FRIDAY, 1/27 -> Redman, Brik A Brak, Whygee, Gypdahip, DJ Low Key & DJ Jeff Cox. Free show, free drinks, simple as that. Thanks the sponsors and SIA madness. I’m guessing it’d be a good show to get to early. “The Hall” /// 3545 Larimer St /// Doors at 9 /// 21+.
Jenesis Magazine is, in my humble opinion, one of the only hip hop publications that has any semblance of quality control or actual sense of what’s good in 2012. They’ve been consistently covering what’s new and dope years before the XXLs of the world, so if you’re not already familiar, head on over to JenesisMagazine.com to learn more about what your friends with be excited about in 2013…LOL.
But before you do, take a quick minute to download The Movement Volume 3, the latest in their series of annual mixtapes. It’s a mix of new artists they featured in the last year or so and follows in the footsteps the first two volumes, mixed by Pittsburgh legends DJ Nugget and the homie DJ Bonics (Wiz Khalifa’s DJ, among other accolades). So anyways, hit the links below to get a taste of the Movement, you’ll be glad you did. Last but not least, shouts to Jenesis Magazine for supporting the new music I think is great, for featuring me in their DJ issue last year and for reaching out to me to mix their annual tape.
.:Jenesis Magazine – The Movement Volume 3 (mixed by DJ Low Key) (tracked version):.
1. DJ Low Key & Thurzday “The Movement Volume 3 Intro”
2. Ro Blvd feat. Thurzday “Great Going Good”
3. H.O.P.E. “Killer”
4. Tanya Morgan “Whatever That’s Mine”
5. Dom Kennedy “When I Come Around”
6. TiRon & Ayomari “M.F.G.”
7. Skeme “Krazy (Ape Shit)”
8. Nick Pratt “Comin Dyne Clean”
9. Devin Miles “Open Season”
10. J. Fin “I Want More”
11. Boaz “Black Ice”
12. Aleon Craft “Speed Of Sound”
13. OverDoz “December”
14. Young Scolla feat. Mook Grand “Headphones”
15. J. Ferb “Carpe Diem”
16. The Come-UP “Voice Of The City”
17. Varsity Squad feat. One Be Lo “U Minor, We Major”
18. King Mez x Khrysis feat. Thee Tom Hardy & Sean Boog “From The South”
19. The 58’s “58s”
20. Fortilive (!llmind + Mushmouf + Slo-Mo) “Ain’t No Place”
FRIDAY, 1/20 -> First off, thank you Denver. The first Solution Showcase was packed full of great people and great energy. All the performers left the party raving about how cool the crowd was, saying everything from “that was the best show I’ve ever been a part of” to “you guys have a great thing going on in Denver”; so thank y’all for being so damn cool. Everybody I talked to in the crowd showed love right back, excited to see some of their favorites rock and learn about other dope new music. Just about everything went according to plan, better than expected even; and on that note, it’s my pleasure to announce the lineup for The Solution Showcase #2 at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St).
He’s one of LA’s favorite DJs, the founder of Boombox, one of the best hip hop parties in the country, was a key part of Basementalism’s national college radio dominance in the mid 2000s and still somehow manages to hate 99% of the music that comes out, your favorite hater Inka One.
In my humble opinion, their new album Brunch is one of the best #COHipHop albums of all time, they’ve rocked with a who’s who of hip hop over the last few years and made fans worldwide, you know them as The Foodchain.
Our featured producer is a member of Prime Element and En Stereo, was named by best producer in Denver by Westword in ’09, and has produced songs for KRS-One, Dilated Peoples, Fashawn, Killah Priest & a whole lot of other notable artists, the one and only Es Nine.
The Solution DJs aka me, Sounds Supreme and Lazy Eyez will also be rocking throughout the night, bringing you the very best in hip hop & more. And in keeping with the Brunch theme, we’ll have complimentary silver dollar pancakes from 9-10pm to sweeten the deal, so make sure you come out early. Just like last time, we’ll be posting music & videos from everybody performing over the next few weeks to get y’all familiar, so don’t worry if you’re not up on the whole lineup, just know that me, Sounds & Lazy aren’t gonna steer you wrong (a big focus of this night is about introducing Denver to great new music, that is what DJs are supposed to do, right?). Stay tuned to @DenverSolution for more info, a chance to win free tickets & another contest. 21+ /// $5 Pre-sales available at Family Affair downtown (plus get 15% your entire purchase when you buy a Solution Showcase ticket) /// $8 at the door. – DJ Low Key
In TiRon’s words: Before we drop DJ Dahi’s instrumental project “Toys” we grabbed all of the work he’s done with other artists and compiled a mixtape called “Show & Tell” mixed by DJ Low Key. He’s done some of the most important records in my catalogue and we just want you to understand who Dahi was and how incredible he is.
