What A Show

All I can say is that after last night's performance, I can't see myself performing without a band from here on. It was cool to play with the crowd in a way like I've never done before. Having a band just lends itself to improvisation, and that type of freedom while performing is new to me. I was nervous because I've never done it, and that was also compounded by the fact I was doing new material too. Despite having a hoarse voice all week and the mic being nervous, the crowd was visibly receptive. It was great to see people literally dance to songs off my upcoming project "the British Invasion". It was just a phenomonal show all around. I have to give huge props to Saretta Wesley, Yah Supreme, and Nakia Henry, who absolutely bodied it. I'll have pics and vids up soon hopefully.

Huge Show This Friday...

Yessir... I'm opening up for Mario. Come out and support your boy. It's at
The Elmwood Theater
57-02 Hoffman Drive
Elmhurst, N.Y 11373
Cop your tickets from Ticketmaster: HERE

This was DOPE!!!

, but unfortunately Charles swung an L. However this is Hip-Hop

Props...

to Prezzure and The Smash Mechanics because they definitely did their damn thing at Sputnik last night. I've always been one to give praise and respect to those that deserve it, but dudes really crushed. Prezzure had a very conversational approach to his song where he actually preformed with the mic stand in front of him a la Sammy Davis, and the Mechanics crushed with quite possibly the freshest band I've heard in a loooooooong time on the underground scene. Props

Last night's performance

...at the Knitting Factory was dope. I'll upload videos/pics sooner than later. 1

Sputnik In Pictures 8/20/08

I'm chilling

I performed 4.0

I took a pic with Kalae

I'm in a pic with Ciph Diggy of the SleepWalkas

I ate a Sputnik Burger


All pics courtesy of Scratch of Scritch & Scratch

Performing Tonight

at Sputnik. That's 262 Taffe Place btwn DeKalb & Willoughby

The Official Co-Sign Vol. 5: The Sputnik Edition 8/12/08

The show was B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Despite being given the run around, when I finally did perform it was nuts. I gave the crowd a much needed boost of energy and wake up call. Instead of focusing on myself, I will tell you about the other incredible acts. Where do I begin....


Here's an artist who effortlessly combines Neo-Soul, Jazz, and R&B, all while playing the keyboard AND singing. Drea's sound is versatile, but last night's set was filled with sensual baby making music that had everyone open....especially the comedian and MC of the night, John Laster. From her lyrics alone, you can tell she draws from a ton of life experience. This songwriter/singer/producer is definitely someone to keep an eye on. Find out more about Drea by clicking on the pic. Officially Co-SIGNED!!


Dain Harris is next up to bat, and his soulful ballads had the crowd on its feet. His stage presence is slightly reminiscent of Maxwell, which by all means is a compliment. This crooner's music is refreshingly dope. Its executed incredibly well, and the combination of great production, fresh songwriting, and a smooth voice make for an enjoyable listening experience. Check him out by clicking on the pic. CO-SIGNED!


Jimi James is the TRUTH. You talk about charisma and star power, look no further. She fuses Hip-Hop, Reggae, R&B into one big explosion of dopeness. While paying homage to KRS, she had everyone singing her name.. "The J, the I, the M, the I, The J.....its Jimi, WORD UP!!" There's not much more I can tell you other than get familiar. Check her out by clicking the pic. Officially CO-SIGNED!!!


Paul Rivers Bailey is dope, and for a myriad of reasons. Here's a singer that has a certain grittiness to his style, but his music is also feel-good and inspirational. If Gospel & Hip-Hop had a child that sang, it would be Paul. At no point will you ever question if his music comes from a genuine place because you can't help but feel it. Check him out by clicking the pic. CO-SIGNED!!!

and finally... I rocked

Video Music Box's 25th Anniversary Wrap Up

For those of you that don't know, pre-cable, Video Music Box pioneered what we've grown accustomed to in MTV, BET, and Vh1. It was definitely a New York thing, so alot has to do with locality, but without doubt, the show basically raised me. In the same way tons of kids are now growing up with YouTube, you'd be hard pressed to find a 20-30 something from NYC that didn't run home from school to catch it at 3:30 every afternoon. Whether it was Crazy Sam on Nervous Thursdays with his outrageous antics or just Ralph taking me clubbing through my tube, the show was the "end all be all". I 1st discovered Big Daddy Kane, Kid N Play, Black Moon, and just about every other influential rap act through the program. So its absolutely wonderful that they're celebrating 25 years of being a staple of NY television

As for the show in Central Park, it was B-A-N-A-N-A-S!! Though my boy and I got there late, we g'd our way inside despite the door people rejecting hundreds of folks. We heard but didn't see Naughty's performance, and could have only imagined how ill it was. By the time we found a spot to cool out at, O.C got on. I can now officially say, as much as I loved Word Life, I'm tired of seeing him perform to a lukewarm reception. Then Chubb got on and bodied it, but I couldn't help but feel a hint of deja vu. Maybe its because I had just seen them both at Prospect Park for the Crooklyn Dodgers reunion. Schooly D got on next and moved the crowd, but he should have not rocked after the Chubbster...bad line up call Ralph. Then Milk Dee came on and crushed with "Top Billin"...no surprise there. The Lost Boyz, who I had completely forgotten about, rocked out too.

Nice & Smooth closed the show, but it was somewhat of a disappointment. Not because they're not dope, but because they played around too much. BTW, when did Smooth B grow dreads? They brought out dancers, Greg Nice came out with tons of energy, Smooth B came out with a crown and cape...so they recaptured the pageantry that Hip-Hop once had. The problem was, they didn't perform their hits. Why would you headline and not perform "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow" or their verses from "Dwyck" or any of the other classics. It baffled my dome. Furthermore, why would they close the show anyway? I mean if Naughty by Nature, who were the definitive 90's Hip-Hop group, was on the bill, shouldn't they headline? Honestly, were there any records bigger than "O.P.P" & "Hip Hop Hooray". Not to mention all their other hits like "Feel Me Flow", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Uptown Anthem".

