Remix Hotel After Party video clip

Make sure you check out LiveStreamsLA.com for video footage from the Remix Hotel After party at the Avalon. Dennis chops it up with DJ Rocky Rock and Tak of Styles Of Beyond/Demigodz/Fort Minor!

More clips are on the way, big shouts to everyone at Mackie and all who showed us love at the Remix Hotel!

Bomb Azz Music

Here are some more songs, old and new,that are on heavy rotation at the Canhead compound.

Akon-Can You Believe It

They Don't Know-Paul Wall ft. Mike Jones & Bun B-video- Windows Media Real Player

Notorious BIG - Spit Your Game feat. Twista & Bone Thugs N HarmonyWindows Media Medium Real Medium

King Kong- Self Scientific w/ Bun B & General Principles-GZA & DJ Muggs

The Offical-Jaylib

Leanin'-Boneface Windows Media-Real Player

Damian Marley ft Nas - Road To Zion [Welcome to Jamrock]

Field Mob w/ Ludacris-"Georgia" Windows Media High

Gangsta Lean: Q's Chopped and Screwed Reviews

If you don’t know about the "chopped and screwed" phenomenon that has taken over some sectors of the hip-hop world, you’re in for a psychedelic preview. Sex, drugs and rock and roll has mutated in the rap world with the emergence of the “Screwed up” sounds of the south. While this murky mixing style lay in it’s narcotic origins, the sound has crossed the black market and landed in the laps of corporate America with amazing results.


Trying to detail the history of the “screwed” sound is a thick, trippy experience. About 15 years ago, DJ Screw, a Texas DJ stumbled across a style of mixing that incorporated super slowed vocals, quick edit chops, cuts and scratches. The sound fit perfectly with the new drug of choice, a liquid tranquilizer concoction with Promethazine, nicknamed “syrup”, “oil”, and “lean”. It gave it’s users an altered reality where sounds and movements are slowed down. It seems that many in the south felt like Huey Lewis did, and not only wanted a new drug, they had seemingly invented their own.

It didn’t take long for the drug, sound and accompanying Dixie cups to travel all over Texas and adjoining southern states. Soon rival DJs began composing slowed down mix tapes, all with the Screwed up sound. Many local emcees like Mike Jones, Lil Flip, Paul Wall and Slimm Thugg, found their way to fame by being featured on “screw” tapes made by either DJ Screw or Michael Watts. It wasn't long before the sound was the hottest thing in hip-hop music. Ironically, DJ Screw, the founder of the sound was the first casualty of the narcotic brew. It is said that his untimely death was the result of years of abusing Promethazine. His passing may have hurt his family, close friends and business associates, but it also made him a martyr of sorts. It was because of him that several people were able gain national attention and million dollar record deals. The “screwed up” sound lives on and looks to get bigger and bigger every day.
One of the best selling CDs to feature a full “chopped and screwed” remix and release is Lil Jon & The Eastside Boys “Crunk Juice” . Once you pop the CD in the deck, you are immediacy greeted with Lil Jon’s patented voice, slowed to the point that his recognizable yell is replaced with a low toned, from the gut growl. The world famous screw tape maker, DJ Michael “5000” Watts does his thing, chopping and mixing the ATL producer’s CD with perfection.

The CD takes a entirely new feel that may not sit well with newcomers. Usher's silky smooth voice on "Lovers and Friends" is transformed into a deep, murky baritone. It will be a hard pill to swallow for rookies or crunk haters. Fans of the sound will be thrilled to hear the ESB trill-ness screwed up. Although it may be an acquired taste for some, others will hear this CD and hazily reminisce on the good days when DJ Screw was the man supplying the lean fiends with a soundtrack to the streets. You do not have to be high to enjoy the CD. The music is so dope that listening to it alone might give you a contact high.

Final verdict-Lil Jon & The East Side Boys-Crunk Juice Chopped & Screwed=Dope in a Dixie Cup! Raise your crunk juice cups and toast the memory of a hip-hop innovator, DJ Screw, RIP!

Related links

Bone Thugs and Harmony are set to release a new CD, “Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Greatest Hits” chopped up by DJ Michael “5000” Watts on November 15th. Get a taste of the crunkness by clicking the links below.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony E-Card

"First of the Month" audio links
WINDOWS MEDIA
REAL

"Notorious Thugs" audio links
WINDOWS
REAL

Wattsrec.com

DJ Screw VH-1 Bio

Lil Jon Is Syrup Sippin' As "Crunk Juice" Gets Chopped & Screwed

Video Still Tippin' (Chopped Screwed... Mike Jone

Launch "Chopped and Screwed search results

RRG #13

~Slang Editorial ~What's good party people? Lots of news on the streets this week, as everyone seemed to have something jumping off. The real world has been on one as well, as the news has more drama than your momma's soaps, with less hope. No matter what, you can count on Uncle Q to come thru with the word on the street. Let's get it started like Fergie's lady humps.

My lovely lady humps are really, really good! My armpits, however, are really really funky!

