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Road to Paid Dues Tour at Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (03/02/13)

Paid Dues Tour 03/03 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre 03/05 - St. Louis, MO - The Gramophone 03/06 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre 03/07 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room 03/08 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theater 03/09 - Salt Lake City - Kilby Court Gallery 03/11 - Boise, ID - The Neurollux 03/12 - Missoula, MT - The Badlander 03/14 - Vancouver, BC - Fortune Sound Club 03/15 - Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo 03/16 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe 03/17 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre 03/20 - Reno, NV - 1Up Bar 03/21 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's 03/22 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's 03/23 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst 03/24 - Fresno, CA - Fulton 55 03/26 - Bakersfield, CA - B Ryders 03/27 - San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Brewing Co 03/28 - Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones 03/29 - La Jolla, CA - Porter's Club 03/30 - San Bernardino, CA - NOS Events Listen Read More Paid Dues Festival Somehow, this Paid Dues Festival goes hand-in-hand with the Smokeout Festival (see next item). More artists to be announced later, but in the meantime legendary Wu-Tang Clan is headlining.…

Paid Dues is the annual independent hip hop festival that started in 2006. Last year, I mentioned the festival because they had one of the biggest and best lineup that year: Wu-Tang Clan and Odd Future. The problem with these festival is that you have to live within the San Bernardino area. So the good news is that Paid Dues is taking some of their acts on the road to a city near you.

Murs is the headliner, and he's brought together Fashawn, Black Cloud Music, and our friend Kosha Dillz to the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis last night, March 2nd.

BLACK CLOUD MUSIC

After DJ Kid Disko spun some tunes to a darkened Fine Line, Noa James and Curtiss King came on stage. They are two of seven members of Black Cloud Music - however, I could have sworn I saw David May on the sideline.

Anyway, the two seems like an unlikely pair as they traded singing duties. They ended their set with "OhMyGod".

KOSHA DILLZ

Kosha Dillz (real name: Rami Even-Esh) was next. Although he was allocated a thirty-minute set (as were all the openers), he did not jump straight into his set. Instead, he had a listening party and played two of his favorite songs to get us pumped up.

Set included: "Everything is Kosha", "Cellular Phone", "Garage Sale", "Hangin' Out", "They Don't Know", (freestyle), and "The Future".

My favorite was the freestyling portion. This is the part of the show where audience members were encouraged to put whatever they have in their pockets on stage and Kosha Dillz would just come up with raps off the top of his head based on those objects.

FOSHAWN

I've never heard of Fashawn, but I can tell he was a big deal. The audience was clearly there for Murs and Fashawn and loved all the songs about weed and how it never rains in "Sunny California."

Incidentally, when I found out that he was from Fresno, I kept thinking about "Fashawn" Fair. That's a joke for any Fresnian.

Finally the man of the hour closed off the night. DJ Foundation introduced Murs as he came on asking "whatupdawg?"

While most people will probably list "I Used to Love H.E.R." or the Nate Dogg homage as their favorite of the night, I was more drawn to the funnier "67 Cutlass." According to Murs, this is based on a true story that happened to him. I did think he embellished the story a little, but the more factual aspect is that he had a pipe dream of making mad money by buying two pounds of pot in Mexico and driving back to Los Angeles with intent of selling and distributing. Of course, a sheriff pulls him over. The song takes it on a more comical point of view.

Road to Paid Dues is the tour. If you can't make it to the big music festival this year, catching the Road to Paid Dues is a pretty good indication of what you'll get at the stadium show - but on a smaller and more intimate scale.

BONUS: Be sure to listen to my interview with Rami, aka Kosha Dillz. He confirmed on the recording that his new project will be under Rami Rules name. The name has a double meaning, that he "rules"/awesome/in charge and that there are "rules" you follow.

Murs at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (03/02/13)

vu () ♥ blackcloudmusic.com ♥ koshadillzworld.com ♥ fashawn.ca ♥ mursworld.com ♥ paidduesfestival.com

Soundcloudz

KOSHA DILLZ
koshadillz.com

See that picture? That's Kosha Dillz and Lupe Fiasco, just "hangin' out"... which incidentally is also the new song by Dillz (which you can hear on Soundcloud).

