Gentle Jones World News Report ™

Gentle Jones Reunites Delaware Hip-Hop Legends

2012-02-02T09:02:00.000-05:00

Brandywine Rangers: Delaware's Private Army

2012-01-04T11:57:00.003-05:00

"ORDER FOR POWDER Messrs. Dupont & Co. Six kegs more of powder is want for the use of the State of Delaware. Yesterday there was but one Brittish Sloop of War in the Delaware. - Wilmington May 13 1813. JNO. STOCKTON"

On January 28, 1811, in order to encourage the establishment of manufacturing industries in the state, the Delaware General Assembly passed an act exempting certain manufacturers, including gunpowder producers, from state militia duties.

With the outbreak of hostilities between Britain and the United States in 1812, Victor and E. I. du Pont formed a private volunteer militia, known as the Brandywine Rangers, to protect the interests of their Brandywine factories from enemy attack. Throughout its existance this private Brandywine Rangers army was a controversial topic in Delaware.

The election of 1813, in which the Federalists swept the State of Delaware, resulted in charges that the du Ponts had used their influence with the militia companies improperly. Running counter to the Federalist tide, the Democrats had cast a majority vote in Brandywine Hundred, and their detractors, most of whom were either Federalists or Francophobes, exerted pressure which finally resulted in the disbandment of the Rangers early in 1814.

On January 17, 1814 the act exempting manufacturers was repealed, forcing the du Ponts to disband their militia and allow their members to be absorbed by local state militia companies.

Shown here are two documents: an address by Victor and E. I. du Pont to the companies of the Brandywine Rangers informing them of the state's January 17 repeal, along with a response from militia representatives; and a letter dated February 7, 1814 from E. I. du Pont to Callender Irvine, superintendent of military stores in Philadelphia, informing Irvine of the state's action and expressing du Pont's trepidations about the fate of industries in northern Delaware if New Castle County were to be attacked.

Address delivered to the two companies Brandywine Rangers by their captains Victor and E. I. Du Pont.:

Fellow Soldiers--
We have assembled you on this occasion, not for the performance of your usual militia exercise, but for the purpose of communicating to you, that the Legislature of this State has thought proper to repeal the law exempting manufacturers from militia duty, and that in consequence thereof you have become incorporated with the militia of your respective districts.

By the law passed on the 26th of January 1811, you, in common with the other manufacturers of the State, were exempted from military duty with a view, as appears from the preamble, to the encouragement and prosperity of our infant manufactures. In the spring of 1813, you voluntarily waived an exemption which you regarded as a dishonor when danger hovered over us.When the foe threatened our shores, you armed and equipped yourselves and tendered your services for the common defense. Is the zeal you displayed on that occasion an offense? Had you ignominiously sheltered yourselves under the law and viewed the threatening danger with indifference, would it have been repealed? These are questions we shall not determine. But although the favors bestowed on you have been withdrawn, you have the consolation to reflect that those favors were not unmerited by you and of having proved by your conduct how much dearer to your feelings were the claims of your country than your personal convenience or interest.

If the repealing law be intended as a chastisement for your patriotism-singular chastisement indeed! which deprives the state of our services and relieves us from trouble, expense and loss of time from duties infinitely more laborious and dangerous than the insignificant military service.

The zeal and alacrity with which you rallied round our colors when the country was in danger, affords us an ample pledge that you would, if required, cheerfully consent to perform double duty in so honorable a cause and comply with the district duties without abandoning our present association. The act of the Legislature could thus be easily evaded--for there is no law prohibiting men to exercise with arms on their own premises, or from defending their property in case of an attack. But as it must be apparent to all that the principal aim was to disband these companies, we had better submit at once. Let those who have intentionally diminished the actual military force of New Castle County, who, at one blow, have annihilated an efficient corps of two hundred and thirty able-bodied men, well armed, equipped and disciplined, have the gratification of beholding their plans accomplished and let them be responsible for the consequences.

We will then, fellow soldiers, deposit our arms-we are saved the necessity of exposing our lives for the defense of those who have labored so anxiously to destroy an association aimed against the enemies of their country; and when the day of danger shall arrive, it will no doubt bring with it the regret of having by their own conduct deprived themselves of the aid of the Brandywine Rangers.

You will please to return your muskets and military accoutrements to our respective factories-but if in the course of the ensuing spring and summer, we are threatened with a serious attack on the banks of the Brandywine, you will remember that you have here 300 muskets and abundance of ammunition, in short more than is requisite in such hands, among the natural entrenchments of the Brandywine, to repulse five times your number; and if you think proper to pay your militia fines on that day and join your former standard, you will always find leaders proud of your choice and confiding in your courage, ready to tread with you the path of honor and glory.

To which the following answer was returned:

Sirs
In the names of our respective companies we beg leave to express our sincere regret at the necessity which obliges us to relinquish an association we had so cheerfully entered. To incorporate us, now so well instructed and disciplined, in military companies unorganized, without arms or anything calculated to inspire confidence and insure success will be, as you justly observe, to annihilate a force that was respectable and would have made itself respected. The motives of such a step are best known to those who have recommended and sanctioned it--if more fines and forfeitures will be collected under this measure, fewer bayonets and bullets will be levelled at the enemy and whether the evil does not counterbalance the good we leave others to determine.

We shall always hold in grateful recollection the zeal you displayed and the trouble and expense you incurred in forming these companies. Your friendly and officer-like conduct claims our warmest thanks-and when you give the word, it will be our pride and pleasure to follow you wherever our country's service may require.
-Committee on behalf of the Brandywine Rangers.

In April and May of 1814, Daniel King of Philadelphia continued to send bullets and composition bail to E. I. du Pont in anticipation of invasion by the British. During the months of June, July and August, the apprehension of British invasion hung over the Brandywine like a pall. However, during the summer the du Pont brothers were not idle. They gained permission from the War Department to reorganize the Ranger companies for the defense of the Brandywine region.

On August 29, 1814, a notice was posted in the mill villages by Victor du Pont. The notice advised all of those workmen who belonged to the former volunteer corps of Rangers that their former captain was authorized to reorganize their company under immediate orders of the President of the United States. Those who volunteered would again be exempted from militia service, and it was guaranteed that they would not be sent beyond the vicinity of Wilmington. Those who desired to volunteer were told that an election for non-commissioned officers would take place as soon as a sufficient number had enrolled. On August 30, 1814, 135 men offered their service to the reorganized Brandywine Ranger companies.

On September 21, 1814, the reorganized North and South Brandywine Rangers received their arms. They also collected money for purchasing uniforms and other equipment. Two hundred military caps were purchased by the Rangers, and an additional 100 were ordered to arrive at a later date.

The rumors by this time were wildly flying that the British intended to make a direct attack on the Brandywine factories.

On the following November 18, 1814, at a meeting of the officers for the three companies of Rangers held at Captain E. I. du Pont's house, a committee was appointed for the purpose of revising the rules for the three companies. At this meeting E. I. du Pont extolled the superiority of his Rangers over the performance of the regular state militia.

Thomas Caldwalader, Brigadier General and Commissary of the Fourth Military District, recommended to Victor du Pont on December 13, 1814, that all arms in his possession were to be kept in order at the expense of the Ranger corps. General Caldwalader also informed Captain du Pont that he did not have the power to authorize the appointment of a Major for the Brandywine Battalion. This in reply to a request made by the du Ponts for a commanding officer for the three Ranger companies. Their request was subsequently forwarded by General Caldwalader to The War Department in Washington.

But the war was terminated before the recommendation could be acted upon.

On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the War of 1812. Because the news of the peace was slow in coming to North America Irenee du Pont was still purchasing military equipment on the last day of December. The news of the signing of the Treaty did not reach Wilmington until February 13, 1815. Irenee and Victor then retroactively set January 3, 1815, as the date on which official duty had been terminated for the three companies of Brandywine Rangers.

Remembering the 'Godfather of Soul' James Brown

2011-12-16T16:01:00.002-05:00

By Gentle Jones

Our Yule traditions stretch back hundreds of years. Christmas 2006 the world lost a great man who will be remembered this season as a musical pioneer and an iconic champion of the people -- James Brown. Perhaps his mark will remain every holiday through the coming decades. 'Tis the season to be funky.

Brown had over 100 hit records during his career spanning half a century. In addition to being a chart topping success, Brown's affect on the lives of millions of people worldwide is incalculable. Break dancer Crazy Legs of the Rocksteady Crew recalls, "James Brown's music has had the biggest influence on my life." Rapper Nas says, "He was pure greatness."

In addition to touching the personal lives of numerous music lovers, Brown's polyrhythmic style profoundly changed American pop music. Chuck D of Public Enemy says, "James Brown was the funkiest! To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one has even come close."

To enjoy December 25th as a day of remembrance for Brown is only fitting. "There is nobody who is more influential to hip-hop than James Brown," states KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions. "Kool Herc said that James Brown was the A-1 B-boy, the first MC, the first DJ -- 'cause he had two drummers. The drummer was what the turntable is today. When one finished playing, the other'd start, and sometimes they'd play together! Tell me this man is not hip-hop, straight up! James Brown is our artistic father. We all sample from him. This is a day where we exchange gifts. The gift exchanged with us from James was our culture. He freely gave his music to our culture. To me, that brings tears to my eyes! That's the lord and savior. On December 25, James Brown gives the gift of himself to his children."

James Brown started two of his own holiday traditions in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., that are carried on by the Brown family this first year after his passing. A Thanksgiving turkey giveaway and an annual Christmas toy giveaway continue in his memory. The Rev. Al Sharpton was on hand to hand out the first turkey during last month's event.

"He made soul music a world music," Sharpton told the Associated Press. "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it."

Interestingly, Sharpton vowed to grow his hair after Brown told him that his locks were a source of strength, as in the story of Sampson and Delilah.

