Baje One (of Junk Science) Releases "The Only One (House Wigger 2.0)" as a Free Download

"This is a song that I made a while back, in like 2009. Snafu made the beat, which is superdope in my opinion. We considered using the song on a Junk Science project (“A Miraculous Kind Of Machine”) but Snaf wasn’t feeling the song as much as I was so we decided to scrap it. Democracy. Since then it’s been sitting around in my itunes. I’ve been kinda nervous about releasing it… on some “Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” shit. Today I woke up and was just like “Fuck it.” I think it’s funny. Feel free to tell me what you think." = baje

LYRICS
Most rappers don’t really like rappers
In fact you might say it’s kinda vital to the fabric
The history of hip hop, track by track
The greats rail against imaginary rappers and their wackness
Most white rappers don’t really like rappers
Especially other white rappers
You gotta wonder why it matters so much
Why you got to hate?
What? You were born to rhyme and this is not my fate?
Come on man, this is 2000 and future
And everybody rhymes, it’s just something to get used to
So riddle me this, when I see you around
And then I give you a pound, you gotta give me a frown?
And it’d be one thing if you don’t like my writing
But I’m convinced it’s a white on white thing
It’s a big table I’m just walkin to my seat
But you, you wanna be the H.W.I.C.
The Head Wegro that’s In with the Colored folks
Oh god, here comes Baje with another joke
But I aint laughing, I’m just askin
What about my existence is so taxing?
Does it take away from your creepy little fantasy?
Hip hop Tarzan, swingin through the canopy
In your world we can’t both have fly grammar
Cause there can only be one like Highlander

CHORUS
And I wanna be your only one
I wanna be your only one
Hip hop, I wanna be your only one
I had a dream I was the only one
I wanna be your only one
I wanna be your only one
Hip hop I wanna be your only one
Show me the force like Obiwan Kinobe

Ok, in response to some of your letters… to Jackie in Queens, yes we do tend to prefer expensive coffee. And to Caesar in New Haven, yes a lot of us do like to wear our shoes inside the house. And yes it’s true, we really do like Mos Def.

Ahem… it’s not just rap
It’s one good lens but it’s not just that
Check it, me and my lady travelin abroad
And we try to be polite the get wrapped up in a conversation
With a bunch of white kids at a hostel
Traveler types, yeah, right, you know what it’s like
White kids with dreads and no shoes
Tryin to tell you about this place they went that’s so cool
“You wouldn’t believe it, the whole entire place
Was a sea of brown people, and me the only white face
Some had never even seen a white person
It’s crazy, right? I felt like a virgin
On virgin territory, off the beaten path
I’d be surprised if it was even on the map”
(cough) Pause – inhale weed smoke
An opportunity, another kid he spoke
Might as well have been the same couple sentences
Different locale with the exact same sentiment
I had to cut him off said I’m off to bed
Plus my girl’s about to stab him in the neck and so we stepped
Peep… it seems harmless, but has a really ill side
If seeing all the brown folks is just another thrill ride
All that melanin to boost your adrenaline
It’s like snowboarding except you’re more snowed in
Look, you gotta travel, just it’s kinda frail
To sit around competing for the most exotic tale
It just so happens these kids are kinda pale
Stuck with the bug to float you gotta sail
With a one-way ticket running away from your whiteness
And here you are in the jungle starin at your likeness
Last thing you wanna do is see another Tarzan
Who forces you to contemplate what you really are man…

CHORUS
Cause you wanna be that only one
You wanna be that only one
You wanna be that only one
You had a dream you were the only one
And I wanna be that only one
I wanna to be your only one
Hip hop I wanna be your only one
Show me the force like Obiwan Kinobe
Or better yet… Mace Windu

Ok. A few more letters. To Araceli in the Bronx, I don’t know, I don’t know why we like weird beers. Thanks for asking I guess. And to Chris in L.A. yes we often do have weird beards. Good observation. Weird beers and weird beards… dot com.

Links:
Junk Science

God-Des & She: Brooklyn Soul/Hip-Hop Duo Plays Public Assembly on May 10th

DOWNLOAD: God-Des & She - "Love Machine" (from Three)

Brooklyn duo God-Des & She first hit my radar a few years ago when the video for their song "Lick It" (aka 'The P*ssy Song') was rejected by MTV. Responding, God-Des said "To me, it's almost blatant homophobia...They'll have guys talking about their lollipop and licking their lollipop all day, and they won't let a woman talk about pleasing a woman."

MTV obviously had somewhat of a change of heart as the duo premiered their latest music video for their single "Love Machine" on MTV's PopLab in April 2011. "Love Machine," the second single off their third album Three, is a retro/80's groove and a highly addictive track which demonstrates the duo's ability to continually surprise the listener by blurring the lines of hip-hop, pop and soul. With the combination of God-Des' smooth lyrical flow, the powerhouse vocals of She, and a unique style that is near impossible to define, this duo is well on their way to breaking into the mainstream. God-Des & She's third album, Three, produced entirely by Brian Hardgroove of Public Enemy fame, is available today via iTunes.

