First and foremost give thanx to all who came out and helped make this joint a complete success. We truly appreciate the love yall, Extra shouts to all who copped the new album as well. Big ups to DJ SAV ONE on the footage. Check him out @ theundergroundcomeup.com
view video here
Come on through to Fat Beats NY on Tuesday January 27th to catch an exclusive live performance by John Robinson! He’ll be here at 7:00pm performing tracks off his new albums “Who Is This Man?” (entirely produced by MF Doom) & “I Am Not For Sale” (beats by Flying Lotus, Jneiro Jarel, J Rawls and more.) and signing autographs. P.Casso will also be in the building performing tracks off of his album “For Your Consideration”.
Fat Beats NY
406 6th Ave, 2nd Floor (Between 8th & 9th Streets)
New York, NY 10011
212-673-3883
C U all there!
J.R.
THREE YEARS AFTER HIS UNTIMELY DEATH, J DILLA’S BEATS AND REPUTATION LOOM EVER LARGER OVER HIP HOP. BUT FOR HIS MOTHER – WHO NURSED THE VISIONARY PRODUCER THROUGH A CHRONIC ILLNESS AND HAS WATCHED HIS ESTATE LANGUISH IN LIMBO – THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES. BY KELLEY LOUISE CARTER
There’s nothing Maureen Yancey wouldn’t do for her children. But as she sits in the basement studio of her only surviving son’s Los Angeles home, she struggles with the one thing she hasn’t done since her firstborn, James Dewitt Yancey known in hip hop circles as Jay Dee or J Dilla – three years ago of complications from lupus. She just can’t. She didn’t do it when the ambulance arrived at the nearby house Dilla shared with. Common, and she didn’t when they failed to revive him from cardiac arrest. She couldn’t even bring herself to do it when she picked out which baseball cap she’d place by his coffin.
“When he left, I had an awful void,” she says calmly. “I didn’t grieve like you always think you’d grieve. I always had a joy and the strength to help others to get through it. But…” her voice trails off, hands smoothing down her jeans. “I haven’t cried yet.”
Still, the memories came flooding back when she flew from Detroit to visit the city where her son was buried at age 32. “I rejoiced in the fact that he wasn’t sick anymore,” she says, “and that he’d done what he came here to do. I do believe that. His purpose on earth was to come here and give us the music that he had in his heart and soul.”
The equipment that surrounds her is Dilla’s, the same gear he used to create the deceptively simple, unspeakably beautiful music that solidified his reputation as one of hip hop’s greatest. As Busta Rhymes put it in 2007, “He wasn’t just a producer, he was the best producer.”
Many of her son’s friends – Common, Busta, Erykah Badu – still call regularly, and keep her son’s music in rotation. Q-Tip’s latest single, “Move” (Universal Motown, 2008), was built around a Dilla beat, and her other son John Yancey, a rapper known as Illa J has released the powerful new album, Yancey Boys (Delicious Vinyl, 2008), which was produced by his big brother.
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Biggie Smalls is the ILLEST!
It always amazes me folks how BIG was killed at the tender age of 24 years young. He was literally still a kid who happened to grow up on the fast streets of Bedstuy, BK which made him seem so much older to the person on the outside looking in. His contribution to the music is boundless as he still to this day continues to add nothing but a lyrical style and texture that is pretty much unmatched since.
Christopher Wallace’s story inspires me on a level that I can’t fully overstand, there is no way in a million years that I would have ever thought that a Young, Heavy set dark skinned cat from the streets of BK could be at the top of the Hip Hop industry and reign in a way that was unreachable to so many. I look forward to checking out the movie over the weekend but I honestly doubt that this film will capture the true brilliance of the Notorious one himself. More soon on the movie folks I will be back with my thoughts on the flick!
Bless
J.R.
John Robinson & Lyrickal on The Morpheus Soul Show (UK)
Big shouts to Playvybz.com
Peace all,
I had to share this new music from my man Chip Fu (formerly of Fu-Shnickens)
This brother is a true master at what he does and never ever disappoints even on the slightest level. Here is a free download of two joints from the upcoming “Stop Playin” Mixtape. Hope to hear lots more from this borther real soon!
Enjoy
J.R.
New Video from the Super Crew EMC consisting of Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline and Stricklin. If you haven’t copped their full length album “The Show” go get that u will not be mad trust! Nuff Respect to these brothers just wanted to share the latest and greatest with you all.
Bless
J.R.
people expected to attend Obama’s
inauguration.
US authorities expect as many as four million people to attend Barack Obama’s inauguration as president.
Officials in Washington DC had expected a million people to watch the January 20th event. But based on demand for tickets they now believe four times the original number will try to attend.
The huge number of people who will flood into the US capital is expected to present a logistical nightmare, swamping the underground system and roads.
All hotels within a 60 miles distance of the capital have already been booked.
Ya Boy John Robinson will be in DC witnessing history with my own eyes during inauguration week. I am not as lucky to actually have tickets but I have some biz to handle out there and will be in the area soaking up all of that energy all week long. I look forward to every bit of it too. Stay tuned as I plan to definitely get some footage and pics to document the historic times and share it with you all. Wow! I am excited now! More soon.
J.R.
Above is an excerpt I came across on youtube of some footage taken by a fan in the audience at a performance last NOV. in Naples, Italy! I will tell u this much the footage shows the first song that was performed where is was really checking the levels of the mics to assure the rest of the show would go smooth as possible and the crowd was already Live and Direct! They didn’t need nothing to warm them up, they were ready to get into it for sure. Enjoy this for now as I am am expecting the full blown edited production of this show to be sent to me shortly from my good folks in Naples who document the entire show.
More soon, yall will hear from me soon.
Bless
J.R.
The John Robinson Project 