STAB MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS BRUCE
Bruce Irons bringing his creativity in pyrotechnics to surfing
ROBERTS & LORD – WINDMILL
New music vid for Roberts & Lord (Rafter Roberts and Simon Lord). ‘Windmill’ is off of their upcoming release “Eponymous,” on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Clip by Matuse Family Member, Josh Hassin (http://joshhassin.com/).
Pipeline Video – Feb. 5th, 2011
An hour at Pipeline Feb. 5th 2011 from Ariel Willeford on Vimeo.
Matuse Family Members, Flynn Novak, Joel Tudor and Daniel Jones, nabbing some good ones out at Pipeline. So beautiful and dangerous.
BIG BOI’S VIDEO “BE STILL”
Daddy Fat Saxxx, AKA Big Boi, formerly of a little duo called OutKast, has a new single called “Be Still.” The jam features Janelle Monae looking fresh and fit in some standard top notch threads. Shot by G. Visuals, the video boasts a healthy array bongos and trumpets – as well as Big Boi’s personal cheerleaders. At the end of the day, this video has a little bit of everything and doesn’t exactly make sense. And that’s totally OK.
Cut Copy and Amor Fati
Greater than the sum of its parts.
Blink And You’ll Miss a Revolution (Toro Y Moi Remix) by cutcopymusic
The new Washed Out album is almost out and from the sound of the second pre-released track, it’s gonna be good. Check out “Amor Fati” and get swept away by the summer warmth.
Pat Millin – Short Surf Video
Matuse Family Member, Pat Millin, shredding around San Diego. We’ve had pretty consistent surf for the start of the summer which has kept most of us smiling. Looks like a dry spell here for a little bit. Here’s a short vid until we get our next swell.
COMMON: THE DREAMER, THE BELIEVER AND GHETTO DREAMS
Just weeks ago, Common and Nas released the first single off of Common’s up coming November album, “The Dreamer, The Believer”, called “Ghetto Dreams”. The album is scheduled to be G.O.O.D. Music’s exclusive holiday release just months after the release of the highly anticipated Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration effort, “Watch the Thrown”, which is tentatively set for an August 2nd release. Common has been working on his latest effort for the past 6 months to a year and hopes to silence his critics after the disappointing reviews he received on his latest album, “Universal Mind Control”, three years ago. People think that Common Sense has gone stale and is over the hill. However, the disapproval on his rap game isn’t entirely unwarranted, after all, the last time we have heard Common lay down serious work in the studio was before Obama was president.
Never the less, Common’s lack of production isn’t because he has lost a step, but rather it is because Hip-Hop lately hasn’t been his main hustle, it has turned into more of a side hustle. He is still as sharp as a machete and with the release of this track, he proves that he is still capable of putting out fire. He has been keeping himself busy as being more of a ghost writer, producer, advocate of G.O.O.D., and being more politically active. A lot of people forget how intelligent Lonnie Rashid Lynn truly is. Common has always had the poise and the demeanor to be a diplomat as well as being a heavy hitter in the game of rap. This is what partially made him so famous in the early to mid 90’s–his brutal honesty and his determination to spit the truth. He has always been one of the most politically conscious and socially aware rappers of his time, which is why he has remained so close to his Queensbridge counterpart, Nasir Jones. He and Nas with this release have vowed to take their listeners back to the 90’s, back to their golden days of Hip-Hop, and back to the type of content that made them famous. Common in interviews and in the studio has said that he wants the entire sound of the album to take his audience back to the “old school”. If you can’t tell from the deep bass, grainy sound, and the intermittent turntable scratches from No I.D. (who will handle the production responsibilities for the entire album), of the single, the entire sound is a throwback to the days of Coogi sweaters and Big Daddy Kane.
Common in the past three years has pursued his career as more of an actor, model, and business man and has been ridiculed by some as being soft or unmotivated in doing so. This being said, he has starred alongside Hollywood’s biggest actors and has been in blockbusters such as “Smokin’ Aces” with Jeremy Piven and Ryan Reynolds (2006), “American Gangster” with Denzel Washington (2007), “Street Kings” with Keanu Reaves (2008), “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie (2008), and “Date Night” with Steve Carell and Tina Fey (2010). He has also been heavily involved in working with PETA’s campaign “Think Before You Eat”, “Knowing Is Beautiful” to support HIV/AIDS, and LGBT organizations to eliminate gay and anti gay remarks in his lyrics. Also in the past couple of years he has dated stars such as Serena Williams, Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu–not a bad track record as far as relationships go. But with all of these achievements, people still question his hunger for what made him famous, Hip-Hop.
The long and the short of the matter is that haters will always hate and doubters will always try and bring you down. But Common is determined not to let the gossip or the negativity effect his production on his 9th studio album. It is evident from his track record that Common is successful in whatever he puts his mind to and long term, childhood friend No I.D. said that Common is eager to make this next album a classic. Similar to the way Jay-Z did with his release of “American Gangster”, the album will be a journey back through time. The cover “Ghetto Dreams” is Common and Nas on the set of a Fat Joe, New York City music video from ’95. As Nas said in an interview, he wants people to connect Chi-Town, Queensbridge, Langston Hughes, and “Ghetto Dreams” of turning fantasies into reality. It is hungry, it is gritty, it is strong, and it is powerful. Don’t sleep on it, don’t miss it. Common X Nas X No I.D. “Ghetto Dreams”.
No I.D. is currently working with J. Cole on his new album and taking some of the production responsibilities on Nas’s upcoming album. Below is a high def behind the scenes short film directed by Brian “B.Kyle” Atkins, on the making of this album as well as the inspirations the three artists had while making this single. The artwork and the single itself are also linked…enjoy
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Ky-Mani Marley at The Belly Up
Photos: AK via iPhone.
It’s summer time and that means warm weather and Reggae music in the air. I had the privilege of seeing Ky-Mani Marley last night at the Belly Up in San Diego. A direct descendent of the late great Bob Marley, Ky-Mani keeps his music roots and is continuing the musical tradition his father started so many years ago.
The evening started with J.A.M. Kwest, a local SD band that was a nice surprise. The highlight of their set was when they brought out a young Ukelele player who did a remake of a Bob Marley song with Jayme Alejandro Mejia singing along. An awesome interpretation.
Gramps Morgan followed up getting the place going as everyone was waiting for Ky-Mani. Gramps had great energy, an awesome voice and an interesting mix of songs that made me a fan of his live performance. His set was perfect to get the crowd ready for Ky-Mani’s entrance. The energy kept building as it got later and later.
Ky-Mani finally came on and the you could really feel his presence coming off the stage. You could tell something special was going down and when he starting singing you instantly heard Bob’s voice mixed in Ky-Mani’s style. I grew up kicking it on the beach listening to tons of Bob Marley. So when Ky-Mani started singing OG Bob Marley songs it sounded insane. When I closed my eyes I could imagine it was Bob singing right in front of me. The closest thing to the real deal. The crowd sang along to the Bob Marley classics and you could feel the band connect with the crowd. Needless to say there was a lot of dancing and cheering. If you get a chance to see Ky-Mani I highly recommend it. Especially if it’s in a smaller venue like the Belly Up. Below is an iPhone vid of No Woman No Cry from last night.
– AK
