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Legal LeakZ: FREDDIE GIBBS – COLD DAY IN HELL (FULL ALBUM)

October 31st, 2011 Filed under: Legal LeakZ by Editor in Chief

The next musical massacre from Gary, Indiana’s Freddie Gibbs takes shape in the form of Cold Day In Hell, a frigid offering flaunting Gangsta Gibbs’ street-savvy vernacular with verses from a veritable who’s-who of likeminded spitters; the venerable Young Jeezy, Three Six Mafioso Juicy J, Rocafella ex-pat Freeway and West Coast stalwart Dom Kennedy are among the lyricists tapped for the project. Once again, Freddie is pulling no punches, unleashing his verbal vendetta over production from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Big K.R.I.T., Cardo, DJ Burn One, Block Beattaz, Beatnick & K-Salaam and more.

Los Angeles clothing/media purveyor LRG has partnered with Gibbs for the release, making manifest Freddie’s creative vision in the album art and pending videos. The album cover features a disheveled marquee, a nod to Gary, Indiana’s tragic landmark, the Palace Theater as well as numerous crack-boom and blacksploitation archetypes brought to life by prolific LA graffiti writer and MSK affiliate, Augor. Similarly, the concept for the first video, the grimy “Anything To Survive”, is envisioned by LRG in-house production team Wood Works and Derrick Pike. Unwilling to merely just stamp a logo on the mixtape and call it finished, LRG is assisting in a non-traditional sense, helping to oversee the project by rounding out Freddie’s vision with their resources. The proof is in the product.

DOWNLOAD ‘COLD DAY IN HELL’ HERE

freddiegibbs.com

Copyright © 2004-2011 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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Book Review: My Infamous Life – The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy

September 19th, 2011 Filed under: Reviews - Books by Editor in Chief

Book Review – “My Infamous Life – The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy
Albert “Prodigy” Johnson with Laura Checkoway
Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster

The long awaited story of Prodigy’s rise to fame and brief fall to incarceration was finally published in April of this year, shortly after his release from a three year sentence for illegal gun possession.  Begun nearly ten years ago and completed in prison, “My Infamous Life” will eventually be seen on the shelf with other classic autobiographies by noted African American authors, from “The Autobiography Of Malcolm X”, to Eldridge Cleaver’s “Soul On Ice” to Kody Scott’s “Monster”.  Despite the fact that Prodigy was already a famous Hip Hop artist and millionaire at the age of nineteen, and is descended from a long line of great artists and performers, his story parallels that of other African American heroes who have risen from an environment of crime and poverty to undreamed heights.

As one half of the Infamous Mobb Deep, Prodigy has always been known for scorching reality raps delivered with a measured deadpan flow that sends chills down spines, and his prose style is similarly terse, dropping gems from start to finish about his early childhood experiences with sickle-cell anemia, to his youth as a bonafide player, to his meteoric and conflict fueled rise to fame…and infamy.  P’s honesty is brutal, from his frank descriptions of medical problems, bed-wetting, and awkward first times with drugs and girls, to the violent world of the Queensbridge housing projects where Havoc and friends induct him into a life of getting bent, getting money, and getting into beef, where everything always seems to go wrong in the end. P’s drugging and womanizing are already legendary, and it is a revelation to hear that he has been with his wife Kiki since age seventeen, and has walked a tightrope of self-medication and disaster his whole life – in one poignant scene he nearly dies from sickle-cell symptoms while on tour in India for the “Amerikaz Nightmare” album, at a point where his career was at an all time high.

Of course, by now many of the stories in this book have created new beefs and resurrected old ones, most notably with Capone who was alleged to have snitched on Havoc’s brother Killer Black, as well as Noreaga, Keith Murray and others said to have been stomped out by the Infamous Mobb.  One may indeed wonder what P’s motivation behind revealing these details was, although by the tone of the book it seems more aimed at describing his life realistically than airing out anyone in particular, and from the tone of the responses it would seem that P ain’t lying.  For Prodigy fans who have studied the “HNIC2″ and “Product of the 80′s” albums in detail, many of these stories will be familiar, like the “big green fire in the sky over Queen’s” and other supernatural encounters.