The Jewish rapper/hip hopper recently got his Kickstarter funded so, he will be doing some filming and editing the documentary for SXSW 2013.

At the moment, the Dillzionaire, himself, will be playing some Mid-West shows:

March 1 Reptile Palace Pounds Oshkosh,WI
March 2 Fine Line Café Minneapolis, MN
March 3 Central SAPC Santa Monica, CA
March 7 The Waiting Room Fashawn Omaha, NE
March 10 Hole in the Wall Austin TX
March 12 Spider House meet and greet Rap show
March 13 OY VEY SXSW* @ Spider House
March 13 SXSW SHOWCASE @ Townhouse
March 14 Austin Convention Center
March 15 hosting Whole Foods Rooftop Jam
March 16 Various Rapping Excursions

* free with RSVP

HOLLAGRAMZ hollagramz.com Denver's Hollagramz (real name Ron Cole) will be releasing a self-titled debut album on May 14th. The record label, Small Plates Records, "teased" us with his first single, "Sex Potion." Check out the song now (download for free via Soundcloud):

VATO GONZALEZ vato.nl No information given on Vato Gonzalez. Based on his website, I would suspect he's from the Netherlands. Apparently Gonzalez is a big deal in the UK, having scored a top 20 hit with "Not A Saint". He is following this up with a new song, "What?!", which you can download for free at Soundcloud.

ACTIVIA BENZ activiabenz.com Activia Benz is a small label out of England. For their third release, they've teamed up with a Danish "beat wizard", Eloq. The new C'mon EP will be out March 25th. Yes, of course, it's on Soundcloud:

MDNT facebook.com Pronounced "midnight", Brooklyn's mdnt just released his debut single, "Dreamcatcher", featuring Hip Hop artist Jez Dior and production from SmarterChild. What else? Soundcloud.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Touring around SXSW: Carrie Rodriguez, Darwin Deez, Kosha Dillz, and Whitehorse

Read More Carrie Rodriguez Chip Taylor has been writing and releasing music since 1970, so he's no stranger to country folk music fans. In 2001, after meeting a then-new musician Carrie Rodriguez .....

With SXSW 2013 to be in March, we're already starting to see announcements for showcases. For those that can't afford to travel to SXSW every year, the good news is that really good bands are doing mini-tours of or around the SXSW dates. Chances are your favorite bands will be playing live near you.

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ
carrierodriguez.com

You should know-- we love Carrie Rodriguez here. She's a singer/songwriter, that's more in tuned with country music, than the typical folksy musician. I believe she's still based out of Austin, Texas, and since 2001, she's been performing showcases at SXSW. So, if you're in the Texas area, you should definitely try and make it out to a show.

It's been two years since her mostly covers album, Love and Circumstance, but she's back with a fifth solo release, Give Me All You Got to be out on January 22nd via Ninth Street Opus. In support of the album, she'll be heading out on tour this year.

Her final stop on the three-month long tour will be in Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center. Expect her to perform "Lake Harriet", which I believe is about one of lakes in Minneapolis (great bike trail!). You can grab the song for free at her official website.

All current confirmed tour dates below:

01/23/13 - Dan’s Silverleaf - Denton, TX 01/24/13 - McGonigel’s Mucky Duck - Houston, TX 01/25/13 - Stateside at The Paramount - Austin, TX 01/26/13 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX 01/27/13 - The Blue Door - Oklahoma City, OK 01/29/13 - Hi Tone Cafe - Memphis, TN 01/30/13 - 3rd & Lindsley - Nashville, TN 01/31/13 - Natasha’s Bistro - Lexington, KY 02/01/13 - Grey Eagle Music Hall - Asheville, NC 02/02/13 - The Evening Muse - Charlotte, NC 02/05/13 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA 02/06/13 - Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY 02/07/13 - Avalon Theatre - Easton, MD 02/08/13 - Artisphere/Dome Theatre - Arlington, VA 02/09/13 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA 02/10/13 - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA 02/13/13 - Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO 02/14/13 - Knuckleheads - Kansas City, MO 02/16/13 - L2 Arts & Culture Center - Denver, CO 02/17/13 - Steve’s Guitars - Carbondale, CO 02/19/13 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT 02/21/13 - The Triple Door - Seattle, WA 02/23/13 - Green Frog Cafe - Bellingham, WA 02/24/13 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR 02/26/13 - Arcata Playhouse - Arcata, CA 02/28/13 - Freight & Salvage - Berkeley, CA

