LordRoc & the Skygod Family

Artwork by Lordroc For Sale!

2012-03-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by James Rocco. Original Art. Pencil on Paper 9x12"

Original Art For Sale (PayPal: lordroccolypse@aol.com))
Some art related items I am selling, most are hand drawn/painted, if there is no price make me an offer I can't refuse! I accept Paypal and my username for paypal is lordroccolypse@aol.com. These drawings can also be made into T Shirts, Mousepads, Totebags, Jean jackets, etc.
By: James Rocco
Photos: 22

CLICK HERE For More Photos and ART!

NYC SKYLINE MURAL by Lordroc

2012-03-06T11:55:00.000-05:00

NYC Skyline mural painted by James Rocco in a studio apartment. Medium: Acrylic, Paint marker and Spray paint.

With help from Lemos of ALOE Inc.

Music by The Skygod Family - Lordroc & Lemos 'World Premier' (from the album 'METAMORPHYSICAL')

Available now at:
Lordroc.Bandcamp.com

Also search for Lordroc and Skygod on I Tunes.

Please visit www.Lordroc.com for more art and music!

Unknown (Official Music Video) Lordroc, KenKal, DJ JS-1

2011-10-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

This is the first official single from Lordroc since 2004's critically Acclaimed album E2 TO BASS.

Song is available for download here: http://lordroc.bandcamp.com/track/unknown

Video Produced by: Lordroc ... www.Lordroc.com

Lordroc - E2 to Bass - Digital - f/ Marley Marl, Capone, Royal Flush, etc.

2011-09-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

Tah From Da Bush - New Single - FREE DOWNLOAD

2010-08-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

<a href="http://tahphrumduhbush.bandcamp.com/track/semi-reserved-closet-maniac">Semi-Reserved Closet Maniac by Tah Phrum Duh Bush</a>

2 Pac and Biggie - the Long Over Due Blog

2010-01-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

"Let's be real...Biggie was a great lyricist and Pac was a great entertainer" - This is what someone wrote as a comment on an article I read that sparked this blog, but it's not the first time I've heard it, in fact I've heard this said too many times by public figures and in public forums as well. That statement is so wrong that nothing can be further from the truth, in fact it's quite opposite - Big was a good entertainer (I personally can't say great, sorry, biggie fans) and Pac was a master lyricist.

Ever since they were both alive and the east coast-west coast "beef" was going on I've been in discussions on many street corners from NY to LA about who was better and why. Here is my analysis based on the fact that I listened to both (all of Pac's albums and Big's one album and a few features).

First off people shouldn't even comment on 2 Pac unless they have some understanding of his history. Biggie on the other hand has not much of a history, we related to him because he was a regular street dude like us selling a few drugs, holding a few guns and trying to make it. Pac was of a different cloth. Pac was brought up in a family of revolutionaries and people who were and are still making REAL change in the world, without some of them there wouldn't be integrated bathrooms and water fountians. SERIOUSLY.

The neutral argument people have presented to me is that Biggie had flow while Pac had lyrics and substance, this is a much more accurate assesment of who was better, even though there really is no better, it's like someone said in the beef DVD, I think Shock G said "when people say Pac is better people are really saying Pac was the better PERSON." I agree with that. I'm not saying Biggie was a bad person, I don't think he was at heart but maybe he was trying to impress people around him or felt the pressures of his environment to portray a more evil image.

Example of what I'm saying... When Pac died the Makaveli album was released, with yes, a few dis tracks towards other rappers and artists, mainly Biggie and Bad boy, but that album was a GREAT composition of songs, uplifting, revolutionary, gangster, smart, woman praising, very substantial.

When Biggie died I'm hearing songs being released where he's talking about robbing women and children, shame on whoever's choice it was to release this crap (Puff most likely) and his album Life After Death which dealt with glamourizing the ganster life, partying, pop records and senseless murder. I think it had one album's worth of very good material on it but unfortunately it was a double album and if it was a single album it probably would have only contained the more pop commercial records.