As an MC, Prodigy has always walked a fine line between gangster and scholar, which is part of what makes him so much more interesting than the average rapper.  To read a man who’s life has revolved around money, women, drugs and guns for so many years talk about the mystical origins of humanity and the conspiracy to destroy the African people is a revelation and true “edutainment”.  Upon his incarceration, P claimed that “they’re gonna make me Malcolm in here”, and with the release of this autobiography and his “Elsworth Bumpy Johnson EP”, Prodigy has already demonstrated that he is more intelligent, fit and focused than ever, while at the same time he is the same O.G. that went in, and one of the few surviving MC’s from Hip Hop’s Golden Era still keeping the flame alive.

Currently on the “Rock The Bells” tour, look forward to new Mobb Deep dropping soon.

myinfamouslife.com

myspace.com/prodigyreturnofthemac

By Dave” Corvid” McCallum

WANT MORE BOOK REVIEWS? CLICK HERE

Copyright © 2004-2011 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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“Batman: Arkham City – The Album” To Be Released October 4, 2011

September 6th, 2011 Filed under: News/Calendar/Industry by Editor in Chief

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, WaterTower Music and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham City – The Album, which will be released in conjunction with the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. Featuring 12 new original tracks by Panic! At The Disco, Coheed and Cambria, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more (full track list below), Batman: Arkham City – The Album will be released on October 4th, two weeks prior to the game’s North American release on October 18th. The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content.

The artists featured on Batman: Arkham City – The Album approached their contributions to the album with their own unique interpretations of the stories surrounding Batman. The result is an eclectic mix of dynamic, atmospheric songs for an album that will appeal to fans of both the artists and Batman: Arkham City. Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez said, “I write in a very conceptual format with the stories that surround Coheed and Cambria, but Batman has a much larger, defined history and rules that go along with it. My goal was to find universal themes from Batman’s existing history to help give the lyrics legs and dimension so that the song could live within that world.”

Check out the track listing below:

1. Panic! At The Disco – Mercenary
2. Coheed and Cambria – Deranged
3. The Duke Spirit – Creature
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Shadow On The Run
5. Blaqk Audio  – Afterdark
6. The Raveonettes – Oh, Stranger
7. (Crosses) – The Years
8. The Damned Things – Trophy Widow
9. Daughtry – Drown In You
10. The Boxer Rebellion – Losing You
11. Serj Tankian – Total Paranoia

*Bonus Collector’s Edition track
12. A Place to Bury Strangers – In The Shadow

The highly anticipated videogame will step out of the shadows and onto store shelves for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Games for Windows PC and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City, the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal master-minds. The sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.

Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamcity.com to sign up to receive updates regarding the game and join the discussion on the recently launched community site at:  http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com to participate in forums, read upcoming developer diaries and stay abreast of all the latest Batman: Arkham City news.

Copyright © 2004-2011 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

 

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DVD Review: 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s – Dir. By Gary Weis

October 23rd, 2010 Filed under: Reviews - DVD by Editor in Chief

DVD Review – 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s
Directed by Gary Weis
Five Day Weekend/Traffic Entertainment

Gary Weis started his career as an in-house filmmaker for Saturday Night Live, and in 1977 after reading an article in Esquire Magazine by journalist John Bradshaw entitled “Savage Skulls” decided to make a film about the already legendary NYC street gang of the same name.  After meeting and befriending Bradshaw, Weis and Director of Photography Joan Churchill, took the perilous trip to the notorious South Bronx to meet the contacts that were made riding with cops on the beat while researching the Esquire article.  Through these contacts, Weis and crew managed to meet, interact with and interview members of both the Savage Skulls and Savage Nomads gangs, as well as former gang members, cops, community activists and others who simply lived in a community where violence and retaliation were fast becoming routine.

