Fine Art Friday: Michael Shall

I will forever be impressed with the incredible investemnt of time and skill that artists who choose to work in graphite pencils can render. The recent work of Brooklyn-based artist Michael Shall continues this legacy by creating complex and heavily-detailed drawings that look like photographs at first glance. However, he does not draw from photographs but uses images to "gain an understanding of how certain things are structured." He creates these worlds that seem like an industrial abandoned landscape, but make the viewer stare in awe at the intense details of these other-worldly spaces. Check out his site HERE and recognize the results of challenging yourself to maximize your skills.

In Defense of Gummy Soul and The Art of Sampling Sampled Samples

This landed in my inbox this morning and I wanted to share it with the universe to get some feeedback. Personally, I think Sony is wack for this, but I would love to get some feedback and thoughts from the DJs and producers of the world. - L J

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BIZARRE TRIBE: ACCESS DENIED (AN OPEN LETTER RESPONSE TO SONY'S CEASE AND DESIST) READ OUR OPEN LETTER TO SONY HERE Dear Friends, Last Friday, Sony Music sent Gummy Soul a cease and desist order for Amerigo Gazaway's "Bizarre Tribe: A Quest To The Pharcyde". As owners of A Tribe Called Quest's catalog, Sony is claiming copyright infringement and has demanded that we take the album down immediately or face further litigation for damages. While less than 3 minutes of the 55 minute Bizarre Tribe experience is Sony owned ATCQ material (you'll remember Amerigo flipped the original sourced records Tribe SAMPLED, as opposed to having sampled their music directly), Sony feels that our project is non-transformative, and is in direct competition with original A Tribe Called Quest material. Though we are confident that our work falls under "fair use" as defined by the Copyright Act of 1976, (something we explain further in our open letter response , we cannot afford to take on a Goliath like Sony Music. Due to the sheer amount of samples required to create this project, it would be impossible for a label of our size to release Bizarre Tribe through traditional means. Although Bizarre Tribe has always been available for free, Sony is demanding our immediate compliance. As of now, Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to The Pharcyde is no longer available through Gummy Soul Records. If you would like to get involved, we have provided a few easy ways for you to help. 1. Read and share our open letter response to Sony: "Bizarre Tribe: Access Denied (An Open Letter Response to Sony's Cease and Desist)" 2. Visit BizarreTribe.com to find out more on how you can help.

As always, we thank you for your continued support and look forward to bringing you more music in the future. In the meantime, stay tuned and KEEP BOUNCING. - Gummy Soul www.gummysoul.com bizarretribe.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/GummySoul Facebook: http://facebook.com/gummysoulpresents For booking, contact: guy@madison-house.com For all other inquiries, please contact: info@gummysoul.com

Listen: Thaione Davis - "Glass Ceilings"

Chicago hip hop veteran Thaione Davis recently dropped a remix project with Kenny Keys for the track "Glass Ceilings" with equally chilled artwork from painter Marcellous Lovelace. Thaione always brings a vaired perspective than most CHI emcee's and this remix is a nice summertime track to vie out with. Check it out and support one of the midwest's slept-on talents.

DOWNLOAD LINK
http://thaionedavis.com/track/glass-ceilings-etcetera-jazz-rmx

Video: Masta Ace - "I Did It"

Though he may not get much radio play, Masta Ace has long held a spot in hip-hop's heart for his honest lyrics and concept albums, often building on album length stories of dramatic Brooklyn-centric characters. Last year, MA released an entire album over old MF Doom instrumentals and for nayone that didn't hear them the first time, the album came off as fresh and new for both artists. Not done in the typical "Mc spits over popular instrumentals" style of mixtapes, MA put out the project as an official album and breathed new life into some slept-on tracks by raps favorite masked man.

Video: J. Hurt - "The Real"

Double Truth alumni J. Hurt just dropped the visuals for the track "The Real" from the mixtape "The Clarity", produced by Ouja Marek. The results are as honest as the lyrics in J's music. The video finds J coasting through various Cali locations and telling his story and explaining that the concept of "the real" that fans are always in search of, is right in front of their face. Check it out and support quality music from the left coast stand out.

DOWNLOAD LINK
http://www.datpiff.com/JHurt-Elephant-In-The-Room-Presents-The-Clarity-mixtape.374367.html

MORE INFO ON J HURT AND OUJA MAREK:

Follow J. Hurt
http://www.twitter.com/whotfisjhurt
http://www.whotfisjhurt.tumblr.com

Follow Ouja Marek
https://twitter.com/OujaMarek_Music
https://soundcloud.com/ouja-marek

Throwback: MOOD - "Karma"

This track changed the way I thought about what was called "local" rap when I heard it the first time. I was hesitant to listen to anything non-Rawkus at the time and the cover art was just a star of david in outerspace with the word MOOD typed across it. I was suspect of the relatively lo-fi look of the art, but the title DOOM I thought meant I was in for a tired horror-core album. However, when I was examining the liner notes, I saw DJ Hi-Tek in the credits and wondered if it was the same one working with Talib Kweli (oddly enough who was featured on the album), so I decided to let it play. I was impressed with the quality of music and the dark but intelligent lyrics, especially coming out of the Cincy area of Ohio (where no rap of note had ever come from that I had ever heard). The beats were chill and well-crafted and the lyrics were on some Midwestern version of the Wu-Tang mindset. The track even flipped a Nina Simone track I had heard a million times and never thought to sample at that point also. Needless to say, I stepped my own research up when it came to underground rap going forward and still rock it to this day.

* note the variations in name spelling from later releases.

Listen: IV the Polymath - Side A + Side B

Side a // side b is a 2-song instrumental cassette that features C.R.E.A.M. on the A-Side  and "007" on the B-Side. Both reinterpreted tracks are performed by IV the Polymath without the use of any samples.

Since I am a huge supporter of instrumental producers from around the globe and in need of a chill soundtrack on this blazing hot NYC day, this 2 track sampler works perfectly for my cringe-worthy train ride without AC to mellow me out. This cat is new to me, but if he continues down this path, I see good things for him and the crew in the future.

Also included in the digital download is a super secret bonus track that blends the C.R.E.A.M. and 007 tracks together as one unique work. Check it out and support some hip hop underdogs.

DOWNLOAD LINK
http://ivthepolymath.bandcamp.com/album/side-a-side-b