No Doze/ New Music

Well, I've been listening to alot of older music lately. I can't explain exactly why this is. What is old? Well, mainly I've been listening to First wave Ska, Old School Hip Hop, Parliament and Led Zeppelin. I've been enjoying myself. But, alas, I have a responsibility bringing new projects and artists to you, my readers. Most of this music isn't incredibly new, but it's still got that new cd smell about it. Let's start with a group you should have heard of already. It's called Idle Warship and it's single is nothing like the other tracks I've heard from them. Looks like they want to go the way Bilal did with First Born Second and totally confuse both record companies and consumers. I'd normally frown at this, but since this song is about the Industry it could have been a little 'how's your father' from Talib Kweli and Res, the duo that comprises Idle Warship. I love some Res. Santogold wrote most of her first album How I do and much of it was produced by Esthero's production team. She knows how to keep good company. She is a talented singer and performer in her own right and being easy on the eyes doesn't hurt her appeal either. We all know who Talib Kweli is. The Brooklyn MC has been on his Janet Jackson- he's taken control of his career with the creation of his own label Blacksmith. What I hear is an explosive fusion music spanning from electronic to spoken word, Hip Hop and Soul. I'm curious to see where this goes. Remember, the single is nowhere near as interesting as other tracks, but I'll respect them by going ahead and releasing the single first.

Idle Warship- "Industry Diary"

The next group isn't new either, but The Black Keys have recently dropped their acclaimed album Attack and Release. I was a huge fan of Rubber Factory and other projects from this group, but this here is just incredibly fresh. Why? I don'tknow if it's because I've been bombarded with too much lo-fi folk music or too much clean yet hard driving, pop driven Rock lately but this here seems grimey. It coats your ears in wonderful soot as it eases into your countenance. It's that smooth, yes. Would I lie to you? Maybe if I was getting paid under the table, I would. A man's gotta eat. Thankfully, this isn't the case. I've got just a handful of loyal readers andI tell y'all the truth. Attack and Release has a down-home, basement blues sensibility about it without sounding like it was recorded in a closet. I guess having Dangermouse on as the producer doesn't hurt, right? I have yet to put my finger on how Dangermouse is able to create these compositions that at once hearken to a tangible past without sounding like either an homage or a facsimile, but he pulls it off, again. Don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

The Black Keys- "Lies"

The third and last National/International group of this No Doze Segment is the Kidz in the Hall. Yeah, this isn't about the comedy troupe. This is about the Chicago-based Hip Hop duo that seems to be dropping mixtapes every other hour on the hour. Not only have they dropped some of the more interesting mixtape projects of late like Naledge is Power, Detention and others that slip my mind but they've been getting their politic on, as I've noted in past posts (again, without Internet Explorer you can't view ATL Heat's archives. I have no idea why that is, and I'm tired of trying to fix it. When I move to wordpress in the summer, it'll be fixed). Well, looks like they've remixed their Obama support. They've added Talib Kweli and Under Ground King Bun B. Oh yes, those Obamaites have star power.

Kidz in the Hall ft Talib Kweli & Bun B - "Work to Do"

That quickly we are back in the A-town. I love talking about what we have going on in the city. I think I'll start with an R&B songtress that might have slipped off your radar but is back into the swing of things in a big way with a song produced by last week's No Doze segment producers, Battery 5. I'm talking about former TLC member, Chilli. Fresh off what can be regarded as her drama filled post-TLC career, the sister is back to work with a song already getting spins here in Atlanta clubs and on local Radio.

Chilli- "Dum, Dum, Dum"

Listen, folks...I am one man. I can't be everywhere. I can't do everything. I also work nights so I miss most shows, it seems. That is how small of a picture you are getting about ATL's music scene when you come to this site. This is part of the reason why I have so many links along the right-hand side of this blog. Peruse them. Click the links, find out what going on. Why? Because I didn't even know this act existed. HEED is a live band from Decatur doing it WELL. Front man Big HEED reminds me of B.o.B in that he has a street sensibility about his flows but his content, his subject matter is broad. He has an armory stocked with lyrical weapons of which he can choose coupled with the luxury of baddest drummer in Atlanta by his side, Alien 1. Alien 1 is a dynamo. If you've EVER had a chance to see him live, you cannot forget him. He'll jump over his drums, stand on them, flip sticks, walk around with his snare...anything the spirit moves him to do. If you haven't seen them live, you are losing in life. Seriously.

