[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/11040260[/vimeo]
Nothing special in that video as far as tricks go. But I feel it captures that vibe of what goes on when you are at the skatepark or the trails and you are just start doing stupid stuff with your friends. It never fails that every session will eventually degrade into a bunch of dork tricks. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In bummer news:
One of my all time favorite hip hop artists, Guru, passed away this week. I’m not one to mourn a celebrity, but this one made me pause for a second. Gang Star was the soundtrack for a lot of dumb shit I did as a youth, and it seemed that as I grew up so did Guru’s sound. I regard the Jazzmatazz series of albums as some of the most visionary works of hip hop ever made, with Volume 1 being my personal favorite. I know there are some readers here that might not fully appreciate hip hop/rap music, but I would suggest looking into some of these albums and giving them a shot. You just might be pleasantly surprised.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FzV21Lqd3A&feature=related[/youtube]
keep it dirty…
jazzmatazz Vol 1 http://www.mediafire.com/?iiywomltolz
head-nodding goodness, no doubt
i’m with you, ol’ dirty bikestard.
i hate to see someone go so young. i was listening to GangStarr all day yesterday. it made me sad.
Guru was one of the greatest MC’s of all time. I’ve been knocking Hard to Earn steady for three days now. Oddly enough, I dug it out the crates the day prior to his passing. Weird. I just had it in my head and went looking for it. Mass Appeal is a bomb track, even 16 years after the record dropped. (On a side note; damn I’m old)
I’ll post a few embeds of some of my fav tracks for your listening pleasure.
Gang Starr – Mass Appeal
Gang Starr – Full Clip
Gang Starr – Code Of The Streets
Gangstarr – You Know My Steez
Gang Starr – Work
Gang Starr – Above The Clouds (Feat. Inspectah Deck)
fuck, watch the ripples of sadness travel. i remember so many hot tempe nights riding 20″ around ASU with guru laying rhymes as i rode. always the perfect camouflage for my fears, i felt invisible and just a part of the darkness as a part of the city.
the best music is forever.
Hey Snake Hawk,
I absolutely respect you but please DO NOT tell me that Rap is music!!
I hate that shit, down here we have untold Pacific Islanders & Maori trying to be Bloods & Cripps & the Rap element does not help.
I live next to a rental & some of the shit that I’ve heard from their stereos makes me want to puke!! Plus I have a teenager in the house.
Sorry I’m 70s & 80s music, I can finally afford to buy the music that I grew up with
I don’t know if it’s music, poetry, or art. Or all three. But I feel it. I’ve been studying and listening to it all night.
Hey BJ,
It’s none of that. It’s just fucking misogynistic ranting, (in my humble opinion), but I do accept that I’m in a different part of the world & I grew up in a different time.
(Whoo, Nam flash backs, make that Namibia).
Rap in general may be “misogynistic ranting,” but I didn’t see much of that in Guru’s lines. Ridiculous chest thumping bravado? Maybe so.
Not sure how much it matters to the conversation, but this guy was rumored to be gay. (I personally don’t care about his sexual orientation – I like his music) That just opens up a whole other level. Are claims of multiple lovers only cover? Is it all tongue in cheek? I don’t know. The hip-hop (rap, whatever) community is about as ridiculous as anything could ever be – essentially a lot of idiots with money. But it sure is fun at times.
Please do not use the term ‘Tongue in cheek’ & Gay in the same post.
Moving on, It all ends up with some kid getting shot by the police because he feels that he has to be ‘stanch’ & be a ‘bro’
@Hurben – Not the time or the place. Pick it up another time – if you want…
Gotcha, apologies to any that I’ve offended
elbowspeak Says:
“@Hurben – Not the time or the place. Pick it up another time – if you want…”
why isn’t this the time or place? Seems to me he’s voicing his opinion on a website that’s dedicated to people voicing their opinions. Seems to me he’s making a comment thats incredibly relevant to the subject of the blogpost. Whether anyone agrees with him is pretty much irrelevant.
Maybe I missed it somewhere, did Big Jonny turn the censorship keys over to you at some point?
Zen, it is inappropriate. We are talking about an artist that I personally have only fond memories for and hurben is talking about the music style that he doesn’t enjoy hearing at all. So yeah, give it a rest and let us mourn a truly unique artist in a musical style that doesn’t have too many shining stars of this quality.
