Endtroducing...No Love For Detroit

So I've been told...

DJ Shadow is ready to bless the US not just with two turntables and a microphone but with a full ten piece band! Following the successful European leg of his tour, Shadow will be over with his traveling party to thrill Northern America. Special guests will vary depending on location, but fans can expect to see Q-Tip, David Banner, and Keak Da Sneak.

He’ll be meeting up with trip-hoppers Massive Attack in his hometown Bay Area, but for the rest of the excursion, he’ll be ably supported by The Outsider guest star Lateef The Truth Speaker. DJ Shadow Tour Dates

September

22 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre#
24 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon*
25 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon*
26 San Diego, CA - House of Blues*
28 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues*
30 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom*

October

01 Austin, TX - Stubbs BBQ*
03 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues*
04 Atlanta, GA - Roxy*
06 St. Louis, MO - Pageant*
09 Chicago, IL - House of Blues*
10 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Club*
11 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues*
12 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus*
13 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Gillett Entertainment*
16 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of the Living Arts*
17 New York, NY - Webster Hall*
18 New York, NY - Webster Hall*

*= w/ Lateef the Truth Speaker #= w/ Massive Attack

Click here to check out a track from his new album, "The Outsider."

The Emperor's Soundtrack

Don't be a douchebag and try to dismiss this as 'skater rap', because even you don't know what that means. This summer, Lupe Fiasco appeared on the Kanye West track "Touch the Sky," as Mr. West's new protege. From what I heard and read, Fiasco completely upstaged his mentor at the Chicago appearance for Lollapalooza. Then the single for "Kick, Push" came out and critics were quick to dismiss it as another 'backpacker' or 'skater rap' track. Whatever.

The full-length finally came out this past Tuesday (09/19), and it's called "Food & Liquor." Lupe Fiasco will NOT save hip hop. Nor will he fix it. But he might reinvent it. With respect from Kanye West, and an executive producer credit from Jay Z, this is definitely a mainstream hip hop record. Now, let's hope we hear the whole damned thing on mainstream radio throughout the Fall. Because I'd like that.

The skater comment comes from the first single "Kick, Push" being about a young skater finding freedom, love, and an outlaw spirit on a skateboard. The backpacker criticism comes from the lyrics being mostly positive and/or political and the music not giving in to too many hip hop cliches. Lupe Fiasco is threatening to make hip hop a safe place for geeks and iconoclasts, and I think a lot of critics don't like it. They'd prefer their rap to fit into nice little genres like crunk and bounce where every song sounds the same and the lyrics get increasingly negative.

Despite the connections to West and Jay Z, there is no obvious influence to Fiasco's sound, it is all his own. Especially the lyrics which come from his Islam-derived ethics, respect for women, and increasing love/hate for mainstream hip hop. He even takes Jay Z to task for rapping about praying to (mob boss) John Gotti instead of God.

I hope he does save hip hop and fix it and completely reinvent it, because the mainstream needs a positive voice questioning the disrespectful attitudes towards women, and the questionable goals that we hear in crap like Lil' Jon. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, if you've got flow, talent, and you have the kids' attention, fucking use it.

Caged Birdsong

I'm a fan of Madlib and anything he does, so when I was reading about two new records that he released on his label Stones Throw, I got excited. But in the review, one was stated as being better than the other, and when I was at the record store, I couldn't remember which was which. So I bought "Shine Through" from Aloe Blacc.

I think I made the right decision. The review that I had read was a distant memory as to the actual content of the records, so I didn't know what I was getting into.

When you first put on the record, you start thinking that it's a soul thing with underground hip hop style beats. Lots of jazz influence. Then the second track is a cover of Sam Cooke's "Long Time Coming," and the soul thing starts gaining some momentum. But then "Are You Ready" starts reminding me of some dancehall type stuff with Afro-beat music. "Busking" is exactly what the title says: singing on the street, a cappella. Busking is the term used to refer to making money by being a street entertainer. This guy is all over the damned place, because "Bailar" (scene 1) is fucking salsa! And "Nacimento" is bossa nova! But with "Dance For Life," he brings back the soul with some electro beats. Oh, wait, "Patria Mia" is a Mexican pop song...and then the title track "Shine Through" is a gentle ballad. But that's followed by "Caged Birdsong," hip hop in the vein of Soul Position or the Roots. The rest of the album has more ballads, more hip hop, and closes out with a flamenco.

Did I mention he's from LA? Yeah, and he's half of the indie rap cult heroes EMANON with DJ Exile.

Fuckin' a. Check out Aloe Blacc's site here, his MySpace here, and go out and buy this record.