+++ Snax has just published a pretty depressing article on the Huffington Post about the homophobic and racist reactions to the video of song “It’s Time To Get Paid” (a collaboration with Yo!Majesty member Shunda K). Read it here. Germans can watch the video here.
+++ The mysterious Manchester group No Ceremony have remixed Patrick Wolf’s “Time Of My Life”. You can stream and download the song here (via Snipe London). I also recommend the download of their lastest single “Wearme” on their homepage (via Joey).
+++ “Is hip-hop homophobia at a tipping point?” is an article about homophobia in contemporary hip hop by author Alex Macpherson, who sees a new openness amongst amongst a new generation of rappers such as Tyler, The Creator and Lil B, who got death threats for declaring to name his new record “I’m Gay” at his Coachella gig. (via Christian) +++
+++ Odd Future artist Frank Ocean has just released a free mixtape called “Nostalgia, Ultra”, which convinces with a smooth, eclectic R’nB sound. Ocean is mentioned in the Guardian article above for a pro-gay-marriage statements in his song “We all try” by the way, which makes his stuff even more likable. You can download it via datPiff (via Christian) +++
+++ Electrosexual has released a new free song called “Break You Nice”, a collaboration with Scream Club. The track is a remix of Italian artist Hard Ton and will be released as a limited 12″ pressed on Electrosexual’s label Rock Machine Records. You can steam and download it here (via Joey/Top Secret):
Even got deleted from Vimeo, so yes: not very safe for work (except you have very liberal colleagues). Gio Black Peter’s “The Virgin Shuffle Album” is out via ITunes, you can stream it on his website. Picture by Slava Mogutin.
Another nice event at Berlin’s Hebbel theater: Tim Stüttgen, editor of the “Post Porn Politics” reader I mentioned here earlier this year, is curating an event called “Body Language”, the third edition of a series called “Life is Live”. I quote from the English introduction on the theater’s website: “For three days ‘Body Language’ will explore the question if queer role models are capable of expressing criticism about sexual normalisation in the medium of pop culture, without at the same time giving up the claim for a change. What exactly is happening when gestures serving the self-understanding of subcultures meet pop culture’s universal mechanisms of appropriation? Can this encounter be told as the story of an appropriation that happens over and over again? Which are the constructive perspectives of queer interventions into pop culture?”
Sorry dear Facebook-friends for the double-post: Rapper Black Cracker has recently contributed some raps to a bunch of songs of “Smooth Danger”, the upcoming album of the Swiss (post-)jazz duo Grand Pianoramax. The album will be released in late October, you can pre-listen the awesome tracks “Roulette” and “Sleepwalker” on their bandcamp page. After touring with the guys through Europa and India (below you can watch a video of their gig in Mubai), from today on Mr. Cracker will visit Switzerland and Berlin for six solo gigs – you find the tour dates below the video. Still available for free: Black Cracker’s “PreTty Boy Mixtape”.
Dominique Young Unique is a 19-year-old rap talent from Florida I recently introduced here. Dominique has finally released her long-awaited “Domination Mixtape“, an incredibly fresh and eclectic mix of stuff she’s currently into. Click here to directly download the complete (zipped) mix and here for the Soundcloud page where you can check out the tape. From here it’s just gonna take another click to a mash-up record called “The Notorious xx“, for which a 24-year-old New Yorker called “Charlie” has laid the raps of Mr. B.I.G. over the beats of the self-titled album of the still omnipresent The xx. If that sounds like an interesting project to you don’t hesitate download to the record here because there are signs that its days are numbered. Oh, and please let me know as soon as any of the links stop working!
Dominique Young Unique is a 19-year old rapper from Tampa, Florida who learned her trade under the wings of YoMajesty, with whose producer David Alexander she is currently working on a new release (it’s either her new “Blaster E.P. or a mixtape called “Domination” or both) for Alexander’s label Art Jam Records. Apart from her current single “Show my Ass” (vido below) you find a whole bunch of other songs by Dominique on Einstein Music Journal and on her Facebook page. You should also check out Expatriarch.com for some more information about the lady and a remix of “Show my Ass” by Jay Haze. Thanks Joey for being my source here.
Black Cracker aka Celena Glenn is the producer of Bunny Rabbit‘s amazingly weird hipster hip hop album “Lovers And Crypts” (video of the single “Lovers And Crypts” below), which was released in 2007 on Voodoo-EROS, the label of CocoRosie’s Bianca Casady. Last year Bunny Rabbit and Black Cracker split up (they were a couple) and since then Cracker lives in Paris and works on her solo career (Bunny Rabbit is now part of the duo Follower). A big new step into this direction is the PreTty Boy Mixtape, which can be downloaded for free and sounds pretty promising. The “mixtape” is rather some sort of debut album (I suppose it’s something like a “test record”) and consists of 11 pretty straighforward but still kind of rough new tracks. A few days ago The New Gay has posted an interview with Black Cracker about her current status as a solo artist, which actually is the main source for this post, so thanks guys!
Diplo has currently been working on a new little documentary series called “No One is Safe,” in which he explores the music styles and scenes he’s into. In the pilot of the series you can watch below you see him walking around in New Orleans to find out more about the history of Bounce music and the state it’s in today. He manages to meet Sissy Nobby and Big Freedia, the two trans rappers and Bounce artists I mentioned on CF in December, which demonstrate him how surprisingly peaceful gay and straight people can coexist on a party night in New Orleans (as long as some girls shake their asses). It’s a nice coincidence that I’ve found a new video by Sissy Nobby this morning, because now posting it kind of feels like completing a circle.
