New York, NY (August 19, 2008) – These two cats have a good amount of underground buzz right now, and they both offer some thoughts on hip-hop, kicks and everything else. Is there anything else?

New York, NY (August 19, 2008) - KnowTheMusicBiz.com caught up with TuneCore SVP Peter Wells and he offered some advice about making the industry work for you. Read the entire article here:

TIP #3: Define Your Own Success

Before looking into any kind of marketing and promotion, ask yourself:

* Who do you want to hear your music and why?
* How do you want them to listen?
* Do you want them to buy your music, and when, and how?
* Where do money, fame and your own musical career fit in?

Notice the first question-why should you ask why? Your music is good, right, isn’t that reason enough? And why should it matter how they listen? Isn’t it understood you want them to buy your music? What does “buy your music” really mean? These questions all highlight a trap, and if you don’t ask why, right at the beginning, you’re going to fall into it and exhaust yourself pursuing the wrong marketing and promotion.

Everyone markets and promotes for a different reason. A toothpaste manufacturer is wholly interested in making money (or perhaps branding), and selling toothpaste is how they plan to accumulate it. They promote their toothpaste to encourage people to buy it, they market their toothpaste to drive desire, to build demand. Music isn’t always so commercial: in fact, most people feel contemptuous towards music produced solely to sell or brand. Many consider it crass consumerism, or devoid of art. When you bring in beauty and art and even politics (if you don’t think music can have political aims, listen harder), the goals of creation are often very much at odds with making money.

So get a good idea of what you want your music to do. You wouldn’t be reading this article if you didn’t want it to get into at least a few hands, and presumably you’re not averse to making money when they get it. So now you have to ask “who, when and how,” and each of these has a value.

New York, NY (August 19, 2008) – Tanya Morgan takes their turn on the popular Ruby Hornet series Freestyle In The Park. Check the spits off of “The Bridge.”

New York, NY (August 19, 2008) - Part of Sha Money XL’s producer conglomerate, Money Management Group, Jake One has produced for a certifiable Who’s Who of both mainstream and underground artists: Nas, 50 Cent, De La Soul, Planet Asia, etc. The Seattle-based beatsmith is readying his debut album and the track list is pretty stacked with guests. Props to Shake for the heads up. Peep:

1. I’m Coming f. Black Milk & Nottz
2. Gangsta Boy f. MOP
3. The Truth f. Freeway & Brother Ali
4. Turn it Down
5. God Like f. D Black
6. Bless the Child f. Little Brother
7. Oh Really f. POS & Slug
8. Hi
9. Trap Door f. MF Doom
10. Dead Wrong f. Young Buck
11. Kissin the Curb f. Bishop & Busta
12. How We Ride f. Freeway
13. White Van f. Alchemist, Evidence & Prodigy
14. Big Homie Style f. J Pinder, GMK & Spaceman
15. Scared f. Blueprint
16. Great Sound
17. Get Er Done f. MF Doom
18. Feeling My Shit f. Casual
19. Soil Raps f. Keak da Sneak
20. Glow f. Elzhi & Royce da 5′9
21. RIP
22. Home f. Vitamin D, C Note, Maneak B and Ish

New York, NY (August 19, 2008) - Pitchfork.tv takes an in-depth look at the evolution and relevance of Public Enemy through their classic album, “It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”

Part 1: In this three-part series, Chuck D, The Bomb Squad, and others bum-rush memory lane to give us an in-depth look at the building blocks that shaped Public Enemy’s classic LP, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”

Part 2: In installment #2, PE and the Bomb Squad look back at the building blocks used to construct their classic LP, exploring how their intimate knowledge of records shaped not only this record, but also hip-hop at large.

Part 3: With the final installment of our three-part series exploring It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, we survey the enduring contributions of the quintessential Public Enemy record.

New York, NY (August 19, 2008) – I’m a fan of creativity. Always have been, always will be. The problem is, there always seems to be a fine line between creativity and madness. And nothing embodies that principle more than Free Jazz.

