I was reading about the North Coast Music Festival today and I wanted to send a little music festival love. The event will take place on Labor Day (September 3-5) weekend at Union Park in Chicago. Their website seems to still be under construction, but the event will apparently feature Hip Hop and Electronic acts.

The reason this event caught my eye in the first place was it’s name. As some of you might know, the A3C is short for “All Three Coasts,” at least it has been since 2007 when 9th Wonder decided to put meaning behind the acronym. We decided that the three coasts in question were the East Coast, the West Coast and the Gulf (representing the South).

The North Coast Festival as taken the same idea but a applied it to the great lakes. I’m cool with that, and I certainly think it’s a good idea for name, however if there are now “Four Coasts,” it makes it sound like “All Three Coasts” leaving out the Northern Midwest (which we’re not).

Can anyone think of any other possible US Coasts?

Duck Down SXSW Showcase

For those of you who caught the Duck Down Records Showcase Friday night of the 2009 A3C Festival you got a taste of what the guys in NYC are really about. For SXSW this year they are bringing out all the guns to celebrate their 15th Anniversary in style.

For 15 years the fellas over at Duck Down Records have been grinding away and bringing the world some of the best Independent Hip-Hop and to celebrate their 15th Anniversary they are bringing nearly the whole damn roster to Austin with them to party at SXSW.

To set off the 15 year milestone, Duck Down will be throwing a huge party on March 19th at 8PM at The Scoot Inn (1308 East 4th Street, Austin, TX)

With support from VTECH, 2K Sports, & Pro-Keds, the showcase will feature:

B-Real of Cypress Hill
Buckshot & 9th Wonder
Sean Price
Black Milk
Smif N Wessun
Pharoahe Monch
Kidz In The Hall
Blue Scholars
Skyzoo
Promise
Marco Polo
Torae
Ruste Juxx
Nottz

+ Special Guests

Music by DJ EVIL DEE

This is a label that does things right and I am jacked about joining them to celebrate 15 years of great music.

I was a bit taken back by the name at first but, Land of Make Believe, the new album from the Kidz in the Hall is dope. It dropped yesterday on Duck Down Records. I’ve included some of my favorite tracks below.

For those who missed it, the Kidz killed it at the A3C in 2009 at the Duck Down showcase.

Big Bio kills it as he usually does, but I have to give credit for George Clinton at the end. Thanks to the Smoking Section for posting.

As of yesterday, Danger Mouse and James Mercer have officially released their self titled project “Broken Bells.” I am extremely excited about this album and I think it represents a new trend in alternative music: the hip hop indie rock hybrid. Unlike the hip hop rock hybrid that gained popularity in the late 90’s with groups like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, the indie rock hip hop actually sounds good and has artistic value.

Another group I’m feeling right now in the same vain is a group from Saratoga Springs, NY called Phantogram. Both groups feature melodic vocals over instrumental hip hop beats. Hip Hop has been in desperate need of inovation for some time and this type of fusion is a huge step in the right direction.

Outside of straight forward hip hop, what else have people been listening to these days?

We’re thinking about giving the A3C site a bit of a sprucing up, does anyone have any suggestions? What would be useful sections for us to add? I would personally like to see more artist interviews and music downloads, but I think we’d need a few more people contributing before we get there.

Let us know your thoughts.

A lot has changed since 1997, but one thing has remained the same, on March 9, you can expect to see hip hop heads worldwide pay tribute the one of the greatest MCs of all time. Here’s a list of some of the best salutes I’ve seen today:

1) Prefix Mag - Sights & Sounds: Notorious B.I.G., “Juicy”

Prefix mag is kicking off a new section today called “Sights & Sounds” and their featuring an interpretation of “Juicy” by an artist named Pellet. This is a really incredible  piece of artwork that show’s biggie with a mic outside of bodega in Brooklyn. Definitely worth a look.

2) J.Period – March 9th Video Remix Collection

J.Period and Ralph McDaniels are paying tribute to Biggie with the March 9th Video Remix Collection, which will feature Notorious BIG remixes over classic videos. The first video in the series is remix of “Flava in Ya Ear.”

3) DJ Clark Kent Remembers Biggie as “Brooklyn’s Finest” (XXL)

XXL sits down with DJ Clark Kent, the producer of “Brooklyn’s Finest” to talk about the making of that track as well as the life and times of Biggie Smalls.

I found this on XXL, it’s an ill new video / track from Blu, who performed at the A3C in 2008. I hadn’t heard much from Blu in a while and it was refreshing to see this up on a major outlet like XXL.

I did a bit of research to see what Blu was currently up to but I couldn’t find much. The last entry on his MySpace blog was back in Sept 2009. I’m hoping this video means that the gears are still grinding and we’ll be seeing more from Blu in 2010. Maybe another visit to ATL?

