HAPPY HALLOWEEN WORLD

Yo what up world? Today is Halloween and I feel like I am starring in a horror film after being laid up sick for 2 days. I am definitely feeling like every things getting back to normal so I thought I would holla. Word is that Mike Beck, an up and coming emcee from Brooklyn died last night. Respect goes out to his family in their time of grief. For all y'all out there with young bucks and shorties going trick or treatin', keep it safe.

In honor of this Halloween and of the old school, I thought I would post this dope ass video for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy it.

Look Out Gamers, Make Way for Hip Hop

What up world? Well it is finally here. The hip hop version of guitar hero, DJ Hero, has hit the streets.

The same guys who brought Guitar Hero to the masses, have set their sites on the world of emceein and DJing. There has been talk of this game coming out for awhile and it has gotten some really good reviews so far.

The game hit the streets yesterday and from all accounts, it flew off the shelves in stores all over the country. As you can see from the photo, the player gets to scratch on a device that is similar to a turntable and even has a cross fader.

Here's the overview of the game straight from the DJ Hero site:

DJ HERO™ Overview
The makers of Guitar Hero introduce an entirely fresh and innovative way to experience music. DJ Hero features an amazing variety of music across genres – tracks that you love and reflect who you are. Using an authentic turntable controller, you will spin and scratch more than 102 songs into unique mixes and become the life of the party. Get ready for a whole new phenomena in music.
Access Unprecedented Music Variety: Mix and scratch over 102 individual songs, highlighted in over 93 exclusive new mixes that blend genres of music, including hip-hop, electronica, R&B, Motown, pop, and rock. DJ Hero brings the hottest artists including: Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Justice, Marvin Gaye, Beastie Boys, N.E.R.D, and more.
Experience Music in a Revolutionary Way: The DJ Hero turntable controller immerses you into authentic DJ culture allowing you to scratch, cross-fade, and beat match. Customize your mix with a variety of effects and samples transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party.
Rule the Hottest Parties: Where Guitar Hero brought gamers into the world of rock ‘n’ roll, DJ Hero brings you into the hottest scenes around. Party in venues reminiscent of real world locales from around the globe including an ultra plush and sexy Hollywood Hills style mansion to an open air beach club in Ibiza.
Party with Your Friends: Features online and offline multi player competitive and cooperative modes.

ARE YOU A PSYCHO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What up world? I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you one of my favorite groups to ever grace the mic. If you have never listened to the Psycho Realm, you need to cop the first record and strap the headphones on. When you first glance at these brothas, you are no doubt gonna have a stereo-typical first impression of them. Then as soon as you hear the lyrics and the flow melting your ear drums like butta, that first impression if these Pico Union raised brothas will turn to "OH SHIT".

I wanted to take time today to show love to Sick Jacken and Duke, so here is a video from the homies first album for you to enjoy as well. I can guarantee that once you listen to that first album, you will be hooked and looking for the second album. I'm talking hooked like a dope fiend looking for that next bag, and willing to do whatever to get it. There will be an upcoming post dedicated to the Psycho Realm in the near future. So if you haven't heard their music, welcome to the Realm, and let me ask you "What type of drugs do you do, and what do you do to get your hands on your shit muthafuka?".

Monday Cure All

Yo what up world? Did you see that movie Office Space? That joint was funny. You remember how homeboy said he had a case of the Mondays? Yeah I don't know what this cat was talking about, cuz I don't ever want to be at work regardless of what damn day of the week it is. But you know the saying, "You don't work, you don't eat".

This weekend I was watching a college football game on a major television network, and I saw this commercial for Nike or some other big time brand. Yo this wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that the song in the background was this old Digable Planets joint. I sat there on the couch with a big ass Kool Aid man smile and just got to thinking.....Damn homie, Hip Hop has come a long way. So as a tribute to the past of hip hop and a toast to the bright ass future, I would love to put this joint out into the blogger universe for all hip hop lovers to reminisce. So play this joint and take yourself back to the early 90's, and raise your glass to Hip Hop's past. You will probably smile like I did, and just hearing that slick ass beat should get you to relax. Oh and by the way...... I'm cool like that.

Upcoming Show Calendar

Yo what up world?