God-Des & She are playing a headlining show at Public Assembly on Tuesday, May 10th. Doors are at 8:30PM and tickets are $10 in advance and $12 (DOS).





Links:
God-Des & She

Eyezon - Soweto Born Emcee Plays First Full Band Show at Union Hall on Feb. 16th

"Eyezon delivers his lyrics with a religious conviction, but is blessed with a great sense of timing. He has the ability to alter his rhyme schemes constantly, but without losing sight of the cadence of the mystery man’s beats." - RapReviews.com

Eyezon, the Northern California via South Africa emcee, delivers inspiration and entertainment with a dynamic flow and message to match. His last record, People Like Us, was released on Interdependent Media, which is the same indie label that introduced US to K'naan. Currently the band has an on-going sound stage on the Africa Channel along with the music video for their single, "Lord Hold Me", which services as a trailer for their mini-documentary based on homelessness in San Francisco (which was shot by Ethan Lader -- T-Pain/2 Pistols "She Got It", Mullage "Trick'N", J*Davey "Mister Mister").

The video explores the problem of homelessness in the United States by juxtaposing images of Eyezon along with startling facts about our nation's poor. Both the video and mini-documentary challenge our complacency and shed light on an issue that is often over looked.



At the Union Hall show, Eyezon is playing with Brooklyn-based lo-fi electro-pop band Jonka and DJ Captain Kristo. Tickets are $7 and doors are at 7:30PM.

Links:
Eyezon

AMBLU - Interview with BrooklynRocks, Brooklyn, NY 11-23-08

Last week, I caught up with :am and Blu from the newly formed hip-hop duo AMBLU. :am and Blu are long-time veterans of the hip-hop/rap scene and they have recently decided to join forces. :am is a singer in the style of Lauren Hill and Beyonce and Blu is a MC/rapper. Together, AMBLU plays dance club-style R&B.



The duo are starting to play out around the area and played a well received show at the Pyramid Club last week. :am and Blu are currently playing a few dates in the Northeast and will presumably be back in NYC sometime soon.

Check out the first two tracks from the duo's collaboration, "Rebel" and "Bright Lights", which are streaming on AMBLU's MySpace Profile.

Links:
AMBLU's YouTube Channel

GRITS: Integrity CD Release Interview (Hip-Hop/Rap)

After spending more than a decade making music, Nashville hip-hop artists the GRITS have formed their own record label, Revolution Art, and have released their eighth studio CD, Integrity.

Integrity is one of the bands strongest releases to-date. The music is a diverse mix of styles, which ranges from crunk ("Get It Started") to high-energy dance ("Beautiful Dance") to NPG-style funk ("Livin' Dream").

I caught up with Bonafide and Coffee when they were in town last week and talked with them about the new disc, their new record company and their upcoming tour plans.



The GRITS are currently playing shows around the country and they have a full-scale ("Art Attack") tour planned for next Spring where they will be taking out on the road a number of Revolution Art bands. Check the GRITS MySpace page for updates.

The new CD, Integrity, is available through the band's online store, iTunes, and all the standard online outlets.

Club Des Millionnaires Are Playing Club Element Tomorrow Night, Sept. 21st

Club Des Millionnaires are a new hip-hop group that is almost certainly going to create a lot of buzz. The band is finishing their debut CD, The 10th Planet, and the first single "I'm A Problem" is streaming on CDM's MySpace profile. The band has a big show tomorrow night opening for Wyclef Jean at Club Element.

I had the chance to crash one of the band's get-togethers a few weeks back and brought my camera along.



Unfortunately, the video is pretty dark (no thanks to YouTube's compression algorithm) but...sit back and give it a listen. I captured a few song snippets and band members have some killer voices. You can also hear the band talking about the inspiration behind Club Des Millionnaires. These are passionate and committed people, self-proclaimed Space Rebels, who are ready to take on the system and change the world.

Tomorrow night's show starts at 11PM.

Links:
Club Element

Myself @ B.B. King's, July 16, 2007

I hadn't heard of Myself prior to catching the man/the band open for Arrested Development last night at B.B. King's. I had trouble finding much information on this band as it appears their MySpace page has been "reassigned" (hacked?).

For those who were as uninformed as I was -- Myself is a hip-hop band. There were at least 7+ members in the band. Myself (the band) played a 50 minute set and Myself (the man) tried his best to work the crowd but I think most people were either eating or not open-minded enough to listen to the opening act. It was both sad and amusing that there was a gentleman (who looked somewhat like Napoleon Dynamite), who had to be the worst break-dancer ever, that spent most of the set on the dance floor showing his "moves"(...and his white socks with sandals were way too classic).

For fans of Bob and Ziggy Marley, Myself is well worth checking out.




Myself was in the crowd multiple times. Unfortunately, I was unprepared for him to come by my table.