While at Zanzibar in Santa Monica for Afro Funke’ last night I over heard a partygoer compliment the host of the evening for his mic swag, “he’s got the gift of gab!” What a genius way to describe someones oratory skills. Coincidently enough, just a few hours earlier Blackalicous rapper and Quannum Projects member Gift of Gab performed on The Amoeba Hollywood stage. Blackalious, a duo comprised of Gab and DJ/Producer Cheif Xcel, found a nice comfy position in the heart of underground hip-hop and has remained there since its inception in 1992. Quannum Projects is a hip-hop collective/ independent record label out of the San Francisco Bay area comprised of DJs and Mcs. Ever heard of DJ Shadow or Lyrics Born? They’re some of the more notable members of the small-unified group. Gift of Gab, although very much still a part of the duo, has been doing solo projects and collaborations with other hip-hop heavies like Lateef The Truth Speaker and Grouch and Eligh since 2004. Last nights zealous show was mind-blowing, short lived, but nontheless enjoyable.

Gift of Gab opened up his set with “A-G”, a Blackalicious classic. DNA Beats shared the stage serving as his DJ. An eclectic mix of enthusiastic die-hard fans—young and old—Amoeba shoppers and employees gathered in between isles to enjoy the spectacle. The show didn’t last anymore than half an hour, but still I left with that adequate feeling of utter satisfaction. No gimmicky stage show with flashing lights galore and all things glitter necessary; this brilliant MC commands the stage with just his voice, as do most of the acts who are privileged enough to grace the Amoeba stage. Then again, isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? His rapid-fire delivery is really what’s most impressive. He’s Speedy Gonzales on the mic. Gab spits out more lyrics in one 8-bar than the sun produces solar power energy per hour. Not just any old meaningless bundle of words, Allmusic best describes his prolific style as “jam-packed with internal rhymes, allusions, metaphors, ten-cent words, and amazing tongue-twisting feats of skill.” Couldn’t have put it any better had my life depended on it.

PUMA and Ableton (Live) are teaming up for a Beat Showcase at Low End Theory, this Wednesday, Nov. 4th, in Downtown L.A, with performances by Thavius Beck, Take and Matthewdavid.... 

They're also hosting a very special pre-show event, where you can learn FOR FREE beatmaking tips & tricks, including on the software Live, as well as receive free giveaways from Novation, Odyssey, Dubspot; and for those who will come early, PUMA will be giving out some very special limited edition Puma x Ableton tee's made for the event...without forgetting drinks on them!!! It's going to be some real fun, and for those who know about controllers, we will showcase the new Novation Launchpad, pretty ill actually.

Greetings from New York, New York! CMJ kicked off at the beginning of this week and NY became a mammoth showcase for new music. I love autumn in New York -- it's ridiculously beautiful. Walking is of course the greatest pastime while in the city. The weather was nice, so nice, for the first couple nights, which made it easy to get around and still look half way put together by the time you got to your final destination.

Unfortunately, by Friday night, it was cloudy with a chance of matzo balls, which meant an extra change of clothes was imperative. Luckily, it was short lived. OMG, there was so much going on. I was overwhelmed with work, with a lot on my plate, and didn’t get to see nearly as many acts as I would have liked to, but I made notes of the little I was able to soak in.

Green Label Sound hosted a party sponsored by Cornerstone at The Brooklyn Bowl with Chromeo, Thelophilus London, Amazing Baby and Solid Gold that was off the chain. DFA's Holy Ghost provided a dj set. This new bowling/concert venue is ginormous, 1,000 capacity at least, and it was packed wall to wall. An eclectic mix of industry folk, unbigoted music-minded individuals, people dressed like hipsters, aspiring and established artists roamed the joint. The night's festivities lasted well into the night, but time just seemed to fly by. I enjoyed great food, had a couple rounds on the lanes with friends, enjoyed the live acts in a concert setting, and danced till I broke a sweat all under one roof. If you get the chance to go check out this spot, do, and order the cajun catfish, it's scrumptious!

Music, good music, is popping up everywhere and I’m loving every minute of it. Dance music in particular is really having the best year ever. I’m not just talking about house and techno, I’m talking about music that makes you wanna boogie, music that really makes you wanna get down with the get down and forget all your worries. I don't exactly know who to give credit to for putting the fun back in music but one thing is absolute: everything eventually comes full circle.

Back in the day—we’re talking the 70’s—there was disco, a little bit of hip-hop, some more disco, what was left of modern jazz, rock-n-roll, and a little more disco. The best thing about urban nightlife at that time was disco. And you didn’t hear none of that A.D.D. DJ we hear so frequently today, where the music selector changes songs every thirty seconds (thanks a lot DJ AM). No, none of that. The DJ’s at the discotheques usually played the long versions of songs, nearly in their entirety, to keep the feet on the dance floor all night long. Oh, how things have changed.

At that time, people weren’t up on hip-hop like that quite yet; it was still pretty underground. You had to know where to go to find a DJ spinning hip-hop. And chances are, if you knew about it, you knew it was the only spot in town where you could go to hear that type of music. Not to mention the fact that that one and only spot was probably members only. You had to be affiliated with a crew to gain access. If you weren’t a part of a tagging crew, a breaking crew, or one of the emcees or DJs, chances were you didn’t even know about it. But, back to disco. It started mainly on the east coast in the late 60’s. By the early 70’s disco had cross-pollinated and spread like wild fire all over the globe. Most popular soul and funk acts like Earth, Wind & Fire and The Bar-kays soon jumped ship and found themselves chin deep in the disco trend. Unfortunately, like most fads, disco was finished quicker than morning coffee and soon disappeared from the radar. For the most part, I think the public wanted it that way. Disco Demolition Night, a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, was in part to blame for the end of an era. However, industry folk and even many consumers talked about the decline of the genre long before this event took place.