REQUIREDAUDIO

JOEL MARASIGAN

THE GREYBOY ESSENTIALS Lavish. Forget about all that. I saw these guys spitting Ubiquity records / DC Shoes live at Mik-ill’s “Keepin’ It Right” radio show at 88.9 Greyboy hails from San Diego and was signed to KUCI. No audience. One mic. They had tons of energy Ubiquity back in the day, and holds the labels record and, dispite the lack of a stage, apparent stage-pres- for all time best seller. Impressive for the mere fact ence. I didn’t even understand Chkaramanga’s that it cost $4k to put together and was given $0 to flows—because it’s in Japanese—but I was bobbin’ promote. right place, right time. He started with hip my head like I did. Look out for the Panda as they hop and but since he couldn’t find MCs to work with slowly hit the scene with their just released single he moved forward by lacing up his stuff with live jazz “‘88 remix”. Album production by Chikaramanga, instruments. With the help of Ubiquity and DC Shoes Newman, Thes One, and Sir Kadoon their sampler he drops this special edition compilation of his Tasty Donuts should keep most fans at bay until their soundtrack inspired instrumentals and hip hop shit. formal release. www.ukenjam.com; www.Kuci.org Jazz-based and experimental sounds move a little left of center from past projects. www.dcshoe- U KNOW U WANT IT - PHIFE DAWG cousa.com www.ubiquityrecords.com b/w ‘Diggy Dialect’ & ‘4 Da Cream’ Smokin' Needles Records TASTY DONUTS - GIANT PANDA “Phife Dawg unleashes his new single, “U Know U Ukenjam Want It”, with songstresses Slick & Rose. This lead Born on the playgrounds of an elementary school single is the jump-off to Smokin’ Needles in 2003. in Seattle they moved to the Byzantine Latino Quarter Mixing Phife’s witty delivery, which has made him a section of . Chikaramanga, household name, with newcomers Slick & Rose Maanumental, Newman, Sir Kado, and Superbrush makes for a perfect match to the sick beat that Dj 427 turned their long running joke in to their name- Rasta Root blessed them with. The single is sure to sake—Giant Panda. "What else could you call a be in heavy rotation in trucks, on the radio, in clubs, group that has two black guys, a white guy, and a and on mixtapes. True Phife Dawg and ATCQ fans will Japanese guy?" says Ukenjam President Kenny get a preview of what the 5 footer has been concoct- ing! The b-side is for the grimy cats that love grimy sh*t. ‘4 da Cream’ introduces underground sensation Jax to the world. Guaranteed to please the mixtape dj and hardcore hip hop fans. Listeners are in for a treat with ‘Diggy Dialect’. Phife teams up with dancehall great Hawkeye, where they show what can happen when a Trini links up with a Jamaican. The Giant Panda @ KUCI’s “Keepin’ It Right” radio show. tune is guaranteed to get serious spins in the dance-

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halls, with its up tempo, infectious riddim. All pro- the Subfreakie lifestyle. that this Beat Conductor is responsible for, with duction is handled by Dj Rasta Root.” Ultra Living from Japan provides the sonic current remixes or guesting with a variety of artists such as for the book with an original soundtrack of work to date Bilal, Zero 7, Glenn Lewis, Beastie Boys, The Liks, BITCHES BREW : The Medium is The Message arranged as a mixed compilation. Emerging from Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, , King Britt and Jay A SUBFREAKIE GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY. Tokyo’s underground music scene, brother duo Dee to name a few. Subfreakie Tetsushi and Takuma Nonaka sustain the frenetic mood A collection of old and new flavors, Shades of Blue “Bitches Brew is an autobioGRAPHICal account that of Bitches Brew that parallels the book by fusing ele- opens with the declaration that "We are now having explores graphic design and its power to provoke ments of jazz, hip hop, breakbeats, drum n∂ bass and a little cooking session for Blue Note right here on the thought. Mike Dytri, creator of Los Angeles-based abstract noise to produce a sound that defies catego- scene..." Cooking session indeed. The Loop Digga, Subfreakie, focuses on the t-shirt as his mobile can- rization by challenging the boundaries of musical gen- , was afforded the coveted opportunity to mine vas, considering it an effective and accessible medi- res.” Subfreakie.com the crates of Blue Note Records. On Shades of Blue, um capable of encouraging abstract thought and Madlib delivers remixes and brand spanking new challenging traditions. Driven by mood and style, SHADES OF BLUE - MADLIB interpretations of Blue Note classics. Whether funking Dytri pulls images and text from his work as an illus- Blue Note out Ronnie Foster’s original “Mystic Brew” and trans- trator and graphic designer over the years to create a “Critically acclaimed producer, Madlib has an forming it into the “Mystic Bounce,” or giving Wayne thought-provoking collection of one-liners, as well as assortment of identities (Quasimoto, Yesterday’s New Shorter’s “Footprints” a go with Yesterday’s New a visually stimulating experience. Bitches Brew : The Quintet.) When he’s not touring as a DJ alongside Quintet, rest assured that Madlib’s innovative sonic Medium is the Message is an assemblage of t-shirt Peanut Butter Wolf or as an MC as one third of the hip vocabulary will fill the ears. Other artists receiving a graphics, photographs, illustrations, sketches, com- hop group , he’s making Stevie Wonder and Madlib reimagination include Donald Byrd, Bobbi mentary and a variety of other shameless personal Azymuth tribute albums just for the fun of it. Prolific Humphrey, Bobby Hutcherson, Horace Silver, The indulgences that create the restless momentum for doesn’t even begin to describe the amount of music Three Sounds and many more.” www.bluenote.com

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PHOTO: JOEL MARASIGAN

INDEPENDENT ARTIST PROFILE FOR CLARITY - Natural Language Hailing from Los Angeles, 25-year-old Janelle Corpuz makes a near weekly round trip trek to San Diego for practices and performances. Her album attacks spo- ken word, hip hop, and alt rock. Such a different combo of genres would turn away the average lis- tener but a little open-mindedness goes a long way. Future stars are built around a passion—I per- sonally see potential in her. Keep in mind that the first few years of most independants fall on the unpolished side of the diamond. Suffice it to say the album is a little rough, interestingly though, “For Clarity” has enough liquidity to make three decidid- ly different promo samplers—and for the cost of a lunch at Wahoo’s you can indulge in some raw, independant shit won’t leave you with indigestion. Some cuts are obviously better than others. A buffing with a little bit of production should shine it up but I think the shine comes from: “Love Disease,” “No Time,” and “Ghetto Guitar”. If anything she’s really cute! I don’t think it’d hurt to drool over her during one of her perfor- mances. www.soniclanguagepassion.com

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