Blitz Ambassador was a revelation for a lot of folks at the Prospect Park bandshell this past Saturday. Along with his backing band, the Embassy Ensemble, Blitz the Ambassador reminded us why we love this Hip-Hop artform so much.
Blitz doesn’t just possess supreme mic skills, but he has the timing necessary to be one of the great emcees of all time. Get familiar with Blitz the Ambassador. He’s got next.
Blitz the Ambassador – On My Mixtape Sh*t
Like a candle in the wind. Or 16 of them.
Shouts to JB & LB
I am h8’ing NYC so much right now. It seems that every night there are several events that I really want to fux with but I can’t be in several places at once. I wish BILL GATES would hurry up with that human cloning project.
Last night had an obama with Patron shots and tons of TWitterati. There was another obama where Just Blaze was deejaying. My homeys Heems and Vik a.k.a Das Racist also had a show at the Bowery Ballroom. Das Racist is blowing up on the low. I fux with those dudes hardbody.
Back on the planet of Brooklyn, Prospect Park’s bandshell, which will be hosting Big Daddy Kane this Saturday was screening my generation’s ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ which is Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’. I don’t think that film has screened in NYC for the last 10 years and I haven’t been there to sing along. ‘Purple Rain’ is what I call Blackaoke.
But the real karaoke jumpoff was going down in Coney Island. HALL & OATES was doing a concert for the free seaside summer series that the Brooklyn beep MARTY MARKOWITZ hosts annually. This was going to be the first time I had seen these dudes perform live. HALL & OATES blue-eyed soul is definitely part of the soundtrack of my life. I bought the ‘Private Eyes’ album from The Wiz with my paper route paper back when I was in junior high.
I’m glad I found some time to spend with Chocolate Snowflake. She is the most patient and generous woman on these internets. I see that some of my steez has rubbed off on her too. She enterprised us some seats in the wristband VIP area. The show was a beautiful night under the stars in Coney Island. The full moon added that perfect romantic element. HALL & OATES ran through a litany of their hits and didn’t disappoint the crowd of thousands. It’s nights like this I wish would last forever.
DARRYL HALL still had the big hair and diva tendencies while JOHN OATES kindly played the sidekick role as always. I was kind of sad that JOHN shaved off the moustache entirely. These old dudes still rock though and their band was getting it in. HALL & OATES had the nerve to make me suffer though a second encore to get some of my favorite hits like ‘You Make My Dreams’ and ‘No Can Do’. I wasn’t going home without hearing those jams better still, I wasn’t going to let them go home.
Damn you New York City and your free concerts and cultural events.
I’m sure I will see some of you internets in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Until then…
‘You Make My Dreams’
‘Private Eyes’
‘Maneater’
‘I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)’
‘Say It Isn’t So’
‘One On One’
‘Method Of Modern Love’
‘Out Of Touch’
‘Adult Education’
‘Kiss On My List’
Continuing with the ‘True Blood’ inspired drop titles is my meme all week. I’ve been meaning to have this discussion with you all ever since Jackpot put the idea in my head. Does Jay-Z need another Dame Dash? Maybe not the actual Dame Dash himself but someone like Dame Dash who is opinionated and outspoken and dedicated to his artists being the freshest.
Without Dame Dash we would never have been given the character of Jay-Z. Most OG New Yorkers that still fux with this rap shit know that AZ (not the Firm rapper – NaS weedcarrier) from Harlem was one of the original streetpusher rap stars. AZ didn’t have anywhere near the talent that Jay-Z had but he was living the lifestyle for real, for real. Word to Rich Porter and Alpo.
Dame also built that Roc-A-Fella brand by putting in a stable of hard spitters like Beans and Freeway. Dame brought in KanYe West and Just Blaze. Dame was smart enough to leave out Saigon. Jay-Z was certainly the engine that made the car go fast, but Dame was the engineer that masde sure the machine ran correct. Who was more important? It should be obvious that you need them both.
The debate surrounding Jay-Z’s latest single “We Run This Town’ is focused squarely on the fact that KanYe West with half the verses of Jay-Z put in twice the amount of work. He clearly pwned that track. KanYe deserves another verse on that song. Hopefully there is a Roc-A-Fella Def Jam remix (Jadakiss, Fab, KanYe and Jay-Z) and Jay-Z redeems himself for not blacking out the first time.
I believe that Dame Dash would not have allowed Jay-Z to leave the studio the first time with that song as it was. Dame, who is the master of motivational slick talk would have asked Jay-Z is that was all he had. Dame would have told him from the gate that KanYe just ethered him on his own shit. Dame would have asked Jay-Z if that was how he was going out from now on, as a second stringer? Whatever it would have taken to get the best out of Jay-Z is what Dame would have done.
This is why Jay-Z had to get away from Dame Dash, but he still needs someone like him in his life. The yes men will not push Jay-Z to find out if he has a next level. They are only concerned with making him feel relaxed and comfortable. Dame Dash does not relax. He doesn’t sit still. He doesn’t shut up. And Dame Dash would be the only one man enough to tell Jay-Z to his face that if he didn’t have any more good music in his mind then he should really retire.
The Jay-Z Dame Dash track record of music they created together is undeniable. The shit these dudes have done separately is wholly forgettable. Blood may be thicker than Cristal, but champagne tastes so much better.
Way before MICHAEL JACKSON was given that Jesus dosage of painkiller pills the homey ESSO told me of his upcoming project to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of MJ’s ‘Off The Wall’ album. I thought the concept was dope and like everyone else I loved MICHAEL JACKSON’s work.
ESSO’s previous project ‘Lifestyles of the Young and Ignorant’ had some internets buzz and it had a couple of tracks that I fux with but this is the project that I was waiting for. The first single and video from the new ESSO mixtape is ‘Don’t Stop’. Support this young brother and his independent art.