Friday January 29th 2010, 3:18 pm
Filed under: music
It’s Friday, and Big Sean just dropped a pretty trill video last night for his freestyle over Gucci’s “Lemonade”. Nobody has the song up, they just got the YouTube. So I decided to do you guys a favor and get you the mp3 before everybody else. Download at the bottom, but check the video directly below.
This is the kinda song that makes you say, “oh, ok. He’s actually kinda nice.” All punch lines and swag rap, but you know what? I’m all the way with it. Say what you will, but Sean is kinda nice. Some of the lines he says will make you scratch your head thinking about how he even thought about that metaphor. It’s some chill stuff, so don’t expect Wu Tang bars, but don’t think he isn’t rappin’, either.
That’s how I felt after he killed that Chip Tha Ripper joint “Fat Raps” alongside Curren$y. Speaking of Hot $pitta, he did his own version of the same beat. I’ll drop that below. Download both tracks below, and tell me who had the better version.
DC to BC started in ’07 as a twice-weekly radio show with my friend Quinn Coleman and I (we went to school in DC together at that school Obamas kids go to now and ended up at Boston College, thus the name; I hope you knew that.) where we played stuff that the big stations didn’t. We were fortunate enough to land KiD CuDi’s first radio interview ever back in ‘07, and since then, we never really looked back. As DC to BC made some respectable leaps and bounds as it evolved from a low-budget, rinky-dink radio show to a makeshift blog run by me and my Macbook. Most recently, Roc Nation signee J. Cole shouted us out in Complexand XXL put us down as one of the 100 Best Hip-Hop Web Sites in their December / January issue. in November, and We’re blessed to have that love from the big guys. But ever since graduating from BC, I‘ve wanted to move on to a new endeavor. That’s why I decided to start The Great Progression.
The Great Progression (also known as The Gee Pee) is a multifaceted movement of sorts started by myself and some friends. I wanted to take what I was doing with DC to BC and enhance it by including more people and more perspectives, but still stay true to the same style of blogging/writing/malarkey that had people coming back for whatever reason. I also wanted to create a brand that is as visible in the streets (events, functions and gatherings) as it is online. It’s purely for entertainment’s sake, but we’re serious about keeping you engaged and reading regularly.
The Gee Pee is a creative collective comprised of people with various interests and from all walks of life. It’s a place to articulate and provoke thoughts, indulge in tomfoolery, expand your musical palette, and fully embrace the elements of various subcultures. It’s more than just a blog – It’s something tangible. We’re real people living real lives, passionate about our interests and motivated by everything around us. Every good English teacher I ever had told me to show and not tell. So don’t trust me. Just check it out, and hopefully it lives up to your expectations.
I can’t give you a concrete launch date at the moment, because it’s bigger than me. I can, however, say that the next thing you should look out for (besides updates on @TheGeePee. Matter fact…follow that joint while you’re here please.) is the 2nd Annual Singles Awareness Day (S.A.D.) Mix Compilation.
Epic artwork, right? Ha. The last one had over 1,000 downloads, and I’m trying to double that this time around. Hopefully, through word of mouth and everything, it’ll hit everybody. I’ll drop it on Friday, February 12th, so by Valentine’s Day you’ll have it memorized. Time to go back to work. I’ve isolated myself from a lot of stuff in order to try and get this stuff together. Oh, and I’ve moved to NYC. Brooklyn, to be exact. But I’m back and forth between home and there until I start my internship at __________ at the beginning of February. While you try and fill in that blank, check out the last S.A.D. mixtape below.
Saturday January 23rd 2010, 4:02 pm
Filed under: PSA
Leaps, strides, bounds, and whatever else goes in that category. Things are moving, and The Great Progression is looking at a launch around 2.10.2010.
Hopefully it’ll be something that you all enjoy. More news coming soon. My bad for the lack of updates, been trying to get myself situated. Finalizing some of this logo / artwork stuff, and assembling the team of writers. I’d like some more girls to contribute, so send me an e-mail with writing samples and area of intrest to info[at]DCtoBC.com.
I’ll be back sooner rather than later. The one thing I ask you guys to do if you’re a loyal fan of the site is to please help me spread the word about the launch, as well as follow the twitter account. @TheGeePee. Thanks, I really appreciate it.
Saturday January 09th 2010, 3:13 pm
Filed under: tomfoolery, video
Nostalgic from my Boston College days, I decided to throw up a video that me and my right hand man Ricardo created the day before we graduated. Exams had us stressed out, so we had to just let loose real quick. Notice how I had a beard, by the way. This is pretty much how every day of school was for us, though. Let’s get it.
Thursday January 07th 2010, 9:25 am
Filed under: sports
If you know me, you know I ride or die for Gilbert Arenas. I won’t lie like I’ve always been on the bandwagon; when he was shipped over from Golden State, the majority of Washington’s sports fans had almost no faith in his abilities on the court. That quickly changed after he started yelling “hibachi!” (the name of a super-hot Japanese grill. As in, “I’m on fire. Let’s f***ing GO!”) after his jumpers and fried anybody who stepped up to the challenge. I’m still talking sh!t to people about how he treated Kobe like a high schooler, dropping 60 in a 147-141 OT victory around Christmas time ‘06. But his latest stunt was ridiculous. What was even more disappointing is that he decided the best way to deal with the situation was to get on Twitter Nation and start tweeting about everything. And he thought that was okay.