I took a History of Jazz course at my college (Florida Southern, shout out to swimming in November with blonde chicks), and if you’ve ever listened to Jazz, you know there are all kinds… the danceable, 1940’s swing shit that I couldn’t do with a gun to my head, the crazy, up-tempo, holy-shit-did-you-hear-that-solo at 180bpm where the drummer looks like he’s got two sticks in each hand cuz he’s movin so fast, the Kenny G/CD 101.9 smooth garbage that used to lull me to sleep driving home with my dad as a kid after Yankees games… and of course, the aforementioned Free Jazz, which, to be blunt, sounds like a bunch of drunken 8th graders getting together in their band room after hours and playing whatever the fuck they want, possibly in key, usually not, recording it, and calling it a song.

The point is, there’s creativity I can get down with, and the rest is often so inaccessible that it never achieves what perhaps it’s intended purpose is.  It’s a struggle all artists fight against.  But there are some exceptions…

Cerebral Knievel Sha Stimuli is madness, but he doesn’t fall into that inaccessible category. In fact, he’s in the complete opposite stratosphere. It’s pretty impressive.  I’d heard some of duke’s music before, but to be in his presence and hear the delivery of it live, you get the sense there’s something extra to the kid’s spits. Charisma. Personality. SOMETHING. Indeed, he’s a veteran in the game and been exposed to a lot (chillin with Biggie in the studio – WHAT!), he’s had numerous brushes with mainstream greatness (ahem, the Jay-Z “fiasco,” as he labeled it), he’s honed his artistic craft (a gentleman and a scholar)… but to approach music with such a creative drive and pull it off so AUTHENTICALLY is tough. In the same way I mentioned last week that Hasaan’s greatest ability was to reveal conviction in his words, Stimuli channels the artist’s inner-most task of creation and flips it so well, you actually FEEL enlightened when you listen to his music. Perhaps it’s because he’s so… free… that the madness, then, BECOMES accessible? Funny how that works.

Sha took some time out from recording his seventh (yes, 7th) mixtape this year to kick it with us up in the SRC offices and downstairs at Columbus Circle for a segment of Loud.com Favorites. Just watch… dude is on his hip-hop shit…

Part 1 – Sha kicked it with us up by Columbus Circle and talked about hosting, acting, bein in the studio with Biggie as a little kid and the fall-out with Jay-Z and Def Jam. Stimuli!

Part 2 – Amidst dog fights and the smell of hot dogs, Sha goes in with three of his favorites (ignoring my request for that “Back of The Bus” joint), one from the Stevie mixtape, a brand new gem no one’s heard yet, and the fatal blow, the monstrous, “Look at You, Look At Me.”

New York, NY (August 12, 2008) – As the contest has moved forward and evolved, it’s great to see our members aren’t just armchair producers and emcees. Our community is alive with people actively on their grind, moving units, networking at shows and conferences, in the studio, out in the street and above all, turning out good music. A.S.A.P., our Round 2 Producer winner, is no exception.

Working in-house for Studio 7303 in Houston, A.S.A.P. is a rapper’s producer. He’s always looking to make the emcee sound as best as possible, creating a familiar sonic landscape for the artist, be it the crushing, candy-paint sound Houston is known for or the original New York boom-bap he grew up on. Fresh off a trip to the Ozone Awards, A.S.A.P. chopped it up with us about his networking style, discerning truth in entertainment and the shady side of the industry.

Loud.com: What’s the good word, ASAP?

Chillin man, lookin for a disk right now. ‘Bout to ride to the store.

Loud.com: How were the Ozone Awards? Were you up for anything or just promoting?

Wasn’t up for anything, just… basically, two things, like, I work with these folks out here, Prime Time Click, they did a song called “Halle Berry,” two of them guys have it out (SupaSTAAR & Dorrough). I produced most of the songs on the album that the song came off of. So we were out doin there pluggin, performed it. It’s at #87 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Charts right now.

I also spent a little bit attending the seminars; I’m always tryin to network with people, but I looked at it as somethin different this year. I just be out all the time, I like seein people, bein seen, talking to people, all that, so I was there more or less just to go.

Loud.com: I understand there was some drama out there this year…

I ain’t really see anything with my own eyes go down, but yeah, it’s been confirmed that DJ Vlad got beat up by Rick Ross’ entourage cuz he asked about the correctional officer shit, and Mike Jones got punched in the mouth.