Rachel Noerdlinger, Sharpton's publicist, recalled James Brown asking Rev. Sharpton to style his hair in the same manner as Brown’s, when Brown took a young Al Sharpton to the White House to meet George Bush Sr. in 1981.

James Brown introduced Reverend Al Sharpton to the Vice President of the United States as his “son.” Rev. Sharpton promised to wear the style so long as Mr. Brown was alive. When Mr. Brown passed Rev. Sharpton vowed to continue the tradition.

Rapper Snoop Dogg was similarly instructed by Brown and to this day also wears his hair long.

"That's my Godfather," Snoop Dogg said. "The hardest working man in show business of all time. He'll be missed, but his music and his legacy will live on through me in every way you can imagine."

Film star and rapper Ice Cube was also a lifelong fan. "James Brown was the first solo singer that I loved as a kid," Cube stated. "He was not only the Godfather of Soul, but the Godfather of Funk and Rap. Music will never be the same."

KRS-One relates a deeper message for the season. "James Brown is the Grandfather of Hip-Hop, of course recognizing Kool Herc as the father," he said. "This guy, James Brown, dying on Christmas, is very symbolic. Dying on Christmas, we know God is looking at us! We established right here and now. According to Christian tradition, James Brown dying on Jesus' birthday means that hip-hop starts today. If you ask me, I think we should start hip-hop over on every Christmas. James Brown dying on Christmas, Lord have mercy! Now, hip-hop has a chance to reestablish what Christmas really about. Christmas is about the birth of the Christ within yourself.

"You celebrate Christmas and you don't say, 'Jesus is born on this day,' -- the ancient reason is Christ is born in you! God is born in you for another year. James Brown passing on Christmas could mean the birth of soul in you. He is the Godfather of Soul -- not pop, not R &B, not rock, not blues, not jazz -- soul music!"

KRS enjoins us, "Let's celebrate James Brown! Hip-Hoppers celebrate the birth of their Soul, the birth of their Christ, the birth of their nature. Every Christmas, we gonna play James Brown records."

Thousands Reflects on Hardcore's Changing Landscape

2011-11-25T09:14:00.001-05:00

by Gentle Jones

Mark Thousands is a Delaware singer songwriter who has toured extensively as a guitarist with well-known American Hardcore bands such as Leeway, 25 Ta Life, and My Body My Blood.

Despite his rough Rock pedigree, as a solo artist Mark is known for his intimate brand of soft, acoustic music. He's bringing his friend Richie Birkenhead, of Into Another, to perform locally for a one night only show together.

Years after his work with legendary Hardcore bands Youth of Today and Underdog, Richie and his influential Post-Hardcore band Into Another managed to crack the Top 40 of Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts with the song “T.A.I.L.” .

Mark and Richie are both in a growing movement of maturing musicians from the American Hardcore scene who are currently crafting thoughtful songs with Folk sensibilities for a broader audience.

Gentle Jones: What do you consider the Golden Age of American Hardcore?

Mark Thousands: For me, the Golden Age was when Hardcore bands started pushing the boundaries musically and lyrically. This sea change started to happen in the early 90's with bands like Quicksand, Burn, Leeway, and Into Another. Into Another really pushed the envelope. You either loved them or hated them and if you loved them you were a fanatic.

The Post-Hardcore movement was like the Renaissance period for Hardcore. I loved the abstract style guitar chords that Hardcore bands started doing, the abandonment of typical song structure, and more vocal melody was integrated. It was the best thing to ever happen to the scene.

Gentle Jones: Did you live in Delaware during this “Golden Age of Hardcore”?

Mark Thousands: I was living in Wilmington, Delaware but was always going to shows in NYC and New Jersey, and of course Philly. I remember being secretive about my trips to the city because my mother would've had a heart attack. I was in my late teens.

I remember being 21 and in a club in NYC and Chaka from Burn was the DJ for the night and outside on the corner was Mackie who played drums for Cro-Mags and Bad Brains. He was just hanging there wearing a pair of head phones. I knew I had to make more trips up there and make some friends.

Gentle Jones: How did you meet Richie?

Mark Thousands: I first met Richie in 1993. Into Another played a show at The Revival in Philly. I was young and nervous speaking with him, and he was such a prodigious influence on me as an artist, I was frightened I was going to say something dreck and it was going to end our conversation quickly. Luckily, I didn't. We talked through email after wards and then lost touch for some years.

About five years ago we reconnected and till this day talk regularly. He was kind enough to come into the studio with me and produce, as well as do guest vocals for my debut solo CD "With Love And Light Always" which is a far cry from Hardcore. Richie and I both were listening to the same artists at the same time, artists like Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell.

When I first brought my solo material to Richie I was just scratching the surface on how to be a soloist. I didn't really know what I was doing yet. It's such a different animal than being part of a band. My first meeting with him was a schooling of sorts. I was nervous performing my songs in front of him in his living room.

That was a segue into a discussion we had about performing and how important it is to perform with your heart and convey the emotions outward accurately that led you to write the song to begin with. So he popped in a live DVD of Joni Mitchell. He put on the song "A Case Of You" and the performance that she delivered was heart wrenching. She bled in that performance, and her pain was displayed in every vocal part and guitar melody. I never thought of a performance that way. I was still learning what it meant to be a song writer and performer. I drove home from NYC realizing I had my work cut out for me, but it was beyond inspiring. He taught me a lot that day for sure.

Gentle Jones: Do you think the anti-drug Straight Edge hardcore movement had an impact on the Hardcore scene, or the Rock scene in general?

Mark Thousands: Straight Edge had a huge impact on Hardcore, without a doubt. The Straight Edge movement had this element to it that was tough, and went against the reckless antics of Punk that I didn't care for anyway like drugs and drinking. It had a serious message and a positive one. In the early 90s I got "Straight Edge" tattooed on me in kanjis (Japanese writing), I wore an "X" on my hands, the whole nine. It was a phenomenon at shows and it brought a sense of unity which was a main theme in the hardcore scene.

The problem with it ultimately was that it spawned militant disciples and it brought a lot of violence into Hardcore. Kids formed gangs with their friends and you would hear about senseless beatings like, a kid got hospitalized at a show simply because he was smoking a cigarette outside. It lost its positivity. I think Straight Edge is still an underground thing, I don't think it has a place in rock music per se, to me it's a Hardcore thing and most likely always will be. It's lost its steam that it once had in the mid 80s and early 90s but I believe it's making its way back around again with bands like Ghost Ship.

Gentle Jones: Have you toured recently?

Mark Thousands: .The last tour I did was exactly a year ago in Europe. I spent a month over there opening for Samiam. I was playing guitar for a Delaware band called The Casting Out. We did rock stuff with a punk feel. I sold my solo CD's while I was over there. The shows were great. Samiam were extremely fun to tour with. The tour was a month long and even though the shows were great, I was happy to get back home to my family. Something about being out of the country made it more intense. I communicated with my girlfriend Alicia online only. I had to borrow other peoples laptops because I didn't have one. She would let me know how our son was doing. If you're reading this and you tour out of the country, definitely get a laptop!

Gentle Jones: Is there a broad movement toward Folk music in the Hardcore scene?

Mark Thousands: It's interesting, I think a lot of the guys in the 90s that were doing "Post-Hardcore" are the ones today that are pursuing solo careers doing more intimate, quiet music. An acoustic guitar being the main instrument of choice and in the forefront. Guys like Richie, Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools, Walking Concert), Ian Love (Rival Schools, Die 116, and Cardia), all have been doing a style that could be perceived as Folk. Certainly acoustic, quieter, and more intimate.

I'm not certain that it's a broad movement but there is definitely something that's going around with artists from the Hardcore scene doing more quieter folky type stuff. I think there are parallels as far as lyrical content goes between Folk and Hardcore, that “music with a message” type of thing.

I don't consider myself Folk in any way. I feel a lot of people like to use that label if you have an acoustic guitar on your lap and I also think a lot of artists throw on the proverbial garb and dub themselves as "Folk." I feel like that's a gimmick. I consider myself a singer songwriter because that term is very matter of fact, I sing the songs and I write them. They are very personal and cathartic to write and sometimes difficult to sing without becoming too emotional which I feel is paramount. It's certainly above being part of a genre.

I'm not politically sophisticated and have never been a fan of protest songs. I think Folk was originally built on more political style lyrics. However, I do listen to Folk artists and I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan. But even Dylan didn't wish to be type cast into being perceived as a Folk musician. My songs are about personal experiences. I find it interesting that the bands that were ahead of the curve in the Hardcore scene in the early to mid 90s seem to be the same ones pioneering this new quieter sound today. I love it. I'd like to see more of it.

Gentle Jones: What place does our local area hold in the history of American underground music?

Mark Thousands: I think Delaware is right around bigger cities here on the East Coast that used to have an amazing hardcore scene. NYC, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Connecticut. I'm not sure hardcore exists anymore. I know there are bands playing that style still but I haven't seen any movement or scene like there was years ago. But in terms of underground history, I'm not sure.

We were blessed to have bands like My Body My Blood, Hard Response, Stormwatch, and Boy Sets Fire. All of the aforementioned made an impact in the underground scene and all came out of Delaware.

Gentle Jones: What are the details of the gig?

Mark Thousands: The show is on Sunday November 27th at Mojo Main in Newark, DE
the cover is $10 and it starts at 5:00pm with Richie Birkenhead (Into Another/ Underdog/ Youth of Today)

Gentle Jones - Kicked Out of This Bar Before

2011-11-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote this song and created this video to go along with it. This is a true american story. About a man. And a bar. And being kicked out of the bar. And going back again.

Gentle Jones Shows 3 New Styles

2011-10-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

Three new lyrical styles which I'm polishing for your hearing pleasure, hopefully these samples should hold you over until the new album is released!

Cheers!

