Big Ben

Coast Contra does a bit of the back and forth.

I'm always happy when people find their way back to the art that ignites their passion. Good for Will. It's been years since I've been on here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Come on, man. Enjoy it. You've got six posts with negativity, life is too beautiful for that. I'll also point out that those artists he has collaborated with in the past were not of his era either, with the exception of Biz or Slick Rick and a handful of others. He's collaborated with people outside his norm throughout his career and I can't complain about this choice and the messege. Let Will be... different. Dope track.

This and new De La in the same day? Fantastic!

I posted about this a while back. It's actually an article from volume 2 (which at the time you could order from Jazzy's site autographed, though unfortunately i'd already preordered it.) I definitely recommend picking up both book, there filled with these types of articles for a **** ton of classic hip hop albums.

This was sad news for sure. I was lucky enough to drive to New Orleans and see him perform back in 09(I think). He sat the whole time but was still captivating.

Looks like they showed up this week too, this time shows the beginning of their partnership. http://boingboing.net/2015/05/05/the-fresh-prince-meets-dj-jazz.html

​While you can read all the pages on that sight (It's updated every week) I recommend picking up the trades. I have the first two and there pretty cool, they're printed on that old comic style paper and are over sized so they're pretty big. The two trades cover 1975 to 1983.

http://boingboing.net/2015/04/28/hip-hop-family-tree-dj-jazzy.html

On Wisconsin!!!

Awesome! That was funny, and it's nice to see it happen publicly, maybe it'll put more pressure on him. I like that Kimmel asked a questions I've always wondered about, basically why hasn't he ever really been featured on other musicians music. Its a bit of a tragedy that he isn't.

I gotta agree with AJ here. I'm a fan of LL and Ice Cube but both have been inconsistent with there music the last few years. Effectively you can't water a plant whenever you feel like it. When you go away on a trip and come back to water that plant it's not the same. If you leave your craft and come back, you come back to where you left off, so there's very limited growth. When you look at artists who've stuck to there craft with their entire focus you see growth, you see artists that have gotten better as they've aged (I.E. De La, Pharoahe Monch). That being said, it sounds as if Will has never stopped and has continually made music so there's a chance that he's grown as a musician. I would prefer that he'd just spend time with Jazzy, who's also not quit the craft, and let their own magic occur. When you listen to a lot of hip-hop albums now a days they lack cohesion. These albums are riddled with a number of different sounds rather then one consistent vibe which I think the product overall suffers, which is why I would like to see the album solely produced by Jazzy. I think its the main fault of Lost and Found, lack of consistency, something I believe even Jazzy has touched on in the past when he's mentioned Will being surrounded by people who are afraid to tell him that somethings not working, which is another reason I'd like to see Jazzy take control of any future album by Will. In the end even Will has admitted (his usual excuse for lack of music) that when you split your focus they both suffer.

Thankfully we're still getting peppered with new music.

Here is an excerpt from the book: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/parents-just-dont-understand-oral-history-will-smith?src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1456_108698541

It's filled with a lot of stuff for hip-hop fans for sure. I love when talking about filming Parents just Don't understand, Carli called Russell Simmons and told him that Will was going to be bigger then Eddie Murphy and then Russell Simmons replied with "Well, he may be Malcolm Jamal-Warner but he ain't no Eddie Murphy."

I pre-ordered Brian Coleman's Check the Technique Vol 2 and it was on my doorstep Monday when I got back from visiting my parents. I have the first volume and I ordered this one for two reasons. The first being the sample chapter they posted with 3rd Bass and their Cactus Album. The second because I looked at the chapter listing and I saw He's the DJ, I'm the Rappper--Clearly that's an automatic credit card choice right there. It was worth it for sure. Unfortunately there was no sign of Will (but as fan's I think we're accustomed to his minute involvement in all things hip-hop) but all the information is great. It's filled with a lot of little information on the creation of the album and little details on a lot of tracks. Jeff was one of those involved (had he not, I don't know if I would have picked up the book) but the information from the others involved was spot on too. Besides Jeff there was Ann Carli, Pete Q. Harris, Joe Nicolo, and Ready Rock. There's just a lot of fun information about the process behind the scenes and some fun trivia that I think a lot of fan's would appreciate. Like on Brand New Funk Ready Rock imitated the James Brown "Get Down!" because Jeff had, accidentally, erased the sample. There were four copies of the Nightmare video, one of which Jeff's girlfriend recorded over. (There's till hope though, it appears that Ann Carli may have a copy somewhere!) There's also some detail's about what it looked like. Jeff had originally recorded the DJ cuts for an entirely DJ album but they decided to do a double album instead. Apparently there are some cuts we've never heard out there. The Live At Union Square cut was trimmed down from a half hour, Jeff apparently has a copy. One of the comments I found interesting was Jeff saying that Time to Chill "...had less substance... that one was filler..." I thought that was interesting because it's actually one of my favorite tracks on there. It was a fun read, there section is 30 pages, and I'd recommend it. The only other one I've read was the sample 3rd Bass album but it's got a lot of other classics that I'm looking forward to like: Black Sheep- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Jeru the Damaja - The Sun Rises in the East Mos Def & Talib - Are Black Star Naughty by Nature - Naughty by Nature There's a bunch more but I'm lazy. Here's the link to the book: http://www.getondown.com/blog/2014/06/pre-sale-for-brian-colemans-upcoming-book-check-the-technique-volume-2/

Now this is what I like to hear!