Loud.com: Word, probably better off not being around it. So, that Track 002 on your page is dope. Was that made for anyone in particular?

Actually, I had made that for Juelz. When I make tracks, I don’t just start chopping up a beat. I decided in my brain what kind of track I want to make and who to make it for. So if someone says, ‘Yo, I need you to make a track for Yung Joc,’ I’ma make a track that I think he will like and that he’d sound good on.

Loud.com: Your sound is synthy but it’s also a bit soulful. It’s atmospheric but it has that very Houston-oriented sound, too. Who would you list as influences? Do you ever get compared to anyone?

Influences, I listen to music as a whole. If we’re talking about producers, my influences are people like Alchemist, because before I started creating original music, I was a sample-heavy person. I liked orchestrated music, instrumental music. But people as far as influenced my sound, every rapper as a whole that I enjoy. I never really got a comparison thing, I don’t jock other people’s styles, but I mean, people will compare you to other people all the time. Drum patterns or whatever. People usually have given me credibility on my own sound, though. I don’t use traditional keyboards like the Phantom or Triton, I use a lot of modules and VST’s. In 2008, I go more software based.

Loud.com: What’s the difference between the New York and Houston hip-hop scene?

In Houston, no disrespect, like, I hold it down, you know what I mean, but it’s really a controlled market out here. We hear national songs and all that, singles. But you’re not gonna hear anybody but Houston rappers otherwise. Rap-A-lot owns radio out here. It’s a great place to live and to club. But there’s no versatility out here at all. New York is way different.

Loud.com: You’ve gotten some placements for Dipset, Buck, Plies… nothing on albums though, what’s the story there?

My whole thing is, when I network out with people and meet new people or I go to someone directly to talk to them about making money, I just meet the right people. I’ma be arrogant when I say it, but I haven’t met them through doing music projects. I meet them on a real level first. Just because you’re a hot rapper, doesn’t mean I want to work with you. It doesn’t mean I’m not gonna charge you for tracks. It comes down to who you are as a person.

As far as making these placements, I meet hundreds of people, I’m in studios all over the place. It can go either way, them coming at me like they could get it to them, or whatever. I’m an in-house producer for Studio 7303 for Ronnie Bookman, there’s stars in there every week. I don’t have management, I don’t have anyone pushing my beats; I work with real people in real environments. I don’t beg anything from anyone. So those placements… they just happened like that.

To be honest, I don’t know how other people do it. I don’t have management, so I can’t mix that way. I‘m losin money if I don’t meet them face-to-face. To me, if I’m not meeting people, I’m not working.

Loud.com: Are you a full-time producer, like it’s your only 9-5?

I mean, to be honest with you it is, but I don’t consider it a full-time job. I love to do it, I love to work with people, but I can’t pay my medical bills with this. I still have a day job, but music is what I want to do. I work at an electronics store. I know how to make beats and so I know how to mess with computers. I’ve been makin beats for 2 years, but I’ve understood music longer. If a person understands how to make a beat, and they understand all parts of a song, all you need after that is a good set of sounds and drums and if you can build a beat just by knowing what you want it to sound like. It should be a lot easier nowadays. That’s why I assume that for new and young producers, it’s a lot easier to make beats. And they should be better.

Loud.com: What was the studio experience with Plies like? He’s been one of the brightest spots for the South of late, but his credibility has been called into question.

When I met him, for one thing before I even give you my opinion, I don’t ever judge anybody by what other people know them for. Like if someone stole something from someone else, should I believe he’s going to steal from me?

When I met him for the first time, it was like I was meeting a new person. Forget the news and the music. To me, he came off as a real dude. He knows how to rap and he knows what people want to hear. And that’s how you make money. There’s a difference between being a fraud and marketing yourself, and he knows how to market what he says effectively.

Loud.com: Your profile page says that ASAP is more a movement than one producer. Explain that.

Always Strive And Prosper. It was a creative by my man Steve Rodriguez. He don’t do music, like he just on some shit, like a real good man. I took that name, A.S.A.P., and flipped it, he approved it, and we started rollin. He’s an intern at Warner Bros. right now, and he actually shops a lot of my material that I don’t get to. It’s not a group of producers, but I got 2 engineers that I work with, they get my shit soundin the way it sounds.

