Gangstalean

What's Wrong?

'Aint a damn thing!

Smoothed out groove from South African soul sista Letta Mbulu...


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Trod Mount Zion

Roughneck Ragga dancehall stylee courtesy of Sizzla ...


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Questionable Computations

All hail the Cylons and the Master Program ...


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Easin' In

Song of the day by Edwin Starr ... to help you practice that pimp strut.


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Sweet Little Nothings

Mwa!


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African Boots of Beijing

Local filmmaker Luke Mines and Jeremy Goldkorn (of Danwei.org) have produced a documentary called African Boots of Beijing about Africa United - a football team mostly made up of African players, many of whom have come here hoping for a chance to play in the Chinese professional league.

The film is being shown this Thursday at the Lucky Lips bar at Nuren Jie. You can find more info on the screening here.

Yo Ho Ho

It looks like the clock may be ticking on companies like Grokster and other similar services that enable users to share music files -- Slate has an article about the current debate in the US Supreme Court that could have some real far-reaching ramifications (a previous related article can be found here).

In a nutshell, lawyers representing the studios have caught the ear of the court by arguing that said companies should be able to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that their services and technology conform (at least for the most part) to a legitimate business model, rather than just enable people to freely swap songs. Confused yet? Don't blame you -- this is essentially another case of trying to objectify the entirely subjective.

The author ultimately concludes that the court will most likely rule in favor of the studios, as they have little choice but to toe the line with enforcing existant (but nonetheless arbitrary) copyright laws.

Can't wait to see what P2P innovation they'll think of next to circumvent the next impending legal setback. Yarrrrrrrrrr!!!

I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You

No, it's not dirty talk from Isaac from the Love Boat, but soul man Leon Haywood, reppin' my hometown of Houston, Texas.


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DJ Shortkut Interview

The April issue of that's Beijing is out and features an interview I did with DJ Shortkut, who's playing at Club Mix on April 2nd.

Cutting with Class

Beat juggling maestro DJ Shortkut

Don't let the name fool you: DJ Shortkut's turntable skills are larger than life. A pivotal member of the 'Invisibl Scratch Piklz,' Triple Threat DJs and the World Famous Beat Junkies, three of the most prominent DJ crews in the world, Shortkut (nee Jon Cruz) is among a growing contingent of influential Asian artists (which include Scratch Piklz co-founders Mix Master Mike and Q-Bert) in the hip hop game. This month he makes his first-ever appearance in Beijing at Club Mix.

Continue reading here.

The Devil's Son

I love music -- all kinds ... but my favorite kind of all is that down and dirty, smack talking, boom-bapping, sinister, foul-mouthed hip hop ...

As in this fine example by Big L:


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Vinyl Vexation II

From the arbitrary law department:  I heard tonight that it is actually illegal to import vinyl into China. Why such a law might exist remains a mystery to me.

I also heard that there's this other weird law that stipulates that 'Side A' of a cassette recording is required to be longer than 'Side B' -- apparently PK14 had to re-order their track listing on their album Shei Shei Shei he Shei Shei Shei to conform to this law.

Anyone care to explain?

City of Men

Been engrossed lately in a TV series I picked up on DVD called City of Men, co-directed by Katia Lund and Fernando Mereilles, the same team behind City of God. If you're lucky enough to spot the DVD (it's a 3 disc set) around, grab it -- very powerful stuff -- a gripping combination of drama, humor, music and fantastic storylines. Lund and Mereilles have a real talent for producing insightful documentary style story lines, and the two lead roles are very well played. Awaiting the soundtrack with baited breath...

Canned Lee Hooker

More aural goodness from John Lee Hooker and white boy blues combo Canned Heat -- Let's Make it Right Now.'

Brazilian Billie Jean

Among the acoustic gems on Caetano Veloso's 1985 self-titled album is this absolutely fantasic cover of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean.'

Chove Chuva

Jorge Ben is probably my favorite singer -- his voice is entirely distinct ... effortless, yet full of flavor (Not to mention the fact that he sued Rod Stewart for lifting the melody to 'Taj Mahal' for 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' makes him the man).