In The News

France is burning! I don't know which is worse, the madness going on in France or the fact that it has been going on for over ten days and just heard about it on Saturday. I watch the news with one eye as I'm always online, but I don't recall hearing or seeing this anywhere nine or ten days ago. Is it just me? (Shouts to InnerVision for the first blog post about the riots that
I saw)
Chirac vows action as riots spread

Riot police hurt as France vows order will be restored

French rioters injure, shoot at police

~Archaeologists Unveil Ancient Church Site

~Denver votes to legalize marijuana

~The Word On The Street

The West Coast hip-hop legends Daz & Kurupt are back with a new album "Dillinger
&Young Gotti II: Tha Saga Continuez". The album is in stores now, but if you want to hear a little of the new heat, listen to the cut "DPGC Muzik, here (WMP) and here (Real)

~50 Cent Disagrees With Kanye West about the George Bush doesn't like black
people comment.

~ Check out the new Pitbull single featuring Pretty Ricky, called "Everybody
Get Up", off his upcoming album "Money Is Still A Major Issue".

QT lo

http://www.pitbullmusic.com/promotions/link.jsp?link=01329

QT hi

http://www.pitbullmusic.com/promotions/link.jsp?link=01328

WM lo

http://www.pitbullmusic.com/promotions/link.jsp?link=01327

WM hi

http://www.pitbullmusic.com/promotions/link.jsp?link=01326

A few post back, I mentioned that legendary group, The Band, released a box set of their greatest hits, entitled "A Musical History". I thought I would get the box set to review. What I got instead was a single disc compilation of the box set. I mean, I'm not complaining, it's just that I really don't know much about the group, and trying to get a full history lesson in one disc is damn near impossible. On top of the fact that I know 5 CDs are in the collection in all.

Regardless, the CD I got has some of The Band's best work from the early Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks and the timeless "Who Do You Love", to the later Hawkins-less Band. Only one Bob Dylan cut, "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" is here, but I imagine the box set has much more. Songs like the funky "Life Is A Carnival", "Move Me", with it's R&B influences clearly shining through, the ready for hip-hop intro drums of "Baby Don't You Do It", and the striking farmer's ode "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" make up for the single CD.

This one makes a great Christmas gift for the musically educated people on yourlist this year. If you have a hard time thinking of someone who would appreciate this one, send me an email, and we'll find out a worthy recipient!

~Winter Heaters---Here's a few of the songs, old and new, warming up the WMPs and IPods
nationwide.

1. Reboot-Notes From The Next Generation compilation CD

2. The Fugees-Take It Easy

3.Kanye West & Lupe Fiasco-Touch The Sky

4.Happy Hour- Jazzy Pha & Cee-Lo

5.Kryptonite-Purple Ribbon Label All Stars

6.Lovin' It- Little Brother or Real file

7.WMP: T-Pain - "I'm Sprung" ( WMP Lo) also at Vibe

8.IAM feat. Prodigal Sunn- "La Saga"

9.Busta Rhymes-"Touch It"

10.Just-Ice-"Cold Getting Dumb"

~ That's it for now. Stay tuned for more bang, bang, boogie for your Blogcritic bucks here at RRG!

Welcome To The Hotel California-Remix Hotel hits LA, Nov 4-6, 2005

Remix Hotel invaded The Musician's Institute in Hollywood this weekend, giving music tech heads a inside peek at a virtual MIDI heaven! The long running conference has established itself as the place to see new music technology. This weekend was no exception as musicians experienced first hand the "total technology immersion" that was Remix Hotel 2005. The
Musicians Institute proved to be the perfect setting for the conference, as the classrooms were filled with soft and hardware manufacturers showing their new products. Many companies offered small workshop sessions of their new gear, while the main auditorium served as the meeting room for the panels and performances. The halls of The Musician's Institute were filled producers, musicians pro and novice, students and curious onlookers, wondering where all
the ruckus was coming from.

The world famous event kicked off Friday night, October 4th, in Hollywood for the first time. As I walked into the main passages, I was greeted by a DJ Battle, with a grand prize of $5,000, that was just starting in the main passage. Several people were gathered, listening to the DJs show off their skills on the new Mackie D-2 mixer. The vibe was very cordial and all seemed to be very excited to see Remix in Los Angeles. Up in the VIP section, we were treated to
appetizers by The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. Appetizers isn't really the right word for a Turkey & Roast Beef with cheese sandwich, salad, cookies, soda and
free Brahma beer. That' a full lunch in my opinion, but the point is they treated us very well. The fun was just beginning.

The real action took place on Saturday, as the panels and showcases kicked in full gear. One of the drawbacks of one of these events is there are so many things to do and see, you will invariably miss something. Personally, I was more drawn to the product showcases than the panels. I could have spent the entire day in the Digidesign/M-Audio room, listening to the M-Audio workshop. The guys at M-Audio started a Pro Tools M Powered 7 session to show the ease of the updated program. Later we watched as violinist and M-Audio rep Laura Escude played live and record on the fly with the new M Powered 7. The performance, production and the program are were equally impressive.