03/01/13 - Sebastopol Community - Sebastopol, CA 03/02/13 - SLO Brew - San Luis Obispo, CA 03/03/13 - Belly Up - Solana Beach, CA 03/05/13 - Largo @ The Coronet - Los Angeles, CA 03/07/13 - Historic Arts Theatre - Prescott, AZ 03/12/13 - SXSW 2013 - Austin, TX 03/13/13 - SXSW 2013 - Austin, TX 03/14/13 - SXSW 2013 - Austin, TX 03/15/13 - SXSW 2013 - Austin, TX 03/16/13 - SXSW 2013 - Austin, TX 03/27/13 - Uncle Slayton’s - Louisville, KY 03/28/13 - Southgate House Revival - Newport, KY 03/29/13 - Natalie’s - Columbus, OH 03/30/13 - Nighttown - Cleveland, OH 04/02/13 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI 04/04/13 - Severson Dells Nature Center - Rockford, IL 04/05/13 - SPACE - Evanston, IL 04/06/13 - Legion Arts - Cedar Rapids, IA 04/07/13 - Flying Mango - Des Moines, IA 04/08/13 - Flying Mango - Des Moines, IA 04/09/13 - Sunday Roadhouse - Omaha, NE 04/11/13 - Bloomington Center - Bloomington, IL 04/12/13 - Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI 04/13/13 - Shoulder to Shoulder - Wausau, WI 04/14/13 - Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis, MN

DARWIN DEEZ
darwindeez.com

Darwin Deez's forthcoming sophomore album, Songs For Imaginative People will be out February 12th, 2013, on Lucky Number.

As you know, Deez was one of our must-see acts on Australia's Groovin' the Moo 2011 Music Festival.

Are you anxious to check out songs from the new album? You can get a Unicorn Kid's remix of "Free" for, er, free at Pitchfork.



OR, you can watch the "Groundhog Day"-inspired music video for "Free (The Editorial Me)" on YouTube.

Anyway, check out Deez's "idiosyncratic pop" live when he heads out on tour (stopping in Minneapolis on March 20th, just days after his SXSW appearances):

2/28 – Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO 3/01 – Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT 3/03 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR 3/04 – Fortune Sound Club, Vancouver, BC 3/05 – The Vera Project, Seattle, WA 3/07 – Bottom of The Hill, San Francisco, CA 3/08 – Echo, Los Angeles, CA 3/09 – Casbah, San Diego, CA 3/13 – SXSW, TX 3/14 – SXSW, TX 3/15 – SXSW, TX 3/16 – Prophet Bar, Dallas, TX 3/18 – The Record Bar, Kansas City, MO 3/19 – Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA

3/20 – 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN 3/21 – High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI 3/22 – Schubas Tavern, Chicago, IL 3/23 – Russian Recording, Bloomington, IN 3/25 – Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH 3/26 – Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA 3/27 – Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH 3/28 – Soundlab, Buffalo, NY 3/29 – Legendary Horeshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON 3/30 – Casa del Popolo, Montreal, Canada 4/01 – Pearl Street Nightclub, Northampton, MA 4/02 – Brighton Music Hall, Boston, MA 4/03 – Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY 4/04 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA 4/05 – Black Cat, Washington DC

KOSHA DILLZ
koshadillz.com

We love Kosha Dillz. Last year, Dillz played one million SXSW shows, and this year he promised to top it! If you want to help him finish his Kosha DIllz is Everywhere: The Hustle to Happiness documentary his Kickstarter just launched last night (January 3rd).

And uh-oh, looks like Dillz is coming to Minneapolis/St Paul! It is really far in advance, but I'm penciling those dates on my calendar. I think Dillz's music will go well with Minnesotans because there is a massive Atmosphere and Rhymesayers audience he can tap in.

