needle&groove issue 2

Page 1


Well January 2009 started off with High High Hopes– Congrats to My President Barack Obama and his family, We here at needle&groove have you in our constant prayers. Not for the STATE OF HIP-HOP awe man don fight it , real hip-hop is coming back. The cappin season is OVER. Shout out to B.O.B, Hi-tek, Talib, Kanye, Lupe, Geminii, The Roots, Common, Jay-z, Jean Gray and more who have been on the front lines and countless others on the battle field—bring back the poetry sets—slams and competitions. Bring back neighborhood centers and summer camp. Bring Back parties in the park for free on a hot summer night. Bring Back chill sets at you r boys house –or the coffee shop or some cool azz spot in the city . Bring Back thoughtful speech , provocative lyrics and the LAST POETS… Bring Back Hip-Hop. Needle&Groove


CONTENTS

OWNED AND OPERATED BY JONATHAN (D.J.QUEST95)GROOMS AND FULL MOON PRODUCTIONS . COPYRIGHT PENDING. ALL ARTICLE HAVE PERMISSION RIGHTS AND OR COVER BY FREE SPEECH—ALL ASSOCIATES OF THIS PUBLICATION EXERCISE THEIR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RIGHT S OF EXPRESSION.

1. COVER— FEATURED MODEL

EDITOR—D.J.QUEST95

www.myspace.com/ sheridannicole 2. EDITOR— 3, CONTENTS8. Lil Kim vs. the world

ADVISIOR-AAVIANNA WRITERS– SILK-N-IT MEKKA SUNSHINE KENYATTA ALBENY

PHOTOGRAPHY– HERB BIAS GRAPHIX— Q-GRPHIX QUEEN LOLLIPOP

10. Dizzy D 12. Baby Doll 14.Tech Toys 16 GREEN CARS 18. MC LYTE 20. Silk –N—It 22. HOOD—INDIE ROCK 25. DRAMATIK– INDIE HIP HOP 28. FEAR CALLED LIVING— INDIE TRIP HOP

MUSIC EDITOR—YO MOMMA FINAL PROOF— BARACK OBAMA MODEL SELECTIONS— BILL CLINTON




Will Host A DJ's Tech Meeting & PRYSLEZZ Video Viewing This Sunday, February 8 th, 2009 2PM TILL 7PM Earth Night Club CLEVELAND, OHIO 1295 East Bank of the Flats Cleveland, Ohio



The Queen Bee unleashed her venom on the team behind the Biggie biopic, "Notorious," saying "most of the story is bullsh--" and complaining that the actress who played her in the film never even reached out to her. In a recent cover story with Hip-Hop Weekly, Kim — who said she has not seen the film — said she believed Big's wife, Faith Evans, and his mother, Voletta Wallace, were behind the snub. Evans, however, denied that accusation, explaining to MTV News last week that the movie was adapted from the book, "Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.," by Cheo Hodari Coker (although the screenplay is actually an original story written by Coker and Reggie Rock Bythewood). "It's not like [the film's producers, which include Diddy, Big's former manager Wayne Barrow and Ms. Wallace] are calling Faith to write something about somebody," Evans said. "It's based on a book that I think she participated in as well." Now, one of the writers of the screenplay, Bythewood — whose credits include directing the film "Biker Boyz" — is clarifying the

lady lyricist's portrayal in the movie. "When I was brought onto the project, I requested to speak with Kim," Bythewood told MTV News on Saturday via email. "Once I was granted access, I was blown away by the two-hour phone interview [we had]. She is a complex person. She is a sister with a lot of vulnerability and a lot


after auditioning several times. According To KIM Unfortunately, she was slipped a draft that wolf strength. Much of what she told me went directly into my next draft. as written before our conversation. She was angry at the producers and I did not get to speak with her again." Kim told Hip-Hop Weekly that she received a copy of the script and also viewed Naturi Naughton's audition reel. Naughton was cast for the role of Queen Bee o Kim, though, the former 3LW singer was the worst of the potential crop to play her. Coker told MTV News on Monday (January 12) that the copy of the script obtained by Kim was a draft that leaked at the time, and said he believes that once Kim sees the completed project, she'll be satisfied with the account of events. He also went on to say that the fans will have the opportunity to see a sympathetic side of Kim in "Notorious" that they may not have been exposed to for quite some time. Bythewood also defended the final script, despite it not including every detail. "Some of what I wrote about Kim did not make it in the final version of the script," he wrote. "Those decisions were made not just

by me but by the studio, director and producers. In a film like this, it is hard to put everything in. However, my aim was to present a real-life human being beyond the icon we know. Biggie did right by her at times. He also did her wrong at times. In spite of that, there was deep love and caring between them. Though Lil Kim has been victimized at times, she has never remained a victim. I think director George Tillman and Naturi Naughton, who plays Lil Kim, did a great job revealing that." By Jayson Rodriguez