Gentle Jones - Energy Bars

I've Been Kicked Out of this Bar Before

Gentle Jones - Anthem of the Champion

Gentle Jones on Funny or Die

2011-09-28T08:31:00.000-04:00

Marc Live Interview

2010-09-02T17:16:00.002-04:00

By Gentle Jones

Marc Live started his rap career in 1990 with his group Raw Breed, who landed their first record deal for $75,000 with the help of KRS One. Since then Marc has been the ultimate industry insider, touring constantly with his cousin, Kool Kieth, and his close friend Ice-T, supporting both legends on stage as a hype man, as well as on wax as a producer, heading projects such as Analog Brothers and Black Elvis. Seven records deep as a solo artist, Marc Live's newest album Episode III: The Revenge of Marc Rippin is currently available worldwide.

Allhiphop.com: Raw Breed was a big deal in the 1990's, how did the major labels view the group?

Marc Live: When got signed to Warner Brothers, we got $450,000 dollars. From '95 to '99 major labels were giving out big budgets. They loved us at Warner Brothers. We got signed the same day we played Howie T the demo at 11 o' clock in the morning and he loved it, but said he wanted Denise Brown, the president, to listen to it so we went to Popeye's Chicken on Hollywood Boulevard and by the time we got home on Arnez Drive and Sunset they called and said, “Who's your lawyer?” and they signed us that same day.

My group Raw Breed was the first rap group signed to SESAC publishing, in 1992. In '93 we got the SESAC award for the most radio plays that year. We were naive, we didn't know what the fuck that meant. I didn't know how to capitalize on it or anything. My producer went to Nashville to get the award and I hung the plaque up on my wall but I didn't know.

When I went to London with Keith on the public enemy tour in 1998 we would go to radio stations they would have all my records and I was shocked.

Allhiphop.com: How did the Analog Brothers record come about with you, Kool Keith, and Ice T?

Marc Live: Analog Brothers happened when I was in LA. When I moved out to LA adopting the LA lifestyle. I started smoking pot, I started drinking, going out, dating white girls that lived in Venice Beach who went barefoot and listened to the Doors. I met one of Ice's buddies Pimpin Rex, he was a musician and he helped produce the first Body Count album, and we became good friends. He had this garage all full of vintage keyboards, he a had Moog, 808 drum kit, SP-1200, and he would pick me up from Hollywood every morning at around 11 o' clock, we'd smoke our first blunt, go get some Mexican food. We go to his garage, he lived in the hood, and we'd make beats. There was a white boy named Dan who had an extensive record collection, a bunch of old breaks, and he would bring crates over and we would sample them.

Whenever I was working on a project everybody always wanted to know what I was doing. I just had that knack. So Keith was like “What are you working on with Rex?” Ice was like, “What are you guys working on?” I told them right now we were just working on beats, working on ideas, but I'll let you know when we finish. And then Keith was like, “Yo I want to come over with my keyboard,” so Keith came over with his Korg. We started using the keyboards and making this sound, and Keith was like “We should go over to Ice's house,” cause Ice had like the MTV Cribs house with the roof that opened up with a studio, and Keith said, “We should do a group together and call it Analog Brothers.” Keith came up with the name. So we got Ice involved, we got my homie Black Silver involved, and Rex Roland did all the singing, and I programed all the beats, all the drums, on the SP 1200, all the sampling and everything. We all went to Ice's house and recorded the album in 4 days.

Allhiphop.com: I've noticed Keith coming into his own with production over that past several years.

Marc Live: Keith was always working with tracks, doing his own private stuff. Keith was always into records. He was the one who brought the beat for Ego Trippin to Ced to sample. All the hit records that Ultramagnetic had, Keith brought the records to Ced to use.

Allhiphop.com: I have the KHM record with “Copy If You Want To” where you and Keith are dissing Andre 3000, what was that about?

Marc Live: Keith felt Andre kind of took his image and didn't give him props for it, and didn't like the fact that the world thought Andre came out with the wigs, and that was his thing. So he was kind of pissed off. He was mad that he wasn't getting the press that they were getting.

Allhiphop.com: So after Analog Brothers came to an end what did you do?

Marc Live: After that my next big project was Keith's album, Black Elvis. That's when I learned the mpc and keyboards, that's when I got nasty, that's when I was lethal. I became a prodigy, I made beats in 5 minutes, like overnight I was ill.

I did two tracks on Dr. Dooom, also before we would go on the road I would program all the beats for the freestyles. I did The Clayborne Family, Guerrilla Black was on that record.

Allhiphop.com: Wow, I didn't know you worked with Guerrilla Black.

Marc Live: I helped Guerrilla Black. I used to help him rap, help him with his technique and stuff. My best friend managed him and we would smoke weed together every day and I'd give him techniques. He used to be skinny. When I was hearing his demos I loved his lyrical content. I didn't think when he came out people would diss him, I loved him.

Allhiphop.com: So where were you doing all your writing when you lived out west?

Marc Live: We did it at Keith's house. Back then we lived music, we all lived in Hollywood, I lived down the street. I'd go to his house, his assistant would pick me up in a cab in the morning. I'd go to Keith's house, he would give me two big buds of weed, he'd go back in his room, close the door, I'd roll the weed, I'd start smoking, I'd start programming. About two hours later I'd have the place rocking and he would come out with his keyboard and we'd make the beats. Then we'd go in the studio that night and we'd lay it. Keith could write ten songs in one day. One-take Jake.

Allhiphop.com: What did you fellas do after a day of writing and recording?

Marc Live: Keith would go out to Hollywood Boulevard and buy porno magazines and hang out with pimps and shit. He was into the dark Hollywood at night. He would transform and be in his dark world. You'd go to his house and there'd be pimps, and hoes, and weird people around at night.

But I had a lot of Hollywood friends, I went to school with Terrence Howard, he was my best friend, I use to read lines with him, Donald Faison was my best friend, Dash Mihok, Tara Reid was my home girl. I'd hang out in mansions at night. After recording, when Keith would go into his eccentric world and do his weird shit at night, I would be in the Hollywood Hills with super stars.

Allhiphop.com: Were you touring with Keith as his hype man at this time?

Marc Live: We were constantly touring. We were the headliners on Warp Tour. We did day and night gigs. There'd be like 8 or 9 people with us. Tour was funny because the first two weeks of tour everyone loved each other. The last four weeks it was like fights, and conspiracy theories, and you stole my girl, you're hiding my girl in your bunk, someone stole my weed, I'm missing a t-shirt. Tour was crazy.

I would come home from tour with $45,000. we'd all stop in Philly on the way home and get jewelry and chains and diamonds and shit. I'd be flying chicks in to the tour bus from Europe. We had fun. We did it big.

Allhiphop.com: Do you have any tour stories with Ice?

Marc Live: I remember Eminem was getting booed and they were throwing soda cans at him every night on Warp Tour '99 and he was gonna leave the tour.

Allhiphop.com: Wasn't this after he was signed to Dre and famous already?

Marc Live: This was Slim Shady! He was platinum, he was big! He came on our bus, him and Proof. He said “Ice, I look up to you, you started me rapping. You inspired me to rap. I need help.” Ice took him off the bus, walked him between buses, and talked to him for two fucking hours. The next day Eminem was a different emcee, his stage show went to a whole nother level and he never looked back. Ice T changed Eminem's fucking life. If Ice didn't show Eminem how to perform, he would never have been as successful as he is today. Ice told him how to do a show. He was getting booed every day.

Em was going onstage and doing 30 minutes, wasn't addressing the crowd, had no stage persona. Him and Proof didn't look at the crowd, they looked at each other. They ran through their set, they never stopped. They never told the crowd to put their hands up, never told them to say “Ho” they never thanked the other bands, they just did their show. And Ice said to stop after every song. Say what's up to the crowd. Thank them for being there. Tell them to say “Ho” and do crowd response. He showed him how to be an emcee, how to do a real hip-hop emcee show.

And after that, the next day he played Miami, it was a wrap. That motherfucker, I was like “Oh shit!” He was destroying shit. Before that he was getting hit in the head with Pepsi cans everyday.

Allhiphop.com: Why did the group Analog Brothers fall apart?

Marc Live: Rex, that was his group, that was his baby. Rex was not getting credit for stuff he had done in the past, he helped on a lot of the Body Count stuff, Rex was on Pusher man on Ice-T's album, so he was a guy that felt jilted his whole life, musically. When the Analog Brothers record came out he lost his mind. He put the masters in a suitcase that he made us all sign. And he drove around with the album like it was a kid, in the front seat. He just lost his mind. We did a digital download for $50,000 and he didn't want to give Ice any money, he felt Ice is rich already. Then I went on tour, I was living with a girl in the Hills at the time, he told the girl I was cheating on her, and that I was doing all types of crazy shit, fucked the relationship up. He signed a deal and tried to take all the credit for the record. Tried to take all the money. And he was my best friend, I loved that motherfucker. And he stabbed me in the back, stabbed us in the back. We were getting offers for shows, Rick Rubin was interested. That was something we could have been touring on to this day. The way that record came together was magic. When the magic was over, we all walked away and said Rex handle the business side now, we trust you. And he spazzed. Its fucked up but it happens all the time. Welcome to the music business.

I did a record called Project X with Kool Keith and Tim Dog (of the Ultramagnetic MCs), we did the video, we did tours in Australia, and had 20 dates in the states, but Tim spazzed out, he lost it. He saw his career coming back, he saw it as an opportunity to exploit what we were doing. And he spazzed out. We were like, dude its here, we brought it, enjoy. We're your friends, don't fuck your friends. Don't go into my wallet while I'm sleeping and take $20 out and then the next morning be trying to look for the $20 with me when its in your back pocket. Don't play me.

Allhiphop.com: What's next for you?

