Our good friend James Christos has a new music video out for his single, “Higher,” off the Black Reign EP, which he released not too long ago. I was actually present at one of the shooting sessions for this video in the basement of the 7th Heaven record store on Troost, and I gotta say that this video turned out nothing like I thought it would. Christos told me tonight at the premiere for the video at Karma that DMX’s “Get At Me Dog” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” videos were the main inspiration for the look and feel of the video to “Higher.” Those are some damn good starting points, I’ll say. It really gives you a different perspective on his music and “Higher” specifically. If you were on the fence about Christos’ music before, this video should quell your doubts. FLAMES.

peep game:



DOWNLOAD JAMES CHRISTOS’ SINGLE “HIGHER” AS HEARD IN THE VIDEO ABOVE, RIGHT HERE

DOWNLOAD JAMES CHRISTOS’ “OOH LA LA” OFF THE BLACK REIGN EP RIGHT HERE

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DJ SKU asked us if we would throw something up on the blog about the show he’s doing with Tactic and Egyptian Lover next Saturday (August 23rd @ Crosstown Station, 1522 McGee, KC, MO, 21+). I’m pretty sure it was Ben Tactic who got ahold of this really nice bio, so I’ll let the rest of the post unfold like that.

Before Ice-T, N.W.A., and the late Eazy-E made Los Angeles famous (or infamous) for gangsta rap in the late ’80s, the city’s rap community was best known for a high-tech, futuristic approach that owed a lot to Afrika Bambaataa’s 1982 classic, “Planet Rock.” In the early to mid-’80s, L.A.-based electro-hoppers like the Egyptian Lover, the World Class Wreckin’ Cru (the group that Dr. Dre belonged to before N.W.A.), the Arabian Prince, and Uncle Jam’s Army didn’t get much respect from East Coast hip-hoppers, who insisted that their music wasn’t gritty enough. But those artists did enjoy a cult following in Southern California. Besides, the Egyptian Lover never claimed to be a hardcore rapper; On the Nile, his debut album of 1984, doesn’t pretend to be a Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J, or Fat Boys release any more than Grover Washington, Jr. claimed to be a jazz purist. The closest this LP comes to an East Coast hip-hop vibe is the single “What Is a DJ If He Can’t Scratch”; all of the other tracks offer a synthesizer-driven blend of rap, dance music, and electro-funk. Though “Planet Rock” is a strong influence on this release, it is hardly the Egyptian Lover’s only influence — his sound also owes a debt to Germany’s seminal Kraftwerk (whose innovations greatly influenced “Planet Rock”), Prince, Man Parrish, and Giorgio Moroder, as well as Middle Eastern and North African music. The Egyptian Lover never had great rapping skills, but he was definitely an original and imaginative producer/writer — and his risk-taking spirit serves him well on definitive, high-tech tunes like “Egypt Egypt,” “My House (On the Nile),” and “Girls.” On the Nile isn’t the only Egyptian Lover LP that is worth owning, but most fans insist that it is his most essential and consistent album — and they’re absolutely right.

Here, we have a mix that the Tactic guys did to promote the Egyptian Lover show next Saturday, with a full tracklisting:

http://www.divshare.com/download/5177578-ebf

1. Shannon - Let the Music Play
2. Egyptian Lover - And My Beat Goes Boom
3. Jimmy Edgar - Turn You Inside Out
4. Kraftwerk - Its More Fun To Compute
5. Photocall - Silver Clouds
6. Radioclit - Sound of C
7. Cybotron - Clear
8. Missy Elliot - Lose Control (Darko Edit)
9. Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock (Ayres edit)
10. Afro-Rican - Give It All You Got
11. Egyptian Lover - Freak-A-Holic
12. Jimmy Edgar - My Beats
13. Egyptian Lover - Egypt Egypt
14. Debbie Deb - Lookout Weekend

And here, we have a couple songs from Egyptian Lover’s album, On The Nile, which is regarded as a precedent to a lot of the current electro-inclined producers of today:

EGYPTIAN LOVER - I CRY (NIGHT AFTER NIGHT)


EGYPTIAN LOVER - GIRLS


BONUS: DJ SKU’s son, Adrian, balling out at the skatepark. Adrian is looking for people to sponsor him:

I’m pretty sure this just became available for download this morning, after quite a bit of internet buzz had built after the live performance footage of this song featuring both Kanye and Jay-Z had surfaced on the net a few days ago. Enjoy!