Here are some dates that Dillz will appear at:

Jan 19-23 TBD Sundance Film Festival Park City, UT
Jan 24 TBD Los Angeles, CA
Feb 4 Kickstarter Close Off Celebration Street Performance
Feb 16-20 NACA National Convention Nashville, TN
Feb 21/22 Private Gig Atlanta, GA
March 1- 9 Booking midwest run
March 10- 17 SXSW Music Festival x OY VEY SXSW!
March 22-23 NACA Mid-Atlantic Festival
April 4-7 NACA Northwest Conference St. Paul, MN

WHITEHORSE
whitehorsemusic.ca

Just a reminder that Whitehorse's album The Fate Of The World Depends On This Kiss comes out January 15th, check out my review. At the time of that writing, they were mostly doing Canadian tour dates, but it looks like the band are finalizing on some USA dates. I am told that they "certainly will" be doing SXSW this year, so stay tune for more tour date announcements.

01/16/13 New York, NY: Hill Country Live
01/26/13 Vancouver, BC: Commodore Ballroom
01/27/13 Victoria, BC: Upstairs Cabaret
01/30/13 Lethbridge, AB: Geomatic Attic
01/31/13 Calgary, AB: Knox United Church
02/01/13 Edmonton, AB: Myer Horowitz Theatre
02/03/13 Red Deer, AB: The Hideout
02/06/13 Saskatoon, SK: Broadway Theatre
02/07/13 Regina, SK: The Exchange
02/08/13 Winnipeg, MB: Burton Cummings Theatre
02/13/13 Minneapolis, MN: 7th Street Entry
02/14/13 Milwaukee, WI: Shank Hall
02/16/13 Chicago, IL: Schuba's
02/17/13 East Lansing, MI: Lakehouse Music
02/23/13 South Burlington, VT: Higher Ground
02/24/13 Albany, NY: Valentine's
02/25/13 Buffalo, NY: Ninth Ward
02/27/13 London, ON: Aeolian Hall
02/28/13 Waterloo, ON: Starlight
03/02/13 Toronto, ON: Massey Hall
03/22/13 Montreal, PQ: La Sala Rosa
03/23/13 Ottawa, ON: Nac Theatre
03/24/13 Midland, ON: Midland Cultural Centre
03/26/13 Meaford, ON: Meaford Hall
03/27/13 St Catharine’s: Sean O Sullivan Theatre

BRIEFLY:

HEYERDAHL facebook.com Heyerdahl is a new Norwegian band, which MTV is calling "ambitious experimental electro-tinged pop", while The Line of Best Fit is comparing them to my favorite Japanese director, Takashi Miike. Obviously, they are getting a lot of attention, particularly when Øya Festival booked the band on the strength of their single "Mirage" (even before the band even played live). Their upcoming album, ØEN will be out 28th January 2013 - look for them to play at SXSW 2013.

WEST OF ALDINE facebook.com Minneapolis' groove/pop band West of Aldine will be performing songs from their debut album, Undivided, this February 1st at the Fine Line Café. Also on the bill: American Revival, Bigtree Bonsai, and Lake Avenue. West of Aldine are also quite excited to play SXSW this year - so excited that they'll be doing a warmup/sendoff show at The Kitty Kat Club just prior to Austin. I don't see a definite date on the KKC's calendar, but expect it to be free or marginally priced. If you want to support the band, know that they donate 20% of their merchandise to high school music departments through their "Keep The Music" program.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Kosha Dillz at SXSW

This was originally written last week, but there's been a mixup and was never published until now. Go see one of the hardest working man in showbiz!

KOSHA DILLZ
koshadillzworld.com

Our favorite Jewish rapper, Kosha Dillz will play at every SXSW show as humanly possible, which is awesome! There is no excuse not to catch him this year.

He even threaten that he "might rap in line at the airport."

03/12- Formspring Party @ Empire Auto
03/13- Slacker Magazine Secret Show
03/14 -Suburban Noize @ 606
03/15- OY VEY SXSW @ Lipstick 24
03/15- DigSin & Songfreaks Live Music Invasion of Rusty’s
03/15- Secret Showcase (Afterhours)
03/16 - KXLU/ The Smell Showcase 12pm
03/16- Tel Aviv Beach Party @ 5th and Neches
03/17- OY VEY SXSW Party Deux! @ Lipstick 24
03/18- SXSW BYE BYE Boat Party @ Highland Lakes Marina
03/19- Let's Get the Hell Out of Here Party @ San Antonio Airport, TX

Please see his website for set times and locations.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Kosha, Kasha, and Ke$ha

Kosha Dillz: All These Years

Yeah, well sometime I just pick bands out of thin air. Keep sending me music!