Marc Live: Now I'm trying to do my own thing with my label Rap Legends. At the end of the day with Rap Legends all I want to do is put out good music and let the people find it. We are looking to do a record with Melle Mel, something with Grandmaster Caz. Looking to do something with Kurtis Blow. I got my group The Faculty. Billy Ray is being produced by Maceo of De La Soul, the kid is crazy. My latest album Episode III is out now everywhere. The theme of this record is basically the Revenge of Mark Rippin and a return to my old character from Raw Breed, raw lyrics, raw beats, more street level and less alternative. I wanted to bring it back to that time period.

Jack Kent's King Aroo

2010-09-02T16:30:00.004-04:00

One of the finest comic strips of all time has finally been reprinted after decades of unavailability.

Interview with Bruce Canwell By Gentle Jones

The land of Myopia does not appear on most maps, as this tiny kingdom is only an acre in size. The supreme crown ruler, the delightful yet dotty King Aroo, is accompanied by his Prime Minister Yupyop. Together they sail through the days with a cast of quirky animals as wacky and well-spoken as those found in Walt Kelly's Pogo.

Though Jack Kent's King Aroo daily comic strip ran in as many as a hundred American newspapers and in many major cities from 1950 through 1965 it has remained obscure. Rarely reprinted and never before completely collected, only a select group of fans have continually sang praises of the enchanting dialogue and Kent's wonderful brushwork.

King Aroo is an entirely charming strip, at its best the work stands among the greatest of the dailies: Krazy Kat, Pogo, Li'l Abner, Bloom County. That it has become nearly forgotten is tragic, for each panel is playful and the adventures are timeless.

Jack Kent went on to gain much acclaim with his children's books after King Aroo's run, yet this daily strip is surely his magnum opus. Though Kent had no formal training, he was a voracious reader of comics and corresponded with the greatest illustrators of his time, such as George Herriman and Milton Caniff, and amassed an impressive collection of their original artwork, which he studied as he honed his craft independently. At the age of 30 his first strip, King Aroo, was picked up by the McClure syndicate, and now six decades later the Library of American Comic republished this classic strip from the beginning for the first time.

The Library of American Comics (LOAC) is published by IDW (who are best known for the graphic novel 30 Days of Night) and has already reprinted collections of daily strips from Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, Terry and the Pirates, Bringing Up Father, and more.

Gentle Jones: Where do you think King Aroo ranks among the pantheon of the recognized newspaper strip classics?

Bruce Canwell: Up to now King Aroo has been a cult favorite, a shrinking-violet cousin to Krazy Kat and Pogo, much beloved by a small group lucky enough to have sampled the strip in places like Bill Blackbeard’s Smithsonian Book of Newspaper Comics. Jack Kent's fame as a children’s book author far eclipsed his notoriety as a cartoonist.

Of course, King Aroo deserves a larger audience, with much more visibility than it's received down through the years, and Jack Kent's talents should be recognized alongside those of artists like George Herriman, Crockett Johnson, Sparky Schulz, or Bill Watterson. By adding King Aroo to The Library of American Comics, we hope to do our part to help find that larger audience for the strip and to help achieve that modern-day recognition for its creator.

In these days when there is so much discussion of "appropriate" material for children, King Aroo is an exceptional read for all ages. Not in a corporately-sanitized, squeaky-clean way, but as an example of a creator who knows how to entertain without being salacious or striking a sensationalist tone. Young kids enjoy Kent's charming artwork and the funny animals -- teenagers enjoy the sophistication of the story-lines -- and adults get pleasure from the cleverness of the wordplay. As much as King Aroo draws deserved comparisons to Krazy Kat and Pogo, I find it most closely related to Jay Ward's Bullwinkle and Rocky TV show. They both appeal to a wide range of age groups while never talking down to anyone in the audience. That's a tough trick to pull off, but Jay Ward and his people did it in Bullwinkle, while Jack Kent did it equally well in King Aroo.

Gentle Jones: How widely circulated was King Aroo at its peak?

Bruce Canwell: By Kent's own count King Aroo never ran in more than one hundred newspapers, though it appeared in many major metro areas: New York, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City. Jack Kent originally sold King Aroo to the McClure Syndicate, which was a giant in the first half of the 20th Century, but a shadow of itself by the early 1950s (in fact, McClure merged with the Bell Syndicate during King Aroo's initial run and couldn't even come out top dog in the new structure, which was named the Bell-McClure Syndicate). McClure didn't have a large enough sales staff to reach into the suburbs and rural areas of the country, focusing instead on the big cities. That's one of the reasons King Aroo hasn't been widely known -- it never achieved the widespread newspaper penetration achieved by strips such as Beetle Bailey or B.C.

But most important of all, McClure was able to place King Aroo in the San Francisco Chronicle. After Kent and McClure went their separate ways one of the Chronicle's editors, Stanleigh Arnold, single-handedly provided an outlet for Jack Kent to remain in Myopia, telling entertaining stories.

Gentle Jones: How did you first discover King Aroo?

Bruce Canwell: Remember that small group I mentioned awhile ago? I’m a member of a small group within that small group, because I didn’t come to King Aroo via The Smithsonian Book of Newspaper Comics; I took an alternate route.

In the 1980s, Fantagraphics published a magazine called Nemo, devoted to classic comic strips. I was a devoted reader of the title and its 21st issue, published in 1986, cover-featured King Aroo with a brief history of the strip plus a long reprint of a story sequence from the 1960s. I was immediately won over, and working on our own King Aroo series has only caused my admiration to grow, both for Jack Kent's talents and the cleverness of his creation.

Gentle Jones: How much demand are you finding for these collected newspaper dailies?

Bruce Canwell: Market research shows the core LOAC audience is composed of serious comics collectors and younger artists who are interested in seeing and learning from the work of master cartoonists from previous generations. Some strips, such as Bloom County, also have a number of readers who remember when the series was running in their daily newspaper; those folks want the nostalgic pleasure of re-reading those fondly-remembered strips in a collected edition. We set our print runs accordingly and when a book sells out, we're prepared to go back for a second printing, as we did with our first Terry and the Pirates release

Gentle Jones: Which term do you prefer: graphic novel or comic book?

Bruce Canwell: As I've grown older, I often find myself using a term from my Dad's boyhood: "funnybooks." (I can hear the gasps now!)

Seriously -- this is something I don't give a whole lot of thought. It's like when someone asks me, "What kind of music do you like?" My reply is, "I like good music." Which invariably spurs another question: "What's the difference between good music and bad music?" To which I say, "Good music is stuff you like, and bad music is stuff you don't." Rock, pop, jazz, r&b, fusion, country, folk, swing, hip-hop, soul -- it doesn't matter to me. Same with comics -- I like good comics, whether it's Eisner's To the Heart of the Storm (packaged from the outset as a "graphic novel") or Fantastic Four # 51 (which is clearly a "comic book," even when it's reprinted in a $99 Omnibus volume).

At the end of the day it's all comics, and the collateral terms we use just references the packaging. Seems to me life's too short to get hung up on packaging.

Gentle Jones: I've read some about your background, its an interesting story. How did you parlay writing comic reviews into writing Batman and publishing gorgeous collections of comics?

Bruce Canwell: Actually, I didn't parlay one gig to the other -- unfortunately! Every major assignment I've landed has its own genesis, largely unrelated to what has preceded it. The "Gauntlet" assignment did give me an "in" with the Batman editors that lead to my "Huntress" story in Batman Chronicles # 14 and a Batman-vs-Penguin fill-in issue of Batman penciled by the wonderful Jim Aparo (which still resides in the DC inventory, unpublished, alas), but that's about all the "parlaying" I've ever managed.

The story of how Dean Mullaney and I came to launch The Library of American Comics has never really been discussed in any detail, though, so this might be a good chance to tell that story . . .

In our younger days, back in the 1970s, Dean and I were both regulars in the letters pages of many Marvel Comics titles. Dean read my letters and I read his, yet we had no direct communication with one another. As the decade wound down, Dean decided to launch Eclipse Enterprises, using names and addresses from those Marvel letter columns as one way to build his mailing list as he solicited orders for his first book, Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy's Sabre. I was growing bored with comics at the time I received Eclipse's solicitation letter in the mail; I was geared up for something new and different. I admired McGregor and Gulacy's work, so despite the unheard-of price of $5.00 for a comic (*gasp!*), I said, "Why not?" Aside from Dean receiving an envelope with my money and him sending me a copy of Sabre after it was printed -- which I own to this day, by the way -- we still had no direct contact.

Flash forward to 2005. Dean had been away from comics since Eclipse folded, more than a decade before. I got shut out of more comics work around 1999, when the business went through one of its periodic nosedives (casualties of the Marvel bankruptcy and its aftermath during this period were two editors with whom I had been working, and very cool Nick Fury and Deathlok the Demolisher series I had been developing). I was writing a bi-weekly column for a now-defunct website, something fun to keep my hand in, and I devoted a column to how Sabre revived my flagging interest in comics at a time when I could have easily walked away from the medium. Still no contact between Dean and I -- but that would soon change . . .

For a variety of reasons, Dean was thinking of getting back into comics. He started by googling Eclipse, found my column on Sabre, and used the e-mail address in my by-line to drop me a note thanking me for the kind words. He also said, "Aren't you the guy who wrote almost as many letters to Marvel as I did, back in the day?" So we started off by just swapping "letterhacking" war stories and comparing notes as Dean went back to his roots and re-read things like the Ditko Doctor Strange for the first time in a looooong while.
It didn't take long to shift our gaze from the past to the future: we started talking about projects we might do together. We both love Terry and the Pirates and Dean suggested reprinting it in hardcover. He had the contacts to put together The Library of American Comics (LOAC) and set up the arrangement between LOAC and IDW, which has been a very welcoming and supportive partner. We had so much fun on

Terry we also launched Little Orphan Annie, then Scorchy Smith & The Art of Noel Sickles.