From Pac's archive we get a book of poetry (and an album performed ny socially concious artists) A Rose That Grew From Concrete, we get the songs Changes, Baby Don't Cry, Until The End Of Time, etc.

From Big we get a bullshit album that Puff puts together with the "hot" artists of the time, which are not hot now by the way, possibly the worst compilation album ever called Duets, with the single Dead Wrong. Another notable mention would be the Ron G verse (which I remember form the mixtape and loved) which I think went to Big L's album (which I liked a lot also and think he was WAAAAAYYYY better than Biggie BY FAR and gets no credit AT ALL EVER) on a cut with him and Pac and all three of them were not with us anymore. A good song but I don't know if that Biggie verse should have been put out like that after his death, the original was a classic with Raekwon on there I think Fat Joe was on it, (Jay Boogie probably remembers better than me) but it should have stayed as that and this is why I feel that way. Lyrics... Hail Mary, fuck her, I never knew her, I'll probably screw her, and dump her body in the fucking sewer... Now I'm not religious but that's some cold shit.. lol

Anyhow, the 2 can not even really be compared AT ALL, not even the same bracket, people say Biggie was the best just because he died? That's ridiculous, he only released ONE album while alive, ONE!!

Big Pun was better than Biggie.... BY FAR! Style and Lyrics... Flow, yea Big had a great flow, always on beat, rhythmic, whatever, I'm a lyrics fan... And his were just OK... I can name over 50 people probably off the top of my head that will eat Biggie alive in a battle or just comapring song for song..

I'm not trying to trash a dead man's name, I never met the guy, can't say if he was a good or bad person but judging by what he put out there, in my opinion, he never made any positive contribution to anything in my life. And don't get me wrong, I love his first album, a sick classic album, but when he died, in my opinion, he was on his way to the pop isle with Puff.

2 Pac to me was a true artist in every aspect of the word. He was an intelligent human who made decisions based on the betterment (if that's a word, lol) of mankind. Yea he went a lil crazy in the end and spun a bit out of control but I still think even during those times he was trying to do the right thing, I think his frustration came from the fact that the world wasn't changing fast enough for him. He sacrificed a lot of happiness to see other people happy and used his success to help MANY other people and show them the light but some still failed to follow and he still got shitted on by freinds and industry folk. I know the feeling Pac..

Pac will go down in history as an important figure of our society who changed the world for the better and Biggie will go down in history as someone he had beef with. That is Big's claim to fame, cause if Lil Wayne dies tommorrow the kids that came up listening to his slurred music will say he was the best to ever do it and there will be no changing their minds.

And NO, Jay Z wouldn't be as big as he is if Pac was here, Pac would've smacked him by now. And NO, Pac didn't destroy Mobb Deep's career, they did it to themselves by making half ass music for a short period of time, good to see them back on their game, and their dis to Tupac is probably the only relevant one out there, but they respectfully pulled it from the album when he passed.

This is long but I am not finished either, I will stop here for now and to it on the comments if something else comes to me. I hope they are all resting in peace.

PS I did like the Biggie movie, it was good, don't know how accurate it was but from what I know from actually being there at that time, they threw in some little things that only real Hip hop heads would know about..

Kymani Marley - My favorite music artist at the moment

2009-05-01T17:46:00.000-04:00

My boy J Nyce put me on to Kymani a little over a year ago I guess, I had no idea this cat existed. He is the son of Bob Marley and does tour with the rest of the Marley brothers (Damien, Stephen, Ziggy, Rohan, etc..) but for some reason I don't hear this cat getting any exposure. Some people have said Akon stole his style, don't know if there's any truth to that but I do hear a slight resemblance now that it was brought up.

