Color to the Music

I haven’t really been listening to Tracy Chapman for the past several years, but I just found something that will make me stay a while and enjoy the music.

Her website design is brilliant: You can select colors from a rainbow palette and color in the letters, trees, grass, houses, clouds, and even the birds as they fly by! All while listening to “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” and other tunes.

Best idea ever. Not only does it give fans a reason to stay and interact with the website; it shows off some gay pride too.

Ready for Summer?

One of my favorite things about NYC is the free summer concerts. Every spring, I make a list of about ten shows I want to see—but I usually only actually make it to one or two of them.

Some of the best (or at least most memorable) concerts I’ve been to have been the free ones: the Roots on Pier 54 in July 2005, one of the best nights of my first summer in New York; Little Brother in Fort Greene Park in 2006, where they said hello to me before the show on my way to the bathroom, but I was too shy to respond; Cafe Tacuba in Central Park in 2007, where I was knocked around in a humid, smelly, dusty mosh pit; Girlyman at Madison Square Park in 2007, when we took awkward pictures with Ty and found out that Doris used to be a camp counselor of someone my girlfriend knew from college; Lauryn Hill at Wingate Park in 2007, even though she showed up three hours late, looked and sounded almost unrecognizable (and, well, not that great); Jean Grae, 9th Wonder, and Talib Kweli at Fat Beats in 2008, where I stood five feet from the Jeanius herself.

Here are some I might make it to this summer:

• June 20 at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park: Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival featuring Dead Prez, Smif n Wessun, Pharoahe Monch, etc. ($10 suggested donation)
• July 9 at Herbert Von King Park: MC Lyte
• July 18 at Central Park: Q-Tip
• July 22 at Crotona Park: KRS-One
• July 31 at Prospect Park: Soulive
• August 12 at Brower Park: Black Moon and Smif N Wessun with live band

My Name Is Daichi and I Want to Be the Beatbox Battle Wildcard

My brother sent me this video. Just watch it! It speaks for itself.

A Nine-Year-Old Girl Rocking the Mic, Paying the Bills

On Saturday I saw the documentary P-Star Rising at the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s the story of nine-year-old rapper P-Star (Priscilla Star Diaz) growing up with her father and sister in Harlem. She is one interesting character, and a genuinely talented emcee; she was writing her own rhymes, battle-rapping on the streets, performing in clubs, and sharing studio time with Remy Ma, all as a nine- and ten-year-old kid.

As cute as she was, it was far from a cutesy/feel-good film. As a young girl, Priscilla became the breadwinner of the family, as the early profits from her music career allowed them to pay all of their bills and move into a more spacious apartment. The family went through a lot of problems, from trying to track down their druggie mother to sorting through trust issues with record executives. And as P-Star’s rap career started to go downhill while she was still only 11 or 12 years old, viewers were left wondering if she and her family (and especially her father) had really been making the right choices.

Check out the trailer here! (I couldn’t embed it.)

Priscilla, her sister, and her father, as well as the filmmaker (Gabriel Noble), were all at the screening to answer questions from the audience. The family seemed to be doing well, and P-Star—upon request—spit a nice verse for us all.

I hope to hear more from P-Star as she gets older!

Playlist: IMPACT

Last weekend I went down to the University of Maryland for the IMPACT Conference, a national conference for college students who want to make a difference in the world through service, activism, and advocacy.

My friend Heather, who organized the conference, asked me to make a 30-minute “soundtrack” that would be played before and after the opening and closing sessions of the conference, as people were walking in and out, and waiting for the program to begin. She said the vibe should be “more M.I.A. than Jack Johnson.” So I looked for songs that were positive and energizing, with thoughtful lyrics and good beats. Here’s what I came up with:

1. M.I.A. – “Galang”
2. Santogold – “Creator”
3. K’naan – “In the Beginning”
4. TV On the Radio – “Dancing Choose”
5. The Roots – “The Next Movement”
6. A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick It?”
7. M.I.A. – “Pull Up the People”
8. Emmanuel Jal – “Warchild”
9. Santogold – “Unstoppable”
10. OK Go – “This Will Be Our Year” (covering the Zombies)

“M79″ in danger

If you’re like me and your favorite Vampire Weekend song is “M79″ (or even if it isn’t), listen up!

The M79 crosstown bus referenced in the song is just one of the New York City bus routes that risks losing its overnight service as part of the MTA’s proposed service cuts. Most of us in the five boroughs will be affected by the proposal, which includes huge fare hikes, less frequent subway and bus service, and completely eliminating some bus routes.