Born and raised in the West Tennessee area, Jackson native Dustin "Dizzy D" Warren has been destined for a music career since he was old enough to walk. Coming from a family with a diverse musical background, Dizzy quickly took an interest in the world of music. Both his father and older brother were excellent musicians, playing nearly every instrument imaginable while also singing. Like so many others, Dizzy got his start in music by singing every Sunday at his local church. However, as he grew older, Dizzy realized that his true calling was a form of music that no one else in his family had yet to explore, hip-hop. Despite his mother's warnings not to get involved with hip-hop music, Dizzy and his childhood friend, J Beats, began secretly making rap songs during their early high school years. J Beats would produce the records while Dizzy focused on honing his lyrical skills. Rather than pursuing a hip-hop career immediately, Dizzy decided to enroll in college courses at the University of Memphis. While earning his degree, Dizzy wrote literally hundreds of songs as his lyrical prowess continued to improve. He landed songs on three extremely successful underground compilation mixtapes while in Memphis. Additionally, Dizzy started gaining citywide recognition for both his hot verses and crowdrocking performances. Notable performances in Dizzy's career include a spot in the Source Magazine Hip-Hop Showcase, Memphis' annual Africa in April festival, and numerous shows at clubs such as Newby's and the Plush.

Since earning his Bachelor’s degree, Dizzy has turned his full focus to his first love, music. Taking full advantage of the digital age, Dizzy has put forth a concerted effort to market his music through the internet, namely on the ever popular MySpace.com, where he has tallied well over one million total plays. Also, he has achieved top 5 status with over 1.5 million plays for the single Wood Grain Grippin on Ludacris’ website, Wemix.com. A buzz is also building in the streets, as Dizzy has multiple placements on official Slip-n-Slide and other mixtapes worldwide amassing almost 100,000 mixtape sales internationally. Due to increasing popularity and demand, Dizzy is now releasing his first solo single What It Be Like. This high energy single is set to quickly take off on both the club scene and radio, as it has received nothing but praise from critics and fans alike. With more smash singles on deck and his debut album to follow, keep your ears open for a fresh, new sound from an artist who is sure to be one of 2009’s most talked about top newcomers, as Dizzy D has already embarked on a whirlwind national promotional tour!


I am interested in print/commercial modeling as well as acting.

..everything else about me you will have to find out yourself, if you can. But remember, I am INTELLIGENT, so come correct!!!



Tech-toy pioneer LeapFrog announced a new toy for toddlers today at the U.K. Toy Fair: Text & Learn is a "just-forkids" learning PDA. According to the company: Games that focus on spelling and basic computer skills--with pal Scout right there to help-are only part of the fun with the Text & Learn, which lets preschoolers exchange text messages with Scout, check Scout's planner to see what his week en"tails," and explore in a pretend browser mode. Other learning activities include letter matching, shape identification and QWERTY keyboard navigation. We like to try all the tech toys ourselves, so we'll post a hands-on review as soon as, well, we can can our hands on one. Will your kids have one or two so they can text a friend?


spacebar. To get your cursor onto the secondary screen, just set your finger on the touchpad and move it to the right; when the cursor reaches the edge of your primary screen, it'll jump to the secondary.

In his recent review of the Lenovo ThinkPad W700, Cisco Cheng noted that this high-end portable workstation for photographers and artists would soon be available with an optional secondary display to complement its 17-inch, 1,920 by 1,200 screen. The idea is to relegate lower-end tasks like reading email, word processing, and Web surfing to the smaller screen, leaving the full 17 inches of the primary screen free for photo or art editing. The dual-screen version, the W700ds, has arrived in our labs, and I took it out for a spin. It works as intended, and many professionals in its target audience may find it worth it to plunk down the 400+ bucks for this novel option. The secondary screen is netbook sized (10.6 inches) with a 1,280 by 768 resolution, which is fine for its intended tasks. The screen resides within the workstation's lid, sliding out to the right of the main screen in portrait mode when needed. It's very easy to move your active window to the secondary screen; just press Fn +

The screen's portrait orientation can be awkward; a Word document I worked on was cramped, with its righthand edge invisible unless I scrolled. I'd like to see the secondary screen as a landscape--or even better, a screen that could be rotated from portrait to landscape as needed, but that's a minor concern. Once you're in it, the secondary screen works like any open window, and you can return to the primary screen simply by swiping the touchpad to the left. On Lenovo's site, the W700ds is currently selling at $4,749 (sale price), while the standard W700 professional model, otherwise identically equipped, goes for $4,329. (There's also a prosumer version with more modest components, priced at $3,499.) Should you get the dual-screen version? It depends on how important it is to keep the full 17 inches of your primary screen open for a single task at all times. As an amateur photographer, I can put up with the occasional distraction of minimizing Photoshop to respond to e-mails, and I often work with two computers, anyway. At a $400+ premium over the standard W700, the two-screen configuration is pricey--but so is the workstation as a whole. spend a lot of time on the road or intend it as their only computer--should consider springing for the dual-screen version. With it, they can create art or edit photos to their heart's content without ever having their work obscured by an e-mail or Word window.