KOSHA DILLZ
koshadillzworld.com

We've mentioned Kosha Dillz a few times, and, yes, we're confused at the Jewish hip-hop thing. I'm sure there are more odd crossovers, such as Irish rap (think House of Pain?). Anyway, I got a chance to listen to his new song, "All These Years", featuring Mojo Hanna. I like the laid back music and Hanna and Kosha's vocals mixture.

The email also mentioned that there will be a paid 9-track EP for Gina and The Garage Sale, which will cost $4.99, or for the cheapskates a free 5-track version will be made available. I couldn't find any details on the freebie download, but if someone send me information, I will update this and/or put it in our "freebies" page.

Below are details of his upcoming tour:

03/12 Cross Fit Central w / Gary Vaynerchuck and Zach Even-Esh (my bruddah)
03/12 Red 7 @ That internet Party March 15 Rusty Spurs w/ Shinobi Ninja
03/16 Lipstick w/ Eyes lips Eyes March 17 Lovers Label /Musebox Party @ The Dean Frederick
03/18 Official SXSW SHOWCASE w/ Homeboy Sandman + Sage Francis @ The Marq
03/19 Lipstick Super Good Music Party

Off topic, but isn't that Vaynerchuck guy some wine dude?

KASHA
www.kashamusic.co.uk

According to the press information, Kasha is "UK's Biggest Secret on the Hip Hop Underground" scene. I did manage to check out his youtube video for "The Realism (Can I Rock)", which is a typical guy rapping and people dancing sort of video.

The thing with British rap is that they often mention things that is out of place for American audience to understand. But I'll give him props for mentioning "Fist of the North Star", I don't think I've ever heard a song mention this.

Anyway, this song is the second single from his 2009 album, Oracle. A second album is coming out this year.

Recently, just officially released on March 6^th was "Blind Faith", a Chase and Status song, featuring Liam Bailey and Kasha.

KE$HA
keshasparty.com

It's hard to escape the clutches of Kesha, and although I've heard/seen her around, I never bothered to find out what she's all about. The last time I saw her, she was with Jarvis Cocker at the 2010 NME award and Jarvis actually mistakenly called her Keisha (which is understandable since I also thought she was Keisha as well). Anyroad, Kesha, boy was she upset! Like visibly WTF look.

Anyway, I did get a chance to finally hear her "Tik Tok" hit song, which I'll have to admit is very catchy. It's pretty much a party song, you don't really have to think about the lyrics too hard and you just have to accept the autotune/vocode thing (everybody in the pop music business uses autotune!)

The super popular Glee television show recently featured the "Tik Tok" song in the "Blame it on the Alcohol" episode of Season 2. Now, I don't watch Glee, I honestly try to get into the show, but it's just not a show that I can sit through. I love the music, but that's as far as it goes, I guess.

The Glee song (which is available on iTunes since February 22^nd), sounds surprisingly faithful to the original song, down to the P Diddy and the laugh at the end. In fact, if you play either song, I couldn't tell the difference. Maybe less glitter throwup in the non-Kesha version ?

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Hanukkah 2009

Kosha Dillz - Cellular Phone Kosha Dillz Tour Dates 12/01/09 Webster Theatre* Hartford, CT 12/02/09 House of Blues* Cleveland, OH 12/03/09 Bogart’s* Cincinnati, OH 12/07/09 St Andrews* Detroit, MI 12/08/09 The Armory* Rochester, NY with Matisyahu Discography [Oct 2008] Freestyle vs. Written  [Nov 2009] Beverly Dillz Read More Kosha Dillz http://weheartmus... Jewish hip-hop? Is that even possible? Of course it is, silly rabbit! I mean, I downloaded an ent...

This year Hannukkah is from December 11^th to 19^th, which is in about a few short weeks. I don't really know that much about the Jewish religion, other than that they get like 10 36 gifts for Hanukkah (edit: see updated message below)! So, to take care of two of your gifts idea, for the music lover in your life:

KOSHA DILLZ
official ♥ myspace

We've previously mentioned Kosha Dillz before, with his collaboration with C-Rayz Walz. Derek said that previous album had "classic hip-hop that rests firmly on a bed of oldskool beats", so missing from Beverly Dillz, Kosha Dillz's latest album (released November 10^th on Modular Moods Records), seems to be the "oldskool beats".