Jay-Z feat. Kanye West - Jockin Jay-Z
download here:

We’re not sure if NMEZEE (pictured above) is spinning tonight for Kablammo III or not, but we know that he did turn in a rather strange dubstep mix to us last night to put on the blog. Like most dubstep mixes I hear, I think it has it’s bright spots, for sure. One thing is for sure though, the Alicia Keys “Fallin” remix goes super hard! Enjoy the mix. And if you like it, get your ass down to Kablammo III tonight for Hatcha (UK), Kid Logic and J Fortune. Also, befriend NMEZEE @ myspace.com/djnme, and the rest of the lotus camp cats @ myspace.com/lotuscampkc.

p.s. I know that this mix is titled “NMEZEE Mix for 96.5″ but you will not hear it tonight on the Buzz as part of the Demencha/Liquid Buzz partnership project. Larry has instead elected to record a new mix for the buzz, which should air 2-3 weeks from now. Just a heads up. BUT THIS MIX IS STILL COOL!!

My homie Ace Fadal has a bunch of local hip hop performance videos on his soundclick page . I’ve highlighted a few choice videos from Ace, and others, to show you guys what Ces Cru can do on stage and in their low-budget, but to-the-point music videos.

This one was shot this past Sunday at a hip hop show downtown during a freestyle session. Godemis, one of the MCs in Ces Cru, stole the show with this one verse, though it’s hard to hear and see in this video, but this’ll give you an idea for the cadence and rhythm that he and his partner in rhyme, Ubiquitous, will be flexing over dubstep tracks at the RECORD BAR a week from today (Wednesday the 20th). Listen from the 25 second mark to the 1:30 mark for the verse from Godemis:

1.



These next two videos were shot by Ace in October of 2007. Godemis is the black guy in the hoodie, and Ubi is the white guy with the hat, just so you know who’s who.

2.

3.

This next video was directed by Martin for Exit202. I’m guessing this is Ces Cru’s first official music video. The featured song they’ve depicted here is “The Block” featuring Joe Good. In the song, all three of them go on to detail various instances of violent crime in the city. It’s not the most professional-looking music video ever, but it gets the point of the song across very well. Peep game:

4. Check out this video: The Block — CES Cru featuring Joe Good

Another Godemis freestyle (dope!):

That’s all for now folks. I hope to see all of you at the Record Bar on August 20 for Bassline Pressure featuring Ces Cru!! PEACE

The late Pimp C once described his music not as “hip hop records,” but as “country rap tunes.” We don’t know if Topeka hip hop talent, Stik Figa, would take it as an insult if we described his music similarly, but we do know that a fellow Top-City hip hop artist, Str8jakkett, recently described himself and his DVS Mindz crew as “some country boys” in an interview we did with him a couple of weeks ago. Stik Figa has made it abundantly clear to us that Str8jakkett has been his “mentor and motivator” in their combined efforts to wake up KC Metro heads to Topeka’s hip hop collective. On Stik Figa’s latest, the TwentyFourSeven EP, he teams up with fellow IN Crew affiliate, Lenny D (KC), who pushes buttons and cuts around these 7 songs, carving out a minimal shell for Stik’s rich, shrewd raps and Top-City twang to fill out. On the intro and “The Truth,“ Stik gets busy with some flashy 5 and 6 syllable rhyme combos, while “24-7” pairs Stik with another one of his blasphemously-talented Top-City brethren, Reggie B, for the finest chorus on the album. The track Lenny D laced on this one sounds like something off the cutting-room floor of a Devin The Dude recording session. “Groundhog Day” is a glimpse into the everyday life of Stik Figa, wherein he details, “I’m writing rhymes on my lunch break, sittin’ in the car,” and “Nowadays I watch my mouth, they say that talk is cheap/ Well tell that to Sprint and AT&T.” We figured it was appropriate enough to not rack up cell phone minutes on Stik’s phone, so we conducted the following interview with him through e-mail to find out what’s really good with Topeka, and why no one should feel ashamed to rep their town, big or small.

DEMENCHA: What’s life like in Topeka? When you come up to KC to do a show or record with IN Crew, are there things that you experience or see in Kansas City that kind of throw you for a loop?