The LOAC line has blossomed from there, and while it's a lot of work to produce these books, Dean and I have plenty of laughs, too. We've got together several times, both for business reasons (research at The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum) and for pleasure (we're both baseball fans, so we went to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox retire Johnny Pesky's uniform number -- and to take in the ball game, too, of course!).

Gentle Jones: Is it true that you are reprinting Li'l Abner in its entirety? (!!)

Bruce Canwell: Get ready to bite off big chunks of the Dogpatch Ham, because that is 100% true! Li'l Abner Volume 1 is a spring release, with Volume 2 out in the very early autumn. I'm writing the text features for the series, Denis Kitchen -- who serves as agent for the Capp Estate -- has written a personal and insightful introduction to our first volume, and we'll be presenting the dailies as well as the never-before-reprinted Sunday pages in each book of the series. Throughout its existence, Al Capp ran separate plots in the dailies and Sundays, so there are whole story-lines many Abner fans have never been able to read -- until now.

It's very exciting to be able to bring Li'l Abner back into print and to put Al Capp's unique satirical voice in front of an audience once again. During my research I found the absolutely perfect quote, from John Updike, with which to launch our Abner series; it leads off my text feature. Look for it in Li'l Abner Volume 1 and see if you don't agree.

Gentle Jones: How do you feel newspaper comic strips impacted American entertainment and story telling over the past century?

Bruce Canwell: There are fewer than a dozen art forms that are native to America. Some quibble over the exact number -- Harlan Ellison has one number in mind, while noted critic Gilbert Seldes had another -- but no one doubts that comics is one of that small, select group. The combining of words and pictures in a sequential format to tell a story or make a point is a uniquely American tradition. Sharing that tradition with a modern audience is one of the absolute delights of working on LOAC books.

In the early years of the 20th Century comics were an incredible drawing card, because America was a society of readers. Television was scarcely a dream, movies were still silent, not every household had a radio set . . . but in big cities and rural towns, people read newspapers, whether they bought them at stores or newsstands or leafed through them at the public library. Comics were big, bold, colorful, and eye-catching -- how could a nation of readers ignore them?

Over time, radio became ubiquitous, sound came to the motion pictures, the phonograph brought music into the home, then along came television. Newspapers squeezed the dimensions of the comic strips and the nation increasingly turned away from one of its favorite art forms . . . but the love affair has never died. The strip names shift over time -- from Li'l Abner to Peanuts to Calvin & Hobbes -- but there has continually been at least one "beloved" strip that resonates within the national consciousness.

And strip characters still keep popping up in different media -- in recent years the Sci-Fi Channel (now "Syfy") tried a new spin on Flash Gordon even as a road show theatrical production of Annie has been touring the country. Hollywood is now full of actors, directors, and executives who grew up on comics, and who knows? Thanks to The Library of American Comics re-introducing some of these comic strips to 21st Century audiences, some day a big-budget Rip Kirby feature film or an animated King Aroo movie will be coming to a theater near you.

Bottom line: Comic strips have had a tremendous effect on pop culture and on American society in general. It’s a pleasure to help keep that wheel rolling on.

What Other Emcee Can Do All This?

2010-09-01T17:23:00.000-04:00

Here are 3 clips of separate Gentle Jones concerts in Delaware, all in different styles. Listen to a few minutes of each one and tell me who else can master all of these genres?

Clip One

Clip Two

Clip Three

Crazy Legs Talks Rock Steady Crew's 33rd Aniniversary

2010-07-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

By Gentle Jones

B-Boy Pioneer Crazy Legs is prepping for the upcoming Rock Steady Crew 33rd Anniversary with a weekend full of star studded events.

“Friday (July 30th) we will kick off the anniversary at Libations, then Saturday (July 31st 3pm-9pm) we will have the annual battle,” Crazy Legs told AllHipHop.com. “The crew and soloist winners will be flown to London to represent North America at the Sony Ericsson UK B-Boy Championship World Finals.”

The battle, which takes place at the Altman Building in Manhattan, will be followed that evening by a Funk Styles party hosted by Crazy Legs and presentation of the SPY Award to this year's honoree, MOY.

Though B-Boy culture is now an international phenomenon, Crazy Legs feels that overseas, there is a broader public support for the art form.

“This year I am funding the Anniversary events out of my own pocket. But in Korea they have grants just for B-Boys, they even have training facilities set up for them.”

Sunday, August 1st from 12pm – 9pm will be the Rock Steady Anniversary concert which will feature performances by Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Kurtis Blow, Artifacts, Lakim Shabazz, Black Sheep, 9th Wonder, and numerous surprise guests.

The free concert is taking place in Lincoln Park in Newark, New Jersey.

Crazy Legs plans to give back to the community by promoting the Rock Steady for Life concert as a charity event.

“I want every one to know that Sunday's event is also a food drive and I encourage everybody to bring canned foods which we can distribute to needy families.”

A B-Boy since 1977, Crazy Legs has gone on to be featured in major motion pictures over the years.

Currently, he is the DJ and host for his own cooking show called “Lunch Breaks,” which airs daily from 2pm to 4pm Monday through Friday, streamed live on www.crazylegsworkshop.com.

The show features guests like Grand Wizzard Theodore, Pop Master Fabel, Kenny Dope, and others who cook delightful dishes during the program.

“The best meal so far was with ATS (Rock Steady Crew member) who is a Japanese B-Boy but also a chef,” Crazy Legs told AllHipHop.com. “He made some traditional Japanese food that was amazing. It was so good we got all quiet for a minute just eating, it was delicious!”

The world famous Rock Steady Crew continues to be highly visible in film and television appearing in America's Got Talent, Step Up in 3D, and Bouncing Cats most recently.

Rammellzee (1960 – 2010)

2010-06-28T12:08:00.001-04:00

By Gentle Jones

Legendary graffiti writer and emcee Rammellzee reportedly passed away last night. Rammellzee is a hip-hop icon who dropped avantgarde tracks on wax since the early 1980's with a steady output of graphic art, music, and sculpture throughout his life. He was featured in Charlie Ahearn's seminal hip hop movie Wild Style and collaborated with notable artists such as Jean Michael Basquiat, Jim Jarmusch, and numerous graff crews as a writer since the 1970's.
His 1983 single “Beat Bop” is featured in Style Wars and Rammellzee is credited as pioneering many vocal techniques which were later popularized by other emcees. In 1988 his band The Ghettovetts released their record titled “Missionaries Moving” and in 2004 he released his debut solo album “The Bi-Conicals of Rammellzee” which stands alone as a testament to his visionary approach to crafting unique hip-hop.

“Someone told me, I don’t know if it’s true, that Rammellzee is the originator of the use of the word “word”, in hip hop slang…” – Jim Jarmusch

Rammellzee's artistic style was unequaled as he took his art from train yards to one man art shows which received much critical acclaim. He was the first to let one letter stand on its own as a work of graffiti art with his Letter Racers and made the illest masks you have ever seen. His style he dubbed Gothic Futurism which explained in his treatise “Iconic Panzerisms” while his artwork has been shown in art galleries across the world.

In his own words Rammellzee describes his style, "Knowledge knowledges knowledge, the elevation of WILD STYLE-knowledge is concluded as a SYMBOL DESTROYER, ARMOURED, MEDIEVAL MECHANISM. This formation shall be known as IKONOKLAST PANZERISM: R.O.K.: GOTHIC FUTURISM, THIS IS WILD-STYLE CORRECTED.”

Rest in Power Rammellzee, a legend and pioneer of the highest caliber.

Philly B-Boy BBQ

2010-06-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

by Gentle Jones

Philadephia's legendary B-Boy BBQ returns to form for 2010.

This year's festivities included a 2 block mural which featured outstanding pieces from writers such as SEEN, ARAB, and SYE. B-Boys and B-Girls also represented over classic tracks from Michael Jackson, Nu Shooz, The S.O.S. Band, Shannon, and more. There were several local designers and vendors showing their wares as well as delicious chicken and burgers grilled to magnificence.

The B-Boy BBQ was founded in 1997 by Pose2 who states, "Our continued and sole purpose is to maintain and celebrate the styles and traditions of our community through HIP HOP culture."

This well attended family event entered its 9th party after a brief hiatus. Previously at the Hawthorne Rec Center at 12th and Carpenter, the event was forced to cancel the 2008 B-Boy BBQ due to complaints of excessive vandalism at the 2007 event.

It was a gorgeous day on Westminster Avenue in West Philadelphia as Hip-Hop heads of all ages came out in numbers to celebrate the return of one of its finest parties.

Big Daddy Kane Ties the Knot

2010-05-02T16:53:00.000-04:00

By Gentle Jones

Antonio Monterio Hardy, better known as Big Daddy Kane of the legendary Juice Crew and his bride Shawnette married yesterday (May 1) at a private ceremony in North Carolina.

Derrick “D-Nice” Jones of Boogie Down Productions was in attendance and described the wedding on twitter. “It was a beautiful ceremony,” he tweeted. “It was an honor to attend his wedding. We have so much history. During the time when my crew (BDP) & his crew (The Juice Crew) were beefing, Kane & I were friends. I was even his hypeman at an Apollo show.”

Big Daddy Kane rose to prominence after joining the Juice Crew in 1987, dropping his debut single “Raw” in 1988, which he followed up with 2 back to back gold records.

As a single man Big Daddy Kane was romantically linked to Madonna and appeared in Playgirl Magazine.

Allhiphop.com extends congratulations and best wishes to the new couple.

KRS ONE on the Hip-Hip Museum Debate

2010-04-07T12:45:00.001-04:00

Def Jam Makes Hip-Hop History with Rapstar Video Game

2010-04-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

by Gentle Jones

Hip Hop finally gets a video game dedicated to the art form of the MC with their new Def Jam Rapstar, the latest installment in the Def Jam Interactive platinum selling series of titles which include Def Jam Icon and Def Jam Vendetta.