Although the album starts off with a surprisingly hip-hoppy "DooDoo" - the rest of Beverly Dillz seems pretty laid back to me. There are a few exceptions like "Jungle" and "Tastes Good" (the best rap song on the album).

Personally, I thought "Puddles" was one of the better song, it's probably because it had Yak Ballz as guest. The song feels really familiar to me, like its bass is from the 80s or something. Speaking of familiar, you'll get that on his single, "Cellular Phone", which features some classic Dilliefied version of "This Old Man" and "Word Up".

Kosha Dillz was recently in the news because he remixed fellow Jewish artist YACHT (aka Jona Bechtolt) for an EP called Swim Club. You can grab the free 8-track EP at Kosha Dillz's website. I didn't listen to the entire 8 tracks, but I can tell you that I spotted some Beastie Boys, New Jack City, and Hansons references!

PS, While there are a lot of "hhheh" Hebrew sounds in "Kol Ha Kavod Lirkod", I believe all the songs on Beverly Dillz are in English.

MOSHIACH OI!
myspace

With the baby picture and my generally association that Jewish musicians tend to be either traditional or modern hip-hop, Moshiach Oi!'s album, Better Get Ready, surprised me with their hardcore punk music. Like typical punk songs, these songs are fast, loud, and brief - like a punch in the face.

The band's singer and found, Yishai Romanoff, actually sings his songs (instead of shouting out loud that you find on hardcore bands). Unfortunately, as religious as some of the songs can be ("I Wanna Learn Torah", "I Wanna Learn Torah", "This Is My G-d", "Hashem S'fasai Tiftach"), I can't help but think that the message will be lost in a loud sea of drums and guitars. The one exception of "I Love Torah", where you can clearly hear the majority of lyrics are "I love Torah, yeah!"

To me, punk bands do not often translate their live energy and performance well on the recorded medium, so to really appreciate a band like this, you sort of have to see them live. They are playing one date - probably to celebrate Hanukkah at: Chabad of Bushwick Brooklyn, New York, on December 12^th.

You can pick up both of these albums from Shem Speed Store (the largest collection of Jewish music).

IN MORE JEWISH NEWS

"Hunter / The Bee Lays Her Honey" by Girls in Trouble

Jewish singer Girls In Trouble (I previously fell in love with her), has a cute live video of "Hunter/The Bee Lays Her Honey" on youtube, complete with torn stockings and all. The video was previously featured on YouTube's Music Spotlight for a few days. If you recall, that was my song of choice when I reviewed the album, citing it as "my favorite song" easily.

Also, Matisyahu, Yair Dalal & Deleon, among others, are playing the 5th Annual Sephardic Music Festival from December 12^th to 19th, throughout New York City.

For a full listing of events, head over to sephardicmusicfestival.com, what I can tell you is that Matisyahu is headlining on December 14^th, which incidentally is also the most expensive ($35) among all the dates. The rest of the dates are decently priced at $12 or so.

Update 11/29/2009 17:51:48:

jaklumen wrote: Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 4:23 PM

other than that they get like 10 gifts for Hanukkah

Eight. There are eight days of Hanukkah, and there's a gift for each day, or there's a number of gifts corresponding to the day (1 gift on the first, 2 on the second...) All I remember well was some Jewish friends of my family said they had to alter things so they wouldn't go broke giving gifts to the kids.

The observance is tied to the Maccabean uprising and references the miracle of the menorah remaining lit for eight days despite a lack of oil.

 11/29/2009 04:13:56 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com

C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz

C Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz - I Love Jews C Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz Tour Dates 10/11/08 Kosha Dillz @ Red’s Bar Sioux City, Iowa 10/13/08 Kosha Dillz @ Riot Room Kansas City, Missouri 10/14/08 Kosha Dillz @ Nutty’s North with Murs + Kidz in the Hall Sioux Falls, South Dakota 10/18/08 kosha dillz + flex mathews w/ SLICK RICK @ Ned Divines washington DC, Washington DC 10/19/08 kosha dillz + flex mathews w/ Cunninlynguists @ 13th Floor Herndon, Virginia

Jewish hip-hop? Is that even possible? Of course it is, silly rabbit! I mean, I downloaded an entire album of Croatian hip-hop from eMusic a few months ago...which is proof positive that hip-hop has escaped the ghettos in which it was born and has spread worldwide. Hip-hop's greatest strength is its ability to absorb any and all influences, states of mind, and approaches and still remain true to its roots and heart.