.:DJ Dahi – Show & Tell (mixed by DJ Low Key) (tracked):.
.:Download DJ Dahi – Show & Tell (mixed by DJ Low Key) (untracked/podcast style version):.
1. Dahi Beats “33rd Session”
2. Pac Div “Posted”
3. Ayomari feat. TiRon “Happy Thoughts”
4. Tiron & Ayomari “Jack Kerouac”
5. Dahi Beats “82nd Session”
6. Iggy Azalea feat. Problem “Drop That”
7. Pac Div “Number 1”
8. Dahi Beats “12th Beat”
9. TiRon & Ayomari “No Wonder”
10. TiRon “For Your Smile”
11. Pac Div feat. Colin Munroe “Underdogs II”
12. Dahi Beats “34th Session”
13. Pac Div “SuperNegroes”
14. TiRon “Take A Bow”
15. TiRon, Ayomari & Tunji “Quitter”
And make sure you check out DJ Dahi’s dope new beat tape, Toys, over at TheCafeteriaLine.Bandcamp.com.
SATURDAY, 12/31 -> UPDATE: Both floors are sold out. Should be a crazy party, I can’t wait!!! Catch me spinning on the 38th floor from 8-11pm & the 37th floor (VIP) from 11-1:30am.
From the event listing: This year Dream Entertainment Group is excited to present downtown’s most exquisite New Years Eve experience. The Denver New Years Eve Penthouse Party in the Pinnacle Club (the entire 37th and 38th Floors) of the luxurious Grand Hyatt Hotel (1750 Welton St.). 700 of Denver’s socialites will unite to bring 2012 in with class and style at downtown’s most exclusive New Years Eve event. The 10,000 sq. ft. Penthouse on the 37th and 38th floors features a breathtaking 360 degree view of Denver and surrounding areas from a bird’s eye view. Guests will enjoy a unique front seat view of the 16th street mall fireworks shows at 9pm and 12am. The Denver NYE Penthouse Party at the Denver Grand Hyatt downtown is the best choice this New Years Eve because of the unique location, excellent entertainment and magnificent view of the fireworks at 16th St. Mall and Coors Field. In addition, guests will not have to wait in long lines and will not be stuffed in overcrowded ballrooms with thousands of others. 700 exclusive guests will comfortably bring in 2012 in supreme style. More info here.
Our good friends over at Family Affair are just as excited about The Solution Showcase #1 as we are, and to prove it, they’re giving anyone who buys a pre-sale ticket for the party 15% off their entire purchase. That’s right, buy a $5 pre-sale and chances are you’ll save more than that on your purchase. If you’re not familiar, head over to FamilyAffairDenver.com to learn about the best clothing boutique in Denver and get your pre-sales for The Solution Showcase #1 on 12/15.
*Pre-sale tickets only available at the downtown Family Affair location (2048 Larimer St)
FRIDAY, 12/2 in Longmont from 7-9:30PM -> From the museum’s page:
Love it or hate it, graffiti never fails to catch the eye. Graffiti artists in recent years have turned their attention from walls and underpasses to more traditional gallery and museum formats. This exhibition features prominent Los Angeles graffiti artists such as REVOK, PUSH, SABER, RETNA and CRAOLA. Additional work by Colorado graffiti artists including GAMMA, JOLT, OUIJA, HOMES, DREAD, JHER, BEAST, and EMIT appears inside and even dripping down the outside of the Longmont Museum.
When we say graffiti, you may think this.
But there’s more to it. This work was also created by a “writer,” as many graffiti artists prefer to be called.
Some writers have broken the 2-D barrier to create works like these.
Street Cred Exhibition Opening Reception w/DJ Low Key
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 | 7 to 9 pm
ADMISSION: $5, Free for Friends Members
(Catch TiRon & Ayomari when they hit Denver on 12/15 for the Solution Showcase #1)
It was a star-studded event in Los Angeles’s premiere venue, The Music Box, where the sold-out crowd gathered to watch their beloved hometown hero, Kendrick Lamar. Big names like A$AP Rocky, Krondon, and Busta Rhymes were in the house as either entourage or performers and even the mythical Dr. Dre had a section of the balcony for himself to enjoy the festivities without being hounded by the peons. Featured on the bill, Left-Coast duo TiRon & Ayomari caught everyone by surprise as they preached about relationships and love’s many complexities, while eloquently doing live renditions of their highly acclaimed project, A Sucker for Pumps.
