Kokane - 'Twilight Zone' (video)

Kokane - Gimmie All Mine on Bonzi/Bude Boy arrives May 25

Dramatics Founder Ron Banks Dies

via Billboard

Ron Banks, singer and a founding member of veteran R&B group the Dramatics, died yesterday (March 4) at his Detroit home of a reported heart attack. He was 58.

Originally a vocal sextet known as the Dynamics in the early 60s, the group changed its name and became a quintet comprised of Banks, William Howard, Larry Demps, Willie Ford and Elbert Wilkins. The Dramatics scored its first R&B-charting single (No. 43) in 1967 on the Sport label with "All Because of You." But it wasn't until four years later that the Dramatics broke into national consciousness with the 1971 Stax/Volt hit "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get," which peaked at No. 3 R&B and No. 9 pop. The Dramatics claimed an R&B No. 1 the following year with "In the Rain."

Between 1972 and 1980, the Dramatics also recorded for ABC and MCA, notching seven more top 10 R&B singles. Those songs include a cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones," "You're Fooling You," "Be My Girl" and "Welcome Back Home." Over the ensuing years, the Dramatics underwent several personnel changes, the most notable occurring in 1973 when L.J. Reynolds and Lenny Mayes replaced Howard and Wilkins in 1973.

Banks, whose sweet falsetto helped give the Dramatics its signature sound, was a Detroit native who was born May 10, 1951. He is survived by his wife Sandy and six children. Banks is the fourth Dramatics member to pass away following the deaths of Wilkins (1992), Howard (2000) and James Mack Brown (2008).

PHOTOS:
Getty Images - Ron Banks (Retrospective)

Watch: Nas And Damian Marley At National Geographic Event Panel In DC

Watch live streaming video from distantrelatives at livestream.com

Damian Marley & Nas - 'Distant Relatives' thru Universal in-stores March 16, 2010.

Related:
Nas And Damian Marley Scheduled To Appear At National Geographic Event

Bobby Brown Makes Rare NYC Concert Appearance With Video And Photos

Bobby Brown performed at B.B. King's in NYC on Friday, October 23.

Photos:
Getty Images

Related post:
Bobby Brown Schedules Performance In NYC

Cormega 'Born And Raised' Out October 20th

Cormega - Born & Raised out October 20 on Legal Hustle.

via press release

"What's up with Cormega, have you seen him? Are y'all together?" The infamous lines that introduced Cormega to the hip-hop world are exactly what fans have been asking since the lyricist's last solo album, The True Meaning, in 2002. Well, if you're wondering the exact same thing, Cormega's back with his third solo album, Born And Raised, to be released October 20, 2009. "This album is the truest look into me not just as an artist, but as a writer and as a person. I came into my own in a lot of ways on this album," expresses Cormega. "Born And Raised is the first album where I talk about being a father and the impact my daughter has had on my life. It's also the first time I experimented with live sound without the guidance of a producer and the first time I got to record with producers and artist whose work inspired me to become an emcee.

While Cormega has released several projects on his Legal Hustle imprint, only two can be considered Cormega solo albums: The Realness (2001) and The True Meaning (2002). His third official solo album, Born & Raised, features production from DJ Premier, Large Professor, Easy Mo Bee, Havoc, Buckwild, DR Period, LES, Nottz, Fuzzy Womack, Ayatollah, Khrysis and appearances by Big Daddy Kane, Parish Smith, Grand Puba, KRS-One,Tragedy, Havoc, Lil Fame, Marley Marl, and Red Alert. His proudest musical moment during the making of Born And Raised was the recording of "Mega Fresh X" (produced by Buckwild) with Big Daddy Kane, Parish Smith, Grand Puba, and KRS-One introduced by Red Alert. "These were the emcees I looked up to so I wanted to pay homage to them. I remember the days when I had Kane's posters on my wall, CDs by KRS-One and like everybody in New York, I used to record DJ Red Alert cassettes off the radio, so for me to do a song with Kane, KRS-One, Puba, and P.M.D. and then on top of that have Red Alert on it, is a dream realized."

KRS-One & Buckshot announce new album "Survival Skills"

KRS-One & Buckshot "Survival Skills" out September 15 on Duck Down Records

(via press release)

After making their indelible marks on the game luminaries KRS-One and Buckshot, arguably two of the games most prolific emcees, will link up to give fans a collaborative album entitled Survival Skills. The project will be released on Duck Down Records, September 15th while the duo will be featured on The Rock The Bells tour this Summer.

With guests ranging from Mary J. Blige, Slug Of Atmosphere, K'NAAN, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, Melanie Fiona, Naledge of Kidz In The Hall, Sean Price, Geo of Blue Scholars, Smif N Wessun and Rock of Heltah Skeltah, "Survival Skills" represents a diverse range of topics, all while maintaining a consistent sound. The album has production from Havoc of Mobb Deep, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, ILL MIND, Coptic, Moss, Nottz, Marco Polo, and KHRYSIS!