Rock music successfully crossed over to the video game business with mega-hits Rock Band and Guitar Hero, yet Hip-Hop has not had a presence. Rapstar fills a void in the 60 billion dollar video game industry up until now lacking titles specifically about Hip-Hop music. During the E3 2010 video game conference Def Jam Co-Founder Russell Simmons told reporters, “Cool kids like Hip Hop all over the world. And they needed this game.”

At its heart Rapstar is a Hip-Hop Karaoke game, distributed by Konami who found much success with their own Karaoke Revolution title. Def Jam Rapstar allows rappers and R&B singers to perform duets together, a first for Karaoke video games. Since its invention in Japan in the 1970's, Karaoke has become a worldwide smash with even local Delaware venues such as Mojo 13 in Claymont hosting live weekly Karaoke competitions which are larger than ever.

Hip-Hop hits like Notorious B.I.G.'s “Juicy” are featured in the game alongside a wide range of artists including Drake, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, and Kanye West. Distilling 30 years of Hip-Hop music was a challenge, a rep for 4mm Games told the News Journal, “The meetings about the songs were heated. Rapstar ends up going all the way back to 1988 with Salt and Pepa's 'Push It' up to today with modern artists like T.I.”

Def Jam raves about Rapstar and boasts about its impact, “Hip Hop is a global phenomenon that has permeated pop culture to become the most important youth movement of our generation. We are proud to deliver the first authentic Hip Hop music experience to gamers that will undoubtedly change the way music games are played,” stated Kevin Liles, President and CEO of Def Jam Enterprises. “It is an incredible opportunity to work with 4mm Games and Terminal Reality in developing Def Jam Rapstar. So show us what you got!”

4mm Games is a new developer created by two co-founders of Rockstar games, best known for its hit Grand Theft Auto series. Together with Terminal Reality (Developers of Atari's Ghostbusters and Majesco's BloodRayne) they created new voice recognition software which grades each player's performance on pitch, timing, and verbal accuracy. Many Karaoke video games can currently be mumbled through to trick the software into high scores, but Rapstar promises to recognize lyrical flow and wordplay even on Twista tracks, demanding a new level of accuracy for singing games.

Rapstar is available as disc only but will also offer a bundle which includes a microphone. Using the console's camera the game records a 30 second performance video which can be uploaded to the DefJamRapstar.com online community and shared with player's Facebook and Twitter profiles. The videos are viewable by other users and voted on in online battles. The game also includes a Freestyle mode which allows emcees to record their own hottest sixteen bars over exclusive beats by hit makers Just Blaze, DJ Premier and 9th Wonder, among others.

DMG Clearance of Hockessin, Delaware did the music and video publishing clearances for the game. Owner Deborah Mannis-Gardner got to see a Rapstar demo during her work on the title, “It was cool how Rapstar actually teaches different rap skills as you progress through the levels.” The game ships with 45 hit songs to perform and offers weekly downloadable content which includes additional tracks.

Hip-Hop icon Redman, who is featured in the game, was quoted as saying at E3, “I'm a big gamer, and all the work Def Jam been putting out as far as games, they been winning. The new DefJam Rapstar, I like it because it shows how much you know about Hip-Hop.”

Def Jam Rapstar will be available October 5th on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii consoles.

New Gentle Jones Album Available Worldwide

2010-02-11T16:03:00.004-05:00

NEW ALBUM "SPACE INVADERS" IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON.COM

Delaware's own Marchitect and Gentle Jones have released their new album worldwide and reveal what many already suspect... that they are aliens from outer space.

The new album, Space Invaders, is bugged out to the fullest. Light years beyond anything the two emcees have released as solo artists over the past decade, the Space Invaders record features production from local heroes while also including musical talent from as far abroad as France and Greece. The album is an interplanetary battle cry which plots the subjugation of humankind while blowing out speakers. Delivered from perspective of spacemen, Gentle Jones and Marchitect make use of advanced alien technologies in a bid to conquer the Earth.

Gentle Jones explains a fateful encounter which inspired the album, “While traveling approximately 100 Astronomical Units from Earth's Sun (about 94 million miles) our scans located an unmanned space vessel.” Upon interception of the craft, seemingly named Voyager, they found a cache inside which contained messages from the planet Earth, launched decades ago from our solar system in hopes of finding intelligent life forms to communicate with. The most significant artifact salvaged from Voyager was a gold record, narrated by an earthling called Carl Sagan.

“The Voyager gold record was wack.” says Jones, “Almost completely unlistenable. You can't dance to over half of the tracks on it. So we decided to make a diss record against Carl Sagan, and Earth in general.”

Marchitect set his sites on Earth's entire rap industry with his work on this album, “One day we were out in space drinking kryptonite and decided to kidnap Superman. After that I figured, why not kidnap the whole rap game?”

Probably the Delaware emcee most equipped to hijack the music industry, Marchitect's band Fat Daddy Has Been has burned up local stages for years and his Hip-Hop group the 49ers is currently in the #1 chart position on iTunes in Japan, a spot they've held for four consecutive weeks. Marchitect says, “The 49ers have had three separate Japanese albums in the top 10 on iTunes on the same day. Between all 29 releases we've been featured on in Japan they have enjoyed a total sales of 6 million units.” Few local artist in any genre can boast those sales figures.

“It took us months to put this record together,” says Marchitect, “what you will hear is one of Wilmington's finest emcees coming together with me as a creative lyricist in Newark over beats and scratches from out of this world.” Marchitect engineered the recordings in Newark with Gentle Jones at the legendary Wonderland Studio, owned by Demitri Theodoropoulos.

“My favorite part was working with Grand G on the song 'How to Rob a Human',” says Gentle Jones about working with Delaware Hip-Hop's widely renown producer and lyricist, “He is my favorite emcee from Wilmington and his Project X record is one of the most important albums ever to come out of Delaware. I came up with the concept and Grand G brought the beat to the studio, then the three of us just talked all sorts of smack on Hollywood and the record industry over the track. We were just cracking each other up so hard on this record.”

Since Space Invaders digital release this month on Amazon.com the album has seen an enthusiastic reception, rising to #2 on the experimental rap charts, while peaking at #26 on the overall hip-hop chart on Amazon.com at the same time. “I'm super proud of this one, the Space Invaders rose to the top 400 albums on all of Amazon.com, out of every genre. I've never done that before!” says Gentle Jones about the experience with Amazon.

“I chose Amazon.com to release this album because they are DRM free, meaning you get a real mp3 and not some proprietary file type that you can't copy like iTunes does. Once you own the music, it should be yours to do with as you please with no restrictions, so I think Amazon.com is better than iTunes in that respect. Plus, Amazon is based in Delaware, and they are the largest store in the world. Since CD's are basically dying I figured it is time to evolve with the market. Amazon also lets artists deal direct, with no middleman. I would recommend the service to any independent artist, its a no-brainer to me.”

Gentle Jones has been known around Delaware for years for his unique solo Hip-Hop albums and is also the lead singer of local Oi band The Barons, who are currently signed to Dim Records in Europe. Aside from music, Jones is also a widely read freelance writer in the mainstream press and is currently working on childrens book titled “Jack and the Moonboy”. In addition, he is sponsored by Action Sports Toys, discovered by the inventor of their Omni Tech line through YouTube. “I make these quirky little film shorts with toys and puppets, and this one Ryan Sheckler skateboard puppet I have I made a few funny flicks with,” explains Jones. “The owner of the company, Mike Ballon, saw what I was doing and put me on the team. They said I made the best videos anybody did with their action figures.”

But none of his projects have given Jones the freedom he felt with the Space Invaders album, “I got to really stretch my legs artistically with this one, we get to say just the wildest stuff, rhyming the biggest scientific words, being crazy with it. Most of the time in the studio we were just bagging up so much from the jokes we were coming up with,” says Gentle Jones. “I'd really like folks to have a copy of this because its my best work to date and funny as hell.”

Marchitect has a special message for all earth-based rappers, “I'd like to thank all Hip-Hop artists for making this possible, keep shining my shoes in 2010.”

The Wii Nunchuk: Nintendo's Secret Weapon in the Console Wars

2010-02-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

by Gentle Jones

Video game consoles have become ubiquitous in the modern home. In fact, these days it is not unheard of for a household have more than one console from the same generation. The "seventh-generation" of gaming consoles has offered three major stars: Microsoft's Xbox360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and the market leader, Nintendo's Wii. Cumulative shipments of Wii hardware now exceed 67 million, along with nearly 510 million software units.

Nintendo has out-sold the competition, plus they've brought console gaming to a larger audience than ever before. Nintendo's more affordably priced Wii has made it accessible to a larger market, but the real success with the console has been the revolutionary impact of the Wii's control interface on the player's in-game experience.

The immersive experience of a video game in 2010 provides is a multimedia extravaganza, with hi-resolution graphics, thundering surround sound, action, drama, plot-twists, and blockbuster budgets that rival Hollywood heavy-hitters. Nintendo has turned a profit at every step of its triumphant march to the head of the class, while its competitors are left scratching their heads as to why the Wii has captured the imaginations of millions of families.

Most experts in the gaming press have written at length about the pro's and con's of the Wii Remote's intuitive motion control, which provides a very natural interaction with games through the use of infrared sensors and accelerometers to track arm motion. Microsoft and Sony have invested millions of dollar developing motion controls for their own consoles in response to the Wii's success, with mixed initial results.

However, the competition seems to have missed the greatest revolutionary breakthrough the Wii has introduced into the homes of tens of millions of gamers, the unsung Wii Nunchuk.

In 2005 the Nunchuk was unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show as the first controller attachment for the Wii-mote. It has similar motion-sensing technology to the Wii-mote though the use of an accelerometer, in addition to an analog stick and two shoulder buttons. A large number of Nintendo's first and third party titles require the Nunchuk to control their biggest selling games.

