Serato Anniversary Documentary

For better or worse, Serato changed the game. If it were up to me, the change would have stopped at DVS.  It's worth mentioning that Serato was able to change the game because it was embraced by most of the DJ community at the time.  From legend to hobbyist, most DJs embraced Serato (with minimal resistance) because the initial Serato DVS system wasn't fundamentally different from the traditional set-up of records, turntables, and a mixer.  Auto beatmatching, controllers, buttons that do God knows what; were not yet synonymous with Serato and its competitors. In retrospect, what was to follow the initial DVS technology should have been seen as inevitable.  With that in mind, I wonder if the DJ community would have embraced Serato as widely as it did? Keep in mind that to  use CDJs twenty years ago was considered sacrilegious. Rant over, time to go yell at the clouds.

Roll Junkies (DJ Rhettmatic Documentary)

You probably have noticed Rhettmatic looking much more fit in recent videos. Rhett's improved fitness is a result of his relatively new found passion for Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu. While his discovery of Jiu-Jitsu is the overall theme of this video, you'll get all sorts of "behind the scene" glimpses of Rhett's musical life that I'm sure you will all enjoy.

The Listening: The Story Behind Little Brother's Debut Album

Started in a college dorm room by a group of North Carolina Central students in 2001, the Justus League collective and offshoot trio Little Brother defined the sound of Durham hip-hop for years to come, constructing a style altogether distinct from everything to the north and south. This level of innovation turned heads with some of hip-hop’s biggest names, and the members of Little Brother (9th Wonder, Big Pooh and Phonte) have gone on to work with superstars like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre and Questlove, who appears in the documentary. Through the use of extensive interviews with the group and never before seen archival footage, The Listening chronicles a key moment in Little Brother’s past and present: the creation of their first album. It is the first of two short films about the group directed by Holland Randolph Gallagher, creator of the web series Hype, and produced in collaboration with Little Brother for Come Hear North Carolina. It is the latest in a long line of projects commissioned by the North Carolina Arts Council as part of their Come Hear NC initiative with the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. http://www.comehearnc.com/ THE LISTENING Directed by Holland Randolph Gallagher Produced by Holland Randolph Gallagher, Bruce F. Cole, Phonte Coleman Interviewees: Phonte Coleman, Thomas 'Rapper Big Pooh' Jones III, Patrick '9th Wonder' Douthit, Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, Chaundon, DJ Flash, Cesar Comanche, Khrysis Sound by Jay Gallagher Score by vacayvacayvacay Archived footage courtesy of Chaundon, Big Dho, Little Brother Drone footage by Justin Eisner Length: 11 minutes 39 seconds

Uncle Jamm's Army: Pioneers of the Modern Party

Highly Recommended.

At the birth of hip-hop and electro in Los Angeles, Uncle Jamm’s Army started out playing high school parties in the mid-70s, and went on to become LA’s most popular dance promoters for over a decade. Founded by the legendary Rodger Clayton, along with an extensive and evolving crew of DJs including Dr. Funkenstein, Chris “the Glove” Taylor, DJ Bobcat, Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover, and Ice-T on the mic, freaks of all styles and affiliations packed out their parties at huge venues like the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Along with the L.A. Dream Team and Uncle Jamm’s rivals from across town, Alonzo Williams and Cli-N-Tel of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru, these artists created a blueprint for electro and rap that continues to resonate in all forms of dance music today.

Featured artists include Jeremy “G-Perico" Nash, Egyptian Lover, Arabian Prince, Adrienne Clayton, Alonzo Williams, Gid Martin, LA Dream Team, Battlecat, and Ice-T

[ i s m ] Documentary - DJ Excess and The New Generation of Tablism

QFT Cut Beats of Mind (Beat Scene Doc)

QFT Cut beatsofmind from Passerby on Vimeo.

Excellent mini-documentary of the L.A. Beat Scene by the same filmmaker who produced The Unseen and All Ears (Gus Sutherland).  QFT mostly focuses on Ras G and Kutmah.  The video is over four years old, but somehow escaped my radar (and probably yours as well).

300: The Story of Soulection Radio

It has been quite a journey, and we have all of you to thank for that!
Who would've thought a passion would create so many memories and feelings through the world of music. From having many of our idols on the show, to bringing some of the up and comers and introducing the world to our own artists, Soulection radio has really done it!
300 episodes means so much love, hard word, dedication and most importantly, music, lots and lots of music.
This is what we do it for.
This is Soulection Radio.
Much love to Beats 1, Kbeach, Rinse FM, Red Bull.
Joe Kay
https://instagram.com/joekay
Directed by:
Kyle Reyes
https://www.instagram.com/uxxvltl
Whest Cornell
https://www.instagram.com/whestcornell
Special thanks to Dom Stills
https://www.instagram.com/domstills

De La Soul is Not Dead Documentary

This is so freaking good. Side note: I'm always impressed by how Prince Paul understates his impact on De La Soul.  