HEED-"LEGZ"


HEED live at A-town Day 2008 from FireBrand on Vimeo.

Last but not least is Kid Kaos aka Senor Kaos. If you don't know, you should know that Kaos is the man around Atlanta in the promotions game. He's also one half of Vintage Imperial. Vintage Imperial doubles for the marketing arm of Kaos's promotions business and the group that the ATL Underground is holding it's breath to hear from again. It's been a few years since Senor Kaos has blessed us with a single of his own. We've heard him on DJ Unknown's 200.6 FM Mixtape in 2006 and we got a taste on that Audubon Society Volume 4. But this jawn is all his and it's already getting spin on Radio 1 in London. So lets run a check right quick. Kid Kaos:

1.) 1/2 of Hip Hop duo Vintage Imperial
2.) Owner of Vintage Imperial Marketing and Promotions
3.) Runs The Kaos Effect Blog
4.) Promoter of Creative Control at Cenci with DJ Jamad, DJ Lord, Applejac & Steve Dinero.

Yeah, he's holding down the A. And yeah, I'm showing him extra love because we are both originally from Brooklyn. Talk about it. Show some love for the Kid Kaos. He's known for dropping classics automatically.

Kid Kaos/Senor Kaos-"Automatic Classic"
Kid Kaos/Senor Kaos- "Building Character"
Kid Kaos/Senor Kaos- "Girls Rock Too"

Back by popular demand: No Doze/ New Music

This week is pretty much all fusion-based acts. I don't really know why that is. It just turned out that way for some reason. I think we'll begin with 'newly' signed Star Trak artists Chester French. I'm not sure if Pharrell's cosign means much in terms of financial success in the music industry (see: Kenna) but it might mean that your music is dope (see: Kenna). I stumbled across the name of this band a few times in the past year or so and paid them no mind until very recently. As chance would have it, I was friended by someone who had this band in their top 8. This time curiosity got the better of me and I decided to finally check them out. I was shocked by what I heard. It was retro, yes, but not in the Mark Ronson/Dap King/Amy Winehouse/Sharon Jones kind of way that we all know and love. This wasn't Brit lo fi. This was...I'll let you decide for yourself:

Chester French- She Loves Everybody
There is a great deal of dance music floating around nowadays. Pitchfork, URB and other online and print publications like to take turns supporting who they think will be the next big act, the most cutting edge. It's actually become funny to watch them bicker back and forth about who has the most clout in this regard. Somewhere in the middle of this fracas I came across a link for The Black Ghosts. I go through these phases where I'm into up-tempo music for about two or three months before I retreat into an audio enema of sorts with First wave Jamaican Ska, Rock steady and Reggae. I'm in one of those up-tempo moods now. I'm avoiding telling you much about the Black Ghosts because there isn't much to say that an mp3 can't explain. It's good electronic music. Very dancebale. It's not house-like or trance-like. It's more in a techno vein. Yes. I am a black man and I listen to techno, on occasion. And what of it? Have a listen and decide for yourself:
The Black Ghosts - Any way you choose to give it

I was watching an XLR8R TV podcast interview when the name White Williams came up. Sandwiched between acts like The Velvet Underground (I won't lie to you, I don't know much about them. Shame on me) and former Velvet Underground member John Cale, I had to wonder who could be held in such high esteem. I decided to do some research, otherwise known as Google, to find out about this White Williams. It's good stuff. I could get really fancy here and wow you with whimsical writing skills using words like texture and phrases such as post-_______ but I won't. Why do all that when I have an mp3 handy? He covered I want candy. HEY! That rhymed!
White Williams - I want Candy

And now we are back on familiar territory,friends. We are back in the A-town. I learned about Random Rabbit after I lost an e-argument on a message board I frequent. These hooligans were trying to tell me that there isn't any Electronic music scene in Atlanta. Angered, I began to reel off all 2 of the acts I knew. I was embarrassed, of course. Here I am trying to rep for my city and I don't even know any of the acts. Here's what I do know: I know the Electronic scene, the Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, House, Soul and Drum & Bass scenes are, in fact, strong. I just don't know the names of many of these acts. :o( So I again turned to my always eager research partner Google to look around for local performers when "BAM" © Emeril, I found Random Rabbit. Since then I've been listening to their myspace page at least once a day. I know they have a new release out but most of the music I've heard from them is from 2006.