Consumers have responded with their wallets, in the United States the Nunchuk was the best selling piece video game hardware in January 2008, when it sold 375,000 units in just one month.

The Nunchuk expands the Wii-mote to accommodate the larger number of inputs required for the more complex control schemes demanded by the modern designs of the video game industry. The earliest popular video games, usually found in arcades, were coin operated and often had one simple joystick and perhaps one action button. For example, Nintendo's flagship character Mario's first appearance was in the arcade hit Donkey Kong in 1981 and sported one joystick and one button for jumping.

Today's sophisticated gamepads can have up to three analog joysticks and 8 or more action buttons. With many modern titles, one playthrough demands a cumulative 10 to 40 hours to complete. The ergonomic innovation of the Nunchuk, coupled with the Wii-mote, eases the most common physical side effect of marathon gaming sessions, hand cramps.

By separating a gamer's hands and allowing them to move independently of each other a great amount is stress is alleviated. By contrast, two or more hours with the Xbox 360's controller can leave a player's hands in a cramped, claw-like condition which is a significant discomfort and can be quite a distraction from the game itself.

The innovation was a stroke of genius and happened quietly while Nintendo's GameCube was languishing in the market place, eclipsed by the shadow of the PlayStation 2, which was the generational market leader by an enormous margin. In 2001 Nintendo commissioned Gyration Inc, to develop a new controller with motion control built into the gamepad for home consoles. The company eventually designed a prototype "Gyropod" controller which resembled a traditional gamepad, but broke away into two pieces, with one half designed for motion control. A watershed break-through never before attempted.

By freeing the hands from each other and distributing the controls between two separate devices, Nintendo pioneered a new era of game control, and in late 2004 they had designed the Wii-mote wand and its accompanying Nunchuk to be prepared for mass production in 2005. Five years later, people are still buying them in droves.

As of January 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales, and in December 2009 the Wii broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the United States.

The Nunchuk continues to be one of the hottest selling hardware items throughout the seasons, a clear hit with the consumers. Even the home-brew community has embraced the device; one YouTube video shows a proud hacker who has engineered a Nunchuk interface to cleverly control a sophisticated model train's full range of motorized features.

The original white Nunchuk was recently made available in black and this Valentines Day Nintendo plans to release a new Wii MotionPlus bundle which will include Nunchuks in pink and blue, so that gamers may continue their love affair with what might be the most popular piece of video game hardware ever designed, the wonderful Wii Nunchuk.

New Film Highlights Violence in Wilmington's Streets

2010-02-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

by Gentle Jones

Delaware is not known for its burgeoning film industry, but patrons of Theater N in Wilmington and the Rehoboth Film Festival know that Ryan Phillipe is not the only local talent on the big screen. Rennie Rox has released a new movie filmed entirely in Wilmington titled "The Game of Death", a fictional crime drama based on the director's real life experience in the city. The filmed debuted at Theater N located in the hotel DuPont and was officially released this month.

Rennie chose his story because he feels it is relevant, considering the current climate of the city, "The Wilmington homicide situation in the streets is out of control, the city is currently under like a terrorist siege. The majority of them go unsolved. This is where I live, I see the situation first hand. Within the last 2 years I can count 10 people that I had a personal friendships with that were murdered in the streets in the City of Wilmington," explains Rennie. "It had to be this film, it is my responsibility as a filmmaker to document this era of what's going on."

"The Game of Death" is a gritty tale which pits street level drug dealers against each other and the Wilmington Police Department. In this story the distinction between good guys and bad guys is blurred. There is a crooked cop Lieutenant Smitty, played by Jimmy Wardell, who forces street hustlers to move his product. There is a sympathetic drug dealer who seems caught up in a life which is doomed to be short and violent, played by Clark Bar (starring as himself). Detective Strickland, played by the director's brother Wize Dome, is prepared to go above the law to protect his home town. Though the violence is underplayed, the perils of the drug game and its accompanying street shootings are clear throughout the film.

The dialogue is what drives the story and is full of Wilmington-isms which faithfully capture our local dialect. Shadiq Granville provides an excellent performance as Dt. Brown, stealing scenes with well timed facial expressions. The funniest moments in the film are captured in the streets, with the playful banter of killers hanging on the corner while they await their next instructions. Delawareans will recognize local landmarks such as Kelley's Logan House, Brandywine Park, Little Italy, Untouchables Barbershop in Elsmere, as well as numerous locations scattered across Wilmington's Northside. Rennie wanted to showcase his home state in a manner that would have world-wide appeal, "Its an unknown landscape in the world, with its own unique feel. We have so much potential for greatness but nobody knows about it." With Delaware in the White House national attention has focused on the state and Rennie hopes this project can transcend to the world stage.

For the past two years Rennie has released a string of Delaware Hip-Hop dvd's which feature scorching performances by hometown favorites like Antbadant, Shizz Nitty, Pretty Thugger, Pops, and Bobby Dimes. He is currently shooting music videos for Delaware artists and writing his next script to film for "The Game of Death" series. Rennie says they took a brief hiatus for the sake of one of the film's stars, "Clark Bar was shot 10 times last year. Right now he is rehabilitating from an operation. He had a problem with his stomach, after the shooting it wasn't healing right so they had to operate and fix that." explains the director.

Rennie Rox has had his own setbacks growing up in Wilmington. "As a young teenager I fell into the fast money, the drug game. I ended up doing some crimes, robberies, I got sentenced 10 years on a home invasion, served 8 years on that. I came home and wasn't ready for me freedom, I got 3 more years on a drug trafficking charges." Since he was 19 years old the director, now 35, has served a total of 11 years in prison.

Subsequent to being released Rennie set about to turn his life around and immersed himself into creative projects. He recorded a rap album along with several dvd's which have been well received in the community. After reaching out to the mayor's office he was assisted by Bev Zimmerman who put him in contact with the Delaware Independent Filmmakers organization. DIF helped him set up a schedule to show the film on more screens this summer. He plans on taking his new release to the Rehoboth film festival as well as several other regional festivals, in association with Delaware based Film Brothers.

Unsure of how to get permission to shoot a crime drama, complete with fake police, fire arms, and shoot outs, Rennie and company went out and just shot the film without telling anyone what they were doing. "Our scenes were so realistic that bystanders thought they were seeing something real, even with them seeing the camera right there. We were filming in Brandywine Park, dumping a "dead" body, and people were driving by with eyes the size of 50 cent pieces saying 'Oh my God!'" recalls Rennie.

Jimmy "Jam" Wardell, who stars as the bad Lt. Smitty, recalls the filming the climax, the gunpoint murder of one of the film's main characters, "They shot 9 blanks and we filmed that, and every house up and down the streets turned their lights on, like dominoes! We still had to film him lying there from a few different angles so we were their for a while and thought for sure the police would be there any minute asking what we were doing."

Director Rennie Rox says the film is close to him because he is writing from his own experiences, "The movie has a purpose, it is addressing the Wilmington homicide situation in a cinematic way. It is fiction, but it is a creative story that is based on reality," he explains. "The movie is about Karma, because what goes on in these streets comes back at you."

Since releasing the film Rennie has partnered with Wilmington Community leader Tyerin Griffin to put together a Stop the Violence movement. They recently had their first community meeting at Official Cuts Barbershop on 24th and Market which was well attended. He also hosts a Hip-Hop open mic every Monday night from 8pm to10pm at Prices Lanes bowling alley on Kirkwood Highway with Shizz Nitty and D-Rock.

The dvd "The Game of Death" is available at the One Stop Hip-Hop Shop on 4th and Orange streets in Wilmington.

The Wilmington Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on the film.

Rapper Apache Dies

2010-01-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

By Gentle Jones

Flavor Unit emcee Apache, born Anthony Teaks, passed away today (January 22) after a protracted illness.

As an original member of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit, Apache first appeared on 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit and his best known single “Gangsta B**ch” peaked at #11 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.

Shakim Compere, CEO and Co-Founder of Flavor Unit Records, remembered Apache.

“Without Apache there would have been no Queen Latifah, no Naughty By Nature, no Chill Rob G., no anything” Compere told AllHipHop.com. “Apache was the string that tied all of Flavor Unit together. Without Apache none of this would be.”

Apache was one of the three original rappers in Flavor Unit, which also counted Queen Latifah and Latee as early group members.

The rap crew consisted of groups or rappers like Lakim Shabazz, Lord Alibaski, Chill Rob G., Naughty By Nature, Freddie Foxxx, Nikki D and Queen Latifah.

Apache's appearances included collaborations with Naughty by Nature, Fat Joe, Tupac, and A Tribe Called Quest.

“That’s my g, r.i.p in peace big homie, you will be missed, shout out to his family naughty by nature, I just did a show with them, god bless,” DJ Kid Capri said via Twitter.

Pooch of Cage1 Prepares New Album

2010-01-10T13:22:00.000-05:00

by Gentle Jones

How many emcees in Delaware have been rapping since the 1980's, while steadily releasing relevant Hip-Hop music up to today? Some of the earliest releases came from folks who seemingly have fallen to the wayside, such as Doc D and Disco Beave. both emcees are rumored to have been waylaid by drugs and crime some years back. Those who prevailed comprise a short list: Grand G of Project X, Joey Juggaknotts of IOR, Grouchy Greg and Marchitect of the 49ers, and Pooch of Cage1.

Pooch, lead emcee from seminal Delaware Hip-Hop group Cage1, has nearly completed work for his forthcoming solo album “Will2Live”. The long awaited album will include production by some of the finest talents in the area including Big Mont, Roy Queenan, Cannon, and Gold selling production team Flex & Hated.

