Big George Was Our Friend x Mardelay

Big George was our friend.

I didn’t know him, but I bet George was cooler than a polar bear’s toenails.  I just picture him helping an old woman across the street, then chugging a beer faster than you.

My friend Scott lives in Fountain Square, a growing cultural district in downtown Indianapolis.   In a nearby alley, you can find this mural of Big George.  When I asked him about it, he said no one’s sure who the artist is, or if Big George was an actual person.  Either way, this is my favorite piece of public art at the moment.  Simple, awesome & oddly-placed.

Scott’s band, Mardelay, thought it was cool, too.  They played a few songs for The Indianapolis Star with Big George watching over, helping promote their record release party at Radio Radio this past Saturday 4/25.  Check out the set, and a short interview below:

Full story at Indy.com

DJ Orion Presents…Tighty Whities, The Mixtape

Plain & simple, the Cleptoz have been making music & rocking parties in Indianapolis since 2003… consistently.  They’ve worked with several DJ’s (Vinyl Richie, Orion & Rusty), as a group, but recently took time away for solo projects (Dizzy’s album, The Becoming is dropping June ’09). Tighty Whities is a collection of new material, making it clear these two MC’s haven’t gone anywhere.

Both Hum.V and Dizzy spit tasty rhymes over hand-crafted beats from C-Ray & Vinyl Richie, along with remixing more familiar songs from Kid Cudi to Soulja Boy (yes… Soulja Boy).  Tha B.C., Dash and alpha. all make guest appearances.

Download: DJ Orion Presents…Hum.V & Dizzy – Tighty Whities

J Dilla ft. Black Thought – Reality Check

I missed this a couple weeks ago, but Black Thought rips it, detailing a day-in-the-life of a girl overexposed to reality TV, namechecking everything from Celebrity Fit Club to the Love of Ray J over the sounds of Dilla.

I also just heard about this Roots Picnic going on June 6 in Philadelphia.  Looks tempting………..

Download: J Dilla ft. Black Thought – Reality Check

Big Sean – Finally Famous

I’m catching up on downloads from the past couple weeks, and I’ve been looking forward to Big Sean. If you’re new to him, he’s G.O.O.D. Music’s charismatic 21-year old with natural talent, a knack for style, and metaphors for days. His story of being discovered is straight out of a movie, which makes it hard not to root for him. He talked about meeting Kanye for the first time in The Detroit News:

“He was like, ‘I’m in a hurry, man,’ and I was like, ‘Please man, you’re my hero, just let me spit!’” says Sean. “He was like, ‘All right man, real quick while we’re walking out the station.’”

Because he had been rapping on-air all summer, Sean had an arsenal of raps memorized in his head. Filing through his mental Rolodex, he started rapping for Kanye. Kanye slowed down and suddenly wasn’t in such a hurry to leave the station. He liked what he heard.

Tracklist & Download link after the jump

Battle Royal: Coast to Coast 5/17

I agree with Grey Granite of the Heavy Gunners, this is a cool idea to showcase some of the best DJ talent in Indianapolis.

Diamond District – In The Ruff (clean version)

You know an album is good, when you don’t even notice it’s the clean version. I’d heard about this first on Phonte‘s Twitter. Odisee has produced songs for Little Brother and Kweli in the past, among others, so I figured it was worth a listen.

And glad I did.  This is one of the best “surprise” downloads I’ve had in a long time. Once you hear MC’s X.O. and YU, it’s clear this is a full packaged journey back to the 90′s golden era. A concise 12 tracks. Kicks, snares, booms, baps, and nice raps. Diamond District delivers it all from the DMV, making company amongst fellow DMV’er Wale Folarin. A strong debut.

Tracklist & Download link after the jump…

Video: The Truth About Perez Hilton & Miss California

Jay Smooth is back… and putting up a new video every day, whether random or not. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited.

Put Your Festival On Layaway

(Bonaroo 2008, image courtesy of The Grip)

The recession is definitely affecting music festival season.  Coachella, among others, are trying new tactics to ease ticket purchases, including 6-9 month layaway programs!