I got lost in the Vestax room for about an half hour, and had to go back later for another half hour. Vestax may not be the biggest name in DJ gear, but they are about to change all that with some of their new product. As I am a soon to be out of retirement DJ, I was able to fill my Christmas wish list in this one room. I may be on the fence as to which CD Player I want, there is no doubt about that the QFO DJ, designed by DJ QBert and Yoga Frog, is the one thing I need in my life. With it's built in mixer, cross fader curve control, 2 Band EQ, 180 degrees of pitch control, this turntable looks like a model of the Millennium Falcon, with the same amount of fire power. (Click here to see video of D JQBert working the QFO!)

When Joe Jack Giacopelli, the Vestax rep, held the QFO turntable on it's side and the thing kept playing the record, I was done. Good thing this wasn't a cash and carry event, because I would be broke right about now. If that wasn't enough, the TT-M1vinyl control unit sealed the deal. The little device connects into your CD player and hooks onto your turntable, giving DJ the option to scratch their CD, on a turntable with real time feel that some CD turntables lack. This went on the top of my wish list!

Actually, there were great products in all the rooms! The Roland/Edirol room had the slick
Motion Drive Tokyo Performance package. The VJ software acts like visual synthesizer, with it's cross fader and clip cue sections. This tool is great for live performances and comes with a controller unit. The Rane Serato room had the impressive Scratch Live program that is slowly taking over DJ booths worldwide. The software/hardware combo set allows you to mix files from your computers CD or hard drive and connects them to your turntables. It comes with 2 vinyl LPs that have are coded to work with the program. In other words, you can take your laptop with ALL your music files to the party, and never have to carry and re-stock those heavy flight cases again. This program is the hottest thing on the block right now. If your a DJ and you don't have this yet, you're sleeping! This is a must have!

I could go on and on about the products. Pioneer, Numark, Cakewalk, Stanton, Rane, and Alesis are just a few of the sponsors that were on hand at Remix Hotel. I did manage to catch a few seconds of the panel "Record & Radio Production in the Digital Age." Walking through the halls of M.I., I bumped into a legendary hip-hop producer, Hank Shocklee and kicked it with him for a minute before he was mobbed by fans, producers, and anyone else who recognized the world famous beat smith. I wanted to get a in-depth interview with him, but he was whisked away to the panel session. I also caught up with Dan The Automator in the VIP area, and exchanged hellos and monkey prices between appetizer bites. Grandmaster DST was in the spot as well, along with the soon to be large hip-hop/r&b new age duo, Sa-Ra. As the night approached, we all went to the after party at the Avalon, for more good times and free booze.

All in all, Remix Hotel was a tremendous success. The event continued on Sunday, but this mild mannered reporter took a rain check. The night's party before really took a toll on me, as the free drinks flowed from 7pm to well in the morning. Stay tuned for the filmed coverage from The Remix Hotel and the after party at my affiliate site, LiveStreamsLA.com.

Thanks to Eric Hutton (send the girls to Miami) and Kylee Swenson at Remix Magazine, Shelli Andranigian at Andranigian Media (hope you didn't get lost!), Pinky Vargas at Mackie (Tell them Pinky sent you!), Maureen at NARAS (sorry about the tired comment, I meant it as a compliment to a job well done) John Ikuma and everyone at Musicians Institute for hosting a incredible event.

Next stop...REMIX HOTEL, MIAMI 2006!

Welcome To Jamrock: The Return of Jr. Gong

By now, reggae fans have had more than enough time to review Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley's new CD. The long awaited new CD has hit a chord with music fans worldwide, as the Welcome to Jamrock single has spawned several musical clones, i.e. Lil' Kim's "Lighters Up" and several mixtape remixes, and was the biggest songs of the summer.

The album debuted at the number 7 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, an usually rare feat for reggae artist. "Jamrock isn't the only hit on the album, as their are several future single hits on deck. Surprisingly, the album features music outside the ranges if reggae, as Damian effortlessly blends hip-hop, pop and reggae styling on this disc.

Some of the more notable cuts on the album are "All Night", with it's swinging ska rhythm, "Road To Zion" featuring Nas, and the up-tempo "Exodus" recreation, "Move", and of course, the summer heater, "Welcome To Jamrock". This is the third release for Damian, and is by far his best work. As expected, he does invoke his fathers spirit with a few few songs, one being "Pima's Paradise" as cut shared with Black Thought of the Roots. He has proven that he can stand on his own two feet musically, and his respectful covers of his fathers work is understandable. While the Marley covers are a solid offering, I would have preferred a full album that is all Damian, and no Bob.


All in all, "Welcome To Jamrock" is a welcome change and diverse offering from Jr. Gong. Make sure you get your copy, as this album lives up to the Marley legacy. With appearances by Bobby Brown, Bounty Killer & Ekk-A-Mouse, Roveta Frasser, and Stephen Marley, this one is a must own for music fans worldwide.

Final Verdict-Daman Marley "Welcome To Jamrock"= LIGHTERS IN THE AIR, MORE FIRE!

More links:
http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/

http://www.afiwi.com/music/interviews/damian_jr_gong_marley.html

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2607.html

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2607.html