My Daily Joe

MyDailyJoe was able to catch up with multi-platinum rap artist Messy Marv who answered two controversial questions for our “MYDJ Exclusive Two” series we just rolled out.  Messy Marv has some strong, strong words for JT Tha Bigga Figga and what he said to AllHipHop.  It’s all that and more, right here at MyDailyJoe…

MyDailyJoe: You have a big underground following, but do you feel underrated or even neglected from the mainstream as an artist?

Messy Marv: I’ve always felt that I’ve been underrated as an emcee, but the only thing I could do was get out and continue to show them that I’m here, and that I’m going to be here.  With all the albums sold and still no major deal or co-sign, I just feel like this is my niche, the underground.  I ain’t mad at that and I don’t have a problem with it at all.  My discography and my sound scan is pretty much what I stand on.  There’s a lot of hatred towards Mess because I speak as a man, don’t have a co-sign and a lot of niggas want you to ride their dick to get on.  I’m the biggest underground artist in the world; no one has ever released as many albums as me in the world.  I’ve done put out over 60 albums and I’m still relevant, and Mess is still out-selling a lot of these motherfuckers that you would never believe he’s out-selling right here in the bay area….with no distribution, no major deal, no co-sign.

MyDailyJoe: From your catalog, what is your favorite album and why?

Messy Marv: Out of 60 albums my favorite would be “Bandannas, Tattoos & Tongue Rings” just based on where I was In my life and what I was going through, and the way that album came out and hit and changed some things in my life.  That album right there would be my favorite, and second to that would be this new Lukas album based on what’s going on in my life today, with niggas behaving in an informant manner.

When I say these people, I’m saying JT Tha Bigga Figga, who got on AllHipHop.com talking lies and shit, it’s a lot of people going to jail over false information.  The reason I’m so confident in speaking on this matter is because I know it’s all lies.  He’s made so many false accusations about me, the whole interview was based on me, him assassinating my character with my community and with the bloods, something he could never do; accusing me of robbery, conspiracy, paying youngsters to knock niggas down, and lying saying when the killing got heavy I moved out of town. He stated all this in all hip-hop.  That’s why this album is my second favorite because of what I’m going through, so I wanted to put it out there for people to see that JT Tha Bigga Figga is a fake-ass nigga, he’s behaving in an informant manner on some police shit, lying.  No disrespect to the Nation of Islam, but I don’t know any Muslims who get down like JT Tha Bigga Figga!  Fuck JT!

MyDailyJoe: For more information on Messy Marv aka The Boy Boy Young Mess go to www.hooplaworldwide.com  | Keep checking back on My Daily Joe for more of our “MYDJ Exclusive Two” series we just launched.

Nicki Minaj is a purist’s nightmare. She doesn’t just straddle pop categories, she dumps them in a Cuisinart, whips them to a frothy purée, then trains a guided missile at the whole mess. She is a rapper’s rapper, a master of flow and punch lines, with skills to please the most exacting gatekeepers of hip-hop street cred. But she’s a bubblegum starlet as well, delivering confections to the nation’s mall rats. “I’m in the HOV lane,” Minaj boasts on her second LP. It’s true: She’s one of the few performers who can rival Jay-Z‘s blend of artistic bona fides and sheer star power.

But Minaj is also in the Gaga lane, the Bowie lane, the Missy Elliott and Gary Glitter and Katy Perry and Betty Boop lanes. (By the sound of “Right by My Side” – a blustery duet with Chris Brown – she can cruise in the Jordin Sparks lane, too.) Then there’s the Roman Zolanski lane. Roman Reloaded opens with Minaj – a biracial woman from Queens via Trinidad – ranting in the voice of her (Polish?) homosexual “twin brother” alter ego. In the same song, she takes on the voice of Martha Zolanski, Roman’s mother, singing in a cartoon Cockney accent. “Take your medication, Roman,” counsels Minaj/Martha. “Quack, quack to a duck and a chicken, too/Put the hyena in a freakin’ zoo,” answers Minaj/ Roman. Later, she bursts into “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

She’s just limbering up. On Roman Reloaded, the energy never flags – it’s the rare filler-free mega-pop album, an achievement for a record that stretches to 19 songs and 69 minutes. Minaj fans dismayed by her post-”Super Bass” turn toward pop will be cheered up by the red-meat hip-hop here. There’s booming triumphalism (“Champion”), electro-rap boastfests (“Beez in the Trap”) and a couple of collaborations with her mentor Lil Wayne, in which she more than justifies the claim that ends the album: “I am the female Weezy.”