Modular Moods Records is going to drop a serious chunk of hip-hop funk with a distinctly Hebrew flavor in the form of the LP Freestyle Vs. Written by C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz. C-Rayz, one of the original members of the legendary Stronghold, has been a giant in New York City's underground hip-hop scene for years, hosting all manner of shows and events and beatin' down some of the top battle emcees in the world (even freestyle legend Supernatural). Kosha Dillz, on the other hand, is a fresh face on the scene: an upcoming Israeli-American hip-hop artist who has performed live with big-name rap stars like Pharcyde and Jurassic 5 to Grammy Nominee and reggae ninja Matisyahu. So what happens when you put together the freestyle might of C-Rayz Wallz together with the swaggering beats and multilingual vocal styles of Mr. Dillz?

You get an explosion of classic hip-hop that rests firmly on a bed of oldskool beats but extends high above the heads of many so-called contemporary "rap superstars" with lyrics that jump from the socially conscious to the outright hysterical and back again.

The album's beats recall the glory days of hip-hop's youth, mixing heavy, funkalicious beats with powerful samples taken from old soul, blues, jazz, and funk records. Many of the samples on this album sound like they came from blaxploitation movie soundtracks, which gives Freestyle Vs. Written a true urban edge that complements the sharp-witted, and often sharp-tongued, lyrics perfectly. Horns and phased guitars predominate over the rumbling beats, but the emcees' voices and styles are, naturally, foremost on every track. And these guys have got skills, y'all: their rhymes are tight, their deliveries fresh and rhythmic, and their lyrics often profound. The two emcees play off of one another so skillfully it's impossible to determine what rhymes were written ahead of time and what rhymes are freestyle examples of champion extemporization. Produced by 19-year-old prodigy Kentron Da Mastadon, Freestyle Vs. Written is a superb melange of its creators' "Jerusalem Zionist-meets-Black Bronx ghetto aesthetic" which will appeal to all fans of oldskool rap, freestyle, and socially-conscious hip-hop.

One of the most impressive elements of this record is the lack of swearing. Now, I'm not one of those stuffy prudes who frowns on cussin'--but one of the things that has made me dislike so much contemporary hip-hop is the genre's overemphasis of the words "fuck," "motherfucker," and "nigger," mainly because these words provide all-too-easy staples for rhymes and rhythmic filler. True emcees come to battle and/or record with a truckload of vocabulary and wit, not just foul language and lame insults. Both C-Rayz Wallz and Kosha Dillz are literally overflowing with deft rhymes and sharp observations. "Calouses of a Hustler" and "The Foolish Path" are aimed at uplifting their listeners and educating them, and C-rayz's flow on these tracks is very similar to that of Atmosphere's Slug. Tracks like the lighthearted "I Love Jews" (built around a sample of the Del-Phonics "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Ariel Sharon" (which rides atop a rolling beat and jangly banjo) clearly display Kosha Dillz Jewish background in his rhymes as he mixes English, Yiddish, and Hebrew.

In short, Freestyle Vs. Written is a solid mixture of oldskool flavor and modern hip-hop styles that will have your head bobbin' as it has your mind thinkin'. This is hip-hop that aims for the brain as well as the booty and demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that even in a music world dominated by such untalented babblers like Souljah Boy and Nelly, real hip-hop is still being produced, and it's coming at you from every corner and every culture of the Earth.

The album is available for digital download, with the CD version coming on October 14th.

C-RAYZ WALZ & KO$HA DILLZ - "OUTRO" (Freestyle vs Written) !

Update 10/11/08 from Vu:
Modular Moods Records wanted to us know about their Remix Contest. All info and sound files are at freestylevswritten.com/remix.  They have also expressed that they'd like you to see their ridiculous music video for "Sof".

Links: crayzwalz.com koshadillzmusic.com myspace.com/crayzwalz myspace.com/koshadillz4life

 10/10/2008 19:49:42  ♥ written by derek ( / www.pegritz.com)