by Brian on January 28, 2010 filed in Visual Posts
I remember during Obama’s run for presidency documenting and collecting all of the art inspired by and supporting his campaign. It was fascinating to watch; from Shepard Fairey and Scott Hansen to Chuck Anderson and Cody Hudson, the list of artists that fought for change through their craft is long and deep. Realizing the significance of this grassroots movement, the Obama camp is putting together a book called Designing Obama which documents how art helped fuel his campaign.
Soulstrut and Waxidermy, the two record forums that I frequent multiple times a day, are holding record auctions to help raise funds for earthquake victims in Haiti. Both are calling their fund raising efforts “Heatrocks for Haiti.”
The original Heatrocks auctions came on the heels of Hurricane Katrina when members of the Soulstrut collective auctioned off hundreds of records raising thousands of dollars to aid hurricane victims. This round of auctions should be even bigger and better with two collectives joining forces. Lots of great records are up already with many more to be added in the next few days. An awesome way to get some cool music while contributing to a great cause.
After college I tried my hand at production, messing around and recording backpacker rap tracks with friends. I started off with stuff like Acid Pro, Fruity Loops and all that stuff until I eventually splurged for an MPC XL2000. Nowadays it seems you can make just about anything on a computer, but I don’t think any program has been able to emulate the natural feeling of the MPC’s pads. I’ve always thought that Jel from Anticon was one of the best MPC performers I’d ever seen, but I saw this video of new Dipset producer AraabMuzik and damn; kids have been steeping their game up. Impressive stuff.
Here’s a beautiful live version of Novos Baianos’ “Mysterio Do Planeta” taken from their album Acabou Chorare. I used this track for my Braziliance mix, but this version sounds even better to my ears.
ne of my biggest regrets of 2009 was not making it down to LA for Mochilla’s Timeless series, a 3-part concert that commemorated three legendary figures in music: Mulatu Astatke, J Dilla, and Arthur Verocai. Each has had profound impact on hip hop music, J Dilla more directly than the other two, but more than [...]