He’s gotta be kidding me. Yeah, our franchise was already in shambles, but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. And that camel had already had like 3 or 4 operations prior to this, so this was a trusty ass camel! Anyway, NBA Commissioner David Stern hit Agent Zero with an indefinite suspension, which means for each game he misses, he loses $147,000 of his multi-million dollar contract. We probably won’t see him with a Wizards jersey on ever again. It’s a sad, sad day in the DC metropolitan area.
I won’t attempt to tell you about Gilbert’s previous mishaps and fiascos, because Complex already did that. I will, however, share a couple screen shots of some of his ridiculous tweets. Although I’m very disappointed in this guy and his inability to take matters seriously, these tweets put a smile on my face.
Thursday January 07th 2010, 8:20 am
Filed under: music
An article in Atlanta’s Creative Loafing informed me that the three ATLiens that make up the alternative rap group Supreeme have disbanded and gone their separate ways. These guys were always interesting to me, as they all had completely unique flows but could come together on a track and it worked.
Word on the streets is that Sam (the white dude in the group) is going to cooking school, Negashi (middle with the tank top) moved to Oakland and is coming out with a solo album. Shaka? Well, this interview explains how things went down from his point of view, and it looks like he was all for staying together. Probably one of the saddest music industry things I’ve heard in a while.
With the announcement of the group’s end came their final album, God Bless The Child, which has some cool joints on it. Very dark album though! Just look at that album artwork. My goodness. Jam the sample below (featuring my man Fat Tony), and then download the tape by clicking the link or the artwork. Enjoy.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Thursday January 07th 2010, 3:45 am
Filed under: movies, video
Do you like Daft Punk? Do you have an hour of free time on your hands? Do you want to see the type of musical movie that every great musical group should try and make at some point in their career, using only their work to narrate an entire film?
If you’ve answered yes to all three of these questions, then the next power move is to press play on the bad boy below. Essentially, it’s an animated film using only Daft Punk songs to narrate the entire thing. It’s incredible how many emotions are conveyed with songs, and this is some pretty trill evidence that proves the statement in the first clause of this sentence to be correct.
Fast forward to 1 minute and 15 seconds deep, and enjoy.
If you want an HD quality version for your computer, holler at me, I’ve got it on deck.
Wednesday January 06th 2010, 10:14 am
Filed under: music
Just when you thought the newest soulful white boy on the block couldn’t bring us anymore heat…he does. Actually, to be fair, Mayer Hawthorne probably had nothing to do with this, as it’s a remix by the Los Angeles-based deejaying duo, Classixx. These guys seem to be related to King Midas, because everything they flip turns to gold.
Don’t expect anything too intense, either. This remix is as smooth as your skin was when you were a youngin, before the breakouts and shaving and stuff. Shout out to my godbrother Kareem for putting me on this over the holiday break.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Sidenote: Did you know that Mayer Hawthorne was originally a DJ, and all this singing stuff was pretty much a joke to him until he realized people liked it?
Sidenote #2: I’m in this airport lounge in London, and I just saw the slickest Asian guy ever. He was only like 15 with a broken arm, but his swag was something out of the Harajuku District in downtown Tokyo. Looks like I just figured out where I’m going for my next international power move.
Wednesday January 06th 2010, 9:28 am
Filed under: music, video
The blog comment frequenters and obnoxious tweeters of the music world often chastised the DC hip hop pioneer Wale for allowing Gucci La Flare to bless the second verse of his (in my opinion) most radio-friendly hit yet, “Pretty Girls”. That song should do damage around the nation if things go as planned.
I personally loved Gucci’s verse, and adding him included a whole new demographic that Wale probably owuldn’t have reached if Gucci Gucci didn’t bless the track. But that’s besides the point. For those who couldn’t feel that version, DMV crooner Raheem DeVaughn heard your cries for help and has come to the rescue. He and 21-year-old Phil Ade, his solo signee (also from our area. And he’s Nigerian. Let’s go.) to his newly formed imprint, 368 Music Group, decided to put their own spin on the ode to bad ass females. I appreciate both versions, and it’s cool to have an unofficial DMV Remix to the song that goes harder than most joints in the clubs these days. No new verse from Mr. Folarin, but that verse didn’t need to be upgraded.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you need more Phil Ade in your life, you can grab his critically acclaimed mixtape that I posted here a while back. HERE you go. New mixtape, The Letterman, dropping soon. I was fortunate enough to be in the stu’ with him and various producers and I’m gonna say this now…he’s about to turn a lot of heads. The only reason you probably haven’t heard about him is because he’s too humble to talk a lot of sh!t.
He can perform well, too. Don’t believe me? Check out this footage taken by 1st Impression Studios.