Well I'm just nit-picking at this point. The show was dope, but even better was the crowd. I haven't been to any event all year that had such an incredible feel good energy. For a few minutes, I definitely felt like a youngster back in 92.

Don't forget to subscribe to my new mixtape/podcast, The Instant Classic, which pays homage to all of this great music.

Sputnik Wrap Up....What A Night

-Hilarity....Yes, pure hilarity. I swear every dude fell in love while Melanie was performing. She tore it down too, but she had dudes tripping. The wolves were out.

-The ABC Gang rocked out crazy!! The song they performed is a certified hit.

-...and I quote, "Shy is harder than M.O.P!" Bang Bang Motherf*^$er Bang Bang!!

-Kalae really was the catalyst for the night. Once she rocked, and that she did, the energy picked up crazy. Very dope set

-The Cartel was dope as usual, but Bacardi's solo was my favorite. That joint was NUTS!!!

-I tested "4.0" and the crowd really rocked with your boy kinda nuts. I was pleasantly surprised

-The usual suspects aka B.O.M.B, The SleepWalkas, Vitality all rocked out.
Thats it in a nutshell

I Truly Love It...

There are few times when I am blatantly reminded why I love this thing we call Hip-Hop. By all means, I am very conscious that I do, but this is the same form of music that has brought me a lot heartache & disappointment. I guess it would only be fair to say that it also made me more patient, driven, analytical, and it also gave me a sense of purpose.

"Understand what it is, that I give to this music,
Understand what I spit, see I live through this music
When I was going through it, music was therapeutic"

I guess my point is, my dude Vitality had a showcase last night, and I wasn't supposed to perform. However, being in an environment where I was surrounded by other emcees, I couldn't help but participate. I got on stage and rocked a verse. I didn't do it because I felt I needed to shine, or because I needed to promote myself, or because of my competitive spirit, but I did it because I love it.... and genuinely.

Damn !!! I've been slacking

So here's the deal, I am completely overwhelmed. School is coming to an end, and I trying my best to finish all my assignments. I NEED, correction WILL graduate summa (3.8 GPA or above) I'm also very distracted with music which is not a good look! Either way I'm gonna grind it out, and handle my B-I.

The show on Saturday was bittersweet. The "bitter" was basically the turn out. Not many people came out despite everyone's best efforts to pack the house. However, the "sweet" was the simple fact that the show was DOPE. In fact, REALLY DOPE. From Vitality, to BK Cyph, to Homeboy Sandman, to the Sleepwalkas, to B.O.M.B, the acts were so diversified and talented that it made for an incredible show. It reminded me of golden era hip hop where all the different personalities could co-exist.

So GTAIV dropped today. Obviously pandemonium will ensue, but I can't wait to see the sales numbers.I guess my biggest question is, not whether it will sell a bunch of copies, but is the brand strong enough to sell systems? I'm eager to see if it will have the same impact that Halo 3 had on 360 sales, which was quite minimal. Granted, they were HUGE sales figures for an incredibly short period, but were not prolonged enough to out muscle Nintendo. Hopefully it will boost PS3 sales...hopefully. Sony definitely dug a hole for themselves this generation. I'll save that discussion for another blog entry.

Well that's all on my noggin for now, I'll holla in a minute.

Just in case you missed it...

which means you need to be at the Bowery Poetry Club on the 26th. (see the post below)

BE THERE !!!

..........or else

If a pic is worth 1,000 words, u should realize I have propane lungs and "polyurethane was contained inside my brain"....cause I spit FIRE & I SHINE!!!


photo: Robert Adam Mayer

Last night's performance

If you weren't at The Knitting Factory last night, you missed out. Honestly, I would call you wack, but I don't wanna offend anyone. I digress, you're WACK!

To say anything other than I crushed would be an understatement. I opened up my set with "Gotta Get It", which went over better than it ever has. It was dope because it allowed me to gauge where the audience would be for the rest of my performance, but also set the bar for every song thereafter. So having the crowd participate from the Tribe "El Segundo" intro and transition to the song meant it would only get crazier as I went on.

I then introduced Nakia, Mayteana, & Sarita to the stage, who would help me out for my next 2 & 1/2 songs. We then performed "Discography" which is easily one of my favorite records, (Don't forget you can get a free download of the song if you join the ShakeInk mailing list from the site) and it sounded so beautiful with the ladies carrying the chorus & bridge. We turned the tempo up a notch with "ShakyBaby", and Rob Love...you would have been proud.

Despite how dope it all was, that was really just the appetizer before the main course. Before I could even finish "talking my $h!t", the onlookers and audience members were screaming "Fresh". Once the track came on, the people knew what time it was, and the building was rocking with me as they sang along. It was pure anarchy once I finished and the opening seconds of "King's County" began to play. With my back turned to the audience while holding the mic up in my right arm, the audience got a good look at not only my Polo Match Crest logo, but a prelude of the what was about to go down. Brooklyn was in the place heavy, and the call and response during the chorus made it feel like the ceiling was gonna collapse. With every hood I mentioned, they shouted "Brooklyn". It was absolutely bananas. Even though the place wasn't packed to maximum capacity, it sure felt like it during the closing moments of my set.

I guess I had a good show ya'll. Thank you to everyone that came out....the 2nd half of my recap is coming soon.