The beats, by young comers like Hit-Boy and Kenoe, are taut and lively, a good match for Minaj’s manic spirit and comic zingers – and comic anti- zingers. Here’s Minaj on taking in fashion shows with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour: “When I’m sittin’ with Anna/ I’m really sittin’ with Anna/ Ain’t no metaphor punch line – I’m really sittin’ with Anna.”

Beginning with Track 10, the thumping “Starships,” Roman Reloaded veers into radio pop, serving up club anthems, clobbering ballads and, on the Dr. Luke-produced “Young Forever,” the most shameless Rihanna-wanna-be song ever recorded, a tune worthy of the ambition. The album is neatly utilitarian and bifurcated – “Side One” for the hip-hop headz, “Side Two” for teenyboppers.

But why would you choose just one Nicki Minaj? With her, the point is plenitude: more boasts, more hooks, more craziness, more shape-shifting, more cognitive dissonance, more pleasure. If you believe that art and commerce and provocation and fun – and hip- hop and disco and teen pop – can all be one and the same, here’s a record for you. Come, all ye faithful.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pink-friday-roman-reloaded-20120406#ixzz1rcRME3rn

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off their world tour on March 18th at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, but they gave a two-hour preview of the show on Friday at the Apollo Theater. With six new members of the E Street Band and a new album to support, it’s clear that this tour will likely be very different than previous outings. Here are ten things to expect – though keep in mind that nothing is a lock in Springsteen world. After all, everyone expected public rehearsal shows before this tour – even Little Steven.

1) A more rigid setlist than last time. When Springsteen and the E Street Road hit the road in 2009 behind Working On A Dream they abandoned most of the new material almost immediately. Even the made-for-the-stage “My Lucky Day” was dropped from the regular setlist after three shows. Instead, the tour focused extensively on Springsteen’s back catalog, and the group played widely different shows from night to night. They even did six of his first seven albums straight through at various points. On this tour, however, expect them to play a large dose of Wrecking Ball every single night. Early shows supporting The Rising and Magic had pretty static setlists, and this will probably be no different.

2)  Lots of songs that utilize the horn section. It’s no coincidence that Springsteen dug out the 1973 rarity “E Street Shuffle” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and the Apollo Theater gig. It’s a great showcase for the horns. Expect to hear “10th Avenue Freeze Out” (which doubles as a Clarence tribute) most nights, and hopefully “Kitty’s Back” and “So Young And In Love” at select stops. We’re also hoping for the title track to Lucky Town. It’s an overlooked classic, and it always sounds great with horns.

3) The rise of Jake Clemons. Springsteen may have replaced Clarence Clemons with a five-piece horn section that includes two sax players, but at the Apollo Theater show there was no doubt who was getting the vast majority of the solos.  The Little Big Man took the spotlight for “Badlands,” “The Promised Land” and “Thunder Road.” Jake also handled background vocals on the soul covers, and even played a drum at one point. If they ever break out “Jungleland” he’ll have an amazing opportunity to show off his chops.

4) “Waiting On A Sunny Day.” The hardcore fans mostly hate this cheerful sing-along from The Rising, but Springsteen and the rest of the audience seem to love it. Bruce breaks it out at every opportunity (even Stone Pony private events and Joe Grushecky gigs) and it got an airing at the Apollo, so it’s clear that there is no escape. We’re forever waiting on that sunny day.

5) A new percussionist. When Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage at the Apollo Theater everybody knew there would be a horn section, but the guy in the back of the stage with the bongos was a complete mystery. Turns out it’s Everett Bradley. He’s played with everyone from Hall & Oates to Bon Jovi. He did a great job with the end of “E Street Shuffle” at the Apollo, and he’ll certainly be a big help with some of the more complex new material.

6) A nightly tribute to Clarence Clemons. Springsteen and the E Street Band went completely dead quiet during Clarence’s big moment in “10th Avenue Freeze Out” to let the audience sing it, and cheer wildly for the late saxophonist. It was a nice way to honor him without turing the concert into a memorial service, and it will likely continue in some form on the road.

7) Meet the E Street Sessions Band. As my colleague Brian Hiatt tweeted, “There are so many people in the E Street Band, that like Newt Gingrich’s moon colony, it may be eligible to petition for statehood.” When they took a bow at the end of the Apollo Theater show, the new line-up of the E Street Band seemed to stretch across the entire stage. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just very different than the E Street Band that recorded “Born To Run” – or even the band that reunited in 1999.

8) Say goodbye to the all-request portion of the evening. On the last tour, Springsteen devoted an entire section of the show audience requests. Fans in the general admission pit made signs begging Bruce to play rarities like “Restless Nights,” and awesome covers like  “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man.” We could be wrong, but we suspect that Bruce has played enough games of Stump The Band, at least for now.