As a founding member of Cage1, Pooch has appeared with Gangstarr, Jesse Jackson, and his music airs on the hit television series “Run's House”. His first single “Straight From Cage” garnered worldwide acclaim since its vinyl release in 1991and has been featured on famous DJ mixtapes in the UK as well as Japan. A mint copy of this record fetches hundreds of dollars on ebay and is highly prized as one of the top independent Hip-Hop releases of its time.

Pooch recalls the record's reception in Delaware during the early 90's, “Everybody was liking the record around here. We had a big buzz before we even put out that record. Even in high school we were doing talent shows and different parties as Cage1.”

The name Cage1 is a reference to the Newark neighborhood Brookmont Farms where Pooch and DJ Cannon grew up and formed their first rap group, “The name came around because all the streets were named from birds, so we named it the birdcage, and we called it the Cage. We took the name and made a rap group and just blew it up from there.”

Despite the recognition, success has been elusive, with Pooch's releases becoming overshadowed by pressing concerns of the street life. Are we a product of our environment or do we choose our own path in this life? Pooch reflects on an experience steeped in the streets, “You keep being around it and eventually its going to become a part of you, or you're going to become a part of it. Its the company that you keep, people, places, and things.”

The “Park Legend” album was released in 2002 during a turbulent time for Pooch. “That album was kind of a rush job, because I knew I was going to jail, I just wanted to keep my name out there,” explains Pooch. Shortly after, Pooch was convicted and incarcerated for drug and weapons charges. He served his full 7 years sentence and was recently released.

A life in the streets is the harshest teacher. Pooch says his background set into motion a chain of events that made him who he is today. “My whole life I've always been around drugs, always been around guns, always been around violence. When I made the first record, my brother went to jail for cocaine charges, gun charges, all type of stuff. My other brother, he did 4 and a half years. Plus, I have two other brothers who did jail time. I have a brother who died of AIDS. I have a brother who was abducted and found dead in the Christiana River. My family, they inspire me to write my stories, to do what I do.”

Pooch is in the process of selecting the lead single from “Will2Live” and will release the track within the coming weeks on his new mixtape “Carbon Monoxide”.

Happy Birthday Eddie “Cornbread” Kendricks

2009-12-17T13:20:00.001-05:00

By Gentle Jones

Eddie Kendricks (Edward James Kendrick) was born on December 17, 1939 in Union Springs, Alabama to Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick.

Kendricks moved to Detroit at 18 and started a singing group the Primes which performed Doo Wop and also capably covered Mills Brothers tunes. Eventually Eddie rose to fame singing first tenor for the Temptations, also often singing with a distinctive falsetto. An original member of the Temptations when they signed to Motown subsidiary Miracle, the group became a Motown staple and the most successful male vocal group of the 1960's. “Get Ready”, “Just My Imagination”, and “The Way You Do The Things You Do” are a few of the smash hits which feature Kendricks as the lead vocalist. In addition to vocal duties Kendricks was the group's primary vocal arranger and defacto wardrobe manager.

From 1960 until 1971 Kendricks sang as one of the Temptations lead singers. An icey relationship with Barry Gordy is cited as a reason Kendricks was originally unable to record solo material while signed to Motown with the Temptations, something Michael Jackson was allow to do while with the Jackson 5. Eventually, Kendricks was permitted to release solo material on Motown's Tamla imprint.

By the 1970's Eddie Kendricks was topping charts as a solo artists with hit singles “Keep On Truckin” and “Boogie Down” and in 1978 he signed away his rights to his Motown royalties to leave the label, moving to Arista and later Atlantic Records.

Eddie Kendricks was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame with the Temptations in 1989.

Rakim Features His Aunt Ruth Brown on iTunes' Front Page

2009-12-16T13:13:00.000-05:00

by Gentle Jones

Ruth Brown's music is currently featured on the front page of iTunes music store, the #1 online music retailer. Her nephew, legendary New York Hip-Hop emcee Rakim, included “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean” on his Celebrity Playlist, a popular music feature on the site.

“There are a lot of songs in my Aunt Ruth's catalog that we put on when we feel a need for a little classic soul music. I don't have one all-time favorite, but this is one of the tracks she would close her show with, and – like everything else she did – it was always a big number with lots of excitement.” says Rakim about his late Aunt.

Ruth Brown performed on some of Atlantic Records' earliest hit singles; the label is often referred to as “The House That Ruth Built.”

Aretha Franklin to Headline 41st New Orleans Jazz Fest

2009-12-15T13:10:00.001-05:00

by Gentle Jones

The New Orleans Jazz Fest has announced the 2010 line up and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin will be headlining the event. Aretha Franklin will share the stage with hundreds of acts over the course of 2 weekends, April 23rd through May 2nd, including the Neville Brothers, Anita Baker, rapper Juvenile, and actor Steve Martin, who plays banjo with his bluegrass outfit the Steep Canyon Riders. Also performing during the 41st Jazz Fest will be B.B. King, the Allman Brothers, and New Orleans' own Dr. John.

Aretha Franklin was the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. In 2008, Aretha Franklin was named by Rolling Stone magazine the Greatest Singer of All Time. She has 45 Billboard Top 40 hits as well as 20 #1 hit singles.

Franklin was supposed to perform at the 40th New Orleans Jazz Fest but cancelled when asked to participate in the inaugural ball for President Barack Obama, where she was the only featured singer.

The New Orleans Jazz Fest was created to have popular appeal as well as cultural significance. The first festival line up included Mahalia Jackson, the Meters, Duke Ellington, Fats Domino, as well as many others.

Tickets for the festival, which is held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana, go on sale today.

Rakim - The Seventh Seal Album Review

2009-12-01T13:40:00.001-05:00

by Gentle Jones

“Rappers cross-over. They dead.” Rakim returns to testify that he is a man alive with work to do on The Seventh Seal, his new album released on his own Ra Records label. Always a man of uncompromising vision, non-believers are presented with Ra's modern Hip-Hop gospel soaked in Godspeak. Sometimes obscure but never unobtainable, this new disc was easy to find at the Church of Best Buy for a ten dollar tithe.

Forty seconds into the first track “How to Emcee” Rakim's delivery and presence emerge as that of brand new emcee freshly delighted with word play and tightly crafted rhyme schemes. What should be surprising coming from a pioneer decades deep in this music is no surprise from Rakim, who is undoubtedly among the finest emcees ever to grace the booth and a master of original re-invention. He is hella people's favorite for a reason.

Production is provided by a current cast including Needlz, Jake One, and Nick Wiz. It is well known that Rakim is selective when it comes to records, a pivotal point that scuttled an Aftermath project with Dr. Dre. Perhaps lesser known is Rakim's fearlessness on the boards, having programed drums and even done scratching on some of his earliest classics. His taste and savvy are apparent here, as the beats are all bangers any emcee would give his left teste to rhyme on.

Rakim attacks each track with a variety of lyrical approaches which build upon his time tested methods, yet continue to be forward thinking. Flashback: Some of Rakim's seminal recordings were done in a studio where MC Shan of the legendary Juice Crew has said he was present and actually clowning on the young upstart's unheard of delivery. As a teenager, Rakim saw the path of the music clearly and brought Hip-Hop into a new future made in his own image. This new album will be debated and much of it is probably impenetrable to many music critics who will encounter it. The legacy remains intact.

The overall effect of this varied effort delivers a mixed result. “Man Above” could sit comfortably within a contemporary Christian Gospel play list. Here it contrasts against a heaping helping of hustle rap, juxtaposed on the record with “Documentary of a Gangsta” where Rakim flexes secular street rap skills with a sinister tone.

For an album with no curse words, it is perhaps blasphemous to shout out loud that the seventh track is effing incredible. Good Lord, it is that. When “Holy are You” first makes the speakers sparkle, Rakim's decade of near silence melts away completely as he shines his brightest. This song smokes anything else out so far this year, it is classic Ra not afraid to step in the booth, be the best ever, and speak to forever for four minutes. That it seems over too soon simply underscores the strong replay value of much of Rakim's formidable catalog. Rewind and repeat as necessary, until your mind is blown. Sequencing this song as track seven is an elegant touch of class from this visionary pioneer who manifests greatness. He knows exactly what he is doing with this record.

Vocally, Rakim stands on his own for the majority of the album. Of the few features the most magic is found on “Message in the Song” where his daughter Destiny Griffin sings while Rakim weaves words over a beat that oozes NYC ambiance. “Y'all know what my purpose is. I spit verses to lift curses off my dead president worshipers. Back where the surface is, gangsters and murderers. Making money made us merciless.”

Hooks have never been a crucial part of the God Emcee's formula which continues to rely on intricate layers of meaning stretched artfully across bars upon bars of masterful wordplay. Golden Age purists looking for Rakim rhyming over straight knocking beats with scratching on the hooks will find little of that here. However, when it does happen on this album it is fantastic. Nestled toward the album's close is the magnificent “Still in Love” which belongs among Rakim's finest love letters to Hip-Hop, the microphone is clearly still calling its favorite fiend.

There are few American artists who defy definition as Rakim does. He is a man of many mysteries, like, “Who is God?” or “How does Gwen Stephani keep showing up on Hip-Hop records?”

The Seventh Seal moves above and beyond where Rakim's last album The Master left off. Though at times it falls short of the high bar set by Paid in Full, its got some scorchers which will be Hip-Hop high points for 2009 and suggests that next year's album, already in the works, will be promising. The God Emcee Rakim Allah remains in fine form with soul food for thought as Earth takes its next trip around the Sun.

“I see though the eyes of the prophets, King Tutankhamens, and Martins and Malcolms, Elijah Mohommads, wise and with knowledge. Paid in Full ain't just the size of the pockets, this rise to the top is Ra's economics. I show you that time is more valuable then them diamonds in your watches. You grind for the block, you die for them dollars. What's worth more to you, your life or your gwop is?”

3.5 out of 5 prayers facing mecca