There have been problems with spam, and the spammers are eating up way too much of my bandwidth to the point that my site was down for a few days last month.
It will probably go down in the next few days, and when I have enough time to set it back up and make more frequent posts, I’ll probably host it on wordpress.com instead of right on this site.
your ads here (468x60) - after 1st post.
Jelani is a finalist in the Collegiate Nationals Music Championship; check out his submission and vote for him:
This dude has serious talent, hopefully he can get some shine from this. If you guys don’t mind, check out his submmission and give him a vote. 1 vote per email address (I know a bunch of you have multiple addresses)
http://contest.cmj.com/bands/35
Jelani ft. 6th Sense and Wildabeast - the proposal
and you can vote for him here:
http://contest.cmj.com/bands/35/votes/new
Support real hip hop! His album, “Wait, You Can Rap?” is coming out soon also.
Big ups to Jelani, 6th Sens, and Wildabeast for their inclusion on this mixtape. Big things poppin off for these fellas!
And here’s the mp3 for download:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/80631008632b92/
Leave me your thoughts in the comments
1. February 24th in Jamaica Plain, MA:
Performance Starts at 9:00, Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain.
2. February 28th in NYC:
1604 Broadway at 49th Street. Show starts at 9:00
Definitely stop by one of these if you’re in the area. I’ll probably be going to the one in Jamaica Plain on the 24th, so if you are going, hit me up.
Here is a track I did a while back with Ade Marie and K. Trakz out of Miami… Its rough but I like the direction. Not sure what it will be used for as of right now, but leave your thoughts in the comments.
Vocals by Ade Marie and K. Trakz; Drums, Keys, Productions etc by The Milkman
“Take You Home”
http://www.zshare.net/audio/7439058e42843d/
More music and news to come, stay tuned.
Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of the passing of James Yancey, aka J Dilla, aka Jay Dee. Truly one of the greatest ever to do it, he’s still sorely missed. We need you man.
I remember when I first started discovering Dilla’s music. I had a few favorite artists at the time, some songs I kept on repeat, and a style of production that I favored listening to above most others. But I didn’t know who Jay Dee was until I started reading liner notes and doing some research. It turned out that the guy who produced that Tribe song I loved also did that Common joint I couldn’t get enough of. Wait… who’s this J Dilla character? He’s ill too! And who are the soulquarians? I checked the liner notes for one of my favorite albums, Ms. Badu’s “Mama’s Gun” and saw his name gracing those notes as well.
As I learned more and started connecting the dots, I became an official fan. I knew what I liked to listen to and I knew the people who made it. But it wasn’t until I started making beats myself that I became officially hooked. The way he did what he did was incredible. His range was amazing, and even the simplest drum pattern could evoke emotion through its timing. By the time the Frank N Dank album came out, Dilla was the ultimate in my mind. He could do it all; and he was nice on the mic.
I could go on forever taking about Dilla. I continue to try to put people on to his catalogue. Many people look down on fans of Dilla who only became fans after the man’s passing. But the way I see it… to not spread his work and his legacy to new ears is to stifle his genius. So do a friend a favor, make them a Dilla mix CD. Or, as I’ve been doing for a few friends, give them “daily doses.” Good music is meant to be heard. R.I.P. Dilla, the game still needs you.
Here’s links to part I and II of a Dilla Tribute mix:
http://odeo.com/audio/716874/view
http://odeo.com/audio/716839/view
On another note… I never actually mentioned this at the time but I meant to, so…
How about them Giants.
It was a great game. I live and go to school in Boston currently, and the city was just dead, sad, and depressing for any Pats fan.
Me, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I had been bombarded with hate and condescending chuckles since the G-Men made it to the big game. And the decisive victory just made it so much sweeter. The Pats were outplayed on every front. Eli looked like… I’m not even gonna say Peyton. Eli looked like Eli should look, and will look into the future. Now that he’s stepped up to his leadership roll and gained the focus he needs, things are looking good.
But, the real MVP was the defense. I’ve been a huge Osi supporter for a while, but damn if Justin Tuck isn’t a monster on that field. And although I’m not Strahan’s biggest fan, he did his thing. We get Kiwanuka back, and sign a new contract with Kawika Mitchell… I’m seeing Colts/Giants 2009. And QB comparisons will be drawn both ways.