9) A lot of political songs. Wrecking Ball is basically a concept record about the Great Recession. At the Apollo show Springsteen dug out the Nebraska chestnut “Mansion On The Hill,” and this week he rehearsed the “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and the Woody Guthrie songs “Vigilante Man” and “I Ain’t Got No Home.” It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if he added in more songs from Nebraska, “Seeds” and other songs about struggling Americans. He’s certainly got no shortage of them.

10) Wild stadium shows in the Fall. They haven’t announced a single American date after this leg wraps up May 2nd in Newark, but Springsteen is almost certainly going to do a run of select stadium shows in the Fall. Word has already leaked out about plans for Wrigley Field and Fenway Park gigs. There will obviously also be shows around New Jersey, though it’s unclear if they’ll play Citi Field in Queens, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx or Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Regardless of where he plays, expect the shows to have a more party-like atmosphere with less emphasis on the new material – so expect more visits from “Rosalita” and less from “Jack Of All Trades.”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ten-things-to-expect-from-bruce-springsteens-upcoming-world-tour-20120314#ixzz1rcRlmRmp

On drfunkenberry.com — Back in 2001, Audio Stepchild released an album entitled “Land Of The Snake Charmer” that featured the standout track “When Will Be Paid”, performed by Prince, who covered the original song from The Staple Singers from 1969.

This newer version was released on BCD Music Group (A venture with Tony Draper of the legendary Suave House Records that featured a rap vocal performance from Audio Stepchild over a stunning Prince guitar solo.  Significantly, the groups has not released anything professionally since then….that is until now.

Eleven years later on May 22nd, 2012, Audio Stepchild is releasing “Every Coincidence Is Significant through Hoopla Worldwide/WIDEawake Entertainment (The same company who purchased The Death Row catalog for $18 million a few years back.) and Eone Entertainment (E1Ent).

While at Paisley Park Studios in Minnesota, Jonathan Hay, the executive producer of this album, got inspired by a tattoo that was on a musician whom he saw at Prince’s legendary studio.  Years later, Audio Stepchild’s singer, Sabrina, recreated a similar design for the Audio Stepchild album cover.  She describes the design as “my interpretation of a design that Jonathan described on a musician that played with Prince.  Also, it sort of embodies a visual trance similar to what I see when I listen to Prince.  Just funky, colorful, and cool.  It makes you think.”

The first single from the upcoming album “Every Coincidence Is Significant” features the Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum hip hop collective the Nappy Roots.  This new studio album from Audio Stepchild has been a decade in the making and has been worked on by Grammy-Award winning engineers such as Rodney Mills (Atlanta Music Hall Of Fame Inductee), Niko Marzouca, and others.

The second single, “Last Day Of Summer” (Inspired by the Vlad Yudin film of the same name starring Nikki Reed from Twilight) features the electic soul vocalist named Nasim.  Nasim is known in the Prince camp as she made jewelry for his back up singer Shelby J.  She also made earrings for his keyboard player Cassandra O’Neal, whom she met at a Prince concert in L.A. last year.  Nasim said “I made her some earrings that I just knew she had to have and I’m making them some new jewelry as we speak.”

It seems like everything might be a significant coincidence for Audio Stepchild.

Source: Dr. Funkenberry

This “Late Night Love” single by Gates is currently in rotation nation wide on online radio currently climbing from #48 on the top 200 and #14 on the top 30 indie charts. Gates is currently working on a mixtape entitled “#1 Draft Pick” for a late April release.

Gates — “Late Night Love”

From Bronx, New York comes hip-hop artist Dolo The Bandit with his “Roach Clips” video. This video will be on his up-and-coming album Project Monarch. (Check out Dolo’s recent interview about his forthcoming album here).

Dolo The Bandit — “Roach Clips” (Video)

Oktayne wants to maintain his own identity, while giving the world a taste of his life through his body of work.  He is inspired by his environment, and is determined to just be HIMSELF.  To keep things up and moving, He dropped two songs from his album Feature Presentation and offers a third as a free download. Whoever joins his mailing list on reverbnation.com will get the download. The album Feature Presentation features movie scores from The Invasion, G-Funk, Kajmir Royale and Sledgren. Oktayne is starring in the movie with co-stars like Bre, Sosa Da Champ, Kareless MF’ah and Kajmir Royale.  You can get your tickets for this movie for a very fair price.

Feature Presentation album coming soon, with 15 songs of being the self. There is also a music project called InFluenza which documents Oktayne’s team, and showcases them to the people so the people can decide who is ready.

Oktayne — Positive High ft. Greenlight