Visit the Comptroller’s website to find out more and to send a message to New York politicians letting them know how you feel about the proposed service cuts!

Mos Def and Black Radio at the Blue Note

Stood for two hours in the 15°F wind last night to get into the Blue Note to see Mos Def. Good thing we were the first two people in line, because there were only two good seats at the bar (that actually faced the stage).

Sitting right behind the wait station and next to the bar was very distracting—I kept catching myself paying more attention to the waitresses filling their drink orders than I was to the performance; and my back and shoulders were killing me from standing tensely so long in the cold; and I was exhausted from staying out late the night before; and some of Mos Def’s songs were less than thrilling.

However, there were a few memorable gems:

“The Boogie Man Song” (one of my favorites from The New Danger) turned into an extended jazz version. I think that song shows off his smooth voice better than any other song.

They did a totally unexpected cover: Radiohead’s “All I Need.” And it was surprisingly good!

Apparently Mos Def plays the piano: He started to play a goofy instrumental song which he said was about his kids and their stylish ways, called “The Kids Look Fresh.” Then he showed how that song became the background of “Perfect Timing” (from True Magic). It was the first time I’ve seen him rap/sing while playing an instrument.

Just when I thought the show couldn’t get weirder, he started to recite the poem read by Elizabeth Alexander after Obama was sworn in at the inauguration. Strange choice. But I have to say, his style of delivery certainly made the poem sound much better.

Another place to listen

I’m trying out another site called Blip.fm where you can “be a DJ” by deciding which songs to broadcast under your name. Check out my page to listen to all the songs I’ve “blipped.”

Now you can listen to my playlists!

Check out my new page on 8tracks, a cool website where members can create and share playlists.

So far I’ve only finished the Back 2 school mix from September, but I hope to put in more soon.

8tracks is pretty easy to use, but has some quirky features due to the legal restrictions of sharing music online.

Five feet from the Jeanius herself

On 6th Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets, there’s a small sign for Fat Beats record store, which is up a narrow staircase above the storefronts. I’ve walked on that block countless times without noticing it.

Half an hour before the show is to start, there were still only about ten people in the store, which is only about the size of my apartment. We waited around, browsing the albums. It’s all hip hop, and mostly vinyl. It’s cool that this place is still in business, at a time when even Tower Records can’t stay afloat.

The place filled up quickly, and after a while we were all standing shoulder to shoulder and starting to sweat. My umbrella was still wet, my legs and back were starting to hurt, and besides the expectant crowd, there was still no sign of a show starting anytime soon. I was beginning to wish I hadn’t come.

Then DJ Evil Dee came in the door, unannounced (at least to us). After greeting some staff people like old friends, he hopped into the DJ booth and started spinning on the electronic turntables. With each new beat he put on, the crowd bobbed their heads in appreciation, and chatted excitedly with each other about their favorite obscure albums and mix tapes.

Two tall guys in front of me were blocking my view of the DJ, so I finally tapped one of them on the shoulder and asked to stand in front of him. That was a good move: I was now about five feet from the DJ booth.

Finally, almost an hour late, Talib Kweli and 9th Wonder showed up. They squeezed their way through the crowd to make it to the DJ booth, Talib did a bit on the mic, and 9th and took over the turntables.

Finally, Jean Grae showed up. With a laugh, Talib introduced her as “the greatest lyricist in the world.” She crammed into the DJ booth with Talib and 9th and joked about how hot it was in the store. (Indeed, Talib had sweat streaming down his face and had already taken off his hoodie.) She chastised the crowd for not showing up to her Highline Ballroom concert and only showing up now because it was a free show.

9th and Jean did a few songs from Jeanius, including my favorite, “Don’t Rush Me,” which she said was the very first song they had made together, and that it was extra special because she even got 9th Wonder to sing a little bit on the track. Jeanius indeed.

After a few Jeanius tracks, Jean did some a cappella verses. Talib attempted to do one of his new songs a cappella, but after some trite rhyme schemes (like fly/high) and stops and starts, he forgot the rest and gave up. Then they did a couple of Kweli’s songs, and Jean joined in on some verses.

The funniest moment came when Talib Kweli started his song “Black Girl Pain” and Jean Grae said, “Where are my black girls?” There was silence. So she was like, “Black girls? … Black girls?” (There were definitely some black girls in the room, but I guess they weren’t very vocal about it or they weren’t in Jean’s view.) Her directness was refreshing.