My Soulspazm Series On Mixcrate.com

If you didn't know back in July, I was added to the www.jaenashradio.com on WVOL, the T.G.I.F mix can be heard every friday morning 10am-11am WVOL  just click on the link to listen live www.wvol1470.com. I post all my T.G.I.F mixes on www.micrate.com/djghostdogg right after the show for you to download i call them Soulspazm same mixx different name. Motto I go hard in the crates, feel free to leave a comment. Posted Ghost Dogg

Turntablism: The History: Past Present & Future

This is the history of turntablism, a term most often used for contemporary DJs. The passages on their old school hip hop predecessors only focus on the relevant artistic contributions.

Precursors

The history of the turntable being used as a musical instrument has its roots dating back to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s when musique concrète and other experimental composers (such as John Cage, Halim El-Dabh, and Pierre Schaeffer), used them in a manner similar to that of today's producers and DJs, by essentially sampling and creating music that was entirely produced by the turntable. Cage's Imaginary Landscape No. 1 (1939) is composed for 2 variable speed turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano & cymbal.

Even earlier, Edgard Varèse experimented with turntables in 1930, though he never formally produced any works using them. This school of thought and practice is not directly linked to the current definition of hip hop-related turntablism, though it has had an influence on modern experimental sound artists such as Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Philip Jeck and Janek Schaefer. These artists are the direct descendants of people like John Cage and Pierre Schaeffer and are often credited as a variant to the modern turntablist DJ and producer.

Examples of turntable effects can also be found on popular records produced in the 1960s and 1970s. Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1968 self-titled debut album features a backspin effect in the song "Walk on the Water". However, turntablism as we know it now did not surface until the introduction of hip hop in the late 1970s.

The Craft

Turntablism as a modern art form and musical practice has its roots within hip hop and hip hop culture of the early 1970s. Scratching was already widespread within hip hop by DJs and producers by the time turntablists started to appear.

John Oswald described the art: "A phonograph in the hands of a 'hiphop/scratch' artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced -- the record player becomes a musical instrument."

Hip-Hop turntablist DJs use turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching, and beat juggling. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and improvising with other performers. Some focus on turntable technique while others craft intricate compositions by focusing on mixing.                 

Kool DJ Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash are widely credited for having cemented the now established role of DJ as hip hop's foremost instrumentalist. Kool Herc's invention of break-beat DJing is generally regarded as the foundational development in hip hop history, as it gave rise to all other elements of the genre. His influence on the concept of "DJ as turntablist" is equally profound. To understand the significance of this achievement, it is important to first define the "break." Briefly, the "break" of a song is a musical fragment only seconds in length, which typically takes the form of an "interlude" in which all or most of the music stops except for the percussion. The break is roughly equivalent to the song's "climax," as it is meant to be the most exciting part of a song before returning once more to its finale (usually a return to the main chorus). In addition to raising the audience's adrenaline level, the percussion-heavy nature of the break makes it the most danceable as well, if only for seconds at a time. Kool Herc introduces the break-beat technique as a way of extending the break indefinitely. This is done by buying two of the same record and switching from one to the other on the DJ mixer: e.g., as record A plays, the DJ quickly backtracks to the same break on record B, which will again take the place of A at a specific moment in which the audience will not notice that the DJ has switched records.

Kool Herc's revolutionary technique set the course for the development of turntablism as an art form in significant ways. Most important, however, he developed a new form of DJing that did not consist of playing and mixing records one after the other. The type of DJ that specializes in mixing is well respected for his own set of unique skills, but playlist mixing is still DJing in the traditional sense. Kool Herc instead originated the idea of creating a sequence for his own purposes, introducing the idea of the DJ as the "feature" of parties, whose performance on any given night would be examined critically by the crowd on both a technical and entertainment level.

However it was Grand Wizard Theodore, an apprentice of Flash, who accidentally isolated the most recognizable technique of turntablism: scratching. He put his hand on a record one day, to silence the music on the turntable while his mother was calling out to him and thus accidentally discovered the sound of scratching by moving the record back and forth under the stylus. Though Theodore discovered scratching, it was Flash who helped push the early concept and showcase it to the public, in his live shows and on recordings.

