the stuff I’m thinking about, because it’s stuff that’s never been done before, like recording a song on an airplane. Or maybe even recording a song outside.”

On the Outkast-sized expectations people have for him

“It’s what you make of it. Sometimes it used to intimidate me, but now, it’s like, you gotta go with it, you have to use the energy to your advantage. If people are excited to see me, I’m like, ‘Fuck yeah, I’m excited too. Let’s do it.’”

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CL caught up with Big Boi at the Georgia Grammy nominees celebration, so we decided to test some of our upcoming Lust List questions out on him.

Name one band from the past you wish you could’ve been in?
Parliament Funkadelic

Favorite karaoke song?
“Ebony Eyes” by Rick James and Smokey Robinson

Best place in Atlanta to show out-of-towners?
Right now, Atlantic Station is pretty cool. They got a nice little vibe over there with Cirque du Soleil and everything. My all-time favorite has always been Little Five Points.

Most attractive feature on the opposite sex?
I’d have to say her brain, fa sho.

What’s the worst thing somebody can do on a date?
Not suckin’ no dick — that’s just a joke though! I don’t know, man, keep stopping by the gas station or something. Just be all the way ready.

Big Boi is nominated for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group for the song, “Royal Flush,” featuring Andre 3000 and Raekwon. Stay tuned for more Lust List Q&As from Georgia Grammy nominees. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards air 8 p.m. Sun., Feb. 8 on CBS. CL’s Lust List issue drops next week.

(Photo courtesy Joeff Davis)

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Here’s a seasonal list for you.

From Kurtis Blow’s “Christmas Rap” (1980) to Killer Mike & Grind Time’s “A Christmas Grind” (2003), CL contributor Maurice Garland includes all the Christmas gift rap imaginable — and some not so, like Eazy-E’s “Merry Muthaphukkin Christmas” — on Ozone magazine’s list.

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For today’s Roll Call, we call out Atlanta’s favorite black hipster, Wil May, who’s been hibernating in L.A.

Who are you?
I am Wil May aka Bill Whitfield aka Lil WiWi fa sho. My mom calls me WILLIAM. I am WILLIAM E. MAY by birth. Regal, I know. And, in college [Emory University] they used to call me POSTMODERN. So I am POSTMODERN. I am an artist/music producer/the orchestrator of the MAKESHIFT movement.

Describe yourself in three words.
Uber, Astute, MAKESHIFT

Whom — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
As of now, Mr. Barack Obama. I wouldn’t want to just meet him. I wanna be homies with him.

Whom would you most like to slap in the face?
Billy O’Reilly (make sure you put Billy). He just says dumb, insensitive, incendiary shit to me.

What song do you wish you had written?
I can’t just say one song. Debussy’s “Clair De Lune,” Pink Floyd’s “Time,” OutKast’s “Elevators” and T.I.’s “What You Know.”

Lil Wayne or Little Richard?
Weezy F. Baby. Say what you will about Weezy but Lil Wayne’s work ethic is amazing. Peep the skit on his new mixtape Dedication 3 called “You Love Me You Hate Me.” He explains his work ethic in a hilarious way. Plus, Kanye, TIP, and Wayne are basically giving ppl evidence that the music industry still exists in a major way. And, now WEEZY is expressing that he wants to start pushing the boundaries of his craft. Hopefully he’s serious. So Weezy F. Baby over Little Richard. Plus, I was never a fan of Little Richard’s perm. I feel what he was doing back then in the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll and all, but now, nahh.

LP, CD or MP3?
The MP3 is liberating by nature. So the MP3. Only high quality ones though … 320kbps. The LP is cool, but for cultural reasons. CD’s are just annoying at this point.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
I feel like I have. I was wearing Topsiders, colorful ones too, way before they got popular again, back in my early URBAN W.A.S.P.in’ days.

I would like to start a trend to seriously use and continually improve alternative, green and cheap energy to the masses.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
I’m not easily annoyed by things, trends or ppl. Trends are trends because they comment on something profound or seemingly profound. Ppl don’t like trends because they become clichés, and “errbody got ‘em.” But clichés are clichés only because at some point they were profound or interesting or cool … to a lot of ppl.

But one trend I would definitely end is 360 artist deals. It’s unethical.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
I think I played enough of that in high school during those summer nights on Lake Michigan, but still, who’s not down for a game of good, old-fashioned spin the bottle. So I would say Janelle Monae is with whom I’d play.

Download “Sweet Confusion” MP3

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Download here: Nine Inch Naliens

Courtesy Cincinnati-based ill poetic

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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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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.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s David Lee Simmons and WMLB-AM’s Max Arbes discussing this week’s cover story (out today) about big, the collaboration between Outkast’s Big Boi and the Atlanta Ballet.

To listen head over to PopSmart.

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Got a lot of non-believers out there.

Despite the year-and-a-half-long campaign OutKast, and Andre 3000 in particular, have been running to let listeners know they’re back with a vengeance, there are still those who remain oblivious.

So, here’s some more new stank stank for the hard of hearing. Its titled “Royal Flush,” featuring Raekwon.

It’s an aptly-titled track considering it starts out with a flushing sound effect. The song’s hook speaks volumes with an Isley Bros. “Atlantis” sample featuring a pre-”Mr. Big” Ronald Isley singing, “I’ll always, come back to you.” Meanwhile the melodic bass loop drones on surrounded by hand claps and some eerie, swamp-like keys.

Usually, we refrain from posting links to downloadable material for legal reasons. But I think it’s fine to link to Maurice Garland’s Rezidue blog since he says the producer, Jeron Ward, sent the track directly to him. That’s what you call “the hookup.” Apparently, the track has already made it to Atlanta radio.

Despite all the attention Dre’s been getting for his return to rap, Big Boi has been consistently killing the vocal booth, too. Hopefully his solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot — from which “Royal Flush” seems to be connected — will finally earn him the credit he deserves.

Pay particular attention to his verse, especially when he says: “I laugh when you think that you have seen the last/It’s only the beginning my nigga don’t be so fast.”

Of course, Dre’s not to be slept on either: “Styles will change/They say change is dang-erous/As a King standing on a terrace/While his partners pointing up at the rifleman/Cowards shoot ya never know when your life will end.”

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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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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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