Stik Figa: Life in Topeka is, for lack of a better word, uneventful. There is not alot goin on here in the way of entertainment, in the opinion of alot of people including myself. Its the biggest small town next to Reno, NV. We have all the same problems as a big city, as far as crime and poverty, but it still feels like a small town, because thats really what it is at the end of the day. I was actually living in the Kansas City area for about two years, so not much i would say caught me off gaurd, but the amount of oppurtunity out here verses back in Topeka is vast and something i have always wanted to take advantage of. I guess its just all about perspective.

DEMENCHA: You’re originally from Memphis, right?

Stik Figa: Yes, i consider Memphis to be my second home. All my family is either originally from there or Arkansas, and i got alot of my mentoring from a MC out there named The Mighty Quinn, in a crew called Fyte Club, and it has shaped me as a man first and a artist second.

DEMENCHA: Tell us more about the influence that Str8jakkett and DVS Mindz had on you as a young artist on the come up in Topeka.

Stik Figa: Str8jakkett and DVS Mindz are one of the main reasons i am even still attempting this (the rap game). They showed me that dudes from in my lil town can make a big impact. Stu has been mentoring me and showin me his support from day one, and i appreciate that more than cats can understand! Thats my big bro right there, always with sound advice and encouragement!

DEMENCHA: You said earlier on the phone that you feel blessed to be a Top-City guy and have so many opportunities to perform in KC and get exposure. Could you talk more about that?

Stik Figa: Cause Topeka is where I’m from, and im not ashamed of it at all. I meet alot of people from here, and they’re embarassed to be from Topeka, or any other small town for that matter. And i think that’s corny. You from where you from, you didn’t ask for it, but I am who I am, and my attitude and talent is what will get me places, not my address! So i am using these oppurtunities to show other Topeka cats they can do the same if they perfect their craft and grind hard ya know.

DEMENCHA: What is the average Topeka hip hop artist’s attitude/perspective on the KC rap scene and their own efforts to get exposure outside of Top-City?

Stik Figa: I cant speak for everyone, only myself, and my perspective is work hard and think outside of the box!

DOWNLOAD STIK FIGA’S NEW RECORD, the TWENTYFOURSEVEN EP, RIGHT HERE—> http://www.sendspace.com/file/dstypp

p.s. Befriend Stik Figa at his myspace page, and check out his crew at innatesounds.com

Tonight’s installment of the Buzz/Demencha radio show project brings the Disorder Crew (KC) to your airwaves between 10 pm and 2 am tonight on 96.5 The Buzz! Disorder Crew is comprised of Mr. Solve, Ruckspin, cQuence and Arrhythmia, all bad ass drum and bass DJs. They spin on leetradio.com every Wednesday afternoon/evening, and spin at The Foundry in Westport every other Wednesday night, after wrapping up their radio show schedules in the afternoon/evening, as noted before. After you download this mix, full of center-aimed drum and bass like Pendulum, etc., go befriend them at their myspace page. Hollerate!!!!!!

DOWNLOAD DISORDER CREW’S MIX YOU HEARD TONIGHT ON 96.5 THE BUZZ…RIGHT HERE!!!!

p.s. next up on the Buzz/Demencha radio project is NME of Lotus Camp, so stay chuned!!!

On August 20th, 2008, The Record Bar, Demencha Magazine, Centerpunch Radio, Bassline Pressure and Ces Cru proudly present a truly experimental fusion of underground, lyrical hip hop swordplay and dubstep rhythms at the Record Bar on Wednesday August 20th, 2008.  DJs Spider Bigger and Daylight Robber (Bassline Pressure) will mix some of their favorite dubstep vinyls while Ubiquitous and Godemis of the KC hip hop collective, Ces Cru (INnatesounds) rhyme over top, sure to create a sound that has never been heard from local DJs or MCs in the past.  Not only that, but this event will unfold in a “live mixtape” format.  We at Demencha Magazine had a significant hand in orchestrating this event in addition to linking Ces Cru with the Bassline Pressure guys.  I can tell you first hand that this event has been nearly a year in the making.  Everyone involved with this project hopes that more local hip hop artists will want to collaborate with dubstep artists (and vice versa) after seeing what happens at the Record Bar in August when these two different crews from two different realms put their heads together…

VERSUS