“Dear Julian according to the dictionary of American Slang, edited by Robert L. Chapman, “illin” means “stupid, insane.” “Wack” is defined as “worthless, stupid” The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, by Tony Thorne, defines “illin” as “bad, uncool”, .. So it seems to me the clue is fine.”
- Will Shortz
January 9, 2012
The Takeover,” is the lead single from the forthcoming Y-Love LP. The song explodes with African rhythms and clever wordplay, featuring Jamaican dancehall artist Tj Di Hitmaker, and super star comedian/actor, Andy Milonakis (MTV/Jimmy Kimmel). The influence of the street is palpable as influences by new artists like Major Lazer and Nicki Minaj combine seamlessly with classic hiphop wordplay from Y-Love. Producer Diwon (mastermind behind Shemspeed Records) skillfully blends Middle Eastern beats with clubbed-out hip-hop, giving the record an entrancing worldly sound ready for the dance floor. Y-Love explores a variety of styles, from dance and world to pop, to express his underlying message of harmony: “Unity builds the world, all divisions destroy the world.” The Takeover music video is the first collaboration by these artists and lets the fans really feel like they are right there with the artists, it’s up close and in your face and the video editing takes a spastic ‘dj scratch and blend’ style creating an ADHD reggae hip pop video destined to motivate the masses.
Shemspeed just signed Shtar, one of our new favorite Jewish hip hop groups! They bridge west coast style rhymes with Gorillaz tinged choruses. The group Shtar consists of a producer / songwriter (Brad Rubenstein), hip hop lyricist (Ori Murray), vocalist (Dan Issac), bass player (Avi Sommers) and drummer (Tzvi Solomons) that help ensure their live shows compete with bands like The Roots. The unlikely team met while studying in Aish HaTorah a rabbinical college in Jerusalem opposite of the famed Western Wall.
Ori Murray from Seattle, Washington found his calling from growing up in a house party scene where the freestyle cyphen was always part and parcel to the situation. At 17 he found himself in high school poetry class. The immediate ease and connection to spoken word forced him into the cyphen. In 2002 at the age of 20 he began working on a full length album. Partially through the project the Drum n Bass scene took off in Seattle and Murray began MCing Clubs and Raves. After a bit of time Ori became a Resident MC under the stage name “Madsteez” for Seattle’s Grooveside and Kaos Theory Crews, and Played with world class DJs such as: Aphrodite, DJ Fresh, DJ Dara, Deiselboy, AK1200, Gridlock, and Mat the Alien etc. In the Midst of this Ori took a 2 week vacation in Israel and never returned to Seattle.
Binyamin Adam (Brad Rubenstein) from Essex, England, started his musical career at the tender age of 4 with piano, and continued to add a multitude of instrument mastery to his collection. Binyamin played numerous London clubs with various bands from an early age. Eventually he took his talents as a guitarist, songwriter and producer and lent them to the guitar-based-electronica band “Lisp” who were signed to London Records with the likes of New Order and All Saints.
Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag and the hilarious sketch-based cultural send-up Portlandia (which just returned to TV on IFC), is the rare artist that can sincerely rock with the best of them while tenderly mocking many of the things that sometimes make contemporary culture so eye-rollingly ridiculous.
Maybe you just saw the show and want to delve into her musical catalog or maybe you just know she rules already and want something of a “greatest hits” (as if that’s even possible in this case). Well, here you go – a primer to Carrie Brownstein’s rich musical history featuring both Sleater-Kinney and Wild Flag.
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney – Jumpers
Sleater-Kinney – I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
Sleater-Kinney – Oh!
Sleater-Kinney – You’re No Rock ‘N’ Roll Fun
Wild Flag – Glass Tambourine (7” Version)
Sleater-Kinney – Get Up
Sleater-Kinney – Rollercoaster
Sleater-Kinney – Words And Guitar
Sleater-Kinney – A Real Man
Wild Flag – Racehorse
Sleater-Kinney – I’m Not Waiting
Sleater-Kinney – Burn, Don’t Freeze!
Sleater-Kinney – Light Rail Coyote
Our fav Mark Ronson & The Business INTL. perform on the 250th episode of ‘Later.. with Jools Holland‘. They perform our favorite track from 2011, ‘Somebody To Love Me’, a throw back featuring Boy George and Andrew Wyatt. Looks like Jools has a time machine, we haven’t seen or heard from Boy George since the English New Romanticism movement and the uber-fun Culture Club. ‘Somebody To Love Me’ is featured on Ronson’s 2011 album dubbed, ‘Record Collection’. It’s a collection of songs with some of Ronson’s favorite singers and musicians. Ronson is one of the most sought after producers in music right now, famous for producing the classic Amy Winehouse record, he just produced the new Black Lips record and the upcoming May 2012 Rufus Wainright album which enlists The Dap Kings who play on many of Ronson’s productions, including the remix he did for Bob Dylan (the only remix Dylan ever allowed).
NY TIMES feature on the Sephardic Music Festival & Erez Safar NPR feature on Nuriya Sephardic Music Festvial’s opening night headliner JSPACE interviews SMF producer, Erez Safar FORWARD SMF Diary CHANNEL 11 Morning Show with Kosha Dillz freestylin about SMF
and of course, check out videos & photos from the other 8 nights of the Sephardic Music Festival:
Jan 24: Shi 360 - 'Shalom Haters' (LP) - info Feb: Brody - 'Urban Anxiety' Feb: Kyle Rapps & Diwon - 'Tyrone Gosling' March: Shtar - 'Infinity' April: DeScribe - 'In The Red' Tba: Dov Rosenblatt - 'When You Lie Down and When You Rise' Tba: Tj Di Hitmaker - 'mixtape' Tba: Diwon - 'Try Stopping'
FEB 11: SHTAR @ MIKE'S PLACE (INFO) FEB 16: BRODY, Y-LOVE, DIWON & GUESTS @ AMPLYFi (INFO) FEB 18: Y-LOVE & DIWON @ LIMMUD LA (INFO) FEB 23: SHTAR @ MIKE'S PLACE (INFO) FEB 25: BRODY @ LIMMUD WINNIPEG (INFO) FEB 25: Y-LOVE & DIWON LIVE @ JACKSON HOLE MUSIC FESTIVAL (INFO) MARCH 1: SHTAR @ KIBUTZ TELALIM (INFO) April: SHEMSPEED ARTISTS PERFORM VOICES FOR DARFUR @ TBA (INFO) JULY 28: MATISYAHU @ Floyd Fest 2012 (INFO)
Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag and the hilarious sketch-based cultural send-up Portlandia (which just returned to TV on IFC), is the rare artist that can sincerely rock with the best of them while tenderly mocking many of the things that sometimes make contemporary culture so eye-rollingly ridiculous.