This is truly a document of a lost world, a New York City that would soon be forever transformed by the power of Hip Hop culture, whose hallmarks are already apparent in the styles, slang, fashions and music of 1977 South Bronx.  Hip Hop’s Godfather Afrika Bambaataa was once a Black Spade gang member himself, and much of the organizational structure and sense of camaraderie of the gangs was directly transferred to the emerging Hip Hop ethos.  “Fly” of the Nomads is innately Hip Hop in his manner, and represents for the gang member as G – a man to be admired and respected for his service to the community and ability to deal with “problem” situations.  The fact that what this amounts to in reality is a whole lot of violence, and the maintenance of his own personal “jail” is part and parcel of the paradox of ghetto culture.  And while reformed gangsters like Apache and Comanche can smugly smile in recollection of their past indiscretions, the boys in the Savage Skulls clubhouse are not playing around, proudly displaying their neo-nazi regalia (which seems utterly bizarre when worn by Latino and Black American youth), and the “flags” from their “conquered enemies”.  The opening quote from the NYPD rings throughout the whole film – “these guys think they’re really doing something, but I think they’re just bums!!!” – perhaps through the eyes of privileged white men, but given their environment one wonders.

While Fly excitedly catalogues the extensive list of guns he has personally seen in the ‘hood, it’s important to remember that these guys are not “gangbangers” in the modern sense, that most of the violence is hand to hand combat, and the crack epidemic has not yet turned gangsters into hustlers with lined pockets.  While the violence that people of this era faced was a direct result of the desolation and abandonment of whole neighbourhoods, what was to come with the 80′s would make the 70′s look like the 50′s.

As a document of a lost age where the seeds of our modern reality were sown,  “80 Blocks From Tiffany’s” is a priceless film worth watching over and over, both to witness the roots of the sociopathology endemic in the modern urban experience, and of the nascent roots of the Hip Hop culture that would transform desolation into inspiration, through the irrepressible spirit of the people.

BUY IT HERE

By Dave “Corvid” McCallum

WANT MORE DVD REVIEWS? CLICK HERE

Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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Recently Unearthed Documentary 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s To Be Re-Released After 25 Years

August 17th, 2010 Filed under: News/Calendar/Industry by Editor in Chief

Portrait Of 1970s Era South Bronx And Gang Activity Now Accompanied By Bonus Features, 40-Page Book

Five Day Weekend and Traffic Entertainment are proud to announce the upcoming DVD release of 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s, director Gary Weis’ 1979 documentary about the South Bronx and its gang culture. The previously unavailable film will be released in the Fall of 2010, the first time it has been offered to the public in decades, and will be accompanied by a handful of exciting bonus features.

Director Gary Weis was still working as a short film creator for Saturday Night Live when he came up with the idea for 80 Blocks after reading a Jon Bradshaw article, “Savage Skulls.” Published in a 1977 issue of Esquire Magazine, the piece centered on two gangs based in the South Bronx at the time — the Savage Nomads and the Savage Skulls. Weis became infatuated with the story and, soon after striking up a dialogue with Bradshaw, he convinced SNL producer Lorne Michaels to help him produce the film. Just two years later, in 1979, Weis and Bradshaw brought a camera crew to speak with members of both gangs, along with police officers, community activists, and civilians.

Despite its role as an important and unflinching portrait of a profoundly interesting time in New York’s cultural history, 80 Blocks was, for many years, impossible to find, only briefly available as an educational VHS release in 1985. In the years since its initial release, the documentary has gained an overwhelming cult status. With little to no news coverage over the decades since its release dedicated fans continued to buzz about the film. That buzz grew exponentially via the internet, which provided fans a common platform to fondly look back not only the at documentary itself, but the era that it captured so vividly.