I think Will and Jeff should take the next step and do the Polar Plunge.

I'm definitely excited for this, I hope it's similar to his Autobiography album rather then the last solo he had. Autobiography had a feeling of cohesion between tracks rather then a bunch of good songs that don't seem to fit together. I think that's why Big Willie Style is one of my favorite albums because it feels like one solid project.

I don't know how many of you are 3rd Bass fans but if you are you might really dig this sample chapter for Check the Technique Volume 2. Its really informative and a fun read. https://medium.com/@briancoleman/3rd-bass-9ecff0fd3fb9 After I read it I am definitely going to be picking up this book. And the cherry on top? There's going to be a chapter for He's the DJ!

I feel like that's the point, hence the cut-away to head shaking and laughing. As a Brewers fan I wholeheartedly approve of this.

Well I can't say that I'm a 'real' head but I do own everyone of PE albums and I love Chucks Autobiography album. I think he sounds really good over slower beats. Either way, I agree with Chuck's movement just not his individual target. I think he should go after the big dogs of the station, but Rosenberg's Juan Epstein podcast are highly informative and capture a stories of Hip-Hop culture that would otherwise be lost. I would love to see Will and Jeff on that podcast and hear there stories. That being said I'd like to see Chuck on there but he seems to really only be interested in making his statements on twitter and telling them to talk to other people.

I completely agree with you there. It's why I wish they'd just sit down and talk things out. I think both Rosenberg and Chuck are working towards the same goal, and unfortunately Chuck's attack is misguided, he's attacking Hot 97 but attacking an ally in Rosenberg.

Ice Cube is another artist that I absolutely love, but you do have to admit that there are two different Ice Cubes. You've got the activist and message driven Ice Cube and then you've got the gangsta life Ice Cube who glorify the the violence and uses the word with disregard. Ultimately Ice Cube is just one artist that Chuck has given props to, you've got DMX for example, and if you took an alcoholic shot every time he uses the word you'd never survive an album let alone one song. And this is where I struggle with Chuck's argument right now, what you and I are discussing is not where the argument between Chuck and Rosenberg started. It started with Chuck saying that "Current" radio is not good for the culture of hip-hop, but once Rosenberg responded, Chuck dropped that thread and moved to the use of the N Word. Chuck is a great activist in life but on twitter he tends to cherry pick his arguments and change the subject when it suits him. It's why I wish he would sit down and talk his point. I know he really shines when he's in interviews, my favorite of his is when he talk file sharing vs the drummer from Metallica and he managed to make Lars look like a money hungry person rather then an artist. Rosenberg did respond this morning and he did have a solid point, that Chuck has never liked radio, "sucka's never play me" , but at the same time he is wrong asking whether it was good when Chuck was "active" because PE released 2 albums lat year and were great. And he has that internet radio show. This is just the problem when people spend too much time talking on the internet rather then face to face. And my personal opinion on radio is that it sucks. I can't remember the last time that I went any wear and listened to the radio, I spend my time scouring the internet for music I may like and listening to my Ipod.

I'm a huge fan of Chuck D, he was one of my inspirations to pursue a study in Political Science and Public Administration, but I sometimes feel conflicted when you see these types of arguments. Sometimes his analogies don't always line up with what he's trying to get across, and in this case I feel like he's picked the wrong person to focus on. Living in Wisconsin I can't say I've ever listened to Hot 97, but I have listened to Rosenberg's Juan Epstein Podcast. Chuck has been spending much of his time and focus on Rosenberg saying he's not helping hip-hop but I've found that podcast to be an invaluable piece of history and learning about the culture, just listening to the stories many legends have help you better understand their music. And I believe it was Rosenberg who called out that Niki Minaj song a few year s back as not being hip-hop, and I don't recall Chuck, the curator of hip-hop, coming to Rosenbergs defense. I think Rosenberg has the right understanding, that this type of discussion is too big and complicated of issue to discuss in the Twitter format, especially since Chuck prefers to tweet in chopped metaphors and similes. But as of yet I haven't seen Chuck accept the repeated requests to discuss the issue on the Juan Epstein, which points out the glaring problem with a discussion on twitter, the picking and choosing of what to reply to. I think they both have valid points and it would be nice to see them sit down and chat about it. I just think they need to get off of twitter. It reminds me of that Pack FM line :"perhaps it's just a gap inbetween the generations / when a 140 characters passes for a statement." And in regards to his complaint that radio stations have contributed to the proliferation of the N word. I do think it's something that should be banned from radio waves, though again I don't listen to Hot 97 and I can't say I've ever heard it on the radio where I'm form. But I question his focus again. He's been on record stating that Ice Cube is one of the greatest rappers of all time, and while i'll give him making songs like Give it Up, but why doesn't he address the artist like Ice Cube who use it with so little regard for it's impact. Sure someone kid somewhere may hear it through there speakers on the radio, but who's voice is it coming from?