This weekend was the Cypress Hill Smokeout put on by the Homies from Guerilla Union. You probably recognize Guerilla Union from the Rock The Bells shows. I still remember the trippy ass show I went to a few years back in the parking lot of Anaheim Stadium. We were there under the Big A to see the reunion show of A Tribe Called Quest. The mood went from excited, to fucked up about mid-way through the day. That was the day Ol Dirty Bastard passed away. Its a trip to sit back and remember all of the shows you've been to, and the stories and shit that go with them. I didn't get a chance to go up to Devore this year for the Smokeout, but I'm sure them brothas all repped whats good.

If you are lucky enough to call sunny Southern Cali home, then here is a sneak peek at the upcoming shows that you can start saving your duckets for.

OCTOBER

28th--- Rakim @ the El Rey Theatre

NOVEMBER

4th--- Queen Latifah @ HOB Sunset Strip

8th--- Jay-Z w/ NERD @ Pauley Pavilion

12th--- Too $hort @ The Key Club

18th--- Raekwon @ HOB Sunset Strip

18th--- Snoop w/ DJ Quik @ the Grove of Anaheim

19th--- Snoop w/ DJ Quik @ Club Nokia

DECEMBER

3rd--- Digable Planets @ The Key Club

11th--- People Under the Stairs @ The Detroit Bar

11th--- Ice Cube @ HOB Sunset Strip

12th--- Ice Cube @ HOB Las Vegas

JANUARY

8th--- Mellow Man Ace w/ Funkdoobiest @ The Key Club

9th--- Mellow Man Ace w/ Funkdoobiest @ The Roxy

FEBRUARY

21th--- Ludacris & Common @ The LA Sports Arena

Yo What Ever Happened To Steady B????

Yo, I know you remember my man Steady B. I can hear that joint right now. You remember that joint. That joint called "Serious". I'm just holding myself back right now from standing up at this desk and doing that damn dance that I saw the dancers doing while Steady B and KRS spit into the mics. "I was listening to BDP when suddenly........".

Steady B was born Warren McGlone. This cat was one of the original emcees to come out of Illadelphia. Steady B and the rest of that first group paved the way for groups like the Roots, and put Philly on the map. Steady went on to release five albums as a solo artist signed to Jive records. These albums didn't receive national recognition or fame, but to true hip hop heads they are definitely a part of our cultures history.

Steady B went on to form C.E.B with a couple of his homies from Philly. This group included Cool C and Ultimate Eaze, and in 1992 they released their only album together, Countin' Endless Bank. The album had one single, called "Get the Point", that was actually pretty damn funky and reached #5 on Billboards Hot Rap Singles. If you watch the video that was released with this song it actually begins with a prison and courthouse scene that seems eerily ironic. The C.E.B album didn't cause any ruckus in the rap world and the three brothas from Philly were in a music standstill.

Apparently times weren't as glamorous as Steady B and Cool C wanted them to be in 1996. Something happened, and according to police, the two were involved in a botched bank robbery in Philadelphia. During the robbery, a female police officer was shot and killed. Gats left behind at the scene led police back to Steady B and Cool C. The two were arrested for the murder and both stood trial. Steady B was found guilty of second degree murder and was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of ever getting parole. He is currently in a Pennsylvania State Prison serving his sentence. Cool C was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was scheduled to be executed in March of 2006 but was granted a stay of execution in February of the same year.

Throwback Thursday Record Review

What up world? This is the first official edition of the Triple Optic Hip Hop Throwback Thursday Record Review. As you can see by the album cover, today's pick is Illmatic by one of the nastiest spitters reppin since the early 90's. Nas came out of nowhere with this record and just kicked in the door of the hip hop world with his guns smokin. This record was released in April of 1994 and the world was introduced officially to Nasty Nas. It wasn't the first time I had heard Nas rhyme over a beat though. And if you were a fan of underground hip hop, you had probably already heard him as well. That's Nas on the first verse of Main Source's "Live at the BBQ". That would of been a dope ass BBQ to be at.

Illmatic opens up with a sort of skit track called "Genesis". And I believe the goal of that song was to put the listener into a "New York state of mind". What better way to do this, than to have the sounds of the train rumbling over some tracks and the sound of an oldschool beat in the background blending in with Nas and his Queens Bridge homies shootin the issh about various things. It definitely got me in the state of mind they were lookin for, and then they roll right into the DJ Premier produced "New York State of Mind". As with the rest of the album, the lyrics and the flow on this song are absolutely bananas. With lines like, "I never sleep cuz sleep is the cousin of death", Nas has one leg in the front door of Hip Hops crib and prepared to get mad comfortable.

