I know a lot of you were waiting for this. On Friday the 13th, underground icon J-Live rocked a show at Red Square in Albany and was kind enough to pull himself from a horde of fans to show love to PremizeLife with an interview. An official hip-hop head, master of ceremonies and the turntables, J-Live is 4 albums and 14 years deep with notable joints like "Satisfied?," "Feel Like Spittin" (featured at the end of the interview) and "One for the Griot." If this is your first time hearing of J-live do a search and get and your mind right, because you've been missing out.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Then What Happened?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday the 13th: Juicef Stalin at the Red Square
If you didn't make it out to the Red Square Lounge on Friday night, you really missed out. It was one of the better shows I've been to in recent memory. The place was crowded and had a real good vibe, and everyone had a great time.
Click below for the full rundown.
Right past the bar-area was the artist's table, where I spent much of the time that night (you may have seen me, black shirt, cap, specs - say whatup if you see me out!). The ones displaying their work were graffiti artists Okae and Colts, and I managed to sneak in a couple mini-canvases myself. Every piece on the tables and on the walls were crazy, and ten dollars was the going price for even the most intricate of works. We spent some time passing around sketchbooks,exchanging ideas and making sales.
Also in attendance were artist Vincent Tacco, who we've interviewed previously, and award-winning fashion designer Katie Pray (thanks for the sale, we've got to trade in the future!), with whom we're going to conduct an interview with and possibly collaborate artistically in the near future. We'll keep you posted as that develops.
The musical acts on the bill were DJ Truemaster, a band called Phantogram, and rappers Emcee Graffiti and underground icon J-live. Truemaster handled his business on the 1's and 2's, keeping the crowdamped and moving between each set. Emcee Graffiti got busy on the mic and got things even liver when he brought out his groupmates Sapient and Unsound mind and killed some collab tracks, including a hilarious mock-battle called "Graf vs Sap." The crowd didn't miss a beat when the band Phantogram hit the stage and rocked the crowd in their own way. When J-Live finally hit the stage, the venue blew up. Everybody crowded near the near the front, and he had them eating out of the palm of his hand, truly the master of ceremonies. He even showed himself to be doubly talented, by stepping behind the wheels of steel and getting busy with his hands while still spitting. Also during J-live's set, he brought Oddy Gato back out and they rocked a song together. Live ended the set with a freestyle and shououts.
After the show, J-live was cool enough to step away from a horde of fans to grant me an interview (keep your eyes peeled for local artist lurking in the background). Look out for that to pop up in the next day or so.
Friday, March 13, 2009
As Promised...
Here's one of the tracks T-Hotta hit us off with. It's the joint playing in the background during the interview (and if you haven't watched it yet, stop playing and get on that; he has some shit to say). I got more where this came from, so leave some comments and keep checking back.
Getting Up with Emcee Graffiti
It took a little work, but the PremizeLife staff finally managed to get connected with the elusive Emcee Graffiti, representative of The Iron Bar Collective. This multi-talented artist creates hard-edged conscious music with recurring political and introspective themes, sings, and is also a proficient beatboxer. You've got to hear his highly-controversial opinion on who killed hip hop.
If you have time, you definitely should check him out tonight at Red Square, 388 Broadway in Albany. Graffiti will be performing alongside J-Live, Phantogram, and DJ Truemaster. The show starts at 8pm, 18+, $10 at the door. It should be well worth it.
PremizeLife: Getting up with Emcee Graffiti from juicemega on Vimeo.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hotta's the shit, boy...
Recently we at PremizeLife linked up with the 518's own T-Hotta. A representative for the Dream Team 518, Hotta is 5 mixtapes deep and still on his grind. Listen in as we get get his perspective on music, money, and life in general. We're going to also have a few of his tracks up in a day or two. I think it's safe to say that you'll be hearing a lot more of him in the near future. Stay tuned
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Yung Fundamental
I know some of you out there were waiting for this. A short while ago we at PremizeLife caught up with artist/songwriter Chazo for a great interview. In it we covered what he does, how he felt about the game, what he can bring to the table and more. Chazo was also kind enough to hit us off with a track from his next mixtape, tentatively titled "Game Over."
Check the track here.
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