The Hype Machine allows you to manually subscribe to the artists, blogs, friends and search terms of your choice. As helpful as it’s been to create a more customized playlist, it becomes increasingly harder to keep up with and subscribe to all the stuff you like. Therefore, Hypem should start building an automated recommendation system to do the task for you. Before we can figure out what to recommend and how to display it on Hypem – which’ll be covered in a later post – we’ll need to find out where to pull the information from. Luckily, it’s right at the heart of The Hype Machine… literally, the 
[…]
I still can’t believe how interesting this doc was. Usually when I’m watching any documentary, I surf the net or do something else to bide the time. Scratch, however, kept my attention 99% of the time – I had the laptop on for the first few minutes (habit).
Scratch mainly focused on DJing/turntablism/scratching, hence the name, but it was all hip-hop. It covered the important figures in the development of turntablism and the effect it’s had on hip-hop as a whole.
I’ve been reading Jeff Chang’s “Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop” and a lot of the material from Scratch tied into the book. The doc also really helped me put faces to some of the figures in the book – I suck at remembering names and what they actually did, unless I get a glimpse of their face.
Once you get into it, the rest is a breeze. I was actually wanting more at the ended, unlike most times, but it was definitely full of some good info.
Give a shout-out to your favorite DJ from this – I’ll post mine in the comments a lil’ later.
[audio:Quality-Control.mp3,Intergalactic.mp3,Mass-Appeal.mp3|titles=Quality Control,Intergalactic,Mass Appeal](Download Link in Full Article)
It was interesting to hear Bob Marley sit down and talk for once. Before this documentary I had only seen him in videos from his concerts, which he barely spoke what he didn’t sing. Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story does a good job at presenting him as a struggling man trying to overcome the oppression of his people. The film takes you through the political turmoils throughout his life and the battles he waged through words. His story reminds me of Ghandi’s, both struggling for individual freedom in one form or another.
I chose No Woman No Cry because of the memories I’ve shared with it. Bob Marley and the Wailers have contributed many songs that seem to have popped up in some point in my life, as I’m sure some have for yours.
[audio:NoWomanNoCry.mp3|titles=No Woman No Cry (Live)](Download Link in Full Article)
Ghost Ride the Whip (The Hyphy Movement) is a documentary based on where the Bay Area got its roots from and why the culture is like it is today. It covers many key proponents of the movement, including Keek da Sneek, E-40, and even M.C. Hammer, but one in particular is highlighted, Mac Dre.
When I first heard about Mac Dre in 2004 I had just started out college. My roommate, who’s from the Bay, was upset about a rapper who had been murdered. I had no idea who he was at the time, but since then I’ve gotten to know his music and now fully understand why Mac Dre will be missed so much. What makes him so memorable is his lyrically inventive rhymes, coming up with shit that’s still fresh & fun today. Not only that, he’s an artist that puts some amusement in hip hop, giving us a break from all the serious shit (which is definitely needed at times). To be fair though, many protest what Mac Dre and some others of the movement advocate, questioning its dangers.
Some elements of the Hyphy Movement include Ghost-riding & Thizzin’, which as fun as they may be… can be dangerous. But people need to realize that those elements are not what the Hyphy Movement is solely about. What it all really comes down to is having a good time or more commonly know there as: gettin’ stupid, goin’ stewie, etc. etc. (I tried looking up synonyms of go stupid without much success). Some may not understand why gettin’ stupid would be fun, but I think it’s just because they haven’t tried it themselves.
Whether your into Bay Area hip hop or not, this is an informative & entertaining film that all hip hop heads need to watch. I’ve also included one of Mac Dre’s best in case any of y’all don’t have anything to get stewie to. R.I.P. Mac Dre.
[audio:DoinWhatIDo.mp3|titles=Doin’ What I Do](Download Link in Full Article)
“Copyright Criminals” is an episode from the PBS series, Independent Lens, which premiered January 19th of this year. Independent Lens is a series that “introduces new documentaries and dramas made by independent thinkers: filmmakers who are taking creative risks, calling their own shots and finding untold stories in unexpected places”. If you like this feature then check out the rest of the series, it’s very well done.
The reason I chose to feature this documentary is because (a.) apparently, I need to post more than just music, or so some of my viewers think; (b.) it informs viewers about the problems and benefits of DJ’s sampling music from a fairly neutral perspective; and (c.) simply put, it’s a good watch. I’ve watched a couple of other documentaries about music sampling, and I felt this one was the least bias. It gave fair and equal arguments to both sides of the situation, and presented it in a professional, yet engaging fashion.
There are many DJ/producers featured in this documentary, my favorite being Jeff Chang, author of a book I’m reading right now, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, and more importantly, a founding member of the Soulsides record label (which is now Quannum Projects). Others featured include Public Enemy & George Clinton, but the most sincere & touching artist featured was Clyde Stubblefield (drummer for James Brown). Clyde talks about his openness and appreciation for people sampling his music, but only asks for one thing in return, credit! Even over money, Clyde just wants people to recognize that he was the original creator. I mean common, if you’re gonna sample someone’s music, the least you can do is credit them (among other things, case by case). I think that’s fair… don’t you Give us your opinions in the comments section. We’d love to hear ’em.