Random Rabbit - Gasping for air

Sean Falyon. He's been making a name for himself since arriving in ATL from Philly. I can't go anywhere without seeing the brother so I have no idea how he's able to do all that he does. The man makes music, has a clothing line is touring with Bone Crusher... I'm exhausted just telling y'all what he's been up to. He's also dropped what I hear is a very dope album. I've only heard a few cuts, but from what I've heard it's worth talking about. Let Bonecrusher tell it since Sean is part of that VainGlorious camp:




Last, but not least, is Judi Chicago. For years I've heard this name around Atlanta and had no idea who this woman was. Turns out Judi Chicago is not a woman. Yeah. Who knew, right? Judi Chicago is band that has shows that are...lol. How can I put this? This is a family program, right? They are eccentric. The music is just as colorful as their performances and it's a gumbo of electonicfuckadelicdiscotomfoolery. I can't explain it. Why are you forcing me to? Tell me what you think:


Judi Chicago - Mad Ape

Friday's = No Doze/ New Music

Okay...we're going to kick this off with Computer Jay this cat lays his head in L.A. and isn't brand new per se. Wait. Did I just rhyme that? Anyway...he's been around the block as a keyboardist for the Pharcyde. Y'all have heard of the Pharcyde, right? Well, this aint no Pharcyde sounding shit. It's...computerish. Is that a word? Electronically based music that sounds damn near ambient. I'll let y'all decide on what you think of it.

Computer Jay - "Maintainn"
Mackintosh Braun. Interesting name. Interesting music. Hailing out of Portland, Oregon they remind me alot of The Postal Service. In fact (as indicated by my last.fm page) after giving their tracks a few more listens I was drawn to give The Postal Service a few more spins for a on the fly comparison. The heavier vocal presence distinguishes them, but the feel of the music is somewhat similar. In either case, I love it.

Mackintosh Braun- "The Sound"

How I came about this last non-local artist is weird. I was going to talk about Animal Collective, but then I remembered I talked about them last month and it also occured to me that they aren't that new at all. So here we have Blackbird. I actually ran across his page on myspace totally by chance. It was the 3 degrees of myspace separation thing. Weird. Then I played the music on his player. Weird. You'll just have to make your own mind up about Blackbird because I still haven't. This beat is banging, tho.

Blackbird- "Coke and Alcohol"
It's alot of interesting music going on in Atlanta right now. Blame Game is part of that. They've been doing their thing for a minute , but I imagine for alot of y'all who aren't from Atlanta that you've never heard of them- unless you live in Brooklyn, NYC where the group has relocated to for recording. They do an intersting fusion of Rock. It's hard to explain, so I won't try.

Blame Game - "Slidin Highway"

It's sumin about Gorilla Zoe. It's certainly not the lyrics. Must be the beats then, right? Well it's PARTLY about the beats. When you talk about party music, you talk about a feel. I'm not going to pretend like Gorilla Zoe is a world beater lyrically. He certainly doesn't come across as one on the tracks I've heard him on. Does he have his moments? Yes, but they are few and far between. What I DO like about this brother is his voice, style, and mic presence. That's something you can't teach. There are some lyrical MC's out there that are boring. You won't find that with Zoe. This is quality party music. Party music. You won't find backpackers bumping this in their headphones. But I promise you that hood clubs and hipsters alike will be/are dropping it like it's hot to his first single. Tell me I'm lying...

Gorilla Zoe- "Hood Niggaz"
I know, I know. Isn't this neo soul thing dead? Well, thankfully it isn't, yet. Rising out of a tradition of India.Arie, Donnie, Alegebra, and many others Rahbi is here to stay. And it's a good thing because I love some soul. Rahbi is a cat that I noticed last year. Couldn't help it, really. For some reason fliers announcing his EP were all over the Mass Media Arts building and Library at Clark Atlanta University. Everywhere I went I ran into one. At that time I was up to my ears in soul and didn't really pay him any mind. The man has some good music, family. Vocally he reminds me of Rashaan Patterson except he doesn't go big like Rashaan Does. He's making moves, tho. Pay attention to this brother. ATL's soul scene never has been a joke. But don't let me convince you. Judge for yourself...

Rahbi- ""Sistas and Brothers"