"MC

Lyte" Moorer began rapping at the age of 12[1] and began her career in 1986. The release of her first single, "I Cram to Understand U (Sam)", was produced by her older brothers. This song, about a lying boyfriend’s crack cocaine addiction, became a modest R&B hit and led to her recording contract with First Priority Music. Her debut album, Lyte As a Rock, was released in 1988, and featured the previously mentioned single and another rap single entitled "10% Dis"; which targeted her rival at the time, rapper Antoinette. Her second album Eyes on This was released in 1989. It spawned Lyte's first #1 Rap Tracks single "Cha Cha Cha" and another hit titled "Cappuccino", which is a metaphysical story weaved around a bad cappuccino experience. The song's video was directed by Ric Menello, who also helmed the The Beastie Boys's, "Fight for Your Right" music video. MC Lyte turned to producers Wolf & Epic (of Bell Biv Devoe fame) for her third release, 1991's Act Like You Know, which spawned another #1 Rap Track titled "Poor Georgie" and two smaller hits "When in Love" and "Eyes are the Soul". In 1993, MC Lyte released the album Ain't No Other. The album spawned yet another #1 Rap Track, "Ruffneck", which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Single and was the first ever gold single by a solo female rap artist (Salt-N-Pepa had had several gold and platinum singles earlier).[1] Another minor single titled "I Go On" also came from this album. Lyte then signed Elektra/Asylum and issuing released 1996's Bad As I Wanna B, which featured a duet with Missy Elliott on the track "Cold Rock a Party," which became another #1 Rap Track for her. This

Rap Track for her. This would be her only album certfied at least gold in the US (selling at least 500,000 copies). She contributed to the Sunset Park soundtrack with "Keep On, Keepin' On". In 2001, Rhino Entertainment released The Very Best of MC Lyte. The artist mounted a comeback in 2003 with Da Undaground Heat, Vol. 1 with production team Maad Funk In 2003 MC Lyte released her first ialbum on her own label, SGI/CMM, along with manager/partner Fred Crawford. The album, entitled "Da Underground Heat Vol. 1 hosted by Jamie Foxx", went on to garner her yet another Grammy nomination and Bet Award nomination as well, although if failed to go gold. The leading single, "Ride With Me", became the title track for a show called HOLLA hosted by Cheryl Underwood and also became one of the title songs for EA Sports NBA video game of 2003. The song also appeared in a popular LL COOL J feature entitled "Deliver us from Eva". In the 2008 presidential race, Lyte spoke in favor of Barack Obama. She was quoted in The Source magazine as saying "I'm not voting for him (Obama) because he's a black man, I am voting for Obama because of his message and I identify with his words and his passion." [



If you have been in the 216 over the last 16 years whether you like me or not I still support Underground Artist of all skills from wacked to Phatt because that’s what I do. I’ve gave over 500 Unsigned trax to the Dj’s I’ve worked with like “Dj.A” and “Goldie Montana” of Urban Lullabies on 89.3FM WCSB and “Dj. J2the E” on 88.3FM WBWC over the years. On the show “Hip Hop on the 26 Block” with Dj. Tech before Summer and Ms. Quita I was the man behind the Themes such as when we would go 2Pac’d Out on June 17th and Sep 13th and hit the March 9th Biggie Shows. I’m gonna tell you a lil secret I normally whisper to Tech and Porter (here’s a lil secret not only do I manage the Hip Hop Workshop Myspace Page but he’s my brother from another Mother, so watch your mouth) and say it’s about that time to go “Plumb Local” which is all 216 Artist. 2-11-?? has been a part of the show as I used to have my “On the Air” Birthday Party I missed a few but it’s about that time again in the year 09 as I do my part in the Underground. On 2.11.09 (2am -4am) I will have Dj. Tech Officially Break in some new Underground joints from all over the world to put in rotation from the rapper Kuz reppin Iowa to Daz Dillinger’s peeps in the Underground from Italy Playa G and of course the Buckeye State’s own Ben Beamon straight out the 513 and the Celebrity Status Mogul Ghost . Also new joints from the 330 with my man Ray Skillz over to the 313 as we link the Mid West Clouded Mindz, even dropped down South for a lil Nonsence blowing up Miami’s Night Life to my folks that bring consciousness like Knowa in Va. And of course the Ellamentz Movement Phoenix Jones and other Movements like The Black Lion Movement’s own Zelakhan, Young Tee in Alabama reppin the 216 still and others to be added. Hosted by Dj. Tech and Summer you can always download the weekly archive at www.wruw.org and go to the Program Guide and punch up genre: Hip Hop Day: Wednesday then on the right click the 56k and there you go exercising the Rights of Safe Harbor Rules and Regulations which means we play that Raw, Uncut Uncensored Hip Hop and

Parental Advisory is Your Choice.