DJ Grand Mixer DXT is also credited with furthering the concept of scratching by practicing the rhythmic scratching of a record on one or more (usually two) turntables, using different velocities to alter the pitch of the note or sound on the recording (Alberts 2002). DXT appeared (as DST) on Herbie Hancock's hit song "Rockit".

These early pioneers cemented the fundamental practice that would later become the emerging turntablist art form. Scratching would during the 1980s become a staple of hip hop music, being used by producers and DJs on records and in live shows. By the end of the 1980s it was very common to hear scratching on a record, generally as part of the chorus of a track or within its production. On stage the DJ would provide the music for the MCs to rhyme to, scratching records during the performance and showcasing his skills alongside the verbal skills of the MC. The most well known example of this 'equation' of MCs and DJ is probably Run DMC who were composed of two MCs and one DJ. The DJ, Jam Master Jay, was an integral part of the group since his turntablism was critical to Run DMC's productions and performances.

While Flash and Bambaataa were using the turntable to explore repetition, alter rhythm and create the instrumental stabs and punch phrasing that would come to characterize the sound of hip hop, Grandmaster DST was busy cutting "real" musicians on their own turf. His scratching on Herbie Hancock's 1983 single, "Rockit", makes it perhaps the most influential DJ track of them all - even more than (Grandmaster Flash's) "Wheels of Steel", it established the DJ as the star of the record, even if he wasn't the frontman. Compared to "Rockit", West Street Mob's "Break Dancin' - Electric Boogie" (1983) was punk negation. Only DJ Code Money's brutal mangling of Schooly D's early records can match the cheese-grater note-shredding of "Break Dancin'". As great as Break Dancin' was, though, it highlighted the limited tonal range of scratching, which was in danger of becoming a short-lived fad like human beat-boxing until the emergence of Code Money's DJ Brethren from Philadelphia in the mid-'80s.

Despite New York's continued pre-eminence in the hip hop world, scratch DJing was modernized less than 100 miles down the road in Philadelphia. Denizens of the City of Brotherly Love were creating the climate for the return of the DJ by inventing transformer scratching. Developed by DJs Spinbad, DJ Cash money and DJ Jazzy Jeff, transforming was basically clicking the fader on and off while moving a block of sound (a riff or a short verbal phrase) across the stylus. Expanding the tonal as well as rhythmic possibilities of scratching, the transformer scratch epitomized the chopped-up aesthetic of hip hop culture. Hip hop was starting to become big money and the cult of personality started to take over. Hip hop became very much at the service of the rapper and Cash Money and DJ Jazzy Jeff, saddled with B-list rappers like Marvelous and the Fresh Prince, were accorded maybe one track on an album. For example, tracks like DJ Jazzy Jeff's "A Touch of Jazz" (1987) and "Jazzy's in the House" (1988) and Cash Money's "The Music Maker" (1988). Other crucial DJ tracks from this period include Tuff Crew's DJ Too Tuff's "Behold the Detonator" "Soul Food" (both 1989)," and Gang Starrs "Dj Premier in Deep Concentration" (1990).

Grandmaster Flash

"Turntablism"

The appearance of turntablists and the birth of turntablism was prompted by one major factor - the disappearance of the DJ in hip hop groups, on records and in live shows at the turn of the 1990s. This disappearance has been widely documented in books and documentaries (such as Black Noise and Scratch The Movie), and was linked to the increased use of DAT tapes and other studio techniques that would ultimately push the DJ further away from the original hip hop equation of the MC as the vocalist and the DJ as the music provider alongside the producer. This push and disappearance of the DJ meant that the practices of the DJ, such as scratching, went back underground and were cultivated and built upon by a generation of people who grew up with hip hop, DJs and scratching. By the mid-90s the disappearance of the DJ in hip hop had created a sub-culture which would come to be known as turntablism and which focused entirely on the DJ utilising his turntables and a mixer to manipulate sounds and create music. By pushing the practice of DJing away, hip hop created the grounds for this sub-culture to evolve.

