Short Film: The Raven

This short indie film, from Peruvian director Ricardo De Montreuil, was shot for a mere $5000 in two days on location in downtown Los Angeles. Set in the future, this sci-fi thriller follows the main character, Chris Black, (played by Victor “Showtime” Lopez who also did all the stunts) as he is chased through the city by law enforcement agents.

The combination of a cool idea plus great direction and cinematography almost always equals a good film. In this case it has already spawned offers from major Hollywood studios for a feature-length film version. The word on the street is that Mark Wahlberg will play the lead and produce with Universal studios distributing. Check it out below

P2dahi & The Amature - Passports

The Michigan based collective, BLAT! pack is filled with talent that
draws influence from all over the globe, and two of its members are
ready to share some of those experiences with listeners. "Passports"
is the lead single from the new EP by Lansing based artists P2dahi (P
to the H-I) and The Amature titled Whatupdoe from BLAT! The project,
due for release on August 3rd, features the two MCs rapping over
previously released instrumentals from the Blue Scholars (the Aloha
from Oof! EP) and follows up after a successful stretch of releases
from the BLAT! collective. P2dahi and The Amature are on a mission to
broaden the horizons of listeners, so before boarding the flight and
downloading the EP, be sure to get those passports stamped. BLAT!

Click HERE to download "Passports" and check out P2dahi's blog

New Video: Big Sean - High Rise & Supa Dupa Lemonade

Fellow Detroit Emcee, Big Sean recently debuted "High Rise" from the highly anticipated mixtape "Finally Famous Vol. 3" on his official site (uknowbigsean.com). The track was produced by Don Cannon while the video was shot by Dante Marshall. As a bonus I added his vid for "Supa Dupa Lemonade" over the Gucci Mane instrumental. Here's the first video

High Rise

Big Sean - High Rise from dante marshall on Vimeo.

Supa Dupa Lemonade

Converse x Kid Cudi - Artist Short Film

Converse and Kid Cudi linked up for a cool Summer 2010 ad campaign that will involve 3 artist from different genres for a song and a music video. The "Three artist. One song" campaign features Kid Cudi along with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. Converse is planning to release the track as a free download (I'll be sure to update with the download). Below is the short film created for Kid Cudi.

New Video: Beyonce "Why Dont You Love Me"

Its great to see Bey switch it up a little bit for this vid. She went with a 60's theme and pulled it off nicely. Check it out below and drop a comment

Street Art: Just Throw It In The Bag

As an artist, I get inspired a lot by other artists. Although my realm is primarily Hip-Hop, there is an underlying theme in art of taking nothing and turning it into something. I ran across this video of Joshua Allen Harris and his street art, and he is doing exactly that. He uses ordinary trash bags, air from the subway, and imagination to literally bring his artwork to life. I’m officially a fan of dude after watching this video and I hope I can get to see some of his work in person.

New Release - Free Trade "Plus 30"

This is the latest release from the talented team over at Tru Statement Ent. Free Trade's "Plus 30" debuted on June 15th and is available for FREE right here. I've been waiting for this release since I was first introduced to Free Trade and his music last year. The project was actually created in a bedroom in Orlando, FL, including 30 contributors (musicians, designers, engineers) from all over the United States, hence the title of the album Free Trade - Plus 30.

"I contacted as many college students from around the U.S who still believe in honest and soulful music via email, text message, and facebook, and created an entire album from my bedroom" says Free Trade. Working within the parameters of new age media, Free Trade was able to have bass lines laid down in St. Louis, jazz samples flipped in the UK, horns tracked in Manhattan, keyboards recorded in Boston, and the list goes on. Most of the musicians involved in Plus 30 had no prior knowledge of one another, nor did they get to hear the final product until the project was finished, creating an unspoken faith between all 30 contributors.

Free Trade and Tru Statement have put together some excellent promo for the release of "Plus 30" including a promo page and webisodes. Check them out and support good Hip-Hop music.