Kymani also acted in the cult classic movie Shottas (shout out to Cliff Charles who worked on Shottas and filmed all three of my music videos)

Anyway his music is sick, he fuses crazy styles and genres and comfortably and naturally he flips them all. From Reggae of course to Hip hop to Soul the music is very powerful to me. His album RADIO is probably my favorite maybe because it has more of a Hip hop edge to it and that's the one I've been playing most lately, but I have them all and they are all good. So here are some examples and if you want more just got to you tube and type in his name, a lot of songs will come up.

Hip hop Cartoon starring Talib Kweli, Bobbito, Affion Crocket, etc..

2009-04-15T11:45:00.000-04:00

BlokHedz Episode One: “Thinking of a Master Plan”
Talib Kweli as : YOUNG BLAK Affion Crockett as: FLASH Bobbito Garcia as: EATHO Also featuring Mayda Del Valle (Def Poetry) in multiple roles
Blokhedz chronicles the adventures of “YoungBlak” - a aspiring rapper who users the power of hip-hop to conquer evil.

Slaughterhouse - Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Royce da 5'9 and Crooked I

2009-04-04T16:50:00.000-04:00

Review: Slaughterhouse 'Move On'

This is actually a pretty good group, this song amazed me. I saw a freestyle they did, and I was really looking forward to Crooked I's verse and he spit an old one (the one I have in an older post from the Wake Up Show). I just assumed that this would be a group of graveyard rappers who are all still struggling to make it after so many set backs. This song actually explained to me why and perfectly captured my attention and changed my mind quickly. The song is called Move On and in each verse the artists all clear up their past issues that have been the main focus on them. It just proves that a good conceptual song can be done extremely well and lyrically SICK. They all spit mad long too which is rare in todays music and if someone does do it most of the time I'm hoping they stop, but these cats deserve to spit that long and they keep it interesting.

Royce surprised me here, I thought he would be a weak link but he actually had the least lyrical verse but it had a strong impact due to the content and I lost myslef following his style and began just listening to the story, everyone else killed it as well, Budden surprised me too, I sleep on him alot for some reason. But this is a supergroup and this song is the perfect intro to their legacy together. It puts the past in the past an answers any questions you may have about them while at the same displaying exactly why these guys make a great group and how they relate to each other through their past experiences.

The beat is sick, very musical, Ortiz and Crooked I are Crazy as always.. The video is good, creative, props...

Move on... I have moved on and I look forward to hearing more from these cats! Peace... Lordroc..

Abbie Hoffman 'Steal This Blog'

2009-03-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

Abbie Hoffman was an activist from the era of the civil rights movement. He was first brought to my attention through a movie that was made about him and then shortly after i began to hear more about him and learn of his contributions through the grapevine.. Here are a few videos to watch and analyze for your self and maybe you'll do more research on your own of this interesting individual.

Scenes from the film titled 'Steal This Movie' based on the life of Abbie Hoffman starring Vincent D'onofrio (Law & Order Criminal Intent)and Jeanine Garofolo. The title of the movie was taken from the title of one of Abbie's books titled 'Steal This Book'.

Dinner with Abbie part 1

Dinner with Abbie part 2

Abbie Hoffman speaking on John Lennon

Save Our Community Programs!!

2009-03-18T01:16:00.000-04:00

Original Post By: Michael Zevon of the Forest Hills Community House. I just wanted to re-post this to spread the word about what's happening in our communities... Be aware!! Show Support!!

First I need to say thank you to all my boys who showed up at the forum. We had about 60 of our current and former participants show up to support the community. Shout out to the Supreme Beings, my Soccer crew, Tigre, the Underdogs, and the Jr. Bilfs of the b-ball league. Shout out to Damon Divinny for coming down! Thank you to my wife and daughter and Brenda Rivera for running the voter registration booth. Richie and Helen, Corner Chris, Bruce and crew, the Buharas, Meryl, Helena, the Beacon staff, Mr Pullano, Susan Matloff and most of all Irma Rodriguez - all staff members at QCH did a great job in short time putting this event together. Meryl really worked hard to piece it together.