The origin of the terms turntablist and turntablism are widely contested and argued about, though over the years some facts have been established by various documentaries (Battlesounds, Doug Pray's Scratch), books (DJ Culture), conferences (Skratchcon 2000) and interviews in online and printed magazines. These facts are that the origins of the words most likely lay with practitioners on the US West Coast, centered around the San Francisco Bay Area. Some claim that DJ Disk, a member of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, was the first to coin the term, others claim that DJ Babu, a member of the Beat Junkies, was responsible for coining and spreading the term turntablist after inscribing it on his mixtapes and passing them around. Another claim credits DJ Supreme, 1991 World Supremacy Champion and DJ for Lauryn Hill. The truth most likely lies somewhere in between all these facts.

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.

The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound. The new term co-occurred with a resurgence of the art of hip hop style DJing in the 1990s.

In an interview with the Spin Science online resource in 2005, DJ Babu added the following comments about the birth and spread of the term:

It was around 95, I was heavily into the whole battling thing, working on the tables constantly, mastering new techniques and scratches, and all the while working in a gas station and spending my spare time concentrating on all these things. One day I made this mixtape called 'Comprehension', and on there was a track called 'Turntablism' which featured Melo-D and D-Styles. And this is part of where this whole thing about turntablist came from. This was a time where all these new techniques were coming out, like flares and stuff, and there were probably 20 people or so, in around California between Frisco and LA, who knew about these. So we worked on them, talked about it and kicked about the ideas that these techniques and new ways of scratching gave us. And what I would do is write 'Babu the Turntablist' on tapes I was making at the time, and somehow it got out a bit, the media got hold of it and it blew into this whole thing we now know. But it was really nothing to start with. We'd all talk about these new scratches and how they really started to allow us to use the turntable in a more musical way, how it allowed us to do more musical compositions, tracks, etc. and then we'd think about how people who play the piano are pianists, and so we thought "we're turntablists in a way, because we play the turntable like these people do the piano or any other instrument". Beyond that, it was just me writing 'Babu the Turntablist', because it was something I did to make my tapes stand out. I'd just get my marker pen out and write it on there.

So by the mid to late 1990s the terms turntablism and turntablist had become established and accepted to define the practice and practitioner of using turntables and a mixer to create or manipulate sounds and music. This could be done by scratching a record or manipulating the rhythms on the record either by drumming, looping or beat juggling.

The decade of the 1990s is also important in shaping the turntablist art form and culture as it saw the emergence of pioneering artists (Mix Master Mike, DJ Q-Bert, DJ Quest, DJ Krush, A-Trak, Ricci Rucker, Mike Boo, Pumpin' Pete,Prime Cuts) and crews (Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, The Allies, X-Ecutioners), record labels (Asphodel), DJ Battles (DMC) and the evolution of scratching and other turntablism practices.

More sophisticated methods of scratching were developed during that decade, with crews and individual DJs concentrating on the manipulation of the record in time with the manipulation of the cross fader on the mixer to create new rhythms and sonic artefacts with a variety of sounds. The evolution of scratching from a fairly simple sound and simple rhythmic cadences to more complicated sounds and more intricate rhythmical patterns allowed the practitioners to further evolve what could be done with scratching musically. These new ways of scratching were all given names, from flare to crab or orbit, and spread as DJs taught each other, practiced together or just showed off their new techniques to other DJs.

Alongside the evolution of scratching, which deserves an article in itself, other practices such as drumming (or scratch drumming) and beat juggling were also evolved significantly during the 1990s.

Beat Juggling was invented by Steve Dee, a member of the X-Men (later renamed X-Ecutioners) crew. Beat Juggling essentially involves the manipulation of two identical or different drum patterns on two different turntables via the mixer to create a new pattern. A simple example would be to use two copies of the same drum pattern to evolve the pattern by doubling the snares, syncopating the drum kick, adding rhythm and variation to the existing pattern. From this concept, which Steve Dee showcased in the early 90s at DJ battles, Beat Juggling evolved throughout the decade to the point where by the end of it, it had become an intricate technique to create entirely new 'beats' and rhythms out of existing, pre-recorded ones. These were now not just limited to using drum patterns, but could also consist of other sounds - the ultimate aim being to create a new rhythm out of the pre-recorded existing ones. While Beat Juggling is not as popular as scratching due to the more demanding rhythmical knowledge it requires, it has proved popular within DJ Battles and in certain compositional situations.