The cries of many have been heard. For the first time in 25 years, the soon-to-be-released DVD will be accessible by the public, and will include interviews with producer/filmmaker Weis and director of photography Joan Churchill, as well as a 40 page book comprised of the original “Savage Skulls” article, an essay by David Hollander, and artwork by Julian Allen. All of this is, of course, to accompany both full and widescreen versions of the film that started it all.



facebook.com/80BlocksFromTiffanys

Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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Snoop Dogg Compiles West Coast Compilation For Priority’s 25th Anniversary

February 23rd, 2010 Filed under: News/Calendar/Industry by Editor in Chief

(BallerStatus) – In commemoration of Priority’s silver 25th anniversary, the label’s Creative Chairman, Snoop Dogg, has compiled 16 classic tracks their catalog for a new album, titled Snoop Dogg Presents: The West Coast Blueprint

In addition to classic tracks from Eazy-E, The D.O.C., Kid Frost, Ras Kass and Mack 10, among others, the upcoming album features a new recording by Snoop featuring The Hustle Boyz of Ice Cube’s classic “Check Yo Self.”

The compilation showcases the diversity of sounds and styles within the now universally-known gangsta rap aesthetic.

“Priority’s always been associated with the west coast,” explains Snoop, “but now with the power of EMI behind it, we can take this international.”

Snoop has also hand-picked three classic albums that has been reissued including Eazy-E’s Eazy Duz It, EPMD’s Strictly Business and Master P’s Ghetto D.

“You will hear how many different facets of hip-hop Priority had a hand in. Fans who might not have heard these records in a long time. I know they’re going to love hearing them again,” says Snoop of the project. “And the youngsters who’ve never heard of them before, it’s an important education. See? Learning can be fun.”

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH SNOOP DOGG IN ISSUE 12

The complete tracklisting of The West Coast Blueprint can be viewed HERE

Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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DVD Review: Flyin’ Cut Sleeves – Dir. by Rita Fecher & Harry Chalfant

October 28th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - DVD by Editor in Chief

DVD Review – Flyin’ Cut Sleeves
Directed by Rita Fecher & Harry Chalfant
Sleeping/MVD

For everyone who has marveled at the intricacies of early 70′s NYC gang culture, and wondered just how true to life such pre-Hip Hop shock action flicks like “The Warriors” really are, this is the hard edged testament to a time long buried beneath wave after wave of street culture, with ever increasing armament.  This hearkens back to an era of baseball bats and lead pipes, of hand painted “colours” on denim and leather, of funk, rock and heavy metal, before there was money in crime, which means essentially pre-crack.

Co-Producer Rita Fecher taught in the poverty stricken schools of the South Bronx from the late 60′s into the 70′s, becoming almost a family member to many of the kids who went on to become the most deeply involved in gang activity – and family is the operative word, for that is exactly the slang used for these collectives.  Lacking support and discipline at home, these youths turned to each other, and with many of their leaders being veterans already, the structure became essentially military.  Yet even though most initiations involved “jumping in”, or getting beaten on by all other members, many gangs went on to become organs of community support, influenced first by the Black Panthers and Latin Kings, and then by the Young Lords, whose constant presence on the block is likened by one observer to a host of Native Americans constantly watching from a ridge.

These are stories of waves of Puerto Rican immigrants whose ready cash, made by selling family landholdings back home, quickly disappeared in the barrios of New York;  of the Ghetto Boy’s Black Bennie, killed while trying to broker peace between two rival gangs; of kids caught in a deadly turf war while trying to improve conditions for their people.  While conditions for the present generation have become steadily worse, with community centers closing down and an arms race that now has pre-teens strapped with semi-automatic weaponry, it’s amazing to see how many survivors of the 70’s have become community leaders, teachers and role models to youth caught in the streets, able to counsel kids without judging them for choosing the gang life.

This era of pre-Hip Hop, pre-“gangsta” gang culture is worthy of much further study, as it marks a turning point from the methodical politicization of the people through the Black Panther Party and other revolutionary organizations, to a time when the potential for gang culture to destroy whole communities by keeping them in a state of constant warfare became the State’s preferred method of oppressing its underclass.  While groups like the Latin Kings became increasingly political, only to be ruthlessly persecuted by the police, most gangs seem to have become agents of personal aggrandizement and civil destruction with the arrival of crack money.