From the LA Times music blog, Pop & Hiss:

For its part, Coachella — which has been pulling in crowds of up to 140,000 in recent years — began offering a layaway plan to pay for three-day tickets (which cost $269) and onsite camping tickets this year…

“We want to give people six to nine months to make payments,” said Coachella founder Paul Tollett. “If we can make it easier on this concert crowd, we’ll take steps to make that happen.”

They’re back

And almost to the day.

Rusty Redenbacher – Lark On My Go-Kart (Remix)

Russ sent over this exclusive remix of “Lark On My Go-Kart”, and it’s a winner.

“Honey, let me stroke ya, at least poke the head in, Jack Nicholson style. I’m shining.”

“Constant consonants like Mxyzplk“

Even he, however, didn’t know Lark = Lark Voorhies, as he admits at the end of the track. Russ, Cudi, & how many others didn’t make the connection to the Saved By The Bell actress?

Download: Rusty Redenbacher – Lark On My Go-Kart (Mudkids Remix)

Video: Kid Cudi on Funkmaster Flex

Flex learns about the Internet, thanks to Cudi. (Sigh)… radio will never get it….

Sidenote, I’m surprised Cudi didn’t get the “Lark” reference in Asher’s song “Lark On My Go Cart”.

Full interview at Eskay‘s place.

Cassie’s Haircut

I know I’m super late on this, but I think Cassie‘s haircut is kind of sexy.

Sure, she was beautiful before….

But, like Cassie said:

“Sometimes in life, you need a change. Something that displays the ‘I don’t give a f***’ attitude that was always present, but never showcased. Something deeper than what you thought you were capable of…”

More pics… what do you think?  This isn’t Britney crazy to me… it’s bold and sexy.

Two Twittsclusive Songs From The Streets

I’m mad that I missed this, especially since I follow Mr. Skinner on Twitter. That reveals a clear problem with my filtration process. Hmmm…

NME has more coverage, quoting Skinner as saying, “I am going to Tweet three new songs this week. I can’t be bothered with all this trying to sell you music. It wastes valuable time.”

Download: The Streets – I Love My Phone
Download: The Streets – Trust Me

Remember. Mpozi Tolbert

This is an incredibly dope photo of Rusty, of the Mudkids, wearing a t-shirt in tribute to friend and legend, Mpozi Tolbert.

Previously: Mural to Mpozi video, Okayplayer slideshow & biography

Kinetik – Saving All the Good Beats for Myself [Mixtape]

I’d write something myself, but my guy JP said it best at Money, Hoes & Clothes:

Just in time for this week’s show featuring Kinetik as host, Mr. Soul Sincere drops his new mixtape entitled Saving All the Good Beats for Myself. I really dig Kinetik’s ear for sample digging. As more and more producers sample old funk and soul records, it seems like they keep going to same the loops, but Mr. Kinetik digs a little deepr. His production is very reminiscent of the same aesthetics found in liquid funk dnb. In addition this is easily the best show case of his talents as a lyricist thus far.

Download: Kinetik – Saving All the Good Beats for Myself [Mixtape]

Good news.  I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurace by switching to geico clicking the flyer below.  Reduced list still available, but hurry up.

PSA: Don’t Buy Asher Roth On 4/20

Ash cuts up this celebrity voting ad from last fall, which was a fairly clever campaign. With this promo and his April Fool’s D’Angelo video, he’s bringing the jokes along with his witty wordplay, and I like it.

Where The Wild Things Are: Obama’s Favorite Book

Obama reads Where The Wild Things Are, arguably one of the best books ever published. He gets pretty into it, and leads a staring contest around 4:05.

The President isn’t a bandwagon fan, he’s referenced his favorite title in the past.

(2)DOPEPLAYER…?

Good marketing. I’m interested….

Phonte’s Movie in a Minute- “Tyson”

Phonte Coleman breaks down the Tyson documentary.

Swordfights Happen In Real Life

I can’t make this stuff up.

From the Indy Star:

Adolf Stegbauer, 69, had been listed in serious condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital following the fight in the 5200 block of North Raceway Road. His sister-in-law, Franziska Stegbauer, 77, died in the early morning fight.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Adolf Stegbauer was in an argument that escalated into a swordfight with Christopher O. Rondeau, 39. Police said Franziska Stegbauer, identified by police as Rondeau’s grandmother, tried to break up the fight and was fatally stabbed.