AZ makes a guest appearance on the L.E.S produced, "Lifes a Bitch", and these two brothas from QB murder this track. Try and tell me you were able to not sing the chorus back in 1994 after you played the record front to back 15 times the first day it came out. "Lifes a bitch then you die, thats why we stay high.. Cuz you never know when you gonna go". Amen brothas, Amen. One of my favorite producers makes his first appearance on this record with "The World is Yours". What a sick ass track. Pete Rock lays down pure genius and Nas gets funky with his bad self. "I'm out for presidents to represent me... Say what? .... Im out for dead president to represent me".

The Legendary Large Professor blazes his first of three tracks on this classic album with "Halftime". This beat is ridiculous and makes me uncontrollably bob my head with it's funkiness. "I used to watch CHiPs now I load Glocc clips". This is just one line in a song that is relentless in its ass whooping of your senses. Come up for air Nas, your killing em'. It really seems like I am on the jock of the producers of this album, but you cannot deny the pure genius of these cats. Primo strikes again on the next track with "Memory Lane". And yes I was ready to take that trip. Nas continues to destroy every beat put in front of him and this song keeps that streak going. "Peace God".

Q-Tip makes an appearance in the production category with "One Love" and damn near takes the award for the Best Production on this album. The beat and the flow are the example of what makes this music an art form. Nuff said. Large Professor seems to want to make his play for that award, as he lays down the jazzy "One Time For Your Mind". You can just picture a three piece Jazz band playing in a mad smoky room, as Nas spits his gems into the mic. Pure unadulterated dope. And then here comes Primo again. He doesn't want to be left out of the competition so he lays down "Represent" to vie for the title. Nas doesn't let off the throttle and spits that smooth flow and raspy voice into the mic with bar after bar of dopeness.

The album is closed out with Large Professor providing "It Ain't Hard To Tell". How could this song not be bangin with samples from Michael Jackson and Kool & The Gang? When I hear this song it just reminds me of chillin out on a Saturday afternoon, with a cooler full of cold ones and something cookin on the grill. As a matter of fact, this is my new official BBQ theme track. This album is simply described with one single word......CLASSIC. It is timeless and even the youngsters coming up today only knowing hip hop as the shit they hear on the radio, would not have anything negative to say about this gem. It is an art though and people will interpret art in different ways. But if you are a fan of true Hip Hop, you know as well as I do that this record is one of the greatest of our time. Do your thang Nas and REPRESENT REPRESENT.

Welcome To My Mind

What is up world? Allow me to introduce myself. My government is Steven J Bailey and I have a deep love for Music. It is my strong belief that without music, this would be a whole different ballgame. Now let me clarify what types of music I am speaking about. I grew up on Hip Hop and that is where my heart is. When I say Hip Hop, I am referring to late 80's early 90's Hip Hop. You know when Hip Hop was an art form and not a radio spins competition. Times were a lot different back then and so was the music. Can you close your eyes and remember what it sounded like? I can. Listen closely.... Cant you hear that drum line and piano opening up and starting the classic "The Bridge Is Over", by the Legendary Boogie Down Productions. I can.

My mistress to my love of Hip Hop is the gorgeous sound of Reggae music. I will save that love story for another day. I want to focus on Hip Hop for right now. If you are around my age, 36, you have seen the evolution of our culture and music. To me, it used to have a purpose. Sure it had all the braggadocios lyrics and male bravado that it does today, but it still had a meaning back in the day. Where are the political and revolutionary emcees and groups repping our culture like we had in the 90's? Where is the next Public Enemy, Paris, or X-Clan?

I remember those Golden Years of Hip Hop, when I couldn't wait to get my hand on the newest album from NWA or Eric B and Rakim. When a record came out back then, every joint on that was a banger. It was all fire and no filler. Today's artist seems to put out their albums with one or two quality songs and 14 others that had no business even being made. I-tunes should force these artists to make a hot album, because if you only have one good song on a record, you will only get .99 for that song and not the whole 12.00 or whatever a CD goes for nowadays.

Oh well enough for today. I will be posting everyday....... if possible and life permitting..... something about hip hop. I will also be reviewing shows as they come through Southern California. When there are no shows to write about, I will review records from today's artist and the Glorious Past. Hey speaking of 90's Hip Hop, if you haven't heard about it or got your tickets, the Cypress Hill Smokeout is this Saturday. I am so amped up to see the reunion shows of The Geto Boys and The Goodie MOB. This show will be pure DOPE.