One of the earliest academic studies of turntablism (White 1996) argued for its designation as a legitimate electronic musical instrument—a manual analog sampler—and described turntable techniques such as backspinning, cutting, scratching and blending as basic tools for most hip hop DJs. White's study suggests the proficient hip hop DJ must possess similar kinds of skills as those required by trained musicians, not limited to a sense of timing, hand-eye coordination, technical competence and musical creativity.

By the year 2000, turntablism and turntablists had become widely publicised and accepted in the mainstream and within hip hop as valid artists. Through this recognition came further evolution.

This evolution took many shapes and forms: some continued to concentrate on the foundations of the art form and its original links to hip hop culture, some became producers utilising the skills they'd learnt as turntablists and incorporating those into their productions, some concentrated more on the DJing aspect of the art form by combining turntablist skills with the trademark skills of club DJs, while others explored alternative routes in utilising the turntable as an instrument or production tool solely for the purpose of making music - either by using solely the turntable or by incorporating it into the production process alongside tools such as drum machines, samplers, computer software, and so on.

New DJs, turntablists and crews owe a distinct debt to old-school DJs like Kool DJ Herc, Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Afrika Bambaataa and other DJs of the golden age of hip hop, who originally developed many of the concepts and techniques that evolved into modern turntablism. Researched & Posted By Ghost Dogg

Smokers Club Tour: Masquerade : Atlanta,Ga

Method Man after the show he was in rare form that

Mef & Me (Ghost Dogg)

Mef & T Mack (Mgr High Science)

The Whole High Science Clik & Floyd Da Locksmith

Guess Who That is in the beret & glasses hint: Kings of Comedy

YDB aka Boy Jones (ODB's 1st born)

Ghost Dogg & DJ Down Pat (High Science) my Coalition Force DJ (Nashville Chap) Brethren

                                       A model That is featured in YDB"Welfare" video

It was good to get out of Nashville for a minute, i miss the show it started at 6pm est, i arrived at the masquerade at 9pm, we posted up outside caught up with south Georgia's own high science,  we flick it up, method man was in rare form airing out world star hiphop & interacting with crowd signing autographs, then we took the party to view YDB's welfare video. It was good seeing my Wu fam & meeting High Science. GD

Prince: Loring Park Sessions 1977

   

PRINCE – Loring Park Sessions 1977 (download full session) 55:44

PRINCE – LORING PARK SESSIONS < (download full session)

Get ready for some FUNK! This is Prince at age 19, and is funky as hell.  You absolutely MUST download this.    Prince,and with 2 childhood friends Andre Cymone And Bobby Z Recorded instrumentals in the rehearsal room of Owen Husney’s Loring Park office.  They sound like well-crafted compositions rather than spur-of-the-moment jams.

The tracks feature:

Keyboards (Prince)

Bass (Andre Cymone)

Drums (Bobby Z)

* I first remembering seeing Prince on American Bandstand circa 1980, you can probably find the clip on you tube,i remember reading articles about prince and how he played ever instrument on his album that blew me away (drums,keyboards,guitar,bass) remind you he taught himself how to play he never took a music lesson,I Got to see Prince in concert "The Dirty Mind Tour" cicra 1982 or 1983, I used to have a album with alot of Prince's unreleased instrumentals today we call them throw away beats, all i know it had a purple cover. If you ever run across it while your are out digging grab it, its dope & a rarity find. comments & insight by Ghost Dogg  

The SMOKERS CLUB TOUR 2011 In ATL Featuring Method Man

Sunday November 13,  2011@The Masquerade Atlanta, Ga

There are a few things that Method Man wants to make sure everyone is clear on. First off, that he's matured and even grown as an artist. SPORTING a mouth full of gold teeth and an arsenal of memorable verses, Method Man is one of the most charismatic figures in rap today. Also known as Meth, Tical, Johnny Blaze, Hott Nikkels, MZA, and Iron Lung, the engaging MC has starred on hit singles and albums as a founding member of the hip-hop supergroup Wu-Tang Clan, solo, with current partner-in-rhyme Redman, and as a guest rapper on countless projects. On February 1, 2011, Curren$y signed a label deal with Warner Bros. Records for his imprint Jet Life Recordings. Covert Coup was his first project on the Jet Life Recordings imprint under Warner Bros. The album contained 10 songs completely produced by The Alchemist and was released on April 20th for free. Weekend At Burnie's was released on the June 28, 2011. Whoever said "Hip Hop is Dead" obliviously hasn't heard the spoken words of the 22 year old fresh out of Mississippi's womb, a constant movement of innovative beats and hypnotizing lyrics that keeps your ears fiendin' for the next track. Meridian, MS native Big K.R.I.T. has done more than established his place in the game, he's letting all MCs "overstand" that fact that he's not going anywhere anytime soon. K.R.I.T. is young enough to be ahead of his time and old enough to be just in time to resuscitate the corpse of hip hop.