“So now you know the flavor
It’s not about the stuff I gave ya
and my behavior is based on strong
feelings I have, of you and me, it’s like a bond
A treasure, not to be corny but word
I wanna give you all the joy that you deserve
I know we argue, sometimes I start to annoy you
But we should never ever, try to destroy two
hearts joined, intertwined with a passion
Give me a chance love, that’s all I’m askin
and furthermore, you can be sure that I’ll do
every little thing you need, yes it’s true
I’m not desperate, but I’m the one for you
Trust me, I love you
Trust me, I need you
Trust me, I want you
Trust me..
Trust me, I love you
Trust me, I need you
Trust me, I want you
Trust me..
”
I feel in love with my ex-wife to that song back when we were teenagers. It rips me apart knowing I can never listen to it again with her.
i cannot believe some of the shit you guys argue about.
i never listened to gang starr until just now and even though i think his name is stupid his lyrics flow. thanks for posting this. i needed new music to DL anyways.
forget the shoes and shirt…get that lad some sunscreen…and maybe some brakes
Colin M Says:
“Zen, it is inappropriate. We are talking about an artist that I personally have only fond memories for and hurben is talking about the music style that he doesn’t enjoy hearing at all.”
So basically you and elbow are telling hurben to STFU because you disagree with his opinion, but jonny speculating on gurus sexual orientation and saying “The hip-hop (rap, whatever) community is about as ridiculous as anything could ever be – essentially a lot of idiots with money” is on-topic and tactful in the context of mourning his death.
Right.
You people are idiots. Rap has no redeeming musical value and it’s social redemption is strictly as a commentary on modern urban culture – no philosophical poignancy whatsoever.
And what the hell does his death have to do with your ex? would you be able to listen to it with her if he had _not_ died? I’m thinking the reason you can’t listen to it together is because you’re divorced, not because he died. Get a grip.
“this is life
it’s a fucked up thing we do
it’s a nightmare come true
or a playground if we choose
and I choose”
Those are words you can live by.
OK, out of ‘respect’ for a deceased ‘artist’ I’ll not comment any further, especially since you and elbows idea of free speech is that which you agree with.
Damn Zen, way to go telling people to be open minded, and then categorically ruling out an entire art form. Way to be a hypocrite. Rap/Hip-Hop, like every other genre of art, has good examples and bad examples. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean it has no musical value. Just because I don’t particularly care for Still Life paintings, doesn’t mean I’m going to claim they’re a waste of paint…
@Hurben thanks for bringing it up…I knew there would be some anti rap blow back as soon as i posted this. But i thin k the message i was trying to convey was that this might be different. This isn’t music about some little prick trying to live out his gangster thug fantasy. Jazzmatazz was the collaboration of a great street poet with some of the most amazing jazz musicians of modern times. It was about taking those rhymes and making it conscious, meaningfull and musical. my personal definition is, SKILL + PASSION = ART.I think geography might have something to do with it but at the same time that this music was shaping one aspect of my youth i have vivid memories of my grandmother singing Italian folk songs while cooking Sunday dinner, my mother singing along to paul simon’s graceland, and my father wrenching on his Harley while rocking to black sabbath and Bocephus. It was and still is all art. hopefully you will download that album in post #1, sit down with a beer and some headphones and give it a fair shake.
I’ve never heard anything of the rap genre to convince me that it’s worth even two seconds of my time. But hell, alot of y’all probably couldn’t stand my Miles Davis, Bill Evans, J. S. Bach, Leonard Cohen or Paganini that I depend on to return me back to my home in relative sanity.
Can we all just agree to disagree and talk about bikes for a change? Thanks.
guru put genuine conscientious effort into sending a positive message, and dj premiere backed him perfectly for years. thank you judi, he did it with awesome flow. i won’t try to convince anyone here that doesn’t like rap to start seeing otherwise.
you guys are about to make me break out some Run DMC!
Miles is good with me. Sketches of Spain is one of my favorites. I have a hard time getting my head around his more experimental stuff, but I can appreciate that it’s skillful from a musician’s standpoint…
Rock your Adidas, Judi…
@Zen
and you follow up by quoting The Offspring? I love when assholes use big words to make it seem like they know what they are talking about. Philosophical poignancy my ass.
