Good News

This is a sneak preview of a few working tracks from the up-coming Album Project by George Clinton and the 420 FUNK MOB. It's not finished yet but we think we've got a lil sumptin' Sumptin' goin on so far.
TAKE A LISTEN and make a comment ( if you can ) to let us know if we're somewhere in the P-FUNK Ballpark. OK HIGH!!!

Bill Hicks - Outlaw Comic

...Trio! aired this during their "Uncensored Comedy" month. The really great thing is, get this, everything aired during the month was completely edited. Do you realize how hypocritical it is to release a documentary on why it was wrong to censor a genius like Bill Hicks, only to censor him once again post-mortem? Comedy Central has gotten away with airing severely offensive material, such as South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, without any problems. If Trio was planning on censoring this, they should have never claimed it was uncensored.

The best example of this occurs during the end credit. Footage of Hicks flipping off the crowd is shown with his middle fingers obscured by large bars reading "CENSORED", while Trio's UNCENSORED Comedy month logo gleams in the lower right corner.

Great idea, great documentary, but full of bad choices of editing. Maybe in the future, a truly uncensored version of this documentary will be seen...

...to see Bill's censored Letterman appearance, go HERE...

Fela Kuti in Concert

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, born in Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1938, was a singer-composer, trumpet, sax and keyboard player, bandleader, and politician. Kuti was one of Africa's most controversial musicians and throughout his life he continued to fight for the rights of the common man (and woman) despite vilification, harassment, and even imprisonment by the government of Nigeria. Born to Yoruban parents, Kuti was strongly influenced by both parents, his mother being Funmilayo, a leading figure in the nationalist struggle. Practically all of his records are dominated by political events and discussions from the approach of Pan-Africanism.

In 1954, Kuti joined the Cool Cats as a singer in that highlife band (highlife being the rage of the Lagos music scene at the time). During this period Kuti developed his own unusual sound which he described as highlife-jazz. In 1968 Kuti announced the arrival of Afro-beat, within the year was promoting his sound all over the USA on a 10-month tour where he became influenced by American jazz. When he returned to his homeland he opened a nightclub, the Shrine, and changed the name of his band to Africa 70 (and later to Egypt 80). His bands traditionally included the typical huge line-up consisting of many singers and dancers, numerous saxophonists, trumpeteers, drummers, percussionists, and of course, many guitarists blending African rhythms and jazz horn lines with politicized song lyrics. His music was intricate, rather than calling it Afro-beat you might more arguably consider it Afro-jazz. Entire recordings often consisted of just a few songs and this propensity for jamming set up a roadblock for Fela to attain commercial acceptance in the United States. He also abhored performing a song after recording it, and this led to audience disinterest in the U.S. where the people wanted their music to be recognizable hits.

Kuti continued his outspoken attacks on the Nigerian government. When the people returned to power in 1979, Kuti began his own political party - MOP (Movement of the People). The military returned to power in 1983 and within the year Kuti was sentenced to five years in prison on a spurious currency smuggling charge. He was released in 1986 after yet another change of government.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti died on Saturday, August 2, 1997, at 4pm (local time) in Lagos, Nigeria. It had been rumoured for some time that Fela had a serious illness he was refusing treatment for, many said he was suffering from prostate cancer. But as it turns out, Fela died from complications due to AIDS. As Fela's brother, Olikoye Ransome Kuti, said at a news conference:

"The immediate cause of death of Fela was heart failure, but there were many complications arising from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome".

Fela was a man with great influence in the African music world, he is irreplaceable and his presence will be sorely misssed.

Dave Brubeck - Take Five

Bill Hicks...with the Fonkees

...from the forthcoming THIS MUSIC KILLS FASCISTS - Here's Bill with some thoughts on Marketing... ...anotherFONKEEjoint...

DJ Food and DK present - Now, Look & Listen

DJ Food & DK present - Now, Look & Listen from Solid Steel on Vimeo.

...DJ Food & DK showcase their AV mix that they perform live on 4 decks and 3 mixers. Using Serato's Video-SL plug-in for Scratch Live, they mix, scratch and blend the sound AND vision for each track they play.
Months were spent creating videos for each piece of music, either using the original source material or, in most cases sampling footage to create a new video entirely. Described as 'Video Turntablism', it has become a way for Food & DK to visualize their already legendary DJ sets.
As usual, it's the diverse mix of music that they love and are known for, taking in current club floor fillers, but also making room for classic tracks. You can now marvel not only at their musical tastes, but also the visual side as well. You can view the play list at ninjatune.net/solidsteel/index.php?id=619

Herbie Hancock

Legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock delivers a stunning performance alongside two old friends -- past drummer for The Headhunters, Harvey Mason and the original fretless bassist, Marcus Miller. Listen to the end to hear them sweeten the classic "Watermelon Man."

the Beatles go Surf