Thursday, May 27, 2010

Liner Notes:Daniel Merriweather "Chainsaw" (Trackademicks Remix)



Givin' myself to you is like giving myself to a Chainsaw/
You keep cutting me open wide, Is that the only thing you're good for?/


Indeed.

Been there.

Scratch that.

I live there!

But seriously, tell me what it is. What is so enticing about self-inflicted pain. I understand being intrigued by something you have no knowledge or understanding of. You know, like when toddlers all inevitably go after electric sockets. The epitome of an ignorant-ass thing to do. But can you blame the baby? No. A baby's mind is filled with darkness... Only until the light of knowledge and experience pushes out allllll of the darkness.

Truth is, most toddlers grow up without being electrocuted because they ultimately learn after being told "NO" repeatedly. So why is this not the case for the laws of attraction?

From both observation and personal experience, when someone attempts to dissuade someone else from going after another person who may not be the best thing for them, it rarely works. In fact, it's quite the opposite. There is something Sweet about that Taboo.

And many times, the experience is just as one could have expected... A Roller Coaster with the highest highs and lowest lows. And in a way, those things reconcile themselves. Depending your outlook on life, some would argue that Happiness is paid for with Sadness. Pleasure with Pain.

Am I crazy?
Who isn't?

Tangent?
Probably.

Nonsense to some?
Sure of it.

Helpful to others?
Of Course.

Either way it goes, my homie Daniel Merriweather has taken a perfect snap shot with these lyrics. Its funny because both the original and my remix make this dichotomy of the "Sweetest Taboo" feel way more pleasant than it actually feels.

Now, are you holding the Chainsaw or are you getting getting hacked up by standing in the way?

Holler!!!!

Grab the [RE]Mixtape Vol. 3 HERE!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Liner Notes: Kid Cudi "Make Her Say" (Trackademicks Remix)



When I'm at the Clubs, I never take my Heart/
The name of the game is Poke[H]er After Dark/
So many Spades lookin for my Diamonds/
Trynta take advantage of the position that I'm in/
Got a lot of Chips, so she wanna see my Hand/
All over her hips even though I aint her man/
See I got tricks and its all part of the plan/
Ace up my sleeve and a Straight in my pants/
Now its getting deeper, I better pull out/
She better keep quiet, I got a Full House/
Yo, I aint bluffin', girl you gotta Raise Me/
With game this good, I know you wanna Play Me/
See I need a Queen who's down to open up/
cause me I'm a King lookin for a Royal Flush/
And nope we done, even tho I Cashed my Chips/
Gettin' Hed in the whip and not Crashin it!


When I got my hands on the largely unavailable "Maker Her Say" acapella, I knew I had to do something different to it. The original was a real playful and lighthearted ode to "Brain Surgeons" everywhere, so I decided to do the complete opposite and bring out the "darker side" of the this contact sport...

In order to drive the point home, I decided to pay homage to one of the best songs about the topic ever made... Noreaga "Hed". I use to slap that album so much, so it only make sense to reference such an important influential piece of music...

Don't act like this don't POUND!!!
And don't act like I didn't GO IN !!!
Holler at a Scholar!!!
Bwahahahahaha!!!
YEEEEEE!!!!

Download the [Re]Mixtape Vol. 3 HERE!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Liner Notes: Kenna "Say Goodbye to Love" feat Mike Baker the Bike Maker



I remember anticipating Kenna's first release for the longest time around 2000. When it finally dropped, it was exactly what I was hoping; a perfect cross section Hip Hop, New wave, and electronic sensibilities. Recorded in hotel rooms. With Chad (The Neptunes) in the driver's seat. Not to mention, topically pertinent to where I was at in my life. I love music, especially when the timing is perfect.

Anyhow, fast forward a few years. When I found out Kenna was finally dropping a second album, I was juiced. I was a little slow to jump at doing the remix (contrary to popular belief, I don't feel the need to remix everything). when I finally decided to do it, I felt that Mike Baker the Bike Maker would be perfect on it. And according to him, it was perfect timing, as he was "Sayin' Goodbye to Love".

By the time it was completed, The [Re]Mixtape Vol. 2 was already out, so we decided to throw it on Mike's Now or Never EP. He also came up with the concept for using the opening scene of Millenium Mambo as the visual backdrop for the song, which I edited.

Bam!

Friday, May 21, 2010

SF! Lights Down Low with DJ Funk

Lights Down Low

This Saturday evening!

Apparently folks are gonna leave this party pregnant... At least that's the rumor. I'll do my best hosting job to make sure that happens!

Holler!

DJ FUNK (dancemaniarecords.com)
WHITE GIRL LUST (solidbumprecords.com)
SLEAZEMORE (Lights Down Low • the Ice Cream Social • Blasthaus)
DIALS (change the beat • soundpieces)
Photos by JUSTIN LAMB and BRANDON MOORE for SF Station

Hosted by TRACKADEMICKS
(Fool's Gold •Honor Roll)


Saturday May 22nd
THE TRIPLE CROWN
1760 Market St (at Octavia) • 21+ • 10pm-3am

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

HNRL gets and SF Weekly Award!!!

SFWeeklyBestOf

Awwwwwww Yeah!!!

It's Official.

The SF Weekly has named the Honor Roll Crew the "Best New Hip Hop Clique"!!!

Check It Out here

Thanks to everyone making this possible.

And to those who missed the article about the HNRL a couple weeks back in the SF Weekly, here you go!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Liner Notes: Boy Crisis "L'Homme" (Trackademicks Remix)



From "The [Re]Mixtape Vol. 3"

"I'm feeling like a monster truck at a botanical garden."

Ummmm... How can you NOT love this...

I've been around long enough to realize everything happens for a reason. This remix is just another notch on that tree.

Awhile back I was checking my myspace, as I do from time to time, when I received a message from this group called Boy Crisis. At the time I was unfamiliar with them. However, after reading the message one of the members sent, I realized I was more familiar than I knew. Apparently, the author of this particular myspace message was none other than my old school, high school patna, Victor. This is crazy because he is from my hometown, when to my high school, AND was in the same after school program as most of the HNRL. In fact, he even drew a mixtape cover for Tap.10's first DJ crew, The Golden Plate Warriors.

Unbeknownst to us, he'd been in pretty busy in Brooklyn as frontman for Boy Crisis and his other group Das Racist. So when he and the label approached me for a remix, I was down. I thought all of our mutual friends would get a kick out of it.

After all is said and done, my this is one of my favorite remixes. This is about as Breezy as it gets.

And for the record... Boy Crisis' "Ganglion of Lightnings"... Ohhhh Weeeeee!!! (Although the Jesus beard is a little scary...)

HILARIOUS...