Thanks for giving yourself a STFU, it was well deserved. I find it funny that joe mentions some amazing artists THAT HAD NO LYRICS! Hip hop is one of the few musical styles where the lyrics actually have meaning, and yes that often comes out as urban social commentary which some of us can actually relate to. So yeah, I’m bummed about losing an artist who could combine the jazz and hip hop styles and make some beautiful music that taps into tons of my memories.
mofos think cycling should be punk rock all the time huh? back to your regular programing.
http://rapradar.com/2010/04/20/mister-cees-guru-tribute-mix/
Guru tribute mix tape if anyone wants a listen. enjoy
Colin,
Thanks for the link. That is a damn good one.
Really, really good music – I sure he would appreciate the outpouring of tribute. I’ve watched nearly every one of the links in the comments, and I love that shit!
@DirtyBiker,
Just got back from work & caught up on this thread. I can’t access this site from work anymore thanks to the Mayor of Verde, our Internet Nazis are all over it.
I am surprosed by the emotion.
I did what you suggested, got a VB, (well several, Victoria Bitter, good Australian beer, the New Zealand commercial beers are just crap), & listened to all the links.
I’m sorry, I just don’t get it.
Which is fine, I probably should not have jumped in so quickly with my opinion.
Like Electric Joe & yourself I have a wide musical taste, from Beethoven & Bach, through Floyd Cramer, (my parents loved him, I always feel comforted listening to him), through the 60’s, to present day.
I had the once in a life time experience last week of going to a Carol King & James Taylor concert, I walked out of there with a smile on my face & a feeling of $100 well spent.
I did not pick up on the feeling of the thread, Americans seem to attach more emotion to their idols. I worked for an American company for several years from NZ. We would fly to the States several times a year to integrate our software with the local teams. We were all at a party at the Directors house watching NASCAR on the day that Dale Earnhardt died, the party stopped right there with everyone getting in their cars in tears & leaving.
I’ll do better next time.
Alls I’m sayin’ is there’s a huge tonal buffet out there. Should be something for everyone, no matter how picky you are. Mmmmmm, buffet…
Oh, and Hurben-Damned if I get NASKKKAR either. Or soccer riots, come to think of it. Strange world we got going on here, I’ll say that.
First to dirty being to young to remember Guru on the radio I do have some of the albulms and very sad to hear he is gone.
Second the fact is Rap has gotten a bad rap. (Oh comeon dont be so serious.)
I love a lot of music and would hate for that not to include hip hop.
To Hurben and others since Im sure your still reading I am. It took me quite awhile to stop judging music and instead appreciate or don’t just don’t judge.
So it sounds like your from down under Aus or NZ cant tell try one more link this is hip hop from Austrailia. This is one of my favorite artists and songs is. You cant judge everyone just because of some bad apples.
Remember its not about the beat its about the story the words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hy6WEv_nOM
@CadetCyclist
Thanks for that, I listened to it & yes it’s probably the better Rap music that I’ve heard.
Unfortunately I also pissed myself laughing at the very strong, very white, Australian Ocker accent trying to be bad arse.
(Sorry, it’s a NZ vs OZ thing but what’s great about these two countries is that we take the piss but the moment that there’s shit, we’re there for each other).
In exchange, here’s my favorite Australian band, the Legendry Cold Chisel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFnKf9xSIgw&feature=related
Also, here’s NZ’s best known Hip Hop artist – Scribe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6z2iu5vA5Y
@ Hurben. I’m an NZer, Scribe is totally lame, same generic shit over and over, totally love Hilltop Hoods, the ocker wannaber gangsta sound with something to say is way better than wannabe Scribe re-wording the same lame phrases over and over, gettin old now 8 years down the track…
Love this Hoods track (specially since it’s been in a few riding vids):
Song starts 30 secs in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmHUXCKXmuI
@SNRNZ,
I didn’t say whether Scribe was good or bad, only that he was NZ’s best known Hip Hop star, which by record charts etc he is.
Personaly I don’t give a shit, it’s not my kind of music, I may be a relic but my music is Free, Led Zepplin, Cold Chisel,Grateful Dead, Humble Pie etc.
Fair enough, haha, thought you were just saying they’re shit cos they’re Aussies, then holding up Scribe as being a better example of downunder music! Agree on the best selling front, just as people in general lap up shitty department store bikes, it seems shit sells in music. Justin Bieber anyone? Also like your music selection.