Wale/K'naan Show 4.8.10

If you are an A3C head you remember when he opened up the MySpace stage for us back in 2008 at Center Stage for Del, Jeru, and Little Brother. It was one of the most classic nights in A3C history. Little did any of us know then that he would end up in every major magazine and come back to Center Stage as a Co-Headliner only 2 years later. Check him out at Center Stage in the CW Midtown Music Complex on April 8th.

We have a couple pairs of tickets for this show which promises to be a banger. To enter add a comment below and include your favorite artist that you “discovered” at A3C past. We’ll pick at random from all entries.

For those that don’t know Kool Keith is coming back to Atlanta (The Loft @ CW Midtown Music Complex to be exact) on March 18th. 5 time (yes that means they rocked every year of A3C) vets of A3C Binkis Recs is opening up the show.

We have our hands on a couple of pairs of tickets to giveaway to the show. Binkis holding down the opening role we will selected randomly for the tickets from anyone who comments below and can successfully name another artist that has performed all 5 previous years of A3C (there are only a handful). Get crackin.

Stones Throw has announced that the collaborative project from Madlib and Guilty Simpson will be released on May 18 of this year. The album will be called OJ Simpson. This will be Guilty’s second full length album after Ode to the Ghetto in 2008.

A track called “Corner’s Music” was released by the pair last July.

Guilty_Simpson – Coroners_Music

–

UGHH Interview with Guilty Simpson at the A3C in 2008:

Soilla Home Town Heros

One of my favorite Hip Hop crews is taking the idea of “going to Austin” to a whole different level. Not only are they rocking SXSW 2010 but the Orlando superheros are actually taking up residence in Austin for the entire month of March. If there are two words that one could use to describe Solillaquists of Sound one would be dope, and the second would be unorthodox. I have been a hip hop fan for over 25 years and seen thousands of shows and I say with no hyperboyle whatsoever that S.O.S has THE BEST LIVE SHOW going. Talk about a nice deal for the people of Austin.

“In the time that we spend in Austin, we hope to develop a relationship with the community that the normal, ‘one-day-in-and-out’ national tour schedule doesn’t allow,” says DiViNCi, producer/MPCist for Solillaquists of Sound. “Not just a ‘Hi, do the show, Bye’ routine, but a deeper connection with the fans and the scene that they have created/belong to.”

If nothing else it should make for an absolutely bananas show in their new hometown for SXSW.

Here’s a new track by Killer Mike called “Didn’t I tell Ya.” I found this one via XXL, where you can download the song for free.

Download “Didn’t I Tell Ya” at XXL

For those who don’t remember, or didn’t catch Killer Mike in 2009:

And then of course there was Killer Mike and Bone Crusher at the A3C in 2008 (warning, this is not for the faint of heart):

As you might know by now, the A3C is going to Austin for SXSW. Since we’re taking some time to talk about the event, I thought I mention that SXSW has made it possible for anyone and everyone to download several hundred tracks from participating artists.

All of the music has been made available by the artists, so there’s no stealing or shadiness involved, just 3 gigs of free music.

Obviously, Hip Hop only makes up a small percentage of music that’s available to download, but I figure most A3C fans are interested in branching out and exploring any type of new artists and genres as long as it’s good. Thanks to Greg Hewgill and Ben Stolt for making this possible for the past few years.

I’d like to make something like this possible for the A3C this year anyone interested in help out with this project?

For everyone else who’s been waiting since October 18, 2000 for the next Reflection Eternal album to come out, our time has finally come. Revolutions Per Minute is due out on April 6… just one month from today.

You can download a copy of the single from 2dopeboyz.

Nah Right posted this audio clip a few hours ago of Premier commenting Guru’s health issues. The comments came during Premier’s Sirius radio show “Live From HeadQuaterz” last night. Listen at Nah Right.

I’ve been trying to follow this story for a few days now and it sounds too crazy to be true. I’ll I’ve really been able to gather is this: Guru is in the hospital, possibly in a coma, possibly not. Solar apparently is the only one who has any real information and he’s not even sharing it with Guru’s family. Check the video below posted on Premier’s blog on March 3.

In any event, I’m keeping Guru in my thoughts.

I was reading earlier this week in Creative Loafing that Little Brother’s next album, Left Back is supposed to be the last album from the group. Rapper Big Pooh, who just played in ATL with fellow A3Cer Rock Most, has a few projects in the works that I’m looking forward to checking out.

Honestly, I’m rather disappointed to hear that LB is calling it quits. Over the last few years, they’ve been holding it down, making great music and putting on live shows. I’ve seen Little Brother live about a half dozen times, including at the A3C in 2008 and they are one of the livest acts around.

Here’s my big question: With 9th, Big Pooh and Phonte all being strong supporters of the A3C, is there any chance of getting the crew back together for one last show in 2010?

Side Note: Big Pooh and Black Milk currently have mixtape (mixed by Jaycee) out called the Purple Tape which you can listen to for free at Bandcamp.