The participants spoke about how the programs have helped their lives. Both Seniors and Youth speakers from a number of programs. We had some amazing folks who have dedicated their lives to helping others speak about their experiences and promote some ideas on how we can organize and work together as a team to get our voices heard. I love them all. They really are wonderful people.

Here is where I am FURIOUS! Not 1 elected official showed up that I saw. NOT 1! This turned out to be no more than the chorus preaching to the choir! Its a disgrace!

Here's a little secret. The elected officials were told they were not going to be able to talk but could LISTEN to what their constituents had to say. NOT 1 CAME OUT!

1 person did come down running for office and his name is DAVE KERPEN. He is running for Queens Borough President. He KNEW he couldn't speak but came out to be supportive. He had a brilliant idea to reach all those people who could not attend the forum and it was to send a text message to at least 1 person in your phone book saying to help fight the budget cuts and to pass it on. Chain text message! It could reach a lot of heads. Brilliant idea.

Current Borough President Helen Marshall may be too busy renovating her office at a 2 MILLION DOLLAR taxpayer expense while they cut social services that help people in need.

Clara Haskell Botstein, Project Coordinator from United Neighborhood Housing spoke about a number of ideas and 1 was raising taxes on the rich and I clapped with everyone else but I do not want to fight a class war. It may be a quick answer but I am not a fan of taxing people. How about we take the $ they are using to renovate the office of Helen Marshall instead? How about that? How about we cut WASTEFUL SPENDING LIKE RENOVATING ELECTED OFFICIALS OFFICES.

I am furious! Something needs to be done and soon. Enough of these self serving politicians who are UNREPRESENTITIVE! Where was Melinda Katz? She didnt know this was going on?Where was Nettie Mayhersohn? Where was Toby Ann Savisky? All too busy. Maybe they sent someone from their office. Thanks. I did hear that Congressman Anthony Weiner at least sent a representitive from his office since he couldnt be there. Congressman Weiner helped us with our flag retirement ceremony last year.

What are we gonna do folks? Tell me what to do. What needs to happen? I am willing to go to any lengths to take our borough back from the elites in their ivory towers.

What do we do? Because the people who are in office making decisions do NOT care about us. There is no denying it anymore.

We all need to step up now and take this town back. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

The Obama Deception.. Full Video - Documentary

2009-03-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

This film is very interesting and explores behind the scenes of the government and our new president Barack Obama.

The Next Best Thing.. B.O.B., Crooked I, Etc.

2009-03-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

What's up my people?? Another blog from the lordroc, Lord of the Roc. I'm gonna start trying to put up new posts frequently just blogging about my thoughts on things that are on my mind. Today I want to write about new artists that i like.

So... Let me start off by saying there has been a lot of hype surrounding the new class of emcees on the come up. It all started a few years back when Hip hop heads started rocking styles from the 80's again. At first I thought it was cool because of the fact that the look is natural to me already, I was there when it was the most popular thing and I feel so young sometimes that it still feels new and relevant (except of course, the tight jeans hanging off the ass with the ankles being choked, don't know about that look), but it's only my opinion.

Well anyway, I began to see, not really hear, a lot of new artists (especially at 5 Pointz where I'm at alot, They do a lot of photo shoots there and they film a lot of music videos there)and I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of them as well. A few cats include Theophilus and Holliewood. The vibe that I got from these cats and many others was extremely cool. I'm proud to say that the direction I've witnessed Hip hop moving in is intelligent and appreciative of art and music, which is great!

I'm assuming this new direction stemmed from the popularity of Kanye, Common, Lupe, Talib Kweli, etc.