Attn: If you live in Nashville or surrounding counties, and you want to go to this concert in Atlanta if we get enough people we will rent a van, tickets for the show are $28.50 you are responsible for your own ticket, if we get a van we will charge each person (round trip: gas & seat  fee)  email me 615wutangsouth@gmail.com    *note put The Smokers Club Tour in the subject box, for information and any questions regarding this road trip you may have
Thanks Ghost Dogg  

The LRG Tour: Mercy Lounge (nashville,tn)

Ghost Dogg & Ski Beatz (producer/beatsmith)

Ghost Dogg & 9th Wonder

The LRG concerts series stop in Nashville Sunday night October 9, 2011 hip hop was definitely in the building making for a great night of hip hop in the ville. The tour consisted of Freddie Gibbs, Tabi Bonney, Kid Daytona, Rapasody, with the heavy hitters Ski Beatz, 9th Wonder, Murs.  I spent about 20 minutes chopping it up with Ski Beatz talking about the dead president beat he made for Jay Z, SP 1200, MPC, Maschine, and fulture of music, etc. My first time meeting Ski Beatz a real down to earth brother (thanks for the drop). Now onto 9th Wonder a real laid back brother i didn't get a chance to pick his brain he did his dj set and Rapasody his artist on his label Jamala she went in and repped for the femcees in hip hop,  Murs had the crowd in a frenzy he did everything off of his 9th wonder produced collab 3:16 album including my favorite "bad man" this guy has alot of energy and he interacts with the crowd throughout his performance. posted GD

Ghost Dogg & Rapasody(femcee)

Ski Beatz (producer/beatsmith) & DJ Samurai Jak

Mercy Lounge (nashville): Live + Direct Hip Hop Showcase Oct 9, 2011

9th Wonder in the lab

 Ski Beatz in the lab showing your how made "Dead President" beat for Jay Z

                                         
                                     Murs & 9th Wonder "I Used To love Her Again" video

                                           Murs & Tabi Bonney "Hip Hop & Love" video

                                             Rapsody "Honda Accord Music" video


This Sunday October 9 @the Mercy Lounge this Live & Direct LRG sponsored tour has a solid line up featuring Murs the west coast wordsmith this will be his second time in Nashville, 9th wonder producer/dj/professor and 1/3 of Little Brother.Then you throw in Ski Beatz producer/beatsmith, add a up and coming wordsmith Tabi Bonney adding the only female on the ticket Rapsody a upcoming femcee she kinda reminds me of Jean Grae splash with a little MC Lyte. last but not least Freddie Gibbs hailing from Gary, In. it ain't where your from its where you at he is one of the young wordsmiths the has the formula for making good hip hop music, if your not got to the A3C in the ATL this weekend or if your going you can still catch this show to cap off your Hip Hop Weekend, Support this event spread the word. I will see all you hip hop junkies sunday nite.  GD


http://www.ticketweb.com/fb/3930225/mercylounge
ticket info: Mercy lounge


$20.00-$25.00
over the phone purchases call (number below)
866-468-7630

DJ Revolution: Demonstrates the use of the Serato Bridge feature that joins serato & ableton making it a lean mean remixing machine