Peace until more,
Milkman
Whats up all. I know its the 9th of the shortest month of the year… but I figure I’ll just do this every 30 days.
This month’s One Funk artist of the month is Adé Marie. She’s an R&B singer currently in the Boston area and a personal friend of mine.
I’ll have a video and some exclusive tracks to post up in the next few days. In the meantime, check out her myspace page (designed by yours truly) here:
Also, she’s been nominated for an award, and there’s online voting: I’ll have more details soon.
Anyway, add her as a friend, I’ll keep you all posted.
What’s up fam? Back from the Super Bowl Weekend out in Phoenix and ready to review 3 dope flicks for y’all. So enough with the small talk. Let’s get into it…..
Directed by The Coen Bros., Starring: Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, and Woody Harrelson
There are three types of great films in my opinion. The first being the type of films that grabs you from the opening scene and doesn’t completely let you go until the end. You know, edge of your seat type of stuff. The second being a film full of substance that you take more than just a story home with you. The third being the film that from beginning to end just defies convention, and decides that it isn’t going to be like the others. It’s going to be something unique in all the right places, and will add just enough old school flavor to keep old and new generations interested.
No Country is one of those movies that combines all three. The movie plays a lot like how I’d expect a hurricane to move over a city. First you would get the warning. Then you’d see it looming over the horizon. All the signs are there, you’ve made the preparations, but somehow in the pit of your stomach you realize how small and insignificant you really are compare to what’s coming. The hurricane passes through stages, but what you get in the end is never anything you expected.
No Country is about a man who stumbles across a drug deal gone bad out in West Texas. From there, greed propels the flick into dangerous territory as a hitman (bardem) is hired to locate the lost money from the drug deal. From there we’re taken across a baron landscape into the unknown while a Sherriff (Lee Jones) tries to make sense of everything taking place before he retires. Brolin holds the film up well playing the fortunate/unfortunate ex-marine and career welder, but it’s Javier Bardem’s character Anton Chiguhr that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Every scene he is in is dominated by this dead calm look and malice nature. He might be one of the greatest and most complex villains that has ever graced the screen.
The film is a must see even if you aren’t a big fan of The Coen Bros. They have successfully come out with a movie that accurately stages their skills on the screen. Every strong point from their previous movies is displayed perfectly and to full effect.
What about the score? Sorry movie stealing sample producers, there is none, xcept for a dope little end credits score worth a few listens. The missing score really adds a kind of overlying dread to the film.
So if you can catch the flick at your local theater if it’s still there. If not this will be a DVD worth checking out for sure.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, and Paul Dano
Just when I thought it would be hard to follow No Country this year this film showed up. I’ve been a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson for a while now even though his films sometimes depressed the shit out of me. They were always just real moody character driven pieces that were worth mentioning for people to check out from time to time. Boogie Nights obviously being the most popular of his list of work. I knew he wouldn’t disappoint with this because he had never disappointed before, but…..
It was Daniel Day-Lewis who I was most interested in checking out. First off let me say that this cat has to be the illest working actor alive. When it comes to acting, Day-Lewis is a damn giant. Every flick this cat has been he has stolen every scene, and actually raised the bar. Of all the great films this dude has done my favorite has to be his portrayal as the villain Bill the Butcher in the Scorsese directed Gangs of NY. I still consider that performance to be one of if not THE best character performance since we entered the new millennium.
Paul dano who starred as the mute son in Little Miss Sunshine does a great job trying to steal some screen time from Day-Lewis.
But this movie right here is a Day-Lewis tour de force with Anderson playing the Scottie Pippen role. He carries each scene with a precision that it really is kind of scary. As much as I respect this dude as an actor he managed to surprise me more than a few times during this film. Dano hits an occasional 3 pointer here and there, too.
So what’s it about? Day-Lewis plays an oil worker named Daniel Plainview that starts from the bottom of an oil well and works his way up in status. Simple I know, but it’s the nature of the character and how it develops over the course of the movie that is really striking. After he makes some dough he gets a tip about a place in California where the oil “sits atop the ground”. From there Plainview manages to weasel his way into the small town and do basically what he does best: look out for his own interests.
From the beginning of the film, until the end of the last scene, you question your own morals. I ended up routing for Plainview, but I asked myself, “why?” many times during the film. No scene is wasted in this flick as you delve into a world so much like our own that it actually makes you feel kind of guilty for cheering for Plainview.