De La Soul Is Not Dead takes it all the way back to Amityville, Long Island—a suburban hip hop mecca where three highly creative individuals and high school classmates linked up with DJ Prince Paul and shopped a demo tape to Tommy Boy Records. The label that brought the world "Planet Rock" would soon have another smash hit on their hands with "Me Myself and I" and De La Soul, the so-called "Hippies of Hip Hop." But little did they know what the future would hold.
Many of De La Soul's early classics are difficult to find on digital music platforms due to complex sample clearance issues. As a result,
their impact on the development of hip hop is felt from the group's Native Tongues affiliates through Kanye West, Pharrell, and Kendrick Lamar.
It's been twenty-five years since "De La Soul Is Dead," the group's iconoclastic sophomore album, and twenty years since "Stakes Is High," their first project without Prince Paul at the helm. These two pivotal releases positioned the group on the career trajectory that leads them
to this extraordinary moment. Last week De La Soul's latest release, "And The Anonymous Nobody," topped Billboard's Rap Albums Chart. Funded by a half-million-dollar Kickstarter bonanza, the group's first new album in over a decade features diverse guest spots from Snoop Dogg to David Byrne. What better time to look back at the legendary trio's rise through the rap game?
Don't sleep on these Long Island cats. They're definitely onto something.

Via Egotrip
& Massappeal

Cut Chemist - How Hip Hop Became a Part of My Life

A series of one minute videos like the one below are being released to promote the Elements Documentary.  Above, Cut Chemist discusses the moment where Hip Hop became a part of his life.  Check the trailer for the Elements Documentary HERE.

Mobb Deep "The Infamous" Documentary

Documentary on the making of Mobb Deep's classic album "The Infamous". Also talks about the genesis of one of Hip-Hop's greatest groups. Featuring, co-written and co-produced by Wes Jackson.

Black Moon "Behind The Moon" Documentary

Oh damn! Just found this on a little site called youtube. Few weeks old, but still oven fresh. Remember the days when Buckshot was everybody's favorite rapper? And if he wasn't your favorite rapper, he was your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. Memories...

The Cosmic Sound of L.A. - Documentary

Inside the studio that's shaping Los Angeles’ underground hip-hop scene.

A studio located in Atwater Village and run by veteran engineer Daddy Kev and rapper Nocando, Cosmic Zoo isn’t the first hub this scene has had – Kev’s club night Low End Theory has been doing its thing for close to a decade, helping cultivate the careers of Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and more – but it plays a crucial role in shaping the sound of the music that comes out of it. In this FACT TV documentary, Gaslamp Killer, D-Styles, Daedelus, Jeff Weiss and many more explain just why it’s so important.

Story by Laurent Fintoni
Produced by Anoushka Seigler

Shot by Eric Coleman

Documentary: Boom Bap Heroes Vol 1 ASR 10

I may or may not have posted this a few years back. Hey, one of the advantages of getting older is you forgot stuff and don't really care. I watched this documentary last night like it was my first time (who knows, maybe it was). Either way, all of you should enjoy this. Unfortunately, there's no volume 2 yet and I'm going to guess there won't be.

"Boom Bap Heroes" is an innovative documentary film series, showcasing various Drum Machines and Samplers and their impact on Hip-Hop culture. The first film in the series will document the Ensoniq ASR-10, a keyboard/sampling workstation, which emerged in the early 90's. Vol. 1 features !llmind, Jake One and Emile Haynie, elaborating on how the ASR-10 has changed their lives.

Revolutions On Air: The Golden Era of New York Radio 1980 - 1988

Do I really need to describe this to get you to watch?

