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I mean.. can you fucking imagine if some dude from Pitchfork or Rolling Stone sat down with Necro and just asked him these questions? It would be the greatest shit ever. Shout out to all the retard Necro fans for really getting the casual listener inside the mind of Ron Braunstein.

Trees and Marty hate when I post my Boston Phoenix shit here on JTTS…

But last time I checked they ain’t had no exclusive Nas interviews…

So fuck those dudes. Hate me now fuckers.

And don’t forget – for some reason or another, Rock the Bells Boston has been moved to 9/24.

Fuck Tom Brokaw, because my generation was the greatest. We spelunked through moldy crates to trace samples to their roots; we respected the architects; we supported Eric B. for president. Our treasured artists reminded us to pay homage, from Biggie propping Lovebug Starsky, to Nas swimming down “Memory Lane.” So now that our heroes are two decades deep in the game, inhabiting unmapped terrain as the second wave of rap elders, it’s only right that they’re shown the same appreciation…

“[Rock the Bells] brings me back to the place where it all started,” says Nas, who has headlined the tour for four straight years, and now owns a piece of Guerilla Union, the promotion company behind it. “It brings me back to a lifestyle, a way of thinking, and a way of MCing that can seem strange now, because — unfortunately — there’s a part of that that’s missing in today’s game. Things change, and I respect that, but there’s a part that’s gone.”

Photo By Tone (photobytone.com)

A few weeks ago I received the best damn music news I’ve heard since finding out that Bob Dylan’s grandson got signed to Young Money (real talk). I don’t care much about the business side of boom bap anymore, but this bombshell was loud enough to divert my attention from everything I hate about contemporary hip-hop. This time the good guy emerged on top, and got signed to one of the last imprints that really matters.

As of right now Queens laureate Boy Sand is officially rocking with the best at Stones Throw, which, for those who don’t know, is the unanimous label preference of both genuinely obsessed vinyl-philes, and the worst kind of indie poseurs who, 20 years ago, were probably telling people how much they liked that rapper Brand Nubian. Nevertheless, it’s that underground ubiquity that makes Stones Throw so special – that along with unrivaled spontaneity. (more…)

It’s hard to evaluate life-threatening illnesses if you skipped med school to kick rhymes. Still, countless members of the rap community diagnosed Boston MC Akrobatik (real name: Jared Bridgeman) on Twitter, spreading unsubstantiated reports that he had suffered a heart attack, and subsequently slipped into a coma, on May 12.

Some gossipers meant well. Others were just feeding the frenzy. But the only slice of the story that most of them got right is that there’s an all-star benefit for Akro this Saturday at the Middle East.

“I guess you could say that a lot of people took some liberties,” says Akro, who is not in a coma, and fielded our call at the beach near his East Boston apartment. “I understand how that sort of thing happens, but there were really very few people who were right there with me and who knew exactly what was going on.”

In his first interview since the episode, which caused major worry in the rap blogosphere, Akro shared some details about his condition. On May 12, while relaxing at home by himself, Akro had an aortic dissection, a condition often linked to high blood pressure. A valve in his heart became ruptured, leading to his having surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“It was an emergency situation,” he says. “And sure, it could be simplified as a heart attack. But the way I look at it now, what’s important is that I’m lucky to live so close to MGH, that I had the wherewithal to dial 911, and that I’m a really active dude who’s been able to recover quickly.”

READ IT ALL HERE

Let’s be honest. For the past decade or so, there have essentially been two Greater Boston hip-hop scenes — one for which the audience is black, and one for which the audience is not-so-black. As in many cities, the black scene is typically called “street,” while whiteboys use the term “underground” to describe their tastes. This reality has historically been too taboo to touch out loud, yet the silent schism was not lost on first cousins E-Flash and V-Knuckles, whose legendary Cambridge duo, Natural Born Spitters, have enjoyed just a fraction of the worldwide audience that some of their so-called “underground” neighbors have attained.

READ IT ALL HERE

A hooker, an axe murderer, two white supremacists, and a little girl with pigtails are discussing their differences on air. Before long, the little girl is gnawing at the killer’s ankle, while a Ku Klux Klansman takes a desk chair to the head. When that commotion ends, it’s time to play Wheel of Fish, where one lucky contestant can win his or her weight in red snapper.