Oh, and the reason for the weird title, There Will Be Blood, will dawn on you very quickly once the final scene is over.
Overall, a powerful movie in almost every aspect, but it is Day-Lewis’ performance that puts this movie into instant classic status.
Go and watch it!
Directed by Sylvester Stallone. Starring: Sylvester Stallone
This movie sucked.
Just kidding, but that’s what I was telling people all weekend when they asked me if I had watched it. It was funny seeing the look on their faces when they said, “Really?”.
Probably my second favorite Rambo movie of all time behind First Blood part 2. Sometimes an action movie needs to be an action move and nothing else. I’m glad Sly agreed with that assessment.
I don’t know about y’all but these “smart” action movie are cool but I miss a lot of the old school jawns that used to just be in your face the whole time. Movies like the Bourne series and stuff like that are cool but sometimes I just want to see heads explode from sniper shots. I want to see bad guys get what they deserve at the end of the film, with little to no irony involved. Just good old fashioned revenge. Plus who better to serve it up to an 80’s baby like myself than (over the hill?) Sly Stallone?
I would love to get into the story for this film, but if you’re going into the movie looking for a solid storyline and top notch acting then you might want to go watch Juno instead. Alright, but if you insist it’s basically about Rambo taking some peacekeeping yuppies into the warzone, and then trying to get them out alive after they go missing.
Each action scene makes you hate the villain worse, and makes you want Rambo to wreck shit as soon as possible. What we’re left with is some of the coolest action scenes in recent memory. The best obviously being the events that take place after Rambo takes over a .50 caliber machine cannon. Dope…..
So if i didn’t bore you enough with the first two interviews I recommend you got watch Rambo with some friends and you have my permission to do two things I did while I was there.
1. Talk as loud as you want. 2. Sit at the end of the row and let your feet stick out.
Peace out to Brokeback Burma
- Dutch !
Thanks to Tae One for this joint:
Click above to download, and enjoy…
P.S. The super bowl is on. Go G-Men.
**EDIT: Changed the link, the download should work again.
That’s it.
Erykah is one of the few artists where I’ll buy every release without any thought, so I’m definitely excited about the upcoming album.*edit* Whenever I embed a video or media player or some shit, it breaks the blog’s theme and it gets all 4-columny on me. So until I can figure that out, its this plain-ass theme.
“If I had a hundred grand,
and I be god damned if I throw it in the air,
like I didn’t care,
And I must say it’s no way or no where
is a pocket full of cash to be thrown in the air.
Cuz I can take that and spend it on a pair of L.A. Gears;
with the front tips and the lights in the rear;
Use my spare change get the green handlebars where the grips is clear.”
- Cool Kids
L.A. Gear (or L.A. Lights) used to be undeniably the shit. If you had a pair of these bad boys, you ruled 1st grade. And slap a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character on them, forget about it.
Incidentally, I’ve been trying to find a pair in my size for years. I’ve searched eBay, etc but the only adult pair I came across was the wrong size. So if anyone has any leads on a pair of size 13 L.A. Lights, get at me, it would be greatly appreciated.
(On a side note… I’ve recently wondered why making the TMNT’s “teenagers” made them that much cooler in the eyes of little kids? The turtles weren’t awkward, rebellious, and covered in acne? And you know all that anchovie pizza is greasy as shit…)
Song of the Day:
Parliament - “I’ve Been Watching You (Move Your Sexy Body)”
Being a huge P-Funk fan myself, it’s impossible to pick a favorite song, album, or even band incarnation. There is so much great material that is in many cases overlooked, that it’s mind blowing. But I’m not going to rant about P-Funk’s impact or legacy: if you are a Hip Hop head you already know what they’ve done for the genre.
This song here highlights th vocal stylings of perhaps one of my favorite male vocalists of all time, Glen Goins. We all know the 70’s produced plenty of vocal powerhouses, but Glen gets overlooked often in the race for powerful male voices. We all know the Otis’s, Redding and Williams, were doing their thing. No one can front on Marvin or Stevie, but they were on some different shit. If I were a singer, I’ll tell you… I would want to sound like Glen Goins.
He was pretty unassuming in the whole colorful, larger than life P-Funk troupe. But this song highlights his range and the sheer power behind his voice. Plus, he had a fantastic band backing him (the guy played guitar also), which didn’t hurt.
