As if appearing in a recent Coke commercial featuring actor Adrien Brody wasn't enough for Quannum Projects embassador of showmanship Lyrics Born now he's offering up a fresh remix of "Callin' Out" featuring E-40 and Casual on guest vocals for a nice update of one of last summer's feel-good anthems. Feel free to right click and "save as" folks.

If the news blurb on the Quannum site is to be believed it looks like this is a pre-cursor to a forthcoming Lyrics Born remix project.

DJ Danger Mouse would like you to download his remix of Zero 7's "Somersault" featuring M.F. Doom free of charge or fear of music industry retribution.

So do it dammit!

You might've noticed that posting's been a little spotty the last week or two. That's because I've been unusually busy and that business has resulted in me being exceptionally sleepy which means I've been missing out on the late night hours which usually prove to be my most prolific. But yesterday saw the culmination of the last of my big plans for the foreseeable future, so that should all change, at least for a while.

That being the case I figure that now is a better time than any to update yall on some of the stuff I've been getting into lately.

The craxy business really got into full swing last week when M.I.C., Lila May, The Empress and myself rolled up to Northampton's Iron Horse Music Hall to check out British songstress Jem on Thursday night. We arrived fashionably late so as to avoid opening act The So And So's who were unfortunately still on stage when we walked in the door. There was a decent sized crowd in the place but we were told we could find a seat in the balcony by a helpful waitress. We wound up sitting in our usual spot towards the end of the balcony just overlooking the stage. I was a little surprised to see Jem taking the stage with a backing band as I had for some reason expected to see her backed only by a DJ and someone on keys/samples as her music is largely sample based. The surprise turned into satisfaction as the band was warming up though when I heard the drummer testing the skins and sounding sufficiently close to the thick programmed drums Jem's producers laced her with. The band wound up doing a nice job of translating the album's production into a fresh live set. Jem herself sounded sweet & young and looked even younger as though she were an average English school-girl who's a tad marveled by the fact that she's touring the US in support of her debut album. We've been loving her album for the last few months and supporting it on the radio pretty tough so it was definitely a treat to see her in person.

Friday afternoon saw me and M.I.C. checking out the heavily anticipated 'Farenheit 9/11.' I actually managed to post some thoughts on that already though so let me just reiterate that you need to support this flick. It's packed with important information, powerful images, a number of deeply emotional scenes and some side-splittingly funny moments. Just go see it!

That night we hit up a poorly attended art opening at Flywheel up in Easthampton where M.I.C. spun some tunes alongside a bunch of female DJs.

Then the "Imageyenation Summer Concert Series" continued last night with M.I.C., 12XU, Cereffusion and me all heading to Boston's Avalon Nightclub to see British garage acts Dizzee Rascal and The Streets. We made sure we got to the venue early hoping to get the same booth we had for the Quannum World show a couple months back. But when we walked up to the spot there was already a pretty impressive line which I figured deaded our chances of getting a booth. 12XU refused to believe that the line in question was in fact for the show we were there to attend. As he went to investigate M.I.C. asked the folks at the end of the line if it was the right line to which they replied that they weren't sure but they assumed so. M.I.C. started joking that the line was actually for Hoobastank which seemed to anger the two white girls in front of us who immediately interrupted saying "Why? Because there's so many of us white people here?" Just then the bouncer who was going through the line checking i.d. came up to us. 12XU was the first to produce his i.d. and when the bouncer reached for it he said "Damn dude, you got some hairy-ass arms. You a hairy motherfucker." This, understandably, put a damper on 12XU's jolly mood. If you've ever wondered why nightclub bouncers always seem to be the ones who got shot and stabbed the fuck up you now have your answer. A few minutes later the line started moving and as we were entering the venue another bouncer was checking to see that folks actually had tickets, asking everyone to hold their tickets up. This guy had just as much personality as the other bouncer apparently as he decided to thank Cereffusion and myself for our facial hair. Yes, as we passed the guy he actually said "Hey, thanks for wearing a beard! Oh, and you too!" Since the man had a beard himself Cereffusion and I are going to have to go with the thought that he was paying us a compliment. Once inside the club we made a b-line for the lounge area and happily found the booth we wanted free of occupants. The show was slow to get started though and the opening DJs were a tad uninspired until they started spinning some decent garage shit. Dizzee Rascal and his hype-man finally took the stage. Their set was decent, but other than the opener "I Luv You," a couple of his acapella rhymes, an uptempo joint not on his album, a song over T.I.'s "Rubber Band Man" instrumental and the closer "Fix Up Look Sharp" nothing really stood out. They basically put on the cliche two guys in white t-shirts and backwards hats, cupping the mic, walking back & forth on stage and standing still while they rhymed rookie hip-hop artist kind of show. I put on that kind of show the few times I've actually performed so I know it well. The Streets on the other hand came more than correct. Once again I was surprised by the band that that accompanied Mike Skinner and his back-up singer cum hypeman, but the guys rocked. They whipped through a whole shitload of cuts from their new one 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' and their debut 'Original Pirate Material' and in fact did so many songs that M.I.C. was shocked they touched certain selections from their catalog. The only track absent from their set-list I had hoped to hear was "It Was Supposed To Be So Easy", but everything else was right there on stage. Mr. Skinner and company put on quite the show, bringing crazy energy to the stage along with a whole lot of personality and humor. These guys are showmen that know how to please a crowd, which was surprising coming from what really ammounts to a bedroom-based laptop act. But they rocked the shit out the spot and left everybody wanting more. So if you get the chance definitely go see The Streets when they come to your town.

This weekend looks pretty quiet despite the holiday. We might get a convoy going down to the city for a trip to The Shelter, but maybe not. We'll see.

Yet and still, his "Tip Drill" video had a hypnotic effect on me every time I was lucky enough to catch it on BET Uncut.

If you haven't seen it you're missing out.

And if you have seen it, well, just watch it again in new and improved uncensored form!

Feel free to turn the sound down.

But whatever you do make sure you enjoy the jiggle.

...hip-hop business moguls Dame Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke have revealed that Roc-A-Fella now owns the Pro-Keds Sneaker Company!

Skinheads and Black Hebrews.

Punk-rockers and hip-hoppers.

Street phramacists.

Drug dealers.

Witch doctors

Rappers wearing hundred thousand dollar wrist-watches.

Little kids starvin', the police killed his father.

Rich man.

Poor man.

Civilized man.

Tarzan.

Who's right?

Fightin' over God's land.

American History X.

Represent the future.

Unknown.

What's next?

Rebel Music | Ill Bill 'What's Wrong With Bill?'

...and how copyright laws ruined hip-hop for the rest of us.