Learn From Legends: 88-keys

88 speaks with Rodney in his own Manhattan pre-production studio overlooking the bustling blocks of the city, 88 explains how he took a mere three-word piece of advice from Q-Tip amidst the A Tribe Called Quest era, and mined a lasting career. The former record store clerk from NYC applied his passion for music and soon got to work with a rarely-boasted specific piece of equipment. 88 explains how it was his own naivety that would ultimately prompt him to hone a specific style that was all his own.
Heads can see that 88-Keys’ turntable shows it age and wear, and the self-proclaimed sampler surrounds himself with sonic sources (the records that stack up from the floor). Shopping beats to Jay (care of Beanie Sigel) in the growing years of Roc-A-Fella Records, 88 explains how Jay Z works so efficiently that two takes is often not necessary. The “No Church In The Wild” producer compares that against his longtime friend Kanye West, who has methods that demand “extreme amount of concentrated thought in every aspect of the song that you’re working on.” The world that the producer uses to describe the Watch The Throne results (or respective solo catalogs): “flawless.”
Just as he alluded to in the recent Cipher Show interview, the man born Charles Njapa recalls trading equipment tips with J Dilla, especially surrounding the then-newly-released Akai MPC 3000. Those reportedly secrets remain integral to Keys’ work today.
Once a beat tape-shopper, 88-Keys explains pushing boundaries into today, now creating compositions that he says, “change lives” if they work. A Head to the fullest, music certainly changed 88-Keys life, and as the series shows, Rodney’s too.
As Rodney Hazard has done with each previous installment (see: Da Beatminerz, M.O.P.’s Lil Fame and J-Zone), he applies the lessons from these legends into a fresh mix of his own. Teaming with Atlanta, Georgia-based sensation Rome Fortune (a relative of Cannonball Adderly and co.) and Jon Waltz. “It’s Mine” (included on Victim Volunteer) definitely has the full-bodied, aim-for-heavens approach heard in 88-Keys. The lessons were definitely received.
https://soundcloud.com/rodneyhazard/i...

Learn From Legends: J-Zone

Episode two of the "Learn from Legends" series. Enjoy.

Learn From Legends: Da Beatminerz

For more than 20 years, Da Beatminerz helped define a predominant, defiantly Brooklyn, New York sound. With low end bass, heavily filtered samples, and rich sonic textures, the Bushwick-based crew has been sought out by major labels and indie labels alike, making 12″ deep cuts and Rap classics played everyday on radio.
For his new “Learn From The Legends” series, premiering over the next month on Ambrosia For Heads, emerging producer Rodney Hazard checks in with some top New York City sonic craftsmen about their careers, techniques, and various standout records.
To start things off, Rodney heads to Bucktown to visit the Dewgarde House Of Hits. The childhood home of DJ Evil Dee (Ewart C. Dewgarde) and Mr. Walt (Walter V. Dewgarde) is where the pair best known as Da Beatminerz makes their grooves these days. Just off of the Franklin Avenue that colors the lyrics of Black Moon records, this is the back-drop where the brothers would stake their claim in music through quiet and careful dedication.
While Baby Paul, Rich Black, and Chocolate Ty were onetime additions in Da’Minerz, it was Walt and Dee that worked in record stores, before cutting their teeth on Black Moon’s 1993 debut, Enta Da Stage. Working closely with Nervous/Wreck Records, the pair would be the sonic core at the breakout Duck Down Records. In the years since, Walt and Dee have made joints for KRS-One, Naughty By Nature, M.O.P. and Big Daddy Kane.
Speaking in their studio, they discuss how they coupled many of their finest productions with high-powered remixes. Many of those companion B-sides crossed over, challenging and sometimes eclipsing the originals. “We had a vow back then, that whatever record we do, we do a single, and then a remix version,” says Evil Dee, who balanced his duties as a member of Black Moon.
In the video interview, the duo also explain how Smif-n-Wessun’s 20 year-old hit, “Sound Bwoy Bureill” was a mounting project. Initially a beat intended for Heltah Skeltah (as recently revealed), the guys added wind effects, with General Steele contributing another accent in making one of Rap’s finest Dancehall/Hip-Hop fusions.
Also, Evil Dee warns aspiring producers to “avoid the two-track” in pursuit of deep, expansive mixes.
In honor of the meeting, Rodney Hazard presents his mix of Joey Bada$’ “Alowha,” keeping the remix tradition alive:
http://www.audiomack.com/song/hxh/alo...
My production album Victim Volunteer is out March 31st.
www.VictimVolunteer.com

DJ Nu-Mark's Documentary "Nu-Conduit" (Parts 1-5)

All the stuff followers of this blog want to see from their favorite deejays on tour: footage of life on the road (hotels, airports, planes, hotels, exotic food, diggin' spots, live performances, interviews, etc...). Parts 2-5 after the jump.

PRhyme – Raiders Of The Lost Art Pt. 1 (Documentary)

In anticipation for their collaborative project PRhyme, Royce Da 5’9″ and legendary producer DJ Premier share part one of an accompanying documentary entitled Raiders of the Lost Art. Narrated by Bun B, the documentary follows Premo and Royce’s personal and professional journey through the industry.

Watch part one of the visual below and expect a follow-up to arrive soon. PRhyme’s self-titled album will arrive December 9th with appearances by Jay Electronica, Common, Mac Miller, Slaughterhouse, ScHoolboy Q, and more.

In The Orbit Of Ra: Arkestra Reflections On Sun Ra (Sun Ra Documentary)

I got put onto to this mini doc by following Ras G's twitter timeline. Recommended viewing for all. All sorts of tidbits regarding both Sun Ra's musical and personal background.