By  Dave “Corvid” McCallum

WANT MORE DVD REVIEWS? CLICK HERE

Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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EXCLUSIVE: TECH N9NE – The ABORT Interview (Issue 13 Preview)

September 6th, 2009 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by Editor in Chief

(Photo - Scott Alexander)

ABORT Magazine’s Dave”Corvid”McCallum talks backstage at Rock The Bells Vancouver with Kansas City psychopath Tech N9ne and his eccentric partner in crime Krizz Kaliko to discuss independent Hip Hop, musical gumbo, and what’s next for the man with the warpaint.

Dave “Corvid” McCallum: The release of “Killer” last year marked the sale of one million units as an independent artist. After twenty years making Hip Hop, do you feel vindicated, as though now you’ve proved yourself right, that it could be done independent all along?

Tech N9ne: Yeah…it could be done independent, but I’m trying to do so much more than that. That was a milestone, but it let me know that we got a lot more work to do. We got millions more people to turn on, you know what I’m saying? So, that’s an incredible feat without video and radio, I’m aware, but but we got a lot more people to infect, and that’s why this tour is important.

ABORT: Do you feel like a spokesman now in that you’re inspiring a lot of artists who are considering whether to go the commercial route or to stick to their independent roots?

Tech: I think I’m really causing some of the major cats to want to do it this way, you nam sizzlin’? To keep their independence, to keep their publishing, that’s the thing that really gets you money.

ABORT: So Krizz, you’ve been onstage with Tech for ten years now, and have just released your second solo album “Genius”. You’ve called your style “Funkra” to describe the blend of Hip Hop, Funk and Opera, could you talk about the diversity of styles and how that all came from your life experience?

Krizz: It’s like musical gumbo man, it’s like…I call it musically forming Voltron! Funk, Rap, Rock, R&B, Reggae and Opera, I mix them all. And it’s just all the music I’ve loved all my life man, I’ve always loved Opera and Classical Music, I love Hip Hop, I love Country…and I always listen to these records and go “Yo, I could do that!”. And it’s funny man, ’cause a lot of these styles would come from me and Tech just playing around, we just kidding, and we just sing something like…what was that I was singing at the airport last night? Something like “cute face but no booty” or something, we just be playing around, and it would just turn into a dope song. But you know, I called my album “Genius” and you can’t call your album that and not deliver. It debuted on Billboard at number three in Hip Hop and number fourteen on the RnB chart, so I’m doing something right!

ABORT: Kansas City has always been known for suporting a strong and diverse music scene, what is it that makes for such a creative environment?

Tech: The scene is thick, just like it would be on the East Coast, but it’s just a smaller place. We have all different types of styles – if you want Gangster you can find it, if you want Backpack you can find it, if you want Spoken Word you can find it, if you want Hipster you can find it…if you want psycho crazy fucked in the head, come to Tech N9ne! I’m like a clusterfuck of all different types, all in one…Kansas City, Missouri!

ABORT: So what is the next stage for Tech N9ne?

Tech: Taking it to as many stages as we can worldwide and turning more heads. It’s sick musically, sick lyrics, and it’s got a Rock type energy to it. We’re actually assembling a Rock band, Kabosh, and we’re currently looking for members, which is hard when you’re on the road all the time like we are, but we’re working on it. We got a lot of ideas, me and Krizz!

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 13 OF ABORT MAGAZINE – OCT. ’09

myspace.com/techn9ne

myspace.com/bigkrizzkaliko

WANT MORE EXCLUSIVES? CLICK HERE

Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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CRIPS and BLOODS: Made in America – Snoop and Weezy Speak Out!

January 29th, 2009 Filed under: News/Calendar/Industry by Editor in Chief


cripsandbloodsmovie.com

Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

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August 13th, 2007 Filed under: by Editor in Chief



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