But I must say when I started hearing some of these cats I wasn't impressed, and I don't mean the cats I've mentioned, I'm talking about more popular guys who have been getting media attention like, Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth. I'm sorry but for people to dis commercial rap and say that these cats are here to change the game, I don't buy it. Some of it is original (Asher excluded) but to me it just doesn't sound that "Hip hop". A lot of this crap is commercial and these cats are getting props because they are young and daring enough to shy away from the ever growing popularity of (fake) gangsta (c)rap. By the way I love gangster rap (the real stuff, and no it doesnt make me wanna hurt anyone, real street dudes don't promote that. example: Slick Rick)

To be quite clear I'm not trying to diss anyone or hate on anyone, DO YOU, I don't have to listen if I don't like it, and I won't.

So with that being said let me move on to who I do like and post some links for you guys!!

B.O.B. - I was hearing about this cat and I didn't know what to think with a name like Bob but the first joint I heard from him was the Auto Tune song. I thought it was hilarious and I started checking for this kid. Didn't really hear anything else until I discovered that he was the one that put out a new single that I really liked which a lot of you may have heard titled "I'll Be In The Sky". It's a bit Andre 3000ish, but this song makes me wanna get up and boogie! Word! (The video is hot too). And for those of you who may not know he also writes, produces and mixes his own music.

"I'll Be In The Sky" video

"Auto Tune" video

Crooked I - What can I say about Crooked I, hmmm, he's just nasty wit it.. He's from Long beach, CA, He used to be on Death Row for a minute now he's doing his own thing. He's also in a supergroup called Saughterhouse with Joell Ortiz, Royce the 5'9 and Joe Budden. He also garnered a lot of attention last year when he started to put out a mixtape song every week which ended up becoming The Hip hop Weekly Series and went on for an entire year! (they were almost all real crazy especially the finale. Prodigy actually recently dissed him for being named in Vibe's list of top whatever rappers but I just don't think P ever heard him spit, so here goes.....
He talks at the beginning but wait til he raps, it's well worth the wait..

Other honorable mentions go out to:

Immortal Technique
Krondon
The Cool Kids
Kidz In The Hall
There are a few more that I really like that I can't remember off the top of my head right now..

This already went longer than I expected so I'll be back real soon with more BLOGS!

Peace and Love..

Lordroc
The Skygod Family
lordroccolypse@aol.com
myspace.com/lordroc
youtube.com/skygod

2009-03-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

The Real Rick Ross - Freeway Ricky Ross..
mood: confident
Category: News and Politics

Hey people! I haven't posted a blog in a while and I may have also posted this one before, but I was just watching it again and this is amazing to me. The story of the REAL Rick Ross, NOT THE CO/RAPPER!

This video should open the eyes of a lot of people who think it just can't happen to them... What the government and the law enforcement do in this country is unbelievable, really. The tactics they use, the crime fighting techniques, lol, it's seriously not even funny tho.. Peep this..

P.S. This is just basic stuff... This is small potatoes, just imagine what else goes on...

By the way...

Rest In Peace..

Gary webb

Mike Tyson Greatest Moments

2008-11-27T13:08:00.000-05:00

I gotta say, Mike Tyson is my favorite boxer probably ever, he was the champ of my generation so far... But this is hilarious, this is what adds to his greatness, behold... Mike Tyson!!!

DJ Obama Vs. DJ McCain ELECTION BATTLE

2008-10-17T18:51:00.000-04:00

Filmed and Edited by Lord Roc of the Skygod Family, Starring 2 of the sickest DJs in the world from Queens, NYC!!!

Welcome to my Blog!

2008-09-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my new site for posting information. For now I'm just gonna post up my EPK (Entertainment Press Kit) which is just a promotional video showing off bits of my multimedia work. My multimedia work consists of me being a recording artist, video producer, graphic designer, Illustrator, graffiti artist, photographer, writer and travelling documenter of the Hip hop culture primarily but also just life in general.

So please visit often and I will try to update it as much as I can because everyday I think of crazy things I would like to share and I also discover many things that I feel should be shared. Peace and Love to all who deserve it.

Don't forget to visit my other pages as well....

www.MySpace.com/Lordroc
www.YouTube.com/Skygod