In my 30yrs of djing I have seen the craft evolve from vinyl (is never going out style), cassette (i remember seeing djs dj with a two cassette deck technique), cds. Now we are in the lap top era (im a apple/mac guy just a heads up to the new djs if your are using programs Serato,Traktor,Torq i strongly suggest using a mac for any of the dj programs that i mention & if your wanting to start doing remixes, beats, etc save up and get you a mac its well worth it i hear to many horror stories like im setting up to dj and my sh*t just crash from djs that don't use a mac,and macs don't get virius) back to the topic at hand I'm having alot nowadays learning & keeping up with all of the technology that's coming out daily I'm in full geek mode. I came up in the turntable era (i can rock cdjs too) i have alot of turntables 2)Technics1200s 2)Technics1210s 2)Vestex PDX 2000s 2)Numarks 1)stanton, so im saying with all the technology you at some point have to evolve i still have my massive vinyl collection but who wants to lug 10-13 crates of vinyl around to a gig (been there done that) i think the emergence of Serato was the best thing since slice bread and i still can use my tables, now since Rane has partnered up with Serato thats was cool, now Rane & Serato have partnered up with Ableton if you don't know about Ableton Live (google them) there product is made for the dj,remixer,beatsmith, watching DJ Revolution as he freaks his set using his tools remixing on the fly this is some dope sh*t.      

Looking at DJ Revolution's setup he has a Akai APC 40 Ableton live controller, Denon DN-1000  controller, Rane tt57 mixer (built in serato), Macbook Pro, 2 technics 1200s                                                                                                                                        

DJ Premier  said "If You Don't Own A Single Piece Of Vinyl You Don't Deserve Serato"

DJ Jazzy Jeff said "If You Where A Bad DJ Before Serato Came Out Then You Will Be A Bad  DJ On Serato"   

meaning bad not good !!! 

My word to the new djs if your a beginner really learn the craft (get with somebody who can teach you the right way) but you have to practice everyday if you want to label as a turntablist , 30 yrs in the game and I'm still evolving daily if you have a dj questions feel free to email me your questions 615wutangsouth@gmail.com  i will answer any all dj questions. Ghost Dogg 

Tune In Every Friday Morning from 10am-11am On WVOL 1470 AM For The TGIF Mixx

 Jae Nash in studio interview with Kenny Latimore

Jae Nash radio personality/model/hostess/sports reporter/dj

Ghost Dogg the mixologist aka the turntable samurai

Tune in each friday morning on WVOL 1470 am on the Jae Nash "All Things Considered Show" from 10am-11am (central time) as im giving you the T.hank G.od I.ts F.riday (TGIF) mix helping you to get through that mid morning fog. I got something for the old heads and something for the young heads im "Droppin Science" on the 1s & 2s every friday morning tune and tell your friends

If you are in the car or your have a boom box in your workspace tune into 1470 am on your radio

listen online just click on the link 

http://www.wvol1470.com

You can go to the mixcrate website and download the friday TGIF mixx im posting them under the name of Soulspazm volumes feel free to download all my mixes and leave a comment.  

just click on the link 

http://www.mixcrate.com/djghostdogg

Evidence: the Dilated Peoples frontman tour dates,album release date, in stores

Toca Tuesdays: @Evidence Freestyle Video

Evidence emcee/producer/beatsmith/create digger and 1/3 of the hip hop group Dilated Peoples he has been in the industry 10 years dropping his second solo album "Cats & Dogs due out sept 27, 2011 dropped in the Shade 45 studio and was put on the spot. Even through dealing with an illness he made it happen. Tune in to Toca Tuesdays each and every Tuesday from 8 pm till 12 am on Shade 45! He had little cold he could have use that as excuse because he knew Tony was going to get him to freestyle thats the how its goes down on Toca Tuesdays Evidence went in like the  trooper he is.

Overview: It doesn't take being signed to a major label to build that massive following in progressive underground hip hop, Dilated Peoples were signed to Capital Records in 1999, they have long departed from the major labels while finding refuge with the indie labels. Rakaa first solo project was release on the Decon label, DJ Badu project was release on Nature Sounds label, Evidence first solo project the "Weatherman" was released on Decon. Ev left Decon signing with Rhymesayers Ent  releasing his second solo project titled "Cats & Dogs due out september 27, you have probably heard the single "You" produced by DJ Premier, looking at all the people he collab with on the project (you can see the album cover below) i think this album will be the best release of the second half of 2011, me being a true hiphop activist you know this want be played on any urban clear channel radio station maybe sirius/xm will give it some spins,college radio are you still out there may they will give it some spins, next internet radio djs if you have a show i encourage you to spin this. To the progressive hip hop community and Dilated People & Evidence fans i know you all will cop this album with a doubt, on that note having meeting & chopping it up with EV in Nashville on the Weatherman tour at The Mercy Lounge he is a real humble dude, if you didn't know he is a beast on the beats too. He stays on tour.    Posted By GD

