Kiah Victoria - "Thinkin Bout You" Music Video (Cover)

image via artist's website

The last two weeks have been overloaded with talk of Frank Ocean. Between his "announcement" and the release of 'Channel Orange' there was more than enough ammo for fanboys/girls and haters alike. During that span, and given the amount of music I search for and listen to daily, I've heard TONS of covers of the ubiquitous "Thinkin Bout You." Let alone that this song released almost a year ago.

Many of the covers are very good. None of them were as good as this. Not Yuna. Not Karina Pasian. Not Braelyn. Not Tori Kelly. Not n'an nudda soul. NONE. Again, many are really good and most of them are over 500k views on YouTube. What Kiah Victoria has done is on another level, however. She has taken ownership of this song. Move over Frank Ocean. You wrote a great song for Kiah.

This is what inspires me to do what I do. I aspire daily to have this level of mastery here on this blog.

 The entire production is other worldly. The restructuring, composition, harmonies, timing ... all impeccable. I'm entirely entranced by this version and instead of heading to bed for the night, I'm looping this song and dreaming of another time and place. It's 1:30 am at the time of this writing and I should be in REM sleep already!

Kiah Victoria's ability to strip this song down and build it up again into this stunning arrangement is nothing short of amazing. She did something very different while maintaining the quiet, melody and simplicity of the original song. Sink your teeth into this and fall in love with Kiah. I know I did....

www.kiahvictoria.com

Kiah on Twitter

Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival 2012

"Busta Rhymes up in the place. True indeed."

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival was thrown into overdrive last year. The show was already a large success but when headliner Q-Tip brought Kanye West to the stage, it was immediately thrown into a new level of popularity. For 2012, the venue was moved to the more open and BEAUTIFUL Pier 3 and the masses came out for a hot day of music, dance, art and food.

If you happened to catch last years Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival main day, then you also witnessed Busta Rhymes' surprise performance during Q-Tip's set. You will also know that while Busta was as dope as ever, he was not in the best shape. He was winded and not as energetic as we all know he can be. He performed his verse from "Look At Me Now" and couldn't keep up with himself. This year as headliner himself, Busta showed why none of these new acts can hold a candle to him.

Busta was in incredible shape this time, well rehearsed and ON FIRE! He calmly walked out to front and center stage and only asked one question: "DON'T THIS $#!T MAKE MY PEOPLE WANNA....!?" Mayhem ensued and the mood was set. The show was supercharged energy from start to the event planners and NYPD shutting his mic off.

He went through hit, after hit, after hit in snippets and the crowd was crammed on top of each other trying to be as close as possible to the energy on stage. It was amazing to watch! If I wasn't so busy trying to capture photos and video for y'all, I would have cut a damn fool out there. If Busta's energy alone was not enough, he brought special guests, Smif N Wessun, Buckshot, J-Doe, Reek Da Villain, Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, the legendary Slick Rick (which was epic) and believe it or not....

After almost 19 years of doing his own thing.... Leaders of the New School!


While my video work sucks in unbelievable ways, I captured the moment for those of you who did not or could not make it. Brooklyn Bodega and the BK Hip-Hop Festival facilitated one of the greatest moments in Hip-Hop history! I'm so thankful that I was there to witness it first hand.

Check the video below (start with your volume low) and a few select photos from the day. Can't wait to see how this all plays out next year!

Acrylic Painting of Biggie on Canvas 

Artist @DanielleBKNYC live painting Jay-Z 

General Steele (l.) and friends. 

Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star interview with XXL. 

Buckshot  

Leaders of the New School. Charlie Brown (lc.), Dinco D (r.) 

BONUS: The next generation.

Koontown Killing Kaper OST

This blog post is going to assume that you saw the film 'Bamboozled' by Spike Lee. I'm going to operate on that assumption for the entirety of this post so as not to derail the main train of thought. If you haven't seen the film .... shame on you.

DC author Bill Campbell wrote a book called 'Koontown Killing Kaper'. I haven't finished the book yet, so we'll get into that at a later time. I've actually been talking to Mr. Campbell for a couple of weeks now and we'll have a formal sit down and discussion for your viewing pleasure in the near future. For now, we're going to dig into the 'Koontown Killing Kaper' official soundtrack.

Campbell, often "regusted" with the images and sounds of Black popular culture reinforcing negative stereotypes, decided to satirize the themes. The story of Genevieve Noire is told and how she saves Koontown from vampire crack babies who are killing all the town's rappers.

Yes, you read that properly.

The soundtrack is a wonderfully irreverent collection of brief songs supporting the satire. With titles like, "Bulletproof Prius Music" and "Crackbaby Beats" it's easy to get the gist of how the music compliments the book. I was particularly impressed with the depth of the concepts. The classic soul samples allude to Blaxploitation films of yesteryear and the artists offer up verses that not only mock popular Rap artists but also challenge them lyrically. From the totally absurd "The Nigga Song" to the weighted "The Ballad of Night and Grey" the team manages to balance the serious with the ridiculous magically. 'Koontown Killing Kaper' truly is a brilliant project. 

Check the stream below and SUPPORT this very important project! I'll tell you like Bill Campbell told me; "If you ain't Koonin', you ain't tryin'!"

Villa - "Journey" Music Video

I was sitting on the couch eating my dinner. BBQ chicken breasts, baked beans and salad for anyone that cares. Simultaneously, I was flipping through facebook on my cell phone. I clicked on a video that I've been hearing buzz about all day and I damn near spit my food out on the floor.

What Villa is doing as an artist at this stage of his career scares me a little bit. If he's going to get significantly better than this, that's going to be insane to witness. On the flip side of the same coin, could he be peaking too early? Only time will tell, but I think there is more and I can't wait to hear it!

"Journey" is Villa's first visual release preceding the much awaited 'Pack Light; Travel Far' album. The album is a continuation of the brilliant 'Inertia' release from late last year. I love the way Villa ties in (e)motion in many of his projects. Now beyond the heartbreak of 'Inertia', he takes us to the next stage of his development as an artist. This transformed Villa is more extrovert than before. He's taken that signature ATL attitude and paired that with his own airy sound to create some ish that makes me feel like I'm the flyest dude in the room when I'm listening.

Look for 'Pack Light; Travel Far' on July 16th. You already know where to come and get it! Dig into this video until then...

Soope - "Champ" Music Video

Azad Watch company has put their all into promoting their "Golden Boy" Soope. This latest release "Champ" is the perfect fit to their brand image as it's no secret that the company has a long history in supporting the sweet science of pugilism.


Soope has a full on sparring session with the hypnotic rhythm as he pays homage to the legends of the sport from past to present. Promo track or not, it's dope. Obviously, it's easy to hear this song as ring walk music. Who will be first to pick it up? Calling Money Mayweather...