$ILKUNLIMITED


Finding a Hood record is worth the effort. Throughout its career, Hood has explored many different realms of music. From their early forays into noisy pop, Disco Infernoinfluenced post-rock, and moody, Bedheadstyle slowcore to later experiments in swirling ambient electronic music, Hood has always maintained a delicate balance between melody and experimentation, layering organic and inorganic elements with creativity and finesse. Hood Slumberland Records If you've never heard Hood before, it's not because of a shortage of recorded material. Between albums, singles, compilation appearances, and side projects, the band's discography is four pages long. However, some of the items are maddeningly hard to find due to small-numbered runs and obscure labels. But now, thanks to American labels like Slumberland and Drop Beat, these records are slightly easier to find.

When brothers Richard and Chris Adams began recording songs at their home in Leeds in 1990, the phrase "lo-fi" meant little more than "poor sound quality" to most people. Before the unpolished, immediate recorded style of bands like Pavement, Guided by Voices, and Sebadoh became well known, Hood was making scratchy, untrained bedroom recordings. Fluff Records soon released a full-length, Cabled Linear Traction in 1994 (it was repressed in '95 and then released on CD in '99). The album -- a collection of singles -- was widely praised and compared to everything from Bark Psychosis to Nick Drake to My Bloody Valentine. In 1996, Slumberland




Hailing from the City of Lawrence, Ma A.K.A Law-Town DraMatik’s life journey has developed his unique dramaturgic style. As a kid, Andres Gonzalez grew up in the Philadelphia and New Jersey projects. Most of his time was spent getting into trouble and beefing with his three older sisters. One of whom was a DJ which exposed DraMatik to music at young age. He learned to appreciate everything from Rock & Roll to Mo-Town. Eventually it was his mothers fleeing from an abusive relationship that forced her to bring DraMa to Lawrence. Coming up in the golden age of Hip-Hop DraMatik was first enticed to the scene by such great artist as KRS-One, Chuck D and EPMD. An interest in writing poetry soon evolved into flowing. While banging on the streets DraMatik ended up in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. Faced with the fact that his own young son could become just another ghetto bastard, he had the motivation to make the right change and focus on music as an alternate choice to street violence

The evolution from Andres to DraMatik began when he met great local artists Scientifik (R.I.P), Edo OG, and Krumb Snatcha who inspired him to work hard and make his own mark on the game. Joining the group Missing Elements was relevant to his development as an artist but when the group disbanded he was left to his own devices. You can see DraMatik in action with his videos for Streetlife, All Eyes on Her, Do You Remember, Solitude and Walk with Me at www.myspace.com/ DraMatik He also debuted his directorial skills in Krumb Snatcha’s video; The East is Back. www.youtube.com/dramawolf DraMatik’s flow has been featured on 94.5 G-Spin's "The Launch Pad", 88.9 at Nite WERS and various mix tapes world wide. DraMatik is the number 1 hip hop artist on indie charts: www.indiecharts.com/ dramatik He continues to stay on his grind with several projects in the works such as The X-Periment; a GC Classics collaboration (www.myspace.com/ shitontheindustry). A new Brother Hood of the Wolf hosted by Statik Selectah and a ground breaking project sure to leave its mark with Blaze Infamous Animators




Fear Called Living (formerly Aradia) is a trip hop group formed in The Bronx, New York. Their musical style is a very distinctive mixture of electronica, hip hop and new wave, with a strong vocal element and raw storytelling lyrics. The group was formed in 2005 by keyboardist/ producer Menyu and singer/songwriter Desiree L'amour, who then recruited producer/multiinstrumentalist J. Kingz. L'amour and Kingz had previously fronted two rock bands. Kingz decided to continue exploring styles that influenced his youth and convey a dark, gritty, down-tempo sound. Menyu's compositions are melodic, deep and affecting, as they shade an array of color that eloquently flows without boundary. L'amour's storytelling lyrics are philosophical and often stir shrewd, thought-provoking visual images. The combination of elements form a whole, richer, more distinctly somber sound than found in most mainstream music today. The multi-talented Kingz and Menyu produce music and art for other performing artists, as well as Fear Called Living.




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