On the surface the album is a testament to the resiliency of two lyrical titans, but at its root Survival Skills is a blueprint for life. For instance on the infectious head-nodder "Robot," which was released 6 weeks prior to Jay Z's "The Death Of Auto Tune" track, and already available World Wide at Digital Retail Shops, such as iTunes, the duo speak-out against the recent overuse of the Auto-Tune vocal effect in urban music, but under the surface the message is much deeper. "I don't want people to get the averaged clichéd version and thinking that we're dissing people,'" Buckshot clarifies. "What we're calling out here is the biters, the people that feel like because this guy sold X amount of records doing this, that I'm going to turn around and do it as well," KRS says of the array of artists who have followed in the creative footsteps of Roger Troutman, Afrikka Bambatta, Teddy Riley and T-Pain. Despite its heavy message, sonically the track, produced by Mobb Deep's Havoc, is as inviting as anything on the radio today. The video for "ROBOT," directed by Todd Angkaswan, has been added into rotation at MTV & BET. The track has also been included in the sound track for Activision's upcoming Tony Hawk skate game in stores this Fall.

Coincidently, ROBOT is not the first example of where Jay Z has released similar material and concepts from KRS-ONE & BUCKSHOT. In 2003, Buckshot's group Black Moon recorded a song called "Stay Real," which was, again, released 6 weeks prior to Jay Z's "Public Service Announcement" track, that ironically contained the same sample as Black Moon's "Stay Real."

A couple years prior to this Jay Z released "THE BLUEPRINT," which was the same title used by KRS-ONE in his classic album, Boogie Down Productions "Ghetto Music: The BLUEPRINT of Hip Hop."

KRS-One and Buckshot are the epitome of rap longevity and relevancy. After making his 1987 debut with Boogie Down Productions on the seminal rap classic Criminal Minded, KRS-One instantly became an icon going on to release a gang of essential works including 1988's By All Means Necessary and 1993's Return of the Boom Bap. Similarly when Buckshot came into the game in 1993 with Enta Da Stage as Black Moon's front man, fans instantly took notice.

And the party never stopped, KRS-One's 2007 collaborative album with producer Marly Marl, ("Hip Hop Lives") was critically acclaimed and his work on "Classic," the Kanye West, Nas and Rakim featured track celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Nike's Air Force 1 shoe, earned the Teacher a Grammy nod. Buckshot has continued to churn-out some of the game's most progressive projects as well, most notably his 9th Wonder-produced albums Chemistry (2005) and The Formula (2008). Couple those with the licensing deals which have landed Buck's music on networks like ESPN and The History Channel, as well as an episode of CSI Las Vegas and it's clear to see why the Boot Camp general has remained one of the game's most influential.

"Ever since 1993 we've been passing each other on tour or in the studio saying, one day we should tour together, or one day we should do a record together," says KRS of the long-awaited union. "Well finally myself and Buckshot have the chance to collaborate on a straight up and down MC'in project."

Still gritty tracks like "Clean Up," featuring Rock of Heltah Skeltah and the politically minded "Running Away" featuring Immortal Technique, make Survival Skills a Hip-Hop fan's dream, catering to those that love lyrics and the boom-bap. Equally as rich is the album's Black Milk-produced track, "The Way I Live" featuring the Queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige. Together they create a triumphant anthem for all those on the grind trying to conquer their dreams. The song's summery feel and soothing melodies make it an instant hit.

What KRS-One and Buckshot have created is an album that is socially responsible, lyrically sharp and sonically banging. Buckshot sums it up best, "Hip-Hop was started as an option to not killing each other. We were in the ghettos and we were real f'd up. We created Hip-Hop so we didn't have to do that anymore."

"The album is called Survival Skills, because that is what it takes."

KRS-ONE & BUCKSHOT Upcoming Tour Dates:

Rock The Bells

KRS-ONE Hosting
BUCKSHOT A PERFORMING ARTIST

Sunday July 12th - Washington, DC - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Saturday July 18th - Boston, MA - Comcast Center

Sunday July 19th - New York, NY - Jones Beach Theater

Saturday August 1st - Vancouver, BC, CAN - Deer Lake Park

Sunday August 2nd - Calgary, AB, CAN - Shaw Millennium Park

Thursday August 6th - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Saturday August 8th - Los Angeles, CA - San Manuel Amphitheatre

Sunday August 9th - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre

Myspace Album Release Show
Friday – 9/11 – New York , NY

Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee pt.1 album preview

NASA...we have a first listen track by track preview of the new Beastie Boys 'Hot Sauce Committee pt.1' out September 15 on Capitol Records.

Read the album preview here

Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee's pt.1 track list:

01 Tadlock's Glasses
02 B-Boys in the Cut
03 Make Some Noise
04 Nonstop Disco Powerpack
05 OK
06 Too Many Rappers [ft. Nas]
07 Say It
08 The Bill Harper Collection
09 Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win [ft. Santigold]
10 Long Burn the Fire
11 Bundt Cake
12 Funky Donkey
13 Lee Majors Come Again
14 Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
15 Pop Your Balloon
16 Crazy Ass Shit
17 Here's a Little Something for Ya

'Hot Sauce Committee pt.1' arrives September 15 on Capitol Records.

'Hot Sauce Committee pt.2' comes out sometime next year.

(article courtesy of Drowned In Sound)

Beastie Boys: Asheville, North Carolina front row footage

More performance footage, this time in a short bite sized kinda way with segments re-capping the live show in its entirety.

Beastie Boys: Bonnaroo warm-up show in North Carolina

This footage was shot Wednesday June 10 at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC where the Beastie Boys did a pre-Bonnaroo warm-up show. Biz Markie jumped in also with his rendition of "Benny and the Jets" in clip 3 as he was also the warm up act for the Beasties'.

De La Soul: London Performance

De La Soul performed at the Camden Centre in London Thursday June 11.