I could go on forever, but here’s the song of the day, enjoy:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/5953333a735a7b/
I’m going to start making my posts more frequent but smaller, with fewer topics per post. I’m getting used to this whole blogging thing. Maybe that’s an awful idea, I guess we’ll see. More to come soon.
So I finally hit the studio again for the first time in 2008 with a few members of the Wang Dynasty (more on that later)…
Things tend to get hectic very quickly when deadlines are set last minute. Especially when you’re being asked to recreate the instrumental from a 70’s song in a few hours.
I should hopefully have some rough stuff from the past few studio visits to post up here shortly. We’ve been doing a lot of mixtape stuff but some original stuff is also in the works which I’m very excited about. Think P-Funk meets Platinum Pied Pipers, meets the Dungeon Family. All of which are riding on the Trouble Funk Express.
Random Clips from the Web:
1.
DJ’s, would you rock these?
It may only be my personal taste, but I would. If I got it for free. As a joke. Once.
Still, pretty creative.
(via GrandGood)
2. The new N.E.R.D. single is online:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/67702038030f8d/
The jury’s still out for me on this one. What do you think? Feel free to post your opinions in the comments.
3. From this post on The Rap Up, we find an underlying theme in Hip Hop that is as troubling as it is ever-present:
Buddie of Dem Franchize Boys has this to say:
“I can’t really point no fingers, but Nas did name his album ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’, and I feel like, I could never speak with Nas on a one-on-one basis to see why he named it or how he really felt towards it. But, the people who say hip hop is dead, and Franchize is part to blame, I feel they’re just talkin’ nonsense. Like I say, if you ain’t talkin’ ‘bout no money, man, we ain’t even really tryin’ to hear you, so just keep your words to yourself.”
Right… because if you aren’t focused only on getting money, you are not a part of Hip Hop and have no right to talk about it. Getthefuckouttahere.
This reminds me of the interview Angie Martinez did with Jeezy right after the album dropped,in which Jeezy’s argument was roughly (if I remember correctly) “Nas can’t say shit because I outsold him… I’m in the streets and making real dough, so that makes me way more of an authority than Nas can ever be.”
I’m shaking my head right now.
But, I’m not one too hate too hard. Cats are gonna do and say what they will. If Jeezy drops a nice verse over a hot beat, I’ll be the first to acknowledge it. I enjoyed his verse on the “Can’t Tell Me Nothin” remix. Its all gravy. Stupid comments do tend to get me riled up though.
That’s it for now
P.S. - I never announced it but the homie Dutch (aka Haze) will be periodically doing movie reviews, so big ups to him on his contributions, and welcome.
P.P.S. - If anyone wants to submit a post on something specific, or whatever, hit me up and I’ll publish it.
Yes, there has been a gang of producers (no pun intended) who have tried their hand at remixing Jay-Z’s latest album. I haven’t heard them all, however I was very impressed when I heard the big homie Veterano’s release “American Me.” I’m definitely bumping a few of these (if not all) in place of the originals.
Big ups to Vet on this. 2 Download links below:
Cloverfield
It’s been like 6 months since I first heard about this movie. Did a little bit of research on it and found out that JJ Abrams, one of the co-creators of Lost TV series, was producing the whole joint. I’m a fan of Lost mostly by accident, but it’s kept me hooked for three seasons which is pretty good considering I usually can’t stand shows like that. Anyway, one of the main reasons I dig lost is because I have an obsession with numerology, philosophy, science and how it relates to unexplained phenomena, conspiracies and sh*t like that. So I found it dope that there was a show out there that combined all those things into one plot. Damn, this is turning into a Lost love post really quick. On to the flick……
What the f**k is Cloverfield? Well, to tell you the truth I’m still not 100% sure. Cloverfield had a huge viral marketing campaign that has lasted for a good 7-8 months. Up until maybe 2 months ago no one even knew what the whole movie was REALLY about. Up until about a week ago when it screened for the press, nobody even knew what the f**kin’ monster looked like. Somehow, we were led to believe that the viral soup they fed us would maybe give us a glimpse of what the thing looked like or where it came from, but in reality we, or at least I, didn’t learn sh*t!
So does that take away from the movie? Not necessarily. If you’re going into this movie expecting any answers, well I’m sorry, you’re not going to get many. They didn’t tie up many loose ends, but instead actually created more if anything.So should you go watch it?