That’s a description of a scene from the 1989 “Weird Al” Yankovic dorm classic UHF, in which a doomed channel with “the lowest ratings in television history” manages to top every major network in town. It is also the unofficial blueprint and motivation for UNregular Radio, a Downtown Crossing–based online radio station — run by five late-twentysomethings — that in the past year has become a force in Boston’s fringe arts-and-entertainment community.

“That movie was a huge influence,” says John Loftus, who started UNregular in a rented studio two years ago. “When I watched UHF as a kid, I remember thinking there was nothing cooler than having ridiculous programming that you can’t find anywhere else. Nobody’s ever going to approve that kind of shit at a commercial station, but it could turn out to be gold. I guess that’s our business plan.”

READ The Rest Of This Week’s Boston Phoenix Cover Story HERE

By now you’ve heard about how post-this, uber-that, and pre-apocalyptically radical the Los Angeles collective Odd Future is. Or maybe your little sis came home with ringleader Tyler the Creator’s tag tatted on her teenage ta-ta’s. Critics adore them: despite having only inked a distribution deal last week (with RED/Sony), Odd Future — or, formally, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) — has been the object of writerly erections for about eight months now. Meanwhile, female fans cry at the sight of them, and not just because of Tyler’s promise to shove them down a flight of stairs.

Even heads who deplore gratuitous rape rap and hyperbole-hop have been captive audiences for their belligerence. Odd Future is damn near impossible to avoid — even NPR and the New Yorker are on the case. Pitchfork gushes despite the gang’s surreptitious stabs at the site. New York magazine, it seems, has writers covering Odd Future around the clock. And the Boston Phoenix is running this, an entertainment article, in the news section.

How did it all happen? Who foresaw this Odd Future? And how did they end up with an Adult Swim series in the works?

The rap personas of this diverse 10-person posse are well-known — gruff, insane Tyler, bong jockey Domo Genesis, sleeper talents Left Brain and Hodgy Beats, and the rest. For the most part, though, the crew conceals its backstory. Since their prodigious young gun — Tyler’s 16-year-old brother, Earl Sweatshirt — was reportedly shipped off to reform school, they’ve refused to address the subject with reporters. In fact, it’s unclear whether Earl and Tyler really are brothers. The details change with every interview.

But in speaking with the PR guru who helped fuel their buzz — and with Odd Future MC Mike G — it’s possible to understand how this rowdy bunch of SoCal skate villains got the world to swallow on a first date.

READ The Rest of my Boston Phoenix Article HERE

DOWNLOAD Obama Beats Osama Memes HERE

Another dope video from our friends at KarmaLoopTV, this one featuring one of my favorite producers of the moment (and maybe of all time), the legend Ski Beatz. He discusses his past–Jay-Z, Camp Lo–and current projects, such as Currensy’s Pilot Talk series and 24 Hour Karate School.

On a related note, I’ll be joining DS Turner and company tonight from 10-11 PM on 88.9 WMBR for an interview with Ski Beatz for the Musenomix show. Be sure to tune in or listen to the live stream at WMBR.org.

Thank the good lord Nas for Europe. Say what you will about their snotty languages and odd sneakers, young people in urban Denmark, France, and Germany have kept sophisticated hardcore hip-hop alive, allowing savants like Lawrence native Reks to win a slice of the success that he deserves. For grunge-scene veterans and DIY nostalgia whores, the spirit of the ’90s may be alive in Portland, Oregon. But for anybody raised on Hilfiger hoodies and lyricists who spit for sport, Poland is the place to get your move on.

In anticipation of his R.E.K.S. (Brick Records) release party this Saturday at the Middle East, I connected with Reks via Skype from his hotel room in Switzerland, where he’s in the middle of a marathon tour with Statik Selektah, DJ Deadeye, and fellow Lawrence MC Termanology. The fact that we’re chatting at no charge on Skype is significant. Had I been interviewing Rick Ross, he would have likely used the hotel horn, or a roaming cell phone. But this is a blue-collar hustle — a non-stop intercontinental rhyme parade with stops wherever East Coast cats like Reks remain king.

READ IT ALL HERE