It is with a massive amount of respect for the undertaking that these folks are taking on trying to take all these artists to Austin to do this show that I put this post up. Events like SXSW (and A3C for that matter) are more often than not put on with a tremendous amount of time, energy, effort, patience, and frankly as a financial loss to those who put in that effort. Having Atlanta represented in Austin this Spring is something that is vital to raising the visibility of our scene nationally and goes a long way to helping a lot of Atlanta’s best kept secrets become a little less “secret”. Break into your pockets and come out to this show. If you are an artist based in Atlanta these cats being successful in Austin is important to you in ways that you probably don’t immediately understand. This is huge opportunity for our community and I hope that we can all get behind it next week and show out. I know that I am a notorious hibernator this time of year and even I will peel myself out of my office and away from my normal Friday night chill to get out and support something that helps bring attention to the amazing talent that this city produces.

Brought to you by the same folks that brought “Perfect Attendance” to A3C, Fadia Kader and SMKA are doing things in a big way and representing ATL well in Austin.

Up until moving the A3C from the Spring to the Fall in 2009 each year we were so up to our eyeballs in work that SXSW was little more than a blip on our radar to worry about. With the success of our move to October last year A3C is now firmly planted in it’s new home (the EAV as well as the Fall) and we’re taking advantage of the quiet to break out for a few weeks and head on over to Austin so we can hang out with some old friends and hopefully make some new ones so we can continue to bring the best of what hip hop has to offer back to Atlanta. We’ll be highlighting A3C alum, friends and family that will be rocking in Texas later this month so keep an eye on the site for our take on SXSW.

Adult Swim does a great job using music to market themselves**. They’ve recently teamed up with Rockstar Games and put together a free mixtape featuring tracks from ATL artists remix by left-of-center producers.

On the ATL artist side, the project features tracks from Jeezy, Rich Kids, Goodie Mob, Lil Jon, Gucci Mane, Gorilla Zoe, Shawty Lo and A3C vet B.o.B.. Producers include El-P, DJA, Dabrye, Flying Lotus, Prefuse 73 and Drums of Death.

The whole mix is worth some repeat play. As far as I’m concerned the standout tracks are “Imma G” by Dem Getaway Boyz, remixed by Memory Tapes, “I Got This” by Jeezy, remixed by El-P, “Is That You God?” by Goodie Mob, remixed by Dabrye and “Hello Mixx” by Cee Lo, remixed by XXXChange.

If you’ve downloaded it, let us know what you think. If you haven’t, check out the link below.

http://www.adultswim.com/music/atl-rmx/index.html

**Ted Turner if you’re reading this, you should hit us up about A3C 2010.

Collective Efforts 12/18 @ Smiths Olde Bar

With special guests:

The Soulphonics w/ Ruby Velle & The Audubon Society

Today, Atlanta’s longest-running organic Hip-Hop show – The Beatz & Lyrics Show with Jayforce – will proudly commemorate its ten year anniversary with the release of a mixtape that captures the best of what the show has represented since its inception.

This Year, while we were all chilling at the A3C, Beatz & Lyrics founder DJ Jayforce and producer Amond “AJ” Jackson were locked in the studio for 72 hours straight taking advantage of the rare opportunity to harness some of the most talented independent Hip-Hop artists and producers from across the country.

The result is the The Ten Year Anniversary Beatz & Lyrics Mixtape.

“The plan was to let the artists fall through and listen to the tracks without bias as to who produced them to see if they could create some magic that would be good enough to make the cut on the
mixtape,” recounts Jayforce. “Fortunately many of the talented and respected emcees living in Atlanta and from other cities around the country answered the call. The primary piece of the puzzle was for everyone visiting for A3C to do produce their best work in the time allocated for the project. We ended up with artists from every region of the map involved in the mixtape.”

The Ten Year Anniversary Beatz & Lyrics Mixtape features contributions by 40 emcees, producers and musicians who came together in less than a week to record the 12-track project.

contributors to the Beatz & Lyrics Mixtape include established names in the underground, including J-Live, Punchlyne, El Da Sensei, Homeboy Sandman, and producers Tahir, DJ Presyce, and DJ Shakim; some of the artists who have helped define Atlanta’s “Tru Skool,” including  4ize, Haziq Ali, Mojo Swagger, Senor Kaos and producer Illastrate; and some of the most promising new comers, including Fresh Daily and Tommy Nova.

Download the Ten Year Anniversary Beatz & Lyrics Mixtape

2EMQF45DDREB

Two A3C veterans, Dillon and Paten Locke (Therapy), will be hosting a release party for their upcoming album Studies in Hunger, on December 12, 2009 at 529 in the East Atlanta Village.

Special guests include Supa Dave West, Willie Evans Jr., Stacy Epps, Boog Brown, Senior Kaos and Uncle Herm.