F**K YES! And I suggest you watch it at the theater, with all your friends and with a lot of other people, too. Hell get blunted, or take some shots before you hit the theater. The place was going crazy throughout the whole movie. Unfortunately, I think if you go into this with a small, unenthusiastic crowd you might be asking for your money back. There’s nothing really profound or cinematically new showing up on the screen. Just a small story told through a handheld camera, about a group of friends trying to escape the wrath of a giant, ill ass monster, and it’s herpes (seriously).
There were portions in the movie when people in the theater were yelling, “RUN you f**kin’ dumbass!!!!”, and I was right there saying the same thing or completely agreeing with them.
What does the monster look like? I can’t really describe it. Sh*t is pure horror. At one point I actually realized that they pay people to design horrible nightmarish ish like that. But damn the monster is huge, and it’s wrecking the HELL out of NY. I mean if NY is Mike Tyson, this monster is Buster Douglas 10 fold homies. You see famous buildings drop a lot like the twin towers did and from the hand held camera perspective, it makes it seem much more real.
As for the plot? Not really much to say here except that it’s about a group of friends and family that get caught up in the wrath. The main cat Rob wants to go and rescue his homegirl he fell in love with like Jay did Beyonce. But these people are too pretty and the lines are a little bit too cheesy (at times) to really even care about the story much. I mean, in the end, all you really want to see is the monster wrecking s**t anyway. And it delivered on that premise at least.
To sum it up it was a dope 12:00 am screening which I hadn’t been to in years. Those used to be ill ways to get girls to stay out later than 12 back in the day. So cheers to JJ Abrams for making a dope monster flick, and pour our a little liquor for all the people that died in Cloverfield.
P.S. - I just want to say that before the movie even started someone brought in a beach ball that people were throwing up and hitting into the air. That sh*t was pure comedy, watching people get busted in the face by the ball if they weren’t paying attention. That was worth the 8 dollars I spent on my ticket before they even lowered the lights. I saw some girl’s Ben Franklins get smashed and I even think she caught a half bloody nose. Pure comedy.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
BEST SCENE: When Rob and company are in the subway running from the herpes (seriously).
- Dutch !
I’ll get this blog started with 2 free albums from 2 very talented people.
First is from that dude 6th Sense. He’s signed to the Rawkus 50 (cop his full release on iTunes and Amazon, its dope). This mixtape “Go For It” is hosted by Mick Boogie and has quality tracks easily whip-bangable (or anywhere else for that matter). If you aren’t familiar with 6th Sense, click the cover, and start your fanhood.
(Click Cover to Download)
The second download of the day is from my man ElaQuent. Its an instrumental album called “In Colour”. Definitely a good listen, and has been in my rotation for a few weeks. It’s tough to pick a favorite track out of these bangers:
(Click Image to Download)
More to come soon, enjoy.
Milkman
Whats Good!
Welcome to my blog… for those of your who know me in one capacity or another, yeah, I broke down and joined the blog trend.
Why?
Basically, I subscribe to a decent number of blogs just to get news, updates on whatever I’m interested in, previews of new music, etc. And the shit just works. A lot of good content is out there mixed in with the bullshit.
I’m trying to stay out of the bullshit with this blog. Initially I was planning on just using this to post new music, or news about my music and the music of the people I know/work with/enjoy. And that will still probably make up the bulk of the posts. But I got to thinking, how often do I come across an article/YouTube video/whatever that I feel people can benefit from? I’m gonna try to keep the posts informative (did I already fail with this one?). But I can’t guarantee I won’t go on rants about shit.
Basically, subscribe to me, or check back often if you aren’t up on your RSS game. Also: I’m all about sharing good music, so if you are an artist that is releasing something for free download, or you have a new song to preview, or just some bews, BY ALL MEANS submit it to me. My email is milkman@onefunk.com. I’m putting up a lot of my stuff but I know a lot of people who have come out with great stuff in the past month or two that I’m sure to throw up here (hint).
Anyway, let’s see where this thing goes.
Milkman aka Killa K
(p.s. this Wordpress theme is just one I downloaded. I’m working on designing a custom theme, but shit’s been hectic lately. Hopefully I’ll have something nicer to look at soon. And if any of your more artistically inclined people want to throw a few tips my way, much appreciated)