I look at A.S.A.P. as bigger than myself. It’s more a group of individuals that cover areas of music. Like I said, I got two engineers that play a huge part in my production; in that sense, we are a group that’s tryin to get known throughout the industry. If I had another producer to work with side-by-side, I’d do it, like, however you want it to be, we’d be workin. But at the end of the day, I think we gone do something with what we got how it is. We’ll be able to give history a little bit of what we got to offer. Our movement, our team kind of thing.

Loud.com: Have you been able to connect with other members of Loud.com? How’s your experience been so far?

Actually, I enjoy Loud.com, it reminds me of MySpace. I always enjoy meeting new, real people. When I signed up, I didn’t have any expectations, but the music spoke for me, and people like good music. They extended their hand and I gave mine back. So I enjoyed it.

Loud.com: Anything else before I let you go?

I don’t have anything that concerns the site, the people, or the music. But man, I just want people to know, if you extend your hand to me, I’ll work with you. If you respect me, I’m all about grindin; I don’t take nothin away from no one.

To be honest, I’m tired of these fraud people in the game, though. One thing in my profile, it says I’ve done ghost production. I’m known in Houston for some shit, like… a lot of these people when I’m in the studio, I meet all types of people, man. A lot of platinum, hit-making producers. A lot of these people expect you to bow down to them. I’ve worked with certain producers that expect me to give them my track and not pay me. Because I’m unknown and on the come up. Like they can take advantage of someone that’s not in the same position as them. No. That doesn’t work for me.

That’s the only major issue I have with music right now. I don’t feel like people should take advantage of my talent and sound because they’re in a better position than me; if you like what you hear, do something with it, if not, let it be. Other than that, check me out on Loud.com, get at me!

New York, NY (August 18, 2008) - Hippie rocker Jackson Browne is suing John McCain, the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party for using his song “Running On Empty” for an advertisement slamming Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on gas prices. From the Wall Street Journal:

…The L.A. Times reports that, in the commercial in question, Obama is mocked for suggesting that the country conserve gas through proper tire inflation. The suit claims that use of “Running on Empty” violates the Lanham Act by falsely implying that Browne is associated with or endorses the McCain candidacy. The suit also claims the commercial violates Browne’s right of publicity under California law.

The LAT notes that Browne gave Obama $2,000 not long after Obama won his Senate seat in 2004, and another $2,300 in March. Browne, for his part, insists the suit is not politically motivated, instead claiming copyright infringement. Hmm…

New York, NY (August 18, 2008) - TechCrunch ran an interesting piece the other day comparing the growth of Imeem and Last.fm since CBS purchased the latter in May 2007.

…Ever since CBS bought Last.fm in May, 2007 for $280 million, it’s been under pressure to justify the purchase. At the time of the purchase, Last.fm was running neck-and-neck against social music network imeem and music radio service Pandora.. Today, imeem is killing Last.fm (see Google Trends for Websites chart above), and Pandora is still holding its own.

Since CBS cited comScore numbers, though, let’s look at those. In June, 2007, the first month under CBS ownership, Last.fm has 2.5 million unique U.S. visitors. A year later, in June, 2008, it had 2.4 million. In other words, it had gone absolutely nowhere. In July, after the redesign, it had 2.9 million. Meanhwhile, during the same time period, both imeem and Pandora doubled to 7 million and 4.8 million unique U.S. visitors, respectively. And these numbers don’t include imeem’s widgets, which the company says reaches about four times as many people as its site does on a worldwide basis.

I can’t say I’ve messed with Imeem to a serious extent, but I know a lot of people do and complaints about Last.fm’s limitations always seem to enter the conversation in comparison. While Imeem might not reach MySpace or Facebook levels of adoption, it’s niche usability and character will certainly continue to make it a major player in the social sphere. Last.fm certainly has some work to do.

New York, NY (August 18, 2008) – Andrew over at Fake Shore Drive has been leaking a grip of unreleased Lupe joints, and he actually had a chance to chop it up with the Kick-Push Kid on the topic at a recent event. Props to Lu for giving a real answer; I can understand if dude would be mad, though.