Me (DJ Ghost Dogg) &  Evidence @the mercy lounge nashville

News

9.25.11 Evidence Cats & Dogs Release Party in Los Angeles on October 6th!

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More Headlines

• 9.25.11Evidence Cats & Dogs Release Party in Los Angeles on October 6th!
• 9.23.11Evidence - "It Wasn't Me" Music Video Teaser
• 9.22.11Evidence featured on Beats TV from Beats by Dre!
• 9.22.11The Family Vacation Tour is in Texas for 2 dates!
• 9.21.11Evidence In-Store Performance at Fifth Element in Minneapolis in ONE WEEK!

Events

Feed

Date	Location	Venue
09.26.11	Lawrence, KS	Liberty Hall
09.27.11	Omaha, NE	The Slowdown
09.28.11	Minneapolis, MN	Fifth Element
10.06.11	Los Angeles, CA	The Viper Room
10.07.11	Las Vegas, NV	Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas
11.07.11	London,	The Electric Ballroom
11.08.11	Amsterdam,	Melkweg
11.09.11	Paris,	La Machine du Moulin Rouge
11.11.11	Brussels,	Ancienne Belgique
11.12.11	Zurich,	Rote Fabrik
11.13.11	Fribourg,	Fri-Son
11.15.11	Berlin,	Festaal Kreuzberg
11.16.11	Hamburg,	Uebel & Gefährlich
11.18.11	Stockholm,	Nalen
11.19.11	Oslo,	Spikerboks
11.20.11	Copenhagen,	Vega Musikkenshus

Feed

Launch Player

Release

• Sep 27th 2011
• CD, Digital, Vinyl

Links

• Pre-Order CD at Fifth Element
• Pre-Order Vinyl at Fifth Element
• Pre-Order CD at HHV.de
• Pre-Order Vinyl at HHV.de
• Pre-Order on iTunes (Deluxe)
• Pre-Order on iTunes (Standard)
• Pre-Order on iTunes (Clean)
• Pre-Order on iTunes (Instrumental)
• Pre-Order on Bandcamp
• Buy "You"

Evidence

Cats & Dogs

• 6 You
• 12 To Be Continued...

1. The Liner Notes feat. Aloe Blacc
2. Strangers
3. The Red Carpet feat. Raekwon & Ras Kass
4. It Wasn't Me
5. I Don't Need Love
6. You
7. God Bless That Man
8. Fame feat. Roc Marciano & Prodigy
9. James Hendrix (Stepbrothers)
10. Late For The Sky feat. Slug & Aesop Rock
11. Crash
12. Where You Come From? feat. Rakaa, Lil Fame & Termanology
14. To Be Continued...
15. Falling Down
16. Well Runs Dry feat. Krondon
17. The Epilogue

Evidence, the producer/MC who won praise and adoration of fans globally as a member of the venerable LA outfit Dilated Peoples, is primed to release his second solo full-length, Cats & Dogs, on Rhymesayers Entertainment on September 27th. With lyrical contributions from Slug of Atmosphere, Raekwon, Aloe Blacc, Prodigy, Aesop Rock, Krondon and more, Cats & Dogs is a feral demonstration of boom-bap instrumental sensibility underlying gully rhyme schemes.

Evidence’s storied history in the music industry is studded with numerous achievements including a…

Artist Info

It doesn't take much to be a meteorologist in Los Angeles (usually just a short skirt and the ability to say "77 degrees and sunny"), so maybe that's why the city's most famous weatherman is a rapper. Evidence is that rapper...and producer, as well as the newest signee to Rhymesayers Entertainment. But for many, the Venice-native will always be known by the title of his critically-lauded solo debut, The Weatherman.

"When some people freestyle, they say 'I'll be on the mic' or 'When i flow like this'—everyone has a crutch—and I guess that the easiest thing for me to incorporate was some kind of tornado or hurricane...or maybe it's just all the syllables and the titles with weather," Evidence says, laughing. "I can't even stay away from it."