After the show, the two rappers sat down with The Crew’s own Raj to enlighten their audience as to how they were brave enough to dedicate an album to love, where they want the project to take them, and of course to serve as alarm clocks to wake up everyone else who’s been comfortably snoozing on them.
Graphic By TaliaTSS: What would say inspired you guys to make A Sucker for Pumps?
TiRon: Really, we had done all these relationship songs like “Ms. Right” and “Sydney” and so many relationship-esque records that were kind of different anyways, so we thought “what if we did like a whole album on it?” Because there’s been a trend in Hip-Hop. There’s been a lot of bullshit like ‘I’ll buy you the moon and the stars and all this other stuff’ and then there was ‘fuck bitches, get money.’” Anger isn’t necessarily that cut and dry and love ain’t that cut and dry. Basically we wanted to make an album with all of that gray in between.
(Check out the rest of the interview here)
Shouts to John Chapman IV for featuring me on his new lifestyle/fashion video blog, Conceited Ego…In this episode, he focuses on creating versatile outfits (not quite my usual “fancy t-shirt and hoody” steez)…Check it out for more on how to make the most of your gear and to see what I’d look like if I had a stylist…LOL…
Drop what you’re doing and head over to TanyaMorgan.bandcamp.com to download Tanya Morgan’s new EP, You & What Army?. It’s free (with an option to cop a dope, limited edition tee), ridiculously good (I’m biased, so check for yourself) and drops just in time for you to listen and be thankful that dudes like this are making music. If that wasn’t enough goodness, your favorite DJ contributed cuts on “We Rollin” and an Aeon beats listening session at my house over the Summer led to “Rock The Bells”. Once you download and enjoy the songs, check out these great liner notes, courtesy of Von Pea from over at VonPea.com to make it an even better listening experience:
Disclaimer: this is long.
You & What Army. The latest attempt at proving we’re supposed to be making music. Not so much to you, but to myself. I wont speak for Don, but we’ve absolutely had talks about proving ourselves right as opposed to proving anyone wrong. As I sit here watching this hip hop video show and wondering why there’s no actual hip hop in this current video that’s playing (not in a “this aint real hip hop!” way, the song is literally not a hip hop song at all. its not a rap beat, and there’s no rapping), I cant help but feel like we all look like Disco Stu from The Simpsons. Its as if we’re holding onto something that doesn’t exist…but it does.
Most of the guys we all consider great are still doing it. Most of us relatively new guys still care about being skilled and saying something…or at least evoking good emotions through music.
All we need is you. For more than one listen.
In the past, Tanya Morgan has been about the act. Every album was like a play for us. The concepts and themes and characters were all about creativity. Making actual cassettes to go with the concept of Moonlighting, city planning-accurate maps to go with Brooklynati, or how Don Cusack was supposed to come in a DVD case and PGHI in a mini 3 ring binder. All that is fun, but It all started to feel like a cute lil high school play to me. To keep that metaphor, I feel like we have to turn this play into a good ass movie in theaters everywhere. Or at least get it on IFC. This EP is meant to serve as a reintroduction. We have always aimed to bring fun and our perspective on life, as well as what we go through as artists. I personally feel like there’s a lot left to say and do that we haven’t even scratched the surface on.
Intro
If you have Brooklynati you know that it starts with “On Our Way” and formally ends with “Just Arrived”. Ilyas Jr. also asks “are we there yet?” throughout the album. I had another one of those “it would be dope if!….naaah” ideas and as usual Don says “lets try that!”. Just in case its not clear to everyone that hears it: that is in fact Ilyas, the former 3rd member of TM, leaving the group…ON the album intro.
So I get to talking with Il about this intro and how it could be done in a way that metaphorically answers all questions. He was with the idea and further went on to explain how he was going to do an intro from his perspective on his next LP…what happens/where he goes when he gets out of the car. Whats cool about that is we did the same “skit from 2 perspectives on 2 different albums” thing on the Sunlighting mixtape and Moonlighting. He’s always TM regardless. We all are. Our friends Filthy and Aeon said it was sad. Evoked emotion FTW.
Do It Tanya
For people with short attention spans that don’t really want to give us a fair listen anyway, they might just turn the album off after thislikethemarkassbustasthattheyare. I call this the Tommy Boy jam because while it reminds me of “Me Myself & I” (De La, not Beyonce), its really inspired by “Doowutchalike” and “Kiss You Back” by Digital Underground. I think the latter is amazing to this day…both songs sound more like ‘hanging out over music’ than actual songs and that’s what we were aiming for with this one. I’ll explain why it comes back on at the end of the album later.