But it's also a bigger idea that turns LA's stereotypes on their heads. Yeah, it's almost always sunny and there's a whole lot of gangster rap, but it does occasionally rain in the city of angels and the underground hip-hop scene is a thriving one. It was there that Evidence made his name, as part of the legendary trio Dilated Peoples, alongside Rakaa Iriscience and DJ Babu. Starting with The Platform in 2000, the group released four well received albums that contained several hit singles, including the Kanye West assisted smash "This Way."

However, Evidence wanted more and after seeing his name appear on a flyer as "Evidence of Dilated Peoples," he knew that he wanted his to be a brand of its own, saying "No one calls Ghostface Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang...and that's a tribute to him as an individual artist." Despite winning a GRAMMY for co-production on Kanye'sCollege Dropout and two JUNO's for his work with Swollen Members, Evidence wasn't yet a solo name to be recognized.

Then in 2007, Evidence released The Weatherman LP, one of the most commercially and critically successful underground rap albums of the year. A solo effort ripe with introspection that ran the gamut from all his haters to the tragic passing of his mother, it was the album his fans were waiting for. With a foundation of sample-based hip-hop classicism (something that remains important to Evidence today), his debut wove together towering bangers like "Mr. Slow Flow" and uplifting cuts like "Chase the Clouds Away." He then released The Layover EP on Decon Records and The Layover Mixtapewith DJ Skee in 2008—showing marked improvement in his lyrical style—and he's been touring ever since.

Evidence's long-awaited sophomore offering, Cats & Dogs, will be released on Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album reunites the powerhouse production team fromThe Weatherman—including long-time friend and collaborator Alchemist, Dr. Dre-protogé DJ Khalil, DJ Babu, and Evidence himself. Cats & Dogs promises to be an expansion of the Evidence brand as the artist pushes his own boundaries...without losing the qualities that he has built his foundation on.

"I love to sell my own merch, I love to look someone in the eye and actually listen to the story they have about my music, I love to respond to people on MySpace or Twitter," Evidence says. "It's not for my ego, but yo, this is why I do this shit." And that commitment to his fans is returned 10-fold in their commitment to him, as well as something he saw in the stable of artists at Rhymesayers. Perhaps none more than label-head Slug, who guested on "Line of Scrimmage" from The Weatherman LP, and was instrumental in bringing Evidence to the Minneapolis-based indie behemoth.

"Leadership, personality and lifestyle are selling more music than the actual music. It's a person who has talent and the willingness to work at it and the social skills and accessibility to their fans and understanding of the bigger picture that makes it...and a lot of artists on Rhymesayers have cracked that code."

As has Evidence. He doesn't like using the word "fan" to describe the street wear hoodied and 59/50 fitted kids who come to his shows because he truly understands the lifestyle (and is probably wearing the same brands, too). "Brother Ali would joke on tour that all my fans dressed the same as each other...and me," Evidence laughs. From the threads to the weed to the reverence for hip-hop's history, the people who get their vinyl copy of The Platform autographed share a great deal with Evidence the artist, but also Michael Perretta the person.

So with all that love, what's the weatherman forecasting for 2011? Dilated Peoples is hard at work on their fifth full-length, Directors of Photography, and Ev is deep in the studio with The Alchemist for their anticipated collaboration, Stepbrothers. Sounds like another year of unparalleled grind...something as predictable as sunshine in LA. Unless of course, it's raining Cats & Dogs.

09.26.11

Lawrence, KS

Liberty Hall

09.27.11

Omaha, NE

The Slowdown

09.28.11

Minneapolis, MN

Fifth Element

10.06.11

Los Angeles, CA

The Viper Room

10.07.11

Las Vegas, NV

Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas

11.07.11

London,

The Electric Ballroom

11.08.11

Amsterdam,

Melkweg

11.09.11

Paris,

La Machine du Moulin Rouge

11.11.11

Brussels,

Ancienne Belgique

11.12.11

Zurich,

Rote Fabrik

11.13.11

Fribourg,

Fri-Son

11.15.11

Berlin,

Festaal Kreuzberg

11.16.11

Hamburg,

Uebel & Gefährlich

11.18.11

Stockholm,

Nalen

11.19.11

Oslo,

Spikerboks

11.